All my lists are late and far between now. But who minds? Over two weeks ago now, I spent a weekend in the countryside, celebrating the 40th birthday of my dear friend Dan with a lovely combination of debauchery and nature. So this list is dedicated to Dan and the nice time we had.
Atoms for Peace - Before Your Very Eyes...
To start with, the tune I kept humming on during the weekend. I remember being quite disappointed with AMOK when it came out, and to be honest I still feel like the album falls far short of the amazing live performances that Flea, Thom and the others put on before the studio versions were dropped. But taken on its own, there is still some undeniable magic to mr Yorke's songwriting. An oddly attractive melody.
DARKSIDE - A1
As the celebrations began, we had a bit of a DARKSIDE revival. Haven't listened to them for a while, but this must be one of the most perfectly executed side projects of all time. A handful of singles, two albums, a few remixes, a deliciously suggestive live show - and every single sound element spine-tinglingly superb!
Röyksopp - The Drug
A surprise track brought to the playlist late at night. Never listened much to Röyksopp, but this turned out to be perfectly attuned to our level of intoxication at that time.Spandau Ballet - True
Another one that I wouldn't have picked out of a line up, but that at the particular moment when I was exuberantly chopping up some mushrooms for dinner hit me just so! Takes a certain kind of genius to make what sounds like a hummed outro into the recurring and irresistible hook of a song. It's almost so that you forget the rest of the song once you start singing along to those "huh huh uh-huuuh hi..."s... Tigran Hamasyan - The Year Is Gone
Ok, so by now we were definitely into the small hours and starting to transition from beat drops to lullabies, and that's when I was introduced to this bewildering and bewitching new acquaintance. Strength to the Armenian people! 🇦🇲
