These Are a Few of My Favorite Things, Part Three: Albums

All righty then, here we go. These posts are getting longer and longer, and I'm sleepy tonight. And although I love music, and I love to make music, and I love to talk about and share and download music, it's difficult for me to write about music sometimes. Maybe I'm just too close to be objective. Elvis Costello once famously said, "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture. It's a really stupid thing to want to do." (This quote has been attributed to many, from Frank Zappa to Martin Mull, but if my sources are correct, it was Costello who said it first, in an interview in Musician Magazine entitled "A Man Out of Time Beats the Clock" by Timothy White - October, 1983.)

I'll get to it. My top ten favorite albums of 2005, along with ten I discovered in 2005.

Top Ten of 2005

01: Sufjan Stevens, Illinois - Without question , my favorite album of the year. Wildly eclectic and experimental, but with a warmth and cohesiveness that so many other albums lack. It's a deeply spiritual and personal album, but sweeping and cinematic at the same time. It's these contrasts that make the album so appealing to me. As you can guess from the title, every song references the state of Illinois in some way. The heart of the album is the gorgeous and understated "John Wayne Gacy Jr." It tells the story of Illinois's most infamous serial killer. It's chilling, literally. At one point I got chills up and down my spine... That must have happened the first 10 times I listened to the song. The song ends with Stevens pulling back the floorboards to reveal his own sick tendencies. The secrets we all try to hids. Very powerful.

02: Derek Webb, Mockingbird - This one comes in at the end of the year to finish way up near the top. Derek Webb, ex-Caedmon's Call member, is an amazing singer, guitarist and songwriter. His albums have grown so much... And he's prolific. Four albums now since he left Caedmon's (to their one)... Folk/rock/alternative/pop. And lyrically, he makes me think like few can. His "A New Law" is genius. Sometime I'll post those lyrics.

03: Michelle Shocked, Don't Ask Don't Tell; Got No Strings; Mexican Standoff (You can also buy them in a bargain-priced box set called Threesome.) - I've loved Michelle Shocked since I first heard "Come a Long Way" from Arkansas Traveler back in high school. I lost track along the way, and there came a point where I really couldn't care less about what she was releasing. But now, freed of all label constraints and an unhappy marriage; and experiencing a new, deepened Christian spirituality, she releases not one, but three albums on the same day. She has a throaty, strong, supple voice that can sing many styles convincingly. Don't Ask... is her straight-up rock record. Streetwise, edgy, bluesy. I agree with other critics who've called it a "grown-up" Short Sharp Shocked. Got No Strings is a collection of Disney standards done in a Western swing style. Mexican Standoff is a strange collection of over-the-top "Mexican" songs and rockin' Tex-Mex barroom songs. Bottom line, I love them all.

04: Over the Rhine, Drunkard's Prayer - One of my favorite bands ever, Over the Rhine has been one of the music worlds best-kept secrets. Hailing from Cincinnatti, Ohio, they've been toiling away in near-obscurity, making some of the sweetest, most literate, haunting, thought-provoking songs ever. The "band" has now been whittled down to husband and wife Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist. This album came about after the almost-breakout 2003 album, Ohio. It was a critical hit, a sprawling, gorgeous double album of Americana. They were touring with a full band. I even had tickets to their San Francisco show. And then, much to the chagrin of their fans and their record company, they pulled out. They went home. They didn't make any excuses except to tell the truth. Their marriage was in trouble, and they wanted to save it. They would come home every evening, open a bottle of wine, and sit and talk until the bottle was gone. Drunkard's Prayer was born out of that time. It's  their quietest album yet, and lovely and sad and hope-filled.

05: David Crowder*Band, A Collision or (3+4=7) - OK, these "capsule" reviews are taking me a lot of time. Condense, Matt, condense. David Crowder*Band is original, daring, experimental, groovy and downright loopy. This album includes electronic dance music and a hoedown. And it's all just great. Although, David, I think your Sufjan influences are starting to show a little bit. What gave it away? Maybe the mile-long titles. Maybe the Sufjan cover.

06: Shannon McNally, Geronimo - I heard the song "The Worst Part of a Broken Heart" on a Paste Magazine sampler and I was hooked. The album is even better in its entirety. Strong, bluesy, warm, sweet, sultry, cool, rough-and-tumble. I had heard her first album this year and liked it, but nothing prepared me for this. I also saw her playing and singing in Rufus Wainwright's band on his Want Two DVD. She's the real deal.

07: Ryan Adams, Cold Roses; Jacksonville City Nights; 29 - Ryan Adams also released three albums this year, but he took a whole year to do it, releasing the third, 29, just this month. Yeah, they're good. Great even. The first two he recorded with his new band, The Cardinals, and the last one is a solo affair. If you're a Ryan fan, you'll love them. If you're new, I'd start with something earlier.

08: The Choir, O How the Mighty Have Fallen - Woo-hoo! The Choir are back! These guys have been making great music for a long, long time, and they're finally starting to get a little recognition! They've made Marc Byrd an official member of the band now, and it's only helped their atmospheric pop/rock grow. They've always been great songwriters. Now their songs crackle with newfound energy and power. Get it.

09: Aimee Mann, The Forgotten Arm - Aimee is a true pop artist, meaning that her songs have memorable melodies and hooks, they're generally not too long, and they're not trying to be something they're not. With The Forgotten Arm she achieves an amazing thing... A concept album where all the songs work as individual gems or as part of the larger story. Like Michelle Shocked, Ani DiFranco and other artists who have taken the reins away from the labels and run their own careers, Aimee is free to explore new things and to control everything, down to the fonts and artwork in the liner notes.

10: Coldplay, X&Y - Yeah, I know there was a lot of hoopla surrounding this release, and it was Chris Martin this and Chris Martin that and "the new U2" and blah blah blah. But it's a darn good album. Nothing really special or new, just really great Coldplay music. "White Shadows" is my favorite song. He does that thing with his voice... Ah ah ah ah ah... breaking up into his falsetto... It's perfect. A perfect moment.

Honorable Mentions: Fiona Apple, Extraordinary Machine; Architecture in Helsinki, In Case We Die; Sam Ashworth, Gonna Get It Wrong Before I Get It Right; Andrew Bird, Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production of Eggs; The Decemberists, Picaresque; Delirious?, The Mission Bell; Eisley, Room Noises; The Fray, How To Save a Life; Sara Groves, Add to the Beauty; Imogen Heap, Speak for Yourself; Indigo Girls, Rarities; Iron & Wine, Our Endless Numbered Days; Kevin Max, The Imposter; Maria McKee, Peddlin' Dreams; Erin McKeown, We Will Become Like Birds; Alanis Morissette, Jagged Little Pill Acoustic; Mute Math, Reset [EP]; Sinéad O'Connor, Throw Down Your Arms; Tremolo, Love Is the Greatest Revenge; Laura Veirs, Year of Meteors

And Albums from Years Past That I Discovered This Year:

01: Joseph Arthur, Our Shadows Will Remain - Heard the song "Even Tho," fell in love, bought the CD. Rock and roll.

02: 77s, Pray Naked - Even after being a 77s fan all these years, it was not until I was staying with the frontman himself, Mike Roe, that I finally got a copy. He burned me one. I guess it's not illegal when the artist himself give you a copy. It's an amazing album. I see what all the fuss is about. For me, there's always a moment on an album that just makes it. On this one it's the strange and beautiful vocal melody line on the verses of "Kites Without Strings." Completely unexpected, perfectly executed and, in hindsight, after being unsettled by it, completely right. Mike Roe: You rock!!

03: Sufjan Stevens, Michigan - Illinois's predecessor. Almost as strange and wonderful, but not quite.

04: Mat Kearney, Bullet - Acoustic, Coldplay-esque songs with a thick hip-hop vibe. Christian guy makes sweet crossover music and tours with Liz Phair. Color me impressed.

05: Hem, Eveningland - A gorgeous follow-up to 2001's Rabbit Songs.

06: Shawn McDonald, Simply Nothing - What's it mean when you love the studio album and can't stand the live one? Probably nothing good, but oh well. I love this studio album. Shawn has a killer voice and great knack for writing killer songs with killer vibes and killer hooks.

07: Indigo Girls, All That We Let In - The Indigo Girls, in my opinion, are one of the finest musical groups of our generation. They write consistently good material and play it even better, if that's possible. This album finds them again at the top of their game, lyically and musically.  Find a more gorgeous title track, I dare you.

08: Keane, Hopes and Fears - My buddy Chris told me about Keane, and I'm sure glad he did. Just listen to them and you'll like them too. Piano-based pop/rock. Great vocals. Great songs.

09: David Byrne, Grown Backwards - I love this guy. I finally discovered him after all these years. Where have I been? He's an oddball, but I really like his voice, and I really like this album.

10: Tears for Fears, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending - Me included. These guys buried the hatchet and came out with a tremendous musical offering. The best in years. OK, I'm done. Good night.

Honorable Mentions: 2nd Chapter of Acts, The Roar of Love; Gavin DeGraw, Chariot; Christine Dente, Becoming; The Flaming Lips, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots; Frou Frou, Details; Hanson, Middle of Nowhere, This Time Around, Underneath; Rilo Kiley, More Adventurous; Shannon McNally, Jukebox Sparrows; Leona Naess, Leona Naess; Liz Phair, Exile in Guyville; Poe, Haunted; Josh Rouse, Nashville; Todd Rundgren, The Very Best of Todd Rundgren; The Shins, Chutes Too Narrow; John Vanderslice, Cellar Door