NEW post: In 2001, ‘Penguin Eggs’ by Nic Jones was voted into 2nd place "Best Folk Album of all Time" on the Mike Harding show on BBC Radio 2 (just behind Fairport's ‘Liege & Lief’) @pangurdubh3.bsky.social picks 10 tracks from the albums of #NicJones www.toppermost.co.uk/jones-nic/

This is a great piece and set of songs. I adore The Monkees. It was the pop of Headquarters that began my love of pop music. So let's revel in this absolute masterpiece written and sung by Micky. Randy Scouse Git youtu.be/ImG5hd1gIbs?...

Tears for Fears Toppermost from @daveamitri.bsky.social www.toppermost.co.uk/tears-for-fe...

The Monkees Toppermost from @dlew919.bsky.social www.toppermost.co.uk/monkees-the/

The Flaming Lips Toppermost from @marcfagel.bsky.social www.toppermost.co.uk/flaming-lips...

Donna Jean Godchaux supplied steel and soul to the Grateful Dead in their prime

Our guided walk on 13 December will explore how Soho shaped the sound of Christmas. From wassailing to Wham!, the puritans to The Pogues, the streets of Soho tell a story of how Christmas songs have celebrated, offended, satirised and glorified in equal measure. Join us!

A brilliant profile of a wonderful artist.

NEW post ... "One of the greatest artists in English folk music, his contribution to the genre is immeasurable." @pangurdubh3.bsky.social picks 10 of the best songs from the albums of Nic Jones www.toppermost.co.uk/jones-nic/

NEW post: In 2001, ‘Penguin Eggs’ by Nic Jones was voted into 2nd place "Best Folk Album of all Time" on the Mike Harding show on BBC Radio 2 (just behind Fairport's ‘Liege & Lief’) @pangurdubh3.bsky.social picks 10 tracks from the albums of #NicJones www.toppermost.co.uk/jones-nic/

NEW post: “Canadee-I-O (from 1980’s ‘Penguin Eggs’) stands out for its combination of superb guitar playing with one of his very finest vocal performances” @pangurdubh3.bsky.social picks 10 tracks from the albums of #NicJones www.toppermost.co.uk/jones-nic/

NEW post: "Nic Jones’ brilliant solo work has cemented his legacy as one of the greatest artists in English folk music, his contribution to the genre immeasurable." @pangurdubh3.bsky.social picks 10 tracks from the albums of #NicJones www.toppermost.co.uk/jones-nic/

Lots of talk about the Girl Bands documentary last night and the fact they left Girls Aloud out. Bonkers. It was brilliant but never forget they all owe a debt of gratitude to these girls.... www.toppermost.co.uk/nolans-the/

It's no secret how much I love Haircut 100. I'm currently in the middle of choosing my 15 favourite Nick Heyward 90s tunes in #ArtistFave15. What remains remarkable is just what special musicians they all were while so young. This was high quality high speed funk. Wonderful pictures

BBC News - Folk musician and BBC presenter dies aged 86 www.bbc.com/news/article...

I was sad to read that folk singer Archie Fisher has passed away. Men O' Worth is a powerful song of his about how the oil and gas industry transformed life in Northern Scotland. But when the job is over and your boat rots on the shore How will you feed your family when the companies go away?

RiP Archie Fisher. A colossal figure in Scottish music. With his partner, Jill Doyle they gave Bert Jansch guitar lessons. His Reynardineis my favourite, with a nice textural nod to the evolving nature of folk music which he was undoubtedly a big part of www.youtube.com/watch?v=Abcq...

A Sandy Denny Toppermost! For some reason I thought of you immediately @brighterdayvinyl.bsky.social. 😎

If you enjoy writing about music as well as listening then Toppermost is always open to new contributors. Head over to the site and you’ll find a treasure trove of almost 1,200 posts from over 160 music fans 😊

Recents: Sandy Denny, Penny & Sparrow, Marcus Miller, Leo Kottke, Rain Parade, Stray Cats, Billy Mackenzie, Death Cab, East River Pipe @rusky.bsky.social @paulwonvinyl.bsky.social @marcfagel.bsky.social @dlew919.bsky.social @pangurdubh3.bsky.social @mikepress.bsky.social www.toppermost.co.uk

NEW post: "Listen, Listen (from 1972's 'Sandy') - something timeless about its stately rhythm and lyrical restraint, it could just as easily be a 17th-century lament as a 1970s ballad." @mikepress.bsky.social picks 10 from the ‘solo’ records of #SandyDenny www.toppermost.co.uk/denny-sandy/

Not only one of the great voices in popular music, but also one of the great songwriters:

NEW post: "Late November (from 1971’s 'The North Star Grassman and the Ravens') is perhaps her most cinematic song - full of streams, temples and phosphorous sands." @mikepress.bsky.social picks his 10 best songs from the ‘solo’ records of #SandyDenny www.toppermost.co.uk/denny-sandy/

NEW post:  Sandy Denny ... "Her voice and vision still resonate: a reminder that the most profound melancholy can also be luminous, alive and simply beautiful." @mikepress.bsky.social picks 10 from the ‘solo’ records of #SandyDenny (photo Keith 'Keef' MacMillan) www.toppermost.co.uk/denny-sandy/

If only there was a Toppermost... Oh but there is! www.toppermost.co.uk/ultra-vivid-...

Coffee, teenagers, Soho and pop before The Beatles.

The Soft Cell Toppermost from @austinfis.bsky.social www.toppermost.co.uk/soft-cell/

#80sTop30 Day 24 Dollar Videotheque Selected at random from 100 of my favourite 80s songs by 100 different artists. spotify.link/S1da5fKEIXb

Lilys are such a criminally overlooked band. Some really great stuff (though I preferred their later pop turns to their early shoegaze). Picked my Top 10 Lilys tracks for Toppermost last year: www.toppermost.co.uk/lilys/

Indie folk duo Penny & Sparrow were my #ArtistFave15 earlier this month. I was then delighted to have an opportunity to dive a little deeper into their music on ace music website Toppermost: “the toppermost of the poppermost”! Thanks @rusky.bsky.social whose earlier post gave me the inspiration 🙏🏻

NEW post: “Recuerda (from 2019’s ‘Finch’) - an extraordinary vocal sequence after the 1 minute mark, a gentle descent from falsetto which reminds me upon every listen, here is a master at work.” @paulwonvinyl.bsky.social picks his top #PennyAndSparrow tracks www.toppermost.co.uk/penny-and-sp...

Dave Ball, synth-pop hitmaker as one half of Soft Cell, dies aged 66

NEW post: “Jeopardy (from 2025’s ‘Lefty’) - the duo describe it as being ‘about knowing someone perfectly’ but I read more into it...” @paulwonvinyl.bsky.social picks his top #PennyAndSparrow tracks www.toppermost.co.uk/penny-and-sp...

NEW post: Penny & Sparrow “originate from Austin TX, their music is a modern kind of folk, sometimes spiritual, with gentle harmonies – irresistible” @paulwonvinyl.bsky.social picks his top 10 (+ 5 bubbling under!) @pennyandsparrow.bsky.social #PennyAndSparrow www.toppermost.co.uk/penny-and-sp...

Judee Sill would have been 81 today. Sadly she never made it out of the 70s, but what a legacy. Here’s a post on her UK appearances. hidingundercovrs.blogspot.com/2023/11/lost...

NEW post: Marcus Miller ... “a man who’s not just mastered the electric bass but redefined it for generations of players” @dlew919.bsky.social picks 10 from the ‘solo’ career of #MarcusMiller … #MilesDavis #LutherVandross #DavidSanborn #jazzfusion www.toppermost.co.uk/miller-marcus/

NEW post: “If the bass is the heartbeat of music, Marcus Miller is the cardiologist who’s performed open-heart surgery on jazz, funk, R&B and everything in between.” @dlew919.bsky.social picks 10 from the ‘solo’ career of the maestro #MarcusMiller www.toppermost.co.uk/miller-marcus/

NEW post: Marcus Miller ... “a man who’s not just mastered the electric bass but redefined it for generations of players” @dlew919.bsky.social picks 10 from the ‘solo’ career of #MarcusMiller … #MilesDavis #LutherVandross #DavidSanborn #jazzfusion www.toppermost.co.uk/miller-marcus/

#ArtistFave15 #MusicChallenge Indie folk duo Penny & Sparrow, from Austin, TX. I’ll be diving deeper into my fav P&S songs later in Oct hopefully on ace music website Toppermost: “the toppermost of the poppermost”. Thank you @toppermost.bsky.social for the opportunity! 🙏🏻 www.toppermost.co.uk

NEW post today ... @pangurdubh3.bsky.social on #LeoKottke guitar maestro "Influenced by the great acoustic blues guitarists - of which he is a master, on to the more jazz, country and classically influenced guitar styles" Here's just 10 of his finest recordings. www.toppermost.co.uk/kottke-leo/

Oh Absolutely 😍 I wrote this for @toppermost.bsky.social a while ago. www.toppermost.co.uk/mccarthy/ And I’m listening to them on my train journeys at the moment too.

NEW post: Leo Kottke – “the richness of his work means that this selection can only represent the tip of the iceberg” @pangurdubh3.bsky.social picks his #LeoKottke top 10 www.toppermost.co.uk/kottke-leo/

NEW post: Leo Kottke "ranks high among the very finest guitarists, a relentlessly creative artist with a delicacy of touch and a mastery of tone" @pangurdubh3.bsky.social picks his #LeoKottke top 10 www.toppermost.co.uk/kottke-leo/

This was such fun to write about one of my favourite songwriters, Ron Sexsmith. It was both easy and very difficult to choose which songs to list. So I took an unconventional approach.

The Ron Sexsmith Toppermost from @clippernolan.bsky.social www.toppermost.co.uk/sexsmith-ron/

The Fugazi Toppermost by @waj.bsky.social www.toppermost.co.uk/fugazi/

#ArtistFave15 #MusicChallenge 🎤 Celebrating the music of indie folk duo, Penny & Sparrow. 4️⃣ 🎵 Cheyenne 💿 Olly Olly (2022) A reference to the George Strait country song. Picture yourself in a truck, aimed toward that Wyoming line 😊 🎶 Bang on the dash outta habit 🎶 youtu.be/JyO-tjxdGsQ

Quick rerun of a thing what I wrote for @toppermost.bsky.social

“The real highlight on 'Crashing Dream' is Don’t Feel Bad, dueling bass and guitar lines that feel deeply indebted to 'Revolver', a punchy psych-pop track that carries on where the debut left off” @marcfagel.bsky.social picks his top #RainParade tracks www.toppermost.co.uk/rain-parade/

“The psychedelic opus This Can’t Be Today, a lysergic expedition, hypnotic keyboards, fizzy guitars, backwards tapes, stop-start tempos, wall-of-sound reverb” @marcfagel.bsky.social picks his top #RainParade tracks – this one on ‘Emergency Third Rail Power Trip’ www.toppermost.co.uk/rain-parade/