Posted in Music, Christmas, Ponchos at Sat 9 Jan 2010 by Stavros
To paraphrase a Mr J. Lennon late of Liverpool, Lancs., “so, that was Christmas”. The penultimate Christmas of a pedant’s decade in fact. How was yours? Mine was great really. I’ve eaten out. Masti a contemporary Indian in Wellington, which was fantastic, and The Golden Ball in Ironbridge which wasn’t as good as it used to be. I recieved trainers, socks, a scarf, brandy and beer. I’ve had a party which was a success, and I’m told I had a good time of it at the New Year’s Eve party. Now, though I have my annual New Year’s cold, spread no doubt from drunken hugging and Auld-lang-syneing with germ ridden revellers.
Anyway, I apologise for not getting round to doing this sooner.
StavTunes Top 10 Albums of 2009
10. Röyksopp - Junior
Because everyone needs: lively Norwegian electronic paeans to robot love.
spotify
9. jj - jj n° 2
Because everyone needs: a Swedish Foxbase Alpha for this still young century.
spotify
8. The Antlers - Hospice
Because everyone needs: a concept album about a dying girlfriend in a cancer ward. Probably.
spotify
7. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
Because everyone needs: harmonies that go “ah ah ah oh” that sound much much better than they read.
spotify
6. Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport
Because everyone needs: a band with a radio-unfriendly name and sound. Go on, Beacon play this, I dares ya!
myspace
5. The xx - xx
Because everyone needs: knowing Londoners younger than you making sexy dub-tinged indiepop with as much Gainsbourg as Portishead.
spotify
4. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Because everyone needs: a reference point where Gallic electronica converges with AM soft-rock in the well-thumbed atlas of choonage.
spotify
3. Fever Ray - Fever Ray
Because everyone needs: a scary Nordic woman probably from the future with a voice distorted like an image in the house of mirrors.
spotify
2. Girls - Album
Because everyone needs: a surf-rock record by a Californian who grew up in the Children of God cult.
spotify
1. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Because everyone needs: an idiosyncratic kaleidoscopic hallucination crafted in a top secret lab from the dreams of The Beach Boys, Beck, Philip Glass and Syd Barret. FACT.
spotify
Traditional honourable mentions go to Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Doves, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Passion Pit, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Atlas Sound, Super Furry Animals, Thee Oh Sees, Real Estate and Camera Obscura.
For being late, and I’m moving into virgin territory here, I give you an extra special bonus StavTunes Top EPs of 2009:
DeLorean - Aryton Senna EP
Burial & Four Tet - Wolf Cub & Moth
Cassius - Youth, Speed, Trouble, Cigarettes
Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind
So why not treat your ears in these embryonic days of this unknownable decade. And pass on the thank yous to your uncle Stav when they express their gratitude.
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Posted in AFC Telford Utd, Crown, Beer, Christmas at Mon 12 Jan 2009 by Stavros
Christmas Eve:
Morning at work. Secret Santa brings me real ale. Banana flavoured one is still in the fridge. William Hill offering 7/4 on it’ll still be there 24th December 2009. Leave work at lunchtime, for a quick pint in the Euston Way. I couldn’t relax. I still had half my Christmas shopping to do. Got train to Wellington, bought kitchen knives and a striped apron for the budding chef, Merk (couldn’t get one of those tall hats). Got taxi to the homestead and meet up with the rest of the family. Ignored the rest of the family as I’m in the dining room wrapping all the present snarling like a hungry doberman at anyone who approaches the door.
Christmas Day:
Ate and drank. Got my dressing gown, two scarves plus some interesting books. Watched Wallace and Gromitt and helped build Merk’s lego. Later on, we watched cricket with the sound down and listened to old songs and got squiffy on decent brandy from me grandad, once we’d prised the security tag off the top of the bottle.
Boxing Day:
Don’t recall much. Think I hit the brandy again.
Day after Boxing Day:
1. Cleaning = bad
2. Party = very good
I’m pretty sure there’s myriad photos abound on this here internet.
Day after day after Boxing Day:
Bleeeuuuurrrrggghhhhhh! And cleaning. Ah, the duality of life. Yin has Yang, Paul has Barry, so it follows parties have soul-crushing senses-raping regret-filled hangovers that even a footlong Italian BMT from Subways cannot placate. While trying to tidy up for the second time in two days, every empty bottle cast into the binbags thumped like a “special” child with a drum kit. Accompanied by the stale smell of last night’s beers, like ghosts reminding and taunting me with sordid tales of showing off and dancing like a dick to Spandau Ballet. This was probably one of the most difficult days of my life! I was glad when it was over.
Day before the day before New Year’s Eve:
Had to go into work to sort out a pesky client. Hung the Christmas gonk from the roof by his leg in a noose made of a rubber band while waiting for said pesky client. Went to Frankie and Benny’s for an eff-off big bowl of pasta.
Day before New Year’s Eve:
Not a lot. Finally wrote my top ten albums (see below).
New Year’s Eve:
Went to Maggie’s fancy dress emporium in Dawley for summat to wear for the evening’s party at the Crown. Bad start when I couldn’t find the bishop and decided not to bother. Wish I had bothered. Everyone looked great. Even Walt who I think came as Batman’s nephew. Still, everyone looks fuzzy after about ten on New Year’s Eve anyway. Great party, probably the best yet at The Crown.
New Year’s Day:
And so began the International Year of Natural Fibres (s’true) with another quality hangover. This one didn’t make my very aura ache so it wasn’t as bad. I went to watch Telford United play Stafford Rangers. They must have been hungover too as they lost at home for the first time this season. I should have stayed in bed. Watched Summer Heights High (pretty good) and The Wire (epic). I made no New Year’s resolutions, I merely planted little acorns of ideas such as eat more exotic animals and go swimming more often. I slept and then that was that for another year’s yule. A pretty good one this time. Just don’t ask the liver.
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Posted in Music, Christmas at Wed 31 Dec 2008 by Stavros
I hope you’re all having a nice and lazy and indulgent Christmas break. It is 2009 in a day, so it seems an apt time to write this. Under some slightly unexpected pressure, here it is. I have compiled my ten favourite albums of the year. It wasn’t particularly easy neither, I was happy with the top seven or so, but couldn’t fit six into the last three places no matter how much I tried to bend the rules of maths.
10. The Walkmen - You & Me
I’ve always found this lot an inconsistant band, but this is their strongest album for a long time, and probably their best. The slower, latin rhythms frame the singer’s distinctive voice very well with vintage piano and moody horns. They still make a noise at times, but it’s a much better class of noise these days.
[MP3] I Lost You
9. Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster…
A fun album with a bite. Smart-arse lyrics yelped over infectious tunes like Architecture in Helsinki playing Pavement tracks on glockenspiels. They also released a second album this year too, which although short is more than worth a spin.
[MP3] Don’t Tell Me To Do The Math(s)
8. Sigur Rós - Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust
The Icelanders returned with their fifth record (which translates as “With Buzzing in Our Ears We Play Endlessly” factfans). I’m not sure if it’s as impressive as Takk…, but it does have some of their finest moments on it. Great live too.
[MP3] Inní mér syngur vitleysingur
7. Hot Chip - Made In The Dark
Following from the great “The Warning”, this soulful and playful album is a great listen. You’ll have heard “Ready For The Floor”, maybe even danced dodgily to it, also standing out is “Wrestlers” which is easily the best love song I’ve heard that refers to cage matches and half nelsons.
[MP3] One Pure Thought
6. El Guincho - Alegranza
Here comes the curveball. All the way from the Canary Islands and dripping in sangria. With a parrot on the cover! Balearic beats, Afrobeats, curious samples crash into each other like rubber rings in a water park. Production wise it is reminiscent of Panda Bear and The Avalanches blah blah… turn it on, turn it up and dance like a lobster-hued Englishman on a Spanish beach.
[MP3] Palmitos Park
5. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
Recorded in a cabin in the woody depths of Wisconsin on vintage equipment and anything he could get his hands on, after splitting up with his missus, this folksy record is a thing of rare tender beauty. Would it be selfish to hope he never finds love and produces another album of this quality?!
[MP3] Skinny Love
4. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
White American college boys doing Afrobeat styled indie pop, sounds awful doesn’t it? It’s not, it’s unashamedly poppy and catchy and never falls foul of pretension. The world might be going to shit, and we might all be living in poorhouses by 2009’s out, but this album will still be able to draw a smile from my face and get stuck in my head as I collect my lunch from the soup kitchen!
[MP3] M79
3. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
From the same label as New Young Pony Club and fellow Aussies The Avalanches, comes this year’s great indie-dance album. There’s nothing particularly new here, a lot of it sounds like missing Electronic recordings with hints of The Cure and Coming Up-era Suede, track after track flavoured with 60’s psychedelia, 80’s synths and 00’s sweaty indie-disco. Joyous nonetheless.
[MP3] Far Away
2. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
The second folk-ly album in this list. That’s quite worrying for someone who can’t grow a very good beard! This is a rich mix of West Coast harmonies and Appalachian pre-pop folk with lilting tunes and warm full vocals capable of transporting the listener to a dozen different times and places, even when listening to in a cold flat in Telford with the darts on the telly. And for that reason it makes it this high!
[MP3] White Winter Hymnal
1. TV On The Radio - Dear Science
Art-rock you can dance to? From the heart-pounding beats on the album opener “Halfway Home”, to the last distorted horns on the closer “Lover’s Day”, this is a remarkable record. It’s harder to pick a genre that it doesn’t include on it’s way to the climax And it’s all delivered in a fierce but soulful falsetto. This is twice the record of Return to Cookie Mountain, and that was fucking good. Play loud.
[MP3] Dancing Choose
The shortlist included Deerhunter, The Dodos, Ruby Suns, No Age, Beach House, Mogwai, Wolf Parade, Death Cab For Cutie, M83, Los Campesinos!, Sons & Daughters, Glasvegas, This Will Destroy You, The Hold Steady, Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit. But it didn’t include the brilliant No Way Down by Air France, because that’s an EP and… well, you’ve got to have a code haven’t you? By the way all these great cds and more might be even cheaper soon at Zavvi! Thanks to an army of mp3 bloggers: Zýrður rjómi, Sand is Overrated, AW Music and Minneapolis Fucking Rocks for some of the mp3 links.
Have a great New Year, I’ll be in The Crown! See you in 2009.
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Posted in Music, Beer, Work, Christmas at Mon 22 Dec 2008 by Stavros
I’m about to go Christmas shopping. Actually, I’m about to start and finish my Christmas shopping. And buy a tree. Working until Christmas Eve is no good for idle anti-shoppers like me, it really screws up the schedule! Not getting paid until the 31st takes the piss too. I’ve got to do all this shopping, get bladdered at least five times and hire a fancy dress costume for the New Year’s Eve party. At this rate it’ll be the last costume in the shop, the cheapest. A pillowcase doubling up as a Klan hood or maybe even Walt’s infamous Nazi Sergeant Pepper outfit from a couple of years ago.
Working the Monday after the Christmas Party is odd too, there’s more elephants in the room than there are on the Masai Mara national reserve. Saturday night at Shifnal’s Haughton Hall, and I’m typecast like Hugh Grant (less fop more pop, less dandy more shandy… BOOOM!) and ended up in my usual role as spare drinks minesweeper. Which led via white wine, red wine, champaigne, wifebeaters and a catholic whiskey, predictibly to oblivion and to a rather delicate Sunday. But I don’t think I embarrassed myself any more than can be expected. I have no recollection of falling over, I have no leg injuries or mysterious scars or bite marks, no tears in my clothes, I don’t think I inapporpriately felt anybody up and I didn’t throw up over anybody. No marks for effort, must do better next time.
For the thousands hundreds people two of you that are interested, the annual ego-wank about my TOP TEN ALBUMS OF THE YEAR (this year proudly sponsored by Woolworths) will be published as soon as I can be arsed.
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Posted in Crown, Beer, Christmas, Films at Sat 12 Jan 2008 by Stavros
I hope you all had a nice Christmas and New Year. I hope you didn’t come down with a cold, or man flu or bird flu or angry crayfish flu or owt like that. I did a bit. It dampened the spirits a little, you may have noticed the stocks of most beer companies suffered too. Of the festive period, the best things were taking my grandad to the snooker at the International Centre, that was better than I expected, Rocket Ronnie was on form. Also getting a bit drunk and feeling a bit ill while watching the Mighty Boosh live show on BBC3 one night was cool. Being a co-host of a party where I was the most sober was perhaps not. Although that was made up for by having a happy New Year’s eve with the good the bad and the ugly of the Crown. Yeehaa. We made our flat all christmassy too, although I’m in no doubt the pine needles will be sticking in feet for seasons to come.
What’s in store for 2008? I’ve not made any resolutions, because, well, what’s the bloody point really. I like me as I am! I might reincarnate a resolution from a couple of years ago, when I promised I would eat as many different animals as I could. I was disappointed with my tally in 2006, so maybe in the year of the rat… no no no, there are limits. If you’re a pheasant or a buffalo in Shropshire, just watch out. And I haven’t ruled out puppies yet neither.
Apropos to absolutely nothing at all, have a list. Here’s my favourite five Coen Brothers film:
5. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
4. Miller’s Crossing
3. The Hudsucker Proxy
2. Fargo
1. The Big Lebowski
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