Music sites I visit frequently: 
CD now (particularly after finding a coupon here; if you don't want to buy anything, it's still a good site for checking out track listings...) 

Second Spin (used store with good search engine and service) 

Dusty Groove ('hip' store, with hard to find stuff and enthusiastic descriptions) 

Singers 
astrud gilberto (external site - official one focusing on contemporary recordings; another 'fan' page is here) 
Astrud always sounds great to me, whatever she is singing. Well, to qualify that, all she sounds great in all her pre-80s recordings. I haven't actually heard many of her more recent records. However, I will say that her 1985 release, Astrud Gilberto Plus James Last sounds really terrible to me now. How can I describe what attracts me about Astrud? I can't really, without it sounding obvious, but basically, yes, her voice has an amazing detached quality to it which transports the listener, whether she is singing a moody, serious piece like 'berimbau' or a frivolous, jokey one like 'it's a lovely day today'. 

I think I've always been aware of Astrud, through her having sung the hit version of 'girl from ipanema' I guess. But I'm not sure exactly how I came to actually buy her records. Anyway, my stronger interest in her started in about 1996 (year of many musical discoveries for me). 

Particular songs? It's hard to know where to begin. The album 'look to the rainbow' contains some corkers. Just about the only album of hers which I didn't enjoy so much was the one she did with Stanley Turrentine. A couple of great, but slightly harder to get songs are as follows: 1. Her version of 'beginnings', (which is a Chicago song?) is great. This is on the deleted LP, 'September 17, 1969', which I recently ordered on a Japanese cd. But you can also get it on the 'Espresso Espresso' compilation, and, more cheaply, the 'Astrud Gilberto - Talkin' Verve' cd. 2. Astrud sings a great song called 'Who needs Forever' on Quincy Jones's soundtrack to 'the deadly affair' (available on a mercury/verve cd, coupled with 'the pornbroker'). A great, previously unavailable version of this song also appears on the recently reissued 'A certain smile, a certain sadness', which Astrud did with the brilliant Brazilian organist, Walter Wanderley.  I also recently came across Astrud singing in Italian, which was pretty weird, but good. Two tracks from an Italian single appear on the cd 'canto morricone vol.3: the 70s' (bear family records). 

blossom dearie (official site) 
Blossom is a really cool and distinctive singer, and is still gigging and recording now. I love her singing voice, her material, and the cool piano arrangements. I still have to hear most of her stuff, since all I have is a few of the verve reissue cds.  She has released dozens more albums, most of which are available on her own label, daffoldil. 

I think I would be right in saying that Blossom is the only artist I have become interested in after hearing them on a listening post. There was a thunderstorm in New York, I rushed in to Virgin Records, listened to 'give him the ooh la la', and was hooked. 

'they say it's spring' from 'blossom dearie' is great. The tune reminds me of 'theme from a summer place', which I love. 

claudine longet (excellent external site) 
Claudine Longet released some great albums in the late 60s and early 70s. A whispering, sometimes child-like french accent delivered what were the standard hit songs of the day - from Lennon-McCartney tunes through Bacharach, Bossa Nova and film hits. As on so many great late 60s releases on A&M (e.g. Chris Montez, Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, Carpenters), this was all accompanied by a lush orchestral backing and a rich, warm sound. Claudine also distinguished herself by being breathtakingly beautiful and nice in the Peter Sellers film 'The Party' (this also has a great Henry Mancini score). Oh, she was also married to Andy Williams and subsequently shot her next boyfriend dead, but that's boring. 

I got really into Claudine just about 2 years ago, after many more years of seeing her records and not buying them. 

'Claudine' was my first album by her, and I'm still nuts about 'meditation' and 'here, there and everywhere' from this one. Some of her other Beatles covers are a bit ropey though... (eg 'good day sunshine' and 'when I'm sixty-four'). Also very highly recommended are 'how insensitive' and 'manha de carnival' from 'the look of love'. There are CDs available, although they are all Japanese pressings. A recently-released A&M 'best of' looks very good. 

france gall (slightly inadequate external site, but there doesn't seem to be a good site in existence) 
France Gall is one of those singers who kept on going and going, and therefore has released many records which aren't really for me (ie her 80s output). But her 60s French stuff (she also sung in German a lot) is great. If I could ever find her records, I might know a bit more about her... 

I got into her a couple of years ago by following up my interest in Serge Gainsbourg, whose songs she often sang. 

Those cool, jazzy ones are great - 'le couer qui jazze', 'pense a moi', 'jazz au gogo'. I'm also very into her sugary pop songs - eg 'christiansen'. I have all these on a good french cd comp 'poupee de cire, poupee de son'. 

julie london (external site) 
My interest in Julie London has escalated this year to the extent that I am now really nutty about her. Beyond reason, almost. She is my favorite female singer by some distance. I don't really find her 'sexy', which seems to be what most people like about her (witness all the LPs with cheesecake covers selling for $20+ on ebay). I just think she is wonderful. The way she whispers slightly when she sings. It kills me, honestly. And through 20+ LPs, she always maintained extremely high standards. 

I became aware of Julie in 1996 and bought the uk 'best of the liberty years' cd. I didn't take things much further, since this compilation was filled with material slightly in the 'show-tune; style, which is not to my taste. Early in 1998, I realized how fantastic almost all her other records are, and started buying them with a rabid hunger (see my wants list for those I'm still looking for). 

'the end of a love affair', which I have on that 'best of the liberty years' cd is fantastic. If I list all my other favorites, it will go on forever. Instead, I will say that ''round midnight' and 'your number please' are particularly good albums. 

lee hazlewood (external site) 
People are finally talking about Lee right now, as there are finally going to be some legitimate CD reissues, on the US smells like records label. I love Lee for his humour, great studio technique, and simple, economical song writing. His influence has been huge. Obvious disciples amongst my favorites are Slowdive, Tindersticks, Gallon Drunk, Nick Cave. 

I tried to get into Lee for years before I found any records by him. I got interested originally after the north London band 'earls of suave' released a cover of his song 'a cheat' (originally recorded by Sanford Clark). My interest became stronger when my other North London favorites, Gallon Drunk, covered 'Look at that Woman' on their 'Bedlam' single. Still, it took until 1996 before I found my first LP, 'trouble is a lonesome town'. 

'She comes running', 'by the way' and 'for one moment' are particular favorites of mine, but I think if you like one, you will probably like them all. 

scott walker (external site; another is here) 
For a few years, I didn't get into Scott's solo work, as I wasn't too fond of the solo tracks on the cd compilation I had ('No regrets...'). How wrong I was! I heard the US compilation 'It's raining again', and am now fully converted. 'Scott 3' is such an outstandly beautiful album, with its rich strings and dramatic songs. Some people find Scott's crooning depressing and over the top, but you can't help but be affected by it... 

I think I came to Scott through Nick Cave and Julian Cope, who are obviously very keen on him. 

Key songs for me are 'Rosemary' and 'Two Ragged Soldiers', both from 'Scott 3', which is issued on cd by fontana (uk). 

serge gainsbourg (beautifully designed external site) 
Gainsbourg was an adventurous and experimental artist, starting in jazz, and then dabbling latin jazz, pop, rock, reggae, and finally, late 80s sythesizer rap. While I don't enjoy all his work, the stuff that I do like, I love. Bit like David Bowie in that way. I recently discovered that as well as his films, songs and paintings, Serge wrote a novel, called 'Evguenie Sokolov'. I will have to check it out. It seems that Serge had an interesting life, waiting a long time for his fame, working his body pretty hard all the way. In a bid to learn more, I tried reading the recently published 'view from the exterior' biography, but didn't come away much the wiser. In my opinion, the biography was abysmally written, and also badly structured, with little precision or chronology. To add to this, the author didn't seem to have much respect or liking for his subject. So all in all, not a fun read. 

I'm not sure exactly how I got into Serge. I guess that like many people, he got a lot of attention suddenly after he died (in 1991). I know I admired him without really knowing much of his stuff other than 'je t'aime'. And I know I have been interested in French pop and culture for a long time. And then one day in early 1996 I stumbled on a 2 CD set at a car boot sale, and that was it... 

Key songs for me are 'manon' (doomy, orchestral masterpiece) and 'la javanaise'. The three Philips CD compilations ('comic strip', 'du jazz dans le ravin', 'couleur cafe') are all quite superb. This is fortunate, since the vinyl LPs seem to be almost impossible to find (the only pre-1975 LP I've ever seen was in poor condition and priced at around $80). 

Film/orchestral composers and/or arrangers 
Alvino Rey 
From what I know, Alvino Rey had an extremely varied recorded output. Originally a conventional band leader, Alvino was a steel guitar innovator, using the instrument to great effect with a big orchestra. The few records I have by him are very different. My favorite is 'My Reverie' on Decca, on which Alvino plays with wordless vocal accompaniment the Jud Conlon Rhythmaires. The effect is incredibly hypnotic and beautiful, making this one of my favorite records of all time. 

I picked up on Alvino Rey through the 'Incredibly Strange Music' books, finally finding some stuff in Philadelphia in 1997. 

Unfortunately there is hardly any Rey on CD. A couple of 'swinging big band plus sound effects on the steel guitar' tracks appear on the Capitol Ultra Lounge series, but it's really high time there was a proper retrospective of this guy. I would recommend everything on 'My reverie', particularly 'flamingo'. 

bob crewe (no external site seems to exist) 
Bob Crewe is probably most famous for the 'Barbarella' soundtrack. Well, that and being a song writer and the producer of the group 'the four seasons'. As I understand it, he did some great pop orchestral LPs in the sixties under his own name, and then some disco stuff, and then had some kind of car accident and hasn't done much since. I find his particular brand of cool, well-produced and slightly spacey orchestral pop absolutely brilliant. I haven't heard his disco stuff, but would like to... I was also amazed to discover today that Bob Crewe was the producer of that great girl group record which rips off some Bach Minuet: 'A Lover's Concerto' by the Toys. 

I always guessed that Bob Crewe might be my kind of thing, but the LPs were always out of my price range until I found 'music to watch birds by' for $2 in Atlanta. What a fantastic record... Other than that, all I have is 'music to watch GIRLS by', and the barbarella soundtrack. 

Key tracks for me are 'winter warm' and his incredible version of Jackie Gleason's 'melancholy serenade' on the 'birds' album, and a cool fuzz guitar take on the latin american standard, 'Anna', on the 'girls' album. 

burt bacharach (external site) 
I was never that into Burt, feeling that his stuff was overplayed and not all to my taste. But I had mostly heard cover versions of his stuff. I actually prefer it when he does it himself. Some of the words are great, but I am more into the music, and really enjoy the sparse instrumental versions found on the German polydor 'easy loungin' compilation. 

Like most people, I feel like I have known Bacharach's stuff forever, and I came across it a lot as soon as I started getting really into collecting pre-80s records back in 1996. But I have only started to really rate him since I bought the compilation mentioned above. 

Very keen on 'walk the way you talk', 'south american hideaway', to be honest, most instrumental versions of his songs - even the otherwise cheesy ones like 'raindrops keep falling on my head'. 

ennio morricone (external site) 
I haven't yet got into Morricone's most popular stuff - the western soundtracks. But I find his 60s and 70s pop work (as featured on the canto morricone cds) and his 60s and 70s soundtrack work (as featured on the mondo morricone cds) truly incredible. 

My brother used to play me 'chai mai' when I was young; other than that, what led me to pursue my interest was Roy Budd's version of 'hurry to me' (available on the excellent 'the sound spectrum' compilation, aka 'metti una cera a cena'), a theme so insistent that you feel like you've known it forever. 

Key songs for me are 'se telefonando' (sung by Mina, available on the cd compilation 'Canto Morricone vol 1') and 'ritratto d'autore' (available on the cd compilation 'mondo morricone'). 

eumir deodato 
There seem to be many different sides to Deodato's work. He is probably best known as a West Coast Jazz guy who played electric piano on several early 70s albums, most famously 'Prelude', which contained the first 'funky' version of the 2001 theme, adapted from Strauss's 'Also Sprach Zarathrustra'. But he had a substantial career before and after that, and is still working hard, as far as I can tell. Interestingly, he was involved with some of the arrangments and orchestrations on Bjork's latest LP, 'homogenic'. He also did arrangements for lots of other LPs in the 60s and 70s, such as Marcos Valle's 'Samba 68', and Astrud Gilberto's album with Stanley Turrentine. The stuff I'm most interested in however is the 60s material he produced in Rio de Janeiro, both under his own name and with his band, Os Catedraticos. This has recently been made available on CD through the Spanish label Blue Moon Productions. It is well worth tracking down - the stuff I have found so far has great warm, mancini-influenced arrangements, but in a tastefully percussive combo. Really great stuff. I suspect Deodato may have gone a bit new age in the late 70s and 80s, but I have not yet confirmed this. 

I became interested in Deodato through Astrud Gilberto, although it took quite a while to actually track anything down. 

Hard to choose individual songs, but the album ''Impulso' is probably the best thing by him I have - organ heavy, happy, groovy stuff. 

esquivel (external site) 
Much of what I could say about Esquivel has been said already, so I won't say too much. His music is an acquired taste, but once you acquire it, you're hooked. That's not to say that I listen to it every day at the breakfast table, but sometimes it is just the ticket. I'm big on American standards, love brass and piano, and favour interesting arrangements, so I guess I was always going to like Esquivel. I particularly like his use of the slide guitar (influenced by, and then actually featuring Alvino Rey). I'm also big on wordless vocals. 

I can't claim to have picked up on the esquivel vibe any sooner than when the 'space age bachelor pad music' compilation came out (1995 or 1996?). 

I was always very keen on the 'other worlds, other sounds' LP, and in particular the tracks 'granada' and 'night and day'. But I enjoy lots of his work; other highlights include 'Baia' from 'Infinity in sound vol 2', featuring the fantastic whistling of Muzzy Marcellino. 

henry mancini (external site) 
Mancini deserves his great reputation - he was a versatile and stylish composer. But looking at summaries of his career irritates me, because people always use things like academy awards as reference points. If you do that, then the best things Mancini wrote were 'moon river' and 'the days of wine and roses'. I would not agree with this, and the pink panther theme is pretty tired now too. On the other hand, the score to 'experiment in terror' is a stunning piece of doomy orchestral mood music, the two 'Peter Gunn' LPs are fantastically varied crime Jazz albums, and his 'the Party' soundtrack is a swinging and fun as the film itself. So it's a shame that for a long time it has been his slushier stuff that has been reissued. Fortunately this is changing, with a series of European RCA reissues of original soundtracks, and a hip compilation, 'martinis with mancini'. 

Have been aware of Mancini for as long as I can remember, although it took until about 1995 for me to find a record by him which wasn't a sucky compilation of sugary 70s vocal chorus pieces. 

I love the 'experiment in terror' theme. I expect Gallon Drunk have heard this too. Other than that, my favorites are 'birdie num num' from 'the party', 'megeve' from 'charade', just about all of 'Peter Gunn' and 'More music from Peter Gunn', and 'Softly' from 'Mr Lucky'. 

joe meek (external site) 
Joe Meek defies categorization. He was chiefly a producer rather than a performing artist, but since his stuff is currently available on multi-artist 'joe meek' compilation cds, I will talk about it all here. The story is told much better than I could tell it on the above-linked site, so briefly: the guy was a pioneer, working on his own in a cramped flat in the 60s. This led to lots of unusual sounds, and some brilliantly odd records, which sound both complex and primitive simultaneously. A proportion of his output was in a 50s pop style which now sounds rather dated, but there are numerous gems in there. 

Became aware of Joe circa 1996. How? Not sure. Probably the exotica mailing list. 

Personal favorites are: 'georgia on my mind' - peter cook, 'there's something I've got to tell you baby' - Glenda Collins and 'johnny, remember me' by John Leyton. '304 holloway road' (us sequel) and 'the amazing world of joe meek (us razor and tie) are both quite good compilations, although if you took the best tracks from both, you could have a really great compilation! 

john barry (external site) 
I'm very big on John Barry, although as with lots of prolific artists, not everything he did is to my taste. I have loved his twangy spy sound for some time, and his early John Barry Seven/Beat Girl era work is also cool, in a fifties kind of way. On a completely different note, I recently bought a deeply uncool looking Barry compilation - 'the very best of' on polydor. I got it in order to hear the 'walkabout' theme, which haunted me for months after I saw the excellent Nick Roeg film. 'the very best of' turned out to be a compilation of three orchestral albums he did on polydor in the early seventies. I'm sure I wouldn't have liked this three years ago, but now it sounds just great! It's pretty slow though. Perhaps I'm getting old. I found out recently that John Barry was married to - and had a child with - none other than Jane Birkin, actress, singer and wife of Serge Gainsbourg. 

The Bond films are so ingrained in today's culture that I have been aware of and interested in John Barry for a long time - probably more strongly since the early 90s, when I was into more modern, twangy, Barry-influenced stuff. 

That 1972 version of the 'walkabout' theme still kills me, but I have never met anyone else who likes it, and my former flatmate Daniel, who is normally a musical ally, described it as 'dreadful'. Or he might have said 'dogshit', I can't remember. Another notable track on the polydor 'very best of' cd is 'this way mary', which was sampled by the band Chapterhouse to form the basis of their 1991 single 'mesmerise'. Otherwise, 'the knack' theme is incredible (one good way to get hold of this is on the excellent various artists soundtrack compilation cd, 'cocktail mix vol. 4: soundtracks with a twist' on rhino), as is much of the material on the EMI/Scamp CD 'the emi years vol 3'. 

lalo schifrin (external site) 
Lalo Schifrin is right up there with John Barry as a heavily sampled and still alive artist. One prominent example of this was the Portishead song 'sour times', which was derived from the song 'the chelsea memorandum' from Lalo's album 'more mission impossible'. From the scant availability of his records, I would say most people think Lalo is pretty cool, and from what I have heard, I think they are right. Unfortunately, this heavy interest has forced many of his records out of my price range, but I still have a few things by him which I really enjoy. As a sideman, Lalo contributed to some great projects, such as Quincy Jones's 'Big Band Bossa Nova' (which was recently reissued on cd) and Jimmy Smith's 'The Cat'. In his own name, he did a great deal of soundtrack work (such as 'the liquidator', 'mission: impossible' and 'dirty harry') as well as some jazz albums. All I own is the excellent 'there's a whole lalo schifrin goin on' and a later, disco-inspired effort. Both are good, actually. What I like about Schifrin is the clean, sharp sound of his records, and his excellent arrangements. Basically, the guy almost always succeeds in having a 'cool' sound... 

I guess I came across Lalo Schifrin back in the early 90s when I was exploring TV themes. Took quite a few years before I found any of his records though... 

'Secret code' on 'there's a whole lot...' is a real winner. As you will have gathered, though, there is a shedload of stuff I don't know, so don't take my recommendations too seriously. 

leo diamond (external site) 
Leo Diamond is a bit of a mystery man - one of those great innovators who made lots of interesting records which the world has now forgotten about. Leo was (is? I guess not) a harmonica player, and put out some great experimental albums in the late 50s on the abc/paramount label. They could be like other orchestral albums, with a versions of a selection of american standards. But on Leo's records, there are always incredible sound effects, and usual instrumentation. One of the nicest record items I own is a copy of Leo's 1956 (?) LP 'subliminal sounds', complete with a moving eye image on the front. 

I'm sure I became aware of Leo through the exotica mailing list, although I'm not sure when exactly. 

His version of 'Laura', on 'subliminal sounds', is remarkable, taking the lyrical motif of a train as a cue to introduce the actual sound of a train into the song! Leo adds a theramin to his harmonica sound, and the result is quite remarkable. 

les baxter (external site) 
To me, Les Baxter really was a genius, and his is an interesting case of how the history books can tell a different story to what is really out there. I have a faber 'a-z of popular music', which came out in 1994 or 5, just before the 'exotica'/'easy listening' revival. The Les Baxter entry says something like: "enjoyed considerable success in the early fifties with pop orchestral versions of songs like 'the poor people of paris' and 'unchained melody'; later did some film work". In view of Les's versatility and what is now widely known about his role in the development of 'exotica' - polynesian/world music-influenced jazz, featuring unusual instrumentation and sounds, this entry is remarkable for what it fails to mention. I enjoy the many facets of Les's work which I have so far discovered - in particular: his dark, 'jungle' jazz from the late fifties; his light, tropical rock-orchestral hybrid album, 'que mango'; his funky, hip, fuzz-guitar filled 'hell's belles' soundtrack. 

Les came to my attention courtesy of the exotica mailing list, at some point in 1996. Unfortunately Les himself died at around this time. 

'Go Chango' from 'Jungle Jazz' sounds like it's from a Lynch soundtrack (that means I think it's cool), while 'jungle montuno' from Que Mango is a cool jet-set type airline piece. 

Bands and related artists 
billy bragg (external site) 
Billy is my favorite lyricist, and has made some great records. He has mellowed a bit now, but is still doing interesting stuff. The raw, vocals and electric guitar style of 'life's a riot with spy vs spy' (incorporated on 'back to basics') can be very affecting. I also enjoy is softer pop tunes very much, from songs like 'the saturday boy' and 'a lover sings' on 'back to basics', to the entire 'worker's playtime' album (now available coupled with 'talking with the taxman about poetry' on 'victim of geography'. 

Some favorite lyrics: 

So many great songs. For starters, 'the saturday boy', 'valentine's day is over', 'the only one', 'she's got a new spell', 'brickbat'. He's a genius, if you really want to know. 

cocteau twins (external site) 
The cocteau twins' output could hardly be described as 'varied', but I still love it. Since I got into them quite late (around 1990), I am particularly into the 'heaven or las vegas' and 'four calendar cafe' stuff. Some of the songs are just beautiful, with layered synth sounds, incredible vocals etc. Probably not for people who are into lyrics though! 

I guess I got into the Cocteaus because they fit in well with New Order and other 'indie' stuff I was into back then. 

My favourite track is probably 'aikea guinea', a single which is available on the compilation 'the pink opaque'. 'bluebeard' from 'four calendar cafe' is also excellent. As is most of their stuff. 

gallon drunk (it seems that no adequate external site exists) 
Gallon Drunk are probably the 'hardest' thing I listen to, alongside Nick Cave perhaps. I truly love their first album, 'You, the night and the music', and am sure it will be thought of as a lost classic in the future. A few people (eg NME, Melody Maker, Morrissey) championed Gallon Drunk when they were first out, but most people seem to have forgotten them now. I must admit that I preferred their sound as it was on that first album to how it is now. To me, they captured a perfect blend of 50s twanginess, hypnotic punk, and menacing David Lynch-style mood. After that album, they did two more, 'from the heart of town' and 'in the long still night', neither of which appealed to me quite as much. Both are still good records though, and have their moments. There is also a compilation of early releases called 'tonight...the singles bar'. It has a great cover, but is a little bit too raucous for my tastes. All in all though, this band have been a huge influence on me. 

I became interested in Gallon Drunk in my first term at university, when my roommate played me the aforementioned album. I remember with great fondness the gig I went to at Edwards no. 8 in Birmingham on 27th October '92. Absolutely brilliant. 

'Some fool's mess' is their most famous song, and one of their best. But every track on 'you and the night and the music' is a winner. Although I've never heard anyone else say this, I detect a definite Joy Division influence in some of their songs, particularly on 'just one more', one of my favorites from the LP. Other favorites are 'bedlam', and the superb 'traitor's gate' ep from 1995. 

johnny cash (external site) 
Johnny Cash - big recording star. I'm not an expert on his recordings, although I have read up on his life. In spite of my love of heavily orchestrated music, I do sometimes appreciate the one man and a guitar thing. I have got very into the live prisons albums - Fulsom and St Quentin (which are available on a columbia compilation cd). The words are amusing and entertaining, and some of the songs are really great. 

My interest in Johnny Cash probably comes from my love of Nick Cave. My friend Marc awakened my interest last year when he raved about the 'prisons' stuff to me. 

'Long black veil' is great, otherwise I still love 'fulsom prison blues' in which Johnny reveals that he 'shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die' (the prisoners all cheer at this point). 

joy division (external site) 
Musically, Joy Division are probably the simplest thing I listen to. But it's not all about being musical, eh... Their sound is incredibly powerful and moving, something which I think they kept on in the early new order albums, even without Ian Curtis. Some of the wailing stuff on 'unknown pleasures' is a bit much for me, and I think the live album 'still' is of interest only as a historical document. Very big on Closer though. 

I got into Joy Division back in 1990, almost 10 years after Ian Curtis's death brought the band to a premature end. I'm only young, so don't hold it against me! I think I was already into New Order, and since I prefered early new order, it made sense to go back. 

I remember 'transmission' being the first song which really hit me. 'disorder' and 'insight' still retain their power for me as well. As does the whole of the 'closer' album. Even the crap punk stuff on 'substance' is entertaining, and this compilation also features great songs like 'dead souls'. 

julian cope (external site) 
There is a certain mood to Julian Cope's music which I love. He often employs a technique in which a short, simple musical phrase is repeated constantly in the background, providing a hypnotic effect (e.g. in 'Charlotte Ann' (from the 1986 album 'My Nation Underground') and 'Jellypop Perky Jean' (from the 1991 album Peggy Suicide). I haven't become immersed in his new age/stone circles ideas, but I don't think that's necessary to appreciate his music. He is a very underrated artist; his small but dedicated fanbase is slightly at odds with the excellent distribution his records seem to get. Hence, you can pick up some great albums very cheaply and easily, since they are frequently overstocked... 

I was actually into things like 'five o'clock world', 'china doll' etc when they were out. This is quite unusual for me, as I'm usually very late with things. 

Incredibly, the latest Cope compilation - Island's 'Leper Skin- an introduction to Julian Cope' - contains almost exactly the tracks which I would have chosen - even down to including that fantastic b-side, 'crazy farm animal'. A particular favorite is 'Charlotte Ann', but I'm basically up for most Teardrop Explodes (eg. passionate friend, the great dominions) and Cope (particularly Jehovakill and Peggy Suicide; I also think 'Floored Genius' is a great compiliation). 

lloyd cole 
I have been a big fan of Lloyd Cole's 'commotions' LPs since the mid eighties. Hearing them now fills me with nostalgia for that time, but the songs are great in their own right - catchy, tight pop songs with a beautifully clear production and stirring lyrics. I probably slightly prefer the first two albums ('rattlesnakes' and 'easy pieces') to the third, 'Mainstream', but they are all excellent. After the band split, I'm afraid my loyalty went out of the window, and while there are a couple of good tracks, I have never given much time to Lloyd's solo work. 

I was listening Lloyd Cole alongside the Smiths, a less fashionable combination than Cure-Smiths, but one which feels perfectly natural to me. I think my older brothers Mike and Jeremy influenced me here, as did my friend Edmund. 

'Why I love country music' from Easy Pieces stands out as a persistently memorable track. Oddly enough, the only songs I'm not so keen on from the entire Commotions opus are amongst the most popular and well known - 'lost weekend' and 'jennifer she said'. 

momus (external site) 
I'm not crazy on Momus - I only really became interested after seeing him live in 1998, but I do think he is great performer. 

Was aware of 'haristyle of the devil' when it was out. Didn't think much of it. Interest was revived by a big fan back in 96. 

I think 'ping Pong' and 'The little red songbook' are very effective albums. Can't say I put them on every day, but they are clever, and 'MC Escher, the impossible rapper' always gets a laugh. 

morrissey (external site) 
Most Smiths fans don't like Morrissey, but to be honest, I hold some of his solo work in just as high esteem as the classic Smiths recordings. I'm not sure that this is a completely rational point of view. It may well in fact be because while the Smiths broke up just before I began to like them, I was able to buy Moz's solo records as they came out. I don't really have any interest in his latest stuff though. The last thing I bought and loved was 'Vauxhall & I' from 1994. This, to me, was an absolute winner, along with 1992's 'Your Arsenal'. I'm not going to deny that 'kill uncle' was a pig of an album, and personally, I found 'southpaw grammar' unlistenable, but this doesn't spoil his other work. 

See the Smiths for how I got so terribly into this man. 

'I know it's gonna happen some day', from 'your arsenal', is my favorite morrissey song. About 80% of the albums 'Your Arsenal' and 'Vauxhall & I' are great though. Otherwise, 'everyday is like sunday', 'sister, I'm a poet' and 'mute witness' are favourites, along with 'pashernate love', the b-side to 'you're the one for me, fatty'. 

my bloody valentine 
I don't really know what people think of My Bloody Valentine. It seems that everyone has heard of them, but that not many people have actually heard them. From the records I have, it would probably be best to avoid hearing most their earlier recordings from before they signed to Creation records, although this may be unfair. I think both creation albums, 'isn't anything' and 'loveless' are great, although I think 'loveless' is more consistent. Even the label themselves, who dropped the band after it was released, seem to now be acknowledging it as a classic, including it in their recent reissue series. I think the band is truly unique. Although they have many disciples and imitators, no other band has been able to make warped guitar effects sound so consistently beautiful. 

Mark Samuels introduced me to the band properly - before I met him, all I had heard was 'soon' on the radio. 

'Only shallow' and 'blown a wish' from 'loveless' are incredible, as are 'sueisfine' and 'lose my breath' from 'isn't anything'. 

new order (external site) 
New Order are the band that I ignored for many years, put off by what I saw as over-commercial records in a tacky dance style. But I was quickly persuaded when friends played me 'brotherhood' and 'movement', and I remember at age 17 being obsessed with the 'power corruption and lies' album. I find the stripped down, atmospheric style completely mesmerising. 

I got into New Order in early 1990, influenced by my friends James and Robert. My interest was later re-kindled by my friend Mark. 

Important tracks for me are 'age of consent', 'procession' and 'cries and whispers. 

nick cave (external site) 
I was very, very, very into Nick Cave 3 years ago. I'm now less into him, but still feel his influence around me, and enjoy a lot of his work. Somewhat unfashionably, I never got very into the Birthday Party's stuff, and instead favour the bad seeds' albums 'the good son', 'henry's dream' and 'let love in'. I like his story telling style and the way it is melded with different musical styles on these albums - eg Brazilian music on 'the good son', and neo-goth rock on 'henry's dream'. I bought his latest offering, 'the boatman's call', and queued up to have the great man sign it himself. Unfortunately I don't like it at all - to me, he has lost his edge. Also worthy of mention is the covers album he did in 1986, 'kicking against the pricks', which was a big influence on me in general, encouraging me to open my mind and look beyond 'indie rock' and 'fifties stuff', which I was then a bit stuck in... 

Oddly enough, I got into Nick Cave through my interest in the little-known north London swampy guitar/maracas/sax/organ combo, Gallon Drunk. They like him, I like them, so I thought I would probably like him. Same old story - it can often work that way... 

My favourite songs are 'foi na cruz', 'john finn's wife', 'loom of the land', 'papa won't leave you henry'... And I think their versions of 'in the ghetto' and 'the carnival is over' are fantastic. And 'sad waters' from 'your funeral, my trial' is a masterpiece. 

nick drake (external site) 
Lots of people (like me, for example) are now discovering Nick Drake. So many that I can't help thinking it's a shame that more people didn't 'discover' him when he was alive. I enjoy each of his three albums, particularly the beautifully orchestrated songs on 'Bryter Later' and the lonely, haunting strains of 'pink moon'. 

A friend played me nick drake for the first time about 3 years ago, but it wasn't until I came across a vinyl copy of 'bryter later' that my interest took off. I now have the cd box set, although the best of, 'way to blue', strikes me as one of the more impressive 'best of's on the market. 

The instrumental 'introduction' which opens 'bryter later' is enchanting. I'm also big on 'things under the sun' from 'pink moon' and 'fly' from bryter later. 

pale saints (external site) 
The pale saints were a big group for me around 1990-92. Then the lineup changed and they became considerably less musically interesting. They did do two great albums though, 'the comforts of madness' and 'in ribbons'. A friend of mine described the latter as ''my bloody valentine' at half speed', but I think there is more to it than that. I still think this band never got the attention they deserved. And a whole lot of my friends feel the same way, so there! 

My getting into the pale saints was thanks entirely to my friend Robert. Thank you, Robert. 

'1000 stars burst open', the final track on 'in ribbons', is fantastic, as is 'throwing back the apple', the opener on the same album. But you basically have to get hold of both their albums. I mean the first two. They did another later, but it wasn't really up to the same standard. 

santo & johnny (external site) 
Santo & Johnny were the young New York instrumental duo who brought the world the instantly recognisable tune 'sleepwalk'. They went on to make several more great records. Very little has been written about them, and only one cd compilation (which in my opinion has an inappropriate track listing for a 'best of') is available. I love their use of the steel guitar, particularly on the more exotic or pop-based tunes, as opposed to the overtly rock'n'roll influenced tracks. 

I'm not certain as to how my interest in Santo & Johnny came about, and I have pursued it completely on my own. It my have been when the tune 'sleepwalk' was used in the film '12 Monkeys' 

'sleepwalk' still sounds great, as does its follow-up, 'teardrop', But then there's also 'slave girl' from 'santo & johnny' (this track also appears on the album 'around the world with...', renamed 'Cairo'), lots of great sea-themed stuff on 'Off Shore', and my favorite version of 'the breeze and I', on 'Encore'. 

slowdive (external site) 
Slowdive have a cult following these days, I believe, and their records command a high price. They were a great band, with a wonderful guitar sound - really beautiful. I am not so big on their second album, souvlaki, but then again, I'm hardly an expert. They have now mutated into 'Mojave 3', and I saw them in London last year. It was a great show, although the songs show a heavy nick drake influence. It is nice to see a good band now getting some respect, since they were widely mocked when they were still going. 

Mark Samuels is pretty much responsible for my continuing interest in Slowdive, although I did buy the 'morningrise' single when it was out. 

'Morningrise' is probably still my favourite song, although much of the first album 'just for a day' is great. Later than that, 'souvlaki space station' is cool, I like 'Alison', and also the track 'blue sky an clear' from the album 'pygmalion'. 

the smiths (external site) 
The smiths were the band I listened to for 90% of the time when I was aged 14-18. I sort of wish I had explored more other groups back then, but don't get me wrong - I still think the smiths were a great band. It's just that liking them was sometimes more about some kind of cult religion than about music. I don't know why, but you just kind of get sucked in. 

I got into them after hearing my older brother playing them. At first I was sceptical, but then quickly realized they were the coolest thing in the world. 

My favourite tracks are 'that joke isn't funny anymore', 'last night I dreamt that somebody love me' and 'stop me if you think that you've heard this one before' 

spanky & our gang (external site) 
The external link here is to a crappy, pompous mini-biog from the all music guide, which was all that was available. I should really do a proper site for this band, because they were SUPERB. Absolutely brilliant. Sorry to be so excitable about this, but I only discovered them a couple of weeks ago (it's now March 99), and I love them. Well orchestrated, lazy, summer-y hippy pop masterpieces. Fantastic. 

I'm truly embarrassed to admit this, but CDNow's recommendation computer came up with Spanky & our Gang for me (not sure why - perhaps because I had bought Nick Drake...?). I didn't buy it from then, but when I saw it a couple of weeks later for $5, I thought - why not. 

I only have one cd - Spanky's greatest hit(s). Not a bad track on it, but particuarly good are 'lazy day', 'I like to get to know you'. Whole thing is excellent though. 

spiritualized (external site) 
Spiritualized are the most successful of the groups to have come out of the band spacemen 3. Musically, they are a very simple band, using basic blues chords. But they counter this with a great, slightly druggy sound, reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine, but less warped. On their third and latest album, 'ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space', they experiment with fuller orchestrations to great effect. Although I find the drug-dominated lyrics pretty unimpressive, I am usually seduced by the sound and mood of their records. I still regard their debut, 'lazer guided melodies' as a classic album, although I wish it had also included the hard-to-get 'anyway that you want me' (the band's first single). I never got the second LP, and was slightly bemused by all the attention which was lavished on the third one, but I do love some of the songs on it. 

I liked 'anyway that you want me' when I heard it, but didn't really get into the band until the end of 1992. 

My favorite tracks are 'Anyway that you want me' (single), 'You know its true', 'If I were with her now' from the first album and 'Broken Heart' from the third album. 

suede (official site) 
I guess Suede are now pretty much a commercial stadium rock band, which seems a bit strange to me. Like many other Smiths fans, I took a look at what they were doing in 1992 and was quite impressed. A bit more of a glam sound, perhaps, and I wasn't sure about the lyrics, but they still had some great songs, and an outstandingly creative guitarist. Cut to now, and they have fewer good songs and a new guitarist, while the old one has a solo album out which seems inexplicably to be similiar to, but even less interesting than Lloyd Cole's solo stuff. Strange. Still, they can't kill the records they made, and there are still occasional gems in the new material. Overall, I found the third album, 'coming up' to be a bit polished for my taste, but Brett still has the ability to capture a mood, and 'by the sea', 'picnic by the motorway', and even 'trash' still have an effect on me. It's strange, I understand people's criticisms of this band as fake and pretentious, but I still find them interesting. Update: I bought 'Electricity', the new single. Can't stand it. Oh well... 

The early music press hype, with its smiths comparisons was responsible for me getting into Suede. 

'My insatiable one', 'my dark star', and 'stay together' are probably my favourite tracks, although I like most of the songs on the first two albums. 

super furry animals 
Super furry Animals stirke me as being one of the few really inventive bands around today. While they are in many ways 'now', you can also hear the presence of incluences like David Bowie and Velvet Underground. I am less into the rocker tracks, and more into t he poppier ones, or the ones with weird noises and prominent keyboard. They have also come on a lot as a live act, and were very creative and interesting when I saw them in November 1998.  Stope press May 99: apparently their new single is excellent.  A new album comes out next month. 

A friend played me 'hometown unicorn' in summer 1996, and it all went on from there... 

Favorites are 'Hometown Unicorn' (from the first album, 'fuzzy logic'), the welsh language b-sides to the singles 'Hermann loves Pauline' and 'If you don't want me to destroy you', and the recent single 'Ice hockey hair'. 

tindersticks (external site) 
For a few years, I couldn't really figure out whether I liked like Tindersticks or not... I followed the band closely when they first rose to fame in 1993. I thought they were just right for me - cinematic, twangy - like the songs 'her' and 'milky teeth'. But then I bought the first album, and it wasn't really like that at all, and I was disappointed. I didn't pay much attention to them for a while, until I happened to hear the second album. My tastes had matured/expanded slightly, and their doomy orchestral pop sound had also developed. So now I'm quite keen on them, although I still have reservations about Stuart's voice. Great live band though. 

A friend played me 'her' from an early peel session. I thought it sounded like Gallon Drunk, and so eagerly bought everything I could get by them (I'm ashamed to say that I later sold lots of it. I did give some away to a friend who was a big fan though). 

'Marbles' is a great track (first album); beyond that, 'my sister' on the second album is superb. And 'a marriage made in heaven', the ballad they did with Isabella Rossalini, included as a bonus track on the US issue of the third album, Curtains, is excellent. Even if it does lift its opening directly from Lee Hazlewood's 'Sand'.