Best Of 2005
It’s an annual end-of-year tradition, here are my favorites of 2005. First up are my favorite albums. Normally I list my 10 favorites, but this year I couldn’t come up with 10. Maybe it’s because I’ve been in the lab too much, but really I think it’s because this year was pretty damn mediocre. I listened to a lot of music over the course of the year, and very little of it made an impression, even from perennial faves Lemon Jelly and Van Morrison. Just average records aren’t going to make the list.

Anyway, here are my top albums in no particular order:

Caesars - Paper Tigers
You heard some Caesars in a bunch of booze and iPod commercials, whether you knew it or not. Just a fun pop rock party album from Sweden.

Emiliana Torrini - Fisherman’s Woman
Beautiful, tender, acoustic, lovely. What more do you need?

Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better
I’ve ripped them in the past for being overhyped and overrated, which they were – until this record. The ass-shake factor is very high on this one.

Kanye West - Late Registration
Solid from top to bottom. Still not as good as Ghostface’s The Pretty Toney Album from last year, though.

Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine
The leaked-onto-the-internet version, not the official retail version. That reworked attempt ruined "Used To Love Him" as "Tymps (The Sick In The Head Song) ".

The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
Wow, Meg White can almost play the drums now. Makes a big difference. Definitely their best album yet.

What is that, 6? Yup, that’s about it, though I’ll give Honorable Mentions to M.I.A.’s Arular, Beck’s Guero, 50 Cent’s The Massacre, The Cardigans’ Super Extra Gravity, and Kings of Leon’s Aha Shake Heartbreak.

On to my favorite songs of 2005, in no particular order:

Ryan Adams – "Let It Ride"
Best of about 645 songs he released this year on 4 albums, this one’s from Cold Roses with his band The Cardinals. Had he culled all the best songs and put them on one CD, that would definitely have made my list.

Big Boi Featuring Killer Mike – "Kryptonite (I’m On It)"
Stomping track from the more talented half of Outkast, from his Got Purp? Purple Label collection.

The Cardigans – "I Need Some Fine Wine And You, You Need To Be Nicer"
Nina Persson is still my favorite rock chick, and just keeps getting better. Even if she did dye her hair brown.

Beck - "E-Pro"
Everybody now: "Nah, nah, nah nah nah nah nah!"

M.I.A. - "Galang"
This was pretty much everywhere even before they started shilling Hondas with it. Much preferred to "Hollaback Girl", thank you very much.

The Darkness - "Knockers"
Cheesetastic once again. I just love what you’ve done with your hair.

Amerie - "1 Thing"
Oh my. Ass-shake factor completely off the damn charts. The song’s prominent place in Hitch doesn’t even bother me, the beat is too much fun.

Kasabian – "Club Foot"
Awesome, mean track from otherwise average British band.

Shakira - "En Tus Pupilas"
There’s the simple, sultry Shaki I’ve been missing since she became an international pop star. And so much better than the English counterpart, "Something".

The Coral - "In The Morning"
Great guitar riff, some steel drums, and there you go, Brit rock single of the year.

Fiona Apple - "Used To Love Him"
As I’ve already said, off the leaked version of Extraordinary Machine, ruined as "Tymps (The Sick In The Head Song)". Track it down and hear for yourself.

Kaiser Chiefs - "Na Na Na Na Naa"
Not one of their many UK singles this year, but my favorite track off of Employment. Even if they spell nah differently than I do.

Susie Suh - "Harmony"
Yes that’s her real name. Acoustic, heartfelt loveliness.

Kings of Leon - "Soft"
If you’re having trouble deciphering the slurred Southern drawl, the song is about not being able to get it up with a model.

Franz Ferdinand - "Walk Away"
Lyric of the year: "I love the sound of you walking away."

Edit: Depeche Mode - "Precious"
Wow, how did I forget about this one? I'm not a big Depeche Mode fan, but this track is flawless. Stunning, utterly stunning.

Now for the movies:

Layer Cake
Best British gangster film ever made. Great soundtrack, Daniel Craig is the British Steve McQueen, and the tasty Sienna Miller is in lingerie. I’m so glad Guy Ritchie wasn’t given the chance to ruin this.

Sin City
So brutal, so relentless, so good, even with Jessica Alba’s no nudity clause.

Batman Begins
Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale brought their A games. Everything was right with this flick except Katie Holmes’s career-ending performance.

Oldboy
One amazing, incredibly fucked up movie. From South Korean master Chan-wook Park, but not surprisingly based on a Japanese story. Just when you think it can’t get any more twisted and depraved, it does.

Syriana
Don’t believe the hype, it’s not too difficult to follow, even for all you dummies. But was I the only one who saw Matt Damon’s character as a possible progression of Will Hunting?

Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Gromit puts in one of the best acting performances of the year, and he’s made out of clay, people! Nick Park is the man.

Jarhead
A war movie just like I like it, brutally honest and messed up.

When it comes to TV in 2005, there is only one show worth mentioning - Entourage. I can watch any episode over and over, and still find little things I missed the first 17 times. Give a biiiig raise to whoever decided to bring Emmanuelle Chriqui onboard. Folks, they used The Doors’ "Love Street" on the soundtrack for fuck’s sake, you don’t get that on network. Rome was decent, but it only made me realize how great it could be if they continue with Octavian’s eventual path towards becoming Emperor Caesar Augustus.

Anyway, let’s end this year the same as last, with a mental image of Sienna Miller, this time from Layer Cake in a very little bit of Agent Provocateur. Oh yes, happy end . . . uh, I mean Happy New Year. Bring on 2006!
- posted by Liebs @ 11:47 AM 0 comments

 
First Impressions of First Impressions Of Earth
Julian Casablancas pretty much sums up the new Strokes CD in the chorus of "Fear Of Sleep" – "you’re no fun/you’re no fun/you’re no fun/you’re no fun". That’s not to say this is a bad record, it is merely a good record from a great band. First Impressions is the sound of a band stuck in second gear, either unsure or unable to take it to the next level.

Admittedly, their first CD, Is This It, sets a high standard. On multiple occasions, on multiple continents, throwing that disc in the stereo has resulted in an apartment of folks – not all of whom had high hipster quotients – all getting up and shaking their asses. You can’t listen to "Someday" or "Last Nite" and remain stoic and motionless in a chair or on a couch, it’s just not possible. Room On Fire didn’t necessarily match those heights, but it came damn near close. The new record, however, is deficient on the ass-shake scale. The first two tracks, "You Only Live Once" and the first single, "Juicebox", register slightly, but it’s downhill from there.

Too much sounds like stuff you’ve heard before. That opening track is a Cars rip-off. "Razorblade" features a Barry Manilow-esque chorus and a Beatles guitar riff. The guitar riff from "Electricityscape" is almost note for note like the opening riff from Garbage’s "Special". And yes, for the most part these aren’t magnificent sources to be mining.

Too many of the tracks change tone abruptly. It sounds like they slapped together fragments of incomplete songs to get some whole ones. And it doesn’t really work, most notably in "Evening Sun".

Lyrically, it all comes down to the chorus of "Ask Me Anything" – "I’ve got nothing to say". "On The Other Side" is droning, whiny, and repetitive – you just want Julian to shut the hell up. Too many songs have the same simple lines repeated over and over and over. There’s nothing earth shattering on this record.

Whether they’re forcing it or just coasting, First Impressions is not a step forward for The Strokes. It’s a record you’ll play for a little while, but in a few months, when you’re in the mood for a Strokes CD, you’ll go and get Is This It off the shelf, or maybe Room On Fire if you want to hear "You Talk Way Too Much" or "What Ever Happened?". There are far worse things to happen to a band than to make a good record instead of a phenomenal one. But in their case, it means The Strokes have released a disappointment.
- posted by Liebs @ 12:20 PM 0 comments

 
"Nobody needs a car like this."
But why the fuck not? All for the low, low price of $1.2 million. Ain't engineering fun?

Update: Here's Jeremy Clarkson's take on the Veyron. "It is a triumph for lunacy over common sense. . ."
- posted by Liebs @ 10:43 PM 0 comments

 
The Sexiest Sound In The World
No, it's not Rachael Yamagata's purring vocals, or some porn star faking an orgasm, it's the roar of the 612 bhp V-10 engine in the Porsche Carrera GT. Hear it for yourself, courtesy of my mates at Top Gear.

I'm digging Google Video as well, by the way.
- posted by Liebs @ 11:02 AM 0 comments

 
Quote of the Day
George Clooney, in an interview for Rolling Stone’s Mavericks list, talking about Muslim terrorists:

". . . really, who wants seventy virgins? I want eight pros."
- posted by Liebs @ 6:36 PM 0 comments

 
Lazy Sunday
You know you want to watch this.

Snack attack, motherfucker!
- posted by Liebs @ 8:12 PM 0 comments