The Best of 2016

We all know 2016 was dog shit, it's been said a lot. Yes, there were some people that got married, engaged, fell in love, or are right wing fascists - I'm sure they all had a great 2016. But for the rest of us, and i'm going to call us "normal people", it really fucking sucked.

I know its 2017 and you want to move on, but what if I said to you "Hey! It wasn't all bad! Please don't hit me!"
Cos you know what got me through this ball-ache of a year? Really good music (and friends, family, wife blah blah blah, who wants to hear about them eh?).

So, think of this years list as not only really good music, but a saviour, a rock, a comfort blanket, a good beer. It got me through the year and if you haven't heard of some of these bands I hope they bring you new joy for what I'm sure will be an even shitter 2017.

Songs of 2016

I've done this the past few years now and really love it, every time I hear a song I like I add it to a playlist for the year on Spotify. Its a great way to capture all the songs I like. Check it out if you want to hear my full list, its really bloody good.

Here are some of my highlights of that list that are not featured in my top albums, or haven't got a million radio plays (like Frank Ocean, Chance the Rapper, The XX, Kanye...)

Lizzo - Good as Hell. I only heard this late in the year on a talk show and she did an amazing dance routine. Its unbridled joy, a perfect tonic for 2016.



Her - Five Minutes - A recommendation from a work colleague back home (thanks Pash!), this has been stuck in my head for most of the year.



Local Natives - Fountain of Youth. Not sure why there's no official video for this, I assumed it was a single the amount of times ive heard it. I'd kinda lost interest in Local Natives as their 2nd album was pish compared to the debut, but this, off the 3rd album, renewed my faith.

 

Anderson Paak - Put Me Thru. The Album "Malibu" is a great listen too, but this is a standout for me. A great slice of modern soul. Oddly, the BBC have put him in their Sound of 2017, which just shows how bad that list has become seen as he got some pretty big hype throughout 2016.

 

Lloyd Carner - Stars and Shards
A genuine one to watch out for in 2017, Lloyd Carner lays some great lines over chilled funky guitar tracks. Its a refreshing change of pace in hip hop.

Albums of 2016

Don't get me wrong, the below albums are all great, but I feel like the last few years before 2016 I've had more choice when it came to a top 10. Frankly, after my top 3 albums its very hard to rank them 4-10. I've spent a lot of time with them all at some point during the year and all have great tracks but they're not perfect and they haven't stuck with me for long periods I would say. I just dip into them when I feel like it.

I almost thought screw it, i just wont rank them past the top 3, then I started to write and listen again and I was reminded that actually yeah, there's more good tracks than I remember on this, and this one drops off towards the end but actually is the first half of this better than the whole of that? So I HAD to rank them. I did it for my sanity, for your sanity. We need order in this volatile world, so with that here's my top 10.

10. Weezer - White Album

A real return to form for me. I feel like they've been slowly clawing their way back after their infamous grab for punk-pop stardom (which I still dont understand...). I didn't really get involved with all that, I liked the early stuff and I like this too. Is it the same, no? Will it appease some of those fans that got mad? Im not sure. Do I care? No. Its a great album in my eyes and has some classic Weezer songs like "Do you Wanna get High?", "Thank God for Girls" and "King of the World" plus something a bit different "I Love the USA".

9. Childish Gambino - Awaken My Love 

In which Donald Glover adds another string to his already pretty full bow. Seemingly not happy with being a successful comedian, actor and hip-hop artist, Donald adds Funk/Soul sex-god to his list of talents. And you know what? It makes you want to cry a little, its just not fair! How can one man be that good at all these things?! Its a complete transformation from his previous musical offerings instead relying heavily on Prince, Sly and George Clinton. It's an homage, but he adds his own personality to it. "Redbone" is one of the tracks of the year, and even though the album dies a little towards the end the first 3/4's could sit alongside Sly and the Family Stone and no-one would bat an eyelid.

8. Frank Ocean - Blonde

There's so much going on in this much anticipated follow-up to Channel Orange by Frank it's hard to point to a single track on it. It might have even appeared higher up my list if it hadn't been an Apple Music exclusive for the first month or so, which I refused to get on principal. I think Frank Ocean crosses genre's, it's definitely hip hop at its core, but if you're an indie fan you'll find plenty to like here as there's a lot of guitar and keys. Like most hip hop albums though it suffers from too many tracks, cut out 5 from the 17 and you have a much tighter experience.

Frank Ocean - 'Nikes' from DoBeDo Productions on Vimeo.

7. Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam Batmanglij - I had a dream that you were mine

Gravel voiced lead singer of The Walkmen (Leithauser) teams up with equally weird named ex Vampire Weekend jack-of-all-trades (Batmanglij) for this side project. The opening track (and standout) on this record is "A 1000 times", which is apt as that's probably how many times i've played it. It's just great rock songwriting that sounds like they've been a band forever. I hope they do more stuff together as its clearly working.

6. Francis and the Lights - Farewell Starlite 

I would just like to show my hipster credentials here for a second, Ive loved Francis for YEARS. This year though has seen him pop-up everywhere from Bon Iver to Kanye, to Chance the Rapper and more. He's a producer / composer in demand. So why then can he not make the main stream hits for himself? Im not sure, but this is another solid album of electro soul pop from the very odd recluse. Also massive props for getting Justin Vernon to dance in this vid.

5. Bon Iver - 22 A Million 

Bon Iver are one of my favourite bands. But this album frustrated me so much at first, from the stupid code like names of the songs to what seems like forced weirdness pushed into potentially classic Bon Iver tracks and the ultimate sin - the VOCODER. Why do that to your beautiful voice Justin?! I get it, you're an artist, you get bored, you want to exercise your creative chops.

For a while it felt like he was rebelling against himself and his fans, but repeated listens exposes the beauty and the genius of 22 A Million. It's a wonderfully creative album that still has the hooks and melodies of old Bon Iver, even if you have to work a little hard to understand them than previous efforts.

4. Whitney - Light upon the Lake

Falsetto vocals, summery vibes, acoustic guitar, a bit of horns here and there. They remind me of Teenage Fanclub. Light upon the Lake is a beautiful debut from Whitney. Barely a duff track on the record but the singles No Woman and Golden Days are standouts.

3. Jeff Rosenstock - Worry

Jeff Rosenstock has been around ages and I know some of my NYC punk loving friends will have likely heard of him in one of his many bands, but for me this album was my first exposure of Jeff. Specifically he appeared on the Chris Gethard Show (one of my faves, check out) and rocked the hell out. On Worry, he writes smart, funny, indie punk shout-a-longs with ease and it seems like a direct response to all the shit 2016 has thrown at us. My personal fave off this is called "HELLLLHOOOOLE" but that doesnt have a video so here's another good one.

2. Michael Kiwanuka - Love & Hate

I've known of Michael for a while now as my mate Matt worked with him for a video on one of his first songs, he's always had talent but his debut for me didn't make me think he was going to be much more than a good / middling success singer / songwriter. Im glad to say I was very wrong! Love & Hate is a modern day masterpiece that offers so much more than a man with a guitar - its EPIC. From the lush slow burning 10 minute opener of Cold Little Heart you know this is going to be a special record. It would sound bloody fantastic live, backed by an orchestra and I want to be there when it happens. I'm still gutted that he had to cancel his NYC show at the end of the year.

His rich voice is still front and centre, but like the composition of the songs it's matured and lyrically its one of the best of the year.

1. Car Seat Headrest - Teens of Denial

I'm not going to mention that I saw these upstairs at Piano's in October 2015, with a crowd of 12 people watching, half of which were my friends. I'm not going to mention I've championed them since that gig months before they released this album which resulted them playing the Late Show TV circuit playing to bigger and bigger sold out venues across the states, ultimately appearing in many top 10 album lists, (including no.4 in Rolling Stone - and that's for OLD people!). Im above all that hipster shit so I wont mention any of it, its just not me guys.

What I will say is I TOLD YOU SO! NER NER NER NER!

*AHEM*

In truth, this album surprised me as to how good it turned out to be. Teens of Denial is Will Toledo's major label debut after releasing several low key albums previously (and prolifically) including the also excellent compilation Teens of Style. It's a rare thing when someone with obvious talent matures with such great timing as this. Like I say, he's written hundreds of songs and put out albums well before this, yet Teens of Denial is better than all of what went previous.

Stuffed with ideas and killer songs, sometimes there's great songs inside great songs. Lead single - Vincent clocks in at just under 8mins and could be split into 3 great songs. On the surface CSH are a very typical college indie rock band. But scratch a little under the surface and there's so much more here, the lyrics are sharp and witty, he takes risks other bands wouldn't with composition, he knows how to play with the listener, taking them on a journey while spilling his guts out about depression, drugs, booze and teenage anxiety.

I've played this album more than the previous nine put together, its that good and there was never any doubt what was going to be my favorite album of 2016.

My Best of 2015 List

Hello and welcome back, I hope you had a lovely 2015. Before we close the book on last year I thought i'd share with you some of my favourite albums and tracks of the year. This is the 6th year ive done this blog which frankly amazes me that ive stuck to something that long.

I bought 25 albums released in 2015, yes that's right BOUGHT, I own them. I feel like every year I should mention this. I do use Spotify, but mainly for research purposes and as a kind of radio, if I like an album I still go and pay for it. I see it as an investment in the artist, I want them to be able to afford to make another album. Its now quite apparent that streaming on its own cannot support a band, especially the ones that I tend to like so its really important that you support the artist in whatever way you like, just know that your Spotify streams arent gonna be enough.

Anyway, preach over, lets get to the music. As usual ive started with some of my favourite tracks of the year which dont feature in the top 10 albums below:

Top Tracks

If you prefer to just listen to my favourite songs of the year without all of my ramblings you can subscribe to my 2015 playlist on Spotify.

Some of my favourite tracks this year have actually been mega-hits so im not going to give them much space and instead share the ones that havent had a billion plays on Youtube / radio. But for the record I think my overall favourite songs of 2015 are probably Cant Feel My Face by the Weeknd, Loud Places by Jamie XX, Hotline Bling, Drake, King Kunta, Kendrick Lamar and Feel Right by Mark Ronson and Mystikal (which incidentally has the best video of the year below).

THIS WONT EMBED AND ITS DRIVING ME NUTS.(IMAGINE THE MARK RONSON SONG "FEEL RIGHT" HERE)

Paddy goes pop! Im going mainstream in my old age.

OR AM I... One of my favourite new artists of 2015 not to release an album, Lapsley was one of a number of great artists touted in the BBC Sound of 2015 list. She's like a trip-hop version of Adele, minimal instrumentation, great chilled vibe and really interesting, unlike Adele. As well as the below song check out Dancing, Understudy, Falling Short and Hurt Me. The album is one to watch out for in 2016.



A change of pace now - Titus Andronicus' front man has the wild stare of a crazy person, or just imagine Oscar the Grouch in human form. Then imagine him singing full throttle, balls out rock like the below highlight from their 2015 album - The Most Lamentable Tragedy. Its immense.

Another tip from the BBC Sound of 2015 list and his album just missed out on my top 10. Its got some great tracks on it with this probably being the highlight.

Top Albums

I found it really hard to order these this year, I could quite happily switch my top 3, middle 4 and bottom 3 on a daily basis and there's some fantastic records who just missed out on the top 10 from Hot Chip, Shamir, The Maccabees, Disclosure, Everything Everything... too many to mention here. But for the sake of brevity go and check out the above as well as the below. They're all good. Have I ever let you down? Dont answer that...

NUMBER 10

Foals - What Went Down

WHEN I SEE A MAN I SEE A LIAR! Shouts little Yannis in the chorus of the opening track of another blinding album from Foals. If I had more time with this album I could see it moving up my list, but its probably the album ive spent least time with due it only being released relatively recently. What I can tell you is its probably the most consistent of all the Foals albums but doesnt necessarily reach the highs of previous efforts, but in the same breath doesnt have the dips in quality either as the earlier releases. Its just solid all the way through.

NUMBER 9

Blur - The Magic Whip

Writing this it feels wrong to put them at number 9, they're my favourite band surely they released my favourite album of the year? I couldnt do it though. Dont get me wrong, this is a fantastic Blur album, way better than anyone could expect when you hear how it was born from a a few days jam session during a break in touring. Graham took it upon himself to attone for his previous sins in the band by going ahead and fashioning a new blur album out of recordings which were all but dead. There's some fantastic tracks too - Lonesome Street, Go Out, Ong Ong, Terracotta Heart, Ghost Ship. But it's not higher than this due to a few of the maudlin misery which peppered Damon's solo LP - Im looking at you New World Towers, Pyongyang and Mirror Ball. Still, Im over the moon it was released and I got to see them SOUNDCHECK in a tiny venue in Brooklyn for the release of this record, which will go down as one of the most amazing days of my life - thanks to my mate Felix.

NUMBER 8

Matthew E. White - Fresh Blood

Matthew E. White's 7 track debut showed a lot of promise but ultimately I felt it lacked tunes. In this follow up he rights those wrongs with hook upon hook, humourous lyrics and that velvety voice of his. Its definitely a retro sound but I struggle to pigeon-hole it into soul or rock. Its just goddamn funky as hell and I cant recommend it enough.

NUMBER 7

Tobias Jesso Jr. - Goon

Unlike Matthew E. White, TJJr (an acronym im sure he's never had used before) is very easy to pigeon-hole. He's a pansy-assed piano balladeer! Y'know the kind - John Lennon - Imagine, Elton John heck even Billy Joel. Those guys. Its a hark back to the 70's sure, but nothing about this album feels hokey. The songs are strong enough to stand alone and still feel contemporary. Go see him live with his band "Duk" and its a different story though - they're brilliant together.

NUMBER 6

Will Butler - Policy

*QUIRKY SIDE PROJECT KLAXON* Yes, this is Will Butler, the quieter of the Butler's in the mega-band Arcade Fire. I never really take side projects that seriously, which is why it is amazing that there are not one but two side projects in my top 10 this year. There's definitely hints of Arcade Fire at their most ram-shackle, but as a whole its a bit more diverse and sharper. There's definite hints of Talking Heads at times, which can only be a good thing. Lyrically its quite honest too, less mystique around it than AF, as witnessed in the track Finish What I Started - where Will bemoans his inability of being able to finishing anything. At 9 tracks it does feel like he gave up or couldnt be bothered making it a round 10 too. Im all for lean albums though, this is perfect at 9 tracks, it feels succinct, it feels like he made an album which encapsulates all sides of his personality, got to 9 and thought "Nope, this is it, ive nailed it".

NUMBER 5

Tame Impala - Currents

Lonerism really broke Tame Impala but I didnt really get it. It was too much like a jam for me, a bit hippy-ish and meandered too often. It had some good tracks but overall I chalked it off as not for me. So when this new album launched with "Cause, Im a Man" I was taken aback, it was like an 80's soul tune. A total shift from what I had in mind for Tame Impala. Something Kevin Parker said in an interview also intrigued me, im paraphrasing here but he wanted to show people he wasnt a one-trick pony and really wanted this album to show the full breadth of what they could do. He wasn't wrong, Currents is great, has depth, tunes and sounds different to a lot of bands out there today. Its a great album to put on in the background and get shit done as it ebbs and flows beautifully.

NUMBER 4

Sleater-Kinney - No Cities to Love

I'm ashamed to say that this is the first Sleater-Kinney album I ever listened to, they passed me by the first time round. However, the first singles got played a lot on radio here so I had a listen to the album on Spotify and pretty much soon after that I bought it. Its one of those rare pure rock records thats all killer, no filler. Perfect 3 minute, guitar, drums, vox rock songs. If, like me, you hadnt heard much by SK, check this out first, its a great introduction to a legendary band.

Number 3

El Vy - Return to the Moon

There's a definite theme emerging from this list of albums that had no right to be as good as they turned out to be. 2 bands returning from lengthy absences (Blur / Sleater-Kinney) and 2 side projects from big indie bands, Will Butler and now El Vy. This is Matt Berninger of The National alongside Brent Knopf of Menomena. If you know me, one of those people is my idol. But still, its a side project, I wasn't THAT excited.. until i heard the first single Return to the Moon. Then I got excited. It was fun, it was catchy, it had the lyrics of The National but more upbeat and funny. The National are a serious band, El Vy is Matt cutting loose, literally letting his hair down (HELLO INDIE THOR!) and teaming up with the always quirky Brent Knopf. Lets not underestimate his part here either, the arrangement of these tracks and the diversity of sounds contained within them are what sets them apart from The National. No, Matt wouldnt be allowed to write "Im peaceful cos' my dick's in sunlight" in his own band, but its really Brent which sets El Vy apart from the two's main projects. There's 3 - 4 big tunes, but the rest of the album is a grower and live they really come good too. You can turn off the quirky side project klaxon, cos this is a legit album of the year contender.

NUMBER 2

Kitty, Daisy and Lewis - III

It was over 10 years ago now that I attended Glastonbury, it rained of course and I was hating every moment of it. The crowds, the mud and the miles you had to walk from one stage to the other. It was like an Iron Man challenge if I had known what that was at the time. But in a small circus tent approximately 50 miles from the Pyramid Stage I saw a band comprised of 3 siblings, 2 girls and 1 boy no older than 12/13. They were backed by their parents on double bass and drums. The boy was dressed like Elvis Presley in a jacket too large for him and a slick quiff while the two girls were similarly 50's themed vamp looking. They played rock n roll, blues and soul, really bloody well. They took it in turns on vocals, swapping instruments in between every song as the parents watched on proudly. WHO ARE THESE FREAKS IN A CIRCUS TENT?! I wondered quietly. I even forgot for a moment that I was in a 1000 acre cesspit that I would likely die in by the end of the weekend. I will always remember those kids for briefly elevating me from that horrible weekend and reminding me it was supposed to be about music. Fast forward 10+ years and those kids are onto their 3rd album and unsurprisingly they're really good. Some of the best blues, rock n roll and soul you'll hear in 2015 and its coming from 3 posh white kids. Honestly, go listen to the whole album and thank yourself you're not at Glastonbury.

NUMBER 1

Ezra Furman - Perpetual Motion People

I only heard of Ezra Furman this year as a tip off from my lovely gig pigs back in London. As usual they were spot on. But I think I've now passed them in my love for Ezra. You see, Perpetual Motion People is a special record. It's a career defining record which takes us on a tour of Ezra's "Haunted Head" his hangups, his depression his coming to terms with who he is. Its beautiful, its sad, its funny, its raucous but through each song there's a thread of optimism which never leaves so it doesnt feel like a sad record. He tackles his gender fluidity for the first time in a manner only he could, with humour and honesty and this is the first record he's toured dressing as a female when he felt liked it. Live he is a force to be reckoned with, he cant weigh more than 7 stone and performs like a Jim Henson creation being electrified every few seconds. His band compliment the muppet frontman perfectly constantly moving and dancing with the sax player almost stealing the show on several occasions. Its such an experience you have to witness it. All this is backed up by the strength of the new material on PMP. Ezra is a poet of Dylan proportions at times, you really feel like he poured everything into this record. There's no wart left unpicked by the end of it and its so cathartic for the listener, I can only imagine what it was like for him. 

The Last Best of 2014 List of 2014

Hey everyone! Ive waited it out and checked the internet and I can confirm that yes this is the LAST best of 2014 list published on the internet, its that late. There will be no more 2014 lists after this one, everyone who is everyone has done theirs already. So you might as well stop checking and just dig in to what I have to offer.

Despite saying I have checked the internet for 2014 lists, i only skimmed the headers, I havent actually read any 2014 lists yet this year, call it laziness, lack of interest whatever, but what you'll get below is my most listened to albums of last year it will not be effected by any cool list bias cos I havent read any cool lists, and I am not cool. The list below is pure, unfiltered, virgin OPINIONS. Not to be confused with opinions of a virgin, you can get that from nme.com. BOOM!

Before I sink my nuts into some albums I wanted to give some honorable track mentions by artists that didnt make it into my album list because a) They didnt release an album b) There album wasn't good enough c) I didnt hear their album.

Foxygen - How Can You Really



One of the tracks of the year for me, sadly the album was let down by being an overblown pompous mess, if Foxygen stuck to the tunes they've proven they can write like No Destruction, Shuggie and San Francisco they could have an album of non-stop hits. But they do like to ramble on like old hippies sometimes so hey thats why they're here and not in the album list. WATCH THE VIDEO ITS AMAZING.

Ed Harcourt - The Way That I Live



Dont let the title to the video of the above put you off, I haven't started taking sponsored ads in my blog. This track by Ed Harcourt was hidden in full view of a million dollar christmas advert by Burberry featuring an on-screen debut of young Romeo Beckham. Its got 8m views on Youtube and was my tip for UK Xmas No.1 so naturally it topped out at no.88 and disappeared from the chart completely within 1 day. ONE DAY! Wtf England?

Its beautiful, its got that drunken raw vocal reminiscent of Shane Macgowan on Fairytale of New York and its by one of the most under-appreciated singer-songwriters of our generation, it had all the boxes checked for a "GET ED TO XMAS NO.1 CAMPAIGN" but it didnt, bah humbug!

Eagulls - Possessed




I took a friend to see these at the beginning of the year at the Mercury Lounge, he went along completely blind to who they were having never heard a single note. What sold him was my simple description of "Like a screamy version of The Cure" or it may have been the free ticket, I cant remember. After an hour of getting his ears assaulted in one of NYC's smallest and best venues, he turned to me and said that the description was spot on, at least I think thats what he said, I couldnt hear him cos they had just blown away any remnants of hearing ability I had left. Fantastic live band and a very good debut album too.

Jungle - Busy Earnin'


CHOOOOOON! That's all I have to say about this. Actually no its not, im really annoyed that I cant get this album (legally) in the US and I forgot to buy it while in the UK at Christmas. OK, now Im done, listen to it and jiggle your head from side to side like Im doing now.

Perfume Genius - Queen


This purely makes the cut for the line "No family is safe, when I sashay". Jokes, Perfume Genius' album has got a lot of plaudits this year, so I definitely recommend checking it out, I struggled to find songs on it though that were as likeable as this one.

Its about this time in the blog that i realise there's a TON of stone cold tunes I want to put here that arent in any of my top albums so in order to save time can i just make sure you're all on board with the following tracks Thunder Clatter - Wild Cub, Back to the Shack - Weezer, Bread for Brat - The Hidden Camera's and im sure Ronson's instant classic Uptown Funk and Hozier's Take Me To Church dont even need hyperlinks right?

ALBUMS

Did anyone else notice that 2014 was quite front loaded as far as quality music goes? Pretty much all of my favourite music happened in the first half of the year and then it went a bit quiet really after that. Because of this I've lived with most of the albums below for what seems like a very long time and therefore they feel like ancient classics rather than artists latest releases.

Before I get into my top 10 here's some albums that didnt make it but I still really enjoyed this year. Stars  - No One is Lost, Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbot - What Have We Become, Jessie Ware - Tough Love, St Vincent - St Vincent, Alt-J - This is All Yours, Karen O - Crush Songs, Sun Kil Moon - Benji and finally Spoon - They Want My Soul.

10. Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots




The fact that I forgot about this album in my first draft of this blog sums up my feeling towards it really. I love Damon, he was undoubtedly my gig of the year at Governors Ball this year, his passion live is unmatched, hes just a joy to watch and as he interspersed the set with Gorillaz and Blur tunes you didnt get the lull of some of the more miserable tracks on this record. The reason it makes the top 10 over some other more complete albums is that there is 4 very good tracks on this album (Everyday Robots, Lonely Press Play, Mr Tembo and Heavy Seas of Love) which outshine songs on the records i mentioned above. Unfortunately the rest of the album I found to be too safe, too plodding and not very interesting im afraid.

9. Slow Club - Complete Surrender



I cant tell you how happy I am to have Slow Club in my top 10. Long time Sheffield indie hero's broke free from their folk shackles this year and released the diva in Rebecca Taylor to produce a blistering motown soul record which showcases her amazing vocal range. She's also hilarious on Twitter, a Sheffield Wednesday fan and a total babe *swoon*.

8. Jenny Lewis - The Voyager




Getting this years "I TOLD YOU SO" award from the wife is this album from Jenny Lewis. After years of subtly pushing Miss Lewis into my consciousness it became a lot harder to resist in 2014 as she released an album packed full of sing-along pop / country hits. It didnt take long for each song to worm its way into my brain as I found myself singing along almost unwittingly, she's just that catchy.

7. Jack White - Lazaretto



The Willy Wonka of Vinyl really earned his title this year by releasing this fantastic successor to Blunderbuss his debut solo LP. A more fun record to his previous, Ol' Jacky White tells stories about Three Women he has on the go, Drinking and being sent to an isolation hospital where people get treated for leprosy.... OK maybe it wasnt all fun. He spits out rhymes like a west coast rapper on some tracks and just seems to be having a jolly good time. The result is his best record since his White Stripes prime. Lordy, Lord!

6. Embrace - Embrace

 


Well hello old friend, welcome to the new world, this is called Facebook and this is called Twitter here's how you use them... oh wait no dont do that with it, no that's a bit intrusive, ouch! OK if you want I spose.... What's a forum? Despite the Social Media hullabaloo that came with this return from the yorkshire boys, of which I have a lengthy past, this album is an absolute triumph which must be celebrated, by the old fans, by new fans and certainly by the band itself. It sounds like Nine Inch Nails if they were coached by Simon Cowell and still manages to come out sounding great. By that I mean it has the industrial noise and dark tones of NIN but its unashamedly cheesy pop still at its heart, which is why Embrace will never be cool! But goddamnit they're talented and I dont care who knows.

5. Kevin Drew - Darlings



Get the body butter baby lets go party all alone... Thats the line that starts this album and it pretty much sets the tone. Sexy, full of humour, its Broken Social Scene condensed and concentrated. If you're a BSS fan and you dont own this album go and get it, cos its just as good if not better than their full band albums. It might be not be as large, or as sprawling as a BSS album, its more focused and thats a very good thing. Its got the hooks, its got the melody and its certainly got the best of Kevins lyrics.

4. Bombay Bicycle Club - So Long, See You Tomorrow




Where in blue hell did this come from?!? I've followed BBC for a very long time, and I will never forget the first time we saw them at the Barfly in Camden, they were first on the bill at 12.30pm for the XFM All Dayer about 7 years ago I think. There were about 10 of us in the room, 6 of which were me and my friends. A bunch of nerds took the stage and produced some insanely catchy guitar music which literally made my jaw drop, i turned around to look at my friends and they all had the same expression. This album produced that expression 7 years on, a complete departure musically from that cold day in January but still very much them nerds putting out track after track of what I can only describe as indie r'n'b pop?! The album is packed full of singles, and has rightly propelled them onto Radio 1 A-lists, Festival headliners and sell out mega tours. Well done boys!

3. Kelis - Food



11 years after Kelis brought her Milkshake to the yard she returns with a full compliment of entrees in this concept album based on food accompanied by Food Network shows and recipe books et al. Of course to hark back to her biggest hit 11 years ago is a little unfair, Kelis has gone through several re-inventions since then, not forgetting her fantastic house album of a few years ago. One constant in all her re-inventions though is her soulful vocals, so it shouldnt be any surprise that she has finally made an all-out soul album. Its certainly no surprise that its bloody great because if you didnt know already Kelis is a goddess and can do no wrong.

2. Broken Bells - After the Disco



Yep. Broken Bells. Broken Bells? Yes. Im as surprised as you are that this is my no.2 pick for the year. Truth is, I didnt really like Broken Bells first album, y'know the one that everyone else did? So why then do I like this 2nd album so much when it appears to have been completely ignored by everyone in the music press (how would I know if I havent read any 2014 lists, you ask? Good question...). The answer is very simple, its way more upbeat than the first album and i'm a sucker for disco funky indie which Dangermouse has now pretty much nailed. Its a mixture of Gorillaz and Black Keys' El Camino, in fact this album really could've been the latest Black Keys album but im guessing after hearing the latest Black Keys album Dangermouse decided to give his Broken Bells project all of the good tunes rather than them cos that new album is utter shit! In the hands of The Shins vocalist what would've been a bluesy funky romp turns into a funky disco romp and its glorious. All killer no filler.

1. The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream




Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! This is not just my album of the year, its approaching one of my favourite albums in the last 10 years. Its completely dumbfounding, by all rights I should hate it. The singer sounds like a cross between Dylan / Springsteen (not my faves), the length of the songs are bordering on prog-rock levels, there's a fair amount of lead which by any other band I wouldve wrote off as fret-wanking pointlessness. BUT, but... GODDAMN its so good it makes me want to cry. Its totally all about the music, I have paid no attention to the lyrics, the rhythm and melodies are very repetitive and rarely has a chorus of such. But by each iteration of the verse something new will appear, a lick of a guitar or a slight change in the way he delivers the lyric and it just propels it forward. Because of this repetitiveness you feel every change of tempo, every little nuance that differentiates it from the last verse and its totally exhilarating. I listened to it most during summer on my way to singing lessons in Montclair, NJ, it was always dark and it was a good hours drive round trip and it's absolutely perfect for those conditions - dark and driving. Completely useless for trying to practice my vocal warm ups as its not really a sing along album, but totally great for rocking out banging on the steering wheel as the groove of each track is intertwined into every part of your body and you find yourself shifting in your seat, bobbing your head, tapping your fingers, tapping your foot (not the one on the accelerator) and then yelping when he gets excited and the outro of An Ocean In Between in the Waves kicks in. Months after playing it constantly I read a great article, I think on pitchfork, about how mentally unstable he was during the recording process and how it was such a difficult album to finish it almost killed him. It blew my mind that such a masterpiece can come from such difficult circumstances. So... yeah... go listen to it, a man almost died creating it you heathens.

Biggest Disappointments

Some of my favourite artists released albums this year and only a couple made the top 10. Two albums I havent even mentioned so Im calling them out here. First of all The Black Keys album Turn Blue is the biggest let down, after Brothers and El Camino I expected great things, but Turn Blue just feels rushed. It sounds like the leftovers from El Camino which didnt make the grade, I can only summise that the record label told them they wanted another album to capitalise on El Caminos success. What you got was a great single (Fever) and then a watered down MOR insult of an album to people who paid good money.

Lastly I'll end with Ryan Adams, his latest self titled album is so boring I couldnt name you a track off it other than the lead single Gimme Something Good. That single was ok, it certainly didnt excite me for the album and it turned out to be a good indication for what was a severely underwhelming comeback. Live though he's still got it, and some of the tracks off the new album did sound better when we heard them at the Hammerstein Ballroom late last year, but still, I havent returned to it since then and doubt I will.

My 10 Most Influential Albums

This started out as a Facebook post, I was asked to list my 10 most influential albums and to nominate others once done. So after a lot of thought I set to writing..... about an hour later i realised I had quite a lot more than a facebook update, and with my blog sitting here dusty it made sense to do it here instead. 

Thanks to Frank for nominating me, he was obviously unaware he would unleash this beast onto the world, but here we are mate, deal with it!

Choosing the albums that had the biggest influence on you is a lot harder than naming your BEST 10 albums, i took the word "influenced" very literally. So these albums may not be my favourite albums of all time (although some of them would probably make it) its just they are responsible for shaping me and my music taste over the years.

In no particular order....

Bad - Michael Jackson. I think Jacko is at the centre of my pop heart, and is why I crave a good hook in most things i listen to.

The Bends - Radiohead. Its one of the best rock albums of all time, how can it not influence you, its got riffs aplenty, its unique and there's no filler.

The Blues Brothers OST - Im putting a few compilations on here, cos its these that really spark interest in other genres that arent getting played on the radio at the time you're growing up that influenced my taste. At a very young age I saw the Blues Brothers film and it opened the door to explore blues, soul and funk.

Moseley Shoals - Ocean Colour Scene.  I KNOW im going to get stick for this, and deservedly so. But I would say this is the first album i can remember singing over and over and over again, the timbre of the singers voice seemed to match my own (albeit not as good) and it made me dream about being a singer. I used to go to the bathroom (better accoustics obv) and sing Its My Shadow into the mirror as loud as possible as soon as I had the house to myself. *watches any remaining street cred I had wash away down the gutter*

Norman Jay Good Times Vol.5 - Another compilation and a somewhat vain attempt at making up for my last confession - if you dont have any Norman Jay in your life, go get some, he has the best record collection in the world, if The Blues Brothers OST was my entry level into great Soul, Blues and Funk, this was the deep cuts mixed in with some incredible house music. A mixture of hidden gems and stone cold classics.

Kitsune Maison Vol.6 - I'd already dipped my toes into electro by this point through Digitalism and Goose and a couple of others. But when I found Kitsuné I fell deeply in love, so many bands I was unaware of producing amazing funky dance music. Ive bought pretty much every compilation since this one and they're still knocking it out the park.

Boxer - The National. Ive never listened to an album that has moved me so much on first listen, after spending a day with it I went back and bought their back catalogue, b-sides and everything i could get my hands on. Probably my favorite album of all time and how can it not be influencing me, I still listen to it constantly.

Bang Bang Rock and Roll - Art Brut. Im a big fan of humour in music and Art Brut are one of the best at it. Its a bit of a tightrope having funny lyrics though, im not a fan for instance of Weird Al or Lonely Island, its got to be the music first and the lyrics have to be smart and funny. If its a parody then no thanks. Art Brut balance it brilliantly and make hilarious punk pop, theyve never really bettered this debut album as a whole but still continue to make some killer songs and live they're something else.

1977 - Ash.  2nd "Britpop" album in the list, Britpop kicked off as i was starting to earn cash at 14 / 15 doing paper rounds and washing dishes. Pretty much all the money I earned went on these cassettes and cd's so they had a massive influence on my musical taste. This album was inspirational cos Tim Wheeler, Rick and Mark were just leaving school as it was released, a few years older than me, with Star Wars and Kung fu references it was effortlessly cool. They were also my first proper gig at the Sheffield Octogan on this tour, and started my love affair for live music, it was still one of the best gigs ive ever been to. I'd also say along with Oasis they made me want to pick up a guitar and learn to play.

Definitely Maybe - Oasis. *sigh* I don't feel comfortable with this choice for a number of reasons, 1) I was struggling for a 10th album, 2) its a bit obvious, 3) I had to ask myself was it really influential to me? I think the reason im even asking myself these questions is that Oasis pissed all over their legacy with their progressively mediocre music after their first 3-4 albums and their increasingly idiotic frontman. HOWEVER, enough time has passed now for me to push all that crap to the back of my mind and focus on this album, at the time of release it was incredibly influential. It wasn't just the fantastic tunes and the working class swagger that spoke to me, they wore their influences on their sleeves, sometimes a little too much admittedly.

Through Oasis everyone my age got (back) into The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who, T-REX, David Bowie, the list goes on, they ripped them all off with astounding success. Without Oasis and Blur and the whole britpop scene my generation wouldn't have had that kind of exposure to some of Britains best music, I'm not saying we wouldn't have heard of The Beatles without Oasis, but would we have had as MUCH exposure to those older bands and formed the bond with them we did if they hadn't made them relevant and cool to us kids? I'm not sure they would have on that scale.

The Best of Two Thousand and Thirteen

Hello you!

Come on in, take a seat and make yourself comfortable as I take you through some of my favourite music of 2013.

Firstly Im going to get something off my chest apparently last year I placed Little Comets - Life is Elsewhere no.6 in my top albums, this year that same album was released in the US and it could quite easily be my favourite album of 2013. I have lived with it longer, seen it live and it is truly a masterpiece, they have been my breakthrough artist of the year as theyve gone from a mildly successful UK indie band to two tours of North America selling out (admittedly small) venues but winning hearts along the way. HOWEVER, They are controversially not eligible for my top spot this year due to it originally being released in the UK in 2012. However, you should go check them out, they have fantastic complex rhythms, beautiful lyrics with serious subject matter (some bands might stop at just 1 track about domestic violence, but no, they have a song about rape too) and an amazing singer who hits notes you're not expecting to be hit at times they do. Does that make sense? No. OK. Strap in, theres more of that to come.




"And like for every victim
It seems the pain will not subtract or even calm
All this protracted by a state
In which the poor conviction rate for rape
Can often leave a woman feeling
More at blame than able"

"WOAH I just came here for an end of year music list Patrick, I didnt want to be faced with societal issues of misery and woe" Sorry guys, those of you who are regular visitors of my annual blog (is that possible?) will know to EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED, anyone remember the year I didnt do a list?!? Minds were blown.

Anyways, let me lead you to a happier place. Dent May makes bright pop, hook laden songs that take you back to sunnier climes and this is my favourite track of his and one of the catchiest songs of the year.



Before I get into the albums I wanted to highlight a few great tunes from new bands that Ive really loved this year but not necessarily had a strong enough album (or I didnt get round to buying it yet). First up is Parquet Courts, when I first heard these I thought they had to be British, they had a dry humour and a rabble rousing 80's punky sound to them that i immediately loved, but they were probably more influenced by The Strokes.


The Orwells are another great young band I saw this year support FIDLAR, and they blew me away. Completely mesmerising front man who is a perfect mix between Axl Rose, Kurt Cobain and Robert Plant - but thats just the hair. They sound like a million other bands granted, and they're not doing anything special, its just great scuzzy rock n roll sung by young kids who dont give a fuck and they have a fair few tunes to back them up. Plus LOOK HOW YOUNG THEY ARE.



Right lets get to the meat of this blog cos Im already tiring - Albums. 2013 was a renaissance year for music. I had so many of my favourite bands release stuff it was quite frankly a bit silly, pretty much all of them were great too, which made my list this year incredibly difficult. If I had time I would write about my love for them all, but I dont, and you certainly dont.

Outside my top 10 albums you have acts like Matthew E White, whos combo of gospel, folk and soul is a wonder to behold and I can see that album topping a few peoples lists this year, also just outside is Phosphorescent who I heard for the first time this year but has been going for a long while, Song for Zula was a radio friendly chart hit and the album has some crackers on it. Sitting really close to the top 10 is the wonderful Yeah Yeah Yeahs with a triumphant comeback - Mosquito which has some belters on it including one of the songs of the year in Sacrilege. But there are 10 better albums.... apparently.

10. Foals - Holy Fire
This is a good album and a band evolving from a great 2nd album, its elevated to a fantastic album by the presence of 2 monster singles - Inhaler and My Number. Foals have come along way in 2013, deservedly playing to massive crowds, they're no longer math rock nerds, their sound is huge and they are getting the attention that the sound warrants. Here's a song that I sung non-stop for the first 6 months of the year. If you havent heard it before, prepare for a happy 6 months cos its never getting out of your head.

This is not the official video, its the song set to a Village People video and its AWESOME.


9. Ski Lodge - Big Heart

Yes, the singer sounds like Morrissey, yes its because he loves him, which is sweet innit. Great debut album from these Brooklyn boys, a dark humour pervades over the 11 tracks of 3minute pop songs of lost love, even though it sounds like he's not enjoying it, the wisecracks seem to suggest otherwise.


Ski Lodge - Just To Be Like You (Official Music Video) from Dovecote Records on Vimeo.

8. FIDLAR - FIDLAR

With song titles such as Cheap Beer, Stoked and Broke, Whore and Cocaine you can kinda get a feel for what this band is going to be like. Its skate punk ladies and gents, juvenile boys talking about drinking and smoking weed. I fear Ive lost some of you already but hear me out, if you liked Blink 182 you will love FIDLAR, if you didnt you are gonna really hate FIDLAR. Not convinced? Watch this video of Nick Offerman pissing on things.



7. Everything Everything - Arc

There's a lot of very raucous laddy rock n roll this year that I didnt realise til I put em up in this list. Anyways, here are some lads from Manchester who sing about tits and bitches... Not true, sorry. Everything Everything are very eloquent, intelligent song makers, their debut album Man Alive was scattered with brilliant tracks about using photoshop to make yourself look handsome and one about Princess Dianas phantom head. This years Arc continued where that left off, with Cough Cough and Kemosabe, they make angular indie-pop that sounds like nothing you've heard before and the singers falsetto and speed he delivers the lines are a sight to witness. You really have to check out this album and see them live, one of the best live acts Ive seen this year.



6. Kanye West - Yeezus

This sticks out like a sore thumb in this list, I realise that. But hear me out. Ive always liked Kanye, I like the fact that he is SO insane, so egotistical, so billigerent and unwavering in his admiration of his self and this album is all of that and way more things too to get upset about. But despite the insanity the man has continued to write utter choons. There's 3 tracks in a row on Yeezus which may be the best sequential tracks on an album this year, Black Skinhead - I am a God - New Slaves. After that 1-2-3 you are pounded into submission by such harsh drums, lyrics, bass, noises, screams. Its powerful stuff and its a statement of intent from an artist embracing his insanity and rolling with it. There's no-one in this world that could have made this album but Kanye. He is a god, and he likes croissants to be delivered in a timely fashion.





5. Arcade Fire - Reflektor

Maybe its because I love LCD Soundsystem, and maybe its because I found The Suburbs to be quite stoic and trad at first, but when I first heard Reflektor a massive smile spread across my face. Arcade Fire live has always been a fantastic experience, they go out of their way to make gigs special, their music comes alive and everyone is part of the experience, but if you'd only heard them on record (especially the last 2 albums) you'd be forgiven for thinking they're a bit serious and dare I say it dull. Us fans knew this wasn't the case, we've witnessed the joyous sing-alongs, the energy that each one of their million members puts into each performance like it was their last. So on hearing Reflektor I immediately thought ITS PARTY TIME! There was a change to their PR too, they launched on SNL, were involved in a skit or two and then did a half hour special directly after featuring Michael Cera! Which wasnt embarassing, but genuinely funny. A feat rarely achieved by a band. I loved they were putting their fun live experience out there, into their music, on TV, in interviews, cracking gags on Colbert, tricking the audience at gigs, massive over-sized paper macher heads, mandatory costume dress code for secret gigs... The album launch was one of the most exciting I can remember for a band that I follow. Thankfully the album does all that marketing noise justice, its really fun, infusing beats and rhythm from Haiti thanks to their two new members (thats a 1,000,0002 members now if you're counting) James Murphy does a great job coaxing this out of the band yet still keeping it very Arcade Fire.



4. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City

When you have a poor 2nd album but yet still manage to amass the fanbase Vampire Weekend have I always fear the worse. Ive seen so many of my favourite bands become indie rock superstars after a poor 2nd album and the 3rd arrives with even more MOR blandness which goes onto conquer the world and everyone on Radio 1 and V-fest start singing the choruses of dreadful indie by numbers en masse (im looking at you Kings of Leon). I was therefore prepared to file Vampire Weekend in that "Dead to me" section of my brain on the release of this record. Imagine my surprise when Diane Young hit the waves though with its fucked up Chuck Berry chorus, weird noises and just general oddness. It's brilliant, a breath of fresh air. Then Ya Hey also started to be spread around and again I started to remember why I loved Vampire Weekend originally, they had recaptured everything they stood for and moved it up a notch. So its with great relief that this album is wonderful, and at every point it surprises you with something new.




3. Arctic Monkeys - AM

If you're from Sheffield and support Sheffield Wednesday it is somewhat expected of you to adore Arctic Monkeys, but since that first album smashed them into the worlds musical windscreen Ive been indifferent to their offerings if im honest. Ive loved some singles (Crying Lightning, Brianstorm...) but never really loved the albums. When I heard R U Mine for the first time I added it to the list of amazing one-off singles that I knew they were capable of, but still didnt expect a great album to follow. Especially as nothing else emerged for ages until Do I Wanna Know?  That track sidled up to me like a confident hot girl dancing at a club, shimmying up to me to get my attention, look at me she said with her eyes, not in an OTT Showgirls type of way, just confident in her own ability, but very sexy still, "Hey Paddy, Im different to the others" she seemed to say...*ahem* Anyways, I digress... It was different to their usual sound, a side to them that with Josh Homme on production never materialised. It wasnt an all out rock song, it was sexy, slinky, sparse. Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High picked up where the DIWK? left off. Abandoning crushing riffs for a more funky, catchy sing along melody. It was the sound of a band who had finally embraced their massive talent of writing catchy tunes rather than purposely trying to alienate people after their debut thrust them into unwanted limelight. See them live now and they are every bit comfortable rock stars, a stark contrast to when I first saw them at Brixton Academy during the Whatever People Say I am... tour, where they looked like scared boys. Alex Turner is finally a quiffed up, polished, rock star, the one we all demanded he was 8 years ago but he never wanted, and best of all it suits him. AM is their best album since Whatever People Say I Am... and its all killer pop songs.

2. Janelle Monae - The Electric Lady

Oh Janelle, let me count the ways I love you so 1. A female role model in the R&B / Pop world in 2013 is hard to come by. 2. Eccentricity that doesnt mean sticking your tongue out / showing your tits / genuine fear for their mental stability. 3. Top class tunes. Janelle Monae can do no wrong in my book, she creates enough mystery around her persona to keep you guessing who she actually is, but gives enough away to still make her feel human. The Electric Lady is less sci-fi than The Arch Android despite references to her alter-ego Cindy Mayweather occasionally thrown in to keep the fandroids happy. It even manages to survive a little bloating on the tracklist, in truth it could be 4 songs lighter but I'm not taking away points for that as there is some of the finest R&B, funk, soul and pop you'll hear all year on this album. It starts in earnest with Givin Em What They Love, a gorgeous slice of funk that her buddy Prince would kill to have for his own album. Q.U.E.E.N was the first single, a pop anthem for pop haters, then came Dance Apocalyptic, the female version of Hey Ya by Outkast does it a little disservice, it recalls Jackson 5 at their most fun. She even manages to make the eternal bore, the new darling of modern R&B - Miguel sound great on Primetime, a complete swoonfest of a song which I should hate its very sinew as it sounds like it would fit on a Whitney Houston album. It could quite easily have been a cheesy ballad, yet she injects so much heart into it and with very simple airy production the song breathes down your neck as it seduces you into loving it. Its one of the finest love songs of our generation and I HATED it at first! Janelle Monae is the alternative crowd's Beyonce, intelligent pop music that will get you shaking your booty (the booty dont lie) and then make you want to start a revolution with the below, which perfectly sums Janelle Monae up.

March to the streets cuz Im willing and Im able,

Categorize me, I defy every label

And while you're selling dope, we're gonna keep selling hope

We rising up now, you gotta deal you gotta cope

Will you be electric sheep? Electric ladies, will you sleep?

Or will you preach?

1. The National - Trouble Will Find Me

We're here, again, no.1, The National. My favourite band produce my favourite album of 2013, plain sailing right? Wrong! I was really worried about this album, for some strange reason they introduced it to the world with first single Demons and then Dont Swallow the Cap, arguably two of the worst songs on the album. The former, Demons, is possibly the only song of theirs in a 6 album span that I still, to this day, actively dislike. It embodies everything my hater friends dislike about The National in one song that I never understood UNTIL I heard it! Its monotone, its miserable, there's no discernible melody and it makes me want to self harm! Dont Swallow the Cap didnt really move the needle much either, although it was slightly cheerier. Why you would launch your album with them I have no idea. Inbetween hearing those tracks and the album launch we attended the Tribeca Film festival which The National were opening with their rockumentary (hilarious by the way, go see it) and then played a small private set after where I heard two other new songs Sea of Love and I Should Live in Salt. These gave me a new sense of hope, the latter was haunting and beautiful in a way that only The National can do I should live in salt, for leaving you behind. Sea of Love built and built into an awesome crescendo, again a sound and technique that the band have mastered over the years, they were classic tracks. Once I got the album it was a slow burner, doubt lingered that I would love it as much as their previous efforts. My friends reassured me that i would get it eventually, they said that The National albums were always slow burners for them, but for me, they never were. I fell in love with the band from the opening piano riff of Fake Empire and then proceeded to buy their entire back catalogue, I have never had such an immediate affection to a band as much as The National. So for me to experience a slow burner of an album from them was new. But boy did it burn, over time favourites emerged, Pink Rabbits with that tumbling piano riff, not dissimilar to Fake Empire, but a more drunken, tumbling effort and the heartbreaking lyrics

You didn't see me I was falling apart, 
I was a television version of a person with a broken heart

Ugh! Just writing that line makes me want to cry! The whole album is peppered with these moments, sometimes its a line like that or its the sheer epic sound that builds up and then floors with you an outro that elevates the previous 3 mins of gorgeousness to stratospheric levels. Lyrically and sonically its their finest album, an absolute masterpiece that builds you up with arms aloft only to shatter you onto the floor, heartbroken, an uncontrollable weeping mess. Its beautiful, its intricate, its loud, its quiet, its like the ride it took me on to grow to love it, its a complete rollercoaster. Everything is better, Matts vocals, the orchestration, the writing, the production, and when you're already pretty much perfect in all these areas to say its BETTER is the highest praise I can think of. I seriously cant recommend it enough, I know they're not to everyones taste, but that just makes them even more special.

My Experience With the American Health System...

Let me preface the upcoming rant by saying I love America and its people, everyone I have encountered during the following experience were, nice, pleasant people. It may not be these people that are at fault, it is the system. The US health care and insurance system is CRAZY. Add onto that my own company's HR department incompetency and you have a hot mess of confusion for an expat.

I earn a good wage, I work for a very big corporate company and I have, what I am told by other Americans, '"very good" health insurance. 

Coming from the UK it's all very complicated. When I first came over to the US, I signed up to my companies insurance scheme provided by United Healthcare. I was told it was going to be $200 a month to insure me and my wife. Not bad I thought, if that's what it takes to avoid the crazy prices for drugs and care here. There was a lot of documentation that came with it and about 3 different websites, 1 of which I had to take a short Health Risk Assessment for and sign up to 1 other program to be eligible for an improved insurance deal called the Advantage PPO. I chose to do a "Health Coach" program which involved me speaking to a person over the phone once a month about how much exercise I had done and how I was definitely going to do more next month. Either way it ticked the boxes and I got a better insurance deal for some strange reason. The deal mentioned deductibles, out of pocket costs, in network and out network. I didn't understand any of that. I spoke to colleagues, read documentation and thought I had a basic grasp of it eventually.

My first doctors trip was last year and it was just to get a new asthma inhaler. Surprise no.1, I had to pay $25 just to see a doctor - this is called a co-pay and is pretty much standard I found out later. I waited about 45 mins to get in & he asked a few questions took a few tests and then prescribed a few different inhalers for me to try. Pretty much a standard doctors visit. I trundled on down to the pharmacy to pick up my prescription and showed them my Health Insurance card.  After checking their system I was told my insurance doesn't cover prescriptions. "Are you sure? I asked - I have a very good insurance program, or so I'm told". He was sure and was about to charge me $100 + for an asthma inhaler, I said I'd pass and stormed off to talk to my insurance provider.

Surprise no.2., my main insurance didn't cover prescriptions; however, I had another company who covered prescriptions (I found out after hours on the phone to our useless HR) and the card / details had gotten lost in the post. They had another website I needed to register with, so that's 4 websites now and three different companies to deal with my various insurance (I haven't even dared find out about dental yet! That's different too!).

While these two things were annoying and very confusing apart from a few other admin errors in my first year, financially it wasn't THAT bad, a few $25 fees here and there to see the doc and that's it.

This year that changed. I wanted to join the gym at work - it's $10 / month and is pretty new so I went and did a Health Risk Assessment again (a pre-requisite every year), as I had asthma they said they'd need a doctor's approval. OK I thought, I'll give the boy a call, fax it through he'll sign it off and bingo I'll be lifting weights in no time.

No such luck, he asked to see me. Fair enough, I thought, he's thorough and doesn't have my full life's medical history. I went there expecting to be charged the usual $25 but as it was my 1st visit of the year I apparently qualify for a FREE full body check up! Sweet! This time I waited about an hour, I walked into the office handed him my consent form to sign and said I just want to join the gym, I haven't suffered from asthma in months and its pretty much under control. Just sign it and I will be out of here! Nope. We did the full body check up. I wont go into detail but lets just say he was very *cough* *cough* thorough. It took over an hour, a little excessive I thought just to get sign off for asthma at the gym. All the tests were done and I passed with flying colours, fit boy! I asked for his signature on my consent form, but he said he needed to wait for the blood results to come back, so to come back and see him next week.

I did just that, next week I returned and waited another HOUR AND A HALF, all blood results came back good so I thought I was good to go. Then he said that there was something in my EKG that he'd like to investigate further, it was probably nothing, in fact it was, and I quote, "99.9% of the time" nothing, especially for men my age and fitness level. OK, I like those odds, but what was it that he wanted me to do? "I'll refer you to a heart specialist, just to be sure".

Two weeks later I arrive at the heart specialists and sat in the waiting room, which can hold about 40 people. I was number 30, approximately. I looked around at my audience, they didn't look happy. They were hot and frustrated. After half an hour an old man dressed as a sailor (?) got up and started angrily gesturing something in Spanish to the lady behind the desk, he turned round to the room as if to get some support and thats what he got, more grumbles in spanish I didnt understand, but I got the gist, people had been waiting a while. Another half hour passed and I was starting to get very annoyed with the infomercial i'd seen for the 10th time and the recurring local news items. I'd also had to jump to the aid of at least 3 old people who had walked in and barely been able to walk the 10ft from the door to the desk without collapsing. This was not a healthy room and being the youngest person in there by a good 40 years and the only one who could walk without falling down I was made an honorary member of the emergency staff for the time I was sat waiting. An hour and half passes and I get up and ask whats going on, "oh you're next sir" I was told and sure enough I was moved inside to another room where I was told I was going to have a heart scan, another EKG (despite the last one being just 2 weeks ago), blood pressure test and a stress test. I asked how long that would take, she said "about an hour and a half." WHAT? Why?! Its just how long it takes to see all those people for all those tests. I said I couldnt afford another hour and a half off work so is there a way I could do some now and the rest of the tests at a later date. We agreed that was a good compromise and I reluctantly made another booking for the week after for my stress test and scan.

The next week I slip out of work again (no evening time scheduling) and open the door to the waiting room, to my horror its even busier than the last time. Arrrrrrrrrrrrgggh!! People are talking amongst themselves relaying their own horror of how long they waited today, its a far more vocal crowd than last week but thankfully the TV was off so I didnt have to sit through the local news....

2 HOURS I WAITED THERE.

It was so long I had to go and move my car cos I had a 2 hour park limit. When I was finally called in I was in a hideous mood, they did a scan of my heart and I can only imagine that it was bursting out my chest from sheer anger, they put me in another shitty room while they got the next test ready and 15mins later I was hooked up with wires attached to my chest and on a treadmill running. This was the stress test. I ran for 20mins at increasing levels of speed and by the end I was pretty tired. At least it was over though. The doctor came in with my list of results (about as long as his arm) and declared I am completely fit. There is nothing wrong with you, in fact you are in very good health. Great news, anyone else would be happy with that news Im sure, I wasnt, I knew all along I was fine, but the great American health service had just earnt themselves a few thousand dollars from my insurers for getting me to jump through their hoops all because I wanted a signature to join the gym.

I couldnt help but feel like I was taken advantage of by my need for a signature.

But thats not where my story ends. You'll notice that I didnt mention costs during the heart specialists appt, thats because at no stage of any of my appointments with the doctor or my heart specialist were costs mentioned, I was not given options as to whether I would like a) b) or c) tests and this is the cost YOU will incur for each, I was not told that my insurer would only cover PART of any costs, In fact the only cost that was mentioned in the total of my EIGHT hours in "care" was that my physical was free.

I therefore naively thought i have very good insurance, im sure they'll cover it. Boy, was I wrong.

About a month after, I got a confusing bill from the heart specialist, it seemed to total up something like $3000 of tests and said that my insurance paid for some of it but $150 is due by me. I didnt really believe that, so looked online at one of my several websites as I thought that I would be covered somehow, maybe in a savings acct or something, or something to do with a deductible (still not really sure what that was). I noticed while doing that though that my deductible was now $1000, I seem to remember that being $500 last year. I looked further into it and after further investigation I realised that I was no longer on the Advantage PPO - the better insurance plan, I was, in fact, paying more / month for a worse plan. I still havent figured out the extent of how worse this plan is, all I know it costs me $40 / month more, my deductible has doubled and it doesnt appear to cover all of the tests I had for my heart.

I couldve swore I jumped through those hoops which allowed me to get onto this better insurance plan though. Hoops that are put there by my own companies HR btw. I hadnt been told at any point that I had been downgraded, nor had I been told that I COULD be downgraded. I called up HR and they put me through to one of the companies that runs one of the websites that are something to do with health. They said they had no record of me doing the health coach course or the assessment. I claimed that I had, and I had proof of the calls, but no proof of the assessment but Im sure they could get it up on their system. "Actually sir, the company that did the assessments last year was not us, your company chose a different provider last year". I then went on another round of different help desk calls to find out who it was that did do the health assessment last year and eventually got told of another company whose website I did have access to at some point which now no longer exists. I emailed the company in question and as of right now I have never heard back from them. So Im stuck on the Standard PPO shitty insurance for the remainder of 2013.

I called up the heart specialist to pay my debt;
"would you like to pay all your bill sir?"
- Sure, $150 wasnt it?
"Actually no Sir, its $550"
- Errrr, what?

Apparently I had not received the 2nd bill for an additional $400 which my insurer had originally said they would pay and then decided actually no, they dont want to.

By this point, I wanted to cry. I dont even LIKE going to the gym and its cost me HOURS of frustration, confusion and anger and now its going to leave me $550 out of pocket for a non-existent health issue.

It shouldnt be me thats crying though, America - you are being robbed on every level by your country, its the most corrupt, unfair public service I have ever had the misfortune to experience. When people diss the British national health service, they throw back stuff like "long wait times", "Poor quality service" "Dirty hospitals". The fact is I experienced all these things in America and I pay a HELL of a lot more for it here than I do on the NHS. The NHS wouldnt send me around the houses to get a gym signature, they only treat people that really need treating cos they're not making money by treating non-existent illnesses like in America and they dont have the resources to mess about like they do here.

If you live in Britain and you dont like the NHS - firstly, at least the NHS is your base level, you can pay to get better service on private health. Secondly, spend some time in the US and you wont say a bad word about our system ever again.


UPDATE

So, the saga continues, I had the above written for a while and never got round to posting until today when I got a mail from my useless HR / Health affiliate program through work. It said this "Advantage PPO eligibility extended to July 31st for 2014."

Now, "extended", gives the impression that there was a deadline to begin with that we were all aware of. I was not. This was the first I had heard of the deadline and the hoops I had to jump through to qualify again for the better insurance plan. Reading further, there were only 3 things that were possible to do now that you had enough time to complete before the deadline:
- Health Risk Assessment
- Physical Examination
- Biometric Examination

You have to have all these completed by 30th June and sent to X company so they have time to process it for the 31st July, so it wasnt really an extension for US, it was just an extension for them!!

I was apoplectic with rage, NO WAY was I getting put on the shitty insurance scheme again because of their complete lack of communication. I clicked the link to go through to ANOTHER different website and registered with this one. I swear this is the 5th different website to do with my health / benefits I have access to and I have no clue what each of them are for, there isnt 1 company that has an overview of everything, my company certainly doesnt and it would explain why I never hear about anything Im supposed to. I completed my HRA and it knew I had a physical this year (so some systems must talk to each other). So now I just have to get a Biometric Test and send off the results by next friday and Im in the exclusive club.

Wish me luck.

Ending note.

The sad thing is, my experience and rage is nothing compared to the millions of Americans who cant afford basic insurance, or those that can afford it, but still end up facing bankruptcy because their medical bills AFTER insurance are too much for them to afford. This is not a system for a developed country. Its broken and corrupt and it needs fixing.

Best songs of 2013 you might not have heard...

Hello! Im breaking free from my annual blog post cos if you havent noticed already 2013 has been amazing for music and if i wait til the end of the year to cover it I'll spend most of 2014 writing about it, and no-one will want to read it by the time I finish.

Im not gonna cover bands that are established as I assume a lot of people have already heard their releases (Foals, Vampire Weekend, The National, Daft Punk, YYY's....) these will probably appear on my end of year list though. This blog I'm picking out strong tunes from lesser known bands, cos there are some right corkers. No words, just videos, cos im a busy man aint I. Here goes:

Generationals - Put a light on

 Wavves - Demon to Lean On.

 Surfer Blood - Demon Dance

 Ski Lodge - Just to be like you
Ski Lodge - Just To Be Like You (Official Music Video) from Dovecote Records on Vimeo.

Waxahatchee - Peace and Quiet

Unknown Mortal Orchestra - So Good at being in trouble

Phosphorescent - Song for Zula

 Foxygen - Shuggie