Stowaway World Cup – Group Stages – Games 41-44

Game 41: Delerium / Front Line Assembly / Conjure One versus Madonna and Yazoo

1. 6+5. Goal for funniest band picture. 0-1.
2. 5+5. No goal.
3. 1+1. No goal.
4. 6+4. Goal for highest number of search engine results. 0-2.
5. 3+3. No goal.
6. 2+3. Goal for quality of first album. Easy goal for Yazoo. 0-3.
7. 2+1. Goal for most charismatic performer(s). Madonna. 0-4.
8. 6+4. Re-roll. 3+4. No goal.
9. 1+5. No goal.
10. 3+6. No goal. The odd pairing of Madonna and Yazoo win 0-4.

Game 42: Sparks versus Everything But The Girl

1. 3+2. No goal.
2. 3+5. No goal.
3. 4+5. Goal for number of UK hit albums. Everything But The Girl take an early lead. 0-1.
4. 3+2. No goal.
5. 5+1. No goal.
6. 1+6. No goal.
7. 1+4. No goal.
8. 4+5. Re-roll. 5+2. No goal.
9. 2+5. Goal for best artwork. Could go either way, but Walking Wounded and Temperamental are particularly great. 0-2.
10. 5+5. No goal, and a shocker! Everything But The Girl win 0-2, sadly pushing Sparks to the bottom of this tough group.

Game 43: Saint Etienne versus Massive Attack

1. 6+2. Goal for highest estimated total sales. Difficult to know for sure, so no goal.
2. 2+6. Goal for number of permanent members. Saint Etienne score. 1-0.
3. 1+3. No goal.
4. 1+3. No goal.
5. 6+4. Goal for highest number of search engine results. 1-1.
6. 2+6. Re-roll. 6+3. Goal for highest number of mentions on blog. 2-1.
7. 3+5. No goal.
8. 1+1. No goal.
9. 4+2. Goal for most years between first and last hit. Very close, but Massive Attack just have it. 2-2.
10. 5+2. No goal. Draw! 2-2.

Game 44: Kraftwerk versus Hot Chip

1. 6+3. Goal for highest number of mentions on blog. 1-0.
2. 2+2. Goal for number of studio albums to date. 2-0.
3. 5+5. No goal.
4. 3+1. No goal.
5. 4+5. Goal for number of UK hit albums. 3-0.
6. 2+1. Goal for most charismatic performer(s). 3-1.
7. 5+5. No goal.
8. 2+5. Goal for best artwork. 4-1.
9. 6+6. Foul. 2+4. One of Hot Chip gets sent off.
10. 1+5. No goal. Kraftwerk win 4-1.

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Stowaway World Cup – Week 1

So we reach the half way point of the group stages, and we’ve already had a lot of surprises. I’m sure you won’t have missed them in all the excitement, but just in case, here’s a recap.

Group A

The group is currently firmly led by Jean-Michel Jarre, with the Delerium / Front Line Assembly / Conjure One supergroup as runners-up, but any of the teams could still qualify.

Group B

Depeche Mode are well ahead, and after two disappointing losses for Sparks and a surprise win for Kylie Minogue, the latter currently looks likely to sneak into the group of sixteen.

Group C

Erasure have a strong lead, with Saint Etienne just holding onto second place, but with a game in hand.

Group D

Kraftwerk lead with two strong wins, and Hot Chip are currently holding onto second place after drawing against Goldfrapp in their first game.

Group E

Pet Shop Boys are leading, and after two dirty games from The Beloved, I Monster currently hold the runner-up spot.

Group F

Big surprises here. The favourites are currently right at the bottom of the table, with Enigma in first place, Air in second, and Röyksopp and OMD in third and fourth.

Group G

David Bowie is comfortably leading, with The Human League in second place.

Group H

New Order lead, with The Future Sound of London in second.

Stowaway World Cup – Group Stages – Games 17-20

Game 17: Jean-Michel Jarre versus Delerium / Front Line Assembly / Conjure One

1. 1+2. No goal.
2. 4+5. Goal for number of UK hit albums. Easy goal for Jarre. 1-0.
3. 5+3. No goal.
4. 3+2. No goal.
5. 4+6. Goal for total weeks on UK album chart. Jarre again. 2-0.
6. 4+1. Goal for highest debut position on UK singles chart. Surprising goal for Delerium, who peaked at number 3 with Silence. 2-1.
7. 5+3. No goal.
8. 3+6. No goal.
9. 3+2. No goal.
10. 5+2. No goal. Win for Jean-Michel Jarre, 2-1.

Game 18: Depeche Mode versus Sparks

1. 1+5. No goal.
2. 4+5. Goal for number of UK hit albums. Sparks have a lot more albums, but a big gap in their chart history. 1-0.
3. 5+4. No goal.
4. 5+4. No goal.
5. 3+5. No goal.
6. 4+1. Goal for highest debut position on UK singles chart. Wow, Sparks equalise, having started their career at number 48. 1-1.
7. 3+6. No goal.
8. 4+6. Goal for total weeks on UK album chart. 2-1.
9. 6+2. Goal for highest estimated total sales. Has to be the Mode. 3-1.
10. 2+5. Goal for best artwork. Tricky, as both have some epic wins and some epic fails. I’ll award it to Depeche Mode, for Violator. 4-1.

Game 19: Erasure versus Saint Etienne

1. 1+6. No goal.
2. 3+2. No goal.
3. 4+4. Goal for number of UK top ten hits. Goal for Erasure. 1-0.
4. 6+2. Goal for highest estimated total sales. Goal for Erasure. 2-0.
5. 6+3. Goal for highest number of mentions on blog. Another for Erasure. 3-0.
6. 6+2. We’ve had that before, so let’s throw again. 3+2. No goal.
7. 3+6. No goal.
8. 6+5. Goal for funniest band picture. Another goal for Erasure. 4-0.
9. 3+4. No goal.
10. 4+5. Goal for number of UK hit albums. An outstanding win for Erasure. 5-0.

Game 20: Goldfrapp versus Kraftwerk

1. 2+4. Goal for quality of last album. Kraftwerk‘s last wasn’t a fan favourite, but I think it was easily better than Goldfrapp‘s. 0-1.
2. 6+1. Goal for number of BRIT Award wins. Goldfrapp were nominated once, but no goal.
3. 6+4. Goal for highest number of search engine results. Easy goal for Kraftwerk. 0-2.
4. 4+4. Goal for number of UK top ten hits. Goldfrapp have three. 1-2.
5. 1+2. No goal.
6. 2+4. We’ve had before, so re-roll. 2+4. Same. 3+1. No goal.
7. 3+2. No goal.
8. 5+3. No goal.
9. 1+3. No goal.
10. 1+1. No goal. Kraftwerk win 1-2.

Stowaway World Cup – Group Stages – Games 9-12

Game 9: Delerium / Front Line Assembly / Conjure One versus Little Boots

1. 4+1. Goal for debut position on UK singles chart. Little Boots only entered at 97, so Delerium et al score. 1-0.
2. 6+4. Goal for highest number of search engine results. I tried them all, and got the most for Little Boots. 1-1.
3. 1+5. No goal.
4. 2+6. Goal for number of permanent members. Probably a goal for Delerium and friends. 2-1.
5. 5+2. No goal.
6. 2+1. Goal for most charismatic performer(s). Easy goal for Little Boots. 2-2.
7. 3+6. No goal.
8. 2+1. Goal for most charismatic performer(s). She’s so much more charismatic that she deserves another. Goal for Little Boots. 2-3.
9. 2+2. Goal for number of studio albums to date. Easy goal for Delerium and gang. 3-3.
10. 4+6. Goal for total weeks on UK album chart. Delerium win the category and match with a single song. 4-3.

Game 10: Sparks versus Kylie Minogue

1. 4+3. Goal for highest number of remixes of another artist. Sparks only have a couple, but that’s enough to put them ahead. 1-0.
2. 3+3. No goal.
3. 4+6. Goal for total weeks on UK album chart. Easy goal for Kylie. 1-1.
4. 5+2. No goal.
5. 1+2. No goal.
6. 3+1. No goal.
7. 6+1. Goal for number of BRIT Award wins. Easy goal for Kylie. 1-2.
8. 1+4. No goal.
9. 3+3. No goal.
10. 1+3. No goal. Tough game for Sparks there, losing 1-2.

Game 11: Saint Etienne versus Shit Robot

1. 3+1. No goal.
2. 5+1. No goal.
3. 5+4. No goal.
4. 3+6. No goal.
5. 4+1. Goal for highest debut position on UK singles chart. Well, Shit Robot have/has no hits, so 1-0.
6. 1+2. No goal.
7. 1+3. No goal.
8. 4+4. Goal for number of UK top ten hits. Same. 2-0.
9. 6+5. Goal for funniest band picture. Late goal for Shit Robot. 2-1.
10. 4+4. Referee’s decision is to be nice to the underdog and throw again. 6+2. Goal for highest estimated total sales. Another goal for Saint Etienne. 3-1.

Game 12: Kraftwerk versus Bent

1. 5+5. No goal.
2. 3+3. No goal.
3. 5+1. No goal.
4. 5+2. No goal.
5. 4+3. Goal for highest number of remixes of another artist. Another slow game to get started, and an easy opening goal for Bent. 0-1.
6. 2+1. Goal for most charismatic performer(s). Very tricky. Kraftwerk are hardly charismatic, but they have a certain Teutonic charm. 1-1.
7. 5+6. No goal.
8. 4+6. Goal for total weeks on UK album chart. Easy goal for Kraftwerk. 2-1.
9. 1+2. No goal.
10. 2+5. Goal for best artwork. Has to be Kraftwerk, even if they have been busy George Lucassing them in recent years. 3-1.

Stowaway World Cup – The Draw

OK, time for the all-important draw. Pot A consists of the top 8 artists by mentions on this blog:

• Pet Shop Boys
• Depeche Mode
• Jean-Michel Jarre
• Röyksopp
• Erasure
• New Order
• David Bowie
• Goldfrapp

Pot B consists of the next eight, except that Moby is busy getting vegan tattoos, so won’t be taking part this year. Delerium, Front Line Assembly, and Conjure One are pretty much the same people anyway, so they have formed a single team together.

• Saint Etienne
• Kraftwerk
• Sparks
• Delerium / Front Line Assembly / Conjure One
• The Human League
• Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
• The Future Sound of London
• The Beloved

Pot C sees a few disqualifications, with Vince Clarke taking part as part of Erasure, and Martin L. Gore playing for Depeche Mode:

• Air
• Little Boots
• Massive Attack
• Kylie Minogue
• I Monster
• William Orbit
• Ladytron
• Hot Chip

Finally, Pot D sees Dave Gahan disqualified for being part of Depeche Mode, plus U2 and Coldplay disqualified for not being very good. Yazoo formed a team with Madonna, for no particularly good reason.

• Madonna and Yazoo
• The Radiophonic Workshop
• Leftfield
• Everything But The Girl
• Shit Robot
• Client
• Enigma
• Bent

After the draw, the eight groups look like this:

• Group A: Jean-Michel Jarre, Delerium / Front Line Assembly / Conjure One, Little Boots, Madonna and Yazoo
• Group B: Depeche Mode, Sparks, Kylie Minogue, Everything But The Girl
• Group C: Erasure, Saint Etienne, Massive Attack, Shit Robot
• Group D: Goldfrapp, Kraftwerk, Hot Chip, Bent
• Group E: Pet Shop Boys, The Beloved, I Monster, Client
• Group F: Röyksopp, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Air, Enigma
• Group G: David Bowie, The Human League, Ladytron, Leftfield
• Group H: New Order, The Future Sound of London, William Orbit, The Radiophonic Workshop

So the first game will be Jean-Michel Jarre versus Madonna and Yazoo, in a couple of days’ time.

Retro chart for stowaways – 21 October 2006

Here are the top albums from eleven years ago this week:

1. Delerium – Nuages du Monde
2. Front Line Assembly – Artificial Soldier
3. Kings Have Long Arms – I Rock – Eye Pop
4. The Future Sound of London – Teachings from the Electronic Brain
5. Hot Chip – The Warning
6. Electronic – Get the Message – The Best Of
7. Sparks – Hello Young Lovers
8. Massive Attack – Collected
9. Faithless – Forever Faithless – The Greatest Hits
10. Conjure One – Extraordinary Ways

Begin again – revisiting the beginner’s guides

In all, between 2014 and 2015, this blog posted 66 beginner’s guides. The idea was to present six things:

• Key moments – why you might have heard of these people before
• Where to start – my thoughts on which of their albums to buy or listen to first
• What to buy – the three items you should track down next
• Don’t bother with – an item that is probably best avoided, or definitely should wait until you graduate to the level of completist
• Hidden treasure – one song that’s hidden away somewhere and should be located at all costs
• For stowaways – some collected highlights from their posts on this blog

They were very popular – in fact, for a long time, Depeche Mode‘s was the most popular post on this blog, and while that does suggest to me that it reached the wrong audience slightly, it’s still a good thing. They were also divisive – inevitably, people disagreed with a lot of what I wrote and told me so in angry or passive-aggressive ways. This is the internet, after all.

So what’s happened since they were written? Here are some highlights:

• Air released a vinyl-only box set called Music for Museum, which you can probably skip for now
• Conjure One released Holoscenic, which is nearly as good as their debut album, so is probably worth tracking down
• Crystal Castles came back with a new lineup – I haven’t heard it yet, but the feedback seemed positive
• Depeche Mode returned with the fantastic Spirit. You wouldn’t want to start with it, but it should be high on the list
• Erasure keep churning albums out every couple of years, and finally seem to have returned to the consistent quality of the late 1980s and early 1990s
• Goldfrapp have a new album, but it’s not quite as good as the previous one
• The Human League have a new best of to consider, A Very British Synthesizer Group
• Hot Chip keep throwing out great albums every time you turn your back for a moment
• Jean Michel Jarre has managed three fantastic new albums: the two Electronica volumes and Oxygène 3
• Kraftwerk now have a diverting live collection to consider
• New Order now have the fantastic Music Complete to add to the list, which wouldn’t be a bad thing to add to the “what to buy” list either
• Pet Shop Boys brought us the lovely Super
• Röyksopp reappeared with two albums, Do It Again and The Inevitable End, before taking what looked at the time like an early retirement
• Saint Etienne reissued their reissue series and just came back with Home Counties

You can find the index to all the beginner’s guides here.

Artist of the Week – Delerium

As you probably know by now, a long time ago, I had a radio show, on which I had a weekly Artist of the Week feature. For some reason I never threw away my notes, and they’re vaguely fun to look back on and see what was going on in 2004-ish. The major downside is that they’re not especially accurate – sorry about that.

This week’s Artist of the Week is one of my personal favourite groups, but remain something of a mystery to most music fans. In the UK, they are known almost exclusively for one song, a song which has impressively spent over a year on the Top 200 charts. And they are… Delerium. Now, I warn you the story gets rather complicated, so I will be glossing over large parts of it in the interest of everybody’s sanity!

Originally formed in 1987, they have gone through numerous lineup changes, and now consist of canadian Germans Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber. They work simultaneously on the Delerium project and also release as Front Line Assembly. Rhys has a side-project called Conjure One, he’s about to release his second solo album; and Bill works as producer to numerous groups as well as making music of his own elsewhere.

But back to the Delerium story. After several years making low-key ambient albums, they parted with their original record company in the early 1990s. They signed to Nettwerk; and released Semantic Spaces. The following year, they put out Karma, which across the world would become their best selling album, Including numerous minor hits such as the original version of their biggest hit: Silence.

Over the following three years, they slowly started notching up hits in the UK, and at the end of 2000 Silence was reissued, propelled to the top of the charts by Airscape and Tiesto remixes. The subsequent album Poem was a minor hit, and also managed a couple of hit singles, followed by a remix album and compilations of their early material.

Their most recent album Chimera came out in 2003, and in many ways is one of their best to date, and following further minor hit singles, they remixed Silence at the end of last year, to promote their best of album. It’s a bit of an odd collection but it includes most of their better tracks, so is definitely an essential purchase…

Albums chart of the year 2016

Here are the top albums of last year, for stowaways:

1. Jean-Michel Jarre – Electronica 2: The Heart of Noise
2. New Order – Music Complete [number 1 in 2015]
3. Jean-Michel Jarre – Electronica 1: The Time Machine [number 6 in 2015]
4. David Bowie – Best Of Bowie
5. Pet Shop Boys – Super
6. David Bowie – Blackstar
7. Conjure One – Holoscenic [released in 2015]
8. Clarke Hartnoll – 2Square
9. David Bowie – Nothing Has Changed [number 25 in 2015]
10. Shit Robot – What Follows
11. Róisín Murphy – Hairless Toys [number 26 in 2015]
12. C Duncan – The Midnight Sun
13. Air – Twentyears
14. I Monster – Bright Sparks
15. Delerium – Mythologie
16. David Bowie – The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars
17. Yello – Toy
18. Little Boots – Working Girl [number 4 in 2015]
19. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Skeleton Tree
20. David Bowie – Hunky Dory

More in a year or so…

Singles chart of the year 2016

Here are the top singles for stowaways in 2016:

1. Pet Shop Boys – The Pop Kids
2. Jean-Michel Jarre & Pet Shop Boys – Brick England
3. Massive Attack – Ritual Spirit EP
4. Pet Shop Boys – Twenty-Something
5. Röyksopp feat. Susanne Sundfør – Never Ever
6. Shit Robot – End of the Trail
7. C Duncan – Wanted to Want It Too
8. Delerium with Phildel – Ritual
9. Pet Shop Boys – Say It to Me
10. New Order feat. Elly Jackson (La Roux) – Tutti Frutti [number 5 in 2015]
11. Clarke Hartnoll – Better Have a Drink to Think
12. Jean-Michel Jarre – Remix EP (II)
13. Pet Shop Boys – Inner Sanctum
14. Goldfrapp – Stranger [number 42 in 2013]
15. Conjure One feat. Hannah Ray – Kill the Fear [released in 2015]
16. I Monster – The Bradley Brothers realise the transmutation of the Chamberlin to the MELLOTRON
17. Róisín Murphy – Exploitation [released in 2015]
18. Massive Attack – The Spoils / Come Near Me
19. Jean-Michel Jarre – The Heart of Noise
20. Clarke Hartnoll – Single Function

We’ll look at the albums next week!