I'm sorry for 2004

[vovat]

As of yesterday, I’ve had this livejournal for one year. Happy birthday, I suppose. I’ve had a journal a lot longer than that, but it was in a different format. Also, happy birthday to jazzsammich, who needs to update his journal more often.

On Tuesday night, bethje, Dorothea, and I went out to eat at Denny’s, which was fun and tasty. Last night, I went to Atlantic City with Beth and her Uncle John, and I won about $26 playing the penny slots. I can’t afford to play any machines with higher stakes than that. {g}

I guess 2004 is almost over, and 2005 is coming soon. The years keep flying by faster and faster, don’t they? Maybe I’ll fare better in the getting-a-job respect in the new year. Speaking strictly aesthetically, I like even-numbered years better than odd ones, but that generally has nothing to do with how the years themselves actually work out.

Anyway, since it’s the end of the year, I might as well go over the new music I’ve heard this year. This isn’t going to be a Best Of or Top Ten or anything, since I rarely hear more than ten new albums in a given year anyway. EVERY new album that I’ve heard this year (or at least all of them that I can remember) is going to get a mention. Basically, that means either albums that I bought, or ones that Beth bought and I listened to. If I’ve written some kind of review of the album at some point during the year, the album title will be a link to the relevant entry. I’ll also list my favorite songs, if I have any as of yet.

Frank Black: Frank Black Francis

This is made up of two discs, one of Frank’s (or should I say Black Francis’?) demos of Pixies songs, and the other of weird reworkings of Pixies songs. Overall, I like the first disc better than the second, although some of the new versions are interesting. The whole collection isn’t something I’m likely to listen to all that often, but it’s nice to have.


Andy Partridge: Fuzzy Warbles Volume 5 and 6

More demo collections, but I like them better than the Frank Black one. I suppose that’s partially because, as much as I like Frank and the Pixies, they still don’t rank as highly in my affections as XTC does. There are also a lot of songs on the Fuzzy Warbles CDs that hadn’t been officially released before, and, while you can see why with some of them, others are really good. Andy is an amazing songwriter, and it’s good that he’s releasing SOMETHING, even if XTC appears to no longer be a going concern.

Favorite Songs: Young Cleopatra, Broomstick Rhythm, My Land Is Burning, I Can’t Tell What Truth Is Anymore, The Tiny Circus Of Life, End Of The Pier


Fastbacks: Truth, Corrosion and Sour Bisquits

All I knew about the Fastbacks when I first decided to download some of their songs from eMusic was that Kurt Bloch of the Young Fresh Fellows was in the band. They’re kind of punkish, and the harsh quality of the vocals makes them a little less accessible than a lot of what I listen to. They have quite a few great songs, though, and I’m hoping to get more of their back catalog in the coming year. My favorites from other releases include “No Music Played,” “Trouble Sleeping,” and “Old Address Of The Unknown.” I haven’t really listened to the new album enough to come up with any favorites, but I’m sure I’ll have some soon enough.


Nora O’Connor: Til the Dawn

Beth and I saw her perform with Kelly Hogan earlier this year, and Beth bought her album. I haven’t really listened to it that much myself, but I do like it. She has a good singing voice.


Franz Ferdinand: self-titled

Another one of Beth’s CDs. I’m not usually someone who gets into the latest overhyped bands, but this album is pretty good. Besides, having a Bachelor of Arts in History, I can’t help respecting a band named after the assassinated Archduke of Hapsburg. I think the band even played in Sarajevo on the anniversary of the assassination. I can see how some people have seen (or, more accurately, heard) Talking Heads influence to their music, especially with songs like “Auf Achse” and “This Fire.”


The Meat Purveyors: Pain by Numbers

I bought this CD for Beth for her birthday, and I pretty much always end up listening to the CDs I give her. She never seems to be quite as interested in listening to the ones she gives me. Anyway, I’ve only listened to it twice so far, but there’s a fun bluegrass style to it that I like.

Favorite Songs: How Can I Be So Thirsty Today?, Monday Morning, In The Middle Of Nowhere


Various Artists: Future Soundtrack for America

It might not have met its intended purpose, but it’s still a good collection. Some of it, anyway. I’m not especially proud of the fact that I now own a CD with a Blink-182 track, for instance. Still, there are enough great songs here to make it worthwhile.

Favorite Songs: Ain’t Go So Far To Go, Final Straw, Tippecanoe And Tyler Too, Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, Sam Stone


Various Artists: This One’s for the Fellows

A tribute to the underappreciated Young Fresh Fellows, one of my personal favorite bands. Unfortunately, this year also saw some rumors about the official dissolution of the Fellows. I was hoping they’d release a new album at some point, and this is becoming less likely. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the members playing together again sometime. The tribute album has some really good covers and others that don’t really do the originals justice, as is typical for tribute albums.

Favorite Songs: Mamie Dunn/Good Times Rock ‘n’ Roll, Still There’s Hope, Celebration, Teenage Dogs In Trouble (Mono Men version)


Neko Case: The Tigers Have Spoken

This is Neko’s first live album. Fortunately, it’s mostly new material. That’s not to say that I don’t like to hear live reworkings of album tracks, but I tend not to listen to that sort of live album all that often. Not her best work, but it’s hard to top Furnace Room Lullaby. The songs are good, and the hidden track is amusing.

Favorite Songs: If You Knew, Soulful Shade Of Blue, Rated X


The Minus 5: In Rock and At the Organ

As you might expect from the title, In Rock has more of a straight-up rock sound than the other Minus 5 records. It’s not their best (I prefer I Don’t Know Who I Am, which I also bought this year, although it was released late last year), but it’s still fun. The EP is a supplement to Down with Wilco, and includes a cool video for “The Town That Lost Its Groove Supply.”

Favorite Songs: Dear My Inspiration, Where The Wires Meet The Skies, Cosmic Jive, Hotel Senator


The Magnetic Fields: i

I had heard and enjoyed some Magnetic Fields songs before, but it was this year that I really got into them. I bought 69 Love Songs in January (I think), and then got this new one after it was released (well, obviously {g}). Now I’m trying to get the rest of their back catalog. Anyway, i has a pretty similar sound to 69 Love Songs, although it’s not quite as diverse. This pretty much goes without saying, though, seeing that there are only 14 songs instead of, well, 69.

Favorite Songs: I Don’t Believe You, If There’s Such A Thing As Love, It’s Only Time


Carolyn Mark and the New Best Friends: The Pros and Cons of Collaboration

This is another one that I bought for Beth. We first saw Carolyn when she played a show with Neko last year. I think Beth has pretty much all of her albums now, and I’d say this new one is the best. Not only are there quite a few great songs, but the album has an overture and an outro with amusing credits, which are nice touches.

Favorite Songs: 2 Days Smug And Sober, The Wine Song, Slept All Afternoon, Yanksgiving


Camper Van Beethoven: New Roman Times

The band’s first new album in a long time, and a good one at that. I wouldn’t say it was their best or anything, but it definitely stands with their older work, which is no mean feat. There’s a connecting story between the tracks, too. Some of them are really worked into the story rather awkwardly, but it’s still a quite cohesive work overall. Most of the better tracks are at the beginning and the end, though. This year also saw the release of In the Mouth of the Crocodile, a CD of CVB live in Seattle.

Favorite Songs: 51-7, Might Makes Right, Militia Song, R ‘n R Uzbekistan, Hippy Chix


They Might Be Giants: Indestructible Object, The Spine, The Spine Surfs Alone, Almanac, and Venue Songs

TMBG was back in a big (no, I’m not QUITE corny enough to say “giant” :P) way this year. The Spine is probably their best album since John Henry, four years ago. It’s pretty short, but it’s more cohesive than a lot of TMBG’s recent work, and it was accompanied by TWO EPs. The collection of Venue Songs was also excellent. The band wrote songs for the various venues they played at this year, and put the best on a downloadable album. (A real CD would have been better, but I couldn’t have gotten it as quickly that way, so…I don’t know. Besides, I hear that it might come out on CD sometime next year.)

Favorite Songs: Memo To Human Resources, Au Contraire, Museum Of Idiots, Damn Good Times, Stalk Of Wheat, Now Is Strange, I’m All You Can Think About, Asbury Park, Anaheim, Columbia, Hollywood, London


As far as musicians I got into this year who didn’t come out with any new releases, I can think of the Decemberists and Corn Mo. I forget how I had first heard of the former, but I heard a few of their songs by way of the Internet, and I liked them. I ended up downloading everything of theirs that eMusic had available. I think I prefer Castaways and Cutouts to the newer one, Her Majesty, the Decemberists, but they’re both good. There’s a sort of British theatrical vibe to their music that I enjoy. As for Corn Mo, Beth and I first saw him when he opened for TMBG the day after Christmas last year. He then opened for two more TMBG concerts that we attended this year, and we finally decided to split the cost of one of his albums, The Magic Is You, after the Philadelphia show. He’s a very enthusiastic performer, and his style is quite epic in a Meat Loaf kind of way, with fun, kind of childish lyrics.

Albums that should be coming out next year that I’m looking forward to include:

Tori Amos: The Beekeeper

Frank Black: Honeycomb--An album that Frank did with Nashville session musicians. There should also be an EP of additional material from these sessions out not too long after the album.

Neko Case: ?—She has said that The Tigers Have Spoken would be followed up with a studio album, but she doesn’t have a title yet.

Cracker: ?—There were rumors that a new Cracker album would come out soon after the release of New Roman Times. I have no idea whether these rumors are true.

Hypnotic Clambake: Mayonnaise--This should be out early next year.

Andy Partridge: Fuzzy Warbles Volume 7 and 8--I believe these are supposed to be the last two in the collection.