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Wednesday 9 November 2011

My favourite albums: Lolly

Hello blog fans. This is my 300th post, incredible huh? In order to properly celebrate I decided to get someone else to write it for me and resurrect a feature from earlier in the year - favourite album lists. For listalbumblog fans, you'll no doubt be pleased to hear that there will hopefully be one or two more of these in the near future. For the dissenting voices, I suggest you go and read Silvio Berlusconi's Facebook page until I'm done.

Today's list is from my friend Lolly. Lolly is 29 and is very much one of those Londoners, having been born and bred there. It's also where she lives now, if you can imagine such a thing - although she has also spent time living in Leeds, Brighton and Melbourne, Australia. Lolly is one half of the excellent Panda and Crumpet, so you can read more of what she gets up to there if you want. I sincerely advise that you do.

Here is Lolly's list:

1 - Expecting To Fly, The Bluetones (1996)
I've written a lot about The Bluetones and the impact they've had on the past 15 years of my life on my own blog. It had to be the first one I wrote about. When I first heard Slight Return on the radio I knew they were MY band. It sounded like how I wanted everything I ever wanted to listen to again to sound. I've spent half of my life (bloodyell, I know, right?) seeing them live, until I stood next to grown men sobbing at their final show last month. This album is perfect. Tales of calm melodic heartbreak follow jingle-jangle magical indie-pop. It never sounds anything other than wonderful.

2 - London Is The Place For Me, Trinidadian Calypso in London, 1950-56
This album captures so many brilliant social and historical gems - every song is like a whole world in a little story: getting lost on the Underground, city-wide celebrations, racial tension and cricket. Everything on here is still so relevent today and my WORD it sounds amazing on a sunny day.

3 - I Lucifer, The Real Tuesday Weld (2003)
Stephen Coates is an extraordinary man. Writer, performer, artist, musician... He's created an entire mythology and cast of characters out of his undying love for London, it's history and secrets. The band's body of work is huge. This album in particular acts as a sort of soundtrack to Glen Duncan's excellent novel of the same name, which incidentally, is in my list of top 10 books. AND he got the entire idea (and name) for the band because of a dream he had. Which is wonderful. And inspiring. Good shit.

4 - Substance, New Order (1987)
Well, I mean, come on. Obv.

5 - Tigermilk, Belle and Sebastian (1996)
Properly timeless, if you ask me. Which you are. Does the same things to my ears and brains and insides as it did when I first heard it. Although best reserved for lazy Sundays (on vinyl, natch) now rather than jumpy CD whilst sobbing over unfinished GCSE art homework.

6 - The Best of Kid Creole & The Coconuts (1990)
Camp and brilliant - so 'of its time', and way before MY time, really, but I properly discovered them after watching the brilliant film Downtown 81, where Jean-Michel Basquiat wonders around downtown in NYC, and stumbles in to a live Kid Creole performance. I love his glam gang of Coconuts, his 1930-40s style, the whole thing is a hilarious innuendous Latin carnival and I bloody love it.

7 - Tellin Stories, The Charlatans (1997)
I was 15 when this came out. So it instantly meant a lot. Still does. And if you don't follow Tim Burgess on twitter then you're missing out on some of the best imaginary morning coffee on the internet.

8 - Dig Your Own Hole, Chemical Brothers (1997)
After being convinced that boys with floppy hair and guitars was the only way for me, I was really shocked when my teenage girly boy-in-band-loving self couldn't get enough of this album but it's SO DAMN GOOD. It's just genius. I don't need to say much about how important and different and great this was and is. You know.

9 - LA Woman, The Doors (1971)
Jim Morrison's last album. The first thing my dad ever bought on CD (because his LP had been damaged. By me). Curious as to what all the fuss was about when I had decided to decorate that poor record, I made sure that this was also the first CD I ever stole off my dad.

10 - Songs the Lord Taught Us, The Cramps (1980)
Spooky and loud and innovative and just a little bit comedy. Bloody brilliant bit of psychobilly. I stayed in a Cramps-themed trailer in the middle of the California desert this year, and just realised I've not listened to this since then. Best go do that then.

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