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Stereo Jealousy’s Top 40 Tracks of 2008, 40-31

December 31st, 2008

I’ve waited right until the end of the year to unleash my lists – and they’ll be coming over the next few days.

  • Top 40 tracks
  • Top 40 albums
  • Top 10 live shows
  • Best Artwork
  • Biggest letdowns

To kick off, here’s the first installment of the tracks countdown.

40: The Ting Tings – Shut Up And Let Me Go
Columbia

I’m starting my 2008 countdown with a confession; I was wrong. Wrong to blast this Salford duo as force-fed music industry pap. I’ll still count my bile as valid againts the horrendous That’s Not My Name, but this and stablemate Great DJ are perfect pop songs.

MP3
Video

39: Foals – The Race For Radio Supremacy
Transgressive

Foals entered 2008 as media darlings, yet some of the hype faltered in the news that Antidotes would not include Hummer or Mathletics. Yet the record was still intriguing, and probably benefited from the lack of big-single syndrome. This is the pick of the LP for me.

MP3
Buy Antidotes

38: LCD Soundsystem – Big Ideas
DFA

After a blistering 2007 where James Murphy and co strode above end-of-year lists like a colossus, Big Ideas was a rare 2008 outing for LCD. The knowledge of pop-hook craft remained, and this cut from the soundtrack to 21 is no mere offcut from Sound Of Silver.

MP3
Buy Big Ideas

37: Madonna – 4 Minutes
Warner

A huge success from the otherwise disappointing Hard Candy LP. Surely it would be difficult to fail with a superstar team of Madge, Timberlake & Timbaland? One of the pop records of 2008.

MP3
Video
Buy 4 Minutes

36: The B-52s – Eyes Wide Open
Astralwerks

I don’t want to clash, I don’t want to rehash the past” Kate sings, and it is no rehash – I never dared to think that the B-52s would sound this good, this up to date, yet so utterly them in 2008. A totally unexpected pleasure.

MP3
Buy Funplex

35: Mogwai – Batcat
Wall of Sound

There’s no following of the post-rock quiet-loud-quiet formula here, Batcat belts out of the speakers obliterating everything in it’s path. A highlight of their excellent 2008 live shows, where it sounded even louder and even more vital.

MP3
Video
Buy Batcat

34: The Kills – U.R.A. Fever
Domino

Scuzzy, short and superb. The Kills finally got some mainstream exposure for this record – and that was before Jamie Hince’s massively publicized on-off thing with super-stick Kate Moss.

MP3
Video
Buy U.R.A. Fever

33: Duffy – Rockferry
Polydor

Originally released at the back end of 2007, well before her media star began its rise, Rockferry is a rare treat, a blue-eyed soul classic and free of the Winehouse-isms that afflict the rest of her debut LP.

MP3
Video
Buy Rockferry

32: Errors – Cutlery Drawer
Rock Action

Signed to Mogwai’s Rock Action, Glaswegians Errors outshone their illustrious stablemates in 2008. Cutlery Drawer is slightly atypical of their output, featuring a stark spoken word vocal by Londoner George Pringle. Wonderful.

MP3
Buy It’s Not Something But It Is Like Whatever

31: Emiliana Torrini – Gun
Rough Trade

How had I never caught Ms Torrini before? It was only an Amazon recommendation that belatedly turned me on to Me And Armini. Housed within was this staggering track – dark, taut and twisted with a breathy vocal to die for.

MP3
Buy Me And Armini

London Live: 8 – 14 December

December 8th, 2008

Gig of the Week: Twisted Christmas – Barbican

As Christmas hurriedly approaches, the larger venues around London have been largely booked up by comedians and tribute shows. Fortunately the smaller venues keep the variety levels high, and this week is no exception. Pick of the bunch is the second in the Barbican’s series Only Connect, the first of which was the Drifting and Tilting concerts featuring the music of Scott Walker. The theme this time round is the underbelly of our traditional festive practices, with the artists performing their own versions of classic and modern Christmas tunes. With artists like Jarvis Cocker, Patrick Wolf and Kathryn Williams involved the event surely has to be interesting to say the least…

Tickets are still available from the Barbican’s website, from £13 to £22.

Jarvis Cocker – Baby’s Coming Back To Me

Patrick Wolf – Stars

Kathryn Williams – Flicker

Don’t forget to vote in our Best of 2008 section

Photos: Patrick Wolf: sugicy; Jarvis Cocker: Lizzka

Read on for the rest of Stereo Jealousy’s recommended London gigs this week…

Read more…

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In Celebration of St David’s Day

March 2nd, 2008
Duffy, Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, Los Campesinos!, Shirley Bassey, Super Furry Animals: Welsh Greats!

 

I meant to publish this yesterday, actually on St David’s Day, but I never got round to it, mainly due to the fact I was chewing my fingers to the bone listening to Arsenal vs Aston Villa. The Welsh have an uncanny knack for making beautiful music, their heritage soaked in the deep harmonic voices of the male choir. The solo vocalists from the ‘land of song’ are nigh on legendary: Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Bryn Terfel even the interminable Charlotte Church. And then there is their new great white hope: Duffy. Whilst many a critic has dismissed her as being mere 60s revival hype, there is no denying that the girl can sing, and sing well. It’s not just singers either: Welsh bands have a great track record too. For example it was the Welsh that provided relief at Britpop’s most painfully English peak: Super Furry Animals, Manic Street Preachers, Catatonia, even the bloody Stereophonics gave something different from raiding the Beatles and the Kinks. And then there is always Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, and a healthy set of noisemakers: Funeral for a Friend, Mclusky (awesome), Lostprophets, Bullet for my Valentine (shudder).  So here is a playlist to salute the Welsh: Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus!

 

Super Furry Animals: Shoot Doris Day (buy)
Duffy: Rockferry (buy)
Los Campesinos!: Death To Los Campesinos! (buy)
Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci: Patio Song (buy)
Shirley Bassey: Goldfinger (buy)