160 down…..640 to go. Well, that’s alright with me.
#640 : Blancmange – Living On The Ceiling
As ICA #251 testifies, courtesy of a guest posting from Doug McLaren, Blancmange made a lot of fine music, much of it going under the radar, But there’s just that something different and memorable about this, their biggest ever selling single (#7 in November 1982), to ensure its inclusion in this particular rundown,
#639: The Divine Comedy – Something For The Weekend
There’s violins, violas, cellos, flutes, a clarinet, an oboe, a bassoon, a saxophone, a trumpet, a flugelhorn and a trombone all in the mix of this one, alongside the guitars, bass, drums, piano and Hammond organ. Neil Hannon’s breakthrough moment in 1996, some seven years after he had formed The Divine Comedy.
#638: The Beautiful South – I’ll Sail This Ship Alone
There was a post back in January 2016 in which a German correspondent, Sven Duerkopf, used the comments section to ask why the blog was so quiet about Paul Heaton. I replied by saying that while I owned the first three albums by The Beautiful South on CD, I kind of got bored with them soon after and hadn’t listened much to them for years. But let’s face it, Paul Heaton is one of the good guys, which is why I wanted to include him in the rundown. This is from the band’s debut album. It’s a tearjerker.
#637: The Housemartins – Happy Hour
One of the most misunderstood songs ever penned as Paul Heaton explained in an interview with the Guardian in December 2018:-
“I don’t know if many people realised that the song was about feeling miserable in a happy hour, or that the lyrics make loose statements about women being harassed.”
#636: Betty Boo – Let Me Take You There (12″)
August 1992. The simple tale of wanting to escape from the daily grind and head down to the seaside for a day of fun and frolics. It’s not a song that could ever claim to change the world, but I find it rather lovely.
#635: Pavement – Stereo
‘Pigs they tend to wiggle when they walk’. I don’t really know why, but this is one of my favourite ever opening lines in a song. I’m not an enormous fan of Pavement – I sometimes think they were just too clever/deliberately obscure to be entirely loveable, but this is kind of timeless.
#634: The Strokes – Hard To Explain
Does it really matter that they never really became the saviours of indie rock’n’roll as so many critics and commentators had prophesised back in 2001? They created a buzz and they were incredibly good at what they did. They inspired loads of others – just a pity that so many copycats were fourth-rate (at best).
#633: The Wild Indians – Maybe
This rundown is celebrating 20 years of blogging. By extension, it is celebrating everyone who has ever visited, especially those who have commented or got in touch directly. A huge thanks to Leon MacDuff who sent over the three tracks comprising the debut single by The Wild Indians, a long-forgotten Edinburgh band from the early-mid 80s, and to my delight and surprise they included this b-side which I knew and loved from its inclusion on a long-lost homemade compilation tape. One of many hundreds of great things to come my way over the years directly from TVV/T(n)VV.
#632: The Prodigy – Breathe
It was hard to love, or even admire, The Prodigy after the manufactured controversy of ‘Smack My Bitch Up’. But the death of Keith Flint back in 2019 led me to go back and listen again. The Prodigy once fell out big time with the Beastie Boys, so I’ll be twisted by saying that ‘Breathe’, is a mesmerising, tantalising, captivating and devastating tune.
#631: Mark Morrison – Return of The Mack
From the sublime to the ridiculous??? And if so, not for the first (or last time in this rundown). Sometimes, a song just sounds perfect when played on daytime radio. This is one of them. No real surprise it went to #1 in April 1996.
#630: Daisy Chainsaw – Love Your Money
As SWC said back in June 2012, not many hands would be raised if you were asked to remember a single song by Daisy Chainsaw that isn’t their Top 30 denting surprise hit ‘Love Your Money’. He also reminded us that for a short period in 1991, Daisy Chainsaw were all over the music press, but mostly for the manic on-stage performances of lead singer Katie Jane Garside who, all these years later, at the age of 58, is still involved in music as well as being a visual artist.
#629: Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – I See A Darkness
Perfectly described by someone far cleverer than me as ‘an ode to depression’. I went to a Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy gig in Glasgow back in 2012, and it was jaw-droppingly brilliant thanks to the continual delivery of languid alt-country tunes…..except for this one which the contrary bugger played as a fast-paced number!
#628: Banderas – This Is Your Life
Banderas were a female vocal duo of Sally Herbert and Caroline Buckley. Their sound isn’t far removed from the smoother synth-pop of the Pet Shop Boys but with singing that is powerful yet soulful. Sally and Caroline didn’t really play the game of fame in the pop world – they had crew cut haircuts and their dress sense could be best be described as androgynous – and they tried to demonstrate that female acts, especially in the dance field, did not need to be highly sexualised to be a success. Sadly, the industry didn’t agree as they were dropped after just album, released in 1991.
#627: David Kitt – Dance With You
David Kitt was one of the biggest stars in Ireland just after the century, thanks to the albums ‘The Big Romance’ (2001) and ‘Square One’ (2003). He later joined Tindersticks between 2010 and 2013, a band he had previously extensively toured with as the opening act. This is a fragile and wonderfully-scored ballad from ‘Square One’ and a Top 10 single in Ireland.
#626: Fontaines DC – Big
Dublin is a city where many street corners have some sort of balladeer buskers or trad musicians trying to tempt passing tourists to hand over some euros. I don’t think Grian Chattan, lead singer of Fontaines DC, would be tempted to try his luck, but wouldn’t it be great if he was to belt this out from the middle of Grafton Street? And he proved to be prophetic….four top ten albums in the UK thus far, and a reputation for being one of the best live acts out there.
#625: Kneecap – Better Way To Live
I’ll try and one day to get round to writing a long piece about Kneecap, a band that has upset the ‘establishment’ in a way not seen since the Sex Pistols caused a meltdown in the 70s. In the meantime, here’s Grian Chattan again, helping out Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí with co-vocals on a single and track from their debut album ‘Fine Art’, released in 2024.
#624: Michelle Shocked – When I Grow Up
The ‘Best Of’ lists of the 80s rarely give space to Michelle Shocked’s 1988 studio debut ‘Short Sharp Shocked’, which is a pity. The cover, being a photo of the singer getting dragged away during a political protest, was something quite a few of us had experienced at some point during that very turbulent decade, while the music itself offered up many surprises, and in particular its jazz-influenced opener which has made this rundown, and its closer, not listed on the sleeve or the label, which turned out to be a punk remake of one of the songs from her lo-fi folk-like debut, ‘The Texas Campfire Tapes’.
#623: Frank Turner – Thatcher Fucked The Kids
Nearly twenty years after Michelle Shocked, an English singer-songwriter announces himself with the ‘Campfire Punkrock EP’. The obvious highlight was the provocatively-titled song in which he suggested many of society’s problems in 2004 could, and should, be traced back to the policies of successive right-wing governments from the previous generation. He’s got a point……
#622: The Ramones – Blitzkrieg Bop
It was getting a wee bit serious there for a few moments. Let’s get the bruddas to inject some fun and happiness into proceedings.
#621: Sea Urchins – Pristine Christine
A decade or so after NYC punk, a totally different type of music emerged out of the UK indie scene which also acted as a reminder that pop, in whatever shape or form, should be fun and capable of dragging everyone out of whatever foul mood they might be in. All the musicians involved in this 1987 single were 17 or 18 years of age when it was written and recorded. Astonishing.
#620: Brenda – Cease and Desist
So many singers and bands with an extensive back catalogue didn’t make the cut for this rundown. Here’s one from a Glasgow all-female trio whose sole album was released in July 2023 after being recorded in less than a week. It’s a great listen with its eight songs having a running time of less than 24 minutes. Think Riot Grrrl with pop hooks and synths.
#619: Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci – Patio Song
This captures everything I loved about Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci. In an era where the bombastic and sing-a-long elements of Britpop were to the fore, here was a band going against the grain, with more gentle, folk-like music tinged with an indie approach. The opening half of the song is in English, and the second half, with a different tune altogether, is in Welsh. It really is beguiling and charming in equal measures.
#618: Jimmy Cliff – The Harder They Come
My lack of knowledge around reggae is rather embarrassing. I came to this via a Joe Jackson cover back in 1980. Had no idea at all about the 1972 film or soundtrack. I was originally going to include ‘You Can Get It If You Really Want’ in this rundown, but changed my mind very late on.
#617: My Latest Novel – Sister Sneaker Sister Soul
Not known by many outside of the Glasgow indie/folk circle. My Latest Novel released two albums – ‘Wolves’ (2006) and ‘Deaths and Entrances’ (2009). The music was very cultured, relying heavily on violins, xylophones, multipart vocals and percussion, as well as the traditional guitar, bass and drums. They were occasionally referred to in the local press as a less bombastic and less frantic Arcade Fire.
#616: Space – Neighbourhood
This lot enjoyed some brief fame and success in the late 90s, including eight singles that went Top 20, one of which was when this surreal and humorous number. Was life in Liverpool back in the days really like this??
#615: The Verve – Bitter Sweet Symphony
I know loads of folk who love them, but I can only take so much of The Verve and/or Richard Ashscroft. Hands up…and please be honest…..can anyone listen to this without picturing the video?
#614: Robert Palmer – Johnny and Mary
On the face of it, Robert Palmer represented everything I detested back in 1980 when I was a mere slip of a 17-year-old. But when I heard his latest single on Radio 1, I was really surprised as was a glorious bit of electro-pop completely different from anything he’d ever released before. I bought it. It’s the only thing of his in the collection. Call it another of my guilty secrets.
#613: Placebo – Pure Morning (Les Rhythmes Digitales Remix)
As Placebo once did a cover of Johnny & Mary if feels right to slip them in right here. I’ve enjoyed a fair bit of their music over the years, but haven’t paid too much attention beyond their first three albums between 1996 and 2000. I’ve no reason to explain why I stopped paying attention other than I was moving away somewhat from the goth/punk/glam concoctions they were so good at making and finding myself mellowing out somewhat.
#612: Fine Young Cannibals – Johnny Come Home
A cracking debut single from 1985. Fine Young Cannibals are one of those bands who perhaps don’t get the kudos they deserve, especially as both their albums, their eponymous debut and 1989’s ‘The Raw and The Cooked’ were quite different offerings. Maybe they weren’t ever really forgiven for the dreadful cover of ‘Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve).’
#611: Django Django – Firewater
I haven’t given too much thought in years to this electronic act who emerged in 2009/2010 and remain on the go today but they make the rundown thanks to me remembering a fabulous live show at Stereo in Glasgow, one of those hot and sweaty basements that I’m probably too old to go to all that often these days, ‘Firewater’ is a top-notch song, and one of the few from their eponymous 2012 debut album that wasn’t released as a single.
#610: Alison Eales – Fifty-Five North
The keyboard player from Butcher Boy branched out and released a solo album ‘Mox Nox’, back in 2023, followed in 2024 by the ‘Four For a Boy EP’, both on the highly respected label, Fika Recordings. ‘Fifty-Five North’ is an especially lovely piece of music, with a hint of some of the gentler sounds that were occasionally offered by the late Kirsty MacColl. It’s an ode to Glasgow, and indeed its unique underground railway system, written and beutifully sung by someone who is not a native of the city but spent many years calling it home.
#609: Coach Party – What’s The Point In Life
Fellow blogger and good friend The Robster is to thank for this. He described ‘Killjoy’, released in 2023 by Coach Party as ‘a blast from start to finish, veering from Riot-grrl-infused punk and infectious punk-pop to pure melodic indie-pop a la Alvvays and the Primitives…..hurtling through 10 songs in less than 28 minutes but never leaving you feeling short-changed.’ I bought it on his recommendation and was not disappointed.
#608: Dandy Warhols – Bohemian Like You
OK. We all got sick to the back teeth from its overexposure (and if you recall the video, that pun is very intentional). But there can be no denying that this Top 5 hit from 2000 is a fabulous example of radio-friendly, catchy-as-fuck, indie-pop/rock.
#607: Bodega – Can’t Knock The Hustle
As is this. Albeit it wasn’t a hit!! From debut album ‘Endless Scroll’, released in 2018.
#606: Erasure – Drama!
Never actually featured on the blog before. Maybe that’s down to part of my brain thinking they are too commercial/mainstream/popular to write about, and besides, what could I add that’s not been said before. There’s been 35 Top 40 hits, of which 10 have been Top 10, all between 1986 and 2007. This went to #4 in October 1989.
#605: Kenickie – Come Out 2Nite
Formed in Sunderland in the north-east of England in 1994, Kenickie would release two albums and nine singles/EPs before calling it a day in 1998. They were great fun and a lot better than many ever gave them credit for.
#604: The Other Two – Tasty Fish
What New Order would have sounded like if Gillian Gilbert had been allowed an occasional lead vocal. Deserved to do much better than #41 in the singles chart back in November 1991.
#603: Sharkboy – Razor
From Brighton. Much championed by Brett Anderson. The critics likened Sharkboy to Mazzy Star and Drugstore, presumably on the basis of having a breathy female vocalist over tunes that weren’t the most commercial.
#602: We Were Promised Jetpacks – Quiet Little Voices
An extremely hard-working Scottish band who have, a few times, been on the cusp of a commercial breakthrough without ever quite managing it since appearing on the scene back in the mid-late 2000s. Their debut single, released in 2009, is a bit of a cult classic.
#601: Sonic Youth – Youth Against Fascism
So many songs to choose from, but only one per band is allowed in the rundown. So sorry to all you fans of ‘Teenage Riot’ and all the others. But given the increasing concerns in the big bad world out there, it had to be this anthem.