Attention all Blogcritics:
Announcing the inaugural Sinister Cabal's Album Release of the Year (SCARY) Award.
We're always blabbing about music around here, which gets tiresome, so I thought we'd settle things once and for all. I'm asking the whole cabal (or at least the regulars) to vote for your favorite pop/rock/rap albums of the year. The assistant engineer, the caterer and the bass player from the winning album will be invited to New York (or somewhere) for a gala awards ceremony hosted by, let's say, Ryan Seacrest. Or Tommy Lee. Or Regis. It'll be big is all I'm saying. And gala.
Here are the simple rules:
Vote for your favorite albums in the comments below.
Only votes from people whose names I recognize will count. If you’re not a regular around here, as determined by me, you can’t vote. This judgment is up to me alone. There are no appeals. One entry per blogcritic, of course.
Only records released in 2005 are eligible.
How to vote:
Everybody gets five votes.
Every vote equals one point.
You can vote for one to five albums, and distribute your five votes anyway you wish. You can assign one vote each for your five favorite albums:
Rolling Stones — A Bigger Bang
Coldplay — X+Y
Kelly Clarkson — Breakaway
Meshugga Beach Party — Twenty Songs of the Chosen Surfers
Jamie Foxx — Unpredictable
or, if, say, you really really liked The Stones’ A Bigger Bang, and thought it was just far superior to all other albums this year, you could assign it all five votes, like this:
Rolling Stones — A Bigger Bang
Rolling Stones — A Bigger Bang
Rolling Stones — A Bigger Bang
Rolling Stones — A Bigger Bang
Rolling Stones — A Bigger Bang
Or, if you thought it was really great, but also liked a couple of others, you could vote like this:
Rolling Stones — A Bigger Bang
Rolling Stones — A Bigger Bang
Rolling Stones — A Bigger Bang
Coldplay — X + Y
Kelly Clarkson — Breakaway
Or any other combination of five votes you want.
I’ll total all the votes I get by Friday Jan. 6 at 5 pm Eastern, and I’ll name the prestigious
SCARY as soon as I'm done weeping.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Jackson
Sufjan Stevens - Illinoise
Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
Spoon - Gimme Fiction
The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree
2 - ClubhouseCancer
Thanks, Jackson, we agree on two of them, and I also loved the Spoon.
BTW, I vote:
Deerhoof â€" Runners Four
New Pornographers â€" Twin Cinema
Sufjan Stevens â€" Illinoise
The Decemberists â€" Picaresque
The Clientele â€" Strange Geometries
3 - The Theory
good idea.
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
The Fiery Furnaces - Rehearsing My Choir
The Fiery Furnaces - Rehearsing My Choir
The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
4 - ClubhouseCancer
Theory:
I tried so hard to like that FF grandma album, as I love it when people try crazy stuff. But it just doesn't do it for me; the songs just aren't as tuneful or engaging as on Blueberry Boat. Perhaps it Rewards Repeated Listenings.
5 - Scott
The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
Beck - Guero
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Spoon - Gimme Fiction
The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
6 - Shark
Iran-friendly Shiite Theocracy!
Iran-friendly Shiite Theocracy!
Iran-friendly Shiite Theocracy!
Iran-friendly Shiite Theocracy!
Iran-friendly Shiite Theocracy!
Whoops, wrong election!
=================
Eisley - Room Noises
Eisley - Room Noises
Eisley - Room Noises
Eisley - Room Noises
Eisley - Room Noises
=====
Does it count if they're not nominated?
7 - The Theory
CC- There is just some strange haunting quality to that album that I love. But then there is just enough catchiness to it to provide hooks that I anticipate and it's quite blissful when they arrive. (for instance, the part where she sings about the two Kevins)
8 - uao
I hate picking the same thing everyone else does, but Twin Cinema has probably gotten the most airplay in my house.
9 - GoHah
Fiona Apple--Extraordinary Machine
Fiona Apple--Extraordinary Machine
Fiona Apple--Extraordinary Machine
Fiona Apple--Extraordinary Machine
New Pornographers--Twin Cinema
10 - Stephen V Funk
vashti bunyan: lookaftering
vashti bunyan: lookaftering
vashti bunyan: lookaftering
sufjan stevens: illinois(e)
kraftwerk: minimum-maximum
11 - The Theory
i had no idea that blogcritics were so indie rock minded. this has been an enlightening experience thus far.
(just watch, the next 10 posts are probably going to be listing the new Hillary Duff album or something)
12 - zingzing
mt. eerie- no flashlight
mt. eerie- 11 old songs
mt. eerie- singers
animal collective- feels
mt. eerie- no flashlight
13 - Barry Stoller
Terry Knight - Forever And A Day - The "Lost" Album (1967).
The (Wyncote) International Pop Orchestra performed the backing tracks to what would have have been the "next Smile" - as it stands, without vocals, it's the coolest easy listening LP ever made.
14 - Barry Stoller
Terry Knight - Forever And A Day - The "Lost" Album (1967).
The (Wyncote) International Pop Orchestra performed the backing tracks to what would have have been the "next Smile" - as it stands, without vocals, it's the coolest easy listening LP ever made.
15 - Crash J
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Ryan Adams - Jacksonville City Nights
The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
Common - Be
16 - Triniman
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Stars - Set Yourself On Fire
Amorphous Androgynous - Alice In Ultraland
Noise Unit - Voyeur
The Dhoad Gypsies from Rajasthan
17 - ClubhouseCancer
A consensus seems to be forming around Sufjan. I hope this fact encourages some folks to try to listen to some Sufjan. There are a number of free, legal tracks out there from this very prolific artist, including at least two from Illinoise. In fact, the astonishing "Casimir Pulaski Day," which is the album's perfect, heartbreaking centerpiece, is available for free download. Try searching the bigger indie-rock mp3 blogs; I know largehearted boy has it in their archives.
Sufjan is very dedicated to the premise that if you give people a little somethin somethin for free on the 'net, they'll buy it if they like it, another reason to dig SS.
18 - Phillip Winn
Since it appears I can mention any album at all, I'll go with:
Sufjan Stevens - Illinoise
Eisley - Room Noises
U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
Switchfoot - Nothing Is Sound
David Gray - Life In Slow Motion
Sorry about the obvious Sufjan, but the album is _really_ good. I was going to list the more esoteric stuff I like, but I decided to go with the most-played stuff instead, and it turns out I'm a pretty middle of the road guy, for all that I really enjoyed the latest Queens of the Stone Age disc.
19 - zingzing
i like sufjan, he's a fantastic producer and singer, but i find illinoise to be a little... bloated. it's too long, it's got too many sections that are a little hackneyed and could be cut, and i can barely make it through the album without getting bored. individual songs are great... this album is mixtape heaven... but the album doesn't hold together in my book.
i have the same problems with the new broken social scene, but for some reason i LOVE that album. maybe it's just the overwhelming amount of sound (which could also be said for illinoise...)
it's strange how bss and ss have the same faults/strengths, and yet i would give bss 4.5 stars and ss only 3.
20 - ClubhouseCancer
ZZ, I have found the exact opposite with illinoise. It's the interstitial music, the repeated (musical) themes and the whole concept of the thing that makes it much better than his past work, which also featured great songs, IMHO. I've not gotten to BSS yet.
I loved your Mt. Eerie nominations. I love a certain Microphones album that i used to listen to a lot in, maybe 2003, and I have No Flashlight around here somewhere, I believe in the "Get to It Soon" pile.
And PW, the U2 came out in 2004, so your vote's no good. Sorry.
21 - Jared
Of course, I'm no regular, having done nothing more than make a couple comments when the inclination so takes me. But I at least like the idea. Now if only Octavarium can get a vote somewhere.
22 - ClubhouseCancer
Jared: You're in, if only because you actually read the post, and you like the idea! I don't get your Octavarium joke, but he/she's in too if he/she wants to vote, by means of his/her association with you.
23 - Phillip Winn
The U2 was released at the end of November, 2004, and is still one of the best albums of 2005 -- it's that good!
Seriously, it's up for a few 2005 Grammys, so how can it not count. :-)
24 - Clubhouse Cancer
Bono has been honored enough this year.
25 - The Theory
CC- I agree with your statement about Illinois being that much better than his past work up to a point. And that point is Enjoy Your Rabbit, which is by far the best cd he's released... and probably the best album of the past ten years.