Tag: apple music

Top music from November 2022
Do I regret starting to write a monthly music round-up? A little. Am I going to carry on regardless? Yes. I think so.

Instead of a December 2022 update though there might be an end-of-year wrap up instead. I don’t use Spotify – so no Spotify Wrapped here – but it’ll be a mix of Apple Music Replay + Last.fm reporting.

In the meantime, here is my monthly round-up for November:

Tellison
Last month, I reported out that Tellison were amongst my most-played artists for the month – and that trend continued into November.

This was fuelled by the playing of their two Christmas singles towards the end of the month.

You should definitely go and buy them from Bandcamp as it’s pay-what-you-want and 100% of the cash goes to the mental health charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM).

You get two festive songs and the charity get more funding. Win-win!

Available at Bandcamp

Good Luck It’s Christmas

Snow (Don’t Tell The Truth This Christmas)
Lauran Hibberd

I have no idea how I found out about this release, but it’s pretty fun to listen to. How would I describe it? Maybe bubblegum punk pop? Is that a thing?!

The track ‘How am I still alive?‘ gives me Weezer vibes. In fact, quite a few tracks do. Apple Music tells me it’s Rock.

Anyway, the record by-passed me on it’s release in 2021 and I discovered it towards the end of 2022 and have been playing it a few times each month.

Listen to Goober (EP)

Apple Music · Spotify · Other platforms

Whilst the above mentioned artists were the big two — notable mention must go to the following new releases:

Stormzy – This Is What I Mean

It’s been a minute since Stormzy was uploading Shut Up and other early hits to YouTube. Now he’s a self-confessed pop star. I need to give this new album a few more listens. (Listen)

Anna of the North – Crazy Life

A third studio album from the talented Anna of the North. I happen to know Anna in person from “before she was a pop star” and so I recommend this because Anna is great, but also because you should promote your friends’ stuff. (Listen)

As per usual, if you have anything that you want to recommend to me, leave a note in the comments below!

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20 December 2022
Top music from October 2022

It feels like we are flying through the months as we start to approach the end of 2022. One thing I am looking forward to is the ‘Year in review’ selections from both DIY Magazine and Piccadilly Records.

For years, they’ve been a trustworthy source to discover the year’s best new music. I usually compile the Piccadilly Records Top 100 lists into Apple Music playlists and 2022 will be no exception.

In the meantime, here is my monthly round-up for October:

Ellie Dixon

Back in 2021, I discovered a song called ‘Green Grass‘ on TikTok by Ellie Dixon. I looked her up online and at some point the song ended up in my Apple Music library.

As of 2022, Ellie Dixon is signed to Decca Records (Universal Music Group) and has a growing catalogue of well-produced Singles and EPs.

It’s very catchy British indie twee pop and I’m into it. Ellie Dixon hits a home run as my most-listened to Artist, Album, and Track this month.

Listen to Crikey! It’s My Psyche (EP)

Apple Music · Spotify · Other platforms

Barenaked Ladies

When I was younger, my parents took me to see The Beautiful South in concert. Supporting them were Barenaked Ladies.

They put on a very fun show and I saw them several times since then, and they continued to put on fun shows.

Anyway, they are a guilty pleasure of mine because it’s certainly not cool to like the band that had one hit in the 90s and then wrote the theme to Big Bang Theory.

Listen to Stunt (20th Anniversary Edition)

Apple Music · Spotify · Other platforms

Tellison

One of my favourite bands of all time from the UK’s indie-rock scene. And their debut album never fails to be a good listen.

It’s available to buy on Bandcamp, so you can do that if you want to help maximise the band’s profits.

There’s been quite a few times that I’ve been wearing Tellison merch and got friendly shouts and cheers from fellow fans. Get into it.

Listen to Contact! Contact!

Apple Music · Spotify · Bandcamp · Other platforms

Whilst the above mentioned artists were the big three — notable mention must go to the following new releases:

Dutch Uncles – True Entertainment

This month I was busy wondering whether Dutch Uncles were going to release anything. And they have! There’s a new album on it’s way in 2023 and the first track has been released as an early preview. (Listen)

Murkage Dave – Choose Your Own Adventure

I play a lot of Murkage Dave. This is a new release by said artist, and so it’s been spinning around and around my digital music player throughout October. (Listen)

Okay, that’s all for this month. As you may have noticed, I’m posting an October review at the end of November – which means it’s not too far away to the November update.

Phew! I’m so slow at making internet content, but I hope you enjoy the music recommendations. If you have anything that you want to recommend to me, leave a note in the comments below!

✌️

28 November 2022
Top music from September 2022

Welcome to the monthly music round-up for September — the month in which the weather in Oslo turns to a crisp fresh coldness and the scalves and hats start to appear.

But what’s been blaring from my speakers and down into my earholes? Let’s take a closer look at the Last.fm monthly report.

Games We Play

I can’t quite remember how I first heard of Games We Play, but the pop-punk band signed to Fueled By Ramen (Warner Music Group) in 2022 and released an EP.

It’s upbeat and catchy and angsty and everything I loved about blink-182 when I first heard them. This artist hit No.1 in my Artist charts.

Their online presence is full of holes and abandoned profiles – almost as if they are currently being spun through the industry washer and dryer to give them a clean image.

Listen to Get A Job (EP)

Apple Music · YouTube · Songlink

The Lemons

Want to discover a fun, charming, garage-pop band hailing from Chicago with songs less than two minutes long and available to buy on Bandcamp, you say?

Hello, It’s The Lemons!

This band is fun. This album is fun. It was my most-listened to album for the month. Definitely spend 27 seconds listening to Ice Cream Shop.

Listen to Hello, We’re The Lemons!

Apple Music · Spotify · Bandcamp · Songlink

Florist

I love the lo-fi indie pop sounds of Florist, aka Emily Sprague, and previously saw her play a solo show in 2019 when I was visiting Seattle.

This September, the track Blue Mountain Road from the 2017 album If Blue Could Be Happiness was crowned my most-listened to track.

Listen to If Blue Could Be Happiness

Apple Music · Spotify · Bandcamp · Songlink

Whilst the above mentioned tracks were the big three; Top Artist, Top Album, Top Track — notable mention must go to the following:

Brand New – The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me

When autumn rolls around, so does this album. It placed 3rd in my album charts. I recommend popping on some headphones and cranking this one up. (Listen)

Arlo Parks

A super British musician and poet from South London and my 3rd place artist for the month. The album Collapsed in Sunbeams has been one of my favourite as of recent years. (Listen)

And that’s the lot! See you again next month and if you have any music recommendations, pop them in the comments below 👇

5 October 2022
Top music from August 2022

I’ve been a Last.fm user since about 2004 and each month they generate a listening report for you to see an overview of what you’ve been listening to.

As an excuse to have more content for my blog, I’m going to share a few highlights each month from the listening report – so I get a bit more reflection of what I’ve been listening to, and you get some listening recommendations.

Panic! At The Disco

Emo-pop outfit Panic! At The Disco topped the artist charts. With the release of their new album Viva Las Vengeance – which was also my most-listened to album of the month too.

Definitely not a favourite Panic! album for me. A grower? Well, time will tell. But when an artist I like puts out a new release, I like to keep an open mind and give it a listen.

Listen to Viva Las Vengeance

Apple Music · Spotify · More options on Songlink

The Mountain Goats

Indie-folk The Mountain Goats released a new album titled Bleed Out and I gave it a listen-or-two, placing it second in the album chart for August.

The Mountain Goats style doesn’t really change too much from one album to the next, but John Darnielle writes some lovely songs and has a trademark voice, meaning almost any album by The Mountain Goats scratches an itch.

Listen to Bleed Out

Apple Music · Bandcamp · Spotify · More options

Dry Cleaning

My most-listened to track for the month was Scratchcard Lanyard and comes from London-based post-punk band Dry Cleaning.

It’s one of the bands that I discovered through a playlist I compiled inspired by Manchester’s leading independent record store; Top Albums of 2021.

A good song on a good album. Songs from this album keep creeping into my top tracks and curated playlists, so they’re clearly one of the bands I keep coming back to.

Listen to New Long Leg

Apple Music · Bandcamp · Spotify · More options

And that’s the big-three from the month.

As an aside and important footnote to this post, my ex-colleague Bruce Lawson released an album which topped my New Artists chart. This is available on Bandcamp for just £2 and other streaming services to stream for free.

For more music-related posts, curated playlists and recommendations, check out the Music category on my blog.

23 September 2022
Top 100 albums of 2021

We are mid-way through 2022 and I came into the office, opened Apple Music and started playing a playlist; 🎙️ Piccadilly Records: Top 100 Albums of 2021

And that’s when I realised that I usually post these yearly compilations to my blog – but had forgotten to do this one. So here we are — better late than never!

Come the end of 2021, 99 of Piccadilly Records’ carefully selected 100 albums were available on Apple Music and I’ve compiled one track from each release to the 6hr 43m long playlist.

Add it to your library, play it on shuffle, and when you find a track you like be sure to check out the full album on Piccadilly Records’ website. This independent record store has been delivering music to Manchester since 1978 and the rest of the world since it made it possible to order from the website.

Previously:

🎙️ Piccadilly Records: Top 100 Albums of 2019
🎙️ Piccadilly Records: Top 100 Albums of 2020

29 July 2022