Last week I was mostly listening to…
October 31st, 2011
Looking back at the last week, it strikes me as a bit of a random week. I can’t really explain why The Lemonheads came out on top of my listening habits. I guess I was just in the mood for Evan Dando‘s twanging bittersweet power pop. Like pulling on an old jumper in the winter months, it’s warmth and familiarity was a joy. As for the other artists in the list, well a few of them are a little easier to explain. Ryan Adams for example continues to chart highly but this week, it’s not just because his new album is a corker. Rather, I kind of indulged in his alt-country singer songwriter ways after watching BBC 4′s Songwriters’ Circle in which he, Neil Finn and Janis Ian performed their own songs and collaborated on each others. It’ s cracking little series which often has some amazing performances on it. This episode was one of the best with Ryan performing stripped back, spine tingling versions of songs form across his back catalogue. I’ve posted one of them below for you to listen to and you can watch a couple of clips by clicking here.
Coldplay and Noel Gallagher earned their places meanwhile by way of albums that are continuing to peak my interest. As I think I said last week, neither particularly stretches their boundaries but for the most part, the sheer quality of the songs makes for solid albums that are worthy of their places on the list. As for the rest, well I guess some are newish releases that I’m still enjoying, some are albums from earlier in the year that I realised I’d neglected recently, with a couple of old favourites nestling in their as a bit of variety. All of which makes for a damn fine list, all of who I’d say you should be listening to. And where better to start than with a few tracks from some of those artists that make up that list.
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Some things need to go away
October 27th, 2011
You’ll have to excuse me but I’m indulging in an overwhelming sense of nostalgia tonight. So I thought I’d share it with you by way of this delightful version of the title track from The Lemonheads‘ breakthrough album. If there was ever a cuter musical coupling than Evan and Julianna, I’m afraid I’ve not come across them. The two of them just sound so perfect together. In fact, as far as snapshots of early 90s alt rock, you’d struggle to find a sweeter image than the two of them hunched over acoustic guitars serenading one another with bittersweet tales of love and longing.
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Last week I was mostly listening to…
October 24th, 2011
So last week was a fair mix of the old and the new. Sonic Youth just pipped Noel Gallagher to the top spot, with The Strokes and Neil Young both giving them a good run for their money. The only new entry was Coldplay whose ‘Mylo Xyloto‘ is proving to be a intriguing beast that manages to mix the melodies of their early days with the lush production that Brian Eno brought to ‘Viva La Vida’. I think it’s fair to say that it’s an album that cement Coldplay’s place as one of the world’s best big bands. Though it’s unlikely to convert anyone whose managed to hitherto avoid their charms.
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Last week I was mostly listening to…
October 17th, 2011
Well last week’s listening was a little more evenly distributed than the week before with no one artist running away with my ears. Rather it was a good mix of new and not so new. Franz Ferdinand, Idlewild and The Tears did their bit for the established records in my collection, while the last few weeks usual suspects keep up their appearances with repeated listens. Look closely however and you’ll also see a couple of brand new releases that managed to worm their way into rotation. Initial listens to Wild Flag have intrigued me enough to think that their debut record is more than just Sleater-Kinney by another name and worth investing more time in. Noel Gallagher meanwhile has managed to produce an album that sounds pretty much how you’d expect it. Which, depending on you viewpoint, can be taken as both a positive and a negative thing. For what it’s worth, I think it’s a pretty good listen, if one which is unlikely to change my world. However, there’s enough going on with it to suggest that ending Oasis was exactly what Noel needed.
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Last week I was mostly listening to…
October 10th, 2011
Well it’s not exactly hard to see who dominated my listening last week. Not that I can really explain why Jack and Meg got such loving. I guess I was just in the mood for some bluesy goodness. As for the rest of my listening, well, most of it was taken up with many of the recent releases that have been cropping up each week. The latest releases from Wilco, Laura Marling, Ryan Adams, Brett Anderson, Girls and DJ Shadow continue their hold on my ears. After a dry patch during the summer months, there really does seem to have been a flurry of really good records released recently. At this rate, I’m going to struggle to whittle down my end of year list. Not that I’m going to worry about that just yet. So rather than waffle on, I’ll merely leave you with a few tracks by some of the artists that rocked my week. Enjoy!
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