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God I'm really backlogged. This 2004 list will probably
contain a ton of albums I listened to in 2002 and 2003.
yes
- Sleeping on Roads, Neil Halstead
- Borrowed from David. And it's beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. And
"Two Stones in My Pocket" will always remind me of our first date, which
was beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. It used to make me cry, just to
listen to it. "Hi-Lo and Inbetween" and "High Hopes" are incredibly
beautiful as well.
- All of This Sounds Gas, Preston School of Industry
- I really really liked the soft, rhythmic melodies of "Whalebones" and
the more peppy "Falling Away." And the vaguely alt-countriness of "A
Treasure @ Silver Bank" is nice, too. But I really don't like the
overpowering guitar chords in "Encyclopedic Knowledge of" or "History of
the River." And I'm only so-so about "Doping for Gold" or "Solitaire."
But I do like "Monkey's Heart and Horses' Leg," "The Idea of Fires," and
"Take a Stand/All of This Sounds Gas" probably because they're more sweet
and melodic.
- Holiday in Rhode Island, The Softies
- The Softies were not kidding with their name. The songs are really
really soft. And sometimes kind of melancholy. On grey days, they kind
of bring me a little down, which is not a good thing. But they're so
pretty! Especially "The Places We Go" and "Write It Down." Their
prettiness is deceptive, because there's a sadness at the bottom of a lot
of the songs (for example, "The Beginning of the End"). (Also, I could've
sworn I've heard "Me and the Bees" somewhere.)
- A Series of Sneaks, Spoon
- This was the album that got me hooked on Spoon. (Okay, really it was
the concert that got me hooked on Spoon.) It's got stronger beats than I
usually like, but I appreciate the spareness of the sound. I'm really
really into both "Metal Detektor" and "Advance Cassette". I also really
enjoy the slowness of "The Agony of Lafitte." Not as crazy about the
repetition in "30 Gallon Tank," though.
- Doorway to Norway, Oranger
- Kind of like Apples in Stereo, but more rockin'! Especially "Mike
Love, Not War." Also, "Eggtooth" has a nice drive to it. But some songs,
like "Wolfy," are way too rockin' for me. But then "Donald, You're
Freaking Out" is good again.
They opened for Apples, once, and when they were playing was when
I met D. Or sometime around then.
- Today's Active Lifestyles, Polvo
- Dissonance and warped-sounding guitars! Reminiscent of some of Modest
Mouse's guitars, which I like. But Polvo is a little more energetic,
which is fine. Like the ending to "Lazy Comet" is twisty and gorgeous.
"Time Isn't On My Side" has some great guitar playing, too. And "Sure
Shot" has the best balance of upbeatedness and strummy dissonance I've
heard.
- Give Up, The Postal Service
- This is one of my favorite birthday presents ever! Starting with the
first song, "The District Sleeps Tonight," this album is gaspingly lovely.
(Plus I like the fact that it talks of my own city almost as a person, and
not as an especially great one either.) Lovely, too, is the burbly
opening to "Such Great Heights," as is Ben Gibbard's breathy voice. And
oh! The sentiments of "Sleeping In" ("last night i had that strange
dream/where everything was exactly as it seemed/concerns about the world
getting warmer/people thought they were just getting rewarded/for treating
others as they'd like to be treated/for obeying stop signs and curing
diseases/for mailing letters with the address of the sender/now we can
swim any day in november") make me want to cry, it invokes our young adult
longing for justness so well.
The rest of the album is more up and down. "Nothing Better" reminds me of
one of those Human League songs I was never too into. But then I get the
ethereal driftiness of "Recycled Air" and I'm all happy again. And
although I don't like the following song, "Clark Gable," much, I do like
the one following that, "Recycled Air" (because, again, the ethereal
driftiness.) "This Place Is a Prison" is slower and depressing. But
"Brand New Colony" is bubbly and dancey again. But then "Natural Anthem"
is a big anxiety-producing with the background instrumentals.
- Such Great Heights [ep], The Postal Service
- Other versions of the songs on Give Up. Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous.
The keyboard on "There's Never Enough Time" is like a gentle massage. And
the acoustic versions of "We Shall Become Silhouettes" by the Shins and
"Such Great Heights" by Iron and Wine are really interesting.
- Timbre Hollow, The Threnody Ensemble
- This is one of the more lovely chamber pieces I've listened to in
awhile (which, unfortunately, isn't saying much because I don't listen to
chamber music very much.) But it's chamber music for the indie rocker,
which I like. They were great in concert, too, which is why I bought the
album. So quiet and lush and layered. Especially the buildup in
"Tharoman [Formerly Valerie White], Pt. 2." Such pretty strings!
- Irresistable Bliss, Soul Coughing
- I don't know how I ever omitted logging this album. Maybe I bought
this before I started my album log? I don't remember. But I liked it. I
listened to it the whole time I was working on my dissertation (well, that
and Weezer's Pinkerton) and they helped me through. The entangled sounds
of "Disseminated" is just fantastic. And "Super Bon Bon" and "The Idiot
Kings" really keep me going, too. So yay. Though I don't like this album
as much as Ruby Vroom.
- Surfer Rosa, Pixies
- I actually got my brother's old copy from him awhile ago, and forgot
to log it. And wow I like the wobbly guitar strumming on "Something
Against You." And the energy of "Broken Face" is great too. Singy
screams! I go on and off "Gigantic," though. But I really really like
the layered voices on "River Euphrates." And I've liked "Where Is My
Mind?" for a long long time.
- Some Voices, Pinback
- Most of the songs are nice. But "June," with its slow, anxious piano
buildup, is just amazing.
- Stay Away from My Mother, Virgin-Whore Complex
- Borrowed from D and it's oh so fun! Very poppy, which of course I
like. "Four-Alarm Fire in Lover's Lane," with its layered singing and
bamm bamm bamms, blows me away. And "I See More" reminds me of some of my
favorite Magnetic Fields' songs. And the many voices on "Stick Around"
are nice too.
- Good News For People Who Love Bad News, Modest Mouse
- Wow, this actually has some kinda optimistic songs on it. I mean,
"Float On" actually says things will be okay! Which is crazy, given the
melancholy of their previous albums. But nice, in a crazy way. (It is
true, as D says, that I am a "band loyalist," because I like this song
despite its Dave Matthews' overtones) I'd characterize it as
"reluctantly optimistic," which is how I feel about my personal life, so
it speaks to me, the album I mean. The feeling is captured by some of the
lyrics in "The View": "As life gets longer, awful feels softer, well it
feels pretty soft to me." Getting old and mellowing out and feeling pretty
mixed about it. Also, "Bukowski" does this neat thing where the singer
morphs into what he hates.
- I'm a Cuckoo [ep], Belle and Sebastian
- Cute little video. And "Stop, Look, and Listen," sounds
super-Simon-and-Garfunkle-ey. And I really like the version of "I'm a
Cuckoo" done by The Avalanches.
- Another Orange World, Orange Cake Mix
- Nice happy mellow music, mostly instrumental, though there are some
vocals (which are used almost instrumentally). Sounds like loungey
Magnetic Fields.
- Modern, Ogurusu Norihide
- Oh man, is this beautiful. Simple and beautiful, beautiful and
simple. The second track makes me smile, just to hear its spare,
repeating tracks. It's much simpler than The Books, given that it doesn't
have the crazy interwoven mishmash of sampled sounds, but it's still
peaceful and lovely. But it also makes me a little bit sad.
- Yours, Mine, and Ours, The Pernice Brothers
- Hmm...I don't like this as much as the other two Pernice Brothers
albums, though I still like it. It's just that there aren't any songs I
totally love. (Well, okay, maybe I really really like "Judy.") I
do, however, like "The Weakest Shade of Blue." Also, "Baby in Two" is
just all right on the album, but it is very nice live.
- Overcome by Happiness, The Pernice Brothers
- More lovely pop by the Pernice Brothers. I like most of the songs,
but, in particular, "Overcome by Happiness" describes so well how I feel
sometimes, "Wait to Stop" is sad but still hopeful and I find that very
very pretty, and "All I Know" has that same delicate poignancy that I like
as well. And I think I want to read Charles Simic now.
- The World Won't End, The Pernice Brothers
- What a pretty album! Okay, so I'm not as a big a fan of the first
song, "Working Girls", but the others are all great. Oh, the Pernice
Brothers makes such sweet sweet pop. "7:30" and "Our Time Has Passed" are
so pretty and sad and man does "7:30" have a wonderful vocal bridge. And
oh, though "Flaming Wreck" sounds nice and all on the CD, it is fucking
amazing live, all swelly and layered and beautiful and full of desire.
- All Your Summer Songs, Saturday Looks Good to Me
- Hunh, I didn't like this album when I listened to it earlier, but now
that I'm listening to it again, I'm really enjoying it. And "No Good with
Secrets" is all light and tinkle. And the string intro to "Ultimate
Stars" is like a wave of windswept grass. And "No Good with Secrets" is
just sweet sweet sweet.
- Built on Squares, Starlight Mints
- Present from D! And it's fun, in a lighthearted but moody way
("Irene," "Rinky Dinky," "Jack in the Squares"), if that makes any sense.
I like the strings on "Black Cat" (loveitloveitloveit) and "Goldstar" and
the horns on "Brass Digger." Not as crazy about "Pages" (and it sounds
just like something I can't seem to put my finger on right now).
- Kill the Moonlight, Spoon
- Who says I don't like rock? This rocks, doesn't it? Anyway, yeah, I
like the spareness of the instrumentation, and the sharpness of the
rhythms, like the guitar in "Small Stakes" and the keyboard in "That's the
Way We Get By." And even "Jonathan Fisk," which has more instrumentation,
is on the spare side and just great great. And "Paper Tiger" sounds like
it's being played in a gigantic empty room and I just love that. And bits
of "All the Pretty Girls Go to the City" remind me of The Clash. And the
instrumental parts of "Back to the Life," with the tambourine/shaker and
the drum and the sloopy keyboard, is just great.
- A Chance to Cut Is a Chance to Cure, Matmos
- Bought for my brother, the doctor. Anyway, I hafta say, this is a
great album to work to. I'm not sure I can characterize why; it sounds
awful to say that it's not distracting, but it isn't. Yet it engages
whatever part of my mind needs to be engaged in order to sit still and
work. And that's a great thing. And despite the gimmicky nature of it
(the music is all sampled from surgical/medical noises), the album is
pretty sturdy. I mean, "Lipostudio...and so on" starts off nice and
jazzily. "Spondee," despite being a listing of words (for hearing aids?),
is remarkably rhythmic and catchy. And "Memento Mori" (with skull sounds)
and "California Rhinoplasty" (what you think) are actually pretty
soothing.
- Satanic Panic in the Attic, Of Montreal
- So much less whimsical and ballady and surreal than the other albums.
But still great! It's like they decided to stick on only a few styles per
song, rather than all this shifting around. The first song, "Disconnect
the Dots," threw me off there---electronic dance? poppy electroclash?
Whatever it is, it's definitely different from their earlier, more
carnivalesque songs. And then, oh, there's the gorgeous a capella part in
the second song, "Lysergic Bliss," that is just not to be missed. And "My
British Tour Diary" is both a tribute and a satire. And they dabble in
disco, too, in "Eros' Entropic Tundra." And "Chrissie Kiss the Corpse"
reminds me of some Kinks songs. And the ending to "Vegan in Furs" (oh
they are literate jokesters, haha) builds up and up and up and is oh so
fun! And, oh, the harmonies!
- Team Boo, Mates of State
- I'm easy. I like happy and melodic poppiness, preferably with
different sung rhythms, and this album's got all of that. And it's cute!
I mean, the first song's called "Ha Ha" and it's got bouncy keyboards and
"ah ah ahs" and I love this shit. Oh and same with "Whiner's Bio" and the
"da da da da dahs". Oh oh oh! And the fast and silly keyboard playing
and the "we don't need to drive" in "Fluke"! And oh "The Kissaway" is
just pink and sparkly and gorgeous. And "Parachutes (A Funeral Song)" is
so sweet and poignant!
- Our Constant Concern, Mates of State
- My favorite Mates of State album. "Hoarding It for Home" is like a
fairytale. All the songs are pure joy. Like, oh, "Uber Legitimate"'s
what-ifs, and the melodies in "Girls Singing." And aren't "Quit Doin' It"
and "Halves and Have-Nots" zippy? And isn't it nice to hear them singing
together in "A Duel Will Settle This"? And isn't "As Night As Now" really
exuberant? The two weakest songs (to me) are "I Know, and I Said Forget
It" and "Clean Out," and even those are pretty great.
- My Solo Project, Mates of State
- Cutie cute album, with sweet harmonies and overlaying rhythms. I like
the cute and the sweet, so of course I like this album. And of course I
like the coupley singing schtick, too. So there. I mean, can't you just
fall in love with the doubled singing on "Proofs"? I can. And the "I
won't pass you by"s of "What I Could Stand For"---who couldn't love that?
And the thrummy xylophone sounds in "La'hov"! And the funny sentiments of
"Everyone Needs an Editor"! And their voices, so young and earnest! Not
crazy about the intro ("Names"), though, with its weird Cheers
theme song snippets, and the ending, "More in Me," with its weird
Fame snippets.
- Up in Flames, Manitoba
- I heard an mp3 of "Jacknuggeted" and had to get this album. It makes
me feel like levitating, it is so exhilerating. And I mean, wow, every
song on this album is like helium (mixed with neon, for color, and with
little burbles and squeaks, for variety). And then, in the midst of all
this airy fuzziness, there's a cute change of pace, with "Crayon," which
has a tinkly kid's piano going from background to melody back to
background again. Also, Manitoba is pretty good in concert, too, sampling
the sampled sounds on stage to make things interesting.
- Lost Horizons, Lemon Jelly
- Ahhh...Lemon Jelly plays electronica that elates and uplifts. Like
"Elements," which is all strummy and keyboardy and light, like a fairy
tale or a children's toy. And "Space Walk" is "just beautiful," like it
says. "Ramblin' Man" is a bit more mellow, but still nice. "Return to
Patagonia," with its rattly beats, makes me a little anxious (so does
"Experiment Number Six," with its slow sloping notes and spoken-word
elements, vaguely reminding me of the movie Pi), but in a good way. But
oh gosh I love "Nice Weather for Ducks"! Happy!
- Kincaid Plays Super Hawaii, Kincaid
- You know I think this is the most gorgeously poppy album ever. The
beginning's better than the rest. But you start off with "Solid,
Jackson," which has such sweet strumming I can't help smiling. And
there's "Super Hawaii" with its "bop bops"---oh! And there's "Parachute"
which has just enough trace of wistfulness to provide a change in the
album's pace. And then there's "California 2012" which goes right back to
poppy again. And "Keskesay," which is a little silly. "Plot #36" drags a
teensy bit, though. And so does "Bells Will Ring," (but in a Beulah-esque
way, with those trumpets and stuff). But then "Benjamin" and "Tyme
Machine" and "Holiday Day Parade" pick the album up again, as do all the
rest of the songs. Solid, but not as amazing as the first four songs
which are just oh, oh, oh.
- A Smell of Our Own, The Hidden Cameras
- They're like Belle and Sebastian and Magnetic Fields all rolled up in
one, with the members all being out gay men. Okay, maybe a lot more like
Magnetic Fields. I mean, "A Miracle," "The International M.M.A.," "High
Upon the Church Grounds," and "Worms Cannot Swim Nor Can They Walk," even
have super-similar rhythm lines. Anyway, yeah, fun.
- Pinback, Pinback
- A nice, lazy (in terms of the music-speed, not the effort put into
creating the music) album. Ahhhh. I mean, "Tripoli" just
roooolllls, it's so nice and lazy-feeling. Same with "Charborg,"
"Loro," and "Lyon." Not as crazy about the eee-eewws in "Chaos Engine,"
though.
- Love and Distortion, Stratford 4
- Some songs sound like generic fuzzy indie rock, but boy oh boy, some
songs sound like Magnetic Fields. "Tonight Would Be Alright," for
instance, sounds just like it's being sung by Stephin Merrit. Only it's
Stratford 4's Chris Streng. Predictably, I like the slower songs, like
"12 Months," "Tonight Would Be Alright," "Tiger Girl," and "Swim Into It."
They get all fuzzed out at the end and that's all right, because there's
sweet poppiness at the beginning and that's all I need.
- Drive, The House Jacks
- Okay, so it's not the type of music I usually listen to (indie pop!),
but there's a ton of musical virtuosity in here. And my friend Wes's
vocal drumming is great.
- P.U.N.K. Girl, Heavenly [ep]
- More poppy than Operation Heavenly, more rockin' than The Decline and
Fall of Heavenly, it's a nice EP. "Dig Your Own Grave" has some nice
harmonies. And the title song, "P.U.N.K. Girl," is fabulously zippy.
- The Decline and Fall of Heavenly
- They sound like a girls' jpop group, and that's a good thing. Mellow,
somewhere in between Fuzzy and the Softies. ("Modestic" seems to
exemplify that.) Though there are some more energetic moments! For
instance, the rapid-fire chorus for "Me and My Madness" is lovely.
- Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven, Godspeed You Black
Emperor!
- THIS IS SO PRETTY IT'S LIKE A WALK AT 3AM IN THE MORNING AND I HAD
THAT CONFIRMED FOR ME AT A CONCERT WHEN THEY SHOWED FILM CLIPS LIKE THAT
TOO. Oh yes. I would walk at 3am in the morning and play this CD on my
walkman and it was very very very nice.
- Fuzzy, Fuzzy
- Good, but not as amazing as Electric Juices. Meaning that the songs
don't pummel me with sweetness. But that's okay! Songs like "Now I Know"
and "Lemon Rind" are beautiful anyway. And the guitar in "Surfing" is
lovely. Also, I can't believe they met in 1993 at the Newbury Street
Tower Records! I still feel a lot of nostalgia for the place (I think
it's an HMV now). "Sports," though---I can't believe they didn't run into
some copyright problems with Yaz's "Bad Connection," though I guess it's
just the non-chorus bits that sound the same.
- Electric Juices, Fuzzy
- Of course I like this, because I like the poppy stuff. Especially the
girly harmony-ish poppy stuff. I mean, gosh, "Glad Again" and "It Started
Today" and "One Request" are pure sugar! HOW CAN I NOT LOVE THIS ALBUM?
It's not particularly complex (just listen to the lyrics of "Drag" or
"Throw Me a Bone" or "Someday"), but it's still happy and fab.
- Tiny Waves, Mighty Sea, Future Pilot A.K.A.
- Nice album by a Scottish group that's a side project of a bunch of
people from other bands. Most of the songs are really pretty and
uplifting. Like "Maid of the Loch," for instance, and "Rahdika". And
"Beat of a Drum". "Opel Waters" is nice, too, though more somber in tone.
I'm not as keen on the songs that are meant to be more "Asian-sounding,"
though, like "Witchi Tai To," "Shee Ram, Jai Ram," "Darshan Returns," and
"Om Namah Shivaya." I mean, it bugs me less now that I know that the lead
of the group, Sushil Dade, is Indian, but those songs still sound a little
forced or something.
- Rounds, Four Tet
- Nice electronica, with a few acoustic elements. "She Moves She"
totally won me over. And "My Angel Rocks Back and Forth" is very pretty.
"First Thing," while also pretty, is a little too sedate, like the boring
parts of Mum. "Unspoken" has a swooshiness to it which nicely overlays a
simple melody. Also, I especially like that there's a song called "Spirit
Fingers" because it was Anne who I first borrowed another Four Tet album
from in the first place. As for "As Serious As Your Life" and "Slow Jam,"
I sometimes like them and I'm sometimes bored with them---there are
certainly bits that get very repetitive, and in a way I don't like. And I
don't like the faux-orientalism of "And They All Look Broken Hearted."
Alas. The album, overall, is still very enjoyable.
- Welcome Interstate Managers, Fountains of Wayne
- Okay, FoW is more mainstream than most of the bands I listen to but
who cares! They are power-poppy and lovely and that's what I like anyhow.
I mean, each song is an absolute pop gem, all hooky and catchy and
everything. Even the ones that are overplayed on the radio. Though maybe
I can only say that because I don't listen to the radio much. But
whatever! There are other sweet sweet songs there that don't get as much
play (I think, like I said, I don't listen to the radio much), like
"Valley Winter Song" that I could listen to all day long. It makes me
miss snow, and libraries, and being innocent and non-ripped-up again.
And, man, "All Kinds of Time" is a sports song and I still like it!
That, to me, is craftsmanship. So there! And "Hey Julie" is also
sweet sweet sweet and I use that adjective too much and D is right when he
says I have a limited (but nice) musical palate but I recognize that, and
you know what? I totally embrace it. Sweetness in music is great.
- Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, The Flaming Lips
- Okay, so critics aren't too happy with this album, but whatever, I
like it. It has "Fight Test," the Cat-Stevens-ey song I like so much.
And it has "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots," the first half of which I
really like and the second half of which really annoys me. Maybe part of
why I like this album so much is that it goes into the sweet spacey
prog-rock area that I still have lots of nostalgia for. I'm thinking "In
the Morning of the Magicians" when I say that. And I think the progginess
is why reviewers don't like it, because who likes prog-rock nowadays? Me,
kinda. And the early-80sness of "Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell."
Really! Listen to it with a bit of youthful longing, and it ain't bad.
And there's "Do You Realize," which I like.
- The Soft Bulletin, The Flaming Lips
- "Race for the Prize" (both the original and the remix) is so swelling
and pretty, and uplifting and sad all at once. "The Spark that Bled" is
interesting and fun, too. Also, I really like the carefree feel of the
"Buggin'" remix. And I really really really really really really really
really really like "Waitin' for a Superman" (again both the original and
the remix) because I am the biggest sap in the world. And also because I
am the biggest sap in the world, the movie they play when they play this
song makes me weepy, just a little. Because I'm the biggest sap in the
world!
- I'm on and off about "The Spiderbite Song," though---sometimes
I think it's amusing, sometimes I think it's boring. And I do
think "The Observer" and "Sleeping on the Roof" are boring.
- Fight Test [ep], The Flaming Lips
- Uh, yes, "Fight Test" does sound like Cat Stevens' song, "Father and
Son." (I noticed that even before the settlement came out.) But hey, I
liked "Father and Son," too, plus I do think it was inadvertent. And I
liked the remixed version of "Do You Realize?" Oh, and "Thank You, Jack
White" was stuck in my head for days after hearing it in concert. I am
not, however, crazy about "Can't Get You Out of My Head" and "Knives
Out"---too droning.
- XO, Elliott Smith
- D's CD, really. Lush and layered and sad. Like "Waltz #2 (XO)." And
the combination of acoustic and subtle electronic notes (I think?) in
"Baby Britain." And "Independence Day" is great. And "Bled White," while
faster and more energetic, is still sad sad sad. And "Waltz #1" sounds
like a lost music box. And "I Didn't Understand" is so dangerous I'm
afraid to listen to when depressed.
- Garbageheads on Endless Stun, East River Pipe
- Wow. Great bittersweet pop. Starting with the driftiness of "Where
Does All the Money Go?" and "Monumental Freaks," this album is a dream.
And the chorus of "I Won't Dream about the Girl" (I won't dream about the
girl/If you don't dream about the boy) is so simple and lovely. Also,
"Save All the Millionaires of Doubt" is great too.
- Mel, East River Pipe
- F.M. Cornog is an amazing one-man show. AND HE HAS A GREAT
NOSE. And when I put this CD on for the first time I was in total
awe. "This Club Isn't Open" opens with these beautiful guitar riffs, and
such a sweet sad voice. And "I Am a Small Mistake" stays just as sad and
lovely. And "Spotlight" too (with echoes of James in there)! It just
doesn't stop! "We're Going Nowhere" and "Life Is Born Today" just as
drifty and lovely, with a pretty organ-ey keyboard in the background. I
love this album. It makes me want to laugh and cry, which is what all
good albums should do. It makes me want to hug it and go there there.
- Kiwi, Dim Dim
- What a silly album. Electronic music in a vaguely Caribbean, vaguely
Pee Wee Herman style. Silly! And tipsy! And fun. Like right away the
silliness starts off in "Riri," a song with a casio-driven rhythms and
funny swooshy sounds in the background. "Flit" has Hawaiian sounds and
squirty widgets happening in the background. And "Lila Olle" has funny
tempos. But there are also more traditional electronica bits like
"Amsterdam" and "Los Gitanos," with its steady beats, and more traditional
dancey numbers like "Here and Now."
- Spiderland, Slint
- There's some really nice dissonant guitar on here. Like I really like
the opening bit of "Nosferatu Man," though the bass gets a little tiresome
towards the end. And "Washer" sounds a lot like some of the Modest Mouse
that I like.
- Heart, Stars
- Oh my, this is nice. Thanks to Jerod for recommending them.
"Elevator Love Letter" is flowing sweetness, like a gently tripping brook
over time-smoothed stones. Same with "Heart." Same with "Romantic
Comedy." Same with "Life Effect." I think Jerod has me down!
- We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes, Death Cab for Cutie
- Both "For What Reason" and "Lowell MA" start off with the prettiest
guitars. But what's really beautiful is "405," which swoops with such
drifty melancholy that I love it love it love it. Gibbard's voice is so
soft on top of those guitars, with the distortion in the vocals making it
lay rough upon the smoother instrumentals. So nice! And "Little Fury
Bugs" and "No Joy in Mudville" have the slow softness that I like, too. I
don't really like "Company Calls," though---the repetition doesn't seem to
work so well there (but its slower epilogue seems to not rub me as wrong).
But gosh I really really really love "Photobooth" and "Technicolor Girls."
- Transatlanticism, Death Cab for Cutie
- Melancholy, oh happy wallowing melancholy! That's what Death Cab does
best, and it makes me swoony. Like oh god, I love the regret of "Title
and Registration." And I know it sounds trite, but I could weep "she was
beautiful, but she doesn't mean a thing to me" from "Tiny Vessels" over
and over again. And "Expo '86"---though the melody seems upbeat, the
lyrics ("sometimes it seems that i don't have the skills to recollect/the
twists and turns of plot that turned us from lovers to friends/i am
thinking i should take that volume back up off the shelf/and crack its
weary spine and read to help remind myself") remind me of so many of the
reiterations I've gone through in my head. And "Transatlanticism" seems
just pouring with tears at the end (a downpour that grows from drips and
sprinkles in the beginning, to its torrents of sorrow at the end), evoking
some of the quietest cries I've had. Also, "A Lack of Color" sounds
really Elliot Smith-ey, especially when Ben repeats the refrain "given you
a reason to stay". Not as crazy about "Death of an Interior Decorator"
though.
- Forbidden Love [ep], Death Cab for Cutie
- Many songs I like, all in one EP. "Photobooth." "Technicolor Girls."
An acoustic "405." A softer "Company Calls." (I don't like "Song for
Kelly Huckaby" as much.)
- Stability (EP), Death Cab for Cutie
- This is depressing. Really depressing. In a good way, because I want
to listen to it over and over again, but also in a bad way, because it
depresses me. I mean, oh man. Is this melancholy. Especially the first
song, "20th Century Towers" ("keeping busy is just wasting time/and i've
wasted what little he gave me/(all around) i know the conscious choice was
crystal clear/to clear the slate of former years:/when i sang softly in
your ear and tied these arms around you.") Oh, and "Stability" is
depressing too ("the gift of memory is an awful curse/with age it just
gets much worse, but i won't mind"). I do so love their rendition of
Bjork's "All Is Full of Love," though. I think I might even like it more
than Bjork's.
- The Lemon of Pink, The Books
- "Tokyo" flows like I remember the city flowing, fast and organic and
strangely quiet for its size and scope. The middle of "S Is for
Everysing"---all swoopy and graceful---is nice but I'm not crazy about the
beginning. And wow, "Take Time" creates this swaying, clocklike aura that
evokes all the weird robotic fairytale atmosphere of The Phantom
Tollbooth and Calvino and Lem and other people I really adore. And oh
I love the haunted slowness of "Don't Even Sing About It." Sometimes I
like the "a mind has a mind of its own" refrain of "The Future, Wouldn't
That Be Nice," but not always. And of course I like the laughing at the
end.
- Thought For Food, The Books
- This was my favorite album of 2002. It is so nuanced and organic and
beautiful, yet clean and abstract all at once. It is the most amazing
thing. I mean, let's start with the first song, "Enjoy Your Worries, You
May Never Have Them Again." It goes from slow string, to this overlay of
plucked string with bird noises in the background, to water, to a race
announcer, to this strange soliloquy of a woman talking about how she has
no job, to a heavier lusher version of the overlay, to bowed string, to
sampled sounds of someone exclaiming about love, to sampled sounds of
nonsense syllables, to pretty stringy melodies, to drummed string, to
faster and faster bowed string, to sampled beats and sounds, to a swelling
of strings and sampled sounds to all the music is the rainbow. And it is
lovely and amazing and lovely.
- But that's only the first song. "Read, Eat, Sleep" is much simpler,
but still pretty, a song based around the spelling of "aleatoric." And
then there's "All Bad Ends All" which makes me want to dance, the beat,
interestingly interspersed with more peaceful periods and even a laughing
kid! ha ha ha, ha ha ha, is so zippy and clattery and strange. "Contempt"
is less a song than a quiet conversation (between two men, with the
slightly accented one asking the other if various body parts of his are
pretty), one which turns our assumptions around.
- And I LOVE the beginning of "All Our Base Are Belong To Them" (except
for the title, borrowed from that internet meme I never really
understood). The song is so suffused with laughter and joy, I can barely
stand it. It makes me glad to be alive. "Thank You Branch" makes me a
little anxious; it reminds me of a mad scientist, ready to experiment.
And then there's "Motherless Bastard," which makes me want to cry it is so
sweet and sad yet inexplicable.
- Not as crazy about "Mikey Bass," though. Or "Excess Strausses" or "A
Dead Fish Gains the Power of Observation" or "Deaf Kids," really. But
"Getting the Done Job" is pretty, in a swelling sort of way.
- Castaways and Cutouts, The Decemberists
- Some great songs on here! "July, July!" is such great pop goodness!
And "A Cautionary Song" is amusing balladey fun, in a vaguely pirate-ey
kind of way. And "Grace Cathedral Hill" and "Clementine" are so pretty.
- Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?, The Unicorns
- Gosh, this was a great Christmas present. The songs are all loopy and
morbid and whimsical, at once. "Tuff Ghost" has all these silly keyboard
songs, invoking Scooby-Doo-ish haunted houses, I love it. And
"Jellybones" has this lovely scratchy and jiggly way of starting up, it
makes me feel all mooshy inside. And "I Was Born (A Unicorn)" is just
fabulous. I mean, wow.
- Little Music, Dressy Bessy
- Great album. Dressy Bessy is zippier and poppier than ever, and
that's what I like them for. Like "Lipstick" is just a lovely lovely
layered pop song. And "2 My Question" and "Sunny" are sweet and adorable.
As is "New Song (From Me to You)"---how sweet can sweet get?
- Dressy Bessy, Dressy Bessy
- How sweet and poppy can you be? Dressy Bessy is so great! "Just Once
More" is this fun celebratory song. And "Baby Six String" is a lovely
thrummy song.
- Life Is Full of Possibilities, Dntel
- Oh man, this album is full of burbly goodness. "Umbrella" makes me
feel like I am floating in some strange, surreal atmosphere. "Pillowcase"
makes me feel like I'm living in a world of spacey bubblewrap. And the
staticky scratchiness of "The Dream of Evan and Chan" is so so sweet. As
is the electronic/acoustic mixture of "Last Songs."
- Geogaddi, Boards of Canada
- Blippy spacey music, nice nice nice. "Dawn Chorus" feels all glidey
and stuff. And I like the burbliness of "The Smallest Weird Number" and
"Energy Warning" and "The Devil Is in the Details." Not so psyched about
"Sunshine Recorder" because I don't think I like the repeats of "peautiful
place" even though the snare sounds are nice.
- Her Majesty, The Decemberists
- I like the way the lyrics trip and turn----D think they are too much,
but whatever! I enjoy this album immensely. "Billy Liar" is wry and
sweet and giddy. And even though I'm not so into Los Angeles the city, I
am really into "Los Angeles, I'm Yours;" there's a dear, dear
longing to it that makes me think hey maybe there could be something in
there to appreciate. And "Song for Myla Goldberg" is a nice tribute. And
I find "Red Right Ankle" to be a lovely love song. And yeah, I like "I
Was Meant for the Stage" even though it's sappy and sounds a little like
Sting's "Fields of Gold."
- Donnie Darko, Soundtrack
- A lot of it is just ghostly melancholy background instrumentals. But
the three versions of "Mad World" are very very lovely. A great birthday
present from Michele and Kevin.
- Nice, Puffy Amiyumi
- Gee, this is even more fun than their other albums! Oh my such giddy
happiness! I could listen to "Toyko Nights" and "Invisible Tomorrow" over
and over again; "Tokyo Nights" is especially Abba-esque. Man. And "Your
Love Is a Drug" tries to be tough, but it isn't! Hah! And "Shiawase
(Happiness)" is just sweet and beautiful. And "Urei" actually rocked,
with real guitars, so there, D!
- Katonah, Apollo Sunshine
- Oh man do I love this album. Some of it's like Simian ("Happening"),
some of it's like soft Fountains of Wayne ("Blood Is Wood" and "Conscious
Pilot"), and even a little bit of Yes ("The Egg," which has some gorgeous
riffs), and some of it's just pure poppy fun ("Mayday Disorder"). And
there are even hints throughout of Neutral Milk Hotel. Also, D hates the
song with the oooheeooheeooh part ("Fear of Heights"), but I love it!
Definitely a yay. "I Was on the Moon," about a father leaving his family
and making excuses, is pure pop heavenliness, with harmonies and fun
guitars and distortion.
- Kareoke, Parents
- Yes. It's a mix CD of my parents' karaoke efforts and if you listen
to it ironically, it can be amusing. I have no idea why they sang
"Edelweiss" and "The Hills Are Alive" twice, or "Unchained Melody" and
"Too Young" three times.
- Yoko (demo), Beulah
- The acoustic versions of the songs on Yoko. I kind of like this more.
The songs are sweeter and breathier.
- Yoko, Beulah
- Not as bright and shiny as the other albums! But still beautiful.
And lusher than the other ones, even. "My Side of the City" is driving
and fun. Also, several songs---like "Landslide Baby" and "Me and Jesus
Don't Talk Anymore"---are reminiscent enough of the old albums that I
don't feel like Yoko is too downbeat. And even some of the more downbeat
songs, like "Fooled with the Wrong Guy" (with its pretty guitar riffs, are
kind of sweet.
- We Walk the Young Earth, The Blithe Sons
- Naturey sounds and electronica: you'd think they wouldn't go together,
but they do. Ah. It is nice hearing the tinklings and teensy small
sounds sprinkled throughout the album. So beautiful.
maybe
- Trompe Le Monde, Pixies
- The exuberance of "Head On" is just amazing. And I do like "Lovely
Day." But I dunno. A lot of the other songs were just okay.
- Ilium, Telegraph Melts
- Chamber postrock, or something like that. There's cello, which I like
a lot, especially on "Septembrist," which is gorgeous. Not as crazy about
"Indigo Azure Cyan," though, because it gets a little too close to rock
for me. "Every Day a Sunrise, a Summer Every Year" is calming and mellow,
though. But then "Cantus for Theodore N." is all rocking and harsh again.
But then "In Eggshell Seas" is all dark and lush and I like it, as I do
"Canto Primo." I guess that's why this album is a maybe.
- Lights On, Let's Go, Compilation (Velvet Lounge Artists)
- A mixed-bag of various artists that play at The Velvet Lounge. A
bargain of a CD, really. Though most of the songs are too rockin for me.
But I do like the straightforward rock of The Phobes' "(You're Gonna)
Think About Me," the sweet guitar of Longwave's "Best Kept Secret," the
harmonic humming of Stargazer Lily's "Dischoteque," and the amazing
fingerpicking of Ben Connelly's "Heaven Hello" And Vanity Champ's "Silver
Beauty Mark" is surprisingly okay (despite the almost-too-rockingness)---I
think it was saved by the slight twinges of harmonies in there. Kitty in
the Tree's "Free" is all right, too, in a rhythmic rock way, with again
some decent harmonies in the chorus. And Cry Baby Cry's "Fast-Assed
Sumbitchie" is fun in it's screaminess, though I'm contradicting my stated
aversion to too-rockingness right there. But maybe it's just because I
like them live.
- When I Pretend to Fall, The Long Winters
- The album doesn't blow me away, but it's all right. "Scared Straight"
and "Shapes are great pop songs. And I love the sweetness of "Stupid," of
course, which makes that song my favorite on the album. And "Blanket Hog"
is pretty nice, too. The song "Nora" is pretty annoying, though, and so
is "Cinnamon," but less so.
- The Revolt Against Tired Noises, The Stratford 4
- This ain't bad. I mean, it's not my favorite album, but I find all
the songs listenable, though I only really like a few. Moreover, it's a
decent album to work out to. Songs I like: "Rebecca" and "Hydroplane" and
"Autopilot." Those are the less fuzzed out ones, though. I guess I'm not
really into fuzzed out, or at least not their fuzzed out.
- Mezzanine, Massive Attack
- Borrowed from D. It makes me nervous, listening to this. Like
"Risingson"=supernervousmaking. Same with "Inertia Creeps" and
"Mezzanine." And I don't like being nervous, not so much. Which is why
this album, while good, is only listed as a "maybe." A different time in
my life, and I might have listed it as a "yes." I should point out, by
the way, that "Teardrop," with its sweet female vocals, is not as
supernervousmaking, and I like that song (though "Dissolved Girl" and
"Black Milk" have female vocals too, and they still makes me nervous).
And I kinda like "Exchange," too; it's more spacey and loungey than it is
clattery and anxious.
- See It Another Way, Macha
- Borrowed from D. Some parts are a little too clashy for me, other
parts are too sweepy, most of it is too morose. I dunno, I'm just not
into this album so much. Maybe it's just not upbeat enough, I dunno.
- Dead Dog's Eyeball: The Songs of Daniel Johnston, Kathy McCarty
- Borrowed from Andy at work. Kathy McCarty covers the songs of
outsider artist Daniel Johnston. They end up as surprisingly reasonable
pop songs. That said, I still can't listen to the songs for too long, but
mostly because McCarty has a tremolo in her voice that annoys me a little
bit.
- Operation Heavenly, Heavenly
- A bit more rockin' than The Decline and Fall of Heavenly, which, to be
honest, isn't saying much but whatever. It means I'm not as into it,
though. There aren't as many pop songs like "Ben Sherman" or "Fat Lenny."
Oh well! But hey, the duet in "Pet Monkey" makes the album almost worth
it.
- Lifeforms, The Future Sound of London
- Though pleasant enough as background, the music feels a little too
cold for me to listen to for very long. Or it's the wrong kind of cold.
The cold I like is more the organic cold of an Icelandic landscape, not
the robotic cold of steel (and not cute steel either!). So.
- Transmissions from the Satellite Heart, The Flaming Lips
- "Turn It On" is a fun fun song. And I used to hate "She Don't Use
Jelly" back when it was on the radio all the time, but now I like it
again. But I'm not so into most of the other songs on this album. I
mean, it's fine, it's just not great.
- Unrest, Erlend Oye
- Because I like Kings of Convenience so much, I wanted to like this
album, really I did. But it's not clicking with me. I think because I
liked the acoustic harmonies of KoC much more, and this (with its
electronic beats, etc etc) is totally different. Sigh.
- Donovan, Donovan
- It was nice to hear where some of these hippie folkie songs came from,
like "Sunshine Superman" and "Season of the Witch," whose riffs I'd around
in so many places. But some of the songs get on my nerves, like "Local
Boy Chops Wood."
- Something about Airplanes, Death Cab for Cutie
- Not my favorite Death Cab album, but there are still some nice parts.
"Bend to Squares" starts off with such an oblique melancholy ("But that
machine could only/Bend to squares five to six times/Before your fingers
came unwired..."). And I like the slowness of "Sleep Spent." But I'm
unpsyched about "President of What?" though (too much "I saw the scene
unfold"). And I'm kind of so-so about a lot of the songs. Oh well.
- Dear Catastrophe Waitress, Belle and Sebastian
- I just wasn't as into this album as the others. "If She Wants Me" is
the only song I really really enjoy. The whole thing seems too derivative
(hah, imagine me saying this, what with all my raves about the Elephant 6
groups etcetera etcetera, but there you go) of the sixties music. Maybe
it's just that it's derivative of the sixties music that I didn't happen
to like, I dunno. I especially don't like "Roy Walker" and "Stay Loose"
(which reminds me of early eighties songs I didn't much like).
- Take Back the Universe and Give Me Yesterday, Creeper Lagoon
- Seems like fairly generic alt-rock. But I bought the album because I
really liked "Wrecking Ball" for some reason. Just goes to show you that
those three mp3s on artists' websites really do work.
- The Beauty of the Rain, Dar Williams
- Borrowed from some coworkers. I think I would've liked this more back
when I was listening to more folk. But I'm not now, and the
softness---even to me, who likes so much soft soft stuff---is jarring.
And the songs don't sound so different from the songs on The Honesty Room,
which I have.
- Unrest, Erlend Oye
- Okay, I think I'm not a fan of the Kings' of Convenience attempts at
more synthesized music. I mean, I loved the acoustic stuff, so I thought
I'd at least enjoy this. But I don't. I mean, it's okay, it's
listenable, but it's nowhere near as special as I'd hoped. It's
too much like generic synthpop, and on the sedate melancholy side, which
I'm not nearly as into. Oh well.
no
- Airs Above Your Station, Kinski
- Ugh. It starts off okay---quiet, atmospheric postrock---and then it
starts to rock out. Hard. And I hate that. I just want things to
be mellow, calm, and nice. Mostly. And this is not. Too many hard
riffs. Sigh. Maybe D will want this album.
- The Dirtchamber Sessions, Prodigy
- Borrowed from David. I can't say I'm a fan. Too hard for me or
something. I dunno; it's just not my thing, probably because it's not
poppy enough.