#20-#16#20
Coldplay-X/YThis was going to be the most important album of 2005
Coldplay were going to re-invent the wheel
They would do something Radiohead/U2 never could
Find a way to make commercial pop music that appealed to all fan-bases(hipsters-included)
They did NO SUCH THING
Your Mom/Sister/Brother/Girlfriend/Boss
all know a Coldplay song.
Funny thing about
X/Y is it actually was an album that seperated the fan-bases
Some of their best songs are included here
("Till Kingdom Come"/"Square One")But it's not as complete an album as
Parachutes/Rush of Blood they said
Bull-Puckey I say as a long-time fan
Find a band who had better singles on all forms of commercial radio
("Speed of Sound"/"Fix You"/"Talk")Even with success they know there not the band a caliber of Radiohead/U2 or even Arcade Fire
That's cool to be humble and realize your place
Doesn't change these facts
1. X/Y is a step foward not backwards
2. Every time they think they written their best song yet they top it
("Yellow"/"Trouble/"Scientist"/"Clocks"/"Fix You")3. Most Importantly They are still getting better with each album even though they have embraced the mainstream not many bands have survived the pressure to sell albums and still keep a sense of their past indie creditability
They HAVE
So you can hate on Coldplay,Make fun of their fans
but they wouldn't have it any other way.
Coldplay are the perfect band for the society we live in of i-pods and product placement in movies
so deal with it.
Standout
-"Fix You" One of the best singles in recent memory after it was premired we played it a 2nd time, a genuine chill moment when the guitar kicks in.
#19
B.R.M.C.- HowlI love when band who I have great respect for take chances and make a U-turn from their influences(Jesus/Mary Chain/Brian Jonestown Spacegirl-era)
brmc are the nomads of rock music they show up, they play they dissapear, and you don't realize how good their songs are or how good a live band they are till their off working on their next album.
Howl is more Bob Dylan than even Bruce's
Devils/Dust this year
Salvation is the theme of most of their past work.
But never has it been conveyed so honest and with no bombast as previous albums
Everything from gospel/blues/soul/folk meet at the band crossroads.
This was an album they DIDN'T have to make despite what many have said.
that just proves what we know about critics to begin with
They don't really LISTEN to albums anyway.
The devil is under every layer you hear laughing at the production of pipe organs,accoustic guitars.
The devil is of course Peter Haynes/Robert Turner(aka levon been) voices which on this album have never sounded better.
Even I never thought it would be BRMC who could take you to church everytime you listen to this album.
Those fans I think who didn't get this album keep waiting BRMC to take them back to Hell (like the first album)
"Howl" sums it up in the lyrics
"You try so hard, to be heard"
"You try so hard, not to hurt"
"I give You Nothing to Doubt,and you doubt me"At least for one album they left the darkness and pushed themesleves toward the light
like all great outlaws
Standout
-"Promise" makes you want to learn piano just to prove you have this much soul in you from within
#18 
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah-s/tWe live in a world where hype and potential usually overide the actual work that's being done.
In music this is espically true,since the invention of internet music sites.
Everyone takes a you-heard it here first approach
We discovered so and so and then proceed to rip them apart later.
Blame Broken Social Scene/Arcade Fire for uping the ante on the so called best band you've never heard of
CYHSY are that band for 2005 how do you explain they sold-out every show they played as an opening act this year.
I could care less what ____ says in a review about an unknown band
All that matters to me is are the songs any good
Is the band doing something exciting and different
My first exposure I had to CYHSY was a video promo for
"Over/Over" I liked that song so much I kept replaying what was basically a bad video of an apartment cleaning.
Then we started playing
"Let The Cool Goddess Rust Away" so I was patiently waiting to hear the entire album
So finally I listened to the whole album and hated the opening intro and thought
"oh well here we go"
No it's not the new Talking Heads
Nor will it change the face of music
But it's still a great mix-tape in the vein of
You Forgot It PeopleAfter the intro you are off on a great trip through what constitutes as a band who gets why the phrase "alternative" use to mean so much to those college radio listeners.
I can see why some people would hate the voice,
No it's not even the best debut of the year(that's #3 on my list)
CYSY isn't the best band you've never heard of This year(Their in Rolling Stone for David Byrne's sake,That's #4 on my list)
but for a debut they sure covered a lot of ground and deserved the hype and your attention in 2005
Standout
- "In This Home On Ice" take the best of Dinosaur Jr/Goo era Sonic Youth and you get a new shoegazer anthem you can skateboard to
#17
Beck- GueroBeck is to music what Tom Brady is to the NFL
we don't always appreciate him like we should
we take him and his talent for granted
We know he'll never dissapoint us(I know someone just said what about
Midnite Vultures,not me)
when a new Beck album leaks/drops you'll listen and always say "well it's not as good as insert Odelay/Sea Change"
Guero is the Beck for beginers album it contains all the trends he started
white-boy hipster dance- rap and electronic folk.
he use to be a funky let's see what can happen songwritter.
No that's he's matured he's become a craftsmen at making an old ideal new again and you can tell he still enjoys it
from the opening of
"E-Pro" to the stalker sun-pop of
"Girl"with the Dust Brothers back for the ride this time
He's flauting the fact he maybe the most talented solo artist in music STILL
"Hell Yes" he gets his groove back but don't worry Mutations/Sea Change Beck is here as well on
"Scarecrow"/"Go It Alone"/"Missing"Sure there may not be any new tricks (if you want that get the remix album
Guerolito)
Even though it's a very COMPLETE ALBUM without a single missfire if that's not enough you
You know the next album Beck will be up to something you didn't expect and you'll still enjoy it.
Beck's already got championship's(various awards) and like Brady he's still undefeated in the playoffs
where it counts.
A True Hall of Famer never becomes predictable
Standout
-"Scarecrow" the best of Beck doing the folk hero model to perfection with signiture Dust Brothers throw in for spice
#16
My Morning Jacket- Z"Is This Climbing Up To The Moon?"
"Or Is It Bailing Out Too Soon?"
"I Hope We Didn't Wait Too Long" ("Anytime")Isn't it interesting when a band asks and answers it's self on a album.
And No they didn't wait too long to make the jump from cult-heroes to a full-fledge force in rock music.
Jim James voice will seduce you on Z
Nothing sounds more assured than a new musical direction and MMJ seem comfrotable in their skin as a longtime dynamic live act with becoming a Pink Floyd studio rat everything you knew since
At Dawn has changed in the span of one album
Yes The Neil Young/The Band influence is still there.
but NOW so are The Who/Flaming Lips
The ability to blend all these influences into something that is their own is why
Z is such a triumph.
"Gideon" convinces you that they don't need clashing guitars to give an anthem for their stoner fan-base.
But for those of you who's first listen of MMJ is
Z"Anytime" is exactly what they do better than any other roots-rock band and it's nice bridge to satisfy longtime-fans like myself.
Jim James deserves a lot of credit for keeping the band together when other members left and for producing such a rewarding listen.
Z is a treasure that unlocks itself over time and an album people will and should talk about for a long time
"I Know We Didn't,I Know We Didn't Wait Too Long"
"Cause Anytime's A Good Time To Move On" ("Anytime")Standout
- "Anytime" mainly due to the context of nothing on the album sounds like this and it's a reminder of what past MMJ sounded like and says "WE haven't forgotten our bread-butter.
