Catching Up & Keeping Up

Time seems to have come at a premium of late, so these entries become more comprehensive as they arrive more sporadically.

There's a lot to squeeze in in so little time, and while many a decade-end list descends, here I am still lurking in the depths of the blogosphere relaying my thoughts to all & onedry...

So we started with an attempt to write an entry per album, then it became 4 albums per entry. Now, it's any number of albums I can squeeze in covering broadly, something of a genre..

So, as I belatedly left Britpop behind to delve into more Americana towards the end of the 90's, this last decade has provided me with numerous highlights of the kind...








Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Bound to crop up on many a list. A landmark album for band and industry, famously paid for twice over by the Warner Group. If this isn't album of the decade, film of the decade is it's acompaniment, "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart". Especially so with all the extras on the two-disc edition.

Elvis Perkins In Dearland - Elvis Perkins In Dearland
First album by Elvis Perkins was a stripped back morbid affair. And brilliant for it. When touring that record though, Perkins found his band 'Dearland' and transformed a lot of those songs into something new. This record then followed, the first of hopefully many with 'Dearland'. Still featuring some deep & dark lyrics, it's an upbeat and more optimistic record thanks to the joyous sound of the band around him.

Band Of Horses - Everything All The Time
When working in Amsterdam, I had one CD with me for one week where my hard drive went bust. It was an Uncut compilation featuring 'The Funeral' and I had no choice but to use that for my aural pleasure. After about 3 days, I found myself returning to 'The Funeral' on repeat. Went home, found the album and that was that, a new band to love.

The Felice Brothers - The Felice Brothers
Which album to choose from the Felice family? All have their own merits and at times have sat atop my list of favourites, but the second takes the title. Ploughing a more barroom atmosphere (as opposed to the bottom of the garden, shed atmosphere of Tonight At The Arizona) and at times New Orleans sound, this album initially took me by surprise and still floors me today.



The Decemberists - Picaresque
Always takes me back to a flat in Holloway where 'Mariner's Revenge Song' was first played to me. Then 'Eli The Barrow Boy'. Much like Band Of Horses, went home, found album and never looked back. Subsequent works have been just as impressive but this one remains my favourite, mainly for the aforementioned songs.

Whiskeytown - Pneumonia
Although recorded before Heartbreaker in 1999, it wasn't released until 2001 and is the sound of a band (or duo & alumni) having fun creating their best work as a fine swansong for the much-revered, ever-changing band, headed up by Ryan Adams & Caitlin Cary.

The Tailors - Come Dig Me Up
Out as recently as last week, nothing's too late to be a contender. Move over Uncut, Mojo, et al...I'll bet this one don't make your list! 'Wakey Wakey' was a fine debut & contender from a band I've admired from afar for almost the decade as it spans. More recently I've become reacquainted and was dumbfounded by the depth of this record, encapsulating a whole series of moods, always leaving you smiling.

Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker
Could have plumped for any one of at least 4 albums (other contenders being (Gold, Love Is Hell, Cold Roses & Jacksonville City Nights) but eventually settled on this because it led me to so much more & my record collection wouldn't be half as full had I not paid attention. Plus, any record featuring Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings has to be a winner right?








The Gin Club - Junk
An Australian band I'll plead dumb ignorance on. I know very little about this bunch, other than me dad came back from their land with 'Virginbus Puerisque'. I quite liked it but never followed up. He did though, and subsequently presented me with this. A double album with rarely a duff moment. Brilliant.

Frontier Ruckus - The Orion Songbook
One of the best gigs I've seen this year. Absolutely phenomenal band from the other side of the Atlantic, replete with bowed saw & banjo amongst a myriad of other instruments to back up the tales that support this album. And the best album packaging bar none this year (mighta been last actually, but I only bought it this year). Great artwork & pullouts, the vinyl comes complete with free EP included and credited in the same gatefold. A more bluegrass and rawer Fleet Foxes, therefore better...

Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
...not that there's owt wrong with Fleet Foxes of course. Perfect harmonies and acoustic guitars without being too twee. Harks back to the likes of Crobsy, Stills, Nash & Young without falling into the trap of being hamfisted or ripping them off.


That's about as much as I can write, or expect anyone to digest, for now. More to come in 'x' days, featuring Calexico, Gillian Welch, The Jayhawks, Jesse Malin, Laura Cantrell, My Morning Jacket, Bright Eyes, Two Gallants, Cat Power and maybe more.

Next Four

So last time I wrote I was acknowledging my surprise agreement with some of the NME's list. We'll address that another time though, because of late, the following albums have garnered my attention.








The Black Keys - Rubber Factory
Heartily recommended by friends, "The Big Come Up" & "Thickfreakness" had already endeared me to The Black Keys, but "Rubber Factory" transformed me into a 'proper fan' so to speak. Their urgency was complemented by more considered tracks reflected in the two standouts, for me at least, the lazy blues of opener "When The lights Go Out", and the heartbreak lyrics and melody of "The Lengths".

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Howl
Another case of a band really finding themselves on album 3. The debut had hooked me straight away, though follow up "Take Them On, On Your Own" didn't really inspire me to play it beyond it's first week of release. "Howl", however, saw the band strip back, embracing the rawer side of the blues and country that had previously remained hidden behind their wall of sound, and introducing a gospel element from the outset - the a capella intro to "Shuffle Your Feet" setting the scene. While "Still Suspicion Holds You Tight" is occasionally skipped, it's only to reach "Fault Line" & "Promise", the latter beautifully capturing the mood of the record at it's peak.

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
I'm sure I won't be alone in including this. A word of mouth sensation, no doubt aided by it's log cabin creation, it's near on impossible not to be moved by this album. Like many I expect, it was a cursory listen to "Skinny Love" that hooked me. That was followed by "The Wolves" and that was followed by the urge to buy the album. Since then, it's been an addiction, each track having it's day, even now I find it hard to pick a favourite. The lyrics occasionally hidden in Justin Vernon's falsetto, taking on different meanings at different times, sometimes even proving irrelevant when the music moves you. Sad in one monent, defiant, even triumphant, at the next. Pure brilliance.

Grand Drive - True Love & High Adventure
As if to show my record collection does go beyond 'B', we come to this. I used to see Grand Drive posters in our local studio and while knowing little about them, took a chance on this record one day. The opening 3 tracks rival any opening trio I've encountered either before or since, so full of ambition, especially evident upon realisation that this was in effect a debut album (first offering "Road Music" was a compilation of early EPs). The swirling keys, panned mandolin, intricate guitar and most of all, the tight harmonies set the scene and remain almost constant throughout. At a time when I was just being introduced to Americana this album proved pivotal, sending me headlong into the genre, delving into aquaintances & influences.

Predictable? I'll Reconsider

Here it is then, NME's album's of the decade...

1. The Strokes – 'Is This It'
2. The Libertines – 'Up The Bracket'
3. Primal Scream – 'Xtrmntr'
4. Arctic Monkeys – 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'
5. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – 'Fever To Tell'
6. PJ Harvey – 'Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea'
7. Arcade Fire – 'Funeral'
8. Interpol – 'Turn On The Bright Lights'
9. The Streets – 'Original Pirate Material'
10. Radiohead – 'In Rainbows'
11. At The Drive In – 'Relationship Of Command'
12. LCD Soundsystem – 'The Sound Of Silver'
13. The Shins – 'Wincing The Night Away'
14. Radiohead – 'Kid A'
15. Queens Of The Stone Age – 'Songs For The Deaf'
16. The Streets – 'A Grand Don't Come For Free'
17. Sufjan Stevens – 'Illinoise'
18. The White Stripes – 'Elephant'
19. The White Stripes – 'White Blood Cells'
20. Blur – 'Think Tank'
21. The Coral – 'The Coral'
22. Jay-Z – 'The Blueprint'
23. Klaxons – 'Myths Of The Near Future'
24. The Libertines – 'The Libertines'
25. The Rapture – 'Echoes'
26. Dizzee Rascal – 'Boy in Da Corner'
27. Amy Winehouse – 'Back To Black'
28. Johnny Cash – 'Man Comes Around'
29. Super Furry Animals – 'Rings Around The World'
30. Elbow – 'Asleep In The Back'
31. Bright Eyes – 'I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning'
32. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – 'Show Your Bones'
33. Arcade Fire – 'Neon Bible'
34. Grandaddy – 'The Sophtware Slump'
35. Babyshambles – 'Down In Albion'
36. Spirtualized – 'Let it Come Down'
37. The Knife – 'Silent Shout'
38. Bloc Party – 'Silent Alarm'
39. Crystal Castles – 'Crystal Castles'
40. Ryan Adams – 'Gold'
41. Wild Beasts – 'Two Dancers'
42. Vampire Weekend – 'Vampire Weekend'
43. Wilco – 'Yankee Hotel Foxtrot'
44. Outkast – 'Loveboxxx/The Love Below'
45. Avalanches – 'Since I Left You'
46. The Delgados – 'The Great Eastern'
47. Brendan Benson – 'Lapalco'
48. The Walkmen – 'Bows and Arrows'
49. Muse – 'Absolution'
50. MIA – 'Arular'

A fairly predictable list maybe, interspersed with some great surprise choices.

Both Primal Scream and PJ Harvey in the top 10 for starters. Glad to see Grandaddy in there too, and of course Wilco - both fully deserving of a place in anyone's top 50, I didn't expect to see them here. Ryan Adams likewise, though whether they've chosen the right album is debatable.

I'd say, of the 31 that I own from this, nearly half of those would be considered for my own list.

So, that's me agreeing with about 30% of the NME's choices and I can't say I expected it to be that high! Especially when there's nearly 40% of that list I can't pass objective comment on...that said, were both the Yeah yeah Yeah's album's really that good? And Crystal Castles...really?

Still, with this in mind, perhaps it's time to reassess my thoughts on the NME's recent opinions and not be so dismissive in future.

This is me, somewhat backhandedly, eating humble pie.

I Had A Secret Meeting In The Basement Of My Brain

I recall I said I'd be posting every day with my 'best of' entries, and as is apparent, I've patently failed to live up to that commitment.

I'm sure my old school teachers wouldn't be surprised. Always a great talker, never a great writer, always full of excuses...

...this time round though, I forgive myself. And that's all that matters. I spent a great week off last week with my better half and our newborn son.

So in an attempt to play catch up, and upon reflection probably the best way forwards anyway, my posts will become more concise. More list-based with a coupla points, with more reasoned pieces in the new year as I justify my choices.

So, last week, it became apparent that these albums are worthy contenders...



Billy Bragg & Wilco - Mermaid Avenue (Vol. 2)
Narrowly squeezing into the decade, there is always a danger of bias round these parts where Billy Bragg is concerned. However, with Volume 1 having acted as my introdution to Wilco, and having got to know them better by the time this came around, it was their contribution that really made this album for me.

Coldplay - Parachutes
Ambition has since taken Coldplay into other directions, filling stadiums and arenas worldwide, and while I still have a little time for them it tends to be that inquisitive first listen of a new album and that's my fill. Parachutes always has had refular spins though - from seeing them perform as a two piece in a tent in Pilton in 2000, through to headlining Glastonbury in 2002 as this album gave way to the second, I'm not sure I went a few weeks without listening to it.

The National - Alligator
Gripped by a strong performance on Jools Holland, I took a chance on this and it's informed some great stuff since, by The National and a number of their assosicates. 'Lit Up' is instant, while the whole album is filled with enchanting lyrics ('Secret Meeting' informs the title of this post) and captivating, sparring, guitars.

Ben Kweller - On My Way
I'd seen the name around, and my brother had fanzines and badges adorning our pinboard around 'Sha Sha' which I liked but for some reason largely ignored at the time. Something compelled me to buy 'On My Way' on it's release date though, and it's since driven a completists attitude to Ben Kweller. Ethan Johns production and the live feel to the record demand attention and it contains a bit of everything, from the Kinks-y garage rock of 'Ann Disaster' to the stripped back compelling title track.

Doves - The Last Broadcast

Rising, if I remember rightly, around the same time as Elbow, and hailing from just up the road, Doves have provided 4 of my favourite albums this last ten years, but it's still 'The Last Broadcast' that I return to more than the others.

Having cemented early promise with their debut, I recall waiting impatiently for the follow up. Lead single 'There Goes The Fear' was a top 3 hit for the band and propelled them into a nation's consciousness with 'Words' providing Match Of The Day backing, and 'Pounding' proving another strong single.

The live shows around this time were also something to behold, with the band embracing their earlier days as 'Sub Sub', I remember going crazy at The Forum when they launched into 'Space Face' and this amongst other was documented on the brilliant 'Where We're Calling From' DVD, packaged alongside a host of extras and hidden features.

The album itself is packed with it's own gems - 'Satellites' still being the standout for me, though I feel churlish picking favourites from such a great bunch. In an age of 'shufflers', myself included, this is an album I continue to listen to from start to finish, waiting excitedly for the next gem.

Lisztomania

The time has come where you start to see everyone's "end of year" lists, from the pages of NME, Mojo, Uncut, Rolling Stone et al, to the outer regions of t'internet such us here.

This year also co-inciding with the end of the decade, it's a good time for everyone to go list crazy.

Best songs, best albums, best artists, of the year, of the decade, etc.

All will differ, as they should. Many will draw praise & criticism, some in equal measure.

As is my nature, I'm gonna take a random approach to this list business, posting daily(ish) my thoughts on whatever occupies my mind as I ponder the year(s) gone by.

Tempting as it is, I can't just sit here and say "right, Heartbreaker was the best album of the decade" and list all those that sit behind it. These things take time & thought, so I'm hoping my random approach will lead to some comprehensive and well considered list come year end & the start of the next.

So, without further a-do, I'll start here...

Elbow - Asleep In The Back



The title track, originally left off the brilliant debut album, first appeared as a standalone single (well, a double-A with 'Coming Second' off the same album), and blew me away.

My first experience of Elbow was 'Any Day Now' late night on Xfm, which pricked my ears enough to recall it when 'Red' later surfaced. A further dalliance with the album 'Asleep In The Back' (which deservedly gets the 'deluxe' treatment in time for Xmas) confirmed my thoughts on this special band.

'Scattered Black & Whites' had demonstrated a similar sonic awareness, and to follow the album with this single was a masterstroke. It's lyrical sparseness & simplicity ("all the things I never talk about are spilling with the gin") complementing the delicate sounds that support it, it remains perfect to these ears.

Elbow have of course risen to greater heights since, and have provided more heartstopping moments over the last 7 / 8 years, but this track remains at the top for me.

All You Fascists Bound To Lose

I don't pretend to be an expert in politics, and am rarely one to preach, but I have been raised well enough to know fascism when I see it.

That said, Thursday's Question Time, whilst being quite entertaining at times, was largely a waste of time in my opinion. Or wasted opportunity would perhaps be a better representation. It was too easy to sit and gang up on Nick Griffin, and with the majority of the crowd behind them I thought the panel lost focus trying to score points off eachother, especially on the subject of immigration which is a key subject in the BNP's rise into the mainstream. While Griffin didn't offer anything of particular value to the argument, the petty squabbling between the other politicians, I suspect, will have been what stuck in the minds of his sympathisers.

Griffin squirmed and dropped himself in it a couple of times as we'd hoped / expected (none more so than the darkly comical defence of David Duke as a member of an "almost totally non-violent" faction of the KKK). He was also cut off far too often though and while I doubt he'll have gained support from last night's showing, I don't think enough was made of the opportunity to deprive him of any of his current support, or that of the disillusioned that voted him in as 'the only other option'.

I won't go on, this isn't a political blog, and there's those a lot more knowledgable and eloquent than myself to take care of such matters. Music, protest & politics however have gone hand in hand for years, hence today's playlist...

Protest & Politics - Download


Manu Chao Politik Kills
The Impressions Choice Of Colours
Toots & The Maytals Revolution
Neil Young Southern Man
Ryan Adams Political Scientist
Jackson Browne Lives In The Balance
Tracy Chapman Across The Lines
Bright Eyes When The President Talks To God
Bob Dylan Masters Of War
Woody Guthrie This Land Is Your Land
Arlo Guthrie & Pete Seeger Draft Dodger Rag
Bruce Springsteen The Promised Land
Rory McLeod Stop The Apartheid Fascists
The Clash White Riot
Billy Bragg & Wilco All You Fascists
Ian Brown So Many Soldiers


PS - Re: 'The only other option'...there is an alternative. Spoil your paper, it'll say a lot more about what you think of matters.

Friday's Here

So, having dragged its heals like this second post, Friday has come and gone in the blink of an eye.

Probably not helped by a boring international break in the football, mind. I mean, I hate international breaks at the best of times, but really, this one was one of the most banal...Wales already well & truly out of the reckoning (I still blame this for everything that's happened, or not, in the last 15 years), and all other British fates decided, even the Uruguay - Argentina game that was meant to cure such boredom descended into anti-climax.

Here's to the return of proper football tomorrow!

Another Jools Holland show is upon us shortly and I shall be tuning in reasonably excitedly for the first time in a while. It's certainly been a lot more mainstream this series - you might say it's been headed in that direction for some time but, to my mind at least, it has always maintained credibility. However, this series has been a disappointment on the whole and, really, did we need Mika and Shakira on the same show the other week? Both performing 3 tracks each when The Duke & The King were sat to one side patiently awaiting the opportunity to air just the one?

Still, there should hopefully be less 'make the tea / get the beers in' moments tonight, what with Seasick Steve, Devendra Banhart & Jimmy Ruffin all present.

Anyway, rants over, I leave you with a quick, simple, weekend themed playlist. Clocking in at just under an hour, it's actually quite easy going, so ease your way in or out with this one :)

Easy Weekend - Download

Bonnie "Prince" Billy Big Friday
Doves Friday's Dust
Tom Waits (Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night
Built To Spill Saturday
The Cure Friday I'm in Love
Bob Dylan One More Weekend
Sam Cooke Another Saturday Night
Paul Weller Friday Street
The Small Faces Lazy Sunday
Blur Sunday Sunday
Neil Young Out On The Weekend
Gary Louris She Only Calls Me On Sundays
Nick Drake Saturday Sun
The Velvet Underground Sunday Morning
Josh Rouse Saturday
Sunhouse Crazy On The Weekend
J.J. Cale Blue Sunday
John Martyn Sunday's Child

Bon weekend!

So, I setup a blog...

...about 2 years or so ago, it would seem. Not that I knew it at the time.

It was probably because I wanted to enforce my opinion on someone and respond to a post in their own blog.

So, this account has lay dormant since and only came to my attention again the other day.

Everyone has a blog these days don't they?

So, why not do the same myself thought I. If anything, I'm so forgetful, that it'd be nice for my own benefit if noone else's to house some thoughts somewhere.

Music being my saviour (c. Jeff Tweedy), I've decided to do so in the form of playlists.

So, alongside ramblings, you will see mixtapes. If I could present them on a C90 then I would, however it seems today such mixes are presented in the form of a playlist.

Even if you, whoever the illusive 'you' may be, never indulge in this blog or these playlists, then I suspect one day I may return to recount my thoughts.

So, in an attempt to close this opening ramble without self promotion [ and failing, ahem, click to download ;) ], and with all sorts of options to look into legally and aesthetically on how to present such thoughts and playlists, let me point you in the direction of a recent acquaintance.

Benjamin Folke Thomas' songs are streaming legally over here - tie me up next time if I go

A talent to be reckoned with, his live show is something to behold, and with a debut single due in the not too distant future, I'm sure I'll be writing more about Ben in due course.