Despite it being a fairly recent release as it came out earlier this year, Arlo Parks’ Collapsed in Sunbeams is a perfect storytelling soundtrack of luscious expressive indie-pop that encompasses the magnificence of British summer beautifully.
I had presumed that I had done an album review to showcase this beautiful album, but it appears not. Fear not, if you wish for me to review this album, let me know and I’ll get right on it. It is a perfect Summers’ collection after all. It is very fitting as we enter record-breaking heatwaves on our British shores. I’ll include the necessary links to have a listen to the album in full before you glance over this review of mine. Thanks all.
So, I finally managed to get around to tallying up the votes from my blog post about finding the best British artist (according to my amazing readers world-abound) – and you can have a look at the numbers below. Out of 50 comments received, these were the results!
<Also have a gander at my favourite bloggers’ playlist, which denotes all her favourite British artists in one handy collection. Thanks Catnip!>
THE RESULTS
DISCLOSURE: the results of this voting may bear down to listener preference, taste, demographic and influences.
Elton John, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Dire Straits and Pet Shop Boys all gathered in FOUR votes apiece, resulting in 18 votes overall for this as the TOP FIVE BEST BRITISH ACTS/ARTISTS. There’s some artists that are simply expected to top the lost, but it was surprising for me to see Elton John top the list too, but I’ve never been one to dabble into his music, so there you are.
These pioneers are shortly followed up with Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Queen and The Rolling Stones with THREE votes apiece, resulting in a total of 12 votes for the second list of artists who made the cut. With me being a massive Queen fan, it was disappointing not to see them earn more votes in the long run, but I’m pleased all the same that they were mentioned ample times.
Entering the territory of those artist underdogs or under-appreciated artists, we have: The Who, The Cranberries, The Smiths, U2, Kate Bush, The Kinks, Massive Attack and Duran Duran and rather surprisingly, Fine Young Cannibals. These artists clocked up TWO votes apiece, with resulting in 16 votes in total. WhileThe Smiths somehow outmanoeuvre their Manchester counterparts of Blur and Oasis to earn more votes, the overwhelming appearance of Fine Young Cannibals solidifies my need to have a listen to their music catalogue as I am not aware of them as an artists, as much as I’d like to be.
The final recommendations come with earning ONE vote apiece, resulting in 17 votes in total. Bearing in no particular order: The Cure, Blur, Simply Red, Ed Sheeran, Amy Winehouse, Jess Glynne, Adele, John Newman, Rudimental, Sex Pistols, Talking Heads, Tears For Fears, PJ Harvey, Joy Division, New Order, Duran Duran, Electric Light Orchestra, Judas Priest and Def Leppard.
What’s missing?
While this is a highly commendable line-up with some fantastic music artists involved, many aren’t mentioned at all. Britpop giants, Oasis, Leicester local-lads Kasabian and fanatic funks of The Police were all missed out. But this is the use of saying such a thing like the Bestof something, which usually refers to us thinking about the classic artists from back in the day, rather than the present ones we see and hear today in “popular”music.
Hey folks, in a new series for a new month, we’re exploring the BEST OF BRITISH in an ultimate face-off regarding the Best in British Music.
Whether it be the crafty workings of stage presence or the sheer scale of anthems and hits they’ve written, what makes the music better than all the others? We’ll be scaling up each comment, and thoughts and see if they’ll top the list. So, join the discussion and get involved.
Would we see the Bohemian-dwellers of the mighty Queen grace our list? They had the lot in terms of bravado, iconic soundtracks and sheer fame and fortune with the one, Freddy Mercury.
Or would we see the Mancunian duo of Oasis? Rampant, chaotic and not giving a damn, they stood for everything British, and took the world by storm with their iconic Britpop. Will they litter the queue, too?
This week, we start with number ten – give me your artist picks below, and we’ll methodically think, question, argue and hopefully … agree on our Best of British!
Man v Music 