Monthly (?) update:

01. Deerhoof - The Runners Four
02. Smog - A River Ain't Too Much to Love
03. Orthrelm - OV
04. Iron & Wine/Calexico - In the Reins
05. Devendra Banhart - Cripple Crow
06. Bonnie "Prince" Billy and Matt Sweeney - Superwolf
07. Antony and The Johnsons - I Am a Bird Now
08. Low - The Great Destroyer
09. Caribou - The Milk of Human Kindness
10. Serena Maneesh - s/t
11. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
12. High on Fire - Blessed Black Wings
13. Wilderness - s/t
14. Jamie Lidell - Multiply
15. Akron/Family - s/t
16. OOIOO - Gold and Green
17. Sunburned Hand of the Man - Complexion
18. Black Dice - Broken Ear Record
19. Busdriver - Fear of a Black Tangent
20. Gospel - The Moon Is a Dead World

other stuff:

GOOD

Need New Body - Where's Black Ben?
M. Ward - Transistor Radio
Daedelus - Exquisite Corpse
The Double - Loose in the Air
Animal Collective - Prospect Hummer
M.I.A. - Arular
P:ano - Brigadoon
Angels of Light - The Angels of Light Sing "Other People"
Iron & Wine - Woman King
Mouthus - Slow Globes
Six Organs of Admittance - School of Flower
Autechre - Untilted
Magnolia Electric Co. - Hard to Love a Man
Fântomas - Suspended Animation
Gang Gang Dance - God's Money
Magnolia Electric Co. - What Comes After the Blues
Mike Ladd - Negrophilia
Populous - Queue for Love
Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy
13 & God - s/t
Magnolia Electric Co. - Trials and Errors
M83 - Before the Dawn Heals Us
iD and Sleeper - Displacement
Pajo - s/t
Jackie-O Motherfucker/My Cat Is an Alien - From the Earth to the Spheres Vol. 3
Deluxx - The Tidy Boy and the Crazy Bastard
Clue to Kalo - One Way, It's Every Way
____
BAD

Love the latest BSP. Getting close to my album of the year. Just totally shimmers from start to finish. Wasn't sure how much I liked it at first since it was so much different from that manic debut, but now egads, it's the greatest. Right up there with Andrew Bird and Elbow and Micah Hinson and The Mountain Goats and the Decemberists and Holopaw and the rest. Very nice.

How I'm feeling this week:

1. My Morning Jacket - Z
2. Andrew Bird - The Mysterious Production of Eggs
3. Kings of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak
4. Spoon - Gimme Fiction
5. New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
6. Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake Its Morning
7. Ike Reilly - Junkie Faithful
8. The Rolling Stones - A Bigger Bang
9. Iron And Wine/Calexico - In The Reins
10.Bruce Springsteen - Devils & Dust

Right there (or havent listened to enough yet): Detroit Cobras, Franz Ferdinand, Kanye West, Okkervill River, Black Mountain, Magnolia Electric Co., Wolf Parade, Young Jeezy

This is still frustrating me a bit. I can't tell if I like it or not. The only sure thing is that I liked It Still Moves a lot more. I guess we'll see.

It officially went over the top for me last week while driving home from the movies on some back roads at night.

Unfortunately you dont have that advantage in NYC.

I think it definitely has a night feel to it.

"Cold Roses" > "Z" in every step of the game...
I mean, I know I'm really high on that album, but I don't see where (besides the "I just hate Ryan Adams" argument) you could praise Z for doing something better than the R. Adams disc...

just sayin'

That thing is, I don't think they try to do anything similar to each other. RA is doing more trad. alt-country while MMJ is more in a space-rock/country-tinged world. I like them both a lot (MMJ moreso), but there is nothing to compare between the two in my opinion. They are two entirely different types of music/records/whatever.

I actually forgot to rank either of the RA albums.

To wit: I think Z blows away Cold Roses mostly based on the the fact that Cold Roses is just too damned long. I rarely even listen to Disc 1. If the album was just Disc 2, I'd feel better about it. Z has zero filler and tremendous atmosphere.

Just for the record, I actually like Jacksonville City Nights more than Cold Roses.....But that's just me.

All of these'll probably end up in my top 20.... haven't gotten around to the Orthelm yet, but I'm sure it's good...
and that Gospel record is aces as well...

The latest one...it's called Shamelessly something...

I like it so far. Tis good.

1 lcd soundsystem.s/t
2 sigur ros.takk
3 matt sweeney & bonnie 'prince' billy.superwolf
4 andrew bird.the mysterious production of eggs
5 dead meadow.feathers
6 the national.alligator
7 elbow.leaders of the free world
8 hood.outside closer
9 the duke spirit.cuts across the land
10 ryan adams & the cardinals.cold roses
11 bloc party.silent alarm
12 broken social scene.broken social scene
13 black rebel motorcycle club.howl
14 doves.some cities
15 calla.collisons
16 sufjan stevens.illinois
17 patrick wolf.wind in the wires
18 fruit bats.spelled in bones
19 franz ferdinand.you could have it so much better with
20 the constantines.tournament of hearts

I YSI'd the Orthrelm. I can PM you the link if you'd like.

finalllly, i'm to the point in the year where it's a b|tch of a battle for a new album to enter my top 20.

new ones from vanderslice, ladytron, bss & my computer are going to have a tough time crackin' it, as well as the new depeche mode, which i'll probably pick up tomorrow.

You mean, that whole Starsailor/Coldplay thing?

not much of a 2005 update, but thought i'd do it anyway, if not to float this thread back up:

01) "picaresque" the decemberists
02) "cold roses" ryan adams & the cardinals
03) "illinois" sufjan stevens
04) "i'm wide awake, it's morning" bright eyes
05) "twin cinema" the new pornographers
06) "jacksonville city nights" ryan adams & the cardinals
07) "nashville" josh rouse
08) "digital ash in a digital urn" bright eyes
09) "silent alarm" bloc party
10) "a certain trigger" maximo park

just outside:
11) "gimme fiction" spoon
12) "frances the mute" the mars volta
13) "the mysterious production of eggs" andrew bird
14) "the sunset tree" the mountain goats
15) "black sheep boy" okkervil river
16) "i am a bird now" antony & the johnsons
17) "late registration" kanye west
18) "plans" death cab for cutie
19) "begonias" caitlin cary & thad cockrell
20) the magic numbers

these are other purchases/downloads that could crack the top 20. i need about a month's-worth more of a listen

"pixel revolt" john vanderslice
"witching hour" ladytron
broken social scene
"no cv" my computer
"you could have it so much better" franz ferdinand
"playing the angel" depeche mode

upcoming releases with a good chance:

ryan adams "29"
sun kil moon "tiny cities"
outkast "idlewild"

(still not much love for the chicks, but i think i'll try out that new rachel stevens if i could ever find it. any suggestions?)

Unranked top 10 at this moment:

BRMC Howl
The Deadly Snakes Porcella
Devin Davis Lonely People Of The World, Unite!
Okkervil River Black Sheep Boy
Spoon Gimme Fiction
The Parlour Steps The Great Perhaps
The Redwalls De Nova
Josh Rouse Nashville
Bend Sinister Through The Broken City
Black Mountain s/t

updates? seems like most albums have been released by now

I just want to say your not getting off that lightly, Konstantiranks will re-activate just as soon as my Philosophy papers gets finished (or should that be started?) next week.

Still to be ranked...Quasimoto, Coco Rosie, Boy Least Likely To, Boom Bip, Psapp, The Silent League, Sam Prekop, Boards of Canada, Magnetophone, Franz Ferdinand, Fiery Furnaces, Wolf Parade....man, this shit never stops!

Can any of them make a late bid for the Top Ten? I know, I know. JUST. TO. FUCKING. EXCITING.

I remember you mentioning this album. I guess you recommend picking it up?

takk has worked it's way into my #1 spot. i knew it would once the weather started turning.

i'm predicitng mmj's z will move up some spots after seeing them live tonight.

Honestly, my appreciation of that album varies wildly. Some days it sounds awesome, other days it's too clever for its own good. It'll depend entirely on my mood whenever I compile my list for the Shmoo poll whether or not it makes it on there.

So, yeh, about 50% of the time I recommend picking it up. For that other 50% of the time, I recommend checking out the Bend Sinister site, where they've got the title track streaming.

I can't stop listening to the new Constantines record.... That might make it's way up the charts for me as well...

Currently, in non-ranked order:

Black Mountain
Rob Dickinson, Fresh Wine for the Horses
Jesu
LCD Soundsystem
Mars Volta, Frances the Mute
Nine Inch Nails, With Teeth
Porcupine Tree, Deadwing
Supersystem, Always Never Again
John Vanderslice, Pixel Revolt

As usual, I'm sure I'm forgetting something (techno, industrial, metal...don't seem to get too much appearance in my list)...

My top 10 looks something like this at the moment:

1. Deerhoof - The Runners Four
2. Herman Dune - Not on Top
3. Smog - A River Ain't Too Much to Love
4. The Rosebuds - Birds Make Good Neighbors
5. Harris Newman - Accidents With Nature and Each Other
6. Lorna - Static Patterns and Souvenirs
7. Iron & Wine/Calexico - In the Reins
8. Nudge - Cached
9. Low - The Great Destroyer
10. Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy


I still need to get OOIOO and Akron/Family.

How is it that not much worth noting is being released in the last two months of 2005?