2012

2012 is almost over, and, with the world about to end, I thought it was time I told you all what music I've liked this year, so we can all die happy and content. These are the albums that have soundtracked my year. They have moved me – some have picked me up, some have dragged me down, some have literally made me move – but all have played their part in my year in some way. As always, personal opinion this, music is subjective that, blah blah blah. Feedback is welcome as long as it's good.

1. Sharon Van Etten – Tramp
2. Grimes – Visions
3. Poliça – Give You the Ghost
4. The Maccabees – Given to the Wild
5. Jack White – Blunderbuss
6. Bat for Lashes – The Haunted Man
7. Richard Hawley – Standing at the Sky’s Edge
8. Jessie Ware – Devotion
9. Beach House – Bloom
10. The xx – Coexist

Honorable mentions to:

Chromatics – Kill for Love
Cloud Nothings – Attack on Memory
Crystal Castles – III
DIIV – Oshin
Egyptian Hip Hop – Good Don’t Sleep
Fiona Apple – The Idler Wheel…
Friends – Manifest!
Iamamiwhoami – Kin
Japandroids – Celebration Rock
John Talabot – Fin
Kindness – World, You Need a Change of Mind
Lower Dens – Nootropics
Lucy Rose – Like I Used To
The Twilight Sad – No One Can Ever Know
Toy – Toy
Tribes – Baby

And, because 'tis the season of giving, here is a Spotify playlist of (most of) the songs I have particularly enjoyed this year. If you don't like at least some of it I will eat my hat*.



I've also seen some great live music this year, with highlights including Radiohead's amazing gig in October, finally seeing The Horrors in May, finally seeing Jack White front and centre in July, and Echo and the Bunnymen at Moseley Folk in August, not to mention some amazing support acts, with Daughter, Toy, First Aid Kit and Caribou springing to mind. 

Here's to next year, which promises to be another great year for music, including my first Glastonbury festival!

*I don't own any hats so therefore will not keep this promise

Mercury musings

Every year it feels like all I do is bitch and moan about the Mercury prize, and sadly this year is no different.

This year’s nominations drew nothing more than a groan and a shrug when announced, but it's the same gripe that rears its head again. What is the point of this award?

While the last two winning albums may have deserved the award, they didn’t really need the recognition, which I thought was the point of the whole process. If this is just another award for Britain’s best album then, with all due respect, should Roller Trio and Sam Lee really be in the top 12?

This award seems to have literally no purpose. It doesn’t recognise obscure music often enough to make that the point, and it won’t make the rest of the nominations sell millions. With a thousand blogs, radio stations and music services like Spotify making recommendations, do we even need awards like this to draw our attention to what we already know?

And for those who do still go out and buy the winning album each year, will Alt-J really make them excited about British music in 2012?

Everyone who will enjoy Alt-J most likely knew them by now. They were already the darlings of NME, the Guardian and Radio 1, and the pre-awards favourites. I like The Maccabees and Richard Hawley, but again what would the point be?

Maybe I’m just being arsey because Alt-J are a band I find it very difficult to get excited about. They leave me cold at every listen, because when you take away the trying-to-be-weird-on-purpose vocals, this album has nothing different to offer. There is worse stuff out there true, but that’s just my personal opinion.

However, I feel that someone like Jessie Ware – admittedly well known in the already mentioned circles – could have a real impact on the charts, bringing some talent and soul back to mainstream pop. She hopefully will anyway, but the award could have served a purpose if she had been given it. And she can sing. Rant over.