The Music 2015 Writers' Poll: Steve Bell

album of the year

1. Royal Headache — High
2. Ben Salter — The Stars My Destination
3. Courtney Barnett — Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit
4. Blank Realm — Illegals In Heaven
5. Built To Spill — Untethered Moon
6. Dollar Bar — Hot Ones
7. Dick Diver — Melbourne, Florida
8. Twerps — Range Anxiety
9. Titus Andronicus — The Most Lamentable Tragedy
10. Robert Forster — Songs To Play

song of the year

1. The Ocean Party — Real Life
2. Modest Mouse — The Best Room
3. Jason Isbell — 24 Frames
4. Dave Rawlings Machine — The Weekend
5. Adam Gibson & The Ark-Ark Birds — The Years When Nobody Cared What You Did

artist of the year

1. Royal Headache
2. Parquet Courts
3. Courtney Barnett
4. Violent Soho
5. Thigh Master

International artist Performance

1. Greg Cartwright
2. Parquet Courts
3. The Clean
4. Stephen Malkmus
5. The Milk Carton Kids

Australian artist Performance

1. Courtney Barnett
2. The Sunnyboys
3. Violent Soho
4. Ben Salter
5. Thigh Master

top tv show

1. Bob's Burgers
2. Key & Peele
3. The Brink
4. South Park
5. Inside Amy Schumer

top movie

1. Mad Max: Fury Road
2. Straight Outta Compton
3. Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck
4. Trainwreck

top website

1. The Music
2. Cracked
3. AV Club
4. Saintsational
5. Crawlspace

2015 highlight of the year

Seeing Parquet Courts four times in five days, finally catching Amy Schumer and Noel Fielding live, watching the Saints' young guns find their feet, my border collie Zowee recovering from meningitis, and opening new record shop Sonic Sherpa in Brisbane (shameless plug).

prediction for 2016

Federal election called and whole nation donkey votes, semi-ironic US Civil War II breaks out over gun control, St Kilda's rebuild fast-tracked, League Of Gentlemen reunion becomes reality, one festival folds and four more spring up.