2005: Stacy's list

You know, making end-of-the-year best-of lists wouldn't be so dang hard if not for the pesky 11th-hour rediscoveries that inevitably happen while you're staring at your CD shelves to make sure you haven't left anything out of consideration. But really it's those rediscoveries that give you the complete view of the year that was. I know what I like now, but I almost forgot what I totally lived for in spring. Or what got me through a painkiller-hazed week home trying to pass my first (and last, let's hope) kidney stone in summer. So now, having spent some overdue quality time staring at the CD shelves, scrolling through my iTunes library, and just settin' and thinkin', I have a Top 5 list that I think reflects all of 2005 -- not just what's recent enough to still be in heavy rotation.

So, without further ado (it's almost 9 p.m. on New Year's Eve as I write this, see, so much more ado and I'll be too drunk to do this ...), here's my list of the Top 5 albums of 2005. Larry, Sean and Amanda will be posting theirs as well soon, and we hope you'll use the comments to share your 2005 props, too.

5) Chatham County Line -- Route 23. This is the major rediscovery I made recently, the one that took my previously solid list and boogered it all up. I bought this on my trip home to the States, an orgy of CD-buying and listening all mixed up with Merlefest, too, so you can see how it could get crowded out. But it's back in heavy rotation now. The musicianship is amazing, the lyrics are smart and witty, and the jaw-dropping naked heartbreak in singer Dave Wilson's voice, especially on "Saro Jane," make this one a standout. Chatham County Line hasn't gotten the critical acclaim the band deserves, and that's a damn shame. But I think it's bound to change.

4) Beck -- Guero. An entire CD of tasty grooves and the translation of a group of people having a lot of fun into an extremely listenable hour or so. That I've noticed, this CD doesn't contain much in the way of insight or commentary on the human condition, but who cares? It's a lot of fun and well done in every way. Beck does get the critical acclaim he deserves, and I'm OK with that. Especially if he keeps putting dancing robots in his videos.

3) Ryan Adams and the Cardinals -- Cold Roses. Yes, yes, this 2-CD set could have benefitted from an editor (like Hickory Wind's own Mr. Sean Moores, for example), but it has enough greatness on it to land it unshakeably on my list. "Magnolia Mountain" kicks it off with an organic, haunting mood, and most of the songs that follow fully explore the bounds of that mood without breaking out of it. Ryan Adams took a somewhat damned-dirty-hippie turn on this album, and I was willing to throw out my soap, pack up my pachouli and follow him around.

2) Nickel Creek -- Why Should the Fire Die?. This CD is Nickel Creek all-growed-up, dealing with maturer issues than they ever have -- with much more authenticity now that they're all in their 20s and presumably have had their little hearts broken a time or two. "Helena" is just a delightfully evil little ditty, and "Somebody More Like You" is a sentiment we've all wished upon an ex. This album makes the statement that Nickel Creek is no longer 100 percent sweet and cuddly. And good for them. Because no one is sweet and cuddly all the time, and the non-sweet, non-cuddly side of life is frankly a whole lot more interesting to delve into, musically, am I right? I love this band because they go somewhere new with each new album, which admittedly sheds some number of fans each time. But they haven't managed to shake me yet -- I'm definitely coming along for the ride.

1) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club -- Howl. I was completely taken by surprise by this one. My husband picked it up while we were in the States and we listened to it in the car at some point during our epic journey from family to family and friend to friend. I wasn't much interested in hearing it ... until I did. And then I couldn't get enough. Flavored with blues, soul, folk, gospel, rock and ... um ... awesomeness, BRMC's "Howl" is filled with catchy melodies, moving lyrics and an over-arching haunting feeling of the struggle of man vs. nature, man vs. man, man vs. God, man vs. woman, and man vs. the universe, essentially. The only thing I can think of to say against this album is it comes saddled with crappy "copy-protection" which only serves to make the songs difficult (not impossble, sorry RCA) to listen to on my iPod and even in my car, even though I bought the CD with actual money like a good little minion. But technical difficulties (which really aren't the fault of the band anyway) aside, this CD is flawless, timeless and peerless.

Honorable mention (because it was so incredibly soul-wrenching to take this off the list, a last-minute decision I'm still kind of iffy about ...)
Son Volt -- Okemah and the Melody of Riot. I feel like an asshole for not putting this in the Top 5, because I love it dearly and have no complaints about it. For whatever reason, though, it simply didn't capture me quite the same way as the above. But I still love me some Son Volt, and I humbly beg the Glorious Jay Farrar not to kick me out of his Church.

So there it is, a list I will almost certainly want to change around as soon as I post it, because I always do. But the good news is with the end of the old year (we hope) comes the beginning of a new year, and a whole new spate of CDs to be absorbed, loved (or hated) and much discussed right here on Hickory Wind.

Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu!