Music Meridian

I've seen lots of rumors flying around the internets about guitar great Derek Bailey passing away on Christmas day. But I can't find an "official" statement on the matter. Anyone else hear of this or know if it's true?

phil has told me to offer my top ten of 2005, so here i go.

as i count it, i acquired 58 cds this year that actually came out in 2005 (of the 185 cds i did acquire this year). not all of those are real albums, and some are re-releases, so the total is something closer to 35. of these, my favorite ten follow:

kate bush - aerial
kate bush back in top form. seriously do i have to say more than that? she sings, she soars, she tells a story unlike anyone else. think 'hounds of love' only better, and modern.

the mars volta - frances the mute
i dated a girl who hates this band. my new girlfriend thinks they're pretty cool. i'm not entirely sure how phil left this album off his list, or even out of his honorable mention. how soon we forget greatness.

shakira - fijacion oral vol. 1
latin pop isn't exactly well represented in my collection, so the fact that this is on my top ten says something. initially it was too smooth and glossy, a case of rick rubin losing his edge (see weezer's well-made but boring 'make believe'), but further listens bring out the songs, and man can she sing. i don't know spanish too well, but i know what the songs mean.

gravenhurst - fires in distant buildings
as i've written here before, i discovered this band opening for broadcast and it blew me away. essentially one guy with a drummer and whoever he needs to augment him on stage, this is shoegaze ten years later. this is what my bloody valentine could have been.

the orb - okie dokie it's the orb on kompakt
i'll admit, it's been a while since the orb really sounded like the orb. this isn't your chill out room dance-dub of the 90's. alex patterson has merged himself with german glitch-dub and revolutionized his sound. the past two (or three if you count badorb) orb albums were tremendous disappointments, but this one is finally a return to form. just when all those classic dance acts seemed to be washed up and irrelevant, the evergrowing orb continues to rule from the center of the ultraworld.

danger doom - the mouse and the mask
mf doom, with dangermouse at the controls, wrapping about adult swim shows. even better, the characters from those adult swim shows join in. even better, um, no damon albarn.

kevin blechdom - eat my heart out
yeah, i dropped and extra three dollars to get the limited edition promo copy with kevin holding a realy cow heart. it's disgusting, really. the music is built with max/dsp and sounds like mike patton on rewind. then she sings. bitterness is hilarious.

fantomas - suspended animation
speaking of mike patton, i think phil forgot anoter slab of greatness. some thought this band lost the plot the year before with delirium cordia, but suspended animation proves they're back and better than ever. plus, it comes in a calendar of japanese cartoons and made up holidays. april was never so awesome.

taylor deupreee & kenneth kirschner - post_piano 2
actually, the original post_piano project was much better, but this sequel, four years later, is still amazing. i won't get into the story, but this is fantastic experimental music, calm and detailed. unless i tie you to a chair and give you no choice, you'll probably never bother hearing this.

andrew bird - the mysterious production of eggs
let's hear it for the chicago boy who used to play violin for squirrel nut zippers. his way with words is amazing, and he was one of the highlights of last summer's intonation festival. his music is inventive, and the art direction is way awesome.


i want to take some time to honor the best re-issues of 2005. these are without a doubt the cure - pornography and luomo - vocal city. you don't know luomo, but he's german techno, and the album is six dance tracks in 70 minutes. pretty sick. oh, and aphex twin deserves some credit for finally making hangable auto bulb available in a wide release. though it's not as interesting as one might hope.


also, in the dishonorable mention category, here are a few albums i could have done without in 2005 (aside from the usual pop pap):

bright eyes - digital ash in a digital urn / i'm wide awake, it's morning

nine inch nails - with teeth

weezer - make believe


and, in a new category, disappointment of the year is dredg - catch without arms. what happened?


the best album i acquired in 2005, though not necessarily released in 2005, was probably the re-issue of the manic street preachers - the holy bible, followed closely by jimi hendrix - band of gypsys. actually, i acquired a whole lot in 2005 that everyone else should have, but i'll save that for another entry.





Here's my list in no particular order:

Municipal Waste - Hazardous Mutation
The return of thrash metal. No one is doing it better in 2005 and drummer Dave Witte blasts away like mad.

Strapping Young Lad - Alien
Insane on every level. Drummer Gene Hoglan says most of it was 1st takes and that's mind boggling. Devin Townsend shrieks and screams like a madman. Can't stop listening to it.

Lightning Bolt - Hypermagic Mountain
When I first heard it, I thought it was more of the same. But upon repeated listenings, I love it. Still super catchy and pummeling.

Sir Millard Mulch - How To Sell...
Probably the best thing all year. A 3-CD concept album with amazing songs, over the top instrumentals and hilarious comedy. Something for everyone(?)

System Of A Down - Mesmerize/Hypnotize
Probably the weirdest thing to hit the Billboard Top 10 all year. Some mind blowing pop-metal that proves you can still be quirky AND catchy. Listening to them both brings into focus the successfulness of their project.

Messer Chups - Crazy Price
Strange B-Movie inspired surf rock from Russia. I need not say more. Totally rules.

Ennio Morricone - Crime And Dissonence
An amazing compliation of the famous Italian film composer as you've never heard him before. Anything from funk to blasting free jazz to eerie symphonic pieces. Do not hesitate if you are a fan in any way.

Orthrelm - OV
The most inane as well as insane thing they've done so far. You can get lost in the repetition of the album, which also builds tension like Chinese water torture. Plus, as an added bonus, you can annoy your neighbors!

Hella - Concentration Face
The DVD is awesome footage of the band in Japan that is hands-down DVD of the year. But the music CD that comes with it is on par with their best stuff. Zach Hill is still inspiring.

Bob Dylan - No Direction Home
No Dylan fan should be without this and the DVD that goes along with it. Just like the other albums in the "Bootleg Series" its yet another holy grail of material.


Runner ups......

Coheed and Cambia - IV (etc etc etc)

Not as bad as I initially thought. I think it's actually quite good but not on par with their earlier material.


Painkiller - Zorn's 50th Birthday Celebration Vol 10
Not the original Painkiller lineup (we now have Mike Patton on voice and Hamid Drake on drums) but the feel is still pure freejazz/dub/metal. Hooray!

Opeth - Ghost Revelries
They still sound like Opeth...no real new ground tread, but there's really no need to, is there? Why mess with a winning formula.

Part 3 of the "Corsaga" is available for Pre-Order. It's called Joe's XMASage (horrible name). However, early recordings from 1963! Sounds good to me. My order is in.

Coming Soon, from the makers of MusicMeridian.com:

DrumScoop.com

There's all kinds of interesting things in the works for this new site. Don't worry, Music Meridian will still continue and improve, but DrumScoop is going to be very, very interesting indeed.

Sign up for the mailing list to keep up to date as the site gets ready for launch in early 2006!







i have good taste in music. ok, so i got the lcd soundsystem album (cheap from bmg, at least) and it's just ok (the second disc, which is 7 tracks in 53 minutes, kicks a lot of ass, at least), but most everything else i have is wonderful. amazing. even mindblowing. let me give you an example.

today i've lost my mind a few times, and i'm just sitting at work, doing work and listening to music. check this out.

first there's the aforementioned lcd soundsystem, which is indierockdancepunk for hipsters and their wannabe friends. it makes me want to write a song about what a tool james murphy is. it makes me wonder what's happened to modern music.

i followed that with the o'jays' ship ahoy. dude, the o'jays. at their peak. i didn't have any of their music before, and man i went crazy. prime philly soul blowing my mind.

then beth orton's the other side of daybreak. b-sides and remixes, not bad. i like what four tet does with her sound. some people will whine for new music, but hearing her voice here i wonder what her new stuff will sound like. she's either been doing some screaming or she's been drinking and smoking way too much.

back in time again to joni mitchell and blue. do i have to say anything here? wow. if phil ever revives his one-word reviews, that's all that comes to mind right now.

hope of the states is a curious band, and one i have to grow with. again with the modern music, again with the feeling of let down. better than lcd, but i was expecting something different. i think it's the singing that throws me--i was expecting harmonies, backing vocals, a smoother lead maybe. oh well. the music is dramatic and textured. nice.

i have stereolab's underappreciated cobra and phases group play voltage in the milky night, and after hearing emperor tomato ketchup start i understand why.

i won't get to the first two steely dan albums today, which is a shame as they're what i was looking forward to most. maybe i'm a boring old square now, but man, modern music just doesn't do it for me anymore. i'd rather here do it again than anything from the academy is... or bright eyes or my chemical romance. at least fagen and becker can write songs.