2023 end of year lists

Kev n’ Karl pretend to like it so they can hang in south TCOTU ponce shops. JP pretends to like it because he wants to impress Kev n’ Karl. It’s a vicious circle.

And on which note… I’ll post my list tomorrow. Maybe.

I’m surprised it’s taken you so long to get into Young Fathers, Stocky! But better late than never. I only started posting about them on the forum about 15 years ago. Yes, it’s proof no one listens to me. Karl doesn’t understand Young Fathers, which makes them even better. Sadly, Dwayne is also a big fan.

I notice after giving it the big un we are yet to receive cm punk's list.

He's either bottled it or is about the reveal the most magnificent soapy end of year list ever seen. I'm thinking PowerPoint with fancy graphics and everything. Maybe even revealed via Teams meeting.

I was in hospital for four days, pal. The last week has been absolutely rotten I was thinking of asking Fuzzy to #StopTheCount but had all sorts going on. I’ll post it tomorrow when I’m back on the work laptop. No problemo.

Sounds as if those end of year drinks with Karl really took their toll.

Yeah mate, was all down here from there.

40 - Joel Stoker - The Undertow
39 - DMAs - How Many Dreams?
38 - Myley Cyrus - Endless Summer Vacation
37 - Noel Gallagher - Council Skies
36 - Sweeping Promises - Good Living Is Coming For You
35 - Olvia Rodgrio -Guts
34 - Bloodshell - Bloodshell
33 - Skinny Pelembe - Hardly The Same Snake
32 - The Streets - The Darker The Shadow, The Lighter The Light
31 - Sofia Kourtesis - Madres
30 - Iggy Pop - Every Loser
29 - McKinley Dixon - Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?
28 - Arlo Parks- My Soft Machine
27 - Earl Sweatshirt - Voir Dire
26 - Nadine Iqbal - Dreamer
25 - The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Your Future Is Your Past
24 - Wednesday - Rat Saw God
23 - Larry June & The Alchemist - The Great Escape
22 - The Men - New York City
21 - Billy Woods and Kenny Segal - Maps
20 - Bawo - Legitimate Cause
19 - Nas - Magic 3
18 - Corraine Bailey Rae - Black Rainbows
17 - The Hives - The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons
16 - Young Fathers - Heavy Heavy
15 - Noname - Sundial
14 - Cleo Sol - Gold
13 - Yves Tumor - Praise a Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds)
12 - Genesis Owusu - STRUGGLER
11 - Gorrilaz - Cracker Island
10 - Danger Mouse & Jemini The Gifted One - Born Again
9 - Yazmin Lacey - Voice Notes
8 - Janelle Monae - The Age of Pleasure
7 - Nourished by Time - Erotic Probiotic 2
6 - Jessie Ware - That Feels Good!
5 - Nas - Magic 2
4 - Gaz Coombes - Turn Around The Car
3 - Rolling Stones - Hackney Diamonds
2 - Róisín Murphy - Hit Parade
1 - Billy Nomates - Cacti

Skinner Brothers 41?

41 was Baxter Dury with 'I thought I was Better Than You'.

Skinner Brothers came in at 64 out of 83. My short review at the time reads, 'Good on him for trying but this is shit.' My fave tune on the album was MELLLOW.

This is also my review for all 300 albums by The Jesus Abyss.

B.A.E. dragging himself up to get involved in the main event like Mick Foley after being chokeslammed through the top of a cell by the Undertaker should be a source of inspiration or shame for those who haven't got one on the go.

Will we be getting a Bigred3 or brad list this year? Only time will tell (but only until the end of this week or thereabouts probably)

GIG OF THE YEAR

John Cale. I was so glad I finally got to see him. It was worth the wait.

Second place goes to Young Fathers, who have turned into a far bigger ensemble than I ever could have imagined, and third goes to DOSS. As old man Ross Forgan used to say, I’m still mad fer it!

BEST REISSUE

Dexy's Midnight Runners - Too-Rye-Ay (As It Should Have Sounded) (1982)

A genuine masterpiece. Too many people still only know Dexy's as the band that did Come on Eileen or Jackie Wilson Says. Listen to this album. It's just banger after banger. Kevin Rowland remixed it in 2022 and it sounds utterly incredible.

BEST OBSCURE INDIE ALBUM FROM THE 90s

Prolapse - Pointless Walks to Dismal Places (1994)

They were doing the spoken word vocal style 30 years ago. And in a way that still leaves the poshos of TCOTU in the dirt! Check it out Karl!

TOP 10 

10) Snapped Ankles - Blurtations
9) Rolling Stones - Hackney Diamonds
8) The Toads - In the Wilderness
7) Jim E Brown - Rot
6) Cloth - Secret Measure
5) Danny Brown / JPEGMAFIA - Scaring the Hoes
4) slowthai - UGLY
3) Steve Mason - Brothers & Sisters
2) Sleaford Mods - UK GRIM
1) Young Fathers - Heavy Heavy

FINALLY the forum is waking up to The UK's Best Band*. It's only taken 10 years, but better late than never! This could be their best album yet.

*Title awarded by me and Dwayne

Is that a single? I'm reviewing the spreadsheet and Barny has picked the album Cool Change so not sure if you meant that.

Same question here, do you mean Sundial?

No singles in the albums of the year thread plz guys lol

Yeah, sorry, I meant Cool Change.

It's no secret that 2023 was a slog for me; the slow start to the year really put me out of the mood for the rest of the year and I really struggled to grasp new music and records. Spent most of the year listening to older stuff. Alas, I couldn't not do a list. So you're getting a half arsed top 20 in which I genuinely struggled to pick a no.1, toyed with the idea of making everything a joint no.1, then came to my senses. So here we go and onwards to 2024:

20 - The Waeve - The Waeve - Everyone seemed to hate this, thought it was OK

19 - JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown - SCARING THE HOES - Pretty mental and lot's to get your head around. Also needed to spend more time with Danny Brown's solo record.

18- Sofia Kourtesis - Madres- Another that only came out at the end of the year, more time with it to fully ingest may have resulted in it being higher.

17 - Lana Del Rey - Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd - Edit! This is another record that badly needs editing, there's a top 3, 45 minute album of the year inside this hour twenty bloated record, but the highs really soar.

16 - Blur - The Ballad of Darren - Much like others have said, better than expected, feels a little light, needs more Graham and definitely feels more like a Damon solo album, but a neat little record.

15 - Irreversible Entanglements - Protect Your Light - Moor Mother Jazz project band. Good fun, more digestible than their previous album.

14 - Osees - Intercepted Message - I dip in and out with them, hadn't listened much in years, but this was a surprise. Good fun, less proggy and more in your face, went back and listened to their previous album as well which turned out to be really good.

13 - The Toads - In the Wilderness - The Fall from Australia in 2023.

11 - Wilco - Cousin -Another band i dip in and out of who I haven't listened to in a while, Cate Le Bon producing lured me in. Their best record in years.
12 - Terry - Call me Terry - It's Terry!

10 - Noname - Sundial - Love her debut record/mixtape. This is my favourite thing she's done since then.

9 - ANOHNI- My Back was a Bridge For You To Cross - Never really got on with the Antony & the Johnsons records, but really surprised by this, quite soulful and punchy in places.

8 - Deerhoof - Miracle Level - One of those bands that are great live but don't always come across so well on record. Might be my favourite record of theirs, though i'd dipped out for years.

7 - TCOTU Brew - TCOTU Brew - Collective of TCOTU Jazz players congregating to record an album inspired by Miles Davis' Bitches Brew. Lovely stuff.

6 - Moreish Idles - Lock Eyes and Collide - Yeah, it's an EP, give a fuck! Perhaps the thing i've listened to most this year, great stuff from creepy Dan and Speedy Wunderground.

5 - Viji - So Vanilla - More from Creepy Dan; completely overlooked this at first, wasn't what I was expecting when i finally heard it, real 90's alt rock vibes.

4 - Baxter Dury - I Thought I was Better than You - More Baxter being Baxter, wish it was longer.

3 - Nostalgia 77 - The Loneliest Flower in the Village - This was my favourite record for much of the first part of the year. More Jazz!

2 - Squid - O Monolith - Love this band, they continue to develop, different vibe than the debut, gone are the motorik beats; brings to mind Radiohead in places.

1 - Matana Roberts - Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the garden... - More Jazz! Avante-garde no less. Her previous record has been one that's stayed with me over the last few years, this essentially continues the onto the next chapter, same meandering feel as the music ebbs and flows between different stlyes and tempos. Not for everyone, but because it's in the same spirit as her previous record, i was able to drop straight into this.

There you go.

Hey Kevin I think you forgot Hackney Diamonds

Oh Kevin. I knew you wouldn't let us down.

Right Barny, it’s time to get the calculator out