#quadrilles

let the sun shine let the sun shine in

Is springtime at last approaching? My hitherto forced grins Are becoming more spontaneous. Now I can come out Of my shell again And face the world. Not cut out for winter, I fall in love With each vernal outburst.  I wish it were permanent. Join us for quadrilles in  dverse   forty.four.word poetry.  

The ball room manual : containing a complete description of contra dances, with remarks on cotillons, quadrilles, and Spanish dance, 1856.

*2004TW-299

I sortof love and loathe end of year lists in equal measure but it's been a pretty great year for me by all accounts. I visited three countries I'd not been to before, did three months off the booze without flinching, lost about 2 stone and have played some of the best hockey of my life.

2013 was also a pretty great year for music, and I did more pop DJing than ever (as well as a good deal of rock and indie, so that's cool too). So without further ado, here's a few lists you may enjoy:

Top 10 gigs: 1. El Ten Eleven / Waking Aida / Quadrilles / Let's Set Sail @ Brixton Windmill (26th October) 2. ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead @ Cambridge Portland Arms (21st February) 3. Jetplane Landing / Mayors Of Miyazaki @ London Lexington (6th September) 4. Biffy Clyro @ Bologna Estragon (7th December) 5. Stagecoach / Our Lost Infantry / The Brilliantly Simple / Salvation Bill @ Guildford Star Inn (12th May) 6. Both days @ The Alternative Great Escape @ Brighton Pav Tav (17th/18th May) 7. Enemies / Croupier / Bloody Mammals / Suffer Like G Did @ The Windmill, Brixton (9th March) 8. The Dismemberment Plan @ Kingston Banquet Records (25th November) 9. Desaparecidos / Johnny Foreigner @ Camden Electric Ballroom (12th February) 10. Johnny Foreigner / Talons @ Catch Bar Shoreditch (18th December)

Top 10 albums: 1. Jetplane Landing - Don't Try (Smalltown America) 2. Dismemberment Plan - Uncanney Valley 3. Biffy Clyro - Opposites 4. Asiwyfa - All Hail Bright Futures 5. TTNG - 13.0.0.0.0 6. Stagecoach - Say Hello To The Band 7. Enemies - Embark, Embrace 8. Alunageorge - Body Music 9. The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die - Whenever, If Ever =10. Axis Of - Finding St Kilda =10. More Than Conquerors - Everything I've Learnt

Top 50 songs:

Thought I'd make a special Spotify playlist for this one, seeing as you all love a good playlist. Perhaps some of these aren't the "best" songs of 2013, but they will certainly remind me of what has been a mostly excellent year. Not in any particular order other than working well as a playlist. Let's hope there's more of the same in 2014.

...and finally. While music was a great place to be in 2013, somehow, somewhere, record execs still allowed these travesties to happen:

Top 3 most misogynistic songs: 1. The Saturdays - Gentleman 2. Robin Thicke feat. Pharrell Williams - Blurred Lines 3. Jason Derulo feat. 2 Chainz - Talk Dirty To Me

Top 3 worst samples used in pop: 1. Alice Deejay - Better Off Alone (used in David Guetta - Work Hard) 2. Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit (used in Jay-Z feat. Justin Timberlake - Holy Grail) 3. A-Ha - Take On Me (used in Pitbull feat. Christina Aguilera - Feel This Moment)

Single Of The Week 

Quadrilles - Shirtsleeves

"Whereas most rock music uses a basic 4/4 meter (however accented or syncopated), math rock frequently uses asymmetrical time signatures such as 7/8, 11/8, or 13/8, or features constantly changing meters based on various groupings of 2 and 3. This rhythmic complexity, seen as "mathematical" in character by many listeners and critics, is what gives the genre its name"

I'll be honest, I have very little idea what any of that means, all I do know is that I love the sound, and this blistering track by London's Quadrilles is no exception. Fun, toe-tapping, math rock at it's best. You won't need a calculator to enjoy this :)

Shirtsleeves can be downloaded for free here:

Due to a bit of peculiar planning, band name confusion, and all round coincidental coincidences, we're going to be playing two gigs in one night on Saturday 13th July.

The first one is for Step Sideways Presents and it's at the Sebright Arms in Cambridge Heath.  We'll be on at 8pm sharp-ish.

https://www.facebook.com/events/469620426461681/?ref=22

...with the following excellent bands:

Her Parents http://herparents.bandcamp.com/ Quadrilles http://quadrilles.bandcamp.com/ Bloody Mammals http://bloodymammals.bandcamp.com/ Screen Wives (Us lot): http://screenwives.bandcamp.com

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The second gig of the night is for No Dicks Allowed down at the Bird's Nest in Deptford.  We'll be on at 9pm if traffic doesn't stop us.

https://www.facebook.com/events/442968395798637/?ref=22

...and this is the line up.

Aeroplane Flies High - http://aeroplaneflieshigh.bandcamp.com/ Molasses - http://molassesuk.bandcamp.com/ Screen Wives (Us lot): http://screenwives.bandcamp.com Cursed Heart - http://cursedheart.bandcamp.com/