1997

Björk - Homogenic
Gus Gus - Polydistortion
Tarnation - Mirador
Elliott Smith - Either/Or
Air - Moon Safari

We start off with two performers from Iceland, in fact no British artists at all this year. Not a conscious decision, though I do remember feeling a sense of unease about my music buying habits around this time. Not that I was consuming too much (this is not possible, I must have more!), but that most of the records I was getting were by bands I'd been following for years. I put the fact that I was buying very few recordings by new artists down to getting old, but now I am actually old (I even woke up with a bad back this morning, it's all down hill from here) I like to think it was more the manifestation of the cyclical nature of popular musical trends (ooh, get me), and the arse end of that cycle was fast approaching.

Anyway, Björk and Gus Gus, they're both quite dancey in a subdued kind of way. Homogenic has an interesting sound, a juxtaposition of organic strings & synthetic beats. It gets its name from the homogenous use of instrumentation, but far from being dull it creates its own unique sonic world, something I like (as well you know, if you've been reading this far).
Polydistortion (on 4AD records, hoorah) is an altogether odder (yes, I said odder than Björk) prospect. Made by an art collective of about a dozen filmmakers, designers & musicians, it's a slightly schizophrenic listen. Imagine if you had that many voices in your head (go on), this is what it sounds like.

Tarnation's Mirador (also on 4AD) was the subject of a critical debate at the time, was it alt-country (supposedly good) or just country (presumably bad)? It doesn't matter how you categorise it, these are dark tales of the soul set to steely, slidey & twanging guitars, topped off with a treacle-thick, southern (states of America) voice.

Elliott Smith, yes another dead troubador. It's not my fault. I don't want them dead anymore than they do (or perhaps I don't want them dead even more than they do, considering that this was suicide). It always annoys me when someone whose albums I've been meaning to get dies. I don't want to get caught up in the morbid rush to get them to the top of the charts posthumously, so I can never buy them. Then when people look at my records and say, "You don't own this? What's wrong with you?" I tell them what I've just told you and they realise there's more wrong with me than they thought. Suffice to say, I got this one before he died. It's almost moving enough to touch even my hard, shrivelled heart, and make me wish he'd had the consideration to stay alive a little longer, if only so I would be allowed to buy more of his music.

Air, the breezily French, electronically-minded duo. You can dance to some of their tunes, you can relax to the rest. The perfect set of noises for the exercise phobic, like me.