SONG A WEEK TOP 20!

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions, and now for your pleasure (and the ease of people new to the site), here is a randomly-ordered list of the top 20 songs from SAW2011:

15: If I Only Do One Thing Today

Featuring photos taken by Andy Nicholls of Earthtide, it's a bit of a tearjerker, but in a good way - I don't do depressing songs. Life's too short for that.

24: Never Again

I'd just bought a new capo, so this one's in F Sharp.  Funny how these things come about, eh?

10: I Should Be Here

More proud of this song than any other I've ever written.

28: Jagger, Jagger, Jagger

Not my usual style at all.  Vocals by Jess, Alex Creese and I.  This is a response to Cher Lloyd's Swagger Jagger track.  Can I get some airplay please?

26: Escape On Amenartas

Lush! Close your eyes and let this one wash over you, like you're sitting on a beach with a Caribbean breeze blowing, and a monkey butler bringing you drinks with parasols in them.

36: Stink Eye

Whoo!  Always nice to hear the word "Hinny" used in popular song.

16: Canapé Chat

This year I've been becoming more and more influenced by Talking Heads, and it's probably more obvious here than anywhere else.

8: End Of The World

Wrote this one for Earthtide (mentioned above).  Stoner Rock, with a bit of a Foo Fighters edge.  The lyric is made up of lines from the Jerry Bruckenhuckenheimer film Armageddon.

37: Waterloo Staircase

One of the oddest tracks of the year, but I enjoyed doing it - it's nice not worrying about whether something's going to be accessible/popular, and just record whatever comes out.

42: When The Cameras Are Gone

It's about 90's Channel 4 Quiz Shows, and contains the line most uttered whenever I've watched Countdown.


50: Pride In Mathematics

Had a couple of attempts at the more American-style radio-friendly rock track this year, but this was the most successful attempt, I think.

11: Let Me In

When I asked about people's favourite tracks from the year, this was one that had a lot more positive comments than I was expecting.  At the time, I'd treated it as a bit of a production exercise, fiddling around with sounds, more than a complete song.  I'm fond of it, and I'm really pleased so many other people seem to be as well!


31: Me And The Morning

You don't like the weather in England? Wait for 20 minutes!


45: Centre Of The World

It's nice, this.  Just... nice.


38: Lucky One

Another artist who's become a bigger influence on me over the course of the year has been Todd Rundgren, so this is me trying to do a Todd.


43: Light To Darkness

Something about this one... maybe it's the oboe.


30: Bakelite Lady

Recorded in a creepy house in New Orleans on my iPhone.

39: Feeling Go Away

Linn drum machine, synths and whatnot... 80s up to the gills.

47: Johnny Got A Toy

The true sound of Christmas - absolute bloody chaos!

52: End

OK, so it's not a completely random order - this one had to go last, really.  References to Escape On Amenartas and If I Only Do One Thing Today, but hopefully that's not too smug!  Also, the song's based very heavily on the VIm-I cadence, a modified version of the plagal cadence which I am determined to have officially named "Falconer's Cadence".  Music teachers, help me out here!



So that's it - 52 songs in 52 weeks.  Thanks to everybody who's donated - the JustGiving page will be up until the end of January, so there's still time to get a few quid in. 

Special thanks to the people at Parkinson's UK, Rebecca O'Neill from TFM Radio and my various friends on Twitter and Facebook for their help with publicity over the year.

Thanks also to my good friend, the tremendous guitarist Alex Creese, for his encouragement and support, the guitar solo on End Of The World, and his show-stealing performance on Jagger, Jagger, Jagger. 

And finally, my wife Jess, who not only provided backing vocals on Long Long Way, Jagger Jagger Jagger, and Lucky One, but who has supported and encouraged me throughout this completely ridiculous year. 



2012 is going to be very exciting.  I've got these 52 songs, and damn it- some of them are bloody good.   So I'll be trying to get the best ones out there to a new audience.  Watch out for a new website at peterfalconer.co.uk, and some fantastic live shows!