In 2005, I discovered or started listening to tons of new music. From older indie bands like Neutral Milk Hotel to rock gods Led Zeppelin, I branched out to all genres this year. So, in no particular order, I would like to publish some of my favorite finds of 2005.
Iron and Wine
Nothing can beat Sam Beam and his acoustic guitar. Iron and Wine is by far my favorite artist that I found this year. “Our Endless Numbered Days” is a quiet but very serious album covering human mortality. Some of the best songs on Our Endless Numbered Days are Love and Some Verses, On Your Wings, and Naked as We Come. Sam is from the South and many of his songs are heavily influenced by this. Another good release by Iron and Wine is “Woman King”. On this six song EP, Iron and Wine is considerably louder than before. More instruments and some cool percussion is added for a very good effect.
Sufjan Stevens
Everybody should know this guy by now, “Illinois” will soon be an indie rock classic. Another “Indie folk” musician, Stevens’ album is a bit more refined than Iron and Wine but it is not overdone. There are a broad range of songs from “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.”, a quiet very creepy story of the clown killer, to the very poppy “Come on! Feel the Illinoise!”
Led Zeppelin
I believe playing the guitar has given me a deeper respect for good guitar players and Jimmy Page is probably the best of the best. “II” is my favorite album by them, not quite sure why, listen to it and you might agree.
Neutral Milk Hotel
I originally bought the song “In The Aeroplane over the Sea” on iTunes early in the year because it was supposed to be similar to the Decemberists. I enjoyed the song but didn’t look too much farther into the band until I got back to school and my art teacher had a vinyl copy of “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” (Album). I gave it a listen on his turntable during art class and liked what I heard, even though the rest of the class didn’t. This resparked my interest in the band and brought me to the entire Elephant 6 collective. The thing about Neutral Milk Hotel is that Jeff Mangum is not a great musician, just a creative one, and this is why many people dislike his music, I personally love it.
It hasn’t all been good, however. Many times this year I have been “tempted” by the darkside of new music, emo. Yes, I’ve listened through Hawthorne Heights’ “A Silence in Black and Wine” and even, sadly, Panic! at the Disco’s “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out”, two emo albums that aren’t even worth a link to Amazon. Overall, it has been a very good year in music, if you know where to look. I am always looking for new tunes to rock out to so drop me a line and we’ll talk.
