Well it’s that time of year when we start voting for our favourite albums of the year. Incredibly, this is the eighth year that I have been compiling the chart and I hope that people will be up for it again this year… Usual rules – you email me directly with your top 5 albums of the year (or top 3 or top 10 or whatever). I add them all up and publish the results by the end of the year. All albums must have been released this year – but this can include re-releases / boxed sets etc. In an exciting move (and with the prominence now of downloading and streaming individual songs) I am also going to compile a second chart this year of FAVOURITE SONGS OF THE YEAR. Exactly the same process – but please do not vote for more than ten songs and these MUST have come out this year – no songs off re-releases please. Please can all the votes be in by 27th December. I am already looking forward to the votes, the chats, the discussion, the debate, the controversy, the mistakes I always make etc Hope you have a good time working out what to vote for in BOTH lists. Much love to all, James x Jfel2@yahoo.co.uk As usual, here is a reminder of last year’s Festive cock: FESTIVE COCK 49 for 2013 1 Roy Harper - Man and Myth 2 Nick Harper - Riven 3 Jonathan Wilson - - Fanfare 4 Laura Marling - Once I was an eagle 5 David Bowie - The Next Day 6= Richard Thompson - Electric Linda Thompson - 'Won't Be Long Now' 8= The Island Years, John Martyn Midlake - 'Antiphon' Anais Mitchell and Jefferson Hamer Child Ballads, 11= Wolf People - Fain Chris Wood- None The Wiser Billy Bragg - Tooth & Nail 14 Villagers - Awayland 15= The National - 'Trouble Will Find Me' Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - Push The Sky Away Phosphorescent - Muchacho 18= Bob Dylan - Another Self Portrait Steve Earle - The Low Highway 20= Prefab Sprout - Crimson/Red James Blake - Overgrown John Grant - Pale Green Ghosts 23 John Smith - Great lakes 24 Artic Monkeys - AM 25 = Nik Turner - Space Gypsy Martin Simpson - Vagrant Stanzas Justin Currie - Lower reaches Mavis Staples - One True Vine Eleanor Friedberger - Personal Record Daft Punk - Random Access Memories 31= Lisa Knapp ? Hidden Seam Johnny Marr - The Messenger Lorde - Pure Heroine Laura Veirs - Warp & Weft Savages ? Silence Yourself Bella Hardy - Battleplan Steve Mason - Monkey minds in the devil's time Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo - Dear River Thea Gilmore - Regardless Lucy Ward - Single Flame Iron & Wine - Ghost on Ghost David Byrne & St Vincent Love This Giant 43= Valerie June - Pushin' Against a Stone KT Tunstall - Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon Purson - The Circle and the Blue Door The Beatles - On Air - Live At The BBC Vol 2 King Crimson - The Road To Red Jethro Tull - Benefit Eels - 'Wonderful, Glorious' And out of interest, here is the first ever Festive Cock (the word file was in reverse order for some reason): FESTIVE COCK 30 for 2007 30. Grinderman - Grinderman 28= Matt Churchill - Blue Stars 28= Hawkwind - Space Ritual 23= Acoustic Ladyland - Skinny Grin 23= Ray Davies - Working Man's Cafe 23= Hawkwind/Man/Brinsley Schwarz etc - Greasy Truckers Party 23= Awkward Annie - Kate Rusby 23= Steve Earle - Washington Square Serenade 22. Julie Fowlis - Cuilidh 21. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible 20. John Martyn - Live in Concert 19. Tinawiren - Aman Iman 18. Neil Young - Chrome Dreams 2 17. Om - Pilgrimage 14= Lucinda Williams - West 14= Springsteen - Magic 14= Radiohead - In Rainbows 11= Julian Cope -You Gotta a problem with me 11= Kevin Ayers - The Unfairground 11= Neil Young - Chrome Dreams II 10. Robert Wyatt - Comic opera 8= Linda Thompson - Versatile Heart 8= Joni Mitchell - Shine 7. Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog 5= Martin Simpson - Prodigal Son 5= The National - Boxer 4. Roy Harper - (Remastered Version) Stormcock 3. Richard Thompson - Sweet Warrior 2. Plant/Krauss - 'Raising Sand' 1. Nick Harper - Miracles for Beginners
Complicated maths ------------------------------ Chris has suggested that it would be more interesting if people rank their choices (ie your favourite album of the year is worth more than your 5th favourite). I agree and will take this into consideration. If you want to rank your choices please do. If you just give me a list of albums without specifying an order I will give them equal weight. I hope that makes sense. Thanks chris - looking forward to some complicated maths! James
Quite a few album lists received already ( and still it is only November) but very few individual songs so far....
December the first and suddenly quite a few votes coming in. Interestingly, hardly anyone has voted for individual songs - people are still sticking to album votes. Maybe the individual songs will come nearer Christmas. The album votes (top few) are always a bit predictable, as you know but the song votes can't be, can they?
Lots of votes for top albums of the year Less votes for top songs but (suspiciously) the same song has been top vote for a number of cockers. Mmmmm I wonder if there has been collusion?
OK - back to only one cock.... I'm having the time of my life sorting out this year's album chart - a few predictables but the usual amount of surprises - it's got me spotifying like a madman anyhow. And the new scoring system makes it all so exciting as well as quite long-winded to be honest. Only about 1 in 5 of you voted for individual songs and apart from 'Breath' by nick (which had about 8 votes) - no other song got more than one vote. So no point in doing a song chart to be honest. Basically Nick was #1 and everything else voted for was = #2. At some stage I'll go back through the emails of those people who voted for songs and publish a big list of them if people are interested. Anyhow - back to the album chart.. Any last votes by midnight today please (can't complain about the Progists they've voted in numbers over the last few days). Looking forward to wrapping it all up. James
Well here it is - exactly 50 this year for a change. Predictable at the top but some really interesting stuff here. For example -Thanks to everyone who has turned me on to Anais Mitchell - my new favourite singer! Also I notice that no one voted for the basement tapes! Too expensive? Happy New Year all. James FESTIVE COCK 2014 1 Nick Harper - Nix 2 Robert Plant - Lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar 3 Pink Floyd - The Endless River 4 Sun Kil Moon - Benji 5 Anais Mitchel: XOA 6 Acoustic Classics – Richard Thompson 7 The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream 8= Real Estate - Atlas 8= Sharon Van Etten - Are We There 10 Future Islands ‘Singles’ 11 Marissa Nadler - July 12= Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson -Thick As A Brick - Live In Iceland 12= St Vincent ‘St Vincent’ 14= Adam Holmes - Heirs and Graces 14= The Black Keys - Turn Blue 16= James Yorkston - The Cellardyke Recording and Wassailing Society 16= King Crimson - Starless 18 The Thompson Clan - Family 19= James Varda - Chance and Time 19= Temples - Sun Structures 21= Wilko Johnson& Roger Daltrey - Going Back Home 21= Beck - Morning Phase 21= Jethro Tull - A Passion Play (An Extended Performance) 24= Reg Meuross - England Green and England Grey 24= Vashti Bunyan - Heartleap 24= Show of Hands - Centenary Words & Music of the Great War 24= Opeth - Pale Communion 24= Jethro Tull - WarChild - The 40th Anniversary Theatre Edition 29= The Nocturne Diaries by Eliza Gilkyson Steve Harris - British Lion First Aid Kit - Stay Gold Jack White - Lazaretto Morrissey - World Peace Is None of Your Business U2 - Songs of Innocence Neil Young - A Letter Home 36= Chris Forsyth - Intensity Ghost John Grant - Live in Concert with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra - King Creosote - From Scotland With Love James – Petit Mort Alt-J - This is All Yours Frazey Ford - Indian Ocean Damien Dempsey - It's All Good Nick Mulvey - First mind Rival Sons - Great Western Valkyrie Asgeir: In the silence Ewan McLennan: Stories still untold 47= Steve Hackett - Genesis Revisited - Live at The Royal Albert Hall Seneka - Man Made Earthquake Leonard Cohen - Popular Problems FKA Twigs - LP1
Thanks for compiling the Festive Cock once more. I have a pedantic quibble I think there are only 49 albums in your list or number 46 has gone awol I have numbered each album below and when you get to 46 it isn't there. I tried to keep to your numbering where possible but have corrected it when it was obvious what it should have been. 1 Nick Harper - Nix 2 Robert Plant- Lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar 3 Pink Floyd - The Endless River 4 Sun Kil Moon- Benji 5 AnaisMitchel: XOA 6 Acoustic Classics – Richard Thompson 7 The War onDrugs - Lost in the Dream 8= Real Estate -Atlas 9= Sharon VanEtten - Are We There 10 Future Islands ‘Singles’ 11 MarissaNadler - July 12= JethroTull's Ian Anderson -Thick As A Brick - Live In Iceland 13= St Vincent ‘St Vincent’ 14= Adam Holmes - Heirs and Graces 15= The BlackKeys - Turn Blue 16= James Yorkston - The Cellardyke Recording and Wassailing Society 17= KingCrimson - Starless 18= The Thompson Clan - Family 19= James Varda - Chance and Time 20= Temples - SunStructures 21= Wilko Johnson& Roger Daltrey - Going Back Home 22= Beck -Morning Phase 23=Jethro Tull - A Passion Play (An Extended Performance) 24= Reg Meuross -England Green and England Grey 25= Vashti Bunyan - Heartleap 26= Show of Hands - CentenaryWords & Music of the Great War 27= Opeth - Pale Communion 28= JethroTull - WarChild - The 40th Anniversary Theatre Edition 29= The Nocturne Diaries by Eliza Gilkyson 30= Steve Harris - British Lion 31= First Aid Kit - Stay Gold 32= Jack White -Lazaretto 33= Morrissey -World Peace Is None of Your Business 34= U2 - Songs ofInnocence 35= Neil Young -A Letter Home 36= ChrisForsyth - Intensity Ghost 37= John Grant - Live in Concert with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra - 38= King Creosote- From Scotland With Love 39= James –Petit Mort 40= Alt-J - Thisis All Yours 41= Frazey Ford -Indian Ocean 42= Damien Dempsey - It's All Good 43= Nick Mulvey- First mindRival Sons -Great Western Valkyrie 44= Asgeir: In the silence 45= Ewan McLennan: Stories still untold 47= SteveHackett - Genesis Revisited - Live at The Royal Albert Hall 48= Seneka - Man Made Earthquake 49= Leonard Cohen - Popular Problems 50= FKA Twigs -LP1
Dear all Thanks for all your votes and comments and conversations I've been through the emails as best I can - and it seems it was only a Festive 49 - perhaps it was wishful thinking that exactly 50 albums qualified. Apologies. Anyhow what a great selection of music, once again. I've listened to quite a few new artists thanks to your recommendations and have been reminded of some older ones. Let's hope 2015 is another great year in every way. Cheers James
