Spectre

Just parking this for later really:

https://soundcloud.com/radiohead/spectre

Q albums of the year

I remember years ago thinking the Q list was a bit fuddy duddy and more of a 40something's take on the music scene. Well, guess what:

http://m.albumoftheyear.org/list/436-q-magazines-top-50-albums-of-2015/?s=asc

Monteath

NO categories skipped.

Best Album

Pink Shiny Ultrablast – Everything Else Matters

PSB - Race for Space

Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Just Sit and Think...

Beirut – No No No

Father John Misty – I Love You Honeybear

Best Song

Blossoms – Blown Rose

Kagoule – Made of Concrete

Mbongwana Star - Malukayi

Maccabees – Marks to Prove It

Matthew E White – Rock and Roll is Cold

Best Musical Re-discovery

Lots of Eno – but especially Apollo

Dylan – Blood on The Tracks

Mark Knopfler – Music from Local Hero

The Elastica album

Mogwai in general

Best Middle-Aged Man/Men Doing Excellent – If Hardly Ground-breaking - Stuff

New Order

FFS

Gaz Coombes

Belle and Sebastian

Suede

Best Film

Grown-Up: While We’re Young

Kids: Penguins of Madagascar

Best Book

The Girl on the Landing – Paul Torday

Best Gig/Event

Lancs vs Surrey LV County Championship Div II

Best TV Programme

At either ends of the could-I-watch-with-my-mum? comedy spectrum: Detectorists and Catastrophe

Best Radio Programme

Leaving aside all the obvious 6 Music/Radio 4 recommends: Pick of the Pops with Tony Blackburn

Best Website

swimtag.net

Best Sporting Moment

Jessica Ennis-Hill – and setting various alarms throughout the night to watch it.

Revelation

Liking Dylan a lot more than I thought. An age thing, I suspect.

Worst Purchase / Disappointment

That Robbie Williams’ cover of Creep wasn’t all I’d hoped.

(and that I didn’t like The Magic Whip as much as I wanted to)

Best Child-Related Thing

That they can get their own breakfast on a weekend morning

Best Lifestyle Change

Occasional babysitters

Sort

Julie Dray (Miss Blondel/Cradle to Grave)

Person, People or Thing You’d Most Like to See Set Upon By a Pack of Wolves

George Osbourne – smug, evil and lucky. Clearly in a satanic pact.

The Winning Thing You’d Most Recommend Your Fellow Judges to Own/Have/Consume/Do

Pink Shiny Ultrablast or either TV choice

Kelly

Here goes. Skipped a few categories...

Best Album

Villagers – Darling Arithmetic

Duke Garwood – Heavy Love

John Grant – Grey Tickles Black Pressure

Everything Everything – Get to Heaven

Father John Misty – I Love You Honeybear

Best Song
New Order – Tutti Fruiti

EL VY – Return to the Moon

Bowie – Blackstar

Roisin Murphy - Unputdownable

Best Musical Re-discovery

A House – On our Big Fat Merry-go-Round

Best album of yesteryear
PJ Harvey – Let England Shake

Best Middle-Aged Man/Men Doing Excellent – If Hardly Ground-breaking – Stuff

I’d suggest that this category was invented for the new New Order album.

Best Film
The Theory of Everything

Best Book
Herman Melville – Moby Dick

Best Gig/Event
Teenage Fanclub – Hebden Bridge Trades Club

Best TV Programme
Breaking Bad (acknowledging that it’s hardly current)

Catastrophe

The Hunt

Best Radio Programme
Radconie

Best Website

www.monteath.co.uk

Best Sporting Moment

Japan beating South Africa in the rugby.

Worst Purchase / Disappointment

Even though expectations were low, ‘The Interview’ was absolute dross.

Best Child-Related Thing

Saturday morning football club

Person, People or Thing You’d Most Like to See Set Upon By a Pack of Wolves

I suppose ISIS would have to be the obvious choice. Then Trump. Then Hopkins.

The Winning Thing You’d Most Recommend Your Fellow Judges to Own/Have/Consume/Do

If you haven’t yet: Breaking Bad

DarBARTshire 2015

 Best Album

Tame Impala - Currents

Everything Everything - Get to Heaven

PSB - Race for Space

blur - Magic Whip

Django Django - Born Under Saturn

Best Song

Laura Marling – False Hope

Chemical Brothers feat. Beck – Wide Open

Tame Impala – Let It Happen 

New Order – Tutti Frutti

Maccabees – Spit it Out (could easily have been Marks to Prove It but don’t like to do two by same artist)

Best Musical (Re)discovery/

The three line whip inspired trip into Talk Talk's Spirit of Eden. Curious album...but an interesting listening experience.

Best Middle-Aged Man/Men Doing Excellent – If Hardly Ground-breaking – Stuff

Covered by blur, New Order and Chemical Brothers elsewhere.

Best Film

Haven’t been to the cinema this year so probably all released in 2014. Interstellar was the best I’ve seen, the first two hours so superb they made up for a ropey last 15 minutes. Pride, American Sniper and Wild were pretty good too.

Best Book

I bought the Roy Keane book last winter and finished it this spring. Brilliantly written by Roddy Doyle Ha ha ha. Yer man Keane is a fascinating character but it loses a bit of steam when he goes from playing for United to managing, say, Ipswich.

Best Gig/Event

New Order

Best TV Programme

Fargo Series 2, outstanding television. Second series of Penny Dreadful was good too. They’re currently pulling out all the stops for the final series of Peep Show.

Best Radio Programme

Unequivocally, Radcliffe and Maconie.

Best Website

Twitter

Best Sporting Moment

That time when United did an attack and scored in Spring...the 4-2 Manchester derby maybe. Failing that Andy Murray pretty much single handedly wining the Davis Cup. Oh, and Lancashire winning the T20 thing.

Revelation

The amount of decent new material from old men...something I’ve often thought was 6music’s Achilles heel in the past.

Worst Purchase / Disappointment

I need to listen to the new album properly, but after eulogising the previous Foals album I’ve been left a bit uninspired by their new stuff.

Also General Election 2015.

Best Child-Related Thing

The burgeoning, 100% independent of us as parents, friendship of the kids.

Best Lifestyle Change

Ha, 2 years ago I mentioned our new house...and thanks to our neighbour what a nightmare that turned into. But we really like our new new house.  

Sort

Eva Green

Person, People or Thing You’d Most Like to See Set Upon By a Pack of Wolves

Tories generally.

The Winning Thing You’d Most Recommend Your Fellow Judges to Own/Have/Consume/Do

Watch as many series of Fargo as you haven’t already seen.

And Premier Inn breakfasts. 

Toast

Thoughts? I like a lot (esp Clem Fandago interchanges/Ray Purchase) but feel quite ambivalent about a lot of it.

The Chemical Brothers - Wide Open feat. Beck (offlife powered)

Really really like this song. This is a fanvid apparently...I assume that means they put the song over some pre-existing footage...if someone has created this solely for the video then kudos for their effort and high production values.

A House...

I've recently rediscovered the debut album by A House (1988). A band that definitely deserved a bigger audience. Did anyone even hear them on this side of the water?

Tame Impala again

I think we've scrapped the video of the year category but if we hadn't the one for "Less I Know The Better"would be a contender....it's NSFW in case you've got the young uns running around your desk.

http://www.tameimpala.com/video/

Super Hans' (dick in the) Vagina Monologue

https://youtu.be/BY8DneiuFzo?t=2m59s

Blame it on the Black Star

 So what do we think? I think it's great. Unlikely to leap onto my Bowie top ten tracks. But still great.

This year's (2015) alternative Mercury list

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/oct/15/the-alternative-2016-mercury-prize-shortlist

Useful reminder links

http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/may/08/best-albums-of-2015-year-so-far

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/sep/09/the-mercury-music-prize-our-shortlist-kate-tempest-fka-twigs

http://www.buzzfeed.com/vodafone/the-13-best-albums-you-missed-from-2015?utm_term=.gjgdlxxb2#.ccVDX55v9

After Hours

Not sure who does and doesn't have access to Sky 1 but this is worth a look;

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/tv-and-radio-reviews/11970577/After-Hours-review-charming.html

I'd agree with the review about it being a bit shy on belly laughs but it's British whimsy at its finest and also has a great soundtrack. Ardal O'Hanlon is criminally wasted mind, he hasn't looked around the room gormlessley once.

Pride Official Trailer #1

Saw this recently. Might be a bit soft on the old gays, for Ray and Steve's liking, but it's enjoyable and from what I read pretty close to the real events.

Daughter

No doubt you'll have heard this (a lot) on 6 Music. But it is rather excellent.

Wogan

I think that in the first syllable of this track, he sounds like Terry Wogan.
Quite like it too.

Rest of October

New Stuff:

• Say - C Duncan
• PPP - Beach House
• Blud -  Soak

 Middle-Aged Indie New Stuff:

• Outsiders Suede (and I like this a lot)

Old Stuff:

• Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken? Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
• Zerox Adam & The Ants
• September Gurls Big Star

Have to say - as my attention starts to turn to the BARTs - that there is very little new stuff that is getting me genuinely excited.

1. 1. Waking the Jetstream The Go! Team
2. 2. Love You More Buzzcocks
3. 3. Bobbing Beams Of Light (RVNT INTL) Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
4. 4. Doing The Right Thing Daughter
5. 5. Bluebeard Cocteau Twins
6. 6. On Fire Tonight Blackalicious
7. 7. I Can't Explain The Who
8. 8. PPP Beach House
9. 9. Don't Believe The Hype Public Enemy
10. 10. Hard To Handle Otis Redding
11. 11. Blud Soak
12. 12. Find The Answer Within The Boo Radleys
13. 13. Pain Killer Turin Brakes
14. 14. Blue And Yellow Light The Duke Spirit
15. 15. Say C Duncan
16. 16. Cornerstone Arctic Monkeys
17. 17. All Along The Watchtower The Jimi Hendrix Experience
18. 18. Walking On A Dream Empire of the Sun
19. 19. Young Americans David Bowie
20. 20. Neat, Neat, Neat The Damned
21. 21. The King Of Rock'N'Roll Prefab Sprout
22. 22. Outsiders Suede
23. 23. Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken? Lloyd Cole & Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
24. 24. September Gurls Big Star
25. 25. The More I Get (The More I Want) feat. Niko AIM + QNC
26. 26. Times Square Destroyer
27. 27. Zerox Adam & The Ants
28. 28. Breaker Deerhunter

Catastrophe

I watched this for the first time last night. I laughed out loud a lot...

Film recommendation

https://youtu.be/Salz7uGp72c

Sept to Date

There's not a lot here by bright young things is there?

There's some flippin' ace songs on there, mind.

1. 1. The Woods Drenge
2. 2. Angela's Eyes Guy Garvey
3. 3. Losing Touch Albert Hammond, Jr.
4. 4. It'sOn Flowered Up
5. 5. E.M.I. Sex Pistols
6. 6. Holding On For Life Broken Bells
7. 7. Take Me Beyond Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation
8. 8. Unlearn This Hatred New Order
9. 9. Idioteque Radiohead
10. 10. Prisoner Har Mar Superstar
11. 11. The Celtic Soul Brothers Dexys Midnight Runners
12. 12. Smash It Up The Damned
13. 13. Disappointing John Grant & Tracey Thorn
14. 14. Random Name Generator Wilco
15. 15. Cut Some Rug The Bluetones
16. 16. Singularity New Order
17. 17. Drop The Pressure Mylo
18. 18. Get Up Offa That Thing James Brown
19. 19. Star Sign Teenage Fanclub
20. 20. He Was Really Saying Something The Velvelettes
21. 21. 21St. Century Schizoid Man King Crimson
22. 22. Could Heaven Ever Be Like This Idris Muhammad
23. 23. Intergalactic Beastie Boys
24. 24. The Boy With The Thorn In His Side The Smiths
25. 25. What Part Of Me Low
26. 26. The Sound Of The Crowd The Human League
27. 27. Bad Moon Rising Creedence Clearwater Revival
28. 28. Damaged Goods Gang of Four
29. 29. Gibraltar Beirut
30. 30. Utopia Goldfrapp
31. 31. The Killing Moon Echo & The Bunnymen
32. 32. For (Autumn Rebuild) C Duncan
33. 33. The North Wind Blew South Headless Heroes
34. 34. At Once Beirut
35. 35. Mother Of Pearl Roxy Music
36. 36. Sockets Slaves
37. 37. White Gloves Khurangbin
38. 38. Laura Bat for Lashes
39. 39. Running Wild (6 Music Session, 08 Sep 2015) Drenge
40. 40. Freedom Petite Noir
41. 41. Number One (Radio 1 Session, 11 Nov 1975) 20th Century Steel Band
42. 42. The Soft Delay Gold Class
43. 43. Dirty Water The Standells
44. 44. Mother John Lennon & Plastic Ono Band
45. 45. Our Lips Are Sealed Fun Boy Three
46. 46. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath Black Sabbath
47. 47. Under Neon Lights The Chemical Brothers & St. Vincent
48. 48. Cousins Vampire Weekend
49. 49. Seven And Seven Is Love
50. 50. Crash The Primitives
51. 51. All Day And All Of The Night The Kinks
52. 52. Inheritance Talk Talk
53. 53. Hand In Glove The Smiths
54. 54. Nobody Really Cares If You Don't Go To The Party Courtney Barnett
55. 55. September Song The Hosts
56. 56. Forever Autumn (feat. Justin Hayward) Jeff Wayne
57. 57. Line Up Elastica
58. 58. The Seeker The Who
59. 59. Should Have Known Better Sufjan Stevens
60. 60. Zebra Beach House
61. 61. A Little Soul Pulp
62. 62. The Model Kraftwerk
63. 63. Cut Your Hair Pavement
64. 64. Master Of The Universe Hawkwind
65. 65. Caribou Pixies
66. 66. Loose Fit Happy Mondays
67. 67. Albatross Foals