Blogcritics Picks For The Best Album of 2005
Published December 12, 2005
Here they are — the selections for Best Album of the year from a small sampling of the regular music reviews on Blogcritics. Everyone is invited and encouraged to share their choices for the Best Album of 2005 in the comment section.
Silent Alarm by Bloc Party
As if I didn't already have plenty of reasons to like Franz Ferdinand lead singer Alex Kapranos (specifically for both FF albums), he also was responsible in part for bringing Bloc Party to the general music audience, and fans of post punk found a new band to get all sweaty over. Silent Alarm is a versatile long player with raucous tunes like the schizophrenic "She's Hearing Voices" and the politik of "Helicopter", and introspective slow builds like "Luna" and "Modern Love". My favorite moments of the album are at its hardest--on songs like "Like Eating Glass", "Helicopter", and "Banquet". The guitars are so angular, like the jagged edge of a steak knife, with the vocals of Kele Okereke serving as the meat they cut through.
2. Robert Burke
Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
My "Best Album" pick was the easiest one in years. Most will agree that Sufjan Stevens is the hands-down winner with his tremendous effort "Illinois", which is the second installment in his plan to create a record for all 50 states. Illinois is one of a handful of albums that can actually live up to the hype it has created. The production and songwriting is fresh and original, it's moving, lyrically brilliant, and tied together by a common subject. This album is so good that a better question is "What was the second best album of 2005?" My answer to that is Spoon's Gimme Fiction.
3. gypseyman
Greetings From Cairo Illinois by Stace England.
It's not often that a pop musician sets out on as an ambitious a project as detailing the history of a city through song. With Greeting From Cairo Illinois Stace (sounds like Stacee) England has created a song cycle which carries us from early days of settlement up to the current state of economic disaster of Cairo Illinois.
Each song focuses on a different era or epoch in the town's history, but as this city was the demarcation line for the color barrier, race is an issue that crosses the years. From the twenties, "Equal Opportunity Lynch Mob", to the late sixties, "Jesse's Comin' To Town" Stace covers all aspects of the issue in a mixture of musical styles.
In fact the album can be seen as overview of American music, the traditional choral opening song "Goin' Down To Cairo", slide blues on "Cairo Blues", funk on "Jesse's Comin' To Town", straight ahead southern rock on "Buy My Votes", and bluegrass style blues on "The North Starts In Cairo"
Cairo Illinois may have been bypassed by the sands of time, but Stace England has created an album that will ensure it's not forgotten any time soon. For more details on Greetings From Cairo Illinois see gypsyman's review
Wife, mother, aspiring novelist, and music editor at BC Magazine, Connie Phillips spends most of her time in a fantasy land of her own creating. In reality, she writes about music, television, and the process of writing, when she's not cheering on her kids at equestrian events. Contact: Phillips.connie@gmail.com
- Blogcritics Picks For The Best Album of 2005
- Published: December 12, 2005
- Type: News
- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Culture: Administrative
- Writer: Connie Phillips
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Fiona Apple--"Extraordinary Machine" by a long shot.
New Pornographers "Twin Cinema" is up there, too.
Brian Wilson "Smile" (yes I know it's after about a 437 years delay).
(Was Nellie McKay this year? If so, she might be second on my list)
"Smile" was last year. I remember, cuz it was my pick for 2004.
Animal Collective's "Feels" is easily my '05 pick. I had no clue it would be so good.
maybe I can whittle this down to 10 best of 2005 for starters...?
Vashti Bunyan: Lookaftering
Golijov: Ayre / Berio: Folk Songs
Harold Budd: Avalon Sutra
Monk/Coltrane: Live at Carnegie Hall
Eighth Blackbird: Fred
Kraftwerk: Minimum-Maximum
Bill Charlap/Sandy Stewart: Love is Here to Stay
Diana Krall: Christmas Songs
Sufjan Stevens: Illinois
Keith Jarrett: Radiance
I see the Heavy Metal section has been overlooked:
My pick: "Alien"-Strapping Young Lad"
Granted their lastest release isn't technically overwhelming, it is completely brutal with brooding harmony and melody that contains a precise,brilliant chemistry between the members which is fantastic for an album that is beyond their sophmore release. Just when you think your heart is going to implode,S.Y.L. layers on a nice ochestrated attempt at an apology for their fierce audio annihilation. On top of that, they don't take themselves too seriously which is really refreshing for a scene loaded with rehashed,trendy and monotonous groups that delve way too often into the negativity of youthful angst. I guess that's why these seasoned vets do it best, especially in 2005...There's not much competition;-)
I've made my little list of pop records I couldn't get out of my CD player this year. I'm sure my Top Ten will all be in this list:
New Pornographers: Twin Cinema
Clientele: Strange Geometries
Cat Power: The Greatest
Sufjan Stevens: Illinois
The Decemberists: Picaresque
Aimee Mann: The Forgotten Arm
Spoon: Gimme Fiction
Antony and the Johnsons: I Am a Bird
Michael Penn: Mr. Hollywood
Animal Collective: Feels
Beck: Guero
Sleater-Kinney: The Woods
The Knitters: Modern Sound of the Knitters
Sigur Ros: Takk
Super Furry Animals: Love Kraft
Bell Orchestre: Recording a Tape the Color of Light
Iron & Wine/Calexico: In the Reins EP
Coco Rosie: Noah's Ark
"Bonnie" Prince Billy and Matt Sweeney: Superwolf
Silver Jews: Tanglewood Numbers
Devendra Banhart: Cripple Crow
Deerhoof: The Runners Four
Destroyer: Notorious Lightning and Other Works
The Magic Numbers: The Magic Numbers
The National: Alligator
Jose Gonzalez: Veneer
The Brakes: Give Blood
Matt Pond PA: Several Arrows Later
The Cloud Room
Ron Sexsmith & Don Kerr: Destination Unknown
As of now, the Pornos, the Clientele, the Decemberists, Deerhoof, and Sufjan look like locks. I love that Deerhoof album more and more every time I hear it.
Stars - Set Yourself On Fire
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Terence Blanchard - Flow
Noise Unit - Voyeur
I liked the Dolly Parton album, too, a lot! As soon as I heard the "Crimson and Clover" song, I knew I had to have that album. Thanks for picking it for the best of 2005!
No now Mark, you know better than acting like I'm not listening to anything newer than college, starting most obviously with our Dear Leader Jack White. I bet if I went back to campus to hunt down the cool kids, they wouldn't have even heard of more than a couple or three of these names.
It's great to like something that's not well known. It might be an undiscovered gem. But if you manage to pick the best 20 albums of the year without getting even ONE that was vaguely popular, it sure looks like your working harder at picking obscure crap than you are at picking the best music. I'm just saying.
well, that might be true, but there's really no way of knowing now, is there?
i mean, i listen to boatloads of obscure stuff....the reason for it being obscure is that most folks can't stand it! i'm not doin' it on purpose, it's just what makes me vibrate.
i would put a vote in for mt eerie- no flashlight. then, animal collective's feels. i don't think mt eerie has ever been mentioned here... i'll check in a moment... they used to be the microphones. they change their name and drop off into obscurity...
here are a few i couldn't live without this year (some of which have already been mentioned, for good reason):
bright eyes - i'm wide awake its morning
spoon - gimme fiction
the frames - burn the maps (nobody seems to notice this one)
sufjan stevens - illinois
a few that are close, but not quite the best of the year:
sleater-kinney - the woods
bloc party - silent alarm
iron and wine/calexico - in the reigns
personally, i don't like bloc party.
If i had to choose one album from this year though, it'd be In Your Honor by The Foo Fighters
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/40881)
my picks so far -
the new pornographers - "twin cinema"
spoon - "gimme fiction"
the hold steady - "separation sunday"