Song for Sunday

Foo Fighters – These Days

Sometimes I still want to be in a rock band ...

Band/artist of the week: The National
Song of the week: The Breeders – Buffy Main Title Theme

Song for Sunday

Shearwater – Dread Sovereign (live in Mellow Johnny's bike shop)

Band/artist of the week: Mogwai
Song of the week: Dot Allison – Message Personnel

Fantasy Tour de France

So, now the predictions are done it is time to make sure that your fantasy tour teams are completed and ready to go. Somehow, I seem to have two different competitions on the go:

Team Green Wedgie here and Team Green Weedgy here.

The rules are slightly different and you won't be able to pick the same team on both, but if you want to join in and see if you can beat my measly efforts I have set up a league on both (Green Wedgie v. The World). To join the SBS competition you will need to know that the password is geographyofhope and for the Road.cc one you will need the league ID 76006.

Good luck!

Tour de France 2012

The 198 riders have been presented to the public and media. The thousands of support crews are all in place. The media multitudes are assembled and desperate to write/report about something that actually happened rather than endlessly speculate about what might happen. Yes, it is christmas eve for cycling fans – the day before the Tour starts – and time for some predictions about who will be standing on the podium in Paris in just over three weeks time.

Two in a row for Cadel? I doubted it straight after last year's victory, but looking at his form and the strangely depleted competition combined with a course that seemed to be designed to play to all his strengths I think he will manage it.

Interestingly Cadel's strongest competition looks like coming from a rider with very similar strengths and approach, indeed Bradley Wiggins has commented that Cadel's victory last year inspired him to believe that he really could win. Brad's preparation has been faultless, he is clearly in the form of his life and with wins in Paris–Nice, Tour of Romandie and Dauphiné Libéré it makes sense that he is the bookmaker's favourite.

On top of that Sky are probably the strongest team on the race, with Froome, Rogers, Porte all likely to figure in the top 10 on GC and even their domestiques looking like they could be team leaders in lesser squads.

So what could go wrong?

Well, I think the important difference between Brad and Cadel is that Cadel has realised that to win he has to take some risks, go for the unexpected moves and try to grab seconds whenever he can. Sure Sky will do a great job of shutting most things down and keeping Brad safe, but they won't be able to control everything and their predictability will work against them. Having said all that I would love to see Brad win the overall, especially since it is 50 years since Tom Simpson became the first British rider to wear the yellow jersey. (The CyclingTips article that alerted me to this fact is well worth a read and the pictures are wonderful.)

Scrapping for the final podium place there will be a group of riders all very close. I am hoping that Thomas Voeckler finally makes it on to the podium, but Gesink or Hesjedal could be there along with another three or four riders.

I doubt Mark Cavendish will make it to Paris this year – the lure of a home Olympics and the possibility of picking up Team GBs first gold medal of the games is going to be too hard to resist. It is going to be fascinating watching Cav come up against the hugely impressive Peter Sagan (they seem to have been avoiding each other so far this year) and I suspect Cav is going to have a real battle in the sprints this year. So, in Cav's absence on the Champs Elysees Sagan will take the maillot vert with Matt Goss and André Greipel scrapping for the leftovers.

And my favourite jersey – the maillot à pois – will be Johnny Hoogerland. It is only fair after his horrible crash last year and the relative lack of really big mountains and summit finishes will play right into his hands.

Yellow

1 Cadel Evans
2 Bradley Wiggins
3 Thomas Voekler
4 Robert Gesink
5 Ryder Hesjedal

Green
1 Peter Sagan
2 Matt Goss
3 André Greipel

Mountains
1 Johnny Hoogerland
2 Samuel Sanchez
3 Robert Gesink

Song for Sunday

Ghost Society – Better Days

Band/artist of the week: Mogwai
Song of the Week: Sugar – Gift

Song for Sunday

Anton Franc – Letting Go

Band/artist of the week: The National
Song of the week: The National – Bloodbuzz Ohio

Song for Sunday

Spotlight Kid – Haunting Me

No song or band of the week, because I am here. Normal service will be resumed next week.

Song for Sunday

Camera Obscura - Tougher Than the Rest

A little bit later than normal, but I can assure you that it is still Sunday where I am. Although for me it has been Sunday for roughly 35 hours now (still got another six to go) and it is certainly starting to feel that way ... Unfortunately it does mean that I won't have a Sunday at all next week, so I don't know what that is going to do for next weeks exciting installment. Anyway, this is very lovely. Doesn't quite have the muscle of Bruce's version, but they do bring a welcome tenderness to it. Very strange way of pronouncing baby though ...

Band/artist of the week: Mogwai
Song of the week: Airborne Toxic Event - All At Once

Song for Sunday

Human Don't Be Angry – 1985

Easy choice this week. Malcolm Middleton's new album (under his Human Don't be Angry guise) is out now and it is rather wonderful. I think you should all buy a copy. Here is a good place. Anyone else remember Frustration?

Band/artist of the week: Saint Etienne
Song of the week: Airborne Toxic Event – All At Once

Song for Sunday

The Airborne Toxic Event – All At Once

Band/artist of the week: The Big Pink
Song of the week: Mystery Jets – Someone Purer

Song for Sunday

Mystery Jets (featuring Laura Marling) – Young Love

You would have to be a miserable bastard if this doesn't make you smile even a little bit. I love the sly little reference to Blondie and the fact that they seem to have glued Laura Marling's head to the cushion. And while you're wasting your life looking at YouTube videos I wholeheartedly recommend Knock for Knock: a short film about cycling in Tokyo which is accompanied by the mighty Mogwai's Drunk and Crazy. Enjoy!

Band/artist of the week: James Dean Bradfield
Song of the week: Mystery Jets (featuring Laura Marling) – Young Love

Song for Sunday

Gravenhurst – The Prize

Band/artist of the week: the xx
Song of the week: Prolapse – Autocade

Song for Sunday

On Volcano – The Explorer

Band/artist of the week: Human Don't Be Angry
Song of the week: Mogwai – The Sun Smells Too Loud

Song for Sunday

Metric – Gold Guns Girls

Band/artist of the week: Mogwai
Song of the week: Sharon van Etten – Save Yourself

Song for Sunday

The Twilight Sad – Dead City

Band/artist of the week: Mogwai
Song of the week: Shearwater – Dread Sovereign

Song for Sunday

Saint Etienne – Tonight

From the new album Words and Music. But when is it out?

Song of the week: King Creosote and John Hopkins – Bats in the Attic (Unravelled)

Band/artist of the week: Mogwai

Song for Sunday

Spotlight Kid – Plan Comes Apart

Song of the week: Markéta Irglová – We Are Good
Band/artist of the week: The Big Pink

Song for Sunday

Markéta Irglová - Crossroads

Band/artist of the week: Bruce Springsteen
Song of the week: Markéta Irglová – We are Good

Song for Sunday

North Highlands – Benefits

Band/artist of the week: Bruce Springsteen
Song of the week: Caveman – Great Life

Song for Sunday

Sharon Van Etten – Save Yourself

Band/artist of the week: Bruce Springsteen
Song of the week: The Big Pink – Stay Gold

Song for Sunday

I have gone to post this a couple of times in the last few weeks, but kept reconsidering because of the lead singer's terrible haircut (not to mention the Burt Reynold's moustache), his propensity to over-sing horribly on certain lines and the fact the they seem to have re-incarnated Kenny Everett to play drums. Even so, the song just keeps worming its way back into my head. There is something about the simple organ line and sweetly understated guitar that kicks in at 0.48 that I find helpless to resist. Anyway, listen with your eyes shut first time and you will probably be okay.

Band/artist of the week: The Big Pink
Song of the week: The Twilight Sad – Don't Move

Song for Sunday

The Sundays – Here's Where the Story Ends

Band/artist of the week: The Twilight Sad
Song of the week: Human Don't Be Angry – H.D.B.A. Theme

Song for Sunday

Ghostpoet – Survive It

Band/artist of the week: Lou Reed
Song of the week: Lana Del Ray – Videogames

Song for Sunday

Caveman – Great Life

Band/artist of the week: Placebo
Song of the week: Placebo – Teenage Angst

Song for Sunday

Explosions in the Sky – Last Known Surroundings

Band/artist of the week: Mogwai
Song of the week: Mogwai – Drunk and Crazy