LIST 69 - 30/09/11

Hello again,

A general mixture for you again this week, including what must be the best ever stab at marrying doo-wop and shoegaze (The Louche FC); the engine room of New Order reimagined in spooky, sparse, acid splashes (Gillian and Stephen); a fantastically creepy track from the godmother of Welsh indie that I've somehow managed to overlook for nearly two years (Annalogue); and a reminder that the finest Nottingham band ever to walk the Earth isn't, wasn't and ain't ever gonna be any of these mentioned in the Guardian's article on the city's music scene this week (The Melons).

The joy of the week's latest musical discoveries has, however, been overshadowed markedly by the discovery today that Peter Sykes, guitarist with This Many Boyfriends, died of a brain haemorrhage earlier in the week. Upwardly mobile following a couple of great singles in recent months (of which "Young Lovers Go Pop!" concludes this List in Peter's memory) and one of the star turns of Indietracks 2010, the band will doubtlessly be much the poorer without him as member and friend. That Music List offers its unreserved condolences to Peter's family and friends.

J x



PAPA TOPO – La Chica Vampira (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVw8Y_t9QuE&ob=av3n

ALCIAN BLUE – Frozen Sleep (2006)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsSWuTtntdQ

DARREN HANLON – I Waited for the 17 (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ktXU7tYsvk

ANNALOGUE – Tony Wilson (2009)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfJrPphAkfw

THE LOUCHE FC – Only in a Dream (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOMSPdGvYmI

ACID HOUSE KINGS – Under Water (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6GzGpgaVrs

THE RETROSPECTIVES – It’s All Mine (2010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DChQj49E33E

I’M BEING GOOD – Thaddeus, Mask Of Thaddeus (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhKKhXYvwnI

I’M BEING GOOD – Flat Response (1994)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVH3K_JVb4Q

SCROOBIUS PIP – Let Em Come (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ8TzuqpSQs

LONEY, DEAR – My Heart (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpPOynTcFuo

THE MELONS – Fast Lane (1997)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3ErDg_iyWo

LYKKE LI – I Follow Rivers (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZYbEL06lEU

DUTCH UNCLES – Cadenza (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMti9fN0VBQ

TENDER TRAP – Dansette Dansette (live at Indietracks) (2010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XqeOBPaKE8

GILLIAN AND STEPHEN – FF (Gabe Remix) (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfS64He49jk

THIS MANY BOYFRIENDS – Young Lovers Go Pop! (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZdPu9fnvkE

LIST 68 - 23/09/11 (a farewell to R.E.M.)

So that's that, then - Buck, Mills and Stipe (and up to a point Berry) are finally calling it a day after an impressive (if you like longevity) 31 years and 15 albums together, and that seemed as good a reason as any to challenge myself to compile a List which wasn't simply just Shiny Happy People and the other best-known hits. Indeed, fewer than half the tracks ultimately chosen even went top 40 in the UK.

Although I'd stop short of the assertion from Stewart Lee (looking forward to seeing you at the Lexington this Sunday, sir) that; "there's [not] anyone whose career trajectory has been so disappointing, starting so brilliantly and end[ing] up just so dreadful", it was nevertheless harder to find stuff either of merit or genuine curiosity value from the second half of the act's career than the first. No matter, at least in "Staring Down..." there is an inclusion that is both relatively recent and by the looks of it never to be released in any studio-recorded form.

I'm not entirely content with the final List, as there was no clip of "Chance" (one of the b-sides to "Everybody Hurts", and among my very favourite REM tracks ever) among the usual repositories of choice. The band's unfortunate habit for comedy cover versions is catered for courtesy of their interpretation of "Tom's Diner", though, likewise their penchant for side projects of various shapes and degrees of seriousness.

J x



R.E.M. – It’s The End Of The World As We Know It... (1987)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0GFRcFm-aY&ob=av3e

R.E.M. – Cuyahoga (1986)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APn_r6_VLCo

R.E.M. – At My Most Beautiful (1999)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIXs66BPooY

13111 [Bill Berry] – My Bible is the Latest TV Guide (1989)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEqTAX02tgg

R.E.M. – Near Wild Heaven (1991)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC7er_6dpsI

R.E.M. – Bad Day (2003)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyk-Vdd_Qrk&ob=av2e

R.E.M. – Stand (1988)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKKqLl_ZEEY&ob=av2e

KRISTIN HERSH ft MICHAEL STIPE – Your Ghost (1994)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igPvSBDt43I

R.E.M. – So. Central Rain (1985)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msWi0c4tHV8&ob=av3e

R.E.M. – Überlin (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZITh-XIikgI&ob=av3e

R.E.M. – Tom’s Diner (Live) (1991)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erq_h9fbSws

R.E.M. – Sweetness Follows (1992)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKTIelUzZEM

THE FULL TIME MEN [ft. Peter Buck] – I Got Wheels (1984)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NaK-ZJzxf0

R.E.M. – Crush with Eyeliner (1994)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycvJHQUqU1M&ob=av3e

R.E.M. – Exhuming McCarthy (demo) (1988)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGWT_eMpFBk

R.E.M. – Daysleeper (1998)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUcKeKt8C1k&ob=av3n

HINDU LOVE GODS [Berry, Buck, Mills & Warren Zevon] – Raspberry Beret (1990)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQmz8Cx8pbM

R.E.M. – Radio Free Europe (1981)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac0oaXhz1u8&ob=av3n

R.E.M. - Staring Down the Barrel of the Middle Distance (live premiere at Dublin Olympia) (2007)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUs-Ko-oPKE

R.E.M. – Nightswimming (1993)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahJ6Kh8klM4&ob=av3e

LIST 67 - 16/09/11

Hello again,

Back to a general mix of stuff this week, including something close to the "compare and contrast" feature Annie Nightingale regularly used to run. If Let's Whisper's borrowing of the chorus to The Field Mice's "Willow" for their new single wasn't by design, I'll eat my socks! Either way, it's a lovely track, and a trip to York to see them play with Standard Fare a fortnight hence is already in the diary.

Inclusions of tracks by the recently dearly departed usually concern musicians, but the loss of snooker referee Len Ganley this week just gone absolutely had to be commemorated with an appearance of "his" song here.

Elsewhere, and with the seventh anniversary of his passing not so many weeks away now, I wonder what Peel would have made of "About A Girl", part of an entire Little Roy album comprising roots reggae covers of Nirvana tracks (and this 20 years to the week since "Nevermind" was released, though not all the tracks on Roy's work are from that album). I reckon he'd have bloody loved it. I know I do.

J x



TODDLA T – Take it Back (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAqENlABNQk

HALF MAN HALF BISCUIT – The Len Ganley Stance (1986)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVSd74XdZ_E

I’M FROM BARCELONA – Always Spring (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W0-9ii8ycE

PAISLEY AND CHARLIE – Julia Misbehaves (2010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8HRiigMY9A

ST VINCENT – Cruel (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Itt0rALeHE8&ob=av2e

LIANNE HALL – Telephone in a Foreign City (2010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpjbNqGKS6U

CASSOLETTE – Cars (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU_U1wt3EwY

DAVID WRENCH – A Radical Song (1816 / 2010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CbWtjPHmNM

THE RAPTURE – How Deep is Your Love? (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRSe-V28Mmk

THE RAPTURE – The Chair That Squeaks (1998)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHxnsPsrVSA

LET’S WRESTLE – In Dreams Part II (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6woVBFWrmPU

LET’S WHISPER – All Happy Endings (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWTXPLFxzlI

THE FIELD MICE – Willow (1991)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIJFzQz4Png

AUSTRA – Lose It (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LJtMrhb558

TINARIWEN – Tenere Taqhim Tossam (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOV5jEa-vwc

THE VERY MOST – Patricia (2010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSTV5t8Iyk4

LITTLE ROY – About A Girl (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3mT_haHXRU

DARREN HANLON – The Unmade Bed (2004)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-HEWb0eeRw

LIST 66 - 09/09/11 (Then And Now special)

List regulars will be familiar with the "Then And Now" feature, wherein a recent song by a long-established act is listed alongside something from as far down the other end of their career as possible.

Such was the backlog of "Then And Now" candidates I'd somehow managed to accummulate in recent weeks, it seemed perfectly feasible to devote an entire List to them and them alone. So here it is. Its arrival in the same week as Polly Jean Harvey scooped her second Mercury Music Prize represents a coincidence of timing I'd usually fail miserably to pull off successfully if I'd tried to!

J x



PJ HARVEY – The Words That Maketh Murder (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Va0w5pxFkAM

PJ HARVEY – Rid Of Me (1993)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36G15OR6jvY

THE STREETS – Going Through Hell (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_ulRwXIzbo

THE STREETS – Don’t Mug Yourself (2002)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veAIHDGghP4

THE HIT PARADE – The Boy Who Loves Brighter (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=328IrHZE6zY

THE HIT PARADE- I Get So Sentimental (1987)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjG5TeaHvjY

MOGWAI – Letters to the Metro (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBTax_2Qh10

MOGWAI – Yes! I Am A Long Way From Home (1997)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxZr6u9fT1I

PETE ASTOR – The Perfect Crime (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSxJVOqe7s8

THE LOFT – Up The Hill And Down The Slope (1985)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnJLsP7cHG8

BJORK – Moon (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sWdeMRJIRA

BJORK – Bænin (1977)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXKw3Y1Ie_E

DRUGSTORE – Sweet Chili Girl (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUAgFJL0cMI

DRUGSTORE – Fader (1995)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ9Aoe7i1tA

LADYTRON – Ambulances (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjf7JkQqwfE

LADYTRON – Paco! (2000)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woK8sqt-V5U

LOW – Try To Sleep (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXgc0I0zsYs

LOW – Throw Out The Line (1995)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9j3_z793O8

TODDLA T ft ROOTS MANUVA – Watch Me Dance (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rw9yeS6nqA

ROOTS MANUVA – Witness (2001)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbuSdXKtJX4

LIST 65 - 02/09/11

Hello again,

I'm sure I mourned the passing of Trembling Blue Stars in one preamble last year on That Music List when including "All Our Tomorrows" from their final album. Since then, of course, there has actually been a final EP and a final final EP, too, the latter of which I finally acquired this week just gone.

The collaboration with Robert "Josh" Hampson of Loop, plus the cover of Wire's "Kidney Bingos" starring Caesar from The Wake, are all likely to feature in the coming weeks; but how sad to have to think that after 16 years of perfect releases, TBS contributions to That Music List thereafter will be solely in the plundering-the-archives rather than the new-product sense.

Very much still present as well as past tense are Comet Gain, whose records remain the best ways of guaranteeing that what you're hearing is actually Comet Gain music played by Comet Gain members! That might sound like stating the obvious to most, but those who witnessed their, um, enigmatic appearance at Indietracks three years ago will know that this can occasionally be rather less of a given! Something from the new album, along with a classic from 14 years ago, get an airing here.

Other highlights this week include the first recorded output of 2011 from the likes of Allo Darlin' and Francois & The Atlas Mountains; a double helping of outer space tunes; further evidence of Ladytron's incredibly high stock as a singles band; and something very pleasing involving just two bass guitars and a load of dogs. Really really.

J x



DETOX CUTE & THE BEAUTY JUNKIES – Billy Liar (2009)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAJydYq8Ylk

KIDS – Summer Frights (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1llww4xTHsE

DINOSAURS ARE STILL ALIVE – Hive Mind (2010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3DCFnsoOU4

ALLO DARLIN’ – Darren (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EmpYVA7WHE

THE FOLK IMPLOSION – Natural One (1995)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYerwwTV5qc

GOLD-BEARS – So Natural (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31mGXf6uI5Y

FRÀNÇOIS & THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS – Piscine (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdxVMJ9UxnM

C*NT SPARRER – Because You’re Young (2010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIWBwEqBPZQ

LADYTRON – White Elephant (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cKEy0BFfQw

COMET GAIN – Ballad Of Frankie Machine (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO9vZ26uCrQ

COMET GAIN – Strength (1997)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU7m6J9Nve0

DOS – Number Eight (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFrgJBCtCmE

ULRICH SCHNAUSS & JONAS MUNK – Chasing Rainbows (2010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc0r3LewPZU

FITNESS FOREVER – Palma De Mallorca (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJgXk_W659Q

EVANS THE DEATH – Threads (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cdk9x3CEca4

KAKI KING – Falling Day (2010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSo995g2kjc

TREMBLING BLUE STARS – Sunrise on Mars (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=9AljtMzdqLE

STEREOLAB – Sun Demon (2010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXq9-8hI2zw

THE HOBBES FANCLUB – The Boy from Outer Space (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyTnoTEIgTM

THE WEDDING PRESENT – The Queen of Outer Space (1992)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsOAf_5XSaI

NIKI & THE DOVE – The Fox (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUhOgSZHv9o

THE SCHOOL – I Love Everything (2010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3pM63IKfDY&ob=av2e