Another song title.
Just too good to miss out on as a lead in to talking about things I’ve liked this year.
The year was dominated by happier events than last – especially the trip to Australia and John and Gina’s wedding.  This is documented elsewhere on the blog.
My dad’s 80th was good too! Other highlights have been changing jobs, touring the north at Easter, seeing lots of live music and a few more films than usual. So this is the best of …

Live
Just seen Jackie Leven at the Luminaire in Kilburn with Drew and my sister.
Great venue – never been before.  Nice people on the door, behind the bar and polite notices to shut up during the music (at last someone’s saying it – it would be great if you didn’t ever again have to endure dickheads who talk all the way through a great set – in between the songs is just fine.  Even at the top of your voice with your boring story from last time you were there  – this would also be me incidentally in a glass house and stones kind of way).  Anyway, great live music all year and honestly in no particular order (After the first, best , top five) some favourites were:

The National at Shepherds Bush
(with The Broken Family Band in support)
Laura Veirs at the 100 Club
The Shins in-store with Jack
The Coral at the Roundhouse (all of us at that one)
Andrew Bird at the Scala

Jackie Leven at the Luminaire
Billy Bragg in conversation and playing on his 50th Birthday at the Queen Elizabeth Hall
(And staying in a spoken word stylee – Roger McGough and Brian Patten in the same venue)
Euros Childs at King’s College SU
Los Campesinos at ULU
Josh Ritter at the Water Rats
Kurt Wagner at the Union Chapel
Bright Eyes at Shepherds Bush
Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain at the Spitz (now closed, sadly)
Mekons at Dingwalls
Mark Kozelek at the Union Chapel
Iron and Wine at Shepherds Bush
The Shins at the Forum
James at Brixton Academy
Guillemots at Brixton

Albums
This has been a great year I think – listening to older stuff and still discovering new stuff.  Trying to confine myself to things that have come out this year and were good all the way through – no fillers:
My absolute favourite has been
The National: Boxer

but there were so many close contenders – so the next 15 out of many, many albums:

Andrew Bird: Armchair Apocrypha
Bill Callahan: Woke on a Whaleheart
Brian McBride: When the detail lost its freedom
Bright Eyes: Cassadaga
Broken Family Band: Hello Love
The Coral: Roots and Echoes
Epic45: May your heart be the map
Euros Childs: The Miracle Inn
Feist: The Reminder
King Creosote: Bombshell
Laura Veirs: Saltbreakers
LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver
Radiohead: In Rainbows (first time I’ve ever liked one of theirs nearly all the way through)
The Shins: Wincing the Night Away
Tunng: Good Arrows

Some great songs as distinct from whole albums
505 Arctic Monkeys
Sleep all summer Crooked Fingers (this was probably not 2007 in origin so shouldn’t be here)
Innocent Bones Iron and Wine
Another man’s rain JAckie :Leven (I think this was from 2006 too – damn!)

Films * actually in the cinema the rest on DVD
Atonement* (for the beach scene alone – just an amazing piece of flimmaking)
Babel
Control* (nearly great, but brilliantly acted anyway!)
Half Nelson (Ryan Gosling is amazing in this)
The Last King of Scotland
Once* (thought this would ladle on the sentimentality but it didn’t really – check out the ending!)
The Science of Sleep
Sunshine (nice big corny sci-fi epic like they used to make)

TV
Glued to the Sopranos as it gradually washed away (what now is as great?)
Flight of the Conchords
15 Storeys High (on DVD)

Theatre (Strangely)
The Tempest at West Yorkshire Playhouse
Love’s Labour’s Lost at the Globe (maybe because this was for my dad’s 80th)