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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | "Stewart Mason" <craigtorso@verizon.net> |
| Subject | Top 20, etc. |
| Date | Fri, 7 Jan 2005 02:56:32 -0500 |
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As always, the one song that I would put on my iPod if I could only
choose one is in parentheses afterwards.
I apologize in advance for having a list so thoroughly sodden with
over-hyped mainstream stars like the band from Denver that mixes
Eastern European folk music in with their indie rock (god, *another*
one?), the girl-with-a-four-track who's so much more famous than
Madonna and Cher that she goes by a single initial, the one-man-band
who sings freeform psychedelic rock in Swedish and that overexposed
gossip column staple R. Stevie Moore. Yes, I know that if we hear
their songs on the radio one more time we're gonna firebomb Clear
Channel's corporate offices for foisting them upon us, but please
permit me to join in the mindless, sheep-like praising of their
mediocre offerings.
TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 2004:
1. Nellie McKay -- Get Away From Me (Columbia) ("Ding Dong")
2. Dresden Dolls -- Dresden Dolls (Roadrunner) ("Coin Operated Boy")
3. Dungen -- Ta Det Lungt (Subliminal Sounds) ("Panda")
4. Mission of Burma -- ONoffON (Matador) ("The Setup")
5. Dogs Die In Hot Cars -- Please Describe Yourself (V2) ("Apples and
Oranges")
6. Devotchka -- How It Ends (Cicero) ("We're Leaving")
7. Green Day -- American Idiot (Reprise) ("American Idiot")
8. Blonde Redhead -- Misery Is A Butterfly (4AD) ("Elephant Woman")
9. Chris Stamey -- Travels in the South (Yep Roc) ("14 Shades of
Green")
10. Ulysses -- .010 (Eenie Meenie) ("Push You Away")
11. Franz Ferdinand -- Franz Ferdinand (Domino) ("Take Me Out")
12. R. Stevie Moore -- Far Out (RSMCC) ("What Do I Do With The Rest of
My Life?/Don't Bore Us, Get To The Chorus")
13. John Southworth -- Yosemite (Someday I'll Be A Train)
("Applecart")
14. The Mountain Goats -- We Shall All Be Healed (4AD) ("Linda Blair
Was Born Innocent")
15. Architecture In Helsinki -- Fingers Crossed (Bar/None) ("Scissor
Paper Rock")
16. A.C. Newman -- The Slow Wonder (Matador) ("Drink To Me, Babe,
Then")
17. Antietam -- Victory Park (Carrot Top) ("Ricochet")
18. The Polyphonic Spree -- Together We're Heavy (Hollywood) ("2000
Places At Once")
19. S -- Puking and Crying (Suicide Squeeze) ("I'm Fine…Bye Bye")
20. Camera Obscura -- Underachievers Please Try Harder (Merge)
("Teenager")
ANY OF THESE COULD BE #21 (listed alphabetically):
The Arcade Fire -- Funeral (Merge) ("Wake Up")
Broken Social Scene -- You Forgot It In People (Arts and Crafts)
("Anthems for a 17-Year-Old Girl")
Califone -- Heron King Blues (Thrill Jockey) ("2 Sisters Drunk On Each
Other")
Calliope -- Sounds Like Circles Feel (Thick) ("It's Later Than I
Thought")
The Dutch Elms -- Music For Happiness (Jigsaw) ("Knickers In A Twist")
Fan Modine -- Homeland (Grimsey) ("Gulls By The Sea")
The Freak Accident -- The Freak Accident (Alternative Tentacles)
("Chinese Phrasebook")
The French Kicks -- The Trial of the Century (Star Time) ("One More
Time")
The Futureheads -- The Futureheads (Sire) ("Decent Days and Nights")
N. Lannon -- Chemical Friends (Badman) ("Fortune Cookie")
Joanna Newsom -- The Milk-Eyed Mender (Drag City) ("Peach Plum Pear")
Say Hi To Your Mom -- Discosadness (Euphobia) ("Unless the Laker Game
Was On")
Snow Patrol -- Final Straw (A&M) ("Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking")
The Society of Rockets -- Sunset Homes (Underpop) ("O, Sing
Transformer")
The Soviettes -- LP II (Adeline) ("There's A Banana In My Ear")
WELCOME COMEBACKS (listed alphabetically):
Camper Van Beethoven -- New Roman Times (Vanguard) ("That Gum You Like
Is Back In Style")
Tanya Donelly -- Whiskey Tango Ghosts (4AD) ("Dona Nobis Pacem")
Loretta Lynn -- Van Lear Rose (Interscope) ("Family Tree")
Brian Wilson -- Smile (Nonesuch) ("Surf's Up")
PLEASANT SURPRISES BY ARTISTS I'D EITHER NEVER RATED PARTICULARLY
HIGHLY OR HAD GIVEN UP ON (listed alphabetically):
Bjork -- Medulla (Elektra) ("Pleasure Is All Mine")
Elf Power -- Walking With The Beggar Boys (Kindercore) ("Walking With
the Beggar Boys")
The Like Young -- So Serious (Parasol) ("Out To Get Me")
Mosquitos -- Sunshine Barato (Bar/None) ("Domesticada")
David Thomas and Two Pale Boys -- 18 Monkeys On A Dead Man's Chest
(Smog Veil) ("Brunswick Parking Lot")
ANOTHER FINE ALBUM BY ARTISTS I ALWAYS TEND TO LIKE (listed
alphabetically):
Acid House Kings -- Advantage Acid House Kings (Labrador) ("From the
Notes That I've Made So Far")
Air -- Talkie Walkie (Astralwerks) ("Surfin' On A Rocket")
The Bevis Frond -- Hit Squad (Rubric) ("Through the Hedge")
Elvis Costello -- The Delivery Man (Lost Highway) ("Heart-Shaped
Bruise")
The Green Pajamas -- Ten White Stones (Hidden Agenda) ("Blue Eyes To
Haunt Me")
The Hives -- Tyrannosaurus Hives (Interscope) ("Dead Quote Olympics")
Magnetic Fields -- I (Nonesuch) ("I Thought You Were My Boyfriend")
Sloan -- Action Pact (Murder) ("Rest of My Life")
Sonic Youth --Sonic Nurse (DGC) ("Pattern Recognition")
Stereolab -- Margerine Eclipse (Elektra) ("Cosmic Country Noir")
Thirdimension -- Permanent Holiday (Hidden Agenda) ("Sore Lips")
Tom Waits -- Real Gone (Anti) ("Hoist That Rag")
FAVORITE EPs:
1. The Minus Five -- At the Organ (Yep Roc) ("The Film of the Movie")
2. Chris Stamey and Yo La Tengo -- V.O.T.E. (Yep Roc) ("McCauley
Street")
3. Minus the Bear -- They Make Beer Commercials Like This (Arena Rock)
("I'm Totally Not Down With Rob's Alien")
4. The Leslies -- Dear Friend (Labrador) ("The Girl At Collins
Avenue")
5. The Charms -- So Pretty (Primary Voltage) ("So Pretty")
FAVORITE SINGLES NOT ON ANY OF THE ABOVE:
1. "Me and Giuliani Down By the Schoolyard (A True Story)" -- !!!
2. "Yeah!" -- Usher with Ludacris and Lil Jon
3. "Moonshot Manny (Pega Luna Manny)" -- Joe Pernice
4. "Black Jack Davey" -- The White Stripes
5. "I Wonder Why the Wonderfalls" -- Andy Partridge
6. "Leaving New York" -- R.E.M.
7. "Talkin' Wall of Voodoo Blues Part 1" -- Stan Ridgway
8. "Why Don't We Talk About Something Else?" -- Outrageous Cherry
9. "Knew It All Along" -- The Lincoln Conspiracy
10. "All At Sea" -- Jamie Cullum
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