Motel de Moka’s Top 5 albums of 2005
November 28, 2005 at 11:58 am
I fucking loved (and still love) 2005. Here’s my list of the top 5 albums of the year, I could have easily chosen other 5 or could’ve made up a top 50 list, but there’s more important people out there doing that, therefore, I am not.
I’m not claiming this ones are the best ones out there, but they’re merely my top 5. This is the music that has been on my side this year and it has encompassed important changes in my life, this is the reason the very reason I love this albums.
Thanks to the people that were reading the blog this year, I’d really appreciate any comments or suggestions on the site or the music.
5. Animal Collective - feels
MP3: Animal collective - Banshee beat
Animal Collective are well known for the emotional resonance they transmit through their releases. This is their most mellodic and accesible work yet. A tasteful and inventive release from a band with a quite unique sound.
4. Sufjan Stevens - Illinoise
MP3: Sufjan Stevens - Chicago
The second delivery from Sufjan Stevens’s 50 state project is as beautiful and diverse as Michigan. Despite the ridiculous subtitles and the horrendous cover, we still love you Sufjan.
3. Andrew Bird - Andrew Bird & The mysterious production of eggs
MP3: Andrew Bird - sovay
This is the musical testimony of the long path Bird has walked. On Weather Systems, it seemed he was in the process of creating something exceptional. Time passed, and this is the album he created. While Casual ears will simply find it laid-back, attentive ones might find many rewards on this one. Highly reccomended.
2. Paavoharju - Yhä Hämärää
MP3: Paavoharju - valo tihkuu kaiken lapi
This is the concept behind the album: A band of Finnish born-again christians making music to record their religious re-discovery. I would have runned away from this one at the mention of the word “christian”, but the music itself is of such grandeur, it actually transmits real devotion. Admirably consistent for such an un-organized collage of sounds: Bollywood music, church hymns, vynil crackles, digital filters, beautiful pop tunes and ambient esoteric noises.
1. The Books - Lost and safe
MP3: The Books - smells like content
This is the first album I bought this year. When the record stopped spinning I already knew this one was ending up on the top of my list. It’s weird cause I never really cared that much about “thought for food” or “the lemon of pink”, but for this one, consider my hat tipped. My personal reccomendation for 2005.
great list, one of the best top 5 lists i’ve seen so far. i’ve never even heard of Paavoharju, and i’m listening to these two songs you posted on repeat. just amazing.
i’ll have to give ’safe and lost’ another listen, too.
Good call on the Andrew Bird, fantastic album.
Thought I wasn’t seeing any Books or Paavoharju on any year end list.
You’ve just become my favorite blogger.
Good stuff, any chance you could extend it to a top ten?
Nice top five! I took ‘em all, and thanks for turning me on to some cool Finnish music.
Great list but I’d also like to see you expand the list a little. With a top 5 like this, I can only imagine what a fuller list would look like. I’m going to listen to the Paavoharju songs when I get home and also spin the Books record again. I may have simply overlooked it after not loving Yellow of Pink.
well diffrent strokes for different folks I suppose.
Very cool list, I’m enjoying the Paavoharju.
It’s going to be very hard to summarize this year into a list of 10 but I plan on doing it sometime in December.
unfortunately I’ve only listened to three of the albums in your top 5, but i’m enoying the andrew bird mp3s. Glad too see Paavoharju on the list.
In December I’m going to post my top 10 of 2005, so be sure to check it out if you’re interested.
I just came across your blog for the first time (after seeing your comment on Everything Is Fire). But with such a top 5 list I’m sure this will not be the last time. I haven’t made my 2005 list official yet (still waiting for KPMG’s auditor report….) but it looks like we’ll be sharing three albums in our top 5! The Books and Sufjan are still fighting for first with the Animal Collective settling in right behind them. However Jack Rose and Wooden Wand are closing in fast the last few days.
Thanks for your list. Looking forward to seeing your list of albums that didn’t quite make it to the top 5.
hey moka-
fantastic. I think it really says something when you can come back to the first album you bought twelve months later and it still resonates with you as being the best you’ve heard all year. thanks.
Salut,
Animal Collectives “Feels” is one of the greatest pop albums ever.
Do you dig Gang Gang Dance?, i saw them, here in lisbon, this spring and it was a very cool show (dance! dance! dance!). Deerhoof has a really good album to..and Colleen, and Six Organs of Admittance (lisen to “Lisbon”:))and Loosers (look out at http://www.loosersarefree.com).
You can lisen to my radioshow on internet. Every Monday at 23PM (22 in Portugal) repeating Saturdays at 18 o’clock. The URL are in my blog: http://mafama.blogspot.com
Pick the links. You can see the playlist also.
cheers
Good to see Animal Collective soaking up the love. I blush to say I haven’t yet given Paavoharju any serious listening time: I will check it out.
Great taste. Oh you half pitchfork whore! If it weren’t for the books and paavoharju I’d find myself loathing your list. Those were some of the most interesting albums I bought this year too.
Bravo!
moka, thanks for stopping by Grey Will Fade! Nice call on the Books. I have 2002’s Thought For Food and think it is a cool listen.
D
Hey, this is a good list, and I hate to be the obnoxious know it all, but the Books record is called “Lost and Safe” rather than “Safe and Lost.” I only feel the need to correct you because I’m a fanatical Books follower.
Great list. Andrew Bird’s album is profound. Lost and Safe provides quite a soundtrack to late-night rainy travel, and is just really damn creative. Animal Collective is a band I need to delve into.
Thanks.
you asked for comments on your blog. Personally I don’t think there’s much to be improved- I love the layout, the pictures, the fact it’s bilingual… So keep up the good work!
Paavoharju is a good find, thanks. It’s good to see the different tastes/styles/concepts you valued and it’s great that you remained true to what you liked, not what got the most hype. You obviously value creativity, oddity and multi-culturalism and I like that…Nice work!
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