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Seven
December 14th, 2005
SLEATER-KINNEY, THE WOODS
sleater-kinney’s letterman performance earlier this year was, at best, shaky, each component slightly out of time with each other; you could see the slightly terrified look in their eyes as they attempted to get their shit together and fly right in front of a live national audience. while this would qualify as an utterly craptacular and embarrasing show of talent for any band, it might be the first time ive witnessed the group in such a vulnerable state. you know, im still not even sure if i actually like this record, but i think they’ve giving us something different this time around, which at the very least, is commendable.
HAIL SOCIAL, SELF-TITLED
for me, when it comes to music words are often like the wah-wah-wah of adults in charlie brown cartoons, but in 2005 i finally could understand what they were saying. after the cotton had been pulled from my ears, i struggled with lots of records, especially this one. just as sleater-kinney grabbed my attention for their vulnerability, hail social earned my respect by refusing to give easy answers this early in the game.
December 15th, 2005 at 3:04 am
I fucking love countdowns!
I’m a little bit surprised that your #7 album is something that you might not even like but a lot of people seem unsure about a lot of records this year. Except for me — my top ten for 2005 obliterates last year’s.
I do agree with you about S-K though. I think I like the way it sounds more than the actual songs (note: I don’t like too many S-K songs).
December 15th, 2005 at 9:38 am
think of the critics dilemma thread — you cant always write about stuff you like.
this is the first time that ive ever done an official end of year list. previous years, ive merely listed records i heard and liked. this year, there was a lot more music i didnt like but, for me, still made me think about various things. and like i said about the s-k record, the fact that im not getting another record full of riot grrrl histrionics* is worthy of applause.
*yes, im entirely aware of that statement’s irony because “her jazz” derives from a huggy bear song title.
December 23rd, 2005 at 7:52 am
this countdown has been giving me many good records to investigate. i’m with you on the S-K vulnerability aspect — the fact that they sound constantly on the verge of fucking up is one of the things i love about this record too.