[10] Dananananaykroyd, ‘Black Wax’

Not ‘til this year did I realise I liked shouty Scottish “fight-pop”. Thanks to Dananananaykroyd for leading me into the light. ‘Black Wax’ is the closest thing to a proper song on their debut album, and of course they find it a bit wimpy with hindsight. It’s a kind of surf-pop with screaming, a real chorus and some lovely guitar meanders at the close – and seen live, they’re a blast.

On this play for Junior, the CD skipped like billy-o, but somehow it seemed appropriate, unhinged and jumpy. She clapped along to the choppy riffs and went for a bit of hoarse-throated yelling, just to get into the spirit of the thing. Tags like “fight-pop” conjure playground knockabouts. I doubt the Dananans are long out of primary school themselves.

Highlights in yellow:

2009 Top 20 Singles?

We did this about this time last year, so why change a vaguely popular feature? These are the Top 20 Most Played 2009 Singles on the ever-honest iPod:

[1] Yeah Yeah Yeahs, ‘Zero’
[2] Dananananaykroyd, ‘Black Wax’
[3] The Horrors, ‘Sea Within A Sea’
[4] Passion Pit, ‘The Reeling’
[5] Animal Collective, ‘My Girls’
[6] James Yuill, ‘No Surprise’
[7] Sunny Day Sets Fire, ‘Adrenaline’
[8] TV On The Radio, ‘Dancing Choose’
[9] Frankmusik, ‘Better Off As Two’
[10] Röyksopp featuring Robyn, ‘Girl And The Robot’
[11] Jamie T, ‘Sticks ‘n’ Stones’
[12] Coldplay, ‘Life In Technicolor ii’
[13] U2, ‘Magnificent’
[14] The Phantom Band, ‘The Howling’
[15] Eg, ‘Broken’
[16] Junior Boys, ‘Hazel’
[17] Lily Allen, ‘The Fear’
[18] Fischerspooner, ‘Supply & Demand’
[19] Saint Etienne, ‘Method Of Modern Love’
[20] Red Light Company, ‘Arts & Crafts’

But will it bear any resemblance to the year-end chart? Be sure to check in 18 or 19 weeks.

The Jukebox Mercury Junior Barclaycard Music Prize Draw

Probably our dozen favourite British albums of the past 12 months:

David Holmes, The Holy Pictures
Bloc Party, Intimacy
Los Campesinos!, We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
The Invisible, The Invisible
Higamos Hogamos, Higamos Hogamos
Dananananaykroyd, Hey Everyone!
The Horrors, Primary Colours
The Wave Pictures, If You Leave It Alone
Eg, Adventure Man
God Help The Girl, God Help The Girl
Little Boots, Hands
Damian Lazarus, Smoke The Monster Out

Winner to be announced when we get over the mediocrity of the list.