10 From 2012

It's nearly the end of the year, so in the spirit of "everyone else is doing, so I'm going to as well", here is my Top 10 Musical things this year (with a twist).
These 10 acts, presented in list form for your logical delectation, are the 10 acts that are "new" to me this year (ie I might have known something about them, or they existed before 2012, they just never 'passed through my transom' (as a wise man once said (David St Hubbins)).
Each band is listed with a suggested track if you want to hear what they sound like (unless you already know, in which case I'm teaching my granny to carry coals to Newcastle (or something like that?))

• The Wildhearts - 29 x The Pain
• Graham Day & The Gaolers - Soundtrack To The Daily Grind
• Ducks Deluxe - Fireball
• Frank Turner - Try This At Home
• Devo - Space Junk
• Richard Hawley - Tonight The Streets Are Ours
• John Wesley Harding - I'm Wrong About Everything
• Allo Darlin - Northern Lights
• Spector - Chevy Thunder
• First Aid Kit - Emmylou

In fact, whilst I'm here, I might as well add Top Tracks & Albums from the Year as well:
Top 5 Albums:

• Paul Weller - Sonik Kicks
• Bruce Foxton - Back In The Room
• Madness - Oui Oui Si Si Ja Ja Da Da
• PiL - This Is PiL
• First Aid Kit - The Lions Roar

Top 5 Tracks:

• Paul Weller - When Your Garden's Overgrown
• PiL - One Drop
• Bruce Foxton - Number Six
• First Aid Kit - Emmylou
• Allo Darlin - Northern Lights

YouTube Playlist of the above (if you're bothered)

And to conclude The Rigid Digit 2012 Cultural Almanac (yes, its another list)

Book:

• Here Comes Everybody, The Story Of The Pogues - James Fearnley
  OK, some of the prose is a bit 'flowerey', but the book captures the essence of being inside the band that has grown up together - the smiles, the seat, the fights.  And it does the one thing that all good rock biographies should - it makes you want to go and listen to the back catalogue, only you'll do so now with a bit of insight as to where the band's heads were at the time of writing

Film:

• Men In Black 3
  Personally, I didn't think it was as good as the first two, and there was no Frank The Pug, but it was still a well written, well acted film which continues to debunk the "is there anybody out there?" school of thought

DVD:

• The Muppets
  Kids Film? Yes it probably is, but it's not stopped me watching about 10 times so far.
  (I'm including this, because although the film was 2011, I never saw it until the DVD release this year) 

TV:

• Only Connect remains the best quiz show produced by the BBC (or indeed any other Channel)
• Special mention to BBC4 and it's music documentaries, particularly the '... Britannia' strand.  This year has seen Chas & Dave, Squeeze, Thin Lizzy, Britpop, Manchester/Factory Records, Paul Carrack (to mention but a few).
  The Alan Yentob fronted 'Imagine' programmes are also usually worth a look