Wed 28 Aug – David Byrne & St. Vincent
I went to see David Byrne play with St. Vincent to tour their album Love This Giant - and here's my review.
http://itmustbekate.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/david-byrne-st-vincent-birmingham.html

http://itmustbekate.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-favourite-releases-this-decade.html

Belle and Sebastian - Act of the Apostle II

The sound of the summer. Along with Song for Sunshine, this song has taken the credit for all the happiness recently. With wonderfully sardonic self-critical lyrics, it bounces along with upbeat piano chords and gentle dual vocals, until the original tune of Act of the Apostle returns, seamlessly, and the softness of edgy melancholy returns. Very pretty, but multi-layered.

Helsinki - Cheer Up Goth Kid

The title of this song is quite ironic, with this being one of the most emotionally tense and 'black' tracks Drew McConnell has ever aired.…

Blur - Caravan

Caravan wasn't the standout song when I first heard Think Tank: Crazy Beat and Brothers and Sisters were my instant favourites, but Caravan is a grower and I've had it on repeat lately. Beautiful simplistic melodies gently chug along over sprinklings of keyboard, and typically eloquent Damon Albarn lyrics sung in a heavy, faraway voice make this song perfect for drifting away into.

Sucioperro - Liquids

The recent Sucioperro album, Pain Agency, is a proper experimental rock album, pulling out the stops on instrumental skill and raw emotion. Liquids is the opener and it has it…

The Libertines - I Got Sweets

Libertines are my favourite band, and I Got Sweets is my favourite B-side at the moment, along with Half-Cocked Boy with its sumptuous chords in the chorus. I love I Got Sweets because it is jazzy, breaking into a walking bassline and instrumental solos in the middle. It's proper music, this, and Carl's voice couldn't be more attractive. I've been over-listening to Eight Days A Week (Beatles cover) too. Let's hope this reunion happens, which their gig in London last night seemed to make more imminent.

The Kinks - Sunny Afternoon

The film The…

This is a journal of Top Tens, my favourite ten tracks in each category, as it stands. To make it fair, each artist is only allowed one song in each Top Ten, or else certain bands would steal entire lists.

Top 10 Most Romantic Songs

1. Nights in White Satin I - Eric Burdon & War. A beautiful version of a beautiful song, sung expressively and really quite moving.

2. Endlessly - Muse. An epic, if slightly stalkerish, love song which manages to be sad and uplifting.

3. France - The Libertines. A gorgeous tribute to 'the…

High time for another of these I think.

Graham Coxon - Freakin' Out

Freakin' Out is possibly the most uptempo song about boredom you will ever find. It's about that month when you weren't going through relationship problems, weren't really in love with anything, didn't need money, weren't recovering from a serious addiction - and the absence of anything interesting was driving you mad. Everyone's felt it. This song captures that, with a fantastic little guitar solo and a catchy chorus. If you want to hear Graham at his most sensitive best, outside of Blur, listen to the beautiful…

Well, this is a little out of the ordinary, but I've been storing up a few links to recommend to you.

My Group, Good Music Taste Is Attractive Because it just goes without saying, doesn't it? Well…you don't have to say it. Join my group instead.

My music blog at Blogger. I am contributing to it regularly, I'd love it if someone followed. I think it's pretty likeable, especially if you share my music taste. Album and gig reviews, and then rants.

A very good new blog by the Alien in music. She really knows what she's on about. Follow…

Franz Ferdinand - The Fallen

This is a great one to kick off with. The riffs in this song are turbo-charged, and there are loads of them. Besides this, the great lyrics: "So they say you're a troubled boy, just because you like to destroy all the things that bring the idiots joy, but what's wrong with a little destruction?" And it has a la la section! No pop rock song can be complete without a la la hook. Oh, this song - how can it not give you an angry high?

Sonic Youth - Dirty Boots

This song takes…

The Cribs - Fairer Sex

This song is a Cribs B-side, and though I might be hearing the uninitiated screaming, how could the B-sides be any more underproduced than the albums?!, they manage it and it makes them even better. The raw, well-played guitar, especially in the soft chorus section, just knocks me out. On top of this, could Gary sound any more vulnerable with those lyrics and that voice?

Dirty Pretty Things - Deadwood

The little guitar solo that appears a few times in this song is an absolutely perfect thing to wake you up and cheer you up.…