Year End Review

5 Albums of Note

  1. Deerhoof – The Runners Four
    I know I said I was disappointed by it at first, but after several listens and seeing the live interpretations I changed my mind. Sheer brilliance!
  2. Antony & the Johnsons – I Am a Bird Now
    One of the saddest albums ever. In an era of touched up pop songs, Mr/s. Antony does torch like no one has done since Judy Garland.
  3. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – s/t
    David Byrne-esque vocals, non-annoying Radiohead-esque music, throw them in a blender and a little bit of carnival for good measure and voila! Great album that just wakes you up in the morning.
  4. Kanye West- Late Registration
    Even though he will be known for saying, “George Bush don’t care about black people,” this album should be what people know him by. They say there’s the “sophomore album curse” in the music biz. This album trounces that notion completely.
  5. Mae Shi- Heartbeeps EP
    Even more fun from the Mae Shi boys. Short, sweet and leaves me wanting more. Shit. Does that make Mae Shi my lovers?

5 Disappointing Albums of Note

  1. Sleater-Kinney – The Woods
    There are only 3 good songs and a whole bunch of loud guitar nonsense. I know they want to sound like they rock hard, but don’t try too hard girls. You’ll only end up sounding like a second-rate Pearl Jam. And just being Pearl Jam is bad enough.
  2. Art Brut – Bang Bang Rock & Roll
    This is one of those Pitchfork endorsed bands that just really left me yawning. I think they wanna try and be Sex Pistols or Jarvis Cocker or whatever. What they really are are boring.
  3. Depeche Mode – Playing the Angel
    Actually I shouldn’t be disappointed about this one cuz I expected it to be pretty bad.
  4. Milemarker – Onimosity
    I expected more. What can I say? It’s not a bad album. I still pop it in every now and again. It was fun to hear these songs live. But I just expected more.
  5. Xiu Xiu – La Foret
    I must say to be fair that I haven’t listened to this album since about August. But that just shows how unimpressed I was about it. There was nothing too harsh, too poppy, too nothing. Just bland hear-me-jangle-these-pieces-of-metal blah.

5 Events of 2005

  1. Got a new job where I am actually appreciated!!!
  2. Moved into a new place in Echo Park.
  3. Saw Meesch get married in San Francisco and somehow didn’t get alcohol poisoning.
  4. Went to Vegas too many times to have any money now. 🙂
  5. There is no Number 5.