My 20 favorite albums of 5764...

#20 The Magnetic Fields - I


Stephen Merritt is an incredible singer and songwriter who's infrequent, but consistently brilliant work should be considered the gold standard for love songs...The beauty of the music and the simplistic wordplay of the lyrics breaks down all gender barriers, and is the reason why this CD has remained in my rotation for many many months now. "I Looked All Over Town" and "I Don't Really Love You Anymore" are two of the highlights for me, but the entire album is nothing short of majestic. I honestly can't imagine anybody not liking this.

#19 Hope of the States - The Lost Riots


Great album...Triumphant and emotional, these guys are intense. The lead singer has a voice like an off-key Billy Corgan, which may turn off some, but I'm a huge Smashing Pumpkins fan, so I ate it right up. The opening instrumental track, "The Black Amnesias", is simply one of the best instrumental rock songs I've heard. The rest of the album follows in suit, with Highlights being "Enemies/Friends" and "The Red The White The Black The Blue." The entire album is truly stunning, tho...It will blow you away. These guys were hyped up big when I was in Ireland, and they've exceeded all expectations...Check them out on Oct. 14th in New York for CMJ. I've yet to have seen them live, but I've been eagerly anticipating seeing them for a very long time.

Tomorrow night I'll do #'s 18 and 17...Once again, Happy New Year.