Thank you all for a surprisingly fruitful batch of suggestions last week. Even discounting the tenuous ones produced a B-list as convincing as the A-list: AC/DC, Shark Wilson, Manu Dibango, the Jungle Brothers, the Adverts, Dead Prez, Ballboy, Wild Cherry, Faust and Arthur Conley. Oh, and Mos Def and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, as mentioned in the text. Special mention to Stereolab's French Disko, which is in no sense about disco from France but still sounds unbelievably brilliant.
It's Mother's Day next week, isn't it? We had fathers last June so it's only fair to have mothers this time. That includes songs about the singer's mother, the singer's own status as a mother, or mothers in general. I'll allow abstract mums like Mother Earth too, which is good news for hippies.
I may regret encouraging this but do feel free to give feedback on the lists. Obviously there will be gnashing of teeth in respect to overlooked favourites and pet hates (who knew so many people loathed Heaven is a Place on Earth?), and I can't please everyone, but I aim to strike the right balance at least, so do speak up, as someone did regarding Dylan a few weeks ago, if you think any artist or genre is getting a raw deal. It may not provoke an instant reaction but it all goes into the mix.
Kindly click this way for the A-Z and this way for the Readers recommend archive.
