the year in mix tapes

With a little poetic licence, if music be the food of life, this was my diet [along with the usual helpings of Bowie and Joy Division, plus musical soundtracks (Good Morning Baltimore!) and a LOT of The Smiths when I was working at Decca] for 2007...

January 2007
1. Soluble In Air - Mystery Jets
2. Street Spirit - Radiohead
3. Teignmouth - Patrick Wolf
4. Imagine - John Lennon
5. Come See Me Tonight - Daniel Johnston
6. These Boots Are Made For Walking - Nancy Sinatra
7. Like A Prayer - Madonna
8. Small Parts - the oohlas
9. Laid - James
10. Kooks - David Bowie
11. Shiny Happy People - REM
12. Cold Things Start To Burn - The Exploding Boy
13. Happy Kid - Nada Surf
14. I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) - Four Tops
15. Everybody's Talking - Nilsson
16. Daydreamin' - Lupe Fiasco f. Jill Scott
17. This Will Be Our Year - The Zombies
18. Gypsy Death & You - The Kills


February 2007, aka. The Imaginary Mix CD pt.1
[This was made for Faran, though I can't quite remember why now]
1. Once And Never Again - The Long Blondes
2. About Your Dress - The Maccabees
3. Stumble And Fall - Razorlight
4. The Boy With The Thorn In His Side - The Smiths
5. Our Velocity - Maximo Park
6. The Kids Are All Fucked Up - Cobra Starship
7. Golden Skans - Klaxons
8. Let's Make Love & Listen To Death From Above - CSS
9. My Coo Ca Choo - Alvin Stardust
10. Burning Love - Elvis Presley
11. Same Jeans - The View
12. Love Today - Mika
13. Teen Line - The Shivvers
14. Tape It - WinterKids
15. Chelsea Dagger - The Fratellis
16. Janie Jones - The Clash
17. The English Way - Blondelle
18. XO - FOB

March 2007
[These were made for the lovely Lauren Ashley's birthday]
Part ONE
1. Girl - The Beatles
2. The Letter - The Pretty Things
3. Friends Of Mine - The Zombies
4. When The Night Feels My Song - Bedouin Soundclash
5. Sunshine (Go Away Today) - Jonathan Edwards
6. The Stars of Track And Field - Belle & Sebastian
7. Elephant Gun - Beirut
8. The Village Green Preservation Society - The Kinks
9. You Can Have It All - Kaiser Chiefs
10. Kittens of Lust - Goldenboy
11. Sorted for E's & Wizz - Pulp
12. Walk On The Wild Side - Lou Reed
13. When I Was A Young Girl - Feist
14. Dry The Rain - The Beta Band
15. Rider On The Wheel - Nick Drake
16. Angeles - Elliott Smith
17. A Dog's Life - Nina Nastasia
18. You're So Pretty... - Field Music
19. Crazy - The Kooks
20. I Don't Need Love, I've Got My Band - The Radio Dept.

Part TWO
1. Alas Agnes - Mystery Jets
2. A Sweet Summer's Night On Hammershill - Jens Lekman
3. Seems To Be On My Mind - Suburban Kids With Biblical Names
4. We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives - Los Campesinos!
5. Wouldn't Believe It - The Get Up Kids
6. I Should Have Known Better - The Beatles
7. Bastardo - Charlotte Hatherley
8. Ca Plane Pour Moi - Plastic Bertrand
9. Barcelona Loves You - I'm From Barcelona
10. You're Wondering Now - The Specials
11. The Clapping Song - Shirley Ellis
12. Indication - The Zombies
13. Little Miss Pipe Dream - The Wombats
14. New Martini - Karate
15. Sin City - The Essex Green
16. Colours - Donovan
17. All My Little Words - The Magnetic Fields
18. Luka (acoustic) - Suzanne Vega

April was spent with New Yorkers, briefly in London, for longer in NY. May was spent chivvying my sister up as she left on her mammoth US roadtrip at the end of the month.

June 2007
1. Johnny Cash - Sons & Daughters
2. You Can't Have It All - Ash
3. Fell In Love With A Girl - The White Stripes
4. Bron-y-aur Stomp - Led Zeppelin
5. I'm Waiting For The Man - The Velvet Underground
6. Route 66 - Rolling Stones
7. Suffragette City - David Bowie
8. And She Was - Talking Heads
9. Kick, Push - Lupe Fiasco
10. Cupid's Chokehold - Gym Class Heroes
11. Buddy Holly - Weezer
12. Plug In Baby - Muse
13. Well Thought Out Twinkles - Silversun Pickups
14. Wave of Mutilation - Pixies
15. 1979 - Smashing Pumpkins
16. Karma Police - Radiohead
17. Mystic Lady - T-Rex
18. Something In The Air - Thunderclap Newman

July-August 2007 (Life On Mars)
[When I had nothing better to do (did you see the weather this summer??) than watch Life On Mars series one and two DVD boxsets back to back and decided I needed more 60s/70s music in my life.]
1. Life On Mars - David Bowie
2. Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin
3. Baba O'Riley - The Who
4. Live And Let Die - Paul McCartney & Wings
5. Fireball - Deep Purple
6. Whisky In The Jar - Thin Lizzy
7. Ballroom Blitz - The Sweet
8. The Jean Genie - David Bowie
9. Street Life - Roxy Music
10. Blockbuster - The Sweet
11. I Can't Tell The Bottom From The Top - The Hollies
12. Lay Down - The Strawbs
13. Alone Again Naturally - Gilbert O'Sullivan
14. In The Summer Time - Mungo Jerry
15. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John
16. 10538 Overture - ELO
17. Rock On - T-Rex
18. Starman - David Bowie
19. How Can I Be Sure? - David Partridge
20. Rocket Man - Elton John

September 2007, aka. The Imaginary Mix CD pt.2
[Made for Faran while she was in London for Fashion Week.]
1. Blue Monday - New Order
2. Ice Cream - New Young Pony Club
3. Whip It - Devo
4. The Good Ones - The Kills
5. My Party - Kings of Leon
6. Out Of The Races And Onto The Tracks - The Rapture
7. Charmless Man - Blur
8. He's So Fine - Chiffons
9. Weekend Without Make Up - The Long Blondes
10. Top Of The Pops - The Rezillos
11. The Photos On My Wall - Good Shoes
12. Tell Him - Billie Davis
13. Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie
14. Lazy Eye - Silversun Pickups
15. Monday Morning - Pulp
16. You Are The Generation That Bought More Shoes - Johnny Boy
17. Oh No - Lavender Diamond
18. West Coast - Coconut Records

October 2007
[Made for Jimmyjames's birthday... which is actually in July, but... well... sometimes I'm a little belated with these things.]
1. Oh You Pretty Things - David Bowie
2. Leaves Do Fall - The Rosebuds
3. Insane - Grand Ole Party
4. Bad Education - Tilly & The Wall
5. You Don't Know - 13th Floor Elevators
6. In A World Without Love - Peter & Gordon
7. Haiti - Arcade Fire
8. Wave of Mutilation (slow/Pump Up The Volume version) - Pixies
9. Lazy Eye - Silversun Pickups*1
10. I Want Her She Wants Me - The Zombies
11. Roadrunner - Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers
12. You're No Good - Harvey Averne
13. Everybody's Gotta Live - Arthur Lee
14. I Could Be Happy - Altered Images
15. I Want Candy - Brian Poole & The Tremeloes

November 2007
1. No Love Lost - Joy Division
2. Lithium - Nirvana
3. And She Would Darken The Memory - The Twilight Sad
4. Roscoe - Midlake
5. More Than This - Roxy Music
6. Me And Mia - Ted Leo & The Pharmacists
7. We Used To Be Friends - The Dandy Warhols*2
8. Burning Down The House - Talking Heads
9. Such Great Heights - The Postal Service
10. Mad World - Tears For Fears
11. A Lifetime Of Pent-Up Sadness - Stars In Coma
12. Don't Want You To Wake Up - Teitur
13. Your Arms Around Me - Jens Lekman
14. Dress Up In You - Belle & Sebastian
15. St. Patrick - James Yorkston & The Athletes
16. This Side Of The Blue - Joanna Newsom
17. Sycamore - Bill Callahan
18. In My Life - The Beatles
19. The Leavers Dance - The Veils

December 2007
Christmas songs. Aaaaallll the time. What else??

And the year in 36 pictures, because 36 is all they would allow:

*1: A repeat from the previous month, but I was a little obsessed with this song in the second half of 2007.
*2: This coincided with a new-found obsession with Veronica Mars. I've said it before, I'll say it again - thank god for DVD boxsets.

happy merry whatever

10am, Christmas morning: as we open the blinds to discover grey skies and sheeting rain.

My sister: Ohhh, I was hoping for a White Christmas, not a wet christmas.
Me: There's only two letters between 'white' and 'wet' christmas.
Sister: There's only two letters between 'white' christmas and your mum.

3pm, Christmas day, Shepherd's Bush.
My godson, while not quite as insanely cute as last year, is rocking the festive jumper look, surrounded by many noisy toys.

4pm, Christmas day: driving back home.
Over Chiswick Bridge, the sky looks as if it's on fire - the rain has gone, the snow isn't coming, but there's a killer sunset to round off the daylight hours of Christmas '07.

Later: dinner scheduled around the Dr Who Christmas special, too much food, watching Hairspray in bed.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a... thank god Christmas is done for another year.

two interviews, one evening:

Obviously this is actually a picture of two foals-as-in-baby-horses, not Foals the band.

Dude. Yannis from Foals can TALK. A rescheduled phone interview that I thought would last about five minutes stretched out as he has much to say about music, the album and the music industry. Passionately and vehemently. (And ends with him saying "Oh now I'm just chatting shit. In fact, I've probably been lying to you for the past half and hour..." Joker.) But good for him. Far better too much talkage (ahem, even if it does mean a longer transcribing job*) than surly, gum-chewing, half-asleep on the sofa, not really paying attention interviewees. Not naming any (French) names. God I hate press junkets.

Then later, an email interview with Hope Larson (far easier, no dictaphones to mess things up. Plus, one could be sitting on the sofa, eating peanut M&Ms, half-watching Anchorman, and be doing the interview at the same time. Theoretically, I mean. I am of course dedicated to my work and chained to my desk...) whose work I love. Surfing her stuff online just makes me realise I should get back on the drawing thing, as it's been sidelined recently amid freelance work, interning, and trying to find a job. It also reminds me that Scott Pilgrim vol.4, drawn by her husband, still hasn't arrived in my local comic shop. Boo.

*actually not so long as my stupid dictaphone (the Belkin plug in for ipods) keeps skipping and chewing up chunks of the interview. Beyond annoying.