My Top 12 Christmas Songs

12. The Power of Love - Frankie Goes To Hollywood


11. Christmas Lights - Coldplay


10. In Dolci Jubilo - Mike Oldfield


9. Little St. Nick - Beach Boys


8. When The Thames Froze - Smith & Burrows


7. O Holy Night - Andy Williams


6.A Winter's Tale - David Essex


5. White Christmas - Bing Crosby


4. Step Into Christmas - Elton John


3. A Spaceman Came Travelling - Chris De Burgh


2. Saviour's Day - Cliff Richard


1. Wonderful Christmas Time - Paul McCartney
And remember, it's not Christmas until you've heard this song, scratch what anyone says about John Lewis or Coca-Cola ads. I heard this on Wednesday, and now it's Christmas!!


Have a wonderful Christmas and an even better new year

Some of My Favourite Instrumentals

Crime of the Century - Supertramp
The catchy piano repeating gives a lot of room for the strings and the saxophone to work, also the sound of the water gong is a really nice unique touch


Open Your Eyes - Snow Patrol
This is an instrumental that really has the feeling that it's got a lot of motion to it, the video probably helps that aswell


Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd
Both solos are excellent, not sure which I prefer but both count


Parisienne Walkways - Gary Moore
I prefer this instrumental version of this classic rock track. He's just showing off to be honest


I'm Jim Morrison, I'm Dead - Mogwai


November Rain - Guns N' Roses
The epic moment when Slash gets upon the grand piano with the string section behind him


After Glow - Foals
Hard to not wind up air-drumming in this song, the clarity and impact of the drums beginning the instrumental after the hazy feel of the guitars throughout the first half is terrific


Disappear Like the Morning - Hammock
A superb relaxing instrumental track...nice irony that the band's called Hammock then

Vfest vs. Leeds/Reading

Leeds is this weekend, V was last weekend, not too many great acts on either lineup, this are the few acts I'd possibly care about seeing if I was bothered enough to be at either.

V:
Newton Faulkner
Still not bothered to listen to his 3rd album, his first two were fun though


Friendly Fires
Umm, yeah, clutching at straws already. Good band, and had some nice tunes last summer


Keane
Didn't see any coverage, they'd have been wise to play more early stuff


Stone Roses
Playing literally every festival this year


Leeds:
The Cure
I'm told they were excellent at Isle of Wight a few years back playing a three hour set. Probably the most solid of the headliners this summer


Metronomy
Not too much competition on Sunday night, up against At The Drive-In and Kasabian


Passion Pit
The only band I'd actually pay to see at the festival, why they're three behind Foster the People I'm not sure


Odd Future
Who wants to play spot the hipster?


Florence + The Machine
Could easily steal the show, Kasabian won't be depending upon stuff from Velociraptor! to try to top it I'd imagine


Leeds nicks it 5-4, but neither festival is worth the money and spending a few nights in a tent

The Most Absurd Youtube Comment Ever

This was the top comment (with 78 thumbs up) on Lana Del Rey's "Video Games"

One day when we are all older, riding with our kids in the backseat going god knows where, this song will pop out in our system and after the song ends our kids will tell us to put it again because they really like it. Then as our parents told us about the Beatles, Elvis, and all the other greats and how they were there to witness the music, we will tell them about the music of Lana Del Rey and how we were there to witness it.

Ummm, oh dear

Top 10 of My Summer Thus Far

10. Rubber Bullets - 10cc


9. Oddfellows Local 151 - R.E.M.
Only just got into Document to be honest, not that impactful an album at all


8. Carry On Wayward Son - Kansas


7. Yonkers - Tyler, the Creator
"I'm an over-achiever, so how about a start a team of leaders and pick up Stevie Wonder to be the wide receiver" Has to be one of my favourite rap lyrics in a while


6. Bennie and the Jets - Elton John


5. Straight To Hell - Lily Allen
I think I prefer this smooth cover to the original by The Clash; or maybe it's because whenever I hear the original it reminds me too much of Paper Planes by M.I.A.


4. Poison & Wine - The Civil Wars
The Civil Wars is a pair that work really well together, this is a beautifully sung duet


3. Rabbit Heart - Florence + the Machine
This is the song that first made me interested in Florence a few years ago. Nice to see her at the top of the charts at the moment


2. Cut My Hair - The Who
Very underrated song from Quadrophenia and sums up a lot of the unease Jimmy feels throughout the story. Love Townshend's subtle guitar work in this aswell


1. Sirius/Eye in the Sky - Alan Parsons Project
I was delighted when this was played before every Euro 2012 match, of course memorable for being the Bulls theme music when MJ was in his prime.

Top 10 Rap Songs

In no particular order, my favourite rap songs

Two Words - KanYe West ft. Mos Def and Freeway
Back when Kanye was at his best, not resorting to telling us how rich he is on every track.


Shook Ones Part II - Mobb Deep


Get Down - Nas


Oldie - OFWGKTA
All of Odd Future turns up on this track, and they all give their best. Lasts 10 minutes so it was bound to be my favourite song of theirs.


A Day At The Races - Jurassic 5 ft. Big Daddy Kane


Moment of Truth - Gangstarr


Mathematics - Mos Def


One Day At a Time - 2Pac ft. Eminem and Outlawz


Regulate - Warren G


He Got Game - Public Enemy
Great sample of "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield for the soundtrack of the film of the same name. Nice to see the video with a young Ray Allen

Bottom 10 songs - '12 (Part 2)

4. Dance Again - Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull
Now if you read my last Bottom 10, these two were up at the top with that dreadful song "On the Floor", and it should've been custodial sentences all around, the programmers of the world work on a way to corrupt every digital version and all CDs and records buried in a deep hole and then laws passed to stop it ever happening again. The main problem I find with "Dance Again" is it commits the same crimes again. Notably, a spectacularly lacklustre chorus which just shoots holes in the idea that this is anything but contrived bunk to be released along witha greatest hits album. That's probably why Pitbull is wheeled in to talk nonsense for a minute, because they couldn't be bothered to have some creativity and use that time on J-Lo so she could try to fo somewhere with the song, or maybe it shows the lack of faith in her ability to carry as on on her own. What's worse is everything Pitbull says is just sounds ridiculous, it's perhaps as bad a guest appearance as you'll ever hear.

3. Princess of China - Rihanna ft. Coldplay...wait, what?
See what I did there? Rihanna ft. Coldplay, because it sounds more like a Rihanna song than a Coldplay song, by the video you get that impression aswell, and by listening to Mylo Xyloto you definitely get that impression. It's not that it doesn't fit on the album, but Chris Martin wrote this specifically with Rihanna in mind, and it's totally unnecessary, they've never needed to feature anyone on an album before and it ends up bringing down its tone; especially considering that in the story of the concept, this is where the main characters split up. Sure it transitions well musically as you'd expect from Coldplay, but the vocals are bland, they could've sung together for more than a few lines if they had to bring in Rihanna. Also they should've known better than to have at least a minute of generic la-laing and woah-ohing. After being really excited for Mylo Xyloto after "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends" and the release of "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall", I feel like a parent saying: I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed

2. International Love - Pitbull ft. Chris Brown
At first, I thought this was a Chris Brown song, turns out it's a Pitbull song that Chris Brown has to carry the dead weight. In fact is there any Pitbull song where he carries his own weight, it seems to be a resounding "no" when you look at his latest album and see EVERY song has a featured artist, it has "Give Me Everything" which I also thought was just a track he featured on. Moving on swiftly, what does the corny sounding phrase "international love" even mean? I doubt it means anything seeing as Pitbull raps (without any flow, as you'd expect) about being with different girls from different places and Chris Brown is singing about loving the someone wherever they are in the world, working the male and female markets there at once don't you think? Given the rapping in Spanish that comes out of nowhere Pitbull should have to go and make some reggaeton as a form of penance until he feels contrite enough never to do his stupid smirk again.

1. Sexy And I Know It - LMFAO
LMFAO, yes you could see this coming, after narrowly missing out last time with their vacuous garbage "Party Rock Anthem", they've exceeded themselves with an even more preposterous cut. What I think makes me slightly more apoplectic is that such a bawdy song is still a success. It's clear that LMFAO don't take themselves too seriously, which wouldn't be a problem except everyone else seems to. This is yet another song which falls apart in striking fashion when danced to and sung by the sort of slappers I mentioned in part 1. They still sing lackadaisically, they still depend on being backed up by some catchy dance music underneath and people being stupid enough to dig their puerile lyrics. And then there's the "wiggle, wiggle, wiggle", which epitomises LMFAO in one word as the sophomoric, substance lacking chumps that they are. I sentence them to make some interesting soul music seeing as they're only descended from Berry Gordy, the FOUNDER of Motown Records. And to explain what in blue hell "Party Rock" actually means.

Bottom 10 songs - '12 (Part 1)

10. Down - 311
Sounds like a poor ripoff of Limp Bizkit, and yet this came years before Limp Bizkit were even popular. Says it all really, and no-one remembers them now; it's a surprise I've even heard of them not to mention they have a greatest hits album, who knew desultory rap rock could get you that far.


9. Mama Do the Hump - Rizzle Kicks
Rizzle Kicks just cannot write songs whatsoever, the chorus is devoid of any imagination, the backing track is completely tedious. Does anyone remember a really cringeworthy song that knocked around a few years back with two chavs talking to each other about dodgy girls called "Skets"? That's all I can hear when Rizzle Kicks rap, oh dear.


8. We Are Young - Fun
This song gives me a fairly good impression of what it'd be like to be dead, I don't understand how a song with nothing happening in it could be as pervasive as "We are Young". Moreover the chorus couldn't be more of a cliché coming from an indie band we've never heard of before: "We are young", "I can set the world on fire, we can burn brighter" screams of the naive, vague optimism that comes from a band that has high hopes but doesn't really know why, and will hopefully be never heard of again given this perfunctory effort. Just think, anyone heard Owl City recently?

7. Boyfriend - Justin Bieber
So, as has been said before Justin Bieber has hit puberty and now he has to rap to get by. Despite what you might think I had no problem with Bieber up to this point in his career because his music is not aimed at me, and I know that; it's aimed at teenage girls, so like Miley Cyrus or Rebecca Black, I don't dislike, I just don't care. But now he's 18, and that period of his career is fast running dry. Rapping about fondue and using the word "swag" relentlessly to the point you whisper "swaggie" makes not for passable songwriting, and with very little going on in the background you can't be so insipid on the vocals. What really makes me begin to feel cross is that he's demonstrated he can rap quite well actually. Don't believe me? Exhibit A


6. Wifey - Big Ang ft. Siobhan
Aside from having the most contrived chorus I think I've ever heard; just hearing the words "I wanna be your wifey for lifey" is enough to condemn this song. But it's not just that makes me feel uncomfortable, it's the fact that we have a woman singing about bringing her man coffee just the way he likes it and wanting to cook and clean. It sounds hideously backdated and makes me slightly splenetic because it plays to the kind of small-minded churl who still thinks sandwich and kitchen jokes are funny.


5. Dirty Talk - Wynter Gordon
And now to go way across to the other side of the spectrum of appealing to salacious momes by just hurling all subtlety out of the window in prompt fashion. I'm not even going to go into how bad the chorus sounds, or how bad the verse sounds, what's so egregious about this track is just how seedy it is; and I don't think you can understand how shockingly seedy I find it until you've seen numerous women; the kind that wear too much fake tan, live on council estates and have a proclivity to wind up on the Jeremy Kyle Show; sing this song in ropey bars and clubs. It's just sleazy to the highest degree to make a song listing all kinds of sexual terms and situations and your affinity for them, and what's worse it marks you out as either a total tart or as someone willing to degrade themselves to make a contrived song that appeals to the lowest common denominator. I'm not sure which is less attractive.


I'll be back soon to complete this list...

Reviewing albums I got recently

Strangeland - Keane
First up is Keane's new LP, and it's...a Keane LP, nothing more, nothing less. Nothing to write home about in all honesty, except that overall this is way more upbeat than any of their previous albums. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's bad, what's frustrating is there's no real progress or innovation like there was from Perfect Symmetry or Night Train. It's pleasant, nonetheless there isn't too much that leaps out as being a great song, or makes you want to listen to the album again. The song I've chosen from it is "On The Road" which is the most distinct, a fun, quick number that best exemplifies the positive tone of the album as a whole.


Dummy - Portishead
Next is an album I had been wanting for a bit of a while, not unlike Strangeland it was what I expected from a full album of Portishead, however the highlights are much clearer. As a whole it stands together brilliantly as a 45 minute listen, like trip-hop's forerunner Blue Lines; it has hip-hop, dub and soul influence but sounds much more eerie, having a strange, desolate yet somehow comfortable feel. The stand out tracks are "It's a Fire", "Roads", "Biscuit" and the most famous song from the album "Glory Box". "It's a Fire" is a simple yet effective song, just using organ, bass, drums and vocals.


Graceland - Paul Simon
And now on to Graceland. This is a completely enjoyable listen, it has superb variety, an abundance of catchy riffs and intriguing, quirky lyrics. Along with the terrific songwriting you get from Paul Simon, there's a lot to be said for the huge African influence, showcasing Ladysmith Black Mambazo in "Homeless" and "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes". Classic cuts such as "The Boy in the Bubble", "You Can Call Me Al" and the title track also feature. "I Know What I Know" is a good illustration of the South African influence alongside Simon's songwriting and catchy composition.


Morning Parade - Morning Parade
Morning Parade's self-titled debut album came out back in March and is a album that shows the quality and talent of the band, it's a real shame it hasn't been too well publicised. Granted, if you've been a Morning Parade fan for a while it will probably sound a little generic, as if not it's pushing the boundaries as much as it could. On the contrary, there's quite a bit of heart in it, particularly in the final two tracks: "Speechless" and "Born Alone". Moreover a lot of the album tracks sound like Indie music ought to sound at the moment, upbeat and well done, but not for the hell of it. "Under the Stars" stands head and shoulders above the rest of this LP and has been around much longer than it aswell, the perfect showcase of how good this band could be.


Neck Of The Woods - Silversun Pickups
After the first listen of Neck of the Woods, I was near enough ready to pencil this in as album of the year. It definitely feels like SSPU have tied together what they've excelled at all in one album, somehow combining the seemingly incongruous intensity of songs like "Panic Switch" with the laid back feel of songs like "Little Lovers So Polite" alongside brilliant instrumental work such as in "Waste It On". What's overwhelming is the consistency aswell, of 11 tracks, only 2 go as low as being average, at any rate they still fit in with the progression of the album. The conspicuous pace and flow of "Skin Graph", the buildup and breakthrough of "Simmer", the tension of "The Pit" and the punchy vocals of "Make Believe" are but a few highlights of this masterpiece, yes I would go that far! I leave you with what could be my favourite track, but then again I really struggle to decide, anyway here's the impactful ear-catching "Mean Spirits"



Watch this space because there's a few more posts in the pipeline, including another edition of songs I hate and my favourite instrumentals.

The past few weeks' top 10

What i more can I say? Not Top Billin', it's what I've been listening to most recently

10: Johnny Cash - Big Iron
Not sure which is better, this version or Marty Robbins', doesn't really matter


9. Fat Freddy's Drop - This Room
Got their LP for Christmas from my good friend Sam, this is my favourite song from it, marvellous fusion of reggae and jazz


8. Iron and Wine - Naked As We Came
Who'd have thunk a song about surviving someone and a subsequent cremation could be so lovely


7. Pearl Jam - Release
So chilled, and Eddie Vedder's voice is quality


6. R.E.M. - Untitled
The final song from Green is one I've only just paid attention to, really strange listening to Peter and Bill having swapped instruments but the harmonies between Michael and Mike are sweet


5. Sara Evans - Born To Fly
This takes me back to being in Florida 10 years ago when it was on country radio constantly, pretty cheesy but still, lots of fun


4. The Stone Roses - Bye Bye Badman
Typical Roses this is, love how the chorus picks up


3. Paul Simon - You Can Call Me Al
Seriously, who can say this song doesn't bring a smile to their face, especially alongside the excellently humorous video


2. Morning Parade - Under The Stars
Definitely my favourite song of theirs since I got their debut album back in March. This is a band that ought go far


1. David Bowie - Quicksand
Some wonderfully poignant lyrics from Mr Bowie, sung with such great conviction, although I wonder why the piano at the end isn't developed, but that comes from me and my progressive tendencies, nonetheless a terrific tune and what has been listened to most by me recently


Thanks for reading, and most thanks to those who picked up on the Audio Two reference at the start

5 Albums Everyone Should Own

Radiohead - The Bends
Terrific album, probably one of the best of all time, not a bad song on it. When the Mid 90s was swimming in britpop, The Bends rose above the dronings of Liam Gallagher and Damon Albarn with much deeper musical work (the guitars on Just being a great example with Greenwood and O'Brien duelling throughout). Lyrically it's superb aswell, moving forward from the focusless angst of Pablo Honey into much deeper themes.


Porcupine Tree - In Absentia
Such a pleasant and complete album to listen to, it seems to have everything you'd want from a rock album, great progression, great heavy moments, great laid back moments and some awesome acoustic on Trains in particular. When most of the tracks hit at least 5 minutes long you know you'll get something that you can listen to and enjoy at great depth, unless its Dream Theater that is.


R.E.M. - Automatic For The People
If you know a little about my musical taste, at this point you must be thinking "Wow Graham, you're not predictable at all, are you?". At any rate this is a definitive album in the history of (Alternative) Rock. The combination of the lyrics being a combination of change, mortality and then again just general R.E.M. randomness thrown in aswell strike a great balance. Furthermore the strings, mandolin, guitars and piano along with Michael and Mike singing together are beautiful


Massive Attack - Blue Lines
This is a record which music just wouldn't be the same without, the fantastic versatility of it is its great strength, combining haunting sounds with some great reggae and soul singing from Horace Andy and Shara Nelson (standing out in Unfinished Sympathy and Safe From Harm), along with majestic strings, dub and rapping. With all this put together over the chilled beats, there's not much out there which is so agreeable. I think it's completely true that as Massive Attack have said, this is dance music for the head and not for the feet.


Foals - Total Life Forever
And now to something recent, didn't see that coming did you? The lyrics of Total Life Forever are sang smoothly and compliment the echoing feel it has much of the way through. The feel of the song Miami is very funky but at the same time tows the line which the rest of the record does, it's kind of complex but maintains a simple base to the song. The main thing I love about the album is the instrumental work, everything has it's moment; there's the huge drum solo in After Glow, the guitar solo in Spanish Sahara and the bass in Black Gold and Blue Blood which are outstanding parts of already technically brilliant songs.


That's all for now, although there will very likely be a part 2 to this one at some point

Last blog's songs embedded

After posting my last blog, I realized how oafish of me it was to not embed the songs I wrote about to make things convenient. So here they are:

Tennis - Baltimore


Arcade Fire - The Woodlands National Anthem


Cougar - Stay Famous


The Bullitts x Jay Electronica - Run and Hide


Groundhogs - Split Pt.2


The Disappearing One - Weird Fishes/Arpeggi


The Boxer Rebellion - Both Sides Are Even


Cherry Ghost - Dead Man's Suit


Modest Mouse - Dramamine


British Sea Power - Waving Flags

10 terrific songs that you've likely never heard before

OK, it's the highly anticipated return of my blog, does what it says on the tin

Tennis - Baltimore
Tennis are completely laid back and fun to listen to. The bass, the guitars and drums doing near enough the same thing throughout is what makes this song great, you can switch off and listen to this, pretending you're on a yacht in a lovely bay.

Arcade Fire - The Woodlands National Anthem
This in my opinion is their best song from their debut EP, a simple but very typical Arcade Fire track, with Regine beginning on vocals, then Win joining her for the second verse and the rest of the band joining in afterwards, you can feel the synergy even without all the different instruments they normally rock up with

Cougar - Stay Famous
I was given Cougar's album "Patriot" 2 Christmases ago by a good friend and was certainly not let down, however this is the stand out track. Starting out with a booming yet flowing riff, then dropping out to just an electric guitar and some elaborate drumming before moving into a crescendo to get back to the opening riff

The Bullitts x Jay Electronica - Run and Hide
Building off a fantastic sample if Quicksand by David Bowie, this song has soulful lyrics sung, well, soulfully. Then Jay hits a verse, not brilliantly quick, but flows well and is more inspired than anything from Watch The Throne. Its promo video matches the drama of the song and just how deep it goes, I won't spoil how it ends, it's ever so slightly pretentious though.

Groundhogs - Split Pt. 2
To me, there's no better subject matter for music than a mental breakdown, which is what you get with the 4 tracks titled "Split" on their album that's also called "Split". The ondulating sound of the blues guitar reflects the nature of the song very well and feels quite psychedelic at the same time.

The Disappearing One - Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
This is a cover of Radiohead's track off In Rainbows but completely blows the original out of the water with sweeping vocals which somehow have much more clarity than Thom Yorke, in fact it was only after hearing this version I could tell what some of the lyrics were. Adding to this the guitars have so much atmosphere, they give an intense yet soothing sound which you don't hear in many other places

The Boxer Rebellion - Both Sides Are Even
Since last summer their album "The Cold Still" has probably been one of my most frequently listened to albums of the past year. Both Sides Are Even has an almost majestic feel to it with the heart-filled vocals rising alongside the music into the chorus. Despite the somewhat downtrodden lyrics about a break up, this song makes you feel at ease in such a unique way

Cherry Ghost - Dead Man's Suit
Similar lyrically in many ways to the last song, this is a song which bears its soul very well for a good five minutes, so much so you can hang off every word, even if it is sung in a Boltonian accent. The beat matches the heavy lyrical content, but this could be an acapella it is sung so well. 

Modest Mouse - Dramamine
While Modest Mouse don't generally make good sounding music, however they do have an apparent talent of making bad music sound pleasant. The electric guitar that opens is catchy and still retains a great eeriness about it aswell. Isaac Brock's singing seems very disjointed as it usually does, nonetheless the moments the lyrics line up with the rest of the song more than make up for the sloppy placement of the rest of them

British Sea Power - Waving Flags
 The main asset of this song is its wonderful chorus which leads into a splendid wall of noise, ^shrugs shoulders^ you'll have to listen to understand what I mean. There's a haunting ambience behind, for me it puts me in an empty old house in the middle of nowhere, but is still filled with an odd familiarity

Thats enough for now, but there could be an addendum to this or something completely different, depends on what I can pluck up the enthusiasm to write about