Queen Cole

So what tune will define 2009 - with all its anxiety, surprise and dismay? How will the reviewers of 2019 soundtrack our times of war and meltdown? These are the kind of things that concern me as the year stumbles to a close and the character of the era starts to emerge.

A late bid for the title comes with Mumford & Sons and 'Winter Winds'. It's a song that captures the feeling of things closing down and chances being lost. The heart is talking the head and they can't seem to agree. Meanwhile, the passage of time is threatening to obliterate everything. By the end of the song, there's some kind of resolve - a belief that the chill weather will eventually give way to a spring bloom. The trumpets sound, the voices chorus and we feel healed.

You hope that this song's influence will sustain, but there are bigger tunes out there. Notably Cheryl Cole and 'Fight For This Love'. Again, the mood is embattled and torn. But rather than hoping for a seasonal renewal, this tune is all about facing down the dread. The verses set out the difficulties and the refrain carries the day. The lyric admits that the ever-revving velocity of life is making it hard to make the right choices, that we should try to kill the engine and "just roll". But equally, to keep the guard up and the intentions strong.

The songs has been delivered by a team of professionals, but that shouldn't be a problem if the singer and the public can invest enough in the record to make it transcend the pop market. I would naturally be disposed to mistrust anything connected to Simon Cowell, but Cheryl has found a deal of autonomy, an alliance with rhythm and blues and the perfect song for a diva under duress.