2004

Shows:

Primus at D.A.R.
Morrissey at Radio City Music Hall
The Hives & Reigning Sound at 930 (Sahara hotnights sucks)
Pixies & TV on the Radio at D.A.R. on wednesday

Albums:
Brian Wilson's Smile, PJ Harvey's Uh Huh Her, Loretta Lynn's Van Lear Rose, Bjork's Medulla, Mos Def's the New Danger

Originally posted by palahniukkubrick:
Primus at D.A.R.
[/QB]

Definetely!!!!!!!!!!!

my favorite 11 shows of the year:

Alejandro Escovedo w/ Jim Lauderdale â?¢ 3/21 â?¢ Continental Club
16 Horsepower â?¢ 4/10 â?¢ Bowery Ballroom
Slim Cessna's Auto Club â?¢ 4/20 â?¢ Black Cat
Kraftwerk â?¢ 4/23 â?¢ some small arena in Toronto
Unknown Hinson â?¢ 5/6 â?¢ Iota
The Mavericks w/a bitchin horn section â?¢ 6/2 â?¢ Stubbs BBQ
Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder â?¢ 7/1 â?¢ Ryman Auditorium
The Hives â?¢ 7/2 â?¢ 9:30
Dave Alvin & Los Straitjackets â?¢ 7/28 â?¢ Birchmere
Laibach â?¢ 11/5 â?¢ TLA
John Fogerty â?¢ 11/12 â?¢ 9:30

1. Elbow/Alfie at Brixton Academy
2. The Polyphonic Spree at the Kennedy Centre
3. Morrisey at Constitution Hall
4. The Faint w/ TV on the Radio at 9:30 Club
5. Curiosa Festival at Merriweather Post
6. The Secret Machines w/ The Helio Sequence at Black Cat
7. Air/Joy Zipper at Brixton Academy
8. Zero 7 at 9:30 Club
9. Velvet Revolver at 9:30 Club
10. Super Furry Animals/Papa M at 9:30 Club

Out of 50 shows this year, my faves in chronological order –the best shows were Sloan in NYC, GBV in NYC, and the Hives, which surprised the hell out of me:

- Urge Overkill, the Shazam, Bowery Ballroom, NYC (Feb 7)
- Metric (but not South), 9:30 (Feb 14)
- The Decemberists, BC (Mar 23)
- Long Winters (opening for Pernice Bros). BC (4/15)
- Snow Patrol, 930 (4/17)
- GBV, Bowery Ballroom in NY, (Sat., 4/24)
- Sloan, BC (5/13)
- Sloan (opening for, and NOT including, Jet) Roseland Ballroom, NYC (7/10)
- The Rosebuds, BC Backstage ( 7/13)
- The Hives, 930 (7/20)
- Muse, 930 (11/8)

So far 45 shows this year. Everything from Arlo Guthrie (Birchmere), John Prine (Wolf Trap), and Bowie (Hershey) to Marilyn Manson (930), Deftones (930), and Drowning Pool (Richmond). Bought CDs at damn near every show and just plain old had a kick ass good time. Hope to see as many great shows in '05.

20 Shows for me this year. Sonic Youth, Beastie Boys (thanks Ratbastard for the tix), Deftones, The Pixies, and Social Distortion were some of my favorites.

salon.com top 10

1. "Cherry Tree EP," the National
A near perfect EP, both delicate and rugged – like a beaten and battered but very butch butterfly. Profoundly moving, but without any big emotional gestures, any trace of sentimentality. I expect great things from this band.

2. "Funeral," the Arcade Fire
Passionate, unashamed and bold, arranged with precision and performed with joyful, sloppy fervor. A record worthy of all the hype.

3. "Real Gone," Tom Waits
It all started with Waits beat-boxing into a tape recorder in his bathroom – how badass is that – and out comes this clanging, clattering run-down steamroller of a record, welcome proof that Waits isn't losing his edge. His best in over a decade.

4. "Flashpapr," Flashpapr
A hushed, retiring record, all muted sounds melted together.

5. "Madvillain," Madvillain
The best of underground hip-hop in 2004, with Madlib's lush, gently counterintuitive beats, and MF Doom's hypnotic dream logic raps.

6. "La Maison de Mon Reve," Cocorosie
The atmosphere piece of the year, a cloistered, rainy-day reverie of a record made in a Parisian apartment by two sisters with the voices of mournful, aged cats.

7. "Cee-lo Green Is the Soul Machine," Cee-lo
It's a mystery that Cee-lo, one of the great producers and rappers in today's hip-hop scene, not to mention hands down the best singer, has yet to achieve greater success. An up-and-down record, but with some of the highest highs of the year, including brilliant tracks from Timbaland and the Neptunes. The best, though, were produced by Cee-lo himself.

8. "Rejoicing in the Hands," Devendra Banhart
A legend in the making, the charismatic, enigmatic young songwriter is the locus of a burgeoning new folk movement. His perfect miniatures are by turns profound, naive, mystifying and almost always touching.

9. "Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus," Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
The songwriting record of the year, an extraordinary display by a master of the craft, the poetry all banged out and burnished, and shining with the kind of workmanship that only obsessive drive combined with genius can achieve.

10. "Misery Is a Butterfly," Blonde Redhead
The most cerebral of bands gives in to long-repressed romantic urges and creates a dark, cinematic beauty.

Honorable mentions: "Medulla," Bjork; "Not Going Anywhere," Keren Ann; "Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes," TV on the Radio; "Heroes to Zeroes," the Beta Band; "The College Dropout," Kanye West; "Uh Huh Her," PJ Harvey.

I see Bresnner is playing the part of GGW this year ;)

its a dirty job but someones gotta do it - who's this bresnner guy anyway?

while I'm at it

tiny mix tapes

Wasn't it a little too soon to start this thread 26 days before the end of 2004?

I know most albums are released before Dec 5, but that still leaves us almost 4 weeks to discover albums that have been previously released in 2004…

Well between my wife and I, we bought around 20 albums released in 2004. So those are the albums I will make a list from.

1. BR549- Tangled in the Pines. The boys finally make an album that is the equal of their fantastic live show.

2. Drive By Truckers- The Dirty South. Fifteen years ago, I would have turned my nose up to a band that garners (undeserved) Skynard comparisons. But this is 2004, and these guys just simply make music that is both pretty AND balls to the wall.

3. Nellie McKay- Get Away From Me. When I first read about this one, I was very skeptical. But upon the first listen, I was hooked, and continue to be.

4. Jolie Holland- Escondida. Tom Waits likes it. That's enough to make most music snobs take notice, but once thet do, they'll find something that is quite lovely.

5. Bobby Bare Jr.-End of Your Leash. Not quite as good as his previous effort, but nobody blends folk, rock, country, and soul in quite as unique a way as Bobby does.

6. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists- Shake the Sheets. When people mention the word "punk" and apply it to anything recorded post-1985, chances are it will be cringeworthy to me. But thankfully, this album has such kick ass hooks, that it should be required listening for anyone making music.

7. Old 97's: Drag It Up. Their strongest effort since Too Far to Care, but still not in the same league as that. Still, far better than most music out there.

8. Ollabelle- Ollabelle. This is what it would have sounded like if the Band did a gospel album. Gospel music is usually kinda cheesy, but these guys do it with respect for the genre without sounding like Christian blowhards.

9. Jesse Sykes- Oh, My Girl. As much as I abhor smoking, this album makes me want to lie around and chain smoke. Ok, maybe not really, but it is a lazy, hazy winner.

10. Grant Lee Phillips- Virginia Creeper. It's tough to sit through Grant Lee Buffalo's albums without thinking, "How did I ever like this bombastic, overdone early 90's modern rock crap?" That being said, this one gets rid of all the gross histrionics of his early work and shows a fine songwriter with a nice voice.

Albums we bought that didn't make the list: Allison Moorer, Two Cow Garage, Rilo Kiley, Rogue Wave, Tony Joe White, Loretta Lynn and a handful of others.

Best shows: BR549 in Richmond and at Jammin Java, Drive By Truckers at Recher and 9:30 (9:30 show was best because Allison Moorer was a great opener). Old 97's twice at 9:30, Pernice Brothers and Long Winters at Black Cat Robbie Fulks at Iota, Ollabelle at Iota.

Most overrated album: Loretta Lynn-Van Lear Rose. This sounds like a Jack White country album with Loretta Lynn doing vocal chores. Which is fine if you like Jack White. Personally, I prefer the Emmylou Harris-Daniel Lanois and Willie Nelson-Daniel Lanois collaborations, as well as the seemingly more hands-off Rick Rubin approach to Johnny Cash.

A few 2004-released albums I enjoyed this year:

The Blueskins - Word of Mouth (I can't recommend them enough.)
22-20s - 22-20s (This album will be out in the US next year.)
Hope of the States - The Lost Riots
Ambulance Ltd - Ambulance Ltd
Interpol - Antics
Highspire - Your Everything

I know there must be a couple of others but these are the ones that spring to mind first.

I'm still sick about missing the Muse show from a month or so ago, so much so that I've not read any of the follow-up posts or reviews. So I'm kind of glad to see that it's not at the top of everyone's Best Concert lists. God, I wanted to go to that so bad, but new baby at home beckoned.

Favorite discs of this year, only in the order that I think of them:
Futureheads
Muse
Franz Ferdinand
Interpol
M83
Scissor Sisters (the kid loves this one)
Arcade Fire
Green Day
Secret Machines
Morrissey

I just got the new Walkmen album and that is really growing on me. If I was doing this a week from now, it would probably be on it.

But as usual, by a long shot the records/discs that I spun the most were by the Minutemen, Husker Du, Jesus and Mary Chain, and the Meat Puppets.

I feel like the Stellastarr*, Ambulance, Killers show at the Black Cat was a 2004 show, and if so, that was the best one by a mile. Stellastarr* is going to come back in a big way soon.

And thank Christ nothing from that loaf of talentless dross that is Sleater-Kinney.

Originally posted by Relaxer:
And thank Christ nothing from that loaf of talentless dross that is Sleater-Kinney.

I'll toast a glass of paint with you at midnight about that one!!! ;)

Top 10 albums of 2004 (I purchased, not necessarily released):

1. The Helio Sequence - Young Effectuals
2. Tom McRae - Just Like Blood
3. Jon Hopkins - Opalescent
4. The Music - Welcome to the North
5. Secret Machines - Now Here is Nowhere
6. The Polyphonic Spree - Together We're Heavy
7. Trespassers William - Different Stars
8. Blackfield - Self Titled
9. Interpol - Antics
10. The Cooper Temple Clause- Kick up the fire and let the flames loose

Originally posted by Jaguär:

Originally posted by Relaxer:
And thank Christ nothing from that loaf of talentless dross that is Sleater-Kinney.

I'll toast a glass of paint with you at midnight about that one!!! ;)

Right on sister!

Originally posted by Jaguär:

Originally posted by Relaxer:
And thank Christ nothing from that loaf of talentless dross that is Sleater-Kinney.

I'll toast a glass of paint with you at midnight about that one!!! ;)

Don't be hatin'.
;)

yeah don't be hatin'

I will attribute your testy outburst to sleep deprivation - congrats on the new baby!

and just think, the new Sleater-Kinney will make 2005 all the more wonderful ;) Don't be hatin'.
;)