My personal favourites for the year that just about was...
Any of you who have read my posts know that I, apart from being a musician, am a big music fan. While I am concerned over the state of the music industry, in terms of how the majors treat their roster and the public in general, 2004 had some very good musical highlights.
Australia had a great year in music, with some of our bands doing very well. 2004 kicked off with the hype surrounding The Vines crumbling and falling to ruins only to rise again with Jet. Unlike The Vines though, Jet seem to have their wits about them, as well as being able to live up to the hype. On the other side of this, independent acts the John Butler Trio and The Waifs, particularly, encouragingly proved you don't have to have major label backing to become a major success both here and overseas.
Locally, while artists like Pete Murray, Delta Goodrem and, ack, Australian idol winners Guy Sebastien and Shannon Noll dominated the mainstream charts, the alternative side (what is that these days, anyway?) provided much more durable, listenable and interesting music. Sydney band Thirsty Merc, WA's Little Birdy and Eskimo Joe, and Dan Kelly & the Alpha Males all produced albums this year that spent considerable time on my disc player. But it was the divine pop of the Sleepy Jackson's 'Lovers' that had the highest rotation and most charged my creative batteries, along with frontman Luke Steel's side project, Nations By The River, who also feature the boys from Gelbison.
Speaking of them, Gelbison also produced a wonderful album this year in 'See The World'. Other highlights included new records from the fabulous Finn Brothers, and the mighty Regurgitator, who, after spending a month locked in a glass studio, emerged with their latest album, Mish Mash. With so much good music around, I was still pleased to make a few surprise discoveries as well. NZ's The Mint Chicks' angular rock had me stage diving off the couch, while Brisbane's answer to The Bloodhound Gang, Butterfingers, kept me giggling behind my hand. There are heaps of acts I've probably forgotten about, but these are ones that stuck out in my collection.
On the international front, I listened to a lot of music from both new and favourite artists. The Beastie Boys release was much anticipated by me, but I some how sorta felt let down a little. Still, they will be here for the Big Day Out tour, which we're catching in Sydney, so I'm reserving my judgement until I see them live. The divine Polly Jean Harvey also released her next album to mixed receptions as well, although she can do no wrong by me.
New music from Tom Waits, in the form of the album 'Real Gone', and the much-anticipated release of Brian Wilson's 'Smile' epic proved to be incredible pieces of music in both scope and texture, although from opposite sides of the spectrum. Speaking of texture, a wonderfully quirky Norwegian band called Evil Tordivel with an album called 'A Fine Young Man' came out of left field and became a firm favourite. Apparently, the head honcho of this band hired a selection of Norway's speed-metal musicians to play his skewed pop songs. And it works!
Aussie internationals, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds sent out their latest double, 'Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus', which comes across like a heated blast of heroin-blues and is a welcome return to form for the band. Other international acts that made it into my collection this year included Gomez, N.E.R.D., Elliot Smith (R.I.P.), The Rapture (in a brilliant 80's flashback), Cody Chestnutt a.k.a. The Headphone Masterpiece and OK Go.
On the re-release front, I was like a school kid waiting for his birthday to come when I heard about the issuing of the 25th Anniversary Edition of The Clash's 'London Calling'. As far as I'm concerned, it was well worth the wait. But then, I've always been a bit of a geeky trainspotter when it comes to my favourite music and this collection more than catered to my predilection.
Jeff Buckley's divine 'Grace - Legacy Edition' also became a welcome addition to my collection. Buckley's superb voice and sublime music will always echo throughout my home. On the rock side, the re-release of Weezer's first album, complete with heaps of b-sides and demo mixes made a welcome return to my player and is another highlight of 2004.
This year, I played a lot more live shows myself but I didn't see as much live music as I would have liked. Apart from the Big Day Out, the highlight would have to have been Gomez and Nations By The River, at my favourite Sydney venue, The Metro. Nations' were a surprise hit, with alt-country tinged tunes and an almost Band of Gypsies styled stage show. In contrast, Gomez were the twisted pop treat I always expected they would be.
The Big Day Out provided one of the most amazing musical experiences in the form of The Flaming Lips. Everything else on the day, aside from New Zealand outfit Good Shirt, pales into insignificance. The 'Lips were a visual and aural feast of divine, extra-terrestrial pop music. I have seen footage of this particular concert on cable television a number of times over the year now but it does no justice to what it was like seeing the show live.
Finally, following is Dynamaso's Best Of List:
1. Best Local release - 'Lovers' by The Sleepy Jackson
2. Best International release - 'Abattoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus' - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3. Quirky favourite of the year - 'A Fine Young Man' by Evil Tordivel
4. Bound To Be Huge One Day Award - The Sleepy Jackson
5. Personal Heroes Award - The Clash
6. Music I'm Going To Forget in a Hurry Award - anything written by Pharrell Williams but not performed by N.E.R.D.
7. Still Stuck In the Moment Award - 'Real Gone' by Tom Waits
8. Welcome Return/Comeback/Re-release - 'Smile' by Brian Wilson
9. Live Concert I Would Have Liked To Attended - The Pixies reformation tour
10. Most Obvious Bullshit Track of the Year - 'Feed The World' by a bunch of mostly B-grade British musicians. (I support the sentiment but can't stand the schmaltz).
Well, there you go folks. This is in no way a concise effort, and some of the music is only new to me. I'm sure I've forgotten heaps of other great music. All the music I've mentioned here, though, is music I've purchased this year. It is a purely subjective look at my favourite music for 2004.
On a final note, I'd like to weigh in with an opinion about downloading. I support the songwriters right to his/her/their property. As a songwriter, though, I also understand that to make available tracks for free can be the difference between making 'it' and not making a living. If you do download, do so in moderation. And if you really like a piece of music, pay for it because if you don't, then there is every likelihood that the artist in question will have to go back to their day jobs to support themselves. Do the right thing and let our artists make a living too.
Cheers,
Maso