Yet More of the Best Tracks of 2024 – So Far

With any luck, my friend from yesterday will be tentatively tiptoeing out into the world again today after avoiding black cats, ladders, and all other unlucky things yesterday.  I would check on him but its about two weeks before the 29^th as I write so I can’t tell you.  If you read strange stories about UFO’s shooting beams of lights onto a specific house in the Rushden area this morning, then you will at least know why.  Then again, if I hear nothing I’ll be even more concerned.

Anyway, lets have some more of what I am currently considering to be the best tracks of the year and we are going to start rathe appropriately with this,

Hello – Girl and Girl (2024, Sub Pop Records)

There are two reasons why Sub Pop band Girl and Girl should be your new favourite band, well three if you include the fact that they are signed to Sub Pop Records.  The first reason is that the drummer in this band is the aunty of the bands singer Kai James.  Aunties rock, especially ones who drum in bands signed to Sub Pop Records.  The second reason, if a drumming aunty isn’t enough, and by the way, it should be, is that the single version of ‘Hello’ steals the chorus from a well known standard from the Sound of Music and turns it into an indie banger instead of the schmaltzy turnip it usually is.  File under bloody amazing folks.

Talking of bloody amazing, here’s City Parking with a song about that lady who presents the program about painting on Channel 4 (probably)

Hannah – City Parking (2024, Third Eye Music)

I’m talking about Hannah Gordon for those of you under the age of 35.  Anyway, I think I said most of this at Christmas, but its not changed so I’ll repeat myself in case you didn’t hear me the first time round.  City Parking get compared a lot to bands like Dry Cleaning – and when you listen to them you’ll realise why, their sounds are similar.  But, and this is the only bit you ever need to know, despite only having about five songs commercially available, City Parking already have more essential songs that Dry Cleaning have managed in two albums. 

Next up a band with a not one but two obliques in their name and we definitely need more of that sort of thing.

Man/Women/Chainsaw – What Lucy Found There (2024, Big Richard Records)

Man/Women/Chainsaw have been causing quite a buzz for a little while now, particularly up in the big smoke, where they have been wowing music fans with some incredibly raucous live shows.  ‘What Lucy Found There’ is their first single an newly expanded six piece and it is genuinely something a bit special.  It sounds a bit like Foals did before they kind of disappeared up themselves, all taut guitars that build before crash landing head first into a swirling crescendo of art rock noise.

Finally today, some shouty indie pop from Seoul from Sailor Honeymoon.  ‘Bad Apple’ is a punky sonic onslaught that is heavily influenced by the likes of Sonic Youth, The Ramones and Bikini Kill.  I mean what’s not to like about all that.

Bad Apple – Sailor Honeymoon (2024, Good Good Records)

Tomorrow sees May roll in which brings in another new theme and here is a clue to what that is going to be all about (possibly).

For Tomorrow (Visit to Primrose Hill Extended Version) – Blur (1993, Food Records)

Nearly Perfect Albums – #86

13 – Blur (1999, Food Records)

With the exception of ‘Modern Life is Rubbish’ (which is quite good) I detest with a burning passion every Blur album that was released before ‘13’.  I just didn’t get the joke I think.  I used to try and debate what it was that made songs like ‘Boys and Girls’ so popular with the masses.  I used my position on the student paper to try pour scorn on the fact that ‘Parklife’ the song that is – won so many awards – I swore, I raged, I banged my head on the wall.   I was known amongst the indie fraternity as that guy that “hates Blur” which during the Britpop days was consider a heinous crime.  

Then in early 1999, ‘Tender’ arrived.  At first, I refused to like it, because it was Blur.  But Mrs SWC loved it and I would come home from work and hear it filling the kitchen as she made dinner and slowly, very begrudgingly I was won over by it and ‘13’ for that matter.  What got me was how emotionally fragile Damon Albarn suddenly sounded when he stopped trying to be a Cockney geezer and actually made a decent song.  ‘Tender’ is brilliant, easily one of their finest moments.

Tender – Blur (1999, Food Records)

Then ‘13’ was released and instead of rushing over and throwing a sledgehammer through the middle of the stereo I decided for the first time in like, ever, to give it at least two listens before I loudly state that they have joined the list of bands that “Have One Good Song”.  

My first thoughts were that ‘13’ is a strange kind of record, it is in places really emotional, its clearly a break up album, and yet in places it is totally the opposite.  It has scuzzy lofi indie rock songs with scratchy beats and weird noises. 

Two listens was easy though as it happens.

There are three things in particular about ‘13’ that I love.  The first one is easy, the songs, there are loads of excellent songs on here to accompany ‘Tender’.  ‘No Distance Left to Run’ for instance contains some of the bands most open lyrics to date, ‘Trimm Trabb’ is possibly the greatest song ever written about trainers (ok, second best behind this) and ‘Mellow Song’ is bloody marvellous, ‘Bugman’ is insane.  I could go on.

Trimm Trabb – Blur (1999, Food Records)

No Distance Left to Run – Blur (1999, Food Records)

The second thing is how tired it sounds, not dated tired, but knackered tired -whether that is thanks to William Orbit’s production or whether they actually are I know not – but that kind of lopsided lurch that some of the songs have, make the emotional side of it stand out more because the band were too exhausted to care that their souls were being bared. 

Coffee and TV – Blur (1999 Food Records)

The last thing is the tension.  I love a record that sounds tense, and ‘13’ sounds really tense.   It makes some of ’13’ sound difficult.  If I was feeling pixieish, I would say that the band are tetchy because they are tired – but in reality we know that Graham hated Damon when they recorded it and for most of it Damon was being a stroppy bugger.

Battle – Blur (1999, Food Records)

It’s not just tension though is it? Not really – the thing I really love about ‘13’ is that it is the sound of Blur leaving their twenties behind or trying to at least.  ‘13’ is also occasionally the sound that shattered hearts make when they are trying to heal.  It’s because occasionally it’s also the sound of a band who might just have had enough of each other because of everything that went before it not being quite the same as before.  It is an album for people who have been down and want to get back up again, for people who have tried to be happy but can’t be, not yet, anyway.  It is an album for people who continue to see brilliant things through unmitigated chaos and I still can’t believe I said the things I have about a Blur album or the line that follows.

I bloody love this album.

The best 44 4th Albums of All Time – #35

The Great Escape – Blur (1995, Food Records)

“Takes herbal baths, in the country”

Points 48

Highest Rank 7^th

Country House – Blur (1995, Food Records)

Confession Time.

I once, when I was a student journalist, wrote a review for this album, despite not actually listening to it.  To this day I still have never listened to ‘The Great Escape’ all the way through in one sitting.  The fact I never listened to it back in 1995, didn’t stop ‘The Great Escape’ getting nine out of ten in the student rag and me getting compliments from at least three readers on the erudite manner of my review.

Here’s what happened.  The Blur album came into the office and I took it home – it had to be reviewed by the following Wednesday, so I had plenty of time.   It wasn’t quite term time when the album came through – and the review was going to be in the very first issue of the new term, so it had to make an impression, especially if I wanted to encourage some of the new folks to come and write for the paper as well.  Which I didn’t because it meant I wouldn’t get as much free stuff.

 Anyway, I took it home and left it on the kitchen table and my housemate Johnny, who was a massive Blur fan, borrowed it, and used it to impress his way into the kitchens of impressionable females. 

Charmless Man – Blur (1995, Food Records)

By the following Tuesday, we had no idea where the Blur album was.   Johnny had left it somewhere, or knowing Johnny, swapped it for a trifle.  So at nine pm, the night before the paper went to press I knocked up a review based on what Johnny thought of the album and added a bunch of other words commonly used to describe music. 

Johnny obviously singled out ‘The Universal’ as an album highlight “best fucking song on the album” he said in between mouthfuls of late night pie.   This became ‘The Universal is a string laden tour de force that will soundtrack a thousand nights out, its singalong (I guessed it had a singalong chorus, its Blur, they always have singalong choruses) chorus will be heard bellowing out of pubs in every high street in the land”.

The Universal – Blur (1995, Food Records)

And of course, when Johnny couldn’t remember the song, or didn’t hear my questions because he had his head in the fridge I referred back to the press release notes and changed them – well it’s the best form of tribute apparently.

I raved about the opening track ‘Stereotypes’ (“Blur sound slightly more muscular here, Coxon’s guitars pummel you into submission”).  I wittered on about the brilliant bounciness of ‘Charmless Man’ and positively glowed about ‘Yuki and Hiro’ where Damon Albarn apparently wore his heart on his sleeve.  I gave it nine out of ten and wrote Album of the Week on the top of the review in red font just to make it clear and pressed send.

Stereotypes – Blur

Yuko and Hiro – Blur

(Both 1995 Food Records)

It’s only now, when I look back on ‘The Great Escape’ do I realise that its actually a bit crap.  ‘Country House’ sounds like the band are stuck in a nightmare when some devilish headteacher makes them make chirpy geezerish pop songs that are so fundamentally awful that you’d rather gobble down ridiculous chillis than listen to it.  Ever. Again.

Worse still is ‘Charmless Man’.  That is probably one of the worst Blur singles ever (and I’m including ‘Parklife’ in that statement).  Its rubbish.  It was rubbish then too, which had I bloody listened to it back in 1995 I would have realised.

‘The Universal’ whilst decent has been ruined by British Gas using it to within an inch of its life, ‘Mr Robinson’s Quango’ rhymes the word “Hairpiece” with “herpes” – it genuinely does that for Christs sake.  I could go on.

Mr Robinsons Quango  – Blur (1995, Food Records)

But I was right about ‘Yuki and Hiro’ that is quite lovely.

Here is Monday’s lyrical clue

“Rioja Rioja, Reverend Al Green”

Song with Fruits in the Title – A Three Day Series –#3 The Peach

I U She – Peaches (2003, XL Records, Taken from ‘Fatherfucker’)

You can blame the guy who owns the farm at the top of hill for this one if you like.  Although I think the farm up the top of the hill is great.  In recent years it has been certified as an organic farm and since then it has diversified what it grows and produces.  Originally it stuck to eggs, and if you wandered up to the farm you would be pecked by one or two of the thousands of chickens that roamed free in their courtyard.  Then they started doing milk, then ice cream, the odd bit of fruit and vegetables, which where the humble peach comes in.

One sunny August morning I went to the farm to get some eggs and as I strolled into the farm yard, skillfully avoiding the chickens I was greeted by the farmer who was unloading crates of peaches from the back of a trailer.  He had kilos of the things.  He had been growing them for an organic supplier and they had sent a load back because they had too many. 

He gave me a huge crate of them for free.  Which is great because peaches are tremendously tasty.  Although there are only so many of the things you can eat in one sitting.  So for the rest of that week, we went on a cooking spree and nearly everything we cooked and ate in our house contained at least one peach.

We started the obvious way and cut them up and put them on our cereal, or we had them with custard but then we experimented.  A grilled peach on toast with goats’ cheese is surprisingly tasty.  Peach curry, rather excellent.  Peach Sorbet was made and frozen as was peach ice cream (in fact there is still some of that left in the freezer somewhere).  We roasted them, we mashed them, we put them in salads with rocket and sherry vinegar dressing, I think I may even have smoked one.  We reached peak peach when I decided to try and add them to a simple bread recipe.

At that point, my wife decided to compost the remaining peaches.

So in tribute to the peach bread that never got made here are five songs that have peaches in the titles and we are perhaps going to start rather sensibly with something by late nineties indie rock band the Presidents of the United States of America.

Peaches – Presidents of the United States of America (1995, Columbia Records, Taken from ‘The Presidents of the United States of America’)

Next up some more American indie rock from The Districts, who released their fifth album last year and yet still look like they are still in their late teens (which to be honest they could be).  Their second album was called ‘A Flourish and A Spoil’ and it contained a song called ‘Peaches’ and back in 2015 I thought The Districts were going to be huge…there is still time people

Peaches – The Districts (2015, Fat Possum Records, Taken from ‘A Flourish and A Spoil’)

Talking of being huge, here’s Wolf Alice, who released their debut album in 2015, the very excellent ‘My Love Is Cool’.  Track eight on that is called ‘Giant Peach’.  Incidentally I re-read James and the Giant Peach the other week and had forgotten how freaky the book is, especially the chapter where the characters do battle with the Cloud Men.  The Cloud Men were waiflike figures who made the weather and then spend a good part of that chapter chucking balls of ice and snow at a floating giant peach full of talking insects. 

Giant Peach – Wolf Alice (2015, Dirty Hit Records, Taken from ‘My Love Is Cool’)

Anyway, let’s move on.  In 2021, Future Islands’ released a standalone single called ‘Peach’ and its wonderful in a laidback synth pop kind of way.

Peach – Future Islands (2021, 4AD Records, Single)

Finally for today and for this mini series, which almost certainly won’t happen again (well not until next year when the No Badger Required “Top 500 songs that have Fruits in their Titles Countdown” will begin in earnest – that folks will be topped by Prince’s ‘Raspberry Beret’ just in case you don’t want to read 499 terrible anecdotes about fruit first), let’s have some Blur who tucked this little gem away on the B Side to ‘For Tomorrow’.

Peach – Blur (1993, Food Records, B Side)

Tomorrow ushers in September when an old series is given a new leash of life (or I’m just exhausted and running out of ideas). 

A month all about music’s greatest females- #10 Justine Frischmann

“Like a wind up toy, you stutter at my feet”

Stutter – Elastica (1993, Deceptive Records, Taken from ‘Elastica’)

Even though Justine Frischmann has long since retired from the music industry, and now lives in the States and makes a fairly decent career from painting and is married to a weatherman (well a professor of meteorology – which is the same thing), she still rocks.

The chances of her making any more music, with or without Elastica, are zero, in 2016, when she was interviewed about her art career, the journalist, an Elastica fan apparently, asked her about music – and Justine said to them without even pausing for breath that “she has no desire to make music”.  Despite that, she still rocks. She rocks because for about three years between 1993 and 1996, Elastica were easily the most exciting guitar band in the UK.  Well that’s one of the reasons why she rocks anyway.

Waking Up – Elastica (1995, Deceptive Records, Taken from ‘Elastica’)

Of course, people (men mainly I suspect) will sit there and say that they much preferred Donna Matthews, because if Justine Frischmann was the creative, innovative, ground breaking force behind Elastica, then Donna Matthews was the cool one.  Yeah, that’s probably right, but if Justine Frischmann hadn’t put that advert in the Melody Maker then I very much doubt that Donna Matthews would have ever got past Caldicott Services.  Then again without Donna Matthews, Elastica would have never recorded this : – 

Blue – Elastica (1995, Deceptive Records, Taken from ‘Elastica’)

Justine had of course, been in the music business for a little while.  In 1988 she was the girlfriend of Brett Anderson and was a founding member of Suede.  They split in 1991, but not before she had become the influence for many of the songs that appeared as early singles and B Sides.  Brett Anderson is quite up front when he tells us that Justine Frischmann is the inspiration behind this track – a track we would have never heard had Brett not let Justine play guitar whilst he sang. 

My Insatiable One – Suede (1993, Nude Records, Taken from ‘Suede’)

‘My Insatiable One’ is tremendous but it would never have been written if Justine hadn’t held Brett’s hand outside the Hammersmith branch of Wimpey.

And then there is her relationship with Damon Albarn. 

Justine was with Damon until 1998, they were Britpop’s golden couple, until that split – but the thing is, whilst Blur were making relatively decent records in that period, they were never you know, truly great.  Then Justine dumped him and suddenly Blur make easily their finest single in ‘Tender’ and easily their greatest album in ‘13’ – both heavily influenced by Justine Frischmann. 

Tender – Blur (1999, Food Records, Taken from ‘13’)

‘Tender’ is amazing but it would have never been written if Justine Frischmann hadn’t decided she’d had enough of his chirpy geezerish nonsense and kicked him into the long grass.

There is one more reason why Justine rocks, and its not because of the second album, that should have stayed in the studio, sadly.  It’s because she introduced us to the brilliance of M.I.A. 

In 2001, Elastica split up, and Justine sort of disappeared from the limelight.  Something she had sort of tried to do ever since her relatively high profile split from Damon.  She cited the constant stress of fame, the constant stress of touring and the constant stress of trying to write records as the reasons why Elastica split.  She was burnt out and it had taken its toll.

We waited and wondered what Justine would do next, we all expected a new band to surface, but one didn’t.  However, two years later Justine Frischmann sort of returned to music’s mainstage.  I say sort of her lyrics returned to music’s mainstage.  Justine had moved into a new flat and had taken in a flatmate, a Sri Lankan lass called Mathangi Arulpragasam, who it turned out could rap and sing.  Justine helped her out on a few songs, like this one for instance and turned M.I.A into a star.

Galang – M.I.A (2003, XL Records, Taken from ‘Arular’)

Here is tomorrow’s lyrical teaser “Dunk you under deep salt water”

League Two Music – #8 Colchester United

Sunday Sunday – Blur (1993, Food Records, Taken from ‘Modern Life is Rubbish’)

Colchester United are right now the most important team in the UK.  Not because of how they play or who plays for them, or even who supports them (although the Lord of Indie, Steve Lamacq, is a massive fan).  They are the most important team in the UK because right now they might just be the only side in the UK that are worse than Gillingham.   As I type this a relegation dog fight is set to take place on Boxing Day between Colchester and Gillingham, the losers of that will almost certainly have a bleak winter, a dismal spring and a devastatingly dodgy early summer (update – Gillingham lost this 1 nil, leaving them at the very foot of the football league as we enter 2023.)

In 1971 Colchester United won the Watney Mann Invitation Trophy.  This short lived event was a tournament that took place before the start of the season and was contested by the teams that had scored the most goals in each of the four divisions of the Football League the previous season who had not been promoted or admitted to one of the European competitions. Two teams from each division took part, making eight participants in total.  When Colchester won it they were in the old Fourth Division.  They beat West Bromwich Albion in the final, the Baggies were a first division side at the time.  The match ended in a 4 all draw and Colchester won on penalties, I might be wrong, but I think that was the first time an FA sponsored event had been decided on penalties. 

The other thing that I like about Colchester is their record attendance at their new stadium (The Colchester Community Stadium) is just over ten thousand.  A feat which they achieved in 2010 during a match with local rivals Norwich City.  It was a fiery encounter with players sent off and the return of former manager Paul Lambert to the club (he left Colchester for Norwich after over seeing Colchester to a 7-1 thumping of Norwich at the start of the season).  Lambert’s influence on Norwich was clear and the canaries romped to a five nil victory. 

Musically, Blur, as much as they want to deny it, have their roots in Colchester.  Dave Rowntree, their drummer was born there and as such the band qualify under the much heralded Black Rebel Motorcycle Club clause. 

Elsewhere the new wave post punk band Modern English also hail from Colchester.  They had a few minor indie hits in the mid eighties with this perhaps being the pick of the bunch: –

Hands Across The Sea – Modern English (1984, 4AD Records, Taken from ‘Ricochet Days’)

The well renowned jungle, breakbeat and drum n bass DJ Ray Keith also hails from Colchester and around twenty five years ago, he sent dancefloors crazy with this breakbeat classic. 

Chopper – The Terrorist (2000, Dread Recordings, Taken from ‘Vintage Dread 2000’)

He also remixed ‘Chime’ by Orbital and his nephew is the lad from Joy Orbison, which is cool by my book.

Elsewhere around five years ago a band called The Landed emerged out of Colchester.  They had come to the attention of the mainstream press just before Covid.  The Landed caught the imagination because they had two brothers who seemed to argue constantly.  Just before Covid hit The Landed seemed on the cusp but have faded somewhat recently.

Don’t Look Up To The Stars – The Landed (2019, Unknown Label)

All of which bring us huffing and puffing to this weeks previously unheard of band who are called The Verdicts.  They have been around for a little while and described themselves as being somewhere between Pulp and The Libertines. 

Quaker’s Alley – The Verdicts  (2021, Cat House Records)

100 Songs with One Word Titles (70– 66)

Did you guess right?  The two tracks from yesterday that topped two individual sets of votes were ‘Columbia’ by Oasis and ‘Atlas’ by Bicep.  Interestingly the two people who voted those two songs at the top of their respective lists were the youngest members of the musical jury.  None of the songs today troubled the tops of any individual lists but all of them did score at least one Top Fifteen placing.   Todays quest is to guess which of these scored the highest individual placing.

Let’s kick off with a bit of classic shoegaze

70. Pearl – Chapterhouse (1991, Dedicated Records, Taken from ‘Whirlpool’)

In the Guinness Dictionary of Indie when you get to ’shoegaze’ there are only seven words used to describe this particular genre.  They are “Go and Listen to ‘Pearl’ by Chapterhouse” and then there is a picture of Chapterhouse on stage at the Purple Turtle heads bowed, stage covered in effects pedal, smoke machine primed and everyone who can be seen is wearing some form of stripey jumper.  A song so good it defined an entire genre and whilst Ride may have sold more records and generally had better tunes (spoiler see tomorrow for proof), they would have killed for a song as addictive and beautiful as ‘Pearl’.

69. Lately – Sea Power (2003, Rough Trade Records, Taken from ‘The Decline of British Sea Power’)

Clocking in at nearly 14 minutes, you would expect ‘Lately’ to be the longest song in this list, but without giving too much away, it isn’t quite that.  It is wondrously epic though.  It starts slowly as a sort of love song, rising and just as it sounds like its all going to come crashing in, it collapses.  Of course it re builds and then collapses again, like a musical house of cards.  Then it finally does kick off and lyrics about Neolithic and Jurassic rock take over as it descends into chaos.  Utterly marvellous and disappointingly low.

68. Tender – Blur (1999, Food Records, Taken from ‘13’)

I saw Damon Albarn live last year in a cold old church in Totnes High Street.  He was promoting his latest solo album.  At the end of the gig he came back on to play three Blur songs, he played ‘The Universal’, ‘End of A Century’ and ‘Beetlebum’ accompanied by a string quartet and despite their stripped back quality it all felt decidedly average.  However, had Albarn played ‘Tender’ accompanied by a string quartet I would have gone away thinking ‘Gig of the Year’ easy, because ‘Tender’ is far and away the greatest thing Blur the band, or any of its members in their post Blur lives, have ever recorded.

67. Sidewalking – Jesus and Mary Chain (1988, Blanco Y Negro Records, Taken from ‘Barbed Wire Kisses’)

When the Jesus and Mary Chain first recorded ‘Sidewalking’ they were unsure it would ever be released.  It was after all a bit of a departure from their normal sound.  It dabbled in samples (famously it samples a hip hop drumbeat) and beats that was quite unexpected.  Of course Jim Reid, said that there had always been a hip hop element to his music.  Everyone else had obviously struggled to hear it over the previous five years’ worth of records.

66. Then – The Charlatans (1990, Situation Two Records, Taken from ‘Some Friendly’)

I should have been at school when I bought ‘Then’ on 12 inch.  I’d been to the dentist and my dad had bumped into a mate of his called Irish Joe (he was from Sevenoaks) – he gave me a fiver and pointed me in the direction of the bus station.  I was 15, school was about a mile walk away and the bus stop was next to the record shop and it would have been rude to not at least look inside.

Great Number Twos of Our Time #2

Because sometimes a Number 2 is better than a Number 1

Song #2 – Blur (1997, Food Records)

Blur’s ‘Song #2’ was immense, a quick shouty blast of adrenaline from a band who were clearly bored rigid by their Kings of Britpop tag and really wanted to move away from the laddish culture being pedalled by other bands at the time.   It was recorded, apparently, as a sarcastic dig at the grunge boom that had arrived a few years earlier, with its shouty chorus, quiet verse, shouty chorus section designed specifically to appeal but at the same time mock fans of bands like Nirvana.

In reality though, no one cared because it was such a spectacular song. Its brilliance was simple but effective – a drumbeat that sounds like most of your everyday Blur songs, that kind of lull you into that false sense of security before the guitars kick in, and they properly kick in as well – and then Damon almost jumps in – like he has been blown into the song by an industrial wind machine with his rousing yelp of “Woo Hoo!”.  It’s the musical equivalent of being pushed down a hill on car bonnet to meet a table full of cream cakes at the end.   Which in case you were in doubt, is a lot of fun.

The result is of course a song that is now absolutely synonymous with sport events, or footage of speeding cars or adrenaline based activities like through oneself off a mountain.  Its no surprise that ‘Song #2’ was the closest the band really came to being household names in America.

‘Song #2’ crashed into the UK charts at Number 2, which for a song called ‘Song 2’ which lasts exactly two minutes and was voted the second best song the year by various end of year polls, seems kind of perfect.  It is almost as if it went to number one it would have been deeply unsatisfying.  It was fact fans keep off the top of the UK charts by the excretable ‘I Believe I Can Fly’ by professional sex pest R Kelly. 

The CD came with two additional tracks – here they are

Get Out of Cities – Blur (1997, Food Records)

Polished Stone – Blur (1997, Food Records)