The Sloppy Dog 2011 Honours List

Hilary Devey
You could make her foot itch, sunshine
A breath of fresh air to the waning Dragons’ Den, Hilary Devey turned heads from even her first appearance on the trailer (although that was mainly based on her looking like a conceptual art piece). However, once the show was underway she turned out to be ballsy and straight-talking yet warm and human. We’d love her even more if she’d bump off Bannatyne.

Sky Arts
Music TV's brave saviour
The sorry excuse for a Christmas Top of the Pops this year was yet another reminder that TV is sorely bereft of music performance shows. Thankfully, one lone channel is fighting the cause like no other – Sky Arts’ music output puts its terrestrial contemporaries to shame, and hopefully will prompt the pen-pushing commissioners of certain other channels to follow suit.

Ed Sheeran
A middle finger to the Rihannabots
A chap whose heart-on-sleeve simplicity has many a music snob eyerolling up and down the country, but his talent is truly immense. Having caught him in a pre-signed, 100-capacity gig some time ago, he showed the promise of brilliance, and he’s made good on it. A pleasing reminder that hard work really can pay off.

Goldie Cheung
Batshit crazy; incredibly shrewd
Let’s face it, she’s pretty damn talentless. But Goldie Cheung’s refusal to take part in what proved to be the most contrived and counterfeit series of The X Factor to date was a genuinely admirable move. And not many people can wrap their leg around Gary Barlow’s neck half-dressed and come out the other side with this much dignity.

Amy Winehouse
1983 - 2001; irreplaceable
British music lost an institution in 2011 with the sad, if horribly inevitable, death of Amy Winehouse. Sure, she had her flaws – something which was reported on a hell of a lot more than her positives – but the untouchable musical legacy left behind says significantly more than a million trashy column inches ever could.

Pulp
For services to music and general awesomeness
Their comeback was every bit as triumphant as we could’ve hoped for, both their Wireless headline slot and Brixton Academy gig highlighting their charisma, their talent, and their staggeringly impressive catalogue of Britpop magnificence. With any luck, 2012 will see some new material of the same quality.

The Bluetones
Hounslow Heroes
While one example of Britpop royalty came together for a reunion, a criminally less-celebrated Britpop act announced their split. The Bluetones, even in their more hushed recent years, provided some of the greatest indie anthems in existence. Farewell, The Bluetones. Now hurry up and get cracking on that comeback tour.

Twitter
(Except when it's shit)
To paraphrase someone, Twitter is like an exclusive party with cool, attractive strangers; Facebook is a rainy barbecue at your aunt’s house. And that aforementioned someone is a person we don’t know or follow, retweeted by a person we follow but don’t know. And that’s why Twitter rules – it’s a custom-made pick ‘n’ mix of brilliance, sans social awkwardness.