harold melvin and the bluenotes - 'don't leave me this way (tom moulton remix)'

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Oh yes! What better way to finish off the year than this beauty.

kid congo and the pink monkeys - 'la lliorona'

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You can tell that he used to hang out with Nick Cave!

the wave pictures - 'seagulls'

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Seems appropriate today with news that our new manager is to be Chris Hughton. I'm hoping for a long period of stability from him. Fingers crossed!

saxophone the first part - 'this city (feat. phia)'

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I heard this on the weekly Bandcamp radio show just now whilst making dinner and was immediately caught by its ethereal levity. There's lots going on with the track, it's layered superbly but it still retains a wonderful minimal-ness. Check it out!

leftfield - 'afrika shox'

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One from the vaults.

thom yorke - 'youwouldntlikemewhenimangry'

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Fresh off the press, here's the latest from Thom Yorke. It's very much in keeping with a lot of his output of late, ambient, electronic, low-key and downtempo. It is rather good too.

petula - 'say yes'

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Hailing from Germany and currently touring with fellow countrymen Hundreds, here's a rather splendid tune to keep you relaxed in this extremely disconcerting interregnum between Christmas and the New Year.

slick rick - 'all alone (no-one to be with)'

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Here's a very under-rated track from an old school hip-hop legend.

peter king - 'ten commandments of an mc'

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A big thanks to my brother who gave me the heads-up on this track.

david bowie - 'ashes to ashes'

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I'm happy, hope you're happy too.

the wedding present - 'step into christmas'

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Possibly my favourite cover version of a Christmas tune.

ralph rosario - 'you used to hold me'

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Ah....classic!

the skints - 'can't take no more'

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Great band, great ethos.

gazelle twin - 'anti-body'

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A great track from 2014 that I completely forgot from my list!

My favourite songs of 2014 part 2

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And here's my top 10:

10 Damon Albarn - Hollow Ponds (I think this could possibly be Damon Albarn's finest moment)

9 Avi Buffalo - Overwhelmed with Pride (How good is this ballad? Just wonderful. That's how.)

8 Eels - A Swallow in the Sun (If there's a lovelier tune from 2014 I haven't heard it. Life-affirming)

7 The Acid - Ghost (Minimal electronica with a lot of soul. It's a beauty)

6 Terror Bird - Eyes Without A Face (I don't normally include covers in my best of list but this is no ordinary cover. It's very dark indeed.)

5 Orenda Fink - This Is a Part of Something Greater (Hairs on the back of the neck kind of music. )

4 Jungle - The Heat (Simple, sexy dance music that hits the spot.)

And the all important top 3:

3 Grumbling Fur - All The Rays (Impossibly catchy. The kind of tune that you want to last forever)

2 C.A.R. - Angelina (Dark 80s style Gothic electronic pop. I used to live, eat and breathe this kind of music when I was a teen)

https://soundcloud.com/c_a_r/01-angelina-rev1-wav/s-GZhXA?in=c_a_r/sets/car-my-friend-mastered/s-GZhXA

1 Alvvays - Archie Marry Me (The kind of song that just overwhelms you with joy. It lifts, it soars. What a chorus.)

My favourite songs of 2014 part 1

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I've got the list down to around 45 or so tunes that rocked my world in this year. Rather than bombard you with one giant post I've split it into 2 parts: the also-rans and then my top ten singles. So here's the also-rans and there's some really juicy ones in there:

In no particular order:

Tricky - Nicotine Love ft. Francesca Belmonte

Chicks On Speed - Plastic Bag

Lamb - We Fall In Love

Sun Kil Moon - I Love My Dad

Neneh Cherry - Naked

The Felice Brothers - Alien

Adult Jazz - Pigeon Skulls

Strand Of Oaks - Woke Up To The Light

Hafdis Huld - Pop Song

Timber Timbre - Hot Dreams

Got a Girl - Theres a Revolution

Asgeir - King and Cross

Marissa Nadler - We Are Coming Back

FKA Twigs - Closer

Ty Segall - Mister Main

Moodymann - IGuessuneverbeenlonely

Hurray For The Riff Raff - The Body Electric

St. Vincent - Birth in Reverse

First Aid Kit - Waitress Song

Temples - Shelter Song

Shovels & Rope - Stono River Blues

La Roux - Let Me Down Gently

Lana Del Rey - Pretty When You Cry

JJ - Dean & Me

Numbers 20 to 11: 

20 Lewis - I Thought The World Of You (The album has a John Martyn feel to it but this tune is more Nick Drake. The piano arrangement alone deserves applause.)

19 Mac DeMarco - Salad Days (I love his style. The tune belies the slightly more sinister lyrics.)

18 Interpol - All the Rage Back Home (Not their best album but this tune is definitely up their with their anthemic best.)

17 Beck - Morning (A tune that I must have played a hundred times or more this year. Still love it.)

16 Morrissey - Im Not a Man (Mozzer's strongest album for yonks. This tune in particular still has him shaking his fist at the world in indignation.)

15 Angel Olsen - Unfucktheworld (Alt-country/indie singer putting the world to rights)

14 Mirel Wagner - The Dirt (Could quite easily have been an out-track from Murder Ballads. Ethipoian/Finnish songwriter tells a great horror story.)

13 Saint Saviour - Let It Go (Why is this lady not the biggest UK female singer/songwriter? It's a crime for sure.)

12 Painted Palms - Soft Hammer (This fills the Beach Boys shaped hole in my life quite neatly and with absolutely no kitsch guaranteed)

11 Cibo Matto - 10th Floor Ghost Girl (Electro-pop with disco bass guitar. This year's party record. )

dro carey featuring chocolate & kid kairo - monomiles

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Now this is excellent. What a tune! Sierra Leone and Nigeria via Australia all represented here. 

my albums of the year

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Hot on the trail of my little brother's list, here's my top albums of 2014.

1. Timber Timbre - 'Hot Dreams' (A fantastic genre-splitting treat. This album just shines)

2. Eels - 'Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett' (Never a wrong note in this instant classic)

3. Esben and the Witch - 'A New Nature' (A coming-of-age album showing great maturity)

4. Orenda Fink - 'Blue Dream' (Beautiful alt-country/indie) 

5. Alvvays - 'Alvvays (Perfect indie-guitar pop. Just listen to 'Marry Me Archie' for proof) 

And in no particular order here re my runners up:

Allo Darlin' - 'We Come From the Same Place (jangly indie-pop is in good hands with bands like this)

Avi Buffalo - 'At Best Cuckold' (very accomplished album, shows great maturity)

Beck - - 'Morning Phase' (In my opinion his best yet)

C.A.R. - 'My Friend' (electro-pop with lots of attitude)

Fear Of Men - 'Loom' (Fey, delicate, folky)

Goat - 'Commune' (Like eating trifle with your fingers - this album is messy but lots of fun)

Happyness - 'Weird Little Birthday' (sort of like a slightly more conventional sounding Art Brut. The lyrics are so sharp they cut)

JJ - 'V' (my favourite Swedish dream-pop band back with a great album. They've vocoded slightly her appalling singing voice but it's still pretty bad in a good way)

Lamb - 'Backspace Unwind' (A great return for a much-missed band, they've always bubbled under without breaking big and I'm glad to say this album is in that vein)

Lewis - 'L'Amour' (80s crooner records album gets forgotten for 20 years then re-released. This is exquisite, sounds like John Martyn singing soppy love songs)

Mac DeMarco - 'Salad Days' (Indie singer who does 'almost' disco tracks. An album to put a smile on your face and get your foot tapping)

Painted Palms - 'Forever' (Do you like Hot Chip? Passion Pit? Then you'll like these guys a lot)

Saint Saviour - 'In The Seams' (Sexy, vulnerable, intimate - if Inigo Calderon [sexy Brighton player] ever invited you back to his for a 'coffee' this is the album he'd put on for you)

Terror Bird - 'Clubs' (Canadian lo-fi 80s electro with what sounds like one of those classic Casio synthesizers. Her cover of Eyes Without A Face surpasses the original. No, really it's that good)

Woman's Hour - 'Conversations' (St Etienne fan, fear not, Woman's Hour is there to fill that hole in your life)

Here's 'Run From Me' from the Timber Timbre album at number one: 

ólöf arnalds - 'turtledove'

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This is taken from the Icelandic singer's recent album and the title fits very nicely into a Christmas theme.

my little jeans - 'dear santa'

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You know that way that Scandinavians have of keeping the traditions of great pop alive? They even do it with Christmas tunes too. This has all the ingredients necessary for a classic. Seriously, check it out here.

nick cave and the bad seeds - 'the mercy seat'

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I wish he still made music like this. The re-mastered Tender Prey is released today on vinyl and although it's a supremely strong album, it never gets better than the Mercy Seat. Still love this song after all this time.

young karin - 'hearts'

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An upcoming Icelander who is sure to make a lot of waves in 2015. This pushes all my buttons.

axel boman - 'fantastic piano'

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A very big thanks to a good friend and great judge of what is beautiful music. This is just sublime. Wondrous techno with a lot of soul.

jonteknik - 'akihabara feat. mooly single version)

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Some fantastic retro 80s techno here. This could be Art Of Noise or a high quality Kraftwerk remix, hard to believe it's a brand new track. I can visualise 80s breakdancing clips from New York to this tune. Great stuff.

oren ambarchi - 'salt'

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A very chilled out end to a very pleasant Saturday.

the smiths - 'half a person (unreleased john peel session)'

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I recently discovered this John Peel version of, possibly, my all-time favourite Smiths song. Oh, those lyrics are just so beautiful.

tim burgess - 'oh men (the other two remix)'

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'The Other Two' refers to Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert from New Order. I haven't heard much from them of late but they've teamed up with Tim Burgess to produce this rather bubbly little remix. 

I can't stream it so you will have to go to the Soundcloud website here to listen to it: https://soundcloud.com/timoburgers/tim-burgess-oh-men-the-other-two-remix

father john misty - 'chateau lobby #4 (in c for 2 virgins)'

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I particularly the interlude with trumpet and violin on this track. Just beautiful.

shivery shakes - 'one more try'

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Keeping with the indie-rock vibe here's a great catchy pop tune from Austin band Shivery Shakes. More than a passing nod to Britpop, I reckon.

sugarcubes - 'blue eyed pop'

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Oh yes! What a fine track. From the album that changed completely how I thought about music.

purity ring - 'push pull'

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Ah, this is quite lovely too. The new track from Purity Ring.

edit - 'ants'

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One of my all-time favourite tunes, this is Glitch Hop at its most perfect. I just adore this song, so much depth and soul to it.

loefah - 'midnight'

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Often regarded as the lost dubstep track - the one that got so much critical acclaim in the clubs but never available to the general public, it's finally getting a 180g limited edition release. I love that bassline.

academie - 'sulphur'

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I'm not sure what genre this is (chillwave?) but it is rather lovely. Think Sigur Ros and you'll be in the right ball park. It's quite beautiful and builds and builds rather wonderfully.

fka twigs live in session on kexp

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Here's a great full-length performance of one of the hottest British acts around at the moment. Magnificent performance from FKA Twigs!

kirsty maccoll - 'a new england'

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Haven't heard this in a long time.

julie byrne - 'butterlamb'

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The comparisons to Beth Orton are quite legitimate although Julie Byrne is perhaps a little more lo-fi. A very beautiful tune indeed.

jungle - 'julia'

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This was the backdrop to my making the dinner this evening and very lovely and chilled it is too. From a great 2014 album.

protomartyr - 'want remover'

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Has an American band sounded any more like Nick Cave? This is a corking tune, reminiscent of The Bad Seeds back when they did 'edgy'.

lanu - 'beautiful trash'

Tweet Something light and frothy to buoy us up for the weekend, you say? Ohey dokey...

bob montgomery 1937 - 2014

Tweet He was Buddy Holly's best friend and co-wrote many of the early Cricket tunes including Heartbeat and Wishing before carving out a very creditable career of his own. A sad loss to music. Here he is singing with Buddy Holly.

spoon - 'inside out (tycho remix)'

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A rather superb remix I think.

hiss golden messenger - 'lucia'

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Another album that I heard of late this year was Hiss Golden Messenger's 'Lateness of Dancers' and it's a quite stunning little album. If you like folk with an edge then this is for you.

ty segall - 'mister main'

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What a miserable day today. This should cheer you up.

frankie knuckles - 'your love (stanton warriors tribute mix)'

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Oh yes! There's always time for the Frankie Knuckles classic. A quite stunning remix.

thump magazine november mix by virginia

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This deep house set has made my lunchtime extremely pleasant. It's got a lovely flow all the way through it. 

And here's the tracklist:

01. Unknown "B" Knowone 14

02. Joshua Harrison " IO" Warehouse Sessions Vol.I

03. JTC "Infinite Organism" Bopside

04. Fred P. "Emotive Vabrations" Finale Revisited Vol I

05. B- Tracks "The Next Step" Supply Records

06. Duplex "The First Day" Steven Tang Remix Dolly

07. Nick Simoncino "Symphony of Brotherhood" 

08. Luke Hess "Humility" FXHE

09. Shaun Rudiman "Letting Go" God Particle

10. Aubrey "Floating Point 7" Russ Gabriel Mix Ferrox

11. JP Enfant "Serque"  a.r.t.less

12. Brooks Mosher "Phoenixx" Dolly

hundreds - 'ten headed beast'

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The official video launch was earlier this week and true to form, it's impenetrable to decipher!

robyn - 'who do you love? (joakim remix)'

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Here's a rather lovely upbeat remix that will get your toes tapping. 

clark - 'winter linn'

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I did want to add Snowbird from his eponymous titled 2014 album but sadly it's not on the net anywhere. Ah well, this is a more than adequate substitute. Seriously good electronica here.

son lux - 'lanterns lit (fd acoustic session)'

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Son Lux recorded this acoustic session for Faits Divers. The results are incredible. It's very reminiscent of Scott Walker.

jj - 'dean & me (henning fürst remix)'

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...and now something to get those feet tapping. A great remix by a producer that I'd not heard of before now.

j mascis - 'and then'

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Dinosaur Jr guitarist extraordinaire's new album is proving to be a real grower for me. One of those albums that sneaks up on you on your blind side.

lyla foy - 'i only'

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Last one of the night from me, this is Londoner, Lyla Foy with a track that every so often threatens to break into Smokey Robinson's 'Being With You'. Most disconcerting! I can't embed the tune so you'll have to go straight to Soundcloud and check it out here:

https://soundcloud.com/subpop/lyla-foy-i-only

adult jazz - 'hum'

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Try and define this music then. It's not quite soul, not quite experimental, not quite jazz. It is rather good though.

the blow - 'hey boy'

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Who's up for a superb track to kick-start their week?