So, 2013 is upon us, along with all the musical delights that I’m sure it will bring. One thing I have learnt already this year is that my fingers apparently won’t do what they are told. This fact was enforced by my starting to play the video game Guitar Hero (about ten years after everyone else). The fact that hardly no-one plays this anymore should hopefully avoid me showing the ineptitude of my skills in public. Just picture an octopus trying to play the guitar and that pretty much sums it up, fingers all over the place but not actually doing anything constructive. Anyway, the point of that heart-wrenching story was that a couple of the songs from the version of Guitar Hero I was playing (mainly Weezer and The Who), opened up this weeks playlist.
Two new features also started this week (I do spoil you lot!). First up is album of the week, pretty self explanatory, each week there will be an album, either new or classic, and we’ll be playing three tracks from the selected record.
For the first one I chose one of my favourites, Cat Power’s fourth LP Moon Pix. An album of devastating beauty and heartbreaking songs, each more haunting than the last. It is one of those albums that really does belong in everyones collection.
The second new feature is entitled two bands, one name. Over the course of musical history there have been many, many, musical entities that have shared the same name, and over the course of the next few months we’ll be playing some of them. To open up 2 acts that share the name Smog, first being a Peruvian rock and roll band, even though the song Wicked Man is a rip-off of Purple Haze it still sounds rather great. The second being the name that the legendary Bill Callahan performed under for several years.
If you can recommend or want to simply throw some other names in my direction or recommend an album for album of the week, drop me an email at the below address.
Finally, the BBC Sound Of 2013 list has finally been released, you can check out all the acts and details about the list can be found here :
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p010q6bc/profiles/thelonglist
Were Haim worthy winners, I’ll let you know when their debut album is released!
Finally, there’s no show next week. I’ll be back on the 20th January with a Krautrock special, so if Can, Neu!, Guru, Faust is your thing, join me then.
See you in 2 weeks!

01 – Weezer – My Name Is Jonas (Weezer – 1994)
02 – The Who – The Seeker (Single – 1970)
03 – Cat Power – He Turns Down (Moon Pix – 1998)
04 – Chvrches – The Mother We Share (Single – 2012)
05 – Queens Of The Stone Age – Song For The Dead (Songs For The Deaf – 2002)
06 – Clint Mansell – Memories (Someone we’ll never know) (Moon – 2009)
07 – Smog – Wicked Man (Back To Peru Vol 1 – 2010)
08 – Smog – Teenage Spaceship (Knock Knock – 1999)
09 – Dr. Hook – The Cover Of The Rolling Stone (Sloppy Seconds – 1971)
10 – Cat Power – Moonshiner (Moon Pix – 1998)
11 – Brian Eno – Lux 3 (Lux – 2012)
12 – Haim – Send Me Down (Single – 2012)
13 – Metallica – Ride The Lightning (Ride The Lightning – 1984)
14 – Kiss – Rock And Roll All Nite (Dressed To Kill – 1975)
15 – Matty Hines – Echo (Unreleased)
16 – Cat Power – Cross Bones Style (Moon Pix – 1998)
17 – Royal Trux – Kool Down Wheels (Twin Infinitives – 1990)
18 – The Doors – When The Music’s Over (Strange Days – 1967)

Spotify playlist :
https://open.spotify.com/user/sadballadman/playlist/2pmxDQnzI7YRPrWbd42S2e