You can't stop kicking my heart out, and you're a practical mess

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Did you miss me? Sure you did. It’s been two months since I touched this thing. Kudos to Steven F. for reminding me I had an adoring internet audience that await my every word. Now, to catch up on everything important that’s been going on in culture of late.

I promised myself that I’d do a best of 2004 music list. Then January came and went and I was still hoping I’d hear something from last year that would make the list and in comparison make Rilo Kiley look like three year olds with kazoos. So I propose a list of albums I fell in love with last year, most of which actually came out during 2004. However, I’m not restricting myself to a silly calendar year or anything. If I just now heard it or just now discovered its brilliance, you’re gonna hear about it – maybe it’s come out in the last two months and I can’t live without it. You’re just going to have to deal. Here goes:

Rilo Kiley – More Adventurous. I first heard this album on one of my favorite all time radio stations, KCRW Santa Monica, on Nic Harcourt’s excellent program Morning Becomes Eclectic. While the studio work really reflects the winter spent in Omaha with Mike Mogis, the brilliance of the album are the less scripted moments when Rilo Kiley’s stage show really shines through. Indeed, it was the live version of the title track that convinced me that I couldn’t live without the album. Other than that, it shows the band’s usual eclectic brilliance, and as a personal aside, is better than past albums in that it features less of Blake’s pointless filler songs that usual. Perhaps this is due to his new side project, the Elected, but the one song he sings on is actually bearable this time. RK was amazing live in Atlanta – go see them! More Adventurous wanders from the political ( It’s a Hit) to Jenny’s strength in singing about heartache. It’ll get you through those pensive times in life.

David Mead – Nashville. Writing an album about where you both record and grew up can’t be an easy thing, especially when you’re a resident of New York City. Mead wowed me and fifteen other people in an intimate little coffee shop setting this summer with his presence and command of an acoustic guitar. Nashville is the most accessible of his four (three?) studio recordings, and pairs his transparent songwriting with good use of production that never obscures the music or creates a standard that is difficult to live up to live. John Mayer made a huge mistake asking David to open for him back in 2002, since David is clearly the better musician. The title track Nashville is about the feelings of going home and remembering the loves you’ve lost there. Overall, David treads similarly emotive territory throughout, in the best folk singer-songwriter tradition.

Elliott Smith – From A Basement on a Hill. I’ve always had a soft spot for Elliott, but the final release from this tragic figure is both amazing and musically dense. It’s hard to know what he would have done differently if he had seen the project through to completion. Perfectly depressive, it’s easy in hindsight to see the thinking that led Smith to end his own life with a single stab to the chest, but hard to see where that line begins and the brilliance ends. Pretty (Ugly Before) gets my vote for song of the year for its simple, gemlike quality, showcasing Elliott’s mastery of making complex things seem simple in a song. I’m really not qualified to say anything more about Elliott. See also Earlimart’s new release, Treble & Tremble

Her Space Holiday – The Young Machines. It’s no Postal Service, but as far as glitch goes, this is about perfectly wrought. Too bad whatshisface gets way too caught up in how poorly women treat him and what the critics think. Speaking as someone who will readily admit to liking Paul Van Dyk and Oakenfold, this is a great release for driving or as background music. Listen closely to the lyrics of Something to Do With My Hands. Thanks Ashley. I have an affinity for the closing track, From South Carolina, for obvious and less obvious reason.

U2 – How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. I know I’m going to lose major indie points for this one, but I really don’t care. U2 have contributed volumes to the encyclopedia of music history and innovation, and other than the tiresome first single, Vertigo, the album is a mature statement from a band that has learned a lot about what it means to use the studio along with great arranging to produce impeccable pop. Coupled with the death of Bono’s father last year, a topic that shares top billing topically along with questions of romance and faith, this may be the band’s best writing. The Edge says that he finally stopped worrying about sounding like himself on this record, and enter stage left for his trademark chiming guitars that Bob Dylan once said assured no one else would be able to cover U2. However, despite using themselves heavily as influences (not a bad thing for a band that’s been together since 1979) U2 does branch off into new territory for themselves, and simultaneously created a record of singles. U2 detractors should shove it and listen to Pop on repeat 100 times until they get it.

Interpol – Antics. They’re from New York and are way cooler than you. Also, they’ve gone Top 40. Solid, but probably not as good and atmospheric as their debut on Matador.

John Vanderslice – MGM Endings. It’s available for free on his website, so you have no excuse for not hearing this remix of 2004’s Cellar Door and other assorted tracks. All you need to know is that this was done on analog tape in Vanderslice’s Tiny Telephone studio in San Francisco. He does all his recordings that way, but this is flipping amazing. He’s the best songwriter in America, hands down.

More to come when I feel like it, gosh.