The only list that matters is your own list...

Playlist

Up nice and early...

Today, old chum and, for the past two years now, guitarist in Capital Models and, for considerably longer than that, one half of Impossible Songs, Mr John Barclay is 70 years old.  Which means it's 20 years since his memorable 50th birthday party, which I wrote about here...

Happy Birthday Johnny!!

Listening to yesterday's podcast...

Breakfast...

Also this morning, having yesterday posted this on the BlueSky...

"Thank heavens I can discover music myself these days. Of the supposed “best 84 LPs of 2025 so far”, I have just 5, despite having literally 100s of 2025 releases. So glad I’m not relying on Pitchfork to guide my taste, rather am finding stuff myself across the net…"

This morning, I took a closer look (and, indeed, listen)...

It turned out I had 11 of their 84, not 5...

Based on their "RIYL" notes (Recommended if you like such and such an artist) on each of their chosen 84 LPs, I chose 33 which seemed to fit with my tastes and spent some time sampling those to see if I'd "sign them to my label"...

In true A&R guy style, I listened to the first 30 seconds or so, occasionally giving a second track a chance, then, made my decision...

Those with an asterisk were also recommended to me by BlueSky chums, following my initial post...

Here are the results from the Crispycat jury...

Wednesday* - Yes (loved the sound of the band and the vocal also attracted)

Joanne Robertson - No (studied tweeness)

Algernon Cadwallader - N (liked the music but the vocals were a no)

Blood Orange* - Y (So much hype around this one, which may be why I've avoided it till now but it was, indeed, impressive)

James K - Y (Interesting sound world and good vocals - just what I like)

Lucretia Dalt - Y (well, it has David Sylvian on board) - also took her OST to "Rabbit Trap"

Greg Freeman - N (the voice)

Water From Your Eyes* - N (just missed and no more - the interesting guitar play almost got me)

No Joy - Y (liked the kind of home made electronic grungy guitar sound)

Amaarae - Y (almost a no and would take an instrumental version)

Open Mike Eagle - N (yeah, uh, yeah - no)

U.S. Girls - N (despite being Canadian, it was the baby voice)

S.G. Goodman - Y (the voice and the drums hooked me)

Holden & Zimpel - N (couldn't put my finger on it - just didn't spark for me)

Annahstasia* - Y (was about to be a no and then the tremelo in her voice, initially a turn off, suddenly became appealing)

Lyra Pramuk - N (liked the instrumentation but once again, the vocals meant it was a no)

Addison Rae - N (Gave it 3 tracks - run of the mill pop for teens by numbers - nothing there to put in the Swift/Del Ray/McRae bracket)

Heinali & Andriana-Yaroslava Saienko* - N (Intriguing but the kinda pipes sounds of some of the synths closed the door for me)

Caroline* - Y (just and no more - the seeming chaos of it all somehow attracted me)

Florry - N (loved the music but once again, the vocals made it a no)

Mark Ernestus’ Ndagga Rhythm Force - Y (just loved the weirdness of this - sometimes weirdness is a turn off - also track length was good)

Billy Woods - N (good opening but, rapping so, you know, no)

Nazar - N (interesting sound world but, in the end, not interesting enough)

Florist - Y (great opening but it was all hanging on the vocals - luckily, they were good)

Destroyer - Y (not new to me and I have other stuff - must just have missed this on release)

Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - N (nice piano but just not enough to get it over the line, considering wat else is out there of the same genre, of which I have plenty)

Perfume Genius - N (once again, it was just the voice - so important for me)

YHWH Nailgun - N (Loved the drums and there's loads of potential here but didn't quite make it)

Marie Davidson - N (The dated electronic sound was somehow attractive but not attractive enough to trump the uninspired vocalising)

John Glacier - N (the vocals were too boring) 

Ryan Davis - N (nearly had me with the opening ambience but the sax lost me, then the pedal steel got me again , then, yep, you guessed  it, the vocals...)

Alabaster DePlume* - N (Love the instrumentation, not the voice, sadly)

Sharp Pins* - N (Promising opening but didn't quite make the cut for me)

12/33...

Here are the 11 from their list which I already had:-

Bon Iver

Smerz

Jenny Hval

William Tyler

Barker

Lady Gaga

Panda Bear

Oklou

Benjamin Booker

FKA Twigs

The Weather Station

And I'd already rejected these before seeing their list...

Geese

Adrian Lenker

PinkPantheress (it's not an album!)

And so welcome aboard to:-

Wednesday

Blood Orange

James K

Lucretia Dalt (x2)

No Joy

Amaarae

S.G.Goodman

Annahstasia

Caroline

Mark Ernestus’ Ndagga Rhythm Force

Florist

Destroyer

Post this "decision to sample" 33 more of theirs, I now have 23 rather than 11 of their 84...

Prior to today, none of the 11 I already had made my own Top 84 of 2025 so far...

Of the new 12? Well, we'll see, once I've listened a bit more....

For now though, here are my Top 84. My taste is quite at odds with that of the Pitchfork journos, given that there is not a single LP which makes it onto both of our lists...

I cannot believe they don't rate the likes of Alpha Male Tea Party, Ambrose Akinmusire, any of Eno's 4, Billow Observatory, Brown Spirits, BRUIT<, bunsenburner, GoGo Penguin, either of Goose's 2, Great Lake Swimmers, Hammock, Kneebody, Krokofant, Maya Delilah, The Necks, Nels Cline, either of Pan American's 2, Sparks or We Lost the Sea...

Baffling...

But that is why the only list that matters is your own list...

Anyway, late morning, along to visit Anne's mum...

Decision time...

Fry's Orange Cream...

...this morning too...

...a visit from Willow the Pony, aged 3...

At 11:30, out and Anne headed home, while I took a bus into town...

Two buses down to the Hospice Shop at Cannonmills...

Two books..

...and a 2CD set partaken of...

Another two buses...

...took me to Morningside...

I visited around 10 charity shops there and, along the way, picked these up...

...before taking two more buses home...

As I ripped and listened, the cats over the road were interested in a squirrel...

Listening to the actual CDs in the living room on the excellent wee machine...

The painter visited - the job may start as soon as next week...

By which time wee Luna, our oft visiting cat, will be back with us for a couple of weeks...

Baked potatoes for tea and non "The Diplomat" stuff on TV...

Bed at midnight...

Highlight of the Day : Out and about...

Today's New Music: