Top Ten of 2004

Okay, so I am the biggest procrastinator of the group.

Nothing new there. I tried and tried…

First, I was swamped at work, and I haven’t had much time to start writing my list. When I tried to start my review, the computer crashed.

(Thanks, by the way, to Hewlett-Packard, for making such crap computers in the late ’90s. It’s like trying to run Windows on a Tandy sometimes, I swear.)

With that nonsense out of the way, it’s on with the insanity, and these are listed in NO particular order:

InterpolAntics

Anyone who doesn’t like this band will hate me, but I thought this album was much better than their first album, Turn on the Bright Lights – a sound effort. I was sad I couldn’t see them on the Curiosity Tour due to lack of funds, but I read that they ripped it up.

Go figure.

The new album just pops a lot more, and if you can’t stand “smart-rock” you just aren’t gonna dig this. Interpol has “swagger.” That lame-ass “be everything to every audience” band Jet has negative swagger, and that is why I will ALWAYS pick Interpol or the Strokes over rehashed sucky crap like them.

Kanye WestThe College Dropout

Funny. Insightful. Spiritual. Not a whole lot of hip-hop out there can lay claim to being all three of those traits. Kanye can. He’s a producer-extraordinaire, and now he is a Grammy-nominated superstar.

He also carried Usher’s Tour this summer, as he was worth the price of admission alone. He wears Cosby-style sweaters without looking stupid, and survived a near-fatal accident a few years ago to make his the feel good story of the year.

Elvis CostelloThe Delivery Man

Mr. Costello’s newest effort dropped on the same day he put out his classical album. I hated that disc, and though it DID have its strong moments, it paled in comparison to this gem.

Bonus Moment of the Year: Costello covers a song that he wrote for Solomon Burke’s Don’t Give Up On Me(“The Judgment“) and makes it an instant classic.

This got my vote for album of the year, but I am truly a biased dork. Since Costello is among my favorite artists of all time, I would be a huge lying jerk if I left this awesome release out.

Jeff BuckleyGrace – Legacy Edition

I don’t quite care that this is a 10th Anniversary Re-release. Jeff Buckley was a God. Plain and freaking simple. He moved Thom Yorke from Radiohead to tears, covered Pearl Jam so well that Eddie didn’t want to do certain songs live anymore, and also played Led Zeppelin, Edith Piaf, and Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn in ways that those artists were embarrassed that they weren’t talented enough to do themselves. Screw Spin Magazine for leaving this treasure trove off their Top Re-issues of the Year. Pricks.

Mos DefNew Danger

Mos Def is one of my all-time favorite rappers. This disc is a significant departure from his usual fare. He is an intellectual, and this album reminds me of what could have been if Nas had used his father on his ENTIRE album.

He first got my attention with Black Star with Talib Kweli many years ago, and he has had me captive since.

He’s also becoming a seriously talented actor. If you forget that sucky MTV-produced Carmen.

WilcoA Ghost is Born

So, Jeff Tweedy had a breakdown. He was down in the dumps, had nothing to write about, and suddenly…

He churns out his best material since his Uncle Tupelo days, and keeps it real at the same time. Long, winding songs crafted by a hand so similar to Brian Wilson, it makes me cringe. If he can stay on his medicine, he may just be one of the most important songwriters in the coming years.

Granted, critics complained about his 12 minute moments of music stupidity. Screw them.

He’s the artist. Let the man be. Its a masterpiece, and his live shows will prove it. Tonight at MSG will prove it once again; Flaming Lips open, which just shows the TRUE pecking order of kick-ass musicians. I can’t seem to get good tickets now, but screw it.

MuseAbsolution

Anyone who doesn’t own this album, should. Anyone who has this album should push it on their friends like crack.

Sorry for the drug reference, but this album is that damn good. If you love New Order, BUY THIS ALBUM. If you love great music, BUY THIS ALBUM.

Absolution is a fantastic rock disc that many critics seem to have forgotten came out this year. Granted, they aren’t doing anything new, but their twist on a tried-and-true genre is still disturbingly refreshing.

Modest MouseGood News For People Who Like Bad News

I would like to personally commend this band for scraping its way out of that dreaded realm of “critical darlings,” to which they have unfairly been stagnating in for so long. They finally write songs that people “want” to understand, and toured their butts off to gain the notoriety they have always deserved.

Kudos to them for finally “crossing over.” Thank God I will never have to say their name again, only to have my friends ask “who?”

The KillersHot Fuss

Duran Duran, look out. Not just because your newest album, Astronaut, was really good. It turns out that someone stole all of your best ideas, and some that you didn’t even think that you knew you had, and made a debut record that spawned my favorite single of the year.

The Killers should have an even bigger 2005 if the Las Vegas-based band keeps touring like mad. Good for them; they made “pop” a much-less dirty word. Hell, they made it rock, and united club-kids and music buffs with their sonic grace.

Good times indeed.

Snow PatrolFinal Straw

Last, but not least, the album that I wore out. I got the world (i.e. my friends and co-workers) hooked on this before it had come out. “Run” was the second-best single of year, and there is no record collection from this year that will be complete without this disc.

If you don’t own this, GO BUY IT! Hell, head to Amazon.com and purchase it. It’s still cheap, and worth every single penny you will have to dig out from inside the couch cushions to buy it. This band did what Oasis always tried to; be low-key and somber, yet deliver such powerful music. Oh, wait, Coldplay started out that way too.

Oops. I probably shouldn’t jinx them like that.

Runners-Up/Honorable Mentions

De La SoulThe Grind Date
U2How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
Talib KweliThe Beautiful Struggle
LibertinesLibertines
RadioheadCom Lag EP
Damien RiceO
MorrisseyYou Are The Quarry
PJ HarveyUh Huh Her
TV on the RadioDesperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
Danger MouseThe Grey Album
Secret MachinesNow Here is Nowhere

Here’s to hoping we get some seriously awesome new music in 2005. There were bucketloads of great things out there, but there was still a great deal of over-played rubbish (i.e. Ashlee Simpson) to wade through.

Be safe guys, and I will be back next week with a new review.

Happy New Year. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!

An Inside Pulse "original", SMS is one of the founding members of Inside Pulse and serves as the Chief Marketing Officer on the Executive Board. Smith is a fan of mixed martial arts and runs two sections of IP as Editor in Chief, RadioExile.com and InsideFights.com. Having covered music festivals around the world as well as conducting interviews with top-class professional wrestlers and musicians, he switched gears from music coverage at Radio Exile to MMA after the first The Ultimate Fighter Finale. He resides with his wife in New York City.