Something old, something new, something borrowed #1 - what I've been listening to recently‏

Welcome to another new series on Session Bloggers.  Here we'll be talking about what we've been listening to recently.

And although no-one is getting married here today, we have decided to split the music into old, new and borrowed categories just to give a bit of variety. We've missed out the blue bit as we're worried it might limit us and no-one really wants to get to the stage where they have to listen to an album by Deep Blue Something do they?  If they did actually have more than one song, I can't really be arsed to find out.

Oh, and in true Session Bloggers' style, we will also be collating a Spotify playlist alongside the series, you can listen to a song by each of the artists featured below here - Something old, something new, something borrowed

So, anyway, to kick things off, and to give you an idea of what I'm bloody talking about :

Something old I've been listening to recently - Bobbie Gentry

I first discovered Bobbie's music when Sinead O'Connor covered 'Ode to Billie Joe' on the Warchild 'Help' album in the 90s. It was a great version but listening to Bobbie's acoustic version now just blows me away. She just has such a unique voice, and the feeling within it just makes you listen so closely to evey word.  It's only recently though that I've discovered the album of the same name and also a later album of hers 'Fancy'.

The 'Billie Joe' album is a corker, kicking off with 'Mississippi Delta', which again showcases how powerful Bobbie's vocals were. Another of my favourites on the album is 'Chickasaw County Child' with the brilliant line "Looky here dumpling, you'll go far cause you've got style" which I am going to call my album once I get around to forming a band one day. Please don't steal it.

'Fancy' is a great album too but whereas Gentry wrote all but one of the songs on 'Billie Joe', only two of the songs on 'Fancy' were hers.  The main highlight on the latter though is 'Find 'Em, Fool 'Em, Forget About 'Em' which is the song I'm going to sing at my X Factor audition when I finally make it to one.  It will be shit, I warn you now but, in true X Factor fashion, I will convince myself that I am actually good.

I still need to catch up on her other albums but, until that happens, I highly recommend you check out these two beauties.

Song added to Spotify playlist - ''Find 'Em, Fool 'Em, Forget About 'Em'


Something new I've been listening to recently - Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Okay, so they're not technically 'new' but they are 'new-ish' and they recently had a new song out and have a new album out soon, and it's my blog, so I am classing them as 'new'. 

I was actually going to include UMO in my recent blog post about '5 bands to fall in love with in 2013'. However, I'd already written about them in my '31 (yes, 31!) Bands to fall in love with in 2012' last year and didn't want to eat my own hat 2 years running as I don't think many people did fall in love with them then.

However, I believe their time has now come and here are 5 reasons why :

1. Their new single 'Swim and Sleep' is excellent and you can hear it on the Spotify playlist I'm collating. Go on, have a listen!

2. It's about time a band from New Zealand was massive, I think the last one was Crowded House. I'm probably wrong though. Flight of the Conchords definitely deserved to be as big, very funny men.

3. They will be spurred on by Tame Impala's success last year. As already mentioned, UMO are from New Zealand (well, some of them are anyway) and, if you weren't aware, Tame Impala are from Australia. There is great rivalry there and the former will be driven by that.

4. Again, to mention Tame Impala - they only really achieved mass recognition in the music press on the release of their 2nd album, UMO are due to release their 2nd album in 2013.

5. UMO are heavily endorsed by The Vaccines and they always include them on their Spotify playlists.

So there you have it. I am predicting now that they will be voted No.1 in the NME Album of the Year poll next year. I don't have any hats left in my house but will consume my favourite scarf if I'm wrong (which I probably will be).

Song added to Spotify playlist - 'Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark)'


Something borrowed I've been listening to recently - #blogsound2013 playlist by @glamourfaded

When I say borrowed it might be a recommendation from someone you've seen on twitter, it might be your dad's CD you've borrowed. Here, I've just nicked a playlist from @saamFG , editor of the music/film/telly blog Faded Glamour and listened to it.

The playlist covers the shortlist of bands voted in #blogsound2013 , an annual list, voted for by 49 of the best music blogs in the UK (we're not one of them), to decide which new band is most likely to make it in 2013.

The winners this year, announced yesterday, were Haim. Worthy winners in my opinion, I must have mentioned them in nearly every blog post of mine since we launched so won't talk about them anymore in this one.

It's a crackin' playlist. Other acts we feel are worth a mention are Palma Violets (okay, so it's an obvious comparison, but they're a bit Libertines-y), Chvrches (electro band from Glasgow, very catchy), AlunaGeorge (remind me a bit of Morcheeba, very good), Curxes (like a more frantic version of Siouxie and The Banshees, definitely a grower), Laura Mvula (beautiful, soulful vocals, great harmonies, love this one), Rhye (nice - sorry that's a bit of a shit description I just can't think of anything else to say at the moment) and Daughter (slow, dreamy vocals. Quite nice). But have a listen and decide for yourself. And remember there's only one song by each artist on the playlist, you need to listen to some more of their stuff to get more of an idea as to the depth of their sound (apologies if that sounds a bit wanky).  Anyway, the playlist is here if you want to have a listen, well worth it - Blog Sound Of 2013 Longlist

Song added to Spotify playlist - 'Send me down' by Haim


So there we go. If you fancy writing a similar post for Session Bloggers about what old, new and borrowed music you've been been listening to recently then please comment below or contact me on twitter - @sessionblogger - and I'll get in touch.

Thanks for reading, if you've skipped bits here and there, I really don't blame you.

Love

Simon S.
xx

'The Yuletide 24 2012' Part 2 (Session Bloggers' Songs of the Year)

So there we have it, my songs of the year have been revealed. For those of you who have been following my daily tweets on twitter ('hi mum'), you'll already know who made the shortlist.  For those who didn't, well this is your lucky day!  Without further ado here is the final list from 24 to 1 and, as a bit of added value you even get a bit of commentary, plus a You Tube video, for numbers 5 to 1 - I spoil you sooooo much sometimes, don't I?!

Oh, and if you scroll down to the bottom of the page, I've got another little treat for you (please don't get too excited, it is a bit rubbish).

Anyway, here we go :

24. 'Hold On' by Alabama Shakes
23. 'Forget' by Lianne La Havas
22. 'Mind Control' by Friends
21. 'California Daze' by Peace
20. 'Feel to Follow' by The Maccabees
19. 'Hail Bop' by Django Django
18. 'The Daily Mail' by Radiohead
17. 'Because I know that I can' by Andy Burrows
16. 'The Road' by Simple Kid
15. 'Cough Cough' by Everything Everything
14. 'Freedom at 21' by Jack White
13. 'When your garden's overgrown' by Paul Weller
12. 'Five Seconds' by Twin Shadow
11. 'Leonard' by Sharon Van Etten
10. 'Comeback Kid' by Sleigh Bells
9. 'United' by Sean Bones
8.'Jostle' by Breton
7. 'Seek it' by Richard Hawley
6. 'Inhaler' by Foals

5. 'That's Alright' by Kindness

First of all I'd just like to say that the band Trouble Funk should also be credited for this beauty as it samples one of their songs.  I know they're reading this so I didn't want to disappoint them, or open myself up to any potential legal proceedings, by not mentioning them. To be honest it could have either been this song or 'House' by Kindness that I chose for my top 5 but, do you know what swung it?  Play the song below and listen to how it kicks in at 1 minute and 8 seconds.  It is one of the best 'kicking in bits' to a song that I've heard this year, maybe ever and for that, I salute you Mr. Kindness.

Anyway, decide for yourself and listen here -

4. 'Under the Westway' by Blur

This was a great return to form for one of my favourite ever bands.  It was a similar case with Radiohead's 'The Daily Mail' which is up there with the best bits from their last album.  Anyway, this song is just a beauty and, being about London, it always reminds me of the Olympics and what a bloody great year it's been working and living in London (well, I live 15 miles north of it to be exact but who's splitting hairs?)

I'm sure you've all heard it anyway but, if not, put on your Team GB attire and have a listen here -

3. 'Forever' by Haim

Haim were a breath of fresh air this year and this song is just brilliant.  I started the year thinking that Friends could become one of my favourite bands and then Haim came along and pulled the rug from under their feet (in a nice way though, I'm sure) - even though they are similar sounding, there's just something about Haim which I love.

Am very very excited about their album next year, if you haven't heard them yet, you have to listen to this beauty immediately -

2. 'Black White & Blue' by Ladyhawke

This song was very nearly my number one, I just love it so much and couldn't stop listening to it when it first came out.  It's definitely one of the catchiest songs of the year and I'm really surprised that this and the album didn't do better, especially in the end of year polls as they are both corkers. Okay, there's one bit that sounds a bit like 'Tragedy' by The Bee Gees (maybe even the Steps version) but why does that matter?  All the best songs sound like something else, don't they?! 

Anyway, if you haven't heard it, listen here and be prepared to fall in love with a truly amazing song -

1. 'Lightning Bolt' by Jake Bugg

I know Ladyhawke came very close, and I nearly did a joint first prize but thought that would be a cop out, but at the end of the day Jake Bugg is a worthy winner.

When I first heard this it blew me away and it proves, as I've said all along, that not all the best songs have to sound like something else. Ahem.

Anyway, before I leave you with this lovely lad's video, I'd like to thank the fabulous blogger @KateTakes5 for introducing me to Jake Bugg many months ago.  Without her Ladyhawke may have won and Jake would never have fulfilled his lifetime ambition of becoming my song of the year.  I did tweet him, asking him how it felt winning such an accolade, when it was announced the other day but he declined to comment, think he was too choked up to speak to be honest.

I'm sure you've all heard it but if you fancy listening to it again, here it is -

So, that's it.  Agree / disagree?  Shocked by the lack of Alt-J, Tame Impala and Palma Violets?  I think they're all great bands, with some great songs released this year, but they just didn't do it for me as much as the beauties above did I'm afraid.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Before you go, I've put all of the songs into a Spotify playlist for you to listen to here - The Yuletide 24 - 2012 (that's the treat I was talking about above, if you didn't realise. Like I said earlier, it is a bit of a rubbish treat, especially as 'Inhaler' by Foals isn't on Spotify yet - they have to spoil everything, don't they?!)

Until next time, take care.

Thanks for having me.

Simon S.
xx

5 Bands to fall in love with in 2013

I love 'ones to watch' lists as I love discovering new music.  My old band, Pre-historic Wife, were never on any 'ones to watch' lists as, to be quite honest, we were shit.

But here at Session Bloggers it's not just brand new musicians that we like to shout about, we also like to raise our glasses to those who might be one or two albums in and haven't quite had their lucky break yet.  Some of the bands below have appeared on other music blog / magazine lists as, we agree, they are fucking great.  But there are a couple of bands below whose time we believe has come and we'd like to share them with you in case you haven't heard them before.

So, without further ado, and in no particular order, here are 5 Bands for you to fall in love with in 2013 - and even if you don't fall in love with them, we'd be happy with a 'I've become quite fond of'...

1. Cashier No. 9

This was the band I fell in love with in 2012 so I'm hoping they'll make you equally as happy in 2013.  Their album 'To the Death of Fun' is an absolute corker and, even though it was released in 2011, it's my most played album this year. 

I love them so much that I once tweeted 'I love @cashierno9 and I want to have their babies'. They never replied and I don't blame them. I just hope I get to see them live before they take that restraining order out on me.

I eagerly await their new album next year but, for the time being, here is the song - 'Oh Pity' - that first got me into them. Go on, have a listen, you know you want to -

2. Haim

This band has probably appeared in every music blog and music mag's 'one to watch' lists for next year.  You probably already know everything there is to know about them so I want bang on. 

Instead, have a listen here and decide for yourself if you might fall in love with them next year. This is their brilliant new song 'Don't Save Me' -

3. Sean Bones

Sean (can I call you, Sean?) is the only solo artist to appear in my list.  He's another example of an artist who has released a couple of albums already but just needs a lucky break to push him into the big time.  His album 'Buzzards Boy' was released earlier this year and, if you like Vampire Weekend, you should check him out as I think you might like him.

The album is brilliant, very summery, and quite similar to Cashier No. 9.  The song that got me into him though is below and is called 'United'. It isn't on the album but was released in the Autumn and has something to do with a popular pair of trainers, not quite sure what though -

4. Peace

Peace are another band who have been championed by the music press recently and rightly so.  I have a feeling though that they may live in the Palma Violets' shadow for a bit in 2013.  But that's not a bad thing, is it?  Let them soak up the pressure and hype and then sneak up behind them and take their crown when they're not looking (in case they beat you up).

They've only had a couple of releases so far but this is my favourite - 'California Daze' - it's an absolute beauty. I do like what they've done to that melon as well -

5. Temples

Do you know what, this lot are already shaping up to be my favourite band of 2013?! It will probably end up being Cashier No. 9 again to be honest but, if not, this lot could be a close second.

From what I've heard already they are heavily influenced by the 60s, which I love, and they sound a bit like The Bees or Love, which is not a bad thing at all as they are both great bands.

But, we shall see, what do I know anyway?  Again, please decide for yourself - here's 'Shelter Song' for your listening pleasure -

So, they're my tips and now it's over to you - which bands do you think you and other people will fall in love with next year?  Would be great to hear your thoughts.

Until next time, take care.

Thanks for having me.

Simon S.
xx