Far Out 40: Celebrate St Andrew’s Day with the ultimate Scottish indie playlist
Irvine Welsh once wrote that “perversity and obstinacy are integral tae the Scottish character,” and that point is often borne out in the headstrong art that the country produces. Take the following for instance: the great Limmy once said: “When one lists Scottish inventions, one should always mention Grand Theft Auto.”
It doesn’t get much more perverse and obstinate than that, however, it is also somewhat unexpected, and that is another realm where Scottish art soars. Who, after all, would guess that The Cocteau Twins hailed from a small Scottish town? Granted, their sui generis style is one that makes them hard to pin down in any sense, let alone geographically, but the dreaminess of the French Riviera would sooner spring to mind than sleety Scotland.
That enigmatic air is woven into Scotland too. There is a sense of myth and mystery in everything from the town of Yoker to its national drink. As Warren Ellis poetically put it: “Scotch whisky is made from barley and the morning dew on angel’s nipples.” This mix of harsh abrasiveness and sweet poetry is a potent collision in the music too.
This all collides in a swathe of art that encapsulates life on the island. There’s the sombre storm sheltering ways of Belle and Sebastian, the mysticism of Cocteau Twins and Mogwai, and then the simple knees-up good times tunes of Skids and emerging bands like The Snuts and The Ninth Wave.
We compiled these artists in one cracking homegrown playlist to celebrate the new and old of Scottish alternative music this St Andrew’s Day. From the classics that couldn’t be left out by a certain hoo-hawing duo to a few new anthems that you perhaps haven’t heard before, they’re all there.
Far Out 40: The St Andrew’s Day playlist:
- ‘The First Big Weekend’ – Arab Strap
- ‘Kids Will be Skeletons’ – Mogwai
- ‘Circus Games’ – Skids
- ‘Nothing to be Done’ – The Pastels
- ‘Toy’ – Young Fathers
- ‘I Need Direction’ – Teenage Fanclub
- ‘Sometimes Always’ – The Jesus and Mary Chain
- ‘I Wonder Why’ – Josef
- ‘Happy Cycling’ – Broads of Canada
- ‘Rip it Up’ – Orange Juice
- ‘Heaven or Las Vegas’ – Cocteau Twins
- ‘Country Girl’ – Primal Scream
- ‘Glasgow’ – The Snuts
- ‘Flowers in the Window’ – Travis
- ‘Whole of the Moon’ – The Waterboys
- ‘The Conversation’ – Sacred Paws
- ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ – Simple Minds
- ‘If You’re Feeling Sinister’ – Belle and Sebastian
- ‘French Navy’ – Camera Obscura
- ‘Dignity’ – Deacon Blue
- ‘The Killing of Georgie’ – Rod Stewart
- ‘A Girl Like You’ – Edwyn Collins
- ‘Stuck in the Middle With You’ – Stealers Wheel
- ‘Vienna’ – Ultravox
- ‘Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam’ – The Vaselines
- ‘Running from Home’ – Bert Jansch
- ‘Blame’ – Lavender Lane
- ‘Wake Up to This’ – King Creosote
- ‘Miss Me Now’ – Brooke Combe
- ‘Through the Echoes’ – Paolo Nutini
- ‘Keep Me a Space’ – Glasvegas
- ‘Cut Your Hair’ – Walt Disco
- ‘This Broken Design’ – The Ninth Wave
- ‘Jacqueline’ – Franz Ferdinand
- ‘Dry the Rain’ – The Beta Band
- ‘Keep Yourself Warm’ – Frightened Rabbit
- ‘The Mother We Share’ – CHVRCHES
- ‘Stupid Girl’ – Garbage
- ‘Top of the Pops’ – The Rezillos
- ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’ – The Proclaimers
