Saturday, September 28, 2013

Should mention that songs and 'stuff' are continuing to appear on the STN Tumblr. Posted today, the public unveiling of our project to list every Melody Maker cover star from 1980 to its demise. Also from the Haus Of STN, One Short is an attempt to list every record that stalled at 41 in the Top 40 era.

Friday, September 06, 2013

STN, at least this bit of it, is going on hiatus for a bit while we work out where all the readers went. Much, much new music and musings will of course be kept up on our Twitter feed.

Thursday, September 05, 2013

Future Of The Left - Bread, Cheese, Bow And Arrow

The other day we declared Jetplane Landing's Don't Try, out this week, might be the best rock album emerging from the British Isles this year so far. Those last two words were it turns out (if kind of expectedly so) advisably used. FOTL's fourth album How To Stop Your Brain In An Accident is out on 21st October and judging by the first offering it's setting out with its industrial sledgehammer to crack every single definition of the word 'nut'. As taut, staccato guitars get set to stun Andy Falkous is possessed, howling and hissing lturns of phrase twisted back around themselves and coming out the other end all obtuse, leading towards a thunderous, righteous ending. The usual, then, but somehow far more so.

Sunday, September 01, 2013

The Ten: Totem Terrors' favourite songs

The Cardiff-via-Brighton duo Totem Terrors have long been STN favourites for their skewed art-rock wiriness, best exemplified so far on this year's Repeat Play Torrent Rar album.



As the first of a few people we're going to put this to, we asked Max and Rosie for their favourite/most influential songs, the pair of them taking five each:

Max

OMD - Electricity
I love this partially for Andy McCluskey's bass dance in the video. Perfect melancholy synth pop, impossible to resist groove.

Public Image Ltd - Poptones
Moebius meditation, the high point of the best album of it's day. Tonally extreme, sexually repetitive, numb ending.

Wire - The 15th
Masters of economy and the monotone melody. Music as art, art as a pop song.

Talking Heads - Warning Sign
Lyrical expansive, musically intelligent. Everything exact, nothing wasted.

Elvis Presley - Love Me Tender
My childhood hero, and first favourite song.

Rosie

The Wedding Present - Carolyn
The reason I wanted to play drums and therefore joined this band.

The Raincoats - No Side To Fall In
Girls being brilliant.

Tom Waits - Innocent When You Dream
No explanation needed.

Beat Happening - What's Important
My 16-year-old-self reason for wanting to make songs.

Belle & Sebastian - My Wandering Days Are Over
Perennial inspiration.