Music Listography: Day 1- Top 20 Favourite Bands

I've decided to do a '30 days of' esque theme here on the blog in accordance with the book 'Music Listography: Your Life in (Play) lists'. I don't know how many lists there are because I'm too lazy to count (what's new?)

So, the first list is 'Top 20 Favourite Bands' and this proved to be more difficult than I expected because a)what did they mean by 'band'? exclusively rock groups or are girl groups and boy bands included here as well? and b) do I even like 20 bands?

To answer these questions:
2) I took a leap and said yes to pop groups being included here. It's my list so, whatevs.
b) Turns out, I don't.



On to the list then.

1. Coldplay: need I say more? It's going to be a requirement that any future love interests must love them too (or at least be willing to go to their shows with me).
2. Take That: 10 years ago I didn't really know them. 8 years ago, I hated them. Now, I consider them one of the best groups around.
3. ABBA: defined my 90s childhood and early noughties teen years.
4. Duran Duran: Oh, to be a teen in the 80s *le sigh*
5. End Of Fashion: underrated band. Their second album, Book of Lies, was the soundtrack to my first year at uni.
6. Eskimo Joe: 2006 was the year of the Eskimos for me. I think I listened to Black Fingernails, Red Wine every night that year. Such a perfect album.
7. Florence and the Machine: they're a band, everybody! Flawless and perfect.
8. Franz Ferdinand: A Scottish tour de force. Best memory is opening the first pages of 'A Clockwork Orange' played along side 'The Fallen'.
9. Queen: because of reasons. 
10. Girls Aloud: one of the greatest girl groups to hail from the UK.
11. Bee Gees: those harmonies tho.
12. Scissor Sisters: I love their campy weirdness. Plus, I much prefer their version of 'Comfortably Numb' to Pink Floyd's original. 
13. Sugababes: Like Girls Aloud, you know a group is good when their b-sides are just as coveted as their a-sides.
14. U2; I debated putting them here but 'New Year's Day' kind of sealed the deal for me.
15. The xx: too soon? Maybe. 
16. Phoenix: Dug up their back catalogue post- Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

That's all I have for now. Let me know if you agree/disagree/ are raging about my choices on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr or in the comments

New stuff from old favourites

Coldplay- Every Teardrop is a Waterfall

It is not as good as this:



Or this:



But it is better than this:



And nowhere near as broody as this:



And it also has a sample from 'I Go to Rio' by Peter Allen.

Incredible. I really just want to get up and dance to it. Love the synths, the bit when the beat comes in, Chris's voice. What an uplifting tune and a surefire departure from their earlier work but an evolution of the last album. Begging to be remixed.



Rating: 8/10

Nicola Roberts- Beat of My Drum


It's always the quiet ones. The third Girls Aloud member to go solo, Nicola's debut packs so much more of a punch than Cheryl or Nadine's. She really is the underdog. The drum breakdown at the end is OH so necessary. The bridge almost doesn't fit in with the rest of the song, but after a few listens, you get over it. And that chorus.
Wow. So fierce.
Diplo/Major Lazer worked on this track and were responsible for Beyonce's underwhelming 'Run the World (Girls)' and out of the two, I know which one I'd prefer to listen to.

(Nicola's.)

Rating: 7.5-8/10

Just a little post on Girls Aloud

Ah, GA. I have a love/hate relationship with them. Love their music, but hate (strong word) their personalities (or lack of). Last night, I revisited their 2005 album 'Chemistry' which led to me working on my personal GA playlist. Somewhere between Tangled Up and Out of Control I lost interest which is why I don't have the latter album. Their cruel win over Coldplay at this years Brit Awards didn't help either. Is 'The Promise' a good song? Yes. But was the Best British single of 2008? No. A travesty. It's not that it's not good it's just compared to Viva La Vida, it's a little less. I am becoming more and more enamoured with the song as the days go by.
All this because someone posted the new Cheryl Cole song.
WHY!!?!!?!?