Breezeblog’s best of 2012

Posted: January 1, 2013 in music
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As the curtain comes down on 2012, it’s time once again to take a look back at my favourite albums of the year.

Old was definitely new this year. A lot of my favourite music of 2012 drew heavily on the past yet managed to sound refreshingly new. In a world dominated by over-polished production and formulaic beats, artists like Alabama Shakes, Mumford and Sons and Jake Bugg sounded authentically analogue in a digital world.

This year also marked a significant shift in how I listened to music. I bought far fewer albums – I only actually own three of this year’s top ten – as Spotify became my primary source for new music, providing me with an almost limitless library of music that I can listen to anywhere, anytime for just $9.99 a month. It is a world away from the racks of LPs and CDs of my youth but somehow the need to possess or own physical music (as well as movies and books) seems less important with each passing year.

What hasn’t changed, though, is that great music keeps being produced and for what it’s worth, these are my top ten albums of the year.

 

1. Boys and Girls (Alabama Shakes)

Their debut single “Hold On” was one of the songs of the year with a performance from lead singer Brittany Howard that Janis Joplin would have been proud of. The album didn’t disappoint as its bluesy-rock sashayed confidently from start to finish. Still makes the hairs on my neck prickle.

2. Jake Bugg (Jake Bugg)

He sounds like the bastard child of Dylan and Hendrix with the worldliness of a Johnny Cash. And he’s only 18. Arguably the most exciting new male talent to emerge from the UK in years, the Nottingham singer-songwriter’s chart-topping debut album was a breath of fresh air amidst so much manufactured pop. Two Fingers was an outstanding kitchen sink drama of a single and diversely different songs like Lightning Bolt, Broken and Country Song hint at a major star in the making.

3. The Heist (Macklemore & Lewis)

“Same Love” was probably my favourite track of the year, not least because a poignant and moving hip hop song attacking homophobia was so unexpected from a genre not exactly known for its tolerance. Macklemore aka Ben Haggerty, an Irish-American rapper from Seattle, and his partner Ryan Lewis, also question youthful materialism amongst other things and The Heist was a triumphant and exciting debut.

4. Babel (Mumford and Sons) 

No idea why it’s taken me so long to get on the Mumford bandwagon but the infectious Babel convinced me at last. Few bands are playing folk rock with as much passion and commitment as the British group, as their terrific live performances in this year’s excellent documentary Big Easy Express demonstrated.

5. Some Nights (Fun)

We Are Young (featuring the wonderful Janelle Monae) was a ubiquitous radio hits this year, topping both the UK and US charts. The New York indie pop-rock band were in great form on their second album, one of the most joyous collections of the year and deservedly nabbed them six Grammy nominations.

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‘Tis the night before Christmas …

Posted: December 24, 2012 in humour
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Tonight will almost certainly be the last time I have to drink a glass of milk, eat a cookie (being careful to carelessly scatter a few crumbs around) and take a reindeer-size bite out of a carrot before going to bed on Christmas Eve. Not to mention faking the traditional ‘thank you’ letter from Santa and Rudolph, and leaving some telltale boot prints around the fireplace.

The last of our kids is now 10 and while he desperately still wants to believe, rational thought and peer pressure are taking their toll. It’s that awkward stage where kids want to know so they aren’t made fun of by the Santa-savvy spoilsports at school, but at the same time don’t want to know, fearful perhaps that all the magic of Christmas will suddenly disappear along with the gifts from Santa. And they must be from him because they are always mysteriously wrapped in different paper from the presents from Mummy and Daddy and the gift tags are in different writing (almost as if Dad wrote them left-handed, in fact …).

Every year the questions about how Santa manages to deliver all the world’s presents in one night get trickier to answer. Once the sheer wonder of flying reindeer has passed, it’s not long before you’re being peppered with time and motion studies, logistical questions and the dubious practice of space travel in a red furry suit with no oxygen helmet. By age 7, they realise the whole concept of flying reindeer is definitely a little suspect.

The pressure of keeping up this charade year after year is now so great, it was almost a relief when my son folded his arms and looked me firmly in the eye and said: “Dad, honestly. Is Santa real or not? Yes or no.” I, of course, looked firmly back, father-to-son and … didn’t have the heart to give a straight answer. I waffled something about it being like God; that just because you can’t see him  doesn’t mean you can’t believe.

We both know the game’s up, really.  My son isn’t stupid and so for now he’s willing to play along with the whole ‘Santa won’t bring you the new JumboFXPlayStationNerfo system if you don’t eat your veggies/do your music practice/homework’ nonsense if it prolongs the magic of Christmas stories and movies a bit longer.

Maybe we both just want to hang on to that last shred of childhood innocence as long as possible. After all, it may be a while before grandchildren come around.

But for now the magic still remains. ‘Tis the night before Christmas and all through our house waft the wonderful smells of Christmas baking and the tree is sparkling with lights. The stockings are hung and you can feel a child’s anticipation and excitement. Why wouldn’t you want to still believe?

Good night to all and to all a good night! Merry Christmas everyone!

After the vote

Posted: December 18, 2012 in Bermuda, bermuda politics
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Some of the commentaries worth reading today after yesterday’s election:

“If we want a better Bermuda, we need to do much more than vote in a new government. We are going to have to demand more accountability from everyone, but starting with ourselves.  Succinctly, we must start practicing collective responsibility.” – Bryant Trew in the Bermuda Sun.

“This election … proved that appeals to racial loyalty are not effective. The PLP attempted to make this election about race, especially in the last days, and voters seem to have rejected that in favour of an improved economy. Unemployment knows no bounds and even the anti-business rhetoric which infused the PLP campaign at the end failed to mobilise the PLP base and may even have backfired.” – Analysis in The Royal Gazette

“The PLP is reflective of all the people of this island. Yet they wish to label us as a black party only to subliminally tell whites not to vote for us … We know there are many PLP supporters and members of many different races. However, for a multitude of reasons they seem a bit hesitant to come forward and publicly involve and engage with our events and activities … Persons such as Dorothy Thompson, David Allen, Zane De Silva, Jonathan Smith and Dr Barbara Ball must not be the exceptions .They must be the norm.” – Christopher Famous in the Bermuda Sun.

“The new team (OBA) must be genuinely — not rhetorically — transparent. It must be genuinely direct – not obtuse and non-commenting and non-answering. Above all else, this new team must genuinely embrace all residents and all Bermudians – and not just those who can be described as “our people”. – Larry Burchall in the Bermuda Sun.

“The hope of this newspaper is that this election will open a new chapter in Bermuda politics, which will be less divisive, less reliant on race as a motivating force, more open to problems all Bermudians face and more constructive. The next few years will not be easy, but they can lead to a better Bermuda, provided all people are willing to work together for the betterment of all.” – Editorial, The Royal Gazette.

“The first job for the new government is mending fences. Because the biggest threat to our economic stability is the massive debt and a dearth of ways to repay it, I believe the OBA government must make peace with our income generators and take clear steps to woo them back. This will not be an easy task because of the race-baiting that has been a dominant theme in how previous administrations beat up on their political opponents.” – Stuart Hayward in the Bermuda Sun.

“Posturing, arrogance,  hubris, defensiveness, an unwillingness to change policies that aren’t working out … the list of damaging side-effects of UBP-PLP hatred goes on and on. And it has gone on and on, for way too long. There were understandable historical reasons why it developed. But the great hope that the OBA has offered us this week is that it need not go on forever. Bermuda, Bermudians and the Bermudian political system can move forward, grow and mature. The time has come, and here is our opportunity.” – Tom Vesey in the Bermuda Sun.

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