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Ahead of this year’s Choice Music Prize, which will be announced at a ceremony in Dublin this Thursday, we thought we'd have a very simple, very straightforward suggestionaire - your favourite Irish album of the last twelve months!

Whether it's on the Choice Prize shortlist or not is irrelevant - we just want to hear your picks. This is, as far as we're concerned, the peoples choice music prize!!

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ATL Presenter: Rigsy

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General Fiasco – Buildings (Infectious)

Seems like this record has been overlooked a little and I've just worked out why. Awesome tracks like 'Rebel Get By' and 'Ever So Shy' were around for so long, it's almost as if they don't count as part of the album - that it's been judged only on a handful of brand new tracks. But as a collection of twelve songs, 'Buildings' is a cracking record, poppy yet cynical, progressive but fun. And unlike quite a few of the choice nominees, it's properly varied, shifting about from start to finish.

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So each week on the Dance Show we have one of our super-knowledgeable panel of residents join us with some hot tunes for you to get your hands on. We're going to share on of these with you online every week too, these are tunes you really do need to have in your life, but don't just take our word for it, here's Phil with this week's selection...

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Truely-inspiring house music from Mr Bashmore with a deep male-vocal over some twisted Joy Orbisonesque chords make this one to took out for this Summer...

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Ever get a tune stuck in your head after one single play? Before the track's even been recorded? This has happened me twice in the last year.

The first time was at Oxegen 2010, when Cara Cowan joined Panama Kings for a song called (I think) 'On My Side'. I instantly loved it and was grateful to hear it twice more (at Glasgowbury and, a few weeks later,in Auntie Annies) before the band split up, with that gorgeous little track set to remain trapped in Niall Kennedy's brain all unrecorded and sad. I could near sing every word right now, so maybe I'll record it myself.

The second time was last Sunday night at the 'New Blood' showcase gig in Belfast. It had been a decent enough day watching 11 boxfresh bands in the Spring and Airbreak before The Wonder Villains stole the show with one single track.

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This week's online chat was a little different than usual - instead of our Rigsy doing his thing, this time you guys were in charge, asking questions to via twitter - we believe the cool kids call that a 'twinterview'.

Good old Rory Friers [front in the picture]Ìýthen - earlier today he took the guts of an hour out of his band's busy schedule to answer your questions - and here's a taster of what happened....

(Spelling and grammar errors are author's own, tweets copied and pasted!!)

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Patrick - why did you switch from Small Town America to Richter Collective?

Rory - we just felt it was right for this record,no bad blood,just circumstance.we love sta [Small Town America]

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William - given relentless touring schedule how have you managed not to kill each other/any good punch-ups?

Rory - been lots of punch ups but mostly ending in bromance..

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John - Have the band thought to develop or change their sound at all for the second album? And hope Johnny's ankle is on the mend :)

Rory - hey John! yeah for sure,this is a very different record this time round. we super stoked on it

John - Nice one guys, really looking forward to it!

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As we've harked on about in this month's The Big List (we have a column, you know!), 2011 is a big year for second albums. Two Door Cinema Club, And So I Watch You From Afar, General Fiasco, Fighting with Wire and The Jane Bradfords - some of our biggest hitters, basically - all set to drop sophomore efforts in the coming months.

The cliché is, of course, that second albums are 'tricky'. But a quick discussion in ATL towers made us realize some of the finest albums ever made are actually the band's second effort. Thus, this week's suggestionaire - from Morning Glory to Nevermind - super sophomores!

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Radiohead - The Bends
Rigsy - ATL Presenter

Not necessarily my favourite second record, but an excuse to point out how dissapointing the new Radiohead record is (high on creativity, low on tunes) and relive the glorious days when Thom Yorke wrote, you know, proper songs and stuff. Don't get me wrong, I do occasionally enjoy the noodlier end of Radiohead's recent output, but there's something a wee bit special about 'The Bends' - the sound of an incredible band discovering their voice after an extremely dodgy debut. The production is simple (yet epic) and the feeling of dread and paranoia was at a manageable level, but mores the point 'The Bends' was stuffed full of genuine anthems that will and have stood the test of time. Life was so much simpler back in 1995.

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In 1996, Mike Edgar played the opening track from 'HOME (Here's One Made Earlier)' - the debut album by Newcastle band Moss, on Across the Line. Given my then hero (now boss!) playing a track I'd co-written and played bass on was just about the single most exciting thing that had happened to anyone in the history of the world (at the time I did think that), I taped the show, playing it back to anyone daft enough to give me time the following day in school. I still have a recording of Mike reading out the long, groveling letter that accompanied the 'release' - it lives beside another tape of him playing a second track a few weeks later. Between plays he'd had at least three further letters from me.

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Despite literally not existing this time last year, Colly Strings are already a staple of the ATL playlist and a band who somehow manage to standout among any number of awesome acts in the country at the moment.

Our Rigsy caught up with Richard from the Bangor four-piece moments after both had finished watching The Brits....

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Richard says: Hey man

Rigsy says: good evening. where you watching the brits? *were even

Richard says: we sure were... pleased arcade fire won eh?

Rigsy says: yeah totally! anyone else stand out for ya?

Richard says: Rihanna. and mumford and sons. but they weren't as pretty.

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OK. So whether you love it or loath it, Valentines Day is here!ÌýTeam ATLÌýcouldnt ignore this fact and we've been talking about our favourite, perhaps slightly off kilter, love songs.

Let us know your pick by shouting us here, onÌýthe orÌý and we will give y'all a shout on the show tonight...

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So each week on the Dance Show we have one of our super-knowledgeable panel of residents join us with some hot tunes for you to get your hands on. We're going to share on of these with you online every week too, these are tunes you really do need to have in your life, but don't just take our word for it, here's Timmy with this week's selection...

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Bubba follows up his Drugs, Hugs & Thugs release on Extended Play with the super fresh Makin' Contact, ably supported with remixes by PPF & Jet Project it's been picking up props and plays from the likes of Rob Mello, Hugo, Slam, Jesse Rose, Robert Owens, OOFT, the Round Table Knights & more.

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Musical comedy is really tricky - for a start, you've doubled your work load. It has to be funny, of course, but a rubbish tune is still a rubbish tune. Fair play then to , who successfully mashed enough wit and decent songwriting/production for an entire set of beats and giggles at The Stiff Kitten during the week. 'Horse Outside' was no fluke - there were a whole mess of tracks on Wednesday night (almost all of which I daren't name) that we took home, stuck in our brains.

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Next to face brutal interrogation from ATL's Rigsy in our series of online chats is one Cara Cowan, social butterfly, collaborator with some of the best bands in the country and a solo performer in her own right. Set to perform at Auntie Annie's, Belfast this Friday ahead of a brand new EP (an impressive taster was aired on Monday night), Cara has gathered an impressive array of musicians to back her up. Read all about it....

* Please note, as always, spelling and grammar errors are authors own....

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Cara says: bello bigsy

Rigsy says: yes cara! this is how we do interviews now. we decided to spare bands the hell of having to actually meet me, after a few unsavory incidents (thats a joke btw readers - i'm actually REALLY DEAD ON) RIGHT, what would you like to talk about?

Cara says: well firstly, aren't you going to wish me a happy birthday

Rigsy says: good lord. happy birthday cara!! today?!

Cara says: yes thank you. guess what age?

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LCD Soundsystem have announced they're to play their last ever show in New York this April. LCD Soundsystem began in 2002 as the brainchild of New York City producerÌýJame Murphy. Murphy isn't exactly your archetypal rockstar. He started the project at 31 years old and kinda resembles a "sanitation executive" (as dubbed in the office).

So it got us thinking about the most unlikely rockstars that have pathed their way regardless.ÌýLet us know your pick by shouting us here, onÌýthe orÌý and we will give y'all a shout on the show tonight...

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Bernard Sumner (or more specifically, his jacket)
Rigsy - ATL Presenter

It takes something special to top king twit Peter Hook and his embarrassing 'drunk-uncle-at-a-wedding' dancing, but Bernard Sumner's jacket at EP '06 did the job rightly.

Sumner was never the greatest frontman (he was never even a frontman to start with, to be fair) but wearing just about the most rubbish jacket I have ever seen introduced insult to injury. It was as if he'd said to someone 'looks a bit nippy out there folks - please find me the most insulated and sensible jacket you can.... something a golfer or skiier might wear perhaps?'

Call me cruel, but I'd recommend a frontman choose catching a slight head cold over looking that daft.

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In the ATL Office this Tuesday afternoonÌý we pondered Jedward, mooted farm feed and most importantly Phily Taggart sat in Rigsys vacated virtual MSN chat to sit down with another very talented Irish band.

This week Phily got all up in the grill of sweeping popstrels Phoenix Fire. Where's Wally, The Fresh Prince Bel Air and Uri Geller all get honourbale mentions as well as Fiona and David from Phoenix Fire learning some life lessons along the way.

(Please note, as always, spelling mistakes are authors own, transcript is pasted word for word)

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Phily Says: Howdy! Who have we got here?

Fiona Says: Hello! Its Fiona and Dave here!

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