Interesting! I was expecting one or two more boygenius selections.
Not sure when I’ll get to these; I’ve not even started the Silvers yet.
That Alison Russell one gets a thumbs-up from me. One of two from the album that’s made it onto my Walkman.
I’m seeing her in a smallish semi-rural theatre in mid-Feb. Gonna be awesome!
(Plus opening is Aysanabee, who was on my Songs Of First Nations playlist. https://wp.me/pbuR0q-3wB Excited about that, too)
It’s my brother’s local, so I decided it was a good excuse for a visit. I think there’s still tickets if you’re interested.
Expect to see me & Darce!
Tickets booked. Will be my & Darcey’s second Alison Russell gig – she supported Hozier at the summer’s Piece Hall gig.
On the subject of which … @barbryn, fintan & any other boygenius fans, I’ve Dropped a little something in the ‘Box.
Marvellous 🍻
Let’s be in touch soon.
DSD! Thanks for the Christmas prezzie. Cheers!
Yes, I was also surprised not to see any other boygenius tracks cropping up. I wasn’t sure whether to go for Cool About It or Not Strong Enough but decided to opt for the former (see Silvers) on the assumption that someone else would pick up the latter…
It could be no other. One of the songs I heard Olivia sing at a free gig in the foyer of Queen Elizabeth Hall long before she had ventured into a recording studio. I have been waiting about eleven or twelve years for a recorded version.
I assumed you’d picked two songs since Susanne Sundfor isn’t mine (though I like it a lot). We didn’t have any clashes this year for a change.
It dates from the 17th century around the time of the Franco Dutch war. The singer’s husband is a prisoner in Holland and she laments his fate to the birds. And tells them how good it is/was to sleep with him.
Yup. I bought one album this year, so it got all three medals in my book.
I did see boygenius on SNL a few weeks ago and was mightily impressed, so I may join in next year’s Spillmas too…
Thank you Shoey and Shane once again for a grand finale to 2023 in music. Always grateful. My three were Arooj Aftab, Nkosazana Daughter and Paul Simon. That’s put that to bed. Ben Folds is brilliant. Who is Tony? Oh and can we download these songs? I can’t tell but I’m not very techie. Feliz Navidad to one and all. I may try and find a way to post my favourite Christmas song, my I once again am not sure how to do it since it is not on YouTube.
I had to drop dropbox into the trash because it was using all my battery power and making the laptop hiss all day long. No worries I’ll buy the ones I like.
This list looks very interesting: great to see a QoTSA nom 😁
Can’t believe Chris has chosen 3 PJ tunes!
Had an inkling that Magic had chosen Nkosazana Daughter but hesitated to suggest.
Anyhoo …
… enjoy the weekend and whatever you get up to on 25th.
I’ll be posting a selection of albums and tunes over the Chrimble period that have tickled my fancy and no Panthersan there wasn’t any Indonesian Funeral Black Deep Dark Doon Metal 🤣
The Graun just declared that Lankum released the Best Album of 2023. The single Go Dig My Grave is quite interesting in a doomy/folky way but, as they don’t appear to be favoured by a single Spiller, a) does anyone know if the album is any good? and b) why is the Graun on a different planet?
I heard about them after sending in my picks. Go Dig My Grave could well be FestiveSpill worthy, but I found a whole album of them a bit tedious. Their take on Newcastle is very good, too,
Go Dig My Grave was on my shortlist (the longest shortlist I’ve ever had, and it was really difficult deciding which three tracks to send in. I heard a lot of stuff I liked this year 😉
Lankum played a sold-out concert here a couple of weeks ago, which was a) the first time I’d ever heard of them and b) a bit too late to give them a ‘Spill-worthy listen – I intend to redress that ASAP
Hi Chris, I’d never heard of it until they ranked it as their #1. Just given it a spin. It’s dark and gloomy, old worlde folky. Irish music is having a bit of a renassance at the mo!
The album’s hardly a toe-tapper, but it is very distinctive. Not the best of the year for me – that goes to Young Fathers’ Heavy Heavy – so much squeezed into half an hour!
The Graun is also on its own planet regarding films – I’ve seen many of them (ploughing through 234 right now) and Past Lives is ever so ordinary if not mannered and self-conscious. Wouldn’t make my top fifty. Lankum however are extraordinary. Saw them three years ago on The Lower East Side. They blew my and everyone else’s socks off. On record they don’t quite do that – a bit like kd lang who was unbefuckinglievable live and maybe still is. It is a legitimate stupid choice like all of ours
Not being coy here, but can’t remember for sure which one I sent in. Could be Aja Monet, Dinner Party, or Allison Russell. I could check my Sent Emails folder of course, but where’s the fun in that?
Some of the rest I know, but most I don’t so yippee! once again for Shoey & Shane & Spillers everywhere.
Aja and Dinner Party were on my Top 10 albums list btw, and Russell was an HM.
For those scoring at home:
Killer Mike – Michael
Aja Monet – When The Poems Do What They Want
Iris DeMent – Workin’ On A World
Colter Wall – Little Songs
boygenius – The Record
Noname – Sundial
Burna Boy – I Told Them
Kara Jackson – Why Does The Earth Give Us People To Love?
Last Dinner Party – Enigmatic Society
Grace Potter – Mother Road
Well here we are, wrapping presents and drinking gin and listening to the best of the year!
Big love for the mighty vocals of Margaret Glaspy, the indominatable spirit of Skindred, the always incredible Young Fathers, the early 90s indieness of Swansea Sound, Fred Again’s and Bar Italia’s ad Maruja’s bangers.
Very special mention for fabulous Julia Jacklin going to the Boys Next Door, a perrenial teen fave of mine. Worth noting that arena-shagging poppy rockers The 1975 utterly ripped this song for their mega-hit “Inside Your Mind”
I’ll bung the gold in the old RR box later for any one who still does that (sorry no idea how to grant access – perhaps someone else can help if we get any new requests). The Festve spreadsheet is in there. Anyone who would like that can email me – lists all the tunes since we started this, including this Summer’s 80’s bash.
I’m sure Chris will be passing around the hat soon to cover WordPress costs – so look out for that.
It’s clear we have plenty of folks who enjoy commenting. What we struggle with is content, & folks to run it, outside of the Christmas period. We can’t rely on just a few people to keep this going.
If any of you have any other web projects, perhaps you could post/excerpt/link in a ‘Spill post?
Any random posts are welcome but any volunteers to host a regular series would be even better. New ideas or revivals of old ones. I’m happy to try to keep the Festive ‘Spill going, but we need a ‘Spill to do it on.
I’ve been meaning for ages to do a series on YouTube concerts: there are so many great live sets out there. We could do a virtual gig of the week/month maybe?
Feeling guilty, I’m going to post a Word of the Week feature on Mondays starting next week. I don’t want to say too much, but what I can tell you is the word will start with a letter of the (English) alphabet. Oh, and I’m not supplying the word. *zips lips*
Yes it is. Especially as I’ve got a cold, haven’t got to bed yet and am supposed to be out drinking at a mate’s house tomorrow night.
Boxing Day it is!
A trio of epic lists, thank you, everyone! Of the Golds, I really enjoyed Margaret Glaspy, Skindred, Ben Folds, Young Fathers, Last Dinner Party and Yussef Dayes (the 10 mins+ tracks are on hold until I get a chance).
Even by Festive Spill standards, that was an exceptional set. This is a truly special tradition we’ve created. Thanks to Shoey for all the present wrapping, Shane for the wrapping paper, and Ali and the rest of you for keeping this place going through the year.
My best friend ( now going on 70 years) had this very poster on his wall in a succession of residences from early 1967 to the mid 70s. He was already in college in 66 and having experiences at odds with my own High School ones. I was somewhat jealous & really curious about it all. Life in Sparks ,Nevada circa 1965-66 was drastically different than San Francisco. These posters were an engraved calling card to a different world. So glad Tony was in the middle of it all and chance allowed him to share those feelings & that time with us. He was grand person and is missed.
My friend may still have the original and several others as he is not prone to tossing things away, I’ll be seeing him in the New Year & I’ll have to ask. Thanks for stirring my memory pile. Cheers!
I very much like the Olivia Chaney song. I like her music a lot, although Auprès de ma blonde is an old French ballad, dating back to the wars between Louis XIV and William of Orange at the end of the 17th century. It also pops up as incidental music in original TV series of “The Beverly Hillbillies” from time to time.
Her new self-penned single has had two remixes already which may signal a move away from more traditional styles of music. I like the new song a lot but I am hoping it is more an expansion of her repertoire than a sea change.
The Ben Folds song is poignant and very relevant. The radicalising of perfectly ordinary women via online grooming is a truly bizarre and worrying trend. Mumsnet (a place I occasionally go and look at in case I start thinking the world isn’t bad enough already) is a festering swamp of conspiracy nonsense, bigotry and worse.
It is a truly exceptional song, Carole. When I saw him doing it live at the Albert Hall he gave a bit more back story. He really did ‘meet’ this woman (online) that he’d known as a child and communicated with her in a ‘hey, I remember you, do you remember me?’ sort of way. He first began to worry when he got a Christmas card from her – her and her husband and theiir children, standing around the tree… with guns… – and then he began receiving these daily emails from her:
“The anger, the all caps
And all the pseudoscience
The misspellings, they must be on purpose
We went to a good school, Kristine…”
He never replied but he kept getting them (and he still does today) and the next verse just sums it all up:
“So what would you imagine I might
Take from this deluge of memes
The cryptic, dark Bible quotes
Guns and dead fetuses
Seriously, Kristine, are you okay?”
The last line, live, brought tears to my eyes. Horrifying and beautiful…
Ben Folds has written some great songs over the years, but I think this surpasses them all…
Thanks for the back story TB. I thought the the song was stunning and too close to our realty for comfort. We’ve all, it seems, lost friends & family to these insidious rabbit holes and I’m at a loss where the times will take us. I’ll be 75 next month and most of my life up to now has held out the promise of a rational future. Not quite given up on that yet but I strain at times to see it’s patterns emerge from our current morass. And with that bright Christmas thought it’s time for more Boy Genius. Cheers.
Another James Holden fan! Excellent stuff! I nommed the track in the bronze playlist. I haven’t listened to all of this one yet but I will at some point. Thanks to everyone for having such eclectic taste. I hope you all have a lovely and restful festive season.
I don’t have any ideas for new content but I’ll try harder to stop by here every now and again to take part.
Thanks Shoey and Shane for all the hard work again.
Yes, Rum Lad is mine. As for hearing from hom for a lot of years – possibly, he’s very prolific, but he also jacks it in quite frequently, and then reappears sortly afterwards, so hard to tell!
Well, as usual, an incredibly wide range of things to listen to. Some absolutely superb pieces and some, obviously less to my personal tastes. There are a few things that really stand out for me; the two Aja Monet tracks and the long Paul Simon piece being truly memorable. I think that an instrumental companion to the Paul Simon is my own Gold choice, the Toru Takemitsu guitar and orchestra composition, “Spectral Canticle”. Both pieces are deeply spiritual and contemplative, dealing with the relationship of people with the world and with everything it contains, the Takemitsu being inspired by an Emily Dickinson poem, “Further in Summer than the Birds”, a kind of meditation of Mankind and Nature.
Lifeless Past had me smiling and sounds so much like something I’d listen to, I almost had to check I didn’t pick it. other standouts for me Aja Monet, Swansea Sound, Ben Folds, Last Dinner Party, Bar Italia (have this album), QOTSA (always appreciate), CVC and the Rum Lad.
Hope everyone has had a great Christmas and thanks again xx
Thanks a lot, Shoey and Shane and everybody. It’s been a scary old day in Fort William with the latest storm bringing trees down all along the main road – I stayed at home and watched Toy Story 4, and then I remembered the Festive lists…
A bit late , finished listening yesterday in between work, family etc. Again a load of stuff I wouldn’t usually pay attention to that I enjoyed. Favourites from this list : Lifeless Past ; Olivia Cheney ; Swansea Sound ; Last Dinner Party ; Bar Italia ; Lionel Liminana et al.
I’m to post my top 10 albums of the year very soon – just holding off to give a fair chance to the record label that sent ,me an empty CD case to sort it out as there’s a possibility the album in question will be in there if I get my copy!
Finally finished. Loads of new-to-mes to like; some to love; more than usual to set my teeth on edge / skip, funnily enough. But very little that bowled me over / stopped me in my tracks, fwiw. Thank you everyone. Love to you all.
I have been holidaying or doing other stuff since I got to hear Shoey’s prerelease of the platinum.
I was going to listen again but by complete accident I saw a Blondie covers band and it was a fabulous night and sent me on a Blondie trip.
After that I ended up working on a really cool project that will nominations around the world. I didn’t do much other than help with the translation but I am happy to have just been a very small part of it.
Then my children bought me Eno & Byrne – My Life in the Bush of Ghosts for my birthday and again I was sent on a trip back to ’81/82.
But I will listen to it again as I was really enjoying it.
The 'Spill 
Interesting! I was expecting one or two more boygenius selections.
Not sure when I’ll get to these; I’ve not even started the Silvers yet.
That Alison Russell one gets a thumbs-up from me. One of two from the album that’s made it onto my Walkman.
I’m seeing her in a smallish semi-rural theatre in mid-Feb. Gonna be awesome!
(Plus opening is Aysanabee, who was on my Songs Of First Nations playlist. https://wp.me/pbuR0q-3wB Excited about that, too)
I’m going to see her at the Brudenell in Leeds in January. Very excited. That album should be getting way more attention.
Barney at The Brud?!?!? Hmmm …
It’s my brother’s local, so I decided it was a good excuse for a visit. I think there’s still tickets if you’re interested.
Expect to see me & Darce!
Tickets booked. Will be my & Darcey’s second Alison Russell gig – she supported Hozier at the summer’s Piece Hall gig.
On the subject of which … @barbryn, fintan & any other boygenius fans, I’ve Dropped a little something in the ‘Box.
Marvellous 🍻
Let’s be in touch soon.
DSD! Thanks for the Christmas prezzie. Cheers!
Yes, I was also surprised not to see any other boygenius tracks cropping up. I wasn’t sure whether to go for Cool About It or Not Strong Enough but decided to opt for the former (see Silvers) on the assumption that someone else would pick up the latter…
Chris for more Polly?
Deffo Toffee for the Fannies.
Prob Leavey for Mammoth WVH.
Definitely not magicman for Robb Johnson! ;o)
Barney & severin for Olivia Chaney & Susanna Sundfor, but I’m not sure which way round.
I suspect Susanne Sundfor is Barney.
I say 100% severin Olivia Chaney (in French! As advertised in the Worms!)
It could be no other. One of the songs I heard Olivia sing at a free gig in the foyer of Queen Elizabeth Hall long before she had ventured into a recording studio. I have been waiting about eleven or twelve years for a recorded version.
I assumed you’d picked two songs since Susanne Sundfor isn’t mine (though I like it a lot). We didn’t have any clashes this year for a change.
The Olivia Cheney is gorgeous. I know the tune, but not like that. Is it a traditional French song?
It dates from the 17th century around the time of the Franco Dutch war. The singer’s husband is a prisoner in Holland and she laments his fate to the birds. And tells them how good it is/was to sleep with him.
Yup. I bought one album this year, so it got all three medals in my book.
I did see boygenius on SNL a few weeks ago and was mightily impressed, so I may join in next year’s Spillmas too…
(Chris)
No not me.
There’s an even more obvious candidate on the list…
You’ll be Ben Folds then…
Yep!
Excellent song!
Thank you Shoey and Shane once again for a grand finale to 2023 in music. Always grateful. My three were Arooj Aftab, Nkosazana Daughter and Paul Simon. That’s put that to bed. Ben Folds is brilliant. Who is Tony? Oh and can we download these songs? I can’t tell but I’m not very techie. Feliz Navidad to one and all. I may try and find a way to post my favourite Christmas song, my I once again am not sure how to do it since it is not on YouTube.
You’re certainly getting your money’s worth with the Paul Simon choice! It’s great though.
Tony AKA Goneforeign on RR passed earlier this year
I’m so sorry I did clock that at the time without realising his actual name.
The tunes will all be in the RR Dropbox, if you’re part of that.
Internet Download Manager or similar may be able to scrape them from The ‘Spill.
To load one song use audio player in your post. If you run into trouble mail it to me & I’ll do it.
I had to drop dropbox into the trash because it was using all my battery power and making the laptop hiss all day long. No worries I’ll buy the ones I like.
I only use it to drop all the tunes in once a year. It’s web enabled now though. Try to log-in from Google.
The artwork and quotes just get better ..
… thanks again Shane.
DsD has guessed correctly again!
I was Peter Gabriel for the 3’s
This list looks very interesting: great to see a QoTSA nom 😁
Can’t believe Chris has chosen 3 PJ tunes!
Had an inkling that Magic had chosen Nkosazana Daughter but hesitated to suggest.
Anyhoo …
… enjoy the weekend and whatever you get up to on 25th.
I’ll be posting a selection of albums and tunes over the Chrimble period that have tickled my fancy and no Panthersan there wasn’t any Indonesian Funeral Black Deep Dark Doon Metal 🤣
The Graun just declared that Lankum released the Best Album of 2023. The single Go Dig My Grave is quite interesting in a doomy/folky way but, as they don’t appear to be favoured by a single Spiller, a) does anyone know if the album is any good? and b) why is the Graun on a different planet?
(Chris)
I heard about them after sending in my picks. Go Dig My Grave could well be FestiveSpill worthy, but I found a whole album of them a bit tedious. Their take on Newcastle is very good, too,
Go Dig My Grave was on my shortlist (the longest shortlist I’ve ever had, and it was really difficult deciding which three tracks to send in. I heard a lot of stuff I liked this year 😉
Lankum played a sold-out concert here a couple of weeks ago, which was a) the first time I’d ever heard of them and b) a bit too late to give them a ‘Spill-worthy listen – I intend to redress that ASAP
Hi Chris, I’d never heard of it until they ranked it as their #1. Just given it a spin. It’s dark and gloomy, old worlde folky. Irish music is having a bit of a renassance at the mo!
The album’s hardly a toe-tapper, but it is very distinctive. Not the best of the year for me – that goes to Young Fathers’ Heavy Heavy – so much squeezed into half an hour!
The Graun is also on its own planet regarding films – I’ve seen many of them (ploughing through 234 right now) and Past Lives is ever so ordinary if not mannered and self-conscious. Wouldn’t make my top fifty. Lankum however are extraordinary. Saw them three years ago on The Lower East Side. They blew my and everyone else’s socks off. On record they don’t quite do that – a bit like kd lang who was unbefuckinglievable live and maybe still is. It is a legitimate stupid choice like all of ours
I rather enjoyed Past Lives and might well put it in my top ten. I certainly wouldn’t make it my number one film of the year though.
It’s a proper start to finish album, so can’t complain about the choice.
No idea, I’m on a different planet to everyone!
Not being coy here, but can’t remember for sure which one I sent in. Could be Aja Monet, Dinner Party, or Allison Russell. I could check my Sent Emails folder of course, but where’s the fun in that?
Some of the rest I know, but most I don’t so yippee! once again for Shoey & Shane & Spillers everywhere.
Happy holidays all!
Aja and Dinner Party were on my Top 10 albums list btw, and Russell was an HM.
For those scoring at home:
Killer Mike – Michael
Aja Monet – When The Poems Do What They Want
Iris DeMent – Workin’ On A World
Colter Wall – Little Songs
boygenius – The Record
Noname – Sundial
Burna Boy – I Told Them
Kara Jackson – Why Does The Earth Give Us People To Love?
Last Dinner Party – Enigmatic Society
Grace Potter – Mother Road
Dinner Party lol.Not Last Dinner Party. Different animals
Hallo pals!
Well here we are, wrapping presents and drinking gin and listening to the best of the year!
Big love for the mighty vocals of Margaret Glaspy, the indominatable spirit of Skindred, the always incredible Young Fathers, the early 90s indieness of Swansea Sound, Fred Again’s and Bar Italia’s ad Maruja’s bangers.
Very special mention for fabulous Julia Jacklin going to the Boys Next Door, a perrenial teen fave of mine. Worth noting that arena-shagging poppy rockers The 1975 utterly ripped this song for their mega-hit “Inside Your Mind”
Funny to hear the PG version of my choice!
Merry Xmas Spillers one and all!
Merry Christmas to you. I cking love that Last Dinner Party song.
Chores done. Got my AirPods, bourbon, cigar & settled for a listen to our #1’s. Doesn’t get much better than that.
Thanks to all for keeping our tradition going & have a very Merry.
Housekeeping
I’ll bung the gold in the old RR box later for any one who still does that (sorry no idea how to grant access – perhaps someone else can help if we get any new requests). The Festve spreadsheet is in there. Anyone who would like that can email me – lists all the tunes since we started this, including this Summer’s 80’s bash.
I’m sure Chris will be passing around the hat soon to cover WordPress costs – so look out for that.
It’s clear we have plenty of folks who enjoy commenting. What we struggle with is content, & folks to run it, outside of the Christmas period. We can’t rely on just a few people to keep this going.
If any of you have any other web projects, perhaps you could post/excerpt/link in a ‘Spill post?
Any random posts are welcome but any volunteers to host a regular series would be even better. New ideas or revivals of old ones. I’m happy to try to keep the Festive ‘Spill going, but we need a ‘Spill to do it on.
Any other thoughts & suggestions?
I’ve been meaning for ages to do a series on YouTube concerts: there are so many great live sets out there. We could do a virtual gig of the week/month maybe?
Worth a go I think
Feeling guilty, I’m going to post a Word of the Week feature on Mondays starting next week. I don’t want to say too much, but what I can tell you is the word will start with a letter of the (English) alphabet. Oh, and I’m not supplying the word. *zips lips*
Is it just me, or did Tipper Gore or the sensitive elves mute the f-word from Nothing Matters?
That Aja Monet was phenomenal.
It certainly was. Sadly her album doesn’t appear to be available on CD.
I’ve reconsidered – I’m planning to post the quiz on Sunday, answers on Boxing Day – as long as I’ve written it.
Can you re-reconsider. Isn’t Boxing Day the perfect day to start a quiz?
Yes it is. Especially as I’ve got a cold, haven’t got to bed yet and am supposed to be out drinking at a mate’s house tomorrow night.
Boxing Day it is!
Donds for Susanne Sundfor. That track was on my shortlist.
A trio of epic lists, thank you, everyone! Of the Golds, I really enjoyed Margaret Glaspy, Skindred, Ben Folds, Young Fathers, Last Dinner Party and Yussef Dayes (the 10 mins+ tracks are on hold until I get a chance).
Even by Festive Spill standards, that was an exceptional set. This is a truly special tradition we’ve created. Thanks to Shoey for all the present wrapping, Shane for the wrapping paper, and Ali and the rest of you for keeping this place going through the year.
RIP goneforeign/Tony.
Merry Christmas all.
Tony sent me CD of SF 60’s posters a few years back (unsolicited, yet welcome) and, when I finally got round to replacing my kitchen this year, there was a wall crying out for some art on it. So I picked (the CD’s better quality version of) this 1966 poster, printed it on canvas (by Boots – they do a really good job) and put it there: https://concertposterauction.com/Content/listingImages/20190917/b72da077-be46-420d-a9a3-d82b068d7f74_largesize.jpg.
Tony was a real QMS fan and a bit of a Deadhead, so this now ties several memories together.
(Chris)
My best friend ( now going on 70 years) had this very poster on his wall in a succession of residences from early 1967 to the mid 70s. He was already in college in 66 and having experiences at odds with my own High School ones. I was somewhat jealous & really curious about it all. Life in Sparks ,Nevada circa 1965-66 was drastically different than San Francisco. These posters were an engraved calling card to a different world. So glad Tony was in the middle of it all and chance allowed him to share those feelings & that time with us. He was grand person and is missed.
My friend may still have the original and several others as he is not prone to tossing things away, I’ll be seeing him in the New Year & I’ll have to ask. Thanks for stirring my memory pile. Cheers!
I should add that the wall is almost the same red as on the poster, generating a suitably psychedelic effect in the right light 🙂
🍄🙏👏🏻🍄
I very much like the Olivia Chaney song. I like her music a lot, although Auprès de ma blonde is an old French ballad, dating back to the wars between Louis XIV and William of Orange at the end of the 17th century. It also pops up as incidental music in original TV series of “The Beverly Hillbillies” from time to time.
Her new self-penned single has had two remixes already which may signal a move away from more traditional styles of music. I like the new song a lot but I am hoping it is more an expansion of her repertoire than a sea change.
Only just started listening but surely Lifeless Past has to be Beth
I thought that too.
My 1980s upbringing might well be showing through with the ‘Lifeless Past’ pick!
Also liking Aja Monet, James Holden and MIguel Attwood-Ferguson a lot. PJ Harvey’s All Souls was excellent. I love it when Peej does gothic and scary.
The Ben Folds song is poignant and very relevant. The radicalising of perfectly ordinary women via online grooming is a truly bizarre and worrying trend. Mumsnet (a place I occasionally go and look at in case I start thinking the world isn’t bad enough already) is a festering swamp of conspiracy nonsense, bigotry and worse.
It is a truly exceptional song, Carole. When I saw him doing it live at the Albert Hall he gave a bit more back story. He really did ‘meet’ this woman (online) that he’d known as a child and communicated with her in a ‘hey, I remember you, do you remember me?’ sort of way. He first began to worry when he got a Christmas card from her – her and her husband and theiir children, standing around the tree… with guns… – and then he began receiving these daily emails from her:
“The anger, the all caps
And all the pseudoscience
The misspellings, they must be on purpose
We went to a good school, Kristine…”
He never replied but he kept getting them (and he still does today) and the next verse just sums it all up:
“So what would you imagine I might
Take from this deluge of memes
The cryptic, dark Bible quotes
Guns and dead fetuses
Seriously, Kristine, are you okay?”
The last line, live, brought tears to my eyes. Horrifying and beautiful…
Ben Folds has written some great songs over the years, but I think this surpasses them all…
Thanks for the back story TB. I thought the the song was stunning and too close to our realty for comfort. We’ve all, it seems, lost friends & family to these insidious rabbit holes and I’m at a loss where the times will take us. I’ll be 75 next month and most of my life up to now has held out the promise of a rational future. Not quite given up on that yet but I strain at times to see it’s patterns emerge from our current morass. And with that bright Christmas thought it’s time for more Boy Genius. Cheers.
Another James Holden fan! Excellent stuff! I nommed the track in the bronze playlist. I haven’t listened to all of this one yet but I will at some point. Thanks to everyone for having such eclectic taste. I hope you all have a lovely and restful festive season.
I don’t have any ideas for new content but I’ll try harder to stop by here every now and again to take part.
Thanks Shoey and Shane for all the hard work again.
Finally looked it up and Aja Monet was mine. albahookey picked another one of hers, The Devil You Know, for silver. It’s a very good album.
Rum Lad is a great find @wyngate. Pretty sure we’ll be hearing from this guy for a lot of years.
Other nice surprises:
Fred Again, Skrillex & Four Tet)
Lionel Limiñana & David Menke
Susanne Sundfør
Swansea Sound
Margaret Glaspy
Yes, Rum Lad is mine. As for hearing from hom for a lot of years – possibly, he’s very prolific, but he also jacks it in quite frequently, and then reappears sortly afterwards, so hard to tell!
Another great year on the Festive ‘Spill! Thanks so much to Shoey for organising and Shane for the always incredible art.
Really enjoyed Aja Monet (again), Teenage Fanclub (need to get up to date with their recent albums), Skindred and Rum Lad.
A lovely tribute to GF/Tony too.
Merry Christmas all – will definitely try to be around on here a bit more in 2024!
Well, as usual, an incredibly wide range of things to listen to. Some absolutely superb pieces and some, obviously less to my personal tastes. There are a few things that really stand out for me; the two Aja Monet tracks and the long Paul Simon piece being truly memorable. I think that an instrumental companion to the Paul Simon is my own Gold choice, the Toru Takemitsu guitar and orchestra composition, “Spectral Canticle”. Both pieces are deeply spiritual and contemplative, dealing with the relationship of people with the world and with everything it contains, the Takemitsu being inspired by an Emily Dickinson poem, “Further in Summer than the Birds”, a kind of meditation of Mankind and Nature.
Haven’t had time to immerse myself fully yet in this selection, but looks great – and absolutely loving Fred Again.
Lifeless Past had me smiling and sounds so much like something I’d listen to, I almost had to check I didn’t pick it. other standouts for me Aja Monet, Swansea Sound, Ben Folds, Last Dinner Party, Bar Italia (have this album), QOTSA (always appreciate), CVC and the Rum Lad.
Hope everyone has had a great Christmas and thanks again xx
Thanks a lot, Shoey and Shane and everybody. It’s been a scary old day in Fort William with the latest storm bringing trees down all along the main road – I stayed at home and watched Toy Story 4, and then I remembered the Festive lists…
Have a happy new year, you folks xxx
A bit late , finished listening yesterday in between work, family etc. Again a load of stuff I wouldn’t usually pay attention to that I enjoyed. Favourites from this list : Lifeless Past ; Olivia Cheney ; Swansea Sound ; Last Dinner Party ; Bar Italia ; Lionel Liminana et al.
I’m to post my top 10 albums of the year very soon – just holding off to give a fair chance to the record label that sent ,me an empty CD case to sort it out as there’s a possibility the album in question will be in there if I get my copy!
Finally finished. Loads of new-to-mes to like; some to love; more than usual to set my teeth on edge / skip, funnily enough. But very little that bowled me over / stopped me in my tracks, fwiw. Thank you everyone. Love to you all.
I have been holidaying or doing other stuff since I got to hear Shoey’s prerelease of the platinum.
I was going to listen again but by complete accident I saw a Blondie covers band and it was a fabulous night and sent me on a Blondie trip.
After that I ended up working on a really cool project that will nominations around the world. I didn’t do much other than help with the translation but I am happy to have just been a very small part of it.
Then my children bought me Eno & Byrne – My Life in the Bush of Ghosts for my birthday and again I was sent on a trip back to ’81/82.
But I will listen to it again as I was really enjoying it.
Thank you.