Let's just run through some of the best things of 2007, lest this potentially oppressive and wrongheaded time of year get us down. I've done singles and albums, but these are a few of the cultural and social equivalents of the life-affirming pied wagtail:

Books
Rumsfeld: An American Disaster by Andrew Cockburn
The Road by Cormac McCarthy - quite the most depressing novel I think I've ever read in my life, but compelling like no other
Fiasco by Thomas E Ricks
Al Qaeda by Jason Burke (came out in 2006 in hardback, but let's not quibble) - I had this in my bag when I was stopped and searched last week under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. The police officer didn't see it.
Bit Of A Blur by Alex James
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan - short but sweet
The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein - actually I'm still in the process of reading this (it's my bedside read, which is often the slowest of my on-the-go books, as I tend to go to bed to go to sleep), but it's proving a powerful join-the-dots exercise
Shepperton Babylon by Matthew Sweet
The Damned Utd by David Peace - another oldie, but I'm catching up with this exciting British-born, Tokyo-based writer, and enjoying GB84 at the moment
Imperial Life In The Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaran - also halfway through, but considering how much other reading I've done on the Iraq war this year, it adds a refreshing perspective by focusing on one aspect of the fiasco
Believe In The Sign by Mark Hodkinson - he sent me a copy of it, as he's a self-publisher, which is in itself admirable, and I get sent a lot of books on a nostalgia/memoir theme which aren't always worth reading, but this one, about supporting Rochdale in the 70s, is
Tescopoly by Andrew Simms
The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright
Jamie At Home by Jamie Oliver - a cook book I've actually used

Films (because they come out on DVD so quickly now, some of these are already available on DVD, but if I start including DVDs we'll end up with last year's list of best films, and there will be no demarcation between one year and the next - and then where will we be?!)
The Lives Of Others - a tie for Film Of 2007 with ...
Control
Tell No One
Hot Fuzz
The Bourne Ultimatum
Letters From Iwo Jima
Zodiac
Sicko
Michael Clayton
3:10 To Yuma
Knocked Up
This Is England
Half Nelson

TV programmes
Cranford, BBC1 - thought I'd throw something homegrown in at the top, before we turn into the 51st State of Televisual America
The Mighty Boosh, BBC3 - haven't had time to write about the third series yet, but I think it may be their best; certainly their most cohesive and together, and the episode about Howard's birthday was almost Seinfeldian in the way the plot strands met up at the end
Ghosts Of Abu Ghraib, C4
Comics Britannia, BBC4
Heroes, Sci-Fi, then BBC2
The Sopranos, E4, C4 - the final Season was elegiac, slow, confident and magnificent; also, not in any way predictable
The Wire, FX - in my opinion, Season Four was as good as any that have gone before, right up there with Season Two
Californication, Five - I note that this is not everybody's cup of tea and I don't watch it for the scenes of a sexual nature, it's Duchovny who carries it
Entourage, ITV2 - can't believe I'm so late with this: loving Season Three, and now into Season One on DVD
Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip
The Riches, Virgin 1 - truly, an acquired taste, but one I've been more than prepared to acquire - unlike Dexter and 30 Rock and Ugly Betty, which failed to ring the appropriate bells and made Sky+ life a little easier to manage
Britz, C4 - not perfect, but as good as way as any to prove that C4's still got it, drama-wise, in its 25th birthday year
Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares, C4 - can't watch The F Word, but this is Gordon doing something useful
Monarchy, BBC1 - documentary series of the year
Malcolm & Barbara, ITV1 - one-off documentary of the year; its images may never leave me (what a shame it was entangled in the "fakery" rows - a piece of publicity-chasing that should have been beneath everyone involved)
Strictly Come Dancing, BBC1 - the crown prince of talent shows, it shouldn't have worked, but it does, chiefly because it's about ability and learning and self-improvement, and these are not bad things to find in a BBC programme at this difficult time. Unlike Big Brother, which I watched all the way through this year, witnessing some people ballroom dancing for coins and compliments does not make me feel dirty afterwards
Saxondale, BBC2 - sitcom improves in second series: not an easy trick to pull off
Jamie At Home, C4
[I'm bound to have forgotten a few TV shows, so chuck a few more into the pot]

Live events
Carter USM reunion, Brixton Academy - specifically, singing along at the tops of our lungs to The Impossible Dream
Marcus Brigstocke & Friends, Canizaro Park, Wimbledon - part of a local festival it brought together an amazing lineup of Brigstocke, Jeff Green, Rich Hall, Adam Hills and compere Shappi Khorsandi: weird layout, constant drizzle, it being the summer, but a fine crowd and a good time had by all
Aracde Fire, Brixton Academy - do I only go to gigs at Brixton Academy? It seems so; a quasi-religious occasion
Swan Lake, English National Ballet, Royal Albert Hall - My First Ballet, and a minor revelation, not least the fantastic percussion of toes on wood, which I wasn't expecting
Porgy & Bess, Savoy Theatre - made doubly thrilling for the unexpected chance to see Clarke Peters (he plays Lester Freamon on The Wire) live
Guys & Dolls, Piccadilly Theatre
Live Earth, BBC - only joking, it was shit beyond belief; I actually preferred Concert For Diana

Highs
Winning the RTS Breakthrough award and the Rose D'Or for the unfashionable sitcom Not Going Out (plus two untelevised British Comedy Awards)
Appearing on Richard & Judy for the first - and, it seems, last - time
Becoming Mark Kermode's regular understudy on News 24 (next slot: January 4)
Attracting goldfinches, blue tits, great tits, coal tits, robins, greenfinches, starlings and the occasional woodpecker to my bird feeders (with the odd wren pecking around on the ground)
The lost child benefit CDs and the fact that this howling error may have torpedoed Labour's hopes of bringing in ID cards
All those pheromones I released at the gym
The Day The Music Died
Cancelling MySpace
Ignoring Facebook


Alright, just for balance:

Lows
Constant headaches from orchestrated lobbying and cowardly abuse on this blog
BT meltdown
Losing my old laptop in flooding (although I like my new one better)
The BBC phone-in "scandals" and the glee with which certain quarters of the media met the news of resultant job losses (including that of my friend Leona)
Driving through the West End of London after 1am, following stints on 6 Music, and realising just how many businesses leave their lights on all night - it really is business as usual isn't it?
Deciding to stop taking the Guardian on grounds of its conservative views on medicine, then having to go back as the Independent was just boring - ah well! So much for the principled stand!
Having the blog described by someone called Stella on the 6 Music message boards as "lots of poorly-written TV reviews" - actually, this made me smile!
Anticlimactic publication of That's Me In The Corner, accompanied by almost no reviews and through-the-floor sales (but thanks to those who sought it out in darkened corners of bookshops and actually enjoyed it)

High/Lows
Leaving 6 Music in March after five years. I was sad to go, but at the same time it was liberating, not having to project unbiassed BBC views any more, and as for getting my weekends back - sweet!

Happy Christmas and may your God go with you!

Labels: books, films, gigs, music, tv

My Favourite Songs Of 2007
Not controversial. I don't think it's been a vintage year for albums, but there have been some truly great tracks that give me hope that, for all the stodgy, stompalong indie in the Top 30 and bands like the Corteeners being feted as the next big thing, we're not going through a fallow period like we did in 2001-02. I'll go for a Top 35 and see what happens. Bear in mind I have yet to hear the new Wu Tang Clan album, which may alter everything*. I'll put them in order but frankly, after the Top 10, I like them all very much, and being 21 or 22 is pretty much random. I look forward to your own suggestions, and apologise, once again, for Comments Moderation, especially over the weekend when I'm away from my desk. All will come through on Monday morning, if not before.

1 Foundations Kate Nash (Made Of Bricks)
2 Golden Skans Klaxons (Myths Of The Near Future)
3 Archangel Burial (Untrue)
4 All I Need Radiohead (In Rainbows)
5 History Song The Good, The Bad & The Queen (The Good, The Bad & The Queen)
6 Liquid Lives Hadouken! (single)
7 No Cars Go Arcade Fire (Neon Bible)
8 The Creeps Camille Jones vs Fedde LeGrand (single)
9 Grand Canyon Tracey Thorn (Out Of The Woods)
10 Babylon's Burning The Ghetto Lethal Bizzle (Back To Bizznizz)
11 Go Tell The Women Grinderman (Grinderman)
12 Keys Open Doors Clipse (Hell Hath No Fury)
13 Men's Needs The Cribs (Men's Needs, Women's Needs)
14 My Moon My Man Feist (The Reminder)
15 Here Comes That Day Siouxsie (Mantaray)
16 Cartoon Dad Jim Bob (A Humpty Dumpty Thing)
17 Ocean Of Noise Arcade Fire (Neon Bible)
18 On Call Kings Of Leon (Because Of The Times)
19 Illegal Attacks Ian Brown(The World Is Yours)
20 Old Yellow Bricks Arctic Monkeys (Favourite Worst Nightmare)
21 Ice Cream New Young Pony Club (single)
22 Police On My Back Lethal Bizzle (Back To Bizznizz)
23 Behave Charlotte Hatherley (The Deep Blue)
24 The Next Untouchable Cajun Dance Party (single)
25 Lights Go Out Client (Heartland)
26 Is There A Ghost Band Of Horses (Cease To Begin)
27 Boxing Champ Kaiser Chiefs (Yours Truly, Angry Mob)
28 Dream Of Infinity Shitdisco (Kingdom Of Fear)
29 Morden Good Shoes (Think Before Your Speak)
30 We Danced Together The Rakes (Ten New Messages)
31 Not Over Yet Klaxons (Myths Of The Near Future)
32 Hummer Foals (single)
33 Fluorescent Adolescent Arctic Monkeys (Favourite Worst Nightmare)
34 Leap Of Faith Hadouken! (single)
35 Wide Awake The Twang (Love It When I Feel Like This)


If pushed (and as I say, I've heard a lot of albums this year that really didn't fulfill the brief of a great album, not Jamie T, not The Rakes, not even Band Of Horses or Ian Brown - lots of promise, and lots of fine moments, but not the full album's worth of magic):

My Favourite Albums Of 2007

1 Made Of Bricks Kate Nash
2 Untrue Burial
3 Myths Of The Near Future Klaxons
4 Neon Bible Arcade Fire
5 Favourite Worst Nightmare Arctic Monkeys
6 In Rainbows Radiohead
7 The Good, The Bad & The Queen The Good, The Bad & The Queen
8 Hell Hath No Fury Clipse
9 Runout Groove Stephen Duffy & The Lilac Tiime
10 Reformation Post TLC The Fall

*I went into HMV to buy this on Monday, the day it came out, and they had sold out. I asked an assistant, who admitted that somebody had ordered 12 copies instead of 112. I've since ordered it from Amazon and it hasn't come yet. It seems to be a bit of a curate's egg, so we'll keep an open mind.

Labels: music

So, it's ten years since my biography of Billy Bragg was publlished. I know this because the reason Billy agreed to help me write and research it, thus making Still Suitable For Miners official and authorised, was because, in 1997, he was fast approaching his 40th birthday. This seemed, to him, like a good time to take stock and put his life in order (he was also selling the flat where he kept his archive and putting it all in storage). I'd just left my day job, and was finally in a position, after ten years in offices, to knuckle down and write a book. It all fell into place (and I remain grateful that Billy responded to my well-timed overtures and decided that I was the man for the job, having interviewed him a number of times for the NME and Q). Billy and I spent six months in 1997 travelling around his past and present, from Barking to Oundle to Dublin, and meticulously going through his effects and diaries. He gave generously of his time, as did his partner Juliet, and we came up with what we felt was a definitive book, one that he'd be happy to give to his son Jack when he ready to read it, five years old at the time of publication. Although Billy had no stake in its royalties, he helped promote it, and sold copies of it through his merchandising stall on tour. In all, Still Suitable For Miners was a happy and prosperous experience, and author and subject became friends. Since then, the book's been republished with a new chapter twice, and thanks to ongoing interest in Billy, it could be the gift that goes on giving. Ten years on, and Billy is about to turn 50. On December 20th.

On Sunday, Juliet had persuaded him to mark this milestone by appearing "in conversation" at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the South Bank. It was a terrific occasion, with Billy actually playing some of the key vinyl records of his early life on an actual record player (Dylan, Clash, Linda Ronstadt, the Watersons, Thin Lizzy), interspersed with warm chat and a few songs on either acoustic or electric guitar, including a couple of new ones, a few very familiar (Levi Stubbs' Tears, New England, There Is Power In A Union) and a real rarity, Riff Raff's Here Comes The Now, which I've certainly never heard him play live before. The hall was full of fans who'd probaby heard most of Billy's stories before, but it didn't stop the evening being personal and amusing and profound in its own way, as this man we'd been listening to for 25 years sat in an armchair, grey of hair and reminisced about half a century. What stopped it being mawkish was Billy himself. After the final song, he thanked everybody who continued to support him, and claimed, with lump in throat, that he only keeps going because of the inspiration he gets from his fans.

In order to force Billy to celebrate his own birthday, the inner circle of associates and family were armed with a laminate (see: above) that got us into the party afterwards. This was, in itself, a rare occasion, in a bar buried underneath the Royal Festival Hall. A chance to see old friends, many of them from the 80s. There were two NME editors in the room: Neil Spencer, now a registered astrologer of course, and Conor McNicholas, who was unsurprisingly tired of talking about Morrissey, but in good spirits otherwise. It was great to see Karen Walter, too, who has been the NME's "editor's secretary" (ie. she runs the office) since Danny Baker still worked there and never ages. She remembered Neil Spencer personally sending her home with a copy of Life's A Riot With Spy Vs. Spy by some bloke called Billy Bragg, telling her it was a life-changing record. It was, and for so many people in that bar on Sunday. Peter Jenner, Tiny Fennimore, Dylan Walsh (Billy's plugger for years, and like so many of those Billy has worked with, a friend of the family now), photographer Steve Double (with whom I did Billy in Amsterdam for the NME in 1992), Jerry Dammers (who told me a tale of bad behaviour by Morrissey at an Artists Against Apartheid gig the Smith played in the mid-80s), Carl Smyth, Ken Livingstone (gig but not party), Riff Raff alumni Wiggy and Ricey, my old colleague Phill Jupitus, who DJed alongside a man I assumed to be a bloke who looked like Paul Weller but who turned out to be ... Paul Weller. What a treat. There was even a cake in the shape of Billy's old Orange amp. It was lovely to see Billy's mum, Marie, too. I'm not sure she remembered me coming round her house in Barking ten years ago to go through a box of Billy's childhood memorabilia in her front room, but I remembered her. She's the only person on earth who still calls him Stephen.

Happy birthday for the 20th, Stephen William Bragg of Barking, Essex.

Labels: arts, Billy Bragg, Morrissey, music, NME

Having debuted last December as Totalshambles, the Official 6 Music Band re-formed this year for our difficult second gig. This time, we were called VCS Soundsystem, which is a 6 Music in-joke that's too dull to explain. From last year's lineup, we retained Jim Simmons on keyboards and vocals, Mike Hanson on guitar, Jude Adam and Nemone on vocals, and myself on drums. Our new bassist was Ian Painter, who's also in Candidate, and we were proud to induct Shaun Keaveney on vocals and guitar, and Zoe Fletcher on vocals. Mr Gideon Coe guested on Garageland, and Tom Robinson guested on his own War Baby, Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick and Gimme Some Loving, along with Tim Sanders, saxophonist extraordinaire (he's in the Kick Horns - blessed, we were!). We started with Addicted To Love and moved through a variety of covers old and new, cool and uncool: I Predict A Riot, Golden Skans, Kids In America, Video Killed The Radio Star, Lassoo, Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Keaveny's finest hour, with false moustache), My Sharona, Honky Tonk Women, Golden Skans and Waterloo to finish. When I say "difficult second gig", it wasn't really. It was the 6 Music Christmas party at the Loom basement club in Central London. Considering we'd had three rehearsals this year, only one of which had all band members at it, I think we coped admirably. Mike threw Keith Richards shapes, Jim set his keyboard to 80s on more than one occasion, Tom was so good it's almost as if he's a professional singer and has been doing this for 30 years, and "the girls" were on fine form throughout. I made a few basic errors, including ending War Baby a bar too early, and losing a stick, but nobody noticed. You don't play the drums to get noticed. Or captured in many photographs - which is actually a blessing, as I don't look too good when I'm behind a kit. If I can post a bootleg up here, I will. You can see the whole set of photos - if you're a member - on Flickr. (Don't worry if you're not - the best ones are reproduced here.)









And a big hand for Jim, without whose enthusiasm, organisational skills and keyboard wizardry, neither Totalshambles nor VCS Soundsystem would ever have got off the drawing board. Next year, we really must play Jump by Van Halen, rather than just threaten to. (Hey, I'm not really qualified to be in the 6 Music Band this year - who knows whether they'll let me back next year!)



I actually had the time of my life.

Labels: 6 Music, drums, music

This is a picture of Prince. Apparently, I am breaking the law by putting it on my website. Now, I don't even like Prince. Outside of perhaps Sign O'The Times and 1999 I think he's shit. Creepy and deluded and self-important and totally lacking in a quality filter. This is not a Prince fansite. I'm just printing his picture to draw attention to his lastest act of idiocy, which is to have his lawyers send cease and desist orders to three of his most loyal fansites, telling them they risk being taken to court if the don't take down all images of Prince, including his album sleeves and lyrics and anything linked to his freakish face, from their sites. The legal letter asked the fansites to provide "substantive details of the means by which you propose to compensate our clients [Paisley Park Entertainment Group, NPG Records and AEG] for damages." That's damages. We are talking about precisely the sort of website that helps perpetuate Prince's stock, encouraging interest in him and his records. We are also talking about an artist whose latest album was given away for free with the Mail On Sunday. If I was a fan of Prince, I'd be tearing up my membership card, wouldn't you?

A coalition of fans, Prince Fans United, representing housequake.com, princefans.com and prince.org, has been formed by the website organisers to fight back. (Apparenlty the legal ruling went as far as calling for the removal of pictures taken by fans of their Prince tattoos. We must assume he'll be going after these people personally next, and asking them to remove their skin, or propose to compensate Paisley Park Entertainment Group.)

Of course, it's possible that Prince has nothing to do with all this, but he must have the power to stop it. It's also possible that he's gone a bit mental in the nut, in which case we should be sympathetic. I stole the above picture from his official website, which, unless I'm very much mistaken, has been rebranded to help sell Prince perfume, called 3121. It smells of money, with a hint of self-delusion and moustache.

Come on then, Prince's lawyers. I'm ready for you.*


*In that, if they tell me to, I'll take down the whole blog entry, including the link to his stinking perfume advert.

Labels: internet, music, Prince