I’ve wondered how to approach the top songs of the year post. I don’t really do singles, they tend to be the traipsing ground of crap commercial bands without much in the way of back-up.

I thought of the most popular songs across the board for the year, choosing best-selling albums, tracking tags across Last.FM and iLike, charting popularity ratings on social networking sites like MySpace. But to be perfectly honest that’s loads of hard slog and not only am I on my holliers but I have a raging cold and don’t bloody feel like it because I’m supposed to be in Derry *sob*

Instead I’ll write and tell you what I liked most this year and why. They don’t fall into any one genre and are not all new releases…some are simply MySpace demos. I’m not a music critic, I’m biased, know diddly-squat and find it very difficult to describe what I hear so just know this: in MY opinion, these’re all plain deadliness. These are the songs I got no work done to, the songs I worked to, those I danced to and felt my gay little heart burst to….

50. 24 Stella – Moutpiece:
Oh, if MySpace could scrobble…I refuse to give these deadly fuckers another cm of text until they organise a thousand new pressings of their album.

49. Public Lovers – Lambda:
Just heavy-jerky enough to make me want to hear more, more, more songs from this Dublin quartet.

48. Tied Up In Knots – Moth Complex:
Vocal gridwork from Aoife Barry over grinding electrock. Makes me want to flee to Japan and start a new life as a Manga ninja coquette.

47. Steve McQueen – This Is How It Ends:
Compelling slow-build high-dive wanderings. Zone in.

46. You Feel The Fire! – Le Galaxie:
Dimension-skipping discobeats to make discobots of us all.

45. She Burns A Thirst – Cascade Sounds:
Songs to take you far beyond the atmosphere, infused with GIAA-trippiness and retro indie vocals.

44. Genetics – Ladydoll:
Surprising, stomping perks from Cork. Wasn’t impressed earlier in the year but this latest offering completely re-upped my perceptions of the Cork fivesome.

43. Gone To Sea – New Amusement:
Irresistible foot-tap wave-swell spell-stuff.

42. Odd Socks – Grand Pocket Orchestra:
No going mad with the serious for GPO. Thank fuck.

41. The Let’s Get Drunk! Song – Not Squares:
Not the actual song name – both times I’ve heard them play in the last few weeks I’ve been too drunk to do anything but agree with the most rousin’ lyric of the year.

40. Car Park – Butterfly Explosion:
Always steadfast on my playlists, this is my fave BX song. 2009′s debut album is eagerly awaited.

39. Codebreakers – Groom:
Singable like Band of Horses minus the suicidal tendencies. Only recently heard these guys and promptly fell to worship at the Temple of Groom.

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ABAM – Obstaclesaurus
A Lazarus Soul – The Lia EP
Angel Pier – Sacrifice
And So I Watch You From Afar – This Is Our Machine And Nothing Can Stop It
Artificial Flight – Modest War Factor
Autumn Owls – Insomnia Lodge
BATS – Cruel Sea Scientist *
Brian Cullen’s Love Bullets – Bring Out Your Dead
Cascade Sounds – Earthrise
Chaplin – Painting By Numbers
Drunken Boat – Cut The Engines, Raise The Sails
The Eclectic – Breathe
Femmepop - Kick
The Funeral Suits - Oh Dear
Grand Pocket Orchestra – Odd Socks/Make Happy War
Green Lights – Small Curious Things / Time To Tell The Parents
Halves – Haunt Me When I’m Drowsy
Heliopause (Belfast) – Dark Matter
Heliopause (Cork) – Heliopause
Hoovers & Sledgehammers – Visions From Eceloe Mountain
The Hot Sprockets – Country Dirt
The Kybosh – Until We Are Lost
LPX -Seventeen/Fashion, Not Fashion
Lines Drawing Circles – Lines Drawing Circles
The Mighty Stef – Death Threats
New Amusement – Any Port In A Storm
The Out Last Knights - Recession
Sickboy – Taken Away In A Car
Subplots – We Carved Our Names In Glass
Super Extra Bonus Party – Everything Flows
The Things – Wild Psychotic Sounds
Tidal District - Hold The Party Line
Ugly Megan – Three Whole Funs
Yeh Deadlies – The Ghost Chipper

* Why it’s not a good idea to release in the last fortnight of the year.

So I’ve probably missed a couple. Does that mean they’re forgettable? Maybe!

Big ups to Grand Pocket Orchestra, Green Lights and LPX who worked hard on not one but two EPs this year! I’d like to extend a warm welcome to Cascade Sounds, recommended by Cauls AC30 whose breathy, engrossing Earthrise popped in my letterbox a few weeks ago and hasn’t stopped. Also Drunken Boat‘s selection of tentative ambient folk that made a complementary addition to the harder drones of rock in my library. Unfortunately Lights didn’t manage to release, which is a shame as I’d really like to hear more.
For the year ahead, hopefully we’ll finally see the release of material from The Discarded Retarded and Deaf Animal Orchestra. Keep your eyes peeled in coming weeks for the abso-brill Estel record featuring five spectacular, spontaneous songs recorded with Steve Mackay and Mike Watt of The Stooges in about three hours. It just misses this year’s lists with a release date of 9 January at The Lower Deck. I’m wearing in my fan t-shirt already!
What did you think? Did you buy any? How do EPs measure up to albums? Should BATS count? Who weren’t worth the money? What about the lack of releases, who would you like to have heard more from? I open the floor to your comments and stand by, your faithful servant minus mop and bucket….

Large Mound are too deadly: they’ve posted the track Joan of Arse on their MySpace player for our ears’ delight. From le Mound blog:

Joan of Arse was one of the first songs written for ‘My Whole Life Is Have To’. In it, Anthony tells the story of the band Joan of Arse right up until we last heard from them. It was always a great song to play live, and before I headed off to Canada we recorded a pretty decent demo with Anthony Darby on drums.

Anyway, the version here is the version we recorded for MWLIHT. It didn’t make the final album, not because the song wasn’t good enough, but because we weren’t happy with the recording and playing on it. It was a last minute decision really. We even got Kris Poulin to mix it, but alas Poulins sterling work couldn’t rescue it.

To anyone who doesn’t know (and what self-respecting Irish rock fan doesn’t), Joan of Arse are a ‘criminally inactive’ band who set tongues and tails wagging a few years back with their very French-titled, very awesome EP Le Remusement Triste et Lent de la Queve d’un Vieux Chien and went on to record three albums. One is still due to be released, no doubt they’ll up sticks and don straps at some point and blow our cocky scenesters away…

www.myspace.com/largemound

The Guesslist lads have it….get Jape’s single Phil Lynnott to Christmas Number One!

This image is so cool I made a new desktop! Kudos due to the artist, just swiped it from Richie’s MySpace but does anyone know its story? Not sure if it’s a genuine drawing or rendered in Photoshop…

Gwan and text ‘music 2123‘ to 57501 to buy Phil Lynnott for 99 measly squiddlin’ cent from downloadmusic.ie. I bought all my family Irish records for Christmas and Jape goes to my Dublin 8, 70s-rock Mammy (she still fancies the hole off Philo)…mustn’t give away who else got what!

www.myspace.com/richiejape

You know what I’m talking about. Oh yes, the pure mental craic in Portrush at the start of the year that stained my vision Stella-yellow for daaaays after. What a brilliant night…this time there’s no need to feel left out – I’m putting you in the loop. What time you wanna get the bus up?

Read on for more about The Wiggers’ Brawl from Team Fresh‘s Slaine:

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What a year…the most fun ever, cross my heart. Off Her Rocker is 1 year old on 20 December!! Hot Press took a gamble approving my idea for an Irish music catablogue: just two years earlier I’d turned up on the doorstep a musical orphan, clinging to memories of my abandoned parents Papa Black Flag and Mother Love Bone. I thought cameras came from vending machines and gigs were a type of horse-drawn carriage.
“Are you familiar with the magazine?” I was asked at my interview.
“Sure, I’ve ate many a dinner off a Hot Press on my lap!”

Chancing it gets you everywhere: invigorated by the discovery of a thriving scene on my own doorstep, OHR opened the way towards some truly brilliant musical experiences in 2008. Though Berlin and Berkeley have their own vibe there are people who will never even see a guitar, or know what it’s like to call for an encore. They live in Beirut and Bangladesh but also in Ballymun and Ballsbridge. It’d be a waste to not love it all, my job, my life. From roars, chants and sighs, conducting rolling hillsides to a divine post-rock soundtrack on the train to the NSMA heats, shy helloes after gigs, grabs for set-lists, the infinitesimal number of drunken faux pas…it’s been a blast from start to finish, all so real and live.
With such a fresh soundtrack it feels I haven’t aged a day this year. I’m a grumpy mama as as well as a giddy PJ and in our house, music’s always on. We have SEBP raves and bake biscuits to Leanne Harte. Aged eight and seven, my kids are deadly brats who give me zits, hugs and a full schedule…Although it seems as though I’ve covered a lot of live gigs this year, some I simply couldn’t make. There have been so many kind messages and invitations to which I’ve not responded and I’d like to apologise for this negligence. Sure I’m always at 90mph and my memory’s woeful but sometimes it just feels crap to say no.

Over the last few weeks I’ve been publishing shots from the year that were waiting in the wings. I’m afraid I lost some brilliant pics of Halves, New Amusement, 202s and Realistic Train. Other bands’ lighting conspired to foil best efforts…I’m coming back for you!
Anyway I thought it would be nice to pop back to some of the high points of the year and so as a birthday present/indulgence for the occasion I delved into the Happy Moment files: 2008 news and photos from festivals. Look what lovely memories you’ve given us…

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VBP! VBP!

Damn, I was sick to miss this on Saturday but deadlines were smashed and the copy desk waited.

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Anseo on 13 December saw the launch gig of  Voided By Ponces, the first Guided By Voices tribute band in Ireland amalgamated by five brilliant musicians from Land Lovers, Large Mound, Night On Earth and Pantone247. Tributes ain’t sounded this good since 1997′s Depeche Mode nights in the Mean Fiddler….

Yo peoples, I’m fighting for my right to xmas party today…for blogging fun, hit Nialler’s link to Vinny‘s twisted Christmas cake mix hosted by the good elves at Richter Collective. Straight to the good stuff, I’m actually sparing you two dozen Pierce Brosnan eyeball action clips and now you’ve all got something to listen to when you’re getting ready tonight. No need to thank me, just get yer adoring hordes to Tripod tonight…this little mix is just a hint of a bleeping brilliant bleep ball ahead…

www.myspace.com/thevinnyclub

Grand Pocket Orchestra‘s six-and-a-half minute-long debut EP? Spitefully good.
So Cow‘s Exclamation Mark?  Guaranteed rosy mood.
DDD will in most likelihood play Happy Holidays, their antidote to sleighbell jingle which sounds like tinfoiled turkeys falling from the sky. Which totally happens.

www.myspace.com/grandpocketorchestra
www.myspace.com/iamsocow
www.myspace.com/dublindd

Best band of the year? If you’re not sure then you obviously need your head examined. Save on a lifetime Neuro Linguistic Programming and just come to this on Friday.

Imagine, your 8 squids give BATS wings to flit away to Kurt Ballou’s GodCity tower in Salem, Massachusetts early next year. There they will record sonar songs into an aurally tolerable range for humans. If you weren’t already sure, you will be then….

www.myspace.com/leatherbeatsfeather

www.richtercollective.com