2022
The Goon Sax broke up in 2022 only six years after forming in their teens in Brisbane, leaving us with three albums and this gorgeous radio performance.
Mark Stewart, who has died, was not past his prime. He was not in his 90s, or 80s, or even his 70s. He was only just into his 60s and he had much more to give.
Is there a Glam revival? If there is – and this would seem to suggest as much – then it’s crept up on me unawares. Rather like that cat Mud sang about. Apparently this video has gone viral, and I can see why: it’s like a pastiche of something from an early 70s Top of the Pops.
As a longtime fan of The Dears, I’ve always enjoyed the melancholy music and Bowiesque / Morriseyesque / Albarnesque croon of frontman Murray Lightburn. Even so, this is something I never expected from the creator of apocalyptic albums like Degeneration Street and No Cities Left.
Tom Verlaine of Television has died, aged 73.
Sometimes a song comes out of nowhere and grabs your ear. That happened to me when Guy Garvey played this on the radio just before Christmas.
If there’s a more powerful, pertinent and poignant protest song than Midlife In A Small Town by Dead Sheeran, I’d like to hear it.
Like most of us, I imagine, I spent a lot of time watching the telly over the course of this year. These were my favourites and I think they demonstrate pretty clearly why anyone who wants to “defund the BBC” is an idiot.