A-Z of Favourite Musical Artists

A - Asobi Seksu (Or Alkaline Trio)
B - The Beatles
C - The Cribs
D - Depeche Mode (Deftones? Jeez this is tough)
E - Enter Shikari
F - Floating Death Picnic
G - Glassjaw
H - Human League
I - Idlewild (Or Incubus, dammit I can't pick)
J - Joy Division
K - The Kinks
L - Lawrence Arms
M - MIA / Machine head
N - NOFX / New Order
O - Ou Est Le Swimming Pool
P - The Prodigy
Q - Q-Tip (Not much choice here, that or Queen!)
R - Rammstein
S - Skindred
T - Taking Back Sunday
U - Ultravox
V - The Vandals
W - Wavves
X - XTC
Y - Yeah yeah yeah's
Z - Rob Zombie

The Top Ten of 2011

Here are (in my humble opinion) the best songs brought to us in 2011. The order is up for debate...:

10. The Vaccines - Post Break Up Sex
Sure it's not really punk or particularly indie in the truest sense of the word, but they make good tunes and this was one of them.

9. Lady Gaga - Judas
Not as stunning as her previous work, but this avoided the cliche's of Born This Way and proved that Lady Gaga is the true air to Madonna's crown as the provider of intelligent pop music that challenges the audience rather than pander to them.

8. Arctic Monkeys - Don't Sit Down
Back to their best. A truly brilliant track, full of scathing northern wit.

7. Akira The Don - Babydoll
Who would have thought that Akira was capable? After this, everyone.

6. Nero - Crush on You
My friend is one of many who hates it, but I think this is the perfect combination of pop and dubstep into something that lights up dance floors.

5. Florence and The Machine - Shake it Out
I got so so sick of Florence's first album, it was overplayed into oblivion. It will however be a long long time before I get sick of this glorious track.

4. Olly Murs + Rizzle Kicks - Heart Skips a Beat
Yes, I know. I also do not care. This track is pop at it's absolute best. I don't care who you are, if you don't dance when that sub bass comes in you have no soul.

3. Dub Phizix - Marka
Normally I find this kind of minimal dub to be repetitive, but the great production and brilliant vocals make this an exception. I can't wait to hear this dropped in a club.

2. Circles - Eye Embedded
Not the most instant of metal songs. But there is about 50 seconds in this track that ranks among my favourite bits of guitar music ever made.

1. Lupe Fiasco - Words I Never Said
Great track proving that hip hop can still be meaningful and political without being boring; and the performance at the BET awards complete with #occupy tshirt and Erykah Badu in a burkah was truly stunning.


Also up there: Kapital KO - Shut it Down Floating Death Picnic - Wrong Song Choice (Sadly not on YouTube) Lana Del Rey - Video Games Incubus - Adolescents Visions of Trees - Sirens

Karen O plus Trent Reznor plus Led Zeppelin equals woooo!

This is dark and dirty and brilliant. Exactly the type of grimy industrial noise Reznor has been sadly moving away from for too long. That initial drum beat is so much like the best NIN stuff that I can't help but want to sample it...

Distillers - City of Angels

I like to think if Courtney Love had been really punk she would have sounded like this. Love this song.

Alkaline Trio - Stupid Kid

Great song. I forgot how much I like it.

Busta dis

I don't like Chris Brown at all, but there is no denying the brilliance of Busta Rhymes at his best. This is mental, fast fast fast. I so prefer speedy rapping to the slow boring drawl of 50 Cent. Decent bass and track too.

My Berlin Playlist

Here are the songs that I would put in my Berlin playlist! Enjoy:


Circles - Eye Embedded (On TV) Caliban - The Beloved and the Hatred (I used to like this but never heard in a club before Berlin) Scooter - How Much is the Fish (150 German goths going MENTAL to this... amazing sight) Rammstein - Ich Will (Likewise this) System of a Down - Toxicity (Same as the UK but with better punctuality :D) Middleman - It's Not Over Yet (Leeds band that I happened to catch in a rock club) Depeche Mode - Everything Counts (Depeche Mode night was great fun, this was the stand out for me) Dead Kennedys - Holiday in Cambodia (Last song of the holiday)

Lupe Fiasco - The Words I Never Said - BET Awards 2011 Performance

AKA how to demonstrate yourself to be fucking awesome in one performance.

A song that shows rap can still be politically aware, dangerous, questioning society and authority. Check.
Palestinian flag on US TV. Check.
#Occupy tshirt. Check.
Erykah Badu in a burkha. Check.
Full rock band performance at the BET Hip Hop Awards. Check.

Amazing.

Not for Arachnaphobics

This too. Good spotting from ASOS.


Sirens from Visions of Trees on Vimeo.

One Mint Julep

Love this.

Kapital KO feat Crown and Katie McKenna - Shut it Down

I've been following KO on twitter for a while, he's done some decent tracks that show Manchester isn't just home to indie bands. This new track though has been a while coming, but it is well worth the wait. Great verses and the kind of chorus that Dappy would sell his hat for.

If this is the quality of Manchester Urban music to come then London should be shitting itself about... now.

The Vaccines - Post Break Up Sex

Unusually for a much hyped major label band, The Vaccines appear to be making credible indie music with a catchy heart to it. Their first big single is getting lots of radio play and it is deserved; a great track which captures a lot of emotion without being dull or cloying.

Only slight problem is the tune being very reminiscent of 'I can't live, if living without you'... so now I keep switching songs!

Dub War - Strike It

Skindred are one of the best live bands in the world, and makers of some awesome Reggae-metal. If you dono't know what that is just go listen...

But prior to that they were in Dub War, having been meaning to listen to their stuff for ages I finally put this on... what a track. It's very mid to late 1990's, but hell this would still bring down a rock night in a pile of steam.

Nero - Me and You

I love the arcade video, clearly produced by someone with a love of old games. The punk guys are pure Streets of Rage, the lined racetrack a staple of the 80's. I love this track too. I believe it is out this week, go buy it.

Conversation - Tell me I'm the one

One of my favourite new synthpop bands is Conversation in Sheffield. They sound like Erasure in the best possible way, and I can't wait to hear more from them. With some good production they could sound incredible.