And so this is Christmas - and what have you done?

And with that, we get to the end of #album-of-the-day in 2021.  It's the first year I've been in the channel and I've really enjoyed spending my time catching up from the very first album (which was actually back on 21st March 2020) to the present day.  I'm going to take a break from the blog posts for a bit - maybe I'll start up again at a later date, but who knows what the world will throw at us in 2022?!?

To finish the year, I've done a bit of analysis of the selections from this year - some objective and some subjective so let's start with the facts first.

Just the facts, man

Number of albums picked : 246
Newest album : The Puzzle - Devin Townsend
Oldest album : Astral Weeks - Van Morrison (1968 - a few months younger than me), although Verdi's Requiem was written in 1874, so is the oldest music present
Most popular years : 2020 (22 albums), 2021/19 (13)
% picks from this century : 72%
Year from this century with the fewest picks - 2011 (just the 1)
Most popular year from last century : 1998 (7 albums)
Most recent year which didn't have a pick : 1988

And now the subjective bit (which some people might not agree with!)

Best 5 that I already knew

Automatic For The People - REM
Screamadelica - Primal Scream
Different Class - Pulp
Graceland - Paul Simon
Shrines - Purity Ring

Kacey Musgraves and Throwing Muses would have made the list, but since I picked them, I feel they'll let me off omitting them.  Paul Weller, Röyksopp and HAIM can also consider themselves unlucky - they were verrrry close to making it!

Best 5 that I'd not heard before

Use Me - PVRIS
Oh Wonder - Oh Wonder
Lowlight - Lor
Beneath The Skin - Of Monsters And Men
Drink The Sea - The Glitch Mob

I really liked all of these and will REALLY try to remember I do and re-listen to them - so a big thank you to everyone who suggested them.

Best 5 that I really wasn't expecting to like

Cheer - Drug Church
Blast Tyrant - Clutch
Science Fiction - Church Of The Cosmic Skull
On This Perfect Day - Guilt Machine
Light Me Up - The Pretty Reckless

None of these tick any of my usual boxes, but I found them surprisingly enjoyable (and is there any higher praise than "surprisingly enjoyable"?). So thank you to every one who helped me push my musical boundaries a tiny little bit (provided you realise there's no danger of me ever listening to any of them again)

Most overrated entries

Is This It - The Strokes
Kid A - Radiohead
Goo - Sonic Youth
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel

I've no problems with people picking stuff I don't like, but I find all of these undeniable classic albums - well, more than a bit deniable, actually.  I just don't get what people see in them - and yes, I'm a heathen.  In case you haven't been paying attention, I've proved this on many occasions.

Most surprising entries

It's gotta be Busted, hasn't it?  I liked it though!  I was also surprised to see U2's How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb on there - I love a bit of U2, but I wouldn't have picked that album over (m)any of their others.

I think that's pretty much all the information I can squeeze out of the list - but if you want to know something else just shout and I'll see if i can extract it.  One final horrible fact to ruin the year for you - if you Google "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" the first version that comes back is...

...the Celine Dion version.  It sums the world up right now, doesn't it?  

So, on that happy note, all that's left is for me to thank everyone for their selections and for their indulgence in putting up with my blog posts.  You'll only have the one comment a day from me to put up with now - how will you manage?!?

Merry Xmas to everyone and all the best for 2022!

21.12.14 - And we've made it!