The David Thomas Broughton album is interesting and good, but it's also a bit creepy. The iTunes snippet of the song "Execution" features Broughton singing "I would never take you to the execution/I would never take you to the live sex show/I would never s--t or p--s on you/Cause I love you so."

If that's just Broughton playing a character or verbalizing a fantasy, so be it. But taken as a more literal reflection of his personality, it's disturbing (albeit artistic, I suppose).

Well, I guess I'm fortified enough to admit that until Brother hal (from these forums) had sent me a CARE package last week, that I hadn't listened to any of these albums in their entirety before I posted my Top 20 at the Official Best of 2005 Thread:

Antony and the Johnsons I am a Bird Now
Magnapop Mouthfeel
M.I.A. Arular
Bloc Party Silent Alarm
Mountain Goats The Sunset Tree
Posies Every Kind of Light
Buck 65 This Right Here Is (compilation)
Deerhoof The Runners Four
Kanye West Late Registration

I also got the new Strokes.

If/when I update my 2005 list, I'll post it at the other Best of 2005 thread. I know you guys are all waitin' with baited breath!

quote:

Originally posted by mark f:
Well, I guess I'm fortified enough to admit that until Brother hal (from these forums) had sent me a CARE package last week, that I hadn't listened to any of these albums in their entirety before I posted my Top 20 at the Official Best of 2005 Thread:

Antony and the Johnsons I am a Bird Now
Magnapop Mouthfeel
M.I.A. Arular
Bloc Party Silent Alarm
Mountain Goats The Sunset Tree
Posies Every Kind of Light
Buck 65 This Right Here Is (compilation)
Deerhoof The Runners Four
Kanye West Late Registration

I also got the new Strokes.

If/when I update my 2005 list, I'll post it at the other Best of 2005 thread. I know you guys are all waitin' with baited breath!

I predict that The Sunset Tree will make your list

My initial thoughts are that they're ALL pretty good, even Arular, which seems by far the weakest. I will say, not in my defense, but for M.I.A., like you really care , that the last two "songs" on "Arular" seem the best. I'm talkin' about the one which samples "Sanford and Son"'s theme and the last "one" (which is really two, counting the hidden track), which are both more "electronic" than rap/hip-hop. Her voice is much clearer and better to my grown-up-in-Compton ears on those "three" songs. Any thoughts on this old fart's opinions about Arular in the cold light of day (if that dramatic BS means anything to y'all?)

I just bought Brazilian Girls and that would have definitely made my top 20.... possibly even top 10.

I'll reiterate from my earlier post how much I enjoy Harvey Danger's Little By Little.... It certainly isn't breaking new ground, but the tuneful piano-based power pop soothes my soul.

A few others from 2005 are making my 2006 better:

Jose Gonzalez: Veneer
The Rakes: Capture/Release

and, particularly, the self-titled record by Valley Lodge which is filling my head with chunky guitar-based power pop all day and all night.

quote:

Originally posted by mark f:
My initial thoughts are that they're ALL pretty good, even Arular, which seems by far the weakest. I will say, not in my defense, but for M.I.A., like you really care , that the last two "songs" on "Arular" seem the best. I'm talkin' about the one which samples "Sanford and Son"'s theme and the last "one" (which is really two, counting the hidden track), which are both more "electronic" than rap/hip-hop. Her voice is much clearer and better to my grown-up-in-Compton ears on those "three" songs. Any thoughts on this old fart's opinions about Arular in the cold light of day (if that dramatic BS means anything to y'all?)

Yeah: overrated. Good for a couple summer dance songs, but annoying and at times grating beyond that.

quote:

Originally posted by joji:

I predict that The Sunset Tree will make your list

Every time I listen to this I'm surprised at how little buzz it really caused. It did well with critics (82, with Pitchfork being the only relevant source that rated it relatively poorly) but only appeared on two critics' final lists. It's really good.

The weird thing was that Pitchfork gave The Sunset Tree that relatively bad review but then it made their top 25 on their year-end list.

For the past few years, they've been anti-Mountain Goats, but, by the end of the year, no one could deny the power of the TREE.

Also, Cole's Corner is a new discovery for me...as are Jens Lekman's 2004 & 2005 disks.

All of zees deesks are beautiful.

Has anyone heard the Tenement Halls album? They are the new band from the rock*a*teens lead singer/songwriter. I always thought the rock*a*teens were a really great band, and the tracks I've heard from the Tenement Halls sound pretty good.

I kind of wrote off Franz Ferdinand's You Could Have It So Much Better when I first heard it, but I have to admit it's really crept up on me lately. It's much more diverse than their first album and the songwriting is way better. If I had to do my end-of year list over, this would definitely make the cut.

Few albums I picked up in late 05, as opposed to offical release dates, that I really enjoy now are...

1. Akron Family/Angels of Light: s/t
2. The Clientele: Strange Geometry
3. The Stars: Set Yourself on Fire (although I think it was released late 04, not sure)
4. Fiona Apple: Extraordinary Machine

Today I've been listening to the self-titled album by Winterpills, and I like it. Sometimes it gives of a kind of alt-country vibe, but more often it sounds kind of like Azure Ray with male vocals and some folk elements thrown in. A pleasant discovery.

I see that last post is 27 Jan but myself I continue to discover 2005 stuff that could be in my 2005 top.
* Akron/Family - s/t (hurt me to think that I could not have discover this one, could easily be in my top 5).
* Radikal Satan - Viento Del Este, Agua Como Peste (Quite original, the more I listen it the more it catch me)
* Khanate - Capture and Release (yes it's Khanate the group name, not sure it will end in my top but a highly interesting album, perhaps I prefer Sun O))) one)
* Gang Gang Dance - God's Money (Surprising how original it is, sometimes I feel it has some fillers but sometimes not, quite fascinating anyway)
* Shining - In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will Be a Monster (in fact I discovered the album only in 2006 just because I couldn't put a hand on it, a bad joke. Ha well worth the patience even if it's a difficult one, some links with King Crimson before 1976 but not a pale copy at all)

And there's still some album in my list "to listen" that are from 2005 and has strong chance to be a favorite, like the Lightning bolt, Asva, Oneida, The Hospitals, Mahavatar or Made In Mexico.

Jack Rose - Kensington Blues is a lot better than I gave it credit for when I first heard it last year. It's all 12-string guitar instrumentals, a couple of which are rags, which I'm not a huge fan of. There are several longer, darker-sounding songs that are really good, however, especially "Cross the North Fork."

Devin Davis - Lonely People of the World Unite!. Another record I severely underrated from last year. I must've been in a bad mood when I first listened to it, because this album rules. Nary a weak song in the bunch, and a few killers (particularly opener "Iron Woman").

I'm not usually of fan of records on Tooth and Nail, but I'm really digging the 2005 release by Waking Ashland called Compusure. It's religious (which normally turns me away from a record) and I can't tell if it's preachy (I'm trying to avoid analyzing the lyrics) but it's a really, really nice pop-punk/power pop/piano mixture. It echoes Ben Folds and Something Corporate (and the Fray and Jack's Mannequin) in all the right ways. If any of those artists floats your boat, you might like this record.

quote:

Originally posted by philosopherEric:
I'm not usually of fan of records on Tooth and Nail, but I'm really digging the 2005 release by Waking Ashland called Compusure. It's religious (which normally turns me away from a record) and I can't tell if it's preachy (I'm trying to avoid analyzing the lyrics) but it's a really, really nice pop-punk/power pop/piano mixture. It echoes Ben Folds and Something Corporate (and the Fray and Jack's Mannequin) in all the right ways. If any of those artists floats your boat, you might like this record.

I really like Something Corporate and Ben Folds (though I never bothered with Folds's latest album after listening to several of the songs on store heaphones and seeing the mediocre reviews). I'll have to check these guys out.

Jack's Mannequin is the solo project of the lead Something Corporate singer, right? I've never heard any of that stuff. How does it compare to Something Corporate? And what's the Fray?

Ask him in the friggin' chatroom. You're both on now. "I'm so lonesome I could cry..."

quote:

Originally posted by RavingLunatic:

quote:

Originally posted by philosopherEric:
I'm not usually of fan of records on Tooth and Nail, but I'm really digging the 2005 release by Waking Ashland called Compusure. It's religious (which normally turns me away from a record) and I can't tell if it's preachy (I'm trying to avoid analyzing the lyrics) but it's a really, really nice pop-punk/power pop/piano mixture. It echoes Ben Folds and Something Corporate (and the Fray and Jack's Mannequin) in all the right ways. If any of those artists floats your boat, you might like this record.

I really like Something Corporate and Ben Folds (though I never bothered with Folds's latest album after listening to several of the songs on store heaphones and seeing the mediocre reviews). I'll have to check these guys out.

Jack's Mannequin is the solo project of the lead Something Corporate singer, right? I've never heard any of that stuff. How does it compare to Something Corporate? And what's the Fray?

Yeah, Jack's Mannequin is Andrew's (singer for Something Corporate) solo project. It's really good stuff, much in the vein of his regular project, but the album is a story/concept record.

The Fray is a new band out of Colorado that is a piano-based alternative band. They're currently pretty popular because of the heavy airplay of the single "Over My Head (Cablecar)" and the use of the track "How To Save A Life" on several TV shows. They're OK, but not nearly as good as the others mentioned.

As for the last Ben Folds, try it. I think it's a more solid record, on the whole, than Rockin' the Suburbs.