My Festive 40 from 1996

I went back to compiling a mere Top 40 this year and I think my choice of no. 1 is kind of surprising. These Festive 50s/40s tended to be dominated by indie-rock (a genre of music I barely have any interest in these days), so to have a pop-soul number as my favourite song of the year is not necessarily what you’d expect. But I loved it at the time and still like it now. Reflecting on my tastes in music in the 1990s, there’s probably not an awful lot of the artists in these lists I would still listen to with any degree of regularity, or even buy the new releases of if they’re still producing music. One exception to this is The Divine Comedy. Casanova, which came out in 1996, is an album I listen to quite a lot even these days. It may be my favourite album of the 1990s. So, here’s the top 30.

1. Give Me a Little More Time – Gabrielle
2. Brickbat – Billy Bragg
3. A Design for Life – Manic Street Preachers
4. Female of the Species – Space
5. Songs of Love – The Divine Comedy
6. Little Blue – The Beautiful South
7. Corner Shop – Baby Bird
8. Be Mine – R.E.M.
9. Your Woman – White Town
10. Lovefool – The Cardigans
11. Have Fun – The Beautiful South
12. Everything Must Go – Manic Street Preachers
13. The Space Race is Over – Billy Bragg
14. Dead Bird Sings – Baby Bird
15. Killing Me Softly – The Fugees
16. Forbidden City – Electronic
17. Se a vida é – Pet Shop Boys
18. The Frog Princess – The Divine Comedy
19. Innocent – Addis Black Widow
20. Patio Song – Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci
21.One God – The Beautiful South
22. 6 Underground – Sneaker Pimps
23. Everybody Loves You Babe – Billy Bragg
24. So Fast, So Numb – R.E.M.
25. Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand – Primitive Radio Gods
26. Been It – The Cardigans
27. Baby Bird – Baby Bird
28. All Surface No Feeling – Manic Street Preachers
29. The One – Tracy Bonham
30. Don’t Marry Her – The Beautiful South

No. 25 is one of those great one hit wonders. I spent the summer of 1996 in the US and it seemed to be on the radio all the time.

 

My Festive 50 from 1995

1995 was something of a watershed year. Britpop was at its height and it was the year of that silly Blur v Oasis rivalry. I went back to compiling a full top 50 this year, and I’ve taken the effort to type the whole thing out this time (I’m reproducing handwritten lists here). It was actually a good year for music; my top 2 are, I think, two of the great pop songs of the 1990s. One thing I will say about this list is that it shows how much of an influence the DJ Mark Radcliffe had over my choices. A fair number of the artists in it, such as The Cardigans, Edwyn Collins, Tindersticks and Pizzicato 5 are in there because I first heard their music on Radcliffe’s late evening show that was broadcast on Radio 1 in the mid 1990s. John Peel may be cooler, but Mark Radcliffe has probably had more influence over my tastes in music than any other DJ. This may still continue, as Radcliffe is about to take over the Wednesday evening folk show on Radio 2 from Mike Harding. (Even though Harding’s sacking seems to be another recent example of the idiocy of BBC management.)

1. Common People – Pulp
2. Yes – McAlmont & Butler
3. Olympian – Gene
4. Glory Box – Portishead
5. Seal My Fate – Belly
6. Miss Sarajevo – Passengers
7. Carnival – The Cardigans
8. Strange Currencies – R.E.M.
9. If You Could Love Me – Edwyn Collins
10. Anywhere – Dubstar
11. Something Changed – Pulp
12. Fader – Drugstore
13. Beautiful One – The Cardigans
14. High and Dry – Radiohead
15. Puberty – Belly
16. Perfect – Lightning Seeds
17. Pretenders to the Throne – The Beautiful South
18. It’s Lulu – The Boo Radleys
19. I Spy – Pulp
20. The Love You Save – Madder Rose
21. Dream a Little Dream – Terry Hall and Salad
22. Tell Everyone – The Charlatans
23. Hyper Ballad – Bjork
24. Back for Good – Take That
25. Acquiesce – Oasis
26. Hunch – Sleeper
27. Just a Girl – Dubstar
28. Wake Up Boo! – The Boo Radleys
29. History – The Verve
30. Judas My Heart – Belly
31. No More Affairs – Tindersticks
32. Street Spirit – Radiohead
33. Baby Love Child – Pizzicato 5
34. Disco 2000 – Pulp
35. Sick and Tired – The Cardigans
36. What Do I Do Now? – Sleeper
37. Planet Telex – Radiohead
38. ’74 – ’75 – The Connells
39. Wilder – The Boo Radleys
40. Universal Heartbeat – Juliana Hatfield
41. Wonderwall – Oasis
42. Daddy’s Car – The Cardigans
43. Gold – Prince
44. Just Lookin’ – The Charlatans
45. You and Me Song – The Wannadies
46. Untitled and Unsung – Belly
47. This Summer – Squeeze
48. Solitary Party Groover – Drugstore
49. Lucky – Radiohead
50. Sorted for Es and Wizz – Pulp

No. 43 is possibly Prince’s last great moment, so let’s all enjoy that.

 

My Festive 40 from 1994

Like with 1993, my list of favourite songs for the year was only a Top 40. Looking at it, my reaction is “Uh-oh! Here comes Britpop.” There are entries for Shed Seven and Echobelly! I was back living in the UK when I compiled this Festive 40 and had just completed my first term at Hull University. I felt a bit out of step with the direction British popular culture had taken at that point. Blur were suddenly very popular. How did that happen? It seemed like everybody in my University Halls of residence had Parklife. I couldn’t see the appeal myself. I viewed them as a bunch of chancers and didn’t like the way a band from Colchester seemed to be pretending they were from East London. I’m less hostile to Blur’s music these days but I still find the song ‘Parklife’ irritating. Needless to say there’s no Blur in this list (and no Oasis either). I’ve reproduced the top 22 this time as I think no. 22 is worth mentioning.

1. Prettiest Eyes – The Beautiful South
2. Your Favourite Thing – Sugar
3. Kinder Murder – Elvis Costello
4. Your Ghost – Kristen Hersh
5. Do You Remember the First Time? – Pulp
6. Bang and Blame – R.E.M.
7. One Last Love Song – The Beautiful South
8. Believe What You’re Saying – Sugar
9. Insomniac – Echobelly
10. Sunflower – Paul Weller
11. What’s the Frequency Kenneth? – R.E.M.
12. Babies – Pulp
13. Sometime Always – Jesus & Mary Chain
14. This is Hell – Elvis Costello
15. Today Tomorrow Sometime Never – Echobelly
16. Big Star – Letters to Cleo
17. Especially for You – The Beautiful South
18. Houdini Blues – Kristin Hersh
19. Speakeasy – Shed Seven
20. I Don’t Sleep I Dream – R.E.M.
21. Can’t Get Out of Bed – The Charlatans
22. Saturday Night – Whigfield

My Festive 40 from 1993

One of the nice things about looking at these lists of my Festive 50s is that they remind me of pop songs that I’d almost completely forgotten about, as is the case with the entry for Digable Planets on my Festive 50 for 1993. Looking it up again on YouTube, I’ve found that it does actually stand the test of time. It’s also reflective of the obvious American slant to my list. I was still living in the Boston, MA area back then and I seem to recall the video for ‘Rebirth of Slick’ getting played a lot on MTV. It was a fairly big hit but I think it barely made a dent in the UK charts. So here’s the Top 20 for 1993. Curiously, I only compiled a Festive 40 that year. I guess there just weren’t enough good songs.

1. Regret – New Order
2. Into Your Arms – The Lemonheads
3. Mario’s Cafe- St. Etienne
4. Anchor Song – Bjork
5. Untogether – Belly
6. Hobart Paving – St. Etienne
7. If I can’t Change Your Mind – Sugar
8. Laid – James
9. Rebirth of Slick – Digable Planets
10. Cannonball – The Breeders
11. It’s About Time – The Lemonheads
12. Full Moon, Empty Heart – Belly
13. Everyone Everywhere – New Order
14. The Theatre – Pet Shop Boys
15. Someone in Love – Bjork
16. Can’t Fight It – Bob Mould
17. Today – Smashing Pumpkins
18. You’re in a Bad Way – St. Etienne
19. Feed the Tree – Belly
20. Serve the Servants – Nirvana

James and St. Etienne are a surprisingly enduring aspect of these Festive 50s from the early 90s.

My Festive 50 from 1992

I was going to put the top 20 of my Festive 50 from 1991 next but it seemed mildly embarrassing. (It had ‘Size of a Cow’ by The Wonder Stuff at no. 18!) So, let’s move onto my top 20 from 1992. Madchester is now long gone and there’s a fair amount of what could be considered American alternative rock in the list. This is not surprising, considering I was living in the US at the time. No. 6 on this is, I think, one of the great pop songs of the 1990s.

1. Sweetness Follows – R.E.M.
2. 36D – The Beautiful South
3. People Get Real – St. Etienne
4. One – U2
5. The Act we Act – Sugar
6. My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It) – En Vogue
7. Man on the Moon – R.E.M.
8. Tennessee – Arrested Development
9. Winona – Drop Nineteens
10. Helpless – Sugar
11. Old Red Eyes is Back – The Beautiful South
12. Motorcycle Emptiness – Manic Street Preachers
13. Next Lover – James
14. Ignoreland – R.E.M.
15. Join Our Club – St. Etienne
16. People Everyday – Arrested Development
17. Friday I’m in Love – The Cure
18. Born of Frustration – James
19. Lithium – Nirvana
20. Blue Eyes – The Wedding Present

Festive 50s

Back in the 1990s (it seems so long ago), my siblings and I used to compile our own Festive 50s, inspired by the concept on John Peel’s radio show, in which we’d make a list of our 50 favourite songs of the year. Amazingly, I have actually kept the lists I made, which span the years 1990 to 1998. I guess they provide an interesting insight into changing musical tastes across the decade. By way of an example, here’s my Top 10 from 1990:

1.Perfume – Paris Angels
2. Kinky Afro – Happy Mondays
3. Come Home – James
4. My Rising Star – Northside
5. She Comes in the Fall – Inspiral Carpets
6. Kiss and Make Up – St. Etienne
7. How was it for You – James
8. Dennis and Lois – Happy Mondays
9. There She Goes – The Las
10. All Together Now – The Farm.

Obviously this was from when Madchester was at its height. I still think my choice of no. 1 is a great song.

I may put up more of these lists later.