The Year in Music 2005

2005 was a year when I didn’t buy (or listen to) an enormous amount of new music. I found myself spending the majority of the first half of the year catching up on some great albums that had been released in the previous few years. It seemed that up until about May, whenever I walked into a record store I’d have three or four things recommended to me and I’d end up going for those rather than browsing the recent releases section. I only really started looking at new stuff in the latter half of the year.

In fact, the three albums I probably played the most in 2005 were AC Newman’s The Slow Wonder, Jose Gonzales’ Veneer and The Lucksmith’s Naturaliste, all of which were released in 2003.

That said though, there was some really great music released this year. When it came to choosing my favourite ten albums I had quite a hard time whittling my list down to the required number. Part of the problem was that there were a lot of albums that I loved tracks from but I didn’t feel made the grade when considered as a whole. Only This Moment and What Else Is There are killer tunes, but the rest of Royksopp’s The Understanding didn’t really make the grade. Likewise Believe and Surface to Air off Push the Button, Just Let Go and We Need a War off Odyssey and At the Bottom Everything from I’m Wide Awake, it’s Morning. All great songs, but certainly not strong enough to carry the album into the ten.

We’ll get to the top tens later, first the random categories:

Biggest overuse of a vocoder. Most disappointing. Worst flashing lights.

Daft Punk – Human After All. An album that has the highest ratio of annoying filler to decent tracks this side of the Billboard top fifty. I think Technologic was the single most annoying song I heard all year and that’s saying something: for two days I was stuck in a hotel that played upbeat cover versions of Christmas carols, all the time. And the video-clip to Human After All. Guys, I know you like your robot helmets and all, but what the fuck?

Best “Oh shit, Britpop is back. Hello.”

Kaiser Chiefs – I Predict a Riot, The Futureheads – Decent Days and Nights, Franz Ferdinand – The Fallen, Bloc Party – Helicopter and Maximo Park – The Coast is Always Changing.

Best experiment that didn’t really work

Bright Eyes – Digital Ash in a Digital Urn. Conor Oberst tries to go Postal Service and does an electronic album with lots of sampled drums and synths complementing his guitar. The problem is, it never quite works. He’s too typecast. His voice, lyrics and delivery are more suited to “I’m going outside to find beauty in rotting flowers” emo-pop than anything upbeat. At times it’s haunting and beautiful but mostly you just end up putting on Wide Awake again.

Best 5 quid I spent on nothing physical

Underworld – Lovely Broken Thing. A five pound digital download from Underworldlive. JAL to Tokyo kicks ass, Lenne Penne just aches to be turned up to eleven, Monkey Wink is the most beautiful five minutes of sampled drums and raindrops you’re ever going to hear and Witness is quite simply poetry.

Best “I’ve listened to this song 400 times. Still haven’t bought the album”

Ladytron – Destroy Everything You Touch. That intro. It kills me. So fucking good.

Best “I can’t believe my dad recommended me an album that I love”

Ry Cooder – Chavez Ravine Ravine a concept album about the residents of 1940’s Chavez Ravine, a Mexican-American community near downtown Los Angeles that was famously bulldozed to make way for Dodger Stadium. Neumu says, “Chávez Ravine works because, ultimately, it isn’t a history lesson or museum piece. It’s the sound of musicians, now on the periphery, playing and singing the music they love.” I tend to agree.

Best “The remixes are better than the album”

The fan-made Flick the Switch rejig of the Chemical Brothers’ Push the Button, freely available online at chemicalbrothersremixed.com has some killer, killer tunes. Believe (Belief, Elektric Cowboy) and Galvanise (cry.on.my.console’s galvatron remix) both need warning labels. Come Inside (FakeID’s Elektrophunk Dub) is better by itself that the entire album you can pick up in stores. Get it. Donate. Turn it up.

Most fun I had making a Mix CD

MC McSleazy and her paranoid supercrew

Best “what the fuck is this?”

Run the Road, a compilation of grime from the UK that puts artists like Dizzee Rascal, The Streets and Kamo side by side. Aidin Vaziri writes, “Not quite hip-hop, not quite techno, and definitely not dancehall, but an aggressive hybrid of all the above, its leading lights get an introduction on this lovingly curated compilation by the folks at Vice.” It’s a hard listen but rewarding once you get your head around it. Apparently there’s a volume two in the works. I’m there.

My 10 Best Albums of 2005:

So, the main event. My 10 favourite discs of ’05:

10. Vitalic – OK Cowboy
9. Boards of Canada – The Campfire Headphase
8. Gorillaz – Demon Days
7. The Boy Least Likely To – The Best Party Ever
6. Iron & Wine (feat. Calexico) – In the Reins
5. Bloc Party – Silent Alarm
4. The New Pornographers – Twin Cinema
3. Franz Ferdinand – You Could Have It So Much Better
2. Death Cab for Cutie – Plans
1. Caribou – The Milk of Human Kindness

A very tame list from me this year. I thought the Caribou album was a real grower and it was one of the few that I found myself putting on over and over again. Completely gutted I missed seeing him play live. The Iron & Wine disc isn’t quite an album, it’s more like a 7 track EP, but it’s so damn good it’s worth hunting down nonetheless. Bloc Party, Death Cab both went off at Summer Sonic and their discs are strong all the way through. I love the direction Albarn is taking the Gorillaz in and putting Ryder on a track (and actually getting him to sing) was hilarious.

My 10 Best Tracks of 2005:

10. The Chemical Brothers- Come Inside (FakeID’s Elektrophunk Dub)
9. Fischerspooner – Just Let Go
8. Franz Ferdinand – You’re the Reason I’m Leaving
7. Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc.
6. Bright Eyes – At the Bottom of Everything
5. Rokysopp – Only This Moment (Alan Braxe and Fred Falke remix)
4. Iron & Wine – Burn That Broken Bed
3. Bloc Party – This Modern Love
2. The Streets – FBYKI (feat. Kano, Donae’o, Lady Sovereign & Tinchy Stryder)
1. Death Cab for Cutie – Soul Meets Body

I think I’m nice, I know I’m nice, cause your eyes looked twice. Up. down. left. right.

Pray tell

I’m interested to hear what tracks/discs/downloads rocked your world this year. Please, throw them in the comments.

Posted in Flatbeat on Tuesday December 27, 2005.