December 26, 2013

Photo by David Denicolò

Once again I’ve stolen the concept of a ‘Festive 5’ from a friend who has been compiling a list for some years now. The idea is you boil your favourite music released in one year down to just 5 tracks. This is my choice for 2013.

Arctic Monkeys - I wanna be yours.

A friend pointed me to this because the lyrics are from a poem by John Cooper Clarke. I love the song, and the accompanying video is enchanting.

Eels - Wonderful, Glorious

I’m always going to buy any new Eels album - even without listening to it first. Their 2013 release hasn’t disappointed as there are some cracking songs on there — this is one of the more upbeat ones.

John Grant - It doesn’t matter to him

John Grant’s Pale Green Ghosts has been my standout album of the year and will no doubt appear on a few ‘best of’ lists this year. This song sums up the thoughtful melancholy of a record that’s all about pain, illness and loss.

Regina Spektor - Blood of Eden

I’ve been following Peter Gabriel’s Scratch My Back project since it first came out a couple of years back. The idea was that Gabriel sings songs by other artists annd they would scratch his back by singing some of his songs. The second phase seemed to take a long time to finish and one of my favourites is this song from the album Us sung by Regina Spektor.

Roy Harper - January Man

Roy Harper is an English folk/rock singer, songwriter and guitarist who has released 22 studio albums. He’s apparentluy been hugely influential, widely cited as an influence, and I’d never heard of him before this year!

Music


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