Albums in My Life: 2004

At the end of 2004, I would start my freshman year of high school. I wasn't the hugest fan of high school. That probably isn't a feeling exclusive to me.


Arcade Fire- Funeral
I feel like this really blown out indie rock sound is the better of the two Arcade Fire eras. Every time I hear one of their newer songs, I always go back to the old stuff and realize how awesome they were. Tracks like 'Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)' and 'Wake Up' are still very powerful songs and I still love their wordless chorus on the latter, even though that sound really got co-opted. People killed the millenial whoop, but it was pretty cool in the beginning.




The Killers- Hot Fuss
There is not a single bad track on this album. If I ever listen to it, it's usually front to back. For a long time, I thought the Killers were a British band, just by the way Brandon Flowers sang. By the time Sam's Town came out, I was like "wait, they're from where?" I really enjoy their band of indie rock and some more dance and post punk elements. I really need to pick up a vinyl reissue of this record. I got one a while ago, but I got the British pressing, which swaps out one of my favorite Killers songs, 'Change Your Mind' for 'Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll'.



Morrissey- You are the Quarry
I definitely discovered Morrissey and the Smiths late, but when I did, I became pretty obsessed. I'd say this record is tied with Vauxhall and I as my favorite Morrissey solo record. I just love his song topics and his irreverence for the British monarchy, and for Christianity. 'I Have Forgiven Jesus' is a great song, and the title alone is enough to get under a lot of peoples' skin. I feel like Morrissey is the king of making interesting and provocative song titles.




My Chemical Romance- Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
This was the first My Chemical Romance record I ever heard, and it definitely got me into the whole pop punk/ emo thing. When I was in high school, I really only listened to older music (the Beatles, Queen, Pink Floyd etc.) MCR and Linkin Park were the two bands that really got me to notice that good music was coming out in the present, too. Having not gotten into metal or any heavy stuff yet, I thought this was pretty hard. Listening back, it's still pretty chaotic in spots, but it's a lot more poppy than I remember, not that that's the worst thing in the world. It probably would have been to 13 or 14 year old me.



of Montreal- Satanic Panic in the Attic
I feel like this was a pretty significant turning point for of Montreal. They started using a lot more electronics and getting a little more dancey. Before they were doing a lot of twee pop or blown out vaudeville tributes, but this was going in a more keyboard influenced direction. This was also the point where Kevin Barnes starting recording most of the albums himself, with the band becoming more of a touring vehicle. Watching him talk about recording every drum separately on The Past is a Grotesque Animal was super interesting, and really showed that he wanted his vision to be translated to the listener exactly how he heard it in his head.



So, that's it for 2004. Before tackling the albums in my life of 2005, I'm probably going to share my thoughts on the new Swans fundraiser album, What is This? I'm not going to do an in depth review or anything, since it's a collection of demos and all, but I thought I might share my feelings on the tracks, and maybe make some predictions on what they might sound like when the full album drops.


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