It's an idea that was conceived 12 years
ago in the backroom of the Vernon Arms pub on Dale Street in
Liverpool by Andy, if I recall correctly, as a consequence of him
asking what I was listening to on my Walkman.It's an idea that was conceived 12 years
ago in the backroom of the Vernon Arms pub on Dale Street in
Liverpool by Andy, if I recall correctly, as a consequence of him
asking what I was listening to on my Walkman.
After I replied "a compilation of my favourite James and Pixies stuff" he suggested that at the end of the year each band member should do a compilation of stuff they'd been listening to that year and circulate it to each other.
This we subsequently did for the first time at the end of 1990 and the exercise proved so popular it took root and nowadays the end-of-year collection is certainly always at the back of my mind throughout the year when I hear a song that grabs my attention.
From a personal point of view, the other lads' compilations have never failed to turn me onto a new band or artist, occasionally in spectacular style such as in 1991 when Neal included a great pop song called "Timewatch" by a band I'd never previously heard of - the Divine Comedy. I was impressed enough to buy a mini-album that I found in Probe entitled "Fanfare For The Comic Muse" and its fair to say that it never crossed my mind then that this slab of vinyl might eventually change hands for upwards of 80 quid on internet auction sites!
There must be countless other times when songs on these compilations have forced me into further investigation - from exploring the back catalogues of ye olde artists like The Action and Glen Campbell, to even being turned onto whole genres I'd previously viewed with suspicion such as hip-hop.
In years gone by the compilations came by way of the tried and trusted C90 method (though on at least one occasion, Neal had found a supplier of 100 minute cassettes and so had scope to throw in a couple of bonus tracks - cheat!)
For the last two years, though, the advent of the CD writer has meant fewer tracks, but unrivalled digital quality. And why bother scribbling the tracklisting on the box nowadays when workplaces give you Apple Mac technology that enables you to churn up professional-looking sleeve designs?
(Neal's CD last year was designed on the computer by his son Callum and so impressed were we with the youngster's efforts that his Space Zebra painting was recycled for the cover of "Hymns: Ancient and Modern."
I don't know what thought processes the others put into their end-of-year selections, but mine have tended to reflect what I'd been listening to that year, rather than especially 'new' bands and material. My 1995 tape even got a title, Peaks and Troughs, because it ended up as an audio chronicle of a particularly rollercoaster-esque period for me - peaking with Everton's FA Cup win in May and a memorable Wembley weekend and troughing when I was ejected from a relationship around October.
The songs on this year's compilation are less lyrically 'personal' than some of my previous efforts and do more reflect what new stuff grabbed me by the lapels in 2002. It should also be said that without the assistance of Mr WinMX, it wouldn't have been made possible! There's plenty of rockin' pop in there, a little bit of hip-hop, dance and film score also.
But, hey, enough of my yakkin' - let's cut to the lists.
The tradition continues! See what 2003 threw up: