Ok, just a few other things I
wanted to say. This year produced more
albums that I thought were worth buying (and in the majority was proved right)
than the last few years. Yet, it didn’t
produce so many classics. Perhaps, for
me, all of my allotted classic album juice for the year was poured into Amplifier. But, from last year Mars Volta and Radiohead,
and from the year before QOTSA, Chilis and Silverchair would all beat Auf
der Maur, and maybe Therapy?
too. Even so, a good year for music:
just more great albums, less classic
albums.
A few trends I notice in my list,
and over this year:
- Girl singers/band members: Katastrophy Wife, Surferosa, PJ Harvey and Auf der Maur all have ladies singing (plus The Zutons’ trumpeter) – a higher ratio than other years, I feel.
- The Dad Thing: My Dad stopped smoking last Christmas and vowed to spend every penny he saved on music. The thing is, he now keeps sending me tapes of great music, or more infuriatingly rumours of great music. And he’s invariably right. It’s annoying when you get sent a tape by your Dad and it’s better than the last four albums you bought yourself. Seven albums here are due to my Dad’s influence (plus he phoned me to tell me about Mastodon three hours after I bought it myself…), and thus the list would be very different without him. I think my parents have become my musical confidants. Strange twist. To be fair, I have got them into numerous albums too this year, so it works both ways.
- Debut albums: twelve debut albums out of twenty. Crazy! Good year for new bands. And more than that, there were other records by bands who I had not bought anything by before (even if it wasn’t their debut). So they were new to me, at least. Only five bands who I already owed a CD by made it into the top twenty (Ben Kweller, Green Day, PJ Harvey, Incubus and Therapy?).
- Disappointing second albums: the above may be in part due to some shocking second albums from bands who released debuts that I loved. I know they talk of the ‘difficult’ second album, but really… Zero 7, Bebel Gilberto, Ben Kweller (I know this made the list, but only just, and it’s nowhere near as good as Sha Sha), Kings of Leon – I am not amused!!!! Buck up your ideas, or album #3 will be ignored. Second albums in 2004 sucked! The Vines going completely the other way is the exception which proves the rule.
- It’s all rock: No hip-hop this year (though I bought good albums by Blak Twang, A Tribe Called Quest and The Roots – all pre-2004), no trip-hop type stuff either (I bought Zero 7 and Bebel Gilberto, but both were poor, and I’m waiting for the Massive Attack soundtrack album to fall in price), and nothing even vaguely dance. Everything on my list is guitar based (apart, I guess, from Keane, but despite being guitar-less, it’s still indie), but there is still a range to it, with Mastodon/Keane perhaps being the biggest divide. Just seems strange, because I usually have the odd non-rock album in there.
I bought albums by A Perfect Circle and Eminem and neither made the list. Eminem
came close, as did Franz Ferdinand
(despite me not actually buying it, and making do with a tape copy). Dave Grohl entertained me for a while with Probot, but it really wasn’t up to that
much in the end, certainly not considering the wait. I should not
have bought the Goldie’ Looking Chain
album. It was funny for two days, and
then I realised my mistake. Never buy comedy records. The Manic
Street Preachers released an album this year and I didn’t buy it. They have just pushed me too far with the
last couple of albums, and it’s come to this…
I can’t keep buying their rubbish just because I owe them for The Holy Bible. Perhaps it’s great and I’m missing out, but I
doubt it somehow…