At every party there are two kinds of people – those who want to go home and those who don’t. The trouble is, they are usually married to each other. – Ann Landers
Maybe The Shittest T-Shirt Ever?
Nope, i didn’t go to the party last night. I decided in my better judgement that i’d rather stay in and continue single handedly ensuring my flat turned into what was pretty much my own little smoke haze filled cave.
I stayed up to the wee small hours (3am to be precise) enjoying as much Aphex Twin as my mind could handle before retreating to my bedroom to enjoy the many advantages of YouTube and 4OD.
Upon awakening this morning i immediately realised that not going was 100% the right decision…
A) it’s another beautiful day. If i was hungover i would just stay in bed all day. Such a waste.
B) my flatmate, who went to the party, got in at 7am this morning. I couldn’t have handled that in my psychoactive state. Although to be fair to him he did then arise at 11am. He’s also working at 4pm this afternoon. Hardcore.
C) i get to go jam in the studio, lie in the park and then watch tonights World Cup game between Brazil and Ivory Coast.
So my plans for today are simple. Finish this post. Finish the pre-prepared joint and the black coffee. Head to the studio with FX pedal in tow. Laze in the park for a bit afterwards then home for the game which will be enjoyed with a few spiced rums on ice.
Here’s a few songs from the mini playlist i’ve just finished listening to this morning….
Also been listening to these guys a lot again recently….
This is another summer gem in waiting.
The somewhat cult but soon to be not-so-cult Glasgow band Mitchell Museum. They’re a must live. They played earlier this month @ Sleazys. They were on my radar about a year ago but they kinda slipped off it. Welcome back.
One more thing….apologies for what seems like my constant referencing to weed and getting high recently. It’s just that i’ve not found the time to be able to just relax and chill by myself over the last week or two and i’m taking full advantage of it. Plus this stuff is some of the best i’ve smoked 🙂
If you want an album that is perfect for sitting on your own with some weed, look no further.
Ok so a week into 2010 is a bit late for a “best of 2009” post but any regular readers (are there any?) will know i’ve had problems with hard-drives, my internet connection, my laptop in general and more recently some other stuff has came up that has prevented regular posting recently.
But back to the post..
Deciding on the songs and the order of them for this Top 30 was a hard decision (the Top 30 albums was even harder, post that at the weekend) to make. Basically there were only one rule when picking the list. The rule was that a band can not feature more than once in the list. If that rule wasn’t made then i’d have had the full APTBS album in there, shit, i’ve just gave away the identity of my album of the year haven’t i?
Apart from that it was pretty simple. 30 slots and hundreds of songs. Pick the best.
Remember though, having a song in the Top 30 songs doesn’t automatically mean that the artists will be in the Top 30 album countdown as well. Take for example Yes Giantess, Ou Est Le Swimming Pool and Stuck In The Sound. In the case of YG and OELSP they won’t make the Top albums cos they don’t have one out yet and in the case of Stuck In The Sound its because their album just wasn’t good enough (imo) to be in the Top 30. The song i included here however “Zapruder” is pure shoegaze genius. There’s also the other side of the coin. Bands like The Prodigy, MSTRKRFT and many more brought up absolute brilliant albums in 2009 but even though their albums as a collective were amazing, none of the individual tracks managed to make it into the Top 30 songs.
Sorry i’m not very good at trying to get my point across. I think i might just be trying to justify the fact that i had to leave some amazing songs out of the Top 30. I would have made a Top 500 if i had the time!
So away from the mumbled jibberish that i just wrote, here is the list in countdown style 30 to Number 1
SOMEONE’S IN THE WOLF TOP 30 SONGS OF 2009
30. Erol Alkan & Boys Noize – Death Suite (Bobermann Remix)
29. Paper Planes – Permanent Marker
28. Ou Est Le Swimming Pool – Dance The Way I Feel
27. Freeland – Borderline
26. Nathan Fake – Basic Mountain
25. Stuck In The Sound – Zapruder
24. Mew – Introducing Palace Players
23. Tigers That Talked – Artificial Clouds
22. The XX – Night Time
21. Yes Giantess – Tuff N Stuff
20. Bat For Lashes – Daniel
19. Miike Snow – Animal
18. Russian Circles – Malko
17. IAMX – I Am Terrified
16. Maybeshewill – Co-Conspirators
15. Them Crooked Vultures – New Fang
14. The Temper Trap – Sweet Disposition (re-release)
13. Japandroids – Wet Hair
12. Tape Deck Mountain – Ghost Colony
11. Crocodiles – I Wanna Kill
10. A Place To Bury Strangers – In Your Heart
9. The Tupolev Ghost – Diagrams
8. Moderat – A New Error
7. Ex Lovers – You Forget So Easily
6. The Big Pink – Velvet
5. Cougar – Florida Logic
4. Zaza – Sooner Or Later
3. Lymbyc Systym – Ghost Clock
2. Passion Pit – Moths Wings
And the winner of Track of 2009 goes to
1. Ex Libras – Radar
Instead of making all these tracks available individually i’ve put them all in a ZipFile for anybody who wishes to download the list. The songs have been numbered so they should play in the correct order.
With winter well and truly on its way we’re now experiencing dark mornings and dark (early) evenings. Well maybe not everybody gets to see the dark mornings, some may not have the displeasure of having to arise at 6am but i do and by the time i get home from work it’s either half 5 or 6. Sometimes later. Basically at this time of year i feel like a vampire, i hardly see any daylight, between the hours of 8am and 5pm i’m stuck in a garage all day and because it’s cold this time of year the huge shutter door is left firmly closed, opening only to let vehicles enter and leave. So i get the odd glimpse of daylight but not much, apart from when break time comes and it’s outside to bask in the cold, frosty air while i can!
But even though it may seem like i’m complaining about the dark, it’s the exact opposite. Now before you get the wrong idea, i’m not some strange guy who likes to sit in the dark all the time on my own and plot the worlds downfall but there is something very appealing and calming about being in the dark. If you’re alone, it can be relaxing, especially with music and if you’re with someone then it heightens and alleviates everything that goes on, your voice is clearer, your senses get stronger, right through from smell to touch, pretty much everything. I’m sure everybody has sat late into the night with friends and talked in the dark at some point. Especially in the days when you’d have friends staying over. I used to sit up obscenely late into the dark hours of the morning with a really good friend of mine and just talk for hours about everything and anything.
And in the dark there are no illusions, there’s nothing to see, nothing to hide, its just, well, dark i suppose.
So, here’s the most apt tracks i could come up with…
MP3’s
With The Lights Out, It’s Less Dangerous
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Depending on which way you look at it this video is slightly contradicting the whole post but it’s that good that i couldn’t leave it out….and it’s The Smiths so it’s allowed.
The Smiths – There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
“Take Me Out Tonight. Where’s There’s Music And There’s People And They’re Young And Alive.”
First off, as a few of my close friends and family will know, October is an annually difficult month for me, a lot of shit has happened in this particular month over recent years, say maybe from 2003 onwards. None more so than last October (2008) which was probably the hardest yet. I’m not going to go into details as this isn’t a therapy session afterall but those in the know will understand what i mean. It just seems to be a difficult 31 days in general.
I’m only half way through this October and i’ve already had a pretty shit few weeks. In the last fortnight i’ve succeeded in thinking too much about things from the past, present and future which has led to me embarassing/making a fool of myself, arguing with friends, taking frustrations out on friends and family and pretty much just moping around the house. I can’t seem to communicate properly even with my closest friends. Everything i say or try to say seems to get lost in translation (hence the title) so to speak, even now i can’t seem to spit out the right words of what i want to say about everything in general.
So here’s a few songs currently on Ipod rotation that i can relate to lyrically and musically at the moment..
“all the stupid lies i hide behind..”
VIDEO: Rilo Kiley – The Good That Won’t Come Out
PART 2
BUT i’ve decided that i’m not gonna spend the rest of October just sitting about feeling sorry for myself. I’m going to start being positive about things…anyway there’s only another 16 days left till November comes! Then things will be back to normal….
The first positive came last night, i had a great time at The Big Pink, helped by the fact that my friends Gus, Luisa (http://littlenihilist.wordpress.com/) and Gordon were there. I know that they haven’t exactly been feeling amazing or having the best of times either recently so it was good for us all to go to the gig, have fun, have a wee talk about various things and drink too many White Russians (again). It was a really great night, Gus and myself had bought our tickets months ago but it was almost a spur of the moment thing for Luisa, Gordon and Paul to join us, they were hoping to head to King Tuts and just pay at the door….guess what? It had sold out! We were looking at another repeat of Temper Trap, they were gonna have to tout and beg their hearts out for a ticket. An hour or so passed, no joy, still no tickets, looked like Gus and i were going in alone and gonna have to just meet up with the other 3 in the bar afterwards. …no wait..”there’s the drummer from The Big Pink” i said as Akiko lit up her cigarette. Gordon, fuelled by a bottle of “wine” and a few milky vodka treats, then had the courage to go up to the tiny drummer and explain his love of Robbie Furze’s old band Panic DHH. Gordon was even wearing his 9 years old Panic DHH t-shirt as proof of his love! Anyways, the kind Akiko then disappeared inside for a few minutes and came back out with the best surprise possible. She had got Gordon plus 3 onto the guest list. With me and Gustav already having our tickets that meant that Gordon, Luisa and Paul could use the guestlist passes and still have a free space left over…you should’ve came afterall Chris! The gig itself was littered with quiet/loud moments reminiscent of feedback pioneers Jesus and Mary Chain (just as i had expected) and My Bloody Valentine. And afterwards i had the pleasure of meeting the Big Pink , i grabbed a 5 minute conversation with Robbie Furze (singer and guitarist) about our love for Sonic Youth, DFA and certain guitars. Then i managed to squeeze in a good chin wag with Milo Cordell (synths and general noise) about his fucking brilliant record label, Merok Records (http://www.myspace.com/merok) . Cordell is the man who found the Klaxons and Crystal Castles among many more and gave them their first big break. I managed to surprise him with my knowledge of a band called Salem. I asked him for a few tips on good bands from Merok that i might not know and he looked genuinely shocked (in a good way!) when i told him that i fucking love Salem, especially their dark and altogether slightly disturbing take on Bruce Springsteens “Streets of Philadelphia” which they’ve named “Brustreet” (get it checked out). Then after another 5 minute conversation with Robbie Furze about lyrics and chords it was off into the night to get some food then back to my bed to try and sleep off the oncoming hangover. All in all, a really good, if not very sweaty (King Tuts is a sweat-hole!) and warm evening for all involved.
Gustav, me, Gordon and Paul (pre-gig, no signs of dancing indused sweatiness yet!)
luisa, someone who is smaller than Luisa, me (during the gig, getting sweatier!)
myself and Robbie Furze (post gig, sweatified and very drunk)
VIDEO: The Big Pink – Velvet
And just a little extra video as a nod to friends…
“..our little group has always been and always will until the end…”
I was having a random conversation over the weekend with a friend about the band Miike Snow and their song “Animal” and it kinda inspired me to make a list about animals and their involvement in music. Whether it be in song titles, band names or lyrics.
And i just came up with a list of Animal Related Song Titles from bands that i like. Feel free to download the songs. (remember to have patience when downloading and check the instructions on how to do it correctly!)
There’s certainly a “wolf” tone in the list but it’s not intentional, just ironic i suppose. If you can think of anymore please feel free to leave your suggestions.
Cat Power had decided to take her show a little too far
Next Monday i’m going to put up a top ten list of animal related bands. Example:- Eagles Of Death Metal.
To finish the post i thought i’d put up a video that puts a different spin on the now famous Cadburys advert featuring a Gorilla and the Phil Collins (*shivers*) song “In The Air Tonight”. I personally hated the advert but i like this version.
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Someones In The Wolf 