some lovely lovely instant tunes

The end of the year means it's time for lists. So here is a cursory stab at my top songs of the year, which I suppose is a faintly odd collection. I'm not even going try to explain any of it.

1. Goldmund - My Neighborhood
2. Sigur Rós - Svo Hljótt
3. Amerie - 1 Thing
4. Eric Malmberg - Språk Och Tankestrukturer
5. Canyon Country - Honey & Gold
6. 50 Foot Wave - Vena Cava
7. Boards of Canada - Dayvan Cowboy
8. Magnétophone - Lost in Edit (Earlies remix)
9. Paavoharju - Valo Tihkuu Kaiken Läpi
10. His Name Is Alive - Summer Bird

Now, here is top albums list. I've been listening to more albums than songs this year, mainly because the kind of music I've found myself listening to doesn't really lend itself to individual songs.

1. Deaf Center - Pale Ravine
2. Goldmund - Corduroy Road
3. Canyon Country - There's A Forest In The Fire
4. Sigur Rós - Takk
5. Thomas Köner - Nuuk
6. Julien Neto - Le Fumeur De Ciel
7. Biosphere - Dropsonde
8. Paavoharju - Yhä Hämärää
9. Boards of Canada - The Campfire Headphase
10. Eric Malmberg - Den Gåtfulla Människan

Bloody vikings.

Thanks for coming in. See you next year.

paper, iron, won't buy Eden

"Money has so polluted the music world that my overwhelming urge right now is to divorce money from recorded music. Over the last 2 years we've been relying on standard 'industry' channels to help us educate listeners about 50 Foot Wave and we've met resistance every step of the way -- caused by little other than money -- and to an extent I've never seen before." - Kristin Hersh

So, 50 Foot Wave are just giving their music away. Everybody wins! Cover art, mp3 and FLAC files here.

in diamond disarray

Inside Stafrænn Hákon's Í Ástandi Rjúpunnar album, there's a 'checklist' which runs thus:

For your own safety, please complete!
- this product reminds you of

• a Puma
• early Oasis
• janitorial service
• Martin Scorsese's 'Jack'

I have to say it reminds me of none of the above. It seems to be equal parts Mogwai, Einstürzende Neubauten and Dif Juz. Which is OK in my book.

Now then, XTC apparently have a new single out. Er, on iTunes. More specifically, on iTunes USA. Which my iTunes client chokes on every time. Rats!

nb. my favourite food is roast parsnips, in which I indulged last night.

a disco trot from Germany

Having neglected Berlin's occasionally wonderful Morr Music for some time (blame it on Type records), I am now looking forward to February, when I shall be purchasing B Fleischmann's The Humbucker Coil which promises to be a crunchy analogue gem - and also new material from isan which they've very nicely made available on their myspace page.


Sounding not remotely like either of these, tomorrow night I and my (unnamed*) band will be trying to keep to 3-minute songs instead of embarking upon 7-minute indiepop epics - we don't know when to stop, you see - and coming up with dubious songs about transvestite sailors.

*We're not keeping that name.

what do you call that noise

In between making facetious suggestions (or rather turning L's otherwise logical suggestions into rambly mush) as to the significance of the Pictish symbol stones ('it's a mystic vomiting goat') and feeding tarte au citron to the cat, I have a) resurrected my blog because I really cannot be arsed with Movable Type and its semi-efficient Bayesian comment spam filter, b) been listening to Tripper by Teutonic glitch-folk ensemble Efterklang, and c) coughing a lot, probably to do with Slough's less-than-clean air being further polluted with finest Hemel Hempstead smoke courtesy of Texaco.

Apparently, as William Basinski was completing his Disintegration Loops series, he watched the World Trade Center collapse. As I was listening to Disintegration Loops II this afternoon, I was doing the washing up.