My favourite albums of 2015

Here's my favourite of the new albums I've listened to this year. I do like a list. I've done a Spotify playlist as well. Here goes, if you have any recommendations for me please let me know. 

1	Nadine Shah	Fast Food
2	The Drink	Capital
3	Bop English	Constant Bop
4	The Staves	If I Was
5	Julia Holter	Have You In My Wilderness
6	Sufjan Stevens	Carrie & Lowell
7	Leaf Library	Daylight Versions
8	John Grant	Grey Tickles, Black Pressure
9	This is the Kit	Bashed Out
10	Villagers	Darling Arithmetic
11	Marika Hackman	We Slept At Last
12	Benjamin Clementine	At Least For Now
13	Ezra Furman	Perpetual Motion People
14	Tame Impala	Currents
15	Eska	Eska
16	Lucy Rose	Work It Out
17	Courtney Barnett	Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
18	Ghost Poet	Shedding Skin
19	Richard Hawley	Hollow Meadows
20	The Charlatans	Modern Nature
21	Gaz Coombes	Matador
22	Soak	Before We Forgot How To Dream
23	Kendrick Lamar	To Pimp a Butterfly
24	Blur	The Magic Whip
25	Kurt Vile	B'lieve I'm Goin Down

It has been a very good year for music but there were only two records in it this year: I couldn’t split the top 2 but because I am close friends with two thirds of the Drink but not two thirds of Nadine Shah ‘Fast Food’ is my number one. Shah’s beautifully distinctive voice and captivating songs should have won her far more plaudits than she received. I love it and when me and Anthony J Brown agree on music we are definitely right. The Drink’s record should have got more love and attention as well, it builds on the first album with a more varied sound and a collection of brilliant songs. ‘You Won’t Come Back at All’ was probably my favourite track of the year showing off Dearbhla Minogue’s tremendous voice and a poppier side to The Drink’s music: all bands would do well to be a little influenced by Abba.

The last thing I want is to be accused of favouritism so I will also admit I also know roughly 20% of the band at number 7 - Leaf Library - although not terribly well. This is an inventive and engaging record which gets better every play and manages to be pretty whilst retaining an edge.

The rest of the top 5 includes Julia Holter’s record which rightly has been high in end of year lists, Bop English, who is in one of my favourite bands White Denim, with an album of enjoyable rock and roll, and The Staves whose gentle and compelling folkish songs I returned to over and over again this year.

A number of old favourites returned this year, most successfully was Sufjan Stevens whose record I wasn’t sure about initially but rewarded repeated listens. John Grant’s release wasn’t as warm as his previous two and I didn’t enjoy it as much. It does, however, have the advantage over most others of being a John Grant record. Gaz Coombes and The Charlatans came back with their best albums for years. Richard Hawley’s Hollow Meadows is very good but I was hoping he would have more of the psychedelic edge which made his last record, Standing at the Skies Edge, such a triumph. Blur’s comeback was fun with some good songs but you get the feeling it could have been better if the whole band had spent more time on it.

I listened to all the Mercury Prize nominees this year and attempted an FA Cup knock out thing  which fizzled out due to not getting much response and me not finding the time (or being arsed) to do it. It was a pretty good year though and there are a few nominations in my list, including the winner Benjamin Clementine, which was my favourite. I’m not sure why Nadine Shah wasn’t nominated though, but let’s hope The Drink will be next year.

My favourite albums of 2014

Here we go again. Top 20 of the records I've listened to that came out in 2014 (with a couple from the previous year that I hadn't heard). I hope you enjoy it, let me know what you think of my choices and anything I might have missed. Spotify playlist of my favourite song from each record is here (minus Moz).

1. Sharon Van Etten - Are We There
Since 2012's Tramp figuratively knocked me into a hedge I've been a huge fan of SVE's;. Are We There is even better. It's quite a sad record but it's done so beautifully it almost makes you nostalgic for heartache. I love every one of the 11 tracks, they are tender, melancholic and strangely uplifting, showcasing Van Etten's magnificent vocals. Closing song, Every Time The Sun Comes Up is my favourite song of the year, and this is easily my favourite record of the year.

2. Sun Kil Moon - Benji
It has been a pretty happy year for me (family life being brilliant, work going well in the second half of the year at least, friends being ace)  but the second on the list is another and emotional record. Benji is a collection of simple and affecting songs musing on death and mortality. My greatest memory of listening to this album was whilst spending a summer's Saturday morning knocking down a shed, a perfect metaphor for absolutely nothin

3. The Drink - Company
The musical highlight of the year has been the well deserved success of The Drink, whose rhythm section is my close friends Daniel and David. I've liked all the bands Daniel and David have been involved in and it has been lots of fun turning on 6 Music to hear Dearbhla's tremendous vocals and wonderfully odd lyrics or reading the many positive reviews of this cracking debut album, full of twisted pop songs and strange directions. Listen to Microsleep; listen to Wicklow. I would love this band even if my friends had nothing to do with it, that they do makes me love The Drink even more.

4. Cate Le Bon - Mug Museum
One of 2 that were actually released in 2013 but I caught up with late, listening to Marc Riley (the other being Ezra Furman). This is another record full of odd, catchy pop songs. Cate Le Bon (no relation) has a folky voice that almost sounds arch but that suits the majesty of the music,  I Can't Help You and Are You With Me Now being stand-out tracks.

5. Slow Club - Complete Surrender
It's always good to have a Sheffield band to root for. All the best Sheffield bands support Wednesday of course* (Heaven 17, Human League, Arctic Monkeys, Pulp, Richard Hawley) so I was always going to like Slow Club. And I did, until this record when it's mix of tender ballads and MO town tinged footstompers meant that they moved into the love category, along with John Sheridan, David Hirst, Chris Waddle et al.

6. Morrissey - World Peace Is None Of Your Business
Oh, bloody hell Morrissey, what a twerp you are. Despite the record company rows and the appalling message regarding the democratic process (each time you vote you support the process, indeed), this was a proper return to form. It had musical flourishes and some experimentation, and some of the lyrics were almost as clever as Moz thought they were. Loved the Willy Wonka honking on I Am Not A Man.

7. Steven James Adams - House Music
Steven is another person I know, although not nearly as well as David and Daniel, but Michael who appears on the album is another close pal. It's  a beautifully played and sung collection of honest, lyrically strong, songs that I kept returning to all year. How We Get Through is a particular highlight.

8. Jack White - Lazaretto
Jack White doesn't always do it for me, he can be too arty and clever at the expense of a real emotional connection. I could call him pretentious as well, but could really get away with it after that first sentence. This is one of his best in recent times though, with enjoyable bombast and thoughtful quieter moments.

9. Tweedy - Sukierae
eff Tweedy  from Wilco and his son, Spencer, worked together on this record. During the recording Jeff's wife, Spencer's mother was diagnosed with cancer. Whilst that terrible news has obviously impacted on the record it doesn't dominate and this is a varied rock double album which maintains quality across 20 tracks.

10. Parquet Courts -  Sunbathing animal
The closest thing we have these days to Pavement (and that includes solo Malkmus). If you don't believe me check out some of the song titles (Instant Disassembly; Raw Milk; What Colour is Blood). This is a fun knockabout record from a band who seem to keep getting better.

11. First Aid Kit - Stay Gold
The little music snob devil on my shoulder tells me not to like First Aid Kit, since David Cameron emerged as a fan and they started being played on daytime Radio 2. Well, I do still like them, their  harmonies and pretty country tinged songs, and I suppose Cameron claimed to like The Smiths as well so they are in good company.

12. Neneh Cherry - Blank Project
A hugely welcome return from Neneh Cherry who produced brooding, trip hop infused record that seems to have been a little overlooked. Youknowwhatimean?

13. Jane Weaver - The Silver Globe
One of the highlights of the year was me and a bunch of old university friends going back to Liverpool, 20 years after meeting there. Liverpool never fails to put me into a joyous reverie, a little like Jane Weaver's ethereal collection of off kilter folk and pop songs. And guess where she's from? Only Liverpool! (I need some wine).

14. The War On Drugs - Lost In The Dream
I was disappointed on first listen, I loved Slave Ambient  and had read the relentlessly positive reviews so was expecting a masterpiece. What I thought I'd got on first listen was a band trying to sound like Springsteen and ending up sounding like The Killers (post being good). I was mainly wrong of course, there were interesting moments and good songs on this record. But it's the fourteenth best album I've heard this year, nowhere near the best.

15. Childhood - Lacuna
One of the few acts on this list I'd not heard of before 2014, Childhood's indie pop songs are catchy and clever with big choruses. They are on this list in spite of a rather lukewarm review of The Drink on Roundtable…

16. Elbow - The Take Off And Landing Of Everything
This album worked well for me because it felt like Guy Garvey and co had decided there was no point in trying to re-write One Day Like This anymore. Instead they produced their most musically interesting record for years with some instrumentation that worked really well, especially the strings on Change and the trumpets on the wistful My Sad Captains.

17. Ben Watt - Hendra
Easily the most mature and middle of the road record on the list (yep, even more so than Elbow) but this is a great record which I first listened to after I bought it for my Mum for her 60th birthday (another highlight of the year was her birthday, celebrated in Thailand). Watt worked with Bernard Butler on the record and his influence is mostly obvious on the best tracks, like the title track, Hendra, which could be an early Suede B Side, the highest compliment.


18. The Amazing Saakeheads - Amphetamine Blues
Ah, the least mature and least middle of the road record on the list. If you haven't heard them before, think of their name and imagine what they sound like. They sound like that, but better and with a very Scottish man singing. And at their best, like Here it Comes Again, they sound a bit like Make Up.

19. Ezra Furman - Day Of The Dog
With rasping  and honking saxophones and vocals that sound like Ezra is quite at the end of his tether, this a fun romp of a record. Particular highlights include My Zero annd Day of the Dog which I always think (hope) is going to turn into The Timewarp, but never does.

20. Real Estate - Atlas
The worst named band on the list, and possibly in the world. They have the same name as a directorate at my work. I'm off to form a band (possibly with David from The Drink) called Finance and Corporate Services, see how we get on. The music though, is really good take on 90s indie which is why I like it so.


*Blade Paul Heaton being the exception that proves the rule.

Top 20 albums of 2013

Here are my top 20 albums of another very good year in music. This is just the opinions of one person who listens to a fair amount of music, it won't interest most people but I hope a few might enjoy reading it and maybe listen to something they don’t know well. I'd also love it if people could recommend something I might have missed.

There were a number of other records that nearly made it, Widowspeak and The National being the closest; I also really enjoyed Foals and British Sea Power more than I anticipated and am looking forward to listening to more Matthew E.White, Serafina Steer and Parquet Courts in 2014.
There were some offerings from acts I like that I was less impressed with though: the Franz Ferdinand album sounded dated and the Nick Cave one never got going for me. And did you hear the new one by The Strokes? If you didn't hear it you could surely smell it - that band define diminishing returns. Anyroad, here's the top 20, with a Spotify playlist of some of the best songs too:

1. John Grant: Pale Green Ghosts

John Grant's music was introduced to me by a work colleague, around the time Grant’s first solo record 'Queen of Denmark' was released, giving me the rare sense of smug satisfaction I used to feel when younger as bands I love crossed over to the mainstream. On first listen to 'Pale Green Ghosts’ (both the album and the track) I was ready to move to the logical next step of the smug music snob and claim to have preferred his early stuff: the bitter-sweet lush ballads of 'Queen of Denmark' seemed to have been replaced with stark electronica and deadpan delivery. I was wrong on a grand scale of course, once the gloriously sweary and beautifully melodic GMF got into my head the rest of the record made sense and I appreciated what must be regarded as both a tremendous work of art but also a record that could be played at dinner parties (so long as the salty language won't make your guests choke on their ox cheek doughnuts). My friend, the proper journalist Jude Rogers puts it better than me:

2. These New Puritans: Fields of Reed


The band I love who I know the least about. This is by no means the most immediate record on the list. Indeed, when I played this record to friends, Daniel, who has a reputation for embracing the obtuse, rightly suggested he would be mocked mercilessly had he put this record on. Amongst the impressive honking and plonking are some beautiful songs and inspired moments. They mix jazz, pop and classical and manage to make it all tremendous fun. That this record only reached number 90 on the album chart and that the Mercury music prize judges seemed to think Jake Bugg was a superior option is a national scandal and we should be taking to the streets in protest.

3. Suede: Bloodsports

I was nervous about this. My favourite band coming back after a long period in the wilderness followed two below par records (Head Music and A New Morning). Their live shows were great but the best I hoped for from a record in 2013 was solid mid-table respectability. Wrong! (Again). Bloodsports stands up to Suede's best work, with glam rock stompers like 'It Starts and Ends with You' contrasting with slow reflective tracks like 'Sometimes I feel I'll float away', and two songs ('Sabotage' and 'For The Strangers') amongst the best things they have ever done. The lyrics are really good as well, Brett Anderson has been lampooned for some daft phrases in the past; the Telegraph thought it had found one, but ended up looking as stupid as a mouse themselves (it's a cause rather than a cog without a martyr).

4. White Denim: Corsicana Lemonade

White Denim have a reputation for being an incredible live band: their shows are said to dwarf their records. I've never seen them play but given how much I enjoy White Denim's bluesy/prog thrashings I must rectify this in 2014. Their style may vary from track to track but the quality rarely does: the record starts with three belters that variously evoke Led Zeppelin, Prince, the White Stripes and Blur then builds to a climax from there, closing on the soulful tender 'A Place to Start'. White Denim put the soul ... in your rock and roll!

5. Jon Hopkins: Immunity

This year I enjoyed the feeling of liberation of that comes with admitting that I'm a little more conservative in my music taste than I'd previously dared say. I enjoy innovation, noise and experimentation but it's more like admiration compared with the love I have for more traditional songs. These New Puritans and Jon Hopkins were the exceptions, and what magnificent exceptions they are. Hopkins manages to make electronic music as warm as a good folk band in a cosy pub in winter. Like the others in the top 5 this could easily have been number one this year.

6. Adam Green and Binki Shapiro: Adam Green and Binki Shapiro

Adam Green, former Moldy Peach, and Binki Shapiro who has worked with Beck and others, teamed up to produce the sweetest offering this year. On the surface this is just a well executed Lee and Nancy pastiche but there is more depth to it than that, it's lyrically impressive and has musical depth and their voices complement each other beautifully. For me though it was the record I most enjoyed waltzing around the lounge to with my children, Juno and Euan.

7. Arctic Monkeys: AM

This is a mightily impressive record, the Arctic Monkeys have managed to merge their major influences (R&B and hip hop, indie and hard rock) into a coherent sound which has put them back to their rightful position as the UK's biggest guitar band. Perhaps it’s the professional sheen that means I love this record a little less than some of their other less polished offerings (Suck It and See is my favourite). It's still great though, with the gentle songs in the mould of Cornerstone that I enjoy the most, particularly Mad Sounds and Number One Party Anthem. It might be the Artics record to play to my wife, Hyun Sook, to convince her to come and see them with me next year.

8. Caitlin Rose: The Stand In

This was another slow burner for me. I was first aware of Caitlin Rose when she covered two Arctic Monkey's songs (Piledriver Waltz and Love is a Lazerquest) for a Record Store Day release, countrifying these indie ballads to magical effect. I had high hopes but initially thought The Stand In too tasteful and over produced. In the end though, the quality of the songs and Caitlin Rose's voice won through. The more traditional country songs like Waitin' and are her greatest strength but others, such as the show tune album closer Old Numbers, are fun as well.

9. David Bowie: The Next Day

So much has been talked about this record and for older fans of alternative music the two most emotional events of the music year were the death of Lou Reed and the return of Bowie. I enjoyed The Next Day very much and it was good to have him back. It also reminds me of one of my favourite moments at work: smuggling references to The Dame in a presentation to members of the Colombian foreign office, I managed 5 songs talking to one slide alone. Another good memory was when listening to The Stars (Are Out Tonight) in Seoul where my daughter invented the concept of 'Hegel Music' after spotting the photo of Bowie on the record sleeve: hegel is Korean for skeleton. Most of the records on this list could be described as Hegel Music, perhaps only PSB and Adam Green and Binki Shapiro would be categorised as Juno's other genre, Butterfly Music.

10. Anna Calvi: One Breath

After the hype of Anna Calvi's first album this one seems to have crept out without the fanfare or acclaim it deserves. This is a shame as it's easily as good as the first record with its big bombastic songs showcasing Calvi's powerful voice and subtler moments providing elegant contrast.


11. Laura Mvula: Sing to the Moon

This is probably the most modern sounding record on the list. Laura Mvula is a remarkably talented and inventive artist and this record sounds like just the start of something very exciting. The singles sound brilliant on the radio, and it was on 6 Music where I first heard her infectious songs. She's the kind of pop star we need at the moment, she shines bright amongst British singers.

12. Villagers: Awayland

Of the indie folk doing the rounds at the moment Villagers are the only ones who really do it for me. Conor O'Brien is a fine vocalist, his voice and intimate style suiting the often dark stories that inhabit Villagers' songs. This record is more experimental than the last and rewards repeated listens.


13. Laura Marling: Once I Was an Eagle

Not too many laughs on this break up album but Laura Marling is on excellent form on her fourth record. At the risk of sounding like an old man it's incredible how much she has achieved, how good she is, at the age of 23.Some of the best songs, such as Where Can I Go remind me of Joni Mitchell (yep, she could be that good).

14. Yo La Tengo: Fade

Yo La Tengo are a band that are always there in the background for me, I've always enjoyed everything I've heard but never explored much more. This is only the second album of theirs I've owned and it should really inspire me to get off my sweet ass and listen to some of the others. It's a pretty quiet and restrained and resonant of Lambchop in its folkier moments. Whether or not this is positive is debatable but I found it a good record to keep me going when working from home late at night.

15. Leisure Society: Alone Aboard the Ark

As Travis put it, I'm tied to the nineties (huh) and this cracking collection of sweet indie pop songs reminds me of some of my favourite bands of that era, with bits of Blur, the Boo Radleys, Divine Comedy and Teenage Fanclub making it irresistible for me. Like all the best bands they use their influences wisely and come up with their own sound. Some great song writing too.

16. Pet Shop Boys: Electric

A return to the kind of joyous dance pop that the Pet Shop Boys do best. Only they would write a song title cheque so magnificent as Love is a Bourgeois concept and be able to cash it with such aplomb. Like Suede, PSB seem happiest and are most successful sticking to what made them a force in the first place, actually. My wife likes them too so extra points for that.

17. Billy Bragg: Tooth and Nail

We're in danger of taking Billy Bragg for granted. Here is another warm, country tinged collection of love and protest songs that I returned to over and over again this year.

18. Kurt Vile: Wakin on a pretty Daze

A record that I kept returning to by Kurt Vile, who I guess we can still describe as a slacker: he looks like a slacker, he sings like a slacker, he quacks like a slacker so a slacker he be. This collection made me think of the Lemonheads and Pavement and we should think of the Lemonheads and Pavement every day.

19. Mazzy Star: Seasons of Your Day:

A late entry into the list (sorry The National but I'm sure you can cope). Mazzy Star's first album since 1996 has got under my skin pretty quickly having first listened earlier this month. If there's nothing as incredible as Fade Into You the overall impact of these simple and atmospheric songs is just as powerful. And Hope Sandoval is still an amazing vocalist.

20. My Bloody Valentine: m.b.v.


Another band it's so great to have back. This didn't quite justify all of the adulation poured on it after its surprise release but it's still a very good record. My fogeyish side is delighted to be able to make out some of the lyrics and the teenager in me loved the weirdness of the final two tracks.

Book Review: If This Is Home by Stuart Evers

Below is my review of an excellent novel called If This Is Home by Stuart Evers. Disclaimer: Stuart is my best friend. This review is what I genuinely think of the book - I cannot say whether I like it so much because I know him so well (to quote Barbara and Elaine), it probably does make me more positive about it but I'm hardly fighting against the critical tide on this one (check out an omnitriumph here).

I've tried to stick to my usual rules of reviewing books: keep it fairly brief and say what you think about the book rather than re-hashing the plot. Please let me know what you think of the review (in a kind way), I'm going to submit the second draft to the Guardian readers review section so want it to be as good as it can be:

Review:

If This Is Home is the hugely impressive debut novel by Stuart Evers that is as accomplished as it is readable. Set both in a delightfully realised provincial town in the north of England and in the bright lights and dubious morals of Las Vegas, it follows Mark Wilkinson as he changes identity and deals with violence, loss and regret both sides of the Atlantic.

The sense of place in both settings is one of the strengths of the book, the descriptions of the pubs and hotels in the English town contrast brilliantly with the high class, aspirational venues in Vegas. It’s easy to be drawn into an internal debate about whether the novel is better when it’s set in the UK or USA: but it’s as futile asking whether you prefer Lennon or McCartney. Both are great and work better alongside the other. However, for the record I’m a Macca and England man.

Evers skilfully builds the tension throughout the novel and springs some surprises, but this tension is relieved by some truly comic moments. The mood is also lightened  by funny, fresh and unforced dialogue: the conversations between Mark’s US alter ego Joe Novak and his best friend O’Neill are particularly entertaining.

It’s the relationships in the novel that are its most interesting aspect: Mark’s friendship with O’Neill, his interactions with scumbag clients in his dark and mysterious sales job in Las Vegas, and the family and friends he’s left behind in England. The most significant relationship is with the ghost of his girlfriend Bethany, the goth who was attacked brutally after her dutiful and uncomfortable role as Carnival Queen. It is this incident which Mark spends the next 12 years trying to both run away from and come to terms with and is the key event in the book  (it is really just as much Bethany’s story as it is Mark’s). There are also intriguing relationships Mark has with other women throughout the novel, with his departed girlfriend fulfilling gooseberry duty.

Like those who care about him in the novel, I was seduced by Mark, as a complex, engaging and witty character. I wanted him to succeed even when beginning to doubt some of the credibility of his account; even when he disappointed me. He is a refreshingly odd central character because of this: unpredictable, messy and very human. A favourite Mark moment is his creation a fully formed back story for Joe Novak, handwritten in a notebook, with wonderful details like ‘he’d stood next to Joey Ramone in a pub toilet in West London’.

If This Is Home is a well paced, thoughtful novel, beautifully written and plotted. It is a proper page turner so works well as a short-ish read, but is best read carefully (or more than once) to fully appreciate its intricacies. Even then there are some aspects to the story left open to interpretation, but this is handled well - it made me think more and more about the novel rather than feel any frustration. It’s an entertaining and rewarding novel and should secure Evers’ place as one of the UK’s best young authors. 

My top 50 Suede songs

Since I started doing the artist of the week thing I’ve wondered when I should allow myself the self indulgent joy of Suede Week. They are such a special and important band to me; in fact they are my favourite band. They are the band I loved the most when I really started to love music, they were the soundtrack to my last year at school, all the way through University and moving to London. I feel like Suede are my band, I support them like I support my football team Sheffield Wednesday: I was there when they won a trophy at Wembley (Suede), when they were close to winning the title (Dog Man Star) and when they got into Europe (Coming Up); but I was also with them when the decline started and they got relegated (Head Music), and nearly went into administration (A New Morning), and still love them all the same.

The excuse for Suede Week (it’s actually a fortnight...) came with the gig they are doing at the O2 on 7th December. I was there at one of the last gigs they ever did before they split up 7 years ago, my and my best friend were in our cups, arm in arm, crying (in retrospect that is very Suede behaviour). Here was another chance to see Suede, the best live band I have ever seen, back together. It feels like the right time as well, the country needs some glamour and excitement at the moment. Britain needs a slap on the arse and there is no finer arse slapper than Brett Anderson.

A friend recently suggested that i should do my top 50 Suede songs so Suede Week seemed like a good time to do this. I own pretty much everything Suede have released commercially and went about listening to them all on shuffle, rating them all out of 5 using the Ipod rating function. It worked quite well, there were just under 50 songs that were rated either 3 (very good), 4 (amazing) or 5 (could be my favourite). The tricky part was to work out which of the many songs rated 2 (good) should be in the remaining couple of places – I listened to all the 2s and 3s and swapped quite a few around, I felt like I was making very important decisions with huge consequences rather than being a rather sad little man playing with his Ipod.

All this was just putting off the big decision about deciding on my favourite song, but in the end this was quite easy. The top 4, plus My Dark Star were all in contention. My Dark Star and The Living Dead, both B sides on Stay Together, are such beautiful and evocative songs, even if My Dark Star was eventually overtaken by Trash and Metal Mickey when I listened again in order. Numbers two and three were close: The Drowners is such an amazing debut single and statement of intent and Animal Nitrate is the best guitar pop song of the nineties; but it had to be The Wild Ones. It’s the best song on my favourite ever album. It somehow manages to be simultaneously a beautifully gentle ballad and an overblown epic, and has some of the best lyrics Brett has ever written, whilst staying true to the Suede lexicon (y’know, gasoline, dogs and that, all the stuff inspired by Suburbia by the Pet Shop Boys). It’s just an incredible song, I’ve just listened to it again to make sure I’m right and I really am.

It’s been really good fun to do and I’m sure everyone will disagree with my choices and get very upset that Lazy didn’t make the cut. Well it was never going to, it might have done a very good presentation, have all the infrastructure in place and I might have promised it a number of votes, but it slagged me off in the media, I don’t like it very much and it’s my decision - so tough luck Lazy, with your satellite, sky and cable.

I’ve been thinking about all the albums as well, the first three (four if you include Sci Fi Lullabies) are, in different ways, incredible. Head Music is a comparatively poor album with a few really good songs, but I understand a little more what Suede were trying to do, it’s a shame that the experimentation didn’t quite work. I still stand by A New Morning, in a way it’s the opposite of Head Music, they were trying to strip back the experimentation and do something soulful and ended up with a pretty good album without many standout tracks. I list them: 1. Dog Man Star; 2. Suede; 3. Coming Up; 4. A New Morning; 5 Head Music.

Now, to the O2 to jump up and down, sing at the top of my voice,cry, and completely change the top 50 as a result.

1 The Wild Ones

2 Animal Nitrate
3 The Drowners
4 The Living Dead
5 Metal Mickey
6 Trash
7 My Dark Star
8 New Generation
9 Stay Together
10 By The Sea
11 Killing of a Flash Boy
12 We Are The Pigs
13 Still Life
14 Saturday Night
15 The 2 of Us
16 The Asphalt World
17 So Young
18 Breakdown
19 The Next Life
20 Beautiful Ones
21 Everything Will flow
22 My Insatiable One
23 Pantomime Horse
24 Sleeping Pills
25 Picnic By The Motorway
26 Obsessions
27 Electricity
28 Heroine
29 This Hollywood Life
30 She
31 Together
32 Daddy's Speeding
33 The Chemistry Between Us
34 Introducing The Band
35 The Power
36 Filmstar
37 She's in Fashion
38 Simon
39 Moving
40 Starcrazy
41 Black Or Blue
42 To The Birds
43 High Rising
44 Beautiful Loser
45 Lost in TV
46 Whipsnade
47 Asbestos
48 She's Not Dead
49 Europe is our Playground
50 Where the Pigs Don't Fly

We were never being boring

The Canal by Lee Rourke


As well as writing about music and/or myself I’m going to try and start reviewing books. My first is The Canal by Lee Rourke, just published by Melville House.

The Canal is a debut novel that is undoubtedly astonishing and in some ways paradoxical: it’s a short book and a quick read but leaves you with the feeling of being well nourished like after reading an epic novel; the premise of the book is about boredom but it’s full of interesting characters, themes and plot turns; and the two main characters are not really sympathetic - particularly the unnamed woman who claims to have carried out despicable acts - but as a reader you are still rooting for them.

The story takes place on the Regents Canal between Islington and Hackney. The unnamed male narrator quits his job and decides to embrace boredom. He meets the unnamed woman on a bench on the canal and they begin a relationship of sorts. He falls in love with her whilst she slowly begins to tell him some of her dark secrets. The most impressive part of this impressive book is the sharp dialogue between the two main characters. It is only the most skilful writer who can make the woman’s silence (‘...’ ) seem at different times funny, meaningful and moving.

Although The Canal is not really a violent book, there are violent scenes and a feeling of threat throughout. A young gang, themselves bored, try and fill the void through violence and stealing: ‘There’s nothing else for them to do. Money affords them the lifestyle they are told they need’ the woman explains. The story becomes as much about the man’s obsession with the gang, particularly after they beat him in, as it is his yearning (despite himself) for the woman. He can never really be bored because there’s too much to think about (including his family history), and too many things going on around the canal, like an affair being conducted in the office block across from the bench.

The part of the canal where the book is set is described as a very unpleasant place to be. The people are either drunk, unhinged or both, the water is disgusting and there’s graffiti everywhere – it’s like Club Tropicana for Suede fans. But the writing is so vivid and evocative, and there is such a sense from the narrator that he loves being there, it makes the reader want to walk along the canal to see for themselves (I’m going next week). There are a number of other places mentioned close to the canal, such as pubs and cafes, that I’m also keen to visit, I suspect The Canal wasn’t written as a travel guide but it works as one.

The Canal made me think about what it is that leads people to make the decisions they make. In the canal most of the decisions go against any sort of logic, and they are not always driven by love either. Quite a lot of the time it feels like the characters do or say things instead of doing nothing, or just to see what will happen. In our current era of cultural conservatism where the default position is to take (or affect) offence for anything that diverts from conventional thought or behaviour, it is refreshing to read a book where characters do and say things because they want to, not because they feel they are expected to. It’s a book about morals, about those who choose to be part of society and those who opt out and the damage that both can do, whilst avoiding a judgemental tone.

This is an odd, unconventional novel. It’s written beautifully, it’s in parts hilarious but it’s also dark and sad. It’s a tremendous piece of work.

I love 6 Music

Demand, it must be said, cannot be high for another blog about 6 Music. Since the BBC announced its intention to close the station earlier this year you can hardly move on the internet for people arguing why the decision is so wrong-headed it seems the people who made it must have cheese for brains. Lots of these have been collected on the excellent http://www.love6music.com/ site, and many newspapers, notably the Guardian, have carried eloquent and reasoned articles which have made the decision, and in particular the reasons given for the decision, look ill thought out and contradictory. There’s not much more I can add to this impressive body of targeted rage. Instead I just wanted to write a personal piece about why I love 6 Music so much.


Loving a radio station seems a bit odd. Loving a book, a band, a film, a play or a work of art makes sense, but a radio station? Certainly in the past when radio was brand new, or when pirate radio equalled excitement and danger, but these days for lots of obvious reasons about profits, audience figures and the effects of the internet, there is not a great deal to love in radio. With some exceptions (NME and Absolute try play a wide range of music but stuck within their genres) commercial radio has become bland and repetitive. The playlists are tight and the DJs have little room to be creative. Radio 1 and 2 are better, in the evenings especially, but they also have to appeal to large audiences during the daytime and are understandably afraid to take too many risks. 6 Music is different, it is not supposed to be background music: it’s supposed to be bold and challenging. It’s like a best friend who will in turn give you a hug, tell you a secret, make you laugh and tell you to stop being so stupid and pull yourself together. I love 6 Music.

I was one of many people who bought a digital radio because of 6 Music, and it did not disappoint. It has changed since the early days. I remember the adverts when it launched saying words to the effect of ‘we play what we want’ and it really did. The station has moved a little to the mainstream and is more playlisted than the days when it seemed like half the music Phill Jupitus would play on the breakfast show were obscure punk and ska songs, but even during daytime the music is still vibrant and interesting. In the evening the music is often nothing short of incredible. Eclectic is an overused word in music, but I was trying to think of the music I Iove that 6 music introduced me to that I otherwise may never have heard. There are many, but the first five I thought were: Ninja Tunes electro act Grasscut; Neil Diamond’s amazing Rick Rubin produced album 12 Songs; indie folkster Joan as Police Woman; Rock and Roll pioneer Dale Hawkins; and, last year, the amazing XX. All brilliant, all very different and 5 reasons why I love 6 Music.

What I also love about 6 Music is that it provides a home for established artists, often British artists that we should be proud of, that barely get a look in elsewhere because they are too odd for commercial radio and daytime radio 2, and too old for radio 1. We should be having national holidays to celebrate artists such as Saint Etienne, Richard Hawley, The Fall and PJ Harvey but 6 Music is the only place you’re likely to hear them regularly. I heard Coles Corner by Hawley on Lauren Laverne’s show this morning; she also played Pavement, Curtis Mayfield and The Rolling Stones whom I love and Crosby, Stills and Nash whom I really don’t.

It’s not just the music that makes 6 Music special. In fact that’s there are two other things I love about it just as much: the presenters and the listeners. Almost all of the DJs are knowledgeable about music but not music snobs, interesting and amusing. I love the fact Shaun Keaveny and Steve Lamacq are on the breakfast and drivetime shows. Marc Riley and Gideon Coe are excellent in the evenings, and at the weekends you get brilliant shows presented by popstars. Jarvis, Cerys and Guy Garvey were always going to have interesting music taste, but they are also incredible communicators. I can’t stand the Fun Lovin’ Criminlas but Huey Morgan’s show is incredibly good. I should also mention Stuart Maconie whose Freak Zone shows at the weekend are strange and wonderful, although if you have fairly mainstream tastes like me you have to be in the right mood to appreciate the mix of the weirdest things you ever heard.

You also get some really entertaining comedy shows at the weekend such as Collins and Herring, Richard Bacon, Jon Holmes, and the funniest: Adam and Joe. This is what 6 Music does so brilliantly, the music is always good and Adam and Joe work so well as a comedy act, but Adam and Joe themselves have always said that one of the reasons the show works so well is the contributions from the listeners. Whatever is thrown at the listeners they will come back with something witty and creative, whether it be an anecdote on ‘text the nation’ or creating a video for one of Adam or Joe’s songwars songs. 6 Music listeners have proved themselves time and time again to be inventive, energetic and intelligent, reflecting the station perfectly.

I don’t like everything of 6 does of course, there are some presenters whose style I don’t like, and some of the specialist shows are not to my taste. I don’t really like Dance Anthems but lots of other people do, and I think it’s a shame that they’ve cancelled the Rock Show even though I’d never listen to it,

There is so much good stuff about 6 music, but I also have an emotional attachment to it. It has been there at important times during my life, some bad but mainly good. I look back to my amazing trips to Seoul to meet my future Parents-in-law and, later, to get married to Hyun Sook, and remember listening to 6 Music on the internet in the evening when the rest of the household was asleep. No time is happier than getting to know your first born child; Juno will thank me in the future for the musical education 6 Music provided her in those early weeks. Someone said that Juno Shepherd sounded like the name of a folk singer. Let’s hope that in a few years time when I - like some sort of insane tennis Dad - try to force my daughter to pick up an acoustic guitar she can turn on a station as good as 6 Music for inspiration.

My name is Oliver and I love 6 Music.