Modern Minstrels

Music of 2004

Well it's the end of the year, and time too look back at all the great music that has been released this year. I've done lots more commentary this year than last year. Please leave your top picks and thoughts in the comments.

Album of the Year: Futures by Jimmy Eat World

The advanced copy of this album lived in my car's CD player for many weeks, only to be replaced when Straylight Run's album came out. The songs are upbeat and extremely catchy. It's definitely a great CD to sing along to in the car. Even when I just have it playing as background music while I'm coding I find myself suddenly singing bits and pieces of the songs.

Now, if you're looking for a lyrically diverse album, this isn't it. Pretty typical emo song content: unrequited love, guy regrets leaving girl, erotic escapades in the backseat of a car, living a care free life surrounded by your friends, one night stands, etc. But Jimmy Eat World does these types of songs as well as they've ever been done.

Though they do dip into politics a bit with the title track. It seems to be from the point of view of someone that's decently well off, but maybe not happy with how they got there ("why is it so hard to find balance between living decent and the cold and real"). And overall corporate greed (things like Haliburton perhaps) dictating politicians decisions. And the line "I hope for better in November" pretty much speaks for itself.

I've found myself connecting with this album more than any other released this year. Yeah, yeah, go ahead, call me a lame emo kid. :-p But even aside from that the songs are just fun to listen to and sing along to, so that's why Futures is my 2004 album of the year.

Runner-up albums

Straylight Run - Self Titled
If I had to predict last year, I would have guessed this was going to be my favorite album of 2004. The demos they released on their webpage last summer have become some of my favorite songs (especially Mistakes We Knew We Were Making). The album ended up being about half songs they demoed last summer and half new songs. I have to say though that none of the newer songs really hit me like the demos did. Don't get me wrong, they are all good songs. They just didn't hit me with that 'wow, this is some of the best music I've ever heard' like their demos did.

With that aside, this is still one of the best albums of 2004. The songs are catchy and fun. When introducing people to new music, this is always one of the first albums I have them listen to. And I have yet to find someone that doesn't like what they hear. Their songs have that catchy "pop" feel that you'll find in Top 20 radio hits, but they also have really well done and deep lyrics (especially when you know the whole TBS/Strayligh/Brand New history) that attract the more discerning listener.

Say Anything - Is a Real Boy
I first learned about this band on AbsolutePunk.net, so it's no surprise this album was at the top of many staff members' End of Year lists. I quite gotten addicted to this album yet, but lyrically it's definitely one of the most fun and entertaining albums I've heard. And the lead singer Max Bemis has such a unique voice.

Other Albums

Green Day - American Idiot
Green Day is back. Great album. Still need to figure out the entire story that's being told

New Found Glory - Catalyst (It's NFG at their best. Nothing too new.)

Midtown - Forget What You Know (Huge step forward from their last album. Need to listen to this album more.

My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (My favorite "dark" album of the year)

I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody's Business - Self Titled (Side project of Ace Enders from The Early November. Very different sound and lyrical content. Excellent album)

Don't Look Down - The Fear in Love (Rock with strong guitar sound. Several good songs.)

Sum 41 - Chuck (Haven't really listened to it other than the single We're All to Blame)

Taking Back Sunday - Where You Want to Be (Slightly different sound from their last album. Still angry. Still catchy chorus hooks.)

Modest Mouse - Good News for People Who Love Bad News (Suddenly they appear on MTV and Fuse with this album. Need to listen to this more. Float On and Ocean Breathes Salty were excellent singles)

Punchline - Action (Saw them open for Allister. Pop Punk. Several really good songs.)

Get Up Kids - Guilt Show (Better than On a Wire but still not close to Something to Write Home About)

Sugarcult - Palm Trees and Powerlines (Lots of good songs. Found myself liking this album a lot at first, then just not really listening to it anymore)

Fall Out Boy - My Heart Will Always Be a B-side to My Tongue (FOB does acoustic. And they do it well. Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner is awesome.)

Further Seems Forever - Hide Nothing (Third lead singer in as many albums. Light Up Ahead and Hide Nothing are great songs. Haven't listened to the rest of the album much.)

Senses Fail - Let it Enfold You (Angry and dark. Liked their EP, haven't really gotten into this album at all.)

Vanessa Carlton - Harmonium (Guilty Pleasure)

Switchfoot - The Beautiful Letdown (Good Rock. Have really only heard Meant to Live and Dare You to Move off of this albums but both are excellent songs)

Most Underrated Band of 2004 - Midtown
This band has loads of talent and I don't know why they aren't a hell of a lot bigger than they are. They did have a song on the Spider-man 2 soundtrack and a music video on Fuse, but still haven't really gotten much recognition. Their new album, Forget What You Know, is great and a big step forward both lyrically and in musical complexity from their previous album. They've moved far beyond songs about girls (or songs about another falling out they had). Their lyrics are a lot more metaphorical now and cover a much wider range of topics. This can be seen just in their song titles: To Our Saviors, God is Dead, The Tragedy of the Human Condition, Hey Baby Don't You Know That We're All Whores. Music this good can't go unnoticed for long, so I'd be willing to bet they get pretty big in a year or two. This also means I should catch them performing live in a small venue soon before they get huge.

Top Songs (no particular order)

Gifts and Curses - Yellowcard
Written specifically for the Spider-man 2 Soundtrack. YC (and myself) are big Spider-man fans, so this was a perfect mix. The song is absolutely beautiful and perhaps the piano is showing a future direction for YC to expand their music

Mistakes We Knew We Were Making - Straylight Run
While this song was released as a demo in Summer 2003, it also appeared on Straylight's debut CD. It's another beautiful sounding song and has great lyrics.

Kill - Jimmy Eat World
Hard to pick one song from Futures as my favorite. Looking at playcount in iTunes, this ties with The World You Love and Work as the most played (40 times each). So I picked Kill since I can relate to its lyrics the most.

Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day
Second single off American Idiot, and also one of my favorites on the album.

Failure's Not Flattering - New Found Glory
Classic New Found Glory. (Plus James Dewess from Reggie/TGUK on keyboard) One of their best music videos also.

I'm Not Ok - My Chemical Romance
Great song to sing (scream) along with. Also has a very amusing music video.

But When the Little Fellow Came Close - I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody's Business
Nice acoustic-y song. I love the lyrics.

Put Your Phasers on Stun - Taking Back Sunday
First song on their new album. Fast paced, catchy chorus. Infectious sound that makes it nearly impossible to sit still while listening to this song.

Float On - Modest Mouse
The first single off of their new album. Really catchy and has a good beat. Good song to drive to.

Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner - Fall Out Boy
My favorite song on their acoustic EP. Really fun to sing along with.

Admit It - Say Anything
Incredibly amusing (and accurate) take on the whole "scene" thing. Makes me laugh every time I listen to it.

Run - Snow Patrol
This was a free download on the iTunes Music Store and also a Song of the Week for Nick. I just got hooked on the song recently but it has quickly become one of my favorites. I definitely want to hear the rest of their album. Also, this song manages to do something I wish I could: express strong feelings for someone without sounding cheesy or cliche.

Climbing in the Rafters - Atticus Finch
This is another recently discovered song. I first learned about Atticus Finch from Nick's Song of the Week last year. This song is off their new album. It's hard to say exactly what it is that has me hooked on the song, but I love it. Definitely a different sound from a lot of the guitar heavy stuff I usually listen to. The lead singer has a great voice.

Favorite Lyrics

This is just a small collection of lyrics that have gotten stuck in my head in 2004.

"The city lights shine for her, above them I cry for her" - Gifts and Curses by Yellowcard

"Sing like you think no one's listening" - Existentialism on Prom Night by Straylight Run

"And when they say you're not for me, I'll say 'they say a lot of things'" - Climbing in the Rafters by Atticus Finch

"How does it all add up? How does the story end?" - Autographs and Apologies by Motion City Soundtrack

"I can't help it baby, this is who I am. I'm sorry I can't just turn off how I feel. " - Kill by Jimmy Eat World

"Keep quiet. Nothing comes as easy as you. Can I lay in your bed all day? I'll be your best kept secret and your biggest mistake" - Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner by Fall Out Boy

"Prototypical non-conformist. You are a vacuous solider of the thrift store Gestapo." - Admit It by Say Anything

"Alright don't worry, even if things end up a bit too heavy, we'll all float on" - Float On by Modest Mouse

"Change is coming, know it's nothing personal" - Hide Nothing by Further Seems Forever

Newly Discovered Artists

Matt Nathanson

His newest album came out in Oct. 2003, but I just learned about him this summer when I saw him with Guster and Howie Day. Beneath These Fireworks is a great album. You have to love his 12 string guitar. He is very entertaining live (both the songs and the in-between song talking with the crowd). He's from San Francisco so I hope to get to see him a few more times before he gets big.

Atticus Finch

Another band Nick introduced me to. The lead singer has a really unique voice. Very melodic music. Definitely becoming a favorite.

Lola Ray

Saw them open for Allister at the last show I saw in Cleveland. Fun, amusing songs.

The Format

Saw them open for Something Corporate and Yellowcard. They're out of Arizona and have a slightly similar sound to Jimmy Eat World (also of out of Arizona). Lots of upbeat catchy tunes.

Bands That Blew Up in 2004

Yellowcard

While their CD Ocean Avenue was released in 2003, Yellowcard really took off this year. They've done several videos which have gotten lots of airtime, played live on Pepsi Smash, wrote a song for the Spider-man 2 soundtrack. Their song Ocean Avenue is the number 18 most downloaded song on iTunes. Much of their success can be attributed to pretty much non stop touring the last year and a half. I've seen them play live 3 times since Fall of 2003. The best show being at the Agora Ballroom where Dana and I were in the front row.

Death Cab for Cutie

They signed to a major label (Atlantic). Apparently their music also gets played quite a bit on The O.C.. While I'm happy for their success, I'd love to be able to see them in a tiny venue. Transatlanticism was in the top 40 most downloaded albums on iTunes.

Modest Mouse

They've been around for quite a while, but got big really suddenly with their new album Good News for People Who Love Bad News. I'm not really sure how they all of a sudden got noticed.

Guilty Pleasures

• Vanessa Carlton (Fine the music is girly and admitting to listening to it means Sarah laughs at me. But regardless, she has a good voice, and the songs are good. And hey, she's damn cute.)
• Maroon 5 - She Will Be Loved (Top 40 song. Nothing wrong with Maroon 5 in general but the lyrics in this song are so incredibly sappy...and I love it.)
• Simple Plan - Welcome to my Life (As generic and whiny a song as it is, I still sing along when it's on Fuse. Damn you Simple Plan)
• Good Charlotte - Predictable (Another song I admit to enjoying when it's on Fuse. Can't say the same for their second single, I Just Wanna Live)
• Gwen Stefani - What Ya Waiting For (Incredibly catchy. Love the video.)

Most Anticipated Albums of 2005

Brand New
Deja Entendu was one of the best albums of 2003. The band has said they have big plans for the next album, but it isn't going to sound like Deja. I can't wait to hear the new stuff. I just recently introduced Nick to Deja Entendu and he loves it. We've listened to songs from it (always including Sic Transit Gloria) on all our recent SF concert trips. So that has just heightened the anticipation.

Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab never disappoints. This will be their major label debut (on Atlantic).

Motion City Soundtrack
Mark Hoppus is producing their album (his first time producing). Can't wait to hear it.

Yellowcard
It will be interesting to see if more piano is incorporated to their songs now that Pete is back.

Fall Out Boy
Take This to Your Grave was one of my favorite albums in 2003. FOB does pop-punk better than almost anyone.

And since they did these on AP:
Movies
Garden State (Easily one of my favorite movies ever)
Napoleon Dynamite (The movie for the socially awkward dork in all of us)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (I need to watch this a second time)
The Incredibles (Yay Pixar. Ranks slighty behind Monster's Inc. for Pixar movies.)

TV
Scrubs (Incredibly funny show. Zach Braff is the man.)
The Daily Show (Jon Stewart is brilliant.)
Rescue Me (Drama mixed with Denis Leary humor. Good stuff.)

Harmonium

If you're looking for a fun pop CD coupled with a melodic female voice, check out Vanessa Carlton's Harmonium. White Houses, San Francisco, and the cover of U2's Where the Streets Have No Name are my favorite tracks so far. The CD has been my background music for the past couple nights while playing Final Fantasy: Dawn of Souls so I thought I'd recommend it.