XFM Column for June - Scottish Music is Damn Cool

At the time of writing I'm packing my bag and loading up my mp3 player for a week in New York. It's not the first time I've been – and I'll admit that six years ago the streets were so familiar from TV and films that I was a little underwhelmed – but I've grown to love the place.

It's viewed as one of the coolest cities on the planet, but let me put it into perspective. First time I went, I headed straight to one of the hippest independent record stores on Manhattan to see what I could find. And what's taking pride of place as I go through the door? A big display for the new Belle and Sebastian record, with Stuart Murdoch's softened tones drifting over the racks.

Then on my last trip I got chatting with an acquaintance about New York's musical pedigree and was bemused as he casually dismissed bands like Interpol, The Strokes and Yeah Yeah Yeahs as being "OK". When I asked him what he thought of Scottish music, his reply? "Man, you guys have some of the coolest bands ever! Teenage Fanclub, Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream, Mogwai, Belle and Sebastian, The Vaselines, Franz Ferdinand, Orange Juice…"

I guess my point is, not just that the grass is always greener, but that we really should be proud of what we have. Edinburgh sometimes suffers a little from lack of good, small venues (for several reasons - none of which are a lack of music lovers) but pick any night in Glasgow and there's a wealth of Scottish bands worth checking out for the price of a pint or two.

Xfm Scotland's Jim Gellatly has been providing a platform for unsigned bands for years on Scotland's airwaves, and even the most mainstream Scottish newspapers are now giving column inches to our musical underdogs.

At the station, I've just seen a week where three-quarters of the new additions to the Xfm Scotland playlist were home-grown acts (although don't expect to see THAT happening on any other station, no matter how much they try to convince you they support new music in Scotland!)

Plus, with new records by Sons and Daughters, Aberfeldy, The Fratellis and Biffy Clyro all set to join Franz and Snow Patrol in the charts before the end of the year, the future is solid. And I'd like to think that Xfm Scotland will play a wee part in that.

Meanwhile… on the first night of my holiday in New York, what's THE gig to be seen at for Manhattan's musical-cognoscenti? Mogwai at the Webster Hall.

Lets face facts, we're pretty damn cool!