Sunday, January 4, 2015

Best of the blog mix for 2014.

Following up my 2014 "Top-40" list (of sorts) from a couple nights ago, here's my annual highlights mix tape of music I've shared in the past year.  It's my attempt to distill a years worth of features and posts into something a little more digestible and less exhaustive.  As per this site itself, the emphasis in this compendium is on unheralded indie rock from the previous millennium (ok, the '80s).   I'm not going to dedicate any space here to critiquing and such, as I already abundantly have in the original postings, all of which are linked via selecting the hyperlinked artist names below.  This mix is designed to be both a recap for those of you who frequent Wilfully Obscure, and a springboard for anyone who's just plain overwhelmed by the quantity of material I share on a weekly, if not daily basis.  In a nutshell, if you count yourself among the uninitiated and don't know where to start, start here (and of course, work your way backwards).  As for those of you who have been studiously checking things out on this page on a regular basis, I'm tacking on four extra songs that I haven't shared heretofore, and they've been denoted with an asterisk.

01. Fan Club - Just Another Kiss
02. Penguin Fury - And You Will Shine
03. Yazoo Beach - Waiting for Woods
04. Squares - Blue Note*
05. Town Cryers - Like a Telegraph
06. Breathers - Stay the Boy
07. Fun With Atoms - Last Cigarette
08. The Movement - I've Got Eyes
09. U Thant - Little Chlorine
10. Crocodile Shop - April Reigns
11. The Wolves - Good News
12. Grapes Of Wrath - A Very Special Day*
13. Z-Rocks - The Way She Looks at Me
14. Blue Movie - Trouble in the Yard
15. The Hairs - The Ghost Train
16. The Clergy - Pieces*
17. Acid Drops - Deep Sea Dream
18. The Graphic - The Hour Has Come
19. Square Root of Now - Compile Your Love
20. Ten Bright Spikes - Spleen
21. Miracle Legion - Stephen, Are You There
22. Edsel Auctioneer - Stickleback
23. Rocking Shapes - Cracked Marbles
24. Toy Love - Don't Ask Me*

Hear

6 comments:

Bruce K. said...

This is one thing I look forward to each year, and I am so glad that you put it together again. Even with my sometimes fanatical following of the site, these best ofs have always tipped me to some great bands I had missed during the year or at least reminded me of ace tracks I had forgotten about. Can't wait to check it out.

Unknown said...

Whatta great car listen! Looking forward to jamming this for weeks. That Wolves track is absolute plagiarism, though (see the Jam - "When You're Young"). Thanks for all you do and keep up the good work, sir.

Best,

Jon

Hingehead said...

Holy SHIT! A Toy Love track! Saw them at the UNSW Roundhouse in 1980. Chris Knox's song intro's... 'This one's about love with inanimate objects'. Hilarious/fun. A long gone mate bought the 1980 EP with 'Don't Ask Me' and 'Squeeze' and their respective B-sides - I don't suppose you'd consider sharing more if you have any?

easter said...

fun w/ atoms!!! great band and still together!

Bruce K. said...

Bunch of great ones here, but in listening to this again (and again and again) over the last couple of days at work I thought, "gee, maybe I should check out the Grapes of Wrath" as that song is one of my absolute favorites. I went back today and did a couple of unfruitful searches before seeing the asterisk and reading the write up that it was a bonus track.

I actually have/had an album by them, wonder if it's on there?

Bruce K. said...

As part of my very slow winnowing of LP's I only had to check in three places (as opposed to old days when it would have been about a dozen places I had squirreled away albums) to find that --- I still have that Grapes of Wrath LP!

I will never dispose of anything again!