a coherent collection of random statements regarding God, words and tunes

OK, I'm calling it...

     There's really no need to wait. Having spent a lot of time this week absorbing the low-key Joyceanism that IS Kate Bush's Aerial (while pretty much alienating the remainder of my family in the process ), I can safely say my #1 is still in place.

     As for Kate's latest, think: The Sensual World, take away the "Love and (the) Anger" (and the utterly sublime "Reaching Out," for that matter -- but definitely leave in "This Woman's Work"), build it into a album-long suite, take the pieces that don't quite fit and make another album out of that, and that's pretty much Aerial. You can decide for yrself where to go from there. All I can add from there is: It sounds better loud, and played late at night. Lots of minor moments, no major ones.

     So, in this most transitional and interesting of years, wherein my non-Christian listening habits were easily the highest they've been in the last five years, it was yet nonetheless and yet again a "Christian" album that topped the list (although I'd still be surprised to find in one o' them there Christian bookshoppes).

     First, a few moments to list some albums that I discovered this year (really, since this summer) that didn't come out in 2005 but affected me greatly (and again, the Loveland Public Library been beddy, beddy good to me in this regard):

     Patti Smith -- Trampin' (had I found it when it came out last year, it've given Mike & Mark's Fun with Sound a run for its money for Album of the Year)

     Steve Earle -- Jerusalem (has probably done nearly as much to liberalize certain of my views as watching certain Republicans has )

     Uncle Tupelo -- 89/93: An Anthology (wherein the sum is clearly WAY more than its Wilco/Son Volt parts)

     The Waterboys -- A Rock in the Weary Land (a wonderful, overlooked classic -- not quite on the level of the first four Waterboys albums, but danged close)

     Richard Thompson -- Mock Tudor (from the altruistic rockin' lust-cry of "Cookesferry Queen" to the haunting "Uninhabited Man" to the plain, stark and ugly "Hope You Like the New Me," Dickie near the top of his game without needing another divorce to do it) 

     And now, for the top five of 2005 (Top 10! Are you joking???):

     5) Buddy Miller -- Universal United House of Prayer (gospel-folk with teeth, and a killer version of "With God on Our Side")

     4) Graham Parker -- Songs of No Consequence (the old boy's still got the old vitriol, and enough remaining vocal capacity to pull it off)

     3) Kate Bush -- Aerial (this one's still a bit speculative, but sounds about right)

     2) Beck -- Guero (yeah, sure, it's a more musically subdued Odelay, but this time the boy goes the lyrical kitchen sink instead, from fun to morbidity and back again. Que onda, guero???)

      ...and the best album of this year (which I suspect will be topping a lot of critics' lists, but so what?)...

     1) Sufjan Stevens -- Come on, Feel the ILLINOISe

     This one is still bringing it for me. Aside from a few outtakes of his stuff that had wound up on my former homeboy Jai Agnish's Blue Bunny Sampler, I had no idea what I was getting into. But after spending the last few months playing the laser grooves off of this largely self-played, self-orchestrated masterpiece, forget about it. I've seen it classified as neo-folk, and lyrically that's dead-on. Musically, it's a whole 'nother story -- it's got a whole lot more to do with They Might Be Giants, Steve Reich and Laurie Anderson.

     Kinda speaking of the latter (see also: ambitious musical projects involving the United States), this is in fact only the second of a proposed 50 albums, one for each state (his homestate of Michigan being the first, although he does more time in Manhattan these days). Although I really don't know how he goes about topping this one. (Still, I would have to buy the New Jersey album on general principle alone. )

    The family's back, so guess the song-by-song breakdown will have to wait. But this entry's been long enough anyway....

Posted by: burninglight at 20:57 | link | comments