A Drunken Article - Written While Seeing in the New Year with Jools Holland

The drinkies began to kick in around Dizzee Rascal's Bonkers. Bobbing my head to that, and I don't really like hip hop.

Tom Jones and Kelly Jones did well with an old classic I can't remember. Boy George was wearing a green hat as he sang his old hits. Kasabian rocked my socks off.

Florence of Florence + The Machine is one of the best artists to have come out of the UK in the last year or so. All red hair, Grace Slick-type vocals, and mysterious lyrics. Find myself punching the air with both arms. Don't know what that is. She sings: "The dark days are over." Let's hope so (subsequently discovered it was "DOG days"!).

Tom Jones sings Green Green Grass of Home. He's in good voice. Always patronizing to say: "He's good for his age." But he is.

Get up, trying to run off my drunkenness. Doesn't work. There'll be an AC article somewhere about how to get sober quickly, no doubt. Applaud Tom in that drunken way, where the hands almost miss each other.

Time to point Percy at the porcelain.

Paolo Nutini on. Not doing Candy - unless I missed it. Boy George says it'll be the year of love - as I predicted in my previous article! So, that's one prediction right already!

Now in a Phil Mitchell state (Google him). It should be stated that I only really drink at Christmas and New Year, so that's excusing my playing cricket in the living room with a Brazil nut.

Paloma Faith's on with New York. She's good. Sort of 1940s retro stuff. Superb voice.

Dizzee Rascal and Nirvana. But Kurt died. Sure's there's Smells Like Teen Spirit in there somewhere.

Now it starts getting dark. Tread on a light bulb and get minor cuts to my fingers picking up the debris. I'll stay sober till next New Year's Eve. Kasabian are on with Empire - one of my faves, but I'm too far gone to enjoy it. Good night. Blood on my article. We suffer for our art. Growling polar bear on the show. Twisted my knee. Hope that's okay. Polar bear's swaying about to the Down By the Riverside finale. No, it really is. I'm not that drunk. Some American film on. "Ass" mentioned 10 seconds in. Time for bed.

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I'm woken up on New Year's Day by my cat Sparkle growling loudly at a tabby admirer, who is peering at her through the glass in the front door. An eventful start to a new decade already...

Playlist of the 2009/10 edition of Jools Holland's Hootenanny
"10/10" performed by Paolo Nutini
"Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" performed by Florence + the Machine
"Pentonville Blues" performed by Boy George
"Hanuman" performed by Rodrigo y Gabriela
"This Train" performed by Ruby Turner
"TV Is the Thing This Year" performed by Paloma Faith
"Underdog" performed by Kasabian
"Mama Told Me Not To Come" performed by Tom Jones and Kelly Jones
"Church of the Poison Mind" performed by Boy George
"Holiday" performed by Dizzee Rascal and Shingai Shoniwa
"Pencil Full of Lead" performed by Paolo Nutini
"Sabre Dance" performed by Dave Edmunds
"Auld Lang Syne" performed by everyone
"In the Midnight Hour" performed by Tom Jones
"Fire" performed by Kasabian
"Don't Upset the Rhythm" performed by Shingai Shoniwa
"Bonkers" performed by Dizzee Rascal
"Karma Chameleon" performed by Boy George
"Dog Days Are Over" performed by Florence + the Machine
"Green Green Grass of Home" performed by Tom Jones
"Lovin' Machine" performed by Paolo Nutini
"Buster Voodoo" performed by Rodrigo y Gabriela
"New York" performed by Paloma Faith
"Stand Up Tall" performed by Dizzee Rascal and Nirvana
"I've Got You Under My Skin" performed by Rico Rodriguez
"My Baby Just Cares For Me" performed by Florence Welch
"Empire" performed by Kasabian
"Down by the Riverside" performed by Paloma Faith, Ruby Turner, Paolo Nutini, Florence + the Machine, Boy George, Shingai Shoniwa, Kelly Jones, Dave Edmunds and Tom Jones

Sources

1. Explanation of Hootenanny.

2. 'Dog Days' lyrics.

3. Playlist of the 2009/10 edition of Jools Holland's Hootenanny.