the nice list
posted by Villain at 12:05 PM
screw top 10's or top 5's ... these are just the best records i picked up or stole that were also released this year. i'm not gonna force myself to pick 10 or 25 or limit myself to just 5 ... i tend to buy records in bunches, so i'll miss months at a time of new releases. and a lot of times i'll only buy a few tracks from a record online instead of shelling out 12 to 15 for a whole record unless i know i want it. in short: there's a lot of awesome records i never bought, but of the ones i did, here are my favorites. there's plenty of excellent stuff that i didn't hear more than a couple tracks from that are probably better records than some of these (sam champion for example, maybe peter elkas) or that i never got into enough to warrant include (flotation toy warning, Levy)... now that i've thoroughly qualified my choices...
antony and the johnsons - i am a bird now
this is in all likelyhood the best album of the year - the most compelling, interesting album of all. it seemed to just drop out of the sky and sound totally different than what anyone else was doing.
sigur ros - takk
the record is just amazing. i've heard some people call it "boring" or "stoner music". i consider it "amazing" AND "stoner music". (note- i accidentally entered the wrong album title on this one. takk. not ageatis. that record came out in 99.)
wolf parade - apologies to the queen mary
ii have mixed feelings about this record - a lot of the material is previously released, and some of the new material doesn't hold up to the promise of the early stuff, however ... wolf parade has been my favorite band for a while now, and i can't get over how awesome songs like 'this hearts on fire' and 'shine a light' are. i even really dig what they do with 'fancy claps'... so yeah. nice to finally have an LP from wolf parade.
doves - some cities
this is one of those records where every month i had a different favorite cut off it. it's not the most unique sound, but few bands can deliver such consistently excellent guitar driven rock.
chad vangaalen - infiniheart
CVG is one of those guys who records every sound on the record. very impressive and haunting pop tunes. a lot of the material was recorded previous to release (as with wolf parade), but none of it, to me, ever hints at a drop in quality.
bloc party - silent alarm
how can you keep the strokes ... i mean, bloc pary - off this kind of list? oh yeah - be a hater. that's how. i can't be a hater on the strokes, and i can't be a hater on bloc party. they're just so damn good at what they do. and no matter how much you resent it, what they do sounds so damn good.
okkervil river - black sheep boy
blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah wow.
portastatic - bright ideas
the album has track after track of well written and well performed alt-rock with perfect pop influences.
some honorable mentions:
rogue wave - descended like vultures
broken social scene - broken social scene
feist - let it die (see above)
the mountain goats - the sunset tree
black mountain - Black Mountain (because it's a way to give a nod to The Pink Mountaintops, Blood Meridian, and Jerk With A Bomb all at once)
stuff that made it on my radar, but should have been better
the shoud out louds - howl howl gaff gaff
rosebuds - birds make good neighbors
the oranges band - the world and everything in it
love as laughter - laughters 5th
antony and the johnsons - i am a bird now
this is in all likelyhood the best album of the year - the most compelling, interesting album of all. it seemed to just drop out of the sky and sound totally different than what anyone else was doing.
sigur ros - takk
the record is just amazing. i've heard some people call it "boring" or "stoner music". i consider it "amazing" AND "stoner music". (note- i accidentally entered the wrong album title on this one. takk. not ageatis. that record came out in 99.)
wolf parade - apologies to the queen mary
ii have mixed feelings about this record - a lot of the material is previously released, and some of the new material doesn't hold up to the promise of the early stuff, however ... wolf parade has been my favorite band for a while now, and i can't get over how awesome songs like 'this hearts on fire' and 'shine a light' are. i even really dig what they do with 'fancy claps'... so yeah. nice to finally have an LP from wolf parade.
doves - some cities
this is one of those records where every month i had a different favorite cut off it. it's not the most unique sound, but few bands can deliver such consistently excellent guitar driven rock.
chad vangaalen - infiniheart
CVG is one of those guys who records every sound on the record. very impressive and haunting pop tunes. a lot of the material was recorded previous to release (as with wolf parade), but none of it, to me, ever hints at a drop in quality.
bloc party - silent alarm
how can you keep the strokes ... i mean, bloc pary - off this kind of list? oh yeah - be a hater. that's how. i can't be a hater on the strokes, and i can't be a hater on bloc party. they're just so damn good at what they do. and no matter how much you resent it, what they do sounds so damn good.
okkervil river - black sheep boy
blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah wow.
portastatic - bright ideas
the album has track after track of well written and well performed alt-rock with perfect pop influences.
some honorable mentions:
rogue wave - descended like vultures
broken social scene - broken social scene
feist - let it die (see above)
the mountain goats - the sunset tree
black mountain - Black Mountain (because it's a way to give a nod to The Pink Mountaintops, Blood Meridian, and Jerk With A Bomb all at once)
stuff that made it on my radar, but should have been better
the shoud out louds - howl howl gaff gaff
rosebuds - birds make good neighbors
the oranges band - the world and everything in it
love as laughter - laughters 5th
