F&M playlist

REM Fall On Me I somehow overlooked 1986's Lifes Rich Pageant at the time, but now I can't stop playing it. This is one of the more direct tracks – it wouldn't have been out of place on Automatic for the People – but otherwise typifies the album's indefinable, almost hallucinatory beauty. Dave Simpson Cypress Hill I Ain't Goin' Out Like That They didn't become every 90s student's favourite just by obsessively rapping about weed, you know. All right, they did. But at best, DJ Muggs's boiling-kettle and bassline productions are still taunting, thrilling pop – paranoid, but unstoppably catchy. Tom Ewing Deathray Trebuchay Number 6 The lyrics are in Welsh, but this a furious, brassy Balkan-style dance workout. It's on the highly entertaining new compilation Balkan Fever London. Robin Denselow Vijay Iyer Solo This first solo piano album by mathematician-turned-improv-star Iyer (pictured) takes his intricately patterned music back a few steps to his keyboard roots in the music of Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington. It's edgy but accessible too. John Fordham King Crimson The Court of the Crimson King Nine minutes of flute solos, cascading Mellotron and a lyric about a fantasy kingdom – prog rock rarely got proggier. But if this period piece is ludicrous, it's also magnificent. Caroline Sullivan The Complete Short Stories Value the One You Love This unsigned north London seven-piece blend folk-styled female vocal harmonies with the rousing indie stomp of Arcade Fire. Given that they can also write tunes as hooky and affecting as this one, they're certainly worth a listen. Chris Salmon Built to Spill Carry the Zero A song that can lay claim to one of the best intros and outros in indie rock. Doug Martsch's golden-toned Idaho outfit roll out all their loveliest soaring hooks, striking a perfect balance between weighty rock crunch and sweet, gleaming twinkles. Tom Hughes Lindstrøm and Christabelle Baby Can't Stop The Norwegian dance producer is often accused of self-indulgence. But on this track he manages a perfect replica of the sound Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones perfected for Off the Wall. Michael Hann