the waterboys - 'red army blues'

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Very few bands could match the Waterboys for this kind of power ballad.

banks - 'brain'

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Ouch! I clicked on the link stream this on my system downstairs (the one with the very powerful speakers) and the bass was so low and so loud it was like being in a Mad Professor gig. This is very much in the vein of Chelsea Wolfe/PlanningToRock/Fever Ray, it's mean and moody and simply brilliant. I'm checking to see if their's an album out shortly as I think this is my new favourite track of 2014.

major lazer and la roux - 'in 4 the kill pon de scream'

Tweet This popped up randomly on my iPod last night. Great remix.

eels - 'agatha chang'

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Another instant classic from the very prolific Mark Everitt. This is brand new today and the first track to be released from his new album, due out in April.

pete seeger 1919 - 2014

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Political activist, folk revivalist, musician and just a thoroughly nice man has died at the age of 94. It can't be understated his influence on modern music nor on American politics. It's quite breathtaking when you stop to consider yet he never lost his charm. Have a look at this video of him on the Johnny Cash Show in 1970.

damon albarn - 'everyday robots'

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This is a brilliantly simple video to the first track released from his solo album due out in April and including contributions from Bat For Lashes' Natasha Khan and Brian Eno.

the veils - 'larkspur'

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Let's start the day with a cracking tune.

the mary onettes - 'silence is a gun'

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Ooh, yes. This is rather good. Swedish band The Mary Onettes have released a new single and it's a gloomy masterpiece. It reminds me of early 90s Sparks meets Cocteau Twins but of course, with it being Swedih there's always the hint of dream pop somewhere in the background.

noir picasso - 'suzy haz a ticket...to ride'

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Love this tune. Reminiscent of Dirty Beaches or Billy Idol when he was good. 

what is the perfect sunday morning tune?

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It's a toughie, isn't it? You can't go wrong with a bit of Curtis Mayfield, maybe some Portishead, George Harrison or go completely retro with the Ronettes, folky with Sandy Denny, bluesy with Leadbelly, a jazz tip with Nina, a hip-hip vibe with De La Soul or just plain f*ck the world with Nick Cave's 'Murder Ballads.

I don't know the right answer but today it's Beck covering the Korgis' classic. And it's my birthday today so self-indulgence is the order of the day.

rubberbandits - 'dad's best friend'

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What a bassline, what a video!

amen corner - 'if paradise is half as nice'

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I was blown away by this tune when I first heard it back when I was very young and it still leaves me gobsmacked. Timeless classic  doesn't nearly describe it.

crybaby - 'armies of darkness'

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He really, really should be much more famous. The lyrics, the voice, the tunes....the man has got it all. 

pennybirdrabbit - 'cheap goodbyes'

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I confess I don't know a lot about this singer other than her Soundcloud bio (LA based female singer) but after stumbling across this song quite randomly on Soundcloud I've got to say that I like her sound a lot. It's got that clean, Scandinavian pop sound - sort of Lykke Li / Robyn and that means it's an instant yes!

poliça - 'i need $'

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It's a nice feeling being ahead of the curve for once where new bands are concerned. The Guardian have picked up on Poliça as one of the next big things here with a great review of their latest single. I'm glad to see/hear that the auto-tune has been kicked into touch and they now have a more confident and ambitious approach to their music. This tune is a real slow burner, that's for sure.

warpaint new album

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The hype surrounding the LA 4-piece band gathers apace and already the backlash has begun. In recent weeks I've read a few articles from other bands having pops at girl bands and although not referenced directly, Warpaint are undoubtedly one of the bands targeted for criticism. I'm not convinced that this ire isn't borne at least partly from jealousy of the success but if these bands are getting extra publicity because of the 'novelty' factor of female guitarists/drummers (and is it really so strange to see nowadays?) then rest assured elsewhere there is a struggling female singer/songwriter that has been told not to bother because the market is 'saturated'. I digress.

The eponymous second album was released yesterday and generally it has been warmly received although bearing in mind the points from the first paragraph, it seems a few hipster journalists have said they preferred the early EP. The track 'Love Is To Die' from the album is also featured on this Chris Cunningham film project and makes for interesting viewing. See what you think. 

quantic soul orchestra - 'babarabatiri'

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Let's warm the place up with some beautiful soul.

polly scattergood - 'subsequently lost (lissvik remix)'

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A dubby remix of her latest single from her latest album with more remixes on the way including one from Vince Clarke.

stereo mc's - 'flash'

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The remake of the Avengers film was bad, very bad and unfortunately the soundtrack took a lot of collateral damage. It's a real shame too as there are some very good tunes on the album, not least this track from the Stereo MC's.

lunchtime in the mix

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Here's a few random tunes to listen to this lunchtime.

Sparklehorse (feat. James Mercer) - 'Insane Lullaby'

JJ72 - 'Not Like You'

Jagwar Ma - 'Man I Need'

Little Dragon - 'Little Man'

air - 'how does it make you feel?'

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I am feeling very warm right now 

Please don't disappear 

I am spacing out with you 

You are the most beautiful entity that I've ever dreamed of 

At night I will protect you in your dreams 

I will be your angel 

You worry so much about not having enough time together 

It makes no difference to me 

I would be happy with just one minute in your arms 

Let's have an extended play together 

You're telling me that we live to far to love each other 

But your love can stretch further than you and I can see 

So how does it make you feel? 

Do you know when you look at me 

It is a salvation 

I've been waiting for you so long 

I can drive on that road forever 

I wish you could exist to live on my planet 

Well it's very hard for me to say these things in your presence 

So how does it make you feel? 

Well, I really think you should quit smoking. 

tracey thorn - 'grand canyon (ada remix)'

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Taking the tempo down a bit but keeping the quality sky high. I love this tune.

darkmountaingroup - 'lose control'

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A massive party tune and no mistake.

gardens and villa - 'colony glen'

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This  is the second single from their new album, due for release next month and it's a cracking tune.

love - 'can't explain'

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The prototype jangly guitar band that all others should be measured by. Arthur Lee showing his true genius on this, the second track from his debut album.

john grant - 'glacier'

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I'm really looking forward to seeing him perform at the De La Warr Pavilion later this year and my enthusiasm has been buoyed further by this brilliant new video to his single Glacier from last year's superb album. 

neneh cherry - 'everything'

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Ahead of a new album next month, the first for 17 years, Swedish singer Neneh Cherry has released a track for streaming. It's got an edge to it that harks back to her post-punk days and I'll be interested to hear how the rest of the album feels too. It's good to have her back, that's for sure.

jenny lewis - 'completely not me'

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Co-written and produced by Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij and boy, does it show. The jangle of the guitar and the heavy Afro-infused drumming is not part of Jenny Lewis' usual oeuvre but the new musical direction suits her I think. The song is remarkably short though, almost as if they missed a trick by building the crescendo up even further with another verse. I like the way they have her singing the harmonies in the background too though. I can't wait for the new album. 

hurray for the riff raff - 'st. roche blues'

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The more I hear of this band, the more and more I like them. Have a listen to this and see why. Beautiful.

thee silver mt zion memorial orchestra new album being streamed

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The Montreal music collective have a new album 'Fuck Get Free We Pour Light On Everything' out next week and ahead of that, music site Pitchfork have it streaming here. First impressions are that it sounds very good, a bit heavier than their more typical ambient output and a couple of killer tracks. Excellent stuff. 

Here's the tracklisting:

1. Fuck Get Free (For the Island of Montreal)

2. Austerity Blues

3. Take Away These Early Grave Blues

4. Little Ones Run

5. What We Loved Was Not Enough

6. Rains Thru the Roof at Thee Grande Ballroom (For Capital Steez)

Here's track 2.

rusko - 'whistle crew''

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This will wake you up - a throwback to dancehall mc-ing with a monster tune from Rusko.

curtis mayfield - 'sometimes i wonder'

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A lesser known track from possibly the greatest soul singer of all time. I was going to put this into my Monday mix post but it's just so good it deserves its own thread.

monday in the mix

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Here's a few tunes that have got me through a tough morning.

RZA - 'The Whistle'

Shimmering Stars - 'Believe'

Stan Getz and João Gilberto - 'Corcovado (TOKiMONSTA Remix)'

dub fx - 'soothe your pain'

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Listening to this with my 14 year old son and both of us very impressed as ever with Dub FX. A great talent.

2 men, a dum machine and a trumpet - 'tired of being pushed around'

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Released in 1988 and featuring, if I recall correctly, the 2 from Fine Young Cannibals who weren't Roland Gift. I haven't heard this in so long, I'd forgotten the Robert Mitchum samples, the cowbells, the breaks...great way to start the weekend.

globular - 'this, here, now'

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And as if by magic....

I stumbled across this quite randomly on Soundcloud tonight and oh boy has it made my night. A wonderfully trippy, glitchy, upbeat downtempo fusion it is too. I see they've got a new album out on Bandcamp too. Great stuff. 

nick cave albums rated worst to best

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Here's an interesting list from Stereogum. It's a (not quite definitive) list of Nick Cave's albums rated worst to best by writer Dan Lawrence. I try not to get too hung up on these 'best of' lists as it's just a bit of fun and ultimately futile to rank albums as 4th best...8th worst etc. I do like the way that Lawrence has approached the task and, like me, he's obviously a massive fan of Nick Cave. 

I have a few issues with it though. Despite much critical acclaim I still do not enjoy listening to his latest, Push the Sky Away as much as some of his other albums. I also question why Nocturama ranked so low yet No More Shall We Part so highly. These two albums compliment each other rather well and I see them as one album in two parts. And Murder Ballads only at number 8? This was a landmark album for Nick and the band and marked a huge turning point in his musical direction and for the target audience. This is nitpicking though and if I pursue this critique further I'll be guilty of what I have said I try to avoid - getting hung up on it.

I don't think I could rank them as Dan has, for a start I would also include a few of the peripheral albums that have been released either as compilations, live albums or solo projects. The soundtrack to The Road or The Proposition would have to be up there for me as some of his greatest music.

Please do have a look at the article though, it's extremely well-written and informative. It also gives me an excuse to post a Nick Cave tune. 

belle and sebastian - 'stars of track and field (from the bbc sessions)'

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This is dedicated to my little brother whose birthday it is today. 

king krule - 'a lizard state'

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Hitchcock fans and lovers of film noir will no doubt enjoy the latest video from the boy wonder, King Krule. I'm still predicting big, big things for KK in the next couple of years and so far my prediction looks a solid one.

snoop lion - 'get away (feat angela hunte)'

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Hot off the press for this cracking video by Snoop Lion (ex-Snoop Dogg) where he pays homage to 8-bit computer gaming from the 80s and seeing as the song is produced by none other than Major Lazer, the game features the cartoon war veteran too. Everyone's a winner!

matthew e. white - 'one of these days'

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This is track one from his 2013 album which was given to me as a present by my 2 young children for Christmas. After giving the album a few listens I can see why it featured so highly in lots of 'best of 2013' lists.

beak> - 'iron action'

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It's my first day back at work and as I emerged from St Pancras Station from my first commute of 2014 the skies were so black and the rain so keen to wrap itself around us commuters that it occurred to me that London is in a filthy mood this morning. As luck would have it, I was listening to this rather doom-laden tune from Beak> at that very moment and it was the perfect soundtrack to what is apparently the most depressing day of the year. It's all uphill from here!

enra - 'pleiades'

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A very good friend sent me a link to this video a few days ago and it's mesmerising to watch. Enra are a Japanese performance group who combine backlit computer graphics with extremely tight and complicated modern dance. I don't pretend to know too much about modern dance but this particular performance seems to be a reference to the stellar constellation in the title. A bit of trivia for you - the constellation we know as Pleiades is called Subaru in Japan.

sigur rós - 'svefn-g-englar'

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They were formed 20 years ago today and it's not too far-fetched to say that they are now one of the most influential bands still making music and even by Iceland's extremely high standards and prodigious talent they are musical giants in their home country and beyond. This is possibly my favourite track from possibly my favourite album.

pete drake and his talking steel guitar - 'forever'

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Alvino Rey first came up with the idea of fixing a microphone to a guitar amp but Pete Drake, a Nashville session musician in constant demand, was the first to link it to a steel guitar. The result, well...Daft Punk fans would recognise the output, that's for sure. This is a lovely little number too although how many backing singers does one steel guitar need?

gorillaz - 'clint eastwood (mr ours remix)'

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And following very quickly onto some pretty cool glitch hop right here. It's a bass heavy remix of the Gorillaz standard with just the right amount of bleeps, whistles and pauses for a Sunday morning.

jj - 'my boyz'

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My favourite Swedish dream-pop band are back with a great video for their new song. It's a fabulous tune to start my 2014 music blogging too.