Discoggs 15 - The fashionable one

My recent adventures have seen me working in the world of fashion. Here's what's been keeping my ears fashionably occupied during London Fashion Week.



Or for those of a visual persuasion:




Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for two virgins) - Father John Misty
I caught Father John Misty and his rock star good looks twice this week - both stripped down acoustic and in full, throbbing form with his band. A contender for Gig of The Year already. Beg, borrow or steal a ticket to see him this summer.

How We Be - Sinkane
Sinkane wears it well

Mind Your Own Business - Delta 5
Post punk snarl. Wish they were still with us.

Audacity of Huge - Simian Mobile Disco
If I was strutting down the catwalk, I'd want it to be to this.

Where's Your Car Debbie? - Slaves
Filthy.

Go Out - Blur
FINALLY. Taken from 'Whip It', their first studio album as a 4 piece in 16 years. Tickets for the Hyde Park show are selling like hot cakes.

The Seeds You Sow - Prides
Prides are made of glitter and sequins.

Jasper - Hooton Tennis Club
Latest signings to my beloved Heavenly Records.

Muscle and Bone - John Joseph Brill
I've put this on a playlist before, but that's because it's ace. I finally got to see him live this week, plus full band. Excellent beard.

Alone In My Home - Jack White
To be honest, I'd fallen out with Jack a little, but there's something of a return to form on this, IMHO.

Breakfast in Bed - Dusty Springfield
RANDOM FACT: There's a 9ft tall statue of an Easter island head in my back garden and Dusty paid for it. I promise you this is the truth.

Rock and Roll is Cold - Matthew E White
On tour in the UK, US and Canada from this week. Hope you get to catch him...

Turn Away - East India Youth
The boy wonder can do no wrong in my eyes. Here's a glimpse into the next album 'Culture of Volume'. Released 6th April in the UK and 7th April in the US.

La Ritournelle - Sebastien Tellier
Sebastien makes the cut simply by virtue of being chicly Ferrrunch. And because La Ritournelle is one of the greatest songs ever written. Obviously. Makes my heart soar/sore.

Until next time...

Discoggs 14 - The Off-kilter Valentines one

There are a gazillion songs about love. It’s rich territory for songwriters – all those hearts and flowers. But we know things are a little more complex in real life…

Here’s my mixtape of songs that explore love from different angles.




Always On My Mind - Pet Shop Boys
If I Can't Change Your Mind - Sugar
Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone you Shouldnt've) - Buzzcocks
Nothing But A Heartache - The Flirtations
You Keep Me Hangin' On - The Supremes
End Of The World - Skeeter Davis
Cry Me A River - Justin Timberlake
Say I'm Sorry - Piney Gir
The Outdoor Type - The Lemonheads
Inside of Love - Nada Surf
I Don't Want Love - The Antlers
Dark End Of The Street - Flying Burrito Brothers
Youth - Daughter
Pink Bullets - The Shins
Delia's Gone - Johnny Cash

Discoggs 13 - The New York Special

My adventures have taken me to New York this week. Here's a selection of songs that will forever be entwined with the state for me. It wasn't an easy one, this. There were so many songs I had to leave out or to choose between and so much history to cover, not to mention the new artists I wanted to feature. Please forgive me for missing out entire, important genres or essential artists. I hope you find something to enjoy.

For your listening pleasure:




Heads Will Roll - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
The Rat - The Walkmen (Let's all agree it's one of the finest songs ever written, right?)
New York City Cops - The Strokes
NYC - Interpol (Started playing as I walked in to my hotel room. Weird or what?)
The Only Living Boy in New York - Simon & Garfunkel
Demons - The National ("I want to see the sun come up above New York")
Two Weeks - Grizzly Bear
Empire State of Mind - Alicia Keys
An Open Letter To NYC - Beastie Boys (Snotty young upstarts turn into elder statesmen)
No Church in The Wild - JAY Z, Kanye West, Frank Ocean
Gravel Pit - Wu-Tang Clan
Me, Myself and I - De La Soul
Rip Her To Shreds - Blondie
Personality Crisis- New York Dolls
Rockaway Beach - Ramones
I'm Waiting For The Man - The Velvet Underground
Gloria: In Excelsis Deo - Patti Smith (Can't wait to see her perform Horses in its entirety at Field Day this summer)
Psycho Killer - Talking Heads
Wasted - Dead Stars
Gold Blooded - The VeeVees
Turn It Around - Lucius
Watching Every Channel At Once - Slonk Donkerson (One of the most ridiculous band names I've heard in a while, but I love the song!)
How Long Have You Known - DIIV
Star Crawl - Crystal Stilts
Friend Crush - Friends (The bassline gets me every time)
Diane Young - Vampire Weekend
Dance To The Underground - Radio 4 (This has been my earworm for a week)
Radar Detector - Darwin Deez
Tongues - Joywave
Losing My Edge - LCD Soundsystem (The lyrics never fail to make me smile. God bless James Murphy)

Discoggs 12 - The Canadian Special Edition

I've been in Toronto this week, seeking out great Canadian artists both old and new. Here's a selection for you...



Dancehall Domine - The New Pornographers
Trainwreck 1979 - Death From Above 1979
Nomads - Highs
Waves - Bahamas
Blue Flares - In-Flight Safety
Viet Cong - Silhouettes
Shine A Light - Constantines
Knock You From Yr Mountain - Elephant Stone
The Wooden Sky - The Wooden Sky
You're Out Wasting - Andy Shauf
A Mirror - Aidan Knight
20's - Rah Rah
Sweetest Kill - Broken Social Scene
Dead Hearts - Stars
Help I'm Alive - Metric
You Know Me - Air Traffic Controller
An Angel in White - We Are The City
Sometimes We All Fall Apart - Slow Down, Molasses
Full Circle - Half Moon Run
Grand Optimist - City and Colour
Home As A Romanticized Concept - Woodpigeon
Weighty Ghost - Wintersleep
Penpals - Sloan
Brother - The Organ
The House That Heaven Built - Japandroids
I Was Born (A Unicorn) - The Unicorns
My Girl - Yukon Blonde
Fancy Footwork - Chromeo
Closer - Tegan and Sara
Rebels Of Love - Adaline
Kaputt - Destroyer
4am in Parkdale - Grand Analog
Friends Hurt - We Are The City
Sister Sin - Meanwood
Big City Lights - Amos The Transparent

Discoggs 11 - The one where I look a bit forwards and a bit backwards

There are a million 'Ones to watch' features out there this month so I won't add to them, but there are some new names here. And some bloody ancient ones too:





Buddy - Fault Lines (Spotify) Anchor (YouTube)
Taken from the album Last Call for the Quiet Life. https://www.facebook.com/iamyourbuddy

Sundara Karma - Indigo Puff
Young enough to be my kids by the looks of them

In Flight Safety - Animals
This song keeps following me! In the pub, in shops, I keep hearing it and I LOVE it!

Banbarra - Shack Up
I came to this via A Certain Ratio's (awesome) cover version, but the original is awesome too...

A Certain Ratio - Knife Slits Water (7inch)
Well, I had to really, didn't I?

The Decemberists - Make You Better
I usually find them a bit 'meh' to be honest, but this gives a little something.

John Joseph Brill - Muscle and Bone
Love love love this. What a voice.

Whitehorse - Sweet Disaster
Yes, it does sound like 'The Zombies initially, but keep listening. It's beautiful.

The Fall - Theme from Sparta FC
I told you some were ancient.

Panda Bear - Mr Noah
One of the finest records ever made by a Panda, I would say.

Discoggs 10 - The one where I geek out on my gigs of 2014

The year in numbers...

Let me properly geek out. Just this once.

In 2014 I saw 197 sets by 150 bands. I saw 16 bands twice, three bands three times each.I obviously enjoyed East India Youth, Future Islands and Ages and Ages A LOT because I saw them each five times. I saw The National play seven times in six cities across three countries. (They were all incredible, obviously). I've been privileged to see Dry the River play eight times in support of their fantastic second album.

I can't put my top ten in order of preference. Every experience is more than a sum of its parts, but here are ten of the best, in chronological order:



Ages and Ages - Cheer Up Charlies, Austin.
The room was so packed I had to seek refuge on a table by the door. I'm pretty sure the band could've led a pied-piper style parade through the city and we'd all have followed, such was the love for their incredible harmonies.


Future Islands - Stubbs Backyard, Austin.
I'd seen them at Hoxton in February and fallen in love, so the chance to see them several times in a week at SXSW was fantastic. They clearly enjoyed the attention (people were clamouring to get into every show that week) but they did it in such a humble, giving way.


Sharon Van Etten - Koko, Camden.
Are We There is my record of the year, no doubt. On stage Sharon is charming and funny and vulnerable and strong all at the same time. This piece from Pitchfork will make you fall in love with her. http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/9402-here-together-are-our-hearts-the-love-songs-of-sharon-van-etten/


Fat White Family - Dalston Victoria.
I'm still trying to wash the sweat off. Gloriously unhinged.


Jungle - Oval Space, Hackney.
I still didn't know what they looked like when I first went to see them. Then they appeared out of a fog of dry ice and the glow of three foot tall neon letters. As amazing as I'd hoped.


The National - Lucca, Italy.
We'd seen them the night before, in a tiny nook in the town of Vasto. Then we'd taken a series of trains for 8 hours to catch them again on the other side of the country. A downpour started as they hit the stage but it only heightened the mood. Bryce played like it was the last time he'd ever pick up a guitar and Matt laughed as we had a sing-off during Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks. We went home and didn't sleep for hours.


Beck - Camden Roundhouse.
I've never seen so many people grinning in one place. Beck Hansen is a true performer; A sexx-god of petite proportions and an Oscar-worthy actor.


Jenny Lewis - Islington Assembly Hall.
The poster girl for us indie-types of a certain age perhaps. Dressed in a painted pastel suit and singing breezy guitar pop from on top of a speaker – but with lyrics that divulge the grittier bits that lie beneath.


Hives – Reading Festival.
Swoon, giggle, repeat. Consummate showmen.


Bahamas – Borderline, Charing Cross.
Afie Jurvanen has stolen my heart. ‘Bahamas is Afie’ hasn’t been off my stereo since October so I stood absolutely transfixed as he played the Borderline last month. He makes me want to run away and live in a cabin somewhere in Ontario.


Mclusky – Buffalo Bar, Islington.
It was a charged atmosphere from the off. I knew it would be my last visit to the Buffalo Bar before it shuts its doors for the last time so I was ready to soak up those final memories of nights on the stage, behind the decks, in the crowd watching more bands than I could ever remember. It was one of my homes from home when I first moved to London and this was my last hurrah. The fact it was (pretty much) Mclusky playing, who I’d seen here and across the road at the Garage during a period of artrocker excess in 2002-ish just added to the feeling that I should throw myself into it. So I did. We all did. I owe a thank you to both the venue and the band.




N.B - You might have spotted that there are in fact 11. But c'mon. From 197 shows, that's not bad, right?!?

Discoggs 9 - The Alternative Christmas Mixtape

Well, here it is, Merry Christmas. Without a slice of Slade, morsel of Mud or whisper of Wizzard. It's a truly alternative Christmas playlist for you.



Or sit back and watch it unfold here