The new issue of Uncut, out today (January 3), features Gram Parsons, Ray Davies, Morrissey on Mick Ronson, and Uncut's 2013 album preview. Gram Parsons is on the cover, and inside, collaborators and friends tell the whole story of his incredible last stand – his legendary solo albums, GP and Grievous Angel.

There’s a lot to be said for the charisma of premature death. And the manner of his particular dying – turning blue on a motel floor at the age of 26, his heart fatally faltering, ice cubes being stuffed up his ass in a pathetic attempt to bring him back from the brink after one binge too many – booked Gram parsons an automatic place of honour in a rock’n’roll Valhalla already overcrowded with dead young heroes, Jimi, Janis, Brian Jones, Jim Morrison, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and more already among its spectral population when Gram died in September, 1973.

We seem to be posting a lot more lists than actual joined-up writing at the moment – Michael’s just put Uncut’s full Top 75 of 2012 on the website, with links, and is promising our Archive/Reissues chart tomorrow – but, hey, here’s another. Among some other good new arrivals, another strong recommendation for Parquet Courts: check them out here.

Here we are at the end of another year, finishing off our first issue of 2013 and looking forward to the Christmas break, which starts for us on Friday. We’re off then until January 2, when we will no doubt return refreshed to face the New Year. This is therefore the last newsletter for a couple of weeks, so I’ll take the opportunity now to thank you for all your support and enthusiasm over the last 12 months, which has been much appreciated by everyone at Uncut. We hope all our readers enjoy their own Christmas holidays and wish you all the best for the coming year.

While rolling out my Top 112 albums list last week, a couple of people understandably asked what some of those records actually sounded like. Maybe this’ll help: ten of my favourite tracks of 2012…

Deluxe treatment for one of punk’s most rough-and-ready albums...

From Uncut's November 2009 issue (Take 150), Bryan Ferry and his bandmates recall the making of Roxy Music's classic single, "Street Life"

The 12-12-12: Concert For Sandy Relief took place last night (December 12) at Madison Square Garden in New York, with Sir Paul McCartney performing with Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic.

Preamble: I’m going to start rolling out this list over the next couple of days whenever I get a chance to post. Apologies, first, for the weird number…

In May 2011, Jonathan Demme filmed Neil Young on the three hour drive from the singer’s hometown of Omemee to Toronto’s Massey Hall, where he was scheduled to play the final shows of his Le Noise tour.