NEW YEAR, NEW TUNES...

The last few years for me have generally seen a decline in new music - this has been a recurring theme on this blog! - in my listening and buying habits, and a tendency to lapse into nostalgia. That has partly been down to a busier life and less available funds, and partly due to my feeling that there is very little out there worth listening to. But the last 12 months have proved me wrong, with at least a dozen new acts and releases having excited me. I'm still scouring the second hand shops for old vinyl, and digging out personal favourites from my existing collection, but i'm also finding myself being a bit more discerning: albums that i have hung onto in the belief that i will eventually like them or get around to playing have been given away: that My Bloody Valentine EP compliation that i bought back in 2013 and never played all the way through - gone. The first Doves album that has, for me, just 4 or 5 decent songs: the Patti Smith best of that i've played a couple of times: The Cramps compliation, all given away. Bands and albums that i've purchased because i listened to the critics with the endless "best albums/bands/songs of all time that you must own before you die" lists (which i do find fascinating but can hardly be considered to be definitive when you take personal taste into account). I've started listening to 6music more often, and reading - not just skimming through - the music magazines i buy, and playing the free covermount Cds. I'm also determined to go to more gigs this year. I've already heard a few bands that have piqued my interest - The grungy rock attack of Cherry Glazzer, the dream pop of Amber Arcades, the Latin Americana of Hurray For The Riff Raff. I've even surprised myself by liking a bit of Grime, a genre that hasn't really held much interest for me -i'm a 40 year old whiter than white man who finds most aspects of youth culture or so-called "Urban" music to be faintly ridiculous and confusing - but i've been intrigued enough by Skepta and Stormzy to deep a little deeper, and the few tracks i've heard on YouTube from the latters debut album have opened up my tastes. For as long as i have my hearing and presence of mind, i'll keep listening out for new and interesting music! If anyone reads this blog, and wants to point me in the direction of something new i might not have heard, feel free to comment.

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