beulahbondo's Diaryland Diary

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Attention Music Lovers

The Greyhound has finally removed his headphones and issued the following "best of 2004" list, this year rendered haiku-style. The best haiku, I think, is #25. Don't know all the songs but I do love the Kanye West (#2), and agree with the haiku's haunting question. Here ya go:

50. Daniel Givens
Dayclear And First Dark
Deep, dark, spacey rap
But if you have no headphones,
Don�t even bother

49. Stereolab
Margerine Eclipse
Call it a comeback?
First without Mary Hansen
Fear not; they�re still King

48. Triola
Im Funtuftraum
Snappy; minimal
Can a machine have a soul?
Germans say HELL JA!

47. girlsareshort
Early North American
Girls do tend to be
A bit shorter than most boys
Odd name for a band!

46. Amp Fiddler
Waltz Of A Ghetto Fly
Detroit space(d) cadet
Thinks he�s all Sly, George and Prince
Still, could do much worse

45. Infinite Livez
Bush Meat
Eeeuww! Gross! Sick!
Rap about body fluids
Stangely compelling

44. DJ / Rupture
Special Gunpowder
Reggae, rap and folk
Around the world in a daze
Melting pot o� styles

43. Stavely Makepeace
The Scrap Iron Rhythm Revue
Ad-hoc junk-shop tunes
Reminds one of 10CC
From the 70�s

42. The Trip
(Created By St. Etienne)
Britain�s greatest group
Curates treasure trove of stuff
Classics: lost, now found

41. Jolie Holland
Escondida
Warped Southern gothic
From woman with unique voice
Words curl in mid-air

40. Bergen White
For Women Only
Guy who mixed Elvis
Did his own solo record
Memphis meets L.A.

39. St. Etienne Presents Songs For Mario�s Caf�
Yet another comp.
Impeccable taste, these guys
Keep �em coming! More!

38. Echo & The Bunnymen
Ocean Rain
An august classic
Finally gets re-mastered
Bonus tracks to boot

37. A Girl Called Eddy
Classic pop redux
References Bacharach
The Carpenters, too

36. Bobby Conn
The Homeland
Anti-George Bush rock
This was going to happen
Sooner or later

35. Country Got Soul, Volume 2
Back in the 60�s
Country and soul music was
The same thing, really

34. Blanche
If We Can�t Trust The Doctors�
Country/garage-rock
From the Motor City, yet
Faux-hillbilly twang

33. Slowdive
Catch The Breeze
Proto-shoegazers
(i.e. noisy, melodic)
10 years old; still fresh

32. Keren Ann
Not Going Anywhere
Paris: have you been?
I was there once, long ago
Light, airy; like this

31. Dungen
Ta Det Lugnt
Psychedelia
From the backwoods of Sweden
A hazy delight

30. John Howard
Kid In A Big World
Did Scissor Sisters
Long before Scissor Sisters
30 years, in fact

29. The Cansecos
Not the ballplayers!
These guys are Canadians
Sound nothing like Rush

28. Jim Guthrie
Now, More Than Ever
Folky kid makes pop;
Orchestral yet intimate
Another Canuck!

27. Vetiver
Freak-folk supergroup
Devendra, Joanna too
Name is type of grass

26. Camera Obscura
Underachievers Please Try Harder
Belle And Sebastian?
They love these guys; so should you
Pre-Beatles pastiche

25. Khonnor Handwriting
Only seventeen!
When I was his age I was
Collecting beer cans

24. The Go!Team Thunder, Lightning, Strike
The Avalanches?
Nothing new from them this year
This will have to do

23. David Grubbs
A Guess At The Riddle
Joint venture, of sorts
With both Matmos and Rick Moody
(who wrote �The Ice Storm�)

22. Arthur Russell
The World Of Echo
Long-lost masterpiece
Finally sees light of day
My own holy grail

21. American Music Club
Love Songs For Patriots
A welcome return
Whiskey-soaked miserablists
Haven�t lost their bile

20. BlackMothSuperRainbow
Start A People
The new BOC?
And that�s not Blue Oyster Cult
(Boards of Canada)

19. Dizzee Rascal
Showtime
Britain�s best rapper
Still don�t know what he�s saying
But it flows so well

18. Nouvelle Vague
Eighties new wave hits
Re-done as bossa novas
No longer edgy

17. The Streets
A Grand Don�t Come For Free
A �rap opera�
A guy and his lost money
How? I�m still not sure

16. Goodbye, Babylon
A gorgeous box set
Of sacred songs and sermons
When God was scary

15. Joy Zipper
American Whip
Laid-back, bittersweet
Like a desolate boardwalk
Or cotton candy

14. Bark Psychosis
///CODENAME: dust sucker
Post-rock faves return
That IS how the album�s spelled
How precious thou Art

13. Espers
Best of Freak Folk set
Bewitching and beguiling
The soundtrack of Autumn

12. Moodymann
Black Mahogoni
Nocturnal techno
Last call at the keyboard lounge
Drift back to the �burbs

11. Mixed With Love: The Walter Gibbons Salsoul Anthology
Ghosts of Disco past
Music so hedonistic
It lives at Club Med

10. Sufjan Stevens
Seven Swans
Hypnotic God songs
Who knew religion could be
So entrancing? You?

9. The Necks Drive-by
One mesmerizing
Sixty-minute song; not for
You iPod users

8. Scissor Sisters
Slutty, campy fun
Reminds one of Elton John
Back when he was good

7. Phoenix
Alphabetical
Not quite long enough
34 minutes! Still, let�s
Enjoy as it is

6. Franz Ferdinand
Media darlings
You�ve no doubt heard them by now
Gets better with time

5. Todd Rundgren
Liars
Where has the Runt been?
Real pop genius; more so
Than Brian Wilson

4. Junior Boys
Last Exit
Sensitive techno?!
Bless their broken hearts; hope next
Year is good for them

3. Jens Lekman
�When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog�
Sweet and awkward
Like a David Sedaris
Book set to music

2. Kanye West The College Dropout
All those Grammy nods!
Since when do me and the main-
Stream see eye to eye?

1. Ariel Pink�s Haunted Graffiti 2
The Doldrums
Record of the year!
Tuneful, primitive, obscure
Reminds me of me

8:12 p.m. - 2004-12-21

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