LimeWire Music Blog

The end of the present decade is only days away, so our Frank Deserto has undertaken the massive task of presenting the highs and lows of each year. He continues this series with a look back on 2005. Hit us with your memories in the comment section.

2005 continued with a series of political shifts, including the beginning of George W. Bush’s second term and the induction of Pope Benedict XVI.  North Korea admitted ownership of nuclear weapons as a precautionary measure, while war continued to rage in the Middle East with no end in sight.

Music was becoming more and more political, as dozens of musicians continued to rally against the Bush administration, especially in light of the continuing Iraq war and the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.  Popular musicians such as System of a Down, Gorillaz, Immortal Technique, and Bright Eyes released their own anti-war tracks, polarizing their fan base with their agenda.  Politcal or not, 2005 saw the release of several landmark records from otherwise established artists and a select handful of newcomers.  Let’s take a look back at some of the highlights, shall we?

News

1. Pink Floyd reunited with original bassist Roger Waters for the first time since 1981. The band performs a short set at London’s Live 8 concert on July 2nd.  More importantly (at least for me), 4AD band Dead Can Dance reunited for a series of inspired live performances.
2. Michael Jackson is found not guilty on child molestation charges.
3. Britney Spears gave birth to her first child.
4. After a six-year hiatus, Fiona Apple released her third solo record, and more or less disappears from the music industry.
5. Madonna’s disco-tinged Confessions on a Dancefloor goes to number one in 40 countries, beating The Beatles.  Lead single “Hung Up” also sets a record in the download charts for staying at number one for seven weeks in a row.
6. Bands defunct: Destiny’s Child, XTC, The Tea Party
7. Starbucks rejected Bruce Springsteen’s Devils and Dust due to the lyrical content of “Reno” as well as several co-marketing disagreements.  The album still reached number one and was nominated for five grammy awards.
8. Deaths: Robert Moog, Hasil Adkins, Marshall Rohner (TSOL), Luther Vandross, Derrick Plourde (Lagwagon, The Ataris), and Paul Hester (Crowded House).
9. After several commercial flops, Mariah Carey returned with The Emancipation of Mimi, which earned the singer her 17th number-one single.
10. Billy Corgan released TheFutureEmbrace, a new wave-inspired (and incredibly spotty) solo record. On the same day it drops, the singer takes out a full-page ad in two major Chicago newspapers, announcing the second coming of The Smashing Pumpkins. Long-standing drummer Jimmy Chamberlain immediately accepts Corgan’s offer to rejoin his old bandmate.

Notable Albums

1. Coil – The Ape of Naples
Released a year after vocalist John Balance’s death, The Ape of Naples is not only a ruminating swan song, it’s also one of this experimental act’s strongest and most straightforward releases.  The album contains material spanning from 1993-2004 (including tracks from the aborted Nothing Records album Backwards), yet is incredibly cohesive as a whole.

Standout tracks: “Tattooed Man,” “Going Up,” “The Last Amethyst Deceiver”

2. Mew – And the Glass Handed Kites
Though this Danish prog-rock band had released three records over the course of eight years, And the Glass Handed Kites finally found the band cracking the US and UK markets.  To date, it’s their strongest and grandest release, combining sweeping stadium grooves, cinematic strings, insular post-punk, and several anthemic refrains into one interconnected apocalyptic nightmare.

Standout tracks: “Apocalypso,” “Special,” “The Zookeeper’s Boy” (an unstoppable three-in-a-row combo)

3. Low – The Great Destroyer
Low’s seventh studio record found the band abandoning their minimalist edge and presenting a record filled with lush, powerful, and tuneful music.  Though a departure from the band’s trademark sound, The Great Destroyer vastly expands the band’s sonic palate, yet retains their knack for a devastating emotional blow.

Standout tracks: “Monkey,” “Everybody’s Song,” “Cue the Strings”

4. Depeche Mode – Playing the Angel
Though the band’s post-Alan Wilder material was still heralded by die-hard fans, Depeche Mode were in dire need of a massive record, and Playing the Angel delivered.  As dark and meandering as Violator, with equal amounts of pop perfection, this record re-established the band as one of this generation’s best. In a surprising turn of events, Dave Gahan’s first Depeche Mode writing credits are among the album’s finest moments.

Standout tracks: “Nothing’s Impossible,” “Precious,” “A Pain That I’m Used To”

5. Boris – Pink
After soldiering on for years in the underground metal scene, these Japanese titans finally achieve recognition for their tenth studio record, coincidentally their most straightforward.  Despite the lack of surface-level experimentation, Pink delivers with a balls-to-the-wall rock record featuring countless layers of guitars, each cranked to 11.

Standout tracks: “Farewell,” “Pink”

6. Goldfrapp – Supernature
Third Goldfrapp record was seen as disappointing to some, offering more of the same glam/disco pop displayed on 2003’s Black Cherry. Despite the lack of innovation (one of the duo’s strongest traits), Supernature is still a focused and incredibly fun record, featuring some of the band’s sleaziest and most satisfying tracks to date.

Standout tracks: “Satin Chic,” “Lovely 2 C U,” “Ride a White Horse”

7. Ladytron – The Witching Hour
Finally, these new wave darlings release their first genuine record, abandoning the superficial posturing of electroclash in exchange for a dose of solid synthetic songwriting.  Whereas many of their peers had fallen out of favor as the fad came to a necessary end, Ladytron were here to stay, thanks to this detached, yet vastly improved effort.

Standout tracks: “Destroy Everything You Touch,” “Fighting In Built Up Areas,” “Sugar”

8. Marianne Faithfull – Before the Poison
Though her sourmilk vocals are still as dry and commanding as ever, Marianne Faithfull proves once more that her success is equally due to her choice of collaborators.  Curiously enough, half of this record was written and performed by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (complete with droning strings, delicate pianos, and rambunctious whoops and yells), while the second half was constructed by Cave’s former lover and muse Polly Jean Harvey.  While both issued their own respective records in 2004, they still managed to make Marianne shine for her best effort since 1979’s Broken English.  Did I mention that Blur’s Damon Albarn and famed producer Jon Brion also contribute? Bonus!

Standout tracks: “Desperanto,” “No Child of Mine,” “There is a Ghost”

9. Angels of Light-  Sing Other People
Michael Gira’s post-Swans outfit may trade in skull-crushing distortion for subdued acoustic guitars, but the results are no less stark and emotionally expressive.  This album, which features the studio debut of quirky labelmates Akron/Family, is also notorious for its brighter sound and lack of standard percussion.

Standout tracks: “Michael’s White Hands,” “Dawn,” “On the Mountain”

10. The Dirty Three – Cinder
As one of the longest records in the Dirty Three’s catalog, Cinder also marks rare vocal contributions by Chan Marshall (a.k.a. Cat Power) and Sally Timms (The Mekons).  Though less intense than some of the band’s more instrumental releases, it’s still a welcome addition

Standout tracks: “Great Waves,” “Sad Jexy,” “In Fall”

Unstoppable Tracks

1. Duchess Says – “Black Flag”
Though it would take this Canadian synth-punk act four more years to release their debut record, 2004 saw the release of their debut EP, which contained this deep and dirty dance track on the flip side.

2. Nine Inch Nails – “Every Day Is Exactly the Same”
Another six-year hiatus plagued Trent Reznor, in which the otherwise blinkered musician kicked drugs and alcohol, sorted out his financial affairs, and recorded a commercial return to form.  Though With Teeth is far less innovative and epic than its predecessors, it still contained several now-classic Nine Inch Nails gems, including this underrated dirge of a single.

3. Einsturzende Neubauten – “Vox Populi”
Whereas Perpetuum Mobile, Einsturzende Neubauten’s 2004 release, was a continuation of the band’s more melodic and focused sound, 2005 saw the release of their second supporter-funded record, Grundstück, a superior record in every which way.  This particular track features an eerie, droning vocal chant before unleashing a brawny and precise ascending motif that both terrifies and inspires.

(Apologies for the lack of a/v.  Seriously, seek this one out.)

4. The Fall – “Blindness”
As one of the most enduring bands of the post-punk era, The Fall have seldom shifted gears and changed styles throughout their 30-year career.  While this song is made of the same angular ingredients, complete with dirty bass work and Mark E. Smith’s trademark drawl, it stands out as one of the band’s most catchy singles.

5. Kate Bush – “King of the Mountain”
This incredibly reclusive singer had pretty much disappeared from the music industry after 1993’s The Red Shoes failed to find an audience.  However, after twelve years of speculation, Kate Bush resurfaced and released Aerial, a sprawling double record. While the album failed to fully deliver, despite the tremendous hype, “King of the Mountain” was still a refreshing single, proving that the world was still in need of Bush’s idiosyncratic vision.

6. Brian Eno – “Just Another Day”
Eno’s sonic experiments throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s were mostly ambient, electronic, and techno-driven affairs.  However, in 2005, Eno unveiled his first primarily vocal-driven record since 1977’s Before and After Science, an exercise in discipline for the otherwise enigmatic and prolific musician.  Though a handful of the album’s tracks feel unfinished and half-baked, this particular track is truly a hidden gem.

7. Madonna – “Hung Up”
As noted above, Madonna’s tenth studio record was a true return to form for the pop singer, breaking a handful of records and selling tremendously over the course of the year.  Though the entire record is a sleazy, sweaty, disco-laced affair (a sound already explored in more focused circles by both Kylie Minogue and Goldfrapp), this track stands out as one of Madonna’s standout singles, serving as a fitting mission statement for Confessions on a Dancefloor.

8. Starflyer 59 – Easy Street
This particular post-shoegaze outfit remained intact throughout the new millennium, despite relative indifference to their fuzzed-out, Christianity-inspired tracks.  Though the band’s best work seemed long behind them, this particular gem, plucked from their ninth studio record, proved that the band still had a few stellar tracks up their sleeves, a real treat for those still paying attention.

9. Echo & the Bunnymen – Scissors in the Sand
Eighties post-punk darlings continue to reinvent themselves as a volatile independent force with Siberia, their tenth studio record.  This particular track stands out from the rest of the record, primarily due to its intense nature and classic-sounding production, no doubt due to the efforts of Hugh Jones, who also produced the band’s classic Heaven Up Here record.

10. New Order – “Waiting For the Siren’s Call”
Another year, and another misguided New Order effort.  Though the band had long since jumped the shark before the turn of the century, their eighth record managed to contain this otherwise classic-sounding and chipper single, which also serves as the album’s title track.

Previous Decade in Review Posts:

• 2000
• 2001
• 2002
• 2003
• 2004