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“What really matters is what you like, not what you are like… Books, records, films — these things matter.”
— High Fidelity

Etcetera

Best Songs of 2005

If 2004 was a year where I could expand my musical horizons (and collection) in real time, largely thanks to the internet, 2005 was a year where that practice became old hat. I can trace my life with dozens of these songs back to mix CDs, FTP sites and, of course, blog posts.

2005 was a year where indie rock grew out of its confinements of a certain sound and out into the nebulous but larger world where suddenly these bands that once felt small could start to feel big, and not just because the outside world was noticing them. In large part, they truly weren’t. But the buzz bands that once came from college radio and late nights on MTV were now emanating from these still-newish things called weblogs.

Sure, Napster had truly merged the music and internet half a decade earlier, but with the rapid adoption of high-speed internet, the booming business of the iTunes Music Store and the rapid growth of the blogosphere—a word I have not heard in regular use in a long while—the relationship between the two got serious.

For me, that meant 2005 was one of the first years where my music consumption began to truly overtake my life. It was the first year I made myself a formal two-disc Best Of collection, mostly for myself, but also to hand out to a few friends, a practice which continued for the next decade.

Four years out of college, this was also a year of transition for me in life, as I finally set myself on the path toward working adulthood. The outsider probably cannot tell at a glance, but this tumultuous, adventurous period is reflected in these songs and these artists. With music so easily in reach, yet my limits still set by how much I could afford, this was a great year to stretch my tastes and yet still find room in my heart for new artists, albums and songs when I discovered them.

All that said, what you see below is an honest attempt to assess a year in time, merging the idealistic nature of a list made 10 years after the fact with the idea of what I actually loved and was into at the time. Surely I love a few of these songs more than I did then, and have lessened my interest in others, but these 100 songs remain a definitive statement of what mattered to me in, and from, 2005.

For these year-end lists, I like to undertake the seemingly impossibly task of creating an hours-long mix. The order you see below represents that effort, which you can listen to via Spotify. Sadly all 100 tracks aren't available, but you get the general idea. Track notes to come eventually or maybe never.

  1. Silent Alarm

    Banquet

    Bloc Party

    Silent Alarm

    Vice

    Notes

  2. A Certain Trigger

    Apply Some Pressure

    Maximo Park

    A Certain Trigger

    Warp

    Notes

  3. Howl Howl Gaff Gaff

    Very Loud

    Shout Out Louds

    Howl Howl Gaff Gaff

    Capitol

    2003 Swedish release.

  4. Skeleton Jar

    Shadowland

    Youth Group

    Skeleton Jar

    Epitaph

    Notes

  5. City vs Country

    Starts Off With a Bang

    Mobius Band

    City vs Country

    Ghostly International

    Notes

  6. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

    The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth

    Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

    Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

    Wichita

    Notes

  7. The Ouch. The Touch.

    Sukkafish

    The Grates

    The Ouch. The Touch.

    Fontana

    Notes

  8. Pikul

    Kissing Families

    Silversun Pickups

    Pikul

    Dangerbird

    Notes

  9. Lullabies to Paralyze

    Little Sister

    Queens of the Stone Age

    Lullabies to Paralyze

    Interscope

    Notes

  10. In Your Honor

    Best of You

    Foo Fighters

    In Your Honor

    Roswell/RCA

    Notes

  11. Alligator

    Abel

    The National

    Alligator

    Beggars Banquet

    Notes

  12. Apologies to the Queen Mary

    Shine a Light

    Wolf Parade

    Apologies to the Queen Mary

    Sub Pop

    Notes

  13. Guero

    Earthquake Weather

    Beck

    Guero

    DGC

    Notes

  14. Be

    The Corner

    Common featuring Kanye West & The Last Poets

    Be

    Geffen

    Notes

  15. Late Registration

    Touch the Sky

    Kanye West

    Late Registration

    Roc-A-Fella

    Notes

  16. Common Market

    Connect For

    Common Market

    Common Market

    Sciontific

    Notes

  17. Johnny Boy

    Johnny Boy Theme

    Johnny Boy

    Johnny Boy

    Wild Kingdom

    2005 Swedish release

  18. Hey Hey My My Yo Yo

    Take My Time

    Junior Senior

    Hey Hey My My Yo Yo

    Crunchy Frog

    2005 international release. Debuted in 2007 in America.

  19. The Understanding

    What Else Is There

    Röyksopp

    The Understanding

    Astralwerks

    Notes

  20. Deep Cuts

    Heartbeats

    The Knife

    Deep Cuts

    Brille

    Notes

  21. Veneer

    Crosses

    José González

    Veneer

    V2

    2003 Swedish release. 2005 elsewhere.

  22. I Am a Bird Now

    My Lady Story

    Antony & The Johnsons

    I Am a Bird Now

    Secretly Canadian

    Notes

  23. Hello Tomorrow

    Hello Tomorrow (adidas version)

    Karen O & Squeak E Clean

    Hello Tomorrow

    Interscope

    Notes

  24. We Will Become Silhouettes

    We Will Become Silhouettes (Matthew Dear’s Remix)

    The Postal Service

    We Will Become Silhouettes

    Sub Pop

    Notes

  25. Let It Die

    Mushaboom

    Feist

    Let It Die

    Interscope

    Notes

  26. Broken Social Scene

    7/4 (Shoreline)

    Broken Social Scene

    Broken Social Scene

    Arts and Crafts

    Notes

  27. Set Yourself on Fire

    Ageless Beauty

    Stars

    Set Yourself on Fire

    Arts and Crafts

    Notes

  28. With Love and Squalor

    This Scene Is Dead

    We Are Scientists

    With Love and Squalor

    Virgin

    2005 UK release. Debuted in America in January 2006.

  29. Road to Rouen

    Kick in the Teeth

    Supergrass

    Road to Rouen

    Capitol

    Notes

  30. Little by Little

    Cool James

    Harvey Danger

    Little by Little

    Phonographic

    Notes

  31. The Magic Numbers

    Love Me Like You

    The Magic Numbers

    The Magic Numbers

    Parlophone

    Notes

  32. Gimme Fiction

    Sister Jack

    Spoon

    Gimme Fiction

    Merge

    Notes

  33. The Weight Is a Gift

    Do It Again

    Nada Surf

    The Weight Is a Gift

    Barsuk

    Notes

  34. End of Love

    Fill Me With Your Light

    Clem Snide

    End of Love

    spinART

    Notes

  35. Awake Is the New Sleep

    Gamble Everything for Love

    Ben Lee

    Awake Is the New Sleep

    New West

    Notes

  36. This Bird Has Flown

    Wait

    Ben Kweller

    This Bird Has Flown

    Razor & Tie

    Notes

  37. Songs for Silverman

    Jesusland

    Ben Folds

    Songs for Silverman

    Epic

    Notes

  38. Blinking Lights and Other Revelations

    To Lick Your Boots

    Eels

    Blinking Lights and Other Revelations

    Vagrant

    Notes

  39. Winter Songs

    Holiday Road

    Matt Pond PA

    Winter Songs

    Altitude

    Notes

  40. Emoh

    Holding Back the Year

    Lou Barlow

    Emoh

    Merge

    Notes

  41. The Sunset Tree

    This Year

    The Mountain Goats

    The Sunset Tree

    4AD

    Notes

  42. Picaresque

    The Sporting Life

    The Decemberists

    Picaresque

    Kill Rock Stars

    Notes

  43. I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

    Another Travelin’ Song

    Bright Eyes

    I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning

    Saddle Creek

    Notes

  44. Back to Me

    Back to Me

    Kathleen Edwards

    Back to Me

    Zoe

    Notes

  45. Cold Roses

    Cold Roses

    Ryan Adams & The Cardinals

    Cold Roses

    Lost Highway

    Notes

  46. Okemah and the Melody of Riot

    Endless War

    Son Volt

    Okemah and the Melody of Riot

    Legacy

    Notes

  47. In the Reins

    Red Dust

    Calexico | Iron & Wine

    In the Reins

    Overcoat Recordings

    Notes

  48. Soft Dangerous Shores

    As Day Is Long

    Chris Whitley

    Soft Dangerous Shores

    Messenger

    Notes

  49. Akron/Family

    Running, Returning

    Akron/Family

    Akron/Family

    Young God

    Notes

  50. The Mysterious Production of Eggs

    A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left

    Andrew Bird

    The Mysterious Production of Eggs

    Righteous Babe

    Notes

  51. Extraordinary Machine

    Not About Love

    Fiona Apple

    Extraordinary Machine

    Epic

    Notes

  52. I Sincerely Apologise for All the Trouble I've Caused

    I Don’t Care What You Call Me

    David Ford

    I Sincerely Apologise for All the Trouble I’ve Caused

    Red

    Notes

  53. Nashville

    Saturday

    Josh Rouse

    Nashville

    Rykodisc

    Notes

  54. Amos Lee

    Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight

    Amos Lee

    Amos Lee

    Blue Note

    Notes

  55. Martha Wainwright

    Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole

    Martha Wainwright

    Martha Wainwright

    Zoe

    Notes

  56. The Woods

    Modern Girl

    Sleater-Kinney

    The Woods

    Sub Pop

    Notes

  57. Self Record

    Ring Out

    Justin Vernon

    Self Record

    self-released

    Notes

  58. Layourbattleaxedown

    Sand

    The Concretes

    Layourbattleaxedown

    Astralwerks

    Notes

  59. Oh You're So Silent Jens

    Black Cab

    Jens Lekman

    Oh You’re So Silent Jens

    Secretly Canadian

    Notes

  60. On My Way to Absence

    White Center

    Damien Jurado

    On My Way to Absence

    Sub Pop

    Notes

  61. The Believer Music Issue 2005

    Ohio

    CocoRosie

    The Believer Music Issue

    The Believer

    Notes

  62. Bro Zone

    Hot Boyz

    Casiotone for the Painfully Alone

    Bro Zone

    States Rights

    Notes

  63. TP.3 Reloaded

    In the Kitchen (Remix)

    R. Kelly

    TP.3 Reloaded

    Jive

    Notes

  64. The Loneliest Punk

    What’s Up Fatlip

    Fatlip

    The Loneliest Punk

    Delicious Vinyl

    Notes

  65. Incredibad

    Lazy Sunday

    The Lonely Island

    Incredibad

    Universal

    Released as a digital single in 2005 but released on the album in 2009.

  66. Arular

    Galang

    M.I.A.

    Arular

    XL Recordings

    Notes

  67. Demon Days

    All Alone

    Gorillaz

    Demon Days

    Virgin

    Notes

  68. Screaming Pro in Hell

    Team 9

    Team 9

    self-released

    Notes

  69. Push the Button

    Galvanize

    The Chemical Brothers featuring Q-Tip

    Push the Button

    Astralwerks

    Notes

  70. Human After All

    Robot Rock

    Daft Punk

    Human After All

    Virgin

    Notes

  71. LCD Soundsystem

    Daft Punk Is Playing at My House

    LCD Soundsystem

    LCD Soundsystem

    Parlophone

    Notes

  72. I Sold Gold

    Hardcore Days & Softcore Nights

    Aqueduct

    I Sold Gold

    Sub Pop

    Notes

  73. Laughter's Fifth

    Dirty Lives

    Love as Laughter

    Laughter’s Fifth

    Sub Pop

    Notes

  74. Mooncalf

    Hoorah

    Mooncalf

    Mooncalf

    self-released

    Notes

  75. Burning in the Sun

    Burning in the Sun

    Blue Merle

    Burning in the Sun

    Island

    Notes

  76. Z

    Lay Low

    My Morning Jacket

    Z

    ATO

    Notes

  77. Detroit Deli

    Slow Night, So Long

    Kings of Leon

    Aha Shake Heartbreak

    RCA

    Notes

  78. Stand Up

    You Might Die Trying

    Dave Matthews Band

    Stand Up

    RCA

    Notes

  79. Black Sheep Boy

    For Real

    Okkervil River

    Black Sheep Boy

    Jagjaguwar

    Notes

  80. Howl

    Still Suspicion Holds You Tight

    Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

    Howl

    RCA

    Notes

  81. When the Sun's Gone Down

    By the Time the Sun’s Gone Down

    Langhorne Slim

    When the Sun’s Gone Down

    Narnack

    Notes

  82. Sofa King

    Sofa King

    Josh Joplin

    Camera One

    Artemis

    Notes

  83. Plans

    I Will Follow You Into the Dark

    Death Cab for Cutie

    Plans

    Atlantic

    Notes

  84. A River Ain't Too Much to Love

    In the Pines

    Smog

    A River Ain’t Too Much to Love

    Drag City

    Notes

  85. Around the Well

    The Trapeze Swinger

    Iron & Wine

    The Trapeze Swinger

    Sub Pop

    2005 digital single compiled on 2009’s Around the Well.

  86. Tiny Cities

    Neverending Math Equation

    Sun Kil Moon

    Tiny Cities

    Caldo Verde

    Notes

  87. Sweetheart Vol. 2

    Buckets of Rain

    Neko Case

    Sweetheart Vol. 2

    Hear Music

    Notes

  88. Transistor Radio

    Hi-Fi

    M. Ward

    Transistor Radio

    Merge

    Notes

  89. Black Refuge EP

    Turn to the Assassin

    Junip

    Black Refuge EP

    Teme Shet

    European release

  90. Cripple Crow

    Cripple Crow

    Devendra Banhart

    Cripple Crow

    XL Recordings

    Notes

  91. Illinois (Superman version)

    Casimir Pulaski Day

    Sufjan Stevens

    Illinois

    Asthmatic Kitty

    Notes

  92. Descended Like Vultures

    Salesman at the Day of the Parade

    Rogue Wave

    Descended Like Vultures

    Sub Pop

  93. Funeral Music

    Fake What You Need

    Tim Seely

    Funeral Music

    Slow Love

    Notes

  94. Why Should the Fire Die?

    Best of Luck

    Nickel Creek

    Why Should the Fire Die?

    Sugar Hill

    Notes

  95. Get Behind Me Satan

    As Ugly As I Seem

    The White Stripes

    Get Behind Me Satan

    V2

    Notes

  96. Haughty Melodic

    Your Misfortune

    Mike Doughty

    Haughty Melodic

    ATO

    Notes

  97. Some Cities

    Walk in Fire

    Doves

    Some Cities

    Capitol

    Notes

  98. Leaders of the Free World

    Forget Myself

    Elbow

    Leaders of the Free World

    V2

    Notes

  99. Twin Cinema

    The Bleeding Heart Show

    The New Pornographers

    Twin Cinema

    Matador

    Notes

  100. X&Y

    A Message

    Coldplay

    X&Y

    Capitol

    Notes