LIST 183 - 25/12/2015 (an Xmas selection)

Hello again,

One final List for 2015, and I'm pleased to say that despite thinking the other week that I had run out of Xmas-oriented tracks I've been able to compile a seventh festive special after all - the addition of some new arrivals from Helen Love, MJ Hibbett and - latest of all - The Tuts and Colour Me Wednesday certainly aided the cause.  

Two of those named are charity recordings and I have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending you donate to each cause that's set to benefit from them.

It'll be business as usual with List number 184 on New Year's Day, but until then have a very enjoyable holiday season, by whatever name you know it.  I do like Winterval, I must say.  It's playful.

J xx



HELEN LOVE & FRIENDS – The Townhall Band (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlJziVkigJA

EMMY THE GREAT & TIM WHEELER – Zombie Christmas (2011)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb4hlRkDuvg

BRIGHT EYES – Blue Christmas (2002)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=981-rAfPtKo

NAT JOHNSON, KATHERINE JACKSON & HANNAH BROWNE – Christmas Island (2013)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDYnQgVff5U

THE DOLLYROTS – Santa Baby (2009)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQAuNtD9-d8

TIM MINCHIN – White Wine in the Sun (2006)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCNvZqpa-7Q

EVAN YATES – Christmas Time is Here (shoegaze version) (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmxQccAPk4w

THE BLUE MINKIES – Christmas Means Nothing Without Presents (2003)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sZ6Gbeomek

THE NEW MENDICANTS – A Very Sorry Christmas (2013)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_NCgVvQCWs

THE PRIMITIVES – You Trashed My Christmas (2012)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX5N4XBZEA0

THE BELLRAYS – Rocket Ship Santa (1998)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z6K8lXn7As

TREMBLING BLUE STARS - Christmas & Train Trips & Things (2000)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFzOaxptavU

MJ HIBBETT & THE VALIDATORS – Roy Wood in the Blue Note (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YPcsoVV1fc

STAN FREBERG – Green Christmas (1958)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSPGJ5-XAcM

HELLO SAFERIDE – iPod Christmas (2006)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gJ0iqJ3Tuk

THE FUTUREHEADS – Christmas Was Better in the 80s (2010)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHNpS-pnH-M

DAVID FORD – Have Yourself a Bitter Little Christmas (2006)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBnSJ2RQt_g

GRUFF RHYS – Slashed Wrists This Christmas (2011)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S87I-nONUdI

TOM LEHRER – A Christmas Carol (1959)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtZR3lJobjw

THE TUTS & COLOUR ME WEDNESDAY – Christmas Is In The Air / Christmas Without You (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sgLyU9xuXY

LIST 182 - 18/12/2015 (2005 special, part two)

Hello again,

The last one of the week, and the second and final part of the trot through some of my favourite tracks of 2005, including the Boom Bip/Gruff Rhys collaboration which presaged Neon Neon; very early outputs from The Pipettes and Loney, Dear; and a Darren Hanlon track which nicely sets things up ahead of the next List (and probably the last of 2015), which will be the Xmas special a week tomorrow, Xmas Day itself.  'Til then!

J xx



ARCADE FIRE – Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK2IAyCuJ4U

THE FALL – I Can Hear the Grass Grow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGrrxJ2XcDA

ACID HOUSE KINGS – This Heart is a Stone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vIwjaOyZWk

MERCURY REV - Across Yer Ocean
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okjb1ilLask

COMET GAIN – Fists in the Pocket
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz9SszsnNwQ

BOOM BIP ft GRUFF RHYS - Dos and Don'ts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2irZai5Mkw8

DARREN HAYMAN - Caravan Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kZZHLLwcuI

BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH - Rong Radio Station
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3HjMcY50Kc

THE PIPETTES - I Like a Boy in Uniform (School Uniform)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0LjsnPzG_4

LONEY, DEAR - I Fought the Battle of Trinidad and Tobago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA5xX_OfiUE

THE HIT PARADE - Born in St Ives
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5k2EBMNrXM

CHRIS T-T - M1 Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy9OrRqFQNE

THE REAL TUESDAY WELD - At the House of the Clerkenwell Kid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1SE7KdcvRw

THE WEDDING PRESENT - Interstate 5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjNeycs0IjI

TREMBLING BLUE STARS - Wounded Light
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZyio-rL0zU

TEENAGE FANCLUB - It's All In My Mind
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwJ8oui029w

PATRICK WOLF - Wind in the Wires
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CppK9ZfE-cI

DARREN HANLON - Spend Christmas Day with Me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuDSW0NMyaU

LIST 181 - 17/12/2015 (1995 special, part three)

Hello there,

Part three from (just about) 20 years ago this time, inclusive of a track from the last ever singles release on Sarah Records; the final sighting of Kitchens Of Distinction for over a decade and a half; contrariwise very early sightings of The Lucksmiths and The Make-Up; Dean Wareham and Laetitia Sadier practically purring in tandem en français; and Sidi Bou Said's couldn't-fail-and-didn't teaming up with Cardiacs genius Tim Smith. Lots for you to enjoy, hopefully,

J xx



BEN FOLDS FIVE - Underground
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqADHn7SWlA

BLUEBOY – Toulouse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqmvmZVdQ_0

KITCHENS OF DISTINCTION - Feel My Genie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQxGR0xEVfk

NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS & PJ HARVEY – Henry Lee
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHdNCHomHlU

COMET GAIN – Just Fourteen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM3GnsyVG_k

MAN OR ASTRO-MAN? - Put Your Fingers in the Socket
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IduKgsAPF-Y

McALMONT AND BUTLER - Yes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJSaRw1vjxM

NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL - Avery Island / April 1st
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffOXq_ob7Qs

THE LUCKSMITHS - Jewel Thieves
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzIYeiWjX1c

THE CAT’S MIAOW – I Fall to Pieces
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8Lfum1Hn4M

THE MAKE-UP - We're Having a Baby
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1mhV7WBygk

LOW - Shame
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvufaL5B_iM

JULIAN COPE – By the Light of the Silbury Moon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAOBHFC5Azg

SAINT ETIENNE - He's on the Phone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ddr9EpezslU

ROGER QUIGLEY - A Kind of Loving
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-uqWKQAv5c

THE MAGNETIC FIELDS - The Village in the Morning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxVuIZj145Y

SIDI BOU SAID - Ode to Drink
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1sVJ1SqD40

LUNA - Bonnie and Clyde
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXeCLVsA5PQ

SPARE SNARE - Bugs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj-2y5MmYwo

SMOG - Bathysphere
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IRwfeo8hoQ

LIST 180 - 16/12/2015 (2005 special, part one)

Hello there,

And so with 1995 already extensively mined (think I'll be able to squeeze out one more selection from that year, though), thoughts turn to a decade ago.

It was an odd year for me in terms of discovering that much in the way of brand new music, being the first full year since John Peel's passing.  Would the music die with him?  Obviously not, no, though with the most major means for finding interesting new stuff no longer around it felt a little bit more of a struggle. 

No matter - some of his best beloved acts continued to produce great material in his memory, with Half Man Half Biscuit, Laura Cantrell, Camera Obscura and Amsterdam four such bands included here.

An early sighting in this List also of Au Revoir Simone; I'm not sure the first album had even come out by this stage.

J xx



SIGUR ROS – Glósóli
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz8iEJeh26E

ROBERT LIPPOK & BARBARA MORGENSTERN – Gammelpop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCnQkXBY-8c

HALF MAN HALF BISCUIT – Depressed Beyond Tablets
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxs3hG6qVSs

AU REVOIR SIMONE – Hurricanes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt_BbGitGeM

LAURA CANTRELL – Bees
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W06xaUeK-Ck

TUNNG – People Folk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ9ucVMocfM

DEINE LAKAIEN – Over and Done
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yoBUWDZzVY

HTRK – Hate Rock Trio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvOqUBkyLfA

GRAVENHURST – The Velvet Cell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUPqwWG8Zes

BROADCAST – Michael A Grammar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzS9ybPMztY

CAMERA OBSCURA – I Love My Jean
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0__sO7k5OH0

AMSTERDAM – Takin’ on the World
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiyWnyNO_-s

LADYTRON – Sugar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLvQJILre6U

THE CLIENTELE – Since K Got Over Me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cYNj2SeVdA

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE – Grass
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqvBoFpgXQA

HELEN LOVE - Long Hot Summer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9BSR--5RYw

BOARDS OF CANADA – Oscar See Through Red Eye
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsjs6Ae2Fp0

THE HOUSE OF LOVE - Love You Too Much
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFY4Lf6G8zg

OF MONTREAL - Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8cCPH1qnYI

LIST 179 - 15/12/2015 (shares name with... part two)

Hello again,

Following on from yesterday's List, here's another selection of tracks that share their name - in many cases deliberately - with some famous soul or others. 

Everything covered from teen idols to serial killers to cyclists to American presidents to astronauts to composers to feuding popstars to journeyman footballers, I think!

J xx




THE WENDY DARLINGS – Bobby Darin (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8pPa5fFhcE

HALF MAN HALF BISCUIT – The Ballad of Climie Fisher (2000)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr8D1XScCgM

MODESTY BLAISE - Carol Mountain (2001)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChwenPeshR8

LARD - Sylvestre Matuschka (1990)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZqlT9VJ9ok

TRAMWAY - Gianni Bugno Wheels (1992)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXyFiq6ewRU

FELT – Penelope Tree (1983)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4LP_xfNfBc

FUNNY VON DANNEN – Nana Mouskouri (1995)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-7NZDhVUdQ

LONELY TOURIST – The Ballad of Paul Tierney (2012)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljTa3JGrbf0

NOVA MOB – Wernher von Braun (1991)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqV5EdpPX54

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS – James K Polk (1990/1996)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StTiCU_fqCg

GORKY’S ZYGOTIC MYNCI – Kevin Ayers (1994)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_9oShCTRq8

FAMILY FODDER – Debbie Harry (1980)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01dvGeDSWE8

UNREST – Winona Ryder (1993)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31mq-NH51xE

PETE GREEN – The Ballad of Phil Jeavons (2007)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULUcOfcC27w

THE SHAMEN – Christopher Mayhew Says (1987)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZhxP2YXe6M

CARDIACS - Gina Lollabrigida (1984)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XNf-Kq7zu8

THE HAYWAINS – Dusty Springfield (1991)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx4NEGv5vy0

PIXIES - Alec Eiffel (1991)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf20Effo6ds

JULIAN COPE - Bill Drummond Said (1984)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcbM77qCu3o

BILL DRUMMOND - Julian Cope is Dead (1986)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuDmjZfa_Z0

SUPERCUTE - Jamie Theakston (1998)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1q-QnS7cCw

HEFNER - Alan Bean (2001)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipEduVIn_JY

SAINT ETIENNE – Conchita Martinez (1993)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg0V9AxZalY

KRAFTWERK - Franz Schubert (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJqnc_0mZmA

LIST 178 - 14/12/2015 (shares name with... part one)

Hello again,

This week's Lists start with a bit of whimsical fun - every song on here, intentionally or not, shares its name with a famous real person.

Apart from the Monkey Swallows The Universe one, that is, which shares its name with a famous real horse.

See how many you know.

J xx



CHARLOTTE HATHERLEY – Kim Wilde (2004)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4fMdG5D18o

TREMBLING BLUE STARS – Helen Reddy (2004)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raE70KKY_vM

THE BRILLIANT CORNERS – Brian Rix (1987)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_boOIcRQ3E

THE HUMAN LEAGUE – Tom Baker (1980)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHJXuK4knlA

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN – Roy Walker (2003)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jHSlxTGtSY

DANIEL AAND NORBERT DENTRESSANGLE – Bobby McFerrin (2012)
http://vimeo.com/48547830

REM – Lightnin’ Hopkins (demo) (1988)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNsnepfIlHo

GORKY’S ZYGOTIC MYNCI – Sally Webster (1993)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szvUwooG1Ag

THE THYME MACHINE – Jimmy Glass (2014)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uURN7BVzTEY

FREAKY REALISTIC – Leonard Nimoy (1993)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYgH5awUbac

POP WILL EAT ITSELF - Harry Dean Stanton (1992)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpZy8z_Fkh4

McCARTHY – Frans Hals (1987)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxWb9FAN078

MONKEY SWALLOWS THE UNIVERSE – Little Polveir (2007)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L040DEFXZ9U

MONTY PYTHON – Oliver Cromwell (19xx)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwiztVCnjY0

THE FRENCH – Wu-Tang Clan (2003)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSTuiKkxcZE

TELEX – Spike Jones (1986)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOiw1R3I9Dg

THE FAMILY CAT – Tom Verlaine (1989)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c-SLr9Z-TE

SILVERFISH – Dolly Parton (1989)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpxFXz08bX0

KINGS HAVE LONG ARMS – Lisa Riley (2006)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip52qy4x0fQ

LIST 177 - 11/12/2015 (1995 special, part two)

Hello again,

Part two of the revisiting of (just about) 20 years ago this time, including very early sightings of the likes of Flowchart and Band Of Pain.

The Aberdeen track is taken from the third to last single ever released on Sarah Records - what a year it's been for critical reappraisals of that seminal, heroic but at the time frequently vilified Bristol independent.

Stereolab's contribution comes from one of countless split singles the group (or Groop?) put out during the mid-late 1990s in particular, and thankfully is closer to the metronomic Moog wig-outs of their first few years' output rather than (for me, at any rate) the more anonymous jazz and easy listening stylings that would dominate from the Dots and Loops album onwards.

Bad Blood is taken from Fatherhood, the third of five lo-fi albums Baby Bird would release in rapid-fire succession during 1995-6.  Ugly Beautiful, with You're Gorgeous and the rest on it, would see Stephen Jones hit paydirt within twelve months of this, but those earlier efforts, brimming with simple invention and wit, remain the more engaging output as far as I'm concerned.

J xx



DREADZONE – Little Britain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lD_VIbgEZY

FLOWCHART – Hero Wine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TebUV0qS378

STEREOLAB – The Long Hair of Death
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZWyDxE3zd4

WOLFSHEIM – Closer Still
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORDf3NfCEvc

ABERDEEN – Super Sunny Summer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27KYbNnJS9o

BABY BIRD – Bad Blood
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB1k6-yqUKY

PULP – I Spy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMQi0pZY_J8

THE APPLES IN STEREO – Tidal Wave
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5FZdNe_YSc

BAND OF PAIN – To Whom It May Concern
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6fkYAEZfwU

BJORK – Enjoy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTNLc6vLu1g

SEEFEEL – Vex
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyuoAMmPtCQ

BOARDS OF CANADA – Sixtyniner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMKhq8l_9mI

BANDIT QUEEN – Miss Dandys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12mQcW8d7aQ

THE FALL – Life Just Bounces
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOZOAeQKlJk

BELLY – Now They’ll Sleep
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlFzWn_-EdQ

CRISTIAN VOGEL – In
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr4boS7iBLk

LIST 176 - 10/12/2015 (a selection of places - part two)

Hello again,

Part two of our "places" special this time, and once again plenty of tracks I've been sitting on for a while. No longer!

Cheetham Hill is an area of Manchester just south of The Fall's original Prestwich base.  Moreton Bay lies of the coast of Brisbane and bore witness to many acts of brutality against Aborigines by European incomers during the 19th century.  Batty Street is in London.  Cuxhaven is on the north coast of Germany. The rest you'll know.

J xx



THE HIT PARADE – In Gunnersbury Park (1991)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVnU9QeadjE

THE FALL – Cheetham Hill (1996)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhYlI_J33X8

DIE LASSIE SINGERS – Hamburg (1992)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQYwtnewEiI

SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES – Israel (1980)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TAlS7J9Ofk

ANDY IRVINE – Moreton Bay (2000)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SHZEguNluE

NEW FAST AUTOMATIC DAFFODILS – Stockholm (1992)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxrFvy3lyg8

THE VOLUNTARY BUTLER SCHEME – The Eiffel Tower and the BT Tower (2008)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GYEW6c_BJk

THE WEDDING PRESENT – California (1992)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9lzS-nqZtk

HUMOUSEXUAL – Batty Street (2004)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9q2t4gDpEU

THE GRESHAM FLYERS – Blackpool (2006)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XA9z56Ly0zc

THE WOLFGANG PRESS – Kansas (1989)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiwXhSPIxbk

DIE 5 FREUNDE – Cuxhaven (1994)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSyQ3xVObeA

THE FAIR SEX – Alaska (1991)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyAJnKtOIOM

KIRSTY MacCOLL – Soho Square (1992)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thaiW9bfBM4

THE TIMES – Manchester (1990)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n_kfYzG33c

THE MAGNETIC FIELDS – Swinging London (1994)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F7wIAl6J1g

LIGHT OF THE WORLD – London Town (1980)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3rFMUn7olc

TREMBLING BLUE STARS – Kensington Gardens (2004)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLbCIzaE32s

MONOSTARS – Dresden Neustadt (1999)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnQembdSUuE

LIST 175 - 09/12/2015 (a selection of places - part one)

Hello again,

Tonight and tomorrow's Lists follow a simple enough theme - every song shares its name with a genuine town, city, country, street, feature or in one case a planet. 

These have been fun to compile; there are a few choices I've been waiting to share for almost as long as I've been doing these, and opportunity has finally presented itself.

The Field Mice's evocative and filmic (is that a word?) Holland Street takes its name from a road in Glasgow.  Sauerland, as in the contribution here by Zoff, is an area of northern Germany.  Cuyahoga is many things in Ohio, though I understand the REM track refers specifically to the terminally polluted river of the same name.  Mablethorpe, beloved of Lost Pets, is an East Lincolnshire coastal resort.  You won't need me to tell you what the likes of Sweden are.

J xx



THE FIELD MICE – Holland Street (1990)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZHZCEF5wPw

STANLEY BRINKS AND THE WAVE PICTURES - Berlin (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woPzCzQ-hUs

THE DIVINE COMEDY – Sweden (1998)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-qqFWpguoA

MASAKI HANAKATA – Panama (2013)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TySBdc-kwCM

THE LUCKSMITHS – Mars (1999)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxf-2T-dXAQ

CATWALK – Damascus (1991)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkuuYQhfgaA

ROSE McDOWALL – Tibet (2004)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcig_CjRoJo

THE MAGNETIC FIELDS – Washington D.C. (1999)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC56Plwfm38

BAXENDALE – Switzerland (1999)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY4Q88H67bQ

ZOFF – Sauerland (1983)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A5zhnw7CV8

SUGAR – Hoover Dam (1992)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBqZHPTCV58

REM – Cuyahoga (1986)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrehJovpKfo

NORTHERN PICTURE LIBRARY – Paris (1994)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrpqGxuZKGk

LOST PETS – Mablethorpe (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_L204wDmEQ

SEELENLUFT ft “MIKE MASTER” MICHAEL SMITH – Manila (2002)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45brgbERMG0

M83 – America (2003)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJCq8wHDh0E

THE KLF – America (What Time Is Love?) (1992)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9L4OnoEh2us

LIST 174 - 08/12/2015

Hello again,

Football ought to be a bit of an off-limits subject for me this week, following my team Oldham Athletic's summary failure to defeat ten-man Sheffield United in the Cup and thus cost themselves a lifeline third round draw against Manchester United. 

Fortunately, though, help is at hand with Trust Fund's superb paean to the game, vintage BBC commentary and all. A lot of fun.

Great to have a fresh Field Music single seeing the light of day as a sighter ahead of next February's new album; great also to be able to include something new from stalwart Swedish house duo Lo-Fi-FNK. 

The Haiku Salut video is not for the faint of stomach, perhaps, but offers an inversion of a theme; whilst one of several delves into the archives features Public Enemy, as of a week or so ago the favourite carshare passengers of one Sheffield resident in the sort of story you just can't make up.  Oh, go and Google it...

J xx



TRUST FUND – Football (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QlTkH93dEE

SACRI CUORI – La Marabina (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MgmfRqU834

BILLY BRAGG – I Don’t Need This Pressure Ron (1985)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0crTJ5apq8

BODYHEAT - Upside Down (2015)
https://soundcloud.com/bodyheat-1/upside-down

LO-FI-FNK – Pirate Radio (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TctVMi4Ln4U

A WITNESS – Lucky in London (1985)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M_jKjX3SQQ

LITTLE GREEN CARS – Harper Lee (2013)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHwMDr6dMHI

CAVERN OF ANTI-MATTER - Irridated Dream Mouth (2013)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isj8WAPhYKY

MOGWAI – Tracy (1997)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3uIwEY27DQ


THEN AND NOW: Mavis Staples
MAVIS STAPLES – Fight (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnzQmLFQrfY
MAVIS STAPLES – I Have Learned To Do Without You (1970)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaeNfB-tb7g


FIELD MUSIC – The Noisy Days Are Over (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FGPDau_QwA

MYLO – Muscle Car (2004)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7geCioVvQU

LOW – Just Make It Stop (2013)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rAdzJ1U0RU

THE ORCHIDS – God of Special Things (2010)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnB1oqQB6lE

HAIKU SALUT - Hearts Not Parts (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWDB417Mtas

PUBLIC ENEMY – Hazy Shade of Criminal (1992)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvOd48zlNkA

THE GASMAN – It Is Always Now (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEaGSYFbP1w

LIST 173 - 07/12/2015

Hello again,

The start of a fresh week of Lists (whilst stocks still last), and a couple of contributions from acts that I've been gutted to have missed playing in Sheffield these past couple of weeks - excellent, upwardly mobile Glasgow two-piece Tuff Love and dramatic French songstress Marianne Dissard.  Gig-going FAIL, as ver kids might say.

Elsewhere, it's a long-overdue pleasure to include Endless Art by A-House this time around.  It's been kicking around on my to-include list for a couple of years now, in the ultimately unrealised hope of including it in a List entirely consisting of "list" songs.

One idea that should very much still come to fruition before very long, however, is a List containing only songs that share their names with towns, cities or countries. 

So why is Wakefield by Stanley Brinks and the Wave Pictures included here instead of there?  Simple - the venerable Mr Brinks has released more than just the one such song as a single this year alone...

J xx



THE SPOOK SCHOOL – Burn Masculinity (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGGj5_7dx0o

TUFF LOVE - Duke (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMad2QxfeMg

BLUE AEROPLANES – Ashtrays from Mt. Etna (1985)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6Ker25Rl8s

KILLING JOKE - I Am The Virus (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4wdbibV3IM

THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS – War on the East Coast (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMcumbSMY_8

TEENAGE FANCLUB – Don’t Need a Drum (1990)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpEqRbNkuOo

STANLEY BRINKS AND THE WAVE PICTURES - Wakefield (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8unrOg4HquU

CABARET VOLTAIRE – Kino (1985)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4IAnSdtbNY


THEN AND NOW: Jill Sobule
JILL SOBULE - O Canada (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfEWlRicTjs
JILL SOBULE - Rainy Day Parade (2000)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9fY7BrwfOY


MARIANNE DISSARD – Je ne le savais pas (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgDi72nyajE

OWL & MOUSE - Octopi (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyLshzMyhM8

PULP – Stacks (1993)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbwj_J750kE

SHANNON AND THE CLAMS – Point of Being Right (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJPw789HSwY

MONKEY SWALLOWS THE UNIVERSE – Bloodline (2007)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImUuSN_2tE8

DJEMBA DJEMBA - Macking in the Car (I Don't Drive) (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNvsl3ucqhM

A HOUSE – Endless Art (1991)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDo6Lgylsjg

FLOWERS – Forget the Fall (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk7s5ONezMU

SLIM – It’s in the Mix (1982)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTtFktnQR7E

LIST 172 - 04/12/2015

Hello again,

One last collection for this week, and another "how did I miss that?!?" candidate in the shape of the superb title track from last year's The New Pornographers album - all the more inexplicable a miss given I bought the thing at the time.

The Then and Now selection this time around concerns Birmingham veterans The Nightingales, "the misfits' misfits" in the words of John Robb and as much of a one-man axis around which all spins (here: Robert Lloyd) as The Fall does around Mark E Smith.

J xx



THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS – Brill Bruisers (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhhtSXk1c70

T.RAUMSCHMIERE - Zwischenstop (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2dpYvrCnnk

VIC REEVES – Empty Kennel (1991)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fnaJU3JeXQ

BLOOD RED SHOES – An Animal (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUWfid5nIcY

FIELD MOUSE – Everyone But You (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRts51vPUv8

THOMAS DOLBY – Radio Silence (1982)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uaz98xOciUs

NEON INDIAN – Annie (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxkj-my2VPg

FOSSIL AEROSOL MINING PROJECT - Too Far from Istanbul (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKB8wcdD5qY

BABES IN TOYLAND – Handsome and Gretel (1992)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWP_gNy7sRI


THEN AND NOW: The Nightingales
THE NIGHTINGALES – The Only Son (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXJrm9X7yVQ
THE NIGHTINGALES – Use Your Loaf (1982)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVtPR-O3fws


THE PAYROLL UNION – Peggy’s Tavern (2013)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bappGzZxhQ

BENJAMIN SHAW - You & Me (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw6DmbcTjlI

ELECTRONIC – Tighten Up (1991)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlrQjRNlCMo

LOW – No Comprende (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZfjysllZyg

DR ALIMANTADO – I Killed the Barber (1978)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laO8GOe87uw

PRINZHORN DANCE SCHOOL - Reign (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8luJ3OV_PN8

LAETITIA SADIER – Release from the Centre of Your Heart (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkwDyvRFmGY

RADIOHEAD – Prove Yourself (1993)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP8DL2WShqY

THE LEAF LIBRARY – Tilting (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXahqYX234w

LEMON JELLY – Experiment No. 6 (2002)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rnijc0YfD9k

LIST 171 - 03/12/2015

Hello again,

For the first time this season we have a List which necessarily includes a track in loving memory, following the passing today of Delta 5 drummer Kelvin Knight. 

Mind Your Own Business, as covered by several acts over the past three decades (possibly most famously Chicks On Speed) would have been an obvious and worthy choice of track, but I've gone for something I like a little bit more. 

As active and important in the Rock Against Racism movement as late-1970s/early-1980s Leeds contemporaries Gang Of Four (and on occasion with the physical scars to prove it), Delta 5 were well worth the critical reappraisal afforded them by the 2006 reissue of some of their work on Kill Rock Stars.  Rest easy, Kelvin.

Elsewhere in this grab bag List, there's new(ish) stuff from Real Estate spin-off Ducktails; outstanding Krautrock/Tangerine Dream/Jean-Michel Jarre-influenced duo Melodien; the East Midlands' finest spoken/shouted word misanthropes Sleaford Mods; tracks from each end of Built To Spill's two-and-a-bit decades' worth (and counting) of output; and further proof from Ringo Deathstarr that you don't necessarily need Lush to reform to hear new Lush-like material.

The most astonishing new track on the List, though? Without a shadow of a doubt, In Heels by Tall Dark Friend - Jordan Gray's impassioned, incendiary, smart and highly articulate account of her own transgender realisation and experiences in deepest darkest Essex.  Scroobius Pip is a fan.  It's not at all hard to see why.

J xx



SLEAFORD MODS – No One’s Bothered (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM2f0YWhP9o

THE LUCKSMITHS – I Prefer the Twentieth Century (2000)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KV-WvlTwroM

MELODIEN - Narkotic (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmkSjnknC8I

ARCHIE BRONSON OUTFIT - Two Doves on a Lake (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBewUBLwV7w

THE FALL – A Past Gone Mad (1993)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8csC5UWwDg

DUCKTAILS – Headbanging in the Mirror (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7vvvuo4R2o

J DILLA - Dillatronic #41 (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_butsqOLVog

SHAKESPEAR’S SISTER – Catwoman (1992)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5coA8mPaQs

STAR TROPICS – Swept Away (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTbU8wYagaU

SLUG - Greasy Mind (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZIO9KPa6wQ

CHRIS T-T – The English Earth (2001)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQkLDIsqTeI


THEN AND NOW: Built to Spill
BUILT TO SPILL - Living Zoo (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hgRgO5y0f4
BUILT TO SPILL – Car (1994)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6omZ5GsuGrI


TALL DARK FRIEND – In Heels (demo) (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InIfgH79SKg

LOVEYDOVE - Gently As You Feel (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dbz64VOlMUc

RINGO DEATHSTARR - Guilt (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAVv5G1jkW4

WIRE – The Point of Collapse (1987)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5F3CzikRmU

LAURA VEIRS – America (2013)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO8pHPf15zE

TWERPS – Back to You (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n-3z3vkLFg

BIG YOUTH – Four Sevens (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRoW3DFqC1E

IN LOVING MEMORY: Kelvin Knight

DELTA 5 – Anticipation (1981)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjP4NQYB6xs

LIST 170 - 02/12/2015 (1995 special, part one)

Hello there,

It was 20 years ago today... just about :-)

Having plundered extensively from the archives to produce several 1985-themed Lists earlier in the year, attentions turn to a decade later this time around with what should be the first of several 1995 collections to feature over the next week or so.

I'll be honest - a lot of the recent reappraisals of this particular year in certain music media outlets (including those of ever fading significance - hello again, NME) have pulled my chain in no uncertain terms.  Were we all listening solely to Britpop as has frequently been inferred?  Were we all riding a Cool Britannia vibe?

Um, no. 

Musically ultra-conservative and in places depressingly jingoistic and laddish, the passing of two decades has done nothing to lessen my dislike for much of that scene's leading practitioners and what they stood for, much less has my guard dropped when letting them into my record collection then or since. 

Notably, the only band in this opening selection even halfway occasionally referred to (incorrectly) as a Britpop act, The Boo Radleys, had little truck with it as label.

In 1995 I wanted to listen to interesting indiepop/punk-pop acts from Glasgow and the East Midlands and South Wales.  To Peel-endorsed techno.  To Welsh whimsy.  To frightening Scottish man/tiny Leicester woman-fronted racket-mongers.  To unstoppable Marxist easy-listening/drone merchants.  To British Asian popsters and Anglo-Dutch speedfreaks.  To smoky-voiced Nottingham balladeers.  Some of the stuff on this list, basically.  And more besides.

Liam who?

J xx



SAFE DEPOSIT – You Can’t
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHFGoYwYAgY

BIS – Plastik People
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbK7r34JeZk

GORKY’S ZYGOTIC MYNCI – If Fingers Were Xylophones
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5fkJ5Ppn-k

QUICKSPACE SUPERSPORT – Quickspace Happy Song #1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQv2Z3SEwhk

ST CHRISTOPHER – She Looks Like You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBLKmNUQdLA

LEFTFIELD HALLIDAY – Original
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SILVQpqmH7U

DONKEY – Youth Spent Sniffing Ventolin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR7QkTNHtlY

PROLAPSE – When Space Invaders Were Big
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-BYvdwXuQI

ASH – Kung Fu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWqY8qrBBSI

TINDERSTICKS – No More Affairs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZnYR8gc6bU

CORNERSHOP – Wog
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgB_nWyJQXg

STEREOLAB – The Extension Trip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBHskH8EYfI

TRICKY – Black Steel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZJTM03UByU

THE JAZZ BUTCHER – President Chang (Evil Karel von Daemmerung Remix)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pup24tHLakA

HALF MAN HALF BISCUIT – Sensitive Outsider
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_La90JHQSes

HELEN LOVE - Beat Him Up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAqWlqyjxWY

THE BOO RADLEYS - Find the Answer Within
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfquAEzgpGM

DQE - Dear Bobby
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6rUB4js_EQ

CROWSDELL- Sugar Coated
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G23-11lnlT0

THE MELONS - From Hell to Helsinki
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MWLoOl7-OE

WHIPPING BOY – Twinkle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLDXeiMoZe4

LIST 169 - 01/12/2015

Hello again,

Ever wondered what Metal Box-era PIL might have sounded like had that band hailed from Kinshasa?  Listen to Mbongwana Star and wonder no more. 

Lithe, insistent and mysterious, the DCR combo's debut album contains my favourite track of any released so far in 2015, and it's a pleasure to include it here.

Under its previous title, Robberie's Seven Hills similarly vied for my top song of the year honours a couple of years back, and at long last a track previously available only in demo form (albeit on an EP and an Indietracks compilation) has been graced with a full release.

Lovely footage of their (and for the foreseeable future also my) home city in the video also.

Grand to be able to offer new stuff from Mercury Rev, Euros Childs, Rose Melberg (in her latest incarnation Knife Pleats) and synthpop doyens Blancmange. 

Grand as well to include material from Death And Vanilla (imagine a Swedish Broadcast fronted by a Julee Cruise soundalike), plus an act in Bodyheat I last saw playing a set to end a very special wedding party for two very special friends in Bristol.

J xx



MBONGWANA STAR – Shégué (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtmsdFU30_k

MERCURY REV - Are You Ready? (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86EwvXYG7vA

HALF MAN HALF BISCUIT – Reflections in a Flat (1985)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aHTbS-AuIE

ANNA VON HAUSSWOLFF – Evocation (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU07z8N1V40

BODYHEAT - Talk it Over (2015)
https://soundcloud.com/bodyheat-1/talk-it-over

LEMON JELLY – Nice Weather for Ducks (2002)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC5jmZCFRQo

DEATH AND VANILLA – The Optic Nerve (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRMj8xsRD2g

DEINE LAKAIEN – Farewell (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-JXy2-wS9c

THE DIVINE COMEDY – Arthur C Clarke’s Mysterious World (2006)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClXxsV874oI

EUROS CHILDS – Fruit and Veg (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiyQUOlHfcA

KNIFE PLEATS - Terrible (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk94AIYBJnE

THE HIDDEN CAMERAS – Ban Marriage (2003)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdX7YP-vU0U

LAETITIA SADIER – The Scene of the Lie (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsPl4a2foZA

BLANCMANGE – Landsea (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYJwrEW0g_0

BLANCMANGE – Blind Vision (1983)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YAvhMTgE8o

SCHOOL OF LANGUAGE – Between the Suburbs (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYd8qQUKIaY

SARAH WILLIAMS WHITE – Winter Sun (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY58OroE8mQ

PUBLIC ENEMY – A Letter to the New York Post (1991)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DMo3uQpd40

HYDE & BEAST - Keep Moving (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bs_RrMOtl_I

ROBBERIE – Seven Hills (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HncvdqSXQVY

LIST 168 - 30/11/2015

Hello again,

It looks as if I've enough stuff lined up to be able to offer a List every weekday this week, which is nice.

Among the many phrases I thought I'd never commit to print is "Here's something off the new Juliana Hatfield Three album", and yet here we are, knocking on for two decades since the last sighting of this particular project by the former Blake Babies mainstay.  A particularly splendid single from them first time around is thrown in also.

To these ears FFS, the collaboration between Franz Ferdinand and Sparks, isn't always more than the sum of its parts, but the good is still very, very good - they're included here, along with other personal highlights of 2015 (so far - there's still a twelfth of it left!) from John Grant, Haiku Salut, The Lovely Eggs, Wovoka Gentle, the ceaselessly wonderful Berlin keyboard-caresser Barbara Morgenstern and sushi/star/Mablethorpe-loving Nott'nummers Lost Pets.

J xx



JOHN GRANT - Disappointing (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2Ig4sMURdc

HAIKU SALUT – Divided by Surfaces and Silence (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Yur-GiW0q0

RUTHLESS RAP ASSASSINS – Justice (Just Us) (1990)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFs6lM7cpEY&spfreload=10

LOST PETS – Discount Sushi (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEFndI2PCAo

BEN LEE - Big Love (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX3dHdxToZQ

THE CHILLS – Rolling Moon (1982)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOmrwC7hFxo

EX HEX – Waterfall (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AxIA4042WA

ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER – He Didn’t Mention His Mother (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmyIBIfit94

MAMBO TAXI – Poems on the Underground (1993)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6ikRAiJBz4

JULIANA HATFIELD THREE - If I Could (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgYvkAqRF0U

JULIANA HATFIELD THREE - My Sister (1993)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siJZXTuwBjA

TREMBLING BELLS – I Is Someone Else (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2lawJoUP5I

BARBARA MORGENSTERN with ROBERT LIPPOK and JUSTUS KOEHNCKE - Uebermorgen (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0U2WSfQ5MI

THE WONDER STUFF – Give, Give, Give Me More, More, More (1988)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTVWr2e7qRo

FFS – Johnny Delusional (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCxLpte5loY

MARK B & BLADE – From the Word Lab (2000)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHimg-gCVN8

THE LOVELY EGGS – The Magic Onion (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdNfRF9pBMY

WOVOKA GENTLE – You Have Saved Our Lives, We Are Eternally Grateful (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yqgovaVPAo

THE GROOVE FARM – Baby Blue Marine (1987)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg4aLXamnOQ

FORAOISE – A Bastard (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9OJiJQ4PGw

LIST 167 - 27/11/2015

Hello there,

Back from our summer and early-autumn jollies, here we are with the start of season seven of That Music List.  Did you miss us?  No need to answer.

I expect the next few Lists are all going to be mish-mashes of new, remembered and miscellaneous stuff - heaven knows you had enough themed selections from us during the summer.

So, in no particular order, this time we have something new from the prolific Mr Hayman; the first fresh output in nearly a quarter of a century from drone titans Loop (plus a reminder of how they sounded back in the day, i.e. pleasingly none too different); some gender binary smashing from the ever-impressive The Spook School (who were superb in Sheffield last Saturday, by the way - where were you?); a fishy tale from Francesca's Word Salad (who'll be superb in Sheffield this Saturday - are you coming?); a winsome elephantine tale from the latest kids' album by They Might Be Giants; and a project by the name of Cavern Of Anti-Matter which I feel rank bad about having overlooked for two years, given it principally features Tim Gane out of Stereolab.  Oops.

J xx



THE SPOOK SCHOOL - Binary (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNkxOOIDcCQ

KURT COBAIN – And I Love Her (xxx/2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI0ZTzuuj68

THE CHARLOTTES – Liar (1990)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06VtQWYIqEA

THE BAND WHOSE NAME IS A SYMBOL - Baalslapper (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqrlXDTwWtU

DARREN HAYMAN - Nuns Run the Apothecary (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSCDyBXCFXw

CYGNUS X – The Orange Theme (1994)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVy_RBt-lT4


THEN AND NOW: Loop
LOOP - Precession (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUnNcPTLeSs
LOOP – Arc-Lite (1989)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqL8EVnrPyE


THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS - Elephants (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPO_V6aOvkU

THE DIVINE COMEDY – If I Were You (I’d Be Through With Me) (1997)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qSHOR9XOis

FRANCESCA’S WORD SALAD – The Reverse Mermaid (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rZVjrON6nA

THE CLIENTELE – On a Summer Trail (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSEfL4WRmYw

MOGWAI – With Portfolio (1997)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhBd8EDjXps

THE CHARLIE TIPPER EXPERIMENT – Something Worth Fighting For (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgm50pogsv4

MICHAEL KNIGHT - Sure, Call Over! (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDmFOw2-oUY

TTC – Pollutions (2002)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nah_o35Uwu8

OWL & MOUSE - Misfits (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY8JNDhrPSM

CAVERN OF ANTI-MATTER - Blood Drums (2013)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DMFV-O9aIU

LIST 166 - 24/07/15 (Indietracks 2015 special – part two)

Hello there,

Almost inevitably one week on from part one, here's the other half of this year's Indietracks List.  Pleasingly, I managed to find something from all bar three acts this time around (not always a given), and space alone prevented them from making the cut.  Yay Bandcamp and Soundcloud for helping me fill in a few gaps.

Highlights are as usual almost too many to mention, but having missed Bunnygrunt completely in their original incarnation it'll be a proper treat to see them all these years hence.  The track included in this List is surely thing to "Tell Laura I Love Her" in indiepop.

Relatively late to the Colleen Green party, the early 90s fuzz of "TV" (included here) and other tracks has won me over utterly, and the oversight up to this point of excellent York trade JUNK. is all the more heinous given they don't ply their trade a million miles away from me.  I've put that right, mind.

It all starts this evening.  Tickets are probably still available via the Indietracks website, and the downloadable Indietracks compilation certainly is - go to https://indietracks.bandcamp.com/album/indietracks-compilation-2015 and given generously in aid of the Midlands Railway Trust.

See you there?

J xx

 

THE SCHOOL – Do I Love You? (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOYP8YSniHg

THE LEAF LIBRARY – Walking Backwards (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sz2yp_n0few

THE HI-LIFE COMPANION – Brockweir House (2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8kCMFVSnuA

JUNK – Car (2014)

https://soundcloud.com/junkbandyork/car

THE GO! TEAM – What D’You Say? (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4LbdTf-fl0

LAURA K – Loving You Is Not An Art (2013)

http://laurak.bandcamp.com/track/loving-you-is-not-an-art

FEVER DREAM – Serotonin Hit (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RCJUPraZ6A

BUNNYGRUNT – Boy Meets Wall (1996)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMF1RRZ5G3Q

STEVEN JAMES ADAMS – Tears of Happiness (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB3tBpttXQc

LOST PETS – Get Out (2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhZ3PMFAjcw

TIGERCATS – Wheezer (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuNbE4vA8Vc

FLEMMINGS – Wizards (2014)

https://flemmings.bandcamp.com/releases

EUREKA CALIFORNIA – I Bet That You Like Julian Cope (2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTxsmQ5U60k

LOS BONSÁIS - Los Perdimos De Vista (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRsjk4sSz1I

FIRESTATIONS – Never Closer (2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6gMSqJcxhY

COLLEEN GREEN – TV (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2VUAi-sIYM

EMMA KUPA – Propped Up By Affection (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XG27ufM5sBQ

COLOUR ME WEDNESDAY – Sugar Coated (2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAvqFb8ZkfI

MICHAELMAS – Why I’m Blue (2014)

https://soundcloud.com/amazingmwood/why-im-blue-by-michaelmas

THE ETHICAL DEBATING SOCIETY - Sum Of My Parts (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifvafgPIRQc

JEN SCHANDE – I Really Like Sonic Youth, And I Really Want To Have Sex With You (2012)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToDD_4SuBpQ

GRUBS – Dec 15^th (2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Aqr8GaiY1s

CHORUSGIRL – Alone (2014)

https://soundcloud.com/chorusgirl/alone

THE WAVE PICTURES – Missoula (2013)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yU2Q2ZQdb4

THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART – Until the Sun Explodes (2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBdbbBDOwv4

LIST 165 - 17/07/15 (Indietracks 2015 special – part one)

Hello there,

Yes, that favourite time of year has very nearly come around again, with a railway museum buried in the heart of the east midlands all set to do its very, very best impersonation of a heaven on earth for indiepop devotees for a ninth straight year.  A week today (the 24th), Indietracks 2015 is go.

(Or should that be is "Go!", given the presence of The Go! Team in the line-up this time around?)

Here, then, is the first of two Lists that between them will feature as many of this year's performers as can be squeezed in.  Friday night headliners Cinerama kick things off here, too - and yes, "Mystery Date" did feature on the last Wedding Present album Valentina.  Everything on the new Cinerama album appeared on that album, in fact - the former is a complete musical reworking of the latter, thus realising a long-held ambition of David Gedge to give one of his long-players such a treatment.

Other than Amelia and Rob in their current Caternary Wires guise, the closest thing to a Sarah Records presence in the 20th anniversary year of that seminal label's cessation is the set by The Luxembourg Signal, who are effectively erstwhile Sarah artistes Aberdeen by any other name.  Will frontwoman Beth Arzy be accompanied to Butterley by other half Bobby Wratten?  No idea.  If so, will he be talked into performing an impromptu live set?  Judged on a recent podcast interview with Pete Paphides, sadly almost certainly not.  We can but dream, though...

J xx

CINERAMA – Mystery Date (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMQ8wuLxNuo

MAMMOTH PENGUINS – When I Was Your Age (2015)

https://soundcloud.com/fortuna-pop/mammoth_penguins_when_i_was_your_age

VIOLET WOODS – Here (2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cFRRHbkVK0

EUROS CHILDS – Spin That Girl Around (2012)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fMkoR-Oenc

TUFF LOVE – That’s Right (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydPRKmeJa44

RODNEY CROMWELL – Barry Was an Arms Dealer (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8jfuc20QQ4

THE DARLING BUDS – Shame on You (1988)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz5mG3UhtAs

OH, PEAS! – Mountain Song (2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx3T9g_Bwlc

PETE ASTOR – Tiny Town (2011)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-nHe4Wu27Y

FEATURE – Tourism Fiction (2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_hqWaHHnAM

LAETITIA SADIER – Oscuridad (2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTgZG-JOS_M

THE HAYWAINS – Badgerline Day Return (2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql24ZXzK0OA

EVANS THE DEATH – Enabler (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaExfJKL4oo

FRANCESCA’S WORD SALAD – Miss Nash (2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQxDDrY9LlI

FRIDA & ALE – Hidden Song (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWkSSocQhD0

RALEGH LONG – Islands (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SzIPG0QT-s

THE FIREWORKS – Runaround (2013)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBncC15iByA

RÉMI PARSON – Gomina (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5rXYlevyTg

DESPERATE JOURNALIST – Organ (2013)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BbpviG9sWk

THE CATENARY WIRES – Throw Another Love Song on the Fire (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIA2wLATM7Y

MARTHA – The Historian (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8zho5rd8EI

ALEXANDER CHRISTOPHER HALE – The Failed Soviet State of My Heart (2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If6tVyfeuKs

THE TUTS – Loving It (2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxUB4sPwSq4

CRISTINA QUESADA – Just Like Honey (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iedmnzo3cPM

THE LUXEMBOURG SIGNAL – Dying Star (2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLnZD8pbFs0