the list: 2005

well, as most of you who read this thing regularly know, i'm huge HUGE music fan; and as a huge music fan i feel compelled to make THE LIST: 2005! the list:2005 will include the 10 best releases of the year, the five most disappointing releases of the year, the five best live shows of the year and the five most disappointing live shows of the year-all according to and from the little mind of yours truly, MOI!

so enjoy because this was a fun (and difficult) list to compile!!

THE TEN BEST RELEASES OF 2005

10. ladytron: the witching hour (rykodisc)

ladytron is the band metric would be if metric were awesome. lush, sexy, epic tales of electronic danceable love...

this is an album for late nights fueled by red wine, ghosts and unrequited love.











9. broken social scene: to be you and me-ep (arts & crafts)


before you start to freak out about how much better 'you forgot it in people' is take a second look at which broken social scene album i'm talking about...

yes, the full-length is rad but it's the limited edition ep that accompnies the self-titled release that really showcases bss' awesomeness*.

i think this was my year for loving things that i feel are 'lush'... or in the case of this ep, lushious. i want to make out to this.

sexy bass lines+pretty girl singing+lonely hotel room lyrics=wicked awesomeness*


*awesomeness is so a word!

8. xiu xiu: la foret (5RC/kill rock stars)

ok haters, i love xiu xiu; they're one of my favourite bands ever. 'knife play' continues to kick my ass every time i listen to it. there are moments with 'fabulous muscles' that make me weep uncontrollably. and now 'la foret' ok...at first i hated this record. it was too quiet. i put it on one afternoon while i was cleaning my house and within moments i had forgotten i was even listening to it. it made me mad. how dare xiu xiu (the quietest live band i've ever seen) make a quiet record?!

a week or so later i forgave a little and in a fit of insomnia i put it on with headphones hoping it's silence would put me to sleep; it didn't. instead, it kept me up all night listening and relistening to the amazing subtleties and minute shifts in instrumentation. i was instantly reminded of why xiu xiu is awesome: emotionally honest, unafraid and challenging with every shift and every release.

7. lcd soundsystem-s/t (dfa/emi)

everyone knows this record is rad. there are few who'll dispute it's radness.

i forgot that i sort of like really-super dancy electronic music and this record reminded me. for that reason alone it's on the list.

honestly, is there anyone who doesn't like this album? and who doesn't want daft punk to play at their house? or james murphy for that matter...








6. m. ward: transistor radio (merge)

ok, so it's not 2003 and m. ward didn't just release 'the transfiguration of vincent' and didn't just make me cream in my panties with all his folky goodness. in fact, i hadn't even heard of this lovely man in 2003. i was introduced to his awesomeness on october 19, 2004 when he opened for/played as part of bright eyes. he opened his set with a five minute acoustic guitar finger picking dance explosion. it was rad. i was in love.

so fast forward to 2005 and i have spent a bunch of cash tracking down harder to find older releases and then one day i bumped into this at blackbyrd...'transistor radio' a deliciously lo-fi ode community radio.

not as good as his '03 release, 'transistor radio' will still make you cream your folk-music panties. i'm firmly convinced that tape his is a required element for living and m. ward should convince you to. i can only imagine how good this album would sound on vinyl...*drool*

5. venetian snares: meathole (planet mu)


up until a couple of months ago i hadn't heard about venetian snares except in passing. while on a quest for music to 'make my ears bleed' i was seriously introduced to this album and it totally kicked my ass. i listened to it constantly for two weeks trying to figure it out. i didn't figure it out and i can't explain to you why it's awesome. i don't have the base to be able to discuss it. it's lush but painful. it makes you want to dance but keeps you sitting still. it makes you think your possessed by something but completely in control.

whatever it is...AWESOME! to me this is what music should be about...utterly (at least for me) unclassifiable but totally listenable...

4. les angles morts: what's real (blue skies turn black)


i am pretty much sick of the arcade fire and they can pretty much suck it, seriously. HYPE is deadly!

but les angles morts are the founding members of the arcade fire...thank god they're making something totally un-arcade fire/kings of canadian indie rock-esq.

this is jangly, lovely electronic something-else! i totally love this record. i don't have the backgroud to talk about the sound of les angles morts in comparison to other bands or generic classification; all i know is that this is good. it's clean and crisp and makes me long for summer time and being too hot and too stoned...go figure.



3. four tet: everything ecstatic (domino)

2005 was the year of 'new to me'...i know, how could i NOT have heard four tet before? it happens. there are people who have never heard the ramones, seriously so should it come as a shock to you that there's one band i hadn't heard of...

anyways, i've heard of them now and they're fucking awesome and this album makes me want to dance in the sun!

yay summer! yay four tet!








2. bright eyes: i'm wide awake it's morning (saddle creek)

i love bright eyes! i have for a couple of years now. i flew all the way to vancouver to watch him cry and strum away at that lovely little guitar. i have also watched him grow up and out of that little emo boy who cried his way through trips along the west coast in june into this wonderful grownup boy with a broken heart and a protest song to boot!

what the hell and i talking about up there? too boot? who uses that phrase?! and who cares if he's no longer a whiney emo kid...i think that's where people are getting all pissy about this record; they want to hate him. they want him to be the whiney emo kid so they can hate this album. it's easier to hate it than eat your words and admit that mr. oberst is indeed a good songwriter and does indeed have something to offer to independant music.

he has a voice and a style that speaks to honesty and true love and a developing political awareness that goes beyond the 'i hate george bush' rhetortic and actually has something to say and something to offer. it's all about hope i guess. four tet is my favourite new discovery of 2005. paying attention to what other people tell me has finally paid off...

1. antony and the johnsons: i'm a bird now (secretly canadian)

nick, i owe you a debt of eternal gratitude for this one.

i don't have the words. this is the BEST album, top to bottom, i've heard in years.
seriously. listen for yourself because nothing i can say is going to properly put it into perspective.

soulful, perfect, spectacularly and epically beautiful doesn't even begin to describe...








FOUR MOST DISAPPOINTING RELEASES OF 2005

#4. beck: guero (interscope)

beck's awesome! this record isn't! good isn't nearly as good as awesome so it's disappointing.

#3 hot hot heat: elevator (sire)
#2 metric: live it out (last gang)

while 2005 may have been the 'new to me' year it also appeared to be the 'rest on your laurels' year for bands that i used to like. it's not that they're bad, or it is. they are bad! these two bands have made albums that sound like nothing more than the bad b-sides from their previous (and good) releases. i think that perhaps the boys in hot hot heat forgot that amongst awesomely tight girl's jeans and hair product they were suppose to write catchy dance songs and perhaps emily haines just got too caught up in showing off her panties. whatever happened recycled cell phone jingles and faux-politics got these cats nowhere!

#1 city and colour: sometimes (dine alone records)

so it appears as if dallas green wants to take a step back from alexisonfire and pay homage to what...his obnoxious whiney emo roots. this album is nothing more than 10 whiney songs scraped from the bottom of annoying hardcore turned instropective singer songwriter and what's worse, it's been done. canada doesn't need our very own dashboard confessional, one on the continent is more than enough.

i bought this cd, listened to it once and gave it away. i couldn't get it out of my house fast enough.

to follow in our theme of disappointment and to end of a postive note with more awesomeness...

FIVE MOST DISAPPOINTING LIVE SHOWS OF 2005

#5. black dice at victory lounge.

it's not that they were bad, because they weren't. those boys are amazing musicians and this was the ONLY show at which i've ever worn earplugs. it was disappointing because a) they lacked any sort of stage presence and b) because their set was ridiculously short and c) the time appeared to be waaay to dependent on their visual display which was made totally uninteresting by the set up at victory. now, ok i know what some of you are thinking, 'michelle, how can laptop musicians have stage presence?' and i'm here to tell you that they can. stage presence isn't about what you're doing, it's about how much you want to be up there and i just didn't get the impression they gave a shit.

but hey, it was loud and i've wanted to see black dice for a long time so that's good.

#4. kid 606 at victory lounge

i had high high high expectations for this show, everyone had been raving about how super rad his latest release was and how awesome a show he's known to put on. i haven't heard is his newest release and his live show was FAR too much drum and bass for my taste. also, he had all these awesome little kid's noisy toys and i kept waiting for them to become a part of the show but they were never used. i'm so not a fan of needless set decoration.

#3. the most serene republic opening for broken social scene at reds

i'd seen the most serene republic three weeks earlier opening for metric and they rocked my sock drawer off. they were so fun and so jubilant and involved. fast forward to boring land. no jubilation, no involvement. not even a single pair of socks was rocked.

#2. caribou at new city

remember those high expectations that i had for kid606? they were even higher for caribou (formerly manitoba) because his record's good and everyone raved about his live show. i wish i could put my finger on why this show was disappointing but unfortunately i have nothing better to say then it was just sort of boring. we stuck it out for the whole thing but i could have left before he'd finished and not felt too bad about it.

#1. metric at starlite room

metric played THREE sold out shows in edmonton. when i heard they were coming i was pumped! i was so slack in my ticket buying i was actually worried that i wasn't going to be able to see them. i finally got a ticket and standing there with rachel and skye this show called to mind a lyric from one of my favourite metric songs (dead disco) that says 'kick off the lethargy' and that's what i kept waiting for. i stood there waiting for this show to be as good as it was when i saw them two years ago. i kept waiting to want to do dance, to be compelled by the music to shake something. it never happened, instead i stood there at the back on the starlite room trying not to scratch my newly tattooed arm staring up at the smoke detector checking how often it was in time with the kick drum. my chief complaint about this show is the same complaint i have about their album-lacklustre. everything in beige and i want hot pink!

TEN BEST SHOWS OF 2005

#10. folk fest in gallagher park

i'd never been to the folk fest before this year! happy birthday to me! it was a great four days spent in the sun with good friends and good music. highlights include: the weakerthans, marth wainwright, wendy mcneill, danny michel, ryan adams and the cardinals and steve earl!

#9. greg macpherson at power plant

i hadn't really intended to go out the night of mr. macpherson's awesome show but keri called me and said that adam was sure i'd be into it. so i went. why the hell not right? i'm so glad i went. i sat at the table drinking my face off with a contant smile. greg macpherson is an intensly watchable, apparently kind, amazing performer. i was impressed from start to finish!

#8. the (international) noise conspriracy at reds

they weren't headlining but they weren't opening. the were the co-headliners on what seemed to me to be the oddest bill in...ever. despite the fact that i really DID NOT enjoy and you'll know us by the trail of dead, t(i)nc were soooooo awesome! i danced, i sang along and i saw one of my favourite bands of forever!

#7. blonde redhead at new city

ok, the opening band sucked. SUCKED! SUCKED! they were so bad that i don't even remember what they were called. i can't put them on my list because i didn't even listen to them. thank god for blonde redhead. quiet, sexy, lush and the kind of music that takes you somewhere else. best new city show ever!

#6. jr. boys at new city

it's funny that the jr. boys should be on my list of awesome because the band that they opened for, caribou, is on my list of not awesome. these boys make SEXY music. i danced, i sweated into my vans (or perhaps my blue loafers) and had an awesome time.


#5. xiu xiu at freemason's hall

yep, i love xiu xiu. this show was amazing because not only were the two opening acts (junior bloomsday and this song is a mess but so am i) stellar but this was one the quietest most intimate shows i've seen. the fact that people got mad when audience members were talking too loud was rad. it demonstrated a respect for the band, the music and the people around you. wicked shit!

#4. polmo polpo w. noot at victory lounge

(noot) first. laptop. show. ever.
saw about 8 million more this year. this one's still the best.

then there were all those dials that polmo polpo had. i have no idea what they were all for but i was riveted. 100% there!

#3. no means no at the sidetrack

no means no have been one of the best punk bands of all time for years but up until two weeks ago i'd never seen them. well, all's right with the world! this show was rad, it was so fun to hang out with chelsea and MOSH! yep, i moshed a little...and it was totally voluntary and i wasn't annoyed about the mosh kids at all. superlatives are lacking!

#2 green day at rexall place

i've been a fan of green day since i was 11 years old and 12 years later i finally got to see them live. all weirdness aside (drunks chanting for thrice, my chemical romance, rexall place) this show was amazing! i was on my feet singing at the top of my lungs to every song (even the operation ivy covers) and it was fantastic. i felt like i was that kid again, that scared little girl with headphones on, rocking out secretly in my room. god it was awesome!

#1 tortoise at starlite room

this show was the highlight of my summer. everything about it was totally rad. i got to see someone i care about open for a band i love, and play an awesome set! tortoise, HOLY FUCKING CRAP! bonertown! seriously! i was standing right at the front of the stage and i could feel the music take complete control over my body. i just stood there, eyes closed, letting every note overtake me. i haven't left a show feeling that sense of satisfaction ever. EVER!

so i think that's the list. the whole list. yep, there are some honourable mentions for sure but my brain is tired from making this list so i'll do that list at another time.

xo michelle.