So I’ve curated a playlist of 20 songs mixing between my all time favourites bands and best new bands. Some tracks I’ve discovered last month some have been playing into my ears for years but this is what I have managed to put together;
I start with probably my favourite band of all time Arctic Monkeys, I’ve listened to them since What Ever People Say I Am, collecting every NME Issue they we’re on* the cover of and plastering it up on my wall, listening to all the B-sides and questioning Alex Turner’s constant style changes over the years. ‘Humbug’ has probably been one of my biggest musical influences. It was the album that really got me sucked into being a part of ‘indie culture’, even though there wasn’t much more mainstream than Arctic Monkeys at that time, but it was cool and trendy, and it’s what I was into and I wouldn’t change it.
*I would also like to add that I will always miss the good days of the NME, I discovered so many good bands through the publication. Hunting through the reviews to find out all the best new releases, making sure none of your pals would borrow it so you could keep the cover because it was an artist you really liked.
Apart from writing for TMF I also perform as part of Ranzas, I have shared bill’s with so many good bands and loads of band’s I probably would never have discovered if I wasn’t gigging. One band that really captured me with their live performance was STONE (formerly The Bohos), we played Studio 2 in Liverpool with this band when we were touring and I was absolutely blown way with their set. They have an absolute massive sound live and their front man Finn is probably one of the best in Liverpool, he can capture the audience, he’ll sing to everyone but every person will feel like he’s singing to just them. I’ve chosen their last single “Run”, it’s on my running playlist and is a god send when it comes on the shuffle when I’m out and if you’re struggling to finish that ‘couch to 5K’ play this on repeat and you’ll be doing that 5k quicker that Mo Farah could.
Also seeing bands’ you follow break is amazing to see, with The Snuts slowly taking over the UK. We’ve shared bill’s with The Snuts on numerous occasions from King Tut’s up to o2 ABC, these boys’ know how to put on a party. They’ve got so many good tunes but I had to add their latest release “Elephants” as it’s probably their best yet.
I could write about all these songs forever and detail why I love each of them but you’d probably be reading this page for much longer that the time it takes to listen to the playlist so I’ll just leave it with track 16; “It’s Thunder and It’s Lightning” by We Were Promised Jetpacks. WWPJ are by far my favourite Scottish band and in my opinion are the most underrated band on this playlist, so for some extra listening give ‘These Four Walls’ a play from start to finish – perfect albums are hard to accomplish but WWPJ done it with this.
Enjoy.
Save this playlist to your library, steal tracks from it and let me know some other good finds… Because at the end of the day music is meant to be shared!
The Music Files 