Slack Monkey

Amy Rigby, Little Fugitives: She's here because she keeps writing these seemingly modest tunes that resonate. Mostly, she's here because she decided to write the sweetest tribute to Joey Ramone which also makes him sound like an asshole. And at the very end of that tune, she does her own Ramones count. Details like that count.

Art Brut, Bang Bang Rock and Roll: Punks don't get invited to my place because they'll mess it up. I'll go home with a charming punk (who bathes). This guy gets to stay at my place because he knows how to place a musical joke in the right context. Besides, he knows his limits (can't sing, has a much cooler brother), but he still wants to conquer the world. Eddie Argo is a keeper because all of this makes him sexy.

The Books, Lost and Safe: I don't know what this band looks like. I'm still not sure that their particular project is always memorable, but I am certain that they know how to slam an amazing sample into a tune and make both better. Sorta like a Reese's except that it's sweeter and stickier. I love certain moments, like that jagged synth figure in "Be Good To Them Always" or the way a whispering singer sings the sampled spoken lines in the same song.

The Go-Betweens, Oceans Apart: I keep thinking these two are too subtle. I listen right through all of their records and never quite remember anything. Until I play it again. Then, the arrangements mesh, the words signify and my memory identifies everything again. Can't believe these two have been doing this for over 25 years.

Gogol Bordello, Gypsy Punks: Ok, the assumption is that rock is a black derived form, right? It's based on African-American rhythms. Well, this is rock, but those beats sound all wrong. They're all Eastern European, but that type of frenzy is definitely a rock invention. Gypsy punk, indeed.

The Hold Steady, Separation Sunday: Who'd have thought that some vaguely 70s country-rock would sound this good? Who'd have thought it would work with that stentorian voice that Craig Finn was blessed/cursed with? Stranger still, this sounds like the call to Christian arms that should drive me away, but it's filled with so much detail and characterization, it sounds like another world I've never visited. Someone's finally figured out how to use their Catholic school education without sounding dorky.

Jamie Liddell, Multiply: Ok, his voice isn't all that great, but compared to his collegues, he's definitely a step or two above. This tribute to those 70s R&B giants works because those robotic beats are offset by a willingness to work alt-rock themes of bad relationships and pessimism into a soulful context. It makes him a wannabe, but he's still picking some good influences.

Kanye West, Late Registration: He's still making some great choices and making amazing pop tunes that resonate after hearing them a million times. "Golddigger" makes me wish I had girl. I know it's a warning about a certain kind of girl, but that's ok.

M.I.A., Arular: I think this is the only record I heard in the first half of the year that still seems as amazing at year's end. Those beats set off by chants about the need for change. She sounds reluctant to use violence and that's all I really need. It's topped off by that final minute of "Galang" where she piles on those voices. Yah, yah, heeeeeeeeeeeeeeey indeed.

The Mountain Goats, The Sunset Tree: I don't think drawing on his own experience really helped him sound all that different. But adding that cello added something to his tunes. Most of the alt-rock at this point sounds very arranged as though it's some sort of classical music. Favorite moment: the way the strings diverge and come back together at the end of each verse in Dilaudid. It's love as vertigo, as dread, as hope uncertain.

Sleater-Kinney, The Woods: My favorite band does it again, except that they don't quite do it the way they've always done it. It's true that they're using those old hoary Hendrix/Led Zep riffs and they're deployed to slam those bruising relationship songs out of the part. What's new is the song that slams their punk and new wave peers uses those classic rocks tools to such slamming effect.

Sufjan Stevens, Illinoise: Ok, there's no need to repeat the entire name of the album. There's really no need to have one more song about a serial killer. It does get clearer though that certain types of rock music are going to sound more classical with all the complexities that sound implies. Of course, these are all reasons to dislike Sufjan. The best reason to love him is the way his sense of whimsy collides with his empathy. Carl Sandberg commands him to write poem in his dreams, Superman steals hearts, wasps attack in Palisades, cancer attacks on Casimir Pulaski Day all while key phrases keep getting stuck in my head.

The Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane, Live at Carnegie Hall: Jazz defeats me because I never have the words to describe it. All those intangible qualities that don't define well, like "grace", "intelligence" or "restraint", all apply though I just don't know how the effect is accomplished. That said, the only thing I can really add is "What idiot forgot to bring enough tape that night?"

Wolf Parade, Apologies to the Queen Mary: This is probably the album I listened to most last year mostly because of three songs. Love the title "You Are a Runner and I Am My Father's Son." Love the beat and the dual vocals in "Shine a Light." Love "I'll Believe in Anything" most of all for making "I'll take you where nobody knows you and nobody gives a damn" sound like sanctuary.