17 Seconds Festive 50 2016

  1. Christine & the Queens ‘Tilted.’
  2. Michael Kiwanuka ‘Black Man In A White World.’
  3. Kano ‘T-Shirt Weather In The Manor.’
  4. Playing House ‘New Haircut.’
  5. Michael Kiwanuka ‘Cold Little Heart.’
  6. David Bowie ‘Lazarus.’
  7. PJ Harvey ‘The Wheel.’
  8. Skepta ‘Man.’
  9. Last Battle ‘The Sound Of Forgiveness.’
  10. Woodpigeon ‘Faithful.’
  11. Emma Pollock ‘Parks And Recreation.’
  12. Pictish Trail ‘Dead Connection.’
  13. Frank Ocean ‘Nikes.’
  14. Kid Canaveral ‘First We Take Dumbarton.’
  15. Meursault ‘Simple Is Good.’
  16. Of Montreal ‘It’s Different For Girls.’
  17. Pictish Trail ‘Far Gone (Don’t Leave).’
  18. Olivier Alary ‘Nollywood.’
  19. Kate Bush ‘And Dream Of Sheep (live).’
  20. Biffy Clyro ‘Animal Style.’
  21. Dinosaur Jr ‘Goin’ Down.’
  22. Playing House ‘Grapefruit.’
  23. Radiohead ‘Burn The Witch.’
  24. Field Music ‘The Noisy Days Are Over.’
  25. Florence + the Machine ‘Wish That You Were Here.’
  26. Kills ‘Whirling Eye.’
  27. Ben Watt ‘New Year Of Grace.’
  28. Wedding Present ‘Rachel.’
  29. Underworld ‘I Exhale.’
  30. M.I.A. ‘ Go Off.’
  31. Designer ‘Panda.’
  32. Dinosaur Jr. ‘Tiny.’
  33. Sia featuring Sean Paul ‘Cheap Thrills.’
  34. Beyoncé ‘Formation.’
  35. Olivier Alary ‘Yangtze.’
  36. Let’s Eat Grandma ‘ Shiitake Mushrooms.’
  37. Zayn ‘Pillowtalk.’
  38. Strokes ‘Oblivius.’
  39. XX ‘On Hold.’
  40. Alicia Keys ‘In Common.’
  41. Massive Attack ‘Ritual Spirit.’
  42. Bob Marley & the Wailers featuring LVUNDSCAPE & Boiler ‘Is This Love?’
  43. Rihanna featuring Drake ‘Work.’
  44. Deerhoof ‘Life is Suffering.’
  45. Lucy Roleff ‘Aspen.’
  46. De Rosa ‘Spectres.’
  47. Whitney ‘No Woman.’
  48. Stone Roses ‘Beautiful Thing.’
  49. Regina Spektor ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps.’
  50. Swells ‘White Noise.’

It has been a quiteer year on the blog, what with study and being ill…I will try and do better next year!

Less we forget:

Lest we forget…

2015 Courtney Barnett ‘Pedestrian At Best.’
2014 St. Vincent ‘Digital Witness.’
2013 Daft Punk ‘Get Lucky.’
2012 Grimes ‘Genesis.’
2011 Hiatus featuring Linton Kwesi Johnson ‘Insurrection.’
2010 eagleowl ‘No Conjunction.’
2009 Peter Parker ‘Swallow The Rockets.’
2008 Wedding Present ‘The Trouble With Men.’
2007 Emma Pollock ‘Adrenaline.’
2006 Long Blondes ‘Weekend Without Make-up.’

 

Christmas Posts 2016 part 7

I’m not religious – but I do enjoy a fair amount of what might be termed religious music. As well as choral works, singing Christmas carols is kinda fun, just as much musically part of Christmas to me as much of the music I have posted here over the last few weeks.  And my absolute favourite Christmas carol of all is ‘Silent Night.’

There’s an article over on Wiki about how the song was first written and performed in Austria on Christmas Eve 1818, by a priest, Father Joseph Mohr, and Franz Xaver Gruber. Mohr had first written the words in 1816, which makes it 200 years old this year. (I idly wonder how much of the music I have featured on the blog over the last ten years will be listened to in 200 years’ time.) Written in German, the original version is Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht. According to Wiki, during the famous Christmas Day Truce in 1914, it was sung by both British and German troops simultaneously as it was one carol both sides knew.

It has been performed by many, many artists over the years. Sinead O’Connor, above, (who has apparently just turned fifty) recorded a version for the 1991 TV film The Ghosts Of Oxford Street.

The carol has reportedly been translated into over forty languages, and that includes Gaelic. Enya originally recorded a version in the late 1980s:

The quintessential Christmas record of the last twenty years is Low’s Christmas album. It could almost have been written with them in mind…

Meanwhile, Sufjan Stevens’ version is as ethereal as Low’s – but much more trippy…

 

Christmas Posts 2016 part 6

Hmm, I didn’t intend to stop blogging for ten days, but went off on holiday, and was focused on that. Not least the fact that I saw my beloved Cure in both Manchester and London.

I have also been thinking about my end of year lists, both in terms of tracks (to be presented, as always as the Festive 50) and albums. Those will appear here shortly, but for now, on with the Christmas posts.

I have featured the Wedding Present many times here over the years, and rate them hugely as a band. That’s singer and Weddoes Mainman David Gedge who can be seen above. Their first contribution come from their 1992 single ‘No Christmas/Step Into Christmas.’ The story of this single and its place in Wedding Present history has been told many times so enjoy the music – can be found on the Hit Parade compilation.

In 2008, the year they topped the 17 Seconds Festive 50 chart with ‘The Trouble With Men’ the band released this gorgeous single.

And yes ‘Step Into Christmas’ is indeed the Elton John song. The Weddoes have done a number of great cover versions over the last thirty years, though it seems unfair to purely focus on these when David Gedge is such as amazing songwriter himself…but I give you this.