Maybe it's because I haven't spent as much time on the board as I used to, but I get the feeling that not a single record released this year has made a significant impact on any meaningful memory for any of us this year. Is this a trend of 2005 or a manifestation of our disposable lifestyle? The only record that has relatively stuck with me this year is M. Ward - Transistor Radio. Has there been an album this year that has meant anything to you? If not, what was the last album that encited true feeling out of you, the way music is "supposed" to affect you? Wondering if it's just me that is taking on a role as passive music consumer?

yeah there's been more this year that i will love in the future than there was last year.

Since its release, Black Mountain remains the odds on favorite to be on top of my year end list....Although, in the grand scheme of my music list, I don't think it will be up there.....wont really be able to say for a few years...

Lucero's Nobody's Darlings has opened my ears to a band (and their back catalog) that makes rock and roll the way it's supposed to fucking sound. One of my new favorite bands, period.

I have been kind of playing catch up this year and not really paying all that much attention to new stuff. There has been good records put out by bands I enjoy. Like...

Nada Surf
DJ Z-Trip
OK GO
NIN
Beck
LCD Soundsystem
Fannypack (thanks again!)

amongst others. I seem to play a lot more '04 releases I notice when I've been spinning music lately.


But yea, there hasn't been a release I've personally heard yet that has been on constant repeat.

October is going to be the best month for music in years.

Not sure I have much to add to the discussion but I do know that I am way more apt to give an album a 3rd, 4th, and 5th listen if I have actually taken the time to research a record, go to the store, and actually buy the physical copy than I am an album that I got via AIM or YSI.

It does seem rather disposable and less personal time invested.

Stu, it could be that you're just in a rut where everything sounds uninteresting. I go through that every now and then. I have a full 20GB Ipod and I still flip through it going "man, I don't wanna hear any of this shit".

I'm willing to bet when the weather changes you'll find something. That usually happens to me.

I've been digging the new:

The Shout Out Louds
My Morning Jacket
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
New Pornographers

Wow, I find exactly the opposite this year. LOTS of great new music. This is one of those years where I feel when someone says something like this that they probably haven't been trying very hard to find new music. I will say this, however: the big name, mostly major label, releases have definitely been the worst overall that I've ever heard. Were I a mainstream-only listener, this would definitely be the worst year for music I've ever had. Luckily, my mainstream purchases have been pretty minimal - Weezer, Ben Folds, others I can't think of at the moment, aside from NIN which is great - and each has been pretty much tubs of fart. The indie side of things, however, has been churning out a stream of consistenly very good albums.

But I entirely agree about the "disposability of music" issue. Maybe it's simply guilt, but I find that things I buy I tend to enjoy more than things I simply download. But downloading's helped me find lots of new stuff, so that balances it out, I guess. But I do make a point to buy a copy of whatever appeals to me after I've downloaded it.

No album this year has affected me like last year's Blonde Redhead's Misery is A Butterfly, but nevertheless, it's been a great year for music.

this is so incredibly true.

things i've loved this year:

frank black - honey comb
crooked fingers - dignity and shame
dip set - memorial day mix tape
lots of hip hop singles.

In comparison...

My Top 5 of 2005 (so far)...Andrew Bird, Caribou, Langhorne Slim, Antony & The Johnsons, M. Ward

My Top 5 of 2004 (currently)...Blonde Redhead, The Walkmen, TV On The Radio, cLOUDDEAD, Devendra Banhart

For me, 2004 seems better...

Whenever you ask people whether its been a good year for music, people seem to say its great but I really can't remember any albums that people have gone batshit over on the board like in years past.

I haven't bought as many new releases as in past years so I don't feel as qualified to judge this year as a whole. I'm guessing that there are more good albums, less high profile turds, and no real great albums. I know what you mean though, as much as I've been happy with almost everything I've bought this year, none of my "wow" moments have come from new releases unless you count reissues. Its funny how just one or two great albums will change your opinion on a year completely.

IMO there's just MORE music being released than ever before, the internet makes so many sub-sub-sub-genre accessable that the record industry now does a sort of shotgun technique, firing out more bands than ever, remember (old timers) when just a few jazz or (insert your genre here) albums a year even came out? Every record company has its Arcade Fire sound-a-like lined up, each one wants a hit, so the result is...more bands signed, released, forgotten. As listeners, we now sort through a great deal more bands than our dads did. I think this is why lots of times it seems like the year overall isn't great for music...its because there are only 3-5 greats, but 100's of releases. IMO, that's all.

IMO, some people are affected by music more.

Some people listen to music, love what they hear, and find enjoyment listening to it.

Others are affected by it. The music they listen to floods them with memories and emotions, and they feel a true passion for it. I'm in this category.

I also think that people might feel it's a bad year for music because they aren't hearing many great releases, and probably don't even know they exist. I mean, you can't hear everything. But if you expose yourself a bit more, you might find those that touch you.

Albums that have left a mark on me so far this year [a few]...

bloc party - silent alarm
sigur ros - takk
sebastien schuller - happiness
the coral - the invisible invasion
goldmund - corduroy road
julien neto - le fumeur de ciel

Haven't heard Nobody's Darlings yet, but That Much Further West continues to be one of my favorite records released this decade. And you are absolutely correct about making rock the way it supposed to sound.

I can hook you up tonight after I get home from work.

I definitely agree with Derris' assessment that actually buying a cd requires more investment (time, money, attention) than just downloading something. The one album I can say really affected me this year was Archer Prewitt's "Wilderness." Don't know if I was in a place mentally where I was really open to it or what, but it touched me deeply.

I also find with the craziness of summer and plans swirling, it's hard to force myself to sit down and listen to something. I tend to do that more in the winter here... you know, when you can curl up with an afghan, and a glass of scotch.

I've got mixed emotions about this year. I can name a ton of albums that deserve a spot in the bottom half of a top ten list, but when it comes to naming the number one, I feel sheepish putting Caribou or Animal Collective up there. They're both sonically engaging, and enjoyable, but mostly not that affective. The truly affective albums that I've heard this year – Antony, Micah P. Hinson, Andrew Bird – all fall short of greatness (spots one through five) because they're affected and instrumentally cheesy at times. I can only stomach so much fromage. Then there's strong releases like that of Boards of Canada, Broken Social Scene, New Pornographers, and even "Feels", that just don't break any new ground, and which my ears chide for that.

Even still, this has been a great year for music for me. I've seen at ton of awesome (especially loud) live music in the last few months - and have in turn fallen in love with abrasive fucking noise. This is perhaps a rebuttal to the disposability and sameness of a lot of the more known independent music I've heard this year, but more so due to the fact that they're the ones creating sound that I've never heard before. It's a guttural experience that isn't usually linked to (senti)mental emotion, but to a physical interpretation of a newfangled sound in music. I've been trying to put some thought towards why I've taken so strongly and suddenly to this type of music, but I'm finding salvation in it, that's for sure.

A lot of the music I've loved this year – Esmerine, Harris Newman, Dreamcatcher, Goa! – has been little and local and really fucking good.

A lot of awesome music has been shamefully overlooked: Jaga Jazzist "What We Must" (Stu, check this out), TTC "Batards Sensibles".

A lot of releases from my recent favourites have been the year's worst: Low, Devendra Banhart, Jason Molina.

In any case, music worth keeping is definitely definitely out there. But all corners of the industry are saturated with some crap (I'm not saying this is more so the case now than before). You just have to look a little harder - yes, even beyond this board - to find exactly what you want.

yeah, i keep waiting for something to blow me away like nick cave did last year and it just hasnt happened yet. there has been some good releases this year though.

the evens (something i think has been vastly unappreciated)
wilderness
bear vs shark (one that has gone seemingly unnoticed)
gorillaz (which is actually quite good)
jamie lidell (which at this point is #1 by default)
laura cantrell and shelby lynne (im always up for a nice country flavoured album)
kanye west
oasis (i new they had another good one in them!)
system of a down

A lot of things contribute to music being "disposable", but I think one of the biggest factors is over-saturating yourself with a constant influx of new stuff. For most of us, when we were younger (and prior to the internet playing its current role) we spent more time with fewer albums, and so we developed stronger attachments to them.

Of course this doesn't really apply when you consider that a lot of us do become strongly attached to older albums/classics that we've aquired recently. So it would seem that a lot of older music is more affecting and has much greater staying power, but then we've also got several years of hindsight on all of that to help us to distnguish the worthwhile stuff.

So far there's only one record from this year that for me is totally indispensable and unique, and that's Orthelm - OV. Of course that album isn't really emotionally affecting (most of you would consider it "unlistenable"), but to my knowledge there's absolutely nothing like it. It isn't even really my favorite record of the year, but in some ways I feel like it's the most "important" to me (I wouldn't speculate on its importance to music in general).

Also I feel like there really are quite a few albums - certainly enough - from the past 5 or 6 years that are absolutely essential to me for various reasons. Some are deeply affecting (Songs: Ohia - Didn't It Rain is a big one), and some are just really unique and interesting.

Definitely agree. There are some CDs I've liked but none that I find to be "great." About all I can say is that Ryan Adams may have release his best album yet. Other than that, I like some new stuff I've heard but don't think much of it will be stuff I'm still playing three years from now.

I was touching on this.... Maybe October will bring that album? (MMJ, BSS, BoC).

Bear Vs Shark will be in my top 10 this year!

between those 3 albums...IMO no, it won't be any of those.