My 5 best posts of 2011

(Other than this one, which is pure concentrated awesome).

Straight from the blogger's mouth.

There’s no metric or rationale behind this list, but these were generally among my most popular posts and/or held special significance. Interestingly, they cluster closely around the first 5 months of the year; it’s the time when I was digesting lots of really new and interesting ideas on the Masters course, had a decent amount of time to devote to writing, and also was up for a Bloggie so I was trying extra hard!

• Super Cool Stuff: Explosion Edition: This one’s on the list because it was, by far, the most fun to put together. Not only did I get to go out in the sun, I got to play with my camera and water balloons.
• When I Become You, We Can’t Be: My first work of fiction for a very long time. The concept is still bouncing around in my mind – there’s a lot of potential, I think…
• Kill the communication status quo. With guns: I wanted to be a bit provocative with this post, hence the title. I was pissed off when I wrote it, and I’m still pissed off. However, I am a little chuffed. I said in that post we needed a dodgy climate rap, and 3 weeks later, voila:

• The Scientist’s Dilemma: Probably one of the more serious pieces I did of the year, and it was picked up by WordPress, so a decent amount of people saw it (hooray!). It highlights the problem that faces anyone trying to tell a new story or explain a new idea.
• It’s Science: “My Farts Smell Better Than Yours!”: Hands down my most popular post of the year. I did do a genuine amount of research for it, too! It was written somewhat reluctantly upon request, but usually tops my daily hit count with a wide, and sometimes disturbing, array of search engine queries.

So there you have it… my 5 favourites. If you haven’t seen them before, go check ‘em out! Unfortunately I’ve been too busy in the past few months to really invest time and creative energy into writing quality posts, but in 2011, I plan to scale back my posting and focus on better posts, rather than lots of posts.

Speaking of which, I posted 337 times in 2011 (… really? Whoa) and according to WordPress, had about 63 000 page views, which doubled my 2010 tally. Will I be able to resist the pull of the publish button and the stat counter in 2012? We’ll have to wait and see…

My top 5 songs of 2011

Yes, it’s that time of the year again. I start writing lists.

This one’s always fun, looking back at the songs I’ve most enjoyed that were released in the past year. In no particular order, here’s my favourite five.

Little Hell by City and Colour

This song has the honour of being the only 2011 release to have cracked the Top 25 Played in my iTunes list, with 55 plays in just 6 months (not counting when it’s come up on my iPod). It’s bittersweet, Dallas Green in full flight, and I can listen to it in any mood.

Glory Hallelujah by Frank Turner

Atheists finally have an anthem, and it sounds great. The video above is a double play, where he dovetails into an upbeat version of one of the most moving songs in recent music, ‘Long Live The Queen’. Bravo, Frank!

Eyes Wide Open by Gotye

It’s tough not to give this to the brilliant Somebody I Used To Know, which also has a phenomenal video clip. This song, though, drives along with good percussion and full use of Wally’s brilliant voice, and drew me into his great second album, Making Mirrors.

Bad As Me by Tom Waits

If you’re not familiar with Tom Waits, you’re probably a bit confused by the first 20 seconds of this. Listen to the lyrics, get seduced by the dirty brass, and hear my caveat: this is a nomination for the album Bad As Me as a whole. The three tracks comprising the outro, Last Leaf, Hell Broke Luce and New Year’s Eve, form one of the best endings to an album I’ve heard in a long time. Do yourself a favour and give it a listen: it’s not the most accessible music, but the second half of New Year’s Eve is a bit of musical genius and is the payoff for an album that rewards attention, not just easy listening.

Someone Like You by Adele

This song edged Gotye’s Somebody I Used To Know to make it to the list, with a similar sentiment and pace but an even more heart-wrenching story. I don’t normally go for ballads quite as slow as this, but I played this song live with a bunch of my course mates and it’s hard to go past for raw impact.

Musically, it was a strange year for me. There were a bunch of releases by bands I really like; City and Colour, Flogging Molly, Incubus, Rise Against, Thrice, Gotye and Frank Turner to name but a few. It was the solo artists that rose to the fore, with Incubus, Flogging Molly and Rise Against releasing stuff I’d call mediocre at best.

The success of Adele in the mainstream is a sign of hope for pop music, and I hope that in 2012 more real musicians, who write songs with meaning and perform them with talent, will see mainstream success. Of course, it doesn’t have to happen: there is so much music out there that it’s easy to find good new stuff all the time! What were your favourite songs of the year?

This time last year, I was playing with snow for the first time. It's been cold for the past fortnight, but unfortunately London's not been a winter wonderland.