This year started off okay, even got across the pond for a couple weeks. Then the chest pains and shortness of breath… I’m now the proud owner of two stents (thereby putting the stent in “stentorian”). Physical recovery was quick, mental processing took a while longer. An excuse to start going out to shows (Roxy Music, Heaven 17, Stereolab, and a fair amount of local fare). Still, got some fun tunage over the course of the year, some return visits from old friends here (if you’ve been inspecting my pOOp from the past few years). As always, I bought more current year releases than listed, but don’t take this as a top 10 list. It’s just what’s been tickling my ears most. — Malka Spigel, Can, Loop, Adi Newton, Stephen Mallinder, Brian Eno, Left Hand Right Hand, Faust, Jochen Arbeit + Sonja Kosche, Anthology of Contemporary Music from South Africa …