best albums and/or singles of the first half of 2004

DJ Mink 'Can U Relate?'
The Verve 'History'
Scott Walker 'It's Raining Today'

kthxbye

To get the ball rolling here's the top 10 so far according to metacritic.com:

1 Loretta Lynn
Van Lear Rose 95

2 Madvillain
Madvillainy 91

3 The Streets
A Grand Don't Come For Free 89

4 Dizzee Rascal
Boy In Da Corner 89

5 M83
Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts 89

6 Junior Boys
Last Exit 87

7 Kanye West
College Dropout 86

8 Devendra Banhart
Rejoicing In The Hands 85

9 Les Savy Fav
Inches 85

10 Sufjan Stevens
Seven Swans 84

And the "Best New Music" of the year so far according to Pitchforkmedia.com:

Philip Jeck:
7
[Touch; 8.4 | Experimental Ambient]

Air:
Talkie Walkie
[Astralwerks; 8.3 | Ambient Pop]

The Walkmen:
Bows and Arrows
[Record Collection; 9.2 | Indie Rock]

Xiu Xiu:
Fabulous Muscles
[5RC; 9.0 | Art-Punk]

Kanye West:
The College Dropout
[Rocafella; 8.2 | Hip-Hop]

Cee-Lo:
Cee-Lo Green Is the Soul Machine
[Arista; 8.3 | Experimental Hip-Hop]

Franz Ferdinand:
Franz Ferdinand
[Domino; 9.1 | Indie Rock]

Sufjan Stevens:
Seven Swans
[Sounds Familyre; 8.1 | Indie Pop]

Madvillain:
Madvillainy
[Stones Throw; 9.4 | Underground Hip-Hop]

Iron & Wine:
Our Endless Numbered Days
[Sub Pop; 8.6 | Folk]

William Basinski:
The Disintegration Loops
[2062; 9.4 | Ambient]

Jason Forrest:
The Unrelenting Songs of the 1979 Post Disco Crash
[Sonig; 8.5 | Electro]

Les Savy Fav:
Inches
[Frenchkiss; 9.1 | Art-Punk]

Devendra Banhart:
Rejoicing in the Hands
[Young God; 8.4 | Folk]

Loretta Lynn:
Van Lear Rose
[Interscope; 9.3 | Alt-Country]

Animal Collective:
Sung Tongs
[Fat Cat; 8.9 | Experimental Pop]

Mission of Burma:
OnOffOn
[Matador; 8.8 | Indie Rock]

Erlend Øye:
DJ Kicks
[!K7; 8.2 | Tech-House]

Mirah:
C'mon Miracle
[K; 8.5 | Indie Pop]

The Streets:
A Grand Don't Come for Free
[Vice/Atlantic; 9.1 | UK Garage]

Morrissey:
You Are the Quarry
[Attack; 8.9 | Alternative Rock]

Sonic Youth:
Sonic Nurse
[Geffen; 8.5 | Alternative Rock]

A.C. Newman:
The Slow Wonder
[Matador; 8.8 | Power-Pop]

Junior Boys:
Last Exit
[Kin; 8.9 | Electro]

The Plastic Constellations:
Mazatlan
[2024; 8.5 | Indie Rock]

1. liars - they were wrong...
2. black dice - creature comforts
3. thermals - fuckin' A
4. oneida - secret wars
5. !!! - louden up now

1. N.E.R.D. - Fly or Die
2. Magnetic Fields - i
3. Beastie Boys - To the Five Boroughs
4. A.C. Newman - The Slow Wonder
5. Jason Forrest - The Unrelenting Songs of the 1979 Post-Disco Crash
6. Lali Puna - Faking the Books
7. The Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free
8. Sonic Youth - Sonic Nurse
9. Air - Talkie Walkie
10. Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat

1) Nellie McKay Get Away From Me
2) Trouble Everyday Days Vs. Nights
3) The Streets A Grand Don't Come For Free
4) I Am The World Trade Center The Cover Up
5) The Talk It's Like Magic In Reverse

Ghostface
Junior Boys
Madvillian
Wiley
Morrissey
2 Lone Swordsmen
cLOUDDEAD
Lansing-Dreiden
Felix Da Housecat
and
Xiu Xiu

actually there is also Mission of Burma, Oxford Collapse, Animal Collective, etc other things I am forgetting.

and reissue tyoe things like Arthur Russell, Third Unheard and Homosexuals.

Then there is Slipknot and Ryuichi Sakamoto which I will be listening to today.

This CD is pretty solid, to rep my city.

Sonora Poncena: Back to the Road
Marcel Khalife: Caress
Spanish Harlem Orchestra: Crossing 110th Street
Youssou N'Dour: Egypt
Susie Ibarra: Folkloriko

Kind of boring list though from what I've heard of a lot of other things listed above, I think I'd like them less.

Did you know Spin had this to say about Sonic Youth, "the world's greatest punk rock jam band, AND MORE!"

01 Ghostface – The Pretty Toney Album
02 Loretta Lynn – Van Lear Rose
03 Gretchen Wilson - s/t
04 Madvillain – Madvillainy
05 Fiery Furnaces – Blueberry Boat
06 Modest Mouse – Good News For People Who Love Bad News
07 Courtney Love – America's Sweetheart
08 Los Lonely Boys – s/t
09 Kanye West – The College Dropout
10 Sufjan Stevens – Seven Swans

Hmmm, yeah, I guess it is sort of mellow, isn't it? I thought I was moving away from the mellow, but I guess I can't escape it.

11 Xiu Xiu – Fabulous Muscles
12 Jason Forrest – The Unrelenting Songs of the 1979 Post Disco Crash
13 Big and Rich – Horse of a Different Color
14 The Ponys – Laced with Romance
15 Superpitcher – Here Comes Love
16 Cee-Lo – Cee-Lo Green…Is the Soul Machine
17 PJ Harvey – Uh Huh Her
18 Holmes Brothers – Simple Truths
19 Ben Kweller – On My Way
20 Of Montreal – Satanic Panic in the Attic

And here's 20 singles -

01 Ghostface feat. Jadakiss – Run
02 T.I. – Rubberband Man
03 Usher feat. Ludacris and Lil John – Yeah
04 Twista feat. Kanye West – Slow Jamz
05 Modest Mouse – Float On
06 Big and Rich – Wild West Show
07 Young Gunz – Friday Night
08 Method Man feat. Busta Rhymes – What’s Happenin’
09 Usher – Burn
10 Loretta Lynn feat. Jack White – Portland, Oregon
11 Gretchen Wilson – Redneck Woman
12 Fiery Furnaces – Tropical Ice-Land
13 Kevin Lyttle – Turn Me On
14 Maroon 5 – This Love
15 The Walkmen – The Rat
16 Twista – Overnight Celebrity
17 Lloyd Banks – On Fire
18 Los Lonely Boys – Heaven
19 Britney Spears – Toxic
20 Nina Sky – Move Your Body

I'm done now, promise.

plus los lonely boys'
record came out last summer!
(I'm a damned pedant)

list slut me too, all picks non-binding, albums only because singles would take too long:
1. Bersuit Vergabarat, La Argentinidad Al Palo (Se Es Lo Que Se Es)
2. Daniela Mercury, Carnaval Eletronico
3. Tanya Stephens, Gangsta Blues
4. Allison Moorer, The Duel
5. Cee-Lo, Cee-Lo Green...Is the Soul Machine
6. Big & Rich, Horse of a Different Color
7. Twista, Kamikaze
8. Paulina Rubio, Pau-latina
9. Gretchen Wilson, Here for the Party
10. Pepito, Everything Changes

also i'm counting los lonely boys b/c it was re-released this year on Epic, and obv. had it's biggest impact in 2004

1) Big & Rich - Horse of a Different Color
2) Kanye West - College Dropout

1. Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludicrious “Yeah”
2. The Streets “Fit and You Know It”
3. Jay Z “99 Problems”
4. Outkast “Roses”
5. Britney Spears “Toxic”
6. Twista with Jamie Foxx and Kayne West “Slow Jamz”
7. Gretchen Wilson “Redneck Girl”
8. Nellie McKay “The Dog Song”
9. Loretta Lynnn and Jack White “Portland, Oregon”
10. Courtney Love “Mono”

Charalambides - Joy Shapes
Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing in the Hands
Malcolm Holcombe - "Who Carried You"
Christina Carter - 7" on Gold Soundz
Feist - "Mushaboom"
Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat
Joanna Newsom - "Sadie"
Dredd Foole - Daze on the Mounts
Sonic Youth - Sonic Nurse
Virgin Eye Blood Brothers - Live From The Deepest Hole...
Wooden Wand & Tovah D-Day - Bad News Bearers
The Streets - "Blinded By The Lights"
Big & Rich - "The Big Time"
Patterson Hood - Killers and Stars (techincally a reissue, but, whatever)
AC Newman - The Slow Wonder

susanna and the magical orchestra - "list of lights and buoys" ....julee cruise vibe to it. love the cover of dolly parton's 'jolene'.

telefon tel aviv-"map of what is effortless"

Lists are one of my favorite parts of ILM, because they tend to introduce me to many new artists and albums. To be honest, I could do without the pedantic bantor that often dominates ILM and the list format tends to limit all that.

So, keep the lists coming.

(I have no idea why I am writing this here, but I just felt like saying it)

1.lists
2.long-winded cultural critique
3.ironic joke-cracking
4.tangential yet inspirational free-associating of music, bands artists
and
4. the plain old slangity-slang poo poo talk.

1. lists
2. C/D, S/D
3. music industry gossip

1. Madvillain - Madvillainy
2. Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans
3. Modest Mouse - Good News...
4. Black Dice - Creature Comforts
5. Animal Collective - Sung Tongs
6. Noxagt - The Iron Point
7. The Streets - A Grand...
8. Sex Positions - Self Titled
9. Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles
10. Jason Forrest - The Unrelenting Songs...

Sorta bland/safe, but I think 2004 has been the year of the let down whereas very little was expected of last year and I think we got a lot of surprises out of it. I'm singles stupid so I haven't been keeping track of those well enough to make a list for you.

Gift of Gab - 4th Dimensional Rockets Going Up
Dykehouse - Midrangw
Azita - Life on the Fly
Fiery Furns - Blueberry Boat
Animal Collective - Sung Tongs
Ditty Bops - Ditty Bops (what the hell, eh)
Devendra B - Rejoicing...
The Concretes - Say Something New
Joanna N...oh God this is a bit too similar to the above. help

Lots of other stuff that I can't remember...

and a ton of others, but i'll stop there. m.e/ireallylovemusic

Kanye - "College dropout"
Kompakt 100
Felix - "Devin Dazzle and the neon fever"
Phoenix - "Alphabetical"

Less obvious:

Wiley - "Treddin on thin ice"
Lil Flip - "You gotta feel me"
Akufen - Fabric 17
Ivan Smagghe - "Suck my deck"

Singles:

Blackstrobe - "Chemical sweet girl"
Cam'ron - "Yeo man"
Cam'ron - "Shake"
Alter Ego - "Rocker"
Tiga - "Pleasure from the bass"
Lethal B - "Forward riddim"
Nio - "No strings" (Danny Weed and Target mix)
David Carretta - "Vicious game"
Ghostface - "Run"
Predator - "Mad sick"
Dorau and Kohncke - "Durch die nacht"

Indeed. I was serious about my top 10 being all reissues upthread. And I'm also this year catching up with loads of back catalogue LPs from the 90s that I somehow managed to miss out on first time around. So, still lots to enthuse about.

albums:

1. the streets - a grand don't come for free
2. junior boys - last exit
3. wiley - treddin on thin ice
4. lil jon & the eastside boys - we run the south
5. infinite livez - bush meat
6. dynamite mc - world of dynamite
7. petey pablo - still writing in my diary: second entry
8. v/a - offshore presents troubled waters mixed by dj clever
9. dj smallz - southern smoke x hosted by bubba sparxxx
10. air - talkie walkie

singles:

1. lcd soundsystem - "yeah (crass mix)"
2. britney - "toxic"
3. ying yang twins - "salt shaker"
4. mya feat chingy - "fallen (zone 4 remix)"
5. memphis bleek feat. freeway - "just blaze, free, & bleek"
6. mia - "galang"
7. elephant man feat. twista & youngbloodz - "jook gyal (remix)"
8. snow patrol - "spitting games"
9. mr. vegas feat. irishman - "never leave you lonely"
10. usher feat. lil jon & ludacris - "yeah"

i wish there was some way to include ilm/bloggers mixes, because my list would almost certainly include ronan's omnipotent baby mix, woebot's "brick door" jump up mix, and that "dark 2-step" mix grievous angel posted.

Kanye West
Iron & Wine
John Vanderslice
The Ponys
The Streets

singles:

Kanye -- "Jesus Walks"
Jay-Z -- "99 Problems" (Danger Mouse remix)
Jason Forrest -- "10 Amazing Years"
LCD Soundsystem -- "Yeah (stupid mix)"
Cass McCombs -- "AIDS in Africa"
The Streets -- "Fit But You Know It"

Kanye West - College Dropout
Graham Coxon - Happiness In Magazines
Madvillian - Madvillany
JC Chasez - Schizophrenic
The Streets - A Grand...
The Concretes - The Concretes
Komeda - Kokomemedada

Singles:

Some Girls - R Stevens
The Show - Girls Aloud
Toxic - Britney
Plug It In - Basement Jaxx
ADLIDAS - JC Chasez
Trick Me - Kelis
Crickets Sing For Anamaria - Emma Bunton
Rock Your Body Rock - Ferry Corsten
Walk Idiot Walk - The Hives

is this for real? what's it called? excuse me in advance if that was just a joke and i'm a huge sucker

kings of convenience - riot on an empty street
bark psychosis - codename: dustsucker
ostinato - left too far behind
sophia - people are like seasons
howe gelb - ogle some piano

NY Excuse | Soulwax
Heartbeat | Annie
Modern Girls And Old Fashioned Men (feat. Regina Spektor) | The Strokes
The Long Way | Superpitcher
Your Cover's Blown | Belle & Sebastian
The Abwehr Tango | Black Strobe
Durch Die Nacht (Wasserman Remix) | Andreas Dorau & Justus Koehncke
Walk The Line | Dani Siciliano
Frei/Hot Love (Justus K??hncke Remix feat. Meloboy) | Freiland
Are You Conscious? (Superpitcher Remix) | Ghost Cauldron
Phone Call | Jon Brion
Timecode | Justus Koehncke
Dip It Low (feat. Shawnna) | Christina Milian
On My Knees (feat. Ghostface Killah) | The 411
Cherry Blossom Girl | Air
Get Along With You (FakeID mix) | Kelis
Heartbeats (Rex The Dog Remix) | The Knife
I'm Tongue-Tied | The Magnetic Fields
Everything Is Everyone's Fault | Multiplies
Drop The Pressure | Mylo
I Didn't Get Where I Am Today | Pet Shop Boys
Some Girls | Rachel Stevens
I Need Your Love (Ewan's Friends With Girls Mix) | The Rapture
Tits On The Radio | Scissor Sisters
Lola's Theme | Shapeshifters
Blinded By The Lights | The Streets
Because Before (The Orb Remix) | Ulf Lohmann

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You mean, I'm not the only one in the world that loves this little 1:03 bit of perfection??

ALBA I KISS YOU

Well, I'm excited that I had an influence, then.