Continuing my look at the albums of 2005…
My somewhat back-handed compliment for Bright Eyes’ sixth album, I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning, is that it’s perfect mixtape fodder. Just about any one of its 10 songs would be a standout track on a lovingly curated compilation.
The catch is that I’m never in the mood to hear all of those songs in a row. After awhile, there’s a sameness in composition and delivery that wears on me.
Continuing my look at the albums of 2005…
This album was released in 2005 in Sweden but didn’t make it to the U.S. until three years later. I’m considering it a 2005 release for the sake of this installment of Decades.
Robyn started her career as a teenage pop artist in her native Sweden, releasing a trio of lightweight dance albums influenced heavily by her label. After a three year break, she left to start her own label and make the music she wanted to make.
Ciara held the top spot of the Hot 100 the week of September 25, 2004, with ‘Goodies,’ her debut single. The song spent seven weeks at #1.
That was the longest span a female artist spent at #1 with a debut single since Debbie Boone’s ‘You Light Up My Life’ topped the charts for 10 weeks in 1977.
It was also Ciara’s last #1 hit, though her next two singles peaked at #2.
Throwing back to the week of September 24, 1994, we find Boyz II Men clinging to the top spot with ‘I’ll Make Love to You,’ halfway through its 14-week run at #1.
At #2 was indie pop darling Lisa Loeb with ‘Stay (I Missed You),’ a song buoyed by its inclusion in the Reality Bites soundtrack. Loeb’s tune eventually reached the top spot, making her the first artist to land a #1 while unsigned.
Continuing my look at the albums of 2005…
I had to include this album in my 2005 rundown because it is one of the most critically-acclaimed releases of that year. However, Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois (or Come On Feel the Illinoise!) is a record I’ve just never been able to embrace.
I want to like it. It’s an ambitious indie folk opus by an artist who has a knack for the kind of melancholy music I’m usually drawn to. But it’s way too artsy-fartsy for my taste.
Meet Me In Montauk 