Before I get to the number ones, if you want to see my entire list, just click on the Best of 2005 link over there on the right or click here. I hope everyone has a happy holiday season!

Song #1: 7/4 (Shoreline) by Broken Social Scene

Staying pretty true to the live versions that had been kicking around for ages before the record came out, “7/4″ comes pounding out of your speakers. While a lot of the songs on the record are characterized by great drumming, I think “7/4″ highlights the percussion best. If you listen on headphones the drums absolutely pull you through the song and it’s not until the last half of the song that other instruments start to be mixed higher than the drums. Feist’s lovely vocals and the horn section at the end just make this song perfect. More!

Download: 7/4 (Shoreline) (live)

Click here for some info on an upcoming Broken Social Scene remix album due soonish! (Thanks Quinn)

Album #1: Apologies to the Queen Mary by Wolf Parade

Proving we both have impeccable taste, Quinn at From Blown Speakers also picked this as his number one album today. Of all the records I heard this year, this is the one I’ve been going back to most, and I think will be the one go back to most next year. I have yet to grow tired of a single song. While some prefer the early versions of the songs, I think Isaac Brock’s production is great…a lot of these songs really are vastly superior to their EP versions. Apologies blends all the elements that make up a great record for me: strong lyrics, great melodies, and the music to carry it all off without a hitch. While I often can’t wait for another album by a band, I think I will be very happy to live with Apologies for quite some time before I itch for more Wolf Parade.

And Santa agrees.

Almost there…the first of my two turkey dinners is cooking away!

Song #2: The Greatest by Cat Power

The album comes out next month (on my birthday!), but this song was released by Matador as a single this year, so on the list it goes. I adore this song and have from the very first time I heard it. I still don’t know all the lyrics, but the song gets me…it’s just so resigned. “Once I wanted to be the greatest…” and then those backing vocals kick in. I can’t get enough of this one. Matador has the mp3 up for free, so please…

Download: The Greatest

Album #2: Takk… by Sigur Ros

A lot has been said about how this is the most accessible Sigur Ros album, and I’m still not sure I agree with that, but I definitely think that it is their brightest, most positive sounding album. From the tinkling piano of current single “Hoppipola” to the lovely repetitive shape of “Milano”, Takk…, like most music released by Sigur Ros, never stops being anything short of some of the most beautiful music ever released.

Stream a recent (amazing) Sigur Ros gig in Iceland here.

Song #3: I Turn My Camera On by Spoon

While it is hard to isolate just one song off such a strong album, this one is my favourite. I think I like it so much just because I hear it on the radio in Sydney a lot…something that doesn’t happen to songs I like very often. It’s just a bit dirty and a bit sexy and that groove is infectious. Like ebola.

Download mp3: I Turn My Camera On
Download the leggy video: Real; WMV

And to round out an All Spoon #3…

Album #3: Gimme Fiction by Spoon

11 of the most well-constructed, simple, catchy songs I heard all year. I still enjoy listening to this album months later and it hasn’t worn thin at all. From the squelchy opener “The Beast and Dragon Adored” to the strut of the song I wrote about above, Gimme Fiction never stops being fun. If people weren’t so friggin stupid there should have been 5 of these songs all over radio this year.

Song #4: Do You Want To by Franz Ferdinand

When I hear this, I can’t stop from singing along. And I hate singing along.

Album #4: Picaresque by The Decemberists

With Picaresque The Decemberists went three for three. Their third straight wonderful record full of tales of vengeful mariners, spies, and of course an infanta. And as I mentioned in my praise of the song “The Infanta,” I love Colin Meloy’s vocabulary. Does that make me a total loser? Perhaps. But I bet you had to look up what the hell picaresque meant! (I did!). Listening to The Decemberists not only makes you a good person, but it makes you smarter.

Sorry for the delay on this one…and today’s if you’re reading in Australia. I am back home in Vancouver for the holidays and was busy getting ready…blah blah onto the list.

Song #5: When the President Talks to God by Bright Eyes

When the president talks to God
Are the conversations brief or long?
Does he ask to rape our womens’ rights
And send poor farm kids off to die?
Does God suggest an oil hike
When the president talks to God?

When the president talks to God
Are the consonants all hard or soft?
Is he resolute all down the line?
Is every issue black or white?
Does what God say ever change his mind
When the president talks to God?

When the president talks to God
Does he fake that drawl or merely nod?
Agree which convicts should be killed?
Where prisons should be built and filled?
Which voter fraud must be concealed
When the president talks to God?

When the president talks to God
I wonder which one plays the better cop
We should find some jobs the ghetto’s broke
No, they’re lazy, George, I say we don’t
Just give ‘em more liquor stores and dirty coke
That’s what God recommends

When the president talks to God
Do they drink near beer and go play golf
While they pick which countries to invade
Which Muslim souls still can be saved?
I guess god just calls a spade a spade
When the president talks to God

When the president talks to God
Does he ever think that maybe he’s not?
That that voice is just inside his head
When he kneels next to the presidential bed
Does he ever smell his own bullshit
When the president talks to God?

I doubt it
I doubt it

Onegoodmove has Conor performing the song on Leno up (still)

Album #5: Broken Social Scene by Broken Social Scene

A noisy mess…but a great noisy mess and surprisingly cohesive. I’m pretty jetlagged still, so I’ll just ask…am I the only one that really likes “Hotel”? I love the way the album ends as well…”It’s All Gonna Break” dies out at just the right rate.

The march towards Christmas Day continues…

Song #6: Glosoli by Sigur Ros

I’m a big Sigur Ros fan, so hearing this song for the first time this year was pretty memorable. It was the first track I heard off the new record and as I listened I could physically feel the music building inside of me. There is something very visceral about a lot of Sigur Ros’ music and this track in particular. It’s also accompanied by one of the best videos I have seen in recent years. Just a beautiful piece of music. I cannot wait to see them in April here in Sydney.

Watch the video: Windows version; Quicktime version

Album #6: Get Behind Me Satan by The White Stripes

This was a tad higher on my list until today. Perhaps it should be in the Top 5 and I will regret it tomorrow…oh well. I like this album because it is so friggin weird for a White Stripes record. Who the hell bases songs around a marimba? While these things had me a bit confused at first, it was this diversity that made the album so wonderful. Every listen is a bit different, so while I got a bit sick of Elephant after a while (horrible sequencing and too many similar songs) Satan I still really enjoy time and time again. Seeing them twice next month!

After recent Best Band/Artists lists done by I (Heart Music) for Canada, Take Your Medicine for the UK, and Information Leafblower for the US, I decided to try to compile a list for Australian bands. Part of the motivation was very selfish. I’m new to Australia and by having a bunch of people send in their favourite bands I figured I could be exposed to a bunch of artists really quickly. And it worked. Since I began contacting people to contribute their own Top 20 Australian acts a few weeks ago I’ve bought some CDs by these bands and downloaded a lot more (to be purchased in the new year). That wasn’t the only motivation however. My friend Quinn at From Blown Speakers seemed to think I should do one as well.

So I did. Contributing to this list were the following: The Boudist, Invasion of the Reverb Snatchers, Fat Planet, Brown Cardigan, Lypton Village, as well as Levins at Sydney’s best radio station, FBI. So, that’s five bloggers, two DJs. In addition I asked a number of friends from other online places as well as friends I’ve met at shows in the past few months. All in all there were 18 or 19 people who submitted a list. Between them 118 (!!!) bands were nominated. That is a LOT.

The only stipulations for the nominees were as follows: they had to still be an active band (though they needn’t have released anything in 2005 – this saved the Avalanches for one) and they had to be Australian. Most people submitted a list of 20 bands, some did more, some did less. I then tallied the scores (a first place vote got you 30 points, second place 20, third 19, fourth 18….etc.). If there was a tie (and there were a couple ties in the Top 25), then the band with more votes won. I’ve included some comments from people’s lists as well.

Soooo…I think that’s all you need to know. To the list:

25: Wolf and Cub (listen here)

24: Bit by Bats (listen here)

23: British India (listen here)

22: Pivot (listen here)
They avoid the “sameness” that’s possible of instumental post-rockish bands

21: Big Heavy Stuff (listen here)
Simply put, they rock.

20: The Drones (listen here)

19: Sarah Blasko (listen here)
She won me over with her live performance, which made me listen to the cd, which made me really really like her. I may have a bit of a girl crush on her, but then who doesn’t.

18: Art of Fighting (listen here (wma only))
The most beautiful band in the cosmos… or at least Australia.

17: The Avalanches

16: You Am I

15: New Buffalo

14: Wolfmother

13: The Presets (listen here)

12: The Grates (listen here)
They will do something great to music.

11: Gerling

10: Expatriate (listen here)

9: Decoder Ring (listen here)
They’ve put together some pretty darn great recordings.

8: Architecture in Helsinki
Just fun pop.

7: The Mess Hall
Imagine the White Stripes…but murkier and with a kickass drummer.

6: Dirty Three
Such simple instrumentation, such moving music arising out of three people seemingly playing at cross-purposes.

5: Cut Copy (listen here)
Cheesy, dancey, synthy fun. These guys rock – or is it beat?

4: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
(listen here)
Because he’s Nick fucking Cave.

3: Bluebottle Kiss (listen here)
They suck you in with pop prettiness and backhand you with some truly vicious guitar.

2: Dappled Cities Fly (listen here)
As indie as it gets down under i.e. Flaming Lips/Pavement.

drum roll….

1: Augie March
What is there to say? It’s Augie March – quite possibly the single most underrated band in the WORLD.

I’m sure a lot of people are happy with this and a lot of others pissed. How are Augie March and Bluebottle Kiss so high without any releases in a while? I don’t know. I just got here. Please leave a comment and argue away. I will try and post a complete list of every other band that got a vote in the next day or two. And I will do this again next year!

2008 UPDATE:
I’ve noticed that many people land on this post when searching for the best/top/greatest/etc Australian bands. And since this post was done in 2005 that seems a tad crap. So if you are currently reading this post and would like to see the updated lists just click here.

Song #7: Station Approach by Elbow

I’m not much of an Elbow fan. However, their record this year JUST missed my Top 25, and this song, the opening track, is absolutely gorgeous. A simple song about coming/going home after an extended time away, it ends with this beautiful crescendo. If you’re a geek like me you might like to listen to songs in certain places at certain times. I remember that when I pulled into Zoo Station (RIP) in Berlin a few years ago I made sure “Zoo Station” by U2 was playing on my discman. As for “Station Approach,” I think I will make sure it’s playing on my iPod when I get off the plane in Vancouver on Thursday (going home for Christmas!).

The streets are full of Goths and Greeks
I haven’t seen my mum for weeks but
Coming home I feel like I
Designed these buildings I walk by

Album #7: Illinois by Sufjan Stevens

I am surprised this is so low on my list to be honest. When I first heard the album I was sure it would have been in my Top 3 at the end of the year. The album is…just tremendous songwriting. Sufjan manages to mix so many styles, emotions, and themes into his songs that it takes a while to absorb an album like Illinois. But, since everyone else will go on about how amazing it is (and it is) I will just say what I think kept it from being in the Top 3.

It’s a tad too long. That combined with some “overproduction” meant that I didn’t go back to this album as much as I thought I would. I still love it, but cut ten minutes, make a couple songs sound like the songs on Seven Swans and this could be have been number 1.

LISTEN TO ME SUFJAN I KNOW ALL.

Download: The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts
Download: Casimir Pulaski Day

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After weeks of gathering emails from various people here in Australia I am now in the process of finalizing the Top 25 Australian Bands list. If all goes well it should be up this afternoon.

I cheated majorly today. I’ve only recently really got into an album that when I made my list was not on it. It’s now tied at number 8. Sue me. The songs, however, were always going to be a pair at number 8.

Song(s) #8: Ooh La La and Number 1 by Goldfrapp

Unlike a lot of songs (or albums for that matter), I loved both these songs right when I first heard them. They bookend Supernature which does make the rest of the album seem…not quite as good. But these two songs are just pure dancepop goodness.

LINKS REMOVED

Thank you to Goldfrapp.free.fr for the mp3s. Check out that site for more mp3s and videos if you’re into Goldfrapp. I (heart) Alison Goldfrapp.

Album #8.1: You Could Have it So Much Better by Franz Ferdinand

After I got over the fact that they actually made a decent follow-up to their debut (which I still love), I really began to enjoy this album. A more varied album than the first but somehow…less confident. While the album does strut and bounce along, the more contemplative pieces like ‘Eleanor Put Your Boots Back On” actually make the album quite endearing. Points also for managing to write a song even catchier than “Take Me Out” which they did with “Do You Want To.”

Album #8.2: Alligator by The National

While I may not have spent much time with this album over the course of the year, in the past week I have been listening to it. A lot. I’m not sure exactly why I love this album so much. It’s not groundbreaking or new sounding and I’m sure there are loads of other albums that have similar feels. But I think the lyrics are a big part of it. I just find listening to the actual words on this album really enjoyable. Unlike a lot of records where it’s the melodies or the music that grab me before I even notice what the hell the songs are about, with Alligator I found myself completely engaged with the words before I began to notice how great the songs themselves actually were. I highly recommend this album if you have not heard it or not given it a few listens over the course of a few days.

Their official site has some older mp3s and new videos for download here.

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Cokemachineglow has put up their Top 50 of the year. Perhaps the best year end list I’ve read so far.

On Thursday night I caught Stephen Malkmus at Spectrum on Oxford Street. I was really excited to see such an icon in such a small venue. The crowd were into it and the band seemed to be having a great time, even coming out for a proper, unplanned encore at the behest of the drummer. They ran through the standout tracks off Face the Truth, with most of the songs carrying far more punch live (“Pencil Rot” in particular). “Jenny and the Ess Dog” was also a highlight in the first encore, along with “Dark Wave.” A great show all around. I managed to get some photos I actually like as well! I’ve only uploaded four to Flickr so far, but I will add more when I have more time tomorrow.

Larger sizes and more to come at Flickr.