If like me you suspect you're on all sorts of spectrums (and unlike Don Burke have not used this as an excuse for rogue touching), you'll appreciate the joy of making lists. Give me the topic, let's rank shit.
From 2005 to 2014 I enjoyed a decade long interest in discovering new music, before realising that there's so much quality old stuff I've never heard that it makes no sense to wade through the slop to try and find the gold. This has no doubt caused me to miss hundreds of solid gold classics, but stiff shit me.
Anyway, at this time of the year when the DLR Medal was traditionally handed out I thought it worthy to review each countdown and see where we went wrong, and where god help us all I got it right.
2005 (top 30)
1. Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict A Riot
2. Maximo Park - Apply Some Pressure
3. Goldfrapp - Ooh La La
4. The Killers - Somebody Told Me
5. Bloc Party - Helicopter
What the top five looks like now: Solid - and heavily influenced by a trip to England that year. Goldfrapp's gone far too high here, and while there was early support for The Killers it was hardly the start of a beautiful friendship because I quite seriously never heard anyone sing Mr. Brightside except in a pub until Grand Final Day. The rest of the countdown falls off a cliff not long after though...
Top five today (selected only from the songs in the countdown, bad luck if I discovered a belter later):
1. The Killers - Somebody Told Me (originally #4)
2. Maximo Park - Apply Some Pressure (#2)
3. Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict A Riot (#1)
4. Gwen Stefani - What You Waiting For (#17)
5. Bloc Party - Two More Years (#10)
2006 (top 30)
1. The Young Knives - Here Comes The Rumor Mill
2. Giant Drag - This Isn’t It
3. Silvia Night - Congratulations
4. Lily Allen - LDN
5. Joey Negro - Make A Move On Me
What the top five looks like now: All winners. The #1 stands up as a solid track even if the band went south immediately after. Silvia Night still the unluckiest artist ever in Eurovision history, and added the phrase "congratulations, I have arrived", and while the shine rapidly went off Lily Allen her first album had all the good songs.
Top five today:
1. The Young Knives - Here Comes The Rumor Mill (#1)
2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Gold Lion (#11)
3. Silvia Night - Congratulations (#3)
4. Joey Negro - Make A Move On Me (#5)
5. Giant Drag - This Isn't It (#2)
2007 (top 100)
1. The Hold Steady - Chips Ahoy!
2. New Young Pony Club - Ice Cream
3. The Teenagers - Homecoming
4. Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent
5. Jack Penate - Spit At Stars
What the top five looks like now: Up and down - a year when I went absolutely boffo and forced a top 100 and now don't remember about 60 tracks. 10 years later that Teenagers song isn't nearly as funny, the Arctic Monkeys track would have been forgotten by January 1 and what's a Jack Penate? (though that is still a decent song). There's some really good stuff from 30 down though. And a lot of shite.
P.S - The artist called Santogold in the top 100 is sadly not this guy. I've got no idea who they are in retrospect.
Top five today:
1. New Young Pony Club - Ice Cream (#2)
2. The Hold Steady - Chips Ahoy! (#1)
3. Smashing Pumpkins - Doomsday Clock (#28)
4. The Cribs - Men's Needs (#6)
5. CSS - Music Is My Hot, Hot Sex (#12)
2008 (top 50)
1. Lethal Bizzle - The Come Up
2. Neon Neon - Luxury Pool
3. MGMT - Electric Feel
4. Empire Of The Sun - Walking On A Dream
5. Fryars - Olive Eyes
What the top five looks like now: Solid as a rock - that Empire of the Sun track hasn't aged well but the rest are all worth listening to again. Back to a top 50, and for the first time links to YouTube clips.
Top five today:
1. Lethal Bizzle - The Come Up (#1)
2. Neon Neon - Luxury Pool (#2)
3. Jaguar Love - The Man With The Plastic Suns (#38)
4. MGMT - Electric Feel (#3)
5. Black Kids - Look At Me (When I Rock Witchoo)
2009 (top 50)
1. N.A.S.A - Spacious Thoughts (featuring Tom Waits and Kool Keith)
2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll
3. Boy Crisis - The Fountain of Youth
4. Bat For Lashes - Daniel
5. Low Fidelity All Stars - The Good Times
What the top five looks like now: Diabolical - the first two were good, #3 was ok, the other two wouldn't have cracked the top 20 in 2008.
Top five today:
1. The Virgins - Teen Lovers (#14)
2. N.A.S.A - Spacious Thoughts (featuring Tom Waits and Kool Keith) (#1)
3. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll (#2)
4. Deadmau5 featuring Rob Swire - Ghosts 'n Stuff (#6)
5. Cerys Matthews - Arlington Way (#10)
2010 (top 50)
1. My Chemical Romance - Bulletproof Heart
2. Goldfrapp - Rocket
3. Lena - Satellite
4. Keane - Stop For A Minute (featuring K'naan)
5. Paul Heaton - Even A Palm Tree
What the top five looks like now: Average, but not because of the #1. Go fuck yourself, that was a modern power ballad masterstroke. Meanwhile Lena endures to this day. I'm sure Eurovision brings up some more golden songs these days, but since they turned it into a three day endurance event I've lost interest. It's all another appearance for Goldfrapp - who I think had more entries in the history of the DLR than anyone, and would probably win Eurovision - appears again, and this time she was only moderately overrated. Not much for music fans in the rest of the countdown though.
Top five today:
1. Arcade Fire - Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) (#9)
2. Lena - Satellite (#2)
3. My Chemical Romance - Bulletproof Heart (#1)
4. Goldfrapp - Rocker (#2)
5. Keane - Stop For A Minute (featuring K'naan) (#4)
2011 (top 50)
1. REM - Discoverer
2. MEN - Credit Card Babies (Stereogamous Remix)
3. The Strokes - Taken For A Fool
4. Dutch Uncles - The Ink
5. Calvin Harris and Kelis - Bounce
What the top five looks like now: Average - but believe me it's better than about 40 of the other 50 songs in the countdown. A disastrous year, and the point where I started flagging in the quest to discover new tracks. I'd forgotten that Calvin Harris track existed until now, so even though I've listened again and it is modern pop gold I can't honestly keep it in the updated top five.
Top five today:
1. The Strokes - Taken For A Fool (#3)
2. Luke Haines - Inside The Restless Mind of Rollerball Rocco (#9)
3. REM - Discoverer (#1)
4. MEN - Credit Card Babies (Stereogamous Remix) (#2)
5. Justice - Civilization (#14)
2012 (top 50)
1. Loreen - Euphoria
2. Escort - Cocaine Blues
3. Plan B - Deepest Shame
4. Jim Noir - Ping Pong Time Tennis
5. Elton John vs PNAU - Icy Black Stare
What the top five looks like now: Solid - all worth listening to again, and headed by the greatest Eurovision track ever and one of the great pop songs of the 21st century.
Top five today:
1. Loreen - Euphoria (#1)
2. Bobby Womack - Stupid (#10)
3. Escort - Cocaine Blues (#2)
4. Haim - Don't Save Me (#9)
5. Elton John vs PNAU - Icy Black Stare (#5)
2013 (top 50)
1. Franz Ferdinand - Right Action
2. Daft Punk - Get Lucky
3. Daft Punk - Lose Yourself To Dance
4. Arcade Fire - Reflektor
5. Cold War Kids - Jailbirds
What the top five looks like now: Reasonably good - I've got NFI what that Arcade Fire song is now, and it's odd to have two tracks from the same artist in one top five but how could you argue with Daft Punk in 2013? I sorely underestimated that Cold War Kids song, they have never done anything I like but this otherwise throwaway album track is magic and makes me strangely emotional every time I hear it.
Top five today:
1. Cold War Kids - Jailbirds (#5)
2. Neon Neon - The Jaguar (#7)
3. Franz Ferdinand - Right Action (#1)
4. Daft Punk - Get Lucky (#2)
5. Daft Punk - Lose Yourself To Dance (#3)
2014 (top 35)
1. Jungle - Busy Earnin'
2. Syn Cole - Miami 82 (Vocal Mix)
3. Future Islands - Seasons (Waiting On You)
4. Graham Parker and the Rumour - Stop Crying About The Rain
5. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - In The Heat Of The Moment
What the top five looks like now: A cry for help - what's that Noel Gallagher slop? No wonder I was so disillusioned with new tracks that I could only find 35 to choose from. It was a horrible year for it, hence why I gave up. Wait until you see what I replaced Noel with...
Top five today:
1. Jungle - Busy Earnin' (#1)
2. Syn Cole - Miami 82 (Vocal Mix) (#2)
3. Future Islands - Seasons (Waiting On You) (#3)
4. Graham Parker and the Rumour - Stop Crying About The Rain (#4)
5. Taylor Swift - Shake It Off (#8)
And that's it. See you in 2018 for a top 0.
