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That Album Thing

Honestly, isn't it quite boring to listen to ten songs in a row by the same artist? I might have become impatient when it comes to album listening, but it sure demands something extraordinary to catch your attention for up to 40 minutes, or even longer, doesn't it?

In 2004, an album had to be something of a quest to catch my interest. Something that isn't what it looks like at the first glimpse. Something that tells a story you can't fully comprehend the first time you hear or read it. Or something as pretentious as a journey with unknown goal. An album had to be either like that, or representing a clear concept.

Merely collecting ten songs one by one didn't make me listen to any record from début to fin more than five times. Actually, only 13 artists succeeded in making me do so this year. Sadly, not a single one of them is Swedish. The three I by far feel most for are:

01 Tommy February6 - Tommy Airline
02 Ada - Blondie
03 Kazumasa Hashimoto - Epitah

I was going to present the remaining ten records in alphabetical order, but when I look at them now 24 hours before 2004 is over they look surprisingly dull to me, so I feel better leaving you just these three exceptionally well-executed examples of how a record should be built. With spotless perfection.

Top 50 2004

From Monday up until Christmas Eve 10 songs off of my Top 50 Song List of 2004 are presented each day. Finally, my fab 10s of 2004. They all deserve to be a no. 1.

01 Air - Cherry Blossom Girl
Number one everything

02 Axwell - Feel the Vibe
Number one Skåne-house

03 Johnny Boy - You Are the Generation That Bought More Shoes And You Get What You Deserve
Number one indiepop

04 Black Strobe - Italian Fireflies
Number one Kitsune

05 Björk - Who Is It
Number one acapella electronica

06 3 Of A Kind - Baby Cakes
Number one so-cute-that-you-can-puke pop

07 Plus-Tech Squeeze Box - The Martin Show!!
Number one Jackson5

08 Annie - My Heartbeat
Number one electropop

09 Kazumasa Hashimoto - SLD
Number one Boards of Canada

10 Tommy February6 - L-O-V-E-L-Y
Number one 80's revival

11 Markus Gardeweg - 25 Years
12 Embassy - Information
13 Dizzee Rascal - Stand Up Tall
14 Snoop Dogg - Drop It Like It's Hot
15 Electroacoustic Jazz Trio - Beat Architectonics
16 Client - Don't Call Me Baby
17 Tommy February6 - Choose Me Or Die
18 Marly - You Never Know
19 Chromeo - Needy Girl
20 Cosmo Vitelli - Dance With Me

21 Nomoto Karia - Rocksteady
22 The Go! Team - Ladyflash
23 Destiny's Child - Lose My Breath
24 Kahimi Karie - Nana
25 Coralie - Oneday Newday
26 Chromeo - She'z N Control
27 Phoenix - Everything Is Everything
28 Kings of Convenience - I'd Rather Dance With You (Cornelius Remix)
29 Jens Lekman - You Are the Light
30 Squarepusher - Iambic 9 Poetry

31 Alan Braxe & Fred Falke - Crystal Town
32 Titiyo - Lovin' Out of Nothing
33 Kahimi Karie - Making Our World
34 Crusz - I'm a Wasp
35 Green Day - Boulevard of Broken Dreams
36 Alcazar - Physical
37 Tough Alliance - Make It Happen
38 Andreas Tilliander - Back to the USA
39 Mac Donald Duck Eclair - En Route
40 Eminem - Like Toy Soldiers

41 The Polyphonic Spree - Hold Me Now
42 Sonic Coaster Pop - Super Speed Pop Star
43 Goldie Lookin Chain - You Knows I Loves You
44 YMCK - Pastel Candy Wa Akuma No Sasayaki
45 Hives - Walk Idiot Walk
46 Snoop Dogg - I Miss You
47 Coco Rosie - By Your Side
48 Hideki Kaji - Pass the Paz
49 Ogura Yuko - Otoko No Ko Onna No Ko
50 Annie - Chewing Gum

Best of 2003

Yes 2003, you're not misreading. Any time now, the big top50 of the best songs of this year will hit the web. But before that, here's my 20 faves from when I made a retrospective at this time last year.

01 radio dept - the city limit
02 alizee - j'en ai marre
03 rocky dennis - maple leaves
04 mac donald duck eclair - mac teenage riot
05 girls tape store - niji
06 rocky dennis - black cab
07 capsule - idol fancy
08 aerospace - the great divide
09 robotboy - nuclear romantics
10 aerospace - pink boy, blue girl
11 capsule - music controller
12 bonnie prince billy - hard life
13 jun-ichi hosona - skyscraper
14 a teens - perfect match
15 kamera - at work
16 postal service - such great heigts
17 alcazar - not a sinner, nor a saint
18 radio dept - strange things will happen
19 rapture - house of jealous lovers
20 melting holidays - holiday in a totebag

Reading it through one year later, I must say certain spots look a bit funny. For example, what is Rapture doing as far down as number 19?

Snoop Ape

Ok, I was a little surprised to hear that Da Gangsta Dogg copies Curtis Mayfield on the song I Miss You on his new masterpiece to album. But the fact that Pass It Pass It sends associations to the Shibuya-kei giant Hideki Kaji makes it just too much to handle on one gangster recording. If you listen to Kaji's Pass the Paz from his EP Good Morning Call Song out earlier this year, you'll get what I mean.

Calvin Broadus, working on that twee-gangsta.

Oh no!

Tommy is married!

To end your grief about this matter read this old, but translated, interview with her, and learn why she doesn't go to the pool anymore.