I thought I'd start a thread where we could post Z's placing in different publications Best Albums of 2005 lists etc.
Uncut Magazine:
1. Funeral - The Arcade Fire
2. Illinois - Sufjan Stevens
3. No Direction Home (Bootleg Series Vol.7) - Bob Dylan
8. Get Behind Me Satan - The White Stripes
13. Cripple Crow - Devendra Banhart
15. Cold Roses - Ryan Adams
17. Prarie Wind - Neil Young
22. I Am A Bird Now - Antony & The Johnsons
26. Z - My Morning Jacket
34. I'm Wide Awake It's Morning - Bright Eyes
37. Guero - Beck
I couldn't be arsed to write the whole list (50 in total) I just pointed out a couple of other Albums by Artists that seem to pop up regularly on the forum.
:)
can someone explain the Arcade Fire to me? I'm not feeling it. If I wanted Rusted Root to jam out with Godspeed! You Black Emporer and have David Byrne guest vocal, well I'd just get three stereo's to play it all at once.....
Quotecan someone explain the Arcade Fire to me? I'm not feeling it. If I wanted Rusted Root to jam out with Godspeed! You Black Emporer and have David Byrne guest vocal, well I'd just get three stereo's to play it all at once.....
I'm with you conaway. I feel like I've given it my best shot and I just can't seem to find anything that clicks. I'm sure a lot of people disagree, but it's just not there for me. ???
the coolest thing about them is that they're from Montreal. other than that, I'm lost as to what makes them any better than say...Kansas, for instance.
Quotecan someone explain the Arcade Fire to me? I'm not feeling it. If I wanted Rusted Root to jam out with Godspeed! You Black Emporer and have David Byrne guest vocal, well I'd just get three stereo's to play it all at once.....
if you went to see them live, im sure youd have different feelings. i personally dig the cd a lot, but they put on one of the top 5 shows ive ever seen, strangely enough, one year ago today. i dont really know anything mindblowing to say about them, they just spark some awesome feeling inside, and i dont argue with that. i certainly see why people wouldnt like them, though.
music is all subjective, people. it means what you want it to mean. ;D ;D ;D
Crown Of Love is a cool song. No?
I really like Funeral. But I've found that people are REALLY crazy about Arcade Fire, or they REALLY don't like it.
I know exactly why I like it, too. It makes me move when it comes on. I like the energy in there. And I like some of the songwriting. And I like the instrumentation.
JohnC I am so with you on the Arcade Fire. I dig "Haiti" but sorry, Pitchfork, this is not the second coming, it's not Sgt. Pepper, hell, it's not even Dr. Pepper. But at least they're creative. Better them than Hoobastank. Although I have to fall back on "if it makes someone happy, it's inherently got value no matter how I feel about it". This also applies, begrudgingly, to Hoobastank.
Working at a record store in Montreal (I miss home!!!), I got the full-on fever pitch of Arcade madness and it's not pretty. EC has it right though, you either hate it or love it. EC is way cool, clearly, but most people I've met who were into AF were very pretentious. You know, the people with that mod haircut and the ironic jacket and tie that's supposed to look unkempt but actually costs Peru's GDP in hair wax and urban outfitters? Yeah, that bugs me a little. But good to see Z get the mad props.
QuoteI thought I'd start a thread where we could post Z's placing in different publications Best Albums of 2005 lists etc.
Uncut Magazine:
1. Funeral - The Arcade Fire
2. Illinois - Sufjan Stevens
3. No Direction Home (Bootleg Series Vol.7) - Bob Dylan
8. Get Behind Me Satan - The White Stripes
13. Cripple Crow - Devendra Banhart
15. Cold Roses - Ryan Adams
17. Prarie Wind - Neil Young
22. I Am A Bird Now - Antony & The Johnsons
26. Z - My Morning Jacket
34. I'm Wide Awake It's Morning - Bright Eyes
37. Guero - Beck
I couldn't be arsed to write the whole list (50 in total) I just pointed out a couple of other Albums by Artists that seem to pop up regularly on the forum.
:)
I think it's very cool that
Z is before Bright Eyes on that list. :)
Quotecan someone explain the Arcade Fire to me? I'm not feeling it.
I've not heard anything by them but was surprised to find their Album at number on.
Quote
I think it's very cool that Z is before Bright Eyes on that list. :)
I predict that Z will be placed much higher in Mojo's year end list. Next issue comes out early Dec.
Quote
I predict that Z will be placed much higher in Mojo's year end list. Next issue comes out early Dec.
That's great! I must see that chart, if I can get the magazine.
Speaking of Arcade fire...what is Funeral doing on the top albums of 2005? I think it was released in september or october of 2004...wasn't it?
Good point Primushead!
I checked on amazon.com & .co.uk for release dates.
.com says Sept2004 .co.uk says Feb2005.
I guess it was released later in the UK? Uncut is a UK magazine.
That sneaky cd..
This is like a flashback. It was Pitchfork's #1 cd of 2004. Enough already, I say.
http://www.xpn.org/top50_2005home.php
WXPN 2005 Top 10 Lists
Matt Reilly, Evening Show Host
1. Death Cab For Cutie- Plans
2. Innaway- Innaway
3. My Morning Jacket- Z
4. Spoon- Gimme Fiction
5. Arcade Fire- Funeral
6. Thievery Corp.- Cosmic Game
7. James McMurtry- Childish Things
8. New Pornographers- Twin Cinema
9. Band Of Bees- Free The Bees
10. Seu Jorge- Cru
Dan Reed, Music Director
1. My Morning Jacket – Z
2. Rolling Stones – A Bigger Bang
3. Kanye West – Late Registration
4. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Howl
5. White Stripes – Get Behind Me Satan
6. New Pornographers – Twin Cinema
7. A Band of Bees – Free The Bees
8. Beck – Guero
9. Greg Dulli – Greg Dulli's Amber Headlights
10. Spottiswoode & His Enemies – Building A Road
David Dye, World Café Host
(in no particular order)
Ali Farka Toure and Toumani Diabate - In the Heart of the Moon
Beck - Guerro
Feist - Let It Die
Spoon - Gimme Fiction
My Morning Jacket - Z
Laura Veirs - Year of Meteors
Ryan Adams - Cold Roses
Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez - Red Dog Tracks
Andrew Bird - And the Mysterious Production of Eggs
Mike Doughty - Haughty Melodic
Bruce Warren, Program Director
1. Sufjan Stevens – Illinois
2. My Morning Jacket – Z
3. Nada Surf - The Weight Is A Gift
4. LCD Soundsystem – LCD Soundsystem
5. Bright Eyes – I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
6. Kanye West – Late Registration
7. Spoon – Gimme Fiction
8. Common – Be
9. Ryan Adams – Cold Roses
10. The Decemberists – Picaresque
Michaela Majoun - XPN Morning Show
("In alpha order, not ranked")
Amos Lee - Amos Lee
King Britt - Presents: Sister Gertrude Morgan
Matisyahu - Live at Stubb's
Mike Doughty - Haughty Melodic
My Morning Jacket -Z
Rodney Crowell - The Outsider
Shemekia Copeland - The Soul Truth
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Thelonius Monk with John Coltrane - at Carnegie Hall
Tori Amos - The Beekeeper
Various Artists - Philly Local: Right on Track
http://www.thestrand.ca/media/paper404/news/2005/12/01/FilmMusic/Best-Albums.Of.2005-1116796.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.thestrand.ca
10. My Morning Jacket - Z
It's tempting to say that My Morning Jacket are the right band at the wrong time. But that begs the question: what time would have been right for a band like this? For all the "Southern rock" comparisons, it's difficult to imagine any actual fans of Skynyrd and the Allmans (aside from, er, me) loving MMJ. The era that is congenial for a band of sensitive Southerners helmed by a songwriter as subtle and ambitious as Jim James has yet to happen. Either way, Z charts the course between Eat A Peach, Tumbleweed Connection and Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground, and should please open-minded fans of all three.
http://www.filter-mag.com/news/interior.2800.html
Filter's Top 10 of 2005, Day Three: Blake Sennet of Rilo Kiley
by Staff & Blake Sennet | 12.05.2005
Move over hot red-heads, it's time to give the guitarist some lime light. Even after the success of last year's More Adventurous with Rilo Kiley (and y'know small tours with a little-known band called Coldplay), Blake Sennet managed to juggle his new outlet in his self-fronted band The Elected. The Elected are planing to release the follow up to their debut Me First on January 24, 2006 on Sub Pop entitled Sun, Sun, Sun. Before that hits, check out Blake's top picks of '05.
Blake Sennet of Rilo Kiley and the Elected
1. Feist – Let It Die (Universal)
2. Calexico/Iron and Wine – In the Reins (Overcoat)
3. Bright Eyes – I'm Wide Awake It's Morning (Saddle Creek)
4. Devendra Banhart – Cripple Crow (XL/Beggars)
5. Death Cab for Cutie – Plans (Atlantic)
6. My Morning Jacket – Z (ATO)
7. Okkervil River – Black Sheep Boy (Jagjaguar)
8. Kathy McCarty – Dead Dog's Eyeball: Songs of Daniel Johnston (Bar None)
9. M. Ward – Transistor Radio (Merge)
10. David Dondero – South of the South (Team Love)
Number 6? That's a bit more like it!
Seriously, i've never even heard of number 1! :-[
Feist has played with Broken Social Scene and she's featured a bit on the new record.
And the Arcade Fire are a great band. And Funeral is a great record.
case closed.
http://www.dailyevergreen.com/disp_story.php?storyId=15702
Stripes top this list
Just A Word Before I Go
CHRIS SENN(Bio)
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Just A Word Before I Go
Chris Senn
Well, this is it. I'm graduating on Saturday. After two semesters of writing music reviews for The Daily Evergreen, it's time for me to say goodbye. However, it is nearing the end of the year. So before I go, here are my top 10 albums of 2005.
1. The White Stripes - "Get Behind Me Satan"
How can Jack White go wrong? This is the fourth masterpiece in a row released by the White Stripes, and with each one they become more and more intriguing. Some of their most experimental songs such as the marimba driven "The Nurse," coexist with some of their catchiest songs to date. Try to survive the one two three punch served up by Jack and Meg on the unrelenting drive of "My Doorbell," "The Denial Twist" and "Take Take Take." This year, the White Stripes blow away the competition.
2. Beck – "Guero"
Beck continues to amaze me. There is nobody like him in the music industry right now, and I don't think there will ever be. Beck is as unique as a musician comes and his album, "Guero," proves it. Beck goes from rock to rap to latin music and back again. "Guero" is definitely the most eclectic album of the year and still near the top of my list despite being released back in April. "Earthquake Weather" is the under-appreciated gem on this one.
3. Magic Numbers – "Magic Numbers"
The Magic Numbers win my Best New Artist award and my award for best single this year. Reminiscent of the Mamas and the Papas, the Magic Numbers consists of two brother and sister pairs. Try listening to "Forever Lost," without getting it stuck in your head for days. The rest of the album is quite good also, especially the upbeat, fast-paced "Long Legs."
4. Living Things – "Ahead of the Lions"
As I said in a review earlier this semester, this is what great rock and roll should be. "Ahead of the Lions" is rough around the edges but most importantly challenges the status quo. It is a very political album. The lead single, "Bom Bom Bom," accuses the government of shipping young soldiers off to die. Pick up this album if you like bands such as T-Rex and MC5.
5. Coldplay – "X&Y"
Coldplay's third album picks up right where "A Rush of Blood to the Head" left off. They have somehow managed to keep their brand of melancholic love songs intriguing for the third time around. Spaced out, atmospheric sounds run through the entire album. Songs like the first single, "Speed of Sound," "Fix You" and "White Shadows," are the standouts on another awesome effort by Mr. Gwyneth Paltrow and company.
6. New Pornographers – "Twin Cinema"
Don't let the name fool you; the New Pornographers are harmless and quite safe to listen to. Hailing from Vancouver, B.C., this indie-rock band fills their third album with the near perfect power-pop that made their first two albums great. On "Twin Cinema," the New Pornographers adds two new vocalists to join Neko Case and A.C. Newman. The key track is "These are the Fables."
7. Audioslave – "Out of Exile"
When they released their first album, many music fans and critics alike wrote Audioslave off as a gimmick. They thought of them as a super-group without legitimate staying power. After Audioslave released "Out of Exile," their sophomore album, many realized that Audioslave is now its own entity, a bona fide rock band. "Doesn't Remind Me," and "Your Time Has Come," are instant classics.
8. Ben Folds – "Songs for Silverman"
Ben Folds' new album is also one of the sleepers this year. Folds has always produced exceptional material. Many times his albums are overlooked because of the warped sense of humor he integrates into many of his songs. For this effort, he decided to drop some of the humor and inject a small amount of seriousness, releasing his most solid album in years. Check out "Late," written after the loss of his friend, Elliott Smith.
9. Mike Doughty – "Haughty Melodic"
This was one of the surprise albums of the year. Haughty Melodic is a very consistent effort from Mike Doughty, the former leader of Soul Coughing. In recent years he has matured into a top rate singer-songwriter. He has always been a great lyricist and the songs on this release prove it. Some of the best tracks are "Looking at the World from the Bottom of a Well," "Busting up a Starbucks" and "Tremendous Brunettes," featuring Dave Matthews.
10. My Morning Jacket – "Z"
On their new album, My Morning Jacket left much of their southern rock sound behind in exchange for a psychedelic one. On this album they expand their musical range and demonstrate their willingness to try new things. My Morning Jacket at times sounds very close to The Flaming Lips. The standout track is "Off the Record." This is a very solid album from a band that continues to evolve.
http://www.filter-mag.com/news/interior.2809.html
Filter's Top 10 of 2005 Day Four: Nick Harmer of Death Cab For Cutie
by Staff & Nick Harmer | 12.06.2005
2005 may have very well been the year of Death Cab For Cutie. I mean, they are Seth Cohen's favorite band. The follow-up album to 2003's Transatlanticism, Plans has made Death Cab emerge from the indie-elite to the mainstream cool. To see what fueled the band's creative buzz this year, we asked bassist Nick Harmer what his picks were for 2005.
Nick Harmer of Death Cab For Cutie
1. Eluvium – Talk Amongst the Trees (Temporary Residence)
2. Spoon – Gimme Fiction (Merge)
3. Stars – Set Yourself On Fire (Arts & Crafts)
4. Feist – Let it Die (Universal)
5. The Decemberists – Picaresque (Kill Rock Stars)
6. The Constantines – Tournament of Hearts (Sub Pop)
7. John Vanderslice – Pixel Revolt (Barsuk)
8. Okkervil River – Black Sheep Boy (Jagjaguar)
9. Sun Kil Moon – Tiny Cities (Caldo Verde)
10. My Morning Jacket – Z (ATO)
The band will also be one of the acts at this year's Giant New year's Eve party in Downtown, Los Angeles. For more info on tickets, click here.
//
The top 10 (kind of)albums of the year
By Michael Petitti
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Wednesday, December 7, 2005
Print this
Good music is like good food - you have to develop your palette. As my colleague Nate Buchik recently pointed out, the majority of people are content indulging in the likes of Ashlee Simpson (grilled cheese on moldy white bread), Korn (pasta with ketchup) and Nickelback (day-old glazed donuts). Clearly, anyone with more than an elementary school appetite wouldn't eat that shit, so why listen to it?
If you're still wondering how to find this delicious music - aside from the Arizona Daily Wildcat - I still recommend a trip to www.pitchforkmedia.com. For the meantime, here are 10(ish) albums that ruled this year and make for a well-balanced musical diet. Bon appetit.
5. My Morning Jacket: Z
These Kentucky rockers are the superfluous wine metaphor and Z finds them tasting riper than ever. MMJ serves up country-rock "Lay Low" with a side of Lynyrd Skynyrd guitar-rock "Off the Record" and a generous smattering of experimental-rock "Into the Woods." Despite adding two new ingredients (guitarist/keyboardist) for this album, Z makes for one of the most satisfying and repeatable meals of the year. It doesn't hurt that Jim James' honey vocals smother even the most oblique and scary lyrics and turn them into your favorite snack.
http://www.houstonpress.com/Issues/2005-12-08/music/music.html
MUSIC
A Pack of Mutts
The lone wolves of 2005
By John Nova Lomax
Published: Thursday, December 8, 2005
As far as music goes, I am not a tribal person. I am not prodded by Pitchfork, nor narcotized by Relix, nor are my spirits lifted by No Depression. Not to say that those media sources are entirely flawed -- indeed, each has its virtues. But each of these influential outlets has an overweening aesthetic: Each approaches a CD from a sort of preconceived ideal, and should a work stray from that imagined purity, it often suffers in their estimation. And those mongrels and strays are the very albums I love -- the ones that are too artsy and meandering for No Dep, too rootsy and plainspoken for Pitchfork, and too concise for the hippies at Relix. Here's a list of ten of those records for all you other lone wolves out there.
1. My Morning Jacket, Z (ATO): Sure, the lyrics are stupid (burning kittens and babies in blenders, anyone?), and the pub-rock/Hawaii 5-0/carnival-in-hell middle stretch of the record sags a bit, but the seven majestic masterpieces that bookend Z more than make up for those shortcomings. It'll remind you of everything from the Celtic righteous-rock of bands like U2 and the Waterboys ("Wordless Chorus" and "Gideon") to the fretboards afire/full-tilt keyboards attack of the Allmans ("Lay Low") to the narcodelic wooze of mid-period Floyd and early Radiohead. All that and occasional tinges of classical piano, and soca and West African highlife guitars. Z is grandiose in the best possible way -- an album that'll turn the inside of your head into an ornate, vaulting cathedral.
http://www.filter-mag.com/news/interior.2819.html
Filter's Top 10 of 2005, Day Five: Adam Olenius of Shout Out Louds
by Staff & Adam Olenius | 12.07.2005
It would be putting it lightly to say that Swedish rock sensation the Shout Out Louds have had quite a year! Between releasing their breakout record Howl Howl Gaff Gaff and touring the globe in the company of such bands as the Futureheads and Secret Machines, the four boys and a girl quintet even made time to play an amazingly memorable set for Filter during SXSW. They're taking their time out for us again, this time in the form of a year-end top ten.
Adam Olenius of Shout Out Louds
1. Architecture in Helsinki – In Case We Die (Bar None)
2. Antony and the Johnsons – I am a Bird Now (Secretly Canadian)
3. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (self-released)
4. M.I.A. – Arular (XL/Beggars)
5. The Magic Numbers – The Magic Numbers (Capitol)
6. The Decemberists – Picaresque (Kill Rock Stars)
7. Feist – Let It Die (Universal)
8. Teenage Fanclub – Man-Made (Merge)
9. My Morning Jacket – Z (ATO)
http://www.filter-mag.com/news/interior.2820.html
Filter's Top 10 of 2005, Day Five: Swearing At Motorists
by Staff & Dave Doughman | 12.07.2005
It was 1995 when Swearing At Motorists issued their first release on a DIY cassette. Nowadays, the Secretly Canadian signees have a much more extensive (and impressive) tour history and discography under their belt, so it was only fitting that we here at Filter inquired singer and aggressive pedestrian Dave Doughman to found out what he has lauded as the ten best records of this year, the ten year mark of their musical career. Yes, much props are given to old tourmates, Spoon.
Dave Doughman of Swearing At Motorists
1. Spoon – Gimme Fiction (Merge)
2. Julia Hummer and Too Many Boys – Downtown Cocoluccia (Strange Ways)
3. My Morning Jacket – Z (ATO)
4. Okkervil River – Black Sheep (Jagjaguar)
5. South San Gabriel – The Carlton Chronichles: Not Until the Operation's Through (Misra)
6. Scout Niblett – Kidnapped By Neptune (Too Pure/Beggars)
7. Oranges Band – The World and Everything in It (Lookout)
8. Herman Düne – Not On Top (Heat33)
9. Broken Social Scene – Broken Social Scene (Arts & Crafts)
10. Mazarin – We're Already There (I and Ear)
http://www.sfbg.com/40/10/noise/toptens.html
San Fran Bay Guardian
Adam Metz's top 10
Kanye West, Late Registration (Roc-A-Fella)
Run Return, Metro North (n5MD)
My Morning Jacket, Z (Badman)
Various artists, Mojo Mod Club Party compilation (Mojo magazine)
Various artists, Children of Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the Second Psychedelic Era – 1976-1996 (Rhino)
Bloc Party, Silent Alarm Remixed (Vice)
Let Go, Let Go (Militia)
John Parish, Once upon a Little Time (Thrill Jockey)
New Pornographers, Twin Cinema (Matador)
The Eames Era, The Second EP (C Student)
Bonus beats: Josh Ritter, Thin Blue Flame CD-5 (self-released)
http://homegrownmusic.net/
Staff Picks:
Brian: The Bridge - Cross Street Market
Bryan: Dave Matthews Band - Weekend On The Rocks
Lee: Umphrey's McGee - Wrapped Around Chicago
Robie: My Morning Jacket - Z
The Mojo top 10 albums of 2005 are:
1. I AM A BIRD NOW - ANTONY + THE JOHNSONS
2. FUNERAL - ARCADE FIRE
3. AERIAL - KATE BUSH
4. DEVILS AND DUST - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
5. Z - MY MORNING JACKET
6. CHAVEZ RAVINE - RY COODER
7. THE MAGIC NUMBERS - THE MAGIC NUMBERS
8. INTO THE WOODS - MALCOLM MIDDLETON
9. DIMANCHE A BAMAKO - AMADOU AND MIRIAM
10. COLES CORNER - RICHARD HAWLEY.
------------------------------
KEKP DJs
All of the lists are in order unless there are no numbers, in which case they are in no particular order.
Cheryl Waters - Variety Mix
Hopewell - Hopewell and the Birds of Appetite (Tee Pee)
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois (Asthmatic Kitty)
Cloud Cult - Advice From the Happy Hippopatamus (Earthology)
My Morning Jacket - Z (ATO)
Elbow - Leaders of the Free World (V2)
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Self-Released
Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy (Jagjaguwar)
Stephen Malkmus - Face the Truth (Matador)
The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree (4AD)
The Black Angels - The Black Angels EP (Light In The Attic)
DJ Mr. Smith - Variety Mix
Hold Steady - Separation Sunday (French Kiss)
LCD Sound System - self titled (DFA)
My Morning Jacket - Z (ATO)
M.I.A. - Arular (XL)
Cloud Cult - Advice from the Happy Hippopotamus (Baria)
Lyrics Born - Same ! @#$ Different Day (Quannum Projects)
The Constantines - Tournament of Hearts (Sub Pop)
The Purrs - The Dreams our Stuff Is Made Of (self released)
Wedding Present - Take Fountain (Manifesto)
Spoon - Gimme Fiction (Merge)
DJ Shannon - Variety Mix
1. Doves - Some Cities (Capitol)
2. My Morning Jacket - Z (Ato Records)
3. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm (Vice Records)
4. Engineers - Home (ECHO)
5. Kasabian - Kasabian (RCA)
6. The Coral - The Invisible Invasion (Sony/BMG)
7. The Magic Numbers - The Magic Numbers (Capitol)
8. Aqualung - Strange and Beautiful (Red Int / Red Ink)
9. Editors - The Back Room (Kitchenware)
10. LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem (DFA)
Don Slack - Swingin' Doors
Kanye West - Late Registration (Roc-a-Fella)
Robbie Fulks - Georgia Hard (Yep Roc)
My Morning Jacket - Z (ATO/RCA)
Gary Allan - Tough All Over (MCA)
The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan (V2)
The Wrights - Down This Road (ACR/RCA)
Merle Haggard - Chicago Wind (Capitol)
The Earaches - Get the Revolution Out of Your Head (Steel Cage)
Gretchen Wilson - All Jacked Up (Epic)
Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy (Jagjaguwar)
John Richards - Variety Mix
1. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois (Asthmatic Kitty)
2. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (Self-Released)
3. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm (Vice)
4. Elbow - Leaders of the Free World (V2)
5. Death Cab for Cutie - Plans (Atlantic)
6. Various Artists - LIVE at KEXP Vol 1 (KEXP)
7. My Morning Jacket - Z (ATO/RCA)
8. Tom Brosseau - What I Mean To Say Is Goodbye (Loveless)
9. The National - Alligator (Beggars)
10. Cloud Cult - Advice from the Happy Hippopotamus (Earthology)
Kevin Cole - Variety Mix
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois (Asthmatic Kitty)
My Morning Jacket - Z (ATO)
Sigur Ros - Takk (Geffen)
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (Self-Released)
Antony & the Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now (Secretly Canadian)
Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (Saddle Creek)
Wedding Present - Take Fountain (Manifesto Records)
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm (Vice)
The Magic Numbers - The Magic Numbers (Capitol)
MIA - Aruler (XL/Beggars)
Cloud Cult - Advice from a Happy Hippopotamus (Earthology)
http://kexp.org/programming/djtop10.asp
Number 35 in UK's Q magazine.
Number 1 is Coldplay :-/
Hmm...I might have to stop buying Q magazine.
No mention of Z in NME's top50 >:(
QuoteNumber 35 in UK's Q magazine.
Number 1 is Coldplay :-/
Hmm...I might have to stop buying Q magazine.
No mention of Z in NME's top50 >:(
what do the Brits know anyway...ha ha...just joking!
I'm a Brit but I've been out of the country for about 6years so I'll let that one slip. Someone else will have have to stand up for HRH Queen Liz & The Blair (I'm GW's) Bitch Project ;)
http://www.filter-mag.com/news/interior.2829.ht
Filter's Top 10 of 2005, Day Seven: Producer Christopher Fudurich
by Staff & Christopher Fudurich | 12.09.2005
Christopher Fudurich is probably on your year end top ten without even knowing it. Los Angeles-based producer extraordinaire has helped produce and engineer albums for artists like Nada Surf, Ozma, and Fishbone, and it's his keen ear for sonics that has made us wonder what is in his top ten. Take a look!
Christopher Fudurich (producer: Nada Surf, Facing New York, Fielding)
1. Sigur Rós – Takk (Geffen)
2. Boards of Canada – The Campfire Headphase (Warp)
3. Nada Surf – The Weight is a Gift (Barsuk)
4. Gorillaz – Demon Days (Virgin)
5. Six Organs of Admittance – School of the Flower (Drag City)
6. My Morning Jacket – Z (ATO)
7. LCD Soundsystem – LCD Soundsystem (Warp)
8. Broken Social Scene – Broken Social Scene (Arts & Crafts)
9. Fair to Midland – Inter. Funda. Stifle. (FTF)
10. Fielding – Fielding (Militia)
http://www.dailyevergreen.com/disp_story.php?storyId=15702
Stripes top this list
Just A Word Before I Go
CHRIS SENN(Bio)
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Email this author!
View this in the paper!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just A Word Before I Go
Chris Senn
Well, this is it. I'm graduating on Saturday. After two semesters of writing music reviews for The Daily Evergreen, it's time for me to say goodbye. However, it is nearing the end of the year. So before I go, here are my top 10 albums of 2005.
1. The White Stripes - "Get Behind Me Satan"
How can Jack White go wrong? This is the fourth masterpiece in a row released by the White Stripes, and with each one they become more and more intriguing. Some of their most experimental songs such as the marimba driven "The Nurse," coexist with some of their catchiest songs to date. Try to survive the one two three punch served up by Jack and Meg on the unrelenting drive of "My Doorbell," "The Denial Twist" and "Take Take Take." This year, the White Stripes blow away the competition.
2. Beck – "Guero"
Beck continues to amaze me. There is nobody like him in the music industry right now, and I don't think there will ever be. Beck is as unique as a musician comes and his album, "Guero," proves it. Beck goes from rock to rap to latin music and back again. "Guero" is definitely the most eclectic album of the year and still near the top of my list despite being released back in April. "Earthquake Weather" is the under-appreciated gem on this one.
3. Magic Numbers – "Magic Numbers"
The Magic Numbers win my Best New Artist award and my award for best single this year. Reminiscent of the Mamas and the Papas, the Magic Numbers consists of two brother and sister pairs. Try listening to "Forever Lost," without getting it stuck in your head for days. The rest of the album is quite good also, especially the upbeat, fast-paced "Long Legs."
4. Living Things – "Ahead of the Lions"
As I said in a review earlier this semester, this is what great rock and roll should be. "Ahead of the Lions" is rough around the edges but most importantly challenges the status quo. It is a very political album. The lead single, "Bom Bom Bom," accuses the government of shipping young soldiers off to die. Pick up this album if you like bands such as T-Rex and MC5.
5. Coldplay – "X&Y"
Coldplay's third album picks up right where "A Rush of Blood to the Head" left off. They have somehow managed to keep their brand of melancholic love songs intriguing for the third time around. Spaced out, atmospheric sounds run through the entire album. Songs like the first single, "Speed of Sound," "Fix You" and "White Shadows," are the standouts on another awesome effort by Mr. Gwyneth Paltrow and company.
6. New Pornographers – "Twin Cinema"
Don't let the name fool you; the New Pornographers are harmless and quite safe to listen to. Hailing from Vancouver, B.C., this indie-rock band fills their third album with the near perfect power-pop that made their first two albums great. On "Twin Cinema," the New Pornographers adds two new vocalists to join Neko Case and A.C. Newman. The key track is "These are the Fables."
7. Audioslave – "Out of Exile"
When they released their first album, many music fans and critics alike wrote Audioslave off as a gimmick. They thought of them as a super-group without legitimate staying power. After Audioslave released "Out of Exile," their sophomore album, many realized that Audioslave is now its own entity, a bona fide rock band. "Doesn't Remind Me," and "Your Time Has Come," are instant classics.
8. Ben Folds – "Songs for Silverman"
Ben Folds' new album is also one of the sleepers this year. Folds has always produced exceptional material. Many times his albums are overlooked because of the warped sense of humor he integrates into many of his songs. For this effort, he decided to drop some of the humor and inject a small amount of seriousness, releasing his most solid album in years. Check out "Late," written after the loss of his friend, Elliott Smith.
9. Mike Doughty – "Haughty Melodic"
This was one of the surprise albums of the year. Haughty Melodic is a very consistent effort from Mike Doughty, the former leader of Soul Coughing. In recent years he has matured into a top rate singer-songwriter. He has always been a great lyricist and the songs on this release prove it. Some of the best tracks are "Looking at the World from the Bottom of a Well," "Busting up a Starbucks" and "Tremendous Brunettes," featuring Dave Matthews.
10. My Morning Jacket – "Z"
On their new album, My Morning Jacket left much of their southern rock sound behind in exchange for a psychedelic one. On this album they expand their musical range and demonstrate their willingness to try new things. My Morning Jacket at times sounds very close to The Flaming Lips. The standout track is "Off the Record." This is a very solid album from a band that continues to evolve.
http://www.thestrand.ca/media/paper404/news/2005/12/01/FilmMusic/Best-Albums.Of.2005-1116796.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.thestrand.ca
Best albums of 2005
The Strand's fiercest music critics, Ryan Hardy and Nav Purewal, stare down and select the top albums of 2005. So your favourite album didn't make the cut? Questioning why they choose said album? No need to be hatin'. Maybe your music just simply sucks.
By: Ryan Hardy and Nav Purewal
Issue date: 12/1/05 Section: Film & Music
Article Tools: Page 1 of 1
Ryan Hardy's Picks:
Following the excitement and change of 2003 and 2004, 2005 has seemed, on the whole, like a disappointment. But the overall crappiness only makes the moments of excellence seem even better. Here's ten of them:
10. My Morning Jacket - Z
It's tempting to say that My Morning Jacket are the right band at the wrong time. But that begs the question: what time would have been right for a band like this? For all the "Southern rock" comparisons, it's difficult to imagine any actual fans of Skynyrd and the Allmans (aside from, er, me) loving MMJ. The era that is congenial for a band of sensitive Southerners helmed by a songwriter as subtle and ambitious as Jim James has yet to happen. Either way, Z charts the course between Eat A Peach, Tumbleweed Connection and Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground, and should please open-minded fans of all three.
9. Kelly Osbourne - Sleeping in the Nothing
If historians remember Kelly Osbourne at all, it will be for this album. The historical significance of Sleeping in the Nothing is twofold. Most obviously, it serves as an indication of just how mainstream the eighties synth revival and, more generally, electronic music altogether had become by 2005. It will also probably stand as the absolute peak of the woefully misnamed phenomenon known as "electroclash." But it's not just for geeks in the future. This is a great pop album that allows two rather problematic talents-Osbourne herself and producer/Non-Blonde Linda Perry-to show how good they can be. Bonus points for the anti-date rape anthem "Don't Touch Me While I'm Sleeping."
8. Ellen Allien - Thrills
Sooner or later, Ellen Allien is going to be kicked out of Germany. Oh, sure, she seems like the latest in a proud tradition of inscrutable, ice-cold Teutonic musicians working with electronic technology (Kraftwerk, Manuel Göttsching, Basic Channel, Ekkehard Ehlers) but she's got a secret: beneath her shiny, metallic veneer lies a warm, beating heart. Synths and glitches aside, Ellen Allien is fundamentally a sentimentalist who just wants people to put the guns away and fall in love. That kind of thing has no place in the music of a country that produced both National Socialism and KMFDM.
7. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
Sorry, do they suck now? Are they overexposed? Played out? Have we moved on? The hype machine comes and the hype machine goes, but actually talented bands, such as Bloc Party, can ignore the haters and stick to making good music. Ultimately it doesn't matter who the NME thinks will save rock and roll this week. A band that can write good songs and play very, very well, and that moreover does so with some passion and chutzpah, will always be in demand.
6. LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem
There are good albums, there are great albums, and then there are those albums that may not exactly be the best in show but which manage to utterly nail down a moment in time. This is such an album.
5. David Banner - Certified
At a record industry showcase a few months ago, David Banner looked out at a sea of critics and label executives and informed them: "If my record don't sell and my father die [his father has cancer], I'm a kill all y'all." He then proceeded to make his DJ play "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana. In other words, David Banner is a mad genius who is willing to spit lines like "beat it like Mike when he fucked Billie Jean" over some of the nastiest Deep South beats you will ever hear. Buy this album and help save the life of everyone in the audience at that showcase.
4. The Game - The Documentary
Dismissed as the product of an out-of-control Shady/Aftermath/G-Unit hype machine, and then subsequently cast aside by the same machine pretty much for talking too much shit, The Game appeared to have a rough year. Except that his album went platinum, produced three huge singles, and firmly established him as a major force in rap music (that is, if he can get off Interscope). Beneath all the media drama and commercial success, however, there was also the years finest rap album. Some of rap's great albums are great because they occupy a unique place in history (such as 3 Feet High and Rising or Raising Hell) whereas others possess an almost mystical je-ne-sais-quoi (like Illmatic or Madvillainy). Then some are just shit-hot beats matched to a talented MC rapping for his life. Like The Documentary.
3. Doves - Some Cities
Every generation of British teenagers needs a quintessentially English guitar band to write songs that express their emotions more cogently than they themselves are capable of doing. For the chav generation, that band is the Doves: ordinary dudes who do unspectacular things like have a minor rave hit in the early nineties or knock up a girl who works at Red Lobster. Although they may be average Britons, Doves are not an average band. The songs on Some Cities range from gloomy and atmospheric to vibrant and charming, with nary a throwaway in the bunch. But the heart of the album is "Black and White Town," a tense anthem for Tony Blair's Britain that firmly cements Some Cities in the noble tradition of earnest, humane, irrepressible British proletarian rock.
2. M83 - Before The Dawn Heals Us
Ellen Allien may be sentimental, but M83 are emo. On Before The Dawn Heals Us M83 frontman Anthony Gonzalez seems hell-bent on pushing as many buttons in as many people as he can. How else to explain the genuinely distressing "Car Chase Terror!" or song titles like "Don't Save Us From The Flames" and the probably-not-ironic "Teen Angst." Being French, M83 have clearly decided that the world is headed to hell in a handbasket and that the only possible response is to release album after album of ornate, tear-jerking shoegazetronica. As with The Game, this album works because M83 believe passionately in what they do.
1. Sleater-Kinney -The Woods
Back in the nineties, when Sleater-Kinney were still confined to the artistic ghetto known as Kill Rock Stars, Greil Marcus dubbed them the world's greatest rock band. He was right then. He's righter now (to the extent that it affects my grammar). Of course Sleater-Kinney play very well, especially Carrie Brownstein. Of course the vocal combo of Brownstein and Tucker consistently mixes full-bore aggression with emotive nuance and unconscious sex appeal. Of course the songs are uniformly well-written and diverse. But what really puts them at the top of the pyramid is their guts. Most bands spend their whole career playing the same kind of music, whereas Sleater-Kinney have changed with each album, and travelled an astonishing distance from their Riot Grrl origins (Their only mediocre album is their first). Even if plenty bands have released a variety of unique albums, almost no bands can say that, in their mid-thirties, at the height of their career, they changed labels, spent some time in group therapy so they wouldn't split up and chose a producer (Dave Fridmann) whose own band (Mercury Rev) sounds nothing like S-K and who, in fact, wasn't even a fan of their material all in order to release the hardest-rocking, most-challenging album of their career. On The Woods Sleater-Kinney held nothing back, ignored all the consequences, and put to shame almost every other band in existence.
http://www.glidemagazine.com/articles216.html
My Morning Jacket - Z
It's been two years and a pair of band members since 2003's thunderous It Still Moves, but Z unveils a totally reinvented My Morning Jacket. Jim James trades his reverb drenched rockers in favor of shorter psychedelic keyboard numbers that are more art-rock than southern ragers. With Z's exotic rhythms and textures, My Morning Jacket scrapes the Kentucky dust off their sleeves, in favor of a big city sheen. With each step forward, they continue to be the band you love more than before.
http://www.exclaim.ca/
Pop/Rock:
1. Sufjan Stevens
2. New Pornographers
3. Wolf Parade
4. Bloc Party
5. Spoon
6. Sleater-Kinney
7. MMJ
8. Antony and the Johnsons
9. ...Trail of Dead
10. Death Cab for Cutie
11. The Go! Team
12. Teenage Fanclub
13. Black Mountain
14. Bright Eyes (I'm Wide Awake...)
15. QOTSA
16. Raveonettes
17. Deadly Snakes
18. Animal Collective
19. Broadcast
20. Final Fantasy
http://www.advancetitan.com/story.asp?issue=11214&story=4538
Inside the Album: The A-T's Staff Picks
he Best Albums of 2005 Issue: Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Added: 12/14/2005 1:44:50 AM
Nick Gumm,A&E editor
1. "Jacksonville City Nights"— Ryan Adams
This is probably one of Ryan Adams' best albums to date. "Jacksonville City Nights" embraces Adams' alt-county background, drawing further on influences like Hank Williams Sr., which is clearly evident on "Peaceful Valley." Although there are deviations from this sound in songs like his duet with Norah Jones, "John," Adams has almost perfected the alt-county sound. With the Cardinals as his backing band, Adam's sound has reached a new level. The instrumentation like that on "Cold Roses" is steeped in layers—peddle steel, piano, lead and rhythm guitar are just as lyrical as Adam's meandering and piercing voice. No words or justifications for brilliance can encapsulate the album. It speaks for itself.
2. "Get Behind Me Satan"— The White Stripes
In the world of over-driven guitar rock from Detroit, the White Stripes reign supreme. On their latest release, however, the Stripes have taken their progressive version of distorted blues-rock in a new direction. "Get Behind Me Satan" incorporates a wide range of instruments, including marimba, bells, piano and mandolin. Formatted around similar riffs normally played on guitar, White utilizes the timbre of the piano to achieve a completely new sound. Songs like "Door Bell" and "Denial Twist" are perfect examples of this. White even draws upon bluegrass and folk traditions of story telling to add a new dimension to the songs. Even though there is a new instrumentation on this release, the Stripes are able to rock just as hard.
3. "Howl"— The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
With their August release of "Howl," the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club completely changed their sound. Instead of continuing their blander version of Jesus Mary Chain's sound, they opted to turn to a more traditional blues-rock, folk-gospel sound. The dual acoustic guitars, harmonica and simplistic drums highlight the intensity of the vocals. In songs like "There Ain't No Easy Way" and "Shuffle Your Feet" the band employs chants to not only create natural hooks but to highlight the spiritual shift in band. With an overwhelming aura of pain, loss and a time forgotten, "Howl" is a line drawn in the sand by the band—accept our sound and our message or force us to fade out into obscurity. The song "Sympathetic Noose" is probably one of the best songs written in this year. Wholly embracing this sound, the band has created the sound of an instant classic.
4. "Extraordinary Machine"— Fiona Apple
Released in October, the album refines the imperfections of her previous sound while still exposing the imperfections in this female. With self-effacing tracks like "Tymps" and "Please Please Please," Apple doesn't detract from her normal content. What is striking about the album is the sound quality of it. The instrumentation on all her mini jazz-infused symphonies feel complete, unlike previous releases. Apple's voice, which wavers with hesitation and meekness, cuts through all the songs with an overwhelming confidence. Her sultry jazzy delivery accentuates the off beats that punctuate her songs. "Extraordinary Machine" has everything from simplistic stripped down jazzy tunes to lavish orchestrated songs.
5. "Z"— My Morning Jacket
"Z" proves that this is the year for change in music. Bands that were traditionally thought to embody a sound have turned to music stylings that have redefined their space in the music industry. My Morning Jacket, led by Jim James, has created a new sound that incorporates their past while stretching the boundaries or their new beginnings. The album paints a picture with lavish layers rooted in funk, guitar-rock and spacey-acid jams. The departure from their previous sound is so striking that the band even includes a calliope (the organ used in circuses) in its instrumentation. The album unfortunately has really no standout tracks, but as a whole, the album proves itself. Incorporating pop hooks into crazy jams, their sound, which is somewhat out there, can still draw in the most closed-minded listeners.
6. "The Woods"- Sleater Kinney
7. "Cold Roses"- Ryan Adams and the Cardinals
8."The Mysterious Production of Eggs"- Andrew Bird
9."The Mouse and the Mask"- Danger Doom
10. "The Delivery Man"- Elvis Costello
Honorable Mentions:
"Guero"- Beck
"12 Songs" – Neil Diamond
Jason Buettner, A&E Reporter
1. My Morning Jacket – "Z." On their recent release, gone are the days of massive reverb and epic jam-outs. Jim James has now learned to harness his voice and turn My Morning Jacket into and indie band with ridiculous amounts of pop principles. Combining country, funk, soul and rock, My Morning Jacket has now made their sound accessible to anyone who has the chance to pop "Z" into their stereo. Not bad for a group whose future was unknown two years ago with the departure of their guitarist and keyboard player. "Z"'s versatility is its greatest strength: it's danceable, you can get high to it. Lyrically James tackles subject like religion, life and guitar solos. It's James's vocals that really intrigue the true listeners and once you are hooked you don't want to stop listening. Hands down the best record this year; it has everything you want in a record but leaves enough mystery to anticipate the group's next move.
from the Onion's AV Club.....#1 on Noel Murray's list!
http://avclub.com/content/node/43475/5
My Morning Jacket has always made pretty good records, even though they tend to be rambling and padded out with aimless jams. But Z represents something like a conversion, with 10 unassailable songs packed into 47 minutes, cycling through styles from R&B to reggae to surf to prog to sadcore to southern rock. The eclecticism is unified by the high-lonesome moan of singer-songwriter Jim James, who gives My Morning Jacket its grandeur and pounding heart.
Keith Phipps (whom I adore) also put Z in his year-end top-10...
But what's up with this in the previous review?
..."The album unfortunately has really no standout tracks..."
Quotehigh-lonesome moan
I spot a song title by David Pajo. ;)
That phrase is evocative, no? Makes me think of a wolf.
Filter's Top 10 of 2005, Day Eleven: The Like
by Staff | 12.15.2005
Sure there were a bunch of boys making headlines this year, but no band has really come into their own and proven themselves worthy more than LA's trio The Like. Let's get the basics out of the way: all girls, all musicians, all daughters of music gurus, all rock n roll. The ladies of The Like released their debut on Geffen this year called Are You Thinking What I'm Thinking?, and they are currently on tour with fellow LA based fuzz rock duo Giant Drag.
Hopefully you were lucky enough to snag a ticket to the girls' end of year performance in LA at the Indie 103.1 Office Christmas Party. If not, don't worrry, we got more Like for you right here. The girls bestowed their top 10 of the year for all you here:
The Like
1. The Double Loose In The Air (Matador)
2. Kanye West Late Registration (Roc-a-fella )
3. R Kelly Trapped in the Closet (Parts 1-12) (Jive)
4. Kasabian Kasabian (RCA)
5. Babyshambles Down In Albion (Rough Trade)
6. Giant Drag Hearts and Unicorns (Kickball/Interscope)
7. Gorillaz Demon Days (Virgin)
8. M.I.A. Arular (Interscope)
9. Emiliana Torrini Fisherman's Wife (Rough Trade US)
10. My Morning Jacket Z (ATO)
http://www.filter-mag.com/news/interior.2847.html
http://www.enidnews.com/cnhi/enidnews/entertainment/local_story_349220231.html
CDs to buzz about
By Cass Rains Commentary
With only 10 days of shopping left before Christmas, a CD is the perfect gift. Literally, it is the gift that keeps on giving, unless it gets too scratched.
Here are a couple choice albums from the year 2005 — one of which you've heard the buzz, and another that may have buzzed by you.
• The Eels "Blinking Lights and Other Revelations"
The April release of the Eels' only two-disc album in the group's nine-year history. An unusual collection of musicians ranging from a brass and wind orchestra to a drummer named Butch, the group is in a state of constant evolution, with only the leader, a man called E, staying at the forefront.
E's (Mark Oliver Everett's) 1996 debut "Beautiful Freak" captured listeners with the post Nirvana void filling "Novocain for the Soul." After developing a distaste for fame, the loss of his mother to cancer and the suicide of his sister, E has certainly had inspiration for his often morose, but sometimes giddy, music.
Still scratching your head? If you've seen either of the "Shrek" films, "Holes" or "Levity," then you've heard the Eels.
"Blinking Lights" is the culmination of the songs that built up. Recorded on and off in between two other albums and three tours, the double-disc set captures the full brunt of emotions, which comes from scarred musical genius.
E brings a few instrumental-only tracks, while offering a mixture of pure joy and deadening despair.
"Railroad Man" and "Hey Man (Now You're Really Living)" are a couple of tracks that inspire jubilation. Whereas, "Suicide Life" and "I'm Going to Stop Pretending that I Didn't Break You're Heart" exemplify how sadness should sound.
You really can't go wrong with these 33 tracks. Don't let this one buzz by you.
• My Morning Jacket "Z"
After packing concert halls and beer barns through most of the United States, and five albums later, the southern jam band rockers have arrived at a crossroad, where their music has become captivating.
"Z" has as much, if not more potential, to do for My Morning Jacket what "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" did for the Flaming Lips.
The similarities between the two groups are too numerous to list. Let's just say if the experimenting and toe-dipping into the electronic sound pays off, their popularity will soar just as the Lips' did.
While the 10-track release may seem short, the band does pack a few five-minute songs, a special CD-ROM track (enhanced CD) a 10-minute plus track, that includes an encore after a few minutes of silence.
"Off the Record" has a memorable chorus, and the tracks "Knot Comes Loose" and "Lay Low" sport a psuedo-country tinge, having some fans calling it the Space Country sound.
This is an album sure to be used for comparisons for years to come, as well as for lessons in how changing you're sound can create success. If you've heard the buzz, it's time to get stung. This album can certainly grow on you.
Rains is a News & Eagle staff writer.
http://theedge.bostonherald.com/musicNews/view.bg?articleid=117263&format=text
We asked our critics to name their favorite CDs of 2005. Whether that music lover on your holiday list loves rock or rap, country or classical, you're guaranteed to find some cool ideas here. And if you decide to grab a few CDs for yourself, we won't tell.
Pop/Rock, Take 2
1. Kings of Leon, "Aha Shake Heartbreak" (RCA). Provides "A Bigger Bang" for rock lovers than the Stones' not-so-shabby new CD.
2. Clem Snide, "End of Love" (SpinArt). Worth getting for smart lyrics alone, but cool tunes and Eef Barzelay's improved singing make this a gem.
3. My Morning Jacket, "Z" (ATO/RCA). The Kentucky guitar band gets more focused as its musical palette expands with keyboards and more.
4. Living Things, "Ahead of the Lions" (Jive/Zomba). Inspired combination of rock 'n' roll an Aerosmith fan will understand and social and political critique Chomsky-ites can dig.
5. Sly and the Family Stone, "Different Strokes by Different Folks" (Epic/Legacy). Available only at Starbucks at least for a few more weeks, Sly re-emerges to retool his music for the hip-hop age with everyone from the Roots and Chuck D. to Steven Tyler and John Mayer - and it works.
- LARRY KATZ
colin meloy from the decemberists & andrew bird dig Z.
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/features/comments/12-16-05/
http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/enduring-credence-of-pop/2005/12/15/1134500958957.html
Quotecolin meloy from the decemberists & andrew bird dig Z.
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/features/comments/12-16-05/
Oooh! That's two good boys! ;D
Quote
Oooh! That's two good boys! ;D
yeah at the andrew bird show i saw a few weeks ago, i was doing my best to convince him to do a joint tour with the boys. so if it happens, you know who to thank. ;D
http://www.grimeys.com/index.html
Grimey's Staff Faves for 2005
OK here it is, your holiday gift giving guide for the music fan in your life, courtesy of the music-obsessed staff at Grimey's! The following lists are compiled by each of us and we were free to speak our minds and make the kinds of lists we wanted to make. So some chose to tip some sacred cows and highlight the most overrated albums of the year as well as focus on some fine local bands that need your attention. Everybody at least gives up a basic top 10. So without further ado...
Doyle "D-Funk" Davis
These are my favorite new albums, reissues and music DVDs, plus some live music I dug like the most.
New Albums:
1. My Morning Jacket – Z
2. Black Mountain – Black Mountain
3. Wilco – Kicking Television
4. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – Naturally
5. A Band Of Bees – Free The Bees
6. The Selmanaires – Here Come The Selmanaires
7. Spinto Band – Nice & Nicely Done
8. Sufjan Stevens – Come On Feel The Illinoize
9. Amadou & Miriam – Dimache A Bamako
10. The Budos Band – The Budos Band
Live Shows in Nashville:
1. The Dynamites featuring Charles "Wigg" Walker at The Basement
2. My Morning Jacket at City Hall
3. Neil Young at The Ryman
4. The Fiery Furnaces at Exit/In
5. tie: The Selmanaires & The High Dials at The Basement
6. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings at Exit/In (May show)
7. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at The Basement & Devendra Banhart at Exit/In (saw both shows in one night!)
8. Le Tigre at Exit/In
9. Teenage FBI at GBV DVD release party at The Basement
10. New Pornographers & Destroyer at Mercy Lounge
"Smokin'" Josh Walker
Smokin' Josh's (somewhat predictable, if you know me) Top 10 of 2005
1. Mew-and the glass handed kites
2. Kent-du & jag doden
3. Sigur Ros-takk
4. My Morning Jacket-Z
5. Low-the great destroyer
6. Selmanaires-here comes the selmanaires
7. Wilco-kicking television
8. Budos Band-self title
9. Sun Kil Moon-tiny cities
10. eels-blinking lights and other revelations
Smokin' Josh's Top 10 Local Artists (get out there and support all local music)
1. Brother-Sister- self title
2. Alcohol Stunt Band-gold paint
3. Heypenny- use these spoons
4. The Suns of Norway-self title
5. imagine asians-ep (shameless self-promotion)
6. Hotpipes-Deadly Poison
7. Cortney Tidwell-self title
8. Thompson-lonely and in love
9. Ik Ben- two eps
10. Lylas-Halloween 7"
Jonathan Rogers
Jonathan's top ten album's of 2005
1. Yesterday's New Quintet - Sound Direction
2. Go! Team - Thunder Lightening Strike
3. Broadcast - Tender Buttons
4. The Selmanaires - Here Come The Selmanaires
5. Of Montreal - Sunlandic Twins
6. Iron and Wine/Calexico - In the Reins
7. My Morning Jacket – Z
8. Angels of light/Akron Family - s/t
9. Earlies - these were the
10. Budos Band - S/T
Julee Duwe
Here are my album picks for '05
1. Sigur Ros – Takk
2. My Morning Jacket – Z
3. Black Mountain – s/t
4. Sufjan Stevens – Illinois
5. Stars – Set Yourself on Fire
6. Kent – Du & Jag Doden
7. The Go! Team – Thunder Lightning Strike
8. Spoon – Gimme Fiction
9. New Pornographers – Twin Cinema
10. Bloc Party – Silent Alarm
Luke Schneider
Top Ten Records of 2005 (in no particular order)
1. Broken Social Scene---S/T
2. M. Ward---Transistor Radio
3. My Morning Jacket---Z
4. Budos Band---S/T
5. Broadcast---Tender Buttons
6. Spinto Band---Nice and Nicely Done
7. Edan---Beauty and the Beat
8. Gary Higgins---Red Hash
9. The Clientele---Strange Geometry
10. Devendra Banhart--Cripple Crow
10 Most Promising Local Bands
1. The Lone Official
2. The Privates
3. Jeff
4. The Hot Pipes
5. How I Became The Bomb
6. Imagine Asians
7. Coyote
8. The Clutters
9. Hands Down Eugene
10. Lylas.....(ok, ok, I admit, its my band)
http://www.filter-mag.com/news/interior.2854.html
I Love Josh Ritter - this is awesome!
Filter's Top 10 of 2005, Day Twelve: Josh Ritter
by Staff & Josh Ritter | 12.16.2005
A singer songwriter with a taste for the Dylan/Cash classic "Girl From North Country", Josh Ritter, a former neuroscience major, decided to pursue music after hearing Leonard Cohen. Self funding his first release and tour, he later caught the attention of The Frames, who took him on tour with them in Ireland. As his song "Me & Jiggs" was featured on Six Feet Under, he was selling out Irish headlining tours and even inspired a tribute band, titled Cork. Now a notable figure in music in the US, expect to hear more musings of this Idaho fella in years to come. Check out his top ten.
Josh Ritter
1. My Morning Jacket – Z (ATO)
2. Spoon – Gimme Fiction (Merge)
3. White Stripes – Get Behind Me Satan (V2)
4. The National – Alligator <(Beggars)
5. Hilary Hahn & Natalie Zhu – Mozart: Violin Sonatas K. 301, 304, 376 & 526 (Deutsche Grammophon)
6. Sam Kassirer – Sitting on Buildings EP (web-only)
7. M. Ward – Transistor Radio (Merge)
8. Erin McKeown – We Become Like Birds (Nettwerk)
9. John Prine -- Fair and Square (Oh Boy)
10. Neil Diamond – 12 Songs (Sony
josh ritter is one cool dude... i saw him in montreal and we chatted after the show. he's very engaging on stage. love it when people love Z. also dig all the canadian bands making top-10 lists.
number 6 on rolling stone's
http://www.rollingstone.com/special/8952414
dudes... i got my rolling stone this morning. really glad it's number 6, really not glad that the rest of the top-50 are kinda watered down and lame. i can honestly say that i've heard 90% of those records and i can't believe they made it on there. it makes me sad. look at the difference between mojo's top lists, or the onion's, and rolling stone. even though RS has been supporting MMJ for a while now, i can't get behind their music reporting. their political stuff this year and the last few has been stellar, but i'm sorry, i don't think franz ferdinand is the second coming of anything...
Quote
yeah at the andrew bird show i saw a few weeks ago, i was doing my best to convince him to do a joint tour with the boys. so if it happens, you know who to thank. ;D
Ah, I'll remember that! ;)
Quotenumber 6 on rolling stone's
http://www.rollingstone.com/special/8952414
Wow, MMJ - Z is prior to Sufjan Stevens for once in a while of all these Year End Lists. ;D
Magnet magazine's top 20 of 2005
1. Sleater-Kinney, The Woods
2. The New Pornographers, Twin Cinema
3. ...Trail of Dead, Worlds Apart
4. Stars, Set Yourself on Fire
5. Sufjan Stevens, Illinois
6. Bright Eyes, I'm Wide Awake...
7. BMRC, Howl
8. M. Ward, Transistor Radio
9. Queens of the Stone Age, Lullabies to Paralyze
10. National, Alligator
11. Black Mountain
12. Constantines, Tournament of Hearts
13. Decemberists, Picaresque
14. Spoon, Gimme Fiction
15. Hold Steady, Separation Sunday
16. High Dials, War of the Wakening Phantoms
17. Devendra Banhardt, Cripple Crow
18. MMJ, Z
19. Of Montreal, The Sunlandic Twins
20. Six Organs of Admittance, School of the Flower
No Depression Year End Top 40
# 7
http://www.nodepression.net/
http://www.popmatters.com/music/best2005/cds4.shtml
13
My Morning Jacket, Z (ATO/RCA)
My Morning Jacket seem to be peaceful guys, but they've waged war on the Flaming Lips. The title of Baddest Psychedelic Indie Rock Band in the States is now up for grabs, as Z proves the Kentucky band can transmit sunny atmospherics and lofty melodies through far more than just spectral country-rock. "Worldless Chorus" flavors the band's previous formula with a touch of dub; at its conclusion, frontman Jim James cries like Prince reborn. "Off the Record" employs fat, syncopated rhythm for bounce, heavily reverbed guitars for depth, and keyboards for an air of classic soul. "Lay Low" rocks unapologetically: two tireless lead guitars shimmy to a keyboard-laced groove, intermingling for three of Z's finest minutes. While this is not a perfect record, it succeeds by avoiding pretension despite banking on bliss-out, seamlessly fusing an array of impulses, and above all, being a vast pleasure to listen to.
Nate Seltenrich PopMatters review Amazon iTunes
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5054194
NPR
6. My Morning Jacket
* "Wordless Chorus" from Z
jacket
My Morning Jacket: Z
The My Morning Jacket record is a masterpiece. I'm haunted by these songs, which have penetrated by consciousness like no others since Beck's Sea Change. The disc is jarringly beautiful. And it grooves and rocks, too. And thanks to All Songs Considered for the 9:30 Club broadcast of their October show. I couldn't make it to the concert, but listened live and was blown away. - Jeremy
Z is #6 on Treble's year end list!
http://www.treblezine.com/viewer.cgi?id=51&type=f
http://www.filter-mag.com/news/interior.2862.html
Filter's Top 10 of 2005: Picks by Filter Magazine!
by Filter | 12.20.2005
Finally... enough of these "rock star" picks, let's get to the meat of what the people listen to. Proletariate picks! Alright, psuedo-Communism aside, all of us at Filter not only want to impress you with our dazzling taste, diversity and general air of "great," but let you know what makes this magazine you read tick. We polled everyone from our multiple personalitied Editor-in-Chief and his pack of scribes, our head honcho owners/publishers, field marketing sojourns, ad sales snobs, online marketing gurus and those party planning fools in the club and lifestyle department what they loved about music in 2005. So, without further ado, we give you Filter's Top 10 of 2005:
Filter's Top 10 Albums of the Year
1. Sigur Ros, Takk
2. My Morning Jacket, Z
3. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Howl
4. Kaiser Chiefs, Employment
5. Sufjan Stevens, Illinoise
6. Dangerdoom, The Mouse and the Mask
7. ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, Worlds Apart
8. Shout Out Louds, Howl Howl Gaff Gaff
9. Bright Eyes, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
10. Queens of the Stone Age, Lullabies To Paralyze
Chris Martins, Editor, Filter Mini
1: My Morning Jacket; Z (Sony)
2:Why?; Elephant Eyelash (Anticon)
3:Super Furry Animals; Love Kraft (XL/Beggars)
4: Animal Collective; Feels (Fat Cat)
5:Odd Nosdam; Burner (Anticon)
6:Fog; 10th Avenue Freakout (Lex)
7:Hood; Outside Closer (Domino)
8:Black Mountain; Black Mountain (Jagjaguar)
9: Smog; A River Ain't Too Much to Love (Drag City)
10: 13 & God; 13 & God (Anticon)
Eli Thomas
1: My Morning Jacket, Z (Sony)
2: Sufjan Stevens, Illinoise (Asthmatic Kitty)
3: Great Lake Swimmers, Bodies and Minds (Fargo)
4: ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, World's Apart (Astralwerks)
5: Spoon, Gimme Fiction (Merge)
6: Dangerdoom, The Mouse and The Mask (Geffen)
7: Damien Jurado, On My Way To Absence (Secretly Canadian)
8: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (Wichita)
9: Quasimoto, The Further Adventures of Lord Quas (Stones Throw)
10: Ryan Adams, Cold Roses (Lost Highway)
Pat McGuire
1: My Morning Jacket, Z (Sony)
2: Dangerdoom, The Mouse and The Mask (Geffen)
3: Great Lake Swimmers, Bodies and Minds (Fargo)
4: Damien Jurado, On My Way To Absence (Secretly Canadian)
5: ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, World's Apart (Astralwerks)
6: Dirty Three, Cinder (Touch & Go)
7: Smog, A River Ain't Too Much to Love (Drag City)
8: Quasimoto, The Further Adventures of Lord Quas (Stones Throw)
9: Ryan Adams, Cold Roses (Lost Highway)
10: Lungfish, Feral Hymns (Dischord)
Marina Hackford
1: Common, Be (Geffen)
2: Kate Bush, Aerial (EMI)
3: My Morning Jacket, Z (Sony)
4: Rosebuds, Birds Make Good Neighbors (Merge)
5: Of Montreal, The Sunlandic Twins (Poluvinyl)
6: Sigur Ros, Takk (Geffen)
7: The Perceptionists, Black Dialogue (Def Jux)
8: Coldplay, X&Y (Capitol)
10: Sage Francis, A Healthy Distrust (Epitaph)
Gur Rashal
10: Tarantula A.D., Book of Sand (Kemado)
9: Supergrass, Road to Rouen (Capitol)
8: Kaiser Chiefs, Employment (Universal)
7: Queens of the Stone Age, Lullabies to Paralyze (Interscope)
6: Kanye West, Late Registration (Roc-a-Fella)
5: Coldplay, X&Y (Capitol)
4: My Morning Jacket, Z (Sony)
3: Sigur Ros, Takk (Geffen)
2: Fiona Apple, Extraordinary Machine (Sony/Epic)
1: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Howl (RCA)
Mark Mueller
1:The National, Alligator (Beggars)
2:Youth Group, Skeleton Jar (Epitaph)
3: Sigur Ros, Takk (Geffen)
4: Broken Social Scene, Broken Social Scene (Arts & Crafts)
5: My Morning Jacket, Z (Sony)
6:Crooked Fingers, Dignity and Shame (Merge)
7:Okkervil River, Black Sheep Boy (Jagjaguwar)
8:Greg Dulli, Amber Headlights (Infernal Recordings)
9: Bright Eyes, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (Saddle Creek)
10: Great Lake Swimmers, Bodies and Minds (Fargo)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5059418
NPR.org, December 16, 2005 · NPR reviewer Tom Moon shares his picks for the year's best CDs, from the lo-fi, indie folk of Iron and Wine to a newly discovered live recording by Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane. Moon writes for The Philadelphia Inquirer and is a regular contributor to NPR's All Things Considered. He's currently working on the book A Thousand Recordings to Hear Before You Die.
My Morning Jacket: Z
Even taking points off for the excessive reverb and the garbled imagery, this series of dashboard-pounding escape anthems and swirling, half-mystical entreaties (to a woman? to a God?) is the rock record of the year, by a long mile. It's the one to give to your crabby friends who maintain that everything of consequence in rock and roll was done by 1981.
http://www.independent.com/a&e/poprockjazz996.htm
Rewind 2005
by Josef Woodard
SONIC BAKER'S DOZEN: Normal, well-adjusted folks may find themselves sinking into, or at least submitting to, the sounds of the season and allowing the warm fuzzies to go to work. Others will go into hiding, either actual or symbolic, to wait out the holiday soundtrack.
And then there is the subspecies of music scribes (professional or otherwise), who find themselves perversely out of sync with the here-and-now
this time of year, instead plunging into mental rewind in search of getting a handle on the year that was. In effect, they become List-maniacs, checking their best-of list opinions twice and separating the naughty from the nice, or the other way around (depending on one's take on the potential virtues of naughtiness).
Forthwith follows the pretty-much-annual Baker's Dozen of albums worth noting and listening to, in both pop and jazz categories.
POP TARTS 'n' SMARTS: Of course, there's nothing like a moving live experience to fuel one's appreciation of good music, and some of the items on this list were clearly influenced by a close encounter of the concert kind, including Modest Mouse, My Morning Jacket, Queens of the Stone Age, and the remarkable soul woman Bettye LaVette.
Neil Young came back to earth after his masterful fiction detour, Greendale, with the quietly, assuredly powerful Prarie Wind. As fine a reflection on love and mortality as you'll find, it's further proof that Young belongs in an elite echelon of greats in pop history.
Sufjan Stevens is a fiendishly clever song-and-sound man who doesn't forget to pour heaping doses of musicality into his cheeky indie-pop brew. Norwegian singer/songwriter Hanne Hukkelberg's Little Things is pure quirky delight, a Nordic answer to Laura Veirs. This year's biggest socio-geographic tragedy, of course, was in the Crescent City, and Nonesuch's benefit compilation Our New Orleans pays due homage to the Katrina-damaged great American city.
The award for best pop hit/best use of a haunting melody basically deploying two notes goes to Modest Mouse for "The World at Large." Even though endless airplay threatened to kill it, the song refused to die, instead becoming an anthemic loop in our daily lives. And now, in order:
1) Neil Young, Prarie Wind (Reprise)
2) Sufjan Stevens, Illinois (Asthmatic Kitty)
3) My Morning Jacket, Z (ATO)
4) Hanne Hukkelberg, Little Things (Leaf)
5) Bettye LaVette, I've Got My Own Hell to Raise (Anti)
6) Queens of the Stone Age, Lullabies to Paralyze (Interscope)
7) Our New Orleans (Nonesuch)
http://www.filter-mag.com/news/interior.2868.html
Filter's Top 10 of 2005 Day Fifteen: Jason Reece of ...Trail Of Dead
by Staff & Jason Reece | 12.21.2005
Worlds Apart reminded us that good things can come out of Texas! And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead or ...Trail as we like to call 'em (we're tight... they were album #7 on our list!) have had quite the year. After non-stop touring the beginning of this year, the band decided to cool their heels a bit and let their mind blowing album speak for itself. Thankfully in the bliss of down time, Jason Reece gave us his top ten of this fine year.
Jason Reece of ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
1. ...And You Will Know us By The Trail of Dead, World's Apart
Jason: Because my band rules and shit
2. Paul Wall, The People's Champ
Jason: Southern bling takes you higher and
higher...a true player for real...H-town up in the motherfucker
3. My Morning Jacket, Z
Jason: I saw them at La Zona Rosa in Austin a week ago... the experience was so uplifting...and these dudes are from the South...it feels so warm to know the South has all the cool music...Ha!
4. Fiona Apple, Extraordinary Machine
Jason: I love the beauty and melancholy of this wrenching record...
5. The Ocean, Aeolian
Jason: I fell in love with this band while I was on tour in Germany this year...if you like heavy majestic breathtaking metal...then this is the real shit....it will blow your fucking brains out.
6. Esa-Pekka Solonen, Wing on Wing
Jason: A modern composer who will smite you with his power and intensity.
7. Shakira, Oral Fixation Vol. 1
Jason: Sexy ...Sexy...and oh so...so smart...what a weird singing voice! I love the way she moves.
8. Spoon, Gimme Fiction
Jason: Truly nice to the ears...these bitches are friends of mine...another example of how the South is kicking out the jams.
9. The Band, A Musical History
Jason: We watched The Last Waltz everyday while on tour...everyone should own at least one Band album.
10. Mike Jones, Who is Mike Jones?
Jason: Southern Screw Swisha House explosion kicking it hard on your headphones...Houston blows the fuck up...killing it....Texas style...It's true...everything down here is bigger.
http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/M/My_Morning_Jacket/2005/12/22/1364687-ca.html
#1 Jam Music!
JAM!'s top 10 discs of 2005
By JOHN WILLIAMS
Senior Editor, JAM! Showbiz
Top 10: Jon Cook, JAM! contributor
Top 10: Mark Daniell, JAM! contributor
It's impossible to listen to every album that comes by our desk in the span of a year, but we did manage to come up with 10 musical efforts in 2005 that kept the iPod battery on low.
(Of course, lists like this are not a science, so please don't send us hate emails -- and please -- no wagering.)
1. MY MORNING JACKET
Z
(ATO/RCA)
This glorious fourth full-length disc from the Kentucky outfit blends the sonic smarts of Radiohead with a little down-home southern rock flavour.
The highlight of the 50-minute disc is Jim James's vocal range, which rivals vintage Elton John and Van Morrison.
ESSENTIAL TRACKS: "Off The Record," "Gideon," "Dondante."
http://www.filter-mag.com/news/interior.2874.html
Filter's Top 10 of 2005, Day Sixteen: Matt Tong of Bloc Party
by Staff & Matt Tong | 12.22.2005
There has been no bigger year for Bloc Party than 2005. With their album Silent Alarm (and more recently, the remixed version) flying off shelves into the arms of anyone who's anyone (and we mean anyone) and tours selling out like mad, this year has been a Bloc Party bonanza. Celebrate.
Matt Tong of Bloc Party
1. Lightning Bolt – Hypermagic Mountain (Load)
2. My Morning Jacket – Z (ATO)
3. Dead Meadow – Feathers (Matador)
4. Arcade Fire – Funeral (Merge)
5. Black Mountain – Black Mountain (Jagjaguar)
6. Salty Butter – More Butter (?)
7. Fulcrum - A Tonne Of Feathers At The Dark Of Light (?)
8. Absentee – Donkeystock (Memphis)
9. Dream Warriors - Their Greatest Hits (?)
10. The Bruce Forsythe Band – You Bet! (?)
PATTTERSON HOOD (of the Drive-By Truckers)- TOP TEN ALBUMS 2005
1. My Morning Jacket - Z
Great band from Louisville KY rises to the occasion (and then some) with my favorite "released" album of the year.
2. Sufjan Stevens - Come On Feel The Illinoise
This one gets the prize for craziest idea, actually executed. Brilliant Northern Rock followup to his Michigan album, makes me look forward to the next 48.
3. The Dexateens - Red Dust Rising
My top 3 keep swapping places, but this one is easily my "most often played" album of the year. This one breaks no new ground, but the songs are incredible from the writing to the feel. "Devoted To Lonesome" is #2 in the nation if there was any justice in Rock.
4. Eddie Hinton - Beautiful Dreams (The Songwriting Sessions Volume 3)
This one is pt.3 of Zane Records incredible series of previously unreleased Hinton sides. This one took a little longer, but keeps growing daily. Hinton is THE great unknown soul singer and easily one of the finest writers and guitarists ever to make records. He's been dead over a decade but word is just now starting to spread. A buried treasure.
5. TIE: Don Chambers and GOAT - GOAT
Don is currently my favorite Athens artist and this album is non-stop fun. Another real grower.
5. TIE: Calexico and Iron and Wine - in The Reins
An addictive little tonic like a fire in a fireplace on a chilly night.
6. The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
Now that the backlash is setting in, they make possibly their finest album yet. Far better to me than the over-rated Elephant, they did the impossible of writing about the dark side of fame and made it all fun to listen to.
7. Common - Be
My favorite hip hop album (if it's even that) this year. Some really good songs and a far better than Kanye's over-hyped let down.
8. James McMurtry - Childish Things
Maybe the most under-rated songwriter out right now. He's finally made an album as good as the songs in it. "We Can't Make It Here" is as good as any classic Merle Haggard song and the title cut is the better than any Springsteen song of the last 17 years.
9. Bloodkin - Last Night Out
Another local act, not sure if this is even "officially" out, but deserves to be. This has some of the most disturbing songs I've ever heard, in that Big Star 3rd, Tonight's the Night kind of way, only it sounds like the Stones record they forgot how to make about 30 years ago. This one will probably move up my list as I keep listening to it.
10. John Hiatt - Master of Disaster
Have to confess here, my Dad plays bass on it, but no shit it's by far the best Hiatt album since 1988's Slow Turning.
http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20051223/1066324.asp
While music downloads promote a solitary life, 2005 was a chance for album-oriented artists to shine
By JEFF MIERS
NEWS POP MUSIC CRITIC
12/23/2005
This year was about redefining how and why we listen to music. This is the reality we face in the age of the iPod and the era of digital downloading. The old modes of distribution are being questioned, which has happened in a cyclical fashion since the birth of the record industry, as the favored methods of dissemination moved from 45s to LPs, to cassettes, to CDs, and so forth. But more importantly, the very value of popular music - its utility, the essence of its use - came into sharp relief this year.
Everyone, it seems, has an iPod. Friends don't call friends to borrow an album anymore; they call to inquire regarding a suitable time to come over and, like an IV drug user, "hook up" to your iTunes and download whatever songs they require.
A quick fix. But what is the substance of what we're numbing out?
One needn't be an old hippy to lament the current lack of regard for "the album," as the downloading frenzy hints at a return to the era of the 45 RPM single. This isn't about being stuck in the past; it's about concern for the future of popular music as an art form. So, even though those who've fully embraced the iPod age will likely only be prepared to discuss their favorite songs of the year, the real story still concerns the most significant albums of the year, the full text these little snippets have been excerpted from. Which is the same as saying that the best artists this year knew the power of the single, but also knew the importance of context, of creating a fully developed canvas, upon which that instantly catchy song was just one of many colors.
The reason the full-length album remains the only truly significant mode of parlaying musical thought in pop can't be reduced to snippets of conventional wisdom, such as "Well, that's the way the Beatles and Pink Floyd did it" - although that's true enough. It really comes down to a lifestyle choice. Do you have enough time to sit down for an hour and immerse yourself in someone's musical statement? To turn off everything else, to tune out the distractions, and focus? And if not, why not?
A culture that can't concentrate for more than 15 minutes at a time produces soundbyte art. Check the radio, or MTV, or popular periodicals, and you'll find pretty much nothing else but. But as ever, the real revolution won't be televised, played on commercial radio, nor written about, until after the fact. And 2005 produced its fair share of revolutionary and near-revolutionary full-length albums.
Here are some of the best of them.
Album of the year: Kate Bush, "Aerial" (Columbia)
After 12 years, Bush releases a complete masterpiece. Spread across two discs, this record alone offers ample argument for the continued relevance of the album-as-art form. Bush is a true original, and she continues to create profound art that breaks ground compositionally as well as in terms of production, arrangement and subject matter. A deeply personal record that also manages to speak on a universal level.
Runner-up: Richard Hawley, "Cole's Corner" (Mute)
Sublime, sorrowful songwriting that's achingly sung and impeccably arranged.
Best of the rest:
3) Public Enemy, "New Whirl Odor" (SlamJamz).
Still the most important act in rap, and for my money, worth a busload of Kanye Wests. Chuck D, Flavor Flav and Professor Griff meld killer beats to stunning sound collages and incisive political and social commentary. This stuff is still gloriously dangerous, which can't be said about much modern hip-hop.
4) Robert Plant & the Strange Sensation, "Mighty Rearranger" (Sanctuary)
Plant and his stellar band make Zeppelin-worthy art here. Who else could blend the influence of Howlin' Wolf with that of Portishead? Thoroughly modern, yet deeply rooted.
5) Mercury Rev, "The Secret Migration" (V2)
Another in a long line of masterworks. Start to finish, a beautiful dream of a record.
6) Wilco, "Kicking Television" (Nonesuch)
Wilco's definitive lineup blends avant-garde music with roots idioms in front of a rabid Chicago audience. Unreal.
7) Sigur Ros, "Takk" (EMI)
Like "OK Computer" and "Dark Side of the Moon" viewed through a warped looking glass.
8) Bruce Springsteen, "Devils & Dust" (Columbia)
In 10 years, doubters will sing the praises of this stirring song cycle, a heart-rending paean to fallen man's search for redemption and meaning amongst chaos.
9) Common, "Be" (MCA)
Overshadowed by the hyperbolic praise heaped upon Kanye West, Common released a forward-looking stew of hip-hop, soul and R&B. The most compelling hip-hop record by a young artist this year, hands down.
10) My Morning Jacket, "Z" (Epic)
Less bizarre and dreamlike than previous efforts, "Z" found Jim James and MMJ adopting a more song-oriented approach without losing a single bit of the drama and grandeur.
Just missing the Top 10, but of definite merit:
Arcade Fire, "Funeral" (Rough Trade); Feist, "Let It Die" (Interscope); The Magic Numbers, "The Magic Numbers" (Capitol); Brian Eno, "Another Day on Earth" (Hannibal); Beck, "Guero" (DGC); Spoon, "Gimme Fiction" (Merge); Death Cab for Cutie, "Plans" (Atlantic); System of a Down, "Mezmerize" (American); Chris Whitley, "Soft Dangerous Shores" (Messenger); Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, "Howl" (RCA); The Mars Volta, "Frances the Mute" (Island); Ryan Adams, "Cold Roses" (Lost Highway); Fiona Apple, "Extraordinary Machine" (Columbia); Supergrass, "The Road to Rouen" (Parlophone).
Epic?
http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2005/12/2310.cfm
Best Of 2005: Chart's Top 15 Records Of 2005
Friday December 23, 2005 @ 01:30 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff
Chart Magazine celebrated its 15th anniversary this past June and ChartAttack.com will turn 10 this spring with a brand new design and tons of new content. Surprisingly, in all that time, we've never compiled a staff and writers' Best Of list at the end of a year.
This year, we solicited all of our writers for top 10 lists, then added their picks to the staff picks to mathematically compile a Top 15. In the end, we used 36 top 10s (and one top five) to assemble the final list. We used a fairly simple method to do the math. A #1 pick was awarded 10 points, a #2 pick got nine points and so on and so forth (you can see the point totals at the bottom of the page). All of the picks had to be from 2005 and they had to be CDs, so if a writer or staff member chose, say a DVD or The Arcade Fire's record, those picks were deleted from their lists.
To read about the Canadian artists we saluted this year, or view the Top 100 Canadian Campus Radio Albums of 2005, check out our December issue here. Without further ado, here is the Chart staff and writers' Top 15 albums of 2005...
9. MY MORNING JACKET Z (RCA/Sony BMG)
Early in their career, My Morning Jacket riffed on standard alt.country arrangements, centred upon the prowess of Jim James, whose echoing falsetto haunts even the most brightly played guitar. Even their third studio album, It Still Moves, was a similar affair, mixing slow melodic ballads with more classic rock songs. As a follow-up, Z marks the simultaneous evolution of both the vocals and the music behind them into something unique and more polished. Taking more cues from Radiohead than Johnny Cash, MMJ expanded their repertoire to include styles ranging from classic rock and alt.country to space rock and dream pop. From the first melodic pumps of "Wordless Chorus," the album shows off its moody and dark face. But it slowly evolves, with a few bumps in between, into a quasi-jam band affair with "Off The Record." Bettering scores of artsy rock on the shelves, My Morning Jacket prove on Z that they can be inventive and tortured — plus, they can still light it up with good old-fashioned guitar riffs and a lap steel. Mike Armitage
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/25/arts/music/25sann.htm
NY Times - Can't quite tell if this is a top 10 of the year or not though.
7. MY MORNING JACKET, 'Z' (ATO/RCA). Finally, this Kentucky group creates the sprawling, digressive, rhythmically skewed, occasionally jam-band-ish, briefly reggae-fied, weirdly serene neo-Southern rock experiment fans didn't know they'd been waiting for.
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Dec/26/il/FP512260305.html
3. "Z" BY MY MORNING JACKET (ATO/RCA)
If Radiohead hailed from Louisville, Ky., and still deigned to include a whole lot of pre-"OK Computer" cosmos-traveling electric guitar in their songs, they might be mistaken for My Morning Jacket. That is, except for Jacket's occasional subtle sonic bow to folk and country roots rock, mild hip-hop and (yes, you really were feeling some) dub reggae. Guitarist/songwriter Jim James' dreamy tenor soars over and just above every impeccably crafted pop song on the band's fourth album. In a more perfect world, the infectiously jangly electrified, tinkling-piano sketched "What A Wonderful Man" would be all over rock radio and inspire the love of millions. Warm, strange, original and near flawless, "Z" is the work of a long-promising band finally achieving greatness.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/reviews/2005-12-26-year-in-music_x.htm
USA TODAY's album of the year
(Not in the top 10, but...)
Honor roll
Common, Be
Jamie Cullum, Catching Tales
Eels, Blinking Lights and Other Revelations
50 Cent, The Massacre
David Gray, Life in Slow Motion
Kindred the Family Soul, In This Life Together
My Morning Jacket, Z
Brad Paisley, Time Well Wasted
Marty Stuart, Soul's Chapel and Badlands
White Stripes, Get Behind Me Satan
http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/entertainment/13496435.htm
8) My Morning Jacket: "Z" (ATO/RCA Records) Ð This band's previous outing, "It Still Moves" had several sparkling tracks as My Morning Jacket fashioned a dreamy mix of echo-laden, rootsy folkish rock and pop. "Z" branches in bold new directions, while also taking the band's songwriting to new levels of consistency and accessibility.
Top three favorite albums this year
1. "Stoned," Lewis Taylor: The best album no one, including radio, heard about this year. Think Al Green, Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield. Now add Taylor's name to that list. This soulful singer-songwriter, a longtime underground favorite in England, deserves to be heard by as many R&B fans as possible. My favorite album of the year.
2. "Z," My Morning Jacket: This Kentucky-based band released an album that was not only a departure from its own alt-country sound, but also raised the bar for just about every other American rock band. MMJ's willingness to experiment makes it America's answer to Radiohead.
3. "Late Registration," Kanye West: I'm probably the only guy in America who was unimpressed by Kanye West's last CD, "The College Dropout." With "Late Registration," easily the best rap release of the year, he officially got my love.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=60327§ion=preview
http://www.freetimes.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2911
Cleveland Free Times
Aaron Mendelsohn
1. Franz Ferdinand, You Could Have It So Much Better (Epic) Much like the title suggests, this album is that much better than all the rest. With two excellent releases in as many years, these four Glaswegian lads are poised for world domination.
2. Beck, Guero (Geffen) After ten years as the master of genre-blurring alternative rock, it'd be excusable for Beck to show signs of wear. Instead, he continues to reinvent himself with every album.
3. My Morning Jacket, Z (ATO) Reverb, falsettos, and flying V guitar solos. Jim James is challenging the boundary of experimental Americana rock, and that's a good thing.
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051229/GPG07/512290357/1273/GPGsports
Thomas Rozwadowski column: Best indie music in '05
Let's face it. From E!'s "Top 100 Celebrity Medical Mishaps" to VH1's "Awesomely Bad Rock 'n' Roll Catering Moments," we've become a culture fascinated by arbitrary lists. And while I can't possibly compete with C-list comedians making jokes about the same famous mugs, I can tell you what music made 2005 memorable for me.
Album of the year: The National, "Alligator" (Beggars Banquet). Like last year's list-topper, The Walkmen's "Bows + Arrows," it took several listens for "Alligator" to break through the cloud cover with its understated brilliance. The sheer ferocity of "Abel" is an immediate standout, but it's Matt Berninger's brooding vocals on "Karen," "Baby, We'll Be Fine," and the achingly beautiful "Daughters of the Soho Riots" that make this 2005's most haunting revelation.
Artist of the year: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Pitchfork media.com continued its role as the Pied Piper of indiedom by leading eager music fans to an unsigned Talking Heads-Television hybrid out of Brooklyn. With more than 40,000 copies sold — the majority self-released through the mail — CYHSY's meteoric rise eventually led to late-night TV gigs and "Hot List" blurbs in mainstream mags. Hype is relative, though. Listen to "Details of the War'' or "The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth'' and you'll know where the real credit lies.
Single of the year: "Shine a Light" by Wolf Parade. A throbbing bass line and crashing drums kick off "Shine a Light" before giving way to the kind of sweeping, sloppy chorus expected of producer/Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock. It's undeniably catchy without all the polish required of something that sells its soul for radio play. That's all a listener can really ask for in a four-minute song.
10 more great albums from '05
1. Bloc Party: "Silent Alarm" (Vice) —There are several knockout blows ("Helicopter" and "Banquet"), but it's the emotional directness of "This Modern Love" and "Blue Light" that transcend the limitations of simple dance-punk.
2. Spoon: "Gimme Fiction" (Merge) — Spoon is like the Paul Molitor of indie rock: consistently brilliant, occasionally dominant, but rarely the most sensational headline grabber. Before you know it, "Sister Jack" and "I Turn My Camera On" are touchstones for a remarkable career that few people took the time to appreciate.
3. Wolf Parade: "Apologies to the Queen Mary" (Sub Pop)
4. The New Pornographers: "Twin Cinema" (Matador)
5. Sleater-Kinney: "The Woods" (Sub Pop) — Not even die-hard Sleater-Kinney fans could have anticipated the bombastic nature of the beloved Portland trio's latest epic. "Entertain" and "Jumpers" are like having twin anvils dropped on your head.
6. The Clientele: "Strange Geometry" (Merge) — Calling it a modern-day "Forever Changes" would be blasphemy, but I'll do it anyway.
7. Maximo Park: "A Certain Trigger" (Warp)
8. My Morning Jacket: "Z" (Ato)
9. Art Brut: "Bang Bang Rock and Roll" (Fierce Panda) — The Brits have always been good at wit and bravado, so when lead singer Eddie Argos proclaims he's going to write the song that "makes Israel and Palestine get along," you know there's a Streets album and Liam Gallagher interview nearby.
10. Andrew Bird: "The Mysterious Production of Eggs" (Righteous Babe) — A collection of richly textured lullabies that should appeal to fans of Red House Painters and Badly Drawn Boy. Toss in glimpses of Rufus Wainwright and you have a breezy, enjoyable listen that never overwhelms, but often astounds.
Six for '06: If rumors and release dates are to be believed, here are six artists worth tracking down once the calendar turns: Arctic Monkeys, Editors, Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins, Love is All, Neko Case, Wrens.
http://www.rep-am.com/story.php?id=752
Rock and roll bands still prove to be oldies but goodies in 2005
Thursday, December 29, 2005
By Alan Sculley
Copyright © 2005 Republican-American
The aging animal known as rock and roll was alive and kicking -- hard -- in 2005. At least on an artistic level, rock was one of the healthiest and most adventurous genres of music.
For proof, look no further than my picks for the top 10 CDs of 2005. Bona-fide rock acts claim nine of the 10 slots. Here are my picks for the best of the bunch.
1) System Of A Down: "Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize" (American/Columbia Records) -- System Of A Down aren't just today's best metal band, they're the first metal band since Pantera to genuinely expand the possibilities of what metal can be -- and do it in a way that appeals to a large audience. The band's secret? It's an uncanny ability to blend frenetic, careening rock, soaring melodies, a whacked out sense of humor and lyrical incisiveness all in one viscerally invigorating, highly entertaining package.
2) Bruce Springsteen: "Devils & Dust" (Columbia Records) -- "Devils & Dust" shows this talent remains undiminished as his characters grapple with desperate emotions (the title track) and hard-won second chances ("Long Time Coming"). Though billed as the successor to the austere acoustic "Nebraska" and "The Ghost Of Tom Joad" CDs, the songs on "Devils & Dust" generally feature some level of full-band instrumentation, which helps make "Devils & Dust" a musically stirring, lyrically moving work that stands with much of Springsteen's best work.
3) The Rolling Stones: "A Bigger Bang" (Virgin Records) -- "A Bigger Bang," shows there's still some spit and vinegar in these wily rockers. Stinging rockers like "Rough Justice," "It Won't Take Long" and "Driving Too Fast" rate with the band's best work, and throughout the CD, the Stones crackle and groove with a vigor that up to now seemed to have permanently moved beyond their grasp.
4) Sleater-Kinney: "The Woods" (Sub Pop Records) -- Already one of alternative rock's top bands, Sleater-Kinney hit a new peak with "The Woods." On the CD, the group takes their already spiky brand of hooky rock to noisier and more blustery levels -- usually with impressive results.
5) Franz Ferdinand: "You Could Have It So Much Better" (Epic Records) -- The Scottish rockers made a strong impression with their 2004 self-titled first CD. The buoyant dance-rock of the debut is back on terrific tracks like the hit single "Do You Want To" and "You're The Reason I'm Leaving," but songs like the spacious pop of "Walk Away" and the manic, vaguely trippy "Evil And A Heathen" suggest Franz Ferdinand have only begun to tap into some considerable potential.
6) Kanye West: "Late Registration" (Roc-A-Fella Records) -- West had a tough act to follow after debuting in 2004 with the outstanding CD, "The College Dropout." But "Late Registration" lives up to the standard set by that first CD, delivering a sequel that's lyrically smart and funny and musically clever and engaging.
7) Paul McCartney: "Chaos And Creation In The Backyard" (Capitol Records) -- With producer Nigel Godrich pushing him, along, Sir Paul has made his best post-Beatles CD. On "Chaos And Creation," he embraces his inner Beatle and delivers an intimate collection of gracefully melodic songs that recalls nothing so much as McCartney at his "White Album" best.
8) My Morning Jacket: "Z" (ATO/RCA Records) -- Of all the newer bands on a growth curve, My Morning Jacket may have made the biggest leap with "Z."
"Z" branches in some new directions (the infectious pop of "What A Wonderful Man" and the reggae inflected "Off The Record") while also taking the band's songwriting to new levels of consistency and accessibility.
9) Fiona Apple: "Extraordinary Machine" (Epic Records) -- Five years ago, Apple's promising career seemed to have crashed and burned when she cut short touring after a much publicized meltdown during a show at Roseland Ballroom in New York. It indeed took Apple time to get back on her feet, but "Extraordinary Machine" shows she didn't lose her touch.
10) Hot Hot Heat: "Elevator" (Sire Records) -- Two years ago, Hot Hot Heat were being hyped as the band that would bring genuinely danceable rock into the mainstream. The Killers and Franz Ferdinand ended up being the bands that connected. But at least on a musical level, Hot Hot Heat haven't disappointed at all. "Elevator" finds Hot Hot Heat moving slightly away from the dance-rock sound and going more for an energetic pop sound. "Pickin' It Up" and "Jingle Jangle" are among the killer (no pun intended) tunes that should have filled radio playlists this year.
Honorable mention: Foo Fighters: "In Your Honor"; John Hiatt: "Master Of Disaster"; Idlewild: "Warnings/Promises"; Bob Mould: "Body Of Song"; Nickel Creek: "Why Should The Fire Die?"; Graham Parker: "Songs Of No Consequence"; Robert Plant & Strange Sensation: "Mighty Rearranger"; Bonnie Raitt: "Souls Alike"; White Stripes: "Get Behind Me Satan"; Neil Young: "Prairie Wind"
http://www.westword.com/Issues/2005-12-29/music/music12.html
MUSIC
A Pack of Mutts
The Lone Wolves of 2005
By John Nova Lomax
Published: Thursday, December 29, 2005
As far as music goes, I am not a tribal person. I am not prodded by Pitchfork, nor narcotized by Relix, nor are my spirits lifted by No Depression. Not to say that those media sources are entirely flawed -- indeed, each has its virtues. But each of these influential outlets has an overweening aesthetic, each approaches a CD from a sort of preconceived ideal, and should a work stray from that imagined purity, it often suffers in their estimation. And those mongrels and strays are the very albums I love -- the ones that are too artsy and meandering for No Dep, too rootsy and plainspoken for Pitchfork and too concise for the hippies at Relix. Here's a list of ten of those records for all you other lone wolves out there.
1. My Morning Jacket, Z (ATO): Sure, the lyrics are stupid (burning kittens and babies in blenders, anyone?), and the pub-rock/Hawaii 5-0/carnival-in-hell middle stretch of the record sags a bit, but the seven majestic masterpieces that bookend Z more than make up for those shortcomings. It'll remind of you everything from the Celtic righteous-rock of bands such as U2 and the Waterboys ("Wordless Chorus" and "Gideon") to the fretboards afire/full-tilt keyboards attack of the Allmans ("Lay Low") to the narcodelic wooze of mid-period Floyd and early Radiohead. All that and occasional tinges of classical piano and soca and West African highlife guitars. Z is grandiose in the best possible way -- an album that'll turn the inside of your head into an ornate, vaulting cathedral.
http://www.columbusalive.com/2005/20051228/122805/12280501.html
4. My Morning Jacket, "Z" (ATO)
On this, My Morning Jacket's fourth volume, honey-throated Jim James and company harness the big-sky psych and shadowy melancholy of their live show into a concise and affecting package. Turns toward Radiohead-esque atmospheres, as on "It Beats for You," and the Southern-fried Disney Sabbath of "What a Wonderful Man He Was," lend an ominous balance to the album's more soaring and playful moments. With Z, it's safe to assume that one day My Morning Jacket could become America's most beloved classic rock band.
//www.grimeys.com
The CHART!
Hooo Weee! We sold some CDs this past week! Ryan Adams had the only high-profile new release of note so he handily owns the top spot but everything in the top 20 reflects significantly higher totals than usual, probably because we were playing so many of these records in the store while you were doing your holiday shopping. We also made a few mix CDs of Grimey's Staff Faves featuring all of our favorite songs from our favorite albums. That was fun. We should do some more of that. Here's the final tally of our sales leading up to Christmas Day...
GRIMEY'S SALES CHART 12/18 – 12/24, 2005
1. Ryan Adams - 29
2. My Morning Jacket - Z
3. Feist -- Let It Die
4. Sufjan Stevens -- Illinois
5. Iron & Wine / Calexico -- In the Reins
6. Wilco -- Kicking Television
7. The Budos Band—The Budos Band
8. Clientele -- Strange Geometry
9. Broken Social Scene -- Broken Social Scene
10. Beck -- Guerolito
11. Animal Collective -- Feels
12. Ray Lamontagne -- Live From Bonnaroo 2005
13. Bright Eyes -- A Christmas Album
14. Bright Eyes -- Motion Sickness
15. The Selmanaires -- Here Come The Slemanaires
16. Sun Kil Moon -- Tiny Cities
17. Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane -- Live at Carnegie Hall
18. Fruit Bats -- Spelled in Bones
19. Johnny Cash -- Live at Folsom Prison
20. Death Cab for Cutie -- Plans
21. Imogen Heap -- Speak For Yourself
22. Magic Numbers -- Magic Numbers
23. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah -- Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
24. Decemberists -- Picaresque
25. Ryan Adams -- Jacksonville City Nights
26. Wolf Parade -- Apologies to the Queen Mary
27. Rogue Wave -- Descended Like Vultures
28. Silver Jews -- Tanglewood Numbers
29. Deerhoof -- Runner's Four
30. Fiona Apple -- Extrodinary Machine
31. Bettye Lavette -- I've Got My Own Hell to Raise
32. Various -- Elizabethtown: Songs from the Brown Hotel EP
33. Various -- This is Americana 2
34. My Morning Jacket -- Acoustic Citsuoca
35. White Stripes -- Get Behind Me Satan
36. Spoon -- Gimme Fiction
37. Kate Bush -- Aerial
38. White Stripes -- Walking With a Ghost
39. Akron/Family & Angels of Light -- Akron/Family & Angels of Light
40. Go! Team -- Thunder, Lightning, Strike!
41. Franz Ferdinand -- You Can Have It So Much Better
42. Blue Merle -- Live at Bull Moose
43. Flaming Lips -- Here It Is LP reissue
44. Bob Dylan -- No Direction Home
45. Sigur Ros -- Takk
46. New Pornographers -- Twin Cinema
47. Clutters -- T & C
48. Death Cab For Cutie -- John Byrd EP
49. John Prine -- Fair & Square
50. Bright Eyes -- I'm Wide Awake It's Morning
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15842164&BRD=1282&PAG=461&dept_id=553365&rfi=6
The Daily News - PA
1. Sage Francis, "A Healthy Distrust" (Epitaph) Feb. 8 - When anger, disappointment, sadness and sarcasm are delivered this beautifully and precisely, it's impossible to ignore. The Rhode Island poet/rapper Sage Francis not only picked the right people to put beats to his rants, but he managed to say just the right thing at the right time to connect with those who also feel like nothing ever will go right no matter how hard they try.
2. The Modey Lemon, "The Curious City" (Birdman) Aug. 16 - These three Pittsburgh dudes kept their psychedelic stomp in place, layered it with a heaping pile of fuzz and ear-splitting distortion and experimented just enough that it might make their music more palatable for most indie rock fans. The 16-minute closer "Trapped Rabbits" is a brilliant, fitting, chaotic ending to a record that just may be the band's best yet.
3. Sleater-Kinney, "The Woods" (Sub-Pop) May 24 - Who says bands can't evolve and produce their best work a decade into a recording career? The prevailing sentiment seems to be most groups do their best stuff early on, but these Seattle ladies proved that's not always the case by pretty much pounding the hell out of their instruments and pushing their vocal ranges to their limits.
4. Bright Eyes, "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" (Saddle Creek) Jan. 25 - Conor Oberst managed to top his already revered back catalog with this largely acoustic, countrified disc that tells tales of heartbreak, loneliness and emotional disengagement with a war-hungry nation. There are a handful of true tear-jerkers on this record, topped by "Poison Oak" and "We Are Nowhere and It's Now."
5. The Decemberists, "Picaresque" (Kill Rock Stars) March 22 - It's tough to say if this Pacific Northwest band is trying to write geeky, dramatic rock songs or score some bizarre stage production in their heads. Either way, "Picaresque" is a rousing, exciting platter that gets better with every listen. I spin this disc at least once a week, usually more.
6. My Morning Jacket, "Z" (ATO/RCA) Oct. 4 - Many thought My Morning Jacket would implode after two-fifths of the band's members bolted after "It Still Moves." But Jim James and his southern-fired crew carried on, plugged in and produced their most dynamic and diverse record ever, highlighted by malt shop rocker "What a Wonderful Man," Elvis Costello-style "Off the Record" and blazing closer "Dondante."
7. Minus the Bear, "Menos el Oro" (Suicide Squeeze) Aug. 23 - They may have left the silly song titles at home (well, mostly), but their cleanly jerked guitars and prog-pop stylings have remained intact. It may take a few spins to get the groove, but once the magic is discovered it's hard not rocking the hell out of "The Game Needed Me," "The Fix" and "Pachuca Sunrise."
8. Giant Drag, "Hearts and Unicorns" (Kickball) Sept. 13 - I admit it: I'm in love with Annie Hardy. But it's not for her looks (which are just fine, thank you) but instead for her raspy, girly delivery and fist-in-your groin messages on songs such as "Kevin is Gay," "Cordial Invitation" and not-as-vulgar-as-the-song-title-indicates "yflmd."
9. Atmosphere, "You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having" (Rhymesayer) Oct. 4 - Sean Daley, or Slug, never is at a loss for words, and that doesn't change on the funny, biting "You Can't Imagine." But as powerful as Slug's raps are this time around, Ant's beat and sample selection is so top notch, Kanye West might be sitting somewhere taking notes. Make sure to visit "Watch Out," "Pour Me Another" and the shocking, sobering "That Night." It's a true story.
10. Between the Buried and Me, "Alaska" (Victory) Sept. 6 - It's been a bad year for metal, so thankfully BTBAM whipped together this prog-death psychotic attack. There are even more tempo changes, guttural-growl-into-angelic-crooning moments and bombastic guitar solos than both of their other albums combined. Plus, they have song titles such as "Selkies: The Endless Obsession." What?!
Honorable mentions: Fiona Apple, "Extraordinary Machine"; High on Fire, "Blessed Black Wings"; And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, "Worlds Apart"; Erin McKeown, "We Will Become Like Birds"; Tegan and Sara, "So Jealous"; Comrad (self-titled). (Brian Krasman, entertainment editor)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/29/AR2005122900364.html
Washington Post
My Morning Jacket: "Z" (ATO). Louisville's post-Southern rockers throw off generic shackles, wisely hire an outside producer to tighten and solidify their once sprawling sound; they also overcome key personnel shifts and the pop impulse to make records longer than they need be (40 minutes serves MMJ perfectly). Jim James's otherworldly vocals and surreal lyrics are nowhere better served than in the weirdly beautiful waltz "Into the Woods," in which he notes, "A kitten on fire, a baby in a blender/Both sound as sweet as a night of surrender."
http://www.livedaily.com/reviews/2005s_Best_Albums_My_Morning_Jacket_warms_critics-9390.html?t=98
liveDaily - #1
2005's Best Albums: My Morning Jacket warms critics
December 30, 2005 09:42 AM
by Rob Evans
liveDaily Editor
Louisville, KY-based My Morning Jacket (music) has been kicking around in relative obscurity since the late '90s, but the group appears headed for bigger things on the heels of its lauded 2005 release, "Z."
liveDaily critics were asked to list their 10 favorite albums of 2005, and six placed "Z" on their list, as close to a consensus as we got this year. Coldplay (music)'s "X&Y" appears on five lists, making it a clean sweep for the last three letters of the alphabet.
Releases by Kanye West (music), The White Stripes (music) and Beck (music) turned up on four lists, while three critics singled out the efforts of Bright Eyes, Queens of the Stone Age, Shelby Lynne and Spoon. M.I.A. Placed high on two of our critics' lists, enough to sneak into 2005's Top 10.
Overall rankings were determined by first grouping albums by the number of ballots on which they appeared. Ties were then broken by weighting votes based on where albums ranked on individual lists.
Critics Picks: liveDaily's top albums of 2005
1. My Morning Jacket, "Z" (ATO)
2. Coldplay, "X&Y" (Capitol)
3. Kanye West, "Late Registration" (Roc-a-Fella/Def Jam)
4. The White Stripes, "Get Behind Me Satan" (V2)
5. Beck, "Guero" (Geffen)
6. Bright Eyes, "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" (Saddle Creek)
7. Queens of the Stone Age, "Lullabies to Paralyze" (Interscope)
8. Shelby Lynne, "Suit Yourself" (Capitol)
9. Spoon, "Gimme Fiction" (Merge)
10. M.I.A., "Arular" (XL/Interscope)
See http://www.livedaily.com/news/9389.html for Individual Lists and comments
http://www.spin.com/features/magazine/2005/12/best_of_2005/
Spin Magazine
13. My Morning Jacket, Z (ATO/RCA)
Perfectly balancing their indie-rock weirdness with their classic-rock soul, MMJ are so convinced of their badassness they named their best record for the sign of Zorro. Never mind that the letter is a softball for haters to dismiss it with snores, or that frontman Jim James rocks a Flying V. The title also represents the tingling zzzz you get from everything this album delivers: beautiful melodies, fizzy dual-guitar jams, soaring soul-man falsettos, convincing reggae grooves -- and an unexpected shout-out to Madonna. W.H.
http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2006/01/0206.cfm
Chart Attack
9. MY MORNING JACKET Z (RCA/Sony BMG)
Early in their career, My Morning Jacket riffed on standard alt.country arrangements, centred upon the prowess of Jim James, whose echoing falsetto haunts even the most brightly played guitar. Even their third studio album, It Still Moves, was a similar affair, mixing slow melodic ballads with more classic rock songs. As a follow-up, Z marks the simultaneous evolution of both the vocals and the music behind them into something unique and more polished. Taking more cues from Radiohead than Johnny Cash, MMJ expanded their repertoire to include styles ranging from classic rock and alt.country to space rock and dream pop. From the first melodic pumps of "Wordless Chorus," the album shows off its moody and dark face. But it slowly evolves, with a few bumps in between, into a quasi-jam band affair with "Off The Record." Bettering scores of artsy rock on the shelves, My Morning Jacket prove on Z that they can be inventive and tortured — plus, they can still light it up with good old-fashioned guitar riffs and a lap steel. Mike Armitage
billboard.com rated mmj best of the year...
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/yearend/2005/top10/index.jsp
Quotebillboard.com rated mmj best of the year...
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/yearend/2005/top10/index.jsp
the voters:
JIMI GOODWIN
Doves vocalist/bassist
1. My Morning Jacket, "Z" (ATO/RCA). They've gone and done it again. Just brilliant.
PATTERSON HOOD
Drive-By Truckers vocalist/guitarist
2. My Morning Jacket, "Z" (ATO/RCA). My favorite album "released" this year.
MIRANDA LAMBERT
7. My Morning Jacket, "Z" (ATO/RCA). This sounds so fresh; it hooked me immediately after one listen. I love what these guys are doing, and I can't wait for the follow-up.
JERRY DePIZZO
Saxophonist O.A.R.
3. My Morning Jacket, "Z" (ATO/RCA).
ADAM OLENIUS
Shout Out Louds vocalist
9. My Morning Jacket, "Z" (ATO/RCA).
JONATHAN COHEN
Billboard.com news/reviews editor
3. My Morning Jacket, "Z" (ATO/RCA). Kentucky rockers break away from the pack with genre-blurring masterpiece.
BRIAN GARRITY
Billboard business editor
3. My Morning Jacket, "Z" (ATO/RCA). MMJ tones down the jams, delves into soul and rock.
JILL KIPNIS
Billboard staff writer
8. My Morning Jacket, "Z" (ATO/RCA).
SVEN PHILIPP
Billboard Radio Monitor online editor
2. My Morning Jacket, "Z" (ATO/RCA). Stratospheric.
BRAM TEITELMAN
Billboard Radio Monitor managing editor
2. My Morning Jacket, "Z" (ATO/RCA). MMJ have a knack for creating songs that sound like instant classic rock. If only they could capture their live sound.
RAY WADDELL
Billboard senior touring editor
3. My Morning Jacket, "Z" (ATO/RCA). Think Coldplay, but with guitars and balls.
ERIC WARD
Billboard.com brand manager
1. My Morning Jacket, "Z" (ATO/RCA). Expansive and stunning, yet concisely delivered. Jim James and company have created a masterpiece.
top 10 albums of 2005 as chosen by our panel of critics:
1. My Morning Jacket, "Z" (ATO/RCA) -- 52 points
2. Tie: The Rolling Stones, "A Bigger Bang" (Virgin) and M.I.A., "Arular" (XL) -- 43 points.
3. The New Pornographers, "Twin Cinema" (Matador) -- 41 points
4. Common, "Be" (G.O.O.D. Music/Geffen) - 39 points
5. Sleater-Kinney, "The Woods" (Sub Pop) - 37 points
6. Sufjan Stevens, "Illinois" (Asthmatic Kitty) - 36 points
7. Tie: Thelonious Monk Quartet With John Coltrane, "At Carnegie Hall" (Blue Note/Thelonious Records) and Queens Of The Stone Age, "Lullabies To Paralyze" (Interscope) - 31 points
8. Spoon, "Gimme Fiction" (Merge) - 28 points
9. Tie: Jack Johnson, "In Between Dreams" (Brushfire/Universal) and Mariah Carey, "The Emancipation of Mimi" (Island Def Jam) - 26 points
10. John Legend, "Get Lifted" (G.O.O.D. Music/Columbia) - 25 points
O u t s t a n d i n g ! :o
Z was voted the #2 album of the year by WXPN listeners in Philadelphia.
http://www.xpn.org/Top50_2005.php
http://www.filter-mag.com/news/interior.2894.html
Filter's Top 10 of 2005, Day Twenty Three: Liz Phair
by Staff & Liz Phair | 01.03.2006
With a father who is Chief of Infectious Diseases at Northwestern Hospital in Chicago and a mother who is an Art Instructor at the Art Institute of Chicago, it is expected that a talented child will emerge from this duo...enter Liz Phair. When she's not making hit albums such as 2005's Somebody's Miracle, Liz is fully busy being a mother and wife, and looking gorgeous in the process.
Liz Phair
1. Bloc Party – Silent Alarm (Vice)
2. Kanye West – Late Registration (Roc-a-Fella)
3. Bright Eyes – I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (Saddle Creek)
4. Missy Higgins – The Sound of White (Reprise)
5. Dave Matthews – Stand Up (RCA)
6. My Morning Jacket – Z (ATO)
7. Death Cab for Cutie – Plans (Atlantic)
8. Fiona Apple – Extraordinary Machine (Epic)
9. Gorillaz – Demon Days (Virgin)
10. Jack Johnson – In Between Dreams (Universal)
Jambase's best of
1. My Morning Jacket - Z [rhapsody]
2. Beck - Guero [rhapsody]
3. Mars Volta - Frances The Mute [rhapsody]
4. White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan [rhapsody]
5. Dungen - Ta det Lugnt [rhapsody]
6. Steve Kimock Band - Eudemonic [rhapsody]
7. Wilco - Kicking Television [rhapsody]
8. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Howl [rhapsody]
9. Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey - The Sameness of Difference [rhapsody]
10. Devandra Banhart - Cripple Crow [rhapsody]
http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=8695
Johnny Loftus
1. Drones Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By (ATP): Desperation, a forked tongue and white phosphorus distortion.
2. Jim White, Various Artists Music from Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus (Luaka Bop/Ryko): Tears are just a stupid trick of God.
3. Boris Akuma No Uta (Southern Lord): This Japanese trio once named an album Amplifier Worship. Really, do you need any more?
4. MIA Arular (XL): Sleeps whole winters, wakes up and spits summers. Also sells Hondas.
5. Kinski w/25 Suaves & Oneida Live show at 2500 Club 8/19: Heat, manic intensity and Judas Priest covers in the looming shadow of the Masonic. Righteous.
6. Evens Evens (Dischord): Ian MacKaye and Amy Farina make terrific pop that's modern, wiry and, yeah, still pretty angry.
7. My Morning Jacket Z (ATP): MMJ are bootgazers drifting in from the back 40 on a fog of comforting reverb.
8. Sights The Sights (New Line): For anyone who has ever been loved, drunk or robbed.
9. Richard Hawley Coles Corner (Mute): More romantic than anything Hollywood's ever come up with. Overstated? Listen to those opening strings ...
10. Ellen Allien Thrills (Bpitch Control): The future came early in Berlin.
Top Tin: Nickelback All the Right Reasons (Roadrunner): For all the right reasons.
Fred Mills
1. Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3 ...tick... tick... tick (Blue Rose): Issued in Europe, this is a rock 'n' roll pipe bomb wrapped in plastique and dipped in gunpowder.
2. My Morning Jacket Z (ATO): Fans have frequently characterized MMJ concerts as ecstasy-inducing rock tent revivals. The group's fourth is bold, confident, ecstatic — and, yeah, a bit holy too.
3. Black Merda The Folks From Mother's Mixer (Tuff City): Pairing early '70s LPs Black Merda and Long Burn the Fire, it's a black rock thang, a soul-stirred stew of Hendrix, Funkadelic and War, and some incredibly thoughtful, politically conscious lyrics to boot.
4. Sleater-Kinney The Woods (Sub Pop): With world-gone-wrong lyric desperation and a sinewy, shuddery sonic brawn, this dangerously physical record moves at a terrifying clip.
5. Flamin' Groovies Shake Some Action (DBK Works): 1976 power-pop template sees its first U.S. digitization.
6. Otis Taylor Below the Fold (Telarc): "Appalachian griot" delivered with the fluidity of funk and the viscosity of punk. Spooky and scary, seductive and sublime — blues by any other name, but no one else is making blues like this.
7. Pernice Brothers Discover a Lovelier You (Ashmont): Aglow with lush melodies and cinematic textures, and dipped in echoes of Brian Wilson, the Beatles and New Order, Joe Pernice's latest is 2005's purest pop platter, period.
8. Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out (Bar/None): Every detail of the original Who classic — vocal harmonies, guitar riffs, even the fake between-song commercials and the vinyl run-out groove — is reproduced a cappella by Haden, who in the process brings out previously overlooked nuances.
9. Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham Moments from This Theatre Live (Proper): Criminally overlooked upon its initial release in 1999, the Penn-Oldham summit brings a whole lotta Memphis to UK stages and goes down as sweet as a honeyslide.
10. Dandy Warhols Odditorium (Capitol): Prince on a bad hair day? T. Rex recast by 21st century boys (and girl)? Spacemen 3 minus the opiates? Creedence Clearwater gone shoegaze? All of the above, and more.
No Depression - Top 40 Albums of 2005
...
7. My Morning Jacket - Z
QuoteJambase's best of
1. My Morning Jacket - Z [rhapsody]
2. Beck - Guero [rhapsody]
3. Mars Volta - Frances The Mute [rhapsody]
4. White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan [rhapsody]
5. Dungen - Ta det Lugnt [rhapsody]
6. Steve Kimock Band - Eudemonic [rhapsody]
7. Wilco - Kicking Television [rhapsody]
8. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Howl [rhapsody]
9. Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey - The Sameness of Difference [rhapsody]
10. Devandra Banhart - Cripple Crow [rhapsody]
A lot of other good comments, lists, best concerts, etc. are on the site as well -
http://www.jambase.com/headsup.asp?storyID=7668&pageNum=2
Z is number 3 in Croatia's largerst daily newspaper Year End List.
Z, strongly marked with the angellike falsetto of Jim James is the fourth album by this extraordinary Kentucky outfit. Here, Neil Young's melancholy and The Band's vision of panamerican music is interrmixed with contemporary americana and production of r'n'b and soul music...
http://www.flyernews.com/article.php?section=AE&volume=53&issue=21&artnum=03
No. 1: "Z" - My Morning Jacket
One of the most difficult obstacles for a young band to overcome is finding a balance between traditionally tested music and the new sound it wants to pioneer. For the Louisville band My Morning Jacket, that six-year struggle ended with the release of "Z," the bands most progressive release to date. Pairing modern, almost Coldplay-esque, songs like "Gideon" (the albums U.S. single) and "Wordless Chorus" with songs like "Lay Low" and the Crazy Horse-like "Dondante," both of which sound more like the bands rootsy, earlier work. Sprinkled between are three minute pop/rock songs that bring a new sound to the table. Over all, "Z" was the most interesting, talented, listenable and complete album released this year. It took the band, especially singer/songwriter Jim James (who has the coolest name in music) to the next level. Watch out for My Morning Jacket. "Z" proved they belong on top, and they have the potential to be around for quite a long time.
Feb28 #6
This is one of the most talked about albums of the year. It is popping up on more and more top ten lists and deservedly so. The more I listened to it, the higher it got on this list.
But the first time I heard Z, I honestly thought, "What's all the fuss about?" Funny thing, I've talked to other people who thought the exact same thing.
The first time I listened to this album, it reminded me a little too much of Pink Floyd. My lingering punk rock youth demands that I hate anything Floydian, but I fought the impulse to put the album aside (probably because I spent good money on it) and listened to it again. And then again. And then again. Something tells me this album can't be fully appreciated before being listened to at least three times in a row.
It now stands as a classic. Simply put, My Morning Jacket just did it right. At the risk of sounding like a music critic, each track is a perfectly crafted adventure. There are elements of oldies rock and roll, classic rock, modern indie, agressive metal, grunge, Bruce Springstein style arena rock, and everything in between.
Z may go down as being be the best rock album of the decade. It is a crime (and totally baffling) My Morning Jacket was missed by the Grammys. How the big wigs who decide those things missed this album is a total mystery.
http://www.feb28.com/feb28/article.php?story=top10-6
QuoteZ may go down as being be the best rock album of the decade. It is a crime (and totally baffling) My Morning Jacket was missed by the Grammys. How the big wigs who decide those things missed this album is a total mystery
Easy to miss when (gasp) Mariah Carey released a new record! ;)
I believe the album was released after the Grammy submission deadline. Here's hoping that by next year's Grammys, the buzz would have gotten so loud they end up with album of the year.
They have to submit the album for consideration, too. I don't see why they wouldn't. Doesn't really matter. The whole Grammy thing is not respected much anymore by knowledgeable music fans. But it still would be a nice feather in their cap and good exposure.
Laurie
QuoteThey have to submit the album for consideration, too. I don't see why they wouldn't. Doesn't really matter. The whole Grammy thing is not respected much anymore by knowledgeable music fans. But it still would be a nice feather in their cap and good exposure.
Laurie
Ack! That sounded totally condescending and that was not my intention. A Grammy would be good, yes :-)
http://www.dailyutahchronicle.com/media/paper244/news/2006/01/11/AE/BuzzKillers.Here.Are.2005s.Standout.Albums.Haters.Be.Damned-1323076.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.dailyutahchronicle.com
Daily Utah Chronicle
2) My Morning Jacket, Z
My Morning jacket front man, Jim James, has the coolest name in rock music. Just say it: Jim James. Say it slowly: Jiiim Jaaaaames. It rolls off the tongue. It kind of tingles. Sonically, it's nearly perfect.
All of the same can be said of My Morning Jacket's stellar 2005 release, Z. It is at once a simple, peaceful record and an electric, energetic rock offering. Tracks like "Anytime" and "Lay Low" could've (and would've) been hits in at least seven different points in time over the last 20 years. The album seamlessly blends the band's former jam-rock disposition with a refined, catchy brand of pop restraint. The result? One of the most creative, genre-busting records in years.
Z has an almost Buddhist air of transcendent calm about it-a kind of patience and faith in the beauty and simplicity of singular notes. It never feels rushed. Fittingly, the album opens with the Radiohead-esque "Wordless Chorus," on which James sings, "Tell me spirit/ What has not been done?/ We'll rush out and do it/ Or are we doing it now?"
With Z's breathy lyrics, subdued (when appropriate) and riotous (when needed) guitar licks-balanced by James' beautiful swan voice-the answer very clearly is: Yes, My Morning Jacket. You are doing it now.
-E.G.
QuoteYes, My Morning Jacket. You are doing it now.
I love that!
that's a good review...
and the writer is totally correct. many of these songs would have blended in perfectly in 1976... i don't want to say it's timeless, but it's not *dated*, you know? i don't think it's the type of album you'll pick up in 10 years and be like, what was i thinking? there are a few things i was into before that haven't withstood the test of time.
Harp Magazine
#1 - Album of the Year
Last time My Morning Jacket released an album, Harp named it Album of the Year. And here we go again. Wasn't slobbering all over 2003's It Still Moves enough? Can someone else have a turn? Well, for it's sheer aural splendor, exquisite songcraft and general goodness, Z deserves its spot on a pedestal under glass in the lobby of Harp's posh digs-and, by God, a visit to the Pink Elephant Car Wash.
ah, bless those folks at Harp. They've got gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood taste!
(http://www.cramps.de/index/lux_logo.jpg)
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/tgif/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/tully/
1. Z, My Morning Jacket: This is a band that made an absolutely huge leap. They already had a big positive going for them -- lead singer Jim James. Now, however, the music caught up. And the result is an album that jumps genres (sometimes mid-song) and both roars and murmurs with brilliance.
http://www.jambands.com/Features/content_2006_01_15.04.phtml
Favorite Discs and Shows of 2005: Staff Picks
Jambands.com staff
2006-01-15
A number of our editors and regular contributors have given it some thought an delivered these picks from the past year...
http://www.dailyfreepress.com/media/paper87/news/2006/01/19/Muse/More-Of.The.Top.Five.Albums.Of.2005-1478106.shtml
More of the Top Five Albums of 2005
MY MORNING JACKET
Z
A breakthrough of sorts for this Louisville, Ky. quintet, Z employs melodies and spirit harkening back to early 1990s underground rock. A slow grower, Z opens up in "What a Wonderful Man," a rousing, smart pop song filled with stops, winding chords and singer Jim James' yearning, quite reminiscent of Neil Young. From here, the sound balloons: "Off the Record" makes the listener howl with delight, "Into the Woods" plays like a disturbed merry-go-round, "Lay Low" bridges honky-tonk spirit with a garage-rock melody. It carries much like the Flaming Lips's Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, but triumphs because of James' lyrics, which are arguably the best writing of the year.
- Tim Malcolm, Muse Staff
Harp rules. Here's a scan (http://www.thesuitcase.org/posts/harpscan.jpg) of the #1 album spot. :)
i like the "giddy, godly, gorgeous Z"... sums it up pretty well for me! :)
Amazon.com has put Z in their "Best of the Decade So Far" list: http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/listmania/fullview/R2GAWKMEF48V1U/103-1440141-1364658