Lights Out

Last year, LCD Soundsystem's final ever gig, at Madison Square Gardens, marked the end of an era for me and TOH.  LCD's music, as I have detailed at length (and ad nauseum) on this blog, has accompanied us throughout our time in NYC.  Even after the MSG show, it continued:  the photo below was taken while we, with some of our closest friends, all extremely inebriated on Graark and Stormies and love and laughter, jumped and sang out our hearts to Home. 

But, as the year progressed, I found myself listening to LCD infrequently (down at # 11 for the past twelve months!  Unthinkable!); it seemed that the wedding and the gig had loaded the music with too much emotional meaning, as overwrought and pathetic as that sentiment appears to me when I actually write it down and re-read this.  So although I automatically purchased tickets to watch Shut up and Play the Hits, the Oscilloscope documentary about that gig, I approached the movie theatre with trepidation last night. 

I thought I would feel melancholic and unhappy that I would never see them play live again.  Instead, I sat and watched in a state of wonder, with a big fat grin on my face for 95% of the film.  I reveled in the memories of just how absolutely bloody brilliant the concert was.  In particular, the part with All My Friends was absolutely spectacular, capturing perfectly the excitement and joy and exuberance that song always brought to a concert.  I shed a tear with James Murphy when he did in the warehouse with all his gear; and I cried during Someone Great, as I often did at the gigs, and during their last ever live song as a band, New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down.  But instead of sadness, the film reignited and reinvigorated my love for LCD Soundsystem.  So expect my last.fm profile to reflect that in the upcoming days.*



* Provided, of course, that I can somehow stop listening to Frank Ocean's Channel Orange, which is absolutely amazing and I have been playing non-stop for the last few days.  

Post-Coachella Listmaking

Over the course of the weekend at Coachella, we saw over 20 shows, whether catching a few minutes here and there (and a few minutes was enough for Justice, who were unremittingly rubbish, and also for Noel Gallagher, as we heard the utterly lovely Half the World Away, but not much of the other stuff in which I have no interest although, alas, we did hear Don't Look Back in Anger, which I truly loathe). 

1. DJ Shadow (just unbelievable: the tunes were amazing, he played Six Days and Organ Donor - albeit the version on Pre-Emptive Strike, rather than Endtroducing... - and he mixed in Passin' Me By by The Pharcyde.  Also, the visuals were stunning - he was in a spinning ball, for the love of Ray J).
2. Pulp (highlights:  Underwear, I Spy, Common People - although, as Dr. TOH says, even he could be the frontman for a song like that, it's so perfect)
3. Metronomy (actually, probably up there as my favourite of the weekend - everything was utterly perfect, so dancey and fun for a 2pm slot in the blazing sun, with probably the best crowd we were in all festival.  Hard to pick a favourite, but Radio Ladio was ace, as was The Bay and The Look)
4. Santigold (so much fun, she told the crowd off for taking photos rather than enjoying themselves, so I would have loved her even if she hadn't done Hold The Line or been generally great.  Also for Enrique, the dancer, who loved it more than anyone else.
5. The Weeknd (for the last three tunes, basically, which were phenomenal, and also High for This, although the volume was problematic)
6. Tuneyards (I can't face the capitalization but she was ace)
7. The Rapture (would have been higher if we'd caught more of the gig, but what we saw was fantastic, particularly as we caught House of Jealous Lovers, How Deep Is Your Love?, and Get Myself Into It)
8. Radiohead (utterly beautiful, but I was tired and it wasn't convincing any non-converts - but Exit Music (for a Film) was gorgeous, Karma Police was great, as was 15 Steps, although I was sad to miss out on Lucky, which the first Coachella weekend got, but at least they mixed up the sets)
9. SBTRKT (mucho bopping, Pharoahs was great, although shame no Jessie Ware or Living Like I Do, given that Sampha was there - what a waste)
10. (Joint) Flying Lotus (noodly and great) and Girl Talk (highly silly but everyone was dancing away, it was ace).

Mulling It Over

We just got back from several days in California, including a jaunt to Coachella, the music festival in the middle of the desert.  We danced in the sun with the surrounding mountains framing the revelry.  I've got many mind grapes to develop regarding the performances and, possibly more significantly in my mind, the festival-goers and how we view and listen to concerts.  But mostly, for the next couple of days in my mind I'll be reliving the fun and bemoaning the temperature drop from the trip back east.

Apropos of Nothing

Top Ten Blur Songs That Were Not Singles:

1. This Is a Low
2. He Thought of Cars
3. Death of a Party
4. Miss America
5. Sing
6. Badhead
   
7. Trimm Trabb
8. Blue Jeans
9. You're So Great
10. Bank Holiday
    

What I Liked in 2011: Musically

Albums of the Year (bearing this in mind - apparently I am a dude who really likes Jodeci)

1. House of Balloons - The Weeknd. I have just KILLED this album on my ipod. I absolutely fricking love it. The follow ups are also pretty stellar, particularly Echoes of Silence, but this was spectacular. Depressing, nasty, dark, anguished - it somehow expresses how you feel when somewhat ashamed of your behaviour, when you want to lock yourself in, hungover, and speak to no one. That I listen to this a lot at work is clearly a coincidence. Ahem.
   
2. Space Is Only Noise - Nicolas Jaar. Again, something I listened to a lot. I'm frankly annoyed that the person who made this album is a mere child (21!), but I think its shifts of mood wash over you beautifully and, having seen him perform some of this stuff live in December, it really is much heavier than it appears on the first few listens.
   
3. Stone Rollin’ - Raphael Saadiq. This was the perfect rock & roll/soul/funk album. Unbelievable. Could have been made 40-50 years ago, frankly, but feels completely present.
   
4. Let England Shake - PJ Harvey. I was umming and ahing about putting this on - is it really that good? And then I listened to it again. A lot. And, frankly, it is. I listened to a great guardianmusic review of the year that pointed out not just the incredible discussion of war, but how rooted it is in the land of England. It's about the cliffs, the soil, as well as the fight to protect that.
   
5. The English Riviera - Metronomy. I was really unsure about this at first, but I should have realised that this was a good sign. The initial problem for me that I struggled to get over was how different and, as I thought then, inferior it was to the previous Metronomy album, Nights Out. Now, I maintain that that album is one of my favourite albums of the last ten years, but my love for it crept up on me. Similar persistence with The English Riviera has paid off. I love the new vocalist; I love the quaint, sometimes gentle, melodic Englishness that lures you in, but the bite and darkness are there all the time. It's clever, cool and stylish, yet with none of the coldness or aloofness that those adjectives can convey. But then, I love Blur, who have been accused of all those things, repeatedly (too clever! not enough soul!). So gauge your judgment based on that.
   
6. Civilian - Wye Oak. This was a (for shame!) NPR-based discovery. All Songs Considered did a mid-year review, and I picked up some of their recommendations. This was my favourite, by miles. I love her voice over the guitars, the almost hazy, reverberating quality of it all.

Note: I would probably have included one of, if not both, the Andy Stott albums (We Stay Together and Passed Me By) if I'd had them before Christmas. Am absolutely loving them right now.

Compilation of the Year:

I have been loving the DJ Kicks by Wolf & Lamb. Most enjoyable, a really great mix of things.

Podcast of the Year:

This is actually a false category, as I seem to have been pointed to several really great dance podcasts that are now a regular part of my listening routine - Little White Earbuds, Clubberia, and, most recently, Kev Beadle. All good!

Songs of the Year

1. Mattie Safer - Is That Your Girl? I love this despite the crap rap in the middle. That's how awesome it is.
   
2. Azealia Banks - 212. This is absolutely filthy. The video is absolutely fantastic. I want to dance like them at 0:35. All the time.
   
3. Joe Goddard - Gabriel. Seriously disco. Joe Goddard is by such a mile the best Hot Chippian, and with this, he's had songs on my best of list two years in a row (thanks to the 2 Bears making it with Church last year).
   
4. Eleanor Friedberger - My Mistakes. I've never been a big Fiery Furnaces fan, but I absolutely love love love this song, this video, and particularly the cheesy saxophone riff at the end, which brings back a nostalgic pang for Aztec Camera and what I think is one of the greatest songs of the 80s.
   
5. Duran Duran - Girl Panic! They're back, baby! I love Duran Duran. Love his voice, love John Taylor's pout under ridiculous hair, love them.
   
6. Lianne La Havas & Willy Mason - No Room for Doubt. I think part of my enchantment with this song is because I can't quite believe that such a soft, wistful song could come from someone who grew up in Thornton Heath, frankly. But it's just utterly delightful.
   
7. Junior Boys - Banana Ripple. I adore the Junior Boys and although this album was not as great as the glorious So This Is Goodbye, this song was many minutes of just joy and exuberance. And far more disco-y than previous efforts, methinks.
   

Gigs of the Year

1. LCD Soundsystem - last ever gig, Madison Square Gardens. How can a gig ever compete with this? (Hint: it can't.) Atmosphere, music, raw emotion, and the sheer delight at attending, having thought I wouldn't be able to make it. Bliss.
   
2. Darkside - MHoW. I was utterly exhausted, had a six hour meeting that ended at 10.15pm, and somehow pulled myself together to go and see this - the world premiere of Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington. I was really late, and arrived at what seemed quite noodly atmospheric stuff that I was not into. Then TOH gave me a whisky & ginger and suddenly the base came in, and it was one of the best gigs I've been to. Made even better by the phenomenal encore with some tracks off Space Is Only Noise. I really can't bear how talented Nicolas Jaar is. It's annoying.
   
3. Portishead - Hammerstein Ballroom. I wasn't going, then I was - a friend got me a ticket for my birthday. Beth Gibbons' voice is genuinely a wonder of the modern world. The visuals were stunning, the music sounded phenomenal (the acoustics were brilliant), and all of a sudden, a teenage ambition was finally fulfilled. Glorious.
   
4. Friendly Fires - Bowery. Right down the front, dancing away with Ed McFarlane and his sexy dancing. I love that you can take someone who's never heard FF before, and they will have one of the best concerts of their life because FF are so good live.
   
5. Soulwax - Webster Hall. We went in very very late, just to say we'd gone, thought we would be too tired to wait for Soulwax, and on they came just as we arrived. Brilliant dance party when we'd sort of given up on going to and enjoying the gig.
   
6. Sleigh Bells/CSS - Bowery. Live, Sleigh Bells kick arse. It was a friend's 30th, we danced away, and what a double bill - CSS were a lot of fun, too. Made even better by TOH suddenly appearing, having been stuck in an airport not too long beforehand and not being expected to make it. It was brilliant.
   

Who I Listened to in 2011

Courtesy of Last.fm

1. Friendly Fires
2. LCD Soundsystem
3. Air
4. Lewis Taylor
5. Richard Hawley
6. PJ Harvey
7. DJ Shadow
8. Nicolas Jaar
9. DJ Jazzy Jeff & Mick Boogie
10. Radiohead
11. Metronomy
12. A-Trak
13. SBTRKT
14. Thievery Corporation
15. Blur
16. The Weeknd
17. Underworld
18. Lykke Li
19. Sea of Bees
20. Massive Attack

MOVE IT! 1/2 Complete?

The problem with New York is that it is full of mid-week temptation. In fact, going out mid-week in New York is far, far more interesting and fun, what with the bars not being overrun by idiots. Or even just other people. Not so keen on other people.

Anyway, Wednesdays are a particular weak spot for me, and last night was no exception. A lovely dinner and drinks at The Smith had us weakening and thinking of going home. Which, in all sanity, we should have done. But we didn't; we had (expensive!) tickets for Soulwax and so in an impulsive moment, decided to head on into Webster Hall to see what was going on. As luck would have it, Soulwax came on within seconds of us entering the main hall, and a lively hour or so ensued with much enthusiastic (if rubbish) dancing from me. I think that counts, right?

ps Soulwax - excellent.

2011: The Midway Point

Well, I wasn't sure what I'd be doing right now, but I certainly didn't think that as of June 30, 2011, I would be married. ULP. At least it's to the person who I thought I would marry if I were to marry anyone - that wasn't a surprise, I suppose.

Nonetheless, it's time for my midpoint review of what I've liked in terms of the "arts" so far this year. I think it'll be useful for my end of year review, if nothing else.* So here we go:

Albums

• Pala by Friendly Fires. This has barely been off my stereo since I got it. I really wasn't sure about it at first, but having seen them a couple of times live (see below in Gigs), the songs have grown on me beyond all measure and I'm loving this album. In fact, right now I listen to it far more than the first album which I still adore.
• Space Is Only Noise by Nicolas Jaar. This album is, frankly, brilliant, although my favourite Jaar track appears only on an EP (Mi Mujer, if you're interested).
  
• Stone Rollin' by Raphael Saadiq. Funk, rock, soul, everything all mixed in. I will always adore Raphael Saadiq for his work as part of Lucy Pearl (seriously, a RIDICULOUSLY underrated album), but this is the first piece of solo work that I've really loved.
  

Concerts

• LCD Soundsystem at MSG. Frankly, nothing will ever compete with this gig. Ever. Not even the Pixies at Primavera in 2004, and that was transcendental to me. Magic.
• Friendly Fires at Bowery Ballroom. Tucked right at the front, a major dance party, it's so so so hard to beat Friendly Fires.
  
• Sleigh Bells and CSS at Bowery Ballroom.

So there you go.

*TOH thinks it's ridiculous but, frankly, I don't care.

It Won't Get Any Better

I can remember the exact moment when I first heard - or, rather, knowingly heard - an LCD Soundsystem tune. It was in late 2004 or very early 2005 - John Peel had just died, to date it - in Hi-Fi, a bar in the East Village in NYC, and a friend from home was visiting. I'd sort of lost touch with new music, and she could not believe I'd not heard of them; she put on Daft Punk Is Playing at My House for me.

I can't say I was an instant convert, but when Sound of Silver came out, it slowly but surely happened for me, and the first time I saw them live, that was it: I was in love. I did not think I'd love a band again in the way that I did as a teenager but LCD Soundsystem provided the soundtrack to my falling in love with New York, with developing strong and solid bonds with my friends here.

And now James Murphy et al. are retiring LCD. While I'm saddened by that, the real devastation came when I missed out on tickets to the last ever show at MSG but, fortunately, we scored tickets this week when they released more. We're going to be in the gods, barely able to see, but we need to be there; LCD has been a soundtrack to our time in NYC, it feels right to be there when the band signs off. Although we saw them last night at the pen-penultimate gig, it would not have been the same. While I can't quite believe we won't get to see LCD perform again, I think it's a good thing, it's time; the shows have got increasingly large with increasingly large numbers of idiots and people who don't seem to care about the old stuff. Go out on a high before you end up lacking respect for the people who behave like idiots at your shows, I say. Go out when people love you, when people will mourn you with genuine love and affection.

I will.

A Match Made in Heaven

I'm always fascinated by how creative partnerships work. When I watched the BBC's history of Soul, Soul Deep, they had a fabulous recounting of how Hold On, I'm Coming by Sam & Dave was written by the folks at Stax, including Isaac Hayes. One person can spark off another, and then that's it - you have a ridiculously catchy and brilliant song.

This springs to mind because yesterday TOH and I discovered one of the greatest musical partnerships we - and you - had never heard of. Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong wrote some of the most famous, glorious and celebrated soul songs of all time. Their discography is, frankly, ridiculous. Why did they work together so so well? Who did what? Who knows, but I do know that somehow together they wrote the following:

• Papa Was a Rollin' Stone
  
• I Heard It Through the Grapevine
• Car Wash (and also for Rose Royce he wrote Love Don't Live Here Anymore and Wishing on a Star)
  
• War
• Ain't Too Proud To Beg
• He Was Really Sayin' Something
• I Can't Get Next to You (which is currently my favourite song)
  
• Too Busy Thinkin' About My Baby

Fricking genius.

2010: In Tunes

These are, at least for now, my favourite songs of the year.

1. Home - LCD Soundsystem. I was already falling more and more in love with this, and then saw it live - performed for the first time - at the Wellmont Theater gig in Montclair, NJ. The Murph felt he couldn't do New York I Love You, but You're Bringing Me Down in his home state of Jersey, so they did this instead - utterly perfect. And that was the point where I fell completely and utterly in love with it. And now it's my favourite song of the year, by miles. I love his ability to express doubt and ambivalence and fear and make it what's great about loving someone. I don't think there's anyone else who writes about friendship in quite the same way, and it's perfect on here:
   

   'Cause you're afraid of what you need
   Yeah, you're afraid of what you need
   If you weren't, yeah you weren't
   Then I don't know what we'd talk about

2. Turns Me On - Big Boi. A handful of tunes on Big Boi's album could have made this list, but this is by far my favourite.
   
3. Tightrope - Janelle Monae. One of the best videos of the year and, of course, written by Big Boi. But that's not only why I love it - her delivery is delicate and deft, and the result is so delightful - plus, of course, it gets the entire party moving. Brilliant.
   
4. Barbra Streisand - Duck Sauce. Bonkers song, bonkers video, bonkers everything and absolute genius.
   
5. Don't Fucking Tell Me What to Do - Robyn. I wasn't as bats for this album as the rest of the known universe, but I absolutely love this. It's not exactly Che-levels of rebelliousness, but it's just great - a perfect juxtaposition of a catalogue of the (perceived) pressures of modern life with thumping beats, and then just a childish but heartfelt reaction. Perfect pop.
   
6. Flash a Hungry Smile - Mystery Jets. I can't help liking them - I don't know quite what it is given that they're quite cheesy, but I do, and the whistling in this just gets completely and utterly stuck in my head.
7. Why Does the Wind? - Tracey Thorn. I loathed Everything but the Girl for yonks, assuming they were just another twee band (before "twee" meant what it does now in terms of music). It took the glories of Protection, the single and even better, Better Things off Massive Attack's Protection for me to "get" the charms of Tracey Thorn's voice. I then started listening to Walking Wounded, and it became my running companion in the early 2000s - just glorious. Her voice sounds so simple, but has a wonderful ability to convey emotion without being OTT, particularly a soft, gentle yearning. I really liked her album - it was nearly in my top 10 this year - and this is by far my favourite track off it - just lovely.
   
8. Saturday Come Slow - Massive Attack. I wasn't entirely convinced by this album, but this is just lovely - yearning, and a wonderful use of Damon's voice - it's incredibly like that on Beetlebum, which also provided that low, huskier part of his range without the mockney stuff - which I love too, but this is a strikingly different sound.
   
9. Wile Out - DJ Zinc & Ms. Dynamite. Although I love a bit of Dy-Na-Mi-Tee, my favourite Ms Dynamite is still Booo!, and I just love her toasting - her voice is utterly perfect for it. Always nice to show a little love for DJ Zinc, too, who has managed to move away from drum & bass without much trouble.
   
10. Church - The 2 Bears. There's something of the Ian Dury about the strongly accented vocals, and it's just a joyful tune with bells in the background, the organ throughout, and then the uplifting vocals. It's lovely.

And now, of course, for my favourite remixes of the year...

1. Sincere - MJ Cole, remixed by Nero. This is an amazing dub version of Sincere, and it's also led to my being reacquainted with the original, which is as classic a piece of 90s garage as one could wish for.
2. Starry Eyed - Ellie Goulding, remixed by Penguin Prison. Everybody (quite naturally, given the dubstep fascination right now) went nuts for the Jakwob remix, which I do like, but I love this - so cheesy, but it pulses forward and cuts through the cloying sweetness of her vocals, as well as making great use of Theophilus London's vocals.
3. Riot Music - Don'ae - both the version mixed by Skream and also that by Shy FX. Both of these are wicked, frankly. That's all. Expect me to be the only person dancing to this at NYE, but I shan't care a jot, I tell you.
   

And a special mention for Jazzy Jeff & Mick Boogie's summer mix album which wiled away many summer evenings this year. Fab.

2010: The Albums

I was going to be a bit pathetic and not put these in an official order, but I think I have to.

1. I'm New Here by Gil Scott-Heron. The production is wonderful, his voice is glorious - it's not just spoken word, it's somehow blues and soul and soaked with pain and anguish and years of thought and abuse. And I love it. Absolutely magnetic.
   
2. Sir Lucious Left Foot the Son of Chico Dusty by Big Boi. This album is absolutely spectacular. Kanye may have got the plaudits and the nods from many, many lists of the albums of the year but this to me leaves it for dust. The production is inventive and playful, he sounds spectacular and it's funny, smart and just genius. Turns Me On and Tangerine are going to be on repeat for our New Year's party. Cracking.
   
3. This Is Happening by LCD Soundsystem. Well, duh. I do love the Murph, we all know that. It's not Sound of Silver but, frankly, how could it be? Instead it's older, wiser, and Home is getting on for my favourite LCD track ever - at least, it's in the top 5. Maybe even top 3. Bliss.
   
4. Swim by Caribou. Apparently Mr. Caribou describes this record as sounds as if it were submerged in water and somehow, that just fits it beautifully. It has those slightly muffled qualities, and the warmth has that dazed, filtered sunlight feel to it. I love this - I've listened to it a ridiculous number of times and I find something interesting each time. It's got a really structured feel to it but it's not rigid - it flows, follows some pattern that I don't understand. Which makes sense, as the dude has a PhD in maths.
5. Dirty South Dance 2 by A Trak. Ok, so this is a mash up album so does it count? I dunno, but it's grand. I love the choices he's made on this, mixing up some seriously big hip hop names (Kanye, Ludacris), showing love for Kid Sister and then jamming them with house/dance tracks of the summer. TOH and I have listened to this a LOT this year.
   
6. Crazy for You by Best Coast. This was my album of the summer - just really good power 60s-style girl pop. It somehow sounds modern and fresh with this album, though, sort of like a Winehouse trick. Apparently they're amazing live, much edgier, so I'm going to try to grab tickets for her upcoming show with Wavves.
7. Cosmogramma by Flying Lotus. More dubby type stuff, with a fun, inventive streak. I wasn't sure about it at all at first then suddenly - bam. I've listened to it a lot at work. One of the ways I can tell I really am liking an album a lot is that it stays on the nano - now that I don't have that much space, I do have to use what I have judiciously. So there are certain things that I remove because I've not listened to them of late, although they may reappear later on. Cosmogramma has been on since I put it there, and it's not going to be removed any time soon.
8. The Magician's Private Library by Holly Miranda. So this is really, really not my usual type of thing, and TOH loathed it. But I like the breathy, magical and almost woozy feel to this. For reasons other than just the name it reminded me of The Magicians, which I read this year and really liked, and also of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell - something about the fuzzying effect of magic in the real world.
9. Real Life Is No Cool by Lindstrom. Slinky disco house from Norway. It's ace. And, of course, there is a glorious aeroplane remix available of one of the tracks.
10. Foundation by Breakage. Came late to this, but I really like it - a bit dubby but tons of great breaks, basically - and anyone who collaborates with Roots Manuva is alright by me.
    

There were also a few albums that I love that are new to me, rather than new to the world in general. Newly discovered gems. And these I'm not going to number, but I do love:

• 1 2 3 by Pole. Sludgy dubstep from before dubstep was even invented. Mr. Pole made these three albums, now released together as one album, between 1999 and 2002, I think. They are stunning - sparse, cinematic, atmospheric and dark - absolutely remarkable. This might be my find of the year.
• Remain in Light / Speaking in Tongues by Talking Heads. I knew the hits, obviously, but this is the first time I've really listened to Talking Heads albums. And they're brilliant. The influence on bands I love (i.e. LCD) is quite remarkable.
• 5: Five Years of Hyperdub is a fantastic gathering of the best of the label Hyperdub's output so far. It's another one that hasn't left my pod since I got it - excellent to work to, apart from anything else.
  

And just to round this off, the artists I've listened to most in the past year, according to Last.fm, are:

1		Danger Mouse & Jemini			19
2		The Beatles			18
3		Arcade Fire			17
4		A-Trak			15
5		Big Boi			13
6		The Future Sound of London			12
6		Lykke Li			12
8		Talking Heads			11
8		Mystery Jets			11
10		Gil Scott-Heron			10
10		Simian Mobile Disco			10
12		LCD Soundsystem			9
13		Pantha du Prince			7
14		PJ Harvey			6
15		Portishead			5

1		LCD Soundsystem			1,101
2		Air			448
3		Thievery Corporation			434
4		Massive Attack			341
5		Richard Hawley			338
6		Friendly Fires			218
7		Slum Village			205
7		A-Trak			205
9		Radiohead			204
10		Caribou			196
11		Big Boi			191
12		Underworld			182
13		Daft Punk			167
14		The Streets			164
15		Flying Lotus			145

So there you go. Upcoming: gigs of the year and favourite songs. I bet you cannot wait.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

No, not that thing. It's only bloody November, and there has been far too much Christmas music - in cabs, in the doctor's office. God, it's awful. Although as an interesting sidenote, there really is surprisingly little overlap between US Christmas tunes and UK Christmas tunes. None of the Chris Rea "Driving Home for Christmas" for this country. Anyway, I digress.

This time of year is when all the albums of the year lists start coming out. I am a complete sucker for these things - I get angry at inclusions of rubbish, at low ranking or omissions of my favourites, and absolutely vindicated by the high rating of my highly rated ones. It's pathetic but I am the perfect target for these things. Sadly, this year won't be as good as last year because we won't have the added bonus of albums of the decade. Still, I can concentrate on what I have loved this year, and I think I overlooked that a little last year. So maybe I should revisit 2009... Hmm. The lists are coming; I can feel them.

I've Eaten a Lot of Stickers

Annoyingly, Charlie Day's random rules in The Onion does not reveal anything that embarrassing. Even the Queen tune. So, to humiliate myself, here's mine for today, while sat in the Admirals Club lounge at Heathrow and trying to recover from a fairly dreadful night's sleep on the plane.

1. Where'd You Go? - Jamie Lidell. My love affair with the Lidell is officially over - the last concert I went to was fairly pants, and now it turns out he's not going to do any of the things that made him a cut above everyone else - the mixing, the sampling, the screwing things around and making them interesting. Shame. But I still love the first album, and the first couple of concerts of his that we went to were genuinely wonderful.
   
2. Azaleadalen - Junip. So, this is Jose Gonzalez's other band - not that I've really been that into Jose Gonzalez prior to hearing this stuff - but I like it. It's definitely got a feel of the Steve Masons about it, but with less electronic and more Spanish-guitarry influence. But what would I know? I really don't listen to this sort of music very much, and therefore it hampers my description no end.
3. 1 Thing - Amerie. God, I love this song - absolutely love it. There is a definite snobbery among a lot of my friends with whom, otherwise, I share a great deal of taste, over rnb-style pop. But I have a great deal of time for female-led rnb, it seems (my itunes is full of the stuff, Aaliyah and MJB particularly), and I absolutely love this - the harmonies are so pretty, and clash so well with the drums, and the stop-start harshness of the guitar & bass that are barely present. Sweet.
4. Your Flesh Is So Nice - Jeff Buckley. I like this because it's so playful despite being so overtly sexual, and playful is not necessarily something you associate with Jeff Buckley, despite his clear joy in playing with his voice.
5. Only the Truth - The Last Shadow Puppets. I can't help feeling I should like this more than I do - it's got some Bacharach/Morricone stylings with Alex Turner's great voice, and I do enjoy it when it's on, but I rarely reach for it, I have to say.
   
6. Tally of Souls - The Invisible. I thought I was really going to love The Invisible - a more accessible, less pretentious TV on the Radio. And I still love London Girl (and, slightly embarrassingly, it's my ringtone). But another one where I've been underwhelmed, although I do think they're making interesting music and I like his voice a lot.
   
7. Braindead (with Justin Warfield) - Bomb the Bass. This is from Clear which, I believe, came out in 1995. Holy cow. I loved this album - one of the first straight dance albums I'd ever bought. In fact, it's still got an awful lot to recommend about it - Bug Powder Dust is a classic, and, among others, Empire - featuring Sinead O'Connor and Benjamin Zephaniah - is one of my favourite final tracks of all time. And this somewhat tangentially reminds me to update my iPod with the K&D sessions, which features not one but two versions of Bug Powder Dust.
8. Wait for Me - Jamie Lidell. See #1 on this list.
9. Happy Endings - Pulp. I love, love, love, love Pulp. That is all.
10. Paper Doll - PM Dawn. So, I thought I was the only person in the world who remembered PM Dawn, let alone owned the records. Then, much to my excitement and TOH's unchecked amusement, we were in a bar near home and PM Dawn's greatest hits came on - and I could remember far too many of the words to maintain any semblance of cool
    

Think of a Happy Place

Work is a tad stressful at the moment, and I was listening to a variety of fairly morose tunes in keeping with that mood earlier today (when I finally got a few minutes to myself in my office, that is. I'd not really thought of it as a sanctuary before, but today, I was so pleased to shut myself in, listen to a few tunes and sort myself out). But I have just realised that this was entirely foolish: what I needed in this mood was to listen to the one thing that, for some reason, is guaranteed to put a smile on my face and make me feel better about the world: Chime by Orbital. I've mentioned it here before, but really, truly, I can't explain or replicate the feeling I get from it through anything else. And having seen them play it at Coachella earlier this year, it brings me even greater joy to remember throwing my arms around like an absolute nutter to it. Chills up my back and, indeed, joy.

Sunday Selection: What next?

So, the World Cup is nearly at a close. It is certainly going to leave a void in my life. So this random list is in honour of that great competition's closing, based on I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself, as covered by The White Stripes.

1. Is This It? by The Strokes (I've listened to the Strokes more in the past two weeks than I think I have in my entire life - I'm going through a phase, it seems)
2. Electioneering by Radiohead.
3. Here Comes Your Man by The Pixies. It is just awesome. That is all.
4. Devil's Haircut by Beck. I had a moment a few weeks ago at physio where I heard Where It's At on the radio, and I realised that I did not own Odelay, except on an old tape somewhere. So I remedied that with haste.
5. Dirty Harry by Gorillaz.
6. The World Has Turned by Weezer. I really truly had forgotten how much I love this album, but a spate of articles about how hot Rivers Cuomo was (I didn't really share the fascination) then spurred me to revisit the record - it's great.
7. Slow Hands by Interpol. Saw them at the Creators' Project a few weeks ago and although we only caught the end of the set, magically this was one of those. This album was the part of the perma-soundtrack of my first year of law school.
8. So Says I by The Shins.
9. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots by The Flaming Lips.
10. Boys Don't Cry by The Cure.
    

I'm New Here*

*Warning: personal life story and rant forthcoming.

Have I mentioned how much I am absolutely loving Gil Scott-Heron's latest album, I'm New Here? If not, I should have. It's definitely one of the best albums of 2010 thus far and, I think, has the potential to become one of the best albums I own. His voice and lyrics are glorious; the music is spectacular and some of the most inventive and amazing hip hop and electronic sounds I've heard in ages.

All of it is extremely good and you should check it out, but the first track is the one that really hit me hard: On Coming from a Broken Home. It starts with a sample from Kanye's Flashing Lights, those strings, and then he contemplatively discusses his view of his childhood in comparison to what others perceived. That has some resonance for me. The killer combo is this bit:

and I was full grown before I knew
I came from a broken home

When I was about 8, my parents went to a teacher-parent evening and the teacher, on finding out my parents were divorced, was shocked - "I didn't know she came from a broken home - you can't tell." Or words to that effect. My mother told me several years later when I was reminiscing about how much I'd liked my primary school and that teacher in particular - she pulled a face, and eventually I pried the insulting memory out of her.

That was the first time I ever remember that term being applied to my familial situation. According to this teacher, bright achieving kids who were well-adjusted didn't come from "broken homes" - it didn't happen to people like us (the class-based snobbery was supreme). But my home wasn't "broken." I had two extremely loving and supportive parents; I had an incredibly stable routine in which my parents always rang when they were supposed to, always came to my various musical performances, parents' evenings, sporting events and so on. You couldn't play one parent off against another because they put their differences aside to talk about things and make joint decisions about us. I have friends who grew up in far less emotionally well-off households with parents who were superficially arranged in the "optimal" way but, in fact, made each other miserable and their children tense. Of course my childhood wasn't perfect, but I had no idea until my mother told me about that parent-teacher meeting, several years later, that someone might consider it actively bad for me. And so, whenever people use raising children in a nuclear, hetero-parent family as the "norm" and the reason to deny gay couples a family, it incenses me, because for years people have assumed that divorce = automatic child-rearing failure and yet my parents did a bloody good job.

Anyway, I love this album. I love Gil Scott-Heron. And I love my parents for the job they did. They're great.

Two Brilliant Things That Make Me Happy

First: I think this video is amazing, I love the song, and she rocks. I've heard a ton about Janelle Monae, and then my friend posted a link to this - it's awesome.

Janelle Monae - New Music - More Music Videos

Second: Have you seen hipster puppies? It is amazing. It makes me chuckle every single day. Dogtaches are