The Irish Times has published a list of the top 50 Irish acts. As one would expect, the all-conquering rock juggernaut that is Snow Patrol nestles alongside the cerebral pop of Divine Comedy. Oppenheimer rightly rub epaulettes with David Holmes who ends up perched atop the entire poll. Iain Archer, the Duke and Ash all cut the mustard, and all manner of breaking sourthern talent are represented, but ATL cannot help but scratch our collective forehead at some glaring omissions.

This weekend ASIWYFA will launch their debut album to an inevitably sold-out Mandela Hall, while Lafaro, Standup Guy, Two Door Cinema Club, Calibre, General Fiasco, Phil Kieran, Foy Vance, Boxcutter, Fighting With Wire and countless others are already making inroads in their various international fields.

Of late, ATL has made a concious decision to look beyond the border and have been hoovering up and delivering many top acts from our southerly brethren to the airwaves but we cant help thinking that the favour, in general, is not being returned. There has long been a strange, mutual suspicion as we glance across the border and this list seems to reinforce the notion that the Dublin music scene and media is far too pre-occupied with itself to notice that far from deserving a cursory mention in dispatches, the frontline has actually moved north.

Now, are we reading too much into what was probably a slow day at the offices of the (consistently excellent) Ticket or do we need to take this outside?