As 2008 winds to a close I always like to think about the year in music. This year seemed to be the year of the catchy song eg: "I Kissed a girl" by Katy Perry, "Sweet About Me" by Gabriella Cilmi (I suggest America keep their ears open because Gabriella is heading their way) and plenty of other songs thst were catchy enough to hit the top of the charts. We also saw plenty of instant success for newcomers like Cilmi, British band The Ting Tings and The Presets (Check out The Presets album "Apocalypso", it won Album of the Year at this years ARIA awards" It was also a massive year for superstar Rihanna who is probably the biggest name in the world at the moment as she continues to churn out hit after hit even if the songs don't hit number one, you can always guarantee that there'll be at least one song by Rihanna in that top 10 somewhere while Maroon 5 continue to be the most overplayed band on Australian radio. Another superstar who continues to dominate the Australian charts is Pink with many of her songs either hitting number one or the top 10 and there is nothing to suggest that it won't continue in 2009. However there is no one defining song of 2008, many of the hit songs released this year are memorable in one way or another and someone should suggest to Madonna that it's time she stopped dressing like she is 19 and dress to suit her age. Some of the outfits she wore were seriously creepy.

This song is about a girl who'll do anything to get her hands on a man and at the end of the day should maybe ask what the whole point of it was. Falling Over, Tripping Up Rushing up You’ve got to get to him Before she takes him away Blacking out You’ll knock yourself out To ensure you’re in his arms You’re not looking at him With clear eyes He has just blurred your vision You’re falling over, tripping up Would he make your life So damn easy You’re falling over, tripping up Would he help you Feel like your something? Get a grip He has someone else On his mind tonight Grow up Get over him and stop Living in the past You’re not looking at him With clear eyes He has just blurred your vision You’re falling over, tripping up Would he make your life So damn easy You’re falling over, tripping up Would he help you Feel like your something? Wake up Maybe it’s time you got Out of his double bed Chill out Here’s a glass of cold water Now pour it over your head Cause you’re not looking at him With clear eyes He has blurred your vision You’re falling over, tripping up Would he make your life So damn easy You’re falling over, tripping up Would he help you to Feel like your something?

I listened to Avril Lavigne's "The Best Damn Thing" last night for about the third time since I bought it last year and I really couldn't help but think it was a MASSIVE disappointment, it really did begin to sound like an album made particularly for American cheerleaders and it became really annoying especially after the title track (which to my annoyance is going to be the fourth single off the album), it's also prevalent on "I Don't Have To Try" with the stupid school girl style chanting which sounded absolutely ridiculous. Avril, if you think you have matured as a songwriter with this album then I think you have a few screws loose because "The Best Damn Thing" is an album that has taken Avril two steps backward and is VERY disappointing

So the Spice Girls have started their world tour in Canada this week but I can't help but wonder for what reason other then money, did the Spice Girls reform? They say it was so that their children could see what they did before their children were born but I think there is a simple and easier solution then reforming: there are dozens if not millions of Spice Girls videos on Youtube, they all probably have computers so why not gather the children around the computer and say "This is what Mummy did before you were brought into the world". Anyway speaking of the Spice Girls, an author has come out an attacked the band for reforming saying that they have destroyed the minds of thousands of young girls out there by subverting female morality and subjecting young girls to sexual innuendo young. I have to agree, we now have a generation worried about body image and sex because of the message that people like Britney Spears and the Spice Girls showed on TV, it wasn't about "Girl Power" at all, the message was more like "Let's Sexualise Young Girls Early!"

That summed up my mood tonight it would be this song: Pour Le Monde by Crowded House he imagines the world as the angel ascending like the ghost of a man who is tied up to the chair and he tries to believe that his life has a meaning with his hand on his heart pour le monde paspour le guerre and i wake up blind like my dreams were to bright and i lost my reguard for the good things that i had and the radio was sad when you listen for good in a hope that comes to nothing coz the liars moved in and they believe their own dark medicine they act so nonchalant but he is not a dog perform for you in the stadium for the world not for the war and he wont hesitate though it might lead to heartache in the nightclub indigo for the world not for the war pour le monde pas pour la guerre when you listen for good in a hope that comes to nothing coz the liars have moved in and they brew their own dark medicine believing its good behind their jaded eyes a dilemma hes the best that you ever had hes so low youll never know

In my spare time, I like do a bit of song writing, not that I can sing or play an instrument but quite often I will get tunes in my head or words that sound as though they would make a really good song. Last night, it took me two hours to write a song called "Waiting". I'll put the lyrics up to see what you all think of them, it's meant to be a guitar/ piano driven pop song, I spent a little while trying to turn it into a rock song but it didn't work out that way. Waiting Fell into an ocean of confusion So I got swept out in the tide It doesn't seem to matter what I do I can't escape the feeling of the current Holding me back Smashing my tired body to the bone I spent part of my life just waiting on the shore Now here I am with the sea of fools Who don’t know what to do Except waiting for someone to come and rescue me Waiting for something that probably won't arrive In time Waiting for someone to save me from dying here Before all my dreams come to nothing Now I'm just waiting for you tonight Feel like I'm losing a battle I should be winning I should be on the golden sand I try to fight the ocean of green But it keeps on pushing me back Pushing me away from you I spent part of my life just waiting on the shore Now here I am with the sea of fools Who don’t know what to do Except waiting for someone to come and rescue me Waiting for something that probably won't arrive In time Waiting for someone to save me from dying here Before all my dreams come to nothing Now I'm just waiting for you tonight Tonight seems so far away I just want the touch of your hand To rescue me from the sharks That keeps on circling me I spent part of my life just waiting on the shore Now here I am with the sea of fools Who don’t know what to do Except waiting for someone to come and rescue me Waiting for something that probably won't arrive In time Waiting for someone to save me from dying here Before all my dreams Before all my dreams come to nothing Now I'm just waiting for you tonight

After listening to "Time On Earth", the brand new Crowded House album, I have to say that I was filled with this sense of wanting to hug someone and glad to hear one of the most under rated bands in the world are back with some great new music. However I think people should remember that "Time On Earth" was originally going to be Neil Finn's third solo album but never the less it is lovely to hear Crowded House on the radio with some brand new tunes. "Time On Earth" is a mix of melancholic ballads such as "People are like Suns" and "Heaven That I'm Making", Quirky, almost Split Enz like songs such as "She Called Up" (definitely one to jump around to" and "Say That Again" and just plain beautiful songs with exquisite harmonies such as "Pour Le Monde". Tracks to look out for on Time on Earth are "Silent House" which is the track that Neil Finn wrote with the Dixie Chicks and it also appeared on the Dixie Chicks album "Taking the Long Way" (It is also mistaken as a track about the suicide of former CH drummer, Paul Hester when it's about Natalie Maine's grandmother and her battle with alzheimers disease), also the bubbly "Even A Child" which Finn co wrote with Johnny Marr. All in all "Time On Earth" is an album that will keep all Crowded House fans happy and definitely one of the must have albums of the year. Welcome back Crowded House...your fans have certainly missed you