Posted at 6:55pm on Saturday, December 31st, 2011 by Andy
Following on from last year I’ve been running the numbers on this year’s listening habits. This year has been directly affected by my signing up to spotify; lots more back catalogue stuff and less obvious front runners each month. That said, each month was still easily typified by something… I’ve also put together a spotify playlist of how 2011 sounded for me for the masochists among you (one track from each album in chronological order)
January: The Decemberists; still going from last year, plus New! Album!
February: …still going with The Decemberists (need inspiration)
March: Other Beach Boys had solo careers? Really? Dennis Wilson!
April: In which I discovered my new favourite band, and the album I played most all year – Wolf People’s Steeple
Special mention has to go to Wolf People’s Steeple; by far and away my most played record this year (despite it being released in 2010).
For those who wish to run the same analysis of their own habits you can download the script from my github. As long as you have python installed it will work like so:
Posted at 8:12pm on Sunday, January 2nd, 2011 by Andy
Thanks to the wonder of the API over at Last.fm I’ve been “running the numbers” (as it were) on my listening for 2010. It can be summarised as follows:
January: The xx and various works by ErlendØye. Clearly coming down from a heavy Christmas
Posted at 10:35pm on Wednesday, March 24th, 2010 by Andy
Replace “Ubisoft” with “any traditional media that has, thus far, failed to ‘get it’” and one animated gif pretty much sums up the current state of play:
Posted at 12:06am on Monday, March 1st, 2010 by Andy
Having spent most of the Nineties in a darkened room listening to music that went “bang, bang, bang, bang” at somewhere around 140bpm I felt pretty musically adrift when, sometime around 2001, I started sleeping at the weekends again and techno stopped meaning quite what it had.
To find myself some new musical roots I started reading about all sorts of music, going right back to the Fifties. My theory was that I should start at the beginning and see where I ended up.
Along the way I’ve read some fantastic books*, recommended by some very knowledgeable people. I’m amazed to only just discover the existence of the Continuum 33⅓ series. Nigh on 100 titles, each book the missing sleevenotes of some of the greatest albums recorded. What an amazing list; from the cult, like Zaireeka, Maggot Brain, Radio City, Unknown Pleasures through the classics like Forever Changes and on to pop like Abba Gold and Sign O’ The Times. If anyone’s wondering what to buy me for a gift just start at the beginning of the list – I’ll have one of each, ta
* My favourite music book, by the way, is Fierce Dancing by C J Stone which documents, among other things, the transition from the free festivals of the Eighties to the open air raves of the Nineties. Is there a music book I should have read?
Posted at 2:32pm on Monday, February 22nd, 2010 by Andy
Florence and the Machine’s cover of You Got The Love is really starting to get on my tits. If I hear one more gushing “ooh, what a great version” or, worse, one more person telling me what a great track it is, completely unaware of the original, I shall be moved to violence.
Here, ladies and gentlemen, is John Truelove‘s original version – melding Candi Staton’s acapella vocal with Frankie Knuckles Your Love in the one true version. Re-released, remixed, re-recorded many many times this is, for me at least, the one we should all remember.
And please, if we’re going to get gooey about modern cover versions, sod Florence and The Machine and Joss Stone. Try The XX version instead.
Posted at 9:26pm on Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 by Andy
Three albums I’ve been really looking forward to all got released in the last two weeks….
Midlake’s The Courage of Others. If it had been on vinyl I would have worn out my copy of their last album (The Trials of Van Occupanther). While the last one was influenced by the likes of Crosby, Stills and Nash, Neil Young, and early Fleetwood Mac (music I have to admit to loving) this latest one is influenced by Pentangle, Incredible String Band, Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span (music I have a real aversion to). Because of my love of the last album I’ve given this new one more listens than I normally would, but have come to the sad conclusion that it’s just a dreary derivative folk album. Fairport Convention lite at best. One down, two to go
Hot Chip’s One Life Stand. Some of the tracks from Made in the Dark and The Warning are stone cold classics. Live even more so. Again I really wanted to like the latest album. Initially I liked the more direct approach – the dance tracks are more straight down the line, ballads (for want of a better description) are more ballady. By the fifth listen, though, I’ve come to realise that what I thought was deliberately more direct is actually knowingly poppy. This is their attempt to break through. I really wouldn’t be surprised if every track ended up on an advert. And those lyrics about the XBox really can fuck off. Two down, one to go.
Yeasayer’s Odd Blood. Hah! This one really is awesome. A genuine move forward from the equally fantastic All Hour Cymbals. Right now I can’t imagine liking another album more this year. At least one purchase was worthwhile.
Posted at 11:55pm on Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 by Andy
Another music post (hey, at least it’s not delicious links about Python…)
In 1969 Sandie Shaw (of Puppet on a String fame, no less) recorded her first self produced album – Reviewing The Situation. Instead of the bubble gum pop she’d previously been recording this new project was a covers album of tracks by acts like The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin; think of it as an early All Back To Mine or Late Night Tales.
Some tracks are ill advised (Sympathy for the Devil) while others are just straight lounge (Love Me Do) but overall it’s an overlooked slice of the sort of sublime psychedelic pop that swinging London did so well. And there’s just something about her version of Your Time is Gonna Come (the first Led Zep cover ever released) that does it for me every time.
Midlake’s The Courage of Others
Hot Chip’s One Life Stand
Yeasayer’s Odd Blood