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Here are all the "best of 2015" posts I've made this week
My favorite songs of 2015
Cool cover art of 2015
Great music videos of 2015
Looking back on 2005
Honorable mentions of 2015
MY FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2015
1/3/16
Five great music videos of 2015
I wanted to make a top five, but the Japanese music industry strikes again. If you can find music videos for "Something Good" by the telephones, and "I Know" by The Birthday, check them out.
Here is what I have instead...
BUILT TO SPILL
"LIVING ZOO"
He didn't really have water. It was just a great sense of humor.
Here is what I have instead...
 |
| [Click for video] |
"LIVING ZOO"
He didn't really have water. It was just a great sense of humor.
 |
| [Click for video] |
JOHN CARPENTER
"NIGHT"
This old man has a surprisingly relevant and practical imagination of VR.
 |
| [There, do you see it? Click for video] |
TOWA TEI
"LUV PANDEMIC"
Look around you.
Look around you.
Just, look around you.
 |
| [Click for video. Or maybe tap, I don't care.] |
BATTLES
"DOT NET"
The most "art for the sake of art" I've ever seen crammed into a video
 |
| [Click for tacos] |
JEFF ROSENSTOCK
"NAUSEA"
This would have been my number one if I were listing them.
Sealing up the 2015 time capsule
I think I once told myself if doing this is still pointless after ten years, I should seriously consider stopping. So maybe this should be the end?
ehhhhhhh, maybe. Here are my favorite albums of 2015
NUMBER TEN
SWAMI JOHN REIS & THE BLIND SHAKE
MODERN SURF CLASSICS
Listen to: "Zulu As Kono"
This collection of gritty surf rock beat out some fine pop efforts by Hot Chip, Everything Everything, and Belle & Sebastian. Such is the power of The Swami.
NUMBER NINE
SHERBETS
きれいな血
Listen to: "ひょっとして"
The best produced album of 2015. Sherbets have run the boards throughout their almost 20 year existence. きれいな血 is both Sherbets' most beautiful and most powerful album. The fragile parts are so abundantly layered that when the songs come to a swell, it hits you like a tornado.
NUMBER EIGHT
JOHN CARPENTER
LOST THEMES
Listen to: "Night"
This is one of my feel good moments of 2015. John Carpenter's work has been very influentual in my life, but it's always been a sore spot to know his prime was before my adolescence. Finally something comes along that I can be a part of. Lost Themes digs deep and retrieves some of John Carpenter's enamoring essence.
NUMBER SEVEN
HOP ALONG
PAINTED SHUT
Listen to: "Waitress"
Looking at many other best of lists around the internet, this is the most deserved. Seeing Hop Along live assured me it was only a matter of time before they released something that made waves. Everyone has been talking about Frances Quinlan's voice, but lets talk about the songwriting. It's unpredictable in all the best ways. Indie rock's most common failure is a band that has all the talent, but no creative delivery. Hop Along takes you for a ride with their songs, their hooks and high notes sneak up on you. They've got just as much joy as substance.
NUMBER SIX
TOWA TEI
CUTE
Listen to: "Luv Pandemic"
After perfecting Shibuya-kei, Towa Tei takes his bells and whistles into a world of pure art-pop. This is the most versatility I've heard out of an already colorful artist. Maybe it all means nothing, but it sure is stimulating. There's modern art for ya.
NUMBER FIVE
THE BIRTHDAY
BLOOD AND LOVE CIRCUS
Listen to: a tragically edited version of "I Know"
The Birthday is back in full swing. Like a typical cool guy, The Birthday effortlessly walked off last year's stumble into a swagger. Loud and cocky rock music with a compelling psychedelic bent. Powerful singles like "Mother" and "I Know" are delivered with such confident ease, as if saying "this isn't even our final form".
NUMBER FOUR
TITUS ANDRONICUS
THE MOST LAMENTABLE TRAGEDY
Listen to: "Lonely Boy"
Okay, time to have the +@ discussion. If this album were only the first 45 minutes, it would be my no 1, hands down. Instead, something much more ambitious was created. Another 45 minutes of ups & downs, hits & misses, diversions & dead ends. The "tragedy" side of this album can easily be labeled as an anchor, but it does serve to make this the band's most memorable and important release probably ever. I wish this album was better, but kind of love it the way it is.
NUMBER THREE
THE GO! TEAM
THE SCENE BETWEEN
Listen to: "Catch me on The Rebound"
The Go! Team huddles up and changes their playbook with their fourth release. The retro pop sound is wonderfully mixed, with a strong assembly of obscure guest performers. This record really does sound like something found in a dusty attic that hasn't been rooted through since 1979.
NUMBER TWO
BLUR
THE MAGIC WHIP
Listen to: "My Terracotta Heart"
Ten years after Demon Days, Damon Albarn is still getting it done. I never knew I wanted Blur to come back this bad! It manages to assemble the very best of Blur's moments throughout the 90s, and everything Alburn has learned with Gorillaz into a tasty ice-cream swirl. Over 50 minutes long, and I wouldn't cut a single track.
NUMBER ONE
BUILT TO SPILL
UNTETHERED MOON
Listen to: "So"
This is an arrest. I'm taking everyone who covers music to jail. I haven't seen Untethered Moon on a best of 2015 list anywhere! Not even the deep end of a top 50. That is CRIMINAL! Play this album, and a portal to 1999 opens up. Built To Spill had been operating on low-batt for 15 years, and that only serves to make this "plucked out of time" release all the more epic. This is my The Force Awakens.
ehhhhhhh, maybe. Here are my favorite albums of 2015
NUMBER TENSWAMI JOHN REIS & THE BLIND SHAKE
MODERN SURF CLASSICS
Listen to: "Zulu As Kono"
This collection of gritty surf rock beat out some fine pop efforts by Hot Chip, Everything Everything, and Belle & Sebastian. Such is the power of The Swami.
NUMBER NINESHERBETS
きれいな血
Listen to: "ひょっとして"
The best produced album of 2015. Sherbets have run the boards throughout their almost 20 year existence. きれいな血 is both Sherbets' most beautiful and most powerful album. The fragile parts are so abundantly layered that when the songs come to a swell, it hits you like a tornado.
NUMBER EIGHTJOHN CARPENTER
LOST THEMES
Listen to: "Night"
This is one of my feel good moments of 2015. John Carpenter's work has been very influentual in my life, but it's always been a sore spot to know his prime was before my adolescence. Finally something comes along that I can be a part of. Lost Themes digs deep and retrieves some of John Carpenter's enamoring essence.
NUMBER SEVENHOP ALONG
PAINTED SHUT
Listen to: "Waitress"
Looking at many other best of lists around the internet, this is the most deserved. Seeing Hop Along live assured me it was only a matter of time before they released something that made waves. Everyone has been talking about Frances Quinlan's voice, but lets talk about the songwriting. It's unpredictable in all the best ways. Indie rock's most common failure is a band that has all the talent, but no creative delivery. Hop Along takes you for a ride with their songs, their hooks and high notes sneak up on you. They've got just as much joy as substance.
NUMBER SIXTOWA TEI
CUTE
Listen to: "Luv Pandemic"
After perfecting Shibuya-kei, Towa Tei takes his bells and whistles into a world of pure art-pop. This is the most versatility I've heard out of an already colorful artist. Maybe it all means nothing, but it sure is stimulating. There's modern art for ya.
NUMBER FIVETHE BIRTHDAY
BLOOD AND LOVE CIRCUS
Listen to: a tragically edited version of "I Know"
The Birthday is back in full swing. Like a typical cool guy, The Birthday effortlessly walked off last year's stumble into a swagger. Loud and cocky rock music with a compelling psychedelic bent. Powerful singles like "Mother" and "I Know" are delivered with such confident ease, as if saying "this isn't even our final form".
NUMBER FOURTITUS ANDRONICUS
THE MOST LAMENTABLE TRAGEDY
Listen to: "Lonely Boy"
Okay, time to have the +@ discussion. If this album were only the first 45 minutes, it would be my no 1, hands down. Instead, something much more ambitious was created. Another 45 minutes of ups & downs, hits & misses, diversions & dead ends. The "tragedy" side of this album can easily be labeled as an anchor, but it does serve to make this the band's most memorable and important release probably ever. I wish this album was better, but kind of love it the way it is.
NUMBER THREETHE GO! TEAM
THE SCENE BETWEEN
Listen to: "Catch me on The Rebound"
The Go! Team huddles up and changes their playbook with their fourth release. The retro pop sound is wonderfully mixed, with a strong assembly of obscure guest performers. This record really does sound like something found in a dusty attic that hasn't been rooted through since 1979.
NUMBER TWOBLUR
THE MAGIC WHIP
Listen to: "My Terracotta Heart"
Ten years after Demon Days, Damon Albarn is still getting it done. I never knew I wanted Blur to come back this bad! It manages to assemble the very best of Blur's moments throughout the 90s, and everything Alburn has learned with Gorillaz into a tasty ice-cream swirl. Over 50 minutes long, and I wouldn't cut a single track.
NUMBER ONEBUILT TO SPILL
UNTETHERED MOON
Listen to: "So"
This is an arrest. I'm taking everyone who covers music to jail. I haven't seen Untethered Moon on a best of 2015 list anywhere! Not even the deep end of a top 50. That is CRIMINAL! Play this album, and a portal to 1999 opens up. Built To Spill had been operating on low-batt for 15 years, and that only serves to make this "plucked out of time" release all the more epic. This is my The Force Awakens.
Opening up the 2005 time capsule
Looking back at 2005, it was a banner year for a bunch of reasons. I'll get to most of them in a moment. I specifically remember 2005 as the year I started really caring about discussing music. I don't think I was finding something to write about on a weekly basis quite yet, but certainly remember making a top ten that year. Usually, I've done these "ten years ago" lists from the perspective of "if I knew what I know today, this is what my top ten would have been". This is the first year I have something pretty solid to compare to.
I remember my old top 10 having Gorillaz, Beck, Reel Big Fish, and Hot Hot Heat. Old habits must die hard, because most of those stayed. Beck's Guero felt really special at the time because it was like a long overdue sequel to Odelay, but The Information blew that out of the water a few years later. I cut the Killer 7 soundtrack, Spoon's Gimmie Fiction, Thunder Lightning Strike (The Go! Team), The Runners Four (Deerhoof), Polysics' first deep dive into pop music in Now is The Time!, even the god damn debut LCD Soundsystem album! 2005 was packed, and the running theme in what stayed is "lightning in a bottle". Almost every album has this "never again" historical stigma to it. Here's why...
NUMBER TENGIANT DRAG
HEARTS & UNICORNS
Listen to: "Slayer"
A just culture would have seen Hearts & Unicorns as the beginning of an amazing career for songwriter, Annie Hardy. To this day, I'm still not sure how much of her persona is a shoot or work. Actually... I'm... gonna check if she's still alive...
ok phew. Alive, and same as ever. Anyways, this album rocks.
NUMBER NINE
REEL BIG FISH
WE'RE NOT HAPPY TIL' YOU'RE NOT HAPPY
Listen to : "The Joke's on Me"
Yeah, this is happening. For the last time ever (most likely), I'm saying it... Reel Big Fish were most known for being a silly ska band that stumbled into a record deal because of the three months in 1997 when ska was big. What keeps them on my iPod today is Aaron Barrett's unrelenting cynicism. His self deprecation set to the tone of "happy-go-lucky power pop" reaches an apex on their final major label release. After this album, the band deteriorated, as they tried to become something they kind of never were meant to be; a silly ska band. As far as I'm concerned this is their swan song.
NUMBER EIGHTARCHITECTURE IN HELSINKI
IN CASE WE DIE
Listen to: "Frenchy, I'm Faking"
In 2005, indie twee-pop hadn't quite reached its tipping point yet, and nobody looked more golden than Architecture in Helsinki. In Case We Die was their Rushmore. It was their cute, colorful, 5th grade art class charm, with a big budget. Just like the previous two albums on this list, we never saw another one of these albums. AiH went on to greener pastures... for one album. Let's never mention them again.
NUMBER SEVEN
BLOC PARTY
SILENT ALARM
Listen to: "Banquet"
Never again. Bloc Party started a revolution. A resurgence of post-punk in the UK charts. A lot of bands followed suit. They didn't. Three albums followed, in three different genres. As neat as it is for a band to have a career like that, Bloc Party never crawled out from under the shadow of Silent Alarm. It's that good. Still that good.
NUMBER SIX
HOT HOT HEAT
ELEVATOR
Listen to: "Pickin' it up"
How this album didn't have a dozen radio hits is a question for the ages. This is the most fun and confident with pop music Hot Hot Heat ever got. This is one of the few bands on this list that fumbled what they had going. The album after this one was in the same vein, but a total dud; which led to the band falling off the face of the Earth for a few years, and returning with a new sound.
NUMBER FIVE
HORSE THE BAND
THE MECHANICAL HAND
Listen to: "Octopus on Fire"
Of all the parallel universes from this top ten, I'd most like to visit the one where Horse The Band runs with all the themes that made The Mechanical Hand great. The decision to turn away from overt humor and video game references in their already ridiculous moog-assisted grind-core style makes sense. You don't want to come off as shallow. As a result, nothing Horse The Band went on to do had as much impact as The Mechanical Hand. It's probably the most fun I've ever had with grunty vocals and chugga guitars.
NUMBER FOUR
METRIC
LIVE IT OUT
Listen to: "Handshakes"
Wow, what ever happened to Metric? They put out an album in 2015, and I didn't even give it a shot. That's how low their stock has fallen since Live it Out, which still resonates today. The take on 80's aesthetic is still hip. Not ironic, or cheesy. Seriously hip! Emily Haines' social critiques and feminist anthems still have an edge to them. No songs have lost their luster. Somehow, nothing they've done since has had enough energy to power a wristwatch. I ask again... what happened?
NUMBER THREE
SLEATER -KINNEY
THE WOODS
Listen to: "What's Mine is Yours"
Well... at least I can stop saying "man, what went wrong with this band?", because Sleater-Kinney came back in 2015 with a pretty good record. It doesn't match up to the kind of power The Woods throws, but to be fair, neither does demonic possession.
NUMBER TWO
TEAM SLEEP
Listen to: "11-11"
Every 8 months or so I google Team Sleep, hoping for something new. There have been vauge promises that never come true, so I might as well just accept the next closest thing. What may have been Team Sleep songs probably morphed into †††, or some of Deftones' more experimental material. Nothing quite hit that special balance between dream-pop, trip-hop, hardcore, chill-wave, witch-house, beauty-core, root-down, post-noir, chamber-blues, future-dub, past-step, present-drift -okay I'll stop.
NUMBER ONE
GORILLAZ
DEMON DAYS
Listen to: the whole damn thing
Still the best 2005
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