2005 Albums ----------- I have developed a pattern for how I compile the sections for each year. Around the time that I start writing for the year I am working on immediately prior (which is actually the next year, since I am doing this in reverse) I look at my list for the next year to be addressed (which is actually the year before) and decide if any changes are required. I also decide if there are any records I want to seek out on vinyl that I do not currently have, so that they can appear in the picture. I knew going in that this was the year that I had the lowest ratio of favorites owned on vinyl, with only just over a third in my collection as LPs. Then started a surprisingly difficult sub-project to get my vinyl ratio to 50% for 2005. It took so long that I am starting on the writing well before I will be able to get a picture, but I did locate some really nice additions to get myself to my target. Why is the vinyl ratio so low this year? I think the number one factor is that this is the end of the "vinyl dark ages" when the format was in full decline, but not enough time has passed for 20 year reissues and other forces to get these records back in print. I also think that it is just far enough away from when I started buying records (2008) that these releases were not fresh in mind, and therefore not on my list to repurchase on the big discs. Finally, there are a number of legitimately obscure indie records here that are likely to never see a vinyl reissue. This is where the acceleration in my music purchasing would begin. In early 2005 I would get my first real job, and one of the places those new found funds would go are full price CDs from Mikes Movies & Music in State College, PA. I was mostly looking backwards to explore the music of the past, but I was also exploring the indie rock of the day with the help of Sirius Left of Center, NPR Music, and the early music blogs. Access to funds, and the range of means to discover good new music emboldened me to This would be the year where I bought my last CDs from the last remaining record club, Columbia House. It would also be the last year where no album found a way into my collection digitally. .. image:: images/2005.jpg :width: 900 :alt: My 2005 favorite albums .. raw:: html - *Extraordinary Machine* by **Fiona Apple** - This album had the strange distinction of having leaked in full, in a very different form several years before this official release. At the time, I very much preferred the most more eccentric, almost mid-period **Tom Waits** sound of the first release, but I have warmed up to the official version. What would get released by the label was much closer to *When the Pawn...* which happens to be one of my favorite records of all time. This is the last album before she destroyed her wonderful voice with smoking. [*Memory*: At the time I felt so betrayed by the official release that felt like it went against the out there wishes of the artist and producer. We now know that at least some portion of the unofficial version was made by fans based on an incomplete, in-progress cut.] - *I Sold Gold* by **Aqueduct** - A lost classic that I feel very fortunate to know about. Such a good natured, electro indie-pop record with huge hooks and pretty melodies. This guy arrived with a full set of songwriting and home production skills. I wish he has made more records. [*Memory*: Every now and then Sirius Left of Center would become the champions of a relatively obscure record that would get no play or attention anywhere else. I always wondered if it was label relationships or DJ preferences that made this happen. Regardless, I feel very fortunate to have hear the pop masterpiece "Gowing Up With GNR" on the station back in '05.] - *Suspicious Activity?* by **The Bad Plus** - This live recording is rougher around the edges than their other more conventional jazz recordings, and there are far fewer "covers". It is also my favorite. These, often wildly improvisational, originals are a peak that I don't think they would ever replicate again. The opening track "Prehensile Dream" is about as exciting as contemporary jazz has ever sounded. [*Memory*: This makes me miss XM Beyond Jazz. That is where I discovered this band and album when I heard "Rhinoceros Is My Profession" in early 2006. The format of that station made jazz feel like a living, still in progress art form.] - *Push Barman to Open Old Wounds* by **Belle and Sebastian** - Actually an EP compilation that covers roughly the decade preceding its release. This was the first time I heard any of these tracks, and the originals are deleted from the catalog...so this counts as a 2005 record! It is also my favorite release by these guys. The spare, simplicity of the early EPs captures the charm of their early chamber pop sound better than any of the LPs from the same era. Later songs like "Jonathan David" feel like a preview of the 70s pop sounds that would soon dominate their releases. [*Memory*: In the early days of collecting vinyl, I found an original press of this collection, but I didn't want to pay $45 for it at the time. It is absurd to think about this given what records cost now, but I would get a chance at a re-press almost a decade later.] - *Silent Alarm* by **Bloc Party** - A wonderful later work in the post-punk revival scene. It follows on well from the UK Indie sounds of the early 2000s, and layed down a blueprint for the "mainstream-indie" sound that would sell many records in the next decade. These guys were ahead of the new wave revival curve in a way that no-one seemed to notice at the time, especially on the outstanding "Banquet". [*Memory*: This album got tons of play on both Sirius Left of Center, and Alt Nation, the clearest indication of indie's growing mainstream relevance.] - *Broken Social Scene* by **Broken Social Scene** - This Canadian indie collective would eventually become too massive and unfocused for me, but this record captured them at their peak. This is big music with layers and layers of guitars and voices. Tracks like "7/4 (Shoreline)" show how indie-rock could work simultaneously as innovative art-rock and easy to enjoy pop. [*Memory*: In late 2005 Sirius Satellite Radio would start broadcasting Canadian content, including an indie focussed station called "The Verge". This was one of many records I discovered there.] - *Aerial* by **Kate Bush** - I actively resisted this album (and artist) for years. This record was massive at the time, particularly with the NPR Music set. While I would learn to appreciate her early work in the 2010s, I didn't connect with this later album until pandemic times. This is an art rock album that is so timeless, it would be impossible to place in any kind of era. More of a return to the experimental sounds of her 3rd and 4th records, this leaves behind much of the pop accessability of her late 80s peak. I can't think of anything more **Kate Bush** than singing the digits of Pi on the song of that name. [*Memory*: For several months this was my album of choice, during my morning walks in the middle of the COVID19 pandemic. This music has a sense of isolation, with a soothing warmth that went well with the mood of that time.] - *Plans* by **Death Cab For Cutie** - A terrific followup to a massive indie success, and a major label debut. The first of many acts who would make this transition, and one of the most successful. The production is a bit sharper, but otherwise this fits in well with their earlier work. These are all pretty much ballads now, but they have always been their best at their most sappy. I lost interest after this record. [*Memory*: One of the positive side effects of these guys going to a major was that I could get this at Columbia House prices. One of the last discs I would acquire that way.] - *Picaresque* by **The Decemberists** - This will always be the peak for me. The perfect balance of their folky early stuff, and the later more progressive, conceptual work. So many whimsical story songs about mariners, bagmen, and barrow boys, I don't know that anything else captures the wilful dorkiness of 2000s indie rock. I love it. [*Memory*: This song seemed to produce an unusually high number of "hit singles". Indie music was everywhere in those days, and every song that escaped the limited visibility of college radio playlists was a winner. I knew about 5 songs already when I heard "16 Miliary Wives" on one of those music choice cable channels at a friends dinner party. Somehow that was what sold me on these guys.] - *Green Cosmos* by **Deerhoof** - I think the two releases from this band would highlight the two major threads of their sound. This one is maybe the most whimsical thing they have produced. A particular kind of childlike weirdness runs throughout the album. I mean it starts with a song that commands us to "Come See The Duck"! The album is also mostly in Satomi's native Japanese. It is filled with keyboard riffs that make the **Fiery Furnaces** look tame by comparison. [*Memory*: I don't think I ever heard this before I bought the vinyl reissue of it at Lakeshore Record Exchange on my first Record Store Day in 2010.] - *The Runners Four* by **Deerhoof** - One of the hardest rocking albums they have ever made, yet there is always a undercurrent of gentle pop. This one always has been a bit too long for me, but the highlights are very high. "O'Malley, Former Underdog" is a particular favorite. [*Memory*: At the time, eMusic was pricing albums per track. I remember this double album with all the short songs feeling a bit spendy under that model, and I put it off for quite a while.] - *Some Cities* by **Doves** - These guys were probably the most consistent act to come out of the UK indie scene of the early 2000s. Not quite as good as what came immediately before, but still a fine rock record. **Radiohead** had brought synths and samples into alt-rock and bands like this took the idea to wildly popular places. Like **Coldplay** but actually good. [*Memory*: I had been interested in this band for some time due to satellite radio, but had never checked out their stuff due to a lack of funds. With funds from my first full-time job I was finally able to get their entire back-catalog in 2005, when this was the latest release.] - *Blinking Lights and Other Revelations* by **Eels** - This record felt so huge when it came out, but going on two decades later, it has almost completely disappeared from public consciousness. It is a very subtle record of subdued and very pretty songs that can be easy to forget. It is incredibly enjoyable every time I do listen to it. A wide mixture of styles from late 90s style alt-rock to piano based ballads, this is a sprawling double album in the traditions of the late 60s. [*Memory*: This may be the album I have been looking for on vinyl for the longest time. Some day I might just have to pull the trigger on one of the expensive copies on discogs.] - *Room Noises* by **Eisley** - A bunch of weird kids from Texas making major key **Radiohead** songs. The three sisters at the center of the group had a remarkable combination of voices. This first record has a quaint kind of childlike wonder that is really enjoyable. [*Memory*: I was on-board early as their early EPs (particularly *Marvelous Things*) got serious play on Sirius Left of Center in the summer of 2004. I even used some free download codes I saved up from a McDonald's promotion to download that EP from iTunes.] - *You Could Have it So Much Better* by **Franz Ferdinand** - At the time I was a little disappointed that this was so much like their first record, but given the change in direction that would come after this, I'm now glad we got one more in this style. In many ways the ultimate realization of the post-punk revival sound, this could also be seen as the peak of UK Indie. "Walk Away" is one of my very favorite songs. [*Memory*: When I was being on-boarded at my new job, I saw a CD copy of this on the corner of one of my new colleague's desk. It was a good sign.] - *Demon Days* by **Gorillaz** - While this was certainly the most popular project by **Damon Albarn** in the USA, it is far less interesting to me than his other projects. That said, this album does more for me than the others under this name. I think I am mostly drawn to the minimalist electronic beats that point forward to the sound of **The Good, The Bad, and the Queen**. [*Memory*: I probably wouldn't have given this a chance except for a recommendation that a good friend made during a conversation on AOL Instant Messenger. I can't think of a more early 2000s way to hear about a record.] - *Fires In Distant Buildings* by **Gravenhurst** - A really pretty and somber record. An early 2000s take on the slowcore genre with some occasional uptempo tracks for contrast. Incredibly beautiful but sad. [*Memory*: I had been interested in slowcore for several years, and in late 2005 I had access to the early Pandora with its Music Genome Project to explore the genre further. I think I found out about this record via a **Red House Painters** seeded channel that played the **Kinks** cover "See My Friends".] - *Employment* by **The Kaiser Chiefs** - It is easy to see these guys as a follow-on act to the **Franz Ferdinand** sound, but there are some old time rock and roll elements here that give a very different feel. I think how much a person is going to enjoy this record is dependent on how they feel about "la la la la" style singalong choruses. Leeds UK definitely had a sound in the mid-aughts and it pretty much was being drunk in the pub and screaming along with the jukebox. [*Memory*: I wish I could remember the sequence of events that led me to these guys. I know I saw them at Live 8. I drove through the night with one of my co-workers to arrive at the fundraiser concert in Philadelphia, and they were the first band on, shortly after noon. The singles off of this were certainly getting some serious play on Sirius. I also know that I had to import this record before it was commonly available in the USA. I just can't remember what order these things happened in.] - *Not Them, You* by **Lake Trout** - A fusion of post-punk, shoegaze, and **Radiohead** style art-rock, it is hard to believe they started out a jazzy jam band. In many ways the most representative record of the early 2000s on this list, but also one of the most obscure. "Shiny Wrapper" is a stunning opener, and the record manages to keep the level high throughout. [*Memory*: I found out about these guys when their prior album was shared by a friend at a former job, during a CDR exchange. I really miss finding out about new music from friends, that never happens anymore as a fully grown adult.] - *LCD Soundsystem* by **LCD Soundsystem** - The genesis of "indie dance music" and a record that both seems more and less important than we thought at the time. I don't know that this band was ever the game changer the press made them out to be, yet this record definitely showed a generation of Brooklyn bands that the indie kids, they want to dance. [*Memory*: One of the first really big buzz records from the indie era. The single "Losing My Edge" and copious blog hype had set this up for a new kind of indie fame. It was kind of weird for a relatively unknown band to launch their first album with a companion disc of bonus content.] - *Chaos and Creation in the Backyard* - A contemporary review of this album made the apt observation that the last several records that he had made (starting with at least *Flaming Pie*) had been perceived as comeback albums. That said, this is where things seemed to stick and he was considered a relevant active artist in a way that continues until when I write this (2022). I think maybe this is where Paul first realized the direct connections between the eccentric pop music he had been making for decades and what the indie kids were up to. This album is clearly aware of the connections, and as a result it feels of the moment in a way that is remarkable for someone at this point in their career. [*Memory*: Paul had always been my favorite Beatle. Suddenly after the release of this record, that was no longer uncool.] - *Live it Out* by **Metric** - I've always preferred the solo stuff by **Emily Haines** but there is a lot to like here in the finely produced indie-rock of her band. I do miss the edge that these earlier records have, but I'm not going to fault them for pursuing the mainstream fame that their increasingly slick sound would bring in the years ahead. [*Memory*: One of the first CDs I remember buying from Mike's Movies and Music in State College, and one of my first discoveries from Sirius 97 The Verge.] - *Cathedrals* by **Millbrook** - When I think of this EP I realize there must be thousands, if not tens of thousands of records I would love, but I will never hear. This super obscure record is the perfect combination of Beatles pop and early 2000s indie, and I wish there was lots more of this. [*Memory*: I discovered this, like I'm sure 99% of the others who know about it, when it was featured on NPR All Songs Considered. This was the first time they broke something completely obscure, that owes its limited space in the popular consciousness to that 30 second segment in a popular weekly podcast.] - *Z* by **My Morning Jacket** - Alt country was in decline by 2005, and these guys were one of the last big names before the genre would become unfashionable. This record is already a half step towards the straight ahead indie-rock that they, and many of their peers would pivot to in the years ahead. The result is their finest work. [*Memory*: NPR All Songs Considered was becoming embarrassingly influential on my tastes around this time. I was already a big fan of their song "Dancefloors" which was a favorite from my early days listening to satellite radio. Hearing "Off the Record" on that NPR podcast was what really got me into these guys for a bit.] - *The Weight is a Gift* by **Nada Surf** - One of the great records that came out in the early 2000s from a 90s indie band joining in with the new kids. Really great pop songs with jangly guitars. [*Memory*: I found out about these guys when I heard the song "Always Love" on the Liquid Todd show on Sirius Alt Nation. The show was on at 10 PM to Midnight Saturday night, and was an interesting combination of electronic music and indie rock that was very to my tastes. I found out about a lot of great things there.] - *Twin Cinema* by **The New Pornographers** - This was my point of entry for this band. In many ways it does the best way of capturing what makes them great. The sharp pop songs, the sweet ballads, the wonderful harmonies. More than anything it does a great job highlighting the strengths of the three main contributors to the songwriting. [*Memory*: This reminds me of the first apartment I had after my new job, my first without a roommate. I listened to this disc all the time using my home theater DVD player (as was the custom at the time).] - *Deadwing* by **Porcupine Tree** - A return to more proggy sounds after a few albums of alt rock, and the most recent album which was on the gentle side of metal. That said there are still some hints of the lighter alt mid-tempo alt rock in "Lazarus" and the heavier sounds in "Shallow". In many ways this is a great summary of why these guys are one of my favorite bands of the last 25 years. [*Memory*: At the time, this was my favorite album of the year. I tend to underestimate how I feel about this one, I really still love it. In fact I imported a vinyl copy as I wrote this paragraph. It joins my CD copy, which I clearly remember as the first new album I bought after getting my first real job in late April 2005. It was great to not feel completely broke anymore.] - *Work* by **Sound Team** - Another case where a band's first EP is by far their finest moment. The rough around the edges post-punk on offer here is far more interesting than what would come on their debut LP. "The Fastest Man Alive" is still their best song. More post-punk revival bands should have featured the organ like these guys and **The Walkmen**. [*Memory*: I bought my CD copy of this after seeing them open for **Death Cab for Cutie** at the Bryce Jordan Center on the Penn State Campus. I'm glad I did, as this is way out of print now.] - *Gimme Fiction* by **Spoon** - The last of their early albums, and the last one with their trademark minimalist sound. Still the ultimate realization of piano forward indie rock, with some create guitar accents. Not their most consistent record, but still a great listen [*Memory*: The song that led me to these guys was "I Turn My Camera On", which I heard on Sirius and immediately sought out the record. Interestingly the Krautrock groove that pulled me in is not very representative of their other work, which I ended up liking as well.] - *Illinois* by **Sufjan Stevens** [**2005 Favorite**] - The fanciest folk record ever made. Some incredible songs came out of the state based theme, and the range of instrumentation and styles is staggering. The band that he assembled for this record is something else, and many, many of these folks are off doing great things in various projects across the rock and classical worlds. It is hard to see this as anything other than than 2000s indie's greatest moment. [*Memory*: This is another highly rated record that I resisted for a while because of all the hype. It was the heartbreaking "Casimir Pulaski Day" that changed my mind. That story of a deeply religious young person questioning their faith after seeing their first love die of cancer is one of the very best songs of all time. This album was also highly influential in my tastes going forward. I always saw myself a a rock guy, but this got me on board with the lighter side of indie.] - *The Loon* by **Tapes 'n Tapes** - Another band that took the indie post-punk revival sound and added some additional, interesting elements. These guys like to mess with rhythm, and use heavy distortion on the guitars and vocals in a way that isn't psychedelic but edgy. All their work has been very good, but this debut is still their top effort. [*Memory*: I always assumed these guys were Canadian, given their sound, and they even made a song called "Manitoba". Turns out they are from Minnesota. Close enough I guess.] - *Team Sleep* by **Team Sleep** - Such a cool record. It uses electronics, samples, and atmosphere to turn millennial alt-rock into something way more interesting. Way better than the primary related band, **Deftones**, I wish they made more music for this wonderful side project. Every time I play this record, I'm struck by how interesting and enjoyable it is. [*Memory*: This is the only time in my life I discovered an album by one of the most cliche ways out there. I walked into the State College FYE at the old Nittany Mall, and heard this playing in the background. I went up to the counter and asked what it was, and they pointed to the jewel case on the counter. I walked out with this disc.] - *Apologies to the Queen Mary* by **Wolf Parade** - This is another of the indie bands out of the post-punk revival set who would make progressively more complex and diverse music as their albums progress. I much prefer the earlier simpler stuff. Admittedly, they started out with some wonderfully eccentric pop elements, but it was just enough on this one. [*Memory*: This was one of the first records that really directed my attention to the "Canadian Renaissance" already in progress. Thanks to Sirius The Verge I was hearing this stuff very early. This was the point where it started to feel like only our northern neighbors could still make good guitar based indie rock like this.]