I started reviewing (mainly) MySpace download tracks in about April 2006. The first top 100 list blog below. In may well look as buggered up as it does on MySpace but here goes...
"Drum roll, fanfare. The inaugural top 100 download chart is here. Some codices. It's completely arbitrary. This week it's in this order, it could have changed next week if I'd prepared it then. I thought at the outset I'd tried to cast my net too wide by going for 100, I thought of about 50 off the top of my head. But going back over my reviews, plus the continuing new stuff appearing daily, it was more of a problem having to keep it to 100, to the extent that 1 track, at No.26 is reviewed for the first time here! The order reflects as much how often the track comes unbidden into my head as to how many times I've played it since downloading. To state the bleedin' obvious, it had to be on MySpace as a download to be reviewed and included. However these are genuinely great tracks that I reviewed positively on the dates mentioned. I started this in April so nothing before then. I've put tracks downloaded at the same time in consecutive positions i.e. if I downloaded 4 tracks on 1 date and like 2, those two will come one after the other on the chart. I've included a few review snippets, if it whets your appetite please go back and read more (and listen/download where still available). What's indisputable is that I've listened to a lot of music to get to this. At first I was too generous, I feel, and also too negative. The current Parental Advisory blog concentrates on stuff I really think has some worth but doesn't bother to slag stuff I don't. After all however shit I think you are you've had the balls to try. I can't be arsed with the site locations, mail me if you can't find any, apologies for poor spacing.
Indie Dad Top 100 MySpace Downloads 2006
Position Title Artist Date Reviewed
100 The Last Detail LT Hun 10th December
99 Lockdown London Fatels 18th July
98 I Was A Human Bomb For The F.B.I. Zombina & The skeletons 30th April
97 Disembowel The Demonkind Bearsuit 8th April
96 So Much Better Now The Tambourines 30th April "a great mono-riff pushes a dreamy heroin singalong (yes, there's a tambourine)"
95 Welcome To The Childhood Home… We're Wolves (RIP) 7th May
94 Drug Buddy It's A King Thing 3rd April
93 Melatonin Motorpsycho Nitemare 18th August
92 Black Grease Black Angels 5th April
91 Rhythm Rebel Penny Broadhurst 11th April
90 Caise Central Deli Band (RIP) 3rd April "great pervy fun, a soundtrack for a trailer orgy"
89 Young Persons Guide Cats & Cats & Cats 21st April
88 No Friends The Bobby McGees 18th July "… songs for the lonely AND angry little people…also bloody funny"
87 Parish Bell Captain Black 5th April
86 All My Life Death Before Dishonour 7th May
85 Behold, Coelacanth You & The Atom Bomb 16th April
84 A Different Road 2 Spinmaster Plantpot 18th July
83 Shake The Daze 25th June
82 Konxompax (remix) Pro Forma (RIP) 5th April
81 Nothing's Meant To Last Brookville 7th July
80 Hell Yeh old time LOOK LOOK (dancing boys) 22nd December "… lots of good swearing"
79 Sea Of Blasphemy The Black Lips 24th April
78 Fuck-Ups The Holloways 4th April "catchy like the Libs nice little brothers…lyrically awful"
77 Fresh Off The Boat The D'Archetypes 16th April
76 The People To Forget Francois 4th April "Gallic D.I.Y. charm"
75 Indifference TheSailplanes30th April
74 Window Shopping Neil's Children 18th April
73 Stitch Me Back Blood Red Shoes 8th April "Righteous but tuneful avalanches of riffola"
72 Architecture Idiot Savant 21st September
71 Washed White Blondelle 21st September
70 My Heart Is In Vienna Spinmaster Plantpot 10th June "We need him more than he needs us"
69 You Can't Have It Back The Juan MaClean 12th September
68 GVSUOMMMRMX oMMM 22nd December
67 Atom Truck oMMM 22nd December
66 Robotic Cock Liquor Store 5th October "Kung Fu androids with guitar synths goose-step through mirrored high-rise landscapes, occasionally felling a ragged post-apocalypse survivor with a pulse of musical muscle. Or something."
65 The Cowards Are Going To War C Wallbank & The Cowards 29th December
64 Gray Wave City The Bubonic Plague 16th June
63 John Cotton & Mr Topper Duncan Brown 5th November
62 Glad We Met Enjoy[(.)]Destroy 18th October
61 Come Along The Whole> Spinmaster Plantpot 15th September "His Magnum Opus, an epic of highs, lows and frightening intensity – oh, and I wet myself"
60 Depeche Mode The Loves 11th April "it's literally love & I'm off to buy the ring"
59 Geological Time Includes Now Shock Defeat! 25th June
58 Bass Line Foz Tee 7th May
57 Voodoo La Frange 15th September "This may be the one where to bass player pretends to be a zombie"
56 Use Your Feet Winter Kids 26th December
55 74-75 Shearwater 18th July "…instantly BIG, meaningful, anthemic. But not in a pompous U2 way."
54 Song 8000 FortyFives 5th November
53 I'm Always Right The Pigeon detectives 8th April
52 City Lights Prospect Gardens 21st October
51 Mornings Will Be Kind Midlake 21st May
50 Julianne (live) The Brooms 1st November
49 M16 Mekhong Mohanski 3rd April "Riders On The Storm reimagined as a collision of Ska & Jay K"
48 Williamsburg Will Oldham Jeff Lewis Band 26th September
47 Make My Butterfly My Passion 8th September
46 I Never Used To Andeh 15th October "really clever (not clever clever) pop lyricist completely belying his 18 years. Wry, amusing and touching."
45 Full Moon The Horrors 5th April "needed to come along to inject a bit of fun into the current scene…Garage Punk marvellous..."
44 Emily You Are Not My Mother Bono Must Die 21st October
43 What Did You Expect Pravda 10th June "…sadly timely anti right wing rise lyric" NEVER AGAIN
42 I May Cause… The Michelles 26th September "…brief and near perfect."
41 Song For The Fields The Fields 5th April "… CSN&Y have eaten indie pills, washed down with an ARP synth"
40 Pequena Petit Plastic Passion 3rd April
39 Brik A Brak Kid Harpoon 18th May "…will undoubtedly dog my steps as I rummage at the Sunday boot sale."
38 Shoot The Boy Toy Guns 14th November
37 Where's The Youth Jack Lewis 18th October
36 Get Your Mood On Dustin's Barmitzvah 18th July "Noel Coward doing The Clash"
35 Tu Cha Cha Antonin Bastian 7th July
34 Did I Step On YourTrumpet?Danielson 1st November No review but can get it out of my head
33 Never Gonna Glowstick The Chapman Family 27th November
32 Ambitious Career Nighttime & Damien 10th December
31 The Grass Dustin's Barmitzvah 29th December
30 Suburban Kings Rosemary 6th April
29 Smarty Pants Retro Spankees 5th April
28 Girl In The Corner Louie 10th December
27 Air WAr Crystal Castles 14th November "the impartial impulses that will send the message to the silos"
26 Screaming Out Out With Mummy 31st December (Now!) "Minimalist rock with New York attitude from the mean streets of Buckingshire. Not too like The Strokes this time (outside of the vocal phrasing), just dirty guitar riffing and a beat, impossible not to pogo to. Tight but loose, I think they've been sneaking Out Without Mummy to the pub! Nice production on all 3 prospective EP tracks, nothing flash just beautifully clear."
25 Wear You Down It Hugs Back 18th August
24 What You Say Pull In Emergency 10th December "…the surprise is the maturity of singer Faith's vocals. She must have had brandy with her rusks to sound that silky. It really is piss easy for A&R men these days, isn't it"
23 She Knows Which Way The Wind Blows Thom Stone 7th July
22 Colonel Parker Nosferatu D2 18th October
21 We Are Not The Doctors We Will Be Pilots 21st May "Slash & Burn, shit hot agit-rock"
20 Umbrellahead Mystery Jets 5th November mention "…brilliant meditation on the fear of growing up and leaving childhood. Sad & wise." Review 29th December
19 40 days & 40 nights The Enemy 21st May (well before NME, I mention for posterity)
18 Little Red Kate Nash 18th August
17 Four Leaved Six Toes 5th October
16 Single Siamese Soul Six Toes 5th October
15 Sexy In Latin Little Man Tate 21st May
14 Queen Of Hearts Thom Stone 26th October
13 Lenor Das Wanderlust 26th August (actually cd review but I think it had been downloadable. If I'm wrong this is a shocking example of chart rigging!)
12 Negative Tiger Korova 5th November
11 Dancing All Night The Enemy 23rd June "This stuff is LEGEND, the world is theirs."
10 Guilt Docksud 14th November
9 Your Machine To See Docksud 14thNovember
8HoneyDocksud 14th
November
7 Gay Unicorn Gay Against You 18th May "enough musicality to latch onto while offering uncompromising cut-ups of bleeping synth and compressed yelling"
6 Atlantis To Interzone Klaxons 10th April "quote William Burroughs in a dance track and it's bound to be good – see also Bug Powder Dust by Bomb The Bass"
5 SkeletonWith ChowChow 5th Oct
4 Last Of The Lookers The Metros 29th December Crashing the top 10! " fantastic, grubby little skank"
3 Who Stole Peter's Soul Out With Mummy 10TH April
2 Bad Poetry Korova 12th September "possibly the only use of coquettish in a song that makes you leap about like a loon."
1 Back Like A Heart Attack The Enemy 18th July "the best new band in Britain. Best as in , take on the world-big in America-sing it on the terraces. Cocky sods know it too. THEY CANNOT FAIL."
There you have it. Some are commercial, some "difficult" - I don't deliberately seek "out there" sounds but I'm drawn to them. I will possibly "go off" the commercial stuff first but maybe not. It would take a terminally useless A&R man not to have heard The Enemy and felt a twitch in the cheque book. It seems strange to me that Thom Stone remains unsigned - he is gifted AND surely must be attractive to a large enough demographic. His looks might not matter a damn against his talent but I'm cynical/sensible enough to know that talent plus pleasant looking is going to shift more product than talent plus a face like a bulldog licking piss off a nettle. Ditto Kate Nash though of course she's been signed. Nighttime & Damien have (outside of their songs) a manifesto which I believe they will soon expand upon. Mystery AND music.
I've seen a fair few of these acts live and they haven't disappointed. It is fantastic to have all this music freely (in the truest sense) available and certainly it's the recorded art that will live on if anything does. But there's nothing to beat the thrill of seeing a new band in a pub and knowing they are great. All the better if Carling don't own it and limit you to shit beers. So in this spirit, here as an added bonus, my top 5 gigs of '06. Yes, they are all in London. Sorry I live near it and I'm unlikely to keep my family if I went further a field. But having roadied for 8 years I know there are a lot of fantastic places nationwide (and by the looks of NME this is a boom time for the small venue).
Various Acts at the Camden Barfly one Saturday in January. The Holloways, Pistolas, Larrikin Love, Long Blondes (okay, I didn't like them), Jamie T, Young Knives, Mystery Jets all in one snakebite soaked day. Yes, I'm showing off.
Barfly again, March Fratellis (20 punters), The Morning After Girls, The Spinto Band.
The 100 Club Captain Black, Kid Harpoon, the Pigeon Detectives, The Holloways.
The Social W1 Sexton Ming, Emmy The Great, Benjamin Prosser & the Tap collective, Royal Gun, Josh T. Pearson/The Subway Sect.
The Dublin Castle Camden Holy Fuck, Cats & Cats & Cats, iLikeTrains
Not just 1 or 2 good bands a night, generally about 6-7 quid to get in. To give you some idea of how strong the field was I've left out a revelatory Cold War Kids first on the bill at The Metro and a storming set from The Enemy at The Luminaire.
And to finish, a hastily cobbled together top 20 singles of 2006. Nothing too obscure here, Snack Truck & Napoleon III may be good but they won't have you dancing round the handbag.
20 Jakobinafina His Lyrics Are Disastrous (Rough Trade)
19 Scully Who's A Terrorist Now? (Dust Up Records)
18 Red Organ Serpent Sound Autobhan (Baseball Furies remix 10")
17 Viking Moses Sandstorms (Poptones)
16 Larrikin Love Edwould – Edshould remix (Infectous Records)
15 CCS Let's Make Love & Listen To Death From Above (Sub-Pop)
14 Das Wanderlust The Orange Shop (Don't Tell Clare Records)
13 It Hugs Back Lights In The Trees (Tigertrap Records)
12 Crystal Castles EP – Alice Practice etc (Merok Records)
11 Out With Mummy Who Stole Peter's Soul (1965)
10 Klaxons Gravitys Rainbow remix 12" (Kitsune)
9 Jamie T Sheila (Vigin)
8 Little Man Tate What? What You Got (V2)
7 Hope Of The States Sing It Out (Sony BMG)
6 The Enemy 40 Days & 40 Nights (Stiff)
5 Korova Just Like Peter Cook (Tough Love Records)
4 The Young Knives Here Comes The Rumour Mill (Transgressive)
3 ChowChow Skeleton With Hair (Fantastic Plastic Records)
2 Peter Bjorn & John Young Folks (V2)
1 Hot Chip Over & Over (EMI)
Shocking amount of non indie Indie, eh? But come on, when you've had a few drinks you don't pull out the most obscure record you've got, you pull out Never Mind The Bollocks. And I'm pretty sure I'll still be listening to these when I'm 50."
3 of these last 20 bands have split up (in the tragic circumstance of the singers sudden death in the case of Chow Chow).
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