A Certain Romance - The Playlist

When I need inspiration for working with the manuscript, I typically put some music on. Not just a random set of tunes, it'll be a certain playlist I've created on Spotify.

I’m not sure about other writers, but I tend to be indifferent when it comes to using music as inspiration. Occasionally, I need silence to collect my thoughts. In other moments, I need to listen to music to drown out other noises and offer me something relevant. When I have been trying to update the manuscript, I typically put on a playlist based on the era I’m covering.

There are some obvious tracks included, such as the singles that were released at the time, which I’ve covered in the manuscript. Other tracks demonstrate where the inspiration came from for those bands to pick up instruments. Some tracks simply remind me of that time dancing with my mates in the club night du jour, Threads at DQ in Sheffield. While the playlist is always changing (are they ever truly finalised?), I’ll share the tracks here.

NB, Spotify does not hold demo tracks or ineligible EPs. For some reason, Miles Kane’s band, The Rascals, cannot be found AT ALL.

Feel free to listen to the playlist to A Certain Romance here

The Singles

If it was available, the Five Minutes with Arctic Monkeys EP version of Fake Tales of San Francisco would go straight in, just for that drum sound.

Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor, When The Sun Goes Down, The View From The Afternoon, Leave Before The Lights Come On, Brianstorm, Teddy Picker, Fluorescent Adolescent, and Crying Lightning.

Obviously, A Certain Romance is also included.

Before Arctic Monkeys hit number one with their debut single, Kaiser Chiefs and The Cribs had already blazed a trail. Kaiser Chiefs released Modern Way a few weeks after I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor. The Cribs were already beyond album #2 by then, with You’re Gonna Lose Us being a non-album single coming out a month later.

Kaiser Chiefs - Oh My God!, I Predict A Riot, Everyday I Love You Less And Less, Modern Way, You Can Have It All, Ruby, Everything Is Average Nowadays, The Angry Mob, Love’s Not A Competition (But I’m Winning), Never Miss A Beat, and Good Days Bad Days.

The Cribs - Another Number, You Were Always the One, What About Me, Hey Scenesters!, Mirror Kissers, Martell, You’re Gonna Lose Us, Men’s Needs, Moving Pictures, Don’t You Wanna Be Relevant, and I’m A Realist.

Locally, The Long Blondes were the first band to get a single out when New Idols came out via the Thee SPC label in July 2004. Though the band’s career was curtailed early, they did release “Singles” in 2008, on the same day that the band was officially dissolved. The album was a compilation of their brilliant early releases, with b-sides and Alan Smyth’s rougher demo version of Separated By Motorways.

The Long Blondes - New Idols, Autonomy Boy, Giddy Stratospheres, Appropriation (By Any Other Name), Separated By Motorways, Weekend Without Makeup, Once & Never Again, Century, and Guilt.

Bonus - Kate Jackson - The End of Reason taken from her solo album, British Road Movies.

Ah, what could have been for Harrisons as you can’t help but get along with each of their singles. They hold up well considering how little attention they garnered at the time, largely due to the band having split up by the time their debut album was released.

Harrisons - Wishing Well, Blue Note, Monday’s Arms, and Dear Constable.

Bromheads Jacket - Woolley Bridge, What Ifs and Maybes, Trip to the Golden Arches, Lesley Parlafitt, Speaker Box, Turn Me On.

Bonuses - The band have since reformed with Milburn’s drummer, Greeny, hence I’ve included their latest single, Juiced Up. Their cover of The Streets’ When You Wasn’t Famous is also included.

Milburn - Send In The Boys, Lipstick Licking, Cheshire Cat Smile, What You Could’ve Won, Showroom, and What Will You Do (When The Money Goes).

Little Man Tate - The Agent, House Party At Boothy’s, Man I Hate Your Band, Sexy In Latin, This Must Be Love, European Lover, What Your Boyfriend Said, Hey Little Sweetie, and I Am Alive.

Bonus - Money Wheel. Arguably, my favourite Little Man Tate song. So good, they still play it live.

For some reason, their single, What? What You Got, fails to make it onto Spotify, no idea.

Reverend and The Makers - Heavyweight Champion of the World, He Said He Loved Me, Open Your Window, and Silence Is Talking.

Black Wire - Attack!Attack!Attack!, The Face, Hard To Love Easy To Lay, Smoke and Mirrors, and See The Blood.

Alas, their 2006 single, Hung Up, isn’t available on Spotify. Go figure.

The Sunshine Underground - Put You In Your Place, Commercial Breakdown, What You Like, I Ain’t Losing Any Sleep, and Borders.

¡Forward, Russia! - Nine, Thirteen, Twelve, Eighteen, Nineteen, and Breaking Standing.

Similarly, the standalone single Don’t Be A Doctor also didn’t make it onto Spotify.

Then there are those Leeds bands that were included in the ‘Gangs of New Yorkshire’ feature yet failed to really amount to much other than a few singles. Only Heartstrings evidences The Ivories. However, The Research do have a few more releases; She’s Not Leaving, C’mon Chameleon, The Way You Used To Smile, Lonely Hearts Still Beat The Same, The Hard Times, and I Think She’s The One I Love.

The New Rock Revolution

Before The New Yorkshire Wave, inspiration came from The New Rock Revolution. A set of bands from the USA, Australasia, and Sweden who each had a brilliant single (the first one noted in the pairs below).

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Whatever Happened To My Rock ‘N’ Roll (Punk Song) and Spread Your Love. This is WEIRD, as I type this, Spread Your Love is playing on BBC 6Music. Spooky.

The Vines - Highly Evolved and Get Free.

The White Stripes - Fell In Love With A Girl and Hotel Yorba.

The Strokes - Last Nite and Hard To Explain.

The Hives - Hate To Say I Told You So and Main Offender.

There is also the free NME New Rock Revolution CD but some of the tracks are difficult to source given that they appeared before the bands had released their debut albums. With this selection, you can cast the net a bit further to include bands from the UK and Ireland.

The Libertines - Boys In The Band

The Von Bondies - My Baby’s Cryin (live)

The Datsuns - Harmonic Generator

The Cooper Temple Clause - Amber

Interpol - Specialist

The Thrills - Santa Cruz (You’re Not That Far)

The Coral - Skeleton Key

Radio 4 - New Disco

The D4 - Get Loose

The Music - Jag Tune

Electroclash And US Alt-Rock

Around the same time as the New Rock Revolution, you had the emergence of Electroclash and US Alt-Rock. Songs that helped bridge the gap between dance and indie guitar music. There’s some right bangers.

Fischerspooner - Emerge

At The Drive-In - One Armed Scissor

…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Another Morning Stoner

Les Savy Fav - Reprobate’s Resume

The Dandy Warhols - Every Day Should Be A Holiday and We Used To Be Friends.

The Mars Volta - Inertiatic Esp

The Moldy Peaches - Anyone Else But You

New Rave

Around 2007, music tastes began to change and New Rave started competing with the New Yorkshire Wave.

Klaxons - Golden Skans, Atlantis To Interzone, and Gravity’s Rainbow.

New Young Pony Club - Ice Cream

CSS - Let’s Make Love And Listen To Death From Above

Shitdisco - Reactor Party

Other Tracks

Stoney - Soap in a Bathtub. A brilliant Sheffield solo artist around at the same time, he even supported Arctic Monkeys at The Leadmill.

Richard Hawley - Born Under A Bad Sign. The inspiration in Sheffield while its bands were still getting their shit together.

Granted, they weren't in the Gangs of New Yorkshire feature but The Pigeon Detectives were representing Leeds at the time. Hence I've included their singles I Found Out, Romantic Type, I'm Not Sorry, Take Her Back, This Is An Emergency, Everybody Wants Me, and Say It Like You Mean It.

Though they weren’t featured on the New Rock Revolution CD, I’ve added tracks from notable bands around the time.

This includes -

The Zutons - Pressure Point

The Rakes - Work Work Work - Pub Club Sleep

The Futureheads - Decent Days and Nights

We Are Scientists - Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt

Art Brut - Formed A Band

Maximo Park - Apply Some Pressure

Enjoy the playlist, if you have any suggestions for songs to add then please let me know. I’m yet to have anyone leave a comment so it would give me some confirmation that I’m not simply sending words into the ether!