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December 29, 2004
Top 30 Albums of 2004 as selected by me - Part One: 30-21
I don't have the patience to do all 30 at once so here's 30-21.
30. Deerhoof - Milkman - Weird stuff, but more focused than past releases, from the cute Sonic Youth influenced group from San Francisco. Hooded milkmen luring children is the theme.
29. Mission of Burma - OnoffOn - MoB returns after 16 years to release a record that sounds surprisingly like they've been stuck in 1988 for those 16 years. Comfortably familiar yet blisteringly intense and neurotic.
28. The Trouble with Sweeney - Fishtown Briefcase - A perfect little EP for the past summer full of great little pop/alt-country tunes that tell great stories (and a cover of Wings' "Listen to what the man said.") A fishtown briefcase is a loose-case of cans of beer, btw.
27. Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain - remixed and remastered with 30+ extra songs - This album originally came out ten years ago and it's even better now, especially with all the extra stuff.
26. De La Soul - The Grind Date - Hip hop legends back and better than ever. One of many good rap albums that came out in 2004.
25. M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts - 21st century Electronica meets My Bloody Valentine and makes beautiful music.
24. Sonic Youth - Sonic Nurse - Every couple of years I look up and one of my all-time favorite bands has released a new album. They've been around for over twenty years now and while nothing will touch their late 80's output (Daydream Nation, Sister, Evol), their new stuff is still better than 99% of what's out there.
23. Dave Douglas Quintet - Strange Liberation - Former John Zorn and Anthony Braxton sideman's 7th album retreats a little from the electronic experimentation of Freak In for a very Miles-ish record. Bill Frisell joins the band for this one which makes it extra good.
22. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand - This record is better than I give it credit for but overexposure dulls the edginess after awhile.
21. Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous - A bit twee in places for me, but "It's a Hit" and "Portions for Foxes" among other great songs, make up for it. Jenny Lewis's voice is enough to do it for me (and I didn't even like Troop Beverly Hills).
Posted by Half-Cocked at December 29, 2004 10:57 PM
Comments
Did you buy 30+ CDs during the year?
Posted by: stag at December 30, 2004 01:40 AM
nope. I hear most of them on Rhapsody, which I subscribe too since for the cost of 8 CD's I have thousands of them available for listening.
Posted by: Steve at December 30, 2004 02:07 AM
Decent picks thus far ... though I won't pass judgment until I see how you round out your list.
Posted by: Kevin at December 30, 2004 02:40 PM
Maybe I should quit while I'm ahead since I have Ashlee Simpson notched at #1.
Posted by: Steve at December 31, 2004 03:43 AM
hey there -- cool list. i've been posting a bunch of people's 2004 "best of" lists on my blog, rhapsody rock school, which is devoted entirely to rhapsody playlists. you can check it out at http://rockschool.blogspot.com if you're interested. :)
matt
Posted by: matt at January 2, 2005 10:29 PM