Songs from Northern Britain...

[Toby Gymshorts]

...is twenty years old today.

Ain't That Enough, I Don't Want Control of You and Your Love is the Place Where I Come From are amongst my very favourite Teenage Fanclub tunes, on arguably my favourite TF album.

You can listen to it in full here. Give it a whirl, if you've never heard it.

[Sits]

Can I put in a word for Winter?

Saw them in March, these songs sounded great. For me Grand Prix is just ahead though.

[Toby Gymshorts]

You can indeed, it's a fine tune.

[Giggler]

I'm desperate to like Teenage Fanclub and have bought a few albums to try and shunt this along, including this. But it's just not happening. I much prefer the Trashcan Sinatras.

[Sits]

Others may disagree, but SFNB, Grand Prix and Bandwagonesque are probably the big three. If it doesn't work then it might well not.

[Toby Gymshorts]

I'd agree with that, albeit with an honourable mention for Howdy!; if only for the sticker on the case which read "detachable cloud".

[Various Artist]

Equally noteworthy I feel, Everybody (Backstreet's Back) by the Backstreet Boys is also 20 years old this week.

Actually, to be honest I've always felt that was a titanic pop effort, whereas I'm still yet to discover any love for Teenage Fanclub for some reason, and couldn't hum a single one of their songs despite having been around, as it were, as a music fan throughout their heyday. Maybe this'll change at some point.

[Sits]

They've never really been in vogue or flavour of the month. Just consistently good. Last year's album Here was good if not classic, but the previous Shadows is excellent.

[Satchmo Distel]

I really only know Star Sign and The Concept, and liked both at the time as nighttime radio singles, but have no idea if they are representative of the band's output.

[Sits]

They built on that. The harmonies got more harmonious, they matured without getting dull. Quite the contrary.

[MrLeam]

Equally noteworthy I feel, Everybody (Backstreet's Back) by the Backstreet Boys is also 20 years old this week.

Superlative choice. By far the most acceptable choice of boy band single. "Biology" by Girls Aloud always seemed to me the best girl band song (with the exception of Spice Girls cover of "Christmas Wrapping")...

[Crusoe]

I preferred Larger Than Life. Space fighters, innit.

[E10 Rifle]

Howdy had some lovely moments too, but still, on balance, would put Bandwagonesque and A Catholic Education as my faves. The likes of Everything Flows and Alcoholiday are tunes I still return to.

[Greenlander]

For me it's Thirteen closly followed by any tune penned by Gerard Love.

[Toby Gymshorts]

They've never really been in vogue or flavour of the month. Just consistently good. Last year's album Here was good if not classic, but the previous Shadows is excellent.

I'm wearing my blue Shadows t-shirt today, in a vain bid to cheer myself up as I wait in Cardiology.