1986-2000 singles and albums

2000 albums

STEWARD: I Was The Only Boy In The Netball Team (Blackbean & Placenta)
STEWARD: Horselaugh On My Ex (555)
PACIFIC RADIO: Pacific Radio (Shinkansen)
MELODIE GROUP: Seven Songs (Matinee)
ADEN: Hey! 19 (Teenbeat)
BELLE AND SEBASTIAN: Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant (Jeepster)
BEAUMONT: Beaumont (Siesta)
LOVEJOY: Songs In The Key Of Lovejoy (Matinee)
CINERAMA: Disco Volante (Scopitones)
CODY: Stillpoint Primer (Shinkansen)
TOMPOT BLENNY: Found Under Blankets (Shinkansen)

COMET GAIN: Tigertown Pictures (Where Its At Is Where You Are)
EMPRESS: untitled (Geographic)
THE FALL: The Unutterable (Eagle)
FOSCA: On Earth To Make Up The Numbers (Shinkansen)
THE GO BETWEENS: Friends Of Rachel Worth (Tag)
HALF MAN HALF BISCUIT: Trouble Over Bridgwater (Probe Plus)
KID 606: Down With The Scene (Ipecac)
KID 606: PS I Love You (Mille Plateaux)
NAPALM DEATH: Enemy Of The Music Business (Dream Catcher)
THE SOFTIES: Holiday In Rhode Island (K)
THE GENTLE WAVES: Swansong For You (Jeepster)
TREMBLING BLUE STARS: Broken By Whispers (Shinkansen)
WHITE TOWN: Peek & Poke (Bzangy Groink)

Not sure whether these were in order of merit - can't remember after all this time. But our best guess is that they probably were, at least until they go suspiciously alphabetical.

2000 singles

HARPER LEE: Dry Land (Matinee)
KID 606 / TIGERBOY: Straight Outta Compton / With Attitude ? (V-Vm Test)
KID 606 / LESSER: Japanese Tour Single (555)
SPORTIQUE: Dont Believe A Word I Say (Matinee)
CINERAMA: Manhattan (Scopitones)
CINERAMA: Wow (Scopitones)
CINERAMA: Lollobrigida (Scopitones)
CINERAMA: Your Charms (Scopitones)
MILKY WIMPSHAKE: Dialling Tone (Ferric Mordant)
KID 606 / REMOTE VIEWER: split picture disc (555)
THIRD EYE FOUNDATION: What Is It With You ? (Domino)
BIS: Dead Wrestlers (Wiiija)
ASIAN DUB FOUNDATION: New Way, New Life (Nation)
SISTERHOOD OF CONVOLUTED THINKERS: Lunchdate EP (555)
KICKER: Boy, Have You Got It ? (Bad Jazz)
I, LUDICROUS: Approaching 40 (Old King Lud)
MILD MAN JAN featuring MARK E SMITH: A Fistful Of Credits (SWALF1)
CEX: Get Your Badass On (555)
DOWNPOUR: Dont Go Breaking My Art (555)
FOSCA: The Agony Without The Ecstasy (Shinkansen)
BELLE AND SEBASTIAN: Legal Man (Jeepster)
THE GO BETWEENS: Going Blind (Tag)
LONG WEEKEND: Mould (555)

1999 singles

1. Half Man Half Biscuit - Look Dad No Tunes (Probe Plus)
2. The Fall - Touch Sensitive (Artful)
3. Comet Gain - Orwell Liberty Dance (Piao!)
4. Milky Wimpshake - Home Is Where The Hate Is (Libellous Vinyl)
5. Dee-Jay Punk-Roc vs Onyx - Roc-In-It (Independiente)
6. Sportique - Love & Remains (Matinee)
7. Morocco - New Javelins (Guided Missile)
8. Squarepusher - Maximum Priest (EP) (Warp)
9. Miss Mend - Macrometric (Piao!)
10. Arab Strap - Cherubs (Go! Beat)

"we also quite liked A Quarter To Three by Sleater-Kinney, Frozen Head by the Experimental Pop Band, Bitterscene by Velocette, Parallel Horizontal by Marine Research and the Elastica EP (four tracks were awful but the other two featured Mark E Smith). Ellis Island Sound did an okay single on faux-lux as well but it was hardly Always The Light."

1999 albums

1. Napalm Death - Leaders Not Followers (Dream Catcher)
2. Sportique - Black Is A Very Popular Colour (Where Its At Is Where You Are)
3. The Gentle Waves - The Green Fields Of Foreverland (Jeepster)
4. East River Pipe - The Gasoline Age (Merge)
5. Hood - The Cycle Of Days And Seasons (Domino)
6. Marine Research - Sounds From The Gulf Stream (K)
7. Kyoko - Mini: One (Mobstar)
8. Gaze - Shake The Pounce (K)
9. Low - Christmas (Tugboat)
10. Picture Center - The Wonders Of Gods Heaven And Earth (North American)

"Harvey Williams California was quite nice, too; EPMDs Out Of Business a bit tame but it came with a bonus greatest hits CD (totally fly)."

Somewhat harshly, we then went on to say:

"...as is fairly obvious from the above, 1999 was another less than vintage year. The best releases were all compilations or re-issues, in particular Black Tambourine Complete Recordings, Slab! Descension and Hood, Cabled Linear Traction both on CD for the first time, Belle & Sebastian - Tigermilk, Steward's CD compilation on Darla and the Empress collection. the fact that the best new album of the year was a 14 minute thrash covers album probably tells you all you need to know. the Gaze album was nowhere near as good as their last one, nor to be honest were Hoods or ERPs (I think Mel was near-perfect)."

1998 singles

1. Sportique - The Kids Are Solid Gold (Roxy)
2. Jesus & Mary Chain - Cracking Up (Creation)
3. Sportique - If You Ever Change Your Mind (Where Its At Is Where You Are)
4. Cinerama - Kerry Kerry (Cooking Vinyl)
5. Steward - The Last Wasps Of Summer (Orgasm)
6. Belle and Sebastian - This Is Just A Modern Rock Song (Jeepster)
7. Arab Strap - (Afternoon) Soaps (Chemikal Underground)
8. Experimental Pop Band - 40 Greatest Hits (Cup of Tea)
9. White Town - Another Lover (Parasol)
10. Evolution Control Committee - Copyright Violation (For The Nation) (Pickled Egg)

1998 albums

1. Blueboy - The Bank of England (Shinkansen)
2. Cinerama - Va Va Voom (Cooking Vinyl)
3. Trembling Blue Stars - Lips That Taste Of Tears (Shinkansen)
4. Belle & Sebastian - The Boy With The Arab Strap (Jeepster)
5. Gaze - Mitsumeru (K)
6. Arab Strap - Philophobia (Chemikal Underground)
7. Third Eye Foundation - You Guys Kill Me (Domino)
8. Hood - Rustic Houses, Forlorn Valleys (Domino)
9. Napalm Death - Words From The Exit Wound (Earache)
10. Onyx - Shut Em Down (Def Jam)

"Steward's Goodbye To Everything You Love on 555 was also pretty smart. Can't remember if the Rakim album came out in 1998 if it did, then we would suggest ( M. Lawrenson) it should probably be in there too (though not too high, mind)."

1997 singles

1. Comet Gain - Strength (Wiiija)
2. Hood - Useless (Domino)
3. Wu Tang Clan - Triumph (Loud)
4. Blueboy - Love Yourself (Shinkansen)
5. Prolapse - Autocade (Radar)
6. Belle and Sebastian - 3... 6... 9... Seconds Of Light (Jeepster)
7. White Town - Your Woman (Chrysalis)
8. Cornershop - Brimful of Asha (Wiiija)
9. bis - Sweet Shop Avengerz (Wiiija)
10. Helen Love - Does Your Heart Go Boom (Che)

"... we also liked Period Pains - Spice Girls (Who Do You Think You Are ?) (Damaged Goods), AC Acoustics - I Messiah Am Jailer (Elemental), Dweeb - Scooby Doo (blanco y negro) and even High Coin - Sunset Eyes (Dishy)"

1997 albums

"Not really enough for a top ten, we only listened at all to Beatnik Filmstars - In Hospitalable (Merge), Orlando - Passive Soul (blanco y negro), The Fall - Levitate, Half Man Half Biscuit - Voyage To The Bottom Of The Road (Probe Plus) and Squarepusher - Hard Normal Daddy (Warp). So there"

[we can't locate our lists for 1996 anywhere!]

1995 singles

1. Cornershop - 6 a.m. Jullandar Shere (Wiiija)
2. The Wedding Present - Sucker
3. Sportsguitar - He's So Funny (Derivative)
4. Blueboy - Dirty Mags (Sarah)
5. The Pastels - Worlds Of Possibility (Domino)

"Is that all ? More or less, but we mustn't forget Aberdeen - Fireworks (Sarah), Hood - Lee Faust's Million Piece Orchestra (555) and Shelley - Reproduction Is Pollution (Sarah)."

1995 albums

1. Half Man Half Biscuit - Some Call It Godcore (Probe Plus)
2. Comet Gain - Casino Classics (Wiiija)
3. Luna - Penthouse (Beggars Banquet)
4. Elastica - Elastica (Deceptive) isn't this 1994 ?
5. Onyx - Bacdafucup (Def Jam)
6. The Edsel Auctioneer - (Alias)
7. that Go-Betweens covers compilation
8. that Honey Bunch compilation on Elefant
9. East River Pipe - Even The Sun Was Afraid (Sarah)
10. Morrissey - Southpaw Grammar (RCA)

"And finally a mention to... BMX Bandits - Gettin' Dirty (Creation), and Harvest Ministers - A Feeling Mission (Setanta)"

1994 singles

1. Boyracer - He Gets Me So Hard (Sarah)
2. Hal - Election Day (Vinyl Japan)
3. Gunshot - Mind Of A Razor (Vinyl Solution)
4. Ivy - Wish It All Away (Seed)
5. Northern Picture Library - Last September's Farewell Kiss (Sarah)
6. Robert Forster - 2541 (Beggars Banquet)
7. Secret Shine - Greater Than God EP (Sarah)
8. Elastica - Waking Up (Deceptive)

"ummm... memory lapse"

1994 albums

1. Extreme Noise Terror - Retro-bution (Earache)
2. The Orchids - Striving For The Lazy Perfection (Sarah)
3. The Wake - Tidal Wave Of Hype (Sarah)
4. Fat Tulips - Starfish (Vinyl Japan)
5. Hood - Cabled Linear Traction (Slumberland)
6. The Fall - Middle Class Revolt (Matador)
7. East River Pipe - Poor Fricky (Sarah)
8. Chelsea - Nouvelles de Paradis (Rosebud)
9. Tree Fort Angst - Knee Deep In The Rococo Excess Of Tree Fort Angst (Bus Stop)
10. Sportsguitar - fade... cliche

"...Some other good stuff on "33", too... twelve minutes or so of Harvey Williams - Rebellion (Sarah), Luna - Bewitched (Beggars Banquet) featuring the song from a CK advert (!), Pavement's LP I've momentarily forgotten the name of, and The Pastels - Mobile Safari (Domino) ("Classic Line-Up"... what a song)"

1993 singles

1. Tindersticks - City Sickness (This Way Up)
2. Huggy Bear - Her Jazz (Wiiija)
3. Boyracer - B Is For Boyracer EP (Sarah)
4. The Sugargliders - Top 40 Sculpture (Sarah)
5. Secret Shine - Loveblind (Sarah)
6. Action Painting! - Mustard Gas (Sarah)
7. Heavenly - Atta Girl (Sarah)
8. Leftfield / Lydon - Open Up (Hard Hands)
9. Robert Forster - Drop (Beggars Banquet)
10. East River Pipe - Helmet On EP (Sarah)

"Honourable shouts going out to Cornershop - Lock, Stock And Double Barrel EP (Wiiija), Harvest Ministers - If It Kills Me And It Will (Sarah), Blueboy - Meet Johnny Rave (Sarah) and Slumber - Sleep EP (Vinyl Japan)"

1993 albums

1. East Village - Drop Out (Heavenly)
2. Saturn V - Skycycle (Vinyl Japan)
3. Ice Cube - Lethal Injection (Island)
4. Ice-T - Home Invasion (Rhyme Syndicate)
5. Beatnik Filmstars - forgotten the name of it (La Di Da)

"What else ? Well maybe Even As We Speak - Feral Pop Frenzy (Sarah), BMX Bandits - Life Goes On (Creation) and Thrilled Skinny - Smells A Bit Fishy (Artlos)"

1992 singles

1. Brighter - Disney EP (Sarah)
2. Black Tambourine - Throw Aggi Off The Bridge (Slumberland)
3. The Wedding Present - Come Play With Me (RCA)
4. Jesus & Mary Chain - Reverence (blanco y negro)
5. Secret Shine - Ephemeral (Sarah)
6. Hood - Opening Into Enclosure: A Disused Post Mill (EP) (Fluff)
7. The Rosaries - Leaving EP (Sarah)
8. The Orchids - Thaumaturgy (Sarah)
9. The Wedding Present - Blue Eyes (RCA)
10. The Wedding Present - Silver Shorts (RCA)

"plus Confetti - Presentl EP (Marineville), Cornershop - In The Days Of Ford Cortina (Wiiija), Jad Fair & the Pastels - He Chose His Colours Well (Paperhouse); and Even As We Speak - Beautiful Day, The Sugargliders - Letter From A Lifeboat and Blueboy - Popkiss (all on Sarah)"

1992 albums

1. Ice Cube - The Predator (Island)
2. Dr Dre - The Chronic (Priority / Interscope)
3. The Sweetest Ache - Jaguar (Sarah)
4. Eric B & Rakim - can't remember what it's called
5. I, Ludicrous - Idiots Savants (Old King Lud)

"and Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted (Big Cat) and Magnetic Fields - Holiday"

1991 singles

1. Brighter - Half Hearted EP (Sarah)
2. Tramway - Sweet Chariot (Sarah)
3. Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy (Wild Bunch)
4. BMX Bandits - Come Clean (Vinyl Japan)
5. Strawberry Story - Caroline EP (Parasol)
6. Napalm Death - Mass Appeal Madness EP (Earache)
7. Bulldozer Crash - Sarah Said / Changing (Sunday)
8. The Pastels - Thru Your Heart (Paperhouse)
9. The Field Mice - Missing The Moon (Sarah)
10. The Vicarage Garden - You That Is (Heaven)

"...and so much more, not least Television Personalities - Strangely Beautiful (Fire), The Wake - Major John (Sarah), Confetti - Who's Big And Clever Now (Heaven), Heavenly - So Little Deserve (Sarah), Dean Wareham - Anesthesia (Mint Tea) and Even As We Speak - One Step Forward (Sarah)"

We were obviously feeling a bit more positive that year.

1991 albums

1. Leatherface - Mush (Roughneck)
2. Ice Cube - Death Certificate (Priority)
3. 14 Iced Bears - Wonder (Borderline)
4. The Orchids - Unholy Soul (Sarah)
5. The Wedding Present - Seamonsters (RCA)

"And honourable mentions to BMX Bandits - Star Wars (Vinyl Japan) and St Christopher - Man I Could Scream (Vinyl Japan)"

1990 singles

1. White Town - White Town (Satya)
2. The Field Mice - If You Need Someone (Sarah)
3. Thrilled Skinny - Let There Be Shelving (Hunchback)
4. The Wedding Present - Three Songs EP (RCA)
5. Heavenly - I Fell In Love Last Night (Sarah)
6. Brighter - Noah's Ark (Sarah)
7. Eric B and Rakim - Let The Rhythm Hit 'Em
8. Robert Forster - Baby Stones (Beggars Banquet)
9. Betty Boo - Where Are You Baby ? (Rhythm King)
10. EPMD - Rampage (Def Jam)

"...we'd also give house room to P.I.L. - Don't Ask Me (Virgin), Brilliant Corners - Love It I Lost It (McQueen), St Christopher - If I Could Capture (Stamp), The Sweetest Ache - Tell Me How It Feels (Sarah), Another Sunny Day - Rio (Sarah), My Bloody Valentine - Glider (Creation)"

1990 albums

"The Wake - Make It Loud (Sarah) was laconic to the point of divinity. Not much else, save that I, Ludicrous LP on Rodney, Rodney and maybe that Datblygu outing on Ankst"

1989 singles

1. The Field Mice - Sensitive (Sarah)
2. Public Enemy - Welcome To The Terrordome (Def Jam)
3. Another Sunny Day - You Should All Be Murdered (Sarah)
4. 14 Iced Bears - World I Love (Thunderball)
5. Brighter - Around The World In 80 Days EP (Sarah)
6. The Edsel Auctioneer - Strung (Decoy)
7. Strawberry Story - The Literary Achievement Of Soft Fruit (flexi)
8. Pacific - Shrift (Creation)
9. James Dean Driving Experience - Clearlake Revisited (Plastic Head)
10. St Christopher - Even The Sky Seems Blue EP (Bus Stop)

1989 albums

1. Galaxie 500 - On Fire (Rough Trade)
2. The Wedding Present - Bizarro (RCA)
3. Television Personalities - Privilege (Fire)
4. The Pastels - Sittin' Pretty (Chapter 22)
5. BMX Bandits - C86 (Click)

"though for an all round musical education you needed to hear the alter ego albums $aw Throat - Inde$troy and Sore Throat - Never Mind The Napalm, both on Manic Ears I think"

1988 singles

1. Eric B & Rakim - Follow The Leader
2. Rosehips - That Was Your Life EP (Chaotic Brilliance)
3. The Field Mice - Emma's House EP (Sarah)
4. The Flatmates - Shimmer (Subway Organisation)
5. Morrissey - Suedehead (His Master's Voice)
6. EPMD - It's My Thang (Def Jam)
7. One Thousand Violins - If I Were A Bullet (Report)
8. Choo Choo Train - High (Subway Organisation)
9. The Wedding Present - Nobody's Twisting Your Arm EP (Reception)
10. Pacific - Barnoon Hill (Creation)
11. Slab! - People Pie (Ink)
12. Pooh Sticks - On Tape (53rd & 3rd)
13. Jesus And Mary Chain - Sidewalking (blanco y negro)
14. Strawberry Story - Tell Me Now (Woosh! flexi)
15. Groovy Little Numbers - Happy Like Yesterday (53rd & 3rd)

1988 albums

1. Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back (Def Jam)
2. Galaxie 500 - Today (Aurora)
3. 14 Iced Bears - 14 Iced Bears (Thunderball)
4. Felt - The Pictorial Jackson Review (Creation)
5. Razorcuts - The World Keeps Turning (Creation)

"plus, for grindcore fans and cymruphiles respectively, I'd suggest Carcass - Reek Of Putrefaction (Earache) and Datblygu - Wyau (Ankst)..."

1987 singles

1. Bubblegum Splash! - Splashdown EP (Subway Organisation)
2. Rosehips - I Shouldn't Have To Say EP (Subway Organisation)
3. McCarthy - Frans Hals (Pink)
4. The Wedding Present - Anyone Can Make A Mistake (Reception)
5. Talulah Gosh - Talulah Gosh (53rd & 3rd)
6. Eric B & Rakim - Paid In Full (4th & Broadway)
7. The Flatmates - You're Gonna Cry (Subway Organisation)
8. The Vaselines - Son Of A Gun (53rd & 3rd)
9. The Smiths - Girlfriend In A Coma (Rough Trade)
10. Razorcuts - I Heard You The First Time (Flying Nun)
11. The Primitives - Stop Killing Me (Lazy)
12. The Go Betweens - Right Here (Beggars Banquet)
13. The Pastels - Comin' Thru (53rd & 3rd)
14. Sinister Cleaners - Longing For Next Year
15. New Order - True Faith (Factory)

"what else ? Sea Urchins - Pristine Christine (Sarah), the Weather Prophets - She Comes From The Rain (Elevation), and the Groovy Little Numbers - You Make My Head Explode (53rd & 3rd)..."

1987 albums

"...with singles as good as those above, did we really need albums ? "george best" was the album of the year anyway, even 'sounds' said that. mind you, the chesterfields' "kettle" just gets better and better over time... the chesterfields are better than oasis... i will accept your silence as agreement"

1986 singles

"(are we allowed to say that even the songs outside the top 20 this year are better than more or less any other record ever released ? let's hope so)"

1. The Smiths - Bigmouth Strikes Again (Rough Trade)
2. BMX Bandits - E102 / Sad? (53rd & 3rd)
3. The Wedding Present - Once More (Reception)
4. McCarthy - Red Sleeping Beauty (Pink)
5. Razorcuts - Sorry To Embarrass You (Subway Organisation)
6. Razorcuts - Big Pink Cake (Subway Organisation)
7. Brilliant Corners - Meet Me On Tuesdays (SS20)
8. Half Man Half Biscuit - Trumpton Riots EP (Probe Plus)
9. The Chesterfields - Completely & Utterly (Subway Organisation)
10. Shop Assistants - I Don't Wanna Be Friends With You (Blue Guitar)

11. Easterhouse - Out On Your Own (Rough Trade)
12. The Redskins - It Can Be Done! (London)
13. Primal Scream - Crystal Crescent (Creation)
14. The Pastels - Truck Train Tractor (Glass)
15. The Flatmates - I Could Be In Heaven (Subway Organisation)
16. Jesus & Mary Chain - Some Candy Talking (blanco y negro)
17. Mighty Mighty - Throwaway (Dreamworld)
18. 1000 Violins - Please Don't Sandblast My House (Dreamworld)
19. Soup Dragons - Whole Wide World (Subway Organisation)
20. The Bodines - Therese (Creation)

"...plus about a million other singles including The Primitives - Really Stupid (Lazy), Bogshed - Morning Sir! (Shelfish), Television Personalities - How I Learned To Love The Bomb (Rough Trade), June Brides - This Town (Pink), Talulah Gosh - Steaming Train (53rd & 3rd), Talulah Gosh - Beatnik Boy (53rd & 3rd), Biff Banng Pow! - Love's Going Out Of Fashion (Creation)), Slaughter Joe - She's So Out Of Touch (Creation), New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle (Factory)..."

1986 albums

"ok - let's get things out of the way, the best album of all time came out this year, a various artists lp although its name temporarily escapes me. but don't forget this was also the year of the smiths' "the queen is dead" and the fall's "bend sinister"... god, to be young in those days was very heaven"