The reason the Rolling Stones (who are GREAT) aren’t as good as Beatles or Zeppelin is because yer man Bill just isn’t as good as JPJ or wacky Mac

BBC Breakfast seem to hate Squeeze. Last time I saw them on Colin Patterson kept mixing up their names and this time they’ve called Glenn the guitarist and Chris the lead singer…

Sad news about Pam Hogg - she was cool AF

50. Little Simz – Point & Kill (2021–UK/Nigeria) #THETWEN2IE5 - 12 Points www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvY3... This has got everything that makes Simz brilliant. Proper lyrical chops, an amazing beat & slinky bass. Probs should've gone with Gorilla but I love this more - & thanks as always to Arron

49. She Drew the Gun – Behave Myself (2021–UK) #THETWEN2IE5 - 11 Points www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qF-... Louisa Roach is ace and should be much more popular. This song's chorus is completely irresistible

48. Lana Del Ray - A&W (2023–USA) #THETWEN2IE5 - 11 Points www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yJz... Surprisingly to me, this was very nearly my 12 pointer. I like most of what she does but I’m not a fanboy… slavishly sticking to an aesthetic isn’t always what you want… but this nails that thing devastatingly

47. Paranoid London – The Motion (2024–UK/USA) #THETWEN2IE5 - 11 Points www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkJc... Quinn Whalley is one of my favourite producers and his frequent collaborations with Mutado Pintado (Clams from Warmduscher) are always ace

46. Ty Segall – My Room (2023– USA) #THETWEN2IE5 - 11 Points www.youtube.com/watch?v=52Kf... Ty Segall is one of my favourite artists of this century, and his band is astonishing, see ‘em live if you can. The guitar tone on this has caused arguments with my muso mates but I love it

Ahhhh man - Mani definitely one of the great bass players. What a loss...

45. Automatic – Skyscraper (2022–USA) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFTK... this fell out of my list at one point but the amount I’ve played it in the last couple of years made me think again on that. Their newest stuff is really good, too

44. Young Fathers – I Saw (2023–UK) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPyC... There’s something to be said for Young Fathers’ fondness for brevity. Albums clocking in at just over half an hour is good! I like how this one keeps on ratcheting up the vibes

43. Phelimuncasi & DJ Nhlekzin - I Don't Feel My Legs (2022–Uganda) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbda... An absolutely filthy banger discovered thanks to PPP – the bass is B I G

42. Tony Allen ft Ben Okri & Skepta – Cosmosis (2021–Nigeria/UK) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnM8... Tony Allen was still going at it till the end hence so much posthumously released material. All of the There Is No End album is great but Ben Okri makes this a fave

41. Death Valley Girls – I’d Rather Be Dreaming (2020-USA) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWGD... haunted pop vibes are hardly novel but there’s something about Death Valley Girls that conjures a whiff of the uncanny and eldritch that’s quite pleasing

40. Yourboykiran – Out of Control (2024–UK) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgQe... I’m not a 6 Music basher - I just don’t listen much these days but I do try to catch Jamz Supernova when I can cos she drops bombs like this in a casual manner

Earlier this year I started researching/writing an extensive piece about the Stalag rhythm as a follow up to my Sleng Teng piece. It's still in the works, but I couldn't miss the 40th anniversary reissue of Ring The Alarm without penning a few words for @thequietus.com thequietus.com/quietus-revi...

Go on, have a vote, you know you want to

39. Joy Orbison – Flight FM (2024–UK) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsFD... You know a producer’s doing something right if their music is smashing up all the dancefloors. How he keeps you hooked with just a skipping beat and plunging bassline is some sort of sorcery…

38. Beak > - Oh Know (2021–UK) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK5S... who doesn’t love a bit of threadbare wonky funk? Geoff & Billy are one of the best rhythm sections of the last 15 odd years, so it’s a shame they’re not carrying on in this form…

37. Sault – Monsters (2020-UK) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlH9... the massively over saturated organ & vocal set against the sweet bass make this sound really incredible but it's all about the lyrics

36. Anika – Finger Pies (2021–UK) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUSm... There’s a kinda Nico sings Grace Jones thing with Anika’s stuff, which despite how that sounds, always fails to bore. This was the first thing she’s done as Anika in years and was very popular round our way

35. English Teacher – R&B (2024–UK) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I7z... Everyone in this band is sickeningly talented. They use dynamics really well, they’ve got loads of riffs and Lily Fontaine has got a cool name. Bastards. The original version of this single is worth checking too

34. Wu Lu ft Lex Amore – South (2021– UK) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibE5... the “chorus” of this, such as it is, somehow manages to distil the existential angst of being 16 into its purest form. Still makes me go funny whenever I hear it

I’m not much of one for Star Wars (loved it when I was a kid) but just caught a bit on the telly and the TIE fighter is still one of the best bits of sound design in a film (and the old Boots security camera as torture unit is still funny)

33. Coy - La Cantine du Vatican (2020– France) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr4F... I found this on one of Cosmo Vitelli’s label compilations and have played it to death ever since. Elastic band basslines are the best

32. Doechii – Nissan Altima (2024–USA) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGbe... There are absolutely loads of amazing rappers knocking about these days but Doechii’s got more going on than most of the rest put together… she’s got a lot of great singles but this is the one today

31. Katy J Pearson – Alligator (2022–UK) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EUS... I had to listen to this about 10 times in a row when I first heard it. Dan Carey’s bass & production are great but the sugar rush is Katy’s voice, even if she is singing about anxiety & dissociation

30. Magdalena Bay – Chaeri (2021–USA) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=ben9... clearly a PPP thing. I really like loads of their music but this is the first one I heard, and the bass gets me every time

I must confirm that I wouldn’t do anything for love but I probably will do that

29. The Orielles – Space Samba (Disco Volador Theme) (2020–UK) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-7V... I do like a band that’s very comfortable ignoring everything else and doing their own thing - you can hear how much they love playing together on this one

Still sounds utterly mesmerising - happy birthday Mr. Goddard youtu.be/8KNT3NHrCR8?...

28. Rubber Oh – Hyperdrive Fantasy (2022–UK) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z4i... I thought there’d be more Rocket Recordings things on my list but Goat, Pigsx7, GNOD and a few more all fell leaving this as the label’s sole survivor. Good riff though innit

27. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Burning (2022-USA ) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSff... if you’re gonna rip off Frank Valli this is the way to do it. Karen O’s vocal is amazing and the guitar sound is pretty special

26. Kim Deal – Crystal Breath (2024–USA) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=prso... There is no bloody dance element to this record :) It’s Kim Deal innit… she couldn’t write a bad riff if she tried

I’m in Istanbul. It’s a stunning place. Especially for some mad old cars, the like of which you don’t see on UK roads much anymore… (obvs the architecture here is the stunning stuff)

If you have any interest in words and how English is evolving and other good cultural things you might like @tonythorne007.bsky.social give him a follow

Prunella Scales as Elizabeth Mapp hamming it up with Geraldine McEwan is one of the best bits of 80s telly. What an amazing actress

25. Gabe Gurnsey – You Remind Me (2022–UK) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6Vz... I liked a lot of Factory Floor, so kept an eye on Gabe’s solo stuff. His first album was OK but Diablo, from which this is taken, is really great. Obvs I like the bass

24. The Paranoyds – Rita Lynn (2023– USA) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGX_... It’s basically just a good old bit of electroclash innit, but I’m a sucker for an insouciant vocal and the chorus riff loops unexpectedly which adds something else kinda pleasing to it

Ahhh this is extremely upsetting… www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Afternoon drinking curtails thinking…

23. Lael Neale - I Am The River (2023–USA) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUA4... A sweet bit of hippie folk beautifully refracted through the lens of the Velvets or maybe Suicide

22. deBasement - F.F.F.T.DJ (2024-USA) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkBi... I liked Special Interest a lot & this offshoot seems to turn that whole thing up to 11. It’s probably just a novelty dance banger but it sounds amazing very loud, & “drugs work, I don’t” is my kinda lyric

21. Channel Tres – Acid in My Blood (2022–USA) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIax... He’s really called Sheldon Young, which makes him almost impossible to google and he is very good at writing earworm basslines

20. Psychic Graveyard – I’m Blacking Out (2022– USA) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oeay... I think I found these through Osees, who are oddly absent from this list. There’s not enough frenetic synthy punk about IMO. Sounds good dead loud

19. Soccer 96 – Inner Worlds / Outer Worlds (2022–UK) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK9M... I’m not really a jazzer so 5/4 isn’t usually my kind of timing thing (I can barely count to 4) but marrying it to a big old krautrock vibe seems to work wonders for me…

On this day in 1965, the first edition of The Magic Roundabout was broadcast on BBC1. Using the animation from the French show Le Manège Enchanté, completely new scripts (which bore no resemblance to the originals) were written and narrated by Eric Thompson.

18. Radioactive Man & Ben Pest – You Bring It, We’ll Wing It (2020-UK) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkJ8... bubbling electro with sick bass. What more could you possibly want?

A double dose of Mary Byker on toppy tonight. Aren’t we lucky #TOTP

17. Anna Erhard - 170 (2023– Switzerland) #THETWEN2IE5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTzl... humorous songs always work best when the music is brilliant, like here. This is big in our house because at least two of my kids think they’re taller than me… obviously they’re not. No