An excellent year for new music. Offered up here without running commentary, but I'll engage in it for any selection:

20) Elliot Murphy~ Murphy Gets Muddy
19) Graham Parker~ Songs of No Consequence
18) Vic Chesnutt~ Ghetto Bells
17) Bruce Springsteen~ Devils & Dust
16) The Frames~ Burn The Maps
15) Sun Kil Moon~ Tiny Cities
14) John Prine~ Fair & Square
13) Son Volt~ Okemah & The Melody of Riot
12) Mountain Goats~ The Sunset Tree
11) Marissa Nadler~ The Saga of Mayflower May
10) Okkervil River~ Black Sheep Boy
9) Ry Cooder~ Chavez Ravine
8) My Morning Jacket~ Z
7) Magnolia Electric Company~ Trials & Errors
6) Damon & Naomi~ The Earth Is Blue
5) Al Kooper~ Black Coffee
4) Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production of Eggs
3) Decemberists~ Picaresque
2) Mary Gauthier~ Mercy Now
1) Micah P. Hinson & The Gospel of Progress

I've only heard 3 of these!

I've really enjoyed the Micah P. Hinson 'Toze but obviously not as much as you have. The Decemberists are actually pretty damn good but when I first heard them back in March I didn't really care for it and then JD sent me a copy last month and they clicked. I attribute that to more exposure to alternative indie stuff and fresh thinking. Or perhaps I just didn't pay enough attention the first time around. :)

I really tried to like the new My Morning Jacket, I really did. Just couldn't. Not my cuppa tea.

Everything else on your list is unknown to me (not in name) but I'm sure I'd probably like some of it.

Cheers

I've only heard of four. Are these all certified "twang"? Can you tell I'm not sure what that means? Are they in any order? A commentary would be great!

NB: For a change, I'm not just poking fun. The search for good music today ain't easy, and if I could get some idea of what your criteria were for the list, I'd be tempted to go buy some of them.

I've really enjoyed the Micah P. Hinson 'Toze but obviously not as much as you have. The Decemberists are actually pretty damn good but when I first heard them back in March I didn't really care for it and then JD sent me a copy last month and they clicked. I attribute that to more exposure to alternative indie stuff and fresh thinking. Or perhaps I just didn't pay enough attention the first time around. :)

I hear a lot of proggy song structures underneath Meloy's odd pirate stories, so I wouldn't be surprised that you could get into them.

I really tried to like the new My Morning Jacket, I really did. Just couldn't. Not my cuppa tea.

Really!?! It's eating me alive.

Everything else on your list is unknown to me (not in name) but I'm sure I'd probably like some of it.

Mebbe a few of them. It's an odd mix this year.

I've only heard of four. Are these all certified "twang"? Can you tell I'm not sure what that means?

The John Prine and Mary Gauthier are about the only twangy stuff on that list.

Are they in any order?

Uhh, yeh- from 20 to 1.

A commentary would be great!

Maybe so.

NB: For a change, I'm not just poking fun. The search for good music today ain't easy, and if I could get some idea of what your criteria were for the list, I'd be tempted to go buy some of them.

The selection criteria is the essence of simplicity: they're what I liked the most of all the very fine 2005-released music I've heard this year. If I had any feel at all for what kinds of toons you like (which I don't), I'd try to elaborate on anything that might be of interest.

The John Prine and Mary Gauthier are about the only twangy stuff on that list.
John Prine is twang?
Does that make me a closet twanger? :eek:


Carl

Hey, nice job amigo, but where's all the beefy descriptions? It looks like it's just another damn list! ;)

Is there any new stuff on that Magnolia Electric Company or is it just live extended versions of past glories? I do need to find a copy of Z, I guess. Was gonna get it when everybody was raving about it, then started reading a bunch of whiners saying it wasn't very good at all, then I didn't know what to do because I forgot how to think for myself. Hehehe, pretty sure I'll like it since I've liked their past stuff ;)

I've gotta listen some more to that Mary Gauthier. Just didn't connect with it when JD sent me a copy for the CRS thingie. Maybe too old school twangie for me these days. But maybe not. Gonna drag it around some this weekend. See if it stands up to scrutiny. See if it'll make me dance. Or does it only charm when you're half-swacked?

Andrew Bird still does it best for me this year but love me some Micah too. And British Sea Power and the National and a few others. Last time I posted a top 10 it was like below ... but still seems kind of mushy and unfinished. Be nice to have a couple more picks that I was really passionate about, instead of just, well, you know ...

Andrew Bird. The Mysterious Production of Eggs. Easily my favorite of anything I heard this year. Maybe even the first true classic of the millenium that rivals the inventive work of the past masters, in my mind. If this hit the stores back in the 60s or 70s, we'd still be talking about it now and analyzing the lyrics and discussing where it falls in our top 100 lists ... maybe. Guess people don't really do that anymore so maybe there won't be any more pop or rock classics. Too bad. Can't see this one going away any time soon for me.

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drg600/g652/g65200pph7b.jpg

2. The National - Alligator
3. Micah P. Hinson And The Gospel Of Progress
4. British Sea Power - Open Season
5. Decemberists - Picaresque
6. Spoon - Gimme Fiction
7. Silver Jews - Tanglewood Numbers
8. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
9. Black Mountain
10. The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree

My top 20,,,I am not sure I would make it to 20.

But here is what I found:

1. Richard Thompson's Front Parlour Ballads
2. Bill Bruford/Michiel Boorstlap Every Step a Dance, Every Word a Song
3. Bill Bruford's latest Earthworks CD..just cant remember the name
4. Maia Sharp's Upstanding Citizen
5. Its a bit older but I bought it in 2005...Steve Howe/martin Taylor's Masterpice Guitars


Thats all I remember..

An excellent year for new music. Offered up here without running commentary, but I'll engage in it for any selection:

20) Elliot Murphy~ Murphy Gets Muddy
19) Graham Parker~ Songs of No Consequence
18) Vic Chesnutt~ Ghetto Bells
17) Bruce Springsteen~ Devils & Dust
16) The Frames~ Burn The Maps
15) Sun Kil Moon~ Tiny Cities
14) John Prine~ Fair & Square
13) Son Volt~ Okemah & The Melody of Riot
12) Mountain Goats~ The Sunset Tree
11) Marissa Nadler~ The Saga of Mayflower May
10) Okkervil River~ Black Sheep Boy
9) Ry Cooder~ Chavez Ravine
8) My Morning Jacket~ Z
7) Magnolia Electric Company~ Trials & Errors
6) Damon & Naomi~ The Earth Is Blue
5) Al Kooper~ Black Coffee
4) Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production of Eggs
3) Decemberists~ Picaresque
2) Mary Gauthier~ Mercy Now
1) Micah P. Hinson & The Gospel of Progress


Well, I've got about half of your list (Hinson, Gauthier, Decemberists, Kooper, Okkervil River, Springsteen, Graham Parker, Ry Cooder), and would agree whole heartedly. But I haven't yet purchased Sun Kil Moon (loved Ghosts of the Great Hwy though), John Prine, Son Volt, Andrew Bird, or My Morning Jacket. But will hopefully get some of these for Christmas. And some I'm totally unfamiliar with: Marissa Nadler, Damon & Naomi.

Your 1, 2, 3, and 10 would make my top 5 list. Guess I need to get around to compiling a list.

And you need to get busy with a 20 song Best of 2005 comp. :yes:

JD

Hey, nice job amigo, but where's all the beefy descriptions? It looks like it's just another damn list! ;)

It IS just another damn list.

Is there any new stuff on that Magnolia Electric Company or is it just live extended versions of past glories?

I only recognize Ring The Bell and Cross The Road as past glories. The rest are unfamiliar to me, and, I presume, new songs. The opener, The Dark Don't Hide It, made it on to the later-in-the-year studio release What Comes After The Blues, and I love either version. Matter of fact, it was kind of a toss-up between the 2 albums as to which would make my list. The recent EP, Hard To Love A Man, is also quite good, with a straight cover of Werewolves of London, no less.

I do need to find a copy of Z, I guess. Was gonna get it when everybody was raving about it, then started reading a bunch of whiners saying it wasn't very good at all, then I didn't know what to do because I forgot how to think for myself. Hehehe, pretty sure I'll like it since I've liked their past stuff ;)

If I had spent more time with it, it would probably go higher on my list. I like it much more than any of their previous stuff. Jim James is stretching out, using his voice as an instrument, and I am suitably impressed.

I've gotta listen some more to that Mary Gauthier. Just didn't connect with it when JD sent me a copy for the CRS thingie. Maybe too old school twangie for me these days. But maybe not. Gonna drag it around some this weekend. See if it stands up to scrutiny. See if it'll make me dance. Or does it only charm when you're half-swacked?

Don't be surprised if you never hook into Mary fully. And dancing is out of the question.

Andrew Bird still does it best for me this year but love me some Micah too. And British Sea Power and the National and a few others. Last time I posted a top 10 it was like below ... but still seems kind of mushy and unfinished. Be nice to have a couple more picks that I was really passionate about, instead of just, well, you know ...

Andrew Bird. The Mysterious Production of Eggs. Easily my favorite of anything I heard this year. Maybe even the first true classic of the millenium that rivals the inventive work of the past masters, in my mind. If this hit the stores back in the 60s or 70s, we'd still be talking about it now and analyzing the lyrics and discussing where it falls in our top 100 lists ... maybe. Guess people don't really do that anymore so maybe there won't be any more pop or rock classics. Too bad. Can't see this one going away any time soon for me.

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drg600/g652/g65200pph7b.jpg

2. The National - Alligator
3. Micah P. Hinson And The Gospel Of Progress
4. British Sea Power - Open Season
5. Decemberists - Picaresque
6. Spoon - Gimme Fiction
7. Silver Jews - Tanglewood Numbers
8. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
9. Black Mountain
10. The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree

Can't abide The National for more than about half a song at a time. Have not heard 4, 6-9.

Well, I've got about half of your list (Hinson, Gauthier, Decemberists, Kooper, Okkervil River, Springsteen, Graham Parker, Ry Cooder), and would agree whole heartedly. But I haven't yet purchased Sun Kil Moon (loved Ghosts of the Great Hwy though), John Prine, Son Volt, Andrew Bird, or My Morning Jacket. But will hopefully get some of these for Christmas. And some I'm totally unfamiliar with: Marissa Nadler, Damon & Naomi.

Your 1, 2, 3, and 10 would make my top 5 list. Guess I need to get around to compiling a list.

And you need to get busy with a 20 song Best of 2005 comp. :yes:

JD

::Sigh:: My attention span for such things has dwindled to near zero lately.

I only recognize Ring The Bell and Cross The Road as past glories. The rest are unfamiliar to me, and, I presume, new songs. The opener, The Dark Don't Hide It, made it on to the later-in-the-year studio release What Comes After The Blues, and I love either version.
Hmm, guess I was put off by all the early talk that What Comes After The Blues wasn't nearly as good as the last one where he was still Songs:Ohia, especially in regard to the lyrics which were sometimes brilliant in the past. That's apparently not your opinion as both seem to stand on their own for you, right?

Anyhoo, thanks for the feedback on Molina. Still a couple other things I'd like to hear before that, but good to know that it's better than I was thinking it was. Probably along the same lines as the new Silver Jews that I like a lot (and imagine many here would too, youz and JD included). Doesn't ascend to the heights he's gone to in the past with that unique imagery in his words, but a rousing good time anyway, and Stephen Malkmus lets loose with some pretty meaty guitar parts too. And it's not like I don't still have my old albums to pull out ;)

But I'll be sending you one of my Holiday Mixers so you can sample yourself. There's a couple songs each from most of my top 10 above. Some good, some not so good, some bad, and some unlistenable. You know, the usual ;)

20 Vienna Teng ~ Warm Strangers

19 Gallison\Peyroux ~ Got You On my Mind

18 Van Morrison ~ Magic Time

17 Magnolia Electric Co ~ What Comes After The Blues

16 Vic Chestnutt ~ Ghetto Bells

15 Okkervil River ~ Black Sheep Boy

14 Harry Manx ~ Mantras For Madmen

13 Damian Jurado ~ On my Way to Absence

12 Deadman ~ our Eternal Ghosts

11 Richard Thompson ~ Front Parlour Ballads

10 Ryan Adams ~ Jacksonville City Nights

09 John Vanderslice ~ Pixel Revolt

08 Justin Rutledge ~ No Never Alone

07 Smog ~ A River Ain't Too Much Too Love

06 NQ ArbucKle ~ The Last Supper In a Cheap Town

05 Luke Doucet ~ Broken

04 Gary Jules ~ Trading Snakeoil For Wolf Tickets

03 Richmond Fontaine ~ The Fitzgerald

02 Chas Guay\Christine Forgeron S\T


01 Susie Arioli Band ~ Learning To Smile Again



There you have it

Alan :music:

I can't believe you're all wasting bandwidth talking about music! Besides, you'll wreck your gear playing that stuff. Throw it all out and put the Stereophile Test Disc back on. :naughty: