(Richard Long, 'Sixteen Works', 1984)
Rather than do the usual top/worst/most staggeringly average ten, I thought I'd do something a bit different. I give you: eleven songs that've kept me sane in the past year. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there won't be a great deal of achingly hip breakingly new new new music, but it will contain a whole bunch of stuff I, me, personally, like a great deal.* Comfort music, essentially. And I'll attempt to keep fanboyism to an absolute minimum, which'll be difficult. Obviously.
1. FOALS// BLUE BLOOD.
Honest and open and direct and just bloody wonderful. I listened to this song constantly. (The album closer, What Remains, is also well worth a look. As is Total Life Forever as a whole, patchiness an' all, come to think of it.)
2. SUN ARAW// DEEP COVER
Interstellar brainstrokes. Amazing.
3. BEACH HOUSE// D.A.R.L.I.N.G.
Hazy and woozy and almost unutterably gorgeous.
4. PARENTHETICAL GIRLS// EVELYN MCHALE
"Sweetheart, those sycophants ain't far// Take those drones by the stones/And we'll be stars/ just the way that we are..."
5. MALE BONDING// YEAR'S NOT LONG
Kind of a stupid video, but never mind. They're kind of a stupid band. And this is so, so awesome cranked up.
6. MYSTERY JETS// YOUNG LOVE
Perfect perfect perfect perfect perfect pop music. And when Laura Marling starts singing...
7. GWEN STEFANI// THE SWEET ESCAPE
I can't logically defend this'n. Insanely, unbelievably moreish. Pure escapism, and fantastic for it.
8. TOM WAITS// GUN STREET GIRL
Simultaneously totally battered & broken, and also incredibly soothing. Like the whole of Rain Dogs, really.
9. BELLE & SEBASTIAN// PUT THE BOOK BACK ON THE SHELF
Kind of a cheeky two-fer-one- the hidden track Songs For Children at the end is lovely- but the main event here will always be Put The Book Back On The Shelf. I can't even really tell you why that track in particular anymore, given how good their entire back catalogue is. How about we settle with just because?
10. OTIS REDDING// CIGARETTES AND COFFEE
There are no words.
11. NOAH & THE WHALE// BLUE SKIES
Firstly: I never thought I'd say this about Noah & The Whale, but The First Days Of Spring is a brilliant record. Secondly: it could've been any of the tracks from that record up here now, but this'n won out because I'm a big fan of They Shoot Music.
So, here we are. Eleven songs I like a great deal- and a whole lot of others I now wish were included. Oh well.
*Late disclaimer: actually, upon rereading this list, a good chunk of the tracks were released in 2010. So it kinda is achingly hip new music. But never mind. I'm so ahead of the curve that this shit's already way old.
