Sadly, I couldn't find any songs with a titular mention of the Rozzer, but they did once arrest Sir Thumbs Aloft for wearing a pink balloon about his foot...
Tim Booth is sick of me using him as a clue for people called James. Sugar Ray is less bothered.
"I never knew that George Harrison song was a cover version," Louise said to me the other day. I had to admit, it took me years to discover the original too. But when I did... hoo boy!
Roxanne... you don't have to put on the red light. I've given the green light to another part of the Snapshots saga next Saturday.
For many years, the majority of my musical purchases came from indie/alternative guitar bands. This started in the early Britpop era and lasted well into the 21st Century. Over the last ten years or so, however, my tastes have changed. I've found it harder to engage with the kind of guitar bands that used to excite me, and drawn more to the storytelling of singer-songwriters and Americana. That's not to say I don't still enjoy my indie tunes... just that I'm rarely captivated by a whole album, more the odd track here and there.
Has the world changed or have I changed?
Who knows? Anyway, here are ten top tunes from my old flame that proved it can still flicker quite brightly when it wants to...
I still love James. They produced some of my favourite songs of the 90s. I do struggle a bit with their recent output though. It's unmistakably James, and yet... not quite.
Couldn't get into the latest Courtney Barnett record in the same way I've connected with her previous offerings, but there's no denying the power of the feminist statement (adapted from Margaret Atwood) she makes on Nameless Faceless.
Confounding those who would easily label him once again, Morrissey played The Grand Ol' Opry this year... and covered The Pretenders. For those who want to bury him, he just gave them two more rusty nails to hammer into his coffin. For the dwindling few who remain (semi-)faithful... well, we apologetically squeeze him into our year end reviews with as little fanfare as possible.
Slaves are a band I like a lot... yet they don't half make me feel old. Maybe that's a good thing. Angry guitar pop shouldn't really be aimed at 46 year old fathers. Their latest record was great in places... and way too loud in others. The title track though... wow.
Of all the guitar bands of my youth, the Manics are probably the ones who still manage to deliver more than anyone else, due to the winning combination of Nicky Wire's Slash-style guitar riffs and James Dean Bradfield's voice - easily the best of the Britpop era. Their latest album, Resistance Is Futile, came close to making my end of year list... but in the end, it was a little too derivative, gleefully stealing its best tunes from The Vapors, The Coasters, Boney M, Elton John, Springsteen et al.... more about that here.
1. Idles - Danny Ndelko
Like Slaves & Shame, Idles are intellectual yobs. Occasionally too loud for my aged eardrums, but catchy as hell when they put their mind to it... and they definitely have something to say about the state of their nation. Here's their two-fingered salute to gammon Brexiters...
