Archive for November, 2005
jamie on November 30th, 2005
I posted the master playlist last week, and now I need to cut everythign but the very best from that list to make up my final Best of 2005 list- to accomplish this, I’m going to try to pick the top 3 from each month. In some cases though, I’ll transfer a pick from one month to another. For instance, September is a light month, with only two artists, while August was packed with new releases. Therefore, I may chose only the top release for September, and the top 5 from August… In the end, I should end up with a list of 36 songs from which to pick the final mix.
Starting with:
January:
#1 Athlete - Wires
This is an awesome track- It’s a beautiful song written about the birth of the Joel Pott’s child, recorded with as much emotion as that kind of event can evoke. I think I first heard it on a television show as bed-level music, then spent a week trying to find out who it was. This was the first truly great track of the year, and still gets played regularly while driving or on days when radio lets me down.
#2 Hard-fi - Cash Machine
This was the first track from Hard-Fi, played by Zane Lowe right after the new year, and was the perfect rock complement to Mike Skinner (who was at very top of my best of 2004 list). Hard-Fi tell tales of everyday suburban life with slick, thumping bass lines, thich drums and ska-ripened guitar. The harmonica on the intro and outro is a great touch. I listened to a low-fi version of this Hard-fi track off their website for months, until the US finally got wind of these suburbanite brits.
#3 Kings Of Leon - The Bucket
The first non-brit band to make the cut, this Texas-based quartet sound like they are from somewhere across the pond. Even the vocals are done in near-accents, and referencing cigarettes as fags helps mislead the listener. This may be attributed to the fact that Kings Of Leon are a bit of a side-note in their native country, while selling out shows and getting regular airplay overseas. The percussion on this song is what really makes it work for me- from a driving floor-tom rhythm on the verse, halting pre-chorus, then full-on frenzied over the chorus.
jamie on November 29th, 2005
A late November entry to my Best of 2005 list just came across my Internet connection:
Nizlopi - JCB Song
This song is making a push for the UK Christmas #1, and I’ve got a good feeling it will suceed in making it to #1 by December 25th. It’s a simple song, with a true coffeehouse acoustic feel and softly spoken lyrics. It’s those lyrics that realy do it though: The simple story of a young boy, Luke, recalling a summer day with his father in the cab of a big yellow construction tractor, and how it feels to be on top of the world sitting there, next to his dad. Even if your dad didn’t have a JCB, it’s easy to relate to this experience, and most of us can recall at least one such time in our lives, with either parent. This song is like al those warm fuzzy holiday commercials that always come out this time of year; Folgers, Coke, McD’s, Publix, et al.
So anyway, that’s about as holiday as I get…Go listen to the song at jcbsong.co.uk, and check the lyrics below.
JCB Song by Nazlopi
Well, I’m rumblin’ in this JCB.
I’m 5 years old and my dad’s a giant sitting beside me.
And the engine rattles my bum like berserk
While we’re singin, ‘Don’t forget your shovel if you want to go to work!’
My dad’s probably had a bloody hard day
But he’s been good fun and bubblin and jokin’ away
And the procession of cars stuck behind
are gettin all impatient and angry, but we dont mind.
An’ we’re holdin up the bypass
oh
Me and my dad havin a top laugh
oh woah
Sittin on the toolbox
oh
And I’m so glad I’m not in school, boss
So glad I’m not in school
Oh no…
And we pull over to let cars past
And pull off again, speedin by the summer green grass
And we’re like giants up here in our big yellow digger
Like zoids, or transformers, or maybe even bigger
And I wanna transform into a Tyrannosaurus Rex!
And eat up all the bullies and the teachers and their pets
And I’ll tell all my mates that my dad’s B.A. Baracus
Only with a JCB and Bruce Lee’s nunchuckas
Said I’m Luke, I’m five, and my dad’s Bruce Lee. Drives me round in his JCB.
I’m Luke, I’m five, and my dad’s Bruce Lee. Drives me round in his JCB.
I’m Luke, I’m five, and my dad’s Bruce Lee. Drives me round in his JCB.
I’m Luke, I’m five, and my dad’s Bruce Lee. Drives me round
And we’re holdin’ up the bypass
woah
Me and my dad havin a top laugh
oh woah
And I’m sittin on the toolbox
oh
And I’m so glad I’m not in school, Boss
So glad I’m not in school
jamie on November 17th, 2005
So far, this is the list taken from my iPod for 2005 - next: narrowing the list down to 50 or so before my final playlist selection.
January:
Athlete - Wires
The Chemical Brothers - Galvanize
Anna Nalick - Breathe (2 Am)
Kings Of Leon - The Bucket
The Bravery - Unconditional
Aslyn - Be The Girl
Glen Phillips - Thankful
Hard-fi - Cash Machine
Hard-fi - Tied Up Too Tight
Doves - Black And White Town
February:
Alston - Ordinary
Jessca Harp - Nothin Less Than Love
The Mitchell Brothers - Routine Check
The Ordinary Boys - Little Bubble
Missy Higgins - Scar
Missy Higgins - Ten Days
Athlete - Half Light
Athlete - Tourist
Ben Folds - Landed
March:
Days Away - God And Mars
Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc
Kano - Typical Me
Maximo Park - Apply Some Pressure
The Subways - Oh Yeah
Ying Yang Twins - Wait
Busdriver - Unempoyed Black Astronaut
Busdriver - Avantcore
Annie - Me Plus One
MIA - Galang
MIA - Sunshowers
April:
Dave Matthews Band - Dream Girl
Dave Matthews Band - Old Dirt Hill (Bring Back That Beat)
Raul Midon - Keep On Hoping
Butch Walker - Mix Tape
Spoon - I Turn My Camera On
Calibrand - Too Cold Tomorrow (Roots Manuva Vs. Squeak E. Clean)
The Dix - Here Comes The Dix
British Sea Power - It Ended On An Oily Stage
Hot Hot Heat - Goodnight Goodnight
Imogen Heap - Goodnight And Go
Emiliana Torrina - Sunny Road
Anne Heaton - Underdog
Kano - Remember Me
Finch - Brother Bleed Brother
Q-tip - For The Nasty
Stevie Wonder - So What The Fuss
KT Tunstal - Other Side Of The World
Mike Doughty - Looking At The World From The Bottom Of A Well
Oasis - Let There Be Love
Willie Hightower - Walk A Mile In My Shoes
Kanye West - Diamonds
Coldplay - Speed Of Sound
Ben Folds - Bastard
The Mountain Goats - Dilaudid
Jose Gonzales - Crosses
Less Than Jake - Portrait Of A Cigarette Smoker At 18 (Acoustic)
The White Stripes - Blue Orchid
Alex Lloyd - Rain
Raul Midon - State Of Mind
May:
James Blunt - You’re Beautiful
James Blunt - High
James Blunt - Wise Men
Jose Gonzalez - Slow Moves
Mike Doughty - Busting Up A Starbucks
Memphic Bleek (Jay-z) - Dear Summer
Alkaline Trio - Mercy Me
June:
David Meade - Hold On
Foo Fighters - In Your Honor
Miri Ben-ari - Sik Wit Da Flip
Miri Ben-ari - Sunshine To The Rain
The Libertines - Can’t Stand Me Now
The Transplants - Gansters And Thugs
Embrace - Ashes
World Leader Pretend - Bang Theory
Embrace - Gravity
Donavon Frankenreiter - Free
Little Barrie - Burned Out
Kano - Nite Nite
Missy Elliott - Loose Control
Daniel Powter - Bad Day
Daniel Powter - Free Loop
Pras - Haven’t Found
July:
Bodyrockers - I Like The Way
Dave Grohl - Skin And Bones
Imogen Heap - Hide And Seek
The Coral - In The Morning
Bedouin Soundclash - When The Night Feels My Song
Big Dume - Mexico
Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten
Natasha Bedingfield - These Words
August:
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Shuffle Your Feet
Craig David - All The Way
David Gray - The One I Love
Eric Clapton - One Track Mind
Fefe Dobson - Don’t Let It Go To Your Head
Michael Penn - Walter Reed
Tristan Prettyman - Love Love Love
Tristan Prettyman - Shy That Way
Tristan Prettyman - Smoke
Alex Lloyd - Never Meant To Fail
Coheen And Cambria - Welcome Home
KT Tunstall - Suddenly I See
Longwave - There’s A Fire
Nickel Creek - When In Rome
Nickel Creek - Somebody More Like You
Stephen Fretwell - Emily
Kanye West - Heard ‘Em Say
Kanye West - Touch The Sky
Kanye West - Gone
Missy Higgins - Unbroken
Arcade Fire - Cold Wind
Sia - Breathe Me
Rise Against - Swing Life Away
September:
The Streets - Fit But You Know It (Remix)
Switchfoot - Lonely Nation
Switchfoot - Stars
Switchfoot - Happy Is A Yuppie Word
October:
American Minor - Break
Augustana - Stars And Boulevards
Butch Walker - Since You Been Gone (Live Cover)
Donavon Frankenreiter - It Don’t Matter
Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine
Franz Ferdinand - I’m Your Villain
Inxs - Pretty Vegas
Jamie Cullum - Get Your Way
Jamiroquai - Feels Just Like It Should
Jamiroquai - Seven Days In Sunny June
John Mayer Trio - Who Di Dyou Think I Was
Jordis Unga - Man Who Sold The World
KT Tunstall - Black Horse And The Cherry Tree
Mozella - Light Years Away
Nadas - Diner
System Of A Down - Hypnotize
The Go! Team - Bottle Rocket
The Go! Team - Ladyflash
The Magic Numbers - Mornings Eleven
The Magic Numbers - Forever Lost
The Magic Numbers - Don’t Give Up The Light
Ben Lee - Catch My Disease
Psapp - Cosy In The Rocket
Corinne Bailey Raye - Just Like A Star
November:
Alex Lloyd - Brand New Day
Alex Lloyd - All You Need
Alex Lloyd - Outside
Alex Lloyd - Sometimes
Bowling For SOup - Sick Of Myself
Neil Diamond - Oh Mary
Norah Jones & Wycleff Jean - Any Other Day
Train - Cab
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Is This Love?
American Minor - Shine
jamie on November 16th, 2005
It’s nealry the end of 2005, and as everyone else will soon be publishing vast “Best of 2005″ lists, I thought I’d better get my act in gear, and start narrowing my list. With that in mind, I’ve gone through my iPod, and pulled “nominees” from each of the monthly playlists I make- from these1 I need to build a tracklisting that will fit on a standard 80-minute CD-R2, and not suck.
The first step in compiling this grand tracklist is to weed out all the random stuff that I inject into playlists every month3 not on the basis of their newnesss, but rather because I want to listen to them. These include old favorites, duplicates from earlier playlists (Missy Higgins appears on nearly every playlist), and alternate versions. Also, I need to remove anything that was added to a playlist because it was new release, but after listening to in in playlist rotation for a while, I realized that it truly sucked. These won’t even be considered. What should be left is the list of this year’s nominees, so far.
Notes:
1 Anything released in November or December is also game, but I’m not holding my breath.
2 Yes I realize a cassette would be 90 minutes, and a CD is typically 80, but the phrase “Mix Tape” sounds better to me than “Mix CD”. I am, after all, a child of the 80’s.
3 “monthly playlists” refers to the playlist I make up each month for my iPod. Typically, these playlists consist of new release material from that particular month, but I sometimes put really random stuff in them as well- like King’s X Summerland in February’s playlist. What can I say? I was jonzing for some King’s X last winter.
jamie on November 10th, 2005
It’s been kinda overcast in SoCal most of the week, but that hasn’t stopped me from enjoying it at all. Got me some beach city burritos, had an In-n-Out burger, and went to the beach (well, actually, went near the beach, as we had the dogs with us, and they’re not allowed on the beach). Speaking of dogs, I’ll be glad to be home on Saturday, if only to be away from canines all together. I’m staying with friend, and THREE large dogs- and I’m allergic to them (dogs that is, ALL dogs, and big dogs don’t help). So I’ve been eating allavert like candy all week. Anyways, I’m on vacation, so I don’t have to blog. Not that there was much in the way of new releases this week anyhow. I read the new Kate Bush is interesting, but it’s not my thing. Lots of speculation about what the cover art is all about on Stereogum anyways.
jamie on November 6th, 2005
Five hours - that’s all it took to bring me across the country to California, and now I’m in San Diego- but yesterday was spent in Los Angeles (Hell-A). I got off the plane at LAX, grabbed a cab to Molly Malone’s Irish Pub just off of Wilshire, near the LA County Art Museum. A few friendly locals (and a few pints) helped me pass the time until my friend Melissa arrived. We explored a tar pit for a bit, then headed over to the restaurant for dinner. Kimmi and Scott were supposed to meet us there at 6- traffic held them up until about 8, so it was just me and Mel for dinner, then off to the Wiltern Theater for James Blunt and Jason Mraz. The Wiltern is an amazing venue- a classic theater converted to accomodate rock shows by removing the seats from the terraced ground levels. Amazingly, security kept the aisles clear without ropes, railings or any barriers other than white tape lines. After a great show, I rejoined Scott and Kim (who was alredy passed out in the back of the car) for the drive to SD. What should have been a simple matter of following the 5 south to SD in a matter of a couple hours, turned into an adventure in navigating detour routes. Apparently, last night was chosen as the night they’d knock down an overpass bridge, and the detour route was very poorly marked, so we didn’t get in until after 3 in the morning- which was about 24 hours after I left the apartment back in ATL. Tired as I was, it had been an awesome day, and I was glad to be in Cali again. Today, Kim had to work a surf contest in Oceanside, so Scott and I went to a friend’s house to watch some american football, and drink a lot of Stella- at least I drank a lot of Stella. Oh, and I got the play-by-play on the Chelsea-Man U. game- the Blues’ winning streak has been broken! It was so depressing, but there are still 20-some matches to go in the season, and I’m sure they’ll win 90% of those, and still be champions again. Anyway, it’s time to get some food- not Beach City Burritos time yet, but I’m sure that’ll come early in the week. I hear it calling me all the way from Cardiff (I hear there’s on down here too).
jamie on November 1st, 2005
Ah, another week, another new music tuesday lacking in anything I’m terribly exceited about. Imogen Heap is out in the US, but it’s been out for months in the UK. The new Rubber Soul tribute album is pretty cool. Titled This Bird Has Flown: A 40th Anniversary Tribute To The Beatles’ Rubber Soul (whew, that’s a mouthful), it’s a compilation of Rubber Soul covers by artists from The Donnas to Dar Williams to Ben Harper- and everyone in between. But I’ve never really been much of a Beatles fan, expecially not a fan of the Rubber Soul-and-beyond era when they got more and more experimental. Yeah, I know you’re thinking “how can you claim to love music, but NOT be a Beatles fan?”. It’s the way things are I’m afraid. I never got into them- call it a generational gap I guess.
Anyways, I’m busy this week trying to wrap up some loose ends before I leave for California on holiday next week. My problem is that I’m so excited to be heading back to socal, and to see my friends, that I can barely focus on work.
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