Mercury Music Prize 2014

I'll be at the Mercury's tonight, rooting for our boy East India Youth. Regardless if he wins or loses, I love the record. 

http://youtu.be/tXNBIWqnYrw

Discoggs 4 - The 'I wish I was at CMJ' Special

I'm at my desk in London. I'd rather be running around NYC at the CMJ Music Marathon.

Here are the bands I'd be checking out this week if I was there. I'm such a loser.





You can even SEE them here...



Which ones do you like?

Discoggs 3 - Small but perfectly formed

With moving images...



Nowhere to Run – Martha Reeves and the Vandellas
It’s not love that I’m running from, it’s the heartbreak I know will come.

French Navy – Camea Obscura
One of the great indie-pop gems.

Little Record Girl – Bahamas
Taken from ‘Bahamas is Afie’ and gifted to me by one of my favourite people. 70’s country inflection, but made in Toronto in 2014. Makes me smile every time I hear it.

Powder – Gengahr
On top form at The Forum, Kentish Town this week.

Infatuation – Liu Bei
Liu Bei drew a big crowd, even with an early stage time at the Forum. And rightly so. Reminiscent of Money, who I adore, so this sits well with me.

History Book – Dry the River
I love these boys dearly, and adore the new album, but this remains my favourite track of theirs. I can’t watch them without singing every word back to the stage. They played their biggest headline show to date this week. I watched from the very centre of the crowd and was transported far from Kentish Town.

Make Up Your Mind – Here We Go Magic
I. Can’t. Stay. Still.

Affection – Foreign Shores
This was sent to me by a friend when I asked Facebook for songs to fend off heartbreak. Great choice Simon. I know nothing about these guys, but I like it.

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings – Father John Misty
Another gift. What a treasure. The whole Fear Fun album is wonderful, but this Laurel Canyon-esque track is particularly gorgeous.

This Is Music – Verve
Play it LOUD.

I Ain’t Saying My Goodbyes – Tom Vek
The bespectacled one played Koko on Wednesday and it’s the tracks from 2005’s We Have Sound that resonated best with me.

Teenage Exorcist - Mogwai

I know I'm only supposed to write one post a week, but jeeeeez, just listen to THIS

Discoggs 2 - And so it goes...

Another week over, another playlist featuring people I've seen/things that have tickled my ears this week.



And for the visually minded...



Two Weeks - FKA Twigs
FKA Twigs is like some warrior-goddess-hybrid. My jaw actually dropped when I saw her at Hackney Empire this week.

Our Love - Caribou
Everyone in London was either at the FKA Twigs show or watching Caribou on Wednesday night it seems (according to my twitter timeline anyway).

Morning - Beck
I'm still reeling from the Roundhouse show.

Travelin' Man - Still Flyin'
This band broke my heart. I saw them at the Lexington a few years ago and they stopped touring the next week. Breaks. My. Heart.

Last January - The Twilight Sad
Sounds like Interpol if they'd grown up in Scotland.

Mistaken For Strangers - The National
Another uninnocent, elegant fall into the unmagnificent lives of adults.

Memphis Soul Stew - King Curtis
The bass. Oh, the bass.

I Jus Wanna Love U (Give it 2 me) - Jay Z
I saw Pharrell on Friday night. Forgot how many amazing tracks he's had a hand in. He's like a hit-making machine.

Nevermind the End - Tei Shi
Thanks to Danny Wright for pulling her into my consciousness. Brooklyn via Bogota singer who's about to go stratospheric I imagine. This is from her 2013 album and I can't stop listening to it.

Discoggs 1 - Are you ready? Or more importantly, am I?

Let's share some music shall we? Here's my first mixtape for you, dear reader...




I'll try to post these regularly, but I'm not going to fall foul of the addiction that is the 'new-music-I-found-it-first' hamster wheel. There are swathes of brilliant writers who can provide that between them, and write about them beautifully. I'll just be posting songs that I like by bands I've seen recently, or hope to see recently, or that I otherwise love.

Here it is as a YouTube playlist, for those that are so inclined...



So, this first one then. Here's some background...

All the Rage Back Home - reminds me of a special weekend. Beers, new friends and belting it out.

Animals - Managed to see these (charming) guys twice on consecutive nights and I'm so glad I did. Their new album, 'Conversationalist' has been on heavy rotation ever since. If it were any more up my street it would have to move in with me.

Changes Are No Good - Woke up with this as an earworm on Sunday. It's somehow connected to something on that In Flight Safety album. And they're originally from Montreal, right, so there's a Canadian connection...

Young Love - this is on here by virtue of the fact that I saw Mystery Jets and Laura Marling perform it at the Transgressive 10th Anniversary show at the Barbican last week. Fabulous.

Alive Alone - Ah, Beth.

The State I Am In - B&S have announced a new album, which had me racing for the back catalogue.

I Turn My Camera On - I saw Spoon at Primavera and thought they had been hit with the same 'forever young' stick that Franz Ferdinand have. And then the lovely Matt Taylor from DtR talked me through the albums in detail and I've been obsessed by Gimme Fiction ever since. Thanks Maffoo!

Dead Flowers - You know what it's like - you have a conversation with a cute guy/girl about what your favourite Stones record is and then you defend your choice and then you realise that they were right all along and Sticky Fingers is definitely superior to Exile on Main Street and now I feel like an idiot...

The West Was Won - I was having a rubbish day at work and thought 'I have to go and see a band RIGHT NOW' and the Bat signal was raised above the Old Queens Head and beneath it were Close Talker. They saved me. Thanks guys. See you again in your part of the world one day I hope.

She's Not Me - Jenny is the poster girl for women like me. You go, girl.

Way to be Loved - More Canadians! This playlist is over-run with them. No bad thing.

Go To Me - I caught Jordan playing in the basement at the Ace Hotel last week. In all his chamber-y gorgeousness.

Song To The Siren - Part of the canon. Sublime.

To be continued...