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Arab Strap - Philophobia: best opening line for an album ever

Adian Moffat - I Can Hear Your Heart: foul-mouthed poetry like you've never heard before

L. (Lucky) Pierre - Hypnogogia: instrumental looping lushness

The week never starts round here isn't bad either.

I was underwhelmed, but I'd like to like them more. Maybe I should have just got Philophobia.

Liked the artwork and just thought '£3, worth a punt'.

Probably my favourite single ever. Then I went from there onto 'Philophobia' and never looked back.

Not sure where I'd tell people to start to be honest. Maybe 'Philophobia' still, or else the 'Best of' or 'Monday at the Hug & Pint'.

It was when he played it a ridiculous number of nights in a row on the Evening Session. It sounded so perfect, yet not like anything else. I absolutely loved it and everything just followed from there. As a starting point it felt perfect for me, so maybe others may also like it. You can't go wrong anywhere though really with Arab Strap. I remember how, as a teenager fed up with school/sixth form and not knowing what I wanted to do or where the world would take me, listening to The Week Never Starts Round Here on headphones into the early hours. I still wear my Adidas-style logo tshirt with pride in the gym.

then seeing them at the Wedgewood Rooms in 1998 and it being amazing.

For a total newcomer I'd recommend they listen to First Big Weekend:
http://youtu.be/g9Krvl7AEAs

Then, (I suppose we'd better go chronologically), Girls of Summer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uh53jUdpVo

Here We Go
http://youtu.be/eMLluLqpE9w

Pro-(Your)-Life
http://youtu.be/oPfZGSiKEBE

Then Love Detective
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZR8fSeILwI

Then The Shy Retirer (obviously)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZR8fSeILwI

There Is No Ending
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YfCk9bw9yU

So that's basically one off each album. And then after that, if the person I was making these recommendations to didn't want to buy the Arab Strap back catalogue themselves, they'd clearly be a lost cause and not worth talking to again. But otherwise I'd give them a lend of I Can Here Your Heart.

CHEERS

Bought the CD, bought Elephant Shoe, smitten. "I Still Miss You" worked so well as that nutter sledgehammered the bloke's ceiling while simultaneously giving it to his missus.

I don't think you need to be in the right mood to get them; just think you need to be anyone who's ever woke up feeling worthless with a stranger's pubic hair in your mouth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUdAG7yBuw0

More arab on radar to the thread.

while revising for a maths exam, then went for lunch with a friend and walked past Aidan in the street. I took it as a sign, listened to nothing but Arab Strap that week and got an A in the exam. True story.

is that their B-sides and EP tracks didn't find further adoration.

They really are some of the bands best material.

Rocket take your turn
Blackness
Hey! Fever
Girls of Summer
Trippy
Toy fights
Forest Hills
An eventful Day
Pulled
Motown Answers
Bullseye
The good part

There's an amazing album in itself, right there.

A lot of their stuff is transformed live, Girls of Summer on this album becomes this insane disco rave-up thing towards the end. Amazing.

Mad deep respect to Aidan, the man's a genius.

Thought i'd stand up for this side project. 'Hypnogogia' is nice, but 'Touchpool' is the best album as a whole. Loads of ideas and styles bounding around (including a great Penguin Cafe Orchestra tribute) and the lonesome horn on 'Total Horizontal' kills me every time.

Whilst Philophobia is the best album, I seem to be against the tide in thinking 'The Red Thread' and 'Elephant Shoe' are second and third. Absolutely adore them.

at the first atp, they came onto stage to a mumbled tape recording of aidan on the windy beach the night before and their whole set blew me away. A rare time I have enjoyed a band live with no prior knowledge, never liked them as much on record though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKSdioBXngk

The Sick Anchors ep is incredible. Whole Again might just about be my favourite Aidan performance.

The only mixtape that has ever been sent to me was from capt_oats, and it was his way of getting me into Arab Strap. It worked to the point that I forget that it's not an Arab Strap record when I go to reccomend it to people.

I'll upload it to Mediafire, if you'd like it, I'll send it to you :)

Other than that, if pressed to pick the best of Aidan Moffat's work, I would have to say Monday At The Hug And Pint. It feels truly perfect.

So guiness advert http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAFIA1vRJX0 may have been the first experience?
Was blessed with encountering them in session on Mary-Anne Hobbs breeze block and managed to get it on tape.. stunned that cassette was stretched, repaired, copied, shared & overplayed, then sadly lost to the ether of life. Expanded to see them in Gloucester with Aidan exemplifying his form of poetic rap which me and me bro term Strap!
A plee to you all for a copy of that stunning breezeblock session which I think was in 97 with some aphrodite on too? come on I cant be the only one to have pressed record that night!

I got into them from hearing 'The First Big Weekend' played on the radio and then just checking their back cat.... there's so much beautiful stuff.

Start with Philophobia (for Arab Strap, at least). Then work backwards and then forwards.

I love love love all of Malcolm's solo albums. Everythings Getting Older with Bill Wells is a phenomenal album too. Ooo Arab Strap. Then went to Elephnant Shoe and then the rest all at once.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiVvqTm5tdI

Someone took it upon themselves to send me a mixtape of their favorite Arab Strap songs, as a primer.
Here is the tracklist:

1) I Work in a Saloon (The Week Never Starts Round Here)
2) The Shy Retirer (Monday at the Hug & Pint)
3) Hey Fever! (Girls of Summer EP)
4) Who Named The Days? (Monday at the Hug & Pint)
5) Packs of Three(Philophobia)
6) The First Big Weekend of the Summer
7) Here We Go (Live) (Mad for Sadness)
8) Meanwhile, at the Bar, A Drunkard Muses (Monday at the Hug & Pint)
9) New Birds (Philophobia)
10) Cherubs (Elephant Shoe)
11) Trippy ("Here We Go" b-side)
12) Serenade (Monday at the Hug & Pint)
13) (Afternoon) Soaps (Philophobia)
14) Girls of Summer (Live) (Mad for Sadness)

I have never looked back.

and then got Aidan Moffat's How To Get To Heaven From Scotland album which is way underrated.

But yeah Philophobia is best.

http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4140831