Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 2005…
#8 – Fijacion Oral, Vol. 1 & Oral Fixation, Vol. 2 – Shakira
Today’s pick is a bit of a cheat, in that I’m squeezing two albums into one slot. But Shakira’s two-volume project, separated by five months, certainly feels like one extended album.
Fijacion Oral, the first (and better) volume, is performed entirely in Spanish, while Oral Fixation is fully English-language. The albums share a few titles but mostly tread different territory.
Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 2005…
#9 – Rebel, Sweetheart – The Wallflowers
I’m a massive fan of The Wallflowers’ 2000 album Breach, their third studio release and first after 1996’s breakthrough Bringing Down the Horse. But I had one foot out of the bandwagon after their uninspired follow-up, 2002’s Red Letter Days.
That made Rebel, Sweetheart a pivotal next entry in their discography. And fortunately, it was a return to form.
I can’t quite wrap my head around the fact that 2005 is nearly 20 years ago. That was the first thought I had when I started prepping for my latest installment of the Decades series, wherein I look back on my own favorite albums from a particular year as well as highly-regarded albums I missed at the time.
When I make it into the 2000s, as I will the next few weeks with 2005, I start to think in terms of recent releases. But 19 years ago isn’t all that recent. My life was so different when I listened to these albums for the first time, yet it seems like hardly any time has passed.
The week of September 4, 2004, saw Terror Squad holding on to the top spot with ‘Lean Back.’ At #2 was Houston rapper Lil’ Flip with ‘Sunshine,’ a romantic track featuring singer Lea. I like this song’s laid-back 90s hip-hop feel.
Lil’ Flip never had a hit after this one, but has steadily put out albums independently for the last 20 years. Lea is also unsigned, according to her (quite entertaining) Twitter feed, which finds her opining on politics and misogyny as well as sharing photos of her daughter’s homework.
Throwing back to the week of September 3, 1994, we find Boyz II Men atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘I’ll Make Love to You.’
Written and produced by Babyface, this track was the biggest hit of 1994, spending a record-tying 14 weeks at #1. It would go on to be the third-highest charting song of the decade, behind only Los Del Rio’s ‘Macarena’ and (quite the flex) Boyz II Men’s collaboration with Mariah Carey, ‘One Sweet Day.’
Meet Me In Montauk 