100 BRITISH SEA POWER

OK, so I'm only on my 3rd post, and already I'm slacking off. I'll try to catch up over the next few weeks.

Anyway, the first of my top 100 bands is British Sea Power - prog/indie types from Brighton. They've been around for almost 10 years and are into their third album. Although I've known of them for a while, its only recently I've started to get into them. It was the singles of their new album Do You Like Rock Music? that attracted my attention, especially the chant-driven No Lucifer ("Ea-sy, Ea-sy, Ea-sy, Ea-sy") and the anthemic Canvey Island. It seems that many of their longer standing fans regard this album as something of a compromise, as they feel it lacks the experimentation of some of their earlier work and concentrates too much on catchy tunes. Whilst I love experimentation (as long as it has a purpose, and isn't just someone banging a dustbin lid whilst reciting the Cyrillic alphabet backwards) I find nothing wrong with bands wanting to compose good tunes.

Anyway, they also turned in a great session for Mark Radcliffe on Radio 2, encouraging me to go and check out their live show. I'm so glad that I wasn't put off the midnight start time on a Monday night - it was a fantastic show, full of energy, fun and controlled chaos. The final encore ended with much instument swapping, megaphones, piggybacks and was well worth staying for, in spite of the temptation to head out early to salvage an extra half-hour of sleep before work the next day.

I promised that once my list was complete I wouldn't change the order, and I'm sticking to this promise. But I have to tell you that if I was compiling the list today they would be much higher than 100, and I'm really looking forward to catching them again at the Leeds Festival this year. Whether or not they can recreate such a great atmosphere at 2pm on the massive main stage in the blazing Yorkshire sun (hahaha - here's hoping) I don't know, but here's to hoping that they can.

Recommended songs for first listen: Waving Flags, Canvey Island, No Lucifer, and Fear of Drowning

OK, so here it is. The grand unveiling of this blog's theme. And only about a week late too.



Although most people that know me wouldn't exactly describe me as a tidy person, I do like to keep things in order. Whether that's organising MP3s on the pooter, or my CD collection by genre, or even putting my Magic cards in folders.



On the way back from a concert recently, I stated that The Hives were one of my top 5 favourite Swedish bands, and it got me to thinking what my top 100 bands/artists would be. So, I managed to work out a list (which wasn't as hard as I thought it would be) and then set about putting it in order (which was MUCH harder than I thought it would be).



So the highly unscientific method I used was to try to consider how likely I would be to randomly choose to put a band's CD on, or choose to see them live, and rank them accordingly. I also tried to factor in how long I've liked them for - this is supposed to be a snapshot of my all-time favourites, so if I've started to neglect one of me previous favourites recently, I decided it shouldn't mean that they don't make the list. Consequently, there is slightly less new music than you might expect on the list, but it is by no means absent.



Once I'd ordered everything on the list, I then scanned it for inconsistencies. Where necessary, I swapped a couple of bands' positions round. Even then, this being based on aesthetics, not all of my opinions were commutative (ie I might rank A above B, B above C, but not necessarily prefer A to C - wierd, huh?). Nevertheless, I feel that this list is as accurate as I could conceivably make it.



One other thing I tried to do is make sure that I showed as little bias as possible to my most recent memories of shows. I know that for me, when an amazing concert has finished, its easy to think its the best one you've EVER been to. Its only after a little time has passed that I can get some perspective. Consequently, once I'd finalised the list, I promised myself that I wouldn't change anything, no matter what happened in the meantime. This is a snapshot of how things are for me right NOW. Well - two and a half weeks ago, anyway.



So each blog will reveal one band, the reasons they're on the list, and a couple of songs that you should check out if you don't know them. So, that should be enough material to keep this blog running for the next couple of years (maybe even longer if I become undisciplined about posting regularly)



Disclaimer: It might seem outrageous that some "important and influential" bands/artists have not made the list. This does not mean that I don't recognise their importance in the grand scheme of things. This is not a list of the most influential artists of all time like you might get in Q or Rolling Stone. Nor is it a snobby indier-than-thou list of bands that most people haven't heard of to prove how cool I am, like you might get in NME or Pitchfork. This is just my personal list.



Anyway, 100 isn't as many as it seems at first. Their are plenty of acts I really like that are not on the list - some of which I'm even going to see live later this year. And in spite of the temptation to do so, I won't rectroactively add them to my list if they do a blinding show.

So, interweb, I hope you enjoy reading my blog as the list unfolds easch week. And even if you don't, I know I'll enjoy devoting time each week to think about (and listen to) some of my favourite bands.

Ciao for now.

HELLO INTERWEB!!!

I believe we've met before, but it was kinda crowded, so I feel I should introduce myself again.

I'm falcozappa - proffesional hippie and aspiring bon viveur.

After previous failed attempts, I'm now going to have a proper crack at this blogging malarkey. I think where I went wrong before was not having a proper theme, so I've decided that this blog should be about ......something.

So, I'm doing my research and preparations at the moment so that I can post here at least semi-regularly. That said, I know I still might fail (tsk! These hippies are lazy, right?) but I'll give it my best shot.

Coming up soon.... the main theme of this blog will be revealed.

Until then, smell you later, Interweb