In 2017, I was in a bit of a state. To help, I started on a ridiculous project.
Having been a huge music fan all of my life, I had accumulated a stupidly large record collection, and it was in disarray - much like I felt I was myself.
I therefore set about organising all of the music I owned, and in creating playlists for every year, working my way back to 1962 - where my taste in pop music seems to have its roots.
The idea was that I would come away with 80-minute, CD-length playlists for each year. And for most years, I have two CDs worth. Some I have three, and in a few cases I have only one.
Some years are definitely better music years than others!
More than anything though, the 'Grand Playlistification' was an incredibly healing experience - profound and meaningful and inspiring. My playlists may mean nothing at all to anyone but me, but to me they mean an enormous amount. The process was hugely therapeutic, and thank goodness for it.
Anyway, since 2017 I have continued the tradition, picking favourite songs - often from favourite albums - as released in each year, and creating playlists.
Here are my lists for 2019. I hope that you enjoy them, and that they provide you with something close to the comfort, motivation and sense of joy they have offered me in what has been quite the journey around the sun.
Big love,
Martin xx
P.S. I have created a YouTube playlist of the songs, which you can find here. I would create one in Spotify, but I can't afford a subscription. I would also embed the individual songs here, but some of them contain naughty words and my blog won't let me!
SIDE A - Calm Down
1. Ezra Furman - Calm Down aka I Should Not Be Alone
2. PUP - Free At Last
3. The Hives - Good Samaritan
4. Hobo Johnson - Typical Story
5. Billie Eilish - Bad Guy
6. I Don't Know How They Found Me - Do It All The Time
7. Oliver Tree - Hurt
8. De Staat - Wrote That Code
9. The Comet Is Coming - Summon The Fire
10. Rammstein - Radio
11. Two Door Cinema Club - Dirty Air
12. Georgia - About Work the Dancefloor
13. clipping. - Blood of the Fang
14. Mura Masa feat. Slowthai - Deal Wiv It
15. Lizzo - Juice
16. Sampa The Great - Final Form
17. Yugen Blakrok - Gorgon Madonna
18. Danny Brown - Savage Nomad
19. Tierra Whack - Unemployed
20. D Double E - Fresh N Clean
21. Plan B - First Past The Post
22. Stormzy - Vossi Bop
23. Kano - SYM
SIDE B - Keep Moving
1. Andrew Bird - Sisyphus
2. Cate Le Bon - Home to You
3. Caroline Polachek - So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings
4. Martha Hill - Blindfold
5. Rufus Wainwright - Trouble In Paradise
6. Du Blonde - Peach Meat
7. Richard Dawson - Jogging
8. Amyl and The Sniffers - Got You
9. The Black Keys - Go
10. The Raconteurs - Bored and Razed
11. Sturgill Simpson - Sing Along
12. Pip Blom - Daddy Issues
13. Stella Donnelly - Tricks
14. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Bright Horses
15. Yebba - Where Do You Go
16. Kate Tempest - Keep Moving Don't Move
17. Jamie Cullum - Age of Anxiey
18. Celeste - Strange
19. Thom Yorke - Dawn Chorus
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