This is getting silly now. If I get any later at posting these lists, I’ll end up meeting myself coming the other way. Not that this week’s lateness is entirely my fault. It’s merely mostly my fault. I’m not sure if you noticed but this site had a little down time during the week as one or two technical difficulties wiped me out. Or to put it into layman’s terms, I forgot to renew my hosting. So actually, I lied, it was entirely my fault. Not that this is the time to go pointing the finger of blame. Rather, lets take this opportunity to divert attention back to the reason for the post, which is as ever to point out what I was mostly listening to last week. Not that this is exactly last week’s list. No, this is actually the list for the week  6-12th February. Which is coming up for two weeks ago now. Better late than never I guess. As you can see, my listening is still pretty much being taken up with bands, artists and albums that have been in my collection for some time. Six weeks into the new year and I’ve still not really come across anything new that’s even remotely broken into my listening habits. Not to worry though, after all, I am really enjoying listening to all of these old favourites. Some of which, you can hear if you keep reading a little further down.

Morrissey – I’m playing easy to get (live session version)

Shellac – crow (live session version) : original version available to buy on ‘Shellac – At Action Park

Evan Dando – down about it (live acoustic session version) : original version available to buy on ‘Come On Feel

I really am getting a little tardy with these posts aren’t I?! So this was supposed to be posted last monday but for reason of pure laziness, it wasn’t. Quite a varied week all in all with the top 2 positions going to a couple of acts that couldn’t really be further removed from one another if they tried. I guess i was  going for all sorts of extremes that week. No major patterns of activity to speak of, though it must be noted that Smog has once again appeared on the list. A little less than the last couple of weeks but clearly my rediscovery of Bill Callahan shows no signs of abating. So too for Mazzy Star who I reckon will feature pretty highly on the next post of this kind as they seem to be nuzzled firmly in my listening at the moment as well. Let’s not pre-empt things to much though. Who knows what will happen on my iPod between now and the next time I get round to posting one of these. For the time being, that’s the list and here are some tracks from some of those that made it.

The Horrors – do you remember (live session version) : original version available to buy on ‘Primary Colours‘

Mazzy Star – ghost highway (live session version) : original version available to buy on ‘She Hangs Brightly‘

Wilco – she’s a jar (live acoustic session version) : original version available to buy on ‘Summerteeth‘

Little late with this one. Should really have posted this on Monday but just didn’t get round to it. Time seems to be slipping away from me at the moment. Lots to do and not enough time to do it all. As you can see though, I’ve still been finding time to fill my ears with lots of musical goodness. While Elliott Smith took the lead last week, I have to say I’ve been indulging in a fair amount of Smog over the last couple of weeks. I hadn’t listened to Bill Callahan’s former moniker in ages so I’ve really enjoyed familiarising myself with his works again. Lovely stuff. As for new music,well same story as the last few weeks to be honest. Not much happening. I’ve got a copy of Lana Del Ray’s album but frankly haven’t yet found the need or desire to put it on. I think media overkill has filled me with a little apathy when it comes to actually seeing what all the fuss or hype is all about. Elsewhere, Jack White’s rather unexpected solo news was a pleasant surprise and the rather understated first single is a lovely little affair that has me all excited about what he’s gonna with that particular project.

Anyways, that was the week that was and here’s some songs from some of the artists that I listened to most.

Cold War Kids – there is a war (Leonard Cohen cover live session version)

Babes In Toyland – laugh my head off (live session version) : original version available to buy on ‘To Mother‘

Belly – gepetto (live session version) : original version available to buy on ‘Star‘

These weeks sure are flying by. Can’t believe January is drawing to a close and there’s still no new music that’s getting me excited. Maybe I’m just not looking in the right places. Worse still, maybe I’m just getting old. Who knows. I guess only the coming weeks and months will tell. What i do know is that I’m rather enjoying this down time as it’s giving me plenty of opportunity to rediscover lots of records that have been cruelly unplayed in recent times. Some of them have been obvious choices but there’s also a few albums that I’d kind of forgotten about. Which I guess kind of shows that I can’t be getting too old because music in general is still exciting me. I guess I just need to bide my time and keep my ears and eyes open. Alternatively, if you’ve got any hot tips, by all means point me in their direction. In the meantime, here’s a few tracks from some of last week’s most played artists.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – God’s Hotel (live session version) : original version available to buy on ‘B-Sides & Rarities‘

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – beat the devil’s tattoo (live acoustic session version) : original version available to buy on ‘Beat The Devil’s Tattoo‘

Smog – moonshiner (live session version) : buy Smog records here

Another week down and I’m slowly getting back into the swing of things. Work-wise that is. As you’ve probably noticed, the blog hasn’t exactly been overflowing with posts so far this year. I’ll be honest and say that I’ve not really come across any new music that’s massively excited me and as you can see by last week’s listening habits, I’ve mostly been listening to lots of artists that I’ve either blogged about many times before or who there’s not a great deal to write about. So you’ll have to excuse me if things continue at a snail’s pace for the time being. I may just start to post a few random things or I may just leave well alone and come back to it as and when I get inspiration. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. In the meantime, as it’s Monday, it’s the usual post. Above is what I was listening to most last week and below are a few tracks from some of those acts.

R.E.M. – moonriver/pretty persuasion (live session version) : original version available to buy on ‘Reckoning‘

LCD Soundsystem – slowdive (live session version)

Beck – orphans (live acoustic session version) : original version available to buy on ‘Modern Guilt‘

So that was the first week of 2012. I trust you’ve settled into it well. Frankly, my week was a hectic one. Back to work and back to the gym pretty much meant that any memories of lazing in bed and eating ridiculous amounts of food are now just distant memories. The new year also means that I’ve no new music to speak of as yet, so as you can see my ears were pretty much taken up with some old favourites. All of which means there’s not a great deal to say at the moment. So rather than waffle on pointlessly, I’ll leave you to peruse the list while you listen to a few tracks from some of last week’s most listened to artists.

Broken Social Scene – water in hell (live session version) : original version available on ‘Forgiveness Rock Record‘

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – tick (live session version) : original version available on ‘Fever To Tell‘

The White Stripes – look me over closely (Marlene Dietrich cover live session version)

So that was 2011. No major surprises in my top 25 most listened to artists. In fact it’s a pretty good summing up of my favourite albums. Although obviously not in that order, it just goes to show that I was listening to what I write about. And with that, I bid 2011 a fond farewell. I hope and trust that you had a Merry Christmas and a great New Year. Fingers crossed your head and waistline didn’t take too much of a battering. Here’s to 2012. May it bring you everything you want!

Radiohead – lucky (live acoustic session version) : original version available to buy on ‘OK Computer‘

PJ Harvey – primed and ticking (live session version)

R.E.M. – half a world away (live acoustic session version) : original version available to buy on ‘Out of Time‘

Beirut – ‘The Rip Tide‘ : In making an album less stylised than his previous releases, it’s possible that Beirut’s Zach Condon may well have made his most personal sounding record yet. By not being bound to a specific sound and style, the songs shine on their own terms. It sounds free from self imposed constraints and for my money, this is Beirut’s best album so far.

Santa Fe (live session version)

DJ Shadow – ‘The Less You Know The Better‘ : Pitched somewhere between ‘Endtroducing’ and ‘The Private Press’, DJ Shadow returned with an album that may not have redefined hip hop in the way his debut did but one that had the coherence and flow that has been lacking since. With his eye firmly back on the ball and his ear on some great samples, ‘The Less You know, The Better’ was an unexpected surprise. One full of energy, wit and great tunes.

Dum Dum Girls – ‘Only In Dreams‘ : With less emphasis on the Spector style Wall Of Sound, ‘Only In Dreams’ found the Dum Dum Girls making a far more individual record than I was expecting. Clearly growing in confidence and stretching their songwriting beyond the stylised limits of their debut, they struck a good balance between smother production, grander songs and enough fuzz and lo-fi distortion to retain their character.

Fleet Foxes – ‘Helplessness Blues‘ : Okay, so it’s not as good as their debut but then few records are. Initially a tad disappointing, this album grew and grew and grew on me, building on the foundations the band had already laid. Filled with delicious harmonies, gorgeous melodies and some classic, if slightly less enigmatic songwriting, Fleet Foxes may not have reinvented the wheel but frankly, with a sound like this, they didn’t need to.

Battery Kinzie (live session version)

Girls – ‘Father, Son, Holy Ghost‘ : If the idea of The Beach Boys jamming with Teenage Fanclub and Sonic Youth gets you salivating at the mouth, wait ’til you here this. Listening to this, you can’t help feel that mixing 60s guitar pop with mid 90s alt rock might just be the best idea ever. This album saw Girls taking about a million steps on from their last record in terms of everything. This is one of those albums that just sounds flawless from start to finish.

Honey Bunny (live session version)

The Kills – ‘Blood Pressures‘ : If I’m honest, I was a little non plussed about this album to begin with. Yet something about it kept chipping away at me until it just sort of clicked. Listening to it now, I can’t understand what took so long as it’s probably their best and most consistent record since the debut album. Certainly it sees The Kills pull off a neat trick of stretching their grimy blues rock in a couple of  new directions without ever diluting their sound.

Pots And Pans (live acoustic session version)

Laura Marling – ‘A Creature I Don’t Know‘ : Quite simply a lushly delicious record. One that saw Laura Marling maturing in sound and stature. This record pretty much saw here outgrow the folk tag with jazzy flourishes, a noisy almost rocker and some of the finest songwriting of the year. Frankly this record gets better with every play and never fails to reveal something new each time. That she’s only 21 is both astonishing in what she’s produced here and in what might well be to come.

Night After Night (live acoustic session version)

PJ Harvey – ‘Let England Shake‘ : Considering how many words have already been written about this record, I’m not sure there’s much more to say about this record other than everything you’ve already read is true and it more than deserves the many awards it’s won. A brave, frank and honest look at wars past, present and undoubtedly future, ‘Let England Shake’ never shies away nor glorifies it’s subject, yet it’s most impressive feat is in being a thoroughly enjoyable listen.

The Words That Maketh Murder (live session version)

Radiohead – ‘The King of Limbs‘ : It may be one of Radiohead’s least immediate albums yet it is also one of their most consistent, enjoyable and rewarding. Never ones to do what the fans expect, this album arrived amidst a flurry of online here-say and theories. While anyone looking for guitars was always destined to be disappointed, in truth ‘The King Of Limbs’ isn’t as difficult or obtuse as some would have you believe. For beneath the shuffling, jittering beats and electronic trickery lie some classic Radiohead songs.

Feral (live From The Basement version)

Ryan Adams – ‘Ashes & Fire‘ : It’s only when you hear this album that you realise how mediocre Ryan Adams’ recent output has been. This album saw him firmly regain his  quality control and finally release an album worthy of his talents. It’s a focused, coherent, low key set of songs that saw him return to what he does best. Forget all that time spent rocking out with a band, this is Ryan at his heartbreaking, soulful best.

Invisible Riverside (live acoustic session version)

Thurston Moore – ‘Demolished Thoughts‘ : In what may not go down as his best year on a personal level, 2011 saw Thurston Moore strip back the feedback and squalling guitars and produce my favourite of his solo records. With Beck at the helm, the acoustic nature of this record compliments the calm hush of Moore’s voice with the songs filled out by understated strings, flourishes of instrumentation and controlled moments of wild abandon.

Mina Loy (live acoustic session version)

The Vaccines – ‘What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?‘ : I wanted to hate this album. In fact, I hated this band before I’d even heard them. The amount of press drooling and sycophantic hype setting them up as the year’s next big thing just about set them up as targets ready to fail. Luckily, the band had the songs and the self awareness to counteract the inevitable backlash. From the album’s knowingly tongue in cheek title to the infectious punky, Pixies-esque energy and raw abandon, ‘What Did You Expect From The Vaccines’ proved that every so often, that much press is justified.

Wreckin Bar (live session version)

Veronica Falls – ‘Veronica Falls‘ : This album couldn’t be more indie if it tried and I love it. Great songs, low-fi production, a bookish nature, lovely boy-girl harmonies and a sound somewhere between The Velvet Underground and Belle & Sebastian, the 12 songs here are simply wonderful.

Stephen (live acoustic session version)

Young The Giant – ‘Young The Giant‘ : Normally you can guarantee  that any band Morrissey recommends are the aural equivalent of huge steaming pile of shite. Young The Giant are the exception to that rule. With stand out single ‘My Body’ being the only obvious hit, this is an album in the truest sense. One that needs and deserves to be heard as a whole. It’s a collection of songs that burrow their way under your skin. Rich with soulful, yearning vocals and tight performances from the band, ‘Young The Giant’ has lost classic written all over it.

I Got (live acoustic session version)

Apologies all round this week I’m afraid. For not only is this post a day later than normal but alas it is wholly inaccurate. Well, not wholly but at the very least, fairly inaccurate. Thankfully I’m not to blame and am able to point the finger squarely at the technology I rely on. You see part way through a scrobble, my computer decided to have a bit of a fit. In  doing so, it sent an error to Last FM and lost over 300 song plays which is why the list looks a whole lot lighter than normal weeks. While I can’t remember everything that I’d listened to, I can tell you that there was a whole lot more Smashing Pumpkins, Patti Smith and Rolling Stones in there, along with a touch more Modern Lovers, some New York Dolls, Television, Yo La Tengo, Beatles, La’s, Sigur Ros and TV On The Radio. Not that it’s a major problem. It just means my OCD list keeping took a bit of a kicking. Needless to say, I had a bit of a 70s New York/CBGBs binge topped up with a random mix of things that I thought might throw you off the scent if you were hoping for a sneak peak of what’s made it into My Favourite Albums of 2011 list. In case you’re wondering when that will be up, well all I can say is stay tuned because it’ll be as soon as I’ve got my last Christmas shopping done. In the meantime, as ever here’s some tracks from some of last week’s most listened to (or not) artists.

Bjork – Isobel (live session version) : original version available to buy on ‘Post‘

Florence & The Machine – bird song (live session version)

Frightened Rabbit – confetti (The Lemonheads cover live acoustic session version)

These are all albums that I’ve enjoyed this year but which I think are flawed in one way or another. In some cases it’s because the songs don’t quite hang together as a complete album. For others, it’s that while they’re enjoyable, they suffer from a familiarity of sound from that band that stops them from being remarkable. While a few others are held back from greatness by one or two duff tracks that drag the album down a notch. Some came closer to making it than others but they all lack a little something.

If I’m honest though, I kind of feel that 2011 in general has lacked a little something. While the last 12 months has produced some good albums, for me it’s lacked the clear stand out albums that other years have seen. I reckon I could have easily let any one of these 35 albums slip into my final list without blinking an eye, but this year I decided to be really brutal. So I didn’t set out to have a top 10, 15 or 25 because I just felt that I’d end up padding my list out with albums that didn’t quite deserve to be there. Hence why I have a final 13 rather than a more traditionally rounded off number. You may also be surprised by one or two of the albums included in this post, as they’re by bands that I’d normally class as staples in my listening. Artists that you’d expect to make it by default. In fact, a fair few of them have featured in my previous favourite albums of the year lists but again, I approached my 2011 list with as much of a blank opinion as I could. Past history has nothing to do with it. The list was complied based on the music contained within these albums, regardless of how I feel about the band in general.

So without further ado, here in alphabetical order, are the albums that were considered for but aren’t quite my favourites of the year:

Arctic Monkeys – ‘Suck It And See‘
Reckless Serenade (live acoustic session version)

Bon Iver – ‘Bon Iver‘
Holocene (live session version)

Brett Anderson – ‘Black Rainbows‘
Brittle Heart (live session version)

Bright Eyes – ‘The People’s Key‘

Cage The Elephant – ‘Thank You Happy Birthday‘

Cat’s Eyes – ‘Cat’s Eyes‘
I’m Not Stupid (live session version)

Coldplay – ‘Mylo Xyloto‘
Major Minus (live at Glastonbury 2011)

dEUS – ‘Keep You Close‘

The Drums – ‘Portamento‘

Elbow – ‘Build A Rocket Boys!‘
Lippy Kids (live session version)

Florence & The Machine – ‘Ceremonials‘

Gardens & Villa – ‘Gardens & Villa‘

The Horrors – ‘Skying‘
Endless Blue (live session version)

Iron & Wine – ‘Kiss Each Other Clean‘

Jonny – ‘Jonny‘
I Want To Be Around You (live session version)

Kurt Vile – ‘Smoke Ring For My Halo‘

Low – ‘C’mon‘
Try to Sleep (live session version)

The Low Anthem – ‘Smart Flesh‘

Male Bonding – ‘Endless Now‘
Before It’s Gone (live session version)

Mogwai – ‘Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will‘

My Morning Jacket – ‘Circuital‘
Circuital (live session version)

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – ‘Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds‘

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – ‘Belong‘

R.E.M. – ‘Collapse Into Now‘
That Someone Is You (live session version)

Rival Schools – ‘Pedals‘

Seasick Steve – ‘You Can’t Teach An Old Dog New Tricks‘
Treasures (live session version)

She Keeps Bees – ‘Dig On‘
Vulture (live session version)

The Strokes – ‘Angles‘

Tom Vek – ‘Leisure Seizure‘
World Of Doubt (live session version)

TV On The Radio – ‘Nine Types Of Light‘

Wilco – ‘The Whole Love‘
Born Alone (live acoustic session version)

Wild Flag – ‘Wild Flag‘

Wye Oak – ‘Civilian‘
Civilian (live session version)

Yuck – ‘Yuck‘
Holing Out (live session version)