after buying eminem's new album (despite all the neg sh|te i've heard about it), i only have 2 albums left enqueue that i want to buy -- devendra banhart's "nino rojo" and rilo kiley's "more adventurous". and i have SO much more music budget left for 2004 -- about $126. What 2004 cd do i buy next? What am i missing out on?

my favs of the year so far are: modest mouse, wilco, razorlight, keane, kanye west, franz ferdinand, ambulance ltd, bjork, of montreal, john vanderslice, the killers.

Iron and Wine, Helio Sequence, Dogs Die in Hot Cars, A.C. Newman, Hop On Pop, Rogue Wave, Joseph Arthur...

Viva Voce, Heat Can Melt Your Brain.

Buy the new Ike Reilly.

Others with new stuff this year:

Jason Ringenberg
Stan Ridgway
Cake
Ted Leo & Pharmacists
Secret Machines
The Special Goodness

also, why limit yourself only to '04 releases?

i have "dogs die...", a.c. newman, rogue wave and joseph arthur & like them all. i forgot about hop on pop.

helio sequence RIYL?

what's ike reilly like? same question for ringenberg, ridgway and goodness?

i have secret machines & have some remote interest in cake & ted leo...

i'm limiting myself to 2004 release just to hear as much new music as possible. i only started limiting myself sometime in september. if i run out of new stuff to hook up with then i'll probably screw that self-restriction.

Arcade Fire, RIYL Modest Mouse

Pinback, Willard Grant Conspiracy, Honeydogs, Futureheads, Vetiver, Lali Puna, Nick Cave, Flaming Stars and a bunch more but I don't really know what you already have and didn't like

But definitely the Futureheads debut if you go for Franz Ferdinand.

i have them; they (both arcade & mouse) should make my top 15 of 2004

thanx for the suggestions.

i have and like pinback & lali puna. i have futureheads in the mail. don't know much about the rest except nick cave & will probably give some of his stuff a spin (via cactus?) in the near future

Most of them I've posted about around here but maybe not all. Just made a post about Vetiver in today's NP thread. Forgot one of my big favorites right now and that's the excellent new Mark Lanegan Bubblegum. Probably top 5 for me. And Giant Sand too, but not quite as high up there.

Libertines - Libertines

You're busting my balls here, paladisiac. Busting my balls.

Buy some of these (and then we can do a CDR swap):

The Honey Dogs 10,000 Years
I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch In The House Menace
Chuck Prophet The Age Of Miracles
Sunset Valley Goldbank 78 Stack
Two Cow Garage Wall Against Our Back

have it. like it. possibly top 15 of the year.

i'll check np for vetiver quote.

Jason Ringenberg is the "Jason" of Jason & The Scorchers. On his solo albums, he adheres more to his country roots, but the songs still rock. On his new album, he takes more of a political bent, but not to the point that it's annoying. As with most of his work, the album shows what an amazing songwriter he is--Ringenberg writes the best tear-jerkers around. He's on Yep Rock, which should be pedigree enough in itself (Marah, The Fleshtones, et al).

Stan Ridgway's new one is a tasty, long disc, that runs the gamut from rockin' to somber. Ridgway's knack is the role of raconteur. He writes songs that are the equivalent of still life, but instead of bowls of fruit, the subject matter is the failure of the human condition. Throughout his career, he exposes humanity's shortfalls, in a not-quite-sympathetic, more of a damn-it's-a-shame kind of way. On this one, he takes a stark look at his Wall of Voodoo career, the war in the middle east (from a WalMart forklift operator point of view), and the devasting "King For A Day" (which is the highlight of the album, IMO) where a guy just self-destructs.

The Special Goodness is a fair record( a 6.5 - 7.0 out of 10), it's a Weezer off-shoot, and should appeal to Weezer fans. Relentless crunching guitars throughout can seem repetitive, but if you had to hear something over and over, this ain't too bad. If you carve out individual songs, they go well on mixes. Highlights are "NFA" and "Life Goes By".

Ike Reilly's new one is the best I've bought this year. He's difficult to describe--generally straightforward rock and roll with top-notch guitars and a super-tight band. Reilly's got what I've described as a soaring quality to his voice--a really nifty range. The words have a hip-hop feel to the phrasing. On the quieter pieces ("St. Joe's Band", "Ex-Americans") he's achieves an extremely intimate feel with the listener. I've listened to this one at least once a day since it came out last month. My fave song so far is "Our Lady Of Arturo", with abrasive guitars, a solid base that kicks in at just the right moments, and some stunning lyrics. Ditto the opener "I Don't Want What You Got Goin' On".

Buy old music instead. You're less likely to waste your money.

I second the hop on pop record!

http://www.spadekitty.com

Watch the sun set. Listen to a child laugh. Play chess with a hobo.

i've read comparisons of "ethan" to pavement, belle & sebastian and the kinks. does this sound about right?

ooooh, the description of vetiver sounds good AND the online front for my local indie store says they're available used for $5.99... i think i's goes there after work.

i've heard some lanegan and liked it, but not enough for that to be a priority.

giant sand?

Autolux - Future Perfect

RIYL- Sonic Youth; the older, dreamy side of Smashing Pumpkins (i.e. Gish & Siamese Dream)

Lots of dreamy melodies intertwined with heavily distorted guitars & bass. The songs have a hazy, come-down feel while still frequently rocking. This makes no sense, but it's my favorite record this year.

Earlimart "Treble and Tremble" - you can pick it up for like $10 @ Towerrecords.com with an autographed booklet...
I'll second the Ted Leo recommendation, since you haven't responded one way or another...
Her Space Holiday "The Young Machines" is one from earlier this year I've been revisiting, The Pavement Double Disc for "Crooked Rain" is officially "new" if you don't have that yet, and...

A New Trembling Blue Stars album is supposed to be released soon - I've found Tuesday as the date on a website or 2, but I'm not sure if they've been updated or not.

read a couple reviews & like what i read. AND my local indie store has a used copy of this as well! ooh la la

i have & like treble & tremble -- could make my top 30 of the year.

from what i heard of ted leo's stuff i'm kind of indifferent. how is this new cd different from "hearts of oak", if at all?

i'll look into her space holiday & i already have cr/cr, just not the double disc... might suggest that to wife as possible xmas gift

new trembling blue starts -- riyl?

yeah, that's somewhat on target. If you act now, I think it's still 7 bucks on my website. But hurry! The sale only lasts a couple of more days.