Top 20 of 2013

Hi

I've given up on writing a new intro for this post as last year's is fine so I've lazily lifted it and reposted here...

So below is my Top 20 of 2013.  A few words before you continue...

You won't agree with me.  Some of you will think I'm pretentious for including a raft of songs you've never heard of.  Some of you will think I'm too 'mainstream' in my choices.  Some of you will think this is a massive exercise in showing off.  And that's fine.  My opinion is no better or worse than yours and my choices are no more or less valid than yours would be.  This is just my opinion - you might not like it but I can't help that.  But before you grumble to yourself or tell me I'm an idiot, try and do this yourself.

The "rules" are simple - any song that has been released (as a single, on an album or even as demo/give-away) is eligible to be included.  Pick 20 that represent your favourite and don't include more than one per artist.   I added a rule of my own where I'd limit myself to maximum one choice where collaborations had occurred.  So for example, both Arctic Monkeys and Alex Turner individually made the 2011 Longlist but I would limit myself to a choice from one.  This is only to add variety.  You can find the Top 20 of 2011 and the Top 20 of 2012 by following the links.

The list presented below is given as Track name - Artist (Album).  They are not ranked in order of preference or greatness but rather the order in which I personally think they make a good playlist.  I'd love to hear what you think so get involved in the comments or tweet me @BroooOwl and tag your posts #top20of2013

1.  Jubilee Street - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (Push The Sky Away)   There are a few albums from this year where picking one song above the others is a really tough ask, and the latest offering from Nick Cave is one of those albums.  This was one of my early favourites and so just edged it, but Mermaids or Higgs Boson Blues could have edged it.  Great tune to start things off.

2.  Picasso Baby - Jay Z (Magna Carter Holy Grail)   Probably one of those tracks/artists that you either love or hate which is a perfectly reasonable point of view.  I think MCHG is a pretty solid album but I particularly love this one.  If you have the time to spare, watching this YouTube video where Jay Z talks about music as art is well worth 11 minutes of your time

3.  Diane Young - Vampire Weekend (Modern Vampires of the City)   Vampire Weekend are one of those bands that I love for a multitude of reasons (off the wall lyrics, unique sound, incredible vocals) and whilst there new album didn't quite hit the same heights for me as the previous two, this is incredibly catchy

4.  Best Of Friends - Palma Violets (180)   Guitar music at some of its best, great music and catchy lyrics you can't help but sing at the top of your voice.  A great summer tune to have blaring out in the car with all the windows down.

5. Love Spells - Bleached (Ride Your Heart)   I can't remember where I heard about Bleached from but this album is one of the catchiest I've heard all year.  This is another one where there are a bucket-load of summery songs to go through.  It's all very familiar sounding music but that's definitely not a bad thing.  Love Spells is my favourite off the album.

6.  Falling - Haim (Days Are Gone)   I'd venture that it's likely you've only not come across Haim if you've been living under a rock or something similar this year.  A rare album where the Hit Parade and I agree - a belter from start to finish.  I could have probably picked any track to make the final 20, but this is my favourite.

7.  Please Don't Say You Love Me - Gabrielle Aplin (English Rain)   I picked this up fairly late in the year but I struggle to get this tune out of my head once I've listened to it (and not in a bad way).  I also really liked November from the album so if you like this, I'd check that out too.

8.  Strong - London Grammar (If You Wait)   Another album I didn't get round to until about November time for some reason or other.  I watched them perform on Later... on BBC2 and was immediately sucked in.  Strong has an odd blend of a Florence & The Machine mixed with Massive Attack that's a bit too difficult to explain.  Definitely one of my favourite tracks of the year without a doubt.

9.  Color Yr Lights In - The Besnard Lakes (Until In Excess, Imperceptible UFO)   A strange one this.  Most of the album can pass you by quite easily unless you're specifically listening to it and doing nothing else.  The first time I listened to it, I was preoccupied with other things until this track came on, when I stopped everything.  It's probably a good album to have on late at night, but this song is really good.

10.  Pink Rabbits - The National (Trouble Will Find Me)   This is definitely in my top 5 albums of the year - it's brilliant from start to finish quite frankly.  Pink Rabbits is basically some of the best lyrics you can imagine, stitched together with some wonderful piano (which I can't seem to learn).  I can't urge you strongly enough to listen to this one.

11.  Waiting On The Doorstep - Filthy Boy (Smile That Won't Go Down)  I'll be up front and say that this is what you'd class as a but of a "comedy" song which normally wouldn't get a look in on a list such as this.  The problem is that this is so funny and catchy that you'd can't help yourself.  I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for children but give it a listen - I'll say nothing more so I don't spoil it.

12.  Van Der Graff - Courteeners (Anna)  Anna is (in my humble opinion) a much improved effort compared to the Falcon album of 2010 which is a good start.  Sadly it does tail off a little after the first half for me but the opening tracks are Liam Fray at his best.  Van Der Graff's lyric about "splitting up like the A57" is fantastic and I do love this song. 

13.  So Good At Being In Trouble - Unknown Mortal Orchestra (II)   I heard this very early on in the year and I've played it for just about everyone I've talked to about music since.  The album is good too but there's something so funky about this track that I really love - soulful and laid back is how I'd best describe it.

14.  You Can't Judge A Book By It's Cover - The Strypes (Snapshot)   If you like raucous guitar music then The Strypes are definitely for you.  The album has a bit of a 1950s feel to it in places which is frankly wonderful.  Again, I struggled to pick a track for the shortlist but this one is pretty simple, and simple is often the best.  Great song.

15.  Cut Copy Me - Petula Clark (Lost In You)   It came as a bit of a surprise to me that Petula Clark was still recording anything to be honest.  The album is a.... bit of an assortment I think.  Hearing an 81 year old covering Gnarls Barkley isn't an everyday occurrence (and not something I'd necessarily recommend) but Cut Copy Me is fantastic.  Next To You is also a great track (and sounds oddly like a Eurovision entry) and also worth a listen.

16.  Breakfast At Sylvia's - Skint & Demoralised (The Bit Between The Teeth)   It greatly saddened me to hear that Skint & Demoralised won't be recording albums after this, the third and final installment.  I think the third album is the best they recorded and whilst Breakfast At Sylvia's may not technically be the best track on the album (the sheer passion and honesty in Amores Perros probably takes that title), I do love it and it's one of my all time favourite Skint & Demoralised songs.

17.  Happy To Stay - the Michael Ainsley Band (Cyclone)   I've seen the Michael Ainsley Band a few times this year, doing support at local venues in Wakefield.  They've got a pretty catchy repertoire which is no bad thing either.  Happy To Stay reminds me a little of some early Green Day (not sure if that's what they were going for but it's nothing but a compliment).  A great song to jump around to.

18.  Further Away (Romance Police) - Lissie (Back To Forever)   Lissie's album is quite frankly brilliant and it's matched by her live performance.  I saw her in Manchester this year and I've rarely seen anyone perform with as much passion as she did.  The title track to this album is exceptional but it's just edged out by this.  The guitar solo reminds me of Fleetwood Mac (though I'm sure someone would tell me I'm mistaken)

19.  Better Than That - Miles Kane (Don't Forget Who You Are)   Another entry for anthemic guitar music which is no bad thing.  This album has some absolute belters on it but this one stands out just above the others for me.  The lyric "Maybe it's the time and place / Or maybe it's your stupid face / That's turning me on" is a particular favourite of mine.

20.  Snap Out Of It - Arctic Monkeys (AM)   Another year and another Arctic Monkeys track on the shortlist.  I think this year it'd be difficult to accuse me of local bias as AM is, by general consensus, the album of 2013.  I'll save my gushing praise and let you read any of the reviews (or better, just listen to it!) before you make your mind up.  As with Nick Cave and a few others, it was almost impossible to pick a favourite off AM.  I was mostly torn between No 1 Party Anthem and this tune, but because I sing this one with my daughter, I've decided to pick this.  Definitely the toughest choice of the whole shortlist.

As with last year, there's some music I've been disappointed in and some other good albums that didn't make the cut.  Kurt Vile's new album fell a little short of my expectations following the debut offering of Smoke Ring For My Halo in 2011.  Don't get me wrong, it's not bad, but I just maybe expected too much.  Kanye West's album grew on me the more I listened to it, but still fell a little short for me.    Daughter missed the final 20 by a short length, as did Yeah Yeah Yeahs with Sacrilige.  And for some pop whimsy, check out Cody Simpson's La Da Dee (from Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2).

The "award" for my Album of the Year this year goes to Arctic Monkeys.  AM is a superb LP in my opinion.   This is the link to the Google search for "AM Review" - pick one at random and read it.  And then listen to the album again and again and again.

I've added another new category for 2013 which is Live Performance Of The Year.  If I'd not been criminally ill on the night of the AM gig (something I don't like to talk about), I suspect Arctic Monkeys would have been walking away with this one too.  As it happens, seeing Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds at Manchester Apollo completely blew me away so I think they win hands down.  You must try and see them if you get chance,

If you made it this far, then thanks for reading.  Hopefully you'll find something new you've not heard before.

Thanks

Andy

2013 - Resolutions and more

Happy New Year!  I hope you're all recovering from whatever you got up to last night.

The first few days in January are usually a time for people to think about what wholesale changes they'd like to make, and then persevere with them as much as possible.  I wrote last year about how I'd been in a similar boat myself a number of times and all my good intentions had fallen by the wayside by late January.

There's traditionally talk of making major lifestyle changes which is usually difficult to achieve.  Not through lack of desire per se, but through the difficulty in overhauling your day to day life and sustaining those changes.  I'm as skeptical as the next man when people say that's what they're going to do, but this year, that's exactly what I'll be attempting.

At the end of this month, I'll be starting a two year clinical study to see if insulin pumps help people manage diabetes better than multiple daily injections (MDI).  This will effectively mean a brand new type of medication, a brand new way of looking after myself and a lot of other changes that affect my day-to-day life.

I wrote in the the very first post on this blog how I do my best not to let being diabetic define my entire life, it's merely a part of who I am as a person.  Whilst that remains the case, a complete change in a medical regime I've been used to for over 10 years will take some getting used to I suspect.

With that at the back of my mind, I've only made 7 resolutions this year but I'm hoping to keep them all (as opposed to the 8/10 from 2012)

1.  Run the Sheffield Half Marathon and the Great Yorkshire Run

As regular readers will know, the Sheffield Half is my nemesis and I'm determined to conquer it this year.  The Great Yorkshire Run eluded me last year as I'd pushed myself a little too much and wasn't able to compete when the day came.

2.  Raise £500 for charity

After raising £1,500 last year, I'm taking an admittedly more modest approach this year (but then again I'm not running the London Marathon this year either).  I'd like to be able to do more for charities that are important to me, but at the moment, I'm not sure how to do that other than run around and ask people to sponsor me for it.  Hopefully I'll meet my target this year

3.  See 12 gigs

This is the same as last year - I just like to be able to have a night out once a month so I'm hoping there'll be some great live shows to see this year

4.  Read 11 books

Slightly more ambitious than last year's 10 - I ought to read more and having got some excellent books for Christmas, I'm confident I'll make this one.

5.  Do a photo-a-day project

This is something I've wanted to do for a long time and I've never motivated myself to do it.  I enjoy taking pictures and I'm probably quite reasonable at it.  I'd like to become a lot more accomplished over the next 12 months and I think this will be a good way to do that.  I'll be posting the results on a separate blog if you want to keep track of them

6.  Keep my weight below 190lbs all year

There's a technicality that means I've got to get my weight back under 190 first (having lost 32lbs last year, a few have crept back on over Christmas).  This one in itself is fairly ambitious as I've never maintained a weigh I'm happy with for more than about 6 months.  I think the fact that I'll be in the clinical trial will help motivate me here.

7.  Run 450 miles

That doesn't sound like too much - less than 10 miles a week shouldn't be that hard when you think about it.  But I'm conscious I could end up injured again and I want a target that is attainable without having to put my body on the line in order to meet it.   I'll be trying for 2/3 runs a week and supplementing that with sessions on the exercise bike at home.

So there you have it.  That's my goals for the year in a few short paragraphs.  It may not sound like too much (and I feel a little like I've copped out), but I think I have to be mindful of what else will be happening this year.

Once again, I hope you all have a wonderful 2013 and that you manage to keep any resolutions you've made.

Andy

2012 Review

Well the end of 2012 is almost nigh.  It's usually nice to look back over some of the highlights of the year and ponder what there is to look forward to in the coming year.

I'm going to go through a few of my highlights of the year and then review my New Year's Resolutions I set myself in January.  I'll do another blog in the first week of January to do a bit of a 2013 preview.

A personal highlight of mine was finally running the London Marathon in April.  You can read about that in more detail by checking out the post-run blog post.  It had been an ambition of mine for over 20 years and the feeling of achievement as I crossed the line was incredible.

Mile 25

In May, we flew out to Krakow for the wedding of some friends of ours.  The entire day was wonderful and we had a great time.  I'd never been to Poland before but had an amazing time.  We'd managed to rent an apartment right on the Old Town Square and saw so much of the city in just a week.  I also did a day trip to Auschwitz which was an incredible but very sobering experience.  If you're looking for a city break holiday, I'd definitely recommend Krakow.

Saint Mary's in Krakow

I managed to see some incredible gigs in 2012 and picking the best isn't easy.  One of many highlights was the Watch The Throne tour in Manchester over the summer.  To see two of the world's biggest music stars in Jay-Z and Kanye West together on stage for over two and a half hours was incredible!  Watching Pulp play a home town arena show to over 12,000 fans was also pretty special and a great way to round off the year!

Jarvis on stage

The end of the 2011/12 football season was also something to celebrate (for once).  I was at Hillsborough to watch Sheffield Wednesday beat Wycombe to confirm promotion back to the Championship, ultimately at the expense of city rivals United.  Whilst the current season is a bit unpredictable (to be diplomatic), the wild celebrations at the end of the season was incredible.

Some people are on the pitch...

It wouldn't be right to review 2012 without mentioning the Olympic and Paralympic Games and I was incredibly fortunate to get tickets to see events at both.  I took my dad to see Olympic football at Old Trafford, my wife and daughter to see tennis at Wimbledon as well as taking in Handball at the Copperbox and Volleyball at Earl's Court.  It was incredible to see the wave of support our athletes had.  Whilst the summer gave us a lot of memorable moments, I personally won't forget the drive back from Legoland to Sheffield, to get home just in time to see Jessica Ennis in her final event.  Watching her cross the line and win gold was my moment of the Games.

Inside the Copperbox

Olympic Stadium for the Paralympics

Watching the Olympic torch go past the end of our road (and the incredible number of people that turned out to see it) really got me hooked on the Olympic spirit, and getting to hold one of the torches later that summer was an amazing feeling.

Obviously there were a few other newsworthy events in 2012 such as the Diamond Jubilee celebrations (I'll never say no to an extra day of work, thank you Ma'am), but one of the most iconic moments for me was Felix Baumgartner's freefall from space.  I told my wife it was our generation's Moon Landing, and while that might be a bit of hyperbole, I'll remember my daughter sat on my knee on the landing watching it with me on my laptop.

And so onto a review of my 2012 Resolutions...  I posted a half-year review (in that link) but it's worth doing a final summary to see how well this year went:


1. Run the London Marathon

A pretty easy one to tick off - 5:30:41! 

2. Raise at least £1000 for charity

Yes.  People were incredibly generous with their donations and I managed to raise over £1500 this year which I'm very proud of.  Thanks again to everyone who donated - it was very generous of you.

3. Get a photograph published or sold

I'm counting this one as a success.  I mentioned in the half year review that I'd done some promo shots for a great Wakefield band call Skint & Demoralised and I followed that up with the cover shot for their single "When Saturday Comes".  You can listen to and download that song here (as well as seeing the 

4. Carry on training to run the Sheffield Half Marathon 2013

I eased off the running in August after a 10k race as I was starting to feel a bit of pain.  I did however switch to an exercise bike to keep fit (and managed to lose over 30lbs in the process).  I start running again this week and I'm all ready for the Sheffield Half Marathon in May! 

5. See at least 12 gigs

I think I ticked 13 off in the end which is quite a good effort.  Obviously I've mentioned some of the highlights above, but also seeing Ladyhawke at The Leadmill in Sheffield was incredible.  Here's to a few more in 2013

6. Read at least 10 books

I think I said at the time this was a pitiful number to aim for, but at least I managed it.  If I can finish off my current book in the next few days, I'll have a clear 11 to my name for this year.  Must try harder next year!

7. Continue my blog after the marathon

This was a tricky one.  After all the effort of blogging on marathon training, I felt at a bit of a loss for what to write about.  I dabbled a bit over the summer but I feel like I've finally got back into a bit of a groove towards the end of this year.  I've also been really lucky to be able to write a monthly blog for Diabetes UK which I'm really looking forward to continuing next year

8. Support the community via sponsorship/donations etc

I'm chalking this down a success as well, though just barely.  I sponsored a mini festival a friend of mine staged for charity earlier this year.  The amount of work and effort she put in to making the day a success was incredible and sponsoring the event to ensure it could go ahead was a real privilege.

9. Expand the smaller areas of my company

This is my first failure, partially through lack of effort and partially through lack of time.  I realised that diversifying from my main business can be good, but the amount of effort required compared to the return doesn't really make it viable.  I'm having a rethink and a re-plan for next year so we'll see what comes of it...

10. Make some friends

Another tricky one.  I've definitely built up some excellent relationships over 2012 - no doubt about it.  I think what's proved trickier is to make those mainfest themselves in a non-digital environment.  I do feel lucky to count some of my Twitter acquaintances as friends but should possibly try harder to turn some of those into "real life" friendships.

So there we go - 2012 in a nutshell.  A fairly large nutshell, but nevertheless.  If you made it this far, then thanks a lot.  I hope you've had a look back at your 2012 and remembered some of the good times you've had.

I'm still pondering what 2013 might hold but I'll be back again in the first week of January to talk about that.  In the mean time, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and have a Happy New Year

Speak soon

Andy x