The thing I … sorry one of the things i like best about Christmas is the feeling of truly free time. It is the only time of the year, save perhaps for the wee small hours each day when you have no pressure to do anything. With the exception of unwrapping presents and cooking dinner of course. Then again the kitchen is usually where the alchohol i and on a day with no time pressures whos for a small morning tipple. Oh and one again after lunch and a few more in the afternoon. Not to metion the sampling of the whiskey which arrivedas a present and the Christmas dinner drinks. No wonder everyones asleep come 7pm if they haven’t murdered one another. No wonder we all stop drinking new year too.

In all seriousness though i always have all sorts of ideas for things to do with this time - play chess, read a book etc. In the event the time disappears so rapidly that before you know it Christmas has passed.

My top 60 tunes of the year was compiled from my postings made throughout the year. Ranking them was tricky but i used the following as a guide.

1.     Longevity – both in how easily and happily i can return to it and how long it stays in the brain hole.

2.     Quality of thought and execution

3.     Marks deducted for covers, no matter if its an improvement on the original – sorry Mr Blake

4.     A nod to their impact or influence on my life this year

5.     No marking influence given due to the quality of a video – im usually not looking.

There is a stronger influence of lyrically rich hip hop and indie than perhaps there has been in previous years. For that i have to thank Gilles and Tom Ravenscroft who have been the main source of my listening this year. Strewth theres even a few love songs there. There are also some terrifying tunes if you can stick it out until nimber 47. Hope you enjoy.

50.

51. Magic Arm - Widths and Heights

52. Mayer Hawthorne - Green Eyed Love (Official Video)

53. Chiddy Bang - Opposite Of Adults

54. Flying Lotus - Camel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCm1BEgQTW8&feature=related

55. Coki - Red Eye

57. Scratcha DVA & Durrty Goodz - Pissed Off – bye Mary Anne

58. 57Jaydan - The Driller Killer

59 - J.ROCC - CHASING THE DRAGON (2010 - BBC RADIO RIP)

60 -I’m Quitting by Hank IV |  - IM QUITTING

Earlier this year I read about the death of a man whos death may have passed me by. Ken Brown died aged 70 at his home. So what you may say, who is Ken brown. Ken Brown was a friend and former bandmate of some fellahs you may have heard of, namely Messers McArtney, Lennon and Harrison. Said Mr Brown played regularly with the trio as the Quarrymen in the bands early days but fell out with the band after having a bad leg one day. The band played a regular gig in a bar which Ken sat out as he had a bad leg and could not climb the steps down to the basement. When the band were paid at the end of the night Ken asked for his share as he had turned up but the band refused as he had not played. As a result of this dispute he never played with the group again. Even when an opportunity arose in  later years to join them he was overlooked in favour of one of his new band mates.

I also learnt today of the death of Don Van Vliet. Again you may say who is this? The mercurial ‘Captain Beefheart’ is the alter ego of this fellow. You will know if you have ever heard Captain Beefheart. There are a few tracks which are standouts and which i had no idea of the names until i looked into some tracks earlier today. If you have never listened to any Captain Beefheart I recommend exploring some any time you can. RIP captain

I posted maybe a year backabout how glad i was to finally find info on a show i listened to in my formative years. For me Jeff Young was essential listening, long before Pete Tong hit the decks. As the facebook page (yes theres a facebook page) states

“Although his successor has attained far greater heights, it was Jeff Young who paved the way for Pete Tong’s phenomenal rise to prominence at Radio One with The Essential Selection.”

I hadn’t counted on finding Jeffs name amongst a list of 40 of the essential dj’s of the past 40 years. Not because i didn’t rate him, but because i thought he’d been forgotten. Not by me - i still have 2 tapes of his 9 O’clock mixes amongst other things - the prince inspired mix, the iunstoppable James Brown and a young ones inspired mix. All toppers. Download a slice here.

Well now the uninitiated can relive the spleandour.

to catch some of the replies i have had check the original blog.

I ensure i eat a good amount of seeds everyday. I enjoy the texture and crunch and my body is appreciative of their goodness, i reckon. In case you were wondering here is a hierarchy of seeds.

1. Linseed (flax seeds) - my favourite seeds - great source of Omega 3 fats and also fiber - good for prostate too

2. Pumpkin seeds - rich in zinc which is good for your prostate

3. Sunflower seeds - a handful gives you you daily recommended amount of Vitamin E (heart and skin health) and is excellent for calcium too.

4.  Sesame seeds - provide high levels of iron - a table spoon gives you the same amount of iron as a slice of beef. also great for selenium which improves fertility and immunity.

5. Watermelon seeds - great for phospherous, folates and iron

Turns out beers been here for a not inconsiderable amount of time. The oldest proven records of brewing are about 6,000 years old and refer to the Sumerians, who lived in Mesopotamia and the ancient cities of Babylon. Thats present day Iraq. When you think about it though the first brewing is likely to have been an accident. What did it take for a vessel containing some stored grain to get damp and then the grain to germinate. Yeast is in the air all around us and loves sugar. it would find natural sugars in the germinating grain which would in turn create carbon dioxide and alcohol.

I know from my rudimentary history knowledge and a history trip to some tumble down castle somewhere that ale was vital in medieval England. Infants were raised on ale and milk. Water was reserved for cooking. In growing cities weak beer was a vital fluid when the water would give you dysentery. Beer is sterile thanks to boiling in its creation and alcohol is a natural disinfectant.

In the late Victorian era brewing was Britains second biggest industry after cotton. During the second world war Churchill upheld the belief that every working man should have his allocated 8 pints a week. This was the reason that some Spitfires were modified to carry beer barrels under their wing on D day.

If you need any further convincing as to the wonders of beer - check these.

Completely off my radar until recently has been the Mo Ibrahim prize. This is a prize that rewards statesmanship and democracy in Africa. Set up by a Sudanese communications entrapeneur to reward good governance the winner recieves $5million dollars over 5 years and $200 000 each year there after.

There is one problem however - a lack of suitable recipients. I think the guy needs commending in not awarding the prize for the second consecutive year. He sees no candidate who meets the high standards set. He has no issue with not giving the prize away lightly. Neither would I if i was handing over $5 million of my own cash. Come on though this kind of incentive has to be a grand dream. Maybe we can find a Western equivalent - come on Mr Murdoch use your cash, do something useful today.

Snow days are cherished the world over. Being unavoidably stuck away from work is possibly the best excuse for not working. You even have the added advantage of all the snowy wonder outside our door. Last night however I was even more overwhelmed with joy as todays snow day meant i could comfortably spend the night with the first day of the second ashes test.

What i also realised is that days or nights listening to overseas tours have punctuated and provided a soundtrack to points over the past few years. Particular tours have stayed fresh in the memory - the 2004/05 South African tour because i listened to it while bottle feeding my newly born son. The West Indies tour in 2004 I remember distinctly as I was working away at the computer doing some school work one sunday afternoon. These two tours feature in Oliver Bretts blog as other notable English wins overseas.

This past night has been another to savour. The day that our lord gave us - Adelaide Ashes, Amen. May we have many more to follow.

This is maybe why i put myself through that torture the other night. England eventually pulled their collective fingers out and showed how weak this AustraLian team really is. Who should be the key figure inall of this - only the player who had the most doubt shown in him following his poor summer. AlistairCook was the cornerstone in record stands of 188 with his skipper and fellow opener Strauss and then an all-comers’ best against Australia Down Under of 329 with Jonathan Trott for the second wicket. Poor old Ricky. Do you think he kept thinking he was surrounded by boys after many years of being amongst a team ofworlld beaters. How many times has he (or any other Aussie captain) stared at an opponents scoreboard reading 500 - 1. HA!

I spent all night last night listening to the ashes. Why did i punish myself so - a record Australian partnership punishing me. I did my best to believ and help out. I tried listening, not listening, nodding off, a coffee, crossing my fingers… you name it. Could i will a wicket - not a chance.

I couldn’t will some snow either. I don’t mind this cold weather too much, but it could at least snow with it.

Thanks to Mr Tom Ravenscroft i have become aware of a fantastic site - Discrepant.  Its modus is to draw together the … discrepant … they describe it better than I …

“Celebrating the marginal, the disfavored, the weird and all other arts that otherwise drop beneath the radar of popular culture.. We release and broadcast everything from radio shows/ mixes/ sound collages/ original compositions/ films…”

I wholeheartedly recommend checking it out. They have regular mixes which follow a theme and which, almost without  exception are quality.