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2005: The Year in Music
Lavina Lee's annotated mix:
The Revolution Never Happened
1. "Chicago" · Sufjan Stevens
2. "Noah's Ark" · CocoRosie
3. "Faking the Books" (Dntel Remix) · Lali Puna
4. "Over and Over Again (Lost & Found)" · Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
5. "Stewed Bark of an Old Tree" · Devendra Banhart
6. "Warm Hand in Farmland" · Mice Parade
7. "I'll Be on the Water" · Akron/Family
8. "Pull Up the People" · M.I.A.
9. "The Body Breaks" · Xiu Xiu
10. "I Turn My Camera On" · Spoon
11. "My Sister Said" · Angels of Light
12. "Blue Light" · Bloc Party
13. "Lavender" · Oneida
14. "Apply Some Pressure" · Maxïmo Park
15. "Did You See the Words" · Animal Collective
16. "I'll Believe in Anything" · Wolf Parade
17. "Fingerbib" · Alarm Will Sound
18. "Eva Braun" · A Frames
19. "I Remember Learning How to Dive" · Animal Collective
20. "Extraordinary Machine" · Fiona Apple
1. "Chicago" · Sufjan Stevens · Illinois (Flak review) · Asthmatic Kitty/Sounds Familyre · 6:04
The year 2005 marked my first visit to Chicago, among other first visits in a year of much traveling, and no song proved
a better soundtrack to navigating the broad streets of the Windy City than Sufjan Stevens' anthem to it. On an album
replete with grandiose odes to Illinois and its famous, or infamous, inhabitants (including the achingly arresting and
disturbing "John Wayne Gacy, Jr."), none struck me more than this one. Perhaps it's the way the song creeps in with Stevens
singing the simple line, "I fell in love again," or the way he humbly concedes "I made a lot of mistakes" — in the end,
it's the way the man sings, period: both striking and gentle in the most beautiful way.
2. "Noah's Ark" · CocoRosie · Noah's Ark · Touch & Go · 4:13
It's no secret that I'm fascinated by animals, that I spout facts about them to anyone who will listen (my new obsession: the
lobster with silky fur!). It's no
surprise, then, that in 2005, I listened to this song (in which "animal" is the magic word) on repeat for a week straight.
Noah's Ark the album is somewhat of a snooze, nice if unimpressive; "Noah's Ark" the song, though, is a mesmerizing lullaby.
3. "Faking the Books" (Dntel Remix) · Lali Puna · I Thought I Was Over That · Morr Music · 3:33
"Faking the Books" from Lali Puna's 2004 album of the same name is not made better in this Dntel remix, but the song is
rendered slightly and effectively into a fantastic 2005 release that allows me to include this song here since I carelessly forgot
it in 2004.
4. "Over and Over Again (Lost & Found)" · Clap Your Hands Say Yeah · Clap Your Hands Say Yeah · Self-released · 3:09
My favorites this year are sorely lacking in handclapping, but Clap Your Hands Say Yeah more than make up for it — especially on
this track, on which singer Alec Ounsworth's tight-lipped, lackadaisical delivery, especially of the line, "You look like David Bowie/
but you've nothing new to show me" earns warranted comparisons to a different David B. — David Byrne. The song's aptly
titled, too; the undeniably catchy, OMD-esque "Over and Over Again" had me listening over and over again.
5. "Stewed Bark of an Old Tree" · Devendra Banhart · I Feel Just Like a Child Single · Young God Records · 1:38
The prolific Devendra Banhart gave me much to choose from in 2005 — the outstanding Cripple Crow offered no
end of beguiling, folk-tinged tracks. In the end, though, my vote went to this one-and-a-half-minute ditty not found on the album.
While Cripple Crow is slick and, at times, majestic in its layers, this tiny tune wraps up everything I love about Banhart's
music.
6. "Warm Hand in Farmland" · Mice Parade · Bem-Vinda Vontade · Bubble Core · 3:13
Like the year 2005, which passed too quickly and without much ado, "Warm Hand in Farmland" swirls in,
captivating in its brevity
7. "I'll Be on the Water" · Akron/Family · Akron/Family · Young God Records · 3:25
See the main mix.
8. "Pull Up the People" · M.I.A. · Arular · XL/Beggars Group, USA · 3:45
When one of my roommates put Arular on the communal stereo one night and exclaimed it
was something I had to listen to, I was skeptical — as I usually am of names I hear too
often associated with generic descriptors such as "best," "brilliant," etc. But the album
then found its way onto my iPod, and this track was put on Repeat for days on end.
This call to arms is aggressively catchy with Maya Arul's harpy-voiced chorus ("Pull up the
people, pull up the poor"), but it's the "beats to make it bang bang bang" that keep me coming back.
9. "The Body Breaks" · Xiu Xiu · Xiu Xiu & Devendra Banhart 7" · 5RC · 2:14
This is the second year in a row that Xiu Xiu and Devendra Banhart have found their
way onto my year-end mix; this time, though, the musicians are consolidated into one track,
with the experimental and generally cacophonous Xiu Xiu covering the comparatively mild-mannered Banhart.
Singer Jamie Stewart ekes out Banhart's lines in whispers and gasps, while the song clangors beneath him.
The result is an effectively poignant and lush track that out-emotes the bare original by heightening
the longing of the track's sentiment.
10. "I Turn My Camera On" · Spoon · Gimme Fiction · Merge · 3:32
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11. "My Sister Said" · Angels of Light · Sing Other People · Young God Records · 4:11
This, in just over four minutes, is music's gorgeous equivalent of a Flannery O'Connor yarn.
12. "Blue Light" · Bloc Party · Silent Alarm · Vice · 2:47
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13. "Lavender" · Oneida · The Wedding · Jagjaguwar · 3:58
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14. "Apply Some Pressure" · Maxïmo Park · A Certain Trigger · Warp Records · 3:20
See the main mix.
15. "Did You See the Words" · Animal Collective · Feels · Fat Cat · 5:17
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16. "I'll Believe in Anything" · Wolf Parade · Apologies to the Queen Mary · Sub Pop · 4:36
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17. "Fingerbib" · Alarm Will Sound · Acoustica · Cantaloupe Music · 3:49
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18. "Eva Braun" · A Frames · Black Forest · Sub Pop · 3:26
See the main mix.
19. "I Remember Learning How to Dive" · Animal Collective · Prospect Hummer · Fat Cat · 2:17
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20. "Extraordinary Machine" · Fiona Apple · Extraordinary Machine · Sony · 3:44
E-mail Lavina Lee at lavina dot lee at flakmag dot com.
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