John Walker's Electronic House

1. Pan’s Labyrinth
2. The Fountain
3. Idiocracy
4. Thank You For Smoking
5. Half Nelson
6. Little Miss Sunshine
7. Casino Royale

As I started to think about my top 10 albums of this year it occurred to me that 2006 hasn’t been a music year at all. 2006 has been a TV year. I haven’t had a TV year in a while, and as ever I’m not even sure if the television in our front room is plugged into an aerial. Yet, despite this, via (entirely legal, obviously) magic, lots of television has reached me, and it’s been awfully good.

Music’s still played a big part, but then when I try to think further about why I’ve consumed so little, I realise it’s radio. Again, I don’t even own a radio with a dial on it any more (that’s not strictly true – I own about five, but I couldn’t tell you exactly where any of them are right now). Radio is made of internet juice now, each station kindly parceling up anything I might wish to hear and letting me tune in when it’s appropriate. There’s the radio in our magic kitchen of course, only capable of producing the Archers or Any Answers (I went into the kitchen yesterday at what I’d have sworn oaths was about 8.30pm, and heard the stinking farming nonsense, and emerged to find it was now 7.12pm), and if Radio 4 were to ever make a decent comedy programme again, I’d listen to it. But it’s archives that have consumed my year. Perhaps I’m slightly demented in my obsession, but when discovering something I like, I voraciously consume it. When that something I like has years’ worth of archives containing thousands of episodes, I’m in trouble. So 2006 has been a Loveline year. (It’s good to know I’m taking a healthy break at the moment, having discovered limited archives of Nick Abbot from the late 90s, and that he’s back on the radio after a four year break and doing a weekly show).

I don’t feel in a position to make a top 10/12/453 albums list this year. It turns out the majority of what I’ve been listening to most is from The Past (from last year’s Separation Sunday by The Hold Steady to the 1960’s Best of Blood Sweat & Tears). However, there’s plenty to say about TV, a little bit to say about film (I’m not sure if I’ve been to the cinema five times in the last year), and every now and then I’ve played the odd computer game.

The Eurogamer Top 50 is up-n-running, featuring sniping comments from all the regulars. As always it’s excellent fun, and doing a splendid job of winding up the ghastly Comment Trolls as they explode in frothing anger that it’s not in their prefered order. It’s not really in any order, compiled by the erratic democracy of writer voting. Listen to those angry heads a-poppin’.

As Eurogamer signs off the for the holidays (and I forgot to link my most recent review) Tom writes the most excellent spoof of The Night Before Christmas. Go read.

“And merry our Christmas will certainly be,
Providing we’ve transferred the Santa Claus Mii,”

“I’ve got it right here in my bag,” said friend Ally,
“So why not let’s go and get mashed on some sherry?”

Merry Christmas, one and all.

I’m off to France to see my sister for the Christmas holidays, and back on the 27th with all my usual top 12 nonsense.

I was taken by surprise tonight to see that TalkSport presenter Mike Dicken has died.

Around eight or nine years ago I worked at the station when it was called Talk Radio, and shortly before it became the ghastly sports drivel it now is. I was recently reminded of Talk Radio in its glory days, finding torrents of favourite shows from the late 90s. (Those favourite presenters, Tommy Boyd and Nick Abbot, were fired by the despicable Kelvin MacKenzie before I worked there). I began as a Creature Of The Night on Ian Collins’ show, eventually moving to daytime work for various programmes. This included getting to sit across the desk from agony aunt Anna Raeburn when I was assistant producing on Scott Chisholm’s programme, which provided many excellent moments. Anna is a fantastic person, quite mad, and incredibly kind.

Someone who wasn’t so kind, however, was Mike Dicken. He was a cantankerous old bastard, who would barely acknowledge my existence when I worked on his weekend 1am to 6am show. He was, unlike so many who present the on-air persona of being miserable old buggers, being himself.

However, he wasn’t cruel or spiteful, which made him a rare treat in the murky world of radio. He was enormously principled, even though his principles were very often far from my own. He also made it impossible for me not to like him by hanging up on any caller who said “basically” more than once.

Someone doesn’t deserve any special credit for bothering to say thank you after you’ve spent the night working for them at minimum wage, answering calls from the sorts of morons who call national radio stations at 5am. But the last time I worked for him, he did thank me, which was apparently a rare moment. He gets no special credit for that. He could easily have been a hell of a lot nicer.

He was funny, and while slowly spoken, very quick witted. He had no time for idiots, but did not have the tantrums and hissyfits of certain other presenters. I secretly liked him, despite his being a dick. I’m sad he’s dead.

The potential of the Wiimote, as I will forever insist on calling it, is enormous, and for many excited developer puppies it will be overwhelming. While the new Monkey Ball wasted some opportunities with the crappy party games, the natural and instinctive use of a motion sensitive controller for the regular levels feels like this is how the series was always designed to be played. A skateboarding sim, however, does not.

This should be interesting. First Wii review, and I think lowest score in the world for the game.

/Hides from comments

Quick, internet, tell me the best instant cure for clearing my sinuses.

(But not involving my immediate death).

I’m not dead.

Just working insane 14 hour days.

Normal service shall resume… Tuesday. Argh.

Vicarious Visions have invariably done a stellar job of recreating Tony Hawk games for the Nintendo consoles. The GBA games were surprisingly effective, and last year’s American Sk8land for the DS managed the enviable feat of being better than its console big brother. Their versions have always stuck to the purer Hawk game of the early Pro Skater series, while the NeverSoft versions deviated further and further. Until now, that is.

New EG review up.