Paste's The 50 Best British Artists of All Time

Friday, while all the world (yes, you too) was looking, thinking or facebooking about the fairytale wedding of two young, rich and famous twentysomethings, Paste Magazine wrote: "The world’s got Britannia on the brain. (...) While all eyes are on the throne, we pay tribute to our 50 favorite British artists—a rock ‘n roll royal family of sorts. Some are relatively new, some are old, and they come from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. But they’ve all managed to leave their mark on both sides of the pond."

50 artists and 50 essential tracks.

This is the Spotify version.

Missing the usual Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and - how they dared! - MBEs Beatles.

Enjoy!

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THE 50 BEST BRITISH ARTISTS OF ALL TIME
Source: Paste
Artists/Songs available on Spotify: 47 out of 50 (94%)

50 Happy Mondays – Step On
49 Dizzee Rascal – Bonkers
48 Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man
47 Pulp – Common People
46 Richard Thompson – 1952 Vincent Black Lightning
45 Gomez – Airstream Driver
44 The Small Faces – Lazy Sunday
43 Super Furry Animals – Juxtapozed With U
42 The Waterboys – Fisherman's Blues
41 Buzzcocks – Orgasm Addict
40 Amy Winehouse – Rehab
39 The Zombies – She's Not There
38 Echo And The Bunnymen – The Killing Moon
37 Nick Drake – Day Is Done
36 M.I.A. – Paper Planes
35 Gang Of Four – Damaged Goods
34 New Order – Blue Monday [88]
33 The Slits – Typical Girls
32 Nick Lowe – Cruel To Be Kind
31 PJ Harvey – Dress
30 Duran Duran – Rio
29 Blur – Girls And Boys
28 Fleetwood Mac – Go Your Own Way
27 The Specials – A Message To You Rudy
26 Kate Bush – Wuthering Heights
25 Roxy Music – Love Is The Drug
24 Belle and Sebastian – The Blues Are Still Blue
23 Arctic Monkeys – I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor
22 The Stone Roses – I Am The Resurrection
21 The Libertines – Don’t Look Back Into The Sun
20 Oasis – Wonderwall
19 Elton John – Your Song
18 The Cure – Just Like Heaven
17 Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart
16 T. Rex – Bang A Gong (Get It On)
15 Pink Floyd - Time
14 Van Morrison – Sweet Thing
13 Eric Clapton – Tears In Heaven
12 Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody
11 The Smiths – Panic
10 Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love
9 Elvis Costello – Pump It Up
8 David Bowie – Life On Mars?
7 Sex Pistols – Anarchy In The UK
6 The Kinks – Waterloo Sunset
5 The Clash – London Calling
4 The Who – My Generation
3 Radiohead – Fake Plastic Trees
2 The Rolling Stones – (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
1 The Beatles - A Hard Day's Night

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI.

Metacritic Best New Albums of 2011 (update 26/4/2011)

This playlist is based on albums scores found on the aggregator Metacritic, a website that "distills the opinions of the most respected critics writing online and in print to a single number". The playlist features all albums that, in the latest 90 days, got a minimum critics score of 70. After three months, as they disappear from Metacritic main page, the albums will disappear from the main playlist, too; anyway, they will be saved in the archive playlist (see below). 


As you can see, music critics are nice guys: in 90 days, they managed to give good rates to more than 200 albums! It's some weeks that I don't update these playlists, so list of new entries is pretty long, including new works by Beth Ditto, TV on the Radio, The Kills, Joan As Police Woman, Explosions in the Sky and many more. This is also the week when the two playlists start differentiating: the first is actually dedicated to last 90 days albums, the last is the archive of previously published albums. Enjoy!

METACRITIC BEST NEW ALBUMS
Source: Metacritic
Albums available on Spotify: 167 out of 207 (80,67%)

New entries are in bold.

Nicolas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise (metacritic score: 87)
Hannah Peel - The Broken Wave (78)
Demdike Stare - Tryptych (87)
Jonny - Jonny (74)
Seefeel - Seefeel (71)
North Mississippi Allstars - Keys to the Kingdom (70)
The Hot Club of Cowtown - What Makes Bob Holler (79)
Mind Spiders - The Mind Spiders (70)
Faust - Something Dirty (72)
Amanda Palmer - Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under (77)
David Lowery - The Palace Guards (73)
Spokes - Everyone I Ever Met (76)
Todd Snider - Live: The Storyteller (85)
Ricky Martin - Musica + Alma + Sexo (72)
The Dirtbombs - Party Store (73)
George Michael - Faith (Special Edition) (90)
The Go! Team - Rolling Blackouts (73)
Ghostpoet - Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam (78)
Peaking Lights - 936 (79)
Crowbar - Sever the Wicked Hand (79)
Kurt Elling - The Gate (74)
Akron/Family - S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT (78)
Gruff Rhys - Hotel Shampoo (73)
Jessica Lea Mayfield - Tell Me (73)
Teddy Thompson - Bella (71)
Cut Copy - Zonoscope (72)
Nicole Atkins - Mondo Amore (72)
... And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead - Tao of the Dead (73)
Motorhead - The World Is Yours (70)
The Babies - The Babies (70)
Cowboy Junkies - Demons: The Nomad Series, vol.2 (73)
Sims - Bad Time Zoo (79)
Tristen - Charlatans at the Garden Gate (81)
The Skull Defekts - Peer Amid (73)
Shugo Tokumaru - Port Entropy (71)
East River Pipes - We Live In Rented Rooms (76)
Young Galaxy - Shapeshifting (77)
Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972 (87)
Telekinesis - 12 Desperate Straight Lines (71)
Hayes Carll - Kmag Yoyo (& Other American Stories) (78)
Saigon - The Greatest Story Never Told (89)
The Twilight Singers - Dynamite Steps (71)
Sonic Youth - Simon Werner a Disparu (75)
Drive-By Truckers - Go-Go Boots (78)
Beans - End It All (70)
Bright Eyes - The People's Key (70)
Yuck - Yuck (81)
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake (88)
Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will (77)
Frank Ocean - Nostalgia, Ultra (80)
Frankie & The Heartstrings - Hunger
June Tabor - Ashore (75)
Loch Lomond - Little Me Will Start a Storm (74)
Michael Chapman - Fully Qualified Survivor (96)
The Caribbean - Discontinued Perfume (77)
The Luyas - Too Beautiful To Work (70)
Johnny Cash - Bootleg vol.2, From Memphis To Hollywood (78)
Brad Mehldau - Live in Marciac (81)
DevilDriver - Beast (81)
Darkest Hour - The Human Romance (74)
King Creosote - Thrawn (78)
The Psychic Paramount - II (81)
The Builders and the Butchers - Dead Reckoning (78)
Danielson - The Best of Gloucenter County (73)
Malachai - Return to the Ugly Side (76)
The Low Anthem - Smart Flesh (76)
Bayside - Killing Time (84)
Julianna Barwick - The Magic Place (81)
Toro Y Moi - Underneath the Pine (79)
Six Organs of Admittance - Asleep on the Floodplain (76)
Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie xx - We're New Here (82)
Earth - Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light, vol.1 (82)
Adele - 21 (75)
Mr. Dream - Trash Hit (79)
Stateless - Matilda (75)
Middle Brother - Middle Brother (76)
Dum Dum Girls - He Gets Me High (77)
Buddy Miller - The Majestic Silver Strings (70)
The Baseball Project - Baseball Project vol.2: High and Inside (78)
Papercuts - Fading Parade (71)
Lucinda Williams - Blessed (79)
Ron Sexsmith - Long Player Late Boomer (71)
The Rural Alberta Advantage - Departing (75)
Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes (83)
Eisley - The Valley (71)
Dropkick Murphys - Going Out In Style (82)
Devotchka - 100 Lovers (72)
Anna Calvi - Anna Calvi (78)
Beth Ditto - EP (78)
Those Dancing Days - Daydreams & Nightmares (70)
Sierra Hull - Daybreak (77)
Dirty Beaches - Badlands
Micachu & The Shapes - Chopped and Screwed (71)
Grails - Deep Politics (81)
Starfucker - Reptilians (71)
Vijay Iyer - Tirtha (81)
Buffalo Tom - Skins (74)
Wires Under Tension - Light Science (71)
Rival Schools - Pedals (77)
Wye Oak - Civilian (81)
Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo (82)
R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now (73)
Raekwon - Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang (74)
Parts & Labor - Constant Future (77)
Sara Evans - Stronger (74)
Baby Dee - Regifted Light (78)
FaltyDL - You Stand Uncertain (79)
Snowblink - Long Live (79)
Moritz von Oswald Trio - Horizontal Structures (80)
Trap Them - Darker Handcraft (75)
The Naked and Famous - Passive Me Aggressive You (72)
Black Joe Lewis - Scandalous (83)
Eleventh Dream Day - Riot Now (70)
Funeral for a Friend - Welcome Home Armageddon (77)
Screeching Weasel - First World Manifesto (81)
The Dodos - No Color (79)
Rise Against - Endgame (77)
J Mascis - Several Shades of Why (78)
Cornershop - Cornershop & The Double-O Groove Of (80)
Caitlin Rose - Own Side Now (75)
The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar (77)
Trembling Bells - The Constant Pageant (77)
The Weeknd - House of Balloons (87)
Nostalgia 77 - The Sleepwalking Society (81)
Solomon Burke - Hold On Tight (71)
Eulogies - Tear the Fences Down (74)
Yellowcard - When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes (75)
Pharoahe Monch - W.A.R. (We Are Renegades) (79)
Keren Ann - 101 (76)
Jennifer Hudson - I Remember Me (74)
Egyptrixx - Bible Eyes (81)
Acid House Kings - Music Sounds Better With You (81)
The Strokes - Angles (71)
James Blake - James Blake (81)
Duran Duran - All You Need Is Now (75)
Edwyn Collins - Losing Sleep (80)
Burial - Street Halo (83)
Orchestre Poly-Rythmo - Cotonou Club (79)
Moon Duo - Mazes (73)
Ladytron - Best of 00-10 (74)
Mary Mary - Something Big (70)
Royal Bangs - Flux Outside (74)
Amon Amarth - Surtur Rising (79)
Southeast Engine - Canary (82)
Bill Callahan - Apocalypse (81)
Those Darlins - Screws Get Loose (74)
Hunx & His Punx - Too Young To Be In Love (70)
Bibio - Mind Bokeh (78)
Yelle - Safari Disco Club (71)
Peter, Bjorn and John - Gimme Some (73)
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Belong (78)
Obits - Moody, Standard & Poor (75)
The Mountain Goats - All Eternals Deck (79)
Erland and the Carnival - Nightingale (72)
Josh T. Pearson - Last of the Country Gentlemen (76)
Radiohead - The King of Limbs (80)
The Blackout - Hope (76)
Ambrose Akinmusire - When the Heart Emerges Glistening (88)
Anna Wilson - Countrypolitan Duets (70)
Alela Diane - Alela Diane & Wild Divine (72)
Maritime - Human Hearts (77)
Robbie Robertson - How To Become Clairvoyant (71)
The Kills - Blood Pressures (76)
Jim Jones - Capo (72)
Cold Cave - Cherish the Light Years (73)
Metronomy - The English Riviera (77)
Little Scream - The Golden Record (78)
Young Widows - In and Out of Youth and Lightness (81)
Hauschka - Salon des Amateurs (82)
Between the Buried and Me - The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues (77)
Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan in Concert: Brandeis University 1963 (75)
Letlive - Fake History (86)
Ponytail - Do Whatever You Want All The Time (75)
Vessels - Helioscope (73)
TV On The Radio - Nine Types of Light (82)
Thursday - No Devolucion (88)
Paul Simon - So Beautiful Or So What (88)
The Pretty Reckless - Light Me Up (78)
Panda Bear - Tomboy (80)
Low - C'Mon (81)
Alison Krauss & Union Station - Paper Airplane (77)
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Here We Rest (76)
The Feelies - Here Before (80)
Crystal Stilts - In Love With Oblivion (77)
Atmosphere - The Family Sign (73)
Foo Fighters - Wasting Light (78)
Elbow - Build a Rocket Boys! (83)
Joan As Police Woman - The Deep Field (73)
I'm From Barcelona - Forever Today (80)
O'Death - Outside (70)
tUnE-yArDs - Who Kill (86)
The Unthanks - Last (81)
Plan B - The Defamation of Strickland Banks (75)
Nedry - Condors (82)
Dennis Coffey - Dennis Coffey (85)
Thao & Mirah - Thao & Mirah (77)
Steve Earle - I'll Never Go Out of This World Alive (77)
Prefuse 73 - The Only She Chapters (78)
Emmylou Harris - Hard Bargain (72)
Daedelus - Bespoke (78)
Kode9 - Black Sun (78)
Explosions in the Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care (80)
Cass McCombs - Wit's End (75)
Times New Viking - Dancer Equired (76)
Poly Styrene - Generation Indigo (74)
Holy Ghost! - Holy Ghost! (71)
Kort - Invariable Heartache (79)

Listen to it on Spotify (latest 90 days albums):
Mammoth (full albums): HTTP, URI. (SR0539)
Lite (3 tracks each album): HTTP, URI. (SR0540)


... WHILE THE FOLLOWING ALBUMS WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE IN THE ARCHIVE PLAYLIST:

Broken Records - Let Me Come Home (metacritic score: 71)
Bardo Pond - Bardo Pond (71)
Kudos - Surf City (75)
Joe Lovano Us Five - Bird Songs (86)
Abigail Washburn - City of Refuge (70)
Wire - Red Barked Tree (77)
Cage The Elephant - Thank You, Happy Birthday (76)
British Sea Power - Valhalla Dancehall (70)
Aurelio - Laru Beya (81)
White Fence - Is Growing Faith (78)
Pearl Jam - Live On Ten Legs (72)
Tennis - Cape Dory (79)
Social Distortion - Hard Times & Nursery Rhymes (71)
Smith Westerns - Dye It Blonde (83)
Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers - Teenage and Torture (79)
The Greg Allman Band - Low Country Blues (80)
Braids - Native Speaker (76)
The Decemberists - The King Is Dead (77)
William Tyler - Behold the Spirit (79)
LCD Soundsystem - The London Sessions (81)
Say Hi - Um, Uh Oh (75)
John Renbourn - Palermo Snow (74)
Charles Bradley - No Time For Dreaming (78)
Lori McKenna - Lorraine (70)
Apex Manor - The Year of Magical Drinking (77)
Lia Ices - Grown Unknown (75)
Sid Tourè & Friends - Sahel Folk (78)
Corinne Bailey Rae - The Love EP (77)
Delicate Steve - Wondervisions (84)
John Vanderslice - White Wilderness (74)
Minks - By the Hedge (75)
Talib Kweli - Gutter Rainbows (72)
Gang of Four - Content (72)
Destroyer - Kaputt (84)
Cloud Nothings - Cloud Nothings (73)
Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean (79)
Fujiya & Miyagi - Ventriloquizzing (71)
Deerhoof - Deerhoof vs. Evil (77)

The Archive (all 2011 albums)
Mammoth (full albums): HTTP, URI. (SR0541)
Lite (3 tracks each album): HTTP, URI. (SR0542)

BBC6 Music Playlist (week 17, commencing 23/4/2011)

Her name is trouble 

After a week of hiatus (sorry!), back again with the BBC6 weekly playlist. With many new entries (Beastie Boys, Justice, Keren Ann, Lykke Li...) and too many songs not available on Spotify yet (Arctic Monkeys, Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi, Radiohead, Thurston Moore...). Enjoy and have a great week!

BBC 6 Music Playlist
Source: BBC6 Music
Songs available on Spotify: 22 out of 30 (73,33%)

Arctic Monkeys - Don't Sit Down, 'Cause I Moved Your Chair
Beastie Boys - Make Some Noise
Cold War Kids - Finally Begins
Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi - Black / Two Against One
Death Cab For Cutie - You Are a Tourist
Fleet Foxes - Battery Kinzie
Foo Fighters - Bridge Burning
Friendly Fires - Live Those Days Tonight
TV On The Radio - Will Do
Yuck - Get Away
Aloe Blacc - I Need a Dollar
Cloud Control - This Is What I Said
Cut Copy - Need You Now
Dels - Gob
Ghostpoet feat. Fabiana Palladino - Survive It
The Go! Team - Apollo Throwdown
Holy Ghost! - Wait & See
Jonny - You Was Me
Justice - Civilization
Keren Ann - My Name Is Trouble
Lykke Li - Sadness Is a Blessing
Noah & The Whale - Tonight's The Kind Of Night
Pete & The Pirates - United
Radiohead - Supercollider
Tom Williams & The Boat - Concentrate
Clock Opera - Belongings
Love Inks - Blackeye
Thurston Morre - Benediction
Sparrow and the Workshop - Snakes in the Grass
Wild Beasts - Albatross

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0505)

Previously on BBC6:
BBC6 Shortlisted Top 100 Songs of 2010

Top 20 Eco Songs Ever (according to the blogsourced wisdom)

Yesterday was the Earth Day. But instead of running through the fields without leaving footprints, I spent it building this little playlist. It's made with data taken from twenty top-eco-songs charts I found on the Web: on green blogs, pro-environment networks and agencies, Rolling Stone, etc. I assigned 10 points for each 1st position, 9 points for each #2, 8 points for each #3... and after a long and exciting duel, Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi overtook Marvin Gaye's Mercy Mercy Me and eco-friendly triumphed!

Jacko got the green bronze.

This is an anglosaxon chart. So nobody put french Mickey 3D's Respire in their Top10. But I do love that song, so I chose it as video-opener. While, as video-closer, may I introduce you the most famous italian eco-song ever. :o)

Enjoy and be nice with the fookin Earth!
(Benicassim Noel Gallagher quote)

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TOP 20 ECO SONGS FOR EARTH DAY
Sources:
Top 8 Environmental Songs for Earth Day (greenopolis, ???)
Environmentalists Folk Songs (About.com Folk Music, ???)
Celebrate Earth Day With Top 10 Most Eco-Friendly Songs (Ecorazzi, 2008)
Environmental Songs for Earth Day (The Y! Radish, 2008)
Top 11 Environmental Songs (Bright Green, 2008)
Top 10 Earth Day Songs (The Y! Radish, 2009)
Top Ten Environmental & Meaningful Song Lyrics (Anti Pollution Revolution Campaign, 2009)
The Top 10 Best Green Songs (Mother Nature Network, 2009)
The Top 20 Eco-Songs of All Time (Planet Green.com, 2009)
Top 10 eco-songs of all time (Be More Eco, 2009)
Top 10 eco-songs (Green Chi Café, 2009)
Top 10 Songs To Celebrate Earth Day (John Figaro, Yahoo! Contributor Network, 2010)
10 Best Songs About the Environment (Made Man, 2010)
Top 10 Songs For Earth Day (Sarena Ulibarri, Yahoo! Contributor, 2010)
Top 8 Environmental Songs for Earth Day (3BL Media, 2010)
Ten Great Songs for Earth Day (HubPages, 2011?)
Top Ten Songs About Healing the Earth (94.7 The Wave Radio, 2011)
Top 10 Earth Day Song (Hypebot, 2011)
Top 6 Environmental Songs for Earth Day (The Celebrity Cafe, 2011)
The 15 Corniest Pro Environment Songs (Rolling Stone, 2011)
Songs available on Spotify: 21 out of 23 (91,30%)

1. Joni Mitchell - Big Yellow Taxi (114 points)
2. Marvin Gaye - Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) (90)
3. Michael Jackson - Earth Song (58)
4. Jack Johnson - Gone (44)
5. Talking Heads - (Nothing) But Flowers (39)
6. Johnny Cash - Don't Go Near the Water (38)
7. Cat Stevens - Where Do The Children Play (31)
8. Pretenders - My City Was Gone (25)
9. Pixies - Monkey Gone To Heaven (24)
10. Neil Young - Mother Earth (23)
11. Beach Boys - Don't Go Near the Water (22)
11. Bruce Cockburn - If a Tree Falls (22)
11. John Prine - Paradise (22)
14. Standells - Dirty Water (20)
15. Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World (19)
16. Neil Young - After the Gold Rush (16)
17. Tracy Chapman - The Rape of the World (16)
18. Jackson Browne - Before the Deluge (15)
19. James Taylor - Traffic Jam (15)
20. Woody Guthrie - Roll On, Columbia (14)
20. Don McLean - Tapestry (14)
20. Yardbirds - Shapes of Thing (14)
20. Yes - Don't Kill The Whale (14)

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI.

The Burt Bacharach Songbook

Birth of a playlist.

Yesterday a friend of mine wrote: "I just asked Burt Bacharach to be my friend on Facebook". That made me realize two things. First: I didn't know Bacharach was still alive (sorry, man!) and he was on Facebook. Second: I'm definitely not a great connoisseur of his music. And this is not good. So I visited Wikipedia and the idea easily came to my mind: to build a playlist with some of his greatest songs (mostly written with long-time collaborator Hal David). No. Better. To build it with all the singles listed on Wikipedia. Possibly, in the versions sung by the artists the songs were meant and written for (often Dionne Warwick, but also Gene Pitney, Jackie DeShannon, Dusty Springfield...).

So, here it is. Honestly, I don't know if my friend got his Facebook friendship, but we got a nice Spotibook to listen to. Three hours, almost all songs available, a good vintage soundtrack for:

a) a bath after a hard day

b) an elegant when-Sean-Connery-was-James-Bond themed cocktail party

c) a quiet late night reading session

d) a romantic dinner with a partner fed up with hipsters

Enjoy! :o)

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THE BURT BACHARACH SPOTIBOOK
Source: Wikipedia singles list.
Songs available on Spotify: 62 out of 64 (96,87%)

1957:
Marty Robbins – The Story Of My Life
Perry Como – Magic Moments
1958:
The Five Blobs – The Blob
1959:
Johnny Mathis – Heavenly
Johnny Mathis – Faithfully
Jane Morgan - With Open Arms
1961:
Gloria Lynne – Tower Of Strength
Eugene McDaniels – Another Tear Falls
The Drifters – Please Stay
1962:
The Shirelles – Baby It's You
Elvis Presley – Any Day Now
Gene Pitney – The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Gene Pitney – Only Love Can Break A Heart
Dionne Warwick – Don't Make Me Over
Dionne Warwick – Make It Easy On Yourself
Andy Williams - Don't You Believe It
Tommy Hunt – I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself
1963:
Gene Pitney – 24 Hours From Tulsa
Bobby Vee – Be True To Yourself
Bobby Vinton – Blue On Blue
Dionne Warwick – Anyone Who Had A Heart
Dionne Warwick – (They Long To Be) Close To You
Don & Juan – True Love Never Runs Smooth
Jack Jones – Wives And Lovers
Dionne Warwick – Wishin' And Hopin'
1964:
Dionne Warwick – Walk On By
Dionne Warwick – Reach Out For Me
Lou Johnson – (There's) Always Something There To Remind Me
Brook Benton – A House Is Not A Home
Adam Faith – A Message To Martha (Kentucky Bluebird)
Dionne Warwick – You'll Never Get To Heaven(If You Break My Heart)
1965:
Jackie DeShannon – What The World Needs Now Is Love
Jimmy Radcliffe – Long After Tonight Is All Over
Tom Jones – What's New Pussycat?
Dionne Warwick – Here I Am
Burt Bacharach – Trains And Boats And Planes
Manfred Mann – My Little Red Book
Jackie DeShannon – A Lifetime Of Loneliness
1966:
Dionne Warwick – Are You There(With Another Girl)
Jackie DeShannon – Come And Get Me
Cilla Black – Alfie
Jackie DeShannon – Windows And Doors
Jackie DeShannon – So Long Johnny
1967:
Dionne Warwick – The Windows Of The World
Dionne Warwick – I Say A Little Prayer
Dusty Springfield – The Look Of Love
Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass ... – Casino Royale
The Fifth Dimension – One Less Bell To Answer
1968:
Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass – This Guy's In Love With You
Dionne Warwick – Do You Know The Way To San Jose
Dionne Warwick – Promises, Promises
1969:
Dionne Warwick – The April Fools
Engelbert Humperdinck – I'm A Better Man (For Having Loved You)
B.J. Thomas – Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head (Butch Cassidy/Soundtrack Version)
Bobbie Gentry – I'll Never Fall In Love Again
1970:
BJ Thomas – Everybody's Out Of Town
Dionne Warwick – Let Me Go To Him
Dionne Warwick – Paper Mache
Dionne Warwick – The Green Grass Starts To Grow
1971:
Dionne Warwick – Who Gets The Guy
1981:
Christopher Cross – Arthur's Theme
1982:
Rod Stewart – That's What Friends Are For
1986:
Patti LaBelle – On My Own
1987:
Dionne Warwick & Jeffrey Osborne – Love Power

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR681)

Acclaimed Music Top 20 Albums of 1962

Country and Western Music?

This is a kind of "history of music" project, based on aggregated charts found on Acclaimed Music. It features Top 20 playlists for decades 1920s, 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, and yearly Top 20 playlists (both songs and albums) for each year from 1960 to 2010. It should be a weekly project (though I'm not very good in being consistent with weekly projects). To keep track of it, I made the Acclaimed History of Music page.

Classic jazz rules this 1962 chart. The playlist include some absolute masters, like John Coltrane (three albums), the "brazilian" Stan Getz, the "mexican" Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington, Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, Jim Hall, Wes Montgomery, Ornette Coleman and many others. #1, though, is for The Genius. Enjoy!

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TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 1962
Source: Acclaimed Music
Missing from Spotify: 3 albums
(legenda: the number preceding the artist name is the ranking in Acclaimed Music Top 3000 chart)

1 (246) Ray Charles - Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music
- (446) Howlin' Wolf - Howlin' Wolf
2 (841) John Coltrane - Coltrane "Live" at the Village Vanguard
3 (1010) Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd - Jazz Samba
4 (1011) Charles Mingus - Tijuana Moods/New Tijuana Moods
5 (1123) Duke Ellington with Charles Mingus and Max Roach - Money Jungle
6 (1250) Sonny Rollins - The Bridge
7 (1378) Jackie McLean - Let Freedom Ring
8 (1431) Herbie Hancock - Takin' Off
9 (1434) Booker T. & The MG's - Green Onions
10 (1476) Dexter Gordon - Go
11 (1844) John Coltrane - Coltrane Plays the Blues
-- (1908) Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan
12 (2033) Bill Evans and Jim Hall - Undercurrent
13 (2037) Wes Montgomery - Full House: Recorded 'Live' at Tsubo - Berkeley, California
14 (2092) Benny Carter - Further Definitions
15 (2130) Ray Charles - Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, Volume Two
-- (2176) Roy Haynes - Out of the Afternoon
16 (2196) Milt Jackson and Wes Montgomery - Bags Meets Wes!
17 (2300) Ornette Coleman - Ornette on Tenor
18 (2342) Freddie Hubbard - Hub-Tones
19 (2399) John Coltrane - Olé Coltrane
20 (2459) Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley - Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley

Listen to it on Spotify:
Mammoth (full albums): HTTP, URI. (SR0679)
Lite (3 tracks each album): HTTP, URI. (SR0680)

The Complete Acclaimed Music Series

Record Store Day 2011: The Indie Labels Party!

Time to celebrate the Record Store Day, again! Last year it was a Nick Hornby extravaganza: the complete High Fidelity's booktrack. This year I spent some time playing with the label search tool in Spotify. The result is a series of 21 playlists, dedicated to the premium content providers of independent record stores: indie labels. And, as a bonus, a little italian mix. Enjoy!

P.S. All these playlists are made using the "label:" search tool. I haven't double-checked the results or made distinctions between produced and distributed albums. Just trusted the Spotify archive people... ;o)

P.S.2 All quotes and logos, below, are from Wikipedia.

P.S.3 The choice of the labels is mine. The songs are the most popular on Spotify (one each artist). Sorry for the guilty exclusions: if you think I forgot some unforgettable labels, tell me and I will organize a Indie Labels Party #2! 

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4AD is a British independent record label that was started in 1979 by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent, funded by Beggars Banquet Records, and is still active today. It now forms part of the Beggars Group, along with Matador Records, Rough Trade Records and XL Recordings. 4AD current recording artists include Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, The Big Pink, Blonde Redhead, Bon Iver, Camera Obscura, Deerhunter, The National, and Scott Walker.

Bon Iver – Skinny Love
Beirut – Nantes
The National – Bloodbuzz Ohio
Pixies – Where Is My Mind?
TV on the Radio – Wolf Like Me
Stornoway – Zorbing
Thievery Corporation – Lebanese Blonde
Iron & Wine – Walking Far From Home
Twin Shadow – Slow
Lisa Gerrard – Now We Are Free
The Big Pink – Dominos
The Breeders – Cannonball
Camera Obscura – French Navy
Deerhunter – Revival
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Round And Round
Efterklang – Modern Drift
This Mortal Coil – Song To The Siren
Johann Johannsson – The Sun’s Gone Dim And The Sky’s Turned Black
Dead Can Dance – The Host Of Seraphim
The Mountain Goats – No Children
M Ward – For Beginners
Atlas Sound (feat. Noah Lennox) – Walkabout
Cocteau Twins – Lorelei
Blonde Redhead – 23
Frank Black – I Heard Ramona Sing

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0658)

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ANTI- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label of Epitaph Records. While Epitaph's focus has shifted over the last decade from mostly punk rock, nowadays ANTI- has a more diverse roster, ranging from hip hop (Sage Francis), reggae (Michael Franti), Soul (Bettye LaVette), folk (The Swell Season), rap-rock (One Day as a Lion), indie rock (Islands), and experimental music (Tom Waits). Headed by Andy Kaulkin, ANTI- first gained attention by releasing Tom Waits' Grammy award winning Mule Variations in 1999. Along with Waits, several veteran recording artists such as rhythm and blues singers Solomon Burke and Bettye LaVette, and Marianne Faithfull have signed onto ANTI- after leaving other major labels.

Youth Group – Forever Young
Devotchka – How It Ends
Tom Waits – Hold On
Spoon – The Underdog
Xavier Rudd – Let Me Be
Solomon Burke – Don't Give Up On Me
Sage Francis – The Best of Times
Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova – The Moon
Neko Case – Hold On, Hold On
Mavis Staples – You Are Not Alone
Dead Man's Bones – Pa Pa Power
Pete Philly & Perquisite – Mystery Repeats
N.A.S.A. – Gifted
Jolie Holland – Old Fashioned Morphine
Los Lobos – Rango Theme Song
The Swell Season – Low Rising
Tricky – Evolution Revolution Love
Hans Zimmer – Rango Suite
The Frames – Falling Slowly
One Day As A Lion – Wild International
Daniel Lanois – Fire
William Elliott Whitmore – Who Stole the Soul
Dr. Dog – Shadow People
Michael Franti & Spearhead – Obama Song
Busdriver – Me - Time

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0659)

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Arts & Crafts Productions is a Toronto-based independent artist services company, offering expertise as an independent record label, management firm, merchandiser, and music publisher both in Canada and internationally. Launched in 2002 with the release of Broken Social Scene's critically acclaimed album, You Forgot It in People, Arts & Crafts has released forty-nine albums from twenty-six artists, earning twelve JUNO Awards along the way. Arts & Crafts is regularly touted as one of Canada's most important record labels.

Broken Social Scene – World Sick
Stars – Your Ex-Lover Is Dead
Gentleman Reg – Wicked Game - Chris Isaak Cover
The Hidden Cameras – In The NA
Dan Mangan – Sold
Young Galaxy – Swing Your Heartache
Constantines – Young Lions - Alternate Version
Forest City Lovers – Minneapolis
Amy Millan – I Will Follow You Into The Dark
The Stills – Everything I Build
The Acorn – Slippery When Wet
Hollerado – Americanarama
Years – The Major Lift
Basia Bulat – My Heart Is A Warning
Small Sins – Why Don't You Believe Me?
Zeus – Fever Of The Time
Friday Morning's Regret – Wooden Sky
Bry Webb and Casey Mecjia – Oh! Sweet Nuthin'
Jason Collett – Love Is A Dirty Word
Brendan Canning – Churches Under The Stairs
Snailhouse – Salvation Army - In Four
The Most Serene Republic – Pink Noise
Evening Hymns – Lanterns
Apostle Of Hustle – Eazy Speaks
Charles Spearin – Anna

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0660)

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Beggars Banquet is an English independent record label that began as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin, and is part of the Beggars Group of labels. In 1977, spurred by the prevailing DIY aesthetics of the British punk rock movement (then at the height of its popularity), they decided to join the fray as an independent label and release records under the Beggars Banquet imprint. The first band on the label was English punk group The Lurkers; the first ever release on the label was The Lurkers' punk classic Shadow/Love Story 7" single. Later in the decade and into the early 1980s, hits with Tubeway Army and Gary Numan secured the label's future.They have since released music by Biffy Clyro, Buffalo Tom, The Charlatans, The Cult, The Go-Betweens, The National and Tindersticks. In 2008, Beggars Banquet became a catalog label only, closed to new signings. Artists that remained on their roster were shifted over to affiliate label, 4AD. The label became the start point for what is now The Beggars Group, an umbrella group of iconic indie record labels. It is the largest and most influential independent group of labels in Europe and 4AD, Matador Records, Rough Trade Records and XL Recordings are the four main labels that now form the group.

The National – Fake Empire
The Cult – She Sells Sanctuary
Gary Numan – Cars
The Charlatans – The Only One I Know
Biffy Clyro – Glitter And Trauma
Bauhaus – She’s In Parties
Peter Murphy – All Night Long
Mark Lanegan – Hit The City
The Go-Betweens – Love Goes On!
Tubeway Army – Are ‘Friends’ Electric?
The Fall – Mansion (remastered)
The Mighty Wah! – The Story Of The Blues Part 1
Buffalo Tom – Taillights Fade
Love and Rockets – So Alive
Dick Dale – Nitrus
Fields Of The Nephilim – Moonchild
Tindersticks – Yesterdays Tomorrows
Luna – Sweet Child O’ Mine (Remastered)
The Bolshoi – Sunday Morning
St. Vincent – Paris Is Burning
The Icicle Works – Love Is A Wonderful Colour
Freeez – I.O.U. (7" Version)
Oceansize – Women Who Love Men Who Love Drugs
Stuart A. Staples – That Leaving Feeling
Freeez – Southern Freeez

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0661)

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Bella Union is an independent record label that was started up by Simon Raymonde and Robin Guthrie in 1997. After releasing records with 4AD for a large part of their career, Cocteau Twins decided to take a step towards independence and started up the Bella Union record label, through which they could release their own work as well as any collaborative efforts. (...) The label fosters bands from a variety of musical genres and is notable for the amount of freedom given to its artists. (...) The label won the 2010 Independent Record Company Of The Year at the Music Week Awards. Previous winners XL Recordings, Rough Trade Records, Domino Records, Ministry of Sound.

Fleet Foxes – Mykonos
Beach House – Zebra
Explosions In The Sky – Your Hand In Mine
Midlake – Roscoe
Laura Veirs – July Flame
Peter Von Poehl – The Story Of The Impossible
Andrew Bird – Oh No
Wavves – King Of The Beach
John Grant – I Wanna Go To Marz
The Walkmen – Angela Surf City
The Low Anthem – Ghost Woman Blues
Peter Broderick – With The Notes In My Ears
Mountain Man – Animal Tracks
Treefight For Sunlight – What Became Of You And I?
J. Tillman – James Blues
Vetiver – Everyday
The Kissaway Trail – New Lipstick
Lawrence Arabia – Apple Pie Bed
Department Of Eagles – While We're Young
Dustin O'Halloran – Opus 20
Howling Bells – Low Happening
The Acorn – Crooked Legs
The Dears – Lost In The Plot
Lone Wolf – Keep Your Eyes On The Road
My Latest Novel – I Declare A Ceasefire

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0662)

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Chemikal Underground is an independent record label set up in 1994 by Glasgow, Scotland rock band The Delgados. It was set up to release their first single, "Monica Webster" / "Brand New Car" and went on to break many new Scottish bands in the nineties. When the second Chemikal Underground single by popsters Bis, The Secret Vampire Soundtrack EP was hugely successful, earning them a slot on Top of the Pops, the label was able to expand. (...) Further success followed in the shape of the debut albums by Mogwai and Arab Strap. Other bands on the Chemikal Underground roster include Magoo, Aereogramme, Cha Cha Cohen, Sluts of Trust, Suckle, the Radar Brothers and more recently Mother and the Addicts and De Rosa, as well as Arab Strap member Malcolm Middleton's solo work.

Roky Erickson – Goodbye Sweet Dreams
Arab Strap – The First Big Weekend
Mogwai – Yes! I Am A Long Way From Home
The Phantom Band – The Howling
The Delgados – I Fought The Angels
Found – Anti Climb Paint
Zoey Van Goey – We Don’t Have That Kind Of Bread
Aereogramme – Barriers
Aidan Moffat – ‘(If You) Keep Me In Your Heart
The Unwinding Hours – Knut
Emma Pollock – I Could Be A Saint
RM Hubbert – Hey There Mr Bone
Mother and the Addicts – Watch The Lines
Malcolm Middleton – Solemn Thirsty
Sister Vanilla – Pastel Blue
Lord Cut-Glass – Look After Your Wife
De Rosa – Cathkin Braes
Cha Cha Cohen – August
Idlewild – The Weight Of Years
Magoo – A To Z And Back Again
Strike The Colours – Message In A Bottle
Kempston – Localised Flooding
James Yorkston – A Calvinist Narrowly Avoids Pleasure
Radar Brothers – Dear Headlights
Sluts Of Trust – That's Right…that Cat's Right

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0663)

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City Slang is an independent record label based in Berlin, Germany. It was created in 1990 by former tour agent Christof Ellinghaus. Its main goal was to provide American, Canadian and German independent artists with a way to distribute their records in the European market, particularly the UK, Germany, Austria and, in some cases, the Netherlands. Arts & Crafts in particular has an established relationship with City Slang including a European office. City Slang's website as well as including a blog featuring the latest news from the label, also offers downloads of the latest songs by the artists.

Wye Oak – Civilian - Single
Herman Düne – My Home Is Nowhere without You
Calexico – Victor Jara's Hands
Caribou – Melody Day
Stars – Your Ex-Lover Is Dead
Altrice – Siphon Away
The Album Leaf – Always For You
The Notwist – Consequence (Album Version)
Port O'Brien – I Woke Up Today
Health – Die Slow
Menomena – Queen Black Acid
Lambchop – Is A Woman
Nada Surf – See These Bones
Kurt Wagner & Cortney Tidwell Present KORT – Picking Wild Mountain Berries
Wallis Bird – Just can't get enough
Malajube – Ursuline
Tu Fawning – The Felt Sense
Dear Reader – Great White Bear
Alexi Murdoch – Towards The Sun
Toy Fight – Your Own Fireworks
Get Well Soon – Listen! Those Lost At Sea Sing A Song On Christmas Day
Schneider Tm – Pac Man / Shopping Cart
Royal Bangs – New Scissors
Barbara Panther – Empire
Sophia – Where Are You Now

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0664)

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Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in the independent punk music of the D.C.-area music scene. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release Minor Disturbance by The Teen Idles.The label is most notable for having maintained a strict do-it-yourself ethic, producing all of its albums by itself and selling them at discount prices without the help of major distributors.Dischord continues to release records by bands from Washington D.C., and to document and support the Washington D.C. music scene.

Fugazi – Turnover
Minor Threat – Straight Edge
Q And Not U – Wonderful People
Dag Nasty – Values Here
Embrace – Give Me Back
Teen Idles – Get Up and Go - Version
Rites of Spring – For Want of
VOID – Who Are You??
Shudder To Think – Red House
Jawbox – Freezerburn
Untouchables – Steppin' Stone
S.O.A. – Draw Blank - Version
Scream – Search for Employment
Rozzlyn Rangers – Rozzlyn Rangers
Nation of Ulysses – Spectra Sonic Sound
Government Issue – Snubbing
Faraquet – Cut Self Not
The Evens – Cut from the Cloth
Gray Matter – Burn No Bridges
Lungfish – Black Helicopters
Faith – No Choice - Version
Marginal Man – Manipulator
Black Eyes – A Pack of Wolves
Medications – Or At Least As Bad
Bluetip – Nickelback

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0665)

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Domino Recording Company, generally known as Domino Records, is an independent record label based in London.  (...) Founded in 1993, by Laurence Bell and his partner Jacqui Rice, the label's first release was the Sebadoh EP Rocking the Forest, licensed from Sub Pop records for release in the UK. Many of the early releases were by American artists who in the USA were signed to Drag City (Smog, Will Oldham, Royal Trux), a relationship which continues to this day. Success was not immediate, as labels such as Domino, who were releasing more established American rock and unusual British music, were marginalised during the Britpop era, but a steady stream of new signings gave the label increasing credibility. Recent high profile releases from Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys, and The Kills have only acted as a catalyst to this, and Domino is now one of the longest running and most successful independent record labels in the UK.

Arctic Monkeys – Mardy Bum
Franz Ferdinand – No You Girls
Elliott Smith – Angeles
Animal Collective – My Girls
Four Tet – Angel Echoes
The Villagers – Becoming A Jackal
Anna Calvi – Rider To The Sea
Junior Boys – In the Morning
Wild Beasts – All The King's Men
Tricky – UK Jamaican
Pavement – Gold Soundz
The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age Of The Understatement
Dirty Projectors – Stillness Is The Move
Mulatu Astatke – Yègellé Tezeta
The Count & Sinden featuring Mystery Jets – After Dark
These New Puritans – We Want War
Orange Juice – Rip It Up
Jon Hopkins – Light Through The Veins
Malachai – Snowflake
The Kills – No Wow
Owen Pallett – Lewis Takes Off His Shirt
Bonde Do Role – Solta O Frango
Karen Dalton – Something On Your Mind
Cass McCombs – Dreams-Come-True-Girl
James Yorkston – Would You Have Me Born With Wooden Eyes?

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0666)

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Epitaph Records is a Hollywood, California based independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. The label was originally "just a logo and a P.O. box" created in the 1980s for the purpose of selling Bad Religion records, but has evolved into a large independent record label. Gurewitz took the name from a King Crimson song of the same name. Throughout the 80s and 90s most of the bands on Epitaph were punk and pop punk groups, while there are many post-hardcore and emo bands signed to the label too. A large portion of the record label, known as Hellcat Records, is owned by Tim Armstrong, frontman of the punk rock band Rancid. Several sister-labels also exist, such as ANTI-, Burning Heart Records, Fat Possum Records, Hellcat Records and Heart & Skull Records that have signed other types of bands.

The Offspring – Self Esteem
Escape The Fate – Ashley
The Hives – Hate To Say I Told You So
Youth Group – Forever Young
Raised Fist – Friends & Traitors
Parkway Drive – Carrion
Turbonegro – All My Friends Are Dead
Promoe – These Walls Don't Lie
Bad Religion – 21st Century
Story Of The Year – The Antidote
Devotchka – How It Ends
Dropkick Murphys – The Green Fields Of France
Millencolin – No Cigar
Weezer – Memories
Rancid – Time Bomb
Tom Waits – Hold On
Refused – New Noise
Looptroop – Long Arm Of The Law
NOFX – Bob
Twisted Sister – The Kids Are Back
Pennywise – Bro Hymn
Atmosphere – Trying To Find A Balance
Moneybrother – They're Bulding Walls Around Us
Joe Strummer – Mondo Bongo
Social Distortion – Machine Gun Blues

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0667)

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Fat Cat Records is an independent label based in Brighton on England’s South Coast. Their output ranges from electronica, post rock, indie, downtempo, minimal techno, noise and punk-pop. Artists of particular note signed to the label are Sigur Rós, Múm, Animal Collective, Frightened Rabbit, The Twilight Sad and Vashti Bunyan.

Bon Iver – Skinny Love
Beirut – Nantes
The National – Bloodbuzz Ohio
Pixies – Where Is My Mind?
TV on the Radio – Wolf Like Me
Stornoway – Zorbing
Thievery Corporation – Lebanese Blonde
Iron & Wine – Walking Far From Home
Twin Shadow – Slow
Lisa Gerrard – Now We Are Free
The Big Pink – Dominos
The Breeders – Cannonball
Camera Obscura – French Navy
Deerhunter – Revival
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Round And Round
Efterklang – Modern Drift
This Mortal Coil – Song To The Siren
Johann Johannsson – The Sun’s Gone Dim And The Sky’s Turned Black
Dead Can Dance – The Host Of Seraphim
The Mountain Goats – No Children
M Ward – For Beginners
Atlas Sound (feat. Noah Lennox) – Walkabout
Cocteau Twins – Lorelei
Blonde Redhead – 23
Frank Black – I Heard Ramona Sing

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0668)

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Jagjaguwar is an indie rock record label based in Bloomington, Indiana.

Bon Iver – Blood Bank
Okkervil River – Lost Coastlines
The Cave Singers – Swim Club
Gayngs – The Gaudy Side of Town
Black Mountain – The Hair Song
Small Black – Despicable Dogs
Lia Ices – Love is Won
S. Carey – In The Dirt
Wolf People – Tiny Circle
Volcano Choir – Island, IS
Pink Mountaintops – While We Were Dreaming
Sunset Rubdown – Idiot Heart
Parts & Labor – Fake Names
Lightning Dust – Antonia June
The Besnard Lakes – Albatross
Women – Eyesore
Julie Doiron – Spill Yer Lungs
Peter Wolf Crier – Hard As Nails
Swan Lake – Paper Lace
Eau Claire Memorial Jazz I, Featuring Justin Vernon – Lump Sum
Ladyhawk – The Dugout
Oneida – Up With People
Richard Youngs – It Soon Will Be Fire
Moonface – Dreamland EP: marimba and shit drums
The Skygreen Leopards – Disciples Of California

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0669)

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Kitty-Yo is a German record label specializing in quirky pop and electronica. It was founded in 1994 in Berlin following the creation of an independent zine of the same name. The label began by publishing music for Surrogat, Patrick Wagner's group project, and got the attention of John Peel and Steve Albini. Since their inception, Kitty-Yo albums and singles have been distributed worldwide, gaining a college radio following in the United States. Their first charting record was Kante in 2000, and would later release records by artists such as Taylor Savvy, Peaches, Maximilian Hecker, Couch, Chikinki, The Michelles and Raz Ohara.

Louie Austen – Hoping (Herbert's High Dub)
Maximilian Hecker – Dying
Jeans Team – Baby 3
Jahcoozi – Fish
Man Like Me – Oh My Gosh
Richard Davis – Honest With You
Gonzales – Let's Groove Again
Jay Haze – I Can Love You Feat. D:exter
Sportsguitar – Happy Already
Jimi Tenor – Beyond The Stars
Tarwater – All Of The Ants Left Paris
Codec & Flexor – Do What You Want
Sex In Dallas – Lost In La Playa
Raz Ohara – Liberian Girl
Rhythm King And Her Friends – Get Paid Smash Up Mix By Robots In Disguise/I Am X
Rechenzentrum – Absent Minded
Ametsub – Purple Remix
Chikinki – Ether Radio Litwinenko Remix
The Michelles – Springtime
To Rococo Rot – Kritische Masse 1
The Tape vs. RQM – Innocent (e.stonji Remix)
Taylor Savvy – She's Got It
E.stonji – Pantonal Remix
NQ – Mewq Aquatic Deserts Mix
Ed Laliq – Love Can Make You Blind

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0670)

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Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of indie rock artists and bands. Matador was started by Chris Lombardi in 1989 in his New York City apartment. The following year, Lombardi was joined by former Homestead Records manager Gerard Cosloy, and the two of them have run it together since. In 1993, the label began a partnership with Atlantic Records which lasted for a couple of years. Then in 1996, Capitol Records purchased a 49 percent stake in Matador, but Lombardi and Cosloy bought it back in 1999. It has been co-owned by the Beggars Group since 2002 and now operates in both New York and London.

Cat Power – The Greatest
Spoon – I Turn My Camera On
Kurt Vile – Jesus Fever
The New Pornographers – Moves
Boards of Canada – Roygbiv
Yo La Tengo – You Can Have It All
Pizzicato Five – Twiggy Twiggy/Twiggy vs. James Bond
Sonic Youth – Sacred Trickster
Julian Plenti – Only If You Run
Mogwai – I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead
Pavement – Stereo
Esben and the Witch – Marching Song
Perfume Genius – Learning
Harlem – Someday Soon
Shearwater – Rooks
Nightmares On Wax – Fire In The Middle
The Cave Singers – Dancing On Our Graves
Cold Cave – Love Comes Close
Cornelius – Drop
Non Phixion – Refuse To Lose
Fucked Up – Son The Father
Jay Reatard – It Ain’t Gonna Save Me
Guided by Voices – Game Of Pricks
Arsonists – Venom
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Talk About The Blues

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0671)

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[PIAS] Recordings is the recorded music division of the [PIAS] Entertainment Group, a European independent artist and label services company. The record labels that operate under the [PIAS] Recordings umbrella are: Play It Again Sam, Wall of Sound and Different Recordings. Aside from the three London based labels, [PIAS] Recordings has local A&R operations in France, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain and the United States, signing local artists such as Miossec and The Chase in France, Gisbert Zu Knyphausen in Germany, Gabriel Rios and Daan in Belgium, Racoon in Holland and Ojos de Brujos from Spain.

Crystal Castles – Untrust us
Vetusta Morla – Copenhague
Russian Red – Cigarettes
Jurassic 5 – CONCRETE SCHOOLYARD
Rodrigo y Gabriela – Tamacun
Agnes Obel – Riverside
Dorian – Cualquier Otra Parte
Morcheeba – Crimson
Justin Nozuka – After Tonight
Sigur Ros – Sigur 1 (Untitled)
Editors – Papillon
Nouvelle Vague – Ever Fallen In Love
Tunng – Bullets
Joan As Police Woman – The Magic
CocoRosie – Lemonade - Edit
Múm – Green Green Grass Of Tunnel
El Chojin – Rie Cuando Puedas
Mogwai – Auto Rock
Kraak & Smaak – Squeeze Me
Dinosaur Jr. – Pieces
DePedro – Como El Viento
Soulwax – Krack
Junior Jack – Stupidisco
Catpeople – In Silence
Everlast – Folsom Prison Blues

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0672)

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Polyvinyl Record Co. is an American independent record label based in Champaign, Illinois. It has released notable records by Of Montreal, Japandroids, Braid, Mates of State and many others.

Of Montreal – I Feel Ya' Strutter
Loney Dear – Ignorant Boy, Beatiful Girl
Starfucker – Julius
Japandroids – Younger Us
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – Back in the Saddle
Deerhoof – Super Duper Rescue Heads !
American Football – Never Meant
Asobi Seksu – Trails
Architecture In Helsinki – Heart it Races (Trizzy's Rusty Tin Can Mix)
Owen – Abandoned Bridges
Love Is All – Bigger Bolder
Saturday Looks Good To Me – Since You Stole My Heart
Mates of State – Goods
Headlights – Get Going
Sharon Van Etten – I'm Giving Up On You
Braid – This Charming Man
Disappears – Guider
Joan Of Arc – A Tell-Tale Penis
Tu Fawning – Out Like Bats
Rainer Maria – Breakfast of Champions
Sunday's Best – Saccarine
Physical Forms – On the Brink
The Ivory Coast – Swope
Aloha – Moonless March
Pele – The Mind of Minolta

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0673)

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Rough Trade Records is an independent record label, based in London, United Kingdom. It was started in 1978 by Geoff Travis. Rough Trade specialised primarily in European post-punk and other alternative rock of the late 1970s and early 1980s. (...) Rough Trade was an independently owned entity, a partnership between Travis, Jeanette Lee (a former member of Public Image Ltd.), and minority partners Sanctuary Records, as a part of the Zomba Group until June 11, 2002 when BMG bought out this business. In July 2007 Sanctuary Records then sold Rough Trade to the Beggars Group making Rough Trade independent once again. Since its re-birth, Rough Trade has released albums by high-charting artists such as The Strokes, The Libertines, Babyshambles, and Belle & Sebastian.

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Home
Antony & The Johnsons – Hope There's Someone
Belle and Sebastian – I Want The World To Stop
Sufjan Stevens – For The Windows In Paradise, For The Fatherless In Ypsilanti
Warpaint – Undertow
Emiliana Torrini – Jungle Drum
The Libertines – Don’t Look Back Into The Sun
The Decemberists – Don’t Carry It All
The Moldy Peaches – Anyone Else But You
Babyshambles – Fuck Forever
My Morning Jacket – Touch Me I’m Going To Scream Pt. 2
Mystery Jets – Serotonin
Glasser – Apply
Alexander – Truth
Taken By Trees – Sweet Child O' Mine
Forest Fire – Fortune Teller
The Morning Benders – Excuses
Django Django – Storm
Pantha Du Prince – Lay In A Shimmer
Albert Hammond, Jr. – In Transit
Dylan LeBlanc – If The Creek Don’t Rise
The Strange Boys – Be Brave
British Sea Power – Who’s In Control
Emmy The Great – We Almost Had A Baby
The Phenomenal Handclap Band – 15 To 20

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0674)

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Too Pure is a London, United Kingdom-based independent record label that was formed in 1990 by Richard Roberts and Paul Cox. Too Pure is affiliated closely with the Beggars Group and from 1998 was run by Jason White, formerly of Foundry Records, following the departure of founder Richard Roberts. On July 7, 2008, it was announced on its Web site that Too Pure "is no more" and that "the artists currently on those labels will be released through 4AD," yet it will continue operating its Too Pure Singles Club.

Voodoo Queens – Supermodel - Superficial
Tracy + The Plastics – Henrietta
Tim Gane & Sean O’Hagan – La Vie d’Artiste (Generique)
The Octopus Project – Wet Gold
Th’ Faith Healers – This Time
Stereolab – Super Falling Star
Snuff – Do Nothing
Shooting At Unarmed Men – Girls Music
Seefeel – Time To Find Me (afx Fast Mix)
Scout Niblett – Kiss
Scala – Slide
Pram – Loose Threads
PJ Harvey – Dress
Organ – Brother
Murry The Hump – Thrown Like A Stone
Mouse On Mars – Frosch
Monade – Lost Language
Mclusky – Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues
Lonelady – Early The Haste Comes
Laika – Black Cat Bone
Jack – 3 o’ clock In The Morning
It Hugs Back – Early Evening
Future Of The Left – Manchasm
Electrelane – To The East
Die! Die! Die! – Sideways Here We Come

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0675)

THE SOUND OF...

Warp, commonly referred to as Warp Records, is a pioneering independent English record label, founded in Sheffield in 1989, notable for discovering some of the more enduring artists in electronic music. Founded by Steve Beckett and the late Rob Mitchell from their experiences working at the FON record store, alongside record producer, Robert Gordon, the label (whose name was chosen because the original name, 'Warped Records' was difficult to distinguish over the telephone) soon became home to artists who would be influential in electronic music.

Grizzly Bear – Knife
Maxïmo Park – Books From Boxes
Bibio – lovers’ carvings
Battles – Atlas
Jamie Lidell – Little Bit of Feel Good
Born Ruffians – Hummingbird
The Hundred In The Hands – Commotion
Flying Lotus – Breathe Something / Stellar Star
Gang Gang Dance – House Jam
Hudson Mohawke – FUSE
CSS – Knife - Cover Version - Original by Grizzly Bear
Nightmares On Wax – Da Feelin
Band of Horses – Plans - Cover Version - Original By Grizzly Bear
Broadcast – I Found The F
Gonjasufi – Ancestors
Rustie – Inside Pikachu's Cunt
Squarepusher – Star Time 2
Aphex Twin – Children Talking
!!! – AM/FM
Autechre – Altibzz
PVT – Window
Gravenhurst – Nicole
Clark – Ted
Nice Nice – See Waves
Seefeel – Faults

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THE SOUND OF...

XL Recordings is a British independent record label which was launched by Tim Palmer, Nick Halkes and Richard Russell with Beggars Banquet Records in 1989 to release its rave and dance music. The label has grown into one of the most commercially successful and influential independent record labels in the world.

Adele – Rolling In The Deep
M.I.A. – Paper Planes
The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army
Vampire Weekend – White Sky
Prodigy – Smack My Bitch Up
Ratatat – Wildcat
Basement Jaxx – Good Luck (Feat Lisa Kekaula)
The Raconteurs – Steady, As She Goes
Electric Six – Gay Bar
Tyler, The Creator – Yonkers
Dizzee Rascal – Fix Up, Look Sharp
Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie xx – I’ll Take Care Of U
Jack Penate – Pull My Heart Away
The Avalanches – Frontier Psychiatrist
Devendra Banhart – Santa Maria De Feira
Peaches – Fuck The Pain Away
Thom Yorke – Black Swan
The Radio Dept. – Strange Things Will Happen
Friendly Fires – Paris
Giggs – Look What The Cat Dragged In
The Horrors – Who Can Say
Badly Drawn Boy – Something To Talk About
Karen Elson – The Ghost Who Walks
Lemon Jelly – Space Walk
Cajun Dance Party – Amylase

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THE SOUND OF... 

ITALIAN INDIE

Some months ago, I published my personal Top69 italian alternative rock chart (including songs from 90s and 00s). Now it's time for something different: this is a selection of young italian artists and indie labels. Almost all the songs are from the latest two years, some from 2011. Let's say, this is a little photograph of the new wave of italian indie.

(Urtovox Label & Promotion)
A Toys Orchestra – Celentano
Cesare Basile – L'Ordine del Sorvegliante
Beatrice Antolini – Piece Of Moon
(Santeria)
Perturbazione – Buongiorno Buonafortuna
Paolo Benvegnù – Il Mare Verticale
Gatto Ciliegia Contro Il Grande Freddo – Non C'è Più Caffè
(La Tempesta Dischi)
Le Luci Della Centrale Elettrica – Quando tornerai dall'estero
Tre Allegri Ragazzi Morti – Il Mondo Prima
Zen Circus – Andate Tutti Affanculo
Il Teatro Degli Orrori – La Canzone Di Tom
Il Pan Del Diavolo – Pertanto
Sick Tamburo – Parlami per sempre
Giorgio Canali – Nuvole Senza Messico
Moltheni – Petalo
Massimo Volume – Litio
Uochi Toki – Il Ladro
(Ghost Records)
Dente – La presunta santità di Irene
The Mojomatics – Miss Me When I'm Gone
Calibro 35 – Convergere in giambellino
Canadians – A Great Day
Hot Gossip – Everybody Else
(Trovarobato)
Mariposa – Pterodattili
(Tamburi Usati)
Marta Sui Tubi – Cinestetica
Il disordine delle cose – L'astronauta
(Anna the Granny)
Carlot-ta – Make me a picture of the sun

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0678)