Twenty-O-Five a year in music
AS I sit here and recall the last 364 days of my life… sigh… I think of a truck barreling at high speeds and sideswiping my car because the phrase “Where the hell was I, that fuckin thing went right past me” comes to mind. Okay yeah that was a very long way around, but here’s my tops and lows of the year.
Music:
Best CDs Of 2005: as according to Musiqadikt282
1. Missy Higgins - The Sound of White
I’ve come to decide that with the frequent use of this cd, meeting her, and of course the sex dreams that of course involve no dreams…I mean sex … that this is one of the best albums I have purchased all year.
Reasons you should own it, she’s like the female version of Billy Joel and Jay Clifford of Jump Little Children helped write “Ten Days.”
2. Shout Out Louds - Howl Howl Gaff Gaff
Just a straight through rock cd in the vein of The Cure, And seeing two of there shows this year and meeting them after one of them helps raise the bar. Now there is some debate amongst all of us that perhaps the UK version is not as good as the American copy, and to that I say BAH! “My Friend and the Ink On His Fingers” and “Never Ever” are dearly missed on the Amer. Version however “Oh Sweetheart” is a decent intrusion.
Reasons you should own it Rolling Stone named them a Band to watch in 2005, and lets face it, it’s fucking good.
3. Moby - Hotel
I know, I know, I went from some decent stuff to something you are all considering to be by an artist that’s falling from stardom. I will admit Play was a great triumph for Moby, but Hotel is a transient departure from his normal mixing and just an all around great Pop/Vocal album. The tracks most promising are surely the ones that feature Laura Dawn who also traveled and performed with Moby, her ability is shown off is a fantastic cover of New Order’s “Temptation.” Other key tracks on the album are “Raining Again” and “Where You End.”
Reasons you should own it Laura Dawn.
4. Blue Merle - Burning In The Sun
When I first heard the title track last February, I thought, “alright, new Coldplay.” When I finally was told it wasn’t them and heard Coldplay’s single “Speed of Sound” I was depressed and told myself “only one of them is going to make my list,” and you’ll find Blue Merle is the better “Coldplay” album. I find myself revisiting the tracks “Stay,” “Places,” and “Every Ship Must Sail Away” constantly, lyrically they are just Incredible. It feels like I’m watching the songs play out in my head rather then just absorbing the melody and that is a great talent for any band to accomplish.
Reasons you should own it As I said before, They’re the better Coldplay album of 2005, so if you own X&Y this cd is about five bucks cheaper and is worth giving a spin.
5. Tom McRae - Just Like Blood
I first got a promo of an 02 release of McRae’s self titled, listed to it twice and decided there were about 2 worthy tracks on the whole album. I have yet to revisit the album since hearing Blood but if it’s anything alike, I must’ve been crazy. The first time I hear “Stronger Like Dirt” it was featured in an episode of Rescue Me and as I began compiling a list of songs featured in the episodes I came to find this album. Though “Stronger than Dirt” is a great song, I find myself hearing the Xylophone opening to the dark “A Day Like Today” and the whisper of the lyric ”If you let me, I could love you to death,” along with the lyrics of “Human Remains” which go ”Strange how through time/ we look the same, your eyes and mine/ looking away, too scared to see, Human Remains… Soon enough this will fade like a photograph of you and me”.
Reasons you should own it Fans of Ryan Adams will appreciate the dark lyric poetry and fans of anything will appreciate it’s originality.
6. The Wedding Crashers Soundtrack
Somewhere during the summer I picked this puppy up for 10bucks and it was well spent. I was sold after I saw the movie and the credits rolled playing a Weakerthans tune that sparked my attention, the song “Aside” defined my life. When I threw it into the player and heard music from Guster and a B-Side from Jimmy Eat World’s Bleed American it was sonic bliss.}
Reasons you should own it Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson singing Hava Nigela
7. The Weakerthans - Reconstruction Site
Pop Punk frontman for Propaghandi finds a niche in lyric styling although not very political this time around. The Weakerthans caught my attention in The Wedding Crashers and I just needed more. The cd stayed in my car for quite a while with the songs “Our Retired Explorer (Dines With Michel Foucault In Paris, 1961),” “New Name For Everything” and “Reconstruction Site” on heavy rotation.
Reasons you should own it It’s not just another Pop/Punk/Emo album. This work has been sculpted by lyrical genius and put to music, the song “Reconstruction Site” reads like a page out of a private journal
8. The Fray - How to Save A Life
After hearing “Cable Car” on the radio I thought, “hey some good pop music” which is an oxymoron, but bought the CD cos the cover art was phenomenal. To my luck, the CD was very good, lots of good pop tunes, and piano in pop music is something that helps me sleep well at night.
Reasons you should own it first of all, if you don’t appreciate the cover art then all is lost on you in the realm of art and you should nolonger be listening to music but digging holes in Guatemala for a man named Lupe Rodriguez where you will never be exposed to any culture of any kind again in the hopes that your negativity towards art which includes music, film, theater, poetry, music and so on will never be exposed to anyone else in the human race because you are a fucking jerk-dick loser asshole and need to just keep your mouth shut and stay out of everyones way because odds are good society hates you for that. Also, the title track and “All At Once” which features the lyric “Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same”
9. The Rocket Summer - Hello, Good Friend
I’m so Emo, I know, but I really can’t help but enjoy this CD and sad part is that anyone that heard this album is thinking the same thing. Though I don’t agree with the single chosen to lead off the album “Brat Pack” is one of the more mediocre songs on the CD where “Tell Me Something Good” and “Around The Clock” would have been much more successful in finding an audience in the realm of Teeny Bopper-Zombies but I spose you got to give the artist some credit with the 1minute 28second “Move to the Other Side Of The Block” which becomes one of those songs you wish were 5 minutes, but as I’ve said before, I’m a sucker for the merging elements of pop and piano.
Reasons you should own it Cos everyone deserves the right to be ashamed of one cd in their collection and though makes fun of it almost everytime it’s viewed upon by guests and family members, pops it into their player every few months, and if you already own that album this one makes a good sidekick.
10. Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine
Pop and Piano man! It does it again, this time with the re-emergence of a long waited third album from Fiona Apple. From what was gathered the cd was completed a year ago, she hated it, threw out all the songs and wrote new ones and hey, whatdayaknow it worked on me. I won’t say that this is her strongest album to date, but I loved “When the Pawn…” unlike every critic on the face of the planet (I’m on my 3rd copy).
Reasons you should own it Tymps (The sick in the head song).
The top singles:
1. “Aside” by The Weakerthans
2. “Scar” by Missy Higgins
3. “Very Loud” by Shout Out Louds
4. “Throw It All Away” by Brandi Carlile
5. “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” by KT Tunstall
6. “Rough Justice” by The Rolling Stones
7. “Busting Up A Starbucks” by Mike Doughty
8. “Duck and Cover” by Glen Phillips
9. “Waterfall” by Griffin House
10. “Get Back” by Ludacris feat. Sum41
The Worst:
These albums I was severely disappointed in, bad albums, you’re bad!
Kanye West - Late Registration
Loved “Golddigger” hated everything else.
Weezer - Make Believe
Like the tracks “Peace” and “My Best Friend” the rest of the album was a let down.
Gorillaz - Demon Dayz
After the success of the self-titled debut I thought maybe ther’d be at least one single on here worth listening to… I was wrong. Bring Dan “The Automater” back…please.
Black Eyed Peas - Monkey Buisness
My Humps? What? Why? I need a drink, and don’t Phunk with it.
Sheryl Crow - Wildflower
Yeah, I do, like a couple of tracks on it, but as an album, which actually features a C’mon C’mon B-Side, this cd is a downer and a disappointment, sorry Sheryl, dump the cyclist and go dark again.
Looking forward:
Plumb - Chaotic Resolve (Like Evanescence but less annoying and you’ll find her in the Christian section for some odd reason) FEB28
Train - For Me, It’s You (If The single “Cab” is any indication, this album may have potential, especially if they carry over the vibe from their Spiderman 2 single too) JAN28
Beth Orton - Comfort of Strangers (Although I feel that she has lost some folk on her latest single “Conceived,” I always look forward to new Beth Orton) FEB7
That’s about all I got right now kiddies, I have to work on some other lists in Movies, tv and books so consider this part one of a very long post, and have yourself a pleasant New Year.
Music:
Best CDs Of 2005: as according to Musiqadikt282
1. Missy Higgins - The Sound of White
I’ve come to decide that with the frequent use of this cd, meeting her, and of course the sex dreams that of course involve no dreams…I mean sex … that this is one of the best albums I have purchased all year.
Reasons you should own it, she’s like the female version of Billy Joel and Jay Clifford of Jump Little Children helped write “Ten Days.”
2. Shout Out Louds - Howl Howl Gaff Gaff
Just a straight through rock cd in the vein of The Cure, And seeing two of there shows this year and meeting them after one of them helps raise the bar. Now there is some debate amongst all of us that perhaps the UK version is not as good as the American copy, and to that I say BAH! “My Friend and the Ink On His Fingers” and “Never Ever” are dearly missed on the Amer. Version however “Oh Sweetheart” is a decent intrusion.
Reasons you should own it Rolling Stone named them a Band to watch in 2005, and lets face it, it’s fucking good.
3. Moby - Hotel
I know, I know, I went from some decent stuff to something you are all considering to be by an artist that’s falling from stardom. I will admit Play was a great triumph for Moby, but Hotel is a transient departure from his normal mixing and just an all around great Pop/Vocal album. The tracks most promising are surely the ones that feature Laura Dawn who also traveled and performed with Moby, her ability is shown off is a fantastic cover of New Order’s “Temptation.” Other key tracks on the album are “Raining Again” and “Where You End.”
Reasons you should own it Laura Dawn.
4. Blue Merle - Burning In The Sun
When I first heard the title track last February, I thought, “alright, new Coldplay.” When I finally was told it wasn’t them and heard Coldplay’s single “Speed of Sound” I was depressed and told myself “only one of them is going to make my list,” and you’ll find Blue Merle is the better “Coldplay” album. I find myself revisiting the tracks “Stay,” “Places,” and “Every Ship Must Sail Away” constantly, lyrically they are just Incredible. It feels like I’m watching the songs play out in my head rather then just absorbing the melody and that is a great talent for any band to accomplish.
Reasons you should own it As I said before, They’re the better Coldplay album of 2005, so if you own X&Y this cd is about five bucks cheaper and is worth giving a spin.
5. Tom McRae - Just Like Blood
I first got a promo of an 02 release of McRae’s self titled, listed to it twice and decided there were about 2 worthy tracks on the whole album. I have yet to revisit the album since hearing Blood but if it’s anything alike, I must’ve been crazy. The first time I hear “Stronger Like Dirt” it was featured in an episode of Rescue Me and as I began compiling a list of songs featured in the episodes I came to find this album. Though “Stronger than Dirt” is a great song, I find myself hearing the Xylophone opening to the dark “A Day Like Today” and the whisper of the lyric ”If you let me, I could love you to death,” along with the lyrics of “Human Remains” which go ”Strange how through time/ we look the same, your eyes and mine/ looking away, too scared to see, Human Remains… Soon enough this will fade like a photograph of you and me”.
Reasons you should own it Fans of Ryan Adams will appreciate the dark lyric poetry and fans of anything will appreciate it’s originality.
6. The Wedding Crashers Soundtrack
Somewhere during the summer I picked this puppy up for 10bucks and it was well spent. I was sold after I saw the movie and the credits rolled playing a Weakerthans tune that sparked my attention, the song “Aside” defined my life. When I threw it into the player and heard music from Guster and a B-Side from Jimmy Eat World’s Bleed American it was sonic bliss.}
Reasons you should own it Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson singing Hava Nigela
7. The Weakerthans - Reconstruction Site
Pop Punk frontman for Propaghandi finds a niche in lyric styling although not very political this time around. The Weakerthans caught my attention in The Wedding Crashers and I just needed more. The cd stayed in my car for quite a while with the songs “Our Retired Explorer (Dines With Michel Foucault In Paris, 1961),” “New Name For Everything” and “Reconstruction Site” on heavy rotation.
Reasons you should own it It’s not just another Pop/Punk/Emo album. This work has been sculpted by lyrical genius and put to music, the song “Reconstruction Site” reads like a page out of a private journal
8. The Fray - How to Save A Life
After hearing “Cable Car” on the radio I thought, “hey some good pop music” which is an oxymoron, but bought the CD cos the cover art was phenomenal. To my luck, the CD was very good, lots of good pop tunes, and piano in pop music is something that helps me sleep well at night.
Reasons you should own it first of all, if you don’t appreciate the cover art then all is lost on you in the realm of art and you should nolonger be listening to music but digging holes in Guatemala for a man named Lupe Rodriguez where you will never be exposed to any culture of any kind again in the hopes that your negativity towards art which includes music, film, theater, poetry, music and so on will never be exposed to anyone else in the human race because you are a fucking jerk-dick loser asshole and need to just keep your mouth shut and stay out of everyones way because odds are good society hates you for that. Also, the title track and “All At Once” which features the lyric “Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same”
9. The Rocket Summer - Hello, Good Friend
I’m so Emo, I know, but I really can’t help but enjoy this CD and sad part is that anyone that heard this album is thinking the same thing. Though I don’t agree with the single chosen to lead off the album “Brat Pack” is one of the more mediocre songs on the CD where “Tell Me Something Good” and “Around The Clock” would have been much more successful in finding an audience in the realm of Teeny Bopper-Zombies but I spose you got to give the artist some credit with the 1minute 28second “Move to the Other Side Of The Block” which becomes one of those songs you wish were 5 minutes, but as I’ve said before, I’m a sucker for the merging elements of pop and piano.
Reasons you should own it Cos everyone deserves the right to be ashamed of one cd in their collection and though makes fun of it almost everytime it’s viewed upon by guests and family members, pops it into their player every few months, and if you already own that album this one makes a good sidekick.
10. Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine
Pop and Piano man! It does it again, this time with the re-emergence of a long waited third album from Fiona Apple. From what was gathered the cd was completed a year ago, she hated it, threw out all the songs and wrote new ones and hey, whatdayaknow it worked on me. I won’t say that this is her strongest album to date, but I loved “When the Pawn…” unlike every critic on the face of the planet (I’m on my 3rd copy).
Reasons you should own it Tymps (The sick in the head song).
The top singles:
1. “Aside” by The Weakerthans
2. “Scar” by Missy Higgins
3. “Very Loud” by Shout Out Louds
4. “Throw It All Away” by Brandi Carlile
5. “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” by KT Tunstall
6. “Rough Justice” by The Rolling Stones
7. “Busting Up A Starbucks” by Mike Doughty
8. “Duck and Cover” by Glen Phillips
9. “Waterfall” by Griffin House
10. “Get Back” by Ludacris feat. Sum41
The Worst:
These albums I was severely disappointed in, bad albums, you’re bad!
Kanye West - Late Registration
Loved “Golddigger” hated everything else.
Weezer - Make Believe
Like the tracks “Peace” and “My Best Friend” the rest of the album was a let down.
Gorillaz - Demon Dayz
After the success of the self-titled debut I thought maybe ther’d be at least one single on here worth listening to… I was wrong. Bring Dan “The Automater” back…please.
Black Eyed Peas - Monkey Buisness
My Humps? What? Why? I need a drink, and don’t Phunk with it.
Sheryl Crow - Wildflower
Yeah, I do, like a couple of tracks on it, but as an album, which actually features a C’mon C’mon B-Side, this cd is a downer and a disappointment, sorry Sheryl, dump the cyclist and go dark again.
Looking forward:
Plumb - Chaotic Resolve (Like Evanescence but less annoying and you’ll find her in the Christian section for some odd reason) FEB28
Train - For Me, It’s You (If The single “Cab” is any indication, this album may have potential, especially if they carry over the vibe from their Spiderman 2 single too) JAN28
Beth Orton - Comfort of Strangers (Although I feel that she has lost some folk on her latest single “Conceived,” I always look forward to new Beth Orton) FEB7
That’s about all I got right now kiddies, I have to work on some other lists in Movies, tv and books so consider this part one of a very long post, and have yourself a pleasant New Year.