2012 In Music

A - Asteroid Galaxy Tour -The brilliantly named Danish band returned with an impressive second album, the title track 'Out of Frequency' boasting one of the catchiest choruses of the year.

B - Breakthrough - The Alabama Shakes seem to have been fast tracked to success, the band was founded in 2009, championed as one to watch by the critics in 2011 and had a US number 8 album by April 2012. Boys & Girls is a solid album, especially 'Hold On'.

C - Chvrches - The Scottish electro trio released single 'The Mother We Share' earlier this year to much critical acclaim and are featured as one to watch on the BBC's Sound of 2013.

D - De Novo Adagio - Alicia Keys' classical pianist background is showcased on album opener 'De Novo Adagio', the catchy 'Tears Always Win' also one of the best from her new album Girl on Fire.

E - Eyes - Rapper Hopsin's contact lenses are quite scary even if they are just a publicity stunt. He excels as a lyricist with a biting critique of modern youth culture in 'Ill Mind of Hopsin 5'.

"You’re an adult with no skills at all.
You don’t read any books or play ball.
You don’t draw, you literally do nothing at all"

F- False Pretences - Lupe Fiasco put his neck on the line by following up his poorly received album Lasers with the ambitiously titled Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1 and it's fair to say it fails on both counts. 'Strange Fruition' is one of very few highlights.

G - Genius - Probably the best description for Jack White's musical talents. His first solo album Blunderbuss is nothing short of a masterpiece, featuring a range of different styles/genres and showcasing White's skill on a multitude of instruments. Worth listening to the whole record but in the meantime 'Trash Tongue Talker' is almost perfection.


H - Hair - King Charles has plenty of it. Debut album LoveBlood is full of melody and flamboyance. Mumford & Sons collaboration 'The Birghtest Lights' is musically sublime.  

I - Isolated System - Pondering thermodynamics and apocalypse, Muse's latest album The 2nd Law features a mish-mash of styles and ideas, with even some dub-step thrown in. 'Panic Station' (apparently inspired by the Scissor Sisters) sounds like Superstition mixed with Thriller. 'Supremacy' is classic Muse.

J - Jessica -  "I can't write a song for you, I'm out of melodies" sings Regina Spektor on one of the most beautiful and melodious song she's ever written. 'Jessica' along with 'Don't Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas) are the two standouts on one of the best albums of this year.

K - The Killers - Battle Born is a rather uninspiring effort from The Killers but the slide guitar on 'From Here On Out' is exceptional.

L - The Lumineers - It just took one song to put The Lumineers on the map. Nothing else to say apart from 'Ho Hey'  is a great piece of music.

M - Middle Of The Bed – Lucy Rose finally released her debut album Like I Used To, and it was just as delightful as expected. Her sweet vocals and delicate songwriting style seem more suited to acoustic performances but the energy and volume of her live set is quite the opposite.  Fan favourite 'Middle Of The Bed'  and bonus track 'Little Brave' are both worthy of a mention.

N - Number One - Nothing particularly exciting topped the UK Singles Chart this year with the exception of Calvin Harris' and Florence Welch's 'Sweet Nothing'.

O - Olympics -  Elbow's incredibly powerful 'First Steps' provided the backdrop to the BBC's Olympics coverage, with booming drums, orchestras and choirs it couldn't be more befitting of the greatest sporting spectacle on earth.
Also, Channel 4's coverage of the Paralympics brought Public Enemy's  'Harder Than You Think' back into public consciousnesses. 

P - Pink - Not the artist but the colour of choice for Canadian band Jets Overhead, their album and title track 'Boredom and Joy' was praised by Travis's Fran Healy on twitter. 

Q - Quality not Quantity - Someone should tell this to Green Day whose idea of releasing a three part album ¡Uno! ¡Dos! ¡Tré! might have been original, however any quality control seemed to be absent. 'Kill The DJ' is a good attempt at a dance song but otherwise ¡Uno! doesn't have much else. ¡Dos! is filled with a collection of empty punk songs although ¡Tré! contains a lot more variety and melody, 'Drama Queen'  is impressive.

R - Ray Charles - Chiddy Bang pay homage to the great artist on the aptly named 'Ray Charles'. Groove and soul in abundance.

S - Stumpf Fiddle - The instrument of choice for Rend Collective Experiment, the Northern Irish folk group are very much the Christian equivalent of Mumford & Sons. 'Build Your Kingdom Here' their best new song in 2012.

T - Tallest Man On Earth - Comparisons to Bob Dylan aren't far from the mark, with a unique voice the Swedish singer received rave reviews for his third album There's No Leaving Me Now. The record is full of powerful vocals and melancholic guitar.  Hard to pick individual song on an album so fantastic but 'Revelation Blues' is a worthy shout.

U - Unicorn - The ever unpredictable Sufjan Stevens reached the 100 Christmas songs mark this year with the release of 58 brand new songs in volumes 6-10 of his annual Christmas EP's. Featuring covers of classic carols as well as original material, the prolific songwriter's variant style is prevalent on the 12 minute long epic 'Christmas Unicorn' which features a Joy Division refrain towards the end. Also the wonderful Lumberjack Christmas  combines Christmas cheer with the haunting "No one can save you from Christmases past".

V - Varðeldur - Sigurs Ros, the masters of ambiance and echoing instrumentation. Perfect music to serenade you to sleep. 

W - The Welcome Wagon - Onto their second album now and we first get to hear New York folk act The Welcome Wagon write for themselves without the aid of Sufjan Stevens who co-wrote their first album and EP. Overall a mixed album, some joyful songs like 'Rice and Beans (But no Beans!)'  and some more mellowed. Overall more good than bad.

X - Xylophone - Ok technically it's a Glockenspiel but I had to find something for 'X'! Anyway Tom Read's debut album Compass contains a lot of unique instrumentation. Apart from 'Do Not Stand at my Grave and Weep' his work isn't readily available on YouTube yet but his album is definitely worth Spotify-ing.

Y - Yassassin - The most obscure act to feature on this list, the unheard of London rockers demo of 'Be The Ones' deserves a lot more attention! 

Z - Zone - Comfort zone that is, and Keane made a welcome return to theirs with their fourth album Strangeland. After the poorly received synth/pop effort Perfect Symmetry the band went back to what they do best - piano driven ballads like 'Disconnected'. Although they do try something different on the excellent 'Boys' which features marimba and a quirky guitar solo.

So there it is, I'd go as far as saying 2012 was one of the most memorable years of music in recent years.
A quick mention to Passion Pit whose catchy album Gossamer just didn't quite fit into my list and a nod to Howard Shore whose composing skills for The Hobbit soundtrack deserve recognition (and also, apologies to Mumford & Sons fans, I'm told by everyone that Babel is a great record but I just can't get into them).

To recap my top 3 albums of the year are:

3. Lucy Rose - Like I Used To
2. Regina Spektor - What We Saw From The Cheap Seats
1. Jack White - Blunderbuss

And my top 3 songs:

3. Sufjan Stevens - Lumberjack Christmas - (No-one can save you from Christmases Past)
2. King Charles ft. Mumford & Sons - The Brightest Lights
1. Elbow - First Steps

Graham Alexander Penalties

Managed to find clips of my two favourite penalties ever, (and I'm not even a Burnley fan). Graham Alexander with the outside of the boot twice in the same game!

A Tamboruine Eulogy

Often considered the spare part instrument or the the one to give the singer so they can 'join in', the tambourine actually plays an important role in rhythm with it's unique sound that spans across all genres and cultures.

It doesn't have to be used incessantly (as Chris Martin tells an eager fan!), although being tasered for using one certainly seem harsh, but from The Beatles to Motown to Florence + The Machine the power of tambourine will continue to slip under the radar.

Here's my 6 part appreciation:

1. The perfect intro:

 Jets Overhead - Boredom and Joy

 Jet  - Are You Gonna Be My Girl

Lupe Fiasco - Daydreamin' 



2. Dictating the tempo

The Beatles - Day Tripper

Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape

Jackson 5 - The Love you Save

The White Stripes - The Denial Twist

Florence + The Machine - Shake It Out

3. Keeping rhythm during quieter parts

Feeder - Just The Way I'm Feeling 

Laura Marling - My Manic and I

4. Power and Echo

Lucy Rose - Bikes

Amy Winehouse - Back to Black 

Florence and the Machine - Never Let Me Go

5. Adding percussive depth and layers

Florence and the Machine - Between Two Lungs

Diane Birch - Valentino

Fatboy Slim - Brimful of Asha

KT Tunstall - The Girl and the Ghost

6. Accentuating the snare drum

Jack White - Trash Tongue Talker

Jamiroquai - Blue Skies

 Red Hot Chili Peppers - Even You Brutus

Keane - Bend and Break

My Olympics Review!

Most Impressive Performance - Jessica Ennis, after years of build up she delivered Gold emphatically, unfazed by the immense pressure of a home Olympics and media scrutiny. Also a mention to Andy Murray who played the best tennis of his life to win Gold, even sung the national anthem too!


Best Match - Women's Hockey - GB 5-3 South Korea - GB took a 3-1 lead into half-time but the Koreans pulled it back to 3-3 with 12 minutes to play. But in front of a packed crowd complete with England football Band, Georgie Twigg and Chloe Rogers gave GB the win in an epic match. Great to hear Barry Davies' commentary during the tournament too.


Brightest New Star - Laura Trott, The 20 year old took home 
two Gold medals, surprising herself in the process while seamlessly taking over the 'Queen of British Cycling' mantle from Victoria Pendleton.



Best Celebration -  Kate Copeland's exclaim of  "We've won the Olympics!" (2:45) was probably my highlight of the entire Olympics, that one moment of delight summed up feeling of victory.

Fitting Farewell - It was the final Olympics for Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton, Ben Ainslie and Katherine Grainger and they have been fantastic representatives for their country over the years.

Saddest Moment - Liu Xiang, after heartbreak on home soil in Beijing it was even harder to watch the Chinese superstar crash out with injury again, although it was great to hear that fellow athletes helped him over the line afterwards.

Special Mention - Luol Deng, Britain's highest paid sportsman faced immense pressure to skip the Olympics from employers the Chicago Bulls, after their star player Derrick Rose suffered injury at the end of last season. But after the UK gave him and his family asylum from a war-torn Sudan, Deng promised to play at the Olympics for a country that helped him so much.

Star of the Show - Mo Farah no doubt, witnessing him take his second Gold with 45,000 other people at Hyde Park was something I'll never forget. One of the most humble and genuine sports persons around and London 2012's hero.

Worst Part - The handling of tickets wasn't great, some of the extortionate prices exploited people's desire to witness a once in a lifetime event. Also giving away so many tickets to cooperate sponsors (some of whom didn't even bother turning up) seemed unfair on the British public who bore the majority of the cost for the games. Also a mention for the closing ceremony which was poorly received all round for it's cheap and uninspiring musical performances.

Best Interview- Another particular influential aspect of the games was the humility and joy of the British athletes who won medals, a sporting event devoid of arrogance or fame seeking was refreshing to witness. Samantha Murray who won a Silver medal in the Pentathlon used her post-event interview to inspire people ordinary people to achieve anything they want.

British Public - This may sound clichéd (I don't care!), but generally the public have been incredible and I can't remember a time when people were just generally so happy and united.  Seeing people still draped in Union Jack flags on a train station outside Wycombe at 1:30am on Saturday was memorable. The noise of the crowd at all the venues to was quite something too, even just through the TV.

Games Makers - 10,000 people gave up two weeks of their life to volunteer to help at the games, hats off to them!

Iconic Image - Had to get this in somehow!

BBC Coverage - Absolutely brilliant all round, pundits and presenters were informative and asked the right questions, the detailed coverage of every sport was exceptional and there were some great moments too (John Inverdale's tears and the Athletics' team jubilation). Gabby Logan made Olympics Tonight a must watch each day. Another reason why the license fee is justified, we are very lucky to live in a country with 24 simultaneous live streams with no adverts.
Only minor criticism was Clare Balding's feminist musings which had no place or value.

Critics - Proved completely wrong, yes the Olympics were expensive but money isn't everything and London  2012 managed to capture the imagination of a whole nation and the doubters were forced to eat their words.

Song - Bit of a pointless category I know but Elbow's Olympic Theme for the BBC deserves a mention, couldn't have written a more triumphant and powerful song to represent the games. Nice touch of the band to give all proceeds from sales to charity too.
Also Chariots of Fire and Gold by Spandau Ballet!

And it seems fitting to end with this brilliant video from Team GB. To quote Lord Coe " When our time came, we did it right. Britain, thank you".

My Euro 2012 Team of the Tournament 

GK- Iker Casillas - Lifted his third successive major trophy as Spain captain, and has gone through the knockout rounds of all 3 tournaments without conceding, also became the first international player to win 100 matches.


RB - Joao Pereira - Having only made his international debut in 2010 at the age of 26, the Portugal full-back has only just started to live up to his full potential. Valencia were relieved to seal a move for Pereira before the tournament started as the right back starred with some excellent defensive and attacking perfomnaces.


CB - Mats Hummels - A Centre back with all round ability; pace, height and composure on the ball, Hummels has formed a solid partnership with Holger Badstuber which should be the heart of the German defence for years to come.


CB - Leonardo Bonucci - A partnership formed at club level with Giorgio Chiellini, Bonucci was the lesser known of the two but averaged more interceptions and clearances than his teammate.


LB - Jordi Alba - A fee of €14m looks like it could be one of the bargains of the year for Barcelona who add another creative fullback to their ranks. Alba finished with a goal, an assist and a pass completion percentage of 91%.

RM -  Vaclav Pilar - In a tournament devoid of any real breakthrough stars, the 'Czech Messi' perhaps created the biggest name for himself during the tournament. Guiding the Czech Republic to the quarter finals where he looked the only real threat against Portugal. Finished with 2 goals (50% of his team's) and sealed a £1m move to Wolfsburg to boot. 


CM - Xavi - Not surprisingly Xavi finished with the best passing percentage out of any player to have played at least 3 games (92%). Put in a masterful performance in the final with two sumptuous assists.


CM - Andrea Pirlo - At times Pirlo was a one man team for the Italians, a custodian in possession and a source of creativity, finished with 2 assists and 1 goal.


CM - Steven Gerrard - The England captain lead his team through the group stages, finishing with 3 assists (joint most in the tournament), again showing why he's been one of the worlds best midfielders in the past decade


LM - Andres Iniesta - Awarded official player of the tournament by UEFA, technical director Andy Roxborough said: "Picking Iniesta as the best player of Euro 2012 sends a message about creativity, incisive football and humility."
The midfielder was Spain's attacking focal point in a team that often played without a striker and warrants his place among the greats despite no goals and only one assist.


ST - Fernando Torres - A tournament without a real exceptional striker, Torres takes his place as golden boot winner with 3 goals and 1 assist in just 189 minutes of football.







Substitutes 


Gianluigi Buffon - Undisputedly the second best keeper in the World.


Joe Hart - Made the most saves in the tournament (22)



Theadore Gebre Selassie - Another attacking full back, another breakthrough star.


Phillip Lahm - Has anybody ever seen the German captain have a bad game?



Sergio Ramos - Full back turned attacking centre back, excelled in tackles, interceptions and passing.


Jakub Blaszczykowski - A goal and an assits in 3 games and also one of the most inspiring human stories.


Fabio Contreao - Finished 4th in most successful dribbles, one of the most exciting full backs in the game.



Mesut Ozil - 1 goal and 3 assists in 5 games.


Joao Moutinho - Portugal's Xavi, creative and excellent in possession.


Alan Dzaogev - Finished joint top scorer with 3 goals in 3 games.


Mario Mandzukic - 5 shots, 3 goals, sealed a move to Bayern Munich as a result.


David Silva - 2 goals and 3 assists, the only player with at least 2 of each. 





Goal of the Tournament


3. Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Scissor kick volley into the bottom corner.


2. Jakub Blaszczykowski - The roof lifted off in Warsaw when the Poland captain fired in a bullet.


1. Mario Gomez v Holland - The most exquisite piece of skill, turn and finish.





Wooden Spoon Award


Team - Holland - No-one expected the World Cup finalists to lose every game.


Player - Phillip Mexes - Awful in every France game, warrants the worst player award.

Summer Playlist!

Everywhere looks beautiful in the Sun - 50 Summer Songs

Did I miss any?


A Glorious Day - Embrace

A-Punk - Vampire Weekend

Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers

Are You Gonna Be My Girl - Jet

Beautiful Day - U2

Blame It On The Boogie - Jackson 5

Blue Skies - Jamiroquai

Curbside Prophet - Jason Mraz

Don't Look Back Into The Sun - The Libertines

Dove Grey Sands - Feeder

Good Day Sunshine - The Beatles

Hello - The Cat Empire

Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles

Hey Ya - Outkast

I Got Love - The King Blues

Jamming - Bob Marley

Lady Percy - King Charles

LDN - Lilly Allen

Lovely Day - Bill Withers

Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard - Paul Simon

Mr. Blue Sky - Electric Light Orchestra

Last Summer - Lost Prophets

Parklife - Blur

Put Your Records On - Corine Bailey Rae

Road Trippin' - The Red Hot Chili Peppers

Ring Of Fire - Johnny Cash

Seven Days In Sunny June - Jamiroquai

Sitting On The Dock Of  A Bay - Otis Redding

Slow Train - Bob Dylan

Soul Limbo - Booker T and the MG's

St. Andrews - Bedoiun Soundclash

Staple It Together - Jack Johnson

Strawberry Swing - Coldplay

Summer Days - Phoenix

Summertime - DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince

Sun Hits The Sky - Supergrass

Sunny Afternoon - The Kinks

Sunshine - Keane

Sunshine - Lupe Fiasco

Surfin' U.S.A - The Beach Boys

Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd 

These Are The Days - Jamie Cullum

Tive Razao - Seu Jorge

Twisting By The Pool - Dire Straits

Walking In The Sun - Travis

Wavin' Flag - K'naan

When The Night Feels My Song - Bedouin Soundclash

You Got The Style - Athlete

5 Years Time - Noah And The Whale

19-2000 (Soulchild Remix) - Gorillaz

My Premier League Team of The Season 2011/12

Team of the Season 

Joe Hart - Records the most clean sheets for any keeper with 17 in arguably the toughest defence in the league. Also made 98 saves, although only 10th in the league in this department.

Leighton Baines - His numbers; 9 clean sheets, 4 goals (the third highest scoring defender) and 2 assists don't seem too impressive but averaging 2 key passes per game added to a fantastic delivery make him the only real candidate for the left back spot.

Vincent Kompany - The Man City captain has shown great leadership and was the key to Man City's excellent defence, oversaw 15 clean sheets and averages 4 tackles and 6 clearances interceptions per game.

Fabricio Coloccini - Another on the field leader, the Newcastle skipper marshals the defence positionally, and is comfortable on the ball playing over 35 passes per game at an 83% success rate.

Kyle Walker - Recently named PFA Young Player of the Year, the Spurs fullback has shown great potential both offensively and defensively with 14 clean sheets and a number of key passes and crosses per game.

Antonio Valenica - 13 assists and 4 goals in 27 appearances (5 of them off the bench), as well as over 44 passes, 2 crosses and 85% pass completion per game, the Ecuadorian also contributes defensively with 2.4 tackles and an interception. 

Clint Dempsey - The focal point of almost every Fulham attacking move, the American has been directly involved in 47% (17 goals, 6 assists) in Fulham's 48 league goals this campaign. Will finish the campaign as the highest scoring midfielder in the league.

Scott Parker - Many have criticised Parker's offensive capabilities (no goals and 1 assist) but the defensive midfielder shields the defence allowing Modric and Van Der Vaart to create. Averages more tackles (3.7) and interceptions (3.1) than any defender and ranks 2nd and third in the league respectively in those departments, as well as a pass completion rate of 89%.

Gareth Bale - Was the talk of the league last year but has done even better this season with 3 more goals (10) and 11 more assists (14) than last campaign, is one of only 3 players along with van Persie and Adebayor to have double digits in goals and assists. Also 8th in the league in successful dribbles with 1.8 per game.

Robin van Perise - 30 goals and 11 assists, van Persie is the 5th most deadly striker in Europe this season with 0.78 goals per game, a deserved PFA Player of the Year and Golden Boot winner.

Sergio Aguero - 23 goals in his first season in the league, the Argentine is in ahead of Rooney by having 4 more assists and more dribbles, key passes and also takes less shots per goal. Also showed fantastic composure to fire home the goal that won City the title.

Bench 

Michael Vorm - Brendan Rogers brought in the unknown keeper from Utrecht, and he played an instrumental part in Swansea's solid defence finishing the season with 138 saves, second only to Wayne Hennessey.

Tim Krul - In his first season as number 1, Tim Krul instantly won over the fans with some spectacular shot stopping, as Newcastle held the best defensive record in all four divisions until December.

Alexander Song – Established himself as Arsenal's chief creator, with some incredible defence splitting balls for van Persie to latch onto. 12 assists for the Cameroonian.

Laurent Koscienly - A candidate for most improved player, the turnaround in form the seemingly lost Frenchman contributed to Arsenals 13 clean sheets and a 3^rd place finish.

Leon Britton - Finished the season with the 94% pass completion, the highest in Europe (ahead of any other Barcelona player) and so deserves a mention.

Ramires – No particular standout stats, but driving midfielder established himself as Chelsea’s key player with his all round defensive and offensive ability. Tireless running and constant running.

Stephane Sessegnon - Prolific under O'Neill as Sunderland put the woes of Steve Bruce behind them, finished with 7 goals and 12 assists.

Yaya Toure – 6 goals and 6 assists in 31 games, also a passing percentage of 90% and with nearly 2 tackles and third in dribbles for City only behind Silva and Aguero. A true box-to-box centre midfielder.

Pappiss Demba Cisse - Signing of the season? A near goal per game ratio (13/14) would suggest so, as well as a couple of goal of the year contenders.

Emmanuel Adebayor - Creator and goalscorer, the Togolese international took goalscoring responsibilities on his own shoulders and finished with 17 goals and 11 assists.

Wayne Rooney - 27 goals and 8 assists, has to be in the reckoning.

Manager of the Season 

Roberto Martinez - Orchestrated another miraculous Wigan survival, but this time arguably with much less firepower. Stuck to his footballing principles utilised his team's strengths. Alan Pardew a close second.

Goal of the Season 

5. Craig Gardner v Wigan - Incredible Freekick  against Wigan in the wind, unbelievable swerve. 

4. Peter Crouch v Man City - Touch and volley on the turn, straight from a goalkick. 

3. Luis Suarez v Norwich - 50 yard lob over the keeper. 

2. Pappis Cisse v Chelsea- Swerving half volley that sails straight over Petr Cech from the edge of the box.

1. Robin van Persie v Everton - Winner for technique and concentration alone, exquisite volley from a brilliant Alexander Song through ball.

Individual Leaders 

Clean Sheets - Joe Hart - 17 

Saves - Wayne Hennessey - 167

Clearances - Ryan Shawcross - 482

Tackles - Yohan Cabaye - 116

Passes - Luca Modric - 2534 (Average of 70 per game)

Interceptions - Stephen Warnock - 103

Successful Dribbles - Victor Moses - 95

Assists - David Silva - 15

Goals- Robin van Persie - 30

Own Goals - Chris Baird/Laurent Koscielny/Scott Dann - 2