Before I get to the main course, the #1 Album of 2004,
I’d like to present a few other awards and give a few shout outs to some other
albums and songs that meant something to me in 2004…
Album I Never in a Million Years Would Have Imagined I
Would Like… But Do
Tegan and Sara
So Jealous
A band that consists of twin lesbian sisters whose previous albums have accurately been compared to The Indigo Girls meet Ani DiFranco!? Uh, yeah, that doesn’t sound like the kind of thing I’d be into. But then again, So Jealous is a far cry from the WBOS folk/rock music of their previous releases. Here, the ladies turn up the volume, plug in the guitars, and most appreciatively, haul out some synth sounds straight from the ‘80s all for our musical pleasure. And oh, is it pleasurable.
To sum up: I hate Sleater-Kinney. They actually make me feel physically ill. Same for Ani DiFranco. The Indigo Girls are as plain and boring as they come. And in all honesty, So Jealous could probably find a comfortable place in a CD case containing albums by all three of the aforementioned, but in my world, this particular Tegan and Sara release is right at home in my collection amongst The Rentals, Longwave, Ride, Hefner, Doves, and The Organ. In all honesty, this is an awesome record that should be best appreciated without the baggage of The Lilith Fair or anything else for that matter. The music is really that damn good.
Single of the Year
Modest Mouse
Float On
God, this is the kind of song that once you hear it, it never leaves your head. But for whatever reason, I just can’t get enough (copyright 1981, Depeche Mode) of it. The guitar picking, the screeching lyrics, the dynamite chorus; in a nutshell, this is a song that makes me smile every time I hear it. And then I usually want to hear it again. Too bad the rest of the album is worse than something put out by Color Me Badd.
Comeback Album of the Year
Morrissey
You Are the Quarry
You see, from my perspective, something good always seems to come from something bad, especially when considering the creative element. And if ever a brooding romantic needed a time and a place to do his brooding and his romancing, well, America 2004 seems to fit the bill quite perfectly. And no one is better at that particular angle than Mr. Moz, himself.
You Are the Quarry is in many ways a typical Morrissey affair. There are some winners and some losers amongst its twelve tracks. And like his best work, the good stuff makes us forget (or at least just skip) anything that doesn’t really turn on. The best songs here take pot shots at America, Britain, Christianity, and on and on while at the same time somehow coddling and romancing those same targets. I don’t really want to spoil it, because like a John Waters film, the first encounter is so important, but suffice it to say, the lyrics alone are worth your effort to somehow track down this album. A masterpiece by no stretch of the imagination, this is still Morrissey doing his best Morrissey, witty jabs and all, and is certainly a fine addition to anyone’s record collection.
Most Clever “Beat the System” Move of the Year
Prince
Musicology
The artist currently known as Prince put out a pretty darn good album this year named Musicology. If you haven’t heard the single Cinnamon Girl I’d advise you do that as soon as possible. It’s a fun song and will surely please fans of Raspberry Beret. The album on the whole is funky and fun and doesn’t get all washed up with Prince’s martian sexuality that, in my opinion, dropped him out of the spotlight in the ‘90s. Rather, it is just a fun record that captures Prince doing what he does best: writing great, energetic pop songs.
His “beat the system” move that has changed the recording industry involves a clever move to actually give away copies of this album to every individual who purchased a ticket to his shows this year. The price of the CD is “built in” to the price of the ticket, so each ticket sold (and we’re talking a lot of tickets here since this was an arena tour) rang up as one album sold in Billboard’s calculations. Because of his clever scheme, Prince managed to stay right near the top of the Hot 100 album charts for a good chunk of this year.
Prince’s method was unprecedented and Billboard was left as the punching bag to the other major labels not wise enough to do such a thing previously. The final result: no such stunt will ever count towards an artist’s sales again, but Prince’s numbers will stand. In my estimation, Prince’s clever outsmarting the system just may have been the most punk act of the entire year. Kudos to you, Purple One.
Best Concert of the Year
Matt Sharp with Goldenboy @ T.T. the Bear’s in
Cambridge
If anyone would have told me a year ago that I’d hear songs from either one of The Rentals albums live at any point in my lifetime, I would have called them crazy. That it was Matt Sharp playing them to an audience of about 20 people with a great backing band that actually improved some of those tunes, well, I was speechless that night and still am. All I have to do now is see Lou Reed live in concert and I can die a happy man.
Longwave with Calla @ The Paradise in Boston
Two awesome bands rocking like nobody has the business to rock. After having seen these bands multiple times at smaller venues, this concert just proves that sometimes the venue can make an enormous difference in both sound and energy. Bigger sometimes really is better after all.
Memorable Lyrics of the Year
“I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies, this is the dawning of the rest of our lives… on holiday.” -Green Day’s Holiday
“In America, It brought you the hamburger, Well America you
know where, You can shove your hamburger
And don't you wonder, Why in Estonia they say, Hey you, Big fat pig
You fat pig, You fat pig” -Morrissey’s America is Not the World
Worst Song of the Year
Usher
Yeah!
This song is grating beyond belief. And repetitive. And boring. And self indulgent. And that stupid synth beat that goes on throughout THE ENTIRE SONG is so played out I really can’t even describe how sick hearing this song makes me feel. Yuck!
Album I Kinda Wish I’d Heard But Never Did
John Frusciante
The Will to Death
In my opinion the definitive guitarist from The Red Hot Chili Peppers and perhaps the most underrated and underappreciated guitarist of the last fifteen years, John Frusciante’s solo album releases are always way off the radar, both in availability and style. Anyone who has ever heard Niandra LaDes & Usually Just a Tshirt can attest to the strangeness of this fellow. I really enjoy that album for its honesty and lo-fi qualities and wonder what he is up to these days. That album was recorded during his heroin days but nevertheless, this is still the guy who is currently claiming on his website that he is releasing 6 albums in 6 months under all sorts of band names. This album may very well be shit, but I can’t help but wonder if maybe it isn’t. Maybe I’ll never know.
Guilty Pleasure of the Year (Shhh… Don’t Tell Anyone)
The Polyphonic Spree
The less I say about these guys the better. But PLEASE don’t tell anyone!
“Take the Power Back” Movement of the Year
MP3 Bloggers
I’ve said it once, I’ve said it one thousand times: I hate the Recording Industry of America. In my opinion, they are the greediest, most arrogant, out of touch pieces of shit on the planet. They are a group of tyrants who wave the banner of justice and claim that they protect intellectual property while they simultaneously bite the hand that feeds them (us, the general music loving populace) by gouging us at 15 bucks or more a pop for cds, forcing us to buy the same music in different formats, and then attempting to deny us from easily moving the music from the various music playing devices we might own. In addition, they patronize us by having multi-millionaire recording artists whine on commercials that they are being robbed of their hard work by the evil criminals who go to their concerts, wear their t-shirts, hang their posters, and, oh yeah, share their music, too. Give me a fucking break.
Right now, anyone who “shares” music is, according to the RIA, a thief who is no better than a shoplifter. File sharing programs and websites have been served lawsuit after lawsuit and the web surfing community hungry for the latest and greatest in music have tucked tail and run away, fearing that they, too, might come under the wrath of the RIA. But recently, a community has emerged that embodies the true spirit of the Internet (the free dissemination of information) and in my opinion, many of the artists themselves: the MP3 Bloggers.
For a couple years now I have been disgusted with the abundance of blogs currently damning up the Internet. For those of you unfamiliar, a blog is basically an online journal. Now the concept is all fine and dandy, but the trouble with blogs come when a person conducts common searches for information through Google or Yahoo or whoever. Many of my searches, for example, now generally return hit upon hit of blogger entries and only a smattering of actually useful information. It takes me forever to wade through the online poetry and sullen monologues just to find something as basic as, oh, say, the set list for Interpol’s last show in Boston. But alas, as sissy as having an online journal is, it is still their right and I’m one who firmly supports them to tell their lives to everyone or no one, whichever the case may be. Hell, that’s pretty much what I’m doing here so I say, “If you don’t like it, don’t look.”
Recently, my opinion of blogs has changed a bit as I’ve unearthed a network of websites dedicated to bringing the best unheard music (and other cool stuff) to the masses. These MP3 Blogs are basically set up the same as blogs, with the only difference being that these sites also contain mp3 files free for download. Yes, it is illegal. And yes, the RIA is now going after these people as well (but not as ferociously yet since much of the music is either obscure or disappears off the site rather quickly) in yet another act of cowardice and fear under the guise of innocence and duty to the artists’ “best” interests. Like a fungus, though, file sharing is not going away. And I applaud the effort of these front line fighters who are risking themselves in order to battle it out with the big corporations with their cleverness and ingenuity rather than going toe to toe with these billion dollar entities.
If you’re interested, here are a few cool sites.
http://www.tangmonkey.com/blogs/music/
http://blog.largeheartedboy.com/
Viva la revolucion!
“Hey Ya” Award for Song You’re Bound to Hear
EVERYWHERE Next Year
Gwen Stefani
Cool
This song is going to be big. Mark my words. But I still think Gwen will be back with No Doubt sooner rather than later. The new album has its moments (Cool, What You Waiting For, and Real Thing, a collaboration with New Order!) but on the whole isn’t quite the quality of a No Doubt release.
Other Great Albums From the Last Few Years (in random
order)
Raveonettes
Chain Gang of Love
(2003)
Stellastarr*
Stellastarr* (2003)
Sea Ray
Stars At Noon (2003)
Calla
Televise (2003)
Longwave
The Strangest Things
(2003)
The Strokes
Room on Fire (2003)
British Sea Power
The Decline of…
(2003)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Fever to Tell (2003)
Electric Six
Fire! (2003)
Clearlake
Cedars (2003)
Interpol
Turn on the Bright
Lights (2002)
The Libertines
Up the Bracket (2002)
Doves
The Last Broadcast
(2002)
(Smog)
Accumulation None
(2002)
Radio 4
Gotham! (2002)
The Walkmen
Everybody Who
Pretended to Like Me is Gone (2002)
The Strokes
Is This It? (2001)
Doves
Lost Souls (2000)
Woman of the Year Award
My Mom
And Finally… The Moment You’ve All Been Waiting… The
Best Album of 2004…
Northern State
All City