Potentially one of the most useful round robin emails I’ve ever had included an Outlook *.hol file containing all the Soccer Football World Cup fixtures dates for this Summer. Wanting to share the wealth, I include it here. Simply download it and open it for the dates to be added to your calendar as if by magic. Thanks to whomeever created it in the first place.

A new year then and a wife to share it with.

A book and a being to bring into the sunshine.

New jokes to hear and old ones to remember.

New ideas to ponder and current ones to make something of.

Thoughtful wittering from Dr K, A and W to read and absorb.

Lives, code, music and films.

All to listen to. By me. By you.

Happy new year all.

I really tried to get a full ten top tunes for 2009 but stopped short at nine.
I had more disappointments than pleasant finds this year - that's what you get for trying to immerse yourself in a different genre without a guiding hand. So here we go by best order to listen to them, rather than rank

1. ? (Question) – Mark Pritchard
   A cold, hard, unfeeling opening, like waking up on a black marble floor and being approached by a silicon snake
   
2. Drumming Song – Florence and The Machine
   Lungs is the perfect name for the album from the bat-caped Florence Welch and while others prefer Dog Days, I'm swayed by her pins in the vid. It's soon to be cheesy chart pop - I only need shallow reasons to like it
   
3. Soap on a Rope – Chickenfoot
   Daftest band name ever. Best part-time supergroup. A great cut of summer time arena rock.
   
4. Alice! Live at the Natural History Museum – The Life Force Trio
   First track on the Echo Expansion compilation. A little harp from Alice Coltrane (yes, a relation) and a little dub underneath. Solid on its own and a good opener for an album worth picking up.
   
5. Sacrifice – Clint Mansell
   I love Clint's soundtracks and could have picked pretty much anything from his Moon soundtrack, but this 3:30 piece encapsulates most of the themes across the record. Loneliness, despair, tinges of desperation, determination. All in a simple piano lead with a punch from the orchestra here and there. Magical
   
6. Otacon – Reso
   Even though Reso's only putting this masterpiece of evil, grimey electronica out as part of an actual EP at the start of 2010, I heard Otacon first in February I think. It is by far and away my favourite single track this year. A vast slick of music that envelopes and then throws you about in its whirlpools and eddies until reaching the eye of its storm you're given respite before further infiltration of the senses leaves you awed and bewildered at the end of its six minutes.
   
7. Losing Streak – Jesu
   Opening track from this year's Opiate Sun EP. We stand, we fall, we contemplate inwardly, we realise that Losing Streak is the aural accompaniment to becoming lost our daydreams.
   
8. Axe To Fall – Converge
   Axe to Fall is pure insane, whiplash fury. A welcome return to form then for the Bostonians.
   
9. The Last Baron - Mastodon
   It has taken me ages to grok Mastodon. Metal press loved them when they released Leviathan a few years ago and Blood Mountain got similarly goo-stained reviews after that. But their crossover prog-metal never really rang true until they released Crack The Skye this year. It is, incidentally, my album of the year. Finally they don't sound like they're trying to force motifs into their music which impress on us the concept of the album: something that jarred a lot for me with Moby Dick-themed Leviathan. Instead, there's just them and bravo for it. The Last Baron is the final track on the album, a 13 minute tale winding its way through shifting sands of legend.

I wish I could articulate this better. Ghost in the Shell, my favourite film of all time, was finally released on a UK-playable blu-ray disc this week. However, the main feature is an upgraded version of the film, featuring 

• Some cell animation scenes with CGI or underlaid some scenes with new CGI backgrounds
• Completely re-recorded the soundtrack in 6.1
• Rewritten some of the English subtitles – for the better I might add.

Hi-Def Digest had this to say about the release. And while I think there are some definite improvements in the new version – subtitles and audio stand out for instance – I have one major gripe with this release. All I wanted from a GitS Blu-ray release was a transfer to 1080p with the some loving attention to detail that was clearly lavished upon the new version, rather than the careless, jaggy-prone ‘original as a bonus’ included on the disc.

That’s not to say that the upgrade presents a ‘Lucassed’ version – that would imply that the film itself has been ruined somehow in plot or action. It hasn’t, but it hasn’t been improved either. And I genuinely wish that I didn’t now have to resort to having the TV upscale my original DVD copy rather than watching it on the new bluray.

Sigh.

The ironic thing is that if you fully take the ‘you’ve Lucassed it’ view, you’ve actually rejected a core tenet of the film which is that entities should embrace their ability to adapt and change and recreate themselves in forms that derive from but are not the same as the original – exactly as GitS2.0 has done.

A couple of days late but there were a few CDs in Santa’s sack so here’s my track list of highlights from 2008. Not all from 2008 but I bought them then, so hey.

Guns and Roses - Chinese Democracy
It has to be said that if even one track from the unicorn that was the new GnR album was any good, then Axl Rose was going to exceed expectations. Then lo and behold, two tracks turned out to be OK. Don’t think I’ll be holding my breath for the next album though.

Gutter Twins - Bete Noire
The Gutter Twins’ Saturnalia is probably my album of 2008 - a gleaming, polished piece of melancholia from the lead men of the Afghan Whigs and the Screaming Trees. The arrangements are simple yet heartfelt and their voices aged old from years of abuse. Bete Noire in this case showcases Mark Lanegan’s almost sub bass vocals brilliantly. The link above is to a live performance in Helsinki, but you can find the album track here if you prefer.

Alps - Hallucinations
It would be easy to pull a tracklist just from the output of Type Records 2008 releases but for me, this is the highlight, a seven minute aural spliff. Dry and desert-like, the rolling bass figure is a calm anchor for the shimmering sounds the trio put over the top.

Portishead - Machine Gun
We didn’t wait quite as long for the new Portishead album as we did for “Chinese Democracy”, but the Bristolians delivered a much bigger punch than did those from Los Angeles. Ten years later, Third is a different, angrier beast from Dummy or the eponymous album but the quality control is just as high. The highly sample drum machine and pure John Carpenter breakdown towards the end (80s synth soundtracks ahoy) are a joy.

Ihsahn - Threnody
The second solo album, AngL, from Emperor’s front man was a revelation. While The Awakening was an obvious attempt to move himself away from the black metal sounds of his former band, AngL saw him not afraid to tread wheresoever he broke a path, albeit not mix-and-matching styles within individual tracks as Opeth would. Threnody comes late in the album; a calmer moment amidst a tightly focused storm.

Joe Satriani - Andalusia
I am an unashamed Joe Satriani fan and will probably remain so for a good while to come. Unlike the previous album however, the “Professor Satchafunkilus” album that appeared last year hadn’t the immediate appeal and bright songs of Super Colossal in 2006. This one required more listening to get past the standard issue with his songs that intro, verse and solo often jarred rather than flowing into each other. The final track however doesn’t have that problem. A homage to Spain in his own inimitable style, it begins with flighty flamenco guitars laying down theme and variations until his electric enters with a longform solo and more variations on a par with classics such as ‘Echo’ and ‘Slow Down Blues’.

Vangelis \ Scott Bolton - Launch Approval
Besides Ridley Scott’s Final Cut of the film and various HD box sets to accompany it, the 25th anniversary also saw the release of a 3-disc issue of the Blade Runner soundtrack comprising the original 1994 release, a second disc of more inserts from the film and a final disc comprising original music composed by Vangelis and collaborators taking inspiration from the sounds in recognition of the anniversary. For me, Launch Approval recaptures the spirit of the film the best. You can hear the police cars flying through neon-drenched snow between pillars of flame.

Slipknot - Danger Keep Away
A revelation for me this one. While they had their moments, the first two Slipknot albums were in general a bit Meh! for me and so I ignored them for a few years. Then All Hope Is Gone came out last year and by chance I saw the previous album, ‘The Subliminal Verses’ in a bargain bin and bought it for a laugh. And then got blown away by it. In a reversal of happenstance, there was but one bad track here and 13 solid tunes with the nonet confident enough not to rage through every track. Danger Keep Away closes the album, a brooding warning to be heeded.

Kingdom of Sorrow - Hear This Prayer For Her
Side projects have a tendency to imitate marmite - you either love ’em or you hate ’em. The Kingdom of Sorrow album has been a long time in gestation and while Kirk Windstein (Crowbar, Down) and Jamey Jasta (Hatebreed) have obviously been busy, this debut album is a bit of a one track pony. Listen to it from track 1, Hear This Prayer For Her, and you’re drawn into a rhythm and groove for the rest of the album but join at any other point in time and the hook is lost. Hear The Prayer then - either five or fifty minutes long. Linked is the (better) five.

Joseph Arthur - Morning Cup
By far the best find on the KEXP Song of the Day podcast, Morning Cup is a gentle greeting for a fine, warm spring day. From Arthur’s Could We Survive EP, one of four he released in 2008, for this we can forgive the facial hair borrowed from Liam Gallagher.

Fatboy Slim - Wonderful Night
The man Norm doesn’t often put a foot wrong in the Big Beat department and this three minute wonder from his Greatest Hits album is just one of many I could have chosen. Right Here Right Now is probably the best single dance track in history, but Wonderful Night is pure joy.

Mark Ronson - God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
I’m a bit late to the Mark Ronson party - the smarmy grin on Buzzcocks spoiled him for me and Lily Allen collaborations didn’t help, but I’m happy to admit that cockney girl and one other track aside (Yes, please do “Stop”) it is genuinely good. And this big band cover of Coldplay’s only upbeat tune in three albums is a great way to start the morning.

Meshuggah - Combustion 
Meshuggah have been due a good album for a couple of years and ObZen delivered in spades for the Swedish math-metallers. Harsh angular riffs, uncomfortable time signatures and drill sharp vocals characterize the sound they have delivered over several albums - like Tool but with extra hatred.

Clint Mansell - Together We Will Live Forever
Whether you know it or not, soundtracks are a true treasure trove for great music and Clint Mansell has composed several blinders since Pop Will Eat Itself broke up. This is from The Fountain.

Happy new year everyone!!