Okay, I need to stop checking and rechecking to see if I've somehow missed something important. Without any further Freddy Adu, here's my Year in Music.
Top Albums:
- Secret Machines, Ten Silver Drops
It took Lollapalooza for me to get it, but once I got it, I couldn't let go of it. The true measure of this record is that the songs just show up in my head and make me happy.
- Thom Yorke, The Eraser
I'm a fan of the more electronic adventures of Radiohead, so to hear those distilled on this record was satisfying and, like Secret Machines, my mind drifts to this record when it's idle.
- Tool, 10,000 Days
The band backed off on the meandering sprawl of Lateralus, and while they're not quite back to Aenima-level potency, the record still packs a wallop. The monumental "Rosetta Stoned" harks back to the much more focused sprawl of, say, "Third Eye."
- Mike Keneally Band, Guitar Therapy Live
After the toned-down Wooden Smoke, Keneally hit the road and got back to ripping audiences' heads off, with this live record being a pretty good representation of that process.
- Boy Kill Boy, Civilian
This band snuck up on me, as I had forgotten about them after they canceled their Lollapalooza appearance, only to have them pop up again during the last throes of Tower Records. I'm glad I found them again, as this sits in that Stereophonics/Editors/We Are Scientists sweet spot, and sits quite nicely.
- Sparta, Threes
I'm impressed at how mature this record sounds, compared to the rawness of Porcelain. It delivers the strong, melodic hard rock that Incubus seems to have lost a bit with their new album.
- Peeping Tom, Peeping Tom
I would have rated this higher if it were produced better, because the Lollapalooza set from Mike Patton's latest project just completely knocked these tunes out of the park. They just don't come across quite the same on the record.
- Mew, And The Glass-Handed Kites
This band strkes me as a more interesting version of The Arcade Fire, for me, anyway. It's orchestral, but a bit more psychedelic, and I mean that in a good way.
- The Raconteurs, Broken Boy Soldiers
It took me a while to come around on Jack White, but while I still don't care for his sense of hipster fashion, his sense for songwriting hooks is becoming more unassailable by the minute. Putting him into a more collaborative environment certainly didn't hurt.
- The Mars Volta, Amputechture
Yes, lots of At The Drive-In representation this year, but these guys seemed to find their way back from the wilderness. There's a fine line with this kind of over-the-top neo-prog rock where it becomes nearly unlistenable, and I think the band successfully uncrossed that line this time out.
Favorite Songs:
- Arctic Monkeys, "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor"
- Juke Kartel with Toby Rand, "Throwing It Away"
- We Are Scientists, "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt"
- Lindsey Buckingham, "Not Too Late"
- Mission of Burma, "2twice"
- Mastodon, "This Mortal Soil"
Good bands that put out good records, but didn't make the cut:
- The Futureheads, News And Tributes
- Muse, Black Holes And Revelations
- Ben Harper, Both Sides Of The Gun
- Beck, The Information
- Gomez, How We Operate
- The Roots, Game Theory
Guilty pleasure:
- Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders, Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders
Yes the lyrics are awful, the drumming bombastic and the overall feel sometimes reminscent of early 70s Genesis, but sometimes those can be good things.
Notable, Intentional Omissions:
- TV On The Radio, Return To Cookie Mountain
The only word that comes to mind is inscrutable. I just couldn't find a way into this record.
- Band Of Horses, Everything All The Time
They sound too much like My Morning Jacket for me to think of anything other than how much they sound like My Morning Jacket, and how I like that band better.
- The Hold Steady, Boys and Girls in America
Something about the note-perfect update of mid-70s Springsteen doesn't sit right with me. I'm just not buying what they're selling.
- My Chemical Romance, The Black Parade
Overwrought and whiny, and I don't understand what anyone sees in this record.