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It’s no secret that I like a girl in a band. I like it even more if they’re the only girl, and even, even, even more if they’re the drummer. Although role of favourite girl drummer in the world falls to Cherisse Osei, there’s a new challenger in the form of Florrie.

Florrie is a songwriter and part of JFK, the in-house band over at Xenomania towers. I saw her perform as the backing band to all the artists at the brilliant Xenofest showcase the production ‘outfit’ held over the summer but now she’s just released her first piece of music via youtube. Complete with a trademark Xenomania style rap and the gorgeous swooshing club beats of a Fred Falke remix, it reveals her to be perhaps an unexpected new pop starlet for this year. That’s if they don’t insist she hands it over to Mini Viva to release instead.

Prepare to make this dreary Wednesday morning feel like Friday night.

p.s. what the hell has happened to Jessie Malakouti, please Xenomania?

Sometimes you hear a song and you’re not entirely sure what it is. You’re aware it’s a classic and asking would make you look a bit daft. Shazam has gone some way to solve these issues and I have an almightily brilliant Spotify playlist that I keep up to date with everything I’ve shazam’d in the last year. It’s mainly populated by soul and jazz from many a Saturday night spent holding my phone up in the Dalston Jazz Bar.

I don’t actually care though, hence showing you that list. Yes I didn’t know for a fact what Bob Dylan ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ was. Big deal. We all have different music specialities and learning about new stuff (even if it’s old) is brilliant. That’s part of the reason Absolute Radio is a preset on my car radio. I like listening to the station because it’ll play me some classic songs I’ve never heard before. It’s as much education as it is entertainment.

This is all a big preamble to me horrifying Jack by admitting to not really knowing what Jacques Brel – Ne Me Quitte Pas was before Christmas. As the Dusty greatest hits album is my standard ‘BOYS SUCK. I NEED TO WALLOW’ album, I must have heard Dusty’s version a billion times but never quite clocked it. The reason I’ve gone back and found Jacques though is because Barbra Streisand has covered the song on her latest album ‘Love Is The Answer’. Apart from the fact that it makes you want to tear your heart straight out of your chest I think I’m particularly into this song because of all the quiet then LOUD (probably a good technical term for this somewhere) bits.

Once upon I time I didn’t know much about Barbra. In fact I was once asked ‘Name three Barbra Streisand songs’ as the first question in a job interview last year. Way to throw me off. After this Christmas though I feel like I could go on Mastermind with her as my specialist subject. After Christmas I drove back down from the North to London and challenged myself to listen to Radio 2 all day. I would have listened most of the day anyway but for once I wanted to avoid me being flick happy when I don’t like a song. It was a very strange day on air. Cilla & Tony Blackburn presented the Great British Songbook and Dave Pearce brought Dance Anthems to the station. In between those two came an extremely intense interview with Babs presented by chart god Paul Gambaccinni that lasted for 2 hours and incorporated performances from her recent intimate show at New York’s ‘Village Vanguard’. I heard about 28 Streisand songs in a row and learnt everything from her relationship with the Academy to the lack of love in her life. Did you know that she’s never sung ‘Woman in Love’ live because she couldn’t relate to the lyrics? Did you know that she once went to see Jacques Brel in concert in France and he didn’t sing ‘Ne Me Quitte Pas’ even though he knew she was there? She even went backstage and begged. Now you do.

Anyway here is her version albeit a roping recording. Just buy it. Amazatronica. There are so many versions of this song out there though – which one is your favourite? I’d advise skipping the Belinda Carlise one.

And so Ellie Goulding is the Sound of 2010. I like Ellie but not enough to really care much at the moment – she seems nice enough. Both Ellie and Marina were always going to come at the top of the poll having been knocking about since the beginning of the year and taking time to leak songs, play gigs, in Ellie’s case play Jools, release limited edition singles and set the blogosphere all in a tizz while making sure they didn’t chart in the top 20 and break the conditions of being in the Sound of … poll. The model of the Little Boots winning path was watched and just repeated last year. My votes this year were for 1. Hurts 2. Dollface 3. Jessie Malakouti. I’d have voted for Marina as well but thought she would get enough.

Anyway a couple of the labels were less on the ball about the sound of and sent out I Blame Coco + Eliza Doolittle tracks the week after it shut. I’d have probably have voted for them both otherwise. Eliza was knocking about in development for a lot of 2009 but only released her first E.P. at the end of November. Let’s just hope that wasn’t the first in an attempt to be the Sound of 2011.

If you can get over the name confusion (people should really start thinking about google), Eliza makes toe-tappy jangle pop. It’s not big, bold with massive production; in fact it’s even a little Jack Johnson (wait… come back!) She looks like a more natural version of Miley Cyrus, lyrically there’s shades of Lily with her straight talking tales dresses her age and is distinctly Norf Laaandan. Her age seems to be a bit of a mystery. I think she looks about 17, but her label replied saying they weren’t sure but they thought about 22.

Her videos all have a strong visual identity. This is her first single proper ‘Skinny Genes’, joining the ranks of Ain’t What You Do, Young Folks and er, Blow My Whistle Bitch, as songs with a whistle designed to get inside your head.

Alternatively listen to her EP on Spotify which contains the furiously catchy Moneybox, the trippy Police Car and chirpy Rollerskates.

In my mind I’ve dramatically taken against Roisin Murphy for getting pregnant and having a baby. It just seemed like a weird thing to do at this time, but whatevs. Who cares when it’s made her throw out this banging new track. Previous leak ‘Orally Fixated’ was a bit rubbish but this is a full out dancefloor stomp complete with eurorave piano and drums from 1992. It’s so good probably because it’s just a big massive tune, the lyrics might be fancy but sonically it’s not trying to be cold and arty. It just likes going bang, bang, bang. BANG.

Listen on loop for an hour. Cry at being unable to scrobble it.

I’d love to have the energy to make end of year lists as wonderfully detailed as the mighty XO London. Unfortunately I’m full of a stinker of a cold and generally distracted by everything else. This year I’ve been a little rubbish at listening to as much music as I should do. There’s a whole back-up of albums in my LISTEN TO ME folder on spotify, so this may well be missing some corkers. Like I’m sure Fever Ray and Metric would be likely candidates for my favourite albums had I actually listened to them more than once or twice. I need to catch up pronto.

Anyway my favourite songs of the year:

1. Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta Feeling
Simply for packing as much joy and celebration as possible into just under 5 minutes. It’s utterly infectious and I’m even more convinced this is my song of the year after feeling just how amazing it was to both play it and watch others enjoying it at Popstarz NYE last night.

2. Daniel Merriweather – Water & A Flame
I’m not entirely sure what I think about Daniel Merriweather but his album surprised me. Red grew on it to a manic extent but this later released single is without doubt the heart-achingly gorgeous highlight. It’s one of those moments that could make me cry so hard I start to feel sick (see De-lovely, last 10 minutes of ‘Doomsday’, Mr Shue & Emma on Glee etc.)

3. Lady Gaga – Bad Romance
It was tough to choose between this and Pokerface, but again Popstarz last night tipped this one as best. It was as if I could have played it on repeat for 4 hours solid and no one would have minded. Paparazzi was my favourite video of hers this year, but the first 2 seconds even of Bad Romance absolutely smash it. The decade’s most exciting popstar.

4. Royksopp – The Girl and The Robot
A bleak surprise song from Robyn. I interviewed the band earlier say everything I could possibly need to (600 words worth) over here.

5. God Help The Girl – Musician Take Heed
I’d not heard of this album until Colin stuck his iPod on loudspeaker at a late summer BBQ and the brilliant God Help The Girl album came out. It’s a teaming up of Stuart Murdoch from Belle & Sebastian with various female vocalists. Just pipping Perfection As A Helper, this song showcases why I love the album, full of gorgeous, melancholic harmonies.

6. Cheryl Cole – Fight For This Love
I know some people (hello Naomi) fully despise Cheryl, but I’m happy to be swept away with the hype of loving her. Hooray for her pipping Nadine to a solo album. FFTL was unexpected and provided the opportunity for a wide range of new, fascinating dance with your fist type moves from the Talia camp.

7. Jack Penate – Be The One
When Jack released his first album I wasn’t particularly interested in the jingly-jangly nature of it all. Who knows what happened before the release of album #2 (a long holiday in Ibiza?) but it’s euphoric, Balearic sounds were the surprise of the year. A blissfully uplifting song that featured the best use of trumpets since Mark Ronson got his hands on the instrument, and provided a brilliant moment at Wireless in Hyde Park.

8. Shirley Bassey – Apartment
I have absolutely no idea what this song is about. Written by Rufus Wainwright for the latest Shirley Bassey album, it’s entirely nonsensical. That said, the spanish guitars and a roaring vocal make it a quirky and utterly memorable oddity.

9. Rumble Strips – Daniel
I think I should have listened to the latest Rumble Strips album more but this is the song that stuck with me the most. That’s probably because I have a friend called Daniel and when we’re talking about him I like to belt this out. I feel like I want to sing it while standing on a windswept bridge in the rain. Dramatic and dastardly.

10. Lily Allen – Not Fair
A funny, silly, even stupid little song that captures everything we first loved about Lils. It causes a regular barn dance each week at Popstarz and provided a very odd moment with a bride and groom dancing and singing it to each other when I, retrospectively inappropriately, played it at a friend’s wedding.

Special outside the top 10 loving goes to Never Forget You, Bulletproof, Flashback, Empire State of Mind, Battlefield, Warm in The Shadows & Heads Will Roll.

I’ve mentioned it before, but Bug is a brilliant event at the BFI Southbank every month which showcases the very best in music videos under the comedic gaze of Adam Buxton. This video for Cinnamon Chasers’ ‘Luv Deluxe’ was my favourite from the November event.

It’s like (500) Days of Summer gone badly wrong, seen through the eyes of someone reading a ‘choose your own adventure’ book. The video is directed by 23 year old Saman Keshavarz and seems to be one of his first videos, having previously made a short film in 2006 called ‘Drug of Choice’. The music comes from Russ Davies, known in this instance as Cinnamon Chasers and is a a gorgeously dreamy sound-scape of a melody that gradually feels more urgent. It also appears Russ is a little randomly the son of Kinks’ founder Dave Davies which is a good pop fact. Best of all on Last.FM we have a high compatibility. It seems he likes Madonna, CSS, Ladytron, Little Boots and Roisin Murphy. Well done him.

I Blame Coco (dot coco dot coco dot com) is the daughter of Sting. She signed to Island Records around the same time as Tommy Sparks and VV Brown but save a few lo-fi reggae vibe-y tracks that have appeared on youtube, there’s been little heard of her. I thought the project had perhaps been abandoned. That is, until XO’s Middle Eight just found a clip of her new single ‘Caesar’ that’s been popped on her myspace page.

Not only does is it suddenly make her sound like a pop star, but Robyn is featured on the chorus, and ooh isn’t there something about that bassline that screams Teddybears. A quick google and yes it seems she’s been working with Klas and Joakim Ahlund from Teddybears who made one of my favourite albums of the naughties. As XO says, it’s also refreshing to hear a new female artist who, as much as I might love it, isn’t bringing out a banging electro-pop ditty. I want something new for 2010 instead of a continuation. And if it’s unpolished girls who hate wearing sequins, are a bit gruff and have some swagger about them – bring it on!

Consider my interest taken from not even worth a head-turn to manically excited (particularly thanks to this picture from her myspace).

Earlier in the year I thought Marina & The Diamonds had somehow been left after the Sound of 2009 poll. Secretly everyone was gently taking their time to make sure the Sound of 2010 poll had her at the top or at very least the top 5. In the ever confusing world of buzz singles, limited release, digital only, the video for her FIRST SINGLE PROPER (i.e. the first single on a major label) seems to have just hit the web.

Marina looks absolutely gorgeous but I’m hoping this isn’t another case of ‘loved by the critics (at first), written about to the point of boredom and then generally ignored by the public’ a la Little Boots. The chorus of this is much poppier than anything else we’ve heard from Marina before and it includes these outstanding lines that will quite easily make Adrian explode:

‘He said ‘OH MY GOD, You look like Shakira
No, no you’re Catherine Zeta
Actually my name’s Marina’

It’s like a 2010 answerback song to this that should be sent back in time ten (TEN!) years as a warning:

I thought I’d written about Hurts ages ago but seemingly not. Nevertheless this video, now from April, remains ridiculous & amazing:

They’re a Manchester band signed to Sony whose members used to be part of the slightly blogged up Daggers. They seem to have kept their fondness of black & white photos, Richard Stannard, tidy hair and italo disco. The only other song I’ve heard ‘Witnesses’ is a bit more bouncy and guittary, but essentially both songs make you want to walk through the rain in Manchester. Your life would be in black & white and you’d be on your way to work in a factory with a frown on your face, pretending you’re in a tragic music video, as Melanie Sykes walks past you dressed as a Scottish Widow. Sound of 2010 voters – this should be on your list!

With 10 weeks left until the change of the decade, people who enjoy making lists are beginning to crank out their favourite songs of the naughties and talk about their lives as if someone cares. Thank goodness we can finally put that the horrible ‘naughties’ term away, but what do we call the 2010s? The moody teens?

And so to 2000. In 2000, I turned 18 and started going out to clubs, spent a lot of nights in a then brilliant club called Heaven & Hell, and discovered much more music. I got disillusioned with my gradually crumbling school which eventually shut down as my year left, but not before somehow buggering us all up thanks to sacking various teachers midway through my exams (THANKS, STILL BITTER. MRS HOLDEN 4EVA). My best friends were girls called Joanne and Helen.  Joanne and I stay in touch but as we moved away Helen and I gradually lost touch but I really wish we hadn’t. She was ace. I worked at Index which I LOVED and everyone always laughs at me for being so enthusiastic about it, but seriously a billion times better than sucky Argos. I was also a lot more quiet and geeky at school. Someone recently commented they were glad I had ‘found myself’ which is a bit weird, but I guess true.  This was caused probably by moving down away from the Northwest to the Midlands for uni but didn’t really get to grips with it and found the change hard. The only thing that really kept me going was joining the student radio station and trying to infiltrate the social group there. Of course, doing student radio would go on to give me the most fun ever, some of my best friends (even if some, sadly, only for a short time), a love of all types of music and my career.

These are the songs that define that year to me. There’s quite an obvious split between songs from the Blackpool clubbing experience, and uni tunes.

Listen to them on spotify or see the list after the jump:

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