5. M83-Before the Dawn Heals Us
Along with the rest of the indie crown, I adored Dead Cities... However, unlike the rest of the indie crowd, I love this album even more. Everyone should know by now my shoegaze-leanings. However, whereas the new Sigur Ros album pays homage to the subgenre of the early nineties, this M83 album suggests that there are new ways for the genre to evolve and remain contemporary. Kyle and I have discussed how this could be considered a concept album about "the cinematic;" this is what the pitchfork people who thought "Car Chase Terror" was awful don't understand. I've gone through many favorite songs on the album throughout this year; I'm beginning to suspect my likings have something to do with the seasons. Actually it's amazing that this album goes with every kind of weather; it isn't stuck to any season, and fits perfectly in a car whenever. Driving around Bloomington this summer with Geoff, I was convinced that this should be a summer album; on the way back from a Roots concert in February, I thought that winter was the way to go. I also had one of the more surreal experiences of my life going to see M83 in April; he was playing at what amounted to be the after-showing of some movie on electronic music at OSU, and Dan, Kyle, Geoff and I drove the 4 hours to see him in a room BEHIND a theater stage full of awkward CS majors who had never been to a rock show. After the show, we went up and talked to him, and he awkwardly but genuinely thanked us for coming to see him; then we drove back in the dreary almost-storm weather. I think that drive may have unlocked a portal to some weird post-modern universe that I live in now. On the way back home from Depauw tomorrow, I plan to rock out to "Don't Save Us From the flames" and hum along to "Teen Angst." This was the first great release of the year, which is often a killer come list-making time; the fact that I love it even more is very telling of the staying power of this album in my heart.
4. Okkervil River-Black Sheep Boy
There is some music god that sends me a present of never-before-heard music once a year, and it comes in the form of the Magnet magazine. Seriously, I don't have a subscription, but for the past two years I have mysteriously recieved one issue a year, and each issue contains some gem of music that I am always grateful for. In December 2004 I got my first issue, complete with a full album of The Legends. Wow! That album made my Christmas Break. Then, this spring, I got another, and It came with a Black Sheep Boy poster and sampler. Why do I get these? I don't know; I must be blessed. Black Sheep Boy is the saddest album I have heard since Sea Change; it is also, I feel, the tightest album-as-a-whole of the year. The lyrics loop back on themselves and make the title-track cover mean something completely different and sadder by the end of the album. The last verse of "a stone" makes me want to cry all the time. And, amazingly, Okkervil River accomplish all these things without sounding melodramatic. I can't stop listening to this album, even though it's probably not good for me, especially at the end of a night of drinking. This is the kind of album that is so much better to listen to than describe; it's complex enough that it defies my attempts to analyze it, so I'll just end with that.
3. Broken Social Scene-Broken Social Scene
For me, Broken Social Scene is exactly where I want contemporary rock to be. They are beyond ambitious, they are political in all the right, subtle ways, they are collaborative (who is in the band? it depends on the album), they sound GREAT. You Forgot it in People has been a landmark album of the past few years, taking me to places I had never been before. This self-titled abum is at least as ambitious as that, but the aesthetic goals have changed; instead of making a beautiful mess within each wonderfully-crafted song, BSS expand their scope to the entire album. All of the songs play off each other beautifully, making a full, wonderful sound that takes an hour or so of intense listening to fully appreciate. Actually, multiple repeat listens, best taken consecutively. Not that I want to characterize this album as intentionally difficult and not-fun (ahem, Black Dice); so many singles work amazingly on their own as well. The first time I heard the leaked 7/4 I knew I wouldn't be disappointed. I went to Intonation Festival to see these guys (well, and DFA79), and I wasn't disappointed; their songs affected me the way that I would imagine a Cream show would in 1970. This album, along with my next two picks, has surpassed the rest of these albums in number of listens, which is amazing since it was released in October, and I got it in late Spetember. It was that good, and remains one of the most important albums to me of the year, mentally, emotionally, and musically.
1. (tie) Architecture in Helsinki-In Case we Die
Yes, I know, I put a tie for 1st place. It's a cop out, but to compensate I didn't give a second place. Anyway, on to Architecture:
I got into AiH a little late; I didn't hear Fingers Crossed until December of 2004 (it came out in June, I think). Anyway, from then until I first heard In Case We Die in March or April, well, it was the perfect amount of time to get excited about a new release. The debut had quickly become one of my favorite albums of 2004, and I couldn't wait to see what they would do next. Not knowing when they would release another album, and looking for tour dates, I went to the band website in February, and heard the song "Do the Whirlwind." I lost it. It remains tied for my favorite single of the year (I'll do a list next week of those). That song kept me satisfied until I got the album; once I did, I listened to it nonstop for a number of weeks. This is the reason I didn't immediately get into the Spoon album. It took a Beck release to wake me from the trance of this album. Or maybe I never did wake up. Someone (pitchfork?) compared this album to Blueberry Boat. The comparison can be helpful, but it needs the qualifier: whereas the Furnaces make epic, 10 minute songs with multiple parts, AiH condense that type of complexity into 3-4 minute pop gems that Paul McCartney would love. I'm not going to get into the specific beneficial qualities of all the tracks; you've all heard it. I saw AiH in Cinnci this summer in a little bar; the band was amazing, changing instruments after every song, sometimes in the middle. They had a heap of little toys and things to make all of the crazy sounds on the album. After the show, I went up to the band in the already-empty bar to thank them, and they were some of the nicest people I've met. They offered to get my friends and myself drinks, and we sat around for maybe half an hour, talking about the history of the band, they members' parents, which members were dating each other, and what I was up to. They offered to meet us in Cleveland the next day; they were going to a Malkmus show. I wish I would have gone; what better experience than seeing one of the most important musicians of the last decade with who may be some of those from this one?
1. (tie) Junior Senior-Hey Hey My My Yo Yo
Holy shit. I had to debate whether this should count as this year, since it only has a Denmark release or something, but then again, I've been listenign to it for months. A week or so before Kyle downloaded this album (thank god he got it then; it's still kind of hard to find), I wondered aloud in the duplex: "I wonder what Junior Senior will do next. I liked the debut, but I wonder if they're a one-album band?" I had no idea. This album is beyond description, but I'll try; each track is equal parts Beach Boys, Jackson 5, and gay disco music. I can't get over it. It's maybe the happiest album I can remember. Every track is a potential favorite track; even the intro makes me smile. It's also one of the danciest albums I've heard in a long, long time; at our dance part SCHOLARTRON, "can i get get get" drove everyone nuts. I listened to this album twice a day for at least a month, and that's just me; throughout the duplex at any given moment you could hear the sounds of Junior Senior in 2-3 people's rooms. I'll stop gushing about it; if you haven't heard it, GET IT; it will change your mood for the coming weeks. Whenever I'm feeling down (maybe after listening to Okkervil River) i know that Junior Senior can make me smile. I haven't heard such pure pop bliss in my generation. I mean that.
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