Unfortunately, the WordPress preview is not always accurate, so I don’t know what a post will actually look like until I post it. If there were major formatting problems when you read my ‘Favorite albums of 2004′ post, please view it again, as I had to correct several problems after posting.

Update: I’m still working on it. WordPress’ (or Blogsome’s) handling of tables is… baffling, to put it mildly.

Update: I’m still not happy with the final layout, but I decided to add some content (including track listings) and eschew organizational tables altogether since WordPress/Blogsome seems to hate them. I’m definitely no coding guru, so I apologize for the final presentation, and I hope it shows up okay if you’re using an aggregator, but this is the best I can do for now.

Update: There, I fixed the formatting problems. I really should just learn HTML and CSS from scratch - it doesn’t work the way it used to 4 years ago, if I remember it at all! I also added The Secret Machines’ album, and removed the barely undeserving David Brookings and Peter Adams albums.

Better late than never! Here are my favorite albums of the year, with mp3 downloads, as available - I don’t have the space/bandwidth to host any files myself, so all mp3 links are off-site. If you know of a good, free MP3 host, or if you can host some files yourself, let me know! An asterix (*) denotes favorite tracks.

Update: The most up-to-date version of this list is being maintained here.

Kasabian - Kasabian The album whose every track I adore is extremely rare (even on this list), but this album is one of them. Kasabian writes a delicious blend of hipster-friendly electronic rock and post-punk grunge (without the ‘grungy’ sound) - except for the “(Interlude)” tracks, which are pure Vangelis. I can’t wait for more, but I’d really like to see Kasabian push their sound over fresh ground on their next album, because this band has the rare talent of making ‘daring’ (as compared to most radio artists, not as compared to DAAU or something) music remarkably accessible and radio-friendly.

Listen: Stream entire first album Track Listing: 1. Club Foot* 2. Processed Beats* 3. Reason Is Treason* 4. I.D.* 5. L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)* 6. Running Battle 7. Test Transmission 8. Cutt Off* 9. Butcher Blues* 10. U Boat 11. Reason in Treason [Jacknife Lee Version]

The Arcade Fire - Funeral So much has already been written about this acknowledged masterpiece of modern rock that I could hardly add anything meaningful. Heartfelt, refreshing, gorgeous. There are no excuses for missing this one.

Listen: Neighborhood #2 (Laika) Track Listing: 1. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)* 2. Neighborhood #2 (Laika)* 3. Une Annee Sans Lumiere 4. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)* 5. Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles)* 6. Crown Of Love* 7. Wake Up 8. Haiti 9. Rebellion (Lies)* 10. The Backseat

Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand I just love it when music is as good as it is popular. This is an album wholly deserving of its sales numbers (a rare event), with a great number of interesting, thumping, catchy tracks. Franz Ferdinand excels at transitioning from one exciting passage to the next - never more evident than the transition one minute into ‘Take Me Out.’ Oh, and I don’t usually watch music videos, but I could watch that one boxer punch that other guy in the video for ‘Take Me Out’ all day long.

Track Listing: 1. jacqueline* 2. tell her tonight 3. take me out* 4. matinee* 5. auf acshe 6. cheating on you 7. this fire* 8. darts of pleasure 9. michael 10. come on home 11. 40 ft*

Die Anarchistische Abendunterhaltung - Tub Gurnard Goodness I only discovered this Belgian group (usually abbreviated as ‘DAAU’) because of their recent cover of Radiohead’s “2+2=5.” And what a discovery! Little did I know that DAAU had been creating innovative, groundbreaking music for nearly a decade. Their style evades description, but I’ll try: they play a mixture of modern improvisational composition, Balkan-folk, Klezmer, psychedelic, tango, and reggae. Better put, they play improvised contemporary classical music with a rock drive and Klezmer instruments. Of course, the best way to understand their music is to…

Listen: 2+2=5 (Radiohead cover, live) Live concert of mostly this album’s material more DAAU from other albums Track Listing: 1. My Goodness! Poetry* 2. Off The Record* 3. Is This It?* 4. Raw Like Milk* 5. The Guts 6. Of R%d%h%d (2+2=5) 7. A Funny Little Feeling 8. Catfish Blues* 9. A Shortcut In The Edge* 10. Even More Lost Souls 11. In My Midnight Skies 12. Two Fast Dreams

The Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat Whenever I want to hear my friends say, “Luke, what the hell is this? You’re crazy, Put The Killers on.” I play the title track on this album. Blueberry Boat is challenging, but rewarding. The title track, in particular, is conceived with a number of brilliant and varied sequences. And, I’ve been known to sing ‘My Dog Was Lost But Now He’s Found’ at the top of my lungs in the shower, in the car, and around the house.

Track Listing: 1. Quay Cur* 2. Straight Street 3. Blueberry Boat* 4. Chris Michaels 5. Paw Paw Tree 6. My Dog Was Lost But Now He’s Found* 7. Mason City* 8. Chief Inspector Blancheflower 9. Spaniolated* 10. 1917 11. Birdie Brain* 12. Turning Round 13. Wolf Notes

Phantom Planet - Phantom Planet I never cared for ‘California’ (now used as O.C.’s theme song), but Phantom Planet’s next album was a radical and welcome departure from their previous work. Great licks, great textures, great vocals. The chorus to ‘Knowitall’ virtually throws me to the floor every time I blast it from my speakers (and really, there’s no other way to hear it). Probably the biggest surprise from someone whose previous I was familiar with, and a infinitely more pleasant one than Metallica’s St. Anger of last year.

Track Listing: 1. The Happy Ending 2. Badd Business 3. Big Brat* 4. 1st Things 1st* 5. Making A Killing 6. You’re Not Welcome Here* 7. By The Bed 8. Knowitall* 9. Jabberjaw 10. After Hours 11. The Meantime

Futureheads - Futureheads New rule: If I hear music and don’t care for it, I listen to it at least once more. I heard this album when it arrived in October and didn’t care for it. When it turned up on almost every ‘best of the year’ list, I figured I’d better give it another try. Surprise! I loved it! I hope this habit hasn’t cost me too much great music in the past, but one thing’s for sure: I won’t let it happen in the future. Breathless, energetic, and, well… fun power pop. I dare you to remain completely still while listening.

Track Listing: 1. Le Garage* 2. Robot 3. A to B* 4. Decent Days and Nights* 5. Meantime* 6. Alms* 7. Danger of the Water 8. Carnival Kids* 9. City is Here For You To Use, The 10. First Day 11. He Knows 12. Stupid and Shallow 13. Trying Not to Think About Time 14. Hounds of Love 15. Man Ray*

Secret Machines - Now Here is Nowhere First of all, I’m baffled by comparisons to Pink Floyd. Now, about the music: this is a depressing album that washes wave after wave of emptiness over you. You’d be pummeled into a weeping, prostrate sack of sadness if it weren’t for the bass and rhythm sections, which are just strong and consistent enough to carry you through. And on the other side, you’re surprised to find you fondly recall your harrowing journey and how its familiarity and sense of community struggle uplifted you. For a great example of powerful songwriting, pay attention to how the slowly consuming, uncertain sorrow of the line “As leaves from modern trees…” in ‘First Wave Intact’ is followed by the quietly rising hope of “…Rest on walls like these.”

Track Listing: 1. First Wave Intact* 2. Sad and Lonely* 3. Leaves Are Gone* 4. Nowhere Again* 5. Road Leads Where It’s Led* 6. Pharaoh’s Daughter* 7. You Are Chains 8. Light’s On 9. Now Here Is Nowhere

TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes The first 15 seconds of ‘Staring at the Sun’ (before the vocals arrive) comprise one of my favorite musical sequences of the year. TV on the Radio creates luscious and subtely powerful textures, but they know how to write a good melody, too. At times, the vocals are hip-hop influenced - which would normally annoy me because I don’t care for most hip-hop - but the music is so entrancing that it bends the vocals to its will. I should note, however, that I prefer their previous ‘Young Liars’ EP (by a hair). It is with great pleasure that I find much of this year’s music difficult to describe. I’ll say that TV on the Radio plays ‘post-punk blues/gospel’ and let you discover what that means:

Listen: Staring at the Sun Dreams Track Listing: 1. The Wrong Way* 2. Staring At The Sun* 3. Dreams* 4. King Eternal* 5. Ambulance 6. Poppy 7. Don’t Love You 8. Bomb Yourself 9. Wear You Out

Megadeth - System Has Failed 80s metal is dead. Nirvana killed it. That makes me very sad. Recent releases by ex-80s-rockers like Skid Row are horrible grunge or Nu-Metal offerings. But, what’s this? Megadeth returns with more menacing thrash/speed metal, complete with killer riffage and blistering solos? I’m so there. Surprisingly, their best album in 15 years! Now, if only Metallica would follow up Master of Puppets, I might grow my mullet back.

Track Listing: 1. Blackmail the Universe* 2. Die Dead Enough* 3. Kick the Chair* 4. Scorpion* 5. Tears in a Vial* 6. I Know Jack 7. Back in the Day* 8. Something That I’m Not* 9. Truth Be Told 10. Of Mice and Men 11. Shadow of Deth 12. My Kingdom

Air - Talkie Walkie Air, masters of pop electronica ala Goldfrapp, triumphantly return with their best since Moon Safari. From the gorgeous ‘Cherry Blossom Girl’ to the shiver-inducing ‘Run’ to the head-swaying ‘Surfing on a Rocket,’ this is lusher than Lush. Still, there’s no ‘Talisman’ here, and it’s pretty similar to the rest of their albums.

Track Listing: 1. Venus 2. Cherry Blossom Girl* 3. Run* 4. Universal Traveler 5. Mike Mills 6. Surfin’ On A Rocket* 7. Another Day 8. Alpha Beta Gaga 9. Biological* 10. Alone In Kyoto

John Debney - The Passion of The Christ I still haven’t seen the film, but John Debney’s soundtrack is a remarkable feat of ancient instruments and choral arrangements. It’s as powerful as anything written by Howard Shore for Lord of the Rings, even without the images. The first 1:15 of ‘Jesus is Carried Down’ sound like the Diablo II soundtrack by Matt Uelmen (’Mesa’ in particular). Sure, it’s not as interesting as, say, Amelie’s soundtrack, but I’m a sucker for poignant, powerful vocal pieces.

Track Listing: 1. The Olive Garden 2. Bearing The Cross* 3. Jesus Arrested* 4. Peter Denies Jesus 5. The Stoning 6. Song Of Complaint 7. Simon Is Dismissed 8. Flagellation / Dark Choir / Disciples 9. Mary Goes To Jesus 10. Peaceful But Primitive / Procession 11. Crucifixion* 12. Raising The Cross* 13. It Is Done 14. Jesus Is Carried Down* 15. Resurrection*

The Walkmen - Bows & Arrows To a huge Sigur Ros fan (maybe I’m looking through Ros-colored glasses), The Walkmen sound like a sparse Sigur Ros at times, but instead of Hopelandish they sing in English. Other times, The Walkmen sound a bit like Phantom Planet. Both these claims are totally incorrect to someone who listens to more music than I do and can make better comparisons. Whatever it is, it’s good stuff. (What a cop out!)

Track Listing: 1. What’s In It For Me* 2. Rat, The* 3. No Christmas While I’m Talking* 4. Little House Of Savages 5. My Old Man 6. 138th St.* 7. North Pole, The* 8. Hang On Siobhan 9. New Year’s Eve 10. Thinking Of A Dream I Had 11. Bows And Arrows

2004 was a decent year, but several newcomers had to save a wave of semi-stumbling veterans. For 2005, I think it’s high time for bold new releases by Metallica, Xploding Plastix, Dream Theater, Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Coldplay, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Mew, Amon Tobin, and others, not to mention that infinitely delayed Guns ‘N Roses album.

There are literally dozens of 2004 releases that intrigue me but I haven’t yet heard, so this list is far from ‘final.’ I’ll update it as necessary, and let you know when I do.

Because my older, dead blog was recently smothered by what could’ve quickly approached 1000+ spam comments (in only a few days), I’ve decided to moderate comments on this blog before it’s too late. So, please, feel free to comment - I’ll just have to approve your first comment and then you can comment freely from then on. Hopefully that will be enough to keep the spammers away.

Who am I kidding? I haven’t the time or resources to be a semi-serious movie critic, and it shows. From now on, I’ll simply provide a number rating for movies I see - which should serve only as a rough estimation of my judgment, probably based on a first viewing and limited afterthought. For actual movie reviews from intelligent, talented, determined movie lovers, I recommend Jonathan Rosenbaum, Piero Scaruffi, and fellow blogger day for night. Seriously.

That said, here’s what I’ve seen recently:

Ong-Bak (Daredevil) by Prachya Pinkaew (2003). Martial Arts: 95. Film: 48.
See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) by Arthur Hiller. 60.
Elephant (2003) by Gus van Sant. 89.
The Testament of Orpheus (Le Testament d’Orphée) by Jean Cocteau (1960). 86.
Phantasm by Don Coscarelli (1979). 44.
The Barefoot Contessa by Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1954). 84.
Pee-wee’s Big Adventure by Tim Burton (1985). 75.
Before Night Falls by Julian Schnabel (2000). 63.
Raising Victor Vargas by Peter Sollett (2002). 76.
Dummy by Greg Pritikin (2002). 67.
Born on the Fourth of July by Oliver Stone (1989). 61.
Tupac: Resurrection by Lauren Lazin (2003). 61.
Talaye sorkh (Crimson Gold) by Jafar Panahi (2003). 79.
Dead Man by Jim Jarmusch (1995). 84.
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai by Jim Jarmusch (1999). 80.
Le Sang d’un poète (The Blood of a Poet) by Jean Cocteau (1930). 77.
A Simple Plan by Sam Raimi (1998). 82.
McCabe & Mrs. Miller by Robert Altman (1971). 90.
Of Human Bondage by John Cromwell (1934). 67.
The Ladykillers by Joel Coen (2004). 43.
Lot in Sodom by James Sibley Watson (1933). 64.
Salome by Charles Bryant (1923). 32.
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events by Brad Silberling (2004). 66.
Il Gattopardo (The Leopard) by Luchino Visconti (1963). 89.
Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore by Martin Scorsese (1974). 78.
Pierrot le fou (Crazy Pete) by Jean-Luc Godard (1965). 93.
The Sheik by George Melford (1921). 65.
Wo de fu qin mu qin (The Road Home) by Yimou Zhang (1999). 76.
Jungfrukällan (The Virgin Spring) by Ingmar Bergman (1960). 86.
The Towering Inferno by John Guillermin (1974). 48.

You asked for it! Well, sort of. Here’s my Free Mp3 Download post.

Their website best describes the music of The Cubby Creatures:

The Creatures use a basic guitar, bass, and drums setup, plus clarinet, keyboards, violin, and assorted samples to create complicated, densely layered, cheerfully surreal music characterized by unexpected juxtapositions and inversions…

The result is something like catchiness of The Beatles and the sound of Neutral Milk Hotel - both of which are especially evident in ‘Knitting Bee,’ an irresistible pop confection.

Download
Website

I’ve been thinking. You don’t need third-rate commentary on a blog post you’ve already read. You don’t need me telling stories that end with “…if only you could’ve been there - it was really funny.” And you apparently don’t care for Bazin discussions.

So please, tell me what you do need, what you do want. I’ll be most likely to oblidge if it involves movies or music, but anything goes. Shoot for the moon.

Here are some examples to get you thinking:

Can’t you just dig up links that haven’t been mentioned by other blogs?

At 56k, probably not.

Maybe you could give us well-written, in-depth reviews of obscure movie gems and provide insightful commentary on their place in our culture.

Hard work? Hmmm… I hadn’t considered that. Maybe.

How ’bout a weekly mp3 download? Everybody loves free mp3s!

If you like, sure. Since I don’t have any storage space or bandwidth, however, I’ll be limited in linking to MP3s hosted elsewhere (though, not on other MP3 blogs). Look for upcoming posts.

I like radio dramas, but don’t want to tune in at a certain time to catch them. Any suggestions?

Mercury Theatre on the Air has dozens of old-time radio dramas in MP3 format - War of the Worlds, etc. Jezner serves up more goodies, including the BBC Lord of the Rings broadcast. If you’re interested in purchasing, you can’t go wrong with The OTR Vault and RUSC.

As a kid I absolutely loved Adventures in Odyssey, a Christian radio drama/comedy for kids. Years 1988 through 1998 were especially brilliant, for kids or adults (think religious Pixar radio), climaxing in the stunningly fantastic, 12-part ‘Darkness Before Dawn.’

There’s also The Twilight Zone, Star Wars, A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and Mark Taw’s recommendations.

You haven’t made the obligatory ‘Best of 2004′ movie list.

I haven’t seen many 2004 flicks yet - been too busy catching up on the classics. Feel free to see my list of the Best Movies I’ve Seen, sorted by decade.

Harumph..

Fine. I saw it in 2003, but most people are listing it under 2004: Dogville rules. Go see it. And Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, too.

I like Paris Hilton. Talk about Paris Hilton and I’ll read your blog.

No.

You could be funnier, like Uncle Grambo.

I’m trying, but I’ll work toward being the funniest blogger evs, okay?

If you focused your blog more narrowly, you’d get more hits.

Maybe. But I’m such an open-minded guy. I can’t help myself.

So there you have it. I’m your slave blogger. Feed me, see me serve. Whip me, see me revolt.

Or at least, twice as ‘windbaggy.’ I’ve got a new blog up for tracking my success at keeping my New Year’s Resolutions. I’d love to host it here at Blogsome as well, but as the last few days taught me, even a fantastic free host like Blogsome can’t afford the uptime that a Google bankroll can buy. Still, Blogsome is so kickass that I’ve voluntarily added some Google Ads to this site to help out my generous host. I hope you won’t mind too much - in fact I hope you’ll help them out by clicking - I do! Naturally, if you’re getting this through the feed or are using Firefox and Adblock, you aren’t affected at all.