Well this would definitely be DJing in the PopArt marquee at Indietracks - the tent was rammed with enthusiastic indie kids til gone 4am, all dancing to anything and everything we played. Oh, what joy!

4. Single of 2009?

I’ll say ‘In The Flowers’ by Animal Collective as my song of the year, but I feel a bit bad cos it wasn’t actually released as a single. So my favourite singles were probably ‘Crying Lightning’ by Arctic Monkeys, ‘Heads Will Roll’ by Yeah Yeah Yeahs and ‘Fax of Death’ by Pop-Art favourites the Laurel Collective.
 
5. Album of 2009?

Up to last week I would have said The Duckworth Lewis Method’s self-titled LP. But I’ve recently bought and loved ‘Hunting My Dress’ by Jesca Hoop and I’d have to say that that takes the prestigious title!

6. Best live band of 2009?

4. Single of 2009?

My single of the year goes to ‘Odio’ by The Kiarra Elles.  A fantastic slice of razor edged indie pop, instantly classic.  Like everything we released on PopArt, deserves to be assaulting the ears of the population at large.
Honourable mentions to The New Royal Family for ‘The New Royal Family Rules OK’ (handclaps! It’s own dance for the chorus!) and Brontosaurus Chorus for new single ‘Louisiana’ (available FREE on the main PopArt site, pop fans).  Oh and ‘Cradle’ by The Joy Formidable.
Lots of great underground hits then but I feel this year has been missing a real bona fide mainstream pop hit in the mould of a Hey Ya! or a Biology.  I’ll probably think of loads in a minute.
5. Album of 2009? 
Underground: Brontosaurus Chorus - ‘You’ve Created A Monster’
Overground: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – ‘It’s Blitz’
Wombling Free: Mike Batt – ‘Scizophonia/Tarot Suite

 6. Best live band of 2009?
Yeah Yeah Yeahs at Radio City Music Hall in New York.  In America.  Yeah, Cowboy Town.
7. Film of 2009?
A good year for going to the pictures.  I had a great time at Star Trek, Watchmen and The Dark Knight.  But my film of the year was ‘Up’.  Funny, sad, touching, beautiful.  A masterpiece.
8. TV show of 2009?
Having finally got into ‘The Wire’ this year I am loving that show so hard.  Just starting on Season 4.  In terms of shows that were actually on this year I loved the last series of ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’  I’d never watched it before but, whether I liked the celebrity or not, it was never less than fascinating.
9. Hero of 2009?
The people who make those fantastic pastrami sandwiches at Katz’s Deli in New York.  Did I say I went to New York?
10. What do you hope to achieve in 2010?
I’ve really no idea, but I’m excited to find out.
11. Who else is worth looking out for in the coming 12 months?
I’ve really no idea, but I’m excited to find out.
 
12. How will you be spending Christmas?
Future Wife is going to visit her family in Australia, so I’ll be spending a few days at the old ancestral bungalow in Leatherhead and at my brother’s place in Bristol, once again hogging toys intended for my niece and nephew.  Then I will be enjoying a bachelor’s Christmas, sitting around in my pajamas playing computer games and listening to pop records.
 
 
And the End of the Decade Bonus:
 
13. The Noughties  - how was it for you?
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.  Confusing, exhilarating, exciting.
The 90s were easier, simpler times, probably more because I was in my teens than anything else.  We knew what we liked (‘indie’) and what we didn’t (‘dance’).  We were young.  We ran green.  Kept our teeth nice and clean.  But we were alright.  Mostly the bands we liked were all over the radio and the telly and playing the Astoria and Brixton Academy sized venues, if not bigger.
I felt myself in crisis culturally at the dawn of the new millennium.  I was not taken with the Strokes and the emperor’s new skinny jeans.  What I discovered in the noughties was the true joy of DIY (culturally, not in a ‘Changing Rooms’ sense).  Out of post university malaise, unemployment and a severe want of anything fun to do, myself and my close cohort Frankie asked if we could play some records we liked at our regular pub one Saturday night.  Thus was born our night Up-Town Top-Ranking and the realization that if you didn’t like what was happening you could and should get off your arse and do something about it.  The night would slowly but surely attract other kindred spirits in the shit town where we grew up and students from the local art college who were of similar tastes.  This was how I became acquainted with the wonderful young lady who this year agreed to marry me.  See what happens when you dare to dream a dream?  Step forward How Does It Feel To Be Loved? and Panic! and of course our very own PopArt and the countless amazing, genuinely amazing bands I’ve seen amongst 30 or 40 other people.  All the club nights and a good few of the bands have led, in one way or another, to some halcyon days and hopefully lifelong friendships.
For my money the best bands and gigs and club nights of the noughties have all been forged in similar fires of fandom and a pure desire to make something good and special and worthwhile rather than appeal to some imagined demographic.  This has meant that instead of getting a glimpse of my favourite pop star smoking out of the window round the back of the Astoria, I know a lot of my favourite pop stars.  They’ve stayed at my house, they’ve played at my night, I’m in their liner notes and did handclaps on their album.  They aren’t otherworldly untouchables – they quietly carry a more everyday kind of genius.  They, you, we have achieved truly great things this decade.
Big Brother was shit though.

And it was also sad to see so many of our alumni bands break up (Awwblot? Pocus Whiteface, Sub Girls) definitely the end of an era. All you Smart Kids out there must form bands NOW and write some snappy hits. Dave Rees is running out of people to terrorize.
 

PopArt moment of 2009?
 

PopArt albums getting nice reviews, I’m lead to believe the Bowie Allstars was rather good – I certainly had a blast tearing through Suffragette City with Les Carter. Lots of weird little moments when me and the boys do “duelling banjos” on the decks when it dawns on us that spinning tunes was what started it all off and it’s great that we can still bounce of each other. That sounds totally gaye doesn’t it. Oh well.
 

Single of 2009?
 

Was “Fax of Death” by The Laurel Collective a single? If so, that was the joint sound of my summer. Also surprisingly REALLY liked “Sea Within a Sea” by The Horrors, “Graveyard Girl” by M83 was also lovely. There’s always been a goth element to my work.

 Album of 2009?

Best year for “enjoyable from start to finish” albums in yonks… The Boss, The Cribs, Kiss, SFAs all put out good uns.
HOWEVER
“It’s Blitz” by The Yeah Yeah Yeahs was SUPERB… they pulled off the incredible feat of making their most adventurous album and their most accessible album at the same time. “Zero”, “Heads Will Roll” and “Hysteric” are irresistible alternative pop while the likes of “Skeleton” and “Runaway” are epically haunted and beautiful.

For those that like spooky, acoustic, string tinged ghostly beauty I urge you to check out the expanded CD version that has “acoustic versions” of several of the songs. The term “acoustic versions” doesn’t do these re-arrangements justice… they are superb and full of imagination… for example the stadium indie lighters aloft song “Little Shadow” is transformed in it’s “acoustic version” into something akin to 66 - 67 Beatles… pounding macca-esque piano backed with deep slightly sinister cellos. AND then get the i-tunes bonus track “Faces” for 79p it’s synthy & poptastic and was the other joint sound of my summer. Brilliant.

Best live band of 2009?
The Yeah Yeahs Yeahs put up one hell of a fight in Brixton the other night and any other year they would have waltzed off with the trophy BUT Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band in Hyde Park were simply godlike. I heard tales – heck we’ve all heard  tales – about the Boss’ prowess at rocking a field full of people but until you’ve experienced it first hand you don’t know squat. Such was the healing power of the Boss’ rock n’ roll church that it felt like we were in the front row even though we were lurking at the back of the front.

The setlist was superb Laura & I were saying on the way there “god imagine if he opened with “Badlands” followed by Night” and HE DID (with a cheeky starter of “London Calling” no less)! He hardly ever plays “Night”… I’d like to think he was walking behind us and we didn’t realise. Unlikely but I can dream. My fondest memory is standing in a field full of hazily drunk people doing a seemingly made up whoah-oh oh chant to an extended outro of “Out In The Streets”.  My wife Laura bought me the ticket for a birthday present and also got me a very handsome “Born To Run” t-shirt.  Well worth turning 32 for.
 
Film of 2009? 
 

Where to start? The Wrestler was great (if you liked it check out the documentary “Beyond the Mat” it’s where many of the films ideas were lifted). Watchmen may have had it flaws (and it’s Nite Owl doing a Vader “Nooooooo!” scene and it’s 80’s sex scene) but it did as good as it could to try and please all the people most of the time with millions of invested dollars resting like a burden on it’s shoulders. History will be kinder to it. District 9 was a thrill ride. Let The Right One In was spellbindingly odd and enticing. But the biggest surprise was Star Trek… Exciting, funny, well paced and full of great interesting characters… it’s only the film “Phantom Menace” should have been.
 

TV show of 2009? 
 

Hmm let me think. I actually preferred Season 2 of Flight Of The Conchords to the first season. Jermaine trying to sneak out of the Australian Girl’s apartment in a mixture of fear, confusion and panic. It was brilliant.. i’m chuckling thinking about it.  Been catching up on Battlestar Galactica over the past few months (just the last ten episodes to go… no spoilers please).

Was Season 5 of the Wire this year or last year… I’ll put it again as I actually thought it was one the best ones… what of it? Peep Show was ace but that’s a given. The final series of the Shield was INTENSE!
Oh and Rock of Love with Brett Michaels is always enjoyable bur series three was sublime.
 

Hero of 2009? 
 

My wife Laura for her love, support, Spotify sessions and heavenly cooking. Oh and for letting me watch WWE Experience on Sundays without heckling and tutting like most girls would. Big shout to the cat Baby Bandit who’s never ending quests for food, rampant games of Bandit-Ball (kicking a conker about) and general face rubbing antics entertain and inspire me. Ian Watson for giving me & Tamla plenty of opportunities to run rampant at HDiF plus also for his ballsy move of releasing THREE albums in a month (we did two in a month and it almost killed us!) And of the PopArt team who continue to bust their asses to keep the dream alive.
 

What do you hope to achieve in 2010? 
 

Most of the stuff from previous years “What Do You Hope To Achieve” alas. Next year I’m going to focus on one thing at a time instead of trying to do a billion things at once constantly and ultimately going nowhere fast.
 

Who else is worth looking out for in the coming 12 months? 
 

Really not sure, however the band “This Many Boyfriends” really tore up “How Does It Feel presents” a couple of weeks ago with their Art Brut-y/Fall-y/Pavement-y/C-86-y racket
 

How will you be spending Christmas?
 

A little bit here, a little bit there for the first few days and then probably tearing through the final ten episodes of Battlestar Galactica
 

And the End of the Decade Bonus: 
The Noughties  - how was it for you? 
To appreciate the destination you have to understand the journey I guess. On one hand if I think that the 90’s was nearly 20 years ago it fills me with dread that time slips away too fast and I should reserve a plot of land for my pasty body to be buried in (Just kidding… I’m the PhoeniX and thus I HAVE to be cremated for the legacy to go to another). But ultimately looking back over the decade I was shocked how long it was.

My instant thought was the decade started around the time of the Panic Nation back around 2004 BUT there was atleast two maybe three plump seasons of the TV show of my life before that which seem like I was played by a different actor atleast twice.. a bit like Dr.Who but without the budget or kudos. Ultimately the decade was ace for me… I got a lot of things out of my system, saw bucket loads of bands, rock n rolled all nite and partied everyday in The Violet Pad and The Tooting Rooms, hung out with people whose records I listened to growing up, did things that would have seemed impossible in Sittingbourne, meet loads of great people, a few assholes, a few people so bizarre that I swear they were method actors but all great characters and I feel all the richer for knowing them and best of all met my wife and got married totally changing my Phil-osophies on several of fears surrounding love. It’s been brilliant and for me it had a roll credits happy ending. I give it two big thumbs up, a smile and a wink.

 Getting engaged. That was a bit good.

Low point of 2009?

Shoddy people.

PopArt moment of 2009?

Releasing album on PopArt. That was a big nice.

Single of 2009?

Wild Swans. English Electric Lightning.

Album of 2009?

It’s all been a bit pants in my own highly esteemed personal opinion.

Best live band of 2009?

Lloyd Grossman.

Film of 2009? 

Tigerman does it all.

TV show of 2009? 

Joodas the Priest and his bananavan.

Hero of 2009? 

Grant Morrison.

What do you hope to achieve in 2010? 

To run the local sausage factory. With the local dogs of the area. Especially Charles.

Who else is worth looking out for in the coming 12 months? 

Dog.

How will you be spending Christmas?

With CD32. 

 And the End of the Decade Bonus: 

The Noughties  - how was it for you? 

Nice.

2. Low point of 2009?

Waking up to find I’d attempted to slash my wrists with a blunt razor
wasn’t good. Still, at least it wasn’t a sharp one.

3. PopArt moment of 2009?

I was lucky enough to play three (or was it four?) PopArt gigs this
year in various guises which were all very enjoyable, but I think the
best would have to be The Man Who Bowled the World complete with a
spaceman and Sue Denim from Robots in Disguise dressed as the clown
from Ashes to Ashes. Dave Rees’s indie bingo always cracks me up too.

4. Single of 2009?

I’ve absolutely no idea. Do people still release singles? I quite
liked that pale lass with the red hair. Is that allowed?

5. Album of 2009?

Charlotte Hatherley’s New Worlds is the only album I bought this year.
So let’s say that one.

6. Best live band of 2009?

The Primitives was probably the gig I had most fun at as a punter. A
very pleasant surprise.

7. Film of 2009?

An Education

8. TV show of 2009?

The Thick of It, Peep Show, Question Time. Predictable I know.

9. Hero of 2009?

Paul Guided Missile - particularly for doing his pop quiz live from
the fourth plinth.

10. What do you hope to achieve in 2010?

The New Royal Family will be playing their farewell gig to coincide
with my birthday in February. Should be quite a tear-jerker. My newish
band White Witches have been busy recording with Jason Buckle (the
other half of Relaxed Muscle) so hopefully that will be released in
some form or another. Oh and Keith Top of the Pops’s album should be
out too, featuring cameos by my humble self and a host of indie
glitterati. I’d also like to stop smoking again. It’s been an
emotional year.

11. Who else is worth looking out for in the coming 12 months?

Factory Floor are good.

12. How will you be spending Christmas?

And the End of the Decade Bonus:

13. The Noughties - how was it for you?

Surprisingly it was the year when I disengaged myself from Guy
Debord’s Society of the Spectacle and actually began doing things
rather than passively observing. And the same seems to be true for
many other people. The death of the music industry can only be a good
thing for creativity.