Playlist from New Years Eve, 2008

Ballboy -- Avant Garde Music (Guide for the Daylight Hours)
The Go Team -- We Just Won't Be Defeated (Thunder, Lightning, Strike)
David Bowie -- Let's Dance (Changes)
Pulp -- Disco 2000 (Different Class)
Camera Obscura -- Happy New Year (Biggest Bluest Hi Fi)
Life Without Buildings -- New Town (Some Other City)
Gomez -- Whippin' Picadilly (Bring It On)
Goldrush -- Waiting for the Wheel (Ozona)
Southside Stalkers -- Five (Sound of Speed)
Jens Lekman -- The Opposite of Hallelujah (Night Falls Over Kortedala)
Teitur -- Catherine the Waitress (The Singer)
Love Spit Love -- Am I Wrong? (Love Spit Love)
Teenage Fanclub -- Sparky's Dream (Grand Prix)
Elvis Costello -- You Tripped at Every Step (Brutal Youth)
Noah and the Whale -- Five Years Time (Peaceful the World Lays Me Down)
Belle & Sebastian -- Jonathan David (Push Barman to Open Old Wounds)
Coldplay -- Strawberry Swing (Viva la Vida)
Pogues -- If I Should Fall From Grace With God (If I Should Fall From Grace With God)
Libertines -- Time for Heroes (Up the Bracket)
Streets -- Turn the Page (Original Pirate Material)
Gorillaz -- Feel Good Inc. (Demon Days)
Boo Radleys -- Wake Up Boo! (Wake Up)
Trashcan Sinatras -- It's A Miracle (Weightlifting)
James -- Sit Down (Gold Mother)
Ed Harcourt -- Watching the Sun Come Up (From Every Sphere)
Stars -- Look Up (Heart)
Divine Comedy -- Lucy (Liberation)

Best of 2008 -- Playlist

Hot Chip -- Ready for the Floor (Made in the Dark)
Goldfrapp -- Happiness (Seventh Tree)
Badly Drawn Boy -- Degrees of Separation (Born in the UK)
Ray Davies -- In a Moment (Workingman's Cafe)
Glen Hansard -- When Your Mind's Made Up (Swell Season)
Duffy -- Warwick Avenue (Rockferry)
Southside Stalkers -- Five (Sound of Speed)
Ladytron -- Ghosts (Velocifero)
Bloc Party -- Better than Heaven (Intimacy)
The Cribs -- I'm a Realist (EP)
Frightened Rabbit -- Heads Roll Off (Midnight Organ Fight)
Foals -- Balloons (Antidotes)
Portishead -- The Rip (Third)
The Real Tuesday Weld -- What it Takes (End of the World)
Tricky -- School Gates (Knowle West Boy)
Radiohead -- Faust Arp (In Rainbows)
Elbow -- One Day Like This (Seldom Seen Kid)
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds -- Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! (Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!)
Wire -- One of Us (Object 47)
Forward Russia -- Breaking Standing (Life Processes)
Ting Tings -- Great DJ (We Started Nothing)
Noah and the Whale -- 5 Years Time (Peaceful the World Lays Me Down)
James -- Whiteboy (Hey Ma)
Supergrass -- Diamond Hoo Ha Man (Diamond Hoo Ha)
Coldplay -- Strawberry Swing (Viva la Vida)
Sigur Ros -- Inni Mer Syngur Vitleysingur (Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust)

Mince Pies...Jamie Oliver style

At this time of year in the UK you can hardly turn around without someone shoving a plate of mince pies at you. Contrary to what the name suggests, these are actually vegetarian confections, a little sweet tart filled with 'mincemeat' (a bizarre mix of dried fruits, raisins, miscellaneous spices, etc.)

By mid-December, everyone in the country is thoroughly sick of the sight of them, and yet they still buy them and serve them at Xmas parties -- a weird form of obsessive sadism/masochism.

Anyway, I cam across this video online, and thought I would share it with you all. It is truly a remarkable achievement, coming dangerously close to making me actually want to make a batch of mince pies.

See what you think.

It Really, Really, Really Could Happen

I am very excited by the news that Blur have decided to reform and play some shows together this summer. The split was far from acrimonious, so the prospect of a reunion has always been on the cards, and although the band members have been having a good deal of post-Blur success (Damon with Gorillaz, The Good the bad and the Queen, and the Monkey operal; Graham with solo albums; Alex making cheese -- really!; and drummer Dave taking a stab at politics) it is great to see that they are going to be reunited for a few dates.

Regular show listeners will be well aware of my love of Blur (and tired of my foaming-at-the-mouth ranting about their infinite superiority to Oasis), and they have always struck me as a remarkably affable, down-to-earth bunch of chaps. I like to think that these reunion shows will lead to some new material and maybe even a new album (2003's Think Tank demonstrated that they were anything but creatively stagnant at the time of the parting of the ways) -- watch this space for updates.

Playlist from December 3, 2008

Ballboy -- Avant Garde Music (Guide to the Daylight Hours)
Belle & Sebastian -- Belle and Sebastian (Push Barman to Open Old Wounds)
Cure -- Plainsong (Disintegration)
Slowdive -- Alison (Souvlaki)
Caribou -- Melody Day (Andorra)
Morrissey -- Irish Blood, English Heart (You Are The Quarry)
The Fall -- Mr. Pharmacist (50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong)
Roxy Music -- Virginia Plain (Velvet Goldmine)
Spiritualized -- Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space (Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space)
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci -- Where Does Yer Go Now? (How I Long to Feel That Summer in My Heart)
Noah and the Whale -- The Shape of My Heart (Peaceful The World Lays Me Down)
Sondre Lerche -- You Know So Well (Faces Down)
kaiser Chiefs -- Never Miss a Beat (Off With Their Heads)
Bloc Party -- Halo (Intimacy)
Badly Drawn Boy -- You Were Right (Have you Fed The Fish?)
Southside Stalkers -- Five (The Sound of Speed)
British Sea Power -- Fear of Drowning (The Decline of...)
Art Brut -- Good Weekend (Bang Bang Rock and Roll)
Foals -- Red Sock Pugie (Antidotes)
Depeche Mode -- Personal Jesus (Violator)
Divine Comedy -- Lucy (Liberation)
Lloyd Cole -- No Blue Skies (Lloyd Cole)
Nick Drake -- Northern Sky (Way to Blue)
Blur -- Sweet Song (Think Tank)
Stina Nordenstam -- Hopefully Yours (And She Closed Her Eyes)
Black Box recorder -- Goodnight Kiss (Facts of Life)

Winter Blunderland

I couldn't resist sharing this article which really does a fantastic job of exploring the total lack of festive cheer at a Chritsmas-themed fun park in Dorset's New Forest.

Sort of bleak and horrible, and yet hilariously funny at the same time.

Choice quote: 'One of our elves was slapped and had a pram pushed into her leg which has left a horrible bruise.'

Playlist from November, 19 2008

Brian Eno -- Needle in the Camel's Eye (Here Come the Warm Jets)
Kingmaker -- Queen Jane (Sleepwalking)
Noah and the Whale -- 5 Years Time (Peaceful the World Lays Me Down)
Pet Shop Boys -- Opportunities (Discography)
Black Box Recorder -- The Art of Driving (Facts of Life)
David Bowie -- Young Americans (Changes)
Suede -- Trash (Coming Up)
Bomb the Bass -- So Special (Future Chaos)
Chemical Brothers -- Leave Home (Brotherhood)
Underworld -- Born Slippy (Second Toughest in the Infants)
KLF -- Last Train to Transcentral (White Room)
Portishead -- All Mine (Live Roseland NYC)
Camera Obscura -- Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken (Let's Get Out of This Country)
Foals -- Big Big Love (Antidotes)
The Cure -- Catch (Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me)
Jens Lekman -- Black Cab (Maple Leaves EP)
Lily Allen -- Smile (Alright, Still)
Teenage Fanclub -- Sparky's Dream (Grand Prix)
Belle & Sebastian -- Jonathan David (Push Barman to Open Old Wounds)
Frightened Rabbit -- Fast Blood (Midnight Organ Fight)
Flotation Toy Warning -- Popstar Researching Oblivion (Bluffer's Guide to the Flight Deck)
The Chrysler -- When Sara Came to Town (Failures and Sparks)
Love Spit Love -- Am I Wrong (Love Spit Love)
James -- I Want to Go Home (Hey Ma)
Dubstar -- Not So Manic Now (Goodbye)
Stina Nordenstam -- Little Star (And She Closed Her Eyes)

Playlist for November 5, 2008

Reindeer Section -- You Are My Joy (Son of Evil Reindeer)
Beatles -- Here Comes the Sun ('Blue' Album)
Mcalmont and Butler -- Yes (misc)
Trashcan SInatras -- It's a Miracle (Weightlifting)
Teenage Fanclub -- Sparky's Dream (Grand Prix)
Chemical Brothers -- The Golden Path (Brotherhood)
Doves -- There Goes the Fear (The Last Broadcast)
Dexys Midnight Runners -- Jackie Wilson Said (Too Rye Ay)
Noah and the Whale -- 5 Years Time (Peaceful the World Lays Me Down)
Delgados -- Everybody Come Down (Universal Audio)
Maps -- Elouise (We Can Create)
Love Spit Love -- Half a Life (Love SPit Love)
Frightened Rabbit -- Heads Roll Off (Midnight Organ Fight)
Bloc PArty -- Halo (Intimacy)
Foals -- Cassius (Antidotes)
Basement Jaxx -- Cish Cash (Kish Kash)
Streets -- Don't Mug Yourself (Original Pirate Material)
Pulp -- PInk Glove (His & Hers)
Belle and Sebastian -- I'm a Cuckoo (Dear Catastrophe Waitress)
Clinic -- Harvest (Visitations)
Sigur Ros -- Inni mer syugur... (Meosuo ieyrum vio...)
The The -- Love Is Stronger Than Death (Dusk)

Playlist from October 22, 2008

Led Zeppelin - Kashmir (Physical Graffiti)
Mclusky - To Hell With Good Intentions (Mclusky Do Dallas)
The The - Dogs of Lust (Dusk)
British Sea Power - Fear of Drowning (The Decline of...)
Chemical Brothers - Block Rockin' Beats (Brotherhood)
Futureheads - Hounds of Love (The Futureheads)
Bloc Party - Helicopter [Whitey Remix] (Silent Alarm Remixed)
Foals - Tron (Antidotes)
Stars - Ageless Beauty (Set Yourself on Fire)
Heavy Blinkers - He Heard His Song (The Night and I Are Still So Young)
Noah & The Whale - 5 Years Time (Peaceful the World Lays Me Down)
Life Without Buildings - Let's Get Out (Any Other City)
Tricky - Overcome (Maxinquaye)
Portishead - Strangers (Dummy)
Cocteau Twins - Calfskin Smack (Milk & Kisses)
Cure - Plainsong (Disintegration)
Morrissey - Now My Heart Is Full (Vauxhall & I)
Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart (Closer)
Ballboy - A Day In Space (Club Anthems)
Chrysler - When Sara Came to Town (Failures and Sparks)
Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space (Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space)
Mojave 3 - After All (Ask Me Tomorrow)
Divine Comedy - Lucy (Liberation)

Don't Like Eating Glass?

...then why not pop over to the Guardian site, where they have a week-long series of Bloc-Party-related features, including this, my personal favourite, in which the mindblowingly talented BP drummer, Matt Tong, takes time out from pounding the skins to teach us a bit of basic cookery.

Class act.

Calling All Morrissey Fans

If you're a fan of Moz and his bequiffed brand of plaintive, angsty, daffodil-brandishing, band-aids-on-the-nipples moan-pop, then clicky here to link to the BBC Radio 2 show of veteran DJ Janice Long, on whose show Stephen Patrick appeared the other day for a great interview.

Oh My Sweet Lord in Heaven

Say it ain't so, John!

Playlist from Oct 8, 2008

Art Brut -- Emily Kane (Bang Bang Rock & Roll)
The Jam -- Eton Rifles (The Sound of the Jam)
The Rolling Stones -- Rocks Off (Exile on Main Street)
Althea & Donna -- Uptown Top Ranking (Jamiaca)
Kate Bush -- The Sensual World (The Sensual World)
Southside Stalkers -- Five (The Sound of Speed)
Bauhaus -- Spirit (Gotham)
Cure -- Closedown (Disintegration)
Radiohead -- There, There (Hail to the Thief)
George Harrison -- If Not For You (All Things Must Pass)
Trashcan Sinatras -- Leave Me Alone (Weightlifting)
The Cake Sale -- Aliens [feat. Neil Hannon] (The Cake Sale)
Roxy Music -- Remake/Remodel (Roxy Music)
The Subways -- Shake! Shake! (All or Nothing)
Libertines -- Death on the Stairs (Up The Bracket)
Foals -- Balloons (Antidotes)
Hot Chip -- Hold On [remix.] (Made in the Dark)
Tricky -- School Gates (Knowle West Boy)
The View -- Same Jeans (Hats off to the Buskers)
Field Music -- Working to Work (Tones of Town)
Cherry Ghost -- Dead Man's Suit (Debut)
James -- I Want to Go Home (Hey Ma)
David Bowie -- Sound & Vision (Low)
Mclusky -- To Hell With Good Intentions (Mclusky Do Dallas)
Van Morrison -- Queen of the Slipstream (Poetic Champions Compose)

Playlist from Sept. 24th 2008

Ballboy -- Avant Garde Music (A Guide for the Daylight Hours)
Hot Chip -- Ready for the Floor (Made in the Dark)
Smiths -- How Soon Is Now? (Meat is Murder)
Psychedelic Furs -- All That Money Wants (Left of the Dial Box Set)
Streets -- The Irony of It All (Original Pirate Material)
Tricky -- Past Mistake (Knowle West Boy)
Brian Eno -- I'll Come Running (Another Green World)
Teenage Fanclub -- It's All In My Mind (Man Made)
Trashcan Sinatras -- It's a Miracle (Weightlifting)
The Real Tuesday Weld -- What it Takes (End of the World)
Radiohead -- Sail to the Moon (Hail to the Thief)
M83 -- Kim & Jessie (Saturdays = Youth)
Emiliana Torrini -- If You Go Away (Rarities)
Sugarcubes -- Birthday (Left of the Dial Box Set)
Southside Stalkers -- Five (Sound of Speed)
Coldplay -- Strawberry Swing (Viva La Vida)
Foals -- French Open (Antidotes)
Forward, Russia! -- A Prospector Can Dream (Life Processes)
Blur -- End of a Century (Best Of)
Divine Comedy -- Perfect Lovesong (Regeneration)
Belle & Sebastian -- The Model (Fold Your Hands Child...)
The The -- Love is Stronger than Death (Dusk)
Supergrass -- Low C (Road to Rouen)
Stereo Total -- Moviestar (Stereo Total)

Playlist from Sept 10, 2008

Radiohead -- Let Down (OK Computer)
Jesus and Mary Chain -- April Skies (Darklands)
Suede -- Moving (Suede)
Inspiral Carpets -- I Want You (Saturn 5)
Franz Ferdinand -- Darts of Pleasure (Franz Ferdinand)
The Libertines -- Can't Stand Me Now (The Libertines)
The Rakes -- Retreat (Capture/Release)
Foals -- Cassius (Antidotes)
The Thrills -- Big Sur (So Much For The City)
The Guillemots -- Trains to Brazil (From the Cliffs)
David Bowie -- I'm Deranged (Outside)
Eurythmics -- Missionary Man (Revenge)
The Ting Tings -- That's Not My Name (We Started Nothing)
MIA -- Paper Planes (Kala)
Underworld -- Born Slippy (Trainspotting)
Coldplay -- Viva La Vida (Viva La Vida)
Elbow -- One Day Like This (The Seldom Seen Kid)
The Heavy Blinkers -- He Heard His Song (The Night and I Are Still So Young)
Belle and Sebastian -- Woman's Realm (Fold Your Hands Child You Walk Like a Peasant)
Spiritualized -- Soul on Fire (Songs in A+E)
Rialto -- Monday Morning 5:19 (Rialto)
Supergrass -- Butterfly (Diamond Hoo Ha)
Ed Harcourt -- The Birds Will Sing For Us (From Every Sphere)
Ballboy -- Essential Wear for Future Trips to Space (Club Anthems)

Mercury Music Prize

Yes it's that time again. We're just a couple of hours away from learning who won this year's Mercury Music Prize -- a slightly weird award that started about 15 years ago and is simply given once a year to one band/artist for producing The Best Album of the Year.

There's something about that simplicity that appeals to me. Too often in the world of music awards we get bogged down in splitting the difference between "Best Band," "Best Artist," "Best Act," "Best Single," "Best Song," "Best Album," "Album of the Year," etc. It's like Cannes -- they have about a dozen different prizes and each of them sounds like First Prize.

So, the nominees this year are pretty mixed (and they seem to have dropped the idea of including a classical record just for the sake of tokenism.) Burial, a hotly tipped favourite, would indeed be an outside win (very outside, since nobody even knows who he is or what he looks like) but it's just the kind of edgy move Mercury needs to make after giving the award to the bloody Klaxons last year.

I'd love it to go to Elbow. A win by Radiohead or British Sea Power I will accept. Neon Neon and Last of the Shadow Puppets are also just about OK by me. I really hope it doesn't go to Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, despite the latter having ties to Champaign -- I have yet to be impressed by the record itself. Adele and Estelle cancel each other out. Rachel Unthank and the Winterset are really lovely, and a from-out-of-nowhere win by them would be welcome.

Ah well, we'll know in an hour or so...followup comments to come.

Playlist from August 27, 2008

Elvis Costello -- Accidents Will Happen (Armed Forces)
Basement Jaxx -- Lucky Star (Kish Kash)
Mclusky -- To Hell with Good Intentions (Mclusky Do Dallas)
Undertones -- Jimmy Jimmy (Undertones)
Life Without Buildings -- New Town (Any Other City)
Hot Chip -- The Warning (The Warning)
Tricky -- Black Steel (Maxinquaye)
The KLF -- 3am Eternal (The White Room)
Radiohead -- Idioteque (I Might Be Wrong)
Brian Eno -- Needle in the Camel's Eye (Here Come the Warm Jets)
Supergrass -- Diamond Hoo Ha Man (Diamond Hoo Ha)
Coldplay -- Viva la Vida (Viva la Vida)
Ting Tings -- That's Not My Name (We Started Nothing)
Foals -- Balloons (Antidotes)
Gorillaz -- Feel Good Inc. (Demon Days)
Sondre Lerche -- On The Tower (Two Way Monologue)
Goldfrapp -- Clowns (Seventh Tree)
Spiritualized -- Death Take Your Fiddle (Songs in A&E)
Maps -- Eloise (We Can Create)
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci -- Let Those Blue Skies (How I Long to Feel That Summer in My HEart)
Mojave 3 -- Running With Your Eyes Closed (Puzzles Like You)
Belle and Sebastian -- Sleep the Clock Around (The Boy With The Arab Strap)
The Chrysler -- When Sara Came to Town (Failures and Sparks)
Portishead -- Roads (Dummy)

Playlist from August 13, 2008

Trashcan Sinatras -- I've Seen Everything (I've Seen Everything)
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci -- Eyes of Green, Green, Green (Sleep/Holiday)
Caribou -- Melody Day (Andorra)
Beth Orton -- Concrete Sky (Daybreaker)
Stereolab -- Ping Pong (Mars Audiac Quintet)
BMX Bandits -- I Wanna Fall In Love (Theme Park)
Ballboy -- Where Do The Nights of Sleep Go To When They Do Not Come To Me (Guide for teh Daylight Hours)
Pulp -- Do You Remember The First Time? (His & Hers)
British Sea Power -- Carrion (The Decline Of)
Aereogramme -- The Black Path (Sleep and Release)
Elbow -- Mirrorball (The Seldom Seen Kid)
Kate Bush -- Cloudbusting (The HOunds of Love)
Coldplay -- Strawberry Swing (Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends)
Trembling Blue Stars -- Ripples (Broken by Whispers)
Stars -- Look Up (Heart)
Goldfrapp -- Clowns (Seventh Tree)
Belle & Sebastian -- Mary Jo (Tigermilk)
James -- Whiteboy (Hey Ma)
Forward Russia -- A Prospector Can Dream (Life Processes)
Fratellis -- Shameless (Here We Stand)
Spiritualized -- Goodnight Goodnight (Songs in A + E)

"We're drinking to life / We're drinking to death / We're drinking til none of our livers are left..."

Just found this online and thought I'd post it here: The Divine Comedy -- A Drinking Song.

Neil Hannon is the coolest man on the planet. Fact.

Playlist from July 30, 2008

Echobelly -- Great Things (ON)
Heavenly -- 'C' is the Heavenly Option (Le Jardin de Heavenly)
Camera Obscura -- Shine Like a New Pin (Biggest Bluest Hi Fi)
Supergrass -- Butterfly (Diamond Hoo Ha)
The Music -- Float (The Music)
Longpigs -- She Said (The Sun Is Often Out)
Ballboy -- You Can't Spend Your Whole Life hanging Round With Arseholes (Guide for the Daylight Hours)
Eno/Cale -- Empty Frame (Wrong Way Up)
Elbow -- Weather to Fly (The Seldom Seen Kid)
Kate Walsh -- Your Song (Tim's House)
PJ Harvey -- The Garden (Is This Desire?)
Goldfrapp -- Cologne Cerrone Houdini (Seventh Tree)
Kate Bush -- Hounds of Love (The Whole Story)
Kate Bush -- How to be Invisible (Aerial)
Portishead -- Hunter (Third)
Stina Nordenstam -- Hopefully YOurs (And She Closed Her Eyes)
Southside Stalkers -- Five (The SOund of Speed)
Coldplay -- Strawberry Swing (Viva la Vida)
Forward, Russia -- Breaking Standing (Life Processes)
Foals -- Cassius (Antidotes)
Arctic Monkeys -- A Certain Romance (What People Say I Am...)
Tricky -- Council Estate (single)
Spiritualized -- Soul on Fire (Songs in A+E)

"I wanna destroy passers by!"

It appears that John Lydon (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten) has been involved in a backstage scuffle with Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke. According to this piece in the Guardian, Okereke approached Lydon to ask about the possibility of a Public Image Ltd. reunion, and Lydon responded with a stream of (at times racist) invective and the whole thing escalated into a massive indie-rock scrap (members of Kaiser Chiefs and Foals also rolling up their sleeves and getting involved), leaving Okereke with a bruised face and split lip, and Lydon with some serious 'splainin' to do.

Rotten indeed.

Playlist from July 18th, 2008

Ballboy -- Avant Garde Music (Guide for the Daylight Hours)
Mojave 3 -- Some Kind of Angel (Out of Tune)
The The -- This Is The Night (Dusk)
Brian Eno -- Put A Straw Under Baby (Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy)
Coldplay -- Lost! (Viva la Vida)
Slowdive -- Alison (Souvlaki)
Delgados -- Coming In from The Cold (Hate)
Sondre Lerche -- Modern Nature (Faces Down)
Camera Obscura -- Number One Son (Underachievers Please Try Harder)
Minnie Driver -- Beloved (Seastories)
Portishead -- The Rip (Third)
Goldfrapp -- Little Bird (Seventh Tree)
Pulp -- The Birds In Your Garden (We Love Life)
Morrissey -- Every Day Is Like Sunday (Greatest Hits)
T. Rex -- Telegram Sam (The Slider)
Elbow -- One Day Like This (The Seldom Seen Kid)
Trashcan Sinatras -- Usually (Weightlifting)
Belle and Sebastian -- We Rule The School (Tigermilk)
Supergrass -- Mansize Rooster (I Should Coco)
British Sea Power -- Carrion (The Decline Of...)
James -- Whiteboy (Hey Ma)
Spiritualized -- The Straight and the Narrow (Let It Come Down)
Ed Harcourt -- Fireflies Take Flight (From Every Sphere)
Divine Comedy -- Lucy (Liberation)

Playlist -- July 2, 2008

Peter Gabriel -- Big Time (SHaking the Tree)
Badly Drawn Boy -- You Were Right (Have You Fed The Fish?)
Belle & Sebastian -- Jonathan David (Push Barman to Open Old WOunds)
Fratellis -- Mistress Mabel (Here We Stand)
Ladytron -- Ghosts (Velocifero)
My Bloody Valentine -- Only Shallow (Loveless)
Radiohead -- WOlf at the Door (Hail to the Thief)
Bloc Party -- Hunting for Witches (A Weekend in the City)
Placebo -- Teenage Angst (Placebo)
Coldplay -- Strawberry Swing (Viva la Vida)
James -- Bubbles (Hey Ma)
Ballboy -- Where do the Nights Of Sleep Go To? (Guide for the Daylight Hours)
Felt -- Penelope Tree ('Beloved' CD from Mojo Magazine)
The Loft -- Up the Hill and Down the Slope (ditto)
Orange Juice -- Simply Thrilled Honey (ditto again)
Ray Davies -- No One Listens (Workingman's Cafe)
Billy Bragg -- M for Me (Mr. Love & Justice)
Morrissey -- Irish Blood, English Heart (Greatest HIts)
Cure -- The Only One (single)
Elbow -- The Bones of You (The Seldom Seen Kid)
Trashcan Sinatras -- All the Dark Horses (Weightlifting)
Portishead -- Nylon Smile (Third)
Goldfrapp -- Caravan Girl (Seventh Tree)
Supergrass -- Diamond Hoo Ha Man (Diamond Hoo Ha)
Beatles -- Here There and Everywhere (Revolver)

Latitude Festival

Sure, the USA has Bonnaroo and South By Southwest and Burning Man and Lollapalooza (I think), but this is far more my speed: the Latitude Festival on the East Coast of England. A fantastic lineup of bands as well as poets and writers, a magical leafy location (check out that photo gallery), and the small-scale feel that makes it far more mellow and family-friendly than the giganto-fests like Glastonbury and Reading.

(Interestingly, the undisputed mack daddy of the summer music festival circuit, Glastonbury, has been having trouble shifting tickets for this year's festivities -- partly, it is said, due to the 'controversial' choice of Jay-Z to headline one of the stages -- while smaller 'boutique' festivals like Latitude sold out in no time at all. The tide appears to be turning against ginormo-fests in favour of the more intimate experiences like this one.)

Playlist from June 18

Blur - Chemical World (Modern Life is Rubbish)
Ed Harcourt - Hanging With The Wrong Crowd (Here Be Monsters)
Elvis Costello - Sulky Girl (Brutal Youth)
The Coral - Dreaming of You (The Coral)
Ladytron - Kletva (Velocifero)
Super Furry Animals - At Least It's Not The End Of The World (Rings Around the World)
Sondre Lerche - You Know So Well (Faces Down)
Supergrass - Diamond Hoo Ha (Diamond Hoo Ha Man)
Belle and Sebastian - Stay Loose (Dear Catastrophe Waitress)
Lilac Time - This Morning (Lilac6)
Elbow - Grounds For Divorce (The Seldom Seen Kid)
Aztec Camera - Good Morning Britain (Retrospect)
Libertines - Time for Heroes (The Libertines)
James - Whiteboy (Hey Ma)
Morrissey - You Have Killed Me (Greatest)
Wonder Stuff - Welcome to the Cheap Seats (Never Loved Elvis)
U2 - Ultra Violet (Light My Way) (Achtung Baby)
St. Etienne - Like a Motorway (Tiger Bay)
Portishead - The Rip (Third)
Kate Walsh - Your Song (Tim's House)
Goldfrapp - LIttle Bird (Seventh Tree)
Kate Nash - We Get On (Made of Bricks)
Camera Obscura - Tears for Affairs (Let's Get Out of this Country)
The Cure - The Only One (new single)

George Harrison -- Crackerbox Palace

Digging around on YouTube I came across this gem -- a video for George Harrison's 1976 single "Crackerbox Palace," directed by that noted Python, Eric Idle. The video is utterly mad, and seems to embody a kind of cartoonish excess, achieving a fusion of the Monty Python sensibility (see: cameos by Graham Chapman and Neil Innes in drag) as well as the Beatles' own take on surrealism (think a live-action Yellow Submarine), all wrapped up in a Fellini-esque carnival atmosphere.

Everyone involved seems to be having what we Brits call 'a total laugh,' and the video features some lovely footage of George's house, Friar Park in Henley-on-Thames. At the risk of dropping names, I was at school with Harrison's son Dhani, and seeing this video took me right back to my childhood, when I too gallivanted around the house and gardens shown here (although I was dressed a little less crazily.)

Playlist -- May 21, 2008

The Libertines -- A Time for Heroes (Up the Bracket)
Art Brut -- Good Weekend (Bang Bang Rock n Roll)
Frankie Goes to Hollywood -- Relax (Welcome to the Pleasuredome)
Futureheads -- Beginning of the Twist (This is Not the World)
Teenage Fanclub & Donna Matthews -- Personality Crisis (Velvet Goldmine)
Supergrass -- Floating (Supergrass)
Eurythmics -- When Tomorrow Comes (Revenge)
OMD -- If You Leave (Best of OMD)
Trashcan Sinatras -- It's a Miracle (Weightlifting)
David Bowie -- Five Years (The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust)
Portishead -- Machine Gun (Third)
Life WIthout Buildings -- New Town (Any Other City)
Ting Tings -- Great DJ (We Start Nothing)
The Cure -- The Only One (Single)
Brian Eno -- King's Lead Hat (Before and After Science)
Lemon Jelly -- Song for Jack (lemonjelly.ky)
Goldfrapp - A&E (Seventh Tree)
Hot Chip -- Ready for the Floor (Made in the Dark)
Last Shadow Puppets -- Right Next to Me (The Age of the Understatement)
The Pipettes -- Pull Shapes (We Are the Pipettes)
Heavy Blinkers -- He Heard His Song (The Night and I Are Still So Young)
Black Box Recorder -- Weekend (Facts of Life)
Elbow -- One Day Like This (The Seldom Seen Kid)
Morrissey -- Now My Heart is Full (Vauxhall & I)

Portishead In-Studio Session

Nope, not on my humble show, sadly. But they did just play a storming in-studio session on my BBC Radio 2 show of choice, the always excellent Radcliffe and Maconie show. Go to their homepage and click on Beth Gibbons's keening face.

Cultural Artifact -- Catherine Tate

I hate all generalizations. ALL of them. Without exception.

Broadly speaking, though, there are a couple of differences between British and American TV comedy. Much British comedy tends to celebrate silliness, whereas American comedy focuses more on either stupidity or its flipside, wiseassery. Also, British comedy is more about the talents of the performer, while American is more about the cleverness of the writer (or, more typically, writers.)

Catherine Tate is quite a celebrity in the UK at this point, but if she is known in the US, it is probably due to her semi-regular role in the popular sci-fi show Doctor Who.

A couple of years ago, however, she took Britain by storm with The Catherine Tate Show, in which the incredibly versatile performer created a number of characters who have quickly become indelible parts of the British cultural landscape. TV sketch comedy is where British humour often has its finest moments -- for some reason nobody can figure out, we just don't DO sitcoms very well. In Tate's hands, sketch comedy becomes a venue for some astonishing self-transformation and some awfully subtle acting.

Most famously there is Lauren, the stroppy teenager who has become the best-known of Tate's characters -- and the most disliked by Tate herself, for whom the character's catchprase "Am I bovvered?" became an albatross around the neck. Still, it got her into 10 Downing Street to do a skit with Tony Blair, so how bad could it be?



Tate does more than create characters, she inhabits them, refusing again and again to go for the easy laugh or punchline, preferring to take a more holistic approach to comedy, allowing the laughs to emerge from the character rather than being forced into their mouths. And, crucially, she seems to have a real affection for the people she plays, even if many of them appear to be loathsome on the surface. (For example, the foul-mouthed grandmother "Nan," or the high-strung woman who screams in surprise and terror at every little noise...)



So do some YouTube surfing, or find a way to get your hands on the full season of her show (I bet Netflix has it, and if you live in Champaign-Urbana, it can be borrowed at the Champaign public library...)

You may especially recognize this character.

Playlist from May 7th, 2008

Trashcan Sinatras -- It's A Miracle (Weightlifting)
Magic Numbers -- Take a Chance (Those the Brokes)
Belle & Sebastian -- I'm a Cuckoo (Dear Catastrophe Waitress)
Rolling Stones -- As Tears Go By (Shine a Light)
Supergrass -- Richard III (In It For the Money)
British Sea Power -- Waving Flags (Do You Like Rock Music?)
Pet Shop Boys -- Suburbia (Discography)
James -- Sound (Seven)
Tom McRae -- End of the World News (Tom McRae)
The Specials -- Too Much Too Young (The Specials)
Hot Chip -- Ready for the Floor (Made in the Dark)
Tunng -- Bullets (Good Arrows)
Flotation Toy Warning -- Fire Engine On Fire pt. II (Bluffers Guide to the FLight Deck)
Portishead -- The Rip (Third)
Cocteau Twins -- Seekers Who Are Lovers (BBC Sessions)
Stereolab -- French Disko (Serene Velocity)
My Bloody Valentine -- When You Sleep (Loveless)
Elbow -- Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver (The Seldom Seen Kid)
The Last Shadow Puppets -- The Age of Understatement (The Age of Understatement)
Switches -- Lay Down the Law (Lay Down the Law)
Sugarcubes -- Hit (Stick Around for Joy)
Moloko -- Day For Night (Do You Like My Tight Sweater?)

OMG! MBV!

Hear that crinkly-creaking noise? It's the sound of hell freezing over. After vanishing for a couple of decades, My Bloody Valentine have announced the dates of a Summer '08 World Tour. And yes, they're coming to Chicago.

06-20 London, England - The Roundhouse
06-21 London, England - The Roundhouse
06-22 London, England - The Roundhouse
06-23 London, England - The Roundhouse
06-24 London, England - The Roundhouse
06-28 Manchester, England - Apollo
06-29 Manchester, England - Apollo
07-02 Glasgow, Scotland - Barrowland
07-03 Glasgow, Scotland - Barrowland
07-03-06 Roskilde, Denmark - Roskilde Festival
07-09 Paris, France - Zenith
07-17-20 Benicàssim, Spain - Festival Internacional de Benicàssim
07-25 Naeba, Japan - Fuji Rock Festival
08-08 Oslo, Norway - Øya Festival
09-05 Isle of Wight, England - Bestival
09-19-21 Monticello, NY - Kutshers Country Club (ATP New York)
09-22 New York, NY - Roseland
09-23 New York, NY - Roseland
09-25 Toronto, Ontario - Ricoh
09-27 Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
09-30 San Francisco, CA - The Concourse
10-01 Los Angeles, CA - Santa Monica Civic
10-02 Los Angeles, CA - Santa Monica Civic

Playlist from April 23, 2008

Camera Obscura -- Number One Son (Underachievers Please Try Harder)
Ballboy -- Where Do The Nights of Sleep Go To WHen They Do Not Come To Me (Guide for the Daylight Hours)
Art Brut -- My Little Brother (Bang Bang Rock n Roll)
Sugarcubes -- Walkabout (Stick Around for Joy)
U2 -- Dioscotheque (Pop)
James -- Come Home (Best of...)
British Sea Power -- Waving Flags (Do You Like Rock Music?)
Aztec Camera -- Good Morning Britain (Retrospect)
Basement Jaxx -- Lucky Star (Kish Kash)
Inspiral Carpets, feat. Mark E. Smith -- I Want You (Saturn 5)
The Jam -- Going Underground (The Sound of The Jam)
Ash -- Girl From Mars (1977)
Ed Harcourt -- Watching The Sun Come Up (From Every Sphere)
Elbow -- One Day Like This (The Seldom Seen Kid)
Morrissey -- Suedehead (Greatest Hits)
Madness -- MIchael Caine (Divine Madness)
Ballboy -- A Europewide Search for Love (Guide for the Daylight Hours)
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci -- Where Does Yer Go Now? (How I Long to Feel that Summer in My Heart)
Divine Comedy -- In Pursuit of Happiness (A Short Album About Love)
Hot Chip -- Ready for the Floor (Made in the Dark)
Hidden Cameras -- Breathe On It (The Smell of Our Own)
Sinead O'Connor -- The Emperor's New Clothes (I Do Not Want What I Have Not Got)
Ray Davies -- No One Listens (Working Man's Cafe)

The Living Library -- Borrow a Person for a 30-Minute Chat

What a fascinating idea!

It was like the school disco all over again. As some unexpected spring sunshine brightened up the Finchley Road last Sunday lunchtime, 15 of us were waiting nervously in a room in Swiss Cottage's sleek new leisure centre to be borrowed as “books” in the UK's first ever Living Library.

The idea, which comes from Scandinavia, is simple: instead of books, readers can come to the library and borrow a person for a 30-minute chat. The human “books” on offer vary from event to event but always include a healthy cross-section of stereotypes. Last weekend, the small but richly diverse list included Police Officer, Vegan, Male Nanny and Lifelong Activist as well as Person with Mental Health Difficulties and Young Person Excluded from School. I was there as Gay Man.

Playlist from April 9, 2008

Reindeer Section -- I'll Be Here WHen You Wake (Son of Evil Reindeer)
Dubstar -- Just a Girl, She Said (Goodbye)
Kirsty MacColl -- Soho Square (Titanic Days)
Divine Comedy -- Songs of Love (Casanova)
Turin Brakes -- Future Boy (Optimist EP)
Elbow -- Scattered Black and Whites (Asleep at the Back)
Oakenfold, feat. Nelly Furtado & Tricky -- The Harder they Come (Perfecto Chills)
Radiohead -- Nude (In Rainbows)
Flotation Toy Warning -- Donald Pleasance (Bluffers Guide to the Flight Deck)
Bloc Party -- Pioneers, M83 remix (Silent Alarm Remixed)
British Sea Power -- Canvey Island (Do You LIke Rock Music?)
JAMC -- Just Like Honey (Psychocandy)
My Bloody Valentine -- Only Shallow (Loveless)
Morrissey -- Every Day Is Like Sunday (Greatest Hits)
Liam Finn -- Gather to the Chapel (I'll Be LIightning)
Hot Chip -- Ready for the Floor (Made in the Dark)
Prefab Sprout -- Wild Horses (Jordan)
Electrelane -- Cut and Run (No Shouts No Calls)
Stereolab -- Ping Pong (Mars Audiac Quintet)
MIA -- Paper Planes (Kala)
Beth Gibbons -- Mysteries (Out of Season)
Mojave 3 -- Love Songs on the Radio (Ask Me Tomorrow)
Black Box Recorder -- Goodnight Kiss (Facts of Life)

Playlist from March 26th, 2008

Ballboy -- Avant Garde Music (Guide for the Daylight Hours)
Lightning Seeds -- Pure (Cloudcuckooland)
Looper -- On the Flipside (The Geometrid)
KT Tunstall -- If Only (Drastic Fantastic)
Divine Comedy -- Tonight We Fly (Promenade)
The Specials -- A Message To You Rudy (The Specials)
ELO -- Mr. Blue Sky (Out of the Blue)
John Lennon -- Oh Yoko (Rushmore OST)
Camera Obscura -- Let's Get Out of This Country (Let's Get Out of This Country)
British Sea Power -- No Lucifer (Do You Like Rock Music?)
Franz Ferdinand -- You're The Reason I'm Leaving (You Could Have It So Much Better...)
Editors -- Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors (An End Has A Start)
Cocteau Twins -- Calfskin Smack (Milk and Kisses)
Ikara Colt -- At the Lodge (Chat and Business)
Forward Russia -- Nine (Give Me a Wall)
Aereogramme -- The Black Path (Sleep and Release)
Flotation Toy Warning -- Popstar Researching Oblivion (Bluffer's Guide to the Flight Deck)
Hot Chip -- Ready for the Floor (Made in the Dark)
Cribs -- I'm a Realist (Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever)
Liam Finn -- Second Chance (I'll Be Lightning)
The The -- True Happiness This Way Lies & Love is Stronger than Death (Dusk)
Beautiful South -- Song for Whoever (Welcome to...)
Trashcan Sinatras -- All The Dark Horses (Weightlifting)
Badly Drawn Boy -- Degrees of Separation (Born in the UK)

English Haute Cuisine

Yes, it's an ice cream cone filled with mashed potato, drizzled with gravy, sprinkled with peas, and then speared by a big fat sausage.

Bon appetit.

Thom Yorke and the Radioheads

Just thought I'd post a link to this storming live set by Radiohead. They appeared in an intimate venue at the BBC, playing lots of stuff from In Rainbows as well as older stuff, to an extremely lucky audience. If you listen to the whole show, you'll also catch a great half-hour interview with Thom Yorke and Ed O'Brien, in which they come across as a really nice couple of blokes, and a far cry from the gloomy, hypersensitive, delicate sulkmeisters they so often come across as elsewhere in the media.

Anyone who likes the band should catch this show.

Playlist -- Wed. 12th March

Badly Drawn Boy -- Degrees of Separation (Born in the UK)
Kingmaker -- Queen Jane (Sleepwalking)
Camera Obscura -- Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken (Let's Get Out of this Country)
Lloyd Cole -- Don't Look Back (Lloyd Cole)
MIA -- Paper Planes (Kala)
Hot Chip -- Over and Over (The Warning)
Lamb -- Fly (Fear of Fours)
Massive Attack -- Angel (Mezzanine)
Burial -- Ghost Hardware (Untrue)
Anthony and the Johnsons -- Hope There's Someone (I Am A Bird Now)
Trashcan Sinatras -- Weightlifting (Weightlifting)
Divine Comedy -- Light of Day (Victory for the Common Muse)
Radiohead -- Let Down (OK Computer)
The Cure -- Before Three (The Cure)
Depeche Mode -- Enjoy the Silence (Violator)
Kate Nash -- Foundations (Made of Bricks)
James -- Tomorrow (Singles)
British Sea Power -- Waving Flags (Do You Like Rock Music?)
Basement Jaxx -- Lucky Star (Kish Kash)
Lemon Jelly -- The Staunton Lick (lemonjelly.ky)
Elbow -- Fugitive Motel (Cast of Thousands)
Tender Forever -- Tiny Heart Clever Hand (Wider)

British Sea Power

To all in the Champaign-Urbana area, I urge you to get out to the Canopy club tomorrow night for the British Sea Power show.

Here is a fantastic opportunity to catch one of the truly unique British acts of the moment, who have decided (for reasons best known to themselves) to pop in and do a show in C-U on their otherwise pretty big-city-centric US tour. They had a great run at SXSW and are now working their way East.

Their third album, Do You Like Rock Music?, is just out, and has been garnering very strong reviews, and their live shows are renowned for their energy and...well...power. Their tendency to dress in WWI military garb, to drape the stage in greenery, and to write songs about ornithology and Victorian explorers and arctic ice sheets and whatnot has garnered them a reputation for eccentricity. But make no mistake about it -- these guys will rock you. They are a band, for goodness sake, whose cornet player sustained a major facial injury after jumping from the top of a 12-foot stack of amps and landing on his chin. THE CORNET PLAYER! Do you understand what I'm telling you?

Here are a couple of thier finest songs, as a teaser.

Carrion:


It Ended on an Oily Stage:

Playlist -- Feb. 27, 2008

Here's what I played on the show...

The Fall -- Sparta FC (The Real New Fall EP)
Oasis -- Champaign Supernova (Definitely Maybe)
Blur -- Beetlebum (Blur)
David Bowie -- Lady Stardust (The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust)
Shudder to Think -- Hot One (Velvet Goldmine)
Ed Harcourt -- Watching the Sun Come Up (From Every Sphere)
Doves -- Pounding (The Last Broadcast)
Dubstar -- Not So Manic Now (Hello)
Kate Nash -- FOundations (Made of Bricks)
Flotation Toy Warning -- Popstar Researching Oblivion (Bluffer's Guide to the Flight Deck)
Brian Eno -- Dead Finks Don't Talk (Here Come The Warm Jets)
Jilted John --JIlted John (DIY UK Pop I)
British Sea Power -- Waving Flags (Do You Like Rock Music?)
Art Brut -- Jealous Guy (It's A Bit Complicated)
James -- Born of Frustration (Seven)
Supergrass -- Seen the Light (Life on Other Planets)
Fratellis -- Flathead (Costello Music)
The Horrors -- Sheena is a Parasite (Strange House)
McClusky -- To Hell With Good Intentions (McClusky Do Dallas)
Divine Comedy -- Perfect Lovesong (Regeneration)

The State Within

A quick recommendation for fans of top-class British TV -- a six-part BBC drama called The State Within.



Imagine a show that combined the nailbiting, non-fascist aspects of 24 with the fast-talking inside-the-beltway realpolitiking of The West Wing, mixing in a healthy dose of ripped-from-the-headlines War on Terror shenanigans of...well...The Bush Administration, all wrapped up in some classier-than-classy BBC production values.

That's The State Within.

The series boasts a sprawling, multilinear plot that seems at first to lead everywhere before settling into an all-too-believable story centering on UK ambassador to the US Mark Brydon (Jason Isaacs -- get this man for the next Bond movie, NOW) and the aftermath of a terrorist attack that threatens to jeopardize relationships between the two countries.

All sort of skullduggery and double-crossery ensue, in a narrative that forces the viewer to lean forward and pay close attention to every scene. If you are one of those people (and I am) who tends to say "Hang on, why is he saying that to her? I thought he was with the good guys? Is that the same guy we saw planting the bomb in the last episode? etc." then this show will most likely make your head swell up to twice its normal size.

There are no big names in this production, although many involved deserve to go on to become huge in the coming years. Isaacs in particular, looking a bit like Clive Owen if someone ironed out some of those crumples from his face, manages to radiate experience and gravitas while complicating it with a little loss of control around the edges (a loss of control that only increases as things progress.)

In general, The State Within achieves a level of believability and realism that is usually lacking in shows of this genre -- a realism that encompasses both the plot itself, as well as individual scenes (the aforementioned terrorist attack, for example, is unexpectedly gripping and harrowing, trapping the viewer very much in the role of helpless bystander.) Fans of intelligent TV drama, Anglophiles, conspiracy theorists, and especially anyone who has recently read Naomi Klein's "The Shock Doctrine" will all be sitting and nodding their heads throughout.

Must...do....radio show

Must...do....radio show
Originally uploaded by BenACS

This is what I typically look like at 7:59pm on the night of my show...

Radio action

Radio action
Originally uploaded by BenACS

Print out a copy of this photo and tape it to your radio...hey presto, it's TV!

Valentines Day Show -- Feb 13th

This is for all you lovers out there, etc etc.

Divine Comedy -- If I Were You I'd Be Through With Me (A Short Album About Love)
Smiths -- What Difference Does It Make? (Hatful Of Hollow)
Franz Ferdinand -- Michael (Franz Ferdinand)
Amy Winehouse -- Back to Black (Back to Black)
David Bowie -- Soul Love (Ziggy Stardust)
Erasure -- Respect (The Innocents)
The Coral -- Dreaming of You (The Coral)
Art Brut -- Emily Kane (Bang Bang Rock & Roll)
The Pipettes -- Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me (We Are the Pipettes)
Kate Nash -- Foundations (Made of Bricks)
New Order -- Bizarre Love Triangle (Substance)
Mika - Grace Kelly (Life in Cartoon Motion)
Madness -- It Must Be Love (Divine Madness)
Blur -- You're So Great (Blur)
The Cure -- Pictures of You (Disintegration)
Reindeer Section -- You Are My Joy (Son Of Evil Reindeer)
James -- She's A Star (Singles)
Real Tuesday Weld -- I Believe (The London Book of the Dead)
Jens Lekman -- I Saw Her In The AntiWar Demonstration (Oh, You're So Silent Jens)
Ballboy -- You Can't Spend Your Whole Life Hanging Round With Arseholes (A Guide For The Daylight Hours)
Guillemots - Made Up Lovesong #43 (From The Cliffs)
Trashcan Sinatras -- It's A Miracle (Weightlifting)
Stars -- Elevator Love Letter (Heart)
Elbow -- Powder Blue (Asleep at the Back)
Streets -- Dry Your Eyes (A Grand Don't Come for Free)
Lightning Seeds -- All I Want (Cloudcuckooland)

Playlist -- January 16th, 2008

As the echoing strains of Guy Garvey's voice fade from the airwaves, I'm posting this playlist. How's that for immediacy?

Buzzcocks -- Ever Fallen In Love (STarry Eyes)
Franz Ferdinand -- Tell Her TOnight (Franz Ferdinand)
Libertines -- Can't STand Me Now (Libertines)
Pulp -- Common People (Different Class)
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci -- Spanish Dance Troupe (Spanish Dance Troupe)
Belle & Sebastian -- Jonathan David (Push Barman to Open Old Wounds)
Stars -- Ageless Beauty (Set Yourself on Fire)
Carina Round -- Take the Money (Slow MOtion Addict)
Divine Comedy -- Tonight We Fly (Promenade)
Richard Hawley -- Tonight the STreets Are Our (Lady's Bridge)
Amy Winehouse -- Tears Dry on Their Own (Back to Black)
Goldfrapp -- Number 1 (Supernature)
St. Etinenne -- Like a Motorway (Tiger Bay)
Black Box Recorder -- The English Motorway System (Facts of Life)
Hot Chip -- The Warning (The Warning)
Streets -- The Irony of It All (Original Pirate Material)
Kate Nash -- Foundations (Single)
MIA -- Paper PLanes (Kala)
The Go! Team -- Do It Right (Proof of Youth)
Mabuses -- Seasider (Mabused!)
Fields -- Skulls and Flesh and More (Everything Last Winter)
Caribou -- Sundialing (ANdorra)
MAps -- Elouise (How We Create)
Maximio Park -- Signal and SIgn (A Certain Trigger)
Ned's Atomic Dustbin -- Grey Cells Green (God Fodder)
Editors -- Smokers OUtside the Hospital Doors (An End Has A Start)
Elbow -- Switching Off (Cast of Thousands)

Morsemusic

A music-obsessed friend of mine named Chris has started his own music blog, called MorseMusic, on which he will be spouting off on matters musical and giving you all kinds of bands and CDs to get excited about (in general, the kind of thing I meant to do with this blog but have only been able to find time to do intermittently...) His music tastes, while being a tad Prince-centric, are impeccable, and he is a damn fine writer and all-round good egg.

Check him out. You could do a hell of a lot worse. (How's that for a ringing endorsement!)

Best of 2007 Show Playlist

It's far from comprehensive, as many of my favourite albums or tracks of the year were from bands based outside the UK (and also I just realized that I didn't play Badly Drawn Boy's "Degrees of Separation," which just might be the loveliest song of the year...) Nevertheless, here's what I played to wrap up the year.

KT Tunstall -- Little Favours (Drastic Fantastic)
Bat for Lashes -- Tahiti (Fur and Gold)
Manic Street Preachers -- Autumnsong (Send Away The Tigers)
Fratellis -- Flathead (Costello Music)
Mabuses -- Mirth (Mabused!)
Tunng -- Bullets (Good Arrows)
Hard Fi -- Suburban Knights (Once Upon a Time in the West)
Klaxons -- Golden Skans (Myths of the Near Future)
Radiohead -- Jigsaw Falling Into Place (In Rainbows)
Caribou -- Melody Day (Andorra)
The Go! Team -- Do It Right (Proof of Youth)
MIA -- Jimmy (Kala)
Kate Nash -- Foundations (Foundations)
Carina Round -- Stolen Car (Slow Motion Addict)
Amy Winehouse -- Rehab (Back to Black)
Annie Lennox -- Ghosts In My Machine (Songs of Mass Destruction)
Jens Lekman -- The Opposite of Hallelujah (Night Falls Over Kortedala)
Richard Hawley -- Tonight the Streets Are Ours (Lady's Bridge)
Sondre Lerche -- She's Fantastic (Phantom Punch)
Babyshambles -- Delivery (Shotters Nation)
Bjork -- Innocence (Volta)
PJ Harvey -- The Piano (White Chalk)
Camera Obscura -- Let's Get Out of This Country (Let's Get Out of This Country)
Magic Numbers -- Take a Chance (Those the Brokes)
Editors -- Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors (An End Has A Start)
Bloc Party -- I Still Remember (Weekend in the City)
Arcade Fire -- Keep the Car Running (Neon Bible)

Long Time No Write...

I'll be posting the playlist from my Best of 2007 Show in a wee while (the Spice Girls reunion notably absent...) but as a placeholder, here is the greatest animated Christmas film ever made, in its entirety (until it gets taken down) -- have a hankie handy for Raymond Briggs' "The Snowman"

Viewer's guide:

1) Skip the live-action opening (1 minute or so)
2) Pardon themiddling quality of the recording itself
3) Imagine me, aged 5 (or 6, or 7, or 8...) sitting curled up in front of the TV on Xmas eve with a mug of hot cocoa.
4) Dig that irrepressibly downbeat ending...