Personal Top Ten Lists for 2004

[DariusNYC]

For me:

Albums (apologies in advance for my lack of out-of-left-field choices):

1. Kanye West -- College Dropout. The producer who brought the warmth and soul back into hip hop in the 00's has turned out to be one of the most charismatic pop leading men we've seen in years. West is a rapper of surprising warmth, humor and vulernability, and his songs have a richness and joyfulness to them that is remiscent of early 70s Al Green and Stevie Wonder. Literally every song on this album (other than the silly skits) could be a big hit. In fact, several of them were. But more personally, no album this year produced more units of pleasure for me than this one.

2. Brian Wilson -- Smile: I don't know quite where to put this gorgeous revelation from one of my all-time favorite artists, as it's a bit out of time, but I swore not to give it the number one spot.

3. Franz Ferdinand (s/t): The decadent, hedonistic, completely lacking in family values, pop soundtrack of the post-November 2 period for me. "Michael" is my favorite song, with "Dark of the Matinee" a close second.

4. Green Day -- American Idiot. Amazingly strong power pop album, with melodies that just won't quit. Even the cheesy ballads are great. I expected to enjoy this album when I bought it, but not this much. These guys may not be Husker Du in my book but I think they're passing Cheap Trick.

5. Morrissey -- You Are the Quarry. Moz is in very strong voice on this album, and he has his best package of songs in a long time. "First of the Gang to Die" acheives an ecstasy of pop perfection, and the over-the-top ballads like "I Have Forgiven Jesus" and "This World is Full of Crashing Bores" are as stirring as they're intended to be. Calmer numbers like "I'm Not Sorry" and "All the Lazy Dykes" continue to satisfy when the smoke clears.

6. Interpol -- Antics. Antics shows that Interpol doesn't sound like anyone else. They are one of the most singular and distinctive bands around right now, with a really really good debut album to their credit and a follow-up that's significantly better.

7. The Libertines (s/t) -- The Libertines' rock-n-roll heart is so in the right place. This album achieves a sloppy shambolic gorgeousness that so few bands have been able to pull off since Exile.

8. Sonic Youth -- Sonic Nurse. A first rate offering from one of my favorite artists. The weird thing is I like this band over the past couple years about as much as I ever have. Their current mature incarnation, with Jim O'Rourke helping out at the boards, is immensely satisfying to me.

9. Air -- Talkie Walkie. This album was my companion during mostly sleepless nights during an illness earlier this year. I found it warm and mezmerizing.

10. Modest Mouse -- Good News for People Who Love Bad News. I thought this band really made it into the big leagues with this one. I liked Modest Mouse as an indie-rock band, but on this album they acheived a richness and diversity and musical openness that is beyond what I heard in their earlier work. The songwriting maybe didn't have as much focused intensity as on Moon and Antarctica, but the range and the great melodies made up for it. And Isaac Brock has become a true master of his quirky vocal instrument.

5 Honorable Mentions:

Secret Machines -- Now Here is Nowhere
Loretta Lynn -- Van Lear Rose
Fabolous -- Real Talk
U2 -- How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
Wilco -- A Ghost is Born

(I hope to follow up with a top singles list.)

[Davey]

Nice job! I've only heard three of your top ten but it's always fun to read your comments.

[Mike]

Having 7 out of your top 10 that have been in constant rotation in my player how could I not like like that list. The 3 standouts from your list for me are The Libertines, Franz Ferdinand and Air.

The Libertines, "sloppy shambolic gorgeousness" great description just about sums the album up for me, I quite liked the first album but this one has been a revelation for me. I saw Pete Doherty in an interview the other night on TV and he seemed so fragile and remorseful he then did a solo acoustic version of When The Lights Go Out, which was outstanding.

Franz Ferdinand, I've spent just about all year trying my level best to dislike FF and I did a pretty good job until I saw them live at a festival in late August and since then I've slowly been coming round. So what do you know now I like it, I wouldn't put them as high as you do but they would certainly make my top 10.

Air, I instantly liked it the first time I heard it and just haven't changed my mind all year.

Finally Kanye West, I don't want to sound dismissive but rap is not my thing but your reference to Stevie Wonder/Al Green have got me interested so maybe I should check him out.

Cheers
Mike

[t3chi3]

I'm going to check out Air. I previewed the album on iTunes and I think I'll like it.

[Slosh]

albums that sneak into my top ten depending on mood:
12. Giant Sand - Is All Over The Map
11. Clinic - Winchester Cathedral
__________________________________________________ ________________
10. Wilco - A Ghost Is Born
9. McLusky - The Difference Between Me And You Is That I'm Not On Fire
8. Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News
7. Ted Leo And The Pharmacists - Shake The Sheets
6. Mastodon - Leviathan
5. Old Canes - Early Morning Hymns
4. The Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat
3. Arcade Fire - Funeral
2. Earlimart - Treble And Tremble
1. Pinback - Summer In Abaddon
__________________________________________________ _________________
albums that were re-released or have songs that were previously released:
Rogue Wave - Out Of The Shadow
Les Savy Fav - Inches

[skewiff]

I have 7 of the 10 also, not having K. West, Modest and Sonic.

To your list I would add,

Keane...........Hopes and fears, I really like this.
Razorlight...Up all Night...... Possible my #1
Killers........Hot Fuss
Prince.........Musicology...........A great return to form.
Streets ........A grand don't ......Classic.

It's noticable that most everyone picked the same top albums in some order or another. I think that is very rare when NME, Q, Mojo, Spin Uncut etc get it right, Shows that the top rated albums were, perhaps the best albums.

I think this was a great year music wise.

Top reissues.

Clash .....London Calling
Wailers....Burnin
ABC.......Lexicon of Love
Clapton....461 Ocean
Candi Staton
There's more ,but I'm drawing a blank right now.

Tony

[Davey]

I'll post mine this morning real quick without any comments since I've probably posted a lot about all of them before (and besides, I'm already late for work ;)). Most of the second 10 could easily be in the first 10, but it has been a tough year for me to decide what I like best because it changes all the time and they all have a lot of [mostly indie] charm.

The First 10:
Mark Lanegan Band - Bubblegum
The Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat
Honeydogs - 10,000 Years
Augie March - Strange Bird
Arcade Fire - Funeral
Pinback - Summer in Abaddon
David Kilgour - Frozen Orange
Moonbabies - The Orange Billboard
The Futureheads - The Futureheads
Carina Round - The Disconnection

The Second 10:
Old Canes - Early Morning Hymns
Autolux - Future Perfect
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus
Electrelane - The Power Out
Blonde Redhead - Misery Is A Butterfly
Modest Mouse - Good News
Willard Grant Conspiracy - Regard the End
Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing in the Hands
Animal Collective - Sung Tongs
Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand

Favorite EP: The National - Cherry Tree

Favorite Reissue: The United States of America

[nobody]

OK...here's off the top of my head...I'm going for a baker's dozen in no order...

Streets - A Grand Don't Come for Free
Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose
Cee Lo Green is the Soul Machine
Air Talkie Walkie
Green Day - American Idiot
Kanye West - College Dropout
Two Lone Swordsmen - From the Double Gone Chapel
The Hives - Tyrannosaurus Hives
Social Distortion: Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll
Iron & Wine: Our Endless Numbered Days
The Libertines
ISAN - Meet Next Life
Daedelus - Of Snowdonia

I'm still leaving out a lot of stuff I liked a bunch. Darius, I like everything on your list pretty much, although Modest Mouse never really does much for me, and I'm just not really interested in the whole Smile thing.

Also, I personally think Interpol's first one was better. The second may be more cohesive, but it's missing big songs like NYC and PDA to get me really excited the way the first one did.

[Dusty Chalk]

Right now, I'm thinking 13, because I can't delete any of these:

Auf der Maur
Björk, Medùlla
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus
Dresden Dolls
Dykehouse, Midrange
Einstürzende Neubauten, Perpetuum Mobile
Flesh Field, Strain
Franz Ferdinand
Ghost, Hypnotic Underworld
Miss Kittin, I com
Múm, Summer Make Good
Neurosis, Eye of Every Storm
Pan Sonic, Quiet City

The hardest part is ranking them, so I didn't. I mean, how can you compare Cave with, for example, Neuosis? Or Franz Ferdinand with Ghost or Pan Sonic? They satisfy different moods, that's all, it's not that either one is better.

And I still haven't heard: Shape of Despair, Elend, Therion, and a few others that could rank right up there with these.

You know, I nearly picked up that Daedelus. Can you tell me more about it? I know it's under the wide 'electronica' banner, but other than that, know nothing about it.

[Jim Clark]

The Legends - Up Against The Legends
Arcade Fire - Funeral
Snow Patrol - Final Straw
Interpol - Antics
Lali Puna - Faking The Books
Stan Ridgway - Snakebit: Blacktop Ballads and Fugitive Songs
De/Vision - Six Feet Underground
American Music Club - Love Songs For Patriots
Miss Kittin - I.Com
The Walkmen - Bows And Arrows

Second Ten:
Moonbabies - The Orange Billboard
Razorlight - Up All Night
Libertines - S/T
The Killers - Hot Fuss
Green Day - American Idiot
Pinback - Summer In Abaddon
Radio 4 - The Stealing Of A Nation
Clinic - Winchester Cathedral
Air - Talkie Walkie
Old Canes - Early Morning Hymns

Best album not to make the list-Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose. I'm not a fan of country music. I'm not a fan of Loretta Lynn. I'm not a fan of The White Stripes. I'm certainly not a fan of Jack White. Still, I can't deny that good is good. Sometimes you don't have to personally love an album to be able to listen to it and appreciate it's greatness. I don't love it but simply can't deny that it's a great piece of work. Running not too far behind is the Fran Ferdinand album. Maybe on another day it cracks it at the expense of Air or perhaps Green Day. Of course today is today.

Best EP: Gotta go with Davey's nod to The National's Cherry Tree. Better much than pretty much any album I have listed in the top ten or next to top ten.

Biggest disappointment: Le Tigre - This Island. I cut this a lot of slack to start out with but when listening to it last week mining for tunes for my year end comp I couldn't escape the final conclusion that this is just a silly mess.

Showing the most promise: I'd go with The Dears - No Cities Left . The few songs where they cut loose and rock out just a wee bit gives a brief glimpse into what this band could be. Overall too Americana folkie for me but I got a feeling that it could change by the time the next album comes out.

Most overlooked possibly because it's the most blatant rip off- Kasabian's self titled debut. I got this very late, hence the ommision from the top 20 but with some time it might pan out. Very trip hoppy, very exciting, very very much like Primal Scream. I hear very little originality or attempts to disguise or update the sound but I still liked it quite a bit. Heard virtually nothing about this album and the ommision from any "best of" lists isn't likely to change that.

Best album of 2004 that was really released in 2003 belongs to M83. I really liked this album but the late US release causes it to be cast out of the running. This band could really make some serious inroads in 2005.

That's enough for now.

jc

[audiobill]

Hey, Darius.

Thanks for getting the ball rolling with the "best of" RR list.
2004, for me, was one of the best years in music. In fact, I spent more on music this year, than in years past. That says a lot, since DVDs seem to have ruled in our house throughout this year.

1. White, Jim - Drill A Hole In That Substrate And Tell Me What You See
2. Snow Patrol - Final Straw
3. Arcade Fire, The - Funeral
4. Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News
5. Killers, The - Hot Fuss
6. Fiery Furnaces, The - Blueberry Boat
7. Mastodon - Leviathan
8. Stars - Set Yourself On Fire
9. Wilco - A Ghost Is Born
10. Walkmen, The - Bows + Arrows
11. Dears, The - No Cities Left
12. The Legend -- Up Against the Legends
13. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
14. Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days
15. Q And Not U - Power
16. Shadows Fall -- The War Within
17. Smith, Elliott - From A Basement On The Hill
18. Razorlight - Up All Night

Why Eighteen?? "'cause I'm eighteen and I like it!!" -- Alice Cooper (I wish I were 18)

The Jim White album clinched the top spot, simply for its "grow-on-me" factor. In fact, this album would have probably been off the list, when I first received a "tester" from an RR friend. Weeks later, I bought my own copy and now.... it sees air time, both, in the cars and at the house.
Who knows?? Perhaps one of the others on my list will bear more satisfaction as the next weeks, months, and years unfold.

Cheers,
audiobill

[Jim Clark]

Hey, Darius.

Thanks for getting the ball rolling with the "best of" RR list.
2004, for me, was one of the best years in music. In fact, I spent more on music this year, than in years past. That says a lot, since DVDs seem to have ruled in our house throughout this year.

1. White, Jim - Drill A Hole In That Substrate And Tell Me What You See
2. Snow Patrol - Final Straw
3. Arcade Fire, The - Funeral
4. Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News
5. Killers, The - Hot Fuss
6. Fiery Furnaces, The - Blueberry Boat
7. Mastodon - Leviathan
8. Stars - Set Yourself On Fire
9. Wilco - A Ghost Is Born
10. Walkmen, The - Bows + Arrows
11. Dears, The - No Cities Left
12. The Legend -- Up Against the Legends
13. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
14. Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days
15. Q And Not U - Power
16. Shadows Fall -- The War Within
17. Smith, Elliott - From A Basement On The Hill
18. Razorlight - Up All Night

Why Eighteen?? "'cause I'm eighteen and I like it!!" -- Alice Cooper (I wish I were 18)

The Jim White album clinched the top spot, simply for its "grow-on-me" factor. In fact, this album would have probably been off the list, when I first received a "tester" from an RR friend. Weeks later, I bought my own copy and now.... it sees air time, both, in the cars and at the house.
Who knows?? Perhaps one of the others on my list will bear more satisfaction as the next weeks, months, and years unfold.

Cheers,
audiobill


Bill, I could add another category to my list: Album I most wish I'd have picked up, Stars - Set Yourself On Fire. I think at some point I'd posted about this band, commenting about the lack of mentions especially from the Canadian front. "course, like I said, I didn't grab the new one and regret it. Never really did see it anywhere save for a few online sources but I think I'm going to have to order it up seeing how much I enjoyed the previous one. Thanks for the nudge.

jc

PS real nice list there and it was a bonus to see the Legends disc show up. So far I only remember seeing it in yours, mine, and one published list in the Kansas City newspaper.

jc

[Troy]

Sure a lot of overlap in you guys's lists . . .


Air- Talkie Walkie
Mike Keneally- The Universe Will Provide
Helmet of Gnats
Happy the Man- the Muse Awakens
Land of Chocolate- Regaining the Feel
Daniel Luppi- An Italian Story
IQ- Dark Matter
Laika and the Cosmonauts- Local Warming
The Futureheads
Secret Machines Now Here is Nowhere

[DarrenH]

I didn't buy very many 2004 releases this year. My list, fwiw.

Riverside - Out Of Myself
Blackfield - Blackfield
Tr3nity - Precious Seconds
Happy The Man - The Muse Awakens
The Killers - Hot Fuss
The Mooney Suzuki - Alive and Amplified
Dead Soul Tribe - The January Tree
Ozric Tentacles - Spirals In Hyperspace
Chain - .exe
Los Lobos - The Ride

[Davey]

PS real nice list there and it was a bonus to see the Legends disc show up. So far I only remember seeing it in yours, mine, and one published list in the Kansas City newspaper.
Yeh, that is a nice disc. It grew on me quite a bit but then I kind of forgot about it. Did a mini-review over at the obner, but my reviews never go over very well. Guess it's good I don't have to rely on that for a living :)

Probably would've put it on my list if I'd have bought a copy, but I didn't. Que sera. Quite a few that I like a lot that didn't make the list. That Lali Puna was pretty tough to leave off too, but I got a little bored with it after the initial love affair died down. Very good album, though. Just wish it had a little more of that folky charm that was Neon Golden.

[Jim Clark]

Yeh, that is a nice disc. It grew on me quite a bit but then I kind of forgot about it. Did a mini-review over at the obner, but my reviews never go over very well. Guess it's good I don't have to rely on that for a living :)

Probably would've put it on my list if I'd have bought a copy, but I didn't. Que sera. Quite a few that I like a lot that didn't make the list. That Lali Puna was pretty tough to leave off too, but I got a little bored with it after the initial love affair died down. Very good album, though. Just wish it had a little more of that folky charm that was Neon Golden.

Mainly since our reviews tend to pale in comparison, we probably shy away from responses to your reviews. If I were to respond it would come out something like, "hell yeah!".

jc

[tentoze]

I'll post mine from elsewhere, with a few cut-and-paste rearrangements of order.

10) Lambchop, Aw C’mon- A sneaky entry- it just seems to wind up being played a lot.
9) Devendra Banhart, Rejoicing In The Hands- Just a whole ton of talent bursting out here.
8) Jim White, Drill A Hole In The Substrate….-Continuing to blend the borders of genres, this one’s got the shnizz….
7) Mark Lanegan Band, Bubblegum- the best voice in modern music right now.
6) Ray Lamontagne, Trouble- this would probably go higher two months from now.
5) Twilight Singers, She Loves You- A cd full of covers in the top 5? Damn right. Essential music for any age.
4) Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Sings Greatest Palace Music- another disk of reruns? I guess, but I never heard the originals. This disk gets played so much that it had to go high.
3) Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter, Oh, My Girl- I hope no one I touted this one to was disappointed in it- it’s a disk of very remarkable music. And Jesse’s a babe.
2) Joseph Arthur, Our Shadows Will Remain- more play time than any cd in the last 2 months. Scary, scary good.
1) Willard Grant Conspiracy, Regard The End- If you have not heard this record at elevated volume on a good system, I encourage you to do so. Without peer. And, yeah it was released in England in 2003. I don't give a ****.

The next 15:

25) Espers, S/T- that lost medieval sound with waves of ambient noise just does it for me.
24) Loretta Lynn, Van Lear Rose- Yes, it is good.
23) Old Canes, Early Morning Hymns
22) Mountain Goats, We Shall All Be Healed- not as good as Tallahassee, but Darnielle is still better than most on any given day.
21 Subdudes, Miracle Mule- like an old friend knocking on the door.
20) John Vanderslice, Cellar Door- as good as quirky pop tunes get.
19) American Music Club, Love Songs For Patriots- damned good tunes.
18) Iron & Wine, Our Endless Numbered Days- if someone would teach Sam how to breathe while singing, his records would go way higher with me. Beautiful music.
17) Robyn Hitchcock, Spooked- love it.
16) Giant Sand, Is All Over The Map- Howe Gelb is a national treasure.
15) Norman & Nancy Blake, The Morning Glory Ramblers- a nod to just about as traditional as you can get.
14) Jolie Holland, Escondida- I’m in love.
13) Stan Ridgway, Snakebite
12) Sufjan Stevens, Seven Swans
11) Ghost, Hypnotic Underworld- yep, 70’s prog played by a new millenium Japanese experimental band on my list- it’s THAT good

[Dusty Chalk]

You know, I kept likening the new M&uaccute;m album to that, saying it was "...this year's Neon Golden...". But after having heard the new Telefon Tel Aviv, I realize now how wrong I was. Now, don't get me wrong, Map Of What Is Effortless is no Neon Golden, but it's the closest thing that came out this year, methinks. Have you heard it yet?

It's, at the same time, both more and less. More experimental, more all-over-the-place, and therefore, more my cup of tea. But overall, I don't think it's near as good an album. It just doesn't have that same songwritten power that that album has. I just do not think it is going to be in my best albums of the half-decade list that I'm doing on another board, and Neon Golden is. Definitely. I just keep playing that album, over and over again. I was just listening to it today.

I'm seriously considering it (Map Of What Is Effortless) for inclusion in my year-end list.

Plus, I've only heard it twice so far, so it's way too early to say.

[MindGoneHaywire]

In some kind of order, which is pointless, but it made some kind of sense to me:

Green Day—American Idiot
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds—Abbatoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orpheus
Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE!
The Libertines
Nick Curran & The Nitelifes—Player!
The Streets—A Grand Don’t Come For Free
Little Killers—The Little Killers
Asylum Street Spankers—Mercurial
Luka Bloom—Before Sleep Comes
Mooney Suzuki—Alive & Amplified

And 5 more that deserve honorable mention:

Eminem—Encore
Sonic Youth—Nurse
Jazz Jamaica All Stars—Massive
Daniele Luppi—The Italian Story
And the Cactus 2-CD reissue!

Haven't listened to the Eminem enough to decide if it belongs higher, but so what. There was other good & deserving stuff this year also--Bebel Gilberto, Tom Waits, Eleni Mandell, the Ditty Bops, Jill Sobule...you probably saw my post about what I thought was a great year for music, the best in over a decade. I have a few here that I see listed above that I haven't even gotten to listen to yet--the Robyn Hitchcock, the Ray LaMontagne, one or two others...and then there's the Franz Ferdinands, the Killers, Snow Patrol, et al, all of which are good but don't do it for me enough to rank them that high. And the stuff that I don't have & haven't heard--Loretta Lynn, Fiery Furnaces, a couple more...which I'll get eventually. I can't see how any rock/pop music fan who's not a crusty classic rock or jam band fogie could've thought this a bad year for music.

[BarryL]

Yikes. Was I out of it. Here's all I can think of that I own that was released in 2004 (in no particular order):

Frameshift - Frameshift
Flower Kings - Adam & Eve
IQ - Dark Matter
Ayreon - Human Equation
Tangent - 2nd release
Hem - Eveningsong
Brian Wilson - Smile
Karmakanic - 2nd release
Mark Knopfler
Nektar - Evolution
David Mead - 3rd release
Tom Russell

I suppose there were a few others. The only thing I regret having bought is Smile, which I disliked immensly after listening to it at least ten times. I suppose my favorite CD of 2004 goes to Frameshift. It was unexpected and masterful. It's modern prog rock head-banging music at its best. Sure to be a classic, and easily La Brie's best vocal work of his career.

[Stone]

I'm having a hell of a time after I get my first 5 or 6, but here's what I have at this moment:

1. Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat
2. A. C. Newman - The Slow Wonder
3. Adem - Homesongs
4. Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender
5. Ted Leo + Pharmacists - Shake the Sheets
6. The Arcade Fire - Funeral
7. Elliott Smith - From a Basement on the Hill
8. The Futureheads - s/t
9. Destroyer - Your Blues
10. John Vanderslice - Cellar Door
11. Mclusky - The Difference Between Me and You Is That I'm Not On Fire
12. Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days
13. Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose
14. Drive-By Truckers - The Dirty South
15. The Gris Gris - s/t
16. Sluts of Trust - We Are All Sluts of Trust
17. Morrissey - You Are the Quarry
18. Deerhoof - Milk Man
19. Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles
20. Saturday Looks Good To Me - Every Night

[Davey]

I'm having a hell of a time after I get my first 5 or 6, but here's what I have at this moment:

1. The College Dropout by Kanye West
2. Franz Ferdinand by Franz Ferdinand
3. Van Lear Rose by Loretta Lynn
4. Confessions by Usher
5. More Adventurous by Rilo Kiley
6. You Are The Quarry by Morrissey
7. The Diary Of Alicia Keys by Alicia Keys
8. A Grand Don't Come For Free by The Streets
9. Get Away From Me by Nellie McKay
10. A Ghost Is Born by Wilco

....yada yada yada
Hey nice list! Looks a lot like the one from Blender. Snicker sniker snicker. Do I sound kind of like the goof in the picture under your name?

Hey, I can't respect any top 10 unless I see a mention of Mark Lanegan. Back to class you indie hipster snob! And don't think you get to collect any bonus points for the Futureheads either! That's just chalked up to good taste in the modern tunes ;)

[Stone]

Hey, I can't respect any top 10 unless I see a mention of Mark Lanegan.

Hmmm, maybe that's one I should have listened to in 2004, along with Jim White, Pinback (I finally picked this one up, but have only listened once), Interpol, Air, Old Canes, Nick Cave, Snow Patrol, The Earlies, Annie, Dungen, and Willard Grant Conspiracy. Ugh.

[tugmcmartin]

I'll post mine from elsewhere, with a few cut-and-paste rearrangements of order.

10) Lambchop, Aw C’mon- A sneaky entry- it just seems to wind up being played a lot.
9) Devendra Banhart, Rejoicing In The Hands- Just a whole ton of talent bursting out here.
8) Jim White, Drill A Hole In The Substrate….-Continuing to blend the borders of genres, this one’s got the shnizz….
7) Mark Lanegan Band, Bubblegum- the best voice in modern music right now.
6) Ray Lamontagne, Trouble- this would probably go higher two months from now.
5) Twilight Singers, She Loves You- A cd (#) full of covers in the top 5? Damn right. Essential music for any age.
4) Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Sings Greatest Palace Music- another disk of reruns? I guess, but I never heard the originals. This disk gets played so much that it had to go high.
3) Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter, Oh, My Girl- I hope no one I touted this one to was disappointed in it- it’s a disk of very remarkable music. And Jesse’s a babe.
2) Joseph Arthur, Our Shadows Will Remain- more play time than any cd in the last 2 months. Scary, scary good.
1) Willard Grant Conspiracy, Regard The End- If you have not heard this record at elevated volume on a good system, I encourage you to do so. Without peer. And, yeah it was released in England in 2003. I don't give a ****.

The next 15:

25) Espers, S/T- that lost medieval sound with waves of ambient noise just does it for me.
24) Loretta Lynn, Van Lear Rose- Yes, it is good.
23) Old Canes, Early Morning Hymns
22) Mountain Goats, We Shall All Be Healed- not as good as Tallahassee, but Darnielle is still better than most on any given day.
21 Subdudes, Miracle Mule- like an old friend knocking on the door.
20) John Vanderslice, Cellar Door- as good as quirky pop tunes get.
19) American Music Club, Love Songs For Patriots- damned good tunes.
18) Iron & Wine, Our Endless Numbered Days- if someone would teach Sam how to breathe while singing, his records would go way higher with me. Beautiful music.
17) Robyn Hitchcock, Spooked- love it.
16) Giant Sand, Is All Over The Map- Howe Gelb is a national treasure.
15) Norman & Nancy Blake, The Morning Glory Ramblers- a nod to just about as traditional as you can get.
14) Jolie Holland, Escondida- I’m in love.
13) Stan Ridgway, Snakebite
12) Sufjan Stevens, Seven Swans
11) Ghost, Hypnotic Underworld- yep, 70’s prog played by a new millenium Japanese experimental band on my list- it’s THAT good
nice picks with Ray Lamontagne and the Blakes.

[shokhead]

Any Beatle cd with John Lennon as lead vocal,just listen to him.
Steely Dan,so much going on in the music.
Grand Funk Railroad -Grand Funk Mark Farner,way underated at vocals and guitar.
Donald ***en-Kamakiriad,its like listening to a book.
Kansas-Song for America Christen music without even knowing it.
Gary Moore-Blues for Greeny He was Thin Lizzy.
Who-Quad
Fabulos Thunderbirds-Live
Eric Clapton -The Blues from PBS WOW!
Police-Classics

[tentoze]

Nice to see you post, Tug! Hope you and yrs are well!

[Chrisgnat]

Here's some good ones from 2004 :

1) Helmet of Gnats ~ s/t
Amazing instrumental prog/fusion from this Stamford,Ct. quartet.
Similar in style to - Bruford, Happy the Man, Focus, UK, Dixie Dregs, Return to Forever.
Fat analog SACD release. THe best sounding CD I currently own!

2) Magma ~ K.A.
Fantastic three part prog opera from these French maniacs!

3) Ahvak - s/t
Avant/prog from Israel. VERY well recorded/produced. Similar to Thinking Plague, Univers Zero, Present, etc.

4) Univers Zero ~ Implosion
More of the same from these dark RIO progsters.

5) Ensemble Modern Plays Frank Zappa ~ Greggery Peccary & Other Persuasions
A MUST OWN for FZ fans.

6) Sleepytime Gorilla Museum ~ Of Natural History
Metal,prog & avant stylings make this one particulary delicious!
Firsty one's better IMO.

7) Panzerpappa ~ Farlig Vandring
Progressive jazz/prog from Oslo. These boys show promise!

8)Cro Magnon & (Bub) ~ Brosella Suite
Enjoyable chamber prog from Belgium. Like a happy Univers Zero.

9) Far Corner ~ s/t
More dark avant chamber prog from the Cuneiform label.

10) The Muffins ~ Double Negative
Avant Canterbury prog from Cunieform.

11) Claudia Quintet ~ I,Claudia
Jazzy, minimalistic stuff. Hypnotic!

[tugmcmartin]

Nice to see you post, Tug! Hope you and yrs are well!
Me and mine are doing well. Adjusting to life with a child can be pretty challenging (as i'm sure those of you with kids know all too well). New job is going really well, but is pretty much consuming all of my time not spent with the wifey and kid. Don't really have much time to post anymore, hence the lack of posting since last halloween. Plus, haven't been purchasing much in the way of new music and haven't been burning anything comp wise, so even less to talk about than i used to have. I think my only music purchases over the last several months were Ray Lamontagne's new one, Los Lonely Boys' album, a new Yonder Mountain String Band live album, and a couple of holiday cd's during the christmas season. The biggest thing musically that has happened to me since last October is that i got rid of DirecTV and switched to Dish Network and now get Sirius radio through satellite (DirecTV billing screwup and crappy customer service lead to the switch... a whole other story in and of itself). Listening mostly to the Jam Band, Acoustic Crossroads, Classic Vinyl and 80's stations (wife likes the 80's one, i pretty much don't). I also really like the Old Skool Rap station.

Anyway, hopefully you'll start seeing me post around here more often as i seem to have settled into a schedule that allows me internet access at night on a pretty regular basis. now if i can only convince the wife to get high-speed instead of the crappy dial-up connection. Kinda reminds me of my family being one of the last houses in the neighborhood growing up to ditch the rotary phone and get a touch tone....

T-

[umapet97]

My list of favorite CDs right now:
Killers Hot Fuss
REM Around the Sun
Slipknot Slipknot UK import
Patricia Barber Companion SACD
Fractal Glider Digital Mandala
Rachel Yamagata(Im sure I mispelled) Happenstance
Cierra just 3 songs;Oh,Goodies,1 step 2 step
U2 MoFi Joshua Tree.
Hans Zimmer Gladiator
Mercury Rev

[Davey]

My list of favorite CDs right now:
.....Mercury Rev
umapet97? What kind of name is that? Hehehe, nice to see you around. What Mercury Rev are you listening to? I should have the new one in a few days. It's supposed to be released today in the UK so I ordered it from cd-wow last week. Won't be released in the US for a few more months. Great band.

Anyway, just wanted to say welcome and post as often as you like. You don't have to say something that's very meaningful everytime (or that even makes sense, if you've caught some of my posts ;)). We're like one big happy and dysfunctional family that love our music.