2005 / December 29^th/ The best music of 2005

While discussing the year’s culmination of music with a few people I realized I should probably write down what I thought was hot and what was not in 2005. Strange enough for me, almost nothing on my heavy listening list was produced in 2005. Actually, come to think of it 2005 was a shitty year for music.

What the hell happened artists? Are you too busy talking with the RIAA to sit down and write good music? There were dozens of albums I had high hopes for, or loved for a couple of days—but not many that stuck. So, instead of a sort of “best albums of 2005″ compilation, I’ve decided to make a compilation of the music I actually listened to in 2005. Here in no particular order…

Death Cab for Cutie, Plans

Okay, so this album did come out in 2005 - but damnit, it was good. To me this brought Death Cab closer to their We have the facts… style tracks and away from The Postal Service type tracks. I for one love the move. I wasn’t so into the whole electronic stuff anyway, I was into Death Cab. This album seems to have faired quite well under wear.

Bob Marley, Exodus

I’ve loved reggae since I was a little kid. This year seemed to have been a rediscovery of Exodus as I laid off the Peter Tosh more for some classic Bob. Every time I sat down to choose some music to clean to I found myself reaching towards Exodus over and over again. Classic record that’s stood the test of time. Unfortunately Bob doesn’t fare too well on the old earbuds… such is the price you pay for portability.

Queens of the Stone Age, Songs for the Deaf

While I’ve had this album for a long time I found myself reaching for it a lot more than I ever have before. It’s a great album and not just a compilation of singles. With faint echoes of The Shape of Punk to Come along with a healthy dose of Foo Fighters and some original spice thrown into the mix, it’s a solid piece of music.

Jamiroquai, Return of the Space Cowboy

Man, I love this record. I’ve always been down with the funk and this is an awesome record. Oddly enough while I had heard many Jamiroqaui songs in the past I had never owned any of their albums until this year. The more I listen, the more I love.

Tom Petty, Greatest Hits

Dude. Tom Petty.

Cake, Fashion Nugget

Cake was one of the first bands I was really in to if you know what I mean. I’ve had this album since I think middle school and it’s always been one of my favorites. Cake’s got a unique sound that no other band has yet to reproduce, plus ya gotta love the trumpet. Fashion Nugget is probably my favorite record of theirs, with Prolonging the Magic and Motorcade of Generosity closely following.

Dispatch, Bang, Bang

Dispatch always has a great vibe to their music, always pleasant to groove to. Bang, Bang is no exception and with great hits like Here We go, Bang, Bang and Out Loud it’s a solid compilation. I love listening to Dispatch around campus, always seems to melt the stress away.

Underoath, They’re only chasing safety

I love this record. Although, no need to recap–I still feel the same way.

Galactic, We love ‘em tonight

This live record by Galactic is still one of my favorite albums. Stanton Moore knows how to bring on the funk unlike any other. If you’re in to funk, you’re into Galactic. We love ‘em tonight is a great set list in a great venue, and overall just a great show. My only regret is that I’ve still yet to see them live. Some day… some day

1. 

   ionfish · Top 5 of 2005

   December 30^th | #

   [...] Scary Go Round’s indefatigable author shares his annual list of favourites with us.
   Warpspire: The best music of 2005. 9rules comrade Kyle Neath lists the best things he& [...]

2. 

   Eve

   December 30^th | #

   I have never heard of any of these albums(I dunno why you call them records, we’re not from the seventies!) so I dunno why you are publishing this nonsense. Feel free to post a comment in my blog - decent - if you feel like it. Thanks!

3. 

   Robert

   December 30^th | #

   Pretty good list, the only ones I really don’t like are Queens of the Stone Age and Underoath.

4. 

   Eddy Bones

   December 30^th | #

   Eve - we call them records because they’ve been recorded. The black discs from the seventies (and thereafter) are called vinyls. And I think Kyle’s publishing this nonsense because it really isn’t that.

   Kyle - What, no OAR?

5. 

   Kyle Schembri

   January 1^st | #

   Ah you guys are just to grumpy nowadays. I tested everyone out on iTunes and just loved every single ALBUM. Hey what can i say though? Great minds think a like.

   I ended up downloading, i mean coughcough buying most of your list there. Great way to start off the new school semester.

6. 

   Alex Lindsay

   January 22^nd | #

   Oooh, missed a couple of the best (in my opinion, obviously) from ‘05.

   Firstly, being from England, I’d recommend the Arctic Monkeys. Not stunning, but upbeat and a slightly more enjoyable and raw sound than, oh, QoTSA. And, while Songs for the Deaf is alright, too many of the songs are just half-formed ideas and fillers. I mean, any album that puts 20 seconds of Spanish radio-promo is surely doing something wierd. Then there’s the Strokes’ new album, First Impressions of Earth, which, while it was only released in December, moves further from the failure of Room on Fire. Worth a listen. Then there’s also Louis XIV’s self-titled album, which is truly wonderful - sexy but oh-so-rough-on-the-edges - is placed second on my all-time most listened to list. Which would indicate something decent.

   Finally - José Gonzalez re-released 2004’s Veneer, which is a sublime album, and by far my most loved and listened to album of 2005. While it may be too melow for some people, it has a certain beauty that stands up to “Repeat-One”.

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