******
Rather than the usual scenario of wondering where the year went, I find myself looking back and wondering how we managed to pack so much in during one calendar year. Aside from getting the call to move to Berlin, there was also the small matter of moving house (thanks Dan for the 17 hour drive company), starting a new(ish) job, getting married (eeee!) and all the other fun weekends that scattered the year with fist-pumping righteousness. Anyway, enough about me, here are some highlights from 2011, it's been a pleasure.
1) A quick shimmy across my top 10 albums of 2011 in order, wickedest at the top:
2) Big Star have played a Big Part in 2011, kind of picking a constant thread between all the changes that have been going on. They were on my radar previously, but I really got into all three albums in a big way this year, and started getting a little bit obsessive in terms of reading biographies.
The best read was from the wonderful 33 1/3rd series, and I can thoroughly recommend it. Rob Sheffield brings up Big Star a fair bit in his unbearably sad book 'Love is a Mixtape', and I feel in some ways they've also accompanied me through one of the most intense periods of my life. One of those bands that sticks around. For the better.
3) One of the particularly rad things about getting married is you can kind of turn the reception into your PARTY OF DREAMS. So with this in mind I got a bunch of close friends who I'd played music with over the years, but who hadn't necessarily played together, to come and do some rehearsals.
One, Pierre, came all the way from Paris for the 3 practices. The band prepped a series of diverse family / friends-friendly tunes, and delivered a monster set on the day. But above all, hanging out with them all at the practices and seeing them play such a blinder as the sun went down over Barcelona remain cherished memories.
4) Let's Wrestle are one of those bands that I probably should shut up about, but their gig in Hamburg in October was just so fucking good that I have to mention it. They're bursting with an undeniable mix of devastating tunes, wordsmithery and they look funny too. WINNING COMBINATION. I also feel a bit like a stalker when I watch them play live. Which is fine.
So over and out, I leave you with my hottest album of a tip-top year. Yours, Ben.
Pure X: Pleasure by alteredzones
