Tuesday 20 March 2007

Bentin Grubb has challenged us to list our top ten favourite albums. I wasn't sure if I'd even have ten, but of course, once you start thinking about these things a million options all jostle for attention.

So here we are, my 10, in no particular order. (I expect there'd be a totally different 10 if you'd ask me again next week.)

1. Pulp- Different Class. The album of my teenage years, and one that completely invokes that mid-90's BritPop/Tony Blair/Changing Rooms/GCSE feeling. I listened to this album day in day out for at least a year. I can recite every song word-for-word and tell you the exact second Jarvis' vocal comes in on the extended intro to F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E. (1 min 35)

2. Massive Attack - Protection. Amazing title song. Again, the angsty late teenage years.

3. William Orbit - Pieces In a Modern Style. Fabulous album to fall asleep to. When I was on my foundation year, I'd go round to Jon's of an evening, have my second dinner (Guess why I was chubby? Or rather, even chubbIER than now), stick on this CD and fall asleep in five minutes. Then I'd wake up near midnight and have to drive home, infuriating both Jon's mother and mine.

4. The Divine Comedy - A Short Album About Love. Ever wanted to know the lyrics to the theme tune to Father Ted? Then this is the album for you. Jon and I bonded over our mutual appreciation of TDC and he bought me this album for our first Valentine's together.

5. Madonna - Music. Reminds me of piling in the Mini on bright spring days, windows down, bass up and thumping along the road from London to Brighton for spankingly good days out.

6. KT Tunstall - Eye To The Telescope. All fabulous. And reminds me of last January when we bought a CD/radio alarm clock and I woke up to it everyday for three weeks.

7. Puppini Sisters - Betcha Bottom Dollar. Genius. You have to admire a group who cover Blondie's Heart Of Glass and Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights in a 1940's do-wop style.

8. Jamiroquai - quite a few, so let's stick them all under High Times: Singles 1992-2006. You don't realise how many great songs Jamiroquai have released until you see them all here.

9. The Magic Numbers - The Magic Numbers. Such great voices/harmonies. Like a modern day Mamas and Papas. (Though gone off them slightly since I saw they were doing a "free" show in Fopp in Brighton, got to Fopp early on the day of the release of their second album only to be told we EACH had to buy said album to get the "free" wrist band that would allow us entry to the gig. Was this mentioned on any of the publicity? Was it 'eck.)

10. Pulp - Intro. My love of Jarvis Cocker saw me delve into Pulp's back catalogue and come up with this. Fabulously grimy and scathing. "Babies" is a classic.

Not a bad list. Predominately mid to late 90's (where I had nothing better to spend my weekend job wages on) and relatively modern (where I ask for them for Christmas/birthday.)

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