I'm Pete Muscutt, contributor to the site through reviews and the occasional feature. I currently live on the Isle of Man, but am a Devon boy at heart, hence the mandatory inclusion of Muse in the playlist! There's some tracks I grew up with in my teens in this selection, such as Kraftwerk and Jean Michel Jarre, but some more contemporary stuff too from FFS and Gilmour that have rocked my world. So sit yourself down with some good headphones and take a listen, and I hope you enjoy it!
1 - DAVID GILMOUR - DANCING RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME (RATTLE THAT LOCK)
The new Gilmour solo album is a very different beast to 2006's 'On An Island', which was more ambient and 'Pink Floyd'. 'Rattle That Lock' features more defined songs, and this is one of the highlights on an excellent album that I think fans will appreciate more than 'The Endless River', the quasi-Floyd album that came out last year but felt a little 'bitty', rather than a cohesive effort. He may be in his twilight years, but the guitar sound and voice is unmistakeably Gilmour, and for that we're thankful.
2 - F.F.S. - 'JOHNNY DELUSIONAL' (F.F.S.)
On paper, a union between archetypal 70s theatrical rock-poppers Sparks and arty-rock Scots Franz Ferdinand seems a little disconcerting, but on record, its a joyous experience; full of witty to and fro's between vocalists Russell Mael and Alex Kapranos, scything guitar and fantastic, burbling synthesiser. 'Johnny Delusional' is perhaps one of the most perfect pop songs of the last few years, despite it's no-showing in the Top 40.
3 - STEVEN PRICE - 'GRAVITY' (Gravity film soundtrack)
I only saw the movie 'Gravity' recently, but this piece of music, starting off slow and quiet, before escalating and building to the Heavenly climax, is suitably rousing and epic to soundtrack a film about space travel.
4 - MUSE - 'THE GLOBALIST' (Drones)
The penultimate track on Muse's grandiose concept album about remote-control killing, brainwashing and the recruitment of undercover terrorists, it's perhaps the biggest, brashest and best thing they've committed to tape. Taking a full ten-minutes to unveil its story, from the titular 'drone' overcoming his captors to become his own nuclear power, to exercising that power in a frantic, thrash-heavy middle section, to the piano-led coda set (presumably) in the aftermath of global nuclear conflict, its spectacle is made all the more incredible when you consider just three guys made it. Can't wait to experience their live show in 2016!
5 - UNDERWORLD - 'BIGMOUTH' (1992-2002)
An early Underworld effort, and not a widely heard one, owing to the fact it was not included on any album. Blending Karl Hyde and Rick Smith's trademark techno beats with lashings of harmonica, it veers on the right edge of becoming a Europop country hoedown and remains an underrated classic from the Essex lads.
6 - PULP - 'DEEP FRIED IN KELVIN' (His 'n' Hers Deluxe Edition)
Released just before Pulp made their name in the indie world, before conquering the music industry in 1995, 'Deep Fried...' is the sinister, apocalyptic-sounding B-side to the 'Lipgloss' single. Easily the longest thing they recorded, its running time is never wasted, as Jarvis Cocker recounts the lives and situations of the titular Kelvin housing flats in Sheffield, including a man who steals vast quantities of soil because 'all he wanted was a garden', and the gangs of kids who terrorise the residents. Dark, moody and ever so slightly scary.
7 - JUSTICE - 'WE ARE YOUR FRIENDS (REPRISE)' (A Cross the Universe)
A live cut from the French techno duo who seem to have gone a bit quiet recently, 'We Are Your Friends' was originally released with the indie group Simian. Here, it's sampled and mixed with heavy metal riffs from the band Ministry's track 'Just One Fix' to great effect.
8 - KRAFTWERK - 'RADIOACTIVITY' (Radio-Activity)
I first heard Kraftwerk on Radio 1 when they broadcast their set from the Tribal Gathering 1997 festival live. Apart from 'The Model', I'd not heard any of their back catalogue, and the day after listening to this I went and bought four of their studio albums straight off. 'Radio-Activity' was one of them, and to me, it's the best of their 'themed' albums - the others being 'Autobahn' (its title track being about motorway travel), 'Computer World' and the train-themed 'Trans Europe Express'.
9 - JEAN MICHEL JARRE - 'ETHNICOLOR' (Cities in Concert Houston/Lyon)
Another live track, this time from the French synthesiser master's live concerts in the cities of Houston and Lyon. A slow-burner to begin with, this song properly kicks in a fair-way through it's long running time, but is a great atmospheric piece of music that reinforced how cinematic a lot of Jarre's work was.
10 - DENIS LEARY - 'ASSHOLE' (No Cure for Cancer)
And to finish, a song from the Irish-American stand up Denis Leary, who tells us how much of a lovely fella he really is.
Sing along, kids!
Pete Muscutt