1. Fade Away Adam Marsland
2. Grateful For The Rain -Adam Marsland
3. Now You Can Hurt Me- Anny Celsi
4. Paper Umbrella- Anny Celsi
5. The Way Of The Crowd- Dan Folger
6. Never Tell The World- The Free Design
7. Lake Shore Drive -The Innocence Mission
8. Welcome To Soonville- Maxi Dunn
9. Will You Forgive Me? - Maxi Dunn
10. Are You Old Enough to Remember Dresden? - Neon Philharmonic
11. To Be Continued- Neon Philharmonic
12. Let Go- The Postmarks
13. Falling In Love - Prefab Sprout
14. Groveley Road- Saint Etienne
15. Under Her Spell - Saint Etienne
16. Burnt Out Car -Saint Etienne
17. Lonesome -Saint Etienne
18. How We Used to Live - Saint Etienne
19. Tony Jacket- Saint Etienne
20. A Year In Jaine Time- Sunshine Company
21. Once I Lived In London-Swan Dive
22 Everything Flows - Teenage Fanclub
23 She Lets Her Hair Down- The Tokens
Archive for December, 2009
23 Songs For Today
Sunday, December 27th, 2009Christmas Dream
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009
A reminder, as we get very close to Christmas, that you should be listening to one of the great Christmas albums, Lost Winter’s Dream by Lisa Mychols. If you want to know why, read my review and an interview with the artist on this blog. If you haven’t got it already, find a way to get it online.
Brian And The Naughties
Monday, December 21st, 2009With a few days before the end of the decade which doesn’t have a universally accepted name yet, it’s the time for our own personal retrospectives of what was good and bad in the “naughties” or whatever you choose to call them. And while the decade doesn’t feel like a great one -from 9/11 to the tsunami to the age of instant, disposanle celebrity-for Brian Wilson, it is surely his best decade since the 60s -maybe even better, as he is likely to end it in much better shape than he was in 1969.
Consider these achievements- Brian has toured every year of the decade to the extent that his shows are not the “event” it used to be but he is judged on the terms of any other touring artist. He has conquered the demon of SMiLE and made it into a critically acclaimed album. And then he created a work of all-new songs, many which are on a part with his greatest pieces.
So if the 60s was a case of genius interrupted by personal and external forces pushing Brian into retreat by the end of the decade, and the 70s, 80s and 90s saw only occassional released glimpses of Brian’s prowess, the 00s have been a tale of redemption and finding some sense of personl peace- Brian isn’t completely healed but he has travelled a long way.
And what will the next, also unnamed decade, bring. We must remember Brian will be in his 70s for most of the decade -the age of well-deserved retirement for most. So for Brian, we must wish peace and contentment for the decade as the primary focus. Greater recognition from the world for his achievements will be nice. And the Gershwin album is a teaser of something which could be quite special and maybe provide Brian with the wider recognition of one of the greatest American songwriters, alongside Gershwin himself.
Number One!
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
For those who don’t know, Metacritic is a site that analyses the critics scores from a number of magazines and websites and comes up with a combined score for movies, albums etc. Clearly it is difficult to always take a subjective piece of writing and assign a score, but it is probably the most scientific way available of gauging critical opinion. And on that basis, SMiLE is the number one album of the decade! Yes, indeed. See for yourself here.
Today’s ESQ
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
The latest Endless Summer Quarterly is out and , as usual, has some great news, reviews and opinions about Brian Wilson and America’s Band. The feature is the tremendous 1965 album Today and some of the outtakes from that album. There is also an interesting viewpoint from Phil Miglioratti on the intriguing late 60s era of the Beach Boys and the latest news and album reviews, including Brian’s upcoming Gershwin album. You can get your own copy by going to their website at http://esquarterly.com/ and there is now a Facebook group for the magazine.
End Of Tour
Saturday, December 12th, 2009That Lucky Old Sun Track-by-track XVII: Southern California
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
The closing track of That Lucky Old Sun is a simple but beautiful reflection on Brian’s career and the California dream that the Beach Boys music will always be associated with. While it may reflect an idealised world, it also shows the ability of Brian’s music to take the listener to another place.
All the great features of Brian’s music are here -the harmony, melody and the ability to effortlessly move from one section to another. The version on the album is an extension of the song as performed when the work was premiered.
That Lucky Old Sun Track-by-track XVI: Going Home
Saturday, December 5th, 2009
The penultimate track on That Lucky Old Sun starts off as a pretty standard rocker, but then has an astonishing acapella break where Brian mentions “at 25 I turned out the light, cause I couldn’t handle the glare in my tired eyes.” Although Brian never really went away in 1968/1969, there is a sense of completion in this wonderful work, where Brian returns to his origins in Southern California and the roots of all the things that made him great.
That Lucky Old Sun Track-by-track XV: That Lucky Old Sun (Reprise)
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
This is a brief and very beautiful interpolation of the title song, featuring a plaintive melody and some great band vocals.