The Top 10 Albums of 2005
According to Joe Sweeney
Music is like the soul of a gazelle that's been cornered by a lion, whose life flashes before his eyes before the salivating cat lunges at his throat, slashing and ripping and gashing and stripping until the blood rains like filthy confetti at a ghost town parade.
These are my favorite putrid gazelle carcasses of 2005.
1. Eels – Blinking Lights And Other Revelations
This fragile, bizarre and brilliant double disc from Mark Oliver Everett (aka “E”) is not ideal holiday listening. Anybody in low spirits during this notoriously depressing season should probably avoid songs like “Suicide Life,” “Checkout Blues” and “Losing Streak.” But if you take a step back from the sweet wallowing of the lyrics, you’ll see an astonishing mural of leafless trees and overcast skies. Soft, aching instrumentals and recurring musical motifs maximize the record’s dramatic potential, and injections of dark humor (“Going Fetal,” “Hey Man”) are welcomed reprieves. Blinking Lights… is nothing short of a masterpiece, an album that swims in the muck of life with tenderness and simplicity.
2. Common – Be
While this was the year of Kanye West – and deservedly so – the best hip-hop record came from another revered Chicago MC. Common’s sixth album, Be, showcases the rapper’s significant gifts as a storyteller, philosopher and street corner sage. He tackles courtroom drama (“Testify”), erotic magnetism (“Go”) and the beauty of fidelity (“Faithful”) with compelling artistic vigor. Fusing Gamble & Huff-era R&B with gospel choirs, simmering electronica loops and classic breaks a la DJ Premier, Be is a monumental, socio-political, anthropological platter of songs. And while Kanye’s appearance on “The Food” is typically infectious, it takes the backseat to the spine-tingling spoken word of Common’s father that closes the album. “Be the author of your own horoscope,” he advises in “Pop’s Reprise.” Hip-hop was founded on attitudes like this, and Be does them justice like no other album of 2005.
3. Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production Of Eggs
The fifth album from this maverick violinist and former Squirrel Nut Zipper is an honest-to-god revelation: a somber, celestial collection of lush songs and stripped songlets, marked by beautiful violin flourishes and theremin calls from beyond the grave. When compared to Bird's early neo-swing records, the artistic evolution is astonishing – no less of an accomplishment than Radiohead's growth between Pablo Honey and OK Computer.
4. Beck – Guero
As the quintessential musical innovator of the ‘90s, Beck has built a Bowie-esque back catalog of genre leaps and mood swings. That being said, Guero is the most unsurprising release of his career, revisiting the playful, stream-of-consciousness folk/new wave/hip-hop of albums like Odelay and Midnite Vultures. It’s familiar territory, and it’s incredible. After all, the art of “reinventing yourself” is fairly overrated (Madonna does it by putting on cowboy hat or a leotard). You can look at the addictive, fuzz-box bounce of “E-Pro” and the demented B-boy robotics of “Hell Yes” as an artist churning out his bread and butter, but there’s a different method to his madness this time. The visionary zaniness of Odelay has been enhanced by the clearer vision of an older songwriter. Guero may not be as important as that career-defining record, but it’s a look into the mind of one of rock’s great treasures – this is Beck at his best.
5. Screaming Masterpiece – Soundtrack From The Film
If you’re not aware of the grand scope of genres and moods that is Icelandic music, the soundtrack to the documentary Screaming Masterpiece couldn’t be a better introduction. The film, which follows major and minor Icelandic artists around the world over the course of two years, has yet to be released in the U.S., but its soundtrack is captivating enough on its own.
6. Blackalicious – The Craft
The fifth album from Bay Area hip-hop duo Blackalicious begins with MC Gift of Gab playing the actual role of an emcee. “We’d like to welcome you all again to the world of vibrations,” raps Gab on the opening cut, “World of Vibrations.” The track is a blissfully syncopated affair, with producer Chief Xcel serving up a relentless, piano-heavy beat to Gab, who blows it to smithereens with his astounding, triplet-heavy flow. It’s a slamming introduction that embodies everything unique and true about Blackalicious: loose, funky arrangements, intense mic skills and lyrics spiked with spiritualism, adoration of the art form, pop culture references and some old-school egotism (remember when rappers would brag about their skills instead of their bank accounts?). And the rest of the LP doesn’t disappoint.
7. Bob Dylan – Bootleg Series Vol. 7: No Direction Home
The seventh installment of Columbia/Legacy's Dylan Bootleg Series doubles as the soundtrack to Martin Scorcese's thorough documentary of the same name. Comprised of previously unreleased live performances, dusty home recordings and alternate studio takes (with two exceptions), the collection does a tremendous job of taking the listener through Dylan's rise to stardom. From the tender 1959 recording of "When I Got Troubles" on the all-acoustic first disc to the rollicking live version of "Maggie's Farm" on the all-electric disc two, this record is a veritable Ghost of Dylan Past, a peep-hole into the world of a sheepish folkie who became a true American icon.
8. Kate Bush – Aerial
I recently saw Tori Amos on TV promoting her new book, claiming that her songs are cosmic spirits that float into her head at any given time. Two things are possible here:
1. She's bat-shit crazy.
2. She'd rather look bat-shit crazy than admit to ripping off Kate Bush.
Aerial is Bush's first record in 12 years, but it doesn't screw with the enthralling, breathy dramatics that her fans know and love (and Amos has never admitted to pilfering). If you're looking for a revolutionary expansion of Kate's sound, this ain't it. In fact, it's a decidedly more reserved brand of her classic formula, featuring lots of whispery piano arrangements that serve as platforms for her soaring voice. The two-disc set didn't come from fairies or dwarves or whoever else writes Tori's songs for her – it came from the unique mind of a real innovator. Aerial is an undeniable pronouncement: Kate Bush is still the queen of rock and roll.
9. Coldplay – X&Y
Coldplay's albums have gotten progressively bigger in scope as the band has grown more comfortable in the studio, but for the most part, the formula has remained the same: sweet, wistful, wide-eyed pop songs, washed over with shimmering guitar leads and somber piano chords. On paper, this sounds merely “nice” or “pretty,” but a Coldplay record is so much more. And it’s tough to put your finger on why it’s so moving, like an emotion that sneaks up on you from behind.
10. The Frames – Burn The Maps
Since the embarrassing demise of grunge in the mid-‘90s, the best self-important arena rock bands have been on the senior circuit, like the bitchin’ Supertramp show at Darien Lake in ’02 – our asses had been so thoroughly rocked, we had to take the long way home until the feeling came back. With Burn The Maps, Irish drama rockers The Frames capture the spirit of ‘70s posturing without sounding like an artifact. Tracks like “Happy” and the ghostly mid-album nugget “Trying” have the sense of ominous beauty that the Tragically Hip has always failed to capture. There’s a healthy share of guitar-fueled indulgences, and songs like “Ship Caught In The Bay” introduce gentle electronic elements that won’t scare narrow-minded purists. While U2 got shoved down our gullets yet again in ‘05, The Frames were making more interesting over-the-top art rock. A stadium-sized ego is present in every trembling note from gifted lead singer Glen Hansard, and The Frames have more than enough creative juice to warrant all of these soulful struts.
The Top Five Singles of 2005
1. Kanye West – "Gold Digger"
2. Coldplay – "Fix You"
3. Missy Elliott – "Lose Control"
4. Gorillaz – "Feel Good Inc."
5. Beck – "E-Pro"