THAT list

And so it was. I started work as a music journalist on Nov 26 1999. The job was effectively handed to me outside what was the original Barfly Club at a since-demolished pub called The Falcon on Camden's Royal College St. I was invited into the back of a van by the then editor of The Fly magazine to meet an upcoming band he was championing and their A&R man. The band and A&R man joked I was wearing a coat that could have belonged to a secretary in the 50s and seemingly, because I took that in good spirit (well, it seemed like a compliment to me), I got the job. Such is the nature of the music industry. The job was two days a week as an editorial assistant for no pay, only access to as much music and as many concert tickets as I could ever dream of. Lucky me, I was promoted to dep ed after six months on the handsome, and needless to say, much-welcome, sum of £9K a year.
What I didn't think possible was that a decade later, I'd still be working as a writer/editor in the music industry (now, more interestingly for me, writing about the biz, as opposed to the music itself). I have been extraordinarily lucky - I have witnessed and reported on a time in the music industry whereby it has undergone drastic changes neither predicted, nor, of course, ever seen before.
This all forms the backdrop for THE LIST - my albums of the past decade. I'm not sure the list would read the same if my life had taken a different course. I am sure I have missed out some albums along the way - no doubt. There are also albums which I had crushes on - those which I don't listen to now, but did at some point for a prolonged amount of time - but those aren't included. These are the albums that I find myself repreatedly returning to. Three acts get a special mention: Wilco, TV On The Radio and Modest Mouse. Those are the bands I have cherished the most, hence they have more than one entry.

Wilco - A Ghost Is Born/Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Modest Mouse – We Were Dead.../Good News for People Who Love Bad News
TV On The Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes/Return to Cookie Mountain/Dear, Science
Calexico – Hot Rail
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - Lyre of Orpheus/Abattoir Blues
My Morning Jacket – It Still Moves
The National –Alligator
Richmond Fontaine - Post To Wire
NERD – In Search Of....
Bloc Party – Silent Alarm
The Kills – No Wow
Electrelane – Axes
Gorillaz – Demon Days
Sufjan Stevens – Illinoise
Pulp – We Love Life
Viva Voce – The Heat Can Melt Your Brain
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Primal Scream – XTMNTR
Sun Kil Moon – Tiny Cities
Sona Fariq – Sona Fariq
Elliot Smith – Figure 8
Gemma Hayes – Night On My Side
The Walkmen – Bows and Arrows
Badly Drawn Boy – The Hour of Bewilderbeast
Nelly Furtado – Loose
Mermaid Avenue I& II – Billy Bragg and Wilco
PJ Harvey – Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
Brendan Benson – Lapalco
At The Drive-In – Relationship of Command
The Coral – The Coral
Department of Eagles - Whitey on the Moon
Kelis - Tasty
Blur - Think Tank
Manu Chao - Clandestino