I found myself saying it the other day - “Christmas seems to come quicker each year” . Maybe it does the older you get. There never seems to be enough time to do everything. And then all of a sudden it’s Christmas. It's maybe my favourite time of year though - an important winter festival to break up all the bad weather and days spent indoors. It’s also always a good time to look back on the last twelve months. 2009 has been a good, productive year for me, I played 70 concerts, half with Idlewild, the other half with Kris and John. The band recorded our ‘Post Electric Blues’ album in February which eventually came out in October to good reviews and a positive fan response. My Sunday herald column finished in April, but I continue to write my monthly column for the TGO magazine, and even got a nomination for ‘Scottish columnist of the year’ for it. Didn’t win, but still.

Idlewilds extended family grew with the birth of Colin’s twins in July, and Gareth’s wee boy in November. Our old bass player Gavin Fox also had a son in the summer. Soon we'll be organising band family picnics. Our pre-order idea turned out a success, and now with a record deal with Cooking Vinyl, things are looking good for Idlewild going into their fifteenth year. We’re playing more UK concerts in March and May.

Bob Dylan’s ‘Together Through Life’ and Vetiver ‘Tight Knit’ were the two albums I listened to the most this year, particularly Vetiver, whose intricate album manages to be both dense and laid back at the same time. It sound tracked most of the summers journeys. Devandra Banharts' latest was as good as always, and also the XX, who remind me of the young marble giants, but that can’t be a bad thing. I will say though that this year has seen a change in my listening habits, down mainly to my discovery of Spotify. Listening to records is a thing of the past with a toddler in the house, so listening to Spotify through speakers (placed on a high shelf) has been a constant throughout the year. It has introduced me to a whole new world of jazz, blues and reggae artists that I’ve never heard of. It’s an irony of recent times though that people listen to so much more music these days, yet pay for so little of it, and although I subscribe to Spotify, I do wonder how much reaches the musicians. That said, going into a record shop, buying an LP then getting home and spending the afternoon listening to it is something (I think anyway) that can never be beat. Even if little sticky handprints end up all over the vinyl.

Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all readers, and here’s hoping that 2010 will be a healthy, fruitful and peaceful year for you all.

Roddy