Sam Leppard

Elton John was playing keys for Long John Baldry in ‘66 too. Wonder if he was here as well.

Best group so far. Chloe Q is new to me and that backing track sounds just like INXS covering Bowie's Fame. Might listen to these a few more time before I cement my vote.

The Florry tune is good, but it keeps threatening to turn into Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting which is a bit offputting.

Almost certainly!

R.E.M. - Fables of the Reconstruction Joni Mitchell - The Hissing of Summer Lawns Garbage - Garbage Neil Young - Zuma Richard & Linda Thompson - Pour Down Like Silver Jimmy Eat World - Clarity R.E.M. - Out of Time Throwing Muses - The Real Ramona Bee Gees - Main Course Joan Armatrading - Back To The Night The Replacements - Tim Lloyd Cole and The Commotions - Mainstream Neil Young - Tonight's the Night Patti Smith - Horses Steely Dan - Katy Lied

I mainly listen to new music, but these were my most listened to albums from the 20th century this year.

a combination urgent care and taco bell

I'm at the combination

Thank you for this, Sean! Always the best list! I don't think the spotify link works though? Perhaps you've left the playlist set on private?

Ah! I was at both Space and SFA at the Corn Exchange. Have we ever had a conversation about that? I don't remember one!

That SFA show is one of my fave ever gigs, and the Space one was fantastic too - was absolutely baffled by the really bad album they put out a few weeks/months later.

1985 bits

Before we're fully immersed in year-end list season I should put this playlist out into the wild. 1985 favourites, cult classics & big hits. 290 40yr-old bangers. Auto-sorted by popularity.

open.spotify.com/playlist/2nY...

Looks like I'm off to spend some money then!

This is great - not least as I hadn't realised Eddy Grant and The Equals had finally made it to digital/streaming! I think it must have only happened last year. I think I'm right in saying everything available prior to that were re-recordings.

Some personal trivia, but when my youngest son was born by c-section, Let's Hear It For The Boy happened to be playing on the radio in the operating theatre. A memorable, if sightly crazed, soundtrack for what was a pretty intense (and joyful) experience. "Let's hear it for my baby" indeed.

just going to tag @peoples-pop-polls.bsky.social as I'm not on the spreadsheet yet - and will also use this opportunity to say that Aretha is my main! Forgot about that first time around.

OK, quick browse through some playlists and lets go for:

Valentine Brothers - Money's Too Tight To Mention ('82)
Aretha Franklin - Get It Right ('83)
Shirley Lites - Heat You Up (Melt You Down) ('83)
Klymaxx - Meeting In The Ladies Room ('84)

The harmonica solo on Eurythmics' There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart) is so good it made me google who it was playing as it is 100% the best thing about that (very decent) song. Delighted to discover that it's Stevie Wonder - apparently 'famously so', but it's news to me.

My hot Weezer take is that 2021's OK Human is every bit as brutally honest, open and for-all-its-flaws-relatable as Pinkerton, except Rivers is no longer an angst-ridden 20-something rockstar, but now a slightly bored middle-aged rich dude stuck in his nice house with his family during a pandemic.

Entirely fair. I suspect some of these careers have played out slightly differently across the two sides of the Atlantic though as a lot of these are still relative heavyweights over here. Off to listen to your mix now though - lots to discover on there!

UK indie 2015-19

Great work as always! I'm not Gen Z (sorry!) but I AM British, so have taken the liberty of quickly compiling some notable UK tunes not represented here. Appreciate some of it is a bit 'legacy indie', but you might find something useful? All 10m+ streams on spotify.

open.spotify.com/playlist/79Z...

Deserter's Songs (Remastered) Mercury Rev · Album · 1998 · 11 songs

Just listening to Deserter's Songs. Mildly intrigued to discover both Levon Helm and Garth Hudson from The Band make cameos on two different songs. Helm drums on album highlight, Opus 40. That's it. Your obscure music trivia for today. You're welcome.

open.spotify.com/album/6MvMOh...

The White Album.

Norman Records' Bluesky admin: "I will now sell five copies of The Three EPs by the Beta Band"

*hits 'post'*

Keep 'em separated Dexter Holland, the lead singer of the punk-rock band The Offspring, has a lot of different interests. One of them is biology.

You joke, but that’s literally what inspired that line!

www.asbmb.org/asbmb-today/...

I’m not new to this Tubes track but new enough to still find its unexpected weirdness thrilling. Although I don’t think I’ve ever been more aware that at some point that same weirdness will become grating. Hasn’t happened yet though. An easy vote.

Shameful admission: Having been introduced to Love Rollercoaster via the RHCP version in the Beavis & Butthead movie I always think the Ohio Players original lacks a bit of energy without the Anthony Kiedis “double dipper” rap. I’m Voting Cadogan.

YES. Today was the day.

Wordle 1,491 1/6

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Bowie was my main. When people ask me my favourite song ever I always say this. It begins: drums, sax, it twists & turns, the backing singers briefly steal the show, then Bowie steals it back. It builds & builds. A quick Beatles callback. Then everything stops for one final flourish. Perfection.

As much of a tune as it is, September is the last thing anyone wants to be reminded of at a school fete.

what came first, the song title Sister Seagull, or the realisation from the Be-Bop Deluxe guitarist that he could make a convincing seagull sound with his guitar effects? I think we all know the answer. It got my vote.

Listening properly to Bohemian Rhapsody for the first time in ages I find myself wondering would I enjoy it more as a song if the entire middle section was cut out? After a lifetime of over-exposure that bit leaves me cold, but I'm surprised to find I still have some time for the rest of it.

Anyway, I'm reading the Neneh Cherry autobiography. It's very good.