It’s the end of the year, which means it is time for the ever-present ‘best of’ lists. We’re even at it here at The Wireless.
But spare a thought for those amongst us who hate the list.
…at some point in the last 12 months, the list broke free from its end-of-year shackles. Where the list was once the sausage meat in the stuffing of the December special issues, when weary editorial staff would rack their brains to remember what happened in February, and some bloke who happened to be in when the editor called was tasked with ranking a load of films you'd already forgotten into some sort of spurious top 10. In 2013 that all changed.
The Internet has lists for everything. From signs you’re an extrovert, to the most surprising photos of the year. Some lists are incredibly specific, down to the best movie soundtrack moments.
The Christmas season isn’t immune. Nor is science (bonus GIFs!). The Times uses Storify to make a list of the year’s happenings in tweets. And Spotify sums up the year with an infographic – including a list of figures from 2013.
Time Magazine goes one better, with a list for basically everything. And Rolling Stone writes in praise of the rankers.
All those, and not one link to Buzzfeed.