It’s a boring poll! Except I like this as I can bore you with why I like the top 50 bands on my last.fm chart (I removed podcasts).

1. How did you get into 31?
The Long Blondes – I reckon K Gillen mentioned them on his blog & then I bought their album when we went to see the Flaming Lips in Manchester

2. What was the first song you ever heard by 22?
Quasi – All The Same. It was the first song on the album I bought, which I got just because Janet was the drummer

3. What’s your favourite lyric by 41?
Solex – Of course they just tried to remove / The apple from a bucket of / (Water without using their hands)

4. What is your favourite album by 49?
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Abattoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orpheus as it has my wedding song on it

5. How many albums by 13 do you own?
Regina Spektor – 2. Both of the accessible ones.

6. What is your favourite song by 50?
Cake – Short Skirt/Loooooong Jacket. Way before it was used on Chuck

7. Is there a song by 4 that makes you sad?
Pavement – Painted Soldiers. Thinking of them all getting sacked in the video

8. What is your least favourite song by 15?
Ladyhawke – Back Of The Van

9. What is your favourite song by 5?
Emmy The Great – History Of Britain. I’m a sucker for handclaps

10. Is there a song by 6 that makes you happy?
Tilly and the Wall – Let Us Be Free. I remember it from the only gig where they sounded good (I’ve seen them three times)

11. What is your favourite album by 40?
Sufjan Stevens – The Christmas Ones as I’ve hardly listened to the Michigan one

12. What is your favourite song by 10?
Annie – What Do You Want (The Breakfast Song). Good chanting

13. What is a good memory you have involving 33)?
Feist – 1234 when it was sung on Sesame Street

14. What is your favourite song by 37?
Laura Veirs – Saltbreakers. The chanting is great (Look inside a space, look inside a space and you can tell)

15. Is there a song by 19 that makes you happy?
The Olivia Tremor Control – Jumping Fences. Short and sweet, I always include this song in mixes I make for anyone.

16. How many times have you seen 24 live?
Rilo Kiley – Three times. Once in Leeds supporting Bright Eyes (I HATE CONNOR!!!), then in London at the crappy Koko where stupid girls were screaming for them to play “The Frug” as it “would complete my life”. My brother, Freya & I all laughed at them. Then once in the Cockpit when they had brought out Under The Blacklight.

17. What is the first song you heard by 23?
Northern State – A Thousand Words. Again, the first song off the album which I bought as a Beastie Boy was involved

18. What is your favourite album by 11?
Los Campesinos! – Hold on Now Youngster. It has You! Me! Dancing!

19. Who is your favourite member of 1?
The Donnas – Donna C is the one I fancy the most. Although Donna F has the best Michael Jackson jokes.

20. How many times have you seen 14 live?
Deerhoof – Once supporting the Flaming Lips. And then I bought their album

21. Do you have any good memories involving 45?
Guillemots – I thought Fyfe was funny on Buzzcocks once, but seeing them supporting REM was spoilt by too many drunks.

22. What is your favourite song by 16?
Petra Haden – Apple Juice. I remember asking for this album one Christmas as I wanted anything Weezer related (and P Haden was in the Rentals). This was an unexpected album, but absolutely perfect

23. What is the first song you heard by 47?
Camera Obscura. I haven’t a clue. I know the first time I saw them was when they supported Lambchop at the Barbican

24. What is your favourite album by 3?
Manic Street Preachers – The Holy Bible. Almost perfect.

25. What is your favourite song by 18?
St. Vincent. Marry Me.

26. What is the first song you heard by 38?
TV on the Radio. Again the first song off the album, so Halfway Home. I do buy some albums on the spur of the moment (providing I have heard of them).

27. What is your favourite lyric that 21 has sung?
Robyn – “One Left, One Right / That’s How I Organise Them / You Know I Fill My Cups / No Need To Supersize Them”. Although the whole of Konichiwa Bitches is lyrical genius.

28. What is your favourite song by 2?
Flight Of The Conchords – The Tape Of Love. Sticky Sticky!

29. What is the first song you heard by 32?
Auf der Maur – probably Followed The Waves. I bought it because I liked her in Hole & wanted to see what Melissa came up with.

30. What is your favourite song by 8?
She & Him – This Is Not A Test. The ‘Anyways’ is a good hook.

31. How many times have you seen 17?
Weezer – Once at Leeds Festival. I wish I’d seen them at the time of Pinkerton rather than during Maladroit.

32. Is there a song by 44 that makes you happy?
Adam and Joe – COME ON MEATBAWLS!

33. What is your favourite album by 12?
Scarlett Johannson – Anywhere I Lay My Head. The one she did with Pete Yorn has a song that Northern Uproar also did so I can’t choose that.

34. What is the worst song by 29?
Jenny Lewis – Godspeed. But it’s not terrible, just my least favourite

35. What was the first song you heard by 34?
Ween – Freedom of ‘76. I heard it on MTV2, when anyone could have an hour mix and have it on the telly. I put this in my mix, which actually got shown, but I couldn’t record it. MTV2 should go back to this.

36. What is your favourite album by 42?
Sparks – Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins. I know their other albums are better, but I love “…My Way” and that overrules my head

37. How many times have you seen 39 live?
Dressy Bessy – Never. I don’t think many Elephant Six bands tour the UK

38. What is your favourite song by 36?
The Lovely Eggs – AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Tyrannosaurus Rex For Christmas

39. What is the first song you heard by 28?
Basia Bulat – In The Night. It came up on emusic & sounded good. Shame it’s her best song by far.

40. What is your favourite album by 35?
Stephen Malkmus – Stephen Malkmus. Perfect Pop.

41. How did you get into 48?
Be Your Own Pet. I was in HMV in Harrogate & saw the CD. Jemima had sports socks on

42. Have you ever seen 7 live?
The Pipettes. Once at the Cockpit. Now they’re a weird electro-two piece I doubt I’ll see them again.

43. What song do you love by 43?
Sleater-Kinney – Leave You Behind. Total departure from their usual stuff & is more affecting for it

44. How many times have you seen 20)?
Kenickie – twice. Both at Reading Festival. Wish I saw them more (and also saw theaudience at the last Reading Festival I was at)

45. Who’s responsible for getting you into 25?

46. Is 30 one of your favorite artists?
CSS – not really. I like the first album, but I’m not crazy for them

47. Favorite song by 9?
Metric – Monster Hospital. BOOM SHIKA BOOM SHIKA BOOM BOOM BOOM

48. Would you like to see 46 live?
Amanda Palmer – Not sure as I’m a little scared of her & Freya doesn’t like her that much.

49. Favorite member of 26?
The New Pornographers – Neko Case. As she has red hair

50. What’s the most played song on your computer by 27?
Those Dancing Days – Hitten. I think.

I’m not sure if they are the best songs of the decade, but they’re the first two I could think of where I could write around a hundred words each for.

So Simon, the ace music blogger at Sweeping The Nation, was after some people to write about the best songs of the decade. As the take up on the offer was rather low that meant I could swoop in with my meagre offerings and get published on something other than my own blog.

Everyone else seemed to be writing about the song itself, whereas I went for a mini-biography of a pop star and rabbiting on about my watabe wedding. Both posts included poor jokes.

If you’re interested in this then please go to:
Spiller featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds – Breathless

(Two blogs in three days? I must be doing something wrong*)

* Oh yeah, I am being made redundant** which does mean I have a bit more spare time nowadays

** And being made redundant must mean I’m doing something wrong

Highly illegal, which is why it’ll only be up for a week, but here is the Hazy Osterwald Jet Set’s Swinging London.

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Slow Club:

You thought you were bad
in fact you were rather good
but crap whistlers

Tilly and the wall:

One of you can’t sing
can’t play bass but can tap dance
you’ll go a long way

I realise it’s been ten years, but I still miss them. Kenickie are my favourite band ever. They just sang with feeling. And a mackem accent.

I’ve liked bands before and since, but I’ve never felt the same joy when I hear any other band. Plus they sounded like they were having fun too.

They split just as I started Uni at Loughborough and I could’ve seen them on their final tour at Rock City, but I never found anyone to go with. It’s something I regret to this day. Although perhaps seeing them in their dying throes will have soured my memory of them.

I even liked how their first unofficial mailing list was one sent out by someone (Lee?) who bcc’d everyone in so you got a load of messages in one go.

The best bit is I have no idea where I started to like Kenickie from. It might have been C-Monster, who mentioned it in his e-mail about AP. Or J Nash when I asked him about music he liked. Or maybe it was when I got a promo leaflet through the post.

So thanks for everything Johnny X (anything to do with http://www.whoisjohnny-x.com/ ), Emmy-Kate Montrose (writer of the Best Kenickie Song ever), Lauren Laverne (who should just stick to radio rather than sorting out Twiggy’s frocks) and Marie du Santiago (the one I fancied, sorry Marie).

I did actually see Kenickie live twice, both times were at Reading Festival. Rather surprisingly BFBS played part of their 1996EDIT: 1997** set on their radio station. I managed to record it onto tape. Now I have converted it into mp3s* for everyone to enjoy. If anyone knows of any reason why these shouldn’t be on here, let me know.

Cheers.

• The whole gig as a .rar file
• 01 – Dodgy BFBS Intro
• 02 – How I Was Made
• 03 – I Never Complain
• 04 – Millionaire Sweeper
• 05 – I Would Fix You
• 06 – Classy
• 07 – People We Want
• 08 – PVC
• 09 – In Your Car

* Via Minidisc, then audacity.
** I knew I went to Reading 1998 as this was before I went to Uni, but I could have sworn I missed the one before that. However, I am wrong. Simon, the person Simon was speaking to, and the First Matt were right. Everyone must now change the ID3 tags in the MP3s accordingly.

Rose from The Pipettes
She wanted to dance/hand jive
Was stuck by keyboard

Film School were loud
And also repetitive
They were also loud

British Sea Power
Very good foliage but
Need Turtle Power

During my day off where I managed to get two women fighting over cutting my hair, had a argument over what lenses to have in my glasses and ate an ice cream whilst walking along the River Ouse in the sunshine, I also completed the year 2000 for the Sweeping The Nation Muxtape Challenge.

For those of you who do know a Muxtape is an online page where you make a mixtape of up to twelve mp3s. For those of you who don’t know Muxtape is what a South African calls the gaffer tape belonging to Michael.

Anyway here is the address for my muxtape:
http://uppi2000.muxtape.com/

Songs that narrowly missed qualification were:

• Lolly – Per Sempre Amore (the only song I can think of that’s about Siamese twins – I’ll explain later)
• The Soggy Bottom Boys – In Constant Sorrow (didn’t really fit in with the other tracks)
• Aqua – Cartoon Heroes (too good for this compilation)
• Sugababes – Soul Sound (best Sugababes song ever)
• Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci – The Blue Trees (eliminated because I couldn’t remember a single song from it)
• Gomez – Getting Better (the only song I could remember from Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline, and it was a cover)
• Whistler – Faith In The Morning (see Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci)

I feel a bit bad writing this but I’m really annoyed with (“Word” – ed) magazine*. You see I took up their offer of a very cheap two year subscription. And then the next issue failed to arrive.

Luckily the nice lady on the subs line told me they’d send another copy out. Which did arrive. And was missing the free CD. (And was the ’standard’ cover rather than the special subs edition – but I’m not too bothered about that (Oh and it missed the subs letter)) Now the magazine itself is the usual high quality, and contains a great picture of the girl from Guillemots, but I should have the free CD.

I’m in a nice car though. Should I ring up the nice lady and complain that they didn’t send me the free CD or should I just shut up and enjoy the magazine whilst drinking my *OBVIOUS PLUG TO INCREASE READERS OF THE BLOG* crate of JBL’s Mama Juwanna Boner Juice?

What am I talking about? I should stop being terribly English and complain.

* I’m sorry but The Word sounds awful for a magazine title. In fact, no magazine should have ‘The’ in the title. The NGamer? The Smash Hits? The Retro Gamer? The Edge? All sound much worse than if you removed the The.

Hello readers!

HURRAH! Bran Van 3000 appear to be back!

BAH! Jayne Hill appears to have left…

HURRAH! Pro Evolution Soccer on the Wii is the best football game since SWOS!

BAH! Mario Kart Wii is rather rubbish…

HURRAH! Only one week of Japanese lessons to go!

BAH! I hardly know any Japanese and will probably fail my exam…

HURRAH! Ronald McDonald’s sister is cute

BAH! Scarlett Johansson’s song isn’t as good as I thought it would be…

HURRAH! Stuart Campbell is excellent when he gets annoyed at someone!

BAH! It’s not so good when he charges for it, annoys the readers of his forum and then puts in a decent solution, but too late to bring some people back…

HURRAH! People kept looking at this blog even though I haven’t updated it for 3 months!

BAH! They appear to only be interested in my one mention of JBL’s Mama Juwanna Boner Juice…

HURRAH! The second best wedding of the year went off without a hitch (except well, the obvious one)!

BAH! My latest issue of Word didn’t come through the post so I asked for another copy, which arrived but was non-subscription copy and didn’t have the free CD…

HURRAH! The Watabe Wedding appears to be going according to plan!

BAH! People have cancelled for annoying reasons… (Anyone want to come instead?)