End Of Year Madness

So... 2005 has almost ended and I'm as glad as I've ever been to see 12 months go by.

I shouldn't feel that way - my work has been great, satisfying, even; I'm making music again and, because of this, I've made some new friends (it's pretty good music too, btw) ; my health has been OK; I've lost some weight for the 1st time since it's inexorable upward trend started in 1986, etc, etc.

But living in a climate of fear and loathing has simply worn me out. I really can't abide the current Australian government and the self-serving populace that voted them in. Not that I'm bitter and twisted, mind you. Oh no. And where is that special knife?

[Any of that previous paragraph could send me to gaol under a raft of current laws - ridiculous, really.]

I don't know whether this abhorence has been converted into a similar feeling for the music of 2005 but I simply haven't found one great album made this year. There's still lots of good tracks out there but it seems like there's some sort of holding pattern happening - roll on 2007, maybe.

In any case, here's some that I did enjoy:

Antony and The Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now : it's all about that fabulous voice (even if it can annoy over the full album length)
Eno - Another Day On Earth : a bit stilted but has some great moments
Eliane Radigue - all her stuff : magical, slowly evolving electronics

EST - Viaticum (and all their previous releases) : excellent modern jazz
Tord Gustavsen - The Ground : gorgeous jazz piano trio stuff
Kammerflimmer Kollectief - Absencen : more jazz inflections with an avant touch
The Necks - Mosquito / See Through : the usual searching minimalism
[and I'll never say I don't like jazz ever again - I even enjoyed Miles Davis' "In A Silent Way" last week]

Scritti Politti - Early : at last, a proper reference for one of the greatest post-punk bands
Can - Future Days and Unlimited Edition : that excellent remastering continues
Talking Heads - Brick : the music sounds as fabulous as it should, still have to see the DVD s

As usual I made up a set of compilations to encompass all the tracks I liked (see the lists below).

Have a lovely 2006.


Celebrities, Models and Studio 54 (where my obvious lack of interest and knowledge of dance music and BPM comes into play)

01 Lippock & Morgenstern - Please Wake Me For Meals (03:42)
02 Juliet - Never Land (03:35)
03 Madonna - Hung Up (05:28)
04 Girls Aloud - Models (03:22)
05 Alan Braxe and Fred Falke - Intro (04:45)
06 Buka Band - Burka Blue (B.Morgenstern Mix) (03:10)
07 Goldfrapp - Fly Me Away (04:07)
08 Jeans Team - Wunderbar (04:28)
09 Ferenc - Diplodocus (06:27)
10 Isolee - Pictureloved (04:26)
11 Out Hud - Its For You (04:40)
12 Matthew Herbert - Celebrity (04:02)
13 Terri Walker - This Is My Time (03:39)
14 The Juan Maclean - Give Me Every Little Thing (05:23)
15 Daft Punk - Steam Machine (05:20)
16 Geneserene - Uwantme (04:02)
17 M.I.A. - Amazon (04:05)
18 Gorillaz - Dirty Harry (03:43)

This comp is a bit of a mess, really. Some great tracks and some that just don't fit well enough. But fun in it's own way, I suppose.

Spit It Out! (indie and rock - still being made after all these years)

01 Bunky - Yes, No (02:01)
02 Franz Ferdinand - The Fallen (03:32)
03 Bloc Party - Helicopter (03:37)
04 Louis XIV - Finding Out True Love Is Blind (04:11)
05 Jennifer Gentle - I Do Dream You (02:22)
06 Architecture In Helsinki - Wishbone (02:15)
07 Broadcast - I Found the F (02:16)
08 Hank - Forster Appeal (01:40)
09 Baikonour - Proto-Coeur (04:23)
10 Black Mountain - Druganaut (03:43)
11 Robert Plant And The Strange Sensation - Another Tribe (03:09)
12 Brendan Benson - Spit It Out (03:14)
13 Deerhoof - Twin Killers (02:11)
14 Devendra Banhart - Lazy Butterfly (03:42)
15 Charming Hostess - Heaven Sitting Down (03:58)
16 Tara Angell - Hollow Hope (03:44)
17 Gavouna - One Four (03:16)
18 The Shortwave Set - Slingshot (03:57)
19 Mahjongg - The Stubborn Horse (02:57)
20 Rinocerose - Bitch (03:53)
21 LCD Soundsystem - Daft Punk Is Playing At My House (05:13)
22 Ladytron - Destroy Everything You Touch (04:30)
23 Super Furry Animals - Lazer Beam (04:33)

Except for a few of these, it's been a really dire year for rock music. But it's still a form that can invogorate me. Bands' really need more synths and less guitars, desperately, or at least a better mix of both.

They Speak Of Monoxide and Many Other Things (singer / songwriters strut their stuff)

01 Maria Solheim - The Snow Has Killed (01:51)
02 Sufjan Stevens - Chicago (05:44)
03 Aimee Mann - She Really Wants You (03:19)
04 Andrew Bird - A Nervous Tic Motion Of The Head To The Left (edit) (03:21)
05 Cat Power - Love & Communication (04:29)
06 Angels Of Light - On The Mountain (05:09)
07 Emiliana Torrini - Sunnyroad (03:00)
08 Bonnie Prince Billy and Matt Sweeney - My Home Is The Sea (05:41)
09 Madelaine Peyroux - Don't Wait Too Long (03:05)1
0 Fiona Apple - Red Red Red (03:29)
11 Kate Bush - King Of The Mountain (04:38)
12 Chad Van Gaalen - After the Afterlife (03:12)
13 Josephine Foster - Crackerjack Fool (02:32)
14 Camille - Ta douleur (03:03)
15 Laura Veirs - Fire Snakes (04:39)
16 Mary Gauthier - I Drink (04:28)
17 Brian Eno - Bone Bomb (03:10)
18 Lewis Taylor - Listen Here (04:05)
19 Regina Spektor - Carbon Monoxide (04:54)
20 Antony And The Johnsons - My Lady Story (03:30)

Singer/songwriters! The world is full to the brim with them. Sometimes they're naughty and some times they're nice. And most of these are full of lovely chords and melodies and personal feelings.

Meloxicam Melodies ("weird' music that didn't fit in elsewhere)

01 Jan Jelinek - Lithiummelodie 1 (06:49)
02 Boards Of Canada - Chromakey Dreamcoat (05:33)
03 Contriva - Shadow (Mo Mix) (03:21)
04 Four Tet - Joy (03:04)
05 Justus Kohncke - Loreley (02:26)
06 Caribou - Barnowl (04:58)
07 Björk - Storm (05:26)
08 Steve Reich - You Are Wherever Your Thoughts Are (edit) (03:17)
09 Brian Eno - Long Way Down (02:32)
10 A Slow Rip - The Freeway Temple (06:04)
11 Tord Gustavsen - Edges Of Happiness (03:01)
12 E.S.T. - The Well-wisher (03:41)
13 Hauschka - Traffic (03:27)
14 Kammerflimmer Kollektief - Lichterloh (06:50)
15 Jaga Jazzist - All I Know is Tonight (07:35)
16 Reuber - Stadtflucht (03:00)
17 Shining - Aleister Explains Everything (03:14)
18 Strønen-Storløkken - Acrobat (02:33)

This is probably my favourite of all the comps. And I didn't even put on Eliane Radigue! From off-kilter electronics through ambient and minimalism and onto avant-jazz - the world of music continues to bring me wonders.