This year, for the first time, I think I have as many older albums as current ones.
The Best:
Straight To Hell - Hank Williams III : Punk-Rockin' Country without the nauseating modern country-pop sound. Hank Williams I would be very proud of his rebel grandson.
Guitar Romantic / Shattered - Exploding Hearts : Wow. 70s Punk rock style without the cliches. I thought this band was destined for greatness. Guitar Romantic came out in 2003 and Shattered, a compilation of b-sides, retakes, and singles, came out this year. Then I felt, well, shattered when I learned that sometime after recording Guitar Romantic a van crash killed three of their members. The rock-n-roll gods end the career of a young talented band and yet leave Aerosmith...where is the justice?
More Parts Per Million - The Thermals : Ok, so I'm three years behind on this one. An album brimming with energetic, lo-fi, indie rock. While I was enjoying this disc, the band released THIS year's album The Body, The Blood, The Machine. I am hoping that it will be as good. Look for it on next years list.
Boys and Girls in America - The Hold Steady : I really didn't want to like this band. I listened to their album Almost Killed Me and thought they could rock, but something about the sound didn't resonate with me. Over the year I started reading positive reviews of BaGiA and thought I'd give them another shot. After the first play there was still this intangible disconnect. Lucky for them (and myself) I followed my "listen to a new album at least twice" rule and on the second play it connected. I read somewhere that described the Hold Steady as a cross between the Replacements and Bruce Springsteen. A real rock-n-roll album.
The Crane Wife - Decemberists : Some people gasped when news came that the Decemberists were making the big label jump. Luckily, Colin Meloy and the band's sound hasn't jumped. Early Decemberists made me think of sea shanties and gypsies. On this album the gypsies have strapped on electric guitars. Not many bands can sing about the civil war and days of old without sounding silly. Lyrically wonderful and musically satisfying, bravo boys, bravo.
Return to Cookie Mountain - TV On The Radio : Goodness I came to the party late. I started listening to Blood Thristy Babes just recently and loved it. I thought it would be on my list this year, but that changed near the end of the year when I realized that Cookie Mountain was out. This album is one of those that you have to be in the mood for. Catchy, complex and experimental, background music this is not. An engagingly, satisfying album.
Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters : OK, I'm an album behind on these kids. When I heard about them and the word "disco" was mentioned I steered clear, then I actually listened to the album. This is definitely a case of 'better late than never'.
Curse of the Zounds - the Zounds : A gritty post-punk from the 1980s.
Destroyer's Rubies - Destroyer : Dan Bejar is talented. When he isn't Destroyer, he's in The New Pornographers and Swan Lake. Fortunately, Dan hasn't spread himself too thin. The name reminds me of a metal band, but this is far from the case. Rubies is an enigmatic indie rock gem (sorry for the pun.)
The Rest :
Savane - Ali Farka Toure : Blues meets African music.
Pick A Bigger Weapon - The Coup : Psychedelic funk and soul. The grooves on this album recall PFunk and the Digital Underground. While sometimes Boots Riley's lyrics feel too forced (much like DU), often trying to be too clever. When it works, the words get you thinking and the music gets you moving.
Ole Tarantula - Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 : Robyn returns to form channeling his Eye-era songs. Not all songs hit this lofty level, but the ones that do like "Adventure Rocketship" realize how much I missed him.
Broken Boy Soldier - Raconteurs : Most musical super-groups never quite live up to the hype, but Jack White and Brendan Benson put together a band that was able to release a surprisingly solid album.
Over the Edge - the Wipers : An underrated 1983 punk rock album from an underrated punk rock band.
Love - Beatles : Having OD'ed on the Beatles in my youth, I was pleasantly suprised by this remix/mash-up. The DVD-Audio version feels fresh.
This Time / Lonesome, Onry, and Mean / Ol' Waylon - Waylong Jennings : Remasters of classic country and western.
Pretty Little Head - Nellie McKay : Normally bubble-gum pop music doesn't agree with me, but something about Nellie makes it seem alright.
Living With War - Neil Young : The old man still has it in him.
Other things of note:
Best Online Music Store: eMusic
Worst Online Music Store: BMG Music Club
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment