Sooo... this is a slightly insanely long playlist, especially coming off the back of five hours of listening in my other 2017 posts. It's around twelve hours of music – 183 songs – that didn't make it onto my best of 2017 playlists. It came about because, when I was trying to catch up on some releases I might have missed during the year, I found so very, very much music that appealed to me, and it was overwhelming to even figure out where to begin listening. I started this playlist to keep stuff I wanted to get back to, and as somewhere to put songs I reluctantly cut from my main playlists when they were getting too long. So this is essentially a playlist of honourable mentions, as well as songs I've really enjoyed from albums I haven't had time to fully listen to. 

In Part One, I shared songs from my most-loved albums of last year. Part Two features highlights from my favourite singles and EPs released in 2017. Enjoy! 

Okay, so it's nearly March, which probably makes this the world's most untimely 'Best of 2017' list! First I'll get to the music, but there's a personal note at the bottom of this post explaining why I'm sometimes much later with posts than I'd like, and why I think they're still worth doing anyway.

Wow, I was really blown away by the musical offerings from last year! There's some truly spectacular music being made by incredibly creative artists who are dedicated to their craft. and to making brilliant music for the sake of it. Though it's easier than ever to find music from all over the world to suit your particular tastes, I'm pretty convinced there's also just more and more amazing music being produced. This playlist features a song from each of my favourite 2017 albums. It's pretty long, with fifty-five tracks, coming in at around three hours and forty minutes of listening. I heard so much great stuff, this was as much as I could narrow it down! And you'll notice this is only Part One.... 

One of the absolute best albums of the year is Rose Elinor Dougall's Stelullar. Released January this year, the long-awaited follow-up to her excellent 2010 solo debut, Without Why, has exceeded even my rather high expectations.

This is a contemporary take on pop that is just exquisitely executed. Influences across many decades and styles are expertly synthesised and distilled into something earnest, fresh, modern and personal. You can hear The Smiths and other indie eighties, classic sixties songwriting, punk and its artier cousins, eighties synth pop, Britpop, as well as more recent influences from the world of today's avant-pop. I know music reviews can often be an annoying shopping list of improbable references, but I genuinely do hear all those! It's to Dougall's credit that these don't compete or sound unnaturally glued together, and that they aren't there for the sake of showing off what's in her record collection. The different pieces blend beautifully and always serve the songwriting and the essence of the song. The tracks are complex enough to offer up new delights on repeated listens, but not overly worked at the expense of what makes a good pop song so appealing: memorable melodies, addictive hooks and emotional immediacy.

It's my first post of the new year and, though late to the game, I wanted to share my favourite music from last year. 2016 was a notoriously terrible year (not that this year is exactly peachy so far!), but thankfully the same can't be said of the music that came out last year. It was, to quote Lisa Simpson's insensitive future fiancé, like a flower that grew out of a pot of dirt. I feel spoiled by the amount and variety of quality music I've been enjoying from last year's offerings. There are the gorgeous vintage European pop sounds of The Yearning and Lia Pamina, the visionary retrofuturism of Adrian Younge, the moving, classic songwriting of Big Smoke, the raw garage rock of The Mystery Lights, some fresh takes on dream pop, and many outings in psychedelic-influenced, experimental pop. Some of these albums have quickly become all-time favourites, not just favourites of the year. Below is a playlist of songs from my most-loved releases of 2016, including albums, singles and EPs, in no particular order. A list of my top eleven albums (I could not narrow it down to ten!) of the year – again, in no specific order – follows it.

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If you prefer Spotify, listen here. Update: By request, now also on Deezer (but missing the Samara Lubelski song).

Tracklist:

This blog has gained many new readers since I first posted my Spiked Candy Canes mixes in 2005, so I thought I'd share them again for anyone who missed out the first time around. Hopefully they'll give you an idea of the abundance of lesser-known but fun, interesting, weird or sometimes beautiful Christmas songs that are out there, and maybe introduce you to some artists you haven't heard before. If you're looking for more info and links to purchase anything that's still in print, have a look through the December 2005 and the December 2006 archives.

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I'm feeling spoiled this year thanks to all the quality Christmas music I've found online that the artists have generously made available for free download. Below is my list of finds. Got any more to add?

I've been obsessed with hunting down every enjoyable Christmas song (and some winter and December-themed ones) I can find on Last.fm, and as a result, Spiked Candy Canes Radio is now more than three times the size it was last year!

Click here to play it in a pop-up window, or here to play it in your last.fm player (get the player here).

What has gone into the Spiked Candy Canes mix? Generous handfuls each of twee pop, Phil Spector, A Charlie Brown Christmas, 60s pop, crooners, soul, Japanese ukulele girls and Doris Day; a dash of jazz and a splash of glam rock; a sprinkling of country, and a, uh, tiny pinch of Tiny Tim. Sneak a peek at the track list here.

Stay tuned... more Christmas posts still to come!

(Pic of 'Les' Beach Boys from Jukebox mag).

If you haven't already, please be sure to visit Filles Sourires and check out the excellent Christmas Project that Guuzbourg has put together. Almost all the songs were recorded especially for Filles Sourires, which means it's the first time they've been heard anywhere. The only track that's not new is Watoo Watoo's, but it's still a very worthy inclusion that suits the mix nicely. All up, that's nine Christmas-themed songs featuring, bien sur, lovely female vocals in French, with an interesting array of styles represented. What a treat!

Of the new songs, my favourite (at least today) is probably Hektor's cover of Les Wampas' 'Ce soir c'est Noël'. This is a sophisticated, satisfyingly fizzy piece of electropop, with some chunky electric guitar riffs that stop it feeling too lightweight. I love the cute-but-slightly-aloof voice of frontwoman Carine Péralba (pictured), whose delivery here has a deadpan quality to it that suits the feel of the song.

Watoo Watoo's gentle pop never fails to impress me, and their 1999 song ' Les Visiteurs de Noël' is another highlight for me in this collection.

Head there now! -> Fille Sourires Christmas Project