Presenting numbers 5 to 1:

5. Rufus Wainwright: Release The Stars

Rufus made a very Rufus-y album. Oh yes. I don’t know what else to say about this except I loved it but didn’t get his other project: The Judy Garland Recreation. Maybe it was too much of a cliché for me?

4. Tracey Thorn: Out Of The Woods

Ah, Tracey Thorn. The solo album was a nice progression from the last few Everything But The Girl albums, all of which were just fantastic. Sad songs with happy music, always grabbing the listener, and some great videos.

3. Robyn: Robyn

Technically not 2007 as these songs (and others not on the UK edition) have been around for ages but it got a re-release here so it counts. If only there were more acts like Robyn, making pop for music lovers rather than churning out ‘talent’ show dross like the things the Great British Public spend their money on. Another good use of strong (and sometimes bloody weird) visuals.

2. Patrick Wolf: The Magic Position

Pretentious? Yes, at times. But he gets away with it due to the quality of the tracks on this album. The Magic Position feels much older than 2007 because it got leaked and listened to over and over again before the actual release date, and it’s still one of my favourite CDs in my way-too-large collection.

1. Siobhan Donaghy: Ghosts

Former Sugababe follows up good first album with great second one? Hurrah. Even though at times it wears its influences on its sleeve, Ghosts is my winner because it’s quite schizophrenic in its variety and I never got sick of playing it. Another of the Great Internet Leaks and another album that didn’t set the charts alight. Not that that matters, what do the puny humans know anyway?

How about an End Of Year Meme?

1) Where did you begin 2007?
At home, being a lazy sod, staying in, eating and kissing and cuddling. And that’s where I’ll end it too. Hurrah!

2) What was your status by Valentine’s Day?
Still married, still old. Still very happy thank you.

3) Were you in school (anytime this year)?
I am 34 and not a teacher. Nor am I special needs enough to still be at school.

4) How did you earn your money?
Illusions, never tricks.

5) Did you have to go to the hospital?
No. I had my Lemsip stash at home.

6) Did you have any encounters with the police?
Sorry to be dull but no. Only one member of my family has a ‘relationship’ with the police and it is not me.

7) Where did you go on holiday?
Manchester (rainy), Lymm (drinky), Wales (sunny), Bath (noisy), Stratford-Upon_Avon (murder mystery-y), Midlands (foggy)…

What did you purchase that was over £500?
Nothing. Phew!

9) Did you know anybody who got married?
No, they all prefer living in sin. How very modern.

10) Did you know anybody who passed away?
Another no.

11) Have you run into anybody you left high school with?
Not in the real world, but there’s this thing called Facebook that all the kids are talking about.

12) Did you move anywhere?
I moved off my chair. Occasionally.

13) What sporting events did you go to?
Do not understand this question.

14) What concerts/shows did you go to?
Avenue Q! That Mitchell And Webb Look series 2! That Mitchell And Webb Sound series 3! Harry Hill’s Christmas TV Burp!

15) Are you registered to vote?
Yes.

16) Who did you want to win Big Brother?
Someone sensible. Impossible.

17) Where do you live now?
Same place as before.

18. Describe your last birthday.
We went out for a curry at a restaurant called Blue Ginger, which sounds like a specialist porn movie but was not.

19) What’s the one thing you thought you would never do but did in 2007?
Have dinner with Mrs Doyle from Father Ted straight after meeting Harry Hill. Best night ever!

20) What has been your favourite moment?
Oh so many to choose from so I shall list a selection of the best ones:
The first Bloggers Meet in January when four blogs joined forces in The London Dungeon to baffle people shouting in wigs.
The Avenue Q trip in February where a generous friend treated us to great seats and a goodie bag.
The Mothers Day trip where we took our mothers out. To Southend-On-Sea. How sophisticated.
The Drill Hall nights in March where I coughed all through a radio recording then had chats with famouses afterwards, and the time where I found a fan/stalker.
The cunningly secret Bookshop Leavers Meal that was organised in June by a cunning man. We thought it was a pub trip but it turned into a fancy evening out with yummy food, presents and Kodak Moments. Fantastic!
The second Bloggers Meet in July in London again, with lots of food and drink, and shopping. And maybe a bit of sunstroke.
The Harold Pinter Extravaganza Night in July in the bookshop. Who knew preparing for a magical midnight opening could be so much fun?
The TV Centre evenings in August where I got heckled by the warm-up but was stuck at the back and couldn’t join in properly, where we were part of the “hardcore front row” and where I looked like a geek with my note book. And we met a Dalek.
The murder mystery evening in the posh neo-gothic hotel with too much champagne, in September.
The conference in September with freebies, meeting comedy legends and too much champagne.
The November West End Bookshop staff reunion in the now-transformed-by rival book chain location, where it freaked us all out by looking like a hospital with book shelves rather than our smelly old shop full of ‘character.’
The local branch of Waitrose finally opening before Christmas. Yum yum yum.

21) What’s something you learned about yourself?
I am not very good at making stuffing balls. That I hate it when iPods don’t work properly. That the smoking ban was a truly great thing. That I was very pleased by the return of Wispas. That I really despise lazy tabloid journalism and should not read it.

22) Any new additions to your family?
I got a hippopotamus for Christmas, does that count? And two polar bears.

23) What was your best month?
Looking back at my blog, it must be July as we had many many fun times.

24) What music will you remember 2007 by?
The stuff in my Music 2007 blog posts of course. And the Grinch and Hippopotamus songs.

25) Who has been your best drinking buddy?
I don’t really do drinking much but I have to choose Husband Jamie as he is always there and is rather lovely.

26) Made new friends?
I guess so. I am very fussy though. I’ve made Facebook ‘friends’… do they count?

27) Best new friend?
I don’t do favourites. I either like you or not.

28) Favourite Nights out?
See the answers to question 20, plus the pub quiz ‘pants and vests’ theme round.

29) Any regrets?
No.

It’s the end (of the year) … but the moment has been prepared for. No, I’m not going to regenerate, honest. Just have a nice quiet night in with the husband. I had a chat with an old friend who I’ve not seen for ages, listened to Dare by The Human League, had some yummy dinner and am going to finish off the year watching that new Battlestar Galactica: Razor DVD with some champagne. Probably.

Here’s last week’s Daily Express Tat that I forgot about. I should New Year Recolution-ise not to go on about their crapness but I probably will.

Their final cover of 2007 showed no sign of newsworthiness:

Meh. Bored now.

Here’s the next part of Music 2007, with the last part coming tomorrow, along with the Meme Review Of The Year. Whooo-hoo!
Presenting numbers 10 to 6:

10. Duke Special: Songs From The Deep Forest

Duke Special was technically 2006 but it got a double-disc reissue so it counts. My rules… I love this beautiful album, and not just because Neil Hannon is on it.

9. Rosin Murphy: Overpowered

Rosisin’s first solo album was a bit ‘difficult’ but this time around it was all so right. The videos are great too, and I am not going to use the word ‘kooky’.

8. Ryan Adams: Easy Tiger

Ryan cheered up and cleaned up this year, releasing only one album and it was a good one. Yay!

7. Rilo Kiley : Under The Blacklight

I never really got into Rilo Kiley until they allegedly went all commercial with this album. It’s bloody good and I won’t use the phrase ‘Fleetwood Mac-cy.’

6. Sara Bareilles: Little Voice

Sara Bareilles is the best female singer songwriter you haven’t heard of. Unless you hang around certain mp3 blogger circles and then you’ll be a big fan.

Tomorrow: The rest. Oh yes.

Presenting numbers 15 to 11:

15. Sophie Ellis Bextor: Trip The Light Fantastic
More pop in my chart. Man, she got a big face! Oh yes, Tha Bex-Torr done good this year and made her first album that felt like an album and not just singles plus filler. I don’t think it sold all that well but the public like crap like The X-Factor(y) so what do they know?

14. Rooney: Calling The World
Not the pug-faced footballer but that American band who write slightly old-fashioned classic pop songs that you think you’ve heard before. I am not suggesting plagiarism though.

13. Tiny Dancers: Free School Milk
Not the Elton John song that you know and love (some people more than others, for comedy purposes) but some kind of indie band in the year that I got a bit bored of indie. Good tunes is all you need sometimes.

12. Tori Amos: American Doll Posse
Tori’s albums are getting slightly better again; well this one was when compared to the last two. Still got a ‘kooky’ concept album thing going on that slightly gets in the way but it’s not bad at all. Too damn long though! Again! She needs a good editor, this would have made a fantastic 10 tracker.

11. Gabrielle: Always
She’s terribly uncool but I love Gabrielle, although she is a little less piratey than when she started out. Classic proper soul is hard to find in these days of crappy lazy tits-n-arse R&B tat so hurrah for the return of the lady who sounds like she eats and drinks Motown-ness.

Tomorrow: 10 to 6. What fun.

It’s impossible for me to put my favourite albums of 2007 in any kind of order so I haven’t. Sort of. The nearest logical method I can use is putting them in the order of how much I have listened to them, which kind of makes sense, doesn’t it?

Presenting numbers 20 to 16:

20. Stars: In Our Bedroom After The War
Canadian, a bit proggy (if that is the correct word. Well it’s a sort of concept album), rocky loveliness with two lead vocalists, one male and one female.

19. Manic Street Preachers: Send Away The Tigers
No longer dressing up in silly clothes and saying silly fings for the attention! Still love them but what was the point of Nicky Wire’s solo ‘career’ exactly?

18. Feist : The Reminder
I loved Feist long time… way before that iPod advert used her music. She’s pretty special, and a little bit mad.

17. Dragonette: Galore
Lots of great pop this year, and some of it was even in albums. Crikey!

16. Lucky Soul : The Great Unwanted
Great strong songwriting, retro production and the kind of tunes that would all sound great on the soundtrack to a very good film.

Tomorrow: 15 to 11. What fun.

It’s almost the end of the year so I thought I’d better get those lists started. So here’s the Top 10 Tee Vee 2007, with no suspense as I made great big logo-ey graphics:

1. Battlestar Galactica (Sci-Fi / Sky)
Because it’s not what you think it is if you haven’t seen it before (see Buffy The Vampire Slayer for more of that kind of judging shows by titles stuff) , it has the most complex characters on television, things don’t get neatly wrapped up in one episode and it’s basically the best damn thing on the box.

2. Doctor Who (BBC1)
Because even though it had some ropey episodes this year (Daleks, pig men, showgirls etc) when it gets it right it gets it perfect. The Weeping Angels, the Family Of Blood, the Professor Yana saga… just slightly let down by the ‘sci-fi-reboot’ ending. Well they couldn’t really destroy the world, could they? They’re not Battlestar Galactica.

3. Dexter (FX)
Because the books are fantastic and the tv series has gone off on its own tangent to an equally thrilling ride. The stalky British loony girlfirend plot almost let the side down but season 2 of Dexter matched the first for thrills and spills (of blood).

4. The Sarah Jane Adventures (BBC1)
Because CBBC are producing some great shows that can be enjoyed by adults as well as children (see Oucho the cactus for more of what I mean) and this Doctor Who spin-off succeeded where Torchwood failed: we actually cared about the characters.

5. Pushing Daisies (ABC)
Because occasionally American networks get it right. Brian Fuller’s latest show didn’t get cancelled even though it was better than everything else in the mainstream. A comedy drama about a pie maker who can bring people back to life for a minute by touching them, who splits his time between the pies and helping out with private detective-ing? With his recently-resurrected childhood sweetheart who he can never touch or her new life is snuffed out? Oh yes! The only new American show I stuck with this year.

6. 30 Rock (NBC / Five)
Because they got a second season and kept it funny. Perfect for fans of Arrested Development who are still sulking. Perfect for all fans of comedy. A clever funny show that works is a rare thing.

7. Peep Show (Channel 4)
Because it’s still going (resonably) strong in its fourth series (which is a heck of a lot for a British sitcom), its position in my chart would have been taken by That Mitchell And Webb Look series 2 if the bloody thing had been scheduled for this year.

8. Heroes (NBC / BBC2)
Because it came back with a new story and although series 2 started slow it got rather good. So there you go, I still love it. BBC2 showed the first run and I watched it all again as I am one of those comicbook geeks.

9. The Peter Serafinowicz Show (BBC2)
Because we finally got a kind of sequel to Look Around You, which is our most-watched DVD of all time apart from Father Ted. Some of the sketches didn’t work all that well but the ones that did made this an essential viewing every week. For a while, Thursdays actually were funny. Hurrah for all the lovely new comedy ideas in a show that wasn’t afraid to be silly.

10. The Shield (FX / Five)
Because sometimes you just need something gritty to watch. Heavy stuff but always thrilling, season 6 of The Shield didn’t disappoint at all… but I could have done with a few laughs while watching it.

And now, some vid-eh-oh!s:

Professor Yana works it out and everything goes rather shitty!

Brian Butterfield’s diet. In no way similar to Michael Winner’s recent diet book.

What you missed if you didn’t watch Battlestar Galactica this year. It’s on DVD though.