Wednesday, January 05, 2005
ZIG
I've already spent way too much time on this list- especially when considering how many of these albums I haven't heard yet (The Streets, Futureheads, RTX, Comets on Fire, Dungen, and The Arcade Fire (though I did just order that last album after hearing only one song, "Neighborhood #2 (Laika)"). Since it's occasionally difficult for me to put things in a definite order, I've simply broken my list into tiers and then organized them alphabetically.
Honorable Mentions:
Animal Collective: Maybe this would have been higher on my list if I hadn't heard that it was the "Album of the Year" by about 10 different people before listening to it. There are some fantastic songs on here ("Leaf House" is one of my favorite songs of the year), but the album's a bit too uneven to make it into a higher echelon for me.
Brian Wilson: I just got this one recently, so I haven't been able to listen to it enough quite yet. This one might be higher in a few weeks.
The Fiery Furnaces: This is definitely the most original album of the year and I'm continually surprised and amazed by it when I listen to it. But it loses a few points with me because I have to be in the right mood to listen to it.
Kanye West: Yep, Hillary was right on this guy from Day 1. While he won't ever be as wacky and interesting as Andre 3000, this album's pretty damned awesome in its own right.
Secret Machines: There are some pretty epic songs on this record and I'm looking forward to their upcoming show.
Sonic Youth: Had Murray Street not been so great, Sonic Nurse might have been higher on this list.
The Walkmen: I know that there's a backlash against bands like this now, but song for song, this is one of the most solid albums of the year. I'm pretty amazed by how much mileage they get out of so few words on their more recent single, “Little House of Savages†(which is also one of my favorite songs of the year).
Numbers 2 –
5:Joanna Newsome: Hillary gave this album to me a couple of weeks ago and I listened to it on the drive home to Warner Robins, which was probably the perfect way to hear it since this is one of the most emotional albums of the year.
The Liars: I was pretty shocked by how much I ended up liking this album- one of the few things that really lived up to the hype for me this year.
Lil Flip Scoldjah: If only the Masta Cylindaz would have been as good as this album…sigh. If we suck again next year, I may have to retire from the Footbizzle League out of guilt for letting Croxton down.
Xiu Xiu: Like the Animal Collective's entry, this album's a tad bit uneven. However, the highs are higher on Fabulous Muscles and I tend to respect or admire its lows moreso than on Sung Tongs. Besides, “I Luv the Valley†is my favorite song of the year.
Album of the Year:Loretta Lynn – Van Lear Rose: There's not a single song on this album that isn't good—at the very least. And half of them are great. As a matter of fact, this album's so great that it's one of the reasons that I recently rejoined BMG; I wanna hear some of Lynn's older stuff now. Not liking the White Stripes and/or Jack White is not a reason to avoid this album. If anything, it's more of a reason to go back and re-listen to the White Stripes to give them more attention.
Zig
I've already spent way too much time on this list- especially when considering how many of these albums I haven't heard yet (The Streets, Futureheads, RTX, Comets on Fire, Dungen, and The Arcade Fire (though I did just order that last album after hearing only one song, "Neighborhood #2 (Laika)"). Since it's occasionally difficult for me to put things in a definite order, I've simply broken my list into tiers and then organized them alphabetically.
Honorable Mentions:
Animal Collective: Maybe this would have been higher on my list if I hadn't heard that it was the "Album of the Year" by about 10 different people before listening to it. There are some fantastic songs on here ("Leaf House" is one of my favorite songs of the year), but the album's a bit too uneven to make it into a higher echelon for me.
Brian Wilson: I just got this one recently, so I haven't been able to listen to it enough quite yet. This one might be higher in a few weeks.
The Fiery Furnaces: This is definitely the most original album of the year and I'm continually surprised and amazed by it when I listen to it. But it loses a few points with me because I have to be in the right mood to listen to it.
Kanye West: Yep, Hillary was right on this guy from Day 1. While he won't ever be as wacky and interesting as Andre 3000, this album's pretty damned awesome in its own right.
Secret Machines: There are some pretty epic songs on this record and I'm looking forward to their upcoming show.
Sonic Youth: Had Murray Street not been so great, Sonic Nurse might have been higher on this list.
The Walkmen: I know that there's a backlash against bands like this now, but song for song, this is one of the most solid albums of the year. I'm pretty amazed by how much mileage they get out of so few words on their more recent single, “Little House of Savages†(which is also one of my favorite songs of the year).
Numbers 2 –
5:Joanna Newsome: Hillary gave this album to me a couple of weeks ago and I listened to it on the drive home to Warner Robins, which was probably the perfect way to hear it since this is one of the most emotional albums of the year.
The Liars: I was pretty shocked by how much I ended up liking this album- one of the few things that really lived up to the hype for me this year.
Lil Flip Scoldjah: If only the Masta Cylindaz would have been as good as this album…sigh. If we suck again next year, I may have to retire from the Footbizzle League out of guilt for letting Croxton down.
Xiu Xiu: Like the Animal Collective's entry, this album's a tad bit uneven. However, the highs are higher on Fabulous Muscles and I tend to respect or admire its lows moreso than on Sung Tongs. Besides, “I Luv the Valley†is my favorite song of the year.
Album of the Year:Loretta Lynn – Van Lear Rose: There's not a single song on this album that isn't good—at the very least. And half of them are great. As a matter of fact, this album's so great that it's one of the reasons that I recently rejoined BMG; I wanna hear some of Lynn's older stuff now. Not liking the White Stripes and/or Jack White is not a reason to avoid this album. If anything, it's more of a reason to go back and re-listen to the White Stripes to give them more attention.
Zig
