We pick up where we left off. I was closer to the mark in 2005 - 5 of my original picks stick around from the revised list.
Original List
10. Jimmy Eat World - Stay on My Side Tonight (There's one extremely good song on this EP. All the other songs range from decent ('Over') to godawful ('Drugs or Me - Styrofoam Remix'). I guess one song was good enough here?)
9. Project 86 - And the Rest Will Follow (This is probably the weakest effort by Project 86, but I got really into their other stuff around the time I listened to this one, so it had a carryover effect.)
8. Death Cab for Cutie - Plans (Poppier and more radio-ready than Transatlanticism, this CD has some killer tunes, but isn't quite as good.)
7. Coldplay - X+Y ('Viva La Vida' shows this CD to be a pretty big swing and a miss. Everything's either overblown or overly obvious, and with a couple of exceptions, there's not a lot to go back to.)
6. Foo Fighters - In Your Honor (This CD does not have a weak track on it. Since there's 20 songs on it, that's quite a statement.)
5. Fall Out Boy - From Under the Cork Tree (Haha, don't get TOO excited to not see this one on the revised list. It'd probably make #11 if it was expanded a little.)
4. Ra - Duality (Meh. Fairly generic pop-metal that I fell for when I first heard it. Haven't listened to it in well over a year.)
3. Gorillaz - Demon Days (This is all over the place, and I love just about every track on it. Still awesome, and deservedly made this 'band' huge.)
2. Rosefield Rivals (A guilty pleasure, but one I badly wish was still around. I've only ever dug up 6 songs from this group - five of which are on this disc - but they've gotten a TON of play.)
1. Oasis - Don't Believe the Truth (It's Oasis - more importantly, it's Oasis at least trying to get back to what made them awesome; big rock songs. Dig Out Your Soul does a little better job than this one, but after Standing on the Shoulder of Giants and Heathen Chemistry, it was nice to see that these guys still had a little left in them.)
Revised List
10. The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema (Great guitar pop-rock. Listen to 'Sing Me Spanish Techno' or 'Bleeding Heart Show' and try to not have the choruses wedged in your head for the remainder of the day.)
9. Death Can For Cutie - Plans
8. Kanye West - Late Registration (It's rapidly becoming hip to hate Kanye West. Whether there's good reason for that or not, this CD shows that he's extremely good at what he does. As much as I actually kind of like 808's and Heartbreak, I'm hoping that it's a phase, and that he gets back to making more great CDs like this one.)
7. Rosefield Rivals
6. Flipsyde - We the People (It's odd to find rap-rock music that focuses more on the rap side than the rock side. These guys had great flow and cutting lyrics - it's a shame that their new CD sounds like it will be as generic as can be.)
5. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois (The guy makes beautiful, irresistable music. If not for pure nostalgic value, this CD would probably take number one walking away.)
4. Oasis - Don't Believe the Truth
3. Gorillaz - Demon Days
2. Foo Fighters - In Your Honor
1. ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead - Worlds Apart (A lot of people hated the shift Trail of Dead made toward proggy meanderings. I loved it. There's not a single misstep on the entire album, and nearly every song is fantastic in its own way.)
Moving forward, tomorrow I take a look at 2006.
RA = Fail.
ReplyDeleteGorillaz = Win.