Sigh. I don’t feel like mocking Alex James any more.

Ribbing ex-Britpop bassists is just so 2012 Q1, and – heckfire – it’s Q4 now, fool.

So, for the remains of 2012, until the “music blogosphere” descends into the list-o-mania arms race/pissing contest you’ve spent 11 months waiting for, ANBAD will be displaying as few of the Crudely Photoshopped Alex James Greatest Hits. Hooray!

MIXTAPE-A-GO-GO:

FIRST! Tom Robinson told me that Ed Hamell (aka Hamell On Trial) had a remarkable back story and remarkably odd and satisfying music. He’s right on both counts (of course) – and although there’s no room here to explain the former, there is enough room to strongly encourage you to listen to the utterly charming, loopy and cracked Together, which is instantly and obviously an exemplar of how this kind of song ought to be made.

SECOND! Maybe iOktember are an app in human form, or maybe the ‘i’ key on the drummer’s laptop got stuck. I can’t figure out why the ‘i’ is there, but I can figure out why they make music together, because songs like this reflection bears no resemblance (lower case, note) are terrifically touching, clear and ambitious.

THIRD! I’m almost positive Snakadactal was a brand of reconstituted potato product found in the frozen isle that took advantage of Dinosaur Mania during the mid-90s, but don’t quote me on that. I’m totally positive that Chimera is a delicate and sparse but close and human slo-mo pop song, though.

FOURTH! I imagined that a Hipster Surgery was a place where the doctors all wear ludicrous neon bobble hats, bum-fluff moustaches and ironically childish tattoos. Turns out it’s a thrashy punky shred-a-thon from Crusades. Who’da thunk it?