Yup, it's the arse-end of the decade meaning that music-peddlers are going Top-Ten crazy. Every man and his blog feels it his/her responsibility to set down for all to see, the absolute and unequivocal list of musical moments that defined the decade. Pitchfork got a cheeky head-start by announcing back in July their Top 500 Songs of the Noughties - though it's disappointing they didn't drill down further to the top 1000 choruses or top 5000 chords. Other blogs have since started following suit, all happily spruiking their own tastes (though perhaps none so much as this one). Those silly enough to allow comments get blasted for not including some lo-fi band that was a phenomenon in some exclusive suburb of New York, while others get rubbished for daring to put a non-Radiohead album at number one.

Bears. We're the only continent that's never had them. Yet they are unquestionably the animal du jour in the Sydney band name stakes. Earlier in the year I interviewed Bearhug (who had recently changed their name from Skeletal Explosive to become more bearlike), and this week I have the pleasure of talking to Boy And Bear. On top of this, the next Sydney band on my 'to-see' list is the doubly bearish Brown Bear Black Bear. They've come as hugely recommended from a few sources, and i'm certainly excited to see a band that boasts twice as much bear as your average.