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Gotta support the home team. Essentially the sound of pale light and cold shadows in winter.
Jan 28, 2024
Related Recs
Thames views at dinner
Blur’s “Under the Westway” in my ears
“There were blue skies in my city today
Everything was sinking, said snow would come on Sunday
The old school was due and the traffic grew
Upon the Westway”
Originally intended as a private anthem for singer Damon Albarn's family (he was going to press it up on 78 and had a flag made for it)
It ended up being a love letter to the one city Albarn has loved, obsessed over and lived in his entire life: The Smoke. Relatable. I (heart) this place.
Feb 24, 2025
This might be Damon Albarn’s greatest musical achievement.
A song about missing the comforts of home 🇬🇧 while on the road
Using the BBC’s nightly Shipping Forecast (itself, the most British thing ever - a specific platform to obsess about the weather) as a metaphor
Loaded with obscure place names, English totems of days gone by (like a more jaded Ray Davies) and allusions to a fracturing relationship with Elastica’s Justine Frischmann (due in part to her heroin addiction and his dabbling, something Albarn wouldn’t discuss publicly for years).
And some of Graham Coxon’s most inspired guitar soloing.
‘Finding ways to stay solo.’ ☔️
Instant Britpop classic.
Feb 2, 2024
If the Walker Brothers, David Bowie and a host of 60s-era girl groups had formed a supergroup, it would be Last Shadow Puppets.
Yes it's Alex Turner from Arctic Monkeys and Miles Kane from the Rascals but this project has the benefit of sounding nothing like either of their other things. It's dark, broody and kind of has a whiff of Swinging London about it which is both fun and vaguely nostalgic I guess.
I wish they had a bigger body of work but the two records are divine and this song kind of encapsulates their whole late-night, SoHo-stumbling, wounded-heart thing.
May 2, 2024
Top Recs from @coreydubrowa
The man responsible for dozens of Teenage Symphonies to God
"Sad songs about happy things" (the first time, as a kid, I can recall the sweet/sour combo of melodies that could make you cry attached to songs about endless, bottomless love)
I've long since lost track of how many weddings and funerals I've attended that have featured this song; suffice it to say, "a lot."
God only knows what we'd been without him 🙏🏻
Jun 11, 2025
May 22, 2025
Hey tyler hopefully this doesn’t violate some PI.FYI golden rule
But after nearly two years of writing, editing and arguing, my book about the EP is coming out in May and can be preordered here:
https://hozacrecords.com/product/aifl/
The book is about the origins, history and cultural impact of the EP since these little objects first started coming out in the 50s.
Over 50 of my music biz friends then helped me shape the list and review the top 200 ever released, according to us (ha).
For those of you who are into this kind of geekery/snobbery, I can’t wait to hear what you think. A labor of love, as all books are! ❤️
Mar 27, 2024