i am not sure i am really in the mood for this one this year, look you see. that which was always spoken has turned out to be true; as in the older you get the "faster" (time and space are relevant to, etc) any given year seems to just go.
as such, i would not particularly trust my memory to identify the "best" of anything from the year which has just gone, which is 2019. well, no, i would not particularly trust my memory. but, for those of you who are wishing or willing to have a gander at what i may consider to be the finer moments of the year gone by, then here we are.
best solo album by a solo artist what was the singer of a Manchester based band that rose to prominence in the 80s (original material)
that would be the most excellent Ripples by Ian Brown. yes, it may very well be that the record serves as some form of final notice thing of how The Stone Roses shall do no more, at least not for now, but it is boss to hear some new music off the chap.
best solo album by a solo artist what was the singer of a Manchester based band that rose to prominence in the 80s (cover versions)
look no further than Morrissey to be most triumphant in this hotly contested category. yes, what he has to say may very well be unpopular with some now, in these strange days. those of us who grew up in the 80s may well be more forgiving, for we shall not forget nor take for granted all that he did then. and there are a few of us, since this got to 4 in the album chart. a chart which requires actual sales, which makes it more relevant than the mess which is now the "singles" chart.
best solo album by a solo artist what was the singer of a Manchester based band that rose to prominence in the 90s (original material)
in a diverse field, yes, no one but Liam Gallagher takes this one with his second solo record, Why Me Why Not with the question marks ( "?" ) and such placed wherever you like. although the album drastically lacks the vibrancy and dynamics of the excitement of his return to music with As You Were, it's still a right proper bangin' album with consistently decent rock tunes across it.
best album to feature Roger Daltrey performing previously recorded songs
after some consideration, i have opted to award this to Roger Daltrey's labour of love, known as Tommy Orchestral. by all accounts this was supposed to be a "very different" presentation of the much loved Tommy, with the orchestral sound bringing forward various elements for the listener to consider. mostly what you hear is Daltrey singing, accompanied by a very competent standard rock band, with a bit of orchestral music off in the distance. whereas it is not the triumph of revisionism that was Classic Quadrophenia, it all the same gives one a reasonable reason to listen to the magnificence of Tommy again.
best album to feature Roger Daltrey performing new songs
that would be the only recently reviewed Who by The Who.
best single of the year
credit and indeed thanks where it is due - Noel Gallagher flew something of a flag this year for actual, proper singles. he released a couple of ep things instead of an album as such. the first of them, Black Star Dancing, is one i consider superb. even if his decision to promote it with a video heavily reliant on archive footage of Bernard Manning is somewhat unusual.
the second best single of the year was Wandering Star by Noel Gallagher. alas, only an mp3 for now, which i bought, with the 12" out next year. quite the perfect song what works as both a Christmas tune and could most likely be played at other times of the year without sounding naff. bravo, sir.
best (or most played) compilation of the year
ladies and gentlemen, kind readers, how happy i am that Now That's What I Call Music 4 is firmly back in my life. more on this compilation can be read by clicking here.
best tv show of the year
i rather used 2019 to catch up on a few things instead of watching much new. to this end, Twin Peaks Limited Event Series was a frustrating but ultimately rewarding experience; the latter being applicable only when it dawned on me that it was rather more of a sequel to the film Fire Walk With Me rather than the much loved tv series. both Breaking Bad and Luther turned out to be exactly as linear, surprise free and as convoluted as contrived as i had expected, yet both turned out to be superb on the basis of the performances. in respect of the former, Better Call Saul was nothing like what i had hoped or assumed, with the last scene of the last series being where i, and i would imagine many others, reasonably had expected it all to start.
of "new" stuff, let me not add to the complaints and comments made concerning the final series of Game Of Thrones. except that it perhaps might have been better not to have made it, ever, letting fans be free to speculate on what might have been.
what a bloody shame that Disney has decided to only let two or three countries see the tv series The Mandalorian, with the rest of the world having to wait until some stage of 2020. if the technology or means existed to see it before then, i would like to think or imagine that i would probably find it to be not just one of the best things ever to be on television, but a sign that, at last, someone somewhere has managed to "get" what made Star Wars so magical and have recreated it. perhaps we shall find out if i am right at some stage.
best film of the year
actually, i am not sure. probably Avengers Endgame, as it did a very respectable job of coming as close as possible to being as good as Avengers Infinity War; something that felt all but impossible to do. other than that, the latest Spider Man did the job asked of it, Joker is worth the hype and celebration of Joaquin's performance, and maybe that is it.
would a film made for television count? if so then El Camino would be it. completely unnecessary and a textbook example of what "fan service" means, all the same it was really well done, and let us see more of one of the more interesting, better characters off of Breaking Bad.
best post of the year
modesty should really forbid (or prevent) this part of the list, in truth. for me it is all good, all a win and very much the best if just one person reads one thing i write.
in terms of popularity, for most of the year it seemed that this post i wrote on the subject of a smart Atari hand held device i got for father's day was going to be the most read one. however, the one i did in november, when i used my special powers and dark arts to see a future unwritten, has attracted a frankly astonishing level of interest.
best book of the year
it feels most unfair to pick one out, for as far as i can remember more of what i read during the year was good than bad. for those interested, i guess you can navigate your way through the reviews from this year (normally one post a month featuring two novels) and then just select which one it is that i seemed particularly enthusiastic about.
well, i think that about covers it for a "best of" post, reflecting on the highlights of 2019. on, then, to this 2020 business, see what that is all about.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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