Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2012! But what of 2011? For me at least, it was a year of change - big change. I finished one life as student in Sheffield and have started a new one across the Pennines in Manchester. I suspect this post will be very similar to a post I wrote around this time last year 2010 In a Nutshell. Looking back at it, 2010 was a pretty busy year as well, and was summed up as being one of the best years of my life. Can I say the same for 2011? I suppose I can but it wasn't quite on a par with 2010. I suppose the biggest new experience this year has been living on my own. It's something I've never really done for an extended period of time before and I did fear that I would be quite lonely. As it happens, I quite enjoy it really. I love having my own space - particularly in the kitchen and the freedom to come and go as I please without having to fit my timetable in with my housemates. I won't say there aren't times that I would like a bit of company because naturally humans crave social interaction, but I've found that 21st century technology means that you are only a click away from your friends and family (or those of them that are also living in the technology age).

As I did last year (and in fact the year before that) I will run through my top ten artists and tracks of 2011 and why I think they made it into the lists. I will also mention those who just missed out if I feel they are worthy of a mention.

This year hasn't seen quite the musical revolution that previous years have uncovered but my eyes have been opened to the wonder of podcasts, particularly those featuring Robin Ince or Josie Long (or both!). Utter Shambles, Andrew Colins and Josie Long's 6Music podcast and the Infinite Monkey Cage are all particular favourites but I've also found a huge back catalogue of Russell Howard and Jon Richardson's 6Music podcasts - whcih I'm yet to make any sort of significant dent in.

According to Last.fm, these are my top tracks from the year.

Artist	Title	Play Count
Clare Maguire	Shield and Sword	41
Spark	Crave	26
Clare Maguire	Ain't Nodody (Breakage's Suck It Up Mix)	25
East Park Reggae Collective	Love Radar	25
Clare Maguire	Last Dance	24
Adele	Set Fire to the Rain	21
Elbow	Lippy Kids	21
Adele	Rolling in the Deep	20
White Lies	Bigger Than Us	18
CocknBullKid	CocknBullKid	18
Adele	Someone Like You	18

I would definitely say that this table is skewed in favour of Clare Maguire who had the big advantage of having her album released in the first quarter of the year but I will say that I did really enjoy her debut album and it's a real shame it didn't get very far.

2012 should be a big year for Spark who I came across supporting Marina and the Diamonds at her gig at the Leadmill in Sheffield a couple of years ago. If her acoustic versions are anything to go by, her album (which will hopefully emerge in 2012) will be brilliant - one to watch in my opinion.

East Park Reggae Collective are a new discovery for me and came via a recommendation from a friend. They have performed in Sheffield a number of times now but I've never managed to see them live. When I heard Love Radar for the first time, I was hooked and the album is more of the same brilliance. Signed to an independent record label, the album can be downloaded in FLAC format - something which I suspect will grow and grow in popularity in the very near future - if only I had an portable music player that supported the format and had the capacity to store more than about 30 albums. Get your act together Sony!

Adele has had another wonderful year and I needn't say any more really. She is a huge success and the three songs that have made in into my top 11 are works of art.

White lies released their second album this year and whilst not quite as good as the first, it is still a really solid effort with some belting tracks and very few fillers, well worth a listen.

My stand out track of the year really has to go to Elbow for the beautiful Lippy Kids. I could listen to this over and over again and never get bored of it.

If Last.fm also took into account the music I listened to on my Walkman, then there are a few more tracks that would have made it into the list but that have been released too late into the year to have made the stats. A track that really caught my attention and I mentioned in one of the few posts of this year was M83's Midnight City. I have been addicted to this song for the past few months and the album is superb and excellent value for money as it is a two disc release. The Joy Formidable should also get a nod for Austere and their album The Big Roar - they first came to my attention during a rare moment when there was no football on the TV during my second year at university. I heard Cradle on NME's music channel and had one of those moments that I had when I heard La Roux's in for the Kill for the first time and I had to find out more. I subscribed to their YouTube channel and eagerly anticipated the release of their album. It probably isn't to everyone's liking but there are a few brilliant tracks on it.

More nods go to Paul Thomas Saunders for Appointment in Samarra, a hauntingly beautiful song that I heard when I saw him supporting Guillemots at the Leadmill as part of the Tramlines Festival. More big things to come from him this year apparently so I look forward to that. Finally on my list is Nero who like Pendulum have managed to bring Drum and Bass to the mainstream and remain respected in both camps. They just missed out on making the shortlist for the Sound of 2011 and should have been right up the top as far as I'm concerned. Me and You was a cracking single and was followed up by Guilt and Promises as well as some other great tracks on their Welcome Reality Album.

And these are my top artists.

Artist	Play Count
Elbow	258
Clare Maguire	235
Adele	227
Muse	201
Arcade Fire	176
Michael Giacchino	175
Guillemots	167
White Lies	159
Florence + the Machine	150
Marina & The Diamonds	139

The artists table is a much better reflection of what I actually listen to during the year but is inevitably weighted in favour of artist with more tracks in my library and accounts for the inclusion of Arcade Fire and Muse towards the top of the list. Elbow also fall slightly into this category but when you dig down a bit deeper, this is predominantly made up of tracks from their latest 2011 release, Build a Rocket Boys.

I had almost forgotten about Florence + the Machine because her album was such a late release. It is not nearly as good as Lungs and the singles are pretty good but I wouldn't go so far as to say they were brilliant. I feel the same way about Guillemots release Walk the River. I really like Vermillion (although apparently not enough for it to make the list) but the whole thing feels week compared with the previous two albums Red and Through the Windowpane and there aren't really any tracks that stand out as being particularly brilliant.

So that's my 2011 in a rather large nutshell, I hope you enjoy 2012 and I look forward to everything the new year brings.