If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred, maybe even a thousand times; man does not live by mysteries alone. Putting it simply, one needs pursuits and hobbies that do not involve questing after the Holy Grail! Luckily for me, there’s music; a vice that soothes my soul in an altogether different way.

I grew up in Chicago in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s and enjoyed a music scene that was diverse, vibrant and edgy. In fact, my Wrigleyville neighbourhood served as the setting for the film adaptation of Nick Hornby’s best-selling novel, High Fidelity. The movie is one of my favourites, not only because of my affinity with its protagonist, John Cusack, but because it launched the career of the marvellous Jack Black. It also featured a record store run by John Cusack’s character, Rob Gordon, located just down the street from where I lived.

High Fidelity, the quintessential record store

If the truth be known, I share Gordon’s obsessive-compulsive disorder for creating ‘lists’ of all sorts, subjects and sizes. This includes the ceremonial ranking of my favourite albums and concerts of the year. In the past, it also included the creation of a best-of-the-year tape that I remixed ad nauseam until each transition was perfect. Only then did I ritualistically distribute copies to my family and friends at Christmas; the lucky buggers. Decades later little has changed, except for the fact that my ‘best of’ tape has been replaced by an iTunes play list and a CD and, of course, the musical backdrop of Chicago has been replaced by London.

So, the tradition continues. And thus, without further ado, my 2009 musical ‘best of’ lists look something like this:

Top 5 Concerts

1) Bat for Lashes at the Roundhouse in London

2) Fleet Foxes at the Roundhouse in London

3) Florence and the Machine at Shoreditch House in London

4) Mediaeval Bæbes at Saint Pancras Church in London

5) The Dead Weather at Shoreditch Church in London

And now, as if blurred concert photos were not punishment enough, I present my top 10 albums of 2009:

And so it goes… Another year, another list, another opportunity to cleanse one’s soul by remembering that there is more to life than grails, arks and tombs. Much more. Maybe I’ll make a list…!