Top Five of '05 - Part II: Albums

Hey, everybody. Hope you all had a nice weekend. Mine was pretty low-key, spent mostly doing chores and reading. Went to Espana for some tapas on Saturday night and drank a lot of Sangria. The evening was spiced up by clown noses and drunken priests. No, I'm not joking and no, I won't go into anymore detail. Anyhow, a good time was had by all.

Now, on to what you all have been waiting for, part two of my ongoing Top Five of '05 series. Due to overwhelming response to my last post (thanks Zach), I'll continue this time with my favorite albums. So, without further adieu, here they are:

Top Five Albums of '05

5. Picaresque - The Decemberists - I love this band, and quite honestly it's hard for me to figure out why. Their music, in simplest terms, is theatrical. What's funny about this is I hate theatre music. I have never met a show tune I didn't hate. Try and lead a group in a round of, say "Oklahoma!", and you'll be met with a blank stare from yours truly. But there's something about this band's unique sound that does it for me. Their songs are alternately (and sometimes simultaneously) absurd, earnest, moving, and poppy. Their latest release, Picaresque, is a collection of power pop anthems, British-inspired folk ditties, and sea chanties. I know this sounds like a terrible mix, but somehow Colin Meloy's brilliant songwriting brings it all together in a fluid, cohesive whole. Standout tracks include: Eli, The Barrow Boy, 16 Military Wives, and The Mariner's Revenge Song.

4. You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having - Atmosphere - Atmosphere remains my favorite indie hip-hop act, if not my favorite indie act period. Slug, the group's MC, keeps bringing the raw emotion to his lyrics, while never compromising his ridiculous rapping skills and producer Ant keeps bringing unique and infectious beats. While Atmosphere have carved out their own niche in hip-hop with what some call "emo-hop," their latest release is a lot more upbeat... sonically at least. The album's title has it's tongue plant firmly in cheek and Slug is still rapping about the pitfalls of trying to find that special someone, but Ant really stepped up his game brought some truly slamming beats. The album opens thunderously with The Arrival, and seldom looks back until the decidedly down-tempo album closer. Along with the opening track, other highlights include Watch Out, Hockey Hair, and Smart Went Crazy. Great lyrics, great beats, and great production. What more do you want? Definitely my favorite hip-hop album this year.

3. I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning - Bright Eyes - I have never really liked Conor Oberst. When I first met him at the Dalley's house about 12 years ago I thought he was annoying. Of course he was probably 13 at the time, and I had never heard of Commander Venus and I don't think he had even come up with the name Bright Eyes. Fast forward a couple of years and Conor starts making a name for himself with Bright Eyes and I still can't get into his music. Fast forward a few more years and Denver Dalley joins Conor in a side project called the Desaparecidos and I have to admit I started to come around. Fast forward one last time to 2005 and Conor creates one my favorite albums of the year. The album is a folky, almost alt-country masterpiece. The music is stripped-down and jangly and, well, terrific. And for the first time, Oberst, has written songs that draw me in through the lyrics. Sure, he's still bitching and moaning a lot, but in ways I can identify and even empathize with. I even find several of the tracks fun, something I never thought I'd get from Bright Eyes. My favorite tracks are At The Bottom Of Everything, Old Soul Song (For The New World Order), and Another Travelin' Song.

2. Don't Believe The Truth - Oasis - Those of you that know me, know that I'm a huge Oasis fan. People like to make fun of Oasis and Oasis fans for some reason, and was getting pretty hard to fight back due to the decidedly small amount of good tunes the Brothers Gallagher had been producing for the last few years. Well, the Gallaghers and Company finally got their shit together and put out a truly stellar album. As expected its got it's power ballads and all the trademark bravado, but this time out they've added a bluesy, jangliness to a number of songs. They have somehow found a way to sound reinvigorated and fresh, while maintaining the aspects that made them great. In other words, none of the songs sound paint-by-numbers Oasis, but they don't sound like they're trying to hard to do something different, either. In fact, it sounds like they're having fun, and fun for them just happens to be making damn good music. Truly a return to form for the kings of brit-pop. On an album like this, I love so many of the songs for different reasons, but my current favorites are Lyla, Love Like A Bomb, The Importance of Being Idle, and Let There Be Love.

1. Haughty Melodic - Mike Doughty - I'm really disappointed this seemed to fly under everybody's radar. Being a pretty big fan of Soul Coughing, I was pretty disappointed when they broke up in 2000. Then a few years ago, I had heard that lead vocalist Mike Doughty had launched a solo career. Intrigued, I sought out his independent solo releases Skittish and Rockity Roll. I liked them well enough, but neither of them really prepared my for 2005's Haughty Melodic. Doughty's 2005 release found him in full-on singer-songwriter mode. Gone are the heavy, hip-hop influenced beats and samples of Soul Coughing and in their wake are acoustic guitars, horns, and soaring melodies. Doughty has changed his vocal stylings as well, replacing his beat poet delivery with more straight forward singing. His street-smart, bohemian indignation is still present, but somehow he has become more earnest and sympathetic. Because of this apparent shift the songs, which are still on the more esoteric side, are much more accessible than those from the Soul Coughing catalogue. From start to finish, Haughty Melodic remains fun and catchy, while never "selling-out" to mainstream pop. It's a truly satisfying listen, that will please old-school Soul Coughing fans, and newcomers alike. My favorite tracks are Madeline and Nine, I Hear The Bells, and Grey Ghost.

So there, you have it. My favorite albums of 2005. This time, I feel a little bit better informed than I was with movies, since I still manage to listen to fair amount of music. Still, since I am not a music critic, I am sure there were quite a few great albums out there that I didn't hear this year. So, if anybody out there wants to share some of their favorite music from last year, I'd be happy to hear about it.

Stay tuned for my final, ill-informed list of favorites from 2005. Next up will be my favorite reads, and it promises to be the most ill-informed of all!