Favourite music albums of 2005
Going a bit off topic here with a post that is not web related. Andy Budd has posted his favourite albums of the year in Top 10 Albums I bought in 2005. Sorry Andy - we do not seem to share the same taste in music ;-).
Anyhow, I can’t resist letting you know what I’ve been listening to this year, so here are my favourite albums of 2005 (all links are Amazon affiliate links, so if you buy anything after following a link I get a few cents, provided I ever meet the minimum payment threshold):
- Dzihan And Kamien - Fakes
- Jamiroquai - Dynamite
- Jestofunk - The Anthology
- Kraftwerk - Minimum Maximum
- Roots Manuva - Awfully Deep
- Simple Minds - Black And White 050505
- The Dining Rooms - Experiments In Ambient Soul
- The Herbaliser - Take London
- The Prodigy - Their Law The Singles 1990-2005
- Tosca - J.A.C.
Just out of curiosity, what kind of music are you into?
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Comments
Let's see... I bought Bleed Like Me - Garbage
and was given Red Book - Texas
That's it, as far as I can remember... Bought quite a few individual tracks, and have a huge collection of freebie CDs which have occassional good tracks on, but I don't buy albums very often.
Hmm, the only Tosca I know is by Puccini. Not surprising, considering I pretty much only listen to classical music.
How come that your top 10 albums include two Austrian acts? And yes, those two albums are on my top 10 too :-)
Aw man, where's the love for The Go! Team? :)
Also: LCD Soundsystem.
Mostly punkrock, ska, h&h, let's see... Blink182, Rise Against, Limp Bizkit, Guano Apes, Mad Caddies, Manu Chao, Pennywise, Green Day, Cypress Hill, Good Charlotte, Millencolin, Simple Plan, NoFX, The Matches, Ska-P etc.
You listen to pieces of crap, Roger! :p Well, taste's like the *, divided u know.
My favourite albums this year:
James Blunt - Back to Bedlam (it's awesome)
Kanye West - Late Registration (nice sound, like the gangsta rhytm)
Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard - Batman Begins soundtrack (Hans Zimmer is THE GOD)
Shigeru Umebayashi - House of the flying daggers soundtrack (listen and you WILL fall for it)
The discoveries of this year:
Sonata Arctica (great metal) Ryan Adams (oh such a voice)
I usually spend my work hours listening to news radio (NPR, Bloomberg,WABC, etc). Its not exciting but it keeps me at least somewhat informed as to what is going on in the world.
When I get the chance to kick back and relax I will usually toss in BB King Muddy Waters, Clapton or Sting.
Good Company, mellow blues, a glass of Scotch, and a fire in the fireplace make for a great way to wind down the day...
Martin: Hah! Just wait till I list the 10 worst albums! ;-p. Hans Zimmer is excellent. I especially love it when he collaborates with Lisa Gerrard like on the Gladiator OST and... a couple of others I think. If Zimmer is the god, Lisa Gerrard is the goddess.
Hmm. Favourite albums this year:
Nirvana - Nirvana With the lights out - Nirvana Best of the box - Nirvana Bleach - Nirvana Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness - Smashing Pumpkins
Now that I think about it, I haven't bought very many albums this year. I also think I like Nirvana too much. :o)
For me it has been Sleater Kinney, Spoon, Arcade Fire, The Postal Service and Wolfmother. And a steady rotation of old favourites like Muse, Pearl Jam, Radiohead, Ben Folds...)
2005 was the year i really started looking outside of the major labels and distribution schemes for music. for example, i discovered the unsacred hearts via 15megsofame.com.
i used to scoff at the notion that there was real talent outside the traditional channels. i don't anymore.
Hehe, well the music meme earlier this year suggested that my taste in music is not common in the web standards community :) [musical batons are the new black]
I'm particularly into industrial and trance/goa (if it's stompy or bleepy, i'm there). However I really like a bit of everything - acid jazz, ambient, electronic (intentionally broad description), "alternative", rock, metal, etc. people generally look at my CD collection and comment that they don't believe one person put all that together on the one shelf ;)
notable purchases this year would include Matter+Form - VNV Nation, The Bravery - The Bravery, Songs in the Key of Beotch - That 1 Guy, With Teeth - NIN, Electro-shock Blues - The Eels. I'm trying to remember what else I actually bought this year, as opposed to long-standing favourites :)
Madeleine Peyroux - Careless Love
Love her rendition of Leonard Cohen's Dance Me To The End Of Love.
Also Django Reinhardt, Diana Krall, Paris Combo, Roy Rodgers and Keb Mo. My tastes are a little eclectic.
Thelonious Monk - Monk's Music
Tool - Lateralus
Taj Mahal - In Progress & In Motion 1965-1998
and,
various selections from Bauhaus, Type O Negative, The Byrds, The Electric Prunes, The Challengers, Los Straitjackets, The Cure [Faith], Joy Division, Ministry, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Quicksilver Messenger Service and Everything else that was got on iTunes.
Ah, time for the top ten list:
Stars - Set Yourself On Fire
Supersystem - Always Never Again
United State Of Electronica - Emerald City
Konono No 1 - Congotronics
Pitty Sing - Pitty Sing
Outlaws - Too Many Fools Following Too Many Rules
Beck - Guero
Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine
Spoon - Gimme Fiction
Common - Be
Great taste.
I wasn't too impressed with Take London, but I'm looking forward to Coldcut's new album. Pretty much anything on the NinjaTune label is usually worth a listen, as is SolidSteel.net
I'm into that genre, DJ Shadow, RJD2, Blur, Beatles, various trance and hard-house stuff. Pretty much anything where you can hear the soul that got put into the music.
Hmm, can't remember what I've actually bought this year but:
Opeth - Ghost Reveries
Garbage - Bleed Like Me
...there are probably many others. I'm really looking forward to a new Tool album next year :)
Oh yes, I hope you don't consider this spam Roger but everyone should check out last.fm. It's a fantastic site for keeping track of what you listen to on your computer :)
I don't listen to music. (I'm deaf.)
Silence is golden.
But if I had to choose, then it's any classical music.
Boards of Canada - The Campfire Headphase Daft Punk - Human After All Sigur Rós - Takk QotSA - Lullabies To Paralyze Turbonegro - Party Animals
My favorite releases from 2005 :)
I just recently purchased Super Extra Gravity - Cardigans ... it's a really good album, get's a lot of repeats on my iTunes
This year:
Beck - Guero
It kind of helps with making my website too; refer to my hyperlink.
Prog rock is my favorite genre, but I also enjoy classical (preferably baroque) and fusion jazz. Now playing: The Mahavishnu Orchestra's "The Inner Mounting Flame". Highly recommended.
We've got Tool fans in the house, sweet! I've seen them at least a half a dozen times. Some other great pics here too, and stuff I've never heard so must check them out.
Roger, I hear ya on the Amazon thing. At the rate I'm going I may get a check in 2010. Not that I'm trying to sell anything or make money, most of my links are to books by authors I either know or own the titles and have gotten great value out of them.
So, my first post on this site will be in a topic that's not webrelated. Seems like my passion for music really IS bigger than for web & design.
I'm surprised nobody have mentioned Tori Amos. But it's nice to see Jenny Wilson in one post. Every Swede should have a copy of her first soloalbum (listed below) in their collection!
These are the albums released this year that I've bought so far:
Haujobb - vertical mixes Jenny Wilson - love and youth Nine Inch Nails - with teeth Noise Unit - voyeur Project Pitchfork - kaskade Röyksopp - the understanding Tori Amos - the beekeeper Vive la Fête - grand prix VNV Nation - matter + form
And on my wish list (not yet bought) there are the 2005 albums from: Leatherstrip, Conjure One, Iris, Alice in Videoland, Children Within, Depeche Mode, Love Olzon and Ladytron.
Sean: Wow, lots of my old favourites (Bauhaus, Cure, Joy Division. Ministry)!
Kal: What, no Robyn on your list? I got the impression you really like her latest album.
Tor: The latest BoC is pretty good too. It almost made it onto my list.
Paul: I'll check out last.fm.
Morgan: "Super Extra Gravity" is decent, but I don't think it comes close to "Long Gone Before Daylight" or "Gran Turismo".
Ola: Looks like you may be into a few of my all time favorites like Skinny Puppy, Frontline Assembly and Laibach.
Yeah, ditto on the last.fm thing. Was actually just going to ask who had accounts, because I'm liking the musical tastes I'm seeing (well for some at least). For those not in the know, Last.fm creates radio stations based on what you listen to, so it's an easy way to figure out if you share anyones tastes.
I can't believe it! With your taste in music I thought you'd at least mention the new album by New Order, "Waiting for the Sirens Call". If you haven't heard it yet, you're missing out.
Roger: Well, I have tried to listen to Skinny Puppy and I really want to like them. They are such a big part of the history of electronic music and EBM, so I had to give them a try. But they are just not right for me, even though I like some tracks. Perhaps I have bought the wrong albums?
Laibach has never been a favourite and never will be I'm afraid.
Frontline Assembly on the other hand is an all time favourite when it comes to electronic music. I discovered them 1992 when they released the Caustic Grip album and I have bought most releases since then. I wonder how many hours I've spent listening to them. Many, many, hours of my life. But I think they are well spent!
I listen a lot to their (FLA's) side projects as well. I mentioned Noise Unit and Conjure One before. Delerium and Synaestesia are also favourites from the side projects.
If you are interested in a complete list of my albums (CD's) you will find on my web page. God knows why I put it there. Currently only in swedish, but an english version is on the way. (Men du förstår ju iallafall Roger ;) )
Chris: I completely adore New Order from the eighties, but their more recent ones I don't like. I haven't listened at all to their latest one though. Is it really that good?
Death Cab - Transatlanticism | Plans Mae - Everglow Minus the Bear - Menos el Oso | Highly Refined Pirates The Flaming Lips Dave Matthews Band
Nice list! Guess i'll have to check some of the albums out somewhere in a musicstore next week.
Greetings.
Hey Roger,
I've discovered some really good independent music this year, some of which is in my top 10 list:
Cheers; Poncho
Ola - sorry, I wasn't a huge New Order fan before, I just had Republic for "Regret", didn't hear much of their 90's stuff, but I love the new one.
Some of my favorite albums of 2005 (in no particular order):
1) Port-Royal - Flares 2) The Mass - City Of Dis 3) Pelican - The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw 4) Ephel Duath - Pain Neccesary To Know 5) Funeral Diner - The Underdark 6) 65 Days Of Static - One Time For All Time 7) Wow, Owls! - Pick Your Patterns 8) Municipal Waste - Hazardous Mutation 9) Gospel - The Moon Is A Dead World 10) The Setup - The Pretense Of Normality
Chris: I've heard the latest New Order album, and it's OK. I've never been a huge New Order fan, even though I love some of their songs.
Ola: I agree that some Skinny Puppy albums may be a bit inaccessible. I think the first albums are a good place to start: "Remission" and "Bites".
I only listen to DJ mixes (sophisticated electronic music, of course), so I just include ten of my favorite sets of 2005:
(Await my blog in 2006.)
Good choices all around from everybody on the comments list. I feel that the one album that no one seems to have dropped into their ears and should, based on everyone's "tops" and "likes" is Mylo "Destroy Rock 'n Roll". Pretty much going to make you happy (warning: increase in happines with chemical or liquid assistance).
Mylo is playing in Toronto (the T-Dot for you local heroes) and I am mos def going to be at dat, like they say.
Also, a GREAT ALBUM is Royksopp "The Understanding", as well as, M.I.A.
Happy ears = Happy life.
All the best to everyone in their journey to dance, chill, escape, fall in love and the etc.'s that music bring to us.
Piece, Greg
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