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The La's There She
Goes
This has been my
favourite song of all time since 1994. I remember hearing it played on
MTV one night, and although I knew of the song when it was released back in
1989, there was
just something that happened then that made me fall head over heals with the
song. It's the overall simplicity of the song, the
infectious and the harmonic vocals that really shine through here. A
true indie all time classic. |
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2 |
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Suzanne Vega Luka
Utterly sublime.
A song that is both so beautiful to listen to, with Suzanne's calming voice
and a song that with music so memorable that I'll have it buzzing around in
my head for hours after listening to it. All this, and with the
subject of the song lyrics too. Along with The La's, this is an all
time classic. |
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3 |
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Saint Etienne Hobart Paving
Rain falls, just
like Elvis did... a song that's not really about anything, but it is
so charming in its vocal style. With its emotionally sombre music,
Hobart Paving is enough to not only make a grown man cry, but it's also
immensely powerful in the way Sarah Cracknell sings out her heart throughout Saint Etienne's greatest ever song. |
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4 |
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Stereolab French Disko
This song would
have meant absolutely nothing to me without Radio 1's Mark (Radcliffe) and
Lard DJing on the late evening slot. It's loud guitars and keyboards
and the dulcet vocals of Laetitia Sadier singing like a nightingale in her
native French tongue mean that French Disko remains a timeless classic. |
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5 |
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Belinda Carlisle The Air You Breathe
This song is the B
side to Little Black Book, and could have been easily overlooked by anyone
at it the time of its release. The Air You Breathe has turned out not
only to be a great love song, but it has been my favourite Belinda song
ever, since I first heard it. Why it never appeared as an album track
or as an A sided single, I'll never know. |
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6 |
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Lush For Love
I remember hearing
this song being played on TV one night in 1991. The ethereal and
fragile female harmonies, the distinctive bass guitar riff, and the overall
song in general left an everlasting impression on me. This is the song
that brought me into the world of indie, and guided me towards a change in
music listening direction. This is a truly important record for me in
my life. |
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7 |
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Juliana Hatfield My
Sister
I still remember
the first time I heard this! (A young Jo Whiley playing this on Radio
1 way back in the early 1990's) My love of the song then is the
same reason I both love My Sister, and Juliana Hatfield today. Looking
back, I can see this was another one of my stepping stones towards my
growing interest in female singer/songwriters. |
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8 |
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Richard Marx Hazard
Never has a song
brought me so much visual imagery to it. Like a sad story being played
in your head, this unusual choice for me still rates as one of the best
songs I have ever listened to. I have never seen the video to this, so
I still have no idea if the visions I have of the story match up with what
was intended! |
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9 |
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Michelle Shocked Anchorage
I first heard of
Michelle in 1991, but it wasn't until my penfriend introduced this song of
hers to me a few years back that I actually started to listen to Michelle
with any kind of interest. Anchorage is another one of those songs
where a picture can be built up in your mind as you listen on. The
beauty of the lyrics and music remains even after repeated listenings. |
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10 |
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Chumbawamba & Credit To The Nation Enough Is Enough
The awareness of late night music TV and John Peel on Radio 1 brought this
song to my attention. Notwithstanding the record's importance in
bringing together and uniting people against the horrors of racism and
fascism, Enough Is Enough is simply amazing to listen to for its sheer
brilliance in bringing together so many musical styles under one roof. |
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11 |
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Donna Lewis I Love You Always Forever
This is probably the soppiest song I could ever adore with so much
passion! Donna's beautiful Welsh voice lilts throughout the entire
song, leading me into a perpetual dream world. I bought all her great
singles from around this time, but somehow never got the album. |
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12 |
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Daisy Chainsaw Love Your Money
My memories of this breathtaking moment in music began with Radio 1
playing this song one day, and then me trying for ages to track down the
song to buy! With the wonderful rasping vocals of Katie Jane Garside
and Crispin Gray's guitar buzzing so prominently, this song is almost over
before it's started. This remains a perfect indie rock classic,
even today. |
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13 |
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Comet Gain Baby's Alright
Baby's Alright is my all time favourite punk song. But it's a song with really
a great rhythm section which seems to combine just so well with Sarah B's
angst-ridden sounding vocals. Best played very loudly, this
unforgettable Comet Gain masterpiece is one of those songs that demands it
be listened to at least once a day. |
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14 |
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Sleeper Inbetweener
I so love this song! Sleeper had their critics, and undeniably
Sleeper would have been nothing without their charismatic lead singer, Louise Wener.
However what I love about this indie classic is its instantly recognisable
guitar hook, and its song words that just cry out to be sung out loud. |
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15 |
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Veruca Salt Seether
Can't fight the Seether... Still sounding fresh today, Seether is
one of those songs where I can lose myself and pretend to sing with a
American accent, while cranking up the volume of my guitar at the same time.
This is another one of my great female guitar-led bands I love. |
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16 |
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Petula Clark Downtown
This'll the oldest song I love that'll appear here! Originally
released in 1962 (good heavens no - I'm not that old!), this was
brought to my attention sometime during the late 1980's when it was played a lot on children's
TV when I came home from school. There's just something about Petula's voice in this song that I
just adore so much. I'll never ever grow tired of this. |
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17 |
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Helen Love Girl About Town
This is another song that Radio 1 DJ Mark Radcliffe would play on his show
that was instrumental in hooking me into a music obsession. With great
lo-fi guitar sounds and a drum machine for company, Girl About Town is one
of those immaculate snapshots that appear in my record collection with
pride. An understated classic. |
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18 |
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Blondie Union City Blue
I could have chosen Atomic too (if only because of that bass solo
that appears in it), but Union City Blue wins out for its sheer gliding
energy that it implants inside you every time I listen to this.
Impossible to listen to without feeling ecstatic and totally free from all
worldly burdens. |
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19 |
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James Sometimes
In another rare male vocal entry - this James song is not only in my view
the best song they've ever done, but also one of the best songs I've ever
heard where the bulk of the music is played in the same key. It's the
hypnotic repetition of the guitars and the crescendo that they build up to
along with the desperate sounding vocals of Tim Booth that make this song so
great to listen to. |
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20 |
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Smashing Pumpkins Today
From the very beginning of this song, with its guitar harmonics, to when
the song finally kicks in with the distorted guitars, Today has some truly
great sounds. Combining the brilliant (male!) vocals with the rest of
the band members, the song's beauty lies in its sheer majestic landscapes of
sounds. And it's got a great video too! |
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21 |
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Catatonia Dead From The Waist Down
Cerys Matthew's voice on this, Catatonia's crowning glory sounds like a
little child so hopelessly lost. There's so much emotion in her voice
that you feel like you should burst into floods of tears. |
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22 |
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Sasha Xpander
This is to all purposes an unusual choice for me: a dance music
instrumental! But amongst my CDs of obscure female guitar groups and
singer / songwriters, sits this utterly unforgettable Sasha dance classic.
You can truly dance to this, whilst at the same time remain really
captivated by the hypnotic sounds contained within it. Sasha is one of the very few dance
DJs I've seen perform more than once. |
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23 |
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Fuzzbox International Rescue
This 1989 pop
record holds so many memories for me, and it was a song that I loved when it
was out, but because I never owned the song, or even heard it played
anywhere, I had to wait 15 years for a Fuzzbox compilation album to come out
to hear it again! A record heavily based on one of my favourite films,
Barbarella, this is a song I can happily sing along to, even today. |
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24 |
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Kirsty MacColl Days
I knew this song long before I realised that it was a cover version by The
Kinks. Kirsty's wonderful reworking of the original brings so much
warmth to the table, that every word that's sung here is worth its weight in
gold. |
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25 |
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Crowded House Distant Sun
Prominent male vocal harmonies? Surely I'd hate Crowded House?
Erm, no - Crowded House were one of the best rock groups ever to have been
realised. With the song writing genius of Neil Finn, Distant Sun is
just a dream to both listen to and fall head over heals in love with. |