Music ..

Given it is almost February, I thought it about time to write about my favourite music from the past twelve months.

The top five are

5. All Sons & Daughters - Poets and Saints
The album is a journey into the lives and stories of a handful of Christ-followers God used to wake up the world. The songs on the album reminded me that God never changes, but God changes everything.

His Spirit moves among those who seek Him"forged in fires of suffering and brokenness"poets and saints continually redeemed and restored by His grace.

An album which was what I needed to hear through the past year.

4. The Rescues - The Rescues
I just love the sound and harmonies of the band.

3. December - I Will Let You Have Your Say
I first heard December when they penned a tribute song to Alison Stewart in 2015.  Their full length album was released in 2016, and I wrote about it here. Love the concept of the album, and the stories it tells. They also include an awesome cover of 'A Sort of Homecoming' (one of my favourite U2 songs).

2. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool
Just a great album it reminds me of both In Rainbows and Kid A. Would love to hear the album played live, but to date their are no rumors of concerts in Australia. :(

1. Switchfoot - Where the Light Shines Through
Easily the most played album of the past twelve months for me. The lyrics really spoke to the circumstances of my life, and the social and political situation in the US.

The songs which really hit me from the album were Where the Light Shines Through, I Won't Let You Go, and Live it Well.

The lines which struck me were about darkness being where we see the light, and from the song Live it Well - I'm living for more than a funeral, I wanna shine brighter than the dawn; is a huge challenge in how I face this year.

Hon Mentions
Audrey Assad - Inheritance - a beautiful collection of hymns an album I've played to preach to myself through the past twelve months.
Lisa Hannigan - At Swim
I love Lisa's voice and this is just a great collection songs.

Others: 
I've excluded these because they are Christmas albums. But Garrell's Christmas album is one of my favourites from the year. The other two I listened to were JJ Heller's - Unto Us and Jenny & Tyler's Christmastime.

The other albums I've listened to through the year were R.E.M's Out of Time (which was reissued during November when it celebrated it's 25th Birthday); the Hamilton musical, recordings of several Bruce Springsteen concerts and Coldplay's A Head Full of Dreams.

The other musical highlights for the year where seeing Glen Hansard and Coldplay. I'll post about the Coldplay concert shortly. As I write this, I have a Bruce Springsteen show to look forward to next week.

There are rumours of a U2 tour, but I will believe that when it's announced. I am looking forward to reading about U2's Joshua Tree tour, running from May to August in the US and Europe. The other great music news for me is that Pearl Jam will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year.

Sport - Cricket team of the year

Following on from my post about the Cricinfo awards, I thought that I would write about my team of the year in Test Cricket. I'm less concerned about the other two formats :)

My team is below, and I think most of it picks itself.  The unlucky man for me is Josh Hazelwood. He for me was the pick of the Australian bowlers during the Test series against South Africa and Pakistan.

1.     David Warner (Australia)
2.     Alastair Cook (England) (captain)  
3.     Kane Williamson (New Zealand)
4.     Steve Smith (Australia)  
5.     Virat Kohli (India)
6.     Jonny Bairstow (England) (wicketkeeper)
7.     Ben Stokes (England)
8.     R. Ashwin (India)
9.     Rangana Herath (Sri Lanka)
10.    Mitchell Starc (Australia)
11.    Dale Steyn (South Africa)
--
12    Joe Root (England)

Ten albums

I've seen this in a few places, list ten influential albums when you were a teenager.  I've taken this to mean that albums influential to me while I was a teenager. I've limited this to one per artist. Most of the albums were released in 1991 or 1992.

U2 - Achtung Baby (1991) - Not much to say about this album than hasn't already been said. Almost the perfect album for me.

R.E.M. - Automatic for the People (1992) - Was a toss up between this one and Out of Time. Automatic for the People got it because of Everybody Hurts (the film clip is one of the more moving ones you will see).

Bon Jovi  Keep the Faith (1992) - Loved the film clip for Bed of Roses. Keep the Faith was not only the first Bon Jovi album I owned, and one of my first CDs. I've never forgotten their Eastern Creek Show in 1995. Jimmy Barnes and Keanu Reeves band (Dogstar) were support. But I think Dogstar didn't play because of the weather. We stood through a massive hailstorm before Bon Jovi took the stage.

The Corrs - Forgiven not Forgotten (1995) - I've always liked traditional Irish music, and The Corrs were easy and fun to listen too. One of the first concerts I saw too.

Jewel - Pieces of You (1994) - A distinctive voice (and sound), and I love her lyrics.

Def Leppard - Adrenalize (1992) -  Loved the attitude of Let's Get Rocked (which was my introduction to Def Leppard).  They one band that I would have loved to seen live.

Living Colour - Stain (1991) - One of the bands which were big with my school group. They were the first band I saw live (at the Hordern Pavilion, in 1993, Set list). I'd only heard their song Love Rears its' Ugly Head (on a compilation tape).

Genesis - We Can't Dance (1991) - I recall being moved by their song No Son of Mine.(the song is the story of a boy who runs away from his abusive home and then returns home to be rebuked). Really love Phil Collins voice. The album also features the fun I Can't Dance.

Roxette - Joyride (1991) -  Really enjoyed the title track, and the distinctive voices of Pers and Marie. Was such a blast seeing them live in 2014, such a fun show.

Bryan Adams - Waking up the Neighbours (1991) - After Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Every I Do (I do it for You) was heard quite frequently in our house, and I got into the album from their.

A few other albums I recall fondly from the period were Extreme's - Pornograffitti (1990) (the song with the biggest radioplay was More than Words) and Mr Big's - Lean into It (1992) - a great album, and the biggest (only) single was To Be With You. Though I wasn't into them at the time, Pearl Jam's Ten is another brilliant album from that era which I'v grown to love.

2016 in Sport

That theme of 2016 in sport, would be unexpected. Looking across different competitions last year was certainly the year of the underdog.  Leciester City winning the Premier League, Cleveland the NBA, the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series, and in Australia, both the Sharks and Bulldogs broke long droughts to win Premierships (and the Sharks won their first). Not to forget Ireland's win over the All Blacks in Chicago. 

Those stories are great for sport, a reminder that on any given day, anyone can win. They usually don't, but they can. 

The Rio Olympics were also held during 2016. I've written about my highlights here.

Who knows what 2017 will hold. In terms of my expectations - I'm hoping to see Australia and New Zealand both qualify for the World Cup in 2018. Interesting to see they are expanding the cup to have 48 teams in 2026 (Read more). Meaning, theoretically at least, qualification for the next World Cup will be easier. 

As always, I am hoping to see the Swans make the top four. I suspect the Giants will begin the season as favourites, and it will be interesting to see how they handle that. 

I am anticipating a the Warriors to start slowly, show promise, then crash and burn, but who knows :) The Rugby League World Cup is held later this year, suspect Australia will win that. 

January also brings the Australian Open, which seems more open than in previous years. Still hoping Federer has another Australian Open in him... 

Rugby - excited for the Lions tour of NZ in June-July.  Will be quite an interesting series. The Women's World Cup is held this year too in Ireland.

I'm excited for the launch of the Women's AFL competition next month, and the relaunch of the Netball competition. It is an exciting time for Women's sport. 

Cricinfo awards

It's now the end of January, so Cricinfo has published their nominees for the performances of the year in the three formats of cricket. I am also stoked that this year they have included the best performances in Women's Cricket too.

Read the Men's nominations and the Women's nominations. Its great to reminded of some of the great performances from the past year.

So my picks are below:

Women's Nominations:
Batting: Ellyse Perry's 93* which guided Australia to a tense 2 wicket win against South Africa.
Bowling: I'd pick Leigh Kasperek, her 3-13 guided NZ to a win over Australia in the World T20 cup.
Full nominations.

Test: 
Batting: Kusal Mendis 176* against Australia in Sri Lanka. His innings turned the test in favour of Sri Lanka. Who won their first test against Australia in 15 years (and eventually their first ever series win, 3-0).
Hon Mention: McCullum's 54 ball hundred in his final test.
Bowling: My pick is Mehedi Hasan Miraz. His 6/77 guided Bangladesh to their first win against England.
Hon Mention: Kagiso Rabada his 5/92 turned the Perth test in favour of South Africa.  It was an impressive performance (and more notable after Dale Steyn was injured and took no further part in the series).
Full nominations

ODI
Batting: David Miller, his 118* guided South Africa to a successful chase of 372. Currently the second highest successful chase.
Bowling: Kane Richarson 5/68 v India. He removed Kohli and inspired another Australian victory.
Full nominations

T20
Batting: I still find it hard to remember many T20 games, but its hard to forget Carlos Braithwaite's four sixes to win the World Cup final against England.

Hon Mention: Glenn Maxwell's 145* against Sri Lanka.
Bowling: I'd pick Mitchell Santner's  4/11 against India in the World T20 cup.
Full list of nominations.

Three albums...

A while ago I saw a lot of people post about influential albums to their life.  I've finally taken the time to list mine. Each album prompted me to not only know more about the artist, but also through their tastes, and interaction with other fans my musical taste was broadened. 

(1) Achtung Baby - U2

One of the first albums I bought with my own money. An almost perfect album, I love both the music lyrics. The darkness of the album is one of its' strengths. Standout tracks (10 years later), Love is Blindness, One, Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, So Cruel.  Love is Blindness is still one of my favourite U2 songs, the live version is just magical.

Can hardly believe the album is now 25 years old. Would pay so much to hear U2 play it straight through and can you imagine if they played it with an orchestra!

(2) Jars of Clay - Jars of Clay

Jars of Clay were the first "Christian" band I listened too.  Love the authenticity of the lyrics.  World's Apart is one of my all time favourite songs - the music and lyrics blend perfectly together.  Through Jars of Clay I discovered so many other artists.  My love of Jars of Clay has grown with each album, and I think their song writing has also developed a great deal.

 

(3) The Swell Season - The Swell Season 

Another almost perfect album. Glen Hansard's voice matches perfectly with Marketa Irglova. Like the others above, its an album you listen to all the way through. Hansard and Irglova bring light and shade to each song and the result is just beautiful. Just can't rate this album highly enough. 

Mic Christopher - Skylarkin'

Continuing the journey through some of my favourite (lesser-known) albums. This week it is the turn of Mic Christopher's posthumously released Skylarkin' (2002)  

The album was finalised by Karl Odlum (of Mic's old band, The Mary Janes) and David Odlum (of The Frames). Many fellow musicians from the Irish music scene contributed to the album including Glen Hansard and Colm Mac Con Iomaire of The Frames, Rónán Ó Snodaigh of Kíla, Lisa Hannigan and Gemma Hayes.

Mic Christopher is an American born - Irish singer-songwriter, who died in a tragic accident during 2001. You can read more of his story here.

I think I first heard of Mic Christopher when The Frames covered his song Hey Day. As mentioned in the article above Glen Hansard and Mic Christopher often went busking together. 

The album is best described as folk rock.  My favourite tracks are Hey Day, Listen Girl and Daydreaming. It's certainly an album that demands you listen and pay attention. 

I definitely recommend checking out the album if you are a fan of Irish music in general, or Glen Hansard in particular. 

The Rescues - Crazy Ever After

The second album in the series is The Rescues' 2008 album 'Crazy Ever After'. I cant't remember how I first heard the band (It might have been via Noisetrade or possibly Grey's Anatomy), but once I heard the opening song 'Lost along the Way' and Break Me Out  I was hooked.

The first thing you will notice about the album is the amazing three-part harmonies of the band members, a couple of great examples being Crazy Ever After and Break Me Out.

It is another one of those rare albums that I love every song on, and often play from start to finish.

If you do like this album, know that The Rescues new (self-titled) album is being released during this December.

Glen Hansard - Review

On Saturday night I went and saw Glen Hansard play the first of two shows at Sydney Opera House. 

Main Set: Just to Be the One, Winning Streak, My Little Ruin – When Your Mind’s Made Up, Bird of Sorrow, Renata, Wedding Ring*, Vigilante Man (Woodie Guthrie), Way Back When, McCormack’s Wall, Lowly Deserter, Astral Weeks (Van Morrison) – Smile (Pearl Jam), Star Star – Pure Imagination – Hotellounge (dEUS), Falling Slowly 

Encore: Love Don’t Leave Me Waiting – Respect (Aretha Franklin), Say It to Me Now – Stay the Road, Leave a Light** (Peadar O’Riada),Aisling Gheal** (Peadar O’Riada), O Sean** (Peadar O’Riada), Gold** (Interference), Her Mercy 

*with Curtis on vocals **with Peader O’Riada on piano/vocals. (Setlist courtesy of Order in the Sound).

The highlight of any Glen Hansard gig is the stories he tells about each song - My Litte Ruin  a song about the privilege friends have to speak the uncomfortable truth to each other; Renata written to a barmaid in a New York pub; McCormack's Wall a song written in the birth place of the great Irish Tenor  John McCormack.

Other notable songs on the night were Bird of Sorrow, Viligante Man (adapted for Donald Trump), Way Back When (dedicated to the migrants in the world), McCormack's Wall and the beautiful fiddle section, Star Star (with its detour into Pure Imagination), Stay the Road performed without microphones, Gold (and the harmonies)

Hard not to leave a Glen Hansard show without feeling like you've been talking with a friend.The show is definitely among the best I've seen with the special combination of exceptional story-telling and brilliant music.

December - I Will Let You Have Your Say

I'm going to start posting reviews of some of the hidden gems in my CD collection. 

December - I Will Let You Have Your Say

First cab of the rank is the debut CD from the Scotish band December. I first heard of them when a few of the U2 fans (@Hwy_Girl and
@U2_ultraviolet) I know on twitter posted a song called 'Alison Stewart' inspired by Alison and U2. It's a beautiful tribute to her, and the band.  

Following that I heard their cover of 'A Sort of Homecoming'. The band originally said the wouldn't cover U2, but this cover is just beautiful, I especially love Ails Pattison's voice which captures the essence of the song beautifully.

The album 'I Will Let You Have Your Say', is a collection of songs inspired by some of the people they look up to or admire.

I recognised some of these names (Barack Hussein Obama, Aaron Sorkin, Maria McKee, and Kenneth Dalglish) while few others I don't know, like American country singer George Jones, lead singer of the Waterboys Mike Scott. I'll be sure to find out more about each of these people now. 

When it comes to music, I'm a words person, I love knowing what a band is writing (and singing) about.  I could relate to their optimism about Barack Obama (like many others, I certainly will be sad when he leaves office), how they found America through Aaron Sorkin, he certainly opened my eyes to a lot about America.

December has lived up to its promise to create emotional songs which are easy to relate too. I can't wait to hear what they do next. Whether you're a U2 fan or not, you should check out this album, especially if you are a fan of good song writing.

and then there were four - Prelim Final time.

So, we are now at Preliminary Final time for both the AFL and League.  It seems in both codes we have ended up with the four most consistent teams in the finals. I can honestly see any one of the teams winning the flag.

In the AFL, Greater Western Sydney are slight favourites from Geelong, Sydney then the Bulldogs. I don't really mind who wins the game between GWS and the Bulldogs, just as long as the Swans beat Geelong.  :)

In the League, I think Melbourne are favourites from North Queensland, Canberra then Cronulla. In the League, I don't really mind who wins. I'd love to see North Queensland play Melbourne in the Final, but fear the Semi will have taken everything out of the Cowboys.

What I’m into June-August 2016

I've been meaning to write this for a while, so it has turned into what I've been into for the past few months.

What I'm reading

Assimilate Or Go Home: Notes from a Failed Missionary - D.L. Mayfield

Finished: 
How to Survive a Shipwreck - Jonathan Martin
The Reality Slap - Russ Harris
Jesus Feminist - Sarah Bessey
When Breath Becomes Air - Paul Kalanithi
The Light of the World - Elizabeth Alexander
Broken Open - Elizabeth Lesser
Never Broken - Jewel
America's Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America - Jim Wallis
Being Mortal - Atul Gawande

Hardly surprising what I've been reading really, with a few books on how we deal with the stormy seasons in our life.  The highlight was definitely 'When Breath Becomes Air', a brilliant reflection on death and dying.  I can not recommend it highly enough.

The other highlight was American's Orginal Sin, which so, easily can be translated to the Australian experience. The chapter of White privilege was a challenging reminder.

I've always loved Jewel's music, so her book, part memior and part 'self-help' was a really great read, and certainly gave me a lot to think about.

What I've been listening too 
It's  been a great yeat for music. Here's a collection of the music I've been listening too:

• Starboard home - Written and performed by some of Ireland’s leading songwriters, Starboard Home has been commissioned by the Dublin Port as part of the Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme. 12 new songs about stories of the river and port portraying Dublin’s resonant past as well as its dynamic present. Bought it mostly because Gemma Hayes and Colm Mac Con Iomaire were two of the artists on it.
• Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool 
• December - I Will Let You Have Your Say
• Switchfoot - Where the light shines through.  
• All Sons and Daughters - Poets and Saints
• Audrey Assad - Inheritance - a collection of old hymns (Holy Holy Holy, Be thou my Vision) along with some original songs.  Well worth listening to. 
• The Gloaming - self titled - the second album from another great Irish band. 
• Daivd Bowie - Blackstar
• Lisa Hannigan - A Swim  she just has a magical voice.
• Ingrid Michaelson - It Doesn't Have to Make Sense
• Wilco - Shmilco
• Sandra McCracken - God's Highway

Other music that I've been listening to this year:

• Hamilton - late to get onto this, but really enjoyed listening to the musical and can't wait for it to get to Australia. 
• Live recordings from the current tours of Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam

Over half-way through 2016, and the standout albums for the year are Radiohead's 'A moon shaped pool', Audrey Assad's Inheritance and All Sons and Daughters. I'm looking forward to listening to the albums released this year by Paul Simon, Daniel Lanois and Dave Dobbyn.

Rumour has it that a new U2 album could drop, but I'll believe that when it magically appears in my i-tunes account.

What I'm Watching
I just started Stranger Things. I've just watched the first epsiode, so will reseerve judgement for now.

Otherwise, most of what I watch on TV is live sport.

Update

I've been meaning to write this update for a while now.

It has been an interesting year. In April, I had a cancerous tumor removed from my bowel. They were able to remove all of the tumour (which had not spread to other organs).

I started Chemo in June as part of my treatment. I'm now over halfway through. I have completed seven of the twelve (fortnightly) sessions.

I'm certainly more tired than usual. Cold gives me 'pins and needles' in my fingers (or my throat if I have a cold drink). But at this stage these are manageable.

I'm working a nine-ish day fortnight, taking the treatment day off. Work have been very supportive which is a blessing.

The two points I really wanted to share are how thankful I am for the support of my friends, family, my church and my work colleagues. Secondly, I want to give thanks that my prognosis is good.

If you are the praying type; please pray that I continue to respond well to treatment, and the the side-effects don't have too much of an impact on me. It's a tough season we are going through, but its just a season and it too shall pass.

Finals time...

We're almost at September which means we've hit Football finals time.

AFL
Given the eight teams have been locked in since round six, this week was all about the order they would finish in.  The final eight for 2016 are Sydney, Geelong, Hawthorn, Greater Western Sydney, Adelaide, West Coast, Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne.  Meaning the match-ups for Week 1 are:

Thursday September 8, 6.10pm at Domain Stadium
Second elimination final - West Coast v Western Bulldogs

Friday September 9, 7.50pm at the MCG
Second qualifying final - Geelong v Hawthorn

Saturday September 10, 3.20pm at ANZ Stadium
First qualifying final - Sydney Swans v Greater Western Sydney

Saturday September 10, 7.10pm at Adelaide Oval
First elimination final - Adelaide v North Melbourne

There are some great match-ups here, the first all Sydney final, Geelong renew their rivalry with Hawthorn.  Adelaide, despite their loss this weekend are a smokey for the title. West Coast have won their last five and will fancy them to beat the Bulldogs (who have been ravaged by injury).

Not a fan of next weekends bye. I feel its a real momentum killer, but the other side of the argument is that clubs will rest key players if their spot is assured. Will be interesting to see what happens next year.

Week one winners: I'm tipping Sydney, Geelong, Adelaide, West Coast.

NRL

• With their loss to the Tigers, the Warriors season is over. Perhaps it can be summarised as slow start, glimpses of promises before falling to earth and crashing in a heap. 
• The Melbourne-Cronulla game will decide the Minor Premiership. The other games to watch are the Titans v North Queensland, and the Tigers v Canberra.  If the Titans win the eight is sealed, a loss opens the door for the Tigers.
• I am leaning to Canberra as the team to beat at the moment.  Brisbane, are my dark horse for the title. The Sharks and Storm are the other main contenders. 
• Likely Finals match ups - Storm v Cowboys; Sharks v Raiders; Broncos v Titans and Bulldogs v Panthers.

Rugby Championship.

• Not much to say here.  Very impressive performances from the All Blacks to retain the Cup for the fourteenth straight season.  Barrett and Cane have been the standouts players for me. I do have to say Owen Franks is a bit lucky.  The footage did look incriminating. 
• After pushing South Africa last week, Argentina won this morning and will be interesting to see how they go in their remaining games.
• Side bar: I read with interest that South Africa and Australia may lose a team each for the 2018 Season. I hope this means they can find a way to introduce a team based in the Pacific islands. 

Olympics recap

I enjoyed the Olympics a little more than I anticipated. Here's my highlights:

1. Seeing countries win their first Gold Medal. Ten countries in all won their first medal. Also Iran had their first female Gold medalist.

2. The sportsmanship shown by Nikki Hamblin (NZ) and Abbey D'Agostino (USA) during the 5000m. Nikki was also awarded the fair play medal. 

3. Michael Phelps (5), Katie Ledecky (4) and Simone Biles (4), who won the most Gold medals of any athlete at these games . 

4. Kyle Chalmers winning the 100 freestyle. He swam a PB each time he jumped into the pool. Perhaps a sign that Australian swimmers may be more successful if less pressure / expectation was put on them. 

5. Simone Manuel and Penny Oleksiak's tie for Gold in the 100 Freestyle. Simone is the first African American to win a swimming Gold,  I don't think you can understate the impact of her winning that race. Penny Oleksiak won four medals, the most by any Canadian swimmer, and was also Canada's first swimmer to win a Gold medal since 1992 (in Barcelona)

6. Usain Bolt, not just for his results, but equally his manner of his performances.

7. Mo Farah going back-to-back in the 5,000 and 10,000. Especially seeing he won the 10,000 after having a fall during the race. 

8. Both the Australian and Fijian Seven's teams winning the tournaments. Australia were raging favourites going into the tournament and didn't disappoint, but the Fijian's win in the final and the images after the whistle will live long in the memory.  

9. The Refugee team marching in the Opening Ceremony. The team won one gold and one bronze medal. Another magical moments was the Syrian swimmer who won her 100 freestyle heat.  

10. I love surprise medalists, and Eliza McCartney winning the Bronze Medal in the Pole Vault and Chloe Esposito winning the Modern Pentathlon certainly count there. 

Bonus: Japan's wrestler, Kaori Icho, who is the first female athlete to win Gold Medals at four consecutive Olympic games.

Aside one: NZ won their 100th Gold Medal and the US their 1,000th Gold Medals during these games. 

It is also New Zealand's most successful games in history. Another highlight was Zane Robertson breaking a 39 year old New Zealand national record for the 5,000m by eight seconds.

Aside two: I feel incredibly privileged to have witness both Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt. Their performances have been out of this word, and I doubt I'll see their likes again. 

Aside three: It's certainly been interesting looking/reading the recriminations about the Australian's performance.

Can totally say now, that I'm looking forward to the Tokyo games in another four years, and wondering who will fill the void left by those two great athletes.  

Sporting shorts..

Olympic Games 
I haven't been this unexcited by an Olympic games for a long time. Almost two weeks out and all the news is again the lack of preperations, and drugs. Maybe it will change when it starts but somehow I doubt it.

AFL 
With about five roiunds left, the top eight looks settled. I really can't see North Melbourne being replaced by St. Kilda. The real interest is in the finishing order of the teams. Will be intriguing if Sydney and GWS play each other. Hard to pick a favourite, though Hawthorn are looking good to win again. If Sydney don't win, I'll be cheering for Adelaide. Here's an interesting article simulating the ladder at the end of the season and possible Grand finaliists.

NRL 
Certainly Cronulla and Melbourne are the standout teams this year. Their game in the final round shaping as the decider for the Minor Premiership. I suspect one of them will win the competition, though Brisbane and North Queensland may have something to say about that. After the Golden point loss to the Raiders, I think the Raiders are not really out of the running for the finals.

On the League finals, it is a shame the Sharks are forced to play their finals at Allianz Stadium. For me, the supporters deserve to be able to see them play in Cronulla.

Super Rugby
Semi-finalists have been decided with the Hurricanes hosting the Chiefs and the Highlanders travelling to Johansberg. Hoping for a repeat of last yeatr's final, albeit with a different result.

But I got worried reading an article proclaiming the Hurricanes as favourites.  The duel between Cruden and Barrett will be great to watch, and will possibly determine who starts for the All Blacks in August's test. Great news that Hansen has re-signed to coach the All Blacks to the 2019 World Cup.

Cricket
Our Cricket season starts with New Zealand playing Zimbabwe and Australia in Sri Lanka. +

Coaching
On Coaches and coaching, Offsiders had a really fascinating program on Sunday with Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou, Diamonds coach Lisa Alexander and Wallabies coach Michael Cheika. Watch it here.

2015 in review - Music

This post has been a long time coming.  I made a start on it a while ago, but never got around to posting it.

I listened to a lot of EPs during the year. The ones that really have stood out are:

• Christa Wells Covers project - probably the most played album / EP through 2015. Great covers of some of my favourite 80s/90s tunes.
• Andrew Osenga's Heart, Flesh, Soul and Bone project (covering four genres Singer/Songwriter, Blues/Soul, Rock and Instrumental).
• Sleeping At Last's 'Atlas' project (this year focused on Life and our Sense)
• Jon Foreman's The Wonderlands project (built around themes of Sunlight, Shadows, Darkness and Dawn)
• Matthew Perryman Jones - Cold Answer
• Nichole Nordeman - The Unmaking (Nichole's first release of new music since 2005).

I spent a lot of 2015 listening to recordings from U2's Innocence and Experience concerts, I loved Songs of Innocence, and how the old songs were reinterperated in light of contemporary situations. The sequence of songs from Every Breaking Wave to With or Without You is almost perfect. Just watch the Paris DVD and you'll get what I mean. I will write a review of the DVD soon.

The albums I can remember buying during 2015 were:

• Caitlyn Canty - Reckless Skyline
• Glen Hansard - Didn't He Ramble
• Amanda Opelt - Seven Songs
• Colm Mac Con Iomaire - Agus Anois An Aimsir
• Coldplay - A Head Full of Dreams
• Jenny & Tyler - Of this I'm Sure
• Jewel - Picking up the Pieces
• Katrina Stone - Never Wanna Grow Up
• The Paper Kites - Twelvefour
• Sandra McCracken - Psalms
• Sara Groves - Floodplain
• Sarah Blasko -  Eternal Return
• Wilco - Star Wars

The Frames also released Longitude during the year. Longitude celebrated their 25th Anniversary and was a collection of songs they liked, with one new song 'None But I', a few different songs were re-recorded.

From that list, the ones that have lasted through the year are:

• Sandra McCracken - Psalms
• Glen Hansard - Didn't He Ramble
• Jenny & Tyler - Of this I'm Sure
• Colm Mac Con Iomaire - Agus Anois An Aimsir 
• Amanda Opelt - Seven Songs 

Footy update

So, will lead off with the Rugby.  For about 60 mins it looked like Wales were in with a great shot to beat the All Blacks, but in the last 20 they stepped up a gear. The first test of the season always concerns me so was great to get through with the win.

Back in Australia, have to admit, I didn't understand the Wallabies decision to take a penalty rather than the go for a try with two mins to go. The English were okay, but just felt the Wallabies went to sleep.

On to the AFL, the Swans just were not in the game today.  They are still running second, but will need to lift a bit.  Dangerfield and Geelng were super impressive.

Pretty impressive last half from the Panthers today, to run over the top of Manly.  Tomorrow's game between Cronulla and Nth Queensland should be a cracker...

Also will be fun watching the Euro championships too. Hoping for a surprise winner...

What I've been in up - May 2016

I've seen a few of these post around the place at the end of each month. So thought that I'd take the time to write on myself.

What I've been watching:
I know I'm late to the party on this one, but I just finished working my way through Friday Night Lights. Just the first season mind you. I haven't quite got the courage for Season two.  I liked the completeness of the story and where things were left.

I've been trying out Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, and have found that to be compelling TV and it stays true to the franchise, but adds the cross-cultural dimension into it.

With catch-up tv I've been watching The Voice. I quite enjoy the blind auditions and the Battle Rounds often throw-up some great performances, but after that it reverts to a typical music show.  Jessie J comes across as a great coach. Will be intrigued to see who wins this year, haven't really heard anyone really stand out yet.

What I've been listening to:
The last month has seen new Swtichfoot tracks, and Radiohead's new album on heavy rotation. Radiohead's new album seems to combine the best bits of In Rainbows with Kid A and creates a brilliant soundscape.  Jon Foreman's songwriting is as brilliant as ever, and I can't wait for the full album to be released next month.

I'm also looking forward to the official release of U2's Paris show from late last year.  In my opinion its the best the band has sounded for sometime.  Still hopeful that Songs of Experience will be released this year...

What I've been reading:
I've been slowly working my way through Madeline Gleeson's book about Australia's Offshore processing of refugees. In all seriousness, the book is a must read for every Australian. It is incredibly difficult to understand what is being done to these people in our names.

Prior to that, I read Stan Grant's 'Talking to my country' - which is another must read for every Australian on the topic of Aboriginal relations.

Sport...

Taking some stock of where we're at in the 2016 Football Season.

AFL:

• Think that there's now 10 teams that can make the eight. I'm willing to draw a line through everyone from the Gold Coast down.  
• Happy with how the Swans have been going. Playing a bogey team this weekend (Richmond), but the team is going along nicely. Heeney and Lapley have been impressive, and its good to see Franklin back out there 
• Great to see how well Melbourne has been going this year.
• Ditto with GWS - a couple of big wins has everyone excited, while I suspect they will play finals, I'm not yet convinced.

Rugby League:

• Top four looks fairly settled, and to be honest I don't think any one else has the consistency to win the Premiership.  I'd be putting Brisbane as slight favourites over the Cowboys, with the Sharks as the dark-horse.  The Sharks wins against Brisbane and Penrith were impressive. 
• Disappointed in the result of the test, but not the Kiwi's performance. 
• The Kiwi-Ferns had an impressive win against the Jillaroos. It was a good game to watch. 

Super Rugby:

• The NZ teams have been doing well, I'm interested to see the All Blacks team to play Wales given the retirements after last year's World Cup.  
• The Hurricanes have gone back to their old inconsistent ways this year.  Though they might just sneak into the finals, but not sure they deserve too.