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http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/ww357/nofancyname/Fredrika%20Stahl/Promo/Norway.png Norway

A
Aase Nordmo Løvberg
Adyta
Aftenlandet
Agnes Buen Garnås
Ai Phoenix
Áigi
Alexandra Bråten
AM and the UV
Andrea Bræin Hovig
Andrea Gjendem Brændvik
Ane Brun
Anette Vedvik
Animal Alpha
Anita Hegerland
Anita Skorgan
Anita Thallaug
Anja Garbarek
Ann Mari Andersen
Anna Valentik
Annbjørg Hætta
Annbjørg Lien
Anne Elisabeth Bollingmo
Anne Gjevang
Anne Grete Preus
Anne Hvidsten
Anne Hytta
Anne Karin Kaasa
Anne Lene Hägglund
Anne Lorentzen
Anne Marie Almedal
Anne Marie Giørtz
Anne Nørdsti
Anne Vada
Anne Valborg
Anne-Karine Strøm
Anne-Lise Berntsen
Anne-Marie Kvien
Anneli Drecker
Annie
Apes & Babes
Astrid Kloster
Attention Now!
Aurora Plastic Monsters

B
Bambee
Beady Belle
Beate Jacobsen
Bel Canto
Benedicte Adrian
Benedicte Brænden
Benedicte Torget
Bente Kahan
Bente Lind
…

While it was a hard year for some in general, in terms of music this year was very interesting indeed. There were some surprising things on the way and others, not so surprising, going on. I found it easy to predict Lady GaGa's success, for example. Pop music needed someone new or at least reinventing old pop "virtues". ;) But then I didn't think I'd ever like her as much as I do now (thanks to The Fame Monster).
The biggest surprise for me was Bat for Lashes. I'd heard about Natasha and her band before but always thought they wouldn't bring anything new to my musical world. How wrong I was... And now Two Suns is one of my favorite albums this year. Sometimes change comes fast.
There were lots of new interesting things in general. It's all in my summary below. I hope your musical year 2009 was as good as mine. :)

A personal summary

Favorite albums of 2009

Tori Amos – Abnormally Attracted To Sin, Midwinter Graces
A Fine Frenzy – Bomb In A Birdcage
Florence + the Machine – Lungs
…

Following up on the earlier journal, Getting Artist Images to Look Their Best, here is a short guide to explain how images (be they square, tall, or wide) that you upload to artist galleries are cropped for eventual use in the library.

I'll use these images (taken from Simone Kopmajer's gallery) as a visual guide to show how your original artist pics will end up looking as library images. It works on the idea that cropping images square or tall - if your original shots allow this - really is the safer option, as they minimize further cropping when your images are processed. Shown below are three sample images, in square, tall, and wide formats, and beside them the actual 126s images used for the library. The translucent red masking shows where image content will be lost (or hidden from view, rather), and the window is what you'll end up with in the library:

http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l450/fmera_photos/Picture1-9.png http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/126s/34206107.png
…

This week's Hypelist of bisa includes her favorite Scandinavian bands. An occasion for me to review whom I like from Scandinavia. Starting with the artists that spontaneously cross my mind, completing the lists looking at the Last.fm tags. My most played and highest rated artists on top, the second half of the lists is mostly unordered cause I cannot decide about an ranking.

Denmark:
Tina Dickow (aka Tina Dico, a five-star artist!)
The Savage Rose (Annisette Koppel)
Catbird (Billie Koppel)
Naja Rosa (Naja Rosa Koppel)
Anna David
The Raveonettes
Blue Foundation
Aqua (Oh, yes! *lol*)
Safri Duo

The danish tag shows some more Danish artists that I like:
Mew (note to myself: I badly need an album of them)
Kashmir

• Finland:
  Nightwish (with Tarja Turunen naturally)
  Jenni Vartiainen
  The Rasmus
  
  I'm still seeking an mp3 of Apocalyptica's phenomenal performance of Nothing Else Matters at the German "ROCK AM RING" festival in 2005.
  
  
• Norway:
  Maria Mena
  Flunk
  …

Sidney Bechet - Summertime

Kari Bremnes - Erindring

Sometimes you need the right tracks backing you on your way through life. Here's my current compilation - not exhaustive, not necessarily abiding:

Andrew Bird
- A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left
- Fake Palindromes

Ane Brun
- My Lover Will Go
- To Let Myself Go

Anouar Brahem
- le voyage de sahar

Bo Kaspers Orkester
- Vi kommer aldrig att dö

Coldplay
- Fix You

deLillos
- Tyve Null Tre
(fading out)

Herr Nilsson
- Falk
- Hochspannungsmasten

Isabelle Huppert
- Message Personel

Jaune Toujours
- Refugies Sans Frontieres

Juli
- Geile Zeit

Kari Bremnes
- Gåte ved gåte
- I dine skap

Minor Majority
- Supergirl
- Wish You'd Hold That Smile

Silbermond
- Durch die Nacht

Sportfreunde Stiller
- Siehst du das genauso?

Thomas D.
- Liebesbrief
- Rückenwind

Tocotronic
- Der schönste Tag in meinem Leben
- Free Hospital

Wir sind Helden
- Darf ich das behalten
- Ein Elefant für dich

Death Cab for Cutie - Rockefeller, 5. februar
Nina Kinert - Mono, 7. februar
Coheed and Cambria - Rockefeller, 14. februar
Seigmen - Rockefeller, 16. februar

The Cardigans - Rockefeller, 7. mars
Håkan Hellström - Rockefeller, 18. mars

Lars Winnerbäck Och Hovet - Rockefeller, 5. april

Belle and Sebastian - Rockefeller, 14. mai

Roger Waters - Norwegian Wood, 14. juni
Turboneger - Norwegian Wood, 16. juni
Kent - Norwegian Wood, 18. juni
Mew - Norwegian Wood, 18. juni
Maria Mena - Norwegian Wood, 18. juni
Minor Majority - Norwegian Wood, 18. juni
Martha Wainwright - Norwegian Wood, 18. juni
TIM - Norwegian Wood, 18. juni

Turboneger - Gjøvik Gård, 14. juli

Beth Hart - Rockefeller, 2. august
The Ark - Betong, 23. august

Ane Brun og Nina Kinert - Gamle Logen, 11. september
Ane Brun og Nina Kinert - Mono, 12. september
Ane Brun og Nina Kinert - Drammens Teater, 13. september
Ane Brun og Nina Kinert - Södra Teatern (Stockholm), 24. september

Fionn Regan - Mono, 4. oktober
…