Todd is God

My gig of the year this year was pretty much a no-brainer, it has to be Prince. 1. Prince - O2 Arena: Yes, he may be a weird fucker off stage but put him on stage and the guy just has it (whatever 'it' is). This gig was at the tail end of his 21 night stint in London, and the general consensus was that the guy rocks. Yes, there are some duff songs - but this was mainly a Prince plays the 'hits' concert and some of those songs are pretty damn good. And the rest - in no particular order - were: 2. The Hold Steady - Borderline / Shepherds Bush Empire / Electric Ballroom: Yes, Ok, so I am cheating a bit here, by counting all three HS gigs as one entry. If you still haven't either got into this band or seen them live, where have you been?! Recording a new album and due back in the UK in Summer 2008. If you like bands to look like they are enjoying and love what they do on stage, I urge you to go and see them. 3. Scorpions - Apollo Hammersmith: Seriously, who would have...

Picking singles is the hardest thing these days, with track downloads, and I have no doubt missed some horrible pop tunes that should be on here, but this list is still pretty good. These are in no particular order, after the top 5, which have all been my favourite of the year at some point in 2007, and I still couldn't decide who should have the overall crown. 1. Cassette - The Smartest Bomb : I am probably on a the few people that actually bought this, but I love it. It is very 80s in its sound, but it just really works for me. 2. Bruce Spingsteeen - Radio Nowhere : The first signs that the Boss was back and playing some classy, catchy rock again. 3. Funeral for a Friend - Into Oblivion (Reunion) : 4. Foo Fighters - The Pretender : Let's make no mistake, when the FF are good, they are very good; and this single is true class. 5. Public Enemy - Harder than you Think : Not sure where they've sampled the horns from on this, but couple with Chuck D in full flow, thi...