So, here’s how I introduced this site to my muggle meatspace friends:
Me: “So, I became a celebrity.”
Muggle Meatspace Friends: “What?”
Me: “Well, an internet celebrity.”
MMF: “Really?”
Me: “A minor internet celebrity.”
MMF: “Still, how’d you manage that?”
Me: “A minor internet celebrity in the wizard rock community.”
MMF: “Aaaaaahhh. That explains it.”
Me: “A minor internet celebrity in the wizard rock community that is likely to become a flash in the pan. I mean, I’ll be so much of a flash in the pan, Apple will not allow me on their handheld devices, because they feel HTML 5 is a much more open format for being inside a pan.”
All this goes to show is that while I like to pretend to be self-deprecating, I’m actually extremely self-centered, which is why, for the second week in a row, one of the posts will be entirely about myself and how awesome I am, inasmuch that a review blog somehow isn’t entirely about oneself. Anywho, today, I am going to look through my 25 most listened to wizard rock songs (according to iTunes), and discuss each one. I really didn’t have any concrete idea what they would be until today, when I started writing this article. This is partly because I want to let people know what sort of wizard rock I actually do like, and partly because while I have other ideas for Friday articles, they take more forethought and planning, and I hope to spend most of today overhauling the site, and watching Battlestar Galactica. [Note: I actually ended up spending the day sleeping and being kidnapped by pirates.]
One small caveat before we begin: this is not in any way a list of my favorite 25 wrock songs of all time, just the ones I’ve happened to listen to a lot. Also, this is purely based on iTunes plays, on this computer. There are some songs that I know for a fact would be on here if play counts transferred over when I brought all of my music from my old computer to my new one, a couple years ago.
25. “Muggle Pants” – Potter Puppet Pals
If you haven’t watched the brilliant animation by the creator of Potter Puppet Pals of one of the funniest bits in the entire Harry Potter series, you should do so now. Now that you’ve done that, click on the button that reads “Supa Dance Mix”. The resulting song is my 25th most listened to wizard rock song of all time. Now, some could say that it’s not technically wizard rock, because it’s not by a wizard rock band, but the way I see it, it’s music about an even in the Harry Potter books. If that’s not wizard rock, then I don’t know what the hell is.
24. “Full Moon” – The Curse Breakers
The Curse Breakers is one of the bands I considered for last Friday’s list of cruelly defunct wrock bands. What’s great about TCB is that Jessie manages to do the nearly impossible – take GarageBand loops, and make them somehow sound fresh and original. “Full Moon” is a great example of that. I am intimately familiar with the loop used in this song, “Motocross” or something like that, in fact, I used it a couple times when I first tinkered around with making (terrible, terrible) podcasts back in the day. That and “Tour Bus Long”. Now THAT”S a damn fine loop.
23. “House Elf 4 Life” – MC Kreacher
Alone in the Dark was THE best EP from the 2009 EP of the Month Club, and will hopefully go down as one of the most influential albums in wizard rap. While this track is the second-weakest on the album, it’s still ear-fuckingly good, well, at least ear-gropingly good. The beat is probably my least favorite from the album, though I do like the piano arpeggio in there, and lyrically, it’s a nice cap on the album.
22. “Voices In My Head” – MC Kreacher
I told you, I love me some MC Kreacher. I do find it interesting that the first and last song on the album are right next to each other, and they’re a fair bit behind the other MC Kreacher song(s) on this list – I truly wonder what that says about my listening habits. Anyways, “Voices” may not be the best MC Kreacher track, but it’s up there, and my first experience with him at all. I had known that he was in the 2009 EP Club, but I did absolutely no research into him, and had no idea what to expect. This track blew me away, from the mysterious sound effects-laden opening that flows so beautifully into the beat, the exceedingly dark lyrics (for a non-Split Seven Ways song), and the great “internal rap” bit at about 2:05.
21. “All Bark, No Bite” – The Whomping Willows
This song was one of the big surprises for me when I first looked at this list. It wasn’t my favorite track on the album, and ironically, it was one of the songs I judged to be “Definitely NOT Meta-Wrock”. However, now that I think about it, I don’t listen to “Walk” and “A Conversation With Mark Jennings” as often because while they are awesome songs, they are definitely more dense songs, and not really fun one-offs you listen to to pep you up for a Sunday stroll or whatnot. And “All Bark, No Bite”, while note my favorite on the album, would definitely be my fifth or fourth favorite (third is “Don’t Let Me Explode”).
20. “On Thestral, We Ride” – The Hermione-Crookshanks Experience
I think that instead of listing what I love about this song, my pick for the best wizard rock song made in 2oo8, I will list the things I don’t like about it. That is, I don’t like the name – I think it should have been “Up and Away”. That is the only problem I have with this song. Well, there are very minor dosages of that squeaky guitar noise that I hate so much, but it’s masked pretty well (I mean, I didn’t notice them for the first 20 listens, and they usually jump out at me), and the whole song is just so awesome that it makes up for that. Seriously, this song should be a hell of a lot higher up. Go listen to it, right now.
19. “APWBD” – The Remus Lupins
This one also surprised me. Nevermind The Furthermore was a massively disappointing album for me (might review it at some point, and explain my opinions at length), but there were some songs I really loved on it. Oddly, “APWBD” (despite its cool name), is near the end of that short list. It’s also the only track from that album on this list, and I definitely would have thought “Seven Potters” would be on here, and definitely above this song. Still, despite an over-powering cymbal, it’s fun, rollicking little song.
18. “Albus Potter’s Lullaby” – Split Seven Ways
I have only two SSW songs on this list, and while the other one is no surprise at all to me, this one is. Not that it’s a bad song in anyway, and it is one of my favorites by Zoe (just imagine the umlauts are there), but it’s still fifth or sixth on my list of best SSW songs ever (a list that I will make at some point). However, it is a bit different from other SSW songs in that the instrumentation is very simple, just that one crystalline-sounding synth instrument that she likes so much, and singing. No guitar, no multiple passes, no extra synth instruments, just one simple instrument and a voice, and that really helps get across the lullaby aspect of the song. Also, this is one of the most hopeful SSW songs there are. The balance of light and dark in Love is the Answer is what makes it such a great album for me.
17. “My Dad Is Rich” – Draco and the Malfoys
This is probably the first non-Harry and the Potters wizard rock song I ever heard, and it’s definitely stuck with me. A lot of that is because DatM make such great counterparts to HatP, especially in the early years of both bands – their musical and lyrical styles really sort of mirrored each other, but DatM was SO much snarkier, and I dare say funnier. Especially since most of the humour of early HatP songs comes from the novelty of “Hey, look at us! We’re singing about Harry Potter! Isn’t that odd? Odd things are funny!” “My Dad Is Rich” is funny on its own merits, and is the tone-setter for the band. It’s their “Save Ginny Weasley”. Also, it led to the most epic cover all time, Swish and Flick’s “My Dad Is Rich (On A Boat)”.
16. “A Bad Case Of The Voldies” – The Whomping Willows
I bought III based on this song alone. It was a huge, massive departure from all of Matt’s previous work, both musically and lyrically. Musically, the big obvious difference is the ELECTRIC GUITAR (please read that in an as “metal” voice as possible). Even compared to the Rock n’ Roll Redux EP, this was a different beast entirely for ol’ Whompy, and it worked so fucking well. Also, lyrically, I was really struck by how Whompy was torn between the different sides of Draco and Hagrid, two people who’d I never really thought about as opposing factions before. I mean, they definitely are two people that are at odds, but they are hardly having people rallying around them or anything, and they both offer very subtle nuances to how they represent their sides. Lastly, I know that Matt is a frequent reader of this blog, so I’m going to take the time to publicly ask him a direct question. In the third line in the song, after “He’s living inside me / And I can’t do much about it”, Voldemort is planning his what for the next wizard war? His eruption? His election? His erection?
15. “Accio Love” – The Ministry of Magic
I first heard this song on the now sadly deceased Podcast of Awesome. I loved it so much, I went through the labor-intensive process (well, at least it was back then) of ripping an audio file of the song from the podcast, and before that, I listened to that podcast more than a few times, just to hear that one song. While I would say, from as objective a stand point as is possible when reviewing something (i.e. not very), that Goodbye Privet Drive is the best MoM album, The Triwizard LP is still, irrationally, my favorite. Part of what I love about this album, and this song too, is how much of the instrumentation is very “flighty” – the synth strings and whatnot all feel like they’re flying up, like the words are the house of a grumpy elderly widower, and the music is a fuckton of balloons. Admittedly, in this analogy, I have no idea what the talking dog or gullible kid represent.
14. “We Are Wizards” – MC Kreacher
This is not the last MC Kreacher song on this list, and that really surprises me. I mean, I’m not surprised there’s so much MC Kreacher on here, but I am surprised that this song isn’t the most listened to of his, because it was far and away the best song on the album. The only criticism that could be levied against it is that it’s more Myles’ POV than Kreacher’s, and the two POVs sort of blend together, and sort of ruin Kreacher’s voice by making him seem a lot more, well, not a maniac (a tragic maniac that gets some redemption, but still a maniac). But besides that huge bit of nitpicking, the beat is amazing, I LOVE the use of samples (just like I loved the use of stock footage in We Are Wizards, the documentary that Myles worked on), and it’s one of my favorite meta-wrock songs of all time, probably even my second favorite (first has to be “End of an Era”).
13. “Apologize” – The Ministry of Magic
This one also really surprised me. This is the last MoM song on the list, and it’s definitely not one of my favorites. I do love it (though I like it a lot less know that I’ve actually heard the original song, and seen how little of the lyrics were actually changed), but there are at least 10 MoM songs I like a hell of a lot more than this one. Still, it really shows off the boys’ beautiful voices really well, and it makes a catchy but inane pop song tolerable by making it possibly even more catchy, and all about Harry Potter!
12. “Black At Heart” – MC Kreacher
Okay, I promise this is the last MC Kreacher song on the list. You may have noticed, but I kinda sorta liked Alone in the Dark A LOT. This song surprised me, because I would have guessed its spot would be traded with “We Are Wizards”. However, it’s close (just one listen more), and it’s the song that definitely grew on me the most from that album, and I would definitely say it’s my second favorite. It also has the best opening on the album, even better than the wonderful sample-tastic intro to “We Are Wizards”. This song, as well as “We Are Wizards”, are both truly ear-fuckingly good. Since this is the last time I will talk about MC Kreacher in this article, let me just say that Myles Kane is the third coolest person ever to be called “Myles” or “Miles” – the second being Miles Davis (I really, REALLY hope I don’t have to link to his wikipedia page for you to know who he is), and the first being Miles Straume.
11. “Give Me The Moon” – The HMS Wolfstar
I’ve already talked at length about how awesome this song is, so I’ll spare you a rehashing. Suffice it to say, this song is absolutely fucking amazing, hands down in my top five wrock songs of all time, and it turned me into a Wolfstar shipper (though I’m also a fan of Remus/Book). Just listen to it, right now. You owe it to yourself to hear this song, and I’ll gladly wait before continuing.
Ready? Okay, let’s move on.
10. “I Wanna Be A Wizard (Featuring The Notorious NEV)” – Danny Dementor
I was really disappointed by Double D’s first album, mostly because it wasn’t a wiz-rap (I’m not a big fan of “wrap”) album like I was expecting. It was a wizard rock album with an inordinately high amount of wiz-hop songs (i.e. more than zero), but it had a lot of musical digressions and experiments. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it wasn’t what I was expecting, and that made me judge the album harshly. However, I Wanna Be A Wizard, and especially its titular song, blew me away. Between this album, Alone In The Dark, and all of the great stuff Swish and Flick put out in 2009, wiz-hop is really starting to come into its own as a genre. Now, I love the FUCK out of MC Kreacher (okay, I lied, I am talking about him again), and I think “We Are Wizards” is a better meta-wrock song, but I think that this is a better song than “We Are Wizards”, and thus, better than any song on Alone in the Dark. Now, every other song on AitD with the exception of “My Precious” is better than every other song on IWBAW, but still, this is an amazing song, and has one of my favorite meta-wrock lines of all time: “Even when I go to work / Never breakin’ character!”
9. “Accio Hagrid” – Harry and the Potters
I… I honestly have no idea how this got on here, and so high. I mean, it’s not a bad song, and it definitely holds a lot of nostalgia and great memories for me (I once got the immense pleasure and privilege of getting to sing this song with an entire audience of people at a screening of Order of the Phoenix), but come on, really? I can think of at least 15 HatP songs I like better than this one, and plenty of them are even on this very EP (and what a damn good EP it is). The only explanations I can come up with are that this song is very short, and maybe that somehow gets it played a lot more, and that a lot of my listens to HatP songs that I racked up would have been counted over on my old computer, and while I still love me some HatP, I sort of burnt myself out on them a good while ago.
8. “All Is Well” – Split Seven Ways
This song is one of those songs that will probably stick with me until the day I die. I’d love to have it played at my funeral. It’s Zoe’s third best song, and one of her most beautiful. After listening to like, twenty-seven different Snape/Lily concept EPs, and then to go through the emotional roller coaster that is Love is the Answer, to end a note that is hopeful, yet also stubbornly reminding us of the last line in the series, and thus, of the fact that the series is over, caused me to break down into tears. I’m not the type to often cry over music, but Deathly Hallows song (and the book itself) really get to me. It’s still hard to come to terms with the fact that it’s over, but hey, that’s what fanfic and wiz-rock is for, right?
7. “Bellatrix, We Don’t Live In Azkaban” – The Band Who Must Not Be Named
Wow, is this song ever different from the previous one. Damn. I’ve also talked pretty extensively about this song before, but its awesomeness does bear repeating. My favorite bit is the verse that’s done in entirely death metal vocals. I really have no idea what’s going on during most of this song, but I do know that I am having fun. And that “life is sweet”. And OH FUCKING CRAP, I just noticed that that line is a BRILLIANT reference to the Harry and the Potters song “Song for the Death Eaters” – you know, “You feed on death, but life is sweet, have you tasted it?” Oh, wow. This song just got a whole lot more awesome.
6. “The Order” – The Remus Lupins
This one surprised me a bit. Firstly, I must say that this is the acoustic version, not the I Was A Teenage Werewolf version, but I do like this version A LOT more. Anywho, it’s a fine song, I guess, but there are so many more TRL songs that are so much better that aren’t on here. Again, I blame iTunes for not storing play counts in the meta tags for this sort of thing, but still, sixth place, really? I don’t even remember listening to it that often. Still, it’s a fun song, and it includes a reference to Remus and Tonks having sex (whether or not that was intentional), so that’s always fun.
5. “(never) Do What You’re Told” – The Remus Lupins
Now HERE’s a TRL song that deserves to be up here. This was hands down the best song on the free Rocking Out Against Voldemedia comp, and is one of my favorite TRL songs ever. It still sounds unique out of his whole catalogue, even with all the changes his band has gone through, and I love that it invokes the spirit of Order of the Phoenix so brilliantly – in that yes, it’s definitely a wizard rock song, but it could also be very easily taken as a political manifesto and indictment. Lyrically and musically, it’s absolutely brilliant from start to finish. If this song has slipped you by, you should definitely add it to your collection.
4. “Alone on Valentine’s Day” – The Remus Lupins
This one REALLY surprised me. Now, “Alone on Valentine’s Day” is a great song, and while I am not at all a Remus/Lily shipper in any sense, I love it when Alex does a song that’s from Remus’ perspective, because it doesn’t happen often enough. What surprises me about this song is that it’s the acoustic version, and not the IWATW version, the latter of which is definitely the superior one. Still, it’s a really good song, but 4th place? I don’t think so. Also, you’ll have noticed by now that there’s a lot of “classic” TRL weighted towards the top of this list, and that’s because 2007-era TRL is FUCKING AMAZING. Seriously. 2006? Lots of potential, but too much experimenting and fiddle-faddling, not enough quality control. 2008? Despite the appeal of the large band sound, a bunch of big mistakes, both lyrically and musically. 2007? A shit-load of shit was pumped out, and this shit was some fucking BRILLIANT shit. I mean, this human waste SPARKLED. I guess it was a vampire?
3. “Aragog Tonight” – Bella’s Love
Now HERE’S a song I can get behind. I’ve already discussed my love for this song in that article that I already linked to twice, but I’ll just reiterate that for how rough it is, it is catchy as all hell, has some really amazing guitar work, and is an absolute blast to sing along with in the shower.
2. “Snape” – The Remus Lupins
This is the last TRL song on this list, trust me. I mean, there’s not really much room left. Anyway, this song completely deserves its spot, and it doesn’t surprise me in the least. I mean, I know I’ve heard “Looking For Trouble” more times, but I’ve already explained the reasons for why that’s not represented on this list. If you know your wrock history, you know that “Snape” is the first wizard rock song Alex ever wrote, and it remains his second most iconic, and one of his best. I mean, I managed to find a copy of the original version of this song first uploaded to his MySpace, and that remains one of my most prized mp3s I have, purely as a piece of musical history. And, I mean, come on, how can you not like a song with the lyrics “Voldemort is a fuck face”?!?!?! Though I will say its always fun to see Alex play this at library shows, as you can watch him gauge the age of the audience on the fly, and decide if he’ll change the lyrics, or just sort of mumble them. You get the impression that he’s afraid one of the librarians will yell at him. And they probably would.
And my most listened to wizard rock song of all time is…
1. “Halloween at Hogwarts (D-Form Bass Mix)” – Ginny and the Heartbreakers
I bet you didn’t expect this one. In fact, I bet a large portion of you folks have never heard this song. There’s a good chance you’ve heard the original, and as good as it is, it doesn’t hold a candle to the insane awesomeness that is this song. It is sort of funny that this is my most listened to wrock song ever, because most of its awesomeness comes from the remixer, who is not in the wizard rock community, but every remixer owes a great debt of gratitude to their source material, and GatH definitely delivered on that front. You should go download the entire Old Nerdy Bastard: Geeky Music Remixed album right now, and give this song a couple hundred listens. It deserves it. In fact, if you’re incredibly lazy, here’s a direct link to the song. Also, I apologize in advance, Z, if this somehow pings the hell out of your site, but I highly doubt it.
Welp, another week draws to a close here at the Wrock Snob. I’m sorry for operating on more of a Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday schedule, and I hope to improve on that. Also, I will go through this article later, and add links to all of the bands and all that fun stuff, but for now, JFGI.
Jun 05, 2010 @ 05:18:13
25. Oh god, don’t make me start listening to it again! I’ll get so addicted!
13. Wait wait wait–this is based on a real song? FFFFFF. It irritates me so much when I discover wrock songs are based on RL songs and I had NO IDEA. At Terminus’ Bon Voyage Ball, they were playing all Muggle music, but then they started playing what I thought was TWW’s “Ginny is a Punk Rocker,” and I got so excited! But nope, it was the “real” version, which I had no idea existed. I still pretended it was TWW’s version, though.
9. I have no idea what you are talking about. This is one of my favorite songs ever!
5. GOD YES! I love that song to pieces. I remember when the album first came out, I couldn’t stop listening to it for a week.
2. If I’m not mistaken, I believe during live shows he changes that whole last but to the call-and-response “Snape!” “Sucks!”
Jun 05, 2010 @ 14:54:15
Oh yeah, he does the call and response thing sometimes, but sometimes he just sort of mutters profanities. It’s quite amusing.
Jun 05, 2010 @ 19:02:57
haha nope. i havent done that part since like 2006
Jun 05, 2010 @ 11:24:33
Not a single Butterbeer Experience, RiddleTM, or Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls song in your top 25? It’s clear your taste in music is vastly different from mine.
Halloween at Hogwarts is my favorite Ginny and the Heartbreakers song. The remix version you linked is nice, but I think the original acappella version better captures the idea of sneaking around the castle at night – there wouldn’t be a lot of ambient noise (it’s not like the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, it’s just spooky cause it’s dark).
Jun 05, 2010 @ 14:56:40
Yeah, I was really shocked by the lack of OBatR on the list. Also, I was never a fan of the Butterbeer Experience until I picked up and reviewed the Beedle the Bard EP, and I would have thought “Interview With Voldemort” and “Christmas For Draco” or whatever would have been on there. Someday I will do my top 25 songs of all time, and that will be a vastly different list than this one. I just thought it’d be interesting to look at discrepancies between what you think you like, and what you actually listen to.
Jun 05, 2010 @ 17:46:46
Just a note- the acoustic version of The Order is the only version. That’s the one that appears on Teenage Werewolf.
Since I’m also very self-centered, I thought I would compare my top 25 with yours:
1. The Giant Squid (Owns Us All) – The Nifflers
2. Slug Club – Harry and the Potters
3. Part-Werewolf For Hire – Gred and Forge
4. (Not Gonna Put On) The Monkey Suit – Harry and the Potters
5. Wizard Chess (Live from the Glass House 2008) – HatP
6. Smoochy Smoochy, Pukey Pukey – Harry and the Potters
7. Brotherly Love – Gred and Forge
8. Felix Felicis – HatP
9. Don’t Panic – Catchlove
10. Flesh, Blood, and Bone – HatP
11. Felix Felicis (Live Neumos 2008) – HatP
12. The Cave – HatP
13. Back in the Day – Justin Finch-Fletchley
14. It’s Quite Alright – Catchlove
15. The Girl From New York – The Whomping Willows
16. The Troll (Big and Ugly [Live from the 2006 Yule Ball]) – HatP
17. My Teacher is a Werewolf (Rock Version) – HatP
18. Bad Case of the Voldies – The Whomping Willows
19. Rocking at Hogwarts – HatP
20. Save Ginny Weasley From Dean Thomas – HatP
21. Phoenix Song – HatP
22. Wizard Chess (Live Neumos 2008) – HatP
23. Song For the Death Eaters – HatP
24. Dumbledore – Hatp
25. The Godfather: Part II – HatP
Wow. So that was much less original than I figured it would be. And I’m HORRIBLY EMBARRASSED to note that there is NO TRL in my top 25 at all. Seriously. So embarrassed. I dunno what’s going on there, considering how much I LOVE THEM SO.
But yeah, I have pretty classic tastes in wizard rock: punk, rock, and more rock.
Jun 05, 2010 @ 17:59:23
Okay, I guess the Teenage Werewolf version is acoustic too, but the version I have on the list is “more” acoustic, or at least less professionally mixed and recorded and what not. Also, nothing wrong with a bunch of HatP. I was embarrassed that all I had was on song, and it was freakin’ Hagrid. I mean, it’s a fine song, but it’s nowhere near their best work.
Jun 05, 2010 @ 18:11:08
Oh, totally. HatP is my favourite wrock band, so it just makes sense that they would dominate. It just reflects badly on my overall listening habits not to have TRL on there, but as you said, playcounts don’t really reflect very well in the first place!
Jun 05, 2010 @ 18:55:28
so, no joke. I forgot about this site. i remembered just now and came to catch up on what youve been posting. im glad that you are sort of keeping up with it now that Lost is over, and I am honored that my band shows up so many times on this most played list so much, even if it must be due to meta data error.
Similar to Matt with Demons, I would simply love to hear why you thought Nevermind the Furthermore was a disappointing album. Since I hold it up as one of my favorite things I have ever done in my life, I am probably going to disagree with you, but I am interested to see what your qualms with it are. Similarly, I am curious to see what the misteps..i mean mistakes… you think that I took with my “Shit” in 2008 and 2009 were.
also, I have to say I am really Surprised at how consistently Surprised you were by the songs showing up on this playlist.
Jun 05, 2010 @ 18:56:18
oops.
I am honored that my band shows up so many times on this most played list * ,
Jun 05, 2010 @ 18:58:49
This is Matt, borrowing Lauren’s laptop!
The word you’re missing is direction. Which means that your closest guess was erection, which is awesome.
I think you’re going to like Wizard Party Forever!!! based on your apparent love of III and Redux. WPF is like a happier III with much, much better production value. I’ll send you a free copy!
Jun 05, 2010 @ 19:22:53
Woah, I had never considered direction, I don’t know why. Maybe “erection” just sort of overpowered all the choices, but…
Jun 05, 2010 @ 19:11:27
and one more thing. i really liked your HTML vs Flash joke. When I see you next, you are getting a high five for that one.
Jun 05, 2010 @ 19:32:25
I could not tell you what my top 25 wrock songs would be, because the majority of my listens are at work. I can tell you what my #1 all time listened to song would be, though.
I can also tell you that not a single one of these songs would be in my top 200.
This is another “flawed data” article, where you mention right at the top that the list should be different because you’ve changed computers/lost iTunes data, and these aren’t even your favorite songs. Also, I don’t know if you have an iPod and if so, if you added your stats from both iTunes plays as well as iPod plays.
Also, I think it’s interesting that both “top 25 lists” here rely HEAVILY on some of the longest running/widely known bands. For all the bitching lately about “non-Tier 1 bands” getting their due, aside from one or two examples I’m not seeing any real listening to those bands. Just an observation, which of course, is from a small data source.
That being said, it was an interesting read, it’s nice hearing what others’ takes are on what THEY think “good songs” are.
Jun 05, 2010 @ 19:40:07
Well, I thought iPod plays were just automatically added onto the iTunes play count list each time you synced, but maybe I’m wrong, and this list is completely out of whack. Also, yeah, I was surprised by the heavy amount of top-tier bands, especially a bunch of RatL focused near the top. I mean, I love top-tier bands, but I try to promote smaller bands more, because, let’s face it, they need it more. So it was definitely illuminating for me to see what I actually listen to. Also, one giant caveat for this list is that I just grabbed the 25 most listened to songs, and not the 25 most listened places, if you know what I mean. That is, There were only about 15 different play counts in this list, because a lot of songs were sharing 47, for example. Sometime, much later, I may go through and do this again, but via the 25 highest play counts.
Jun 05, 2010 @ 20:12:58
I decided not to post mine because it’s completely skewed. When I transferred itunes to my newest computer I at first tried to manually relink all the songs to preserve the playcounts, then gave up halfway through, so some songs had playcounts completely reset, while others continued from the first time and have absurdly high numbers.
My #1 most-played song is Snape vs Snape by Ministry of Magic and the Parselmouths. What’s interesting is that Imprisoned Lightning by The Remus Lupins is #3, despite the fact that I’ve owned the song for less than 2 months. =P
Jun 05, 2010 @ 20:19:43
This list needs more of me.
Just saying.
Jun 06, 2010 @ 13:53:25
Hey, you made it onto mine a few times
Jun 05, 2010 @ 21:34:08
Is there somewhere to download “Give Me The Moon”? It’s such a great song and I’d love to not have to go to the MySpace page for every listen.
Jun 05, 2010 @ 21:38:17
http://www.mediafire.com/?nzdwljytyly
Enjoy!
Jun 06, 2010 @ 01:21:12
I definitely wouldn’t have pegged this list as your 25 most listened to. xD But they’re all pretty darn good songs, IMHO….
I think this sort of thing is so interesting. I recently got back into the Last.fm thing and have been lurking around seeing what everyone listens to…(even though you can turn the scrobbling off and not everything gets counted…)
Because I’m procrastinating in the last 3 days before my document is due (yarrrrrg)…and procrastinating = super awesome productivity later….. here’s my top 25 most listened to wrock.
(Disclaimers: This list makes me feel like a hypocrite. It doesn’t count the Mudbloods CD that plays in my alarm clock every morning. A lot of this is because I’ve listened to stuff dozens of times while transcribing. It excludes all 7 occurrences of my own band, because I’m really not that conceited, just paranoid. xD)
25: “Graduation Day” – The Remus Lupins
24: “Friends, Brothers, Kids and Lovers” – The Mudbloods
23: “Ginny and Me” – The Mudbloods
22: “Goyle’s Pants” – Draco and the Malfoys
21: “It’s Dragons…” – The Mudbloods
20: “Lovegood” – Ministry of Magic
19: “John Dawlish, Auror” – The Chocolate Frogs
18: “Honeydukes” – JFF
17: “The Weasleys” – The Remus Lupins
16: “UV Radiation…” -The Mudbloods
15: “An Entering Hogwarts First Year…” – The Mudbloods
14: “Glenrock Falls” – The Mudbloods (it counts! lol…)
13: “A Pensieve Full of Unrequited Love” – The Mudbloods
12: “Bad Case of the Voldies” – The Whomping Willows
11: “Since March, Since September, And Still” – The Mudbloods (Also counts! xD)
10: “Ode to a Broom…” – The Mudbloods
9: “Looking For Trouble” – The Remus Lupins
8: “My Dad is Rich” – Draco and the Malfoys
7: “I Wanna Be a Wizard” – Danny Dementor
6: “Animals That Have Left Me” – The Mudbloods
5: “The Gringots Goblin Coaster” – Harry and the Potters
4: “The Bravest Man I Ever Knew” – Ministry of Magic
3: “I Wish You’d Be My Witch” – The Mudbloods
2: “Seven Potters” – The Remus Lupins
1: “Harry Potter” – Harry and the Potters (also my ringtone, lmao.)
I’m completely shocked about the lack of many of my favorite bands on this list. This is an interesting point you’ve made…about your most-listened-to not always being your favorites. (Though I do love all of these… xD… I’m more surprised by absence than inclusion).
Jun 06, 2010 @ 01:24:11
PS, I swear I can spell when it’s not 3:30 in the morning.
Jun 09, 2010 @ 14:16:54
Your list is very similar to mine…the mudbloods ftw!
Jun 06, 2010 @ 03:32:33
I’m really surprised at Albus Potter’s Lullaby and All Is Well being on there… I could never get them to sound like the song in my head at all so I gained an element of resentment, I guess
According to last.fm my top 25 most-listened-to wizard rock songs are all about Snape, Lily and/or the Marauders, apart from the ones that are about the Malfoys or Bellatrix Lestrange. This says everything.
Jun 07, 2010 @ 11:17:59
interesting to think about most played vs. actual favorite songs. here are mine.
1. platform 9 and 3/4s – hatp
2. hogwarts tonsil hocket team – hatp
3. bury me – weasel king
4. the fall – the mudbloods
5. accio hagrid – hatp
6. ballad of neville and luna – trl
7. meet me under the mistletoe – hatp
8. the foil (draco malfoy) – hatp
9. dark lord lament – hatp
10. harry you’re a hottie – ginny and the heartbreakers
11. books say and i say – mudbloods
12. felix felicis – hatp
13. flying motorbike – weasel king
14. since march, since september, and still – mudbloods
15. stick it to dolores – hatp
16. to fall in love – how airplanes fly
17. my face – the hungarian horntails
18. xmas rulez, voldemort droolz – hatp
19. i believe in nargles – tww
20. we stand alone together – mudbloods
21. end of an era – obatr
22. the weasleys – trl
23. dragons and beasts – ginny and the heartbreakers
24. ginny weasley – hallows & horcruxes
25. krum’s song – hermione crookshanks experience
old school!
Jun 07, 2010 @ 13:34:43
I love lists. I think Fridays are going to be my favorite here on your blog.
And, wow. You have a really interesting list here. I am curious to know what that top 25 is out of (how many Wizard Rock songs you have on iTunes). I like the variety and the presence of EP of the month selections.
Some of my most listened to are my favorites. Others are ones I’ve had the longest, while others I listen to more often when I’m writing certain things and need inspiration (or need background music at work).
My list (top 25 out of only 1026, including Muggle Wizard Rock):
25. “Every Waking Moment”- Marked as His Equal
24. “Wizard Rock Heart Throb”- The Whomping Willows
23. “Eyes (Severus & Lily)- Nagini with Alastor
22. “Howl at the Moon”- The Moaning Myrtles
21. “Voldemort Killed the Hufflepuff Star”- Kwikspell
20. “House of Awesome Theme Song”- The Whomping Willows
19. “Hey Remus”- The Whomping Willows
18. “I Believe in Nargles”- The Whomping Willows
17. “The Radio”- Tonks and the Aurors
16. “Just a Hufflepuff”- Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls
15. “Snape Vs. Snape”- The Ministry of Magic
14. “Forever Together”- The Ministry of Magic
13. “It Sucks”- The Butterbeer Experience
12. “Dance Time”- The Ministry of Magic
11. “Taking You Back”- Tonks and the Aurors (featuring The Remus Lupins)
10. “Maybe Tomorrow”- The Remus Lupins
9. “Bridge to the Other Side”- Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls
8. “Prefects Are Hot”- The Moaning Myrtles
7. “Marauder’s Map”- The Ministry of Magic
6. “Astoria Greengrass and the Pure-Blood Prince”- Swish and Flick
5. “Happiness is a Hippogriff Away”- The Mudbloods
4. “Lovegood”- The Ministry of Magic
3. “The Bravest Man I Ever Knew”- The Ministry of Magic
2. “Potions Yesterday”- The Ministry of Magic
1. “A Phoenix Lament”- The Ministry of Magic
Also, you have HMS Wolfstar’s songs on MP3? I am jealous!
Jun 07, 2010 @ 22:59:07
My total number of wizard rock songs is 1,270. However, some of these are not ones I actually like to listen to, but I keep of a copy of for anthropological purposes. The number of wizard rock songs that I actually like to listen to is 935.
Jun 08, 2010 @ 02:48:58
You can download “Give Me the Moon” for free from this link.
http://www.mediafire.com/?nzdwljytyly
Jun 08, 2010 @ 07:20:10
Oh you WRock! Thank you!!!!
Jun 09, 2010 @ 11:52:46
You aren’t giving up are you? I really have enjoyed this blog, and I can’t wait to see more whenever you get time!!!
Aug 18, 2010 @ 20:53:55
Where do you download all of these songs? i can’t find them anywhere!
Oct 02, 2010 @ 23:54:41
Wow I’m honored to be on any list but especially as a number #1. I love the original song that I was allowed to remix. I wanted to make it Hip-Hop but wanted to keep it simple and sparse and haunting at the same time.
Nov 20, 2010 @ 16:18:32
Just wanted to thank you for your awesome blog and posts. I used a couple quotes from your site to remark on a few picks for a “best of” compilation on Wizard Rock as part of an ongoing project to highlight of ALL music genres. Without yours and other blogs it would have been much harder to know what to highlight but hopefully my write-up. Hopefully you and users will agree with most of my picks and it shows both a chronological unfolding AND the best artists on which to be familiar with.
http://rateyourmusic.com/list/TheScientist/rym_ultimate_box_set__wizard_rock__wrock_
Nov 21, 2010 @ 00:19:57
To be honest, I thought you might be a spambot at first, but I checked it out, and I really liked the list, especially since you’re essentially muggle, or at least that’s what I took from the list – cuz at the end you talked about how you basically dove into wizard rock for four days, and got the scoop. I think it’s really cool what you’re doing, and I’m flattered that anyone would quote me!
Nov 23, 2010 @ 08:25:51
Thanks man. Appreciate the shout back. I’m used to spambots at my assorted blogs so glad you took the time to check out the list and glad you liked it. Yeah its a fun project and i generally “discover” (ie investigate) new genres every week (or get better aquainted with ones i know) through thorough looks and then complete an elaborate mixtape and my write up on all the essential artists/releases for each a few weeks later. Wizard rock I heard being name checked awhile back but never heard more on so I’m REALLY glad I checked it out as its really its own thriving microverse and some great tunes. I can’t believe how well organized all the wrockers are when there’s so many genres that are just flashes in the pan and die when the “coolness” factor dies. Having it lie just below the surface means that you guys get to ignore all the hipster drama (a very good thing). Anyway thanks for the blog and your devotion to the music as it made things very easy to investigate the best of the best.
PS If you ever want to register a rym account and rate/review any of the releases there we could use some wrockers on the site. I added about 1/2 of the artists and releases there just so i could add them to my list and I’d love for them to get some sort of fan representation there. Anyways thanks a lot.
Feb 05, 2011 @ 09:46:49
Oh my Goddess, “Wizard” Rock! I find this soooo funny! If you guys want to hear REAL Witch (Pagan) rock search Inkubus Sukkubus. If you like these, you’ll like Inkubus Sukkubus.
Sep 14, 2011 @ 21:38:38
i’m having so much trouble trying to download music from the mudbloods! where did you find it??
Sep 17, 2011 @ 00:33:40
I bought a subscription to the 2008 EP of the Month Club. There’s some of their stuff on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/the-mudbloods/id267268470
Also, there’s this Mudbloods tribute album, which you can listen to for free, cuz, hey, Bandcamp, and yeah, it’s pretty ill: http://themudbloodstribute.bandcamp.com/
Of course, unless by “download” you meant “for free”, in which case, I’m sure there’s files out there somewhere you can access, but I’m not going to help you with that. If you like someone’s music, maybe consider paying for it?
Dec 04, 2011 @ 14:10:27
This is awesome! One question, though: where did you get the “acoustic” Remus Lupins songs? I love Alex’s music and I love acoustic stuff, but I can’t find alternate versions of any of those songs on itunes.
Thanks!
Dec 05, 2011 @ 19:15:00
Alex released some EPs way back in the day, 2006-ish, but only released physical versions, and never through iTunes or anything, so that’s what I have. If you want more information, though, you should ask @BradAusrotas on twitter, he’s more knowledgeable about the intricacies of TRL’s discography than I.
Dec 05, 2011 @ 19:18:55
Thanks for the info
Feb 21, 2013 @ 17:35:51
I am surprised as Zoe that those two songs are there. She’s definitely my favourite wizard rock band, but those two are far from my favourite songs by her. Admittedly, what she said about her Snape songs is true for me too; I adore songs like Stronger Every Day and Dreams of What Might Have Been. But I also love Remus Lupin songs, and especially her Peter Pettigrew songs from Up To No Good.
So, this is an interesting idea. I’ll share my top 25 with you:
25. My Precious – MC Kreacher
24. Black At Heart – MC Kreacher
23. House Elf For Life – MC Kreacher
22. I Wanna Be A Wizard – Danny Dementor
21. Together Til The End – Split Seven Ways
20. Spattergroit – The Parselmouths
19. Conviction – Split Seven Ways
18. Every Star In The Sky – Split Seven Ways
17. Done In By Curtains – Split Seven Ways
16. Death – Danny Dementor
15. Hand On My Heart – Split Seven Ways
14. Survivor – Danny Dementor
13. We Are Wizards – MC Kreacher
12. Up To No Good – Split Seven Ways
11. Big Bad World – Split Seven Ways
10. Slytherin Don’t Dance – The Remus Lupins
9. Fight To The End – Danny Dementor
8. Fire and Water – Split Seven Ways
7. So Sweet – Split Seven Ways
6. The Forest Again – Split Seven Ways
5. Right Hand Man – Split Seven Ways
4. The Day I Met A Snake – The Parselmouths
3. It’s Real For Us – Split Seven Ways
2. Where You Belong – Split Seven Ways
1. My Dad is Rich On A Boat – Swish and Flick
I kind of feel obnoxious with how much Split Seven Ways I listen to. I really am in my own little world with these bands, aren’t I?
Oh well. Sorry my list is so boring…