Albums of the (Last) Year
Some of you have been beggingââ¬âbegging, I sayââ¬âto know what the best new music was last year. Between those of you who told me you couldn’t buy any music until I’d given it my seal of approval and those of you who promised to sleep with me if I revealed my Top 10 Listââ¢, I felt bad holding out so long. So here it is. It was actually pretty hard to come up with a real Top 10, since there were so many great albums last year. I really just have a top two (CYHSY and Wolf Parade) and then like 20 runners up. The links go to iTunes, so click on them, buy some medium-fidelity music, and make me rich. Rich!
1. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah ââ¬â Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
2. Wolf Parade ââ¬â Apologies to the Queen Mary
3. Decemberists ââ¬â Picaresque
4. M. Ward ââ¬â Transistor Radio
5. The New Pornographers ââ¬â Twin Cinema
6. Animal Collective ââ¬â Feels
7. Broadcast ââ¬â Tender Buttons
8. Architecture in Helsinki ââ¬â In Case We Die
9. Of Montreal ââ¬â The Sunlandic Twins
10. My Morning Jacket ââ¬â Z
Devendra Banhart ââ¬â Cripple Crow
Sufjan Stevens ââ¬â Illinois
Spoon ââ¬â Gimme Fiction
Beck ââ¬â Guero
The Clientele ââ¬â Strange Geometry
The Fiery Furnaces ââ¬â EP (their full-length album, Rehearsing My Choir, was pretty wild and weird, but definitely worth checking out if you’re a fan.
Franz Ferdinand ââ¬â You Could Have It So Much Better
The National ââ¬â Alligator
Okkerville River ââ¬â Black Sheep Boy
Rogue Wave ââ¬â Descended Like Vultures
The Russian Futurists ââ¬â Our Thickness (not at iTunes! Here’s his homepage)
The Long Winters ââ¬â Ultimatum EP
Seu Jorge ââ¬â The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions
The Oranges Band ââ¬â The World And Everything In It
Fruit Bats ââ¬â Spelled In Bones
The Joggers ââ¬â With A Cape And A Cane
2006 looks to be a pretty good year, too, as I’m already really enjoying new albums by Clearlake, Cat Power (only the single’s available at iTunes), and Belle & Sebastian (not yet at iTunes; link goes to their homepage).
What do you kids think? Did I miss anything?
Pretty solid list, you should check out the list on my website http://www.upbeetmusic.com/articles/14
Comment by Robert — January 26, 2006 @ 6:18 pm
I think we have the same inner ear… Yours is slightly more rocking than mine and mine is a bit more folky and sentimental.
Have you listened to the NME darlings of 2006: Arctic Monkeys?
Comment by Jim Renaud — January 27, 2006 @ 7:21 am
You Missed:
Stephen Malkmus - Face the Truth
Low - The Great Destroyer
The Iron and Wine EPs
But it’s your list. So you can’t have missed them, as such. “Go make your own damn list Pierce”, that’s what you should be saying.
There’s definately some stuff here I have been meaning to check out and will check out at some stage though. But I don’t use iTunes. So you’re just going to have to think up some other get “rich quick” scheme.
Comment by Pierce — January 27, 2006 @ 7:22 am
Jim! After twenty four hours we commented at nearly the same time! If only I hadn’t reread my comment that third time before hitting post.
Comment by Pierce — January 27, 2006 @ 7:23 am
I’ve heard the Arctic Monkeys, though mostly just the crappy bootlegs circulating on the internet. I like that song “A Certain Romance,” though. Very catchy. They kind of remind me of the Futureheads, only less polished.
Okay, I’ll check out Stephen Malkmus. I’ve heard good things about his new album. Low? I like ‘em all right. They rock me, but not to the point where my socks fall off. I haven’t really listened to their new album, though. I like that “Just Like Christmas” song from a coupla years ago, though.
And I did really like the Woman King EP from Iron and Wine, but that record with Calexico didn’t do much for me. Plus there are a couple of songs on there that I found unlistenable (like, the one where the not-Sam-Beam guy sings).
Oh and Jim, I am totally digging that “folksy” Akron/Family album, which I found on your Top o’the Year list. That song Running Returning is crazy good.
Robert, I haven’t even heard of half those albums. So much new music to check out.
One album I kind of forgot was M.I.A.’s “Arular.” It’s really good, but I only picked up on it in the last month or so, so it didn’t make the list.
Comment by Feaverish — January 27, 2006 @ 9:27 am
Hooray! Wolf Parade made #1 on the stylus.com list of worst albums of the week! They are truly, purely awesome.
Comment by Sloop — January 27, 2006 @ 1:07 pm
[quote]What do you kids think? Did I miss anything?[/quote]
What’s that supposed to mean? Is that some sort of sick joke!? You trying to hurt everybody’s feelings here?
You forgot the new Brendan Benson album! you! you! you damn! well you! argh, just be ashamed you!
Buck 65, Jamie Lidell and The Go! Team would also be on my list prolly. Little Barrie was fun too, but not that special. So lets just keep at Brendan Benson! There’s a must hear!
Comment by Milan — January 27, 2006 @ 2:23 pm