Top 20 of 2005 -- Rave Recs

[audiobill]

I thought I'd get this year-end thread going.

Personally, I have plenty of contenders for my year-end list, but have yet to decide on all twenty.

So I thought, we could have some fun and list all of our contenders and, from those, ones that will absolutely be there by the end of this thread -- when all is said and done.
Isn't that what the "edit" button is for??

Okay. I'll start....

1. ??
2. Spoon - Gimme Fiction
3. LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem
4. Crooked Fingers - Dignity and Shame
5. Martha Wainwright - Marthat Wainwright
6. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
7. Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
8. The Magic Numbers - The Magic Numbers
9. My Morning Jacket - Z
10. System of a Down - Mezmerize
11. Mike Doughty - Haughty Melodic
12 Patrick Wolf - Wind in the Wires
13. Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary
14. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! - Clap Your Hands SY!
15. The Books - Lost and Safe
16. Brazilian Girls - Brazilian Girls
17. The Clientelle - Strange Geometry
18. Black Mountain - Black Mountain
19. Lightning Bolt - Hypermagic Mountain
20. The Fiery Furnaces - Rehearsing My Choir

??
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cold Roses
Beck - Guero
Ike Reilly Assassination - Sparkle in the Finish
Stephen Malkmus - Face the Truth
Love As Laughter - Laughter's Fifth

Honourable Mentions:
Caribou - Milk of Human Kindness
Opeth - Ghost Reveries
Common - Be
Quasimoto - The Further Adventures of Lord Quas
The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree

Guilty Pleasure:
My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge

Commentary to follow....

So, why don't you walk on the wild side & post yours....

Cheers,

audiobill

[ForeverAutumn]

I haven't really given this too much thought yet, but off the top of my head, I would have to add the following to the list, in no particular order...

Andrew Bird - The Mysterious Production of Eggs
Luke Doucet - Broken (I finally got a copy of this and it's excellent!)
Dream Theater - Octavarium
Death Cab for Cutie - Plans
The Kaiser Chiefs - Employment
The Trews - Den of Thieves
Maximo Park - A Certain Trigger

[Slosh]

1. Stephen Malkmus - Face The Truth
2. Rogue Wave - Descended Like Vultures
3. The Decemberists - Picaresque
4. Super Furry Animals - Love Kraft
5. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
6. Andrew Bird - The Mysterious Production Of Eggs
7. Spoon - Gimme Fiction
8. Calexico/Iron & Wine - In The Reins
9. American Analog Set - Set Free
10. Fruit Bats - Spelled In Bones

Those are the easy ones. I'll have to get back to this thread later on the next ten.

[tentoze]

20) Elliot Murphy~ Murphy Gets Muddy
19) Graham Parker~ Songs of No Consequence
18) Vic Chesnutt~ Ghetto Bells
17) Bruce Springsteen~ Devils & Dust
16) The Frames~ Burn The Maps
15) Sun Kil Moon~ Tiny Cities
14) John Prine~ Fair & Square
13) Son Volt~ Okemah & The Melody of Riot
12) Mountain Goats~ The Sunset Tree
11) Marissa Nadler~ The Saga of Mayflower May
10) Okkervil River~ Black Sheep Boy
9) Ry Cooder~ Chavez Ravine
8) My Morning Jacket~ Z
7) Magnolia Electric Company~ Trials & Errors
6) Damon & Naomi~ The Earth Is Blue
5) Al Kooper~ Black Coffee
4) Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production of Eggs
3) Decemberists~ Picaresque
2) Mary Gauthier~ Mercy Now
1) Micah P. Hinson & The Gospel of Progress

[Mr MidFi]

Interesting to see that no one has mentioned Deadwing yet.

[Stone]

Interesting to see that no one has mentioned Deadwing yet.

Is that similar to Deadman?

[ForeverAutumn]

Interesting to see that no one has mentioned Deadwing yet.

Deadwing didn't impress me.

[Davey]

2) Mary Gauthier~ Mercy Now

Started playing that one more this weekend and it is growing on me a lot. Guess my initial reaction was that sometimes she sounds a bit too much like Lucinda, but I also realize now that's not really her fault either. Good songs and lots of emotion. Wish thay'd mastered it better to give her voice a little more room to breath. Shame it has to be so compressed and congested, but it is a nice one. Also gave that new Al Kooper a spin, and even though it seems to go on forever, still some very tasty music.

BTW, I've only heard 2 of the albums on audiobill's list! Guess there won't be much Rave Recs consensus this year. And none of the UK mags even have my favorite album in their top 50. Ya ever feel out of touch

[Troy]

Deadwing.

[audiobill]

BTW, I've only heard 2 of the albums on audiobill's list! Guess there won't be much Rave Recs consensus this year. And none of the UK mags even have my favorite album in their top 50. Ya ever feel out of touch

Davey: You're such a tease. Now, what could your top album be?? hmmmmmmm.

[audiobill]

20) Elliot Murphy~ Murphy Gets Muddy
19) Graham Parker~ Songs of No Consequence
18) Vic Chesnutt~ Ghetto Bells
17) Bruce Springsteen~ Devils & Dust
16) The Frames~ Burn The Maps
15) Sun Kil Moon~ Tiny Cities
14) John Prine~ Fair & Square
13) Son Volt~ Okemah & The Melody of Riot
12) Mountain Goats~ The Sunset Tree
11) Marissa Nadler~ The Saga of Mayflower May
10) Okkervil River~ Black Sheep Boy
9) Ry Cooder~ Chavez Ravine
8) My Morning Jacket~ Z
7) Magnolia Electric Company~ Trials & Errors
6) Damon & Naomi~ The Earth Is Blue
5) Al Kooper~ Black Coffee
4) Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production of Eggs
3) Decemberists~ Picaresque
2) Mary Gauthier~ Mercy Now
1) Micah P. Hinson & The Gospel of Progress

Thanks for posting a top twenty there 'toze.

Got to give that Micah P. another try.

[audiobill]

I haven't really given this too much thought yet, but off the top of my head, I would have to add the following to the list, in no particular order...

Andrew Bird - The Mysterious Production of Eggs
Luke Doucet - Broken (I finally got a copy of this and it's excellent!)
Dream Theater - Octavarium
Death Cab for Cutie - Plans
The Kaiser Chiefs - Employment
The Trews - Den of Thieves
Maximo Park - A Certain Trigger

Luke Doucet............ What's the music like?? Is it proggy or not?

Have to agree with Maximo Park -- great disc.

[Duds]

Clutch - Robot Hive/Exodus
Opeth - Ghost Reveries
Tori Amos - Beekeeper
Porcupine Tree - Deadwing
Neil Young - Prairie Wind
Queens of the stone age - Lullabies To Paralyze
Black Label Society - MAfia
Nine Inch Nails - with teeth
Brand NEw Sin - Recipe For Disaster
Callisto - True NAture UNfolds
Soulfly - Dark Ages

All i could come up with at the moment

[audiobill]

Clutch - Robot Hive/Exodus
Opeth - Ghost Reveries
Tori Amos - Beekeeper
Porcupine Tree - Deadwing
Neil Young - Prairie Wind
Queens of the stone age - Lullabies To Paralyze
Black Label Society - MAfia
Nine Inch Nails - with teeth
Brand NEw Sin - Recipe For Disaster
Callisto - True NAture UNfolds
Soulfly - Dark Ages

All i could come up with at the moment

Wow! That's plenty duds. I'll have to revisit the Neil Young release. It, initially, grabbed me, but I haven't given it any time recently. Neil's music, though is like an old jacket that fits just right -- I'm sure the next time I put it on, it'll feel better.

[Duds]

The Neil didn't grab me at first either, but after a few more spins it definitely did.

'05 was a pretty good year for rock releases. Two more i'd like to add are

Corrosion of Conformity - In The Arms of God
Fireball Ministry - Their Rock is Not our Rock

Wow! That's plenty duds. I'll have to revisit the Neil Young release. It, initially, grabbed me, but I haven't given it any time recently. Neil's music, though is like an old jacket that fits just right -- I'm sure the next time I put it on, it'll feel better.

[-Jar-]

I don't think I've bought a 2005 release this year !

I've heard a few.. but not purchased.

times they are a changin'..

[audiobill]

I don't think I've bought a 2005 release this year !

I've heard a few.. but not purchased.

times they are a changin'..

Hey, jarman. That's what kids will do to you. audiobill

[audiobill]

Two more I forgot to add:

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Howl

Bedouin Soundclash - Sounding a Mosaic (big props to Mike for introducing me to this fab band)

Cheers,

audiobill

[Davey]

A couple more that I don't think have got a mention yet an that will be very high on my list are Silver Jews Tanglewood Numbers and the Editors The Back Room. The new Silver Jews CD has really grown into an outstanding album over the last few weeks for me. I didn't think it quite rose to the heights that I've elevated American Water to over the last few years, but I may be wrong. In any case, I love it and it will likely be in my top 5. Similarly, I initially remarked how the Editors debut sounded too much like a band trying to sound like Interpol trying to sound like Joy Division. But after a few more listens, I probably love this Editors disc more than any of the Interpol albums. They get closer to the essence of Joy Division at times than Interpol, and actually have the occasional lyric that isn't too embarrassing to say out loud (unlike Interpol, who reads more like Coldplay when you strip away the music ).

EDIT: to be honest about it, the Editors CD can get a little irritating after awhile so it probably won't be high on my list, but I do like it a lot in smaller doses. Interpol and most of the others are the same way. They just don't capture that less aggressive rapture of JD and Echo. And the in-your-face sound doesn't endear them to me either. In fact, that contributes a lot to my irritation when I'm exposed for a prolonged period of time to that "modern sound". My true favorites each year are generally those that I can put on repeat and listen over and over and ....

Turned out to be a pretty good year for that core sound that I live with the most, Andrew Bird, Micah Hinson, Silver Jews, British Sea Power, Spoon, Editors, Bloc Party, the National, etc. Nice, just not too much that really excites me when I get past that stellar top 10. Man, I wish the childish imagery from the Jews "Animal Shapes" was true for me right now ...

From a corner window, I watch the falling snow flakes / God must be carving the clouds into animal shapes.

[Snowbunny]

A couple more that I don't think have got a mention yet an that will be very high on my list are Silver Jews Tanglewood Numbers and the Editors The Back Room. The new Silver Jews CD has really grown into an outstanding album over the last few weeks for me. I didn't think it quite rose to the heights that I've elevated American Water to over the last few years, but I may be wrong. In any case, I love it and it will likely be in my top 5. Similarly, I initially remarked how the Editors debut sounded too much like a band trying to sound like Interpol trying to sound like Joy Division. But after a few more listens, I probably love this Editors disc more than any of the Interpol albums. They get closer to the essence of Joy Division at times than Interpol, and actually have the occasional lyric that isn't too embarrassing to say out loud (unlike Interpol, who reads more like Coldplay when you strip away the music ). Turned out to be a pretty good year for that core sound that I live with the most, Andrew Bird, Micah Hinson, Silver Jews, British Sea Power, Spoon, Editors, Bloc Party, the National, etc. Nice, just not too much that really excites me when I get past that stellar top 10. Man, I wish the childish imagery from the Jews "Animal Shapes" was true for me right now ...

From a corner window, I watch the falling snow flakes / God must be carving the clouds into animal shapes.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful,
But the snow is so delightful,
and if you've no place to go,
let is snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Lotsa snow on the ground here, but just a little too cold for it to snow today. Or to go for a run for that matter.

Hey, Sugarbear, do you think I'd like that Micah Hinson? I've heard her(?) mentioned a lot lately, but I have no idea what he/she is all about. Tell me a story, Davey!

Snowbuns

[Davey]

Hey, Sugarbear, do you think I'd like that Micah Hinson? I've heard her(?) mentioned a lot lately, but I have no idea what he/she is all about. Tell me a story, Davey!

Are you a broken-hearted lover? Cause this is the drug. There's a song called "I Still Remember" in the middle that is just a heart ripper, "And I still remember thinking, I wish I could know you, for an eternity, or at least until we grow old. And I still remember thinking, how lovely it could be, to hold you for eternity, or at least until you fell asleep", with Micah (the man) trading verses with that angelic Sarah Lowes (the woman) from the Earlies (who back him and produce the album). Beautiful. And that 8 1/2 minute epic cosmic country closer, "The Day Texas Sank To The Bottom of The Sea", just knocks me out. And the opening block of three songs is a highlight as well. And then there's "Stand in My Way" that comes along with a sad country waltz, interwoven with a mournful cello and accented with plucked strings and a background accordian and piano, initially reminding me a little of a cross between the moody middle section on the great Modest Mouse The Moon & Antarctica and something from the Black Heart Procession, but then a brass band comes in and drives it more toward Neutral Milk Hotel territory. Great song. Great album. Yeah, you'd like it. That's my story

[Snowbunny]

Are you a broken-hearted lover? Cause this is the drug. There's a song called "I Still Remember" in the middle that is just a heart ripper, "And I still remember thinking, I wish I could know you, for an eternity, or at least until we grow old. And I still remember thinking, how lovely it could be, to hold you for eternity, or at least until you fell asleep", with Micah (the man) trading verses with that angelic Sarah Lowes (the woman) from the Earlies (who back him and produce the album). Beautiful. And that 8 1/2 minute epic cosmic country closer, "The Day Texas Sank To The Bottom of The Sea", just knocks me out. And the opening block of three songs is a highlight as well. And then there's "Stand in My Way" that comes along with a sad country waltz, interwoven with a mournful cello and accented with plucked strings and a background accordian and piano, initially reminding me a little of a cross between the moody middle section on the great Modest Mouse The Moon & Antarctica and something from the Black Heart Procession, but then a brass band comes in and drives it more toward Neutral Milk Hotel territory. Great song. Great album. Yeah, you'd like it. That's my story

Yes. Wow that does sound good, Davey. I'm in a bit of a musical funk these days. Nothing (but Andrew Bird) appeals to me right now.

I did just get a package from Ms. Patrick, but I haven't gotten the disks out of it yet! I don't know how he manages to slide those CD into the sticky bubblewrap envelopes the way he does. I'll get a pair of scissors and then I think we'll see what I think about Rogue Wave.

[BarryL]

Not much excited me last year, which isn't to say there wasn't lots of good music, but I just never got around to listening.

So, my #1 album for 2005 is:

Tomas Bodin, I AM. Bodin is the keyboard player from the Flower Kings, and he put out an immensely innovative and creative keyboard based progressive rock album that will stand the test of time.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment of the year for me was Roine Stolt's double solo CD, Wall Street Voodoo. Lyrics about corporate greed are so cliche and tired that they ruin any listening value.

I did enjoy the Andrew Bird CD, and the Steve Hackett classical CD was also outstanding.

I'll add Kate Bush to the list for the second CD of her double set.

Kino was also a nice surprise, if that was a 2005 release.

Oh how the years blur.