The Unwinding Hours Music Playlist: Guest Selector

1. Converge – Jane Doe (2001)
I never get bored of this record. It’s brutal, yet incredibly satisfying on many levels and Kurt Ballou is one of the most inventive guitar players you could ever hear.

2. Otis Redding – The Definitive Soul Collection (2006)
Slightly cheating, I know, but… this has all the Otis greats and if I was stuck on a desert island I couldn’t survive without hearing his voice. He is, in my opinion, the greatest soul singer and this has all the hits.

3. Talk Talk – Laughing Stock (1991)
One of the best headphone albums of all time. It sucks you in from the very first noise and you can’t really do anything else but listen. It’s the complete opposite of background music.

4. The Blue Nile – A Walk Across the Rooftops (1984)
If I could listen to Paul Buchanan sing every day I would be content on my wee island. It also reminds me of my brother since he introduced me to this album when it first came out.

5. Tool – Lateralus (2001)
I have loved this album for years and yet I still haven’t got to grips with everything that happens in its 78 min running time. It’s a deeply layered album with some jaw dropping musicianship from every member of the band.

6. AC/DC – Back In Black (1980)
Pretty obvious, really.

7. Mark Eitzel – Songs of Love Live (1991)
It’s just one man pouring his heart out on stage with only an acoustic guitar and a tiny audience for company. His playing is rough as a badger’s arse but it’s such an emotionally honest performance that none of that matters. A must find for any singer-songwriter.

8. Queen – A Day at the Races (1976)
There is no-one that sounds like Queen and this has some of the dirtiest riffs ever written. It also has “somebody to love” which makes me happier every time I hear it.

9. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced (1967)
Again, not much to say about this, just some of the best guitar playing ever (while on enough drugs to put all of Primal Scream to shame). Impressive.

10. Scouting for Girls – Scouting for Girls (2007)
Sometimes you need to be reminded of just how bad music can be, just how low some people can sink when striving to get into the charts. These guys nail it and I would use their piss poor attempts to remind me why I love other music.