Find it on the new Wilco iTunes Sessions album. Out now, pop pickers.

Lest we forget, here’s Nick with Billy, Dave and Terry the first time around.

Album coming soon. Find the Alabama Shakes EP here.

Part 2 here.

So we were fortunate to have an early 2012 visit from one of the finest guitar pop bands stalking the planet in the Dum Dum Girls, who summarily delivered a concise set of jangling sonic gems at the Kings Arms on Friday, and kickstarted my new year listening. Now, my love for the Girls has previously been documented in these pages, so I’m not going to ramble on again. Suffice to say they looked fantastic, and despite early PA problems, they sounded great.

And we definitely got two for the price of one on the night. Before Friday, Transistors were merely a name I’d spotted in the upcoming Laneway festival line-up. Now I know they’re a fiery punk trio I’d go see again without a second thought.. commitment, drive, mob-handed vocals, some set-ending string shredding, tons of feedback and .. yup.. some great songs.

Expect a new album sometime soon following the Laneway appearance. And if you want to hear what the feck I’m talking about, pop over to Bandcamp and get their first album, plus the lead single from the new one, absolutely free.

Cheers, guys. Nice to know you.

Cut Copy (the Aussie Duran Duran de nos jours) had a frighteningly large amount of success this year with the electro-poppy Zonoscope. Meh. Go figure.

But wait. Enter legendary DJ Andrew Weatherall, who did what he does best to the rambling overextended Sun God (from the abovementioned album). Nine minutes of perfectly produced bubbling blissed out Madchester (Madcunian?) groove. Download it courtesy of Stereogum.

Party on! Stay safe. See you on the other side.

Elbow – Build A Rocket Boys

It says a lot to me about my life. Lovely – watch

Yuck – Yuck

A big fizzy scuzzball of fun. Play loud – watch

Radiohead – The King of Limbs

Can do no wrong. Did no wrong – watch

Destroyer – Kaputt

Looking forward to looking back? Give this a listen – watch

The War on Drugs – Slave Ambient

Kurt Vile gets more press, but The War on Drugs are where it’s at – watch

My Secret Seven

Top picks from my playlist this year:

The Black Keys – El Camino
Punchier and pithier and more hook-y than Brothers. Git it! – watch
Boris – Attention Please
Beguiling dream-pop and shoegaze from the prolific Japanese metallers – watch and download ‘Hope’
The Horrors – Skying
The sound of my record collection on one CD? What’s not to like? – watch
Bon Iver – Bon Iver
Warm and welcoming – watch and download ‘Holocene’
Cornershop – Cornershop and the Double ‘O’ Groove Of..
Brilliant. Brimful of Bubbley Kaur – watch
Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat – Everything’s Getting Older
Indeed I am, and this is the soundtrack – watch and download ‘The Copper Top’
Dum Dum Girls – He Gets Me High EP
If this was vinyl, I’d have worn it flat. Pure pop for ‘now’ people – watch

I Could Listen To This Song All Day

Yuck – Get Away – watch

The Old Stuff

You’ve already heard my thoughts on the Rolling Stones Some Girls re-issue. I’ve been listening a lot to the 20th anniversary edition of Screamadelica, and the Drive-By Truckers compilation Ugly Buildings, Whores & Politicians: Greatest Hits 1998-2009. Blueprint – The Best of 808 State takes me back to the good old days, and I bought so many re-issues from the Why Pink Floyd? campaign, I got a free t-shirt.

The Toppermost Of The Poppermost

Gotye (feat. Kimbra) – Somebody I Used To Know – watch and download a remix

The ‘Didn’t They Do Well’ Award for Old Folks In Rock

David Newton & Thee Mighty Angels, for the Paint The Town EP – watch

A Band To Watch

2:54

The Boys Next Door

Ghost Wave – Ghost Wave EP – watch

Best Dressed Sleeve

Mogwai – Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will – a brilliant view of New York by Antony Crook.

See you in 2012, folks.

Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys can always be relied upon for a warped outlook on life, and with seasonal song titles like ‘Post Apocalypse Christmas’ on his upcoming EP release, he certainly delivers. Stream it below, and buy it on his web site.

Have a cool Yule, y’all.

Watch out for my Best Music of 2011 list.. coming very soon.

There may be as many as five in existence, and if the unthinkable happens and you find one, you’re on to a winner. In 2009, a copy sold for 25,742 pounds. That’s 40,000 dollars, Americans.

Not only a rare record, but a great record. And here’s the real zinger – it was the last record ever played at Wigan Casino when it closed in 1981. DJ Russ Winstanley explains what happened when he came to play the traditional set-closing ‘three before eight‘:

I played them, and then I played them again, because people were just handclapping to the beat when the records had finished. I don’t know why, but I then played what has since become recognised as the best and most valuable Northern track ever, Frank Wilson’s ‘Do I Love You’. After that, people just sat down and cried their eyes out.

A heartbreaking goodbye to the famous venue, but a moment in time which adds yet more lustre to the pure gold of the greatest record ever made*.

* Probably.

Russ Winstanley quote taken from Chris Hunt’s article.

And when you’d wrung yourself out on an all-nighter, the day was breaking, and it was finally time to go home, the crowd would always be treated to a signature ending from the DJ.. songs that became known as the ‘three before eight’: Jimmy Radcliffe’s Long After Tonight Is All Over, Tobi Legend’s Time Will Pass You By and Dean Parrish’s I’m On My Way.

They’re fine songs. They’re not brilliant songs – vocal lines wobble a bit, those horn charts might not be the sharpest ever written – but because of the indelible association of time and place, once again, they become some of the greatest songs ever made.

Try and put yourself in that place: the Casino, mid 70s. It’s early morning, you’re tired but happy. You’re getting your act together after a long night of dancing with your fellow devotees. You might have found someone special to spend the last few moments with. And then you hear..

Jimmy..

Tobi..

and Dean.

Now, that’s a little piece of magic right there, isn’t it?

The final part of this Northern Soul exposition will be along shortly.

Check out the seasonal four track EP from Aidan John Moffat over at Bandcamp.