Journal

Here it is: 2005. The year I've been mildly not looking forward to. How people who have 50+ albums a year can manage to compile any sort of "Best of ___" list is beyond me. This year saw 31 albums for me! That is a personal best. 2005 was just a good year for me personally, too, if but for a short while. Maybe that had something to do with it? Anyway, with over 30 albums I have to list fifteen albums here, and sometimes the ranking is a little sketchy. Pretty sure on the first seven though:


1. Mew - And The Glass Handed Kites


2. Foo Fighters - In Your Honor


3. My Morning Jacket - Z


4. Doves - Some Cities


5. Giant Drag - Hearts And Unicorns


6. Starflyer 59 - Talking Voice vs. Singing Voice


7. Maria Taylor - 11:11


8. Nada Surf - The Weight Is a Gift


9. Bright Eyes - Digital Ash in a Digital Urn


10. The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema


11. The Like - Are You Thinking What I'm Thinking?


12. dredg - Catch Without Arms


13. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois


14. Cave In - Perfect Pitch Black


15. The Life and Times- Suburban Hymns

Hmm, four of these artists still haven't released follow-ups. And thus, the tide of the recording industry begins to change. . .

Or does it? Both Maria Taylor and Starflyer 59 have released two albums each in the same span. What the--?

Been meaning to do this for years - here's an incomplete list of bands I've seen at least once. Good or absolutely shite, they all make the list. Bold type denotes artists that I've had the pleasure of seeing more than once.

A
Adem
The Airborne Toxic Event
Alabama 3
The Aliens
All About Eve
Lily Allen
Dot Allison
Alpha
Amusement Parks on Fire
Annuals
Arab Strap
Architecture in Helsinki
Arctic Monkeys
Arrested Development
Asian Dub Foundation
B
Badly Drawn Boy
Banco de Gaia
Basement Jaxx
Bat for Lashes
The Bays
The Beat
The Beastie Boys
The Beautiful South
Beck
Beep Beep
Belle and Sebastian
Ben Folds Five
Bent
The Besnard Lakes
Big Country
Black Kids
Blondie
Blur
The Bodines
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
The Boy Least Likely To
Billy Bragg
Brainiac
Bright Eyes
The Brilliant Corners
Broken Spindles
Ian Brown
Tim Burgess
Bernard Butler
C
Terry Callier
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan
Carrie
Carter USM
Martin Carthy
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
Cast
Caterwaul
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
The Charlatans
The Charlottes
Chas N Dave
Cherry Ghost
The Cinematic Orchestra
Ross Clark & the Scarfs Go Missing
The Clerks
Clinic
The Close Lobsters
Coldcut
Coldplay
John Cooper Clarke
The Cooper Temple Clause
The Coral
Elvis Costello
Cousteau
Cranebuilders
Crazyhead
The Creatures
CUD
The Cure
D
The Darling Buds
The Datsuns
Death in Vegas
The Delgados
Delphic
Dodgy
Doves
Dreadzone
Dub Pistols
Dubtribe Sound System
Durutti Column
Bob Dylan
E
Steve Earle
Echo and the Bunnymen
Echoboy
The Eighteenth Day of May
Elbow
Electrafixion
Electric Soft Parade
Electric Sound Of Joy
Embrace
F
Fairport Convention
Th' Faith Healers
Faithless
Faith No More
The Fall
Fields of the Nephilim
Five Thirty
The Flaming Lips
Florence & The Machine
Foo Fighters
Four Tet
The Free Association
Friendly Fires
Frightened Rabbit
Fun Loving Criminals
The Futureheads
G
Ganger
Gaye Bykers on Acid
Ghost Dance
Glasvegas
Global Communication
Godflesh
Goldrush
Gomez
Jose Gonzalez
Gorkys Zygotic Mynci
The Go! Team
Grand Drive
Grass-Show
The Grave Architects
Gravenhurst
Al Green
Green on Red
Groove Armada
Guillemots
Guns N' Roses
H
Nick Harper
Rolf Harris
The Heart-throbs
Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid
The Matthew Herbert Big Band
Kristin Hersh
The Hidden Cameras
Micah P. Hinson
Hole
Jools Holland
Holy Fuck
House of Brothers
The House of Love
The Housemartins
Howlin' Rain
The Hunters Club
I
I Am Kloot
Idlewild
Interpol
Iron And Wine
It Bites
J
The Jack Rubies
Matthew Jay
The Jesus and Mary Chain
Jesus Jones
Johnny Domino
Joolz
K
Keane
The Killers
David Kitt
Kula Shaker
L
Lambchop
Leatherface
Leaves
The Levellers
The Libertines
Loop
Low
Lowgold
Lush
M
The Magic Numbers
Magnolia Electric Co.
The Majesticons
Manic Street Preachers
Mansun
Maps
Marillion
Marion
J Mascis
Massive Attack
Mega City Four
The Memory Band
The Men They Couldn't Hang
Mercury Rev
MGMT
Mia Doi Todd
The Mighty Lemon Drops
The Mission
Modest Mouse
Mono
The Montrose Avenue
John Moore And The Expressway
Morrissey
The Motorcycle Boy
Bob Mould
Mudhoney
My Bloody Valentine
Ralph Myerz and the Jack Herren Band
Mylo
N
The National
The Necks
Ned's Atomic Dustbin
The New Folk Implosion
New Model Army
New Order
Joanna Newsom
Scout Niblett
Nirvana
Now It's Overhead
O
Oasis
Okkervil River
Ooberman
Orbital
Beth Orton
P
The Pale Saints
The Parkinsons
Pavement
Penthouse
Pitman
The Pixies
The Pogues
Emma Pollock
Polytechnic
Pond
Pop Will Eat Itself
Primal Scream
The Primitives
The Prodigy
The Prudes
Public Enemy
Pulp
Q
Finlay Quaye
Queens of the Stone Age
R
Radiohead
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry
Red Snapper
REM
Reverend and The Makers
Ride
Rival Schools
RJD2
Roots Manuva
Tim Rose
Run DMC
S
Saint Etienne
Saint Joan
Salvation
Samamidon
Ulrich Schnauss
Scott 4
DJ Scotch Egg
Mr Scruff
The Sea and Cake
Seafood
Shack
DJ Shadow
The Shins
Michelle Shocked
The Shortwave Set
Silver Sun
Simian
Six.by Seven
The Sleepy Jackson
Elliott Smith
The Smiths
Snuff
Sonic Youth
Soul II Soul
The Soup Dragons
Space
Spacemen 3
Sparklehorse
Spear of Destiny
Spin Spin The Dogs
Spiritualized
Spring Heel Jack
Starsailor
St. Germain
The Stills
The Stone Roses
The Streets
Joe Strummer
Subkicks
Sugar
The Sugarcubes
Sun Kil Moon
Swans
T
Tapes N Tapes
Teenage Fanclub
The Telescopes
Texas
That Petrol Emotion
Them Crooked Vultures
Richard Thompson
Throwing Muses
Glenn Tilbrook
Tindersticks
The Ting-Tings
Travis
Tricky
Tunng
Turin Brakes
The Twilight Sad
U
Ultrasound
Under Neath What
Underworld
V
The Verve
Voice of the Beehive
W
Martha Wainwright
The Walking Seeds
The Walkmen
The Waterboys
The Wedding Present
We Show Up On Radar
Whistler
White Lies
The White Stripes
Wilco
Robbie Williams
The Wisdom of Harry
Witness
The Wonder Stuff
World Domination Enterprises
The Wurzels
X
X-Press 2
Y
Yam Who
James Yorkston and The Athletes
Z
Zero 7
The Zutons

First, make a list of your top-20 artists overall. Then, for each of these artists, add the 8 most similar artists to your list. Delete any duplicates, count up the number of entries on your list and this will give you some idea of how eclectic your listening habits are. A score of 9 represents an extremely unvaried musical taste while a 160 represents an extremely varied one.

1. Bright Eyes
Desaparecidos
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band
Commander Venus
Son, Ambulance
Monsters of Folk
The Good Life
Neva Dinova

2. Paramore
Hey Monday
Hayley Williams
VersaEmerge
Flyleaf
Boys Like Girls
Automatic Loveletter
All Time Low
Fake Number

3. The Beatles
John Lennon
George Harrison
Paul McCartney
Ringo Starr
Paul McCartney & Wings
Wings
The Who
The Rolling Stones

4. The All-American Rejects
Yellowcard
Plain White T's
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Simple Plan
Sugarcult
Cute Is What We Aim For

5. Death Cab for Cutie
The Postal Service
Ben Gibbard
The Shins
The Decemberists
Manchester Orchestra
Modest Mouse
Band of Horses

6. Brand New
Taking Back Sunday
Kevin Devine
Straylight Run
Say Anything
Bayside
Thrice
The Early November

7. The Remus Lupins
The Whomping Willows
The Parselmouths
The Moaning Myrtles
The MudBloods
Ministry of Magic
Gred and Forge
Draco and the Malfoys
Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls

8. The Kills
The Dead Weather
Blood Red Shoes
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
The Duke Spirit
The White Stripes
The Raveonettes
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
The Raconteurs

9. Conor Oberst
Park Ave.
Simon Joyner

10. Jack's Mannequin
Something Corporate
Andrew McMahon
The Rocket Summer
Augustana
The Morning Light
Brighten
This Providence

11. My Chemical Romance
Pencey Prep
The Used
My Chemical Romance and the Used
Aiden

12. blink-182
Box Car Racer
+44
Angels & Airwaves
Sum 41
New Found Glory
Bowling for Soup
Zebrahead
MxPx

13. Metric
Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton
Emily Haines
Stars
Tegan and Sara
Broken Social Scene
Land of Talk
Rilo Kiley

14. Cobra Starship
The Cab
Midtown
Forever the Sickest Kids

15. Fall Out Boy

16. Motion City Soundtrack
The Matches
The Starting Line
Say Anything
Cartel
Houston Calls

17. The Academy Is...
Remember Maine
We The Kings

18. Panic at the Disco
Forgive Durden

19. Taking Back Sunday
The Color Fred
Envy on the Coast
Mayday Parade
Senses Fail

20. The Hush Sound
Charlotte Sometimes
Phantom Planet
Eisley

(105.)

Now here's where things get interesting. Some of my choices for '00 and '01 were kind of weak, I'll admit, but it seems like 2002 things seem to solidify a bit better, even though this was the year that my favorite band from my teenage years (and I'll admit, they still are today in most regards) released the weakest album of their career. Total number of albums here only reached to twelve, but the overall quality increased exponentionally over the previous two years. Even while some of these weren't discovered until later, the ones that would remain are pretty good. I think 2002 was really the year when I started to shake off my old tastes and try something new. 2002 was when I started listening to Queens of the Stone Age, and they were a band I never would've given a chance before. And thanks to Weezer, I was giving poppier acts like Ash (who I discovered in 2002) and Nada Surf (I didn't discover them until 2004 though) and OK Go more of a try, too. Wait, how can anything be poppier than Jimmy Eat World in 2001? I guess Weezer's to thank for that, too.


1. Silverchair- Diorama


2. Nada Surf - Let Go


3. Doves - The Last Broadcast


4. Beck - Sea Change


5. Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head


6. dredg- El Cielo


7. Queens of the Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf


8. OK Go - OK Go


9. Foo Fighters - One by One


10. Bright Eyes - Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground

01. What's your favorite song by Neutral Milk Hotel?
"Two-Headed Boy, Part Two".

02. How did you get into Felt?
Kathrin put "All the People I Like Are Those That Are Dead" on a mixtape for me, and I fell hard for Lawrence.

03. Who is your favorite member in Orange Juice?
I'm probably contractually obliged to say Edwyn Collins, but I do have a soft spot for the songs by James Kirk.

04. What's your favorite lyric by The Magnetic Fields?
this is an unreasonably difficult question. actually, no:
"I could dress in black and read Camus / Smoke clove cigarettes and drink vermouth / Like I was seventeen, that would be a scream / But I Don't Want to Get Over You."

05. Have you ever seen Sufjan Stevens live?
yes, in fact!

06. What's your favorite album from The Shins?
Wincing the Night Away.

07. Do you own any merchandise from The National?
nothing, sadly. (not even a tote bag from Wicker Park.)

08. What is a good memory you have of The New Pornographers?
dancing around my room to "Graceland" while packing for college.

09. Is there a member of the same age as you in Belle and Sebastian?
hahaha, no. they are all much older.

10. When did you first get into The Shins?
2003, right after Chutes Too Narrow was released. I heard "New Slang" on the college radio station and it was downhill from there.

11. Who likes The Smiths along with you?
many, many people. on my last.fm friends list, primarily Kathrin.

12. Which song did you first hear from of Montreal?
"So Begins Our Alabee", on a Polyvinyl sampler.

13. What song made you fall in love with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah?
I believe it was "Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood", after some blog described it as "David Byrne fronting The Cure".

14. Which song do you not like by The Only Ones?
there are actually quite a few, shamefully, but my least favorite is probably "Deadly Nightshade".

15. Why do you like Morrissey?
what a question! his stunning voice (even at such an age), his splendid pop sensibilities, his terrific way around a witty, erudite lyric...

16. Where did you first hear Voxtrot?
oh, wow, I don't actually know. I think I heard "Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, and Wives" on a blog somewhere right after it came out, but I didn't really start to love them until I heard "The Start of Something".

17. How long were The Jesus and Mary Chain a band before you liked them?
haha. they were a band for sixteen years and weren't a band for three before I liked them.

18. Does Matthew Sweet have a song that gives you a bad memory?
well, yes. most of his songs are irrevocably linked to certain memories for me, but "Someone to Pull the Trigger" and "Life Without You" are the worst.

19. When did you get into The Cure?
the winter of sixth grade, when my brother burned a copy of Staring at the Sea: The Singles for me.

20. How long have you been into The Jesus and Mary Chain?
seven years.

21. If Jens Lekman had a concert 300 miles away, would you drive there to see them?
well, I can't drive. but if someone else were going, I would certainly consider it.

22. How many The Replacements albums do you own?
christ. nine, not counting bootlegs and unreleased compilations.

23. Do Vampire Weekend have a song that makes you cry?
hahaha, definitely not.

24. Do The Wedding Present have a song that makes you happy?
of course! especially "This Boy Can Wait".

25. Do Wilco have a song that makes you smile?
yes indeed. "Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway (Again)" is a guaranteed smile-maker.

26. What's the last song you've listened to of Guided by Voices?
"Twilight Campfighter".

27. Is there a song by Elvis Costello and the Attractions that you've listened to more than 30 times?
"(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes", though my statistics don't show it... that was mostly in seventh grade.

28. What is a song from Joanna Newsom that you've only listened to once?
"Three Little Babes". NEVER AGAIN.

29. Is there a song you are sick of hearing by Robyn Hitchcock and The Egyptians?
I am not really a fan of "The Fly".

30. What song got you into Echo and the Bunnymen?
"Bring on the Dancing Horses", once again via the local college station.

31. What is your favorite single by Bright Eyes?
single? probably "If The Brakeman Turns My Way".

32. If The Weakerthans hated you, what would you do?
I would be really upset, probably. and regret not seeing them when I could have in September, before I learned of this sad development.

33. What would you say if one of the members from R.E.M. asked you out?
um, accept, obviously!! I don't care that all of them are either over fifty or almost there (yes, Michael, this means you). we would be the May/December romance for the ages.

34. Would you care if Editors had a boyfriend/girlfriend?
of course. I demand that Tom Smith remain perpetually single.

35. Who has the best voice in The Posies?
I prefer Jon Auer's songs.

36. Do you think Elvis Costello and the Attractions are good looking?
haha, I was actually just talking about this today. yes.

37. How many times have you listened to your favorite song by Arcade Fire?
I have apparently only listened to "Intervention" 11 times. this might be wrong.

38. How many CDs do you own of Sparks?
I actually only own Kimono My House, but my mother has most everything else on vinyl.

39. Is there a song from Radiohead that makes you mad?
I don't think so.

40. Which member from Yo La Tengo do you want to see go solo?
I actually really like Dump, a.k.a. James McNew's side project. but I wouldn't want Ira and Georgia to split up.

41. What does your favorite song from The Velvet Underground remind you of?
"Sweet Jane" ... actually, reminds me of standing on the corner with a suitcase in my hand. hahaha. presumably because whenever I find myself in that situation, I start singing that song.

42. Did you hate Hüsker Dü at first?
no, I just thought they were really noisy. and Grant Hart was super cute. whatever, I was a twelve-year-old with priorities.

43. Does your best friend also listen to The Hold Steady?
haha, yes. although not without reservations. (no lyrics about Pringles cans, please.)

44. Do you think your parents would like The Broken West?
both my parents love them, actually.

45. Do Pixies have a song that makes you want to dance?
who doesn't dance to Debaser?

46. Have you ever seen Joy Division live?
yes. that time when I time-travelled.

47. Do you like The Broken West's name?
I guess so. I like it better than their previous name, "The Brokedown".

48. Is there someone in Paul Westerberg that you want to go out with?
this question is adorable. yes, I want to go out with the teenager in Paul Westerberg who wore his heart on his sleeve, rode his bike everywhere, and kissed girls under bridges on autumn nights, as described in "First Glimmer".

49. Do you know anyone that hates Shearwater?
I don't believe so.

50. Have you ever danced to a song from Sigur Rós?
it's probably happened.

1. How did you get into 29?
Raine Maida - He's the lead singer for my #1, I can't not listen to them. I didn't really get into his solo stuff until after I went to an OLP concert and fully appreciated the sexiness that is Raine Maida.

2. What was the first song you ever heard by 22?
Breaking Benjamin - Diary Of Jane, naturally. I was listening to it in the car with a friend and she thought that he was singing "Diarrhea Jane."

3. How many albums by 13 do you own?
Skillet - Three. I have Collide, Comatose, and Awake.

4. What is your favorite song by 15?
Paramore - I love their slower songs. I'd have to go with Misguided Ghosts, because it's so different that what they usually do, and much more lyrically deep.

5. What is your favorite song by 5?
Hoobastank - Inside Of You got a ton of extra points in my book when I heard it live, but You're The One still holds a special place in my heart.

6. Is there a song by 6 that makes you happy?
Green Day - Almost everything off of 21st Century Breakdown makes me happy, because they're such fun songs. If I want to be in a good mood, I listen to that CD.

7. What is your favorite song by 10?
Tickle Me Pink - Definitely Tomorrow's Ending, although Madeline is pretty awesome too.

8. What is a good memory you have involving 30?
Switchfoot - 24 is a song that has this odd habit of showing up in those moments in my life where the things that were once going wrong suddenly became right. I have so many good memories of that song.

9. Is there a song by 19 that makes you happy?
AFI - None of their songs are particularly happy, haha. The chorus of End Transmission is one of the best things that has happened to my ears, though, so I guess I'll go with that one.

10. How many times have you seen 25 live?
30 Seconds To Mars - Sadly, none. It seems they don't like to tour much in America. Or, at least not when I end up looking at their tour dates...

11. What is the first song you ever heard by 23?
Rise Against - I know I heard a bunch of stuff on Siren Sound when it first came out because my friend bought it, but I didn't pay much attention. The first song of theirs I actually remember hearing was Give It All.

12. What is your favorite album by 11?
Zeromancer - All their albums have their high points and some songs that I usually skip, but I guess the best overall is Eurotrash.

13. Who is a favorite member of 1?
Our Lady Peace - Absolutely Raine Maida. But I already discussed that.

14. Have you ever seen 14 live?
Foo Fighters - I live a kind of sad, concertless life. I think it's the result of living first in nowhere Montana and then in a border town where the only artists that come through sing in Spanish. So, no. But that would be a great day in my life.

15. What is a good memory involving 27?
Lifehouse - Their CD was one of the first ones that I bought from FYE. It started a dangerous trend of spending all my money there until it closed a few months ago.

16. What is your favorite song by 16?
The All-American Rejects - Dirty Little Secret, definitely. Because I have this nasty habit of usually preferring the singles.

17. What is your favorite album by 18?
Panic at the Disco A Fever You Can't Sweat Out was way better than their newer one.

18. What is your favorite song by 21?
Jimmy Eat World - I am really starting to like Chase This Light.

19. What is the first song you ever heard by 26?
Boys Like Girls - I think it was Thunder, but I'm not sure.

20. What is your favorite album by 2?
Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake... It's Morning is definitely the best, but Cassadaga is starting to grow on me too.

21. What is you favorite song by 3?
Papa Roach - Probably Lifeline, although every other song off Metamorphosis is a close second.

22. What is you favorite song by 8?
The Used - I have this weird thing where I usually like the slow songs from my more hardcore bands. I think I have to pick Tunnel.

23. How many times have you seen 17 live?
Garbage - Never. How sad.

24. What is the worst song by 12?
Augustana - None of them. Okay... Mayfield.

25. What was the first song you ever heard by 28?
My Chemical Romance - Helena. I watched the music video on youtube, because I heard the singer was hot. I sometimes thank myself for my shallowness.

26. What is you favorite album by 7?
Trapt - Only Through The Pain is better than their others by leaps and bounds.

27. What is your favorite song by 24?
Linkin Park - Breaking The Habit is probably my favorite, although New Divide is starting to grow on me.

28. Is there a song by 9 that makes you happy?
The Killers - Human puts me into a kind of melancholy happy. It's hard to describe, but I'd consider it happy.

29. What is your favorite album by 4?
Fall Out Boy - Infinity On High. That's the only one that I can listen to its entirety and not get bored with it.

30. How many albums do you own by 20?
Alkaline Trio - None, actually. I did buy one for a friend once though.