Added on Wednesday 16 Dec 2009

West End Volume 17

As the end of the year approaches, there are a number of tasks to be taken care of like doing all those lists. The best albums of the year. The best live performances. The best empire biscuits. Ok, the last one is strictly for internal use in the vicinity of the Bluesbunny Towers coffee machine but it got me to reflecting on the standard of music that I have been hearing this year. It is customary - even I do it - to blame the homogeneity of the music scene on Saturday night talentless but recently I got to wondering if originality would ever be rewarded. Certainly, it seems that originality is no longer prized.

It was the stress of the list thing that kicked it off. I was trying to make up a list of the top ten albums of the year here at Bluesbunny Towers off the top of my head but I could only think of seven. In case you are wondering, it wasn't a drink related memory retention matter either. It just simply hasn't been a classic year. The reason I was doing the list now, by the way, was that a local blogger called Peenko had the bright idea of assembling a communal top ten from all the active reviewers in Glasgow area. You can look forward to seeing how that worked out soon.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with two releases that gave me hope - the Californian retro pop of The Kimberly Trip's "Generation Stereotype" and EP by local guys and gals going down to the gallows, the Badbadmen. Much as the government is prone to telling us, next year is going to be better.

The Badbadmen - www.badbadmen.com

The Kimberly Trip - www.thekimberlytrip.com

Peenko - peenko.blogspot.com