I think I’ve needed to make one of these lists for years. Hold tight for a wonderful mix of first and second
- Japan, because they keep coming up in Last.fm ‘similar artists’ to Talking Heads and Roxy
- the rest of Bowie
- Talk Talk – ditto Japan, and more good reviews. You like good reviews.
- That album Byrne & Eno did, with the name I don’t remember
- A proper listen to all of Closer by Plastikman, possibly including burning it onto CD for room-listening.
- Magik by Plastikman
- Movements by Booka Shade
- blimey there are SO many minimal live sets out there. Some of them.
- finish listening to the M83 album in your stereo. Actually make it past track 3 before going out/turning it off to go to sleep.
- Matthew Dear’s FabricLive CD
- Alex Smoke
- Why and how do you not already own Trans-Europe Express? -actually I know the answer to this, and it’s because I put it down in Fopp that time I was about to buy it. This needs to be rectified, all I own of Kraftwerk is a live album.
- Can keep on coming up in conversation, reviews and ‘similar artist’ lists. Check this box, Goss.
- from time to time just keep on reminding yourself Just How Much You Love: Roxy Music, Talking Heads, Pixies (lady elevator elevator lady elevator ohhh they might be my perfect band of forever……reminder complete for the week)
- The Field. People keep mentioning them, too.
- There are a LOT of CDs you plundered for free off record companies in those golden years (see also: having a near nervous breakdown during sixth form) of 2005-2006. Familiarise yourself fully with Springsteen discs other than Born To Run, the rest of that Johnny Cash boxset, all of the Sam Cooke boxset, the Bessie Smith CD Katie got for you, Flaming Lips’ back catalogue, DFA1979, and probably a whole load more. Crosby Stills Nash and Young, that’s another! And Neil Young in general. If your dad owns it, you should know it.
- Which means I should probably listen to far more Pink Floyd than I do. It’s just that they remind me of my brother’s music taste, which also includes Evanescence and Supertramp. Hmmmm.
- Super Furry Animals best of is on its way. This feels like a ridiculous gap in my knowledge.
- Crookers’ February mix, and the Five For Friday from Get Weird Turn Pro
- That Tom Waits boxset Will Horsebox played in the car two Christmases ago. And maybe Scarlett Johansson’s album.
- Lykke Li’s album, too, speaking of blonde women. Is that sexist?
- Did you listen to Pictures At An Exhibition (Mussorgsky) yet? You liked that when we played it at work, oh, how long ago was that? Nearly four years ago. Crikey.
- Sleater-Kinney, Bikini Kill, more Le Tigre, all of that stuff.
- I’m terrified of not liking Pavement because they’re my cousin’s favourite band and they have been built up into this amazingly brilliant thing, but honestly, I shouldn’t really buy any more records until I’ve listened to Crooked Rain. It’s been four months. Feel the fucking fear and do it anyway, alright?
- There was one other CD I bought in Rough Trade Covent Garden that day along with The Auteurs and The Blue Aeroplanes, so like…work out what that was, and listen to it. It must have been a year ago now. REALLY.
- More Alex Gopher, because the Ladyhawke mix is pretty good.
- All the people that are remixing Hugh’s album. And HEALTH. Who, for some reason, I imagine might sound like Yacht. Only one way to find this out.
- More Tim Buckley, and reread Dream Brother, so it means a bit more and I don’t just skip to the Jeff chapters.
- Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – get the albums. I love US college rock, I do, I do. Death Cab’s full discography as well, then…
- Do I really still not own Want One, or Want Two? What is wrong with me? Sort that out, then.
- Thinking about recent albums, ugh, still haven’t heard Klaxons and Foals, and probably can’t be taken seriously as a person until I do.
- There are more trumpeters out there than just Miles, Dizzy, Chet and Freddie Webster. Go and listen to them. And listen to more Max Roach while you’re at it, those drum solos are fantastic.
- I need to know more Fleetwood Mac. I am twenty years old and I only really know Everywhere. What’s that about? I mean, really, what have I been doing?
- Bon Iver, yeah. And The Wedding Present. And re-listen to the Fall singles box the boys got you for Christmas two years ago…
This feels like a depressingly long list (I keep going back to it and adding stuff on, as well), and it makes me think of three things: how much there is out there that I know about and haven’t had time to listen to as yet; how much there is out there that I don’t know about (this scares me less than what I know about – the known unknowns versus the unknown unknowns); how crap I am at times at sitting down and putting a record on, especially new ones.
Actually this list makes me feel entirely unqualified to work in music at all. How my friends think I have cutting-edge music taste when I don’t own any Super Furry Animals records is shocking, and how the bands I work with take me seriously when I’ve not really listened to After The Goldrush or, in Sky Larkin’s case, any riot grrl other than Le Tigre…the fools.
My ex girlfriend is obsessed with new music, new bands, new everything, and just wouldn’t listen when I tried to make her listen to Roxy Music or Talking Heads – she said there was too much great new stuff to listen to, and besides, she wanted to see bands live. I am the complete opposite – what on earth is the point of all of this new music when you can go back and listen to so much amazing stuff? And I could do without gigs for a while, really.
I feel exhausted even thinking about all of that. But there’s joy and goodness to be found in all of the above, so it’s not really a chore.
I think my cat is getting fatter. I’m still not sure I love anything on this planet more than him.
