FAVORITE MUSIC OF 2004
An Annual Report By Dave Ratzlow

When I was growing up in the 80s, I often expressed a nostalgia for the music of eras past. Besides Prince, at 14 my favorite music makers were Beethoven and The Beatles. Then a little later, I considered the early 70s, with the emergence of Funk and Prog Rock, music’s best era. 

Now I know that music’s best era is right now. There is so much good shit out there now, I’m drunk with aural pleasure. Here is a list of my favorite music released this year:

****ALBUMS OF THE YEAR****

10. THE CONCRETES – The Concretes
(60s influence melancholy pop)

09. THE FIERY FURNACES – Blueberry Boat
(imagine if The Who were sibling Williamsburg hipsters)

08. NELLIE McKAY – Get Away From Me
(an apt description from the cover: Doris Day meets Eminem)

07. REGINA SPECTOR – Soviet Kitsch
(the quirky, melodramatic, witty queen of the East Village music scene)

06. JOHNNY CASH – Unearthed
(released late last year, but at 5 disks, it takes awhile to absorb)

05. LORETTA LYNN – Van Lear Rose
(produced by Jack White, rocking and surprisingly touching)

04. JUANA MOLINA – Tres Cosas
(Argentine folktronica released in the USA two years late)

03. FEIST – Let It Die
(mellow cabaret-pop including the second best song of the year, "Mushaboom," and the best cover ever of a Bee Gees song)

02. THE ARCADE FIRE – Funeral
(also gets the award for best album cover art)

01. WHITE MAGIC – Through the Sun Door
(ethereal, haunting, tragic, beautiful)

****MORE OF THE BEST OF 2004****

TILLY AND THE WALL – Wild Like Children
(Beach Boys inspired pop, would be number 11 on my list)

KIMYA DAWSON – Hidden Vegenda
(including the song of the year, "I Will Never Forget")

TEGAN AND SARA – So Jealous
(catchy tunes with a tight production that rivals Phil Spector)

LHASA DE SELA – The Living Road
(not as good as her debut, but still pretty smoking Spanish torch songs)

LANGHORNE SLIM – The Electric Love Letter
(catch him live in the Village if you can, a power performer; imagine Dylan with more lung power)

COCOROSIE – La Maison de Mon Reve
(toy instruments and out of sync samples, these sisters prove strange music can also be good)

JOANNA NEWSOM – The Milk-Eyed Mender
(further proof)

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE – Sung Tongs
(even more proof)

BLONDE REDHEAD – Misery is a Butterfly

NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS – The Lyre of Orpheus & Abattoir Blues

DONNY HATHAWAY – These Songs For You, Live!

JOHN LENNON – Acoustic

NEKO CASE – The Tigers Have Spoken

TV ON THE RADIO – Young Liars & Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes

THE SHINS – Chutes Too Narrow

RILO KILEY – More Adventurous

JEM – Finally Woken

MARTINA TOPLEY-BIRD – Anything

SAM PHILLIPS – A Boot and a Shoe

RACHAEL YAMAGATA – Happenstance & Rachael Yamagata EP

ANGELA McCLUSKEY – The Things We Do

A.C. NEWMAN – The Slow Wonder

SONDRE LERCHE – Two Way Monologue

JOLIE HOLLAND – Escondida

VARIOUS – Folk And Pop Sounds Of Sumatra Vol. 1

THE HAZZARDS – So Pretty

JEFF BUCKLEY – Grace (Legacy Edition)

IMANI COPPOLA – Afrodite

ELIZABETH HARPER – Elizabeth Harper

MATT POND PA – Emblems

DEERHOOF – Giga Dance

KEREN ANN – Not Going Anywhere

****HONORABLE MENTIONS FOR SEVERAL SINGLES****

NIKKA COSTA – "I Don’t Think We’ve Met"

RATATAT – "17 Years"

M.I.A. – "Sunshowers"

SCISSOR SISTERS – "Laura" & "Take Your Mama"

THE BAD PLUS – "1979 Semi-Finalist"

DUDLEY PERKINS – "Flowers"

WILL FERRELL – "Afternoon Delight"
(the a cappella version from the movie "Anchorman")

BRITNEY SPEARS – "Toxic"

THE SLEEPY JACKSON – "Morning Bird" & "Fill Me with Apples"

ERYKAH BADU – "I Want You"

ARCHITECTURE IN HELSINKI – "The Owls Go" 

Please let me know if I missed anything and need to be educated some more.

L,
Dave