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Top-10 ::
(10) (Four Way Tie) Acid Mothers Temple & The Cosmic Infero :: Just Another Band From The Cosmic Inferno / Demons From Nipple s/ IAO Chant From The Cosmic Inferno / Anthem of the Space » Four albums from this group this year. They’re hard to keep up with, but AMT are consistently great of late. The new line-up and vibe from this band blows almost every other psychedelic rock band out of the water.
(9) Julian Cope :: Citizen Cain’d » The ‘Drude returns to us under his own name, blowing our eardrums out with some of the most primal, three-chord “fuck-it-lets-just-JAM” rock and roll.
(8) (Two Way Tie) Meat Beat Manifesto :: At The Centre / Off-Center » Two wonderful discs (one a full-length, the other an EP) from Jack Dangers, and both excellent. But this jazz sound seems a little like an artistic cul-de-sac. Mr. Dangers is a resourceful enough artist to have never rested on his laurels with a particular vibe/sound or to stagnate. Whatever 2006 brings from the man, it is still eagerly anticipated.
(7) Ween :: Shinola » Gotta love the Ween. The more Ween there is in the world, the more hope we have as a civilization that we’ll make it back to the Garden.
(6) Kohei Mihara :: Cocolotica » I Can’t stop listening to this trip-hop masterpiece.
(5) Great Lakes Myth Society » XTC goes all Great-Lakes on you and coils itself around your heart, squeezing it when necessary, but otherwise keeping it warm and secure in its grip. Excellent release from these Ann Arbor, Michigan gentlemen.
(4) (Three Way Tie) Khanate :: Capture & Release / Ginnungagap :: Remindre / Sunn O))) :: Black One » Stephen O’Malley certainly was busy this year, but didn’t let the pace get to him in a way that would affect the quality of this output. Aesthetically similar to the newcomer, these releases all are actually very different (especially so the Ginnungagap), but uniformly sound much better when played much louder, and thereby reveal their mysteries. Super-nice guys, too. Very intelligent.
(3) Petra Hayden :: Sings The Who Sell Out » This album brings tears of joy to my eyes. Hearing the passionate love for music that is in Hayden’s voice was one of the most inspiring motivators of this year.
(2) The Juan McLean :: Less Than Human » “Give Me Every Little Thing” is hands-down the top song of the year. Holy shit what a stomper that is. Funkified to the nth degree. The rest of the album ain’t that shabby either.
(1) (Two Way Tie) Coil :: The Ape of Naples / …And The Ambulance Died In His Arms » Rest in Peace, Jhonn Balance. You are sorely missed. These two final albums from Coil showcase his unique abilities, and the true genius of his collaborators, Peter Christopherson, Thighpaulsandra, Tom Edwards, Cliff Stapleton, Mike York, and Ossian Brown
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Top-5 Re-issues ::
(5) The Orb :: Orb Sessions, Vol. I » Some decent closet-cleaning here, but the next volume is promised to be the original version of “Space,” the album Patterson worked on with Jimi Cauty from the KLF.
(4) AFX :: Hangable Auto Bulb » Glad to finally be able to retire the vinyl of this. Too bad it’s worth noting on ebay now.
(3) DJ Shadow :: Endtroducing / In Tune and On Time DVD » Might be a little early for a reissue, but its such a great album. The DVD is a live show that shows the magic behind the ‘tables. Essential viewing.
(2) Ulrich Schnauss :: Far Away Trains Passing By » An excellent album reissued with some excellent extra tracks. More please!
(1) Global Communication :: 76:14 » I may be showing my age here, but I remember when this came out and found it to be one of the most wonderful sonic excursions that you could have in headphones. With some time between then and now, this album not only stands up to its history, it surpasses it. The remastering job is fantastic, bringing out new-sounding facets of this ambient techno classic.
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Top-10 Random Discoveries / Rediscoveries / Epiphanies / Realizations of 2005 ::
(10) Autechre, while putting out albums that are interesting, hasn’t put one out that is actually good in a real long time.
(9) LCD Soundsystem is not the greatest thing since sliced toast, nor is Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.
(8) Man, that last Boards of Canada album really made me sleepy, didn’t it?
(7) The Orb, too, damnit. One of my favourite bands finally got boring.
(6) Gang of Four; what’s the big deal?
(5) William Vollmann’s Rising Up and Rising Down. The real history of violence.
(4) I successfully ignored “My Humps” and “Hollaback Girl” all year. Still haven’t heard either. This feels like an achievement.
(3) Dave Sim‘s Cerebus comic book. Fuck, this is great stuff.
(2) Pub needs to tour. Immediately and forever.
(1) The amount of time necessary to listen to all the good music that you come across gets smaller every year.
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Obligatory Warp-Related Honorable Mention ::
(1) Chris Cunningham :: Rubber Johnny » Can someone please give this man 50 million to make Neuromancer, PLEASE?
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Other Honorable Mentions ::
Creamy Water Quiz
Abelcain :: Pantheon of Fiends
mnty :: Analog Values
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Looking Forward To ::
Davros :: The Key To Time (Vinyl reissue on Low Res) » The greatest hardcore breaks record ever, reworked and reissued on lovely vinyl.
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Read Igloo articles by Jericho Maxim.
