Doctor Blind

Doctor Blind Chart - 8th December 2024 TW - LW / Artist / “Song” / (Peak- if not current) 01 - 01 jasmine.4.t “Elephant” *2 weeks at #1* 02 - 02 FKA twigs “Eusexua” (01) 03 - 06 Crazy P “Human After All” 04 - 03 Confidence Man “SICKO” (03) 05 - 08 Fashion Club “Confusion” 06 - 04 Floating Points “Fast Forward” (02) 07 - 15 Nilüfer Yanya “Just A Western” 08 - 05 HORNET “feline” (02) 09 - 11 Addison Rae “Aquamarine” 10 - 14 Squid “Crispy Skin” 11 - 18 Ethel Cain “Punish” 12 - 12 Social Order “Miss You” 13 - 07 Tiberius b “New Life” (07) 14 - 19 Oklou ft. Underscores “Harvest Sky” 15 - 30 Sade “Young Lion” 16 - 09 Father John Misty “Screamland” (02) 17 - 31 Vegyn “Mystery or Misery?” 18 - 10 Ela Minus “Broken” (07) 19 - 26 3NDLES5 ft. Sus1er & Dog99 “Embolo” 20 - 13 The Horrors “The Silence That Remains” (05) 21 - 29 CLIPZ & SHERELLE “Meet Me At The Temple” 22 - 32 HVOB “What They Gave Me” 23 - 28 Doves “Renegade” 24 - 16 Kassie Krut “Reckless” (05) 25 - 20 Yasmina “Clerks” (20) 26 - 36 James Blake “Like The End” 27 - 17 Safe Mind “6’ Pole” (02) 28 - 39 James K “Hypersoft Lovejinx Junkdream” 29 - 37 Jadu Heart “U” 30 - 33 Dust “New High” 31 - 23 Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory “Afterlife” (23) 32 - 38 salute & Jessie Ware “Heaven In Your Arms” 33 - 22 TAAHLIAH “Cherish” (17) 34 - 45 Jalen Ngonda “Anyone In Love” 35 - 24 EKKSTACY “seventeen” (24) 36 - 50 Bleachers “Merry Christmas, Please Don't Call” 🎄 37 - NE FKA twigs “Perfect Stranger” *Highest New Entry* 38 - 21 High Vis “Mind’s a Lie” (11) 39 - 25 The Cure “Alone” (12) 40 - NE Ece Era “Another One” *New Entry*

Thanks Kath, great to see Ela Minus win last month <3 This month is STACKED, I already know/like Daniel Avery, DJ Heartstring/SWIM, dj something, HVOB, James K, Otik, Pretty Girl, Real Lies and salute/Jessie Ware.. gonna take a few listens to slim down to a Top 3.

Really enjoyed Tracey Thorn's write-up of the tour: https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/music/...ictory-lap-brat It's in The New Statesman but don't let that put you off, it was fascinating hearing her perspective on it.

They were amazing at Alexandra Palace last week, my favourite of theirs is “I Love You” (it ended up as my #1 song of 2022) a song which should in a just world have been a massive hit. I unfortunately wasn't as keen on the new album as a whole project compared with their earlier work, however “Starburster” remains as one of my absolute favourite singles of the year for me. Such a banger. <3

Buying the same songs physically over and over again (effectively a death spiral ouroboros) is v on brand for late stage Capitalism. Minimal effort, zero innovation, unending sequels and reboots to celebrate increasingly gratuitous anniversaries.. maybe we're not heading towards an AI induced paperclip apocalypse after all, but one with Wham! picture discs and Mariah Carey cassettes. The irony being of course that lyrically the theme of All I Want For Christmas Is You is distinctly anti-consumerist.

Dwrnq-5aSx8 The North WILL rise again.

Doctor Blind Chart - 17th November 2024 TW - LW / Artist / “Song” / (Peak- if not current) 01 - 01 FKA twigs “Eusexua” *6 weeks at #1* 02 - 03 HORNET “feline” 03 - 02 Father John Misty “Screamland” (02) 04 - 07 Floating Points “Fast Forward” 05 - 06 The Horrors “The Silence That Remains” 06 - 08 Ela Minus “Broken” 07 - 04 Safe Mind “6’ Pole” (02) 08 - 05 Kassie Krut “Reckless” (05) 09 - 15 Confidence Man “SICKO” 10 - 17 jasmine.4.t “Elephant” 11 - 13 High Vis “Mind’s a Lie” 12 - 09 EERA “Crash” (09) 13 - 19 Tiberius b “New Life” 14 - 12 The Cure “Alone” (12) 15 - 10 clipping. “Run It” (04) 16 - 23 Fashion Club “Confusion” 17 - 25 Addison Rae “Aquamarine” 18 - 11 Kelly Lee Owens “Higher” (08) 19 - 22 Chalk “Tell Me” 20 - 24 Heartworms “Warplane” 21 - 27 TAAHLIAH “Cherish” 22 - 14 Ece Era “Inner Feeling” (05) 23 - 38 Social Order “Miss You” 24 - 16 James K “Blinkmoth (July Mix)” (01) 25 - 28 DJ Seinfeld “Hopecore” 26 - 32 Oklou ft. Underscores “Harvest Sky” 27 - 40 Crazy P “Human After All” 28 - 31 George Daniel “Chlorine” 29 - 37 Nilüfer Yanya “Just A Western” 30 - 33 Seren 4 Ever “Lucky” 31 - 20 Enola Gay “Cortana” (08) 32 - 18 Goat “Goatbrain” (15) 33 - 46 Yasmina “Clerks” 34 - 39 Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory “Afterlife” 35 - 21 Duck Sauce “Fallin In Love” (16) 36 - NE Squid “Crispy Skin” *Highest New Entry* 37 - 30 Sprints “Feast” (30) 38 - 49 EKKSTACY “seventeen” 39 - 47 Vioflesh “Feel Fake” 40 - NE CLIPZ & SHERELLE “Meet Me At The Temple” *New Entry*

The images that resulted from this tragic event were really shocking and upsetting; I have to say that from what I've seen the Spanish Met Service (AEMET) did a good job in alerting the public in good time but that there seems to have been a failure or breakdown in communication between local emergency/contingency responders leading to the unnecessary and appalling deaths of many ppl. It sort of reminded me of Boscastle, which was 20 years ago now in August 2004, and how in the UK we've now got a direct partnership between the Environment Agency and the Met Office and a 24/7 specialist Flood Forecasting Center to give more targeted advice to emergency responders. I see the usual suspects trying to make political points out of this tragedy, but I hope that the main outcome long-term will be a better and more resilient warning system that helps to prevent such a catastrophic and needless loss of life in the future. Obviously I can't not mention the impact of climate change and its likely influence on the increasing severity of such events, the Mediterranean sea was at its warmest on record this August (28.4C) and will have played a role in the intensity of rainfall from such an event as warmer air is able to hold more moisture. We've got to accept that such events are increasingly likely to impact us and develop a better plan for how to mitigate against their impacts.

ZBlVYIILRvo New 12” single “Digital Rain / I Miss You” expected on 6 December. “Digital Rain (EC1 Edit)” is available now.

Absolute pleasure - and congrats again! It did not take long to compute the stats, it took me longer to make the graphics and write the commentary tbh. Also, yes u should have sent it to BJSC but I'm glad it was saved for here as now you can get a shiny new widget. x Here's the full spreadsheet, the names at the bottom do not have a timestamp as I added them in manually from the DM.

Congrats to.. Addy! vvtESM_ArZw WINNER XVII: 107 Uche Yara - www she hot 2ND: 91 Girls.Speak.French - Is There Any Space on the Moon? Brett-Butler 3RD: 83 Hangwire - Stockholm Syndrome danG Genuinely thanks to everyone who took part and sent some votes my way, and I hope that was ok. I will edit the remaining votes into the final page. Night all x

No. 4 to No. 10 ~ 80 Exit Eden - Separate Ways (same number voters, more 10s) King Rollo 80 AliA - Kakurenbo (hide-and-seek) CowTzy 77 The Lemon Twigs - My Golden Years WhoOdyssey 76 Bare Infinity - Orion's Light J00prstar 75 Abu Nein - Wir Leben Chez Wombat 74 OU - 蘇醒 Frailty All★bySmashMouth 71 Being Dead - Firefighters Brer I'll reveal here that Brer sent Being Dead, Chez sent Abu Nein (the other German language track <3) and it was Iz that sent Fleshgod Apocalypse (coming in January 2025..) and Severin who gave us Lorna Shore (and me a migraine x) but who has won??? You will find out very shortly as I know I've already massively overran.

You saw nothing... x OK, here is how no.11 to 31 shake out. I can tell you that the winner scored 107 points. 69 julie - clairbourne practice (10 voters) Jade 69 Hacktivist - Not Alone Herbs 68 Slowly Slowly - Nothing On Lindsey 67 Kalte Liebe - Alles Ist Wie Es Ist Cody 66 Bang Bang Machine - Geek Love Doctor Blind 65 Louis Dunford - Billy Flynn of Bethnal Green gooddelta 61 Fashion Club - Rotten Mind (feat. Julie Byrne) (10 voters) blacksquare 61 Oranssi Pazuzu - Valotus uhsting 59 The KVB - World On Fire suedehead 58 The Howlers - Lady Luck awardinary 52 Axolotes Mexicanos - La canción que escribiste (12 voters) Ansel 52 SPRINTS - Cathedral Y’allStarlight 45 Swiss Portrait - Paralyzed jimwatts 44 Laura Ruusumaa - Tragediaa FrankLuck 42 Fleshgod Apocalypse - I Can Never Die ??? 36 Bomb the Music Industry! - 25! seven 30 The Dismemberment Plan - The Ice of Boston −12 point deduction dhwe 28 Lorna Shore - To The Hellfire ??? 23 Molly Hatchet - Bloody Reunion Scene 18 Songs: Ohia - Farewell Transmission !!! 17 Shred Rogers - Baa Baa Black Sheep Dobbo Here's what is battling within the T10: Abu Nein - Wir Leben ??? AliA - Kakurenbo (hide-and-seek) CowTzy Bare Infinity - Orion's Light J00prstar Being Dead - Firefighters ??? Exit Eden - Separate Ways King Rollo Girls.Speak.French - Is There Any Space on the Moon? ??? Hangwire - Stockholm Syndrome danG OU - 蘇醒 Frailty All★bySmashMouth The Lemon Twigs - My Golden Years WhoOdyssey Uche Yara - www she hot Addy! Place YOUR bets!

OK we've still not heard from the OGs. Old Guard. There are still six ppl to vote: ?? I shall edit in the votes here... shortly! I'll tell you first that I sent: 9yMhU8k2afA and it finished in.. 15th place with 66pts: Bang Bang Machine - Geek Love Doctor Blind My vote: Brer Chez Wombat Iz Brett-Butler Severin

9// Our fearless leader #psychic7 now, aka ‘seven’ co-mod of the indie forum already knows who won, what I’m writing here and so won’t be reading this. Rumour has it that in the early 2010s a portal to Hades opened briefly in a local chip shop and ‘seven’ happened upon a cursed amulet that was propelled into our world in that brief moment. This curse gave them the unique ability to see everything that has and will ever happen, proving that reality as we know it, past, present and future is actually a mathematically predictable preordained system, solvable using an equation so complex as to utterly defy any possibility of comprehension by even the most brilliant human mind. The curse is that life without surprise and spontaneity is ultimately not as interesting. Anyway they first entered Nuggets in the 2nd edition and despite inexplicably (possibly to do with the amulet) missing IV they have never missed an edition since, and they knew that they wouldn’t too. Highest peak for them so far was Lebanon Hanover’s “Gallowdance” which was their first entry, matched by Math The Band’s “Four To Six” which lost narrowly in XII. For this edition they have gone with a band that sounds like their name has taken much of its cues from The KLF, American punk collective Bomb the Music Industry! and “25!” which deals with the frustrations of not quite feeling like an adult and yet turning 25. We also have votes from stalwart ‘Riser’ who also sadly was unable to send an entry this time but still gave support to the cause by voting! 2014 FHxZo-aSffQ Highest Position: >2< (II: Lebanon Hanover “Gallowdance” and XII: Math The Band “Four To Six”) Last result: 18 (XVI: The Garden “Call This # Now”) Highest Position: >1< (III: Grace Potter And The Nocturnals “The Lion The Beast The Beat”) Last result: 17 (XVI: Ocean Alley “Deepest Darkness”)

Thanks for the DM suedey, apologies for not notifying u sooner but I only spotted it this evening when I was prepping the final stuff. I'll add your final 1pt to the final tally at the end x 8// Two participants with double-digit total entries now, both debuting in 2015. First up we have FrankLuck who has 11 entries now and reached their zenith with X when Yellowcard’s “For You, And Your Denial” narrowly missed out on a podium by a single point. Hopefully better luck this time around for their entry from 2024 The Voice of Finland winner Laura Ruusumaa’s “Tragediaa”. Cody made an impressive debut in the same contest with Little May’s “Hide” becoming a debut Top 10 for them finishing in fourth and to-date their most successful entry, following this so far with a further impressive 5 Top 10s to their name and a total of 731 meaning they are the fourth most successful participant. Their chart run for those interested (just me then) is thus: {4}-7-12-25-16-8-7-14-16-13-10-10-16* For this round they’ve sent Berlin based duo Kalte Liebe’s “Alles Ist Wie Es Ist” which is one of two auf de deutsche sprache (= extra plus marks). We also have some wild votes from Harry who sadly was unable to send a song this time round, and finally Lindsey who scored back-to-back Top 10s with their first two entries, the second (One OK Rock’s “The Way Back (Japanese Version)”) ranking the highest and finishing in silver in VI. For XVII they’ve sent Australian pop-punk bands Slowly Slowly’s shimmering (and The 1975-esque) “Nothing On”. 2015 Vijp1dYw1KY Highest Position: >4< (X: Yellowcard “For You, And Your Denial”) Last result: 23 (XIV: Esti Kornél “Utánad”) gZIBObxKs6A Highest Position: >4< (IV: Little May “Hide”) Last result: 16 (XVI: Mental Discipline “Resistance”) Highest Position: >3< (VII: Zuzu “Get Off”) Last result: 8 (XIII: Miss Grit “Impostor”) wpTaEoY5nv8 Highest Position: >2< (VI: One OK Rock “The Way Back (Japanese Version)”) Last result: 16 (XI: SHADED “You.”) ~

7// and now time for an ~announcement~ Sadly no votes were received from dhwe (you still get a card), one of two debutants from 2016, this time around and so they will receive the full 12 point deduction and a spiderman shame go to the corner gif.. : ( Incidentally they hold the record for most deductions received in this contest: 4. :clap: The Dismemberment Plan are an American indie rock band who were mostly active in the late 1990s. “The Ice of Boston” was taken from their 2nd album, 1997s The Dismemberment Plan Is Terrified. ‘Addy’ also debuted in 2016, first made the Top 10 in 2018 with Ellie and the Oscars and achieved their peak (to-date) in XIII - succeeding with THE HARDKISS’ “Kobra” which landed in fourth place. For their eighth entry they have opted to send Austrian born, but now based in Berlin, singer/songwriter Uche Yara. She premiered her incredible debut single "www she hot" in late 2023, and it’s the entry selected here. “www she hot” is a heady mix of uplifting and propulsive drums, catchy guitar licks and a killer hook to boot, and unsurprisingly it's doing very well so far. Also jimwatts I can confirm your bet at the start was indeed correct! 4ANBktpgcC4 Highest Position: >1< (VIII: Mitski “Your Best American Girl”) Last result: 22 (XVI: Say Anything “Alive With The Glory Of Love”) vvtESM_ArZw Highest Position: >4< (XIII: THE HARDKISS “Kobra (feat. MONATIK)”) Last result: 16 (XV: La Rappresentante di Lista “Diva”)

Oh no, but it's such a banger! 6// OK, we back. This is the FINAL scorecard, I'm ramping up the drama EastEnders style. We now rewind to 2017 where we find 4 debutants. First up is Jade who always brings the taste and made an impressive debut with Men I Trust’s “Lauren” scorching into 1st place for IX. That was soon followed in XI by another winner in Brutus’ “War (Live At Rain City)” making Jade the most successful participant (and only double winner) in this contest with an impressive 570 points racked up (so far). #slade For this edition they sent Los Angeles shoegaze band julie and the energetic and exhilarating “clairbourne practice” with wonderfully frenetic guitar work and distortion summarising the frustrations of not being able to communicate in a relationship and a longing for understanding. awardinary also are a past winner with XV’s entry: Slowdive’s “Star Roving” a return to form for the misunderstood 90s shoe-gazers taking them to pole position, however it remains their only Top 10 to-date with last outing, Unbelievable Truth’s “Settle Down” slumping to 20th. This time they’ve put their money on The Howlers’s anthemic “Lady Luck”, which taken from the East London rock trio’s new album What You’ve Got to Lose to Win It All. Further 2017 debuts were from ‘J00prstar’ who went straight into the Top 10 on debut with After Forever’s “Energize Me” (#6) and soon followed with their (to-date) high water mark of Dirty Projectors’ “Break-Thru” which finished in fourth, and they have an impressive 5 Top 10s now to their name. For this edition they sent Bare Infinity’s powerful metal stomper “Orion's Light”, the group originate from Greece and this track features the iconic vocals of AfterTime’s Sarah Wolf. ‘King Rollo’ also debuted in 2017 and narrowly missed out on a win for XIV when Cellar Darling’s “DANCE” undershot by just 4 pts. They’ll be hoping to redress that injustice this time around with Exit Eden’s “Separate Ways”. Exit Eden are an all-female metal supergroup who specialise in unique cover versions, the entry for XVII is no exception as this seismic Journey cover makes for a captivating listen. 2017 d1wpBHpsI_8 Highest Position: >1< (IX: Men I Trust “Lauren” and XI: Brutus “War (Live At Rain City)” Last result: 10 (XVI: Beak> “When We Fall”) fm3Zejf91Qk Highest Position: >1< (XV: Slowdive “Star Roving”) Last result: 20 (XVI: Unbelievable Truth “Settle Down”) u3kGpFGNwo8 Highest Position: >4< (XI: Dirty Projectors “Break-Thru”) Last result: 7 (XVI: Dayseeker “Dark Sun”) I4Y0jm2LFRk Highest Position: >2< (XIV: Cellar Darling “DANCE”) Last result: 15 (XVI: Sirenia & Mortemia “The Other Side”) ~ yes it's a tie ~ After 19/32 voters~ 71 Hangwire - Stockholm Syndrome danG 71 Abu Nein - Wir Leben 65 Uche Yara - www she hot 54 The Lemon Twigs - My Golden Years WhoOdyssey 50 Hacktivist - Not Alone Herbs 50 Being Dead - Firefighters 48 Exit Eden - Separate Ways King Rollo 47 Bare Infinity - Orion's Light J00prstar 47 Girls.Speak.French - Is There Any Space on the Moon? 45 Bang Bang Machine - Geek Love 43 Kalte Liebe - Alles Ist Wie Es Ist 38 OU - 蘇醒 Frailty All★bySmashMouth 38 Fashion Club - Rotten Mind (feat. Julie Byrne) blacksquare 38 Swiss Portrait - Paralyzed jimwatts 36 Louis Dunford - Billy Flynn of Bethnal Green gooddelta 34 Slowly Slowly - Nothing On 31 SPRINTS - Cathedral Y’allStarlight 29 AliA - Kakurenbo (hide-and-seek) CowTzy 29 Oranssi Pazuzu - Valotus uhsting 27 Fleshgod Apocalypse - I Can Never Die 26 Laura Ruusumaa - Tragediaa 24 The Dismemberment Plan - The Ice of Boston 23 The KVB - World On Fire suedehead 21 Lorna Shore - To The Hellfire 21 The Howlers - Lady Luck awardinary 19 julie - clairbourne practice Jade 19 Bomb the Music Industry! - 25! 18 Molly Hatchet - Bloody Reunion Scene 16 Axolotes Mexicanos - La canción que escribiste Ansel 13 Shred Rogers - Baa Baa Black Sheep Dobbo 10 Songs: Ohia - Farewell Transmission !!! //

5// Before we reach the ~intermission~ we have indie forum co-mod ‘WhoOdyssey’ who is the only debutant from 2018 to take part this time round. They’ve had 2 Top 10 hits, the biggest of which was in XIV with Gang of Youths “in the wake of your leave” which ended up taking the bronze. For XVII they’ve opted for New York band The Lemon Twigs and the lead single from recent (fifth) album A Dream Is All We Know. “Golden Years” is a catchy and upbeat track with a guitar riff and soaring chorus that could brighten up even the most grim November day, and they hope it’ll give retribution after XVI flop Bilmuri feat. Spencer Stewart & Will Ramos’s “ANABOLIC SPUDSMAN (THIQUE EDITION)” petered out in 23rd. 2018 jnylB5ylyw4 Highest Position: >3< (XIV: Gang of Youths “in the wake of your leave”) Last result: 23 (XVI: Bilmuri feat. Spencer Stewart & Will Ramos “ANABOLIC SPUDSMAN (THIQUE EDITION)”) Hardly seems worth it, but 'why not'.. another scorecard. After 15/32 voters~ 55 Uche Yara - www she hot 53 Abu Nein - Wir Leben 48 The Lemon Twigs - My Golden Years WhoOdyssey 48 Being Dead - Firefighters 40 Hacktivist - Not Alone Herbs 39 Hangwire - Stockholm Syndrome danG 37 Bang Bang Machine - Geek Love 37 Kalte Liebe - Alles Ist Wie Es Ist 36 Exit Eden - Separate Ways 36 Girls.Speak.French - Is There Any Space on the Moon? 35 Bare Infinity - Orion's Light 35 OU - 蘇醒 Frailty All★bySmashMouth 35 Swiss Portrait - Paralyzed jimwatts 30 Louis Dunford - Billy Flynn of Bethnal Green gooddelta 29 AliA - Kakurenbo (hide-and-seek) CowTzy 27 Fleshgod Apocalypse - I Can Never Die 27 Slowly Slowly - Nothing On 25 Laura Ruusumaa - Tragediaa 24 The Dismemberment Plan - The Ice of Boston 24 SPRINTS - Cathedral Y’allStarlight 22 Oranssi Pazuzu - Valotus uhsting 21 Lorna Shore - To The Hellfire 21 The Howlers - Lady Luck 19 Fashion Club - Rotten Mind (feat. Julie Byrne) blacksquare 18 Bomb the Music Industry! - 25! 14 julie - clairbourne practice 09 Songs: Ohia - Farewell Transmission !!! 08 Shred Rogers - Baa Baa Black Sheep Dobbo 07 Axolotes Mexicanos - La canción que escribiste Ansel 06 Molly Hatchet - Bloody Reunion Scene 04 The KVB - World On Fire suedehead // LYGmp0QYvtU hNeXti6KgDE OK, time for intermission. Here's some incidental music from Homes Under the Hammer and a brief video explainer about 'brat summer' for old ppl like me. Back in 30, Bre - if u spot any errors lemme know x

4// There were four debuts in 2020 and a further debut from Ansel the following year in the period dominated by lockdowns necessitated by the most catastrophic global pandemic for 100 years. Recent entry Predawn’s “Suddenly” failed to impress slumping to 27th last time out, however this time they’ve opted for some upbeat Spanish pop-punk in the form of Asturias’ Axolotes Mexicanos. “La canción que escribiste” translates to ‘The song you wrote’ and their typically ebullient, optimistic style comes across in spades on this single taken from their recent album ‘4Ever. ‘Dobbo’ debuted in 2020 and scored their biggest hit 2 years later with MASTER BOOT RECORD’s “Ftp” in 2022 which soared into the Top 5. Last time out they had a decent result in XVI with David Maxim Micic’s “Living Room” ending up in 14th. For this edition they closed out the running order with what I expect was the marmite entry in this contest: Michigan's Shred Rogers and the children’s nursery rhyme and death metal crossover you didn’t know you didn’t need: “Baa Baa Black Sheep”. Further 2020 debuts came from ‘Uhsting’ who also secured their first Top 10 in 2022 with Tides From Nebula’s “The Sweetest Way To Die” ranking 6th. This time around they have opted for Finnish psychedelic metal band Oranssi Pazuzu the crazy, claustrophobic and epic wall of sound “Valotus” (Finnish for ‘exposure’) complete with tinnitus ending and extreme gore video. Blacksquare are no strangers to the Top 10 with 3 of their last 5 entries ending up in the penthouse and their 2nd entry in XIII Cassandra Jenkins’ “Hard Drive” winning and becoming one of just 11 songs in the competition’s history to score over 100 (115). For their sixth entry Fashion Club’s (Pascal Stevenson) powerful and beautiful “Rotten Mind” - a tale of false and performative allyship, set against a melancholic, reassuring guitar hook is battling to become their 4th T10. Finally we have last year’s winner ‘suedehead’ who snatched the gold by 1pt with Mr Ray's Wig World’s “Faster Kittykat Play Play” - this time round they have sent The KVB, a duo (now married) of Nicholas Wood and Kat Day who splice together darkwave, post-punk and synth-pop. The infectious “World On Fire” and was like the album it was taken from Duality inspired by the groups time in Spain and witnessing the failures of late stage Capitalism. 2021 Wf9Y7c1Fd7k Highest Position: >13< (XIV: Ana Sanz “Sigo”) Last result: 27 (XVI: Predawn “Suddenly”) 2020 **TRIGGER WARNING: Extreme gore** RDQmnNcW50s Highest Position: >6< (XV: Tides From Nebula “The Sweetest Way To Die”) Last result: 13 (XVI: Full Of Hell & Primitive Man “Tunnels To God”) lUfFhoNacvU Highest Position: >4< (XIV: MASTER BOOT RECORD “Ftp”) Last result: 14 (XVI: David Maxim Micic “Living Room”) HA6vRWNAvtE Highest Position: >1< (XIII: Cassandra Jenkins “Hard Drive”) Last result: 6 (XVI: Highschool “Colt”) heHKzC42QOU Highest Position: >1< (XVI: Mr Ray's Wig World “Faster Kittykat Play Play”) Last result: 1 (XVI: Mr Ray's Wig World “Faster Kittykat Play Play”) N.B. Suedey voted for himself (now i see how he won last time!) so I tried to reach out and get a 1 point replacement, everything below it moved up 1... After 14/32 voters~ 55 Uche Yara - www she hot 53 Abu Nein - Wir Leben 48 The Lemon Twigs - My Golden Years 42 Being Dead - Firefighters 39 Hangwire - Stockholm Syndrome danG 37 Kalte Liebe - Alles Ist Wie Es Ist 36 Bang Bang Machine - Geek Love 36 Hacktivist - Not Alone Herbs 35 OU - 蘇醒 Frailty All★bySmashMouth 33 Bare Infinity - Orion's Light 31 Exit Eden - Separate Ways 29 AliA - Kakurenbo (hide-and-seek) CowTzy 29 Girls.Speak.French - Is There Any Space on the Moon? 27 Fleshgod Apocalypse - I Can Never Die 25 Laura Ruusumaa - Tragediaa 25 Swiss Portrait - Paralyzed jimwatts 24 The Dismemberment Plan - The Ice of Boston 24 SPRINTS - Cathedral Y’allStarlight 22 Oranssi Pazuzu - Valotus uhsting 22 Louis Dunford - Billy Flynn of Bethnal Green gooddelta 21 The Howlers - Lady Luck 19 Fashion Club - Rotten Mind (feat. Julie Byrne) blacksquare 18 Bomb the Music Industry! - 25! 18 Lorna Shore - To The Hellfire 15 Slowly Slowly - Nothing On 14 julie - clairbourne practice 09 Songs: Ohia - Farewell Transmission !!! 08 Shred Rogers - Baa Baa Black Sheep Dobbo 07Axolotes Mexicanos - La canción que escribiste Ansel 06 Molly Hatchet - Bloody Reunion Scene 04 The KVB - World On Fire suedehead //

3// Moving now to 2022 and we have three more relatively recent participants to Nuggets; the most successful of which (so far) is ‘All★bySmashMouth’ who opened their account with two consecutive Top 10s in XIV and XV, though faltered last time around with Enslaved’s “Kingdom” finishing in 25th. For XVII we get Chinese progressive metal band OU (‘O’) who are from its capital Beijing and the title track from their most recent album, the ethereal and soaring ‘蘇醒’ (Fragile) which gave a powerful start to the contest. ‘gooddelta’ debuted in XV with Miranda Sex Garden taking them to within a few spots of the Top 10 and after a brief hiatus they have returned with North London singer/songwriter Louis Dunford whose catchy, melodic, authentic and heartfelt songs belted out in his native accent conjure memories of the likes of Billy Bragg and Jamie T. Entry “Billy Flynn of Bethnal Green” was inspired by a friend of his father, an East End boxer who found a new identity in Soho’s drag scene. Lastly we have ‘Y’allStarlight’ who has twice stalled just outside the Top 10 in the last 2 years with 2023’s XVI entry MAY-A’s “Something Familiar” which fell agonisingly short of the Top 10 on a tiebreak. They’ve gone with Irish four-piece punk band Sprints, who are at the vanguard of the breaking Irish rock scene and already impressing on a mainstream audience with debut Letter to Self entering the UK Top 20 earlier this year - from it - the brilliant “Cathedrals” encapsulates the debut’s raw energy and is hoping to become their first T10. 2022 BxduknjDoW4 Highest Position: >13< (XV: Miranda Sex Garden “Sunshine (Abrasion Mix)”) Last result: 13 (XV: Miranda Sex Garden “Sunshine (Abrasion Mix)”) 89SrvySZ43I Highest Position: >11< (XV: Ekkstacy “I Just Want To Hide My Face”) Last result: 12 (XVI: MAY-A “Something Familiar”) Y25jmEVCwOQ Highest Position: >5< (XIV: And So I Watch You from Afar “7 Billion People all Alive at Once”) Last result: 25 (XVI: Enslaved “Kingdom”) After 9/32 voters~ 39 Uche Yara - www she hot 37 The Lemon Twigs - My Golden Years 34 Being Dead - Firefighters 29 Bare Infinity - Orion's Light 28 Bang Bang Machine - Geek Love 27 Abu Nein - Wir Leben 25 Laura Ruusumaa - Tragediaa 25 Girls.Speak.French - Is There Any Space on the Moon? 22 Hangwire - Stockholm Syndrome danG 21 The Dismemberment Plan - The Ice of Boston 20 OU - 蘇醒 Frailty All★bySmashMouth 20 Swiss Portrait - Paralyzed jimwatts 18 Exit Eden - Separate Ways 18 Louis Dunford - Billy Flynn of Bethnal Green gooddelta 18 Oranssi Pazuzu - Valotus 18 Kalte Liebe - Alles Ist Wie Es Ist 16 SPRINTS - Cathedral Y’allStarlight 15 Bomb the Music Industry! - 25! 15 Slowly Slowly - Nothing On 13 Fashion Club - Rotten Mind (feat. Julie Byrne) 12 Hacktivist - Not Alone Herbs 09 The Howlers - Lady Luck 09 Songs: Ohia - Farewell Transmission !!! 07 Fleshgod Apocalypse - I Can Never Die 07 Shred Rogers - Baa Baa Black Sheep 06 Lorna Shore - To The Hellfire 05Axolotes Mexicanos - La canción que escribiste 05 AliA - Kakurenbo (hide-and-seek) CowTzy 04 The KVB - World On Fire //

2// Next we have 3 newer competitors who return to hopefully advance on their opening gambit made in 2023. That may potentially be difficult for ‘!!!’ who established a healthy 2nd place last time around with Have A Nice Life’s “Earthmover” narrowly missing out on the top prize (109 v 110 points). In 2024 however they opted for The opening track of 2003’s The Magnolia Electric Co from Ohioan Jason Molina (recording as Songs: Ohia) entitled “Farewell Transmission”, an epically sad depiction of regret which serves as a heroic epitaph to its writer who died in such tragic circumstances. Next up danG who also secured a Top 10 debut (#9) with Orphaned Land last year - this time around they have sent Uruguayan Post-Punk band Hangwire with shimmering guitars that evoke great bands like Interpol, Depeche Mode and Joy Division on the epic “Stockhom Syndrome”. Finally CowTzy hopes to rally after a disappointing last place finish with Scenarioart’s “Sayonara Moon Town”, and they have sent Japanese 6-piece rock band AliA with a track taken from the groups debut AliVe, the pop leaning and epically charged “かくれんぼ” (Kakurenbo) which translates to ‘hide-and-seek’. 2023 oi8ArKYLwBY Highest Position: >28< (XVI: Scenarioart “Sayonara Moon Town”) Last result: 28 (XVI: Scenarioart “Sayonara Moon Town”) kVNWTw_lA-s Highest Position: >9< (XVI: Orphaned Land “The Cave”) Last result: 9 (XVI: Orphaned Land “The Cave”) Highest Position: >2< (XVI: Have A Nice Life “Earthmover”) Last result: 2 (XVI: Have A Nice Life “Earthmover”) After 6/32 voters~ 32 Uche Yara - www she hot 25 Laura Ruusumaa - Tragediaa 22 Bare Infinity - Orion's Light 21 Bang Bang Machine - Geek Love 18 Exit Eden - Separate Ways 18 Louis Dunford - Billy Flynn of Bethnal Green 17 Hangwire - Stockholm Syndrome danG 17 The Dismemberment Plan - The Ice of Boston 16 OU - 蘇醒 Frailty 15 The Lemon Twigs - My Golden Years 13 Girls.Speak.French - Is There Any Space on the Moon? 13 Swiss Portrait - Paralyzed jimwatts 12 Being Dead - Firefighters 12 Kalte Liebe - Alles Ist Wie Es Ist 12 Fashion Club - Rotten Mind (feat. Julie Byrne) 12 Hacktivist - Not Alone Herbs 11 Bomb the Music Industry! - 25! 11 Abu Nein - Wir Leben 11 SPRINTS - Cathedral 09 The Howlers - Lady Luck 07 Slowly Slowly - Nothing On 07 Fleshgod Apocalypse - I Can Never Die 05 Axolotes Mexicanos - La canción que escribiste 05 Oranssi Pazuzu - Valotus 04 The KVB - World On Fire 03 AliA - Kakurenbo (hide-and-seek) CowTzy //

1// We open up the voting with three fresh debutants to Nuggets from Jimwatts, Scene and Herbs. All submitted three very different genres to the contest. jimwatts opted for Edinburgh multidisciplinary artist Michael Kay Terence, aka Swiss Portrait who since the lockdown moved from art to writing music and produces dreamy and melancholic sounds that tap into the more emotional and reflective side of guitar based music. The entry selected here from 2022s Safe House EP, a track titled “Paralyzed”. Scene went for the distinctive southern rock of 1970s Florida formed Molly Hatchet, a sound that lost favour after the 1980s but was revisited/revitalised in the 21stC by bands such as Kings of Leon: “Bloody Reunion” is the opening track from their 1981 album Take No Prisoners. Finally we have Hactivist, a five-piece from the global capital of roundabouts, Milton “take the first exit” Keynes, who mix together a blend of hip-hop, grime, and metal. As the groups name would hint towards, their music often raises poignant, political issues and “Not Alone” is no different, being a frank depiction of the current growing mental health crisis across the world. 2024 MKCHtgvKBKM *Debutant* HhuTIdsUcUY *Debutant* bc0H_87LtqQ *Debutant* After 3/32 voters~ 22 Uche Yara - www she hot 18 Louis Dunford - Billy Flynn of Bethnal Green 12 Kalte Liebe - Alles Ist Wie Es Ist 12 Bang Bang Machine - Geek Love 11 Swiss Portrait - Paralyzed jimwatts 10 Hangwire - Stockholm Syndrome 10 Laura Ruusumaa - Tragediaa 10 SPRINTS - Cathedral 09 Being Dead - Firefighters 09 Girls.Speak.French - Is There Any Space on the Moon? 08 Abu Nein - Wir Leben 08 The Lemon Twigs - My Golden Years 06 Bare Infinity - Orion's Light 06 Exit Eden - Separate Ways 05 The Dismemberment Plan - The Ice of Boston 05 Slowly Slowly - Nothing On 04 The KVB - World On Fire 04 Fashion Club - Rotten Mind (feat. Julie Byrne) 03 The Howlers - Lady Luck 01 AliA - Kakurenbo (hide-and-seek) 01 OU - 蘇醒 Frailty //

Right, good evening again everyone − thanks once more to those who took part, shared tracks and helped with the admin (listenthroughs etc.), I really have appreciated it. I've planned to whip through because last time around I was slower than the UK singles chart (pre-ACR). Don't be disheartened if you haven't done that well, this is only a bit of fuñ − it is very likely someone will have discovered and loved your entry. For those who remember when I hosted BJSC137, the Top Trump cards have returned with a special minature Nuggets stats re-up. I haven't baked a roulade this time around as I was too depressed with recent world events/election news. That brief mention of the dystopian nightmare we appear to be moving towards aside, let's fire up that calculator and let's get on with the proceedings! Here's how things will be: Coming up.. (timings approx.) 2000: ~intro~ (you are reading this) 2010: MMXXIV (3) 2020: MMXXIII (3) 2030: MMXXII (3) 2040: MMXXI / MMXX (5) 2050: MMXIX / MMXVIII (1) ~intermission~ (allotted time for Brer to point out errors) 2120: MMXVII (4) 2130:MMXVI (2) 2140: MMXV (4) 2150: MMXIV (2) ~ever-so-slightly too long dramatic x-factor style pause~ 2215: MMXIII (6) ~winner of nuggets xvii crowned~ Here's an alphabetical list of the starting scorecard~ 00 Abu Nein - Wir Leben 00 AliA - Kakurenbo (hide-and-seek) 00 Axolotes Mexicanos - La canción que escribiste 00 Bang Bang Machine - Geek Love 00 Bare Infinity - Orion's Light 00 Being Dead - Firefighters 00 Bomb the Music Industry! - 25! 00 Exit Eden - Separate Ways 00 Fashion Club - Rotten Mind (feat. Julie Byrne) 00 Fleshgod Apocalypse - I Can Never Die 00 Girls.Speak.French - Is There Any Space on the Moon? 00 Hacktivist - Not Alone 00 Hangwire - Stockholm Syndrome 00 julie - clairbourne practice 00 Kalte Liebe - Alles Ist Wie Es Ist 00 Laura Ruusumaa - Tragediaa 00 Lorna Shore - To The Hellfire 00 Louis Dunford - Billy Flynn of Bethnal Green 00 Molly Hatchet - Bloody Reunion 00 Oranssi Pazuzu - Valotus 00 OU - 蘇醒 Frailty 00 Shred Rogers - Baa Baa Black Sheep 00 Slowly Slowly - Nothing On 00 Songs: Ohia - Farewell Transmission 00 SPRINTS - Cathedral 00 Swiss Portrait - Paralyzed 00 The Dismemberment Plan - The Ice of Boston 00 The Howlers - Lady Luck 00 The KVB - World On Fire 00 The Lemon Twigs - My Golden Years 00 Uche Yara - www she hot PS. SOS to Suedey if they are around!

Results will be tonight from 20:00 GMT. There are 32 sets of votes. As usual, please don't reveal ur entry yet but do feel free to speculate about who sent what, what you think has won etc. and whether I will do a PricewaterhouseCoopers 2018 style Oscars announcement fail. You won't want to miss it..