ON BEYOND Z

I only got 3 CDs for Christmas this year; I bought most of what I wanted to hear as it came out and some things you just can't put on a list for your parents because you can't find it (say, The Rosebuds). One of my CD presents was something that I had missed - My Morning Jacket's Z. If I had picked it up when it came out, it would have made a charge towards my top ten. I am currently obsessed with this album and love every song. That's right, every song. I hear Jim James crooning those high notes to "Wordless Chorus" all day long. The classic rock of "What A Wonderful Man." The reggae lilt to "Off the Record." The lost Neil Young classic "Knot Comes Loose." The wonderful rock jamming of "Lay Low." James singing "where did I go?" on "Into the Woods." You get the picture. What a great album.

I did have a couple late year pickups that made hard charges at the top ten...one of those even ended up there - Marah. That's such a hook-heavy real rock kinda record and I can't get enough of it either. Rogue Wave's Descended Like Vultures and Nada Surf's The Weight Is a Gift also came very very close. They are represented on my best of 2005 mix, as are a couple records that were there all the way and just slid out at the end - Brendan Benson's Alternative to Love and Aimee Mann's The Forgotten Arm.

Then there were the albums I really like but just couldn't get any songs onto the mix disc...there's only so much space. Stars' Set Yourself on Fire was a big surprise to me; I had no idea I'd love it as much as I did. My first taste of the Decemberists (Picaresque) was well worth it. Teenage Fanclub and The Go-Betweens and Pernice Brothers all made really good records (Man Made and Oceans Apart and Discover A Lovelier You). What about Mr. Hollywood Jr. 1947 himself, Michael Penn, Aimee's husband? That only standby Josh Rouse and his Nashville? And how can I ever leave Springsteen off of anything? Devils & Dust is good, man.

If I had considered live albums, the one-two punch of Wilco and Old 97s would have been hard to resist. I listened to both Kicking Television and Alive & Wired many many times. EPs? How about Woman King from Iron & Wine? Or EP from Fiery Furnaces? Reissues? Arcade Fire's self-titled EP was really good stuff. Plus, I got to grab the first two albums from Drive-By Truckers (Gangstabilly and Pizza Deliverance) and discover just how cool Dinosaur Jr. was with You're Living All Over Me.

I thought Merge was the label of the year. It was responsible for two of my top ten (Spoon; Portastatic) and several other goodies (M. Ward; Teenage Fanclub; Crooked Fingers; the Arcade Fire reissue) plus things I didn't quite get around to (say, Rosebuds). That's the way to run a label.

Anyway, I guess what I'm saying here is that I thought 2005 was a really good year for music. If you thought otherwise...I say you weren't trying hard enough. Go listen to some music, everyone. Enjoy.