some honorable mentions
• deerhoof- strawberry banana
• rasputina - frustration plantation
• blonde redhead - misery is a butterfly
• scissor sisters - scissor sisters
• dani siciliano - likes
• wilco - a ghost is born
okay, now for the top ten y'all.
jill scott brings new energy to an album we've all heard a million times. r&b hasn't been this refreshing or quirky since lauryn hill's miseducation. i would've preferred her wrapping the album up after 12 or 13 tracks in order to leave us wanting more, but she gives us 17 excellent tracks to indulge in.09. mirah - c'mon c'mon
mirah is one of those artists who makes it okay to be sad. never self-indulgent, always poetic, this album is perfect for those days of comfortable depression. smoke a clove, drink some cocoa, and listen to this album.
08. gwen stefani - love, angel, music, baby
only a few weeks old and yet this is quickly becoming one of my favorite pop albums ever. don't expect any enlightening lyrics or anything, but the production by some heavy-hitters (including dre, andre3000, pharell, and nellee hooper) is top-notch and gwen was wise (not to mention extremely lucky) to get them all to sign on to this project.
07. prince - musicology
well after the third or fourth independently released instrumental/experimental prince album, you knew he'd be back to his old self for at least one lp if only to pay the bills. it's all you can expect of prince - genre-defying funk-hop. it's hot, i promise.
06. kings of convenience - riot on an empty street
guitar-pluckin' never sounded so good. i think with this album koc has reached the peak of their potential in this simple, no frills accoustic sound. hints of more extravagent production (the strings in cayman islands, for instance) have me looking forward to their next effort.05. björk - medulla
it's pretty amazing that medulla is as good as it is, considering it was made almost entirely using the human voice. concept albums may not be the most successful projects, but for an artist not only to challenge herself but also to moderately succeed (to create a 'raw steak' as opposed to a 'veggie burger' as she describes it), one has to respect her for that. and she's still got the most amazing melodies around.04. regina spektor - soviet kitsch
some compare her to fiona apple, but regina spektor has a sense of humor about herself that fiona has never seemed to posess. some of the best moments on the album are supplied by the outlandish lyrics ('maybe you should cut your own hair / cause that can be so funny / it doesn't cost any money / plus it always grows back / hair grows even after you're dead')03. air - talkie walkie
speaking of bjork, she said she made medulla in part because nobody was doing anything groundbreaking with electronic music anymore. this album, more lush and organic than any 4-piece band you'll hear these days, disproves that theory.02. rilo kiley - more adventerous
it's hard to describe rilo kiley without sounding ridiculous. this album is hip and witty, comfortable and sarcastic, brassy and sloppy, everything a good band should be. does that make sense? (i'm not buying it either / but i'll try selling it anyway)01. joanna newsom - milk-eyed mender
bjork and mirah have had a lesbian love child and raised it in tennessee with a tv permanently tuned to sketches of stephnie weir on mad tv.that child has grown up and this is what she sounds like. is joanna newsom from tennessee? i doubt it, which is what makes this entire album so genius. the lyrics seem to come from someone else from another time of existance. the harp adds a level of sophistication to lyrics like 'like a slow low-flyin' turkey / like a texan dryin' jerkey / but his meaty mits can't hurt me'. its genius, absolutely my favorite album this year. one of the best ever, perhaps. you will either love this album or hate it, but you'd be missing out on an incredible album if you choose to do the latter.joanna newsom - sadie.mp3
joanna newsom - the book of right on.mp3
so that's it for this year, hope you found some tunes that you like! email kvennard (at) gmail (dot) com to discuss or to tell me your top ten. or you all know my livejournal too, so go there if you want. hollah!
-kenny