My Top Choices Of The Year

Every year Team Jim Bob (Jim Bob, Mr Spoons and I) post our 'cultural review' on http://www.jim-bob.co.uk/. It's a list that I enjoy making every year. To see the choices of all three of us go to the aforementioned link. But for those of you who are my fans alone (and who don't care about Jim Bob or Mr Spoons) here is what I posted (with some revisions actually).

Before you read on it's worth noting how far down my list 'Strictly Come Dancing ' has moved. The BBC powers that be have seriously damaged this show for me. It's obvious that John Sargeant was made to leave. The BBC didn't want to risk a 'Pop Idol' where everyone voted for that fat woman for a laugh (and then never bought any of her records once the show was finished).

Regardless of whether you watch for the dancing, or whether you watch for the whole spectacle this annoyed me. It's easy to manipulate a viewer (all reality shows do this to some extent) but the minute you become that obvious doing it then you are in trouble. It's subsequent ratings dive is no surprise. I didn't want Sargeant to win - but I wanted him to go out fairly. And last weeks daft decision to put all three semi-finalists through (meaning we have the same show two weeks on a trot) is just silly. I worked out weeks ago that a tie could create that scenario. How the 'boffins' at the Beeb failed to see this coming is beyond me.

In future I shall stick to Doctor Who, as I really shouldn't get that wound up about a show about dancing. I only really watch for Brucie (who I love), Dave Arch and his Orchestra and to see what the ladies are going to be wearing.

Anyway I digress. Here is what I enjoyed this year.

Albums Of The Year (This was the best year for albums in the past 20 years)
1. Indelicates - American Demo
2. Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst
3. Neil Diamond - Home Before Dark
4. Scarlett Johansson - Anywhere I Lay My Head
5. Keane - Perfect Symmetry
6. British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
7. TV On The Radio - Dear Science
8. The Killers - Day & Age
9. Flight Of The Conchords - Flight Of The Conchords
10. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
11. MGMT - MGMT
12. Chris T-T - Capital
13. The Sparks - Exotic Creatures Of The Deep
14. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
15. Glen Campbell – Meet Glen Campbell
16. Nick Cave - Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
17. The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age Of understatement
18. The Ting Tings - We Started Nothing
19. Laura Marling - Alas I Can Not Swim
20. Girls Aloud - Out Of Control

Song Of The Year
The Killers - Human (The best pop song written in the last 10 years)

Man Of The Year
Russell Brand (for the picture of Stalin placed cheekily behind him when announcing his resignation)

Radio Shows Of The Year
1. Jonathon Ross - Radio 2
2. Russell Brand - Radio 2
3. The News Quiz - Radio 4
4. The Now Show - Radio 4
5. Steve Lamacq - 6 Music

Gigs Of The Year
1. Carter USM - Birmingham Academy
2. Keane @ LA Roxy
3. Nick Cave @ Hollywood Bowl
4. Conor Oberst @ Henry Fonda Theatre
5. Russell Brand @ LA Roxy
6. British Sea Power @ Shepherds Bush Empire
7. Carter USM - Brixton Academy
8. Indelicates/SMASH/Abdou - Cambridge Portland Arms
9. Sultans Of Ping - Mean Fiddler
10. Jim Bob - Portsmouth The Cellars

Podcasts Of The Year (can't be a cut down radio show)
1. Collins and Herrin
2. The Online Gooner
3. Doctor Who Podshock
4. Stephen Fry Podgrams
5. Adam and Joe

TV Shows Of The Year (The best year for TV ever I reckon)
1. Doctor Who/Sarah Jane/Torchwood
2. Gavin and Stacey
3. Lost
4. Peep Show
5. The Apprentice
6. Harry Hill's TV Burp
7. Dragon's Den
8. Ramsey's US Kitchen Nightmares
9. Curb Your Enthusiasm
10. The Office (American Version)
11. Would I Lie To You
12. Survivors
13. The Wire
14. Without A Trace
15. 8 Out Of 10 Cats
16. Tonight With Jonathan Ross
17. Solitary 2.0
18. Strictly Come Dancing
19. The IT Crowd
20. The X-Factor

Films Of The Year
1. Juno
2. Tropic Thunder
3. Iron Man
4. Son Of Rambow
5. Superbad
6. Zac and Miri Make A Porno
7. The Visitor
8. No Country For Old Men
9. The Other Boleyn Girl
10. The Dark Knight (Heath Ledger wasn't that great though!)
11. Atonement
12. Indiania Jones and The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
13. Stepbrothers
14. Hancock
15. Definitely, Maybe
16. The Incredible Hulk
17. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
18. Cloverfield
19. Sommers Town
20. Ghost Town

Books Of The Year (What I read, not when it came out)
1. A Writers Tale - Russell T. Davies
2. Motel Life - Willy Vaughan
3. Submarine - Joe Dunthorne
4. Making History - Stephen Fry
5. Meetings With Morrissey - Len Brown
6. Bowie In Berlin - Thomas Jerome Seabrook
7. Gotcha! The Story Of The Sun - Chris Horrie
8. Microserfs - Douglas Coupland
9. Timoleon Vieta Come Home - Dan Rhodes
10. Bright Lights, Big City - Jay McInnery

Hero Of The Year
Fox Soccer Channel (for giving me Prem action while in the US)

Event Of The Year
1. Carter at Birmingham Academy
2. Barrack Obama winning that election thingy

Most Missed
1. David Bowie - again. Please come out of retirement.
2. I missed Sarah Palin in December for comedy value.
3. London (until I actually went back there and faced delayed trains and rain, then couldn't wait to leave again).