Brett-Butler

#2 I Could Have Been An Angel Sean McConnell X3h9eSS6wQ4 Album: Secondhand Smoke And just missing out on the top spot is "I Could Have Been An Angel" by Massachusetts country-folk singer-songwriter Sean McConnell. It's a song built around two separate narratives of two people who have taken the wrong turn in life, and trying to rationalise why they didn't have the power within themselves to be good. There hasn't been a song that has affected me emotionally in the same way in 2019, even now I get a little bit bleary eyed whenever the guitars swell up in the post-chorus.

#3 Zanzara The Radar Station Album: N/A This song first came to my attention when the Belgian band in question were known as Sun Gods, although due to legal reasons the band are now known as The Radar Station. "Zanzara" (which is Italian for mosquito), is a tender electro-stomper of a song that calls to mind the production of Prides or Bear's Den circa "Red Earth & Pouring Rain",with a songwriting style that draws fond comparisons with The Waterboys.

#4 Touch Off UVERworld z1g2FuYMF8U Album: Unser Japanese alternative-rock band UVERworld's song "Touch Off" rose to prominence in 2019 through its use as the theme to the critically acclaimed Japanese series The Promised Neverland. It's perhaps one of the few heavy-rock songs that manages to use a saxophone prominently throughout without sounding a bit weird.

#5 This Life Vampire Weekend FwkrrU2WYKg Album: Father Of The Bride Like another song in our top 10, "This Life" was a song that was all over the radio during the summer months without translating into a bona fide hit in its own right, mores the pity. The song is perhaps the most straightforward pop song that Vampire Weekend have recorded to date, a jaunty-sounding track that we've seen compared to "Brown Eyed Girl", whose lyrics belay a mournfulness that juxtaposes the sunny melody. Previous chart positions: 2008 A-Punk - #1 2009 Horchata - #39 2010 Holiday - #34 2013 Diane Young - #7 2013 Unbelievers - #30

#6 Skyward Mark Hegan wKo2sD02kc0 Album: N/A Formerly of much loved local band In An Instant, released his debut single under his own name, "Skyward", having re-located from Bangor to London. It's a song about feelings of isolation and of losing one's identity after uprooting oneself, which successfully melds electronic and rock elements in a great way.

#7 Just Reflecting Maps RhR_jQ0eoZQ Album: Colours. Reflect. Time. Loss. I owe a lot of my musical tastes to hearing the first album by Maps back in 2007, with "We Can Create" being the record that first got me interested in more alternative types of music rather than just what was in the charts. Twelve years on, and James Chapman is still creating music of beauty, with the song that most caught my ear this year being "Just Reflecting". The song harks back to the "nu-gaze" sound of his debut album, whilst adding sweeping orchestral soundscapes to create something incredibly majestic & cinematic. Previous chart positions: 2009 Let Go Of The Fear- #19

#8 Bad Guy Billie Eilish DyDfgMOUjCI Album: When We Fall Asleep... "Bad Guy" has been one of the bone fide biggest songs of 2019 worldwide, in spite of, or possibly because, it doesn't sound like any other pop song out there this year. It's quite a claustrophobic song, underpinned by a banging hook and topped off by Eilish's hushed and confrontational delivery and dark yet humorous lyrics.

#9 Your Girlfriend Blossoms U73Qn-NCQIU Album: Foolish Loving Spaces Stockport based group Blossoms enjoyed a radio hit in "Your Girlfriend" over the summer without the song ever troubling the singles chart (something something guitar music is dead something something). It's a great little gem of a song about being in love with someone you can't be with. Previous chart positions: 2015 Charlemagne- #14

#10 What Are We Doing? Egoism kclrycKqjMQ Album: N/A The Australian duo won us over last year with their fantastic single "Sorry", and in 2019 they delivered another dreamy shoegaze gem in the form of "What Are We Doing?". The song sees them delivering a powerful punch of a chorus, as well a some sumptuous harmonies from the two. Given their rate of singles over the past few years, we're surely due an album from them in 2020, and if it's of the strength of what's already come, then it will be one of our musical highlights of the year. Previous chart positions: 2018 Sorry- #13

In all seriousness, increased antibiotic resistance and its consequences is my biggest fear for our planet over the next few decades. More than Brexit, more than climate change, more than anything else. Aside from the millions of deaths it will cause, it will also result it the reversing of every single social advancement from the 60s onwards and lead us into political instability that will be hard to recover form.

Even the inevitable apocalyptic antibiotic resistance that will DOOM US ALL very soon?

That's actually some surprisingly solid numbers for Cats in the UK, and definitely not in line with the "flop" headlines it's been getting - although I recognise that it hasn't done as well in the biggest market, the US, and still is likely to end up as a money loser unless it has a large tail to its takings over the next few weeks.

As a counterpoint, one of the more interesting parts of that data set that came out of YouGov's post-election "How People Voted" surveys is the second Tweet below, showing that amongst 18-19 year olds, the share of the vote won by the Conservatives actually INCREASED from the last election. Granted, this was from a relatively low base, but worth noting nonetheless. Interestingly, the data suggests that the Conservatives also lost votes in the 60+ demographics from 2017. @1207412749871075330 This is why I dislike a whiggish view of history, as well as "demographic destiny" predictions, because they usually aren't borne out by the evidence. I would be interested to know the reasons why 18-19 year olds voted in such a different way from their 20-24 year old counterparts between 2017 and 2019, who are evidenced as being less likely to vote Tory.

The Queen’s Speech gets such high overnight ratings because the antiquated system for measuring overnight ratings , which involves sampling about 10,000 UK households with a box that tracks what people watch on terrestrial TV, has an inbuilt bias towards shows that skew towards an older audience, and to programmes that are more likely to be ‘event’ TV. I imagine when the +7 consolidated ratings come in, its ratings won’t have moved as much, and will be taken over by programmes that people didn’t feel the need to watch live.

I enjoyed it - it was more of a ‘Greatest Hits’ rather than any high-stakes plot development, but when you enjoy the company of all the characters, it’s not a bad thing. A pity there’s no Budgie or Deano, but given their actors’ careers have blossomed since the series ended, I doubt they would’ve come back for a minor role. And that cliffhanger - I’m guessing they’re hoping for an Easter special or another Christmas special next year, which no doubt will be more of the same.

#11 Fishing For Fishies King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard beIDKFwXam0 Album: Fishing For Fishies KG&TLW are a band that I have been aware of for quite a while without digging into their material, but that changed this year through their brilliant pro-salmon ditty “Fishing For Fishies”, a song that really catches a great part of their psychedelic sound.

#12 Crème Brûlée King Hannah PO0YUQjudKg Album: N/A King Hannah are a Liverpool-based band who to date have only graced us with one single, but what a song it is. “Crème Brûlée” is like a cross between Lana Del Rey & The War on Drugs, with sultry vocals and a broody soundscape which you just can’t help but get lost in.

#13 You Are Alive Son of The Hound bLz6He7ZXA4 Album: Cheers, Sound, Good Luck Son of The Hound aka Mick McCullough, has been one of the stalwarts on the NI music scene for a long time, and this year he finally released his debut album under the moniker. Taken from the album is “You Are Alive”, a song that reminds me a lot of “Crimson & Clover” and other late 60s rock tunes. Previous chart positions: 2018 The Also Rans- #49

#14 Lifted Parker Bossley KLuo8WgXYl4 Album: N/A A great slice of Canadian pop-rock that came to my attention through BJSC.

#15 I Oh I Pi Ja Ma kpQtBOKPPs4 Album: Nice To Meet U “I Oh I” by French duo Pi Ja Ma was playlisted on 6music at the start of the year, which is surprising given that it’s not a sound you would associate with the station, but I’m glad it did, as it’s an infectious, modern doo-wop song that’s just lots of fun.

I thought Spotify might have something to do with it, as it's on a lot of the international/American Christmas playlists, whilst historically wasn't on UK-based playlists as it didn't take off here at the time. That an the UK's historical reluctance to accept songs not in the English language either, minor exceptions aside.

That would be great if they could do something like that. The ratings for the 2nd series have been quite strong for a Saturday night, so I'm hoping there's a third series (and hopefully I can find someone from my neck of the woods to audition with me).

#16 Longshot Catfish and the Bottlemen XUd2S8a2ChQ Album: The Balance Catfish & The Bottlemen were one of the few rock acts that managed to get a Top 40 single in 2019 with “Longshot”, an accolade that was well deserved. They’re one of the biggest UK indie bands at the moment, and rightfully so.

#17 Tokyo White Lies BwM_mK1HJaA Album: FIVE I didn’t think that long-term gloom-merchants White Lies would ever get me on side again - they have grabbed me with anything since their 2nd album nearly a decade ago. But “Tokyo” managed to reel me in again, adding synth-pop to their doom-y sound. Previous chart positions: 2011 Bigger Than Us - #24

#18 It’s Dark Now Tom Williams iPN3b5z-tGQ Album: What Did You Want To Be? “It’s Dark Now” is a great track from rock singer/songwriter Tom Williams. The music video’s rather cute too, with Williams playing the track to the school children he teaches to play guitar.