Every Wednesday I share five things I've liked and think you might like too. Here are this week’s Five Things…

1. Pithy wisdom for a new year. Start small, start now.

2. According to BPI, 68.1 billion songs were streamed in the UK during 2017. That's an increase of 51.5% on 2016 and 1740% (😮) on 2012!

3. From following much of the media coverage last year, you might have incorrectly assumed only bad things happened in 2017. Quite a few good things happened too: 13 Things That Happened In 2017 That Will Actually Cheer You Up, Ten Silver Linings in 2017.

4. Who'd have thought watching bubbles freeze would be so satisfying.

5. Spotify has me starting 2018 in style with its Classical Meets Electronica playlist: "Classical music reworked by contemporary musicians, who made clever deconstructive use of the material to create soothing and graceful electronic/ambient works." SOLD!

That's all for this week. If you enjoyed it, subscribe and you'll get the next one delivered to your inbox.

ps. Happy New Year! Have a fantastic 2018 😎

Every Wednesday I share five things I've liked and think you might like too. Here are this week’s Five Things…

1. An interesting article on the increasing use of found sounds and field recordings in music. Inspired by this, I think I'm going to record a lot more of the sounds I hear out in the world around me in future! A project for 2018 perhaps?

2. Another great observation from Derek Sivers: Obvious to you. Amazing to others.

3. Word of the week, Apophenia: "... the tendency to attribute meaning to perceived connections or patterns between seemingly unrelated things."

4. Your estimated lifespan as a grid. I think this pretty cool, but I could see how you might find it a little depressing!

5. This week's music recommendation is Particles by Ólafur Arnalds (featuring Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir). I can't wait to see Ólafur play the Royal Albert Hall in May next year.

That's all for this week. If you enjoyed it, subscribe and you'll get the next one delivered to your inbox.

ps. As it's Christmas, I'm going to take the next week off — what a treat! This means there'll be no Five Things next Wednesday. But fear not, Five Things will return the following week!

Every Wednesday I share five things I've liked and think you might like too. Here are this week’s Five Things…

1. Is it better to be a critical thinker or to be intelligent? Good question!

2. In the past week there's been a lot of chatter about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. If you're curious to learn more, here's a great crash course in both from Rob Reid and Fred Ehrsam on the After On podcast.

3. A new optical illusion has been discovered and it's a good 'un...

4. A great twitter thread on the concept of intellectual compounding.

5. According to Spotify, in 2017: I listened to 34,355 minutes of music, my most listened to genre was Compositional Ambient, my top artist was Ben Lukas Boysen and top song was Silhouette by Julia Holter.

That's all for this week. If you enjoyed it, subscribe and you'll get the next one delivered to your inbox.

Every Wednesday I share five things I've liked and think you might like too. Here are this week’s Five Things…

1. Listening to a lecture or in a meeting? Put that laptop away!

2. Food for thought from Marcus Aurelius: "People look for retreats for themselves, in the country, by the coast, or in the hills. There is nowhere that a person can find a more peaceful and trouble-free retreat than in his own mind …. So constantly give yourself this retreat, and renew yourself."

3. This is a good list: 52 things Tom Whitwell learned in 2017. Number 48 is pretty inspiring "In 1990, more than a third of people on Earth lived on less than $1.90 a day, adjusted for local prices. By 2013, barely 10 percent of people did." 

4. I thought you'd find this useful: So You Just Bought a $450 Million Leonardo da Vinci Painting. Now What?

5. I'm really enjoying Four Tet's latest album New Energy.

That's all for this week. If you enjoyed it, subscribe and you'll get the next one delivered to your inbox.

Still struggling to decide what Christmas gift to buy the drummer in your life?

Here are some ideas:

Evans RealFeel Practice Pad
The 12 inch pad is my personal favourite as it fits on a standard snare drum stand (if they have a drum kit, they'll have one of these already). If you think they might prefer something a little more portable the 6 inch variation is a good shout.

Evans RealFeel Folding Bass Pedal Practice Pad
If they already have a normal practice pad, they might like Evans' Folding Bass Pedal Practice Pad for working out the feet. They'll need their own bass drum pedal to go with this, but if they have a drum kit they'll already have one of those. This pad makes working on foot technique easy for those times when practicing on a real kit isn't possible.

ACS Pacato Hearing Protectors
Musicians are notoriously bad at looking after their ears, with many forgetting that they only get one set which will have to last them a lifetime! With that in mind, and though not the most exciting gift, a pair of earplugs that are designed for musicians make the perfect stocking filler. Also a gentle reminder that they should protect their hearing!

ACS Custom Moulds
Hearing protection but for the more serious musician! ACS Custom Moulds are (as the name suggests) moulded to the ears, providing far better protection whilst preserving the quality of sound. I use ACS Pro17s, which are excellent.

Audio-Technica ATH-M50X Studio Monitor Professional Headphones
The Audio-Techica MX50 headphones are a little on the expensive side but well worth the price tag! I use these when practicing on my electric kit or when playing to music on my acoustic kit. They're very versatile and the sound quality is very, very good.

Vic Firth Drumsticks
Every drummer has his or her favourite type and brand of drumstick. If they've been playing for a while, this might be a tricky one. A safe bet are Vic Firth 5A American Hickory Wood Tips, these are super versatile and even if they're not the preferred stick of the drummer in your life, they'd be a useful addition to their stick bag. Personally though, I use Vic Firth 55A American Hickory Wood Tips. These are very similar to the 5As, but a tad thicker. I'm surprised more drummers haven't tried them as they are great drumsticks!

Vic Firth Brushes
A set of a brushes is a must have for any drummer and the Vic Firth Steve Gadd Signature Wire Brush are a great choice. If they're good enough for Steve Gadd, they're good enough for anyone! Brushes are primarily used in jazz but also great for playing quieter songs and gigs.

Meinl MSB1 Stick Bag
I'm always surprised by how many drummers don't have a stick bag! Save them from a lifetime of misery (and looking thoroughly unprofessional!) as they endlessly search through their rucksack for the right drumstick or their earplugs and grab them a quality stick bag.

Dixon Speed Wrench Drum Key
Most drummers will already have a standard drum key... or like me, hundreds of them scattered between various jacket pockets. But I doubt many have one of these Speed Wrench Drum Keys. They'll be thanking you the next time they need to change a drum skin!

Drum Books
I'm a firm believer that you can never have too many books. This is as true for drummers as it is for normal humans! I've already written a post on this so won't repeat them all here, but here are a handful of favourites. Jost Nickel's Groove Book's is fantastic, some of the ideas are a little advanced so this isn't really suitable for beginners. Stick Control is a must have for all drummers of all abilities, it's a classic. The Language Of Drumming is a great all rounder for all abilities. Exploring Your Creativity On The Drumset is another more advanced book, but a great choice for drummers looking for ways to push their drumming to the next level.

Drum DVDS
Benny Greb's The Art and Science of GROOVE is hands down the best education drum DVD. Benny is a master educator and drummer. I doubt it's even possible to make a better educational drumming DVD. For the more advanced drummer, Jojo Mayer's Secret Weapons For The Modern Drummer is also very good.

Hopefully that's enough to keep your drummer entertained and busy for the next year or so. If you have any questions, let me know in the comments. If you're a drummer and have your own suggestions, please do the same!