Glastonbury 2008: Best Of The Line-Up

Jun 242008

Sunset at Glastonbury

There’s little under ten hours to go until the gates open at Glastonbury. For the first time in over fifteen years the festival hasn’t sold out in advance. Michael Eavis claims it is due to the dreadful weather of the last couple of years, but most would put it down to a lacklustre headline and main stage lineup. As always though, the undercard is where most of the highlights are to be found. Here are my ten picks for the festival, with some tracks to whet your appetite…

1. Edwyn Collins, Friday – Park Stage (A Girl Like You)

2. Massive Attack, Saturday – Other Stage (False Flags)

3. Black Mountain, Sunday – Other Stage (Wucan)

4. Holy Fuck, Saturday – John Peel Stage (Milk Shake)

5. Elle S’Appelle, Thursday – Left Field (Little Flame)

6. Six. By Seven, Saturday – Glade (IOU Love)

7. Lykke Li, Saturday – Park Stage (Breaking It Up)

8. Martha Wainwright, Saturday – Pyramid Stage (So Many Friends)

9. Hercules & Love Affair, Friday – East Stage (Blind)

10. My Morning Jacket, Sunday – Park Stage (Look At You)

Photo: Gilberts

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Fridays FTW #3

Apr 112008

Estelle – American Boy
Possibly the only time you will find the current number one residing on WoW. A great tune from Estelle, although I’m not sure its as good as 1980, her previous hit single from a couple of years back. It is good though.

Timabland – Way I Are
Despite frankly awful grammar, Timbaland manages to squirm his way through a simply brilliant tune. A slinky bassline and some sulky-sounding flow make this tune difficult to dislodge from the section of my brain labelled ‘catchy’.

Holy Fuck – Royal Gregory
I’ll admit, it’s the profanity laden name that drew me in. I’m a sucker for the f-word. Just ask the football team I play with on Wednesdays, this week saw another full volume tourette-style spewing forth of the beloved four letter exagerrator following a disgraceful defensive lapse leaving me on my arse and the ball rolling slowly goal bound. The tune on the other hand is a Hot Chip-esque stompfest, at turns melodic and listless. The rest of their eponymous debut is worth a listen, too. 

Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip – Fixed
Do you like UK hip-hop? You shouldn’t it’s fucking rubbish… So readeth the gospel according Stanford-le-Hope’s premier poet Scroobius Pip, backed up by his beat-belching buddy Dan Le Sac. This track formed one of the highlights of their set last week at 21 South Street, Reading. Formed of a diatribe against the paucity of quality in UK hip-hop (more pop hits than art) laid over the spanking beats of Dizzee Rascal’s Fix Up Look Sharp. Their long-awaited debut Angles is out in May and becomes one of my most anticipated releases of 2008, out on Sunday Best.

Clinic – The Witch (Made To Measure)
Beserk single from Clinic’s recent LP, Do It!  Went down a treat at their 229 Club gig this week, where the Scouse band really plunged the knife into my agony over Tuesday’s football result by striding on to You’ll Never Walk Alone. After having forgiven them for that, they then declared that before playing classics such as Walking With Thee, The Magician and The Second Line they were going to play Do It!  in one fell swoop. I’m not a fan of that form of gig. The second bit was ace though.