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[Error Macro]

Hmm, this is going to be hard to do.

In no particular order:

Bloc Party - Slient Alarm
favorites: "Helicopter", "Banquet"

Ash - Meltdown
favorites: "Evil Eye", "Orpheus"

Doves - Some Cities
favorites: "Almost Forgot Myself", "Some Cities"

Garbage - Bleed Like Me
favorites: "Right Between The Eyes", "Boys Wanna Fight"

Alkaline Trio - Crimson
favorites: "Mercy Me", "Your Neck", "Sadie"

Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Pt. III
favorites: "The King For 1,000 Years", "The Invisible Man"

Coldplay - X&Y
favorites: "White Shadows", "A Message"

Judas Priest - Angel Of Retribution
favorites: "Hellrider", "Judas Rising", "Deal With The Devil"

Arthur Rubenstein - Chopin: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 RCA Living Stereo SACD
favorite: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11, second movement; "Romance Larghetto"

Avenged Sevenfold - City Of Evil
favorites: "Burn It Down", "Bat Country"


Runners-up:

Oasis - Don't Believe The Truth (need some more time to get into this album, but "The Importance Of Being Idle" is the greatest single I've heard all year)
Weezer - Make Believe
Limbeck - Let Me Come Home
CKY - An Answer To Be Found
Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better
Foo Fighters - In Your Honor
Kaiser Chiefs - Employment
Maximo Park - A Certain Trigger ("Graffiti" is a highlight of the year)
Gamma Ray - Majestic
Arch Enemy - Doomsday Machine
MxPx - Panic
Reel Big Fish - We're Not Happy 'Til You're Not Happy
Rammstein - Rosenrot
Falconer - Grime Vs. Grandeur
Soilwork - Stabbing The Drama
Beck - Guero
Billy Corgan - TheFutureEmbrace ("Mina Loy" is one of the top songs of 2005)

Plus there are lots of 2005 albums I haven't gotten around to listening to yet.

Overall Album Of The Year:

Coldplay - X&Y

Single Of The Year

Oasis, "The Importance Of Being Idle"

Runner-up:

Avenged Sevenfold, "Bat Country"


*note: this list will probably change a little during the next month or so.

 

[=W=]

Albums to look out for in 2006:

Be Your Own Pet

Haha, crazy. The lead singer of this band is dating a friend of mine (might not be anymore, haven't spoken to him in weeks). They fought quite a bit and she was a bit crazy. She seemed pretty cool though. I didn't know people even knew about them.

 

[Diablos]

Hmm, this is going to be hard to do.

In no particular order:

...

Where's your boy Dwight?

 

[Suerte]

Haha, crazy. The lead singer of this band is dating a friend of mine (might not be anymore, haven't spoken to him in weeks). They fought quite a bit and she was a bit crazy. She seemed pretty cool though. I didn't know people even knew about them.

Jemina is awesome! I've been a fan for a good while now, I'm pretty sure they're going to get big in 2006 since NME have started to get on the bandwagon, putting Jemina in their top 50 "Cool List" of 2005 at number 8. They also just supported The Kills on the UK leg of their tour, hardly anyone showed up for them at the gig I went to but they still put on a GREAT show.

 

[reggieandTFE]

 

[Unison]

1. Armand Van Helden - Nympho

Recycles two or three songs from his last cd, but track for track this is a great dance cd. It's a very weak album of the year, but it at least is consistent in a year where many of my favorite discs had glaring errors.

2. Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine

Everyone has their own favorite version of this album, cobbled together from leaked and released tracks, I suppose. My own imaginary version would probably be my favorite album this year. The final release is excellent, though...

3. Beck - Guero

Old eclectic Beck meets New serious Beck with great results. The best tracks, such as Missing, Girl or Earthquake Weather rank with his best.

4. The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan

For many this was a letdown, but for me the band finally came alive once they got out of their two instrument setup. I'm really eager to hear what comes next.

5. M83 - Before The Dawn Heals Us

As good as the last M83 cd, which is to say: great. Electronica this epic is rare. The propulsive energy on tracks like Teen Angst cannot be denied.

6. Madonna - Confessions on a Dancefloor

I was initally a bit cynical about this disc, which has no shame about robbing from the entire history of dance music, but now I've given in. Practically every song has a great hook and the production is surprisingly dense for a pop album throughout.

7. Sigur Ros - Takk...

A major recovery after ( ). Great to see the band back in form.

8. John Mayer Trio - Try!

I always feel like such a pussy for liking John Mayer, but this is his best disc yet, I think.

9. Missy Elliot - The Cookbook

This Is Not a Test! made me worry Missy lost her edge, and then news that Timbaland would be largely absent from disc had me fearing the worst, but Missy came through in spades. Lose Control, which she produced herself, suggests she had more to do with her past lead singles than anyone suspected. Tim's tracks, oddly enough, are the worst on the disc.

10. Audion - Suckfish

Proving that Matthew Dear can do no wrong, even if I like it less than his last two discs.

Single of the year (not on an album listed above) - Mariah Carey - The Emancipation of Mimi

Usually I hate this kind of ballad, but when it's done this well, I can't resist either.

Track of the year (not on an album listed above) - Isolee - Wearemonster - #2 - Schrapnell

It's like dancing to an Ennio Morricone soundtrack in a dream.

 

[Error Macro]

Where's your boy Dwight?

Heh, well, the album that he released this year... I listened to some of it, and I didn't care for it that much. I don't think he's working with his lead guitarist/main songwriting collaborator anymore, and it shows.

Oh yeah, you reminded me to add Billy's album into the runner-up list. "Mina Loy" was one of the best songs of 2005.

 

[Star Power]

Track of the year (not on an album listed above) - Isolee - Wearemonster - #2 - Schrapnell

It's like dancing to an Ennio Morricone soundtrack in a dream.

Ugh. You've GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. WHAT IS WITH EVERYONE AND THIS SONG? I don't hear it AT ALL.

 

[master_shake_05]

The only album I bought this year.

THE GORILLAZ - DEMON DAYS.

/thread

 

[GG-Duo]

wtf.

nothing to do with this thread, but apparently prozzak just released their 3rd album
ahahaha

 

[Error Macro]

wtf.

nothing to do with this thread, but apparently prozzak just released their 3rd album
ahahaha

Wow, really? That's awesome, I love Prozzak! It's been forever since the last one, and I'm not talking about the Simon & Milo US release

 

[Zilch]

Oh wow, I can't believe I totally forgot to put this on my list:

Kind of Like Spitting - In The Red

Angsty and noisey and beautiful and driving. Kind of like most KOLS records. Nothing groundbreaking, but it all comes together quite nicely.

 

[Suerte]

Two late entries due to their recent discovery

 

[Canadian Psycho]

My pick:

 

[DaCocoBrova]

For me:

Who'da thunk it?!

 

[Vicious]

1) Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine

2) Eels - Blinking Lights and Other Revelations

3) The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema

4) Spoon - Gimme Fiction

5) Low - The Great Destroyer

6) Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene

7) Gorillaz - Demon Days

8) Sufjan Stevens - Illinois

9) The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan

10) Bloc Party - Silent Alarm

I'd also like to include these EPs:

Iron & Wine - Woman King

Iron & Wine, Calexico - In the Reins

 

[Star Power]

Two late entries due to their recent discovery

I've seen their name around.. what are they like?

 

[Diablos]

I've seen their name around.. what are they like?

Heh, you gotta admit, the name is... weird.

"Hey, what's that?"

"Mommy and Daddy!"

:lol

Oh, I'm really getting into Bloc Party's album. Positive Tension rocks.

 

[Forgotten Ancient]

 

[Diablos]

^ What's that?

 

[Midas]

 

[Star Power]

I think it's Of Montreal.

 

[enjoy bell woods]

^ What's that?

The Sunlandic Twins (boring) by Of Montreal.

 

[Diablos]

I've never listened to that band. Should I now?

 

[enjoy bell woods]

Ummm, listen to Satanic Panic in the Attic or The Gay Parade. Satanic Panic is indicative of where they're heading (Sunlandic is the album that came after; it sounds like Satanic Panic b-sides) and The Gay Parade is like the best of what they used to sound like.

 

[Eminem]

My favorites:
Pelican - The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw

I don't know why, but I really didn't enjoy this album as much as I should have. I can't even explain it...something just seemed missing. I dunno.
Did you see they're on the Taste of Chaos tour this year? Holy shit, talk about mixing styles. Deftones, Thrice, Dredg, Atreyu, As I Lay Dying, Pelican....umm, what in the fuck?
whatever.

And speaking of Thrice, I forgot to put them on my list. Vheissu isn't up to par with most of their other stuff, and it gets a ton of hate, but I did thoroughly enjoy it.

 

[Diablos]

Ummm, listen to Satanic Panic in the Attic or The Gay Parade. Satanic Panic is indicative of where they're heading (Sunlandic is the album that came after; it sounds like Satanic Panic b-sides) and The Gay Parade is like the best of what they used to sound like.

The Gay Parade?
Satanic Picnic?

Best album names ever!

 

[scorcho]

indeed.

 

[Diablos]

That is some cool cover art.

 

[soakrates]

I'll just elaborate on the selections I posted in MAF's thread. This might get wordy, but eh.

My pick for Album of the Year

Opeth - "Ghost Reveries"
This disc is brilliant. It's got all the hallmarks of an Opeth classic, with plenty of clever tweaking to ensure its status as a stand-out release against the already heady Opeth catalog. "Ghost Reveries" is definitely their proggiest work to date, what with the unprecedented level of keyboard and mellotron-driven passages, not to mention a greater helping of jazzy modal phrases.

It's too bad that so many metal hipsters love to point fingers at Opeth for going "mallcore," with nothing more than the band's signing to Roadrunner as evidence for their case. Ever since Metallica went south, it seems no metal band can get away with any degree of success, no matter how antithetical to the mainstream their music sounds. Oh well.

Honorable mentions:

Kamelot - "The Black Halo"
Is power metal growing up? Well, not exactly, but this is probably one of the genre's most mature and confident releases in the last several years, and it didn't even come out of Europe. Who knew?

Strapping Young Lad - "Alien"
Chaotic, technical, widly eclectic and heavy as fuck. That's SYL for you, and "Alien" was a definite shoe-in for this year's favorite until Opeth came along. It still destroys, though, and you gotta love Devin Townsend's sense of humor throughout ("I can't even fucking piss!").

Kate Bush - "Aerial"
Well worth the 12-year wait. Even if it's a departure from her more pop/rock-oriented material (which she was already drifting away from to begin with), Kate still sounds as self-assured as ever here.

Porcupine Tree - "Deadwing"
For years I'd listened to people rave about this band ad nauseum, but hadn't bothered to check them out until very recently. I'm happy to say that I finally know what all the fuss is about. While not as strong as "In Absentia," this is still an excellent release with some truly amazing tracks ("Lazarus," anyone?)

Brian Eno - "Another Day on Earth"
I'd known the name for a while, but didn't have much of an idea what to expect, other than that it would likely be quite ambient and synth-oriented. Taking a chance on it was a damned good idea, as it turned out. Catchy as hell and very honest is the best way for me to describe it, not being the most well-versed in Eno's work.

Dark Tranquillity - "Character"
Just as everyone thought Gothenburg was in danger of becoming the next Seattle, these melodic death metal titans open the year with this unequivocal masterwork and manage to make the genre viable again. The riffs are as consistently inventive as they are brutal, and the keyboard work adds to the mixture without becoming intrusive. "Character," along with In Flames' "Whoracle" and At the Gates' "Slaughter of the Soul," is a modern milestone for this on-again, off-again movement.

There's more, but I'm all tired and stuff.

 

[Diablos]

Porcupine Tree has a new album, sweet. I did not know this. Thanks!

 

[Timo]

wow i know the artist that did that cover.

anyways,

death from above 1979 / romance bloody romance

wow. this is the best cd from 2005.


period for me.

gorillaz / demon dayz is second, and something else must be third.

 

[Midas]

wow i know the artist that did that cover.

anyways,

death from above 1979 / romance bloody romance

wow. this is the best cd from 2005.


period for me.

gorillaz / demon dayz is second, and something else must be third.

Tell him he's good. The album is even better though!

 

[Timo]

Tell him he's good. The album is even better though!

IT'S A GIRLLLLLLLLLLL

 

[Nick]

AotY:death from above 1979

romance bloody romance = Worst AotY

Fixed. Romance was absolute shit.

 

[Timo]

Fixed. Romance was absolute shit.

being stupid is no exscuse for what you just said.

 

[Nick]

being stupid is no exscuse for what you just said.

Here, let us review. You seem to need some help, sweetie.

Romance Bloody Romance

1. Better Off Dead [la Peste Cover]
2. Blood on Our Hands [Justice Remix]
3. Romantic Rights [Erol Alkan's Love from Below Re-Edit]
4. Black History Month [Alan Braxe & Fred Falke Remix]
5. Little Girl [MSTRKRFT Edition]
6. Romantic Rights [the Phones Lovers Remix]
7. Black History Month [Josh Homme Remix]
8. You're Lovely (But You've Got Problems)
9. Romantic Rights [Marczech Makuziak Remix]
10. Black History Month [Sammy Danger Remix]
11. Romantic Rights [Dahlback Remix]
12. Black History Month [Girl on Girl Revision] - Final Fantasy
13. Sexy Results [MSTRKRFT Edition]

Now... I spot four remixes of the worst song off I'm A Woman. I also spot three remixes of their lead single "Romantic Rights". I also spot one B-side.

So, your album of the year is this? *laughs* When do you plan on holding credibility around here?

 

[nitewulf]

this year i pretty much have been catching up with electronic music, so i havent heard much rock-wise.
i really liked both new order's and royksopp's albums, jamiroquai's "dynamite" is great as well.
couldn't get into metric's or controller.controller's...and aside from these, all i have been listening to have been older non-rock oriented stuff. so i cant really contribute at all this year. wow.
so notable stuff for me this year:

new order - waiting for the sirens call
royksopp - the understanding
jamiroquai - dynamite
brazilian girls - brazilian girls
fila brazila - the life and times of phoebus brumal
thievery corporation - the cosmic game
pet shop boys - back to mine (series)
and im gonna cheat a bit and also add:
ulrich schnauss - far away trains passing by

 

[Timo]

credibility is bullshit. opinion is everything.


be a music fag all you want, it's my album of the year because nothing else has been better than it to me.

and black history month kicked ass.

 

[Cosmic Bus]

Right now, I'm the obsessive student cramming for mid-terms an hour before class. There's still a rather large pile of discs (15+) I need to go through and others to revisit before really finalizing anything, but as it stands:

Albums

1. Patrick Wolf, Wind In the Wires

2. Okkervil River, Black Sheep Boy

3. Micah P. Hinson & the Gospel of Progress

4. Dälek, Absence

5. Andrew Bird, The Mysterious Production of Eggs

6. Eluvium, Talk Amongst the Trees

7. 13 & God

8. The National, Alligator

9. Edgar 'Jones' Jones, Soothing Music for Stray Cats

10. De Novo Dahl, Cats and Kittens

11. Jamie Lidell, Multiply
12. Kelley Polar, Love Songs of the Hanging Gardens
12. Bloc Party, Silent Alarm
13. M.I.A., Arular
15. Richmond Fontaine, The Fitzgerald

Songs

1. Okkervil River, "Black"
2. John Vanderslice, "Dead Slate Pacific"
3. The Mogs, "Kelly Blame"
4. The Ravonettes Ft. Ronnie Spector, "Ode to L.A."
5. Jamie Lidell, "Multiply"
6. Wonder & Plan B, "Cap Back"
7. Ladytron, "Destroy Evertything You Touch"
8. Micah P. Hinson & the Gospel of Progress, "At Last, Our Promises"
9. Coldplay, "Fix You"
10. De Novo Dahl, "All Over Town"
11. Celebration, "Foxes"
12. Editors, "Camera"
13. Sons & Daughters, "Rama Lama"
14. Lightning Bolt, "2 Morro Morro Land"
15. Calla, "Swagger"

Bleah

Go! Team, Thunder Lightning Strike
Broken Social Scene
Fatlip, The Loneliest Punk
New Pornographers, Twin Cinema
Prefuse 73, Reads the Books

 

[Dilbert]

I'm so glad that nitewulf and Hotarubi posted their lists...always like to keep track of what they're listening to.

It's too early for me to post my list, but I'll get it up here by the end of 2005. (Not that anyone is waiting with frothing anticipation, of course.)

 

[ThirstyFly]

Any other fans around these parts?

 

[Diablos]

What kind of music?

I'm gonna guess metal. If I'm wrong then I must have some kind of prejudice when it comes to album covers

 

[ThirstyFly]

Nope, industrial.

Though I can understand your guess based off the cover.

 

[Diablos]

WTF happened to industrial anyway? It's kind of fallen down as it's own thing, and now it's always mixed in with something instead. Well, you could say it's always been like that but they still used to put more emphasis on the industrial aspect.

 

[Dan]

I don't have the musical vocabulary to really get into why I like these albums, but these are my picks for the year:

 

[ThirstyFly]

WTF happened to industrial anyway? It's kind of fallen down as it's own thing, and now it's always mixed in with something instead. Well, you could say it's always been like that but they still used to put more emphasis on the industrial aspect.

It's in a pretty sad state now, and has been for years now. Many of the fan fave artists are simply just getting old and releasing lackluster albums (I'm looking at you, KMFDM) with very little new talent entering the pool. Why? I dunno.

There's been a few good albums this year though;

PIG's "Pigmata" which is really just a remastered re-release of another album he released under another title (Watts - Pigmartyer) in 2004 with 3 new tracks is a HUGE improvement over the original tepid release. The remastering makes a world of difference to the older songs, and the 3 new are excellent.

Then there's The Damage Manual's "Limited Edition" which is definitely one of the most entertaining album's I've heard in the last few years out of any genre. I would have posted that along with PIG's album, but Amazon didn't have the cover artwork.

Foetus's new album, "Love" is excellent too. Age hasn't slowed him down much, though it's a very "give it time to grow on you" album, much like most of his work I guess.

If you want to count Nine Inch Nails as industrial (some do, some don't - I do) With Teeth is a good followup album as well.

 

[Diablos]

New Order is basically industrial (but more dance focused, I guess), right?

 

[ThirstyFly]

New Order is basically industrial (but more dance focused, I guess), right?

I'm no music critic or New Order expert, but I'd have to label them more of a synth pop band. They share some similarities with industrial, but that's about as far as I'd go.

 

[Diablos]

I'm no music critic or New Order expert, but I'd have to label them more of a synth pop band. They share some similarities with industrial, but that's about as far as I'd go.

Synth pop?
I've heard some of their stuff; I'd argue that they're a bit more complex than that.