This is the one time of the year when I wish that I listened to whatever the radio mainstream is. Not because I find anything particularly attractive about the mainstream, but rather because I miss the way radio sounded during the holidays when I was a kid. As a Top 40 radio listener, I kept the radio on approximately 23 hours a day during Christmas break. The stations would play all the best music of the year, generally culminating in countdowns of the top 50, 75, or 100 songs of the year as New Year\u2019s Eve got closer. Prince, Michael Jackson, Van Halen, The Police, Robert Plant, Hall & Oates. They all got played, for better or for worse, together. But I don\u2019t listen to mainstream, pop music, so making my own year-end lists will have to do.<\/p>\n
2005 was an outstanding year in music, in my most humble opinion. Where MP3 blogs and the iTunes Music Store changed the way people listened to and obtained music the past two years, 2005 was the year that podcasting became a prime source for discovering new music. Despite the fears of the idiots who run the recording industry, the Internet and its tools have made it much easier for music fans to discover new music, which ultimately means more money for bands and labels, even if there are a few illegally obtained tracks along the way.
\nHere is my top ten list, with a couple special wrinkles. You\u2019ll understand the wrinkles as you work your way through the list, should you choose to accept that assignment.<\/p>\n
10 – \u201cMy Doorbell\u201d – The White Stripes. A bold offering from rock\u2019s most dangerous band. Like nothing I\u2019ve ever heard from the red, black, and white ones. Bouncy. Buoyant. Light-hearted. Fun, even. As I\u2019ve said many times, I didn\u2019t love everything on the Stripes\u2019 latest album, but I loved the fact they took some tremendous chances. Bonus: \u201cSpit It Out\u201d – Brendan Benson. 70s AM rock, garage punk, and power pop combined into one marvelous, easy-to-digest package. I tremble with excitement to hear what Jack White and Benson have in store for us on their 2006 collaboration.
\n9 – \u201cJacksonville\u201d – Sufjan Stevens. Another bold artist, Sufjan\u2019s Illinois disk was loaded with smart, majestic, up-lifting tracks of shocking depth and meaning. It was tough to pick which one was my favorite, but \u201cJacksonville\u201d fills that role nicely. Bonus: \u201cEmily Kane\u201d – Art Brut. Where Sufjan is dense and complex, Art Brut is raw and basic. But no less interesting or entertaining.
\n8 – \u201cSweet Troubled Soul\u201d – Stellastarr*. They may not be critical darlings, but I dug their chili this year. \u201cForest Fire\u201d – Athlete. A wonderful B-side that I played almost as much as any A-side this year.
\n7 – \u201cBlack and White Town\u201d – Doves. A little \u201cMotown by way of Joe Jackson\u201d track that highlighted Doves\u2019 most excellent disk Some Cities. Bonus: \u201cLove Steals Us From Loneliness\u201d – Idlewild. Another UK band that emerged right around 2000 and is still doing fine work.
\n6 – \u201cKissing Families\u201d – Silversun Pickups. Full of staggering changes in tone, tempo, and feelings, a song that proves the alternative rock world is the best place to find emotionally raw music. Bonus: \u201cCalifornia\u201d – Low. Clearly we need more all-Mormon trios from Minnesota. This song sounds like a sunny, warm spring day.
\n5 – \u201cGive It Up\u201d – 8MM. The sexiest song of the year. Almost too sexy. Bonus Tracks: \u201cSlayer\u201d – Giant Drag. Second sexiest track of the year. \u201cRebellion\u201d – The Arcade Fire. Technically a 2004 song, it was released as a single this year, earning it mention here. The best track off last year\u2019s landmark disk Funeral.
\n4 – \u201c16 Military Wives\u201d – The Decembrists. The most enjoyable and entertaining anti-war song of all-time. The Decembrists lead a group of highly literate, indie bands that became the darlings of the blogosphere. Bonus tracks: \u201cGideon\u201d – My Morning Jacket, \u201cThis Year\u201d – The Mountain Goats, \u201cThe Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth\u201d – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.
\n3 – \u201c7\/4 (Shoreline)\u201d – Broken Social Scene. A late-year discovery that I found completely astounding. Bonus: \u201cThe Bleeding Heart Show\u201d – The New Pornographers. Two super-bands from Canada that put out two of the best songs of the year. How the hell does that happen? Come on, America! Get your act together!
\n2 – \u201cI Turn My Camera On\u201d – Spoon. The best song off of the amazing Gimme Fiction disk. Full of classic Prince-esque, bravado-laden falsetto. Fun and funky and fierce. Bonus tracks: \u201cSpanish Teeth\u201d – Robbers on High Street. They sound so much like Spoon that they were initially dismissed as horrible rip-off artists. Turns out they make some damn good music of their own. \u201cCrazy All the Time\u201d – 33Hz. More 1978 Prince repackaged for the modern ear.
\n1 – \u201cGoing Missing\u201d – Maximo Park. My most listened to song of the year. When those guitars chime in before the chorus, you\u2019re taken back to a summer when you lost a love of your own. Also, from a band that is known for offering up a healthy bit of cheek with their tunes, this was a lovely counter of seriousness. Bonus: \u201cTest Transmission\u201d – Kasabian. Maximo, Kasabian, and the Kaiser Chiefs are leading the way for a new British Invasion.<\/p>\n
Honorable Mention (In No Particular Order):
\n\u201cJackInABox\u201d – Turin Brakes
\n\u201c6 String Belief\u201d – Son Volt
\n\u201cHoppipolla\u201d – Sigur Ros
\n\u201cPaul Simon\u201d – The Russian Futurists
\n\u201cPrinceton Junction\u201d – The Natural History
\n\u201cWinter in the Hamptons\u201d – Josh Rouse
\n\u201cI\u2019m Your Villain\u201d – Franz Ferdinand
\n\u201cIt Grew On You\u201d – Foreign Born
\n\u201cOld Shit\/New Shit\u201d – Eels
\n\u201cBlood\u201d – The Editors
\n\u201cStormy Weather\u201d – Echo & The Bunnymen
\n\u201cSoon Enough\u201d – The Constantines
\n\u201cI Can\u2019t Stand to Stand Beside You\u201d – Brakes
\n\u201cLike Eating Glass\u201d – Bloc Party
\n\u201cLet\u2019s Get High\u201d – Benjamin Diamond
\n\u201cSixty Lives\u201d – Aberdeen City
\n\u201cVerve\u201d – The 101
\nComing next week, my top 20 most played tracks of the year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This is the one time of the year when I wish that I listened to whatever the radio mainstream is. Not because I find anything particularly attractive about the mainstream, but rather because I miss the way radio sounded during the holidays when I was a kid. As a Top 40 radio listener, I kept the radio on approximately 23 hours a day during Christmas break. The stations would play all the best music of the year, generally culminating in countdowns of the top 50, 75, or 100 songs of the year as New Year\u2019s Eve got closer. Prince, Michael Jackson, Van Halen, The Police, Robert Plant, Hall & Oates. They all got played, for better or for worse, together. But I don\u2019t listen to mainstream, pop music, so making my own year-end lists will have to do. 2005 was an outstanding year in music, in my most humble opinion. Where MP3 blogs and the iTunes Music Store changed the way people listened to and obtained music the past two years, 2005 was the year that podcasting became a prime source for discovering new music. Despite the fears of the idiots who run the recording industry, the Internet and its tools have made it much easier for music fans to discover new music, which ultimately means more money for bands and labels, even if there are a few illegally obtained tracks along the way. Here is my top ten list, with a couple special wrinkles. You\u2019ll understand the wrinkles as you work your way through the list, should you choose to accept that assignment. 10 – \u201cMy Doorbell\u201d – The White Stripes. A bold offering from rock\u2019s most dangerous band. Like nothing I\u2019ve ever heard from the red, black, and white ones. Bouncy. Buoyant. Light-hearted. Fun, even. As I\u2019ve said many times, I didn\u2019t love everything on the Stripes\u2019 latest album, but I loved the fact they took some tremendous chances. Bonus: \u201cSpit It Out\u201d – Brendan Benson. 70s AM rock, garage punk, and power pop combined into one marvelous, easy-to-digest package. I tremble with excitement to hear what Jack White and Benson have in store for us on their 2006 collaboration. 9 – \u201cJacksonville\u201d – Sufjan Stevens. Another bold artist, Sufjan\u2019s Illinois disk was loaded with smart, majestic, up-lifting tracks of shocking depth and meaning. It was tough to pick which one was my favorite, but \u201cJacksonville\u201d fills that role nicely. Bonus: \u201cEmily Kane\u201d – Art Brut. Where Sufjan is dense and complex, Art Brut is raw and basic. But no less interesting or entertaining. 8 – \u201cSweet Troubled Soul\u201d – Stellastarr*. They may not be critical darlings, but I dug their chili this year. \u201cForest Fire\u201d – Athlete. A wonderful B-side that I played almost as much as any A-side this year. 7 – \u201cBlack and White Town\u201d – Doves. A little \u201cMotown by way of Joe Jackson\u201d track that highlighted Doves\u2019 most excellent disk Some Cities. Bonus: \u201cLove Steals Us From Loneliness\u201d – Idlewild. Another UK band that emerged right around 2000 and is still doing fine work. 6 – \u201cKissing Families\u201d – Silversun Pickups. Full of staggering changes in tone, tempo, and feelings, a song that proves the alternative rock world is the best place to find emotionally raw music. Bonus: \u201cCalifornia\u201d – Low. Clearly we need more all-Mormon trios from Minnesota. This song sounds like a sunny, warm spring day. 5 – \u201cGive It Up\u201d – 8MM. The sexiest song of the year. Almost too sexy. Bonus Tracks: \u201cSlayer\u201d – Giant Drag. Second sexiest track of the year. \u201cRebellion\u201d – The Arcade Fire. Technically a 2004 song, it was released as a single this year, earning it mention here. The best track off last year\u2019s landmark disk Funeral. 4 – \u201c16 Military Wives\u201d – The Decembrists. The most enjoyable and entertaining anti-war song of all-time. The Decembrists lead a group of highly literate, indie bands that became the darlings of the blogosphere. Bonus tracks: \u201cGideon\u201d – My Morning Jacket, \u201cThis Year\u201d – The Mountain Goats, \u201cThe Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth\u201d – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. 3 – \u201c7\/4 (Shoreline)\u201d – Broken Social Scene. A late-year discovery that I found completely astounding. Bonus: \u201cThe Bleeding Heart Show\u201d – The New Pornographers. Two super-bands from Canada that put out two of the best songs of the year. How the hell does that happen? Come on, America! Get your act together! 2 – \u201cI Turn My Camera On\u201d – Spoon. The best song off of the amazing Gimme Fiction disk. Full of classic Prince-esque, bravado-laden falsetto. Fun and funky and fierce. Bonus tracks: \u201cSpanish Teeth\u201d – Robbers on High Street. They sound so much like Spoon that they were initially dismissed as horrible rip-off artists. Turns out they make some damn good music of their own. \u201cCrazy All the Time\u201d – 33Hz. More 1978 Prince repackaged for the modern ear. 1 – \u201cGoing Missing\u201d – Maximo Park. My most listened to song of the year. When those guitars chime in before the chorus, you\u2019re taken back to a summer when you lost a love of your own. Also, from a band that is known for offering up a healthy bit of cheek with their tunes, this was a lovely counter of seriousness. Bonus: \u201cTest Transmission\u201d – Kasabian. Maximo, Kasabian, and the Kaiser Chiefs are leading the way for a new British Invasion. Honorable Mention (In No Particular Order): \u201cJackInABox\u201d – Turin Brakes \u201c6 String Belief\u201d – Son Volt \u201cHoppipolla\u201d – Sigur Ros \u201cPaul Simon\u201d – The Russian Futurists \u201cPrinceton Junction\u201d – The Natural History \u201cWinter in the Hamptons\u201d – Josh Rouse \u201cI\u2019m Your Villain\u201d – Franz Ferdinand \u201cIt Grew On You\u201d – Foreign Born \u201cOld Shit\/New Shit\u201d – Eels \u201cBlood\u201d – The Editors \u201cStormy Weather\u201d – Echo & The Bunnymen \u201cSoon Enough\u201d – The Constantines \u201cI Can\u2019t Stand to Stand Beside You\u201d – Brakes \u201cLike Eating Glass\u201d – Bloc Party \u201cLet\u2019s Get High\u201d – Benjamin Diamond \u201cSixty Lives\u201d – Aberdeen City \u201cVerve\u201d – The 101 Coming next week, my top 20 most played tracks of the year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[71,81,9],"class_list":["post-774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-favorite-songs","tag-lists","tag-music"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=774"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12903,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774\/revisions\/12903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}