its freezing outside. there's tim allen on the TV. and my nose is running. BEST OF THE YEAR LIST TIME, THEN.

so,
somehow the middle of december has crept up on an unsuspecting me, like a ninja in a santa costume suddenly breaking cover to sing fairytale of new york every ten minutes and throw mince pies at passers by.

having no university exams until may, this week i've been left with little to do except watch diagnosis murder re-runs and think about the 11 and a half months that seem to have gone past in a manic blur. 2009 has been a really bizarre year in a lot of respects, but there's little doubting it has produced a shitload of stellar quality music... which has been both a blessing and a curse to anyone with half a brain trying to make reasonably coherent year-end list.

BUT.

i've given it a go, and slapped together a few run-downs. i'll try and post them here over the course of the week, starting with my personal picks for gigs and songs of the year. hopefully these end up providing a decent snapshot of what i've really enjoyed in 2009..

so, let the list madness commence...