Mostly harmless
Here are 25 tracks I have enjoyed this year so far. I've put them in order, but the order's not that relevant really. My iPod died about a month ago (battery finally stopped recharging - I bought it in 2003), and I finally got round to taking it to the Apple Shop on Regent Street - to the "Genius Bar", naturally, and the deal there is good. It's out of warranty, so they offer to replace it, with a new battery, for 49 quid. Anyway, having learned that I can live without one, I'm happy enough to have my iPod back, hence the renewed listmaking vigour:
1 Foundations Kate Nash (Made Of Bricks)
2 Golden Skans The Klaxons (Myths Of The Near Future)
3 History Song The Good, The Bad & The Queen (The Good, The Bad & The Queen)
4 Flouorescent Adolescent Arctic Monkeys (Favourite Worst Nightmare)
5 No Cars Go Arcade Fire (Neon Bible)
6 The Creeps Camille Jones vs Fedde LeGrand (single)
7 Grand Canyon Tracey Thorn (Out Of The Woods)
8 Babylon's Burning The Ghetto Lethal Bizzle (Back To Bizznizz)
9 Boxing Champ Kaiser Chiefs (Yours Truly, Angry Mob)
10 Go Tell The Women Grinderman (Grinderman)
11 Men's Needs The Cribs (Men's Needs, Women's Needs)
12 Dream Of Infinity Shitdisco (Kingdom Of Fear)
13 The Usher The Fall (Reformation Post TLC)
14 My Moon My Man Feist (The Reminder)
15 Green Fields The Good, The Bad & The Queen (The Good, The Bad & The Queen)
16 Free Satpal Ram (Russell Simmons Remix) Asian Dub Foundation (Time Freeze: 1995/2007)
17 Ocean Of Noise Arcade Fire (Neon Bible)
18 On Call Kings Of Leon (Because Of The Times)
19 Wide Awake The Twang (Love It When I Feel Like This) - NB: I hate this album, and I think I pretty much can't stand the band, but I can't help but love this track, and that's what overcoming prejudice is all about. Music transcends such matters
20 Old Yellow Bricks Arctic Monkeys (Favourite Worst Nightmare)
21 Ice Cream New Young Pony Club (single)
22 Police On My Back Lethal Bizzle (Back To Bizznizz)
23 Behave Charlotte Hatherley (The Deep Blue)
24 Morden Good Shoes (Think Before Your Speak)
25 We Danced Together The Rakes (Ten New Messages) - NB: hugely disappointing second album, but I like the single
posted by Andrew Collins @ 9:53 AM
16 Comments
Contact
Andrew at
16 Comments:
Good to see Ice Cream on there. My 16 year old brother got me into NYPC. If you've not seen them live yet you absolutely have to go. They're great.
And the keyboard player is hot too!
Tristan - I saw them at Lovebox. They were the only good thing I saw that whole confounded day...
One of the best bands I've seen live in ages. Quite a commercial act too, some might say, so perhaps I am not so snobbish as I seem.
The Good The Bad etc... I thoroughly disliked their album the first time round but it's one of the biggest growers I've ever encountered. Just brilliant.
You'll soon have no posts left, if you keep taking them down at this rate!
Good to see Arcade Fire featured. Have you got the version of "No Gars Go" on their "The Arcade Fire" EP?
I'm pleasantly suprised that some of the artists you feature in your list also feature in my favourite singles of the year to date (for the record, in alphabetical order:
Brett Anderson: 'Love Is Dead' (so under rated, and very brave and different-sounding to what's out there currently);
Arcade Fire: 'No Cars Go' (I adore the drama of this track; shades of U2 portentousness usually, and that is a turn off when it comes to Arcade Fire);
Asobi Seksu: 'Thursday';
Klaxons: 'It's Not Over';
New Young Pony Club: 'The Bomb'(additionally,the Tiga remix of 'Ice Cream' is brilliant).
I might be the only person on the planet who, on hearing the first second or so of No Cars Go, always expects the opening chords of With A Little Luck by Wings to come next. And it might be heresy to say it, but I'm always slightly disappointed too.
I quite like the Kate Nash one now. Didn't at first, but it's a grower for sure.
Nothing wrong with Wings! On the whole I think this has been a good year for new music. I agree with your comments in another post (IIRC) that the current crop of British guitar bands are nothing to write home about but after a really strong start to the year followed by a bit of a dip over Summer the good new releases have picked up again - at least the ones that interest me. I don't have a proper list yet but it would definitely include Arcade Fire, Pop Levi, Euros Childs, Figurines, Robyn, Hello Saferide, Findlay Brown, Field Music, Alphabeat, Black Moth Super Rainbow and Gruff Rhys amongst others. Also Charlotte Hatherley who I'm glad you included. Her album is wonderful.
Like the list Andrew, I wouldn't complain too much if I had that on my NotPod.
Here's my top 50 singles of the year so far, top 10 at the top and then the rest.
1990s - See You At The Lights
Bat For Lashes - What's A Girl To Do
Brakes - Hold Me in The River
Cajun Dance Party - Amylase
Field Music - A House Is Not A Home
Justice - D.A.N.C.E.
Klaxons - Golden Skans
Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position
The Good, The Bad and The Queen - Green Fields
White Stripes - Icky Thump
Annuals - Brother
Arcade Fire - Keep the Car Running
Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent
Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend (Japanese version)
Babyshambles - Delivery
Bjork - Earth Intruders
Bloc Party - I Still Remember
Brakes - Cease And Desist
Cajun Dance Party - The Next Untouchable
Cold War Kids - Hang Me Up To Dry
CSS - Off The Hook
Dan Le Sac Vs. Scroobius Pip - Thou Shalt Always Kill
Grinderman - No Pussy Blues
Gruff Rhys - Grryu Grryu Gryru
Guillemots - Annie, Let’s Not Wait / Take Me Out
Howling Bells - Low Happening
Jarvis Cocker - Don't Let Him Waste Your Time
Justin Timberlake-What Goes Around...
Kings Of Leon - On Call
Klaxons - It's Not Over Yet
The Little Ones - Oh! MJ
The Long Blondes - Giddy Stratospheres
Mamm-Ra - She's Got A New High
Manic Street Preachers ft. Nina Persson - Your Love Alone Is Not Enough
Maximo Park - Girls Who Play Guitars
New Young Pony Club - The Bomb
Noisettes - Sister Rosetta (Capture The Spirit)
Rihanna - Umbrella
Super Furry Animals - Show Your Hand
Take That - Shine
The Aliens - Setting Sun
The Bird And Bee-Again And Again
The Cribs - Men's Needs (esp CSS remix)
The Go! Team - Grip Like a Vice
The Pigeon Detectives - I Found Out
The Rumble Strips - Motorcycle
The Strange Death Of Liberal England - A Day Another Day
The Teenagers - Homecoming
The Twang - Wide Awake
Tiny Dancers - I Will Wait For You
I liked The Living End's new album (Released in Oz over 18 months ago and just released here Kerrang gave it 4 K's out of five)
It's been so long, I can't remember if nux Vomica was released this or last year - but Advice for young mothers to be is pretty great, as is Silverchair's If you keep losing sleep off their new Young Modern album.
Liked listening man by the Bees.
Machine Levine
Good point re: The Twang, was at wireless festival inbetween bands and thought we'd go and laugh at the Twang to pass the time, but I was overcome by their chirpiness, enthusiasm and the crowds reaction. I would actually choose 'either way' as my one Twang song.
Shame about the Rakes LP,they should've put 'all too human 'on it at least
My Fav 25 this year are
1 Precious and Reckless - Great Lakes
2 Smokers outside The Hospital Doors - Editors
3 No cars Go - Arcade Fire
4 Fluorescent Adolescent - Artic Monkeys
5 Smother+ Evil=Hurt - The Kissaway Trail
6 Constellation - Seventeen Evergreen
7 The Crane Wife 3 - The Decemderists
8 Most of What I Know - Richard Swift
9 Farther - Great Lakes
10 Imitosis - Andrew Bird
11 On Call - Kings of Leon
12 Old Man Chicago - Alberta Cross
13 La La song - The Kissaway Trail
14 Fire it Up - Modest Mouse
15 Nobody's Off the Hook - Rufus Wainwright
16 The Moon and the Lunatics - Great Lakes
17 Don't Lose Youself - Laura Veirs
18 Green Gloves - The National
19 I am John - Loney Dear
20 Little Motel - Modest Mouse
21 Slow Show - The National
22 Suburban Knights - Hard-Fi
23 Start Over Again - Indigo Moss
24 Under the Blacklight - Rilo Kiley
25 Tonight the Streets Are Our Own - Richard Hawley
T'pau!
I am mightily impressed by most of the list. And seeing Lethal Bizzle on there was a very pleasant suprise! Can't be bothered to do a list of my own but your top 5 would be in my list if I did one!
What did you find disapointing about The Rakes second album? I don't think it's as good as their first but I still think it's a good album.
Yes, I forgot about 'Don't Lose Yourself' by Laura Veirs ( I even saw her do an in-store in one of the Fopp stores (v.good), and it's a record that sounds great at 6:30 in the mrning).
Re: Kate Nash
1. I have a problem with the lines that hint at domestic violence;
2. I prefer the edited version ('swear' words and one verse left out); it would have been 'way cooler' for the edited version to have been the official version.
There are a couple of Nash songs on Radio David Byrne's September selection. Along with loads of groovy stuff, of course.
September came too late for this thread to reach that many people now, but I think the Radio David Byrne project deserves more exposure.
Post a Comment
<< Home