Music 2004
2004-12-30 - 1:29 a.m.

Now, without further ado, my year end musical retrospective. Except for the albums of the year, these aren't necessarily in order, but the numbers will help guide the eye. :)

Top 5 Albums

1. M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas, and Lost Ghosts
I could describe M83 in any number of ways. My Bloody Valentine, only not nearly as revered or as underwhelming. Mogwai, with synthesizers. Britney Spears, if she didn't sing, and changed every aspect of her musical style. For me, mind-blowing is the only phrase to do this album justice. Actually released in 2003, this French duo's album was released stateside this year, and it's my pick for album of the year. Guitars that bite and sooth, layers and layers of vocals samples, live drums, drum machines, vocal samples, and everything else come together to form the soundtrack for my dreams, and a lot of lonely nights. Words can't do this album justice. If you see it, pick it up.

2. Kid Dakota - The West Is the Future
The biggest surprise of the year, I got this album through a coworker who runs firesideometer. This album was sent to him by a label, and far from being the crap he normally receives, it's a miniature masterpiece.

Sprawling soundscapes designed for headphones and incisive lyrics using the settling of the West as a metaphor for life make this album an Ok Computer for the South Dakota set.

3. What Made Milwaukee Famous - Trying to Never Catch Up
Another Firesideometer album which turned out to be excellent. Just a great album full of inventive rock songs. It's great fun, and has some of the best music and melodies of the year. Track two, Curtains!, is as perfect a song as you could ever want to hear, and "Chalita" (I don't know the real title) should be owning the airwaves.

4. The Paper Chase - God Bless Ur Black Heart
In contrast to #4, this album isn't really fun at all. It's a harrowing experience, from the eerie vocals of frontman John Cogleton to the tinkling piano, minor key melodies, and crashing guitars. "Said the Spider to the Fly" opens as a whisper then explodes into a surprisingly catchy chorus before melting back down into crashing atonal piano chords for one of the creepiest moments I've ever heard committed to tape. I can't explain this album, but you should definitely listen before picking it up. It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea.

5. Snow Patrol - Final Straw
If you like Coldplay, Bends-era Radiohead, Oasis, or Brit rock in general, you'll probably enjoy this album. It's basically a straightforward rock album, but the songwriting really shines. Subtle hooks that will gradually worm their way into your head and stay there for days, nice vocals, and the best anthem of the year, Run, make this a must. Plus, it's only $10 at Best Buy, so check it out, cheapskate.

Top 5 Singles

1. Evanescence - My Immortal
I don't really like Evanescence, but this song is great. Amy Lee can sing, and the sparse piano backing really brings it out. I actually prefer the version without the rocking out ending, but really, you can't go wrong with either version.

2. Run - Snow Patrol
The anthem of the year for me.

3. Sarah McLachlen - Fallen
Sarah McLachlen is another artist who I'm sort of impartial to, but she's released some great singles over the course of her career. If you've heard her, you probably have a pretty good idea of what you're in for, but this is a great song.

4. U2 - Vertigo
The most overplayed single of the year (Thanks, iPod) is also one of the most energetic and catchy, and I couldn't resist giving it just a touch more exposure.

5. Saliva - Rest In Pieces
Except for U2, all my singles have been good songs by crappy bands, but I just couldn't leave this one off. I absolutely loathed Saliva's singles off of their first album (Click, Click, Boom, My Disease), but Always, the first single off of their follow up, hinted at a new direction. I only heard Rest in Pieces a couple times on the radio, so I assume it flopped. That's really too bad, seeing as it stands head and shoulders above the band's other work.

Top 5 Albums I just got this year

1. The Beatles - Revolver
As with the Police, every Beatles album I own was bought this year. I chose to limit myself to one album per artist on this list, so that's why Revolver is on here. Critics will praise Sgt. Peppers, indie kids will point to the White Album, and at least one of my friends will choose Abbey Road. To me, Revolver is the seminal Beatles album. There's not a track on this album I don't like (although if they'd replaced Yellow Submarine with Rain off of Past Masters 2, I wouldn't've complained), and I can listen to it anytime. From the satirical rocker Taxman all the way through some of the Beatles most beautiful music (Here, There, and Everywhere, I'm Only Sleeping, For No One) to the trippy, experimental Tomorrow Never Knows, this album is a masterpiece.

2. Modest Mouse - The Moon and Antarctica
I never liked Modest Mouse. Isaac Brock's voice just didn't do it for me, but Pitchforkmedia.com (notoriously unreliable) gave this album a 10, and I thought it was something I should check out when I found it for $10. When I first put it on, I was nonplussed, but the more I played it, the more I loved it. Now, I think it's great. Space-rock, noise, semi-ambient, these guys do it all, and it's amazingly coherent. Not for everyone, but I recommend giving it a shot.

3. The Police - Ghost in the Machine
I bought most of the Police's discography this year, and, honestly, any one of them could have gone on this list. However, I found myself listening to Ghost in the Machine more than any of the others. It contains their second biggest hit, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, and it's the only really bright spot on this dark album. It's a product of the 80s, so if you don't like synths or weird guitar effects, stay far away. If you like dark, incisive songwriting, great vocals, and slamming production, check it out.

4. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Yr. Tiny Fists Like Antennaes to Heaven
5. Mogwai - Rock Action
This was the year I discovered post-rock, and the only reason neither of these bands made it into my top 5 for the year is because neither of them released an album this year. I've combined their descriptions because, frankly, I'm not knowledgeable enough about post-rock to write long missives on both. Both are primarily instrumental, although Rock Action has a few vocals and Tiny Fists has some vocal samples. Despite this, they're among the most emotional and affecting recordings I own. They go from calm to raging in a heartbeat, from beautiful melodies to bursts of noise, and it never seems forced or incongruous. If M83 is the music of dreams, this is the music of life, undulating, unpredictable, and capable of great beauty and total chaos.

Now, if anyone has made it down this far, you may have noticed one glaring omission from any of my lists. If not, it's only because you weren’t around September 28, 2004, when Brian Wilson's long-awaited Smile was released. For those unfamiliar with Brian Wilson, he was a founding member of the Beach Boys, and a musical genius. He was essentially the brain behind the Beach Boys, and along with the Beatles, he pushed pop songwriting to previously unheard of heights. With the release of Pet Sounds, the Beach Boy's most critically-acclaimed release, Wilson began work on Smile, the project that was to redefine the boundaries of pop music.

Sadly, it was not to be. Wilson struggled to realize his masterpiece, but all the drugs he was on combined with some sever mental problems caused him to have a total nervous breakdown and to abandon work on Smile. In 2004, Wilson announced that he was going back into the studio to rerecord his should've been masterpiece. I was among the incredulous fans who wondered if it was possible, and it was. Smile is, without a doubt, the best album of the year. It is at turns touching, funny, gut wrenchingly sad, and dimple-burstingly happy. Wilson's voice isn't what it used to be, but it's in its best shape in years, and it's buoyed by some of the most imaginative arrangements I've heard. So 30 years late, Brian Wilson produces an album that's still ahead of the curve.

So why isn't it on my lists? Simple. For me, Smile was created back in 1967. 38 years later, it still blows my mind. Good Vibrations indeed.

There were so many other deserving albums that I heard this year and loved. Air, Death Cab for Cutie, Fine China, Starflyer 59, Caedmon's Call, Modest Mouse, and many, many others were amazing, and could stand with almost anything on this list, but there's just not room for everything.

So, if anyone made it all the way down here, congratulations, you have more stamina than I would've. I hope you all have a happy new year, and I hope it's even better than this one.

Until next year,
Brent