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| From | "Holmes Online" <bholmes_fm@msn.com> |
| Subject | Belated top 25 |
| Date | Mon, 6 Feb 2006 18:55:37 -0500 |
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Sent ten in for the Auditeers poll but my cutoff is always Super Bowl
Sunday. A group of friends and I have gotten together for 20+ years and
always swap lists and mix tapes/cds. One makes a comedy clip mix that is
about two hours long (pre game); and last night we capped off the postgame
with The Aristocrats. Hope many of you have similar gatherings on occasion.
Anyway, here's the 25...as always the lower rungs could change in short
time, and i'm sure a year from now something in my top ten will wear very
thin while something I haven't even heard yet will be a glaring omission. If
you want any more info or the list of "almosts" (Blue Van, Nic Armstrong,
etc.) drop a note.
Jason, the cd is finally done so your copy is on its way.
cheers
b
01 Marah If You Didn't Laugh, You'd Cry
The no-brainer #1 record of the year. Marah finally captures some of the
onstage magic that makes them the best rock and roll band on the planet on
most nights. Screw the preparation, plug in, ciggies in the tuning pegs and
let's rock and roll, dammit!
02 Nada Surf The Weight is a Gift
There can't still be people not listening them because of the first album,
are there? Their debut is like child scribbles compared to the majestic
artwork over their last three albums.
03 Graham Parker Songs Of No Consequence
Of course, Captain Irony is wrong - Geep always writes about matters of
consequence. I'd hate to see The Figgs give up their career, but they fit
Parker as good or better than the Rumour. He's having fun!
04 88 Over And Over
Criminally unknown band - well, okay, they could have picked a better name.
But they've taken all those Jellyfish, Kinks, T rex and XTC references and
put them to good use. Two albums so far, both great.
05 Redwalls De Nova
Chicago pop band makes good. Maybe a little Beatle-heavy at times, but hey,
if you're going to emulate someone, why not? You've probably heard their
tracks on the WB, and.oh.right.wrong crowd.
06 Rolling Stones A Bigger Bang
Really - who would have expected this! Easily their best record in twenty
years, although that's a backhanded compliment. Lively, rocking and
credible.if there's a perfect time to quit, it's now.
07 Terry Anderson Olympic Ass Kicking Team
Why the White Chuck Berry has to toil in semi-obscurity is beyond me, but
since he has no problem calling up Roscoe, Dan Baird and fellow rockers and
cranks these puppies out, I'll keep touting him.
08 Stereophonics Sex Violence Other
Oasis without the fistfights and the Beatles fixation. No, there's still
something left. Good inventive Britpop with enough snarl, sass and sonics to
keep me interested album after album.
09 22-20s The 22-20s
Another band that picked a bad name for success (see #4 above), these guys
mix early Stones and Small Faces to alternately rock and groove. Great
vocals and energy - keep an eye on them.
10 Foxymorons Hesitation Eyes
Knocked my socks off. Two writers mailing song fragments back and forth and
completing each other's thoughts. Only a couple of tracks didn't make the
record, so the success ratio was impressive.
11 Eels Blinking Lights and Other Revelations
Okay, it's really back to "E", and actually that's a good thing. He's not
afraid to bleed all over the page, and this 33 song cycle is astonishing,
albeit instrumentally sparse. Listen on a road trip or a dark night.
12 Muggs The Muggs
Rock find of the year - it's like Cactus reunited (which they will in 2006,
but I digress). Detroit rawk and roll power trio featuring the guitarist
from The Paybacks cutting loose. Inspirational history, too.
13 Louis XIV The Best Little Secrets Are Kept
The band that used to be Convoy - great stuff there too - comes out with an
irreverent new twist on rock and roll. Great fun, great hooks and more than
a nod to some classic bands.
14 Hold Steady Separation Sunday
I usually don't like talkers in place of singers but this is captivating
stuff, much more consistent that Art Brut (no slouch, by the way) and the
band really rocks!
15 Peppers Ghost Shake The Hand That Shook The World
Someone help me - is this a real band, a boy band, studio rats, what? Found
this on an Amazon "sounds like" troll and there are absolute killer songs
here. Great vocals including one that will fool Lennon fans
16 Deathray Davies The Kick And The Snare
Another underrated pop band that always seems to get it right. I probably
couldn't rattle five song titles off the top of my head, but there are gems
on every record.
17 Darkness One Way Ticket To Hell
Sophomore slump be damned. Who would have thought they'd release a better
Queen album than Queen did in 2005? Flat out hilarious at times but if they're
fooling us they're doing it with chops.
18 Gentlemen Brass City Band
Finally pulled it all together and got the production to match. No flash, no
tricks, no tabloids, just good old barroom rock and roll.
19 Sights The Sights
Like the Stones and the Small Faces had a baby with the necessary bipolar
disease. Yeah, that's why they pay me to write. Great sense of 60s musical
essence without pandering, great vocals too.
20 Plain White Ts All That We Needed
There's a million Blink 182 bands, lots of energy, too many tattoos and
one-named bass players and stupid haircuts all trying to cover up for the
lack of hooks. These guys, as the name implies, bring it.
21 Supergroupies Supergroupies
Best glam record in god knows how long; only wonder is if they'll ever get
good enough distribution to make an impact. Melodic and poppy like Sweet, T
Rex and a dozen others with a lot of energy.
22 Aimee Mann The Forgotten Arm
I'd marry her but I'm afraid she'd kill me in my sleep and write a song
cycle about it. Like this one. Consistently great to the point of being
taken for granted.but come on, Aimee.smile, ok?
23 Rudds Get The Femuline Hang On
A mix-master blender of everything from Donnie Iris to Steely Dan, and I
know that doesn't help. OK, how about this; the band rocks, isn't afraid to
mix up the chords and the singer has a high voice?
24 Loudon Wainwright Here Come The Choppers
Brilliant and funny and poignant and topical as always, still more than
Rufus and Martha rolled up together. Hey, there's a family issue he hasn't
covered.
25 American Minor American Minor
Another WTF find, just good songwriting, passionate playing and enough hooks
to bear repeating.
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