Posts tagged "Music"

Roon music player

· hardware · software · music · ·
One thing I love about blogging and friendly social networks is that they can be a great source for finding out about cool things that you might not otherwise have come across. However, this can also open up dangerously enticing rabbit holes in which to fall, often involving spending money when you get to the bottom of them! So when Jack Baty posted about Roon, I was intrigued. At the time, I had a quick look and liked what I saw, but thought, “I don’t really need that as I’m quite happy with iTunes and Apple Music”.

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Some recent favourite albums

· music · ·

I hadn’t intended to take quite such a break in writing here, but by the time I got to Christmas, I my batteries were in desperate need of recharging. I had a good break, and enjoyed some time spent listening to music and reading. I’ll get around to the books I enjoyed at a later date, but I wanted to write a bit about the music I have particularly enjoyed recently.

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Ms Blue Cardigan meet Mr Blue Sky

· sewing · music · ·

2016 is certainly not getting any easier as it drags on, is it? Like many people, I’m finding it hard not to get anxious and disturbed by every new revelation or outrage on the news. There are certainly plenty of issues about which it is absolutely right and proper to get anxious, disturbed and angry, but there comes a time when you need to switch off for a bit. Personally, I find solace in both music and making things.

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Kate Tempest

· review · music · ·

Not long after it was launched, I subscribed to Apple Music. I know some people swear by Spotify, but I had tried it some time ago, and didn’t get on with it — I’m not entirely sure why. In many ways, I’m an old-fashioned music listener, and I prefer to listen to whole albums, most often in the order in which the artist intended. I found that Apple Music supported browsing and listening by album rather than song more easily, so that’s what I’ve stuck with. I still buy music in physical formats (most often vinyl), and so the ability to try out any album and play it multiple times to determine whether it is a keeper is very useful. I’ve also found that it has made me more adventurous, simply because I don’t have to pay per album, and can give something a quick try to see if it is my cup of tea. That strategy has led to me finding music that I probably would not otherwise have considered. So it was that I came across Kate Tempest’s album, Let Them Eat Chaos.

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Appreciating Kate

· music · mumblings · ·
With all the talk about the opening of Kate Bush’s first tour since 1979, I’ve had her music occupying my brain more than usual. I watched a fantastic documentary about her on BBC Four, which included a lot of clips of interviews (given that she gives so few interviews, it was probably most of them) and also performances of her music. Now, I listen to her music a lot. I always have.

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Like minds

· music · culture · ·
Mr. Bsag and I were lucky enough to see Chris Wood again at the Red Lion Folk Club last week. We’ve seen him live a couple of times, and once before at the Red Lion. It’s different each time, but always an amazing experience. There are few musicians whose music I love as much as Chris Wood’s, so I will always jump at the chance to see him live. However, you get much more than music with Chris Wood.

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None the Wiser by Chris Wood

· music · ·
Ever since we saw Chris Wood at the Red Lion Folk Club last year, I’ve been waiting for a new album from him. He was trying out some new material at that gig, some of which turned up on his new album, None the Wiser. I bought a copy yesterday, and have been listening to it avidly ever since. He has taken a slightly new direction with the sound on this album, and is playing (gasp!

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Big Inner by Matthew E. White

· music · review · ·
A few weeks ago, I bought an album by an artist I had never heard of before on the basis of a glowing review in the Guardian. The artist was Matthew E. White, and the album was Big Inner. I was blown away by it the first time I listened to it, but I’ve listened to it a lot since, and my enjoyment of it has only deepened — a sure sign that it’s a long term ‘classic’ that I’ll listen to again and again.

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Singing The Messiah

· music · culture · ·
Good old George Frideric Handel! He really knew how to write for choirs. Last weekend, my Mum and I took part in the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) ‘Singalong’ of Handel’s Messiah. We’ve done a couple of other Singalongs together, and have really enjoyed the experience. Mum is a particular fan of the Messiah, and I sang it in the choir at school, so we both jumped at the chance of joining in with this one.

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Post-Christmas miscellany

· mumblings · music · ·
I hope that you all had a good break over Christmas and New Year. I spent most of mine1 doing two things: a bit of DIY on the house and listening to music. The DIY was long overdue. There always seems to be immense inertia surrounding making improvements to the house. First you have to decide what materials you need, buy those materials, find or buy the tools you need to do the job, do the job itself and then clear up the resulting mess.

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Cyclical

· music · mumblings · ·
It has been a hard few weeks. Actually, it has been a hard few months. I’m sure you all know the feeling: you are running on the hamster wheel, trying desperately to get ahead of the next deadline. There seems no end to it, just a blur of rungs and the endless loop of turning the wheel. Now that I’ve got out the wheel for a couple of weeks, I feel dizzy and disoriented.

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Music in the cloud

· music · geek · ·
iTunes Match Warning: Hifi geekery ahead I’ve been pondering for a while how best to handle my digital collection of music. I have a lot of CDs and a small but growing collection of vinyl, but I also have a lot of music in digital format. Some of this has come from buying music through the iTunes or Amazon stores, but most is from my CDs that I have ripped, or from Apple Lossless format downloads from my Society of Sound membership.

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Young Man in America by Anais Mitchell

· music · review · ·
I recently bought Anaïs Mitchell’s new album ‘Young Man in America’. I loved her previous album, Hadestown, and found it original and beautifully executed. So I was eager to hear what she had done with her next album. I saved listening to it for the first time until I was returning by train from Lincoln, as I knew I would have time to kill and could enjoy the album from the comfort of my headphones.

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So

· music · ·
I’ve just caught up with a great Classic Albums documentary about Peter Gabriel’s ‘So’. I loved that album to bits, and have listened to it fairly regularly since 1986, which certainly makes it a classic in my opinion. There can’t be many albums featuring such a high density of musical talent: quite apart from Peter Gabriel, ‘So’ was produced by Daniel Lanois (a wonderful artist in his own right), and features Tony Levin, Manu Katché, Laurie Anderson, Youssou N’Dour and Kate Bush.

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Chris Wood at Red Lion Folk Club

· music · review · culture · ·
Last week we went to see Chris Wood perform at the Red Lion Folk Club. We last saw him perform in Moseley more than two years ago at a fantastic gig, so I was really excited to be getting to see him perform again. Chris Wood is an amazing performer when you hear him recorded, but he’s even better (if that’s possible) live, because of the incredible warmth and presence of his voice, and because his banter with the audience is lovely.

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Three Christmas Albums

· music · ·
I can’t believe that it’s already 4th January — time seems to have flown since Christmas! I was so exhausted when I was finally on holiday that we’ve had a fairly quiet (but wonderful) Christmas. Mr. Bsag and I spent Christmas Day and Boxing Day together (eating and drinking too much, as is pretty much the law at Christmas), then I travelled to my parents for a couple of days while Mr.

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50 Words for Snow

· music · ·
Ever since I found out that Kate Bush would be releasing not one but two new albums within a few months of each other, I’ve been waiting impatiently for 50 Words For Snow to be released. As it happened, I was working from home today (the day of release), but I was determined to get my work done before I succumbed to wallowing in the pleasure of listening to the new album.

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War of the Worlds

· music · ·
No one would have believed, in the last years of the nineteenth century, that human affairs were being watched from the timeless worlds of space. No one could have dreamed we were being scrutinized, as someone with a microscope studies creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. Few men even considered the possibility of life on other planets and yet, across the gulf of space, minds immeasurably superior to ours regarded this Earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely, they drew their plans against us.

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Kate Bush - Director's Cut

· music · ·
Long-time readers of this blog (and perhaps also newcomers) will know how much I love Kate Bush’s music. I listen to music a lot, and have somewhat ecclectic tastes. I like a lot of artists, but there are few who I have followed slavishly for years and years, and continued to love and listen to. Kate Bush is one of that select bunch. She doesn’t exactly rush the albums out — it’s 6 years since the last, Aerial, and that was quick by her standards — so you have plenty of time to absorb the music before the next album comes along.

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Recent Music

· music · ·
I’ve been listening to quite a bit of new music recently, in large part due to the 3 month free membership to Bowers and Wilkins’ Society of Sound that I received with my P5 Headphones. In fact, I’ve been listening to a lot more music — old and new — since I got the headphones. The albums I have downloaded through the Society of Sound have been particularly good, and I thought they might be worth sharing.

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Bowers And Wilkins P5 Headphones

· hifi · music · hardware · ·
One of the things that I have really come to value about Twitter is the recommendations you get from like-minded fellow human beings for all kinds of stuff from vegan fish and chips to films: it’s great. However, sometimes it can get expensive… First helgeg tweeted about some new headphones he had bought. They were made by Bowers and Wilkins, and I hadn’t come across them before. So I visited the site to have a look and was rather smitten.

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Let England Shake By PJ Harvey

· music · ·
I got a copy of ‘Let England Shake’ by PJ Harvey the other day, and I’ve been listening to it a lot. I’m quite a latecomer to her music, but I now have a few albums of hers and my admiration for her music is growing. It’s always a bit unfair when you try to draw comparisons between artists who are each excellent in their own right, but her inventiveness, independence and determination not to settle on ‘a sound’ reminds me a lot of Kate Bush.

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Megson

· culture · music · ·
We went to see Megson at the Red Lion Folk club in Kings Heath this week, and it was a great experience. I don’t know why I’ve never been to one of the Red Lion gigs before, given that I love folk music and the venue is quite close to my home, but somehow I had never got around to it. I’ll definitely try to go along more often, because it is a wonderful, intimate venue, with a very friendly crowd.

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Christmas Albums

· music · culture · ·
I was lucky to get a couple of great albums for Christmas this year, which I’ve really been enjoying listening to. Bahamut by Hazmat Modine The first was Bahamut by Hazmat Modine. I had never heard of Hazmat Modine before, which is a shame, because their style is right up my rather eclectic street, and they have a fantastic name to boot. I like a lot of different styles of music, and I love it when these are combined.

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Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain

· music · ·
On Mr. Bsag's 40th birthday yesterday, we went to see the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain (UOGB) at the Lichfield Festival. We'd been looking forward to it for ages, and it certainly didn't disappoint. As I've said before, UOGB are musical geniuses. They are also (it turns out) very funny even when not playing their instruments. Near the start of the show, George Hinchliffe asked those of us at the back of the auditorium if we could hear the bass ukulele properly.

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When the music moves you

· music · ·
I've got used to putting up with the awful techno dreck that seems to get played in most gyms, so I thought I might be dreaming when I heard Pink Floyd as I started my workout this morning. I rowed to 'Comfortably Numb', which seemed utterly appropriate in the circumstances. Obviously someone with taste had broken in to the music system. I had the best workout I'd had for ages, lifting heavier weights and doing better in my aerobic workout.

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Kate Bush - Aerial

· music · ·
Wow. Just wow. I decided to really do the first listen justice (well, it has been 13 years since the last album). I borrowed Mr. Bsag's lovely Grado headphones, lit a stick of my favourite incense, dimmed the lights, and listened to both discs straight through. I've waited to write this review until I had a chance to play the album a few more times, as Bush's music often grows on you slowly rather than grabbing you immediately (although it sometimes does both).

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Pink Floyd at Live8

· music · ·
Although we were away at the weekend, we caught some of the later parts of the Live8 concert. I wasn't that keen on many of the bands featured — I was much more excited by the concert featuring African musicians at the Eden Centre — but I did want to see Pink Floyd. Actually, since it was 24 years since they had last played together, I was a bit concerned that they might be dreadfully, embarrassingly bad.

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Buying vinyl

· music · ·
Yesterday, I mentioned that I'd set up a borrowed turntable. The next step, of course, was to buy some vinyl. I haven't had a turntable of my own since I was a very small child and had a plastic, two-part turntable on which I played the hits from Disney films, so I needed to go out and start a collection. My brother kindly started me off by giving me the excellent album 'Riot on an Empty Street' by the Kings of Convenience on vinyl for my birthday.

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Penguin Cafe Orchestra - Penguin Cafe Orchestra

· music · ·
::: {.img-shadow} {.Amazonimage} ::: After many years of not listening to them, I've become enthralled again by the magic of The Penguin Cafe Orchestra. It wasn't that I wanted to stop listening to them, but I was introduced to them by my ex-boyfriend in the mid-90s, and when we parted, I was left Penguin Cafe-less as well as boyfriend-less. Having said that, I'm not sure why it took me so long to acquire their albums again, because theirs is a very joyful and life-affirming kind of music.

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Björk - Medulla

· music · ·
::: {.img-shadow} ::: BBjörk is one of those artists whose work you either love or hate; it's unusual to be indifferent to her. And she's never predictable. I happen to love much of her work, and I think she's a stunning jewel among the interchangeably bland voices that make up the majority of mainstream music. Medulla is an unusual album — even by her standards — as it's almost entirely composed of voices (there is some percussion and a tiny amount of synthesised material).

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Gillian Welch - Time (The Revelator)

· music · ·
This purchase was inspired by seeing Gillian Welch and her partner David Rawlings play an acoustic set on BBC4, although I was slightly familiar with Gillian's work from the soundtrack of 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?'. Their virtuoso acoustic guitar playing and gorgeous hamonies blew me away, and — thankfully — the album didn't disappoint. Some of the tracks (for example, 'Red Clay Halo' and 'I Want To Sing That Rock and Roll') have a strong bluegrass sound, which might be off-putting if you don't like that style of music, but there's quite a variety of sounds on the album.

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Sufjan Stevens - Greetings From Michigan

· music · ·
When I wrote about Sufjan Stevens' later album Seven Swans, Shinsplints commented that I should also try Greetings From Michigan. I was very sceptical that I was going to like it as much as Seven Swans — which I love with a passion — but I was curious to see what it was like. I've now listened to the album about three times in less than 24 hours, and I'm completely captivated.

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Commuting music

· music · ·
If you happen to have a fairly long and dull walk to the train station in the morning, can I recommend a track that will put a groove in your step? 'Zig Zag Wanderer' by Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band (from the album Safe As Milk) is just such a track. The funky bass riff in the middle will make you play air-bass and will undoubtedly get you some funny looks from other Beefheartless commuters, but it's worth it for the smile that will be on your face for a few hours.

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The Magnetic Fields - i

· music · ·
I make no secret of the fact that I think Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields is a song-writing genius, and this new album hasn't altered that opinion at all. He has a lugubrious baritone voice that renders his wonderful lyrics as wistful or deadpan hilarious as appropriate. He reminds me a lot of Noel Coward or Morrissey, with the same quicksilver turn of phrase or quirky rhyme. 'I Thought You Were My Boyfriend' is a sad, bitter little song about a breaking up:

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Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans

· music · ·
Sometimes it isn't clear why you choose a new piece of music. When you go into a record shop and pick up a CD by an artist you've never heard of before, what makes you give it a listen? I had never heard of Sufjan Stevens before, but something about the album cover intrigued me, and I listened to it in the shop. Even through the one working working channel on the headphones (what do people do to headphones in Virgin?

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Lisa Gerrard & Patrick Cassidy - Immortal Memory

· music · ·
{width=“65” height=“65”} This was a birthday present (well, bought with birthday money, but it amounts to the same thing). I'm a huge fan of Lisa Gerrard, as I've mentioned before, so I was keen to get her new album with Patrick Cassidy. It's a very spiritual album, with many of the tracks taking their lyrics or theme from religious works. There's a version of the Lord's Prayer in Aramaic ('Abwoon'), a prayer carved into the choir stalls of the Church of San Damiano in Assisi ('Psallit in Aure Dei'), and the feel of the whole album is reflective and reverential.

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Sinead O'Connor - The Lion and the Cobra

· music · ·
{width=“65” height=“65”} I usually recommend albums when I like almost all of the tracks on the album, but this is a bit different. Don't get me wrong — I don't dislike any of the tracks (I find Sinead's voice so extraordinary that she could make a nursery rhyme interesting). 'Mandinka', 'Jerusalem' and 'Just Like U Said It Would B' are all great tracks, though the heavy 80s synth sounds are a bit dated in places.

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Elbow - Cast of Thousands

· music · ·
{width=“65” height=“65”} This album was a Christmas present from my brother, and came with the added bonus of a DVD pairing every song on the album with footage of Elbow playing live or fooling about in the studio, which was surprisingly interesting as these kinds of extras go. I've got — and love to bits — another of their albums, "Asleep in the Back", so I was really looking forward to hearing this one.

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Michael Andrews and Gary Jules - Mad World

· music · ·
{width=“65” height=“65”} This is just a quick entry for my CD of the week, as I've recently mentioned this particular piece of music before. It's also unusual for me to cover singles, but this is a very honourable exception. When Caitlin mentioned that this single might just beat the legions of shoddy cover versions and excruciating pop pap to the Christmas number one slot, I immediately went out and searched for the single.

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Elliott Smith - XO

· music · ·
{.pixframesmall width=“65” height=“65”}This was the first Elliott Smith album I had ever listened to, and it's still one of my favourites. When my brother lent me this CD, I'd never heard of the guy, but I was instantly hooked. This review is something of a belated tribute to Elliott Smith, as I've just heard this week about his sad death. It's a sweetly-arranged album, with Elliott's warm acoustic guitar overlaid by lush strings and piano.

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Dead Can Dance - Toward the Within

· music · ·
{.pixframesmall width=“65” height=“65”}I started to listen to Dead Can Dance a few years ago, and I've also followed the solo work of Lisa Gerrard--one half of the band--after Dead Can Dance split up. I've been trying to think how to describe their music to you, and I have to say it's pretty difficult. Their image is goth, but their music encompasses medieval, Middle Eastern, Irish folk, Native American and trance music.

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Nick Drake - An Introduction to Nick Drake

· music · ·
{.pixframesmall width=“65” height=“65”} I have a Canadian friend to thank for introducing me to Nick Drake. I'd never heard of him, but as soon as I listened to the superb melodies, the strong guitar playing and--best of all--Nick Drake's gentle, almost frail voice, I was hooked. I'm keen on choosing music which matches my mood, and Nick Drake is perfect Autumn listening. In fact the lyrics do contain several direct references to Autumn, but the music itself is quietly melancholy and perfect when the nights start drawing in.

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Laurie Anderson - Talk Normal (The Laurie Anderson Anthology)

· music · ·
{.pixframesmall width=“65” height=“58”} I always struggle to describe Laurie Anderson's music to other people. She plays rather avant-garde music, which is part performance art and part story-telling. She has always used electronic instruments extensively (including some of her own making), and many of her songs involve her deepening the pitch of her voice dramatically to form what she calls 'the voice of authority'. If that description has convinced you that you would hate this album, then I can only say that I've just proved my own point: you really need to listen to her music rather relying on my feeble descriptions.

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Sheila Chandra - Weaving My Ancestors’ Voices

· music · ·
{.pixframesmall width=“65” height=“65”}This album (along with another titled 'The Zen Kiss') was one of my many impulse purchases made solely on the basis that it was recorded on Pete Gabriel's Real World label--Peter and I evidently share a particular taste in music, and I've never been disappointed yet by one of these impulse buys. Sheila Chandra is a superb British-Asian singer, who cleverly mixes together different vocal traditions (now you see where the title comes from).

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Daniel Lanois - Shine

· music · ·
{.pixframesmall}Daniel Lanois is one of those artists who record new albums very rarely, but whose output I await eagerly. Given the quantity and quality of his 'other work', I'm amazed that he gets anything of his own recorded at all: he has produced albums for U2, Peter Gabriel, Bob Dylan, and collaborated with other eminent musicians like Brian Eno. I have his two previous albums ('Acadie' and 'For The Beauty of Wynona'), and I love them to bits.

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Capercaillie - Choice Language

· music · ·
While I was working on whale watching tours in the Isle of Mull, the secretary of the tour outfit and I were discussing the kinds of music we liked. When I mentioned that I was quite fond of non-traditional folk, she said, "Oh, then you might like the band that my fiancé he is in then — they're called Capercaillie. She lent me a tape, and it wasn't long before I was singing 'Fear a bhata (Oh my boatman)' at the top of my lungs into the wind when all the tourists were huddling inside the boat.

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mouthmusic - Seafaring Man

· music · ·
mouthmusic is a band I've followed for several years, and which has spun off a number of my favourite artists, including Martyn Bennett and Talitha Mackenzie. The spinning off seems to have been rather too successful, and now the founder of the band, Martin Swan, seems to be on his own. However, on this latest album, he has some very talented guests helping him out: Martin Furey, Ishbel Macaskill and Kaela Rowan.

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Johnny Cash - American IV: The Man Comes Around

· music · ·
I do n't really like country music. That is, I don't really like country music as a genre -- I do like some country artists (Steve Earle - Jerusalem) as individuals. 'The Man Comes Around' is an interesting album of some original tracks and some covers, performed in Johnny's inimitable style -- and now rather ageing voice. Some tracks I love, and some I hate (nothing can make me like "We'll meet again" -- the Vera Lynn song).

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Richard Thompson - The Old Kit Bag

· music · ·
This album is subtitled 'Unguents, Fig Leaves and Tourniquets for the Soul', which for me just about says it all. This is Richard Thompson at his brilliant, bitter best. Many of the songs are epic folk ballads for our time, with a great narrative line. 'A Love You Can't Survive' tells the old story of a man who promises to return to his love, but then kills someone in a street fight and has to go on the run, and ends up trying to smuggle a 'half-ton of charlie' into New Orleans harbour.

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Kate Bush - All albums

· music · ·
How many artists can give you a serious attack of the goosepimples while you're standing at the bus stop? 'Song of Solomon' came round on random while I was waiting in a dreary, dirty bus shelter. The first part of the song is so delicate and quiet, with lyrics alternating between quotes from the biblical Song of Solomon, and rather more contemporary requests from a modern lover: Don't want your bullshit, yeah Just want your sexuality Don't want excuses, yeah Write me your poetry in motion

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John Peel - Fabriclive 07

· music · ·
We got this album (compiled by John Peel) last weekend in the fabulous Fopp in Bristol. Peel has hugely varied taste in music, that the label "eclectic" doesn't adequately cover, so we knew when we bought it that we would probably hate a third of the tracks with a passion. But it only cost us £10, so we thought it a reasonable gamble. We were right: we hate 9 of the 24 tracks, but the others are so gloriously brilliant and unexpected that £10 seems like a bargain.

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The Blind Boys of Alabama - Higher Ground

· music · ·
This was a post-Christmas purchase, and a very good one, too. I have another of their albums, Spirit of the Century, and this is every bit as good. It's a lovely mix of blues, gospel and spirituals, sung by some guys who have been singing together for 60 years, and assisted by Robert Randolph and Ben Harper. You can hear their experience in every song. Their voices are like beautiful, old wooden chairs - polished to a fine, warm patina by their lives.

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Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Michael Brook - Night Song

· music · ·
I'll be forever grateful to Peter Gabriel's RealWorld Studios for producing this album. Without it, I might never have come across the late, great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Nusrat was a Sufi singer - a mystical sect of Islam, in which ecstatic music, singing and dancing is an important part of the devotions. In this collaboration, Nusrat's remarkable voice is paired with the subtle trance-like music of Michael Brook. Nusrat's voice is absolutely unique.

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The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs

· music · ·
Three volumes of glorious song writing, containing almost every musical style known to man or woman, this album is the fruit of the genius Stephin Merritt. Few other musicians can make you laugh one minute and cry the next. The songs may all be about love (the bitter and the sweet of it), but they are never sentimental: The book of love is long and boring No one can lift the damn thing It's full of charts and facts and figures and instructions for dancing

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Lorien - Under the Waves

· music · ·
This album was another of my brother's recommendations (always a man of taste when it comes to music). They are a rather exotic set of people: an Italian vocalist/guitarist, an Icelandic guitarist and a drummer from, er, Weston-super-Mare. They have a nicely melancholic, gentle, airy style, which would go very nicely with a glass of red wine in front of a log fire in the depths of winter (if I had a log fire).

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John Adams - Harmonium/The Klinghoffer Choruses

· music · ·
This is one of John Adams' earliest pieces, and one of my favourites. Harmonium is a three part choral piece, set to poems by John Donne (Negative Love) and Emily Dickinson (Because I Could Not Stop for Death, Wild Nights). Even if you think you don't like classical music, or contemporary classical music, do give this a try. Negative Love starts very quietly with the chorus singing one syllable ("no") repeatedly, opening it out like a flower.

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Beck - Sea Change

· music · ·
I was really surprised by this one. My brother recommended it to me, but never having liked Beck much before, I wasn't at all sure that I would like it. I couldn't have been more wrong. It's a trippy, mellow album, with bitter-sweet lyrics and is surprisingly tuneful. There are also some very nice string arrangements which add some depth and complexity.

Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Child (especially Disc 2, the live one)

· music · ·
Ah, there's nothing like a bit of Jimi as the nights are drawing in. Remasterings don't always work well, but this one has kept the spontaneity of the original, and everything (particularly the live material) sounds fresh and funky. If there's any music that could tempt me to get my air guitar out of the cupboard, Crosstown Traffic or Foxey Lady is it. I still find it hard to believe that there's only one person playing lead guitar.

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