I keep putting this off... and while i really need to pack, i need to get it over with. written through the eyes of a cliche filled, associated press, record reviewer.

MY PERSONAL FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2004 (in semi-order-of-preference)

1. Interpol - Antics - yeah yeah... big corporate sellouts... on MTV or whatever. i dont care. they did the impossible and didn't fall into the dreaded 'sophmore slump'. its not the work of genius they are capable of, but its also not a disappointment in any way. they brought out a whole new personality/direction and the fans are still eating it up. still, the best rhythm section working today. i cannot get sick of this album.

2. Phantom Planet - you arent going to find this one on anyones 'best of' list for a number of reasons. it came out last january to a lukewarm reception. it didnt have a single hit single. it doesnt break any molds, not even their own... no 'reinvention' here. its an NYC garage-rock album that came out after the NYC garage rock-fad had died off. The Strokes started the annoyance and Jack White killed if off when he bedded Renee Zellweger. they kept the pop, the garage, the stomp and the obvious radiohead influence intact and pulled it off better than any other garage-power pop-radiohead ripoff band yet... and there have been millions of those bands. they went from being 'the band with that guy from Rushmore' to being blown off by the public at large. and they love it. they have been pushing their own line of bootlegs all year. each more exciting than the last. they know what they are, and they dont care what you think. i LOVED this album. it goes hand in hand with our next entry...

3. The Hives - Tyrannosaurus Hives - probably the best album title of the year for one of the years best albums. you cant listen to this without smiling. they are full of themselves, but lovable still, and who can say that? most egotists are hopfully-avoidable laughingstocks. sometimes you need an album that you can listen to and not learn anything from. i'm all about innovation in music, but this one puts you in your place. its the closest thing to 'fun' i've ever heard. you have a great time just by listening to THEM having a great time. and the music isn't bad either.

4. William Shatner - Has Been - what's the slogan for Hooters? 'delightfully tacky, yet unrefined'. this is what i expected from 'has been'. an album thats fun to laugh at for a few weeks and then ends up filed away in the record collection and only brought out to show friends and mock. i was shocked to hear the opening track as a single before its release. track number one 'Common People'. a blistering Pulp cover that has shatner fitting perfectly in the awkward socialite shoes of jarvis cocker, then JOE JACKSON comes in and soars with wings of eagles... it doesnt stop there. there is a sadness theme over half of the album. a retrospective look at mistakes, letdowns, failure, death. everyone i've played this for says the SAME THING 'he doesnt sing though'. true, he doesnt sing. he doesnt need to. hes 71 YEARS OLD and this track has some relatable poetry, pop hooks, punk rock choruses, spagetti western laugh-a-longs and a social commentary tag-team with HENRY ROLLINS. its the 'drive home in the dark' album of 2004.

5. John Frusciante - Shadows Collide With People - the first of SIX releases from Frusciante in 2004, and my favorite of the collection. its a RHCP album with frusciante on vocals. he went beyond the call of duty this year, and to the benefit of the fans. this is the easiest on the ears, and just as rewarding as the deepest experimental electronica Europe throws out each year for the critics to pretend to love. for the thinkers and the 'radio-only' hacks.

6. Kings of Convenience - Riot On An Empty Street - i needed this album. the soundtrack to my everydays.

7. N*E*R*D - Fly or Die - again, they upped the ante with this one, no 'second album flop' here (though in sales it did bomb pretty badly). 'in search of' was a shocker. a hot producers fun little side project done right. it was the party album Beck wanted with 'midnite vultures'. Fly or Die was the mature older sibling to the bratty debut. this album was hurt by the placement of the worst track as the lead off single. everyone missed the boat here.

8. Ween - Live in Chicago - i've never heard a better live album than this. takes everything you could hope for from a 40 dollar ticket price and puts in it a perfect, repeatable format. you can sit at home in comfort and feel like you are in the front row. 'knocks you on your ass and makes you beg for more' is the shock jock way of saying this disc is worth a road trip and travel costs to get a hold of. AND IT COMES WITH A DVD too. a full length live concert. with even more tracks than the CD holds... i would have paid 80 bucks for this and not felt ripped off one bit. its the steal of the year at $18.99.

9. Elliott Smith - From a Basement On a Hill - i always wonder what else is out there that his family left out of this collection. he had planned it as a two disc release.... there has to be a lot of other stuff lying around. RIP.

10. Madvillian - Madvilliany - the memories of high school heydays in a sixty minute rap album. MF Doom and MadLib do everything right with this one. no rambling, no backtalk, no boring political tirades, just perfect hip pop SONGS. i remember, as a child, when rap albums had all kinds of SONGS on them. now they are all spoken word records with nothing to say. Kanye may get the spotlight, but Doom deserves it.

11. Katamari Damacy - Soundtrack - you've got to hear it to appreciate it, but when a quirky VIDEOGAME is the catalyst for one of the best musical experiences of the year, radio is officially dead. The Shins have nothing on these compesitions.

12. Nellie McKay - Get Away From Me - again... the album title did it for me. warranted purchase right then and there. an obvious stab at public sweetheart Norah Jones (Come Away With Me) McKay is not another cutie who croons and tickles the ivories. shes a maneater with a bigger bite than eminem. everyone makes the Doris Day comparison, but thats about what she invokes. her hair in a 'bob' and a similar wardrobe, shes an old school siren, but her lyrics set her apart. she sees through the poetry of romance and cuts to the bone.

and of course, the honorable mention pile...

Kool Keith - Diesel Truckers (should be in my top 10, but i'm too lazy to write it up and i forgot about it until now. i listen to it a lot though and its excellent.)
Masta Killah - No Said Date
Chris Staples - Blackest Hair and Bluest Eyes
Nirvana - With the Lights Out
Pedro the Lion - Achilles Heel
Modest Mouse - Baron VonBullsh!t Rides Again (because it really is better than 'good news...')
Patton Oswalt - Feelin' Kinda Patton
Ratatat
Slipknot - Volume 3
The Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?
The Hidden Cameras - Missasauga Gotdamn
Grand Buffet - Dicer
Maroon 5 - Songs About Jane (*rimshot)

i am 100% certain i am forgetting what is probably my favorite album of 2004. there are probably a few that i listened to a lot and am completely neglecting, but really this was a bad year for music.

maybe i'll just keep editing this.

everyone should buy Kings of Convenience because everyone will like it, no matter what you listen to, and if you like rap pick up Diesel Truckers. piece.

EDIT

i forgot to spell check.