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2005: The Year in Music Review
by Kristi Kates January kicked off the year with a busy month-full of events in music! Several benefit concerts for the aftereffects of the December, 2004 tsunami were held, and the likes of Norah Jones, Lenny Kravitz, Elton John, Maroon 5, Sheryl Crow, Jamie Cullum, U2, Franz Ferdinand, The Darkness, and Annie Lennox were among the many, many musicians who showed up at some point to show their support. January also showcased a plethora of new films at the Slamdance Film Festival, which featured performances from DJ Prince Paul and Mike Doughty, as well as the Brit Awards, which honored the aforementioned Franz Ferdinand and the Scissor Sisters, among others. The Foo Fighters announced that they'll be releasing a double album, and the "Elektra" movie soundtrack hit stores, with tunes from The Donnas, Switchfoot, Jet, and Evanescence.
February continued the tsunami relief
efforts, with a big show in L.A. featuring sets from Blink 182, No
Doubt, Jurassic 5, and Ozzy himself. The Epitaph Tour kicked off of
February 2nd, taking along Motion City Soundtrack, From First to Last,
and Matchbook Romance for the tour bus ride. Modest Mouse and
Collective Soul were two more acts that hit the road, both playing
live through the end of the month, when the Grammy Awards make a slight
nod towards Modest Mouse with a nomination - but the awards themselves
go to the likes of U2, Maroon 5, and Green Day.
March welcomes the latest South By
Southwest Music Festival in Texas - a barometer for what bands will be
generating talk throughout the rest of the year. This year, there's a
huge roster enjoyed by fans and record company execs alike, but the
standouts prove to be yearly favorite Aimee Mann, The Raveonettes, Hot Hot Heat, and The Go!
Team. Meanwhile, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honors their own yearly
roster of musicians, this year inducting a band of Irish boys (U2),
a firecracker singer and her band (The Pretenders) and a trio of
soulful performers (Buddy Guy, Percy Sledge, and The O'Jays.)
Rockers The Black Crowes announce that they're unsure what the
status of their band is going to be - should they break up, or not? -
and play a five-night stand in New York City to help them make that very
decision.
April kicks off with The Killers,
who begin their U.S. tour and also begin performing a bunch of new songs
that might or might not make it onto their next album. Audioslave
hit the road too, and stay on the road until the end of the month.
Gorillaz and Garbage are two other bands that make notable
releases this month - Gorillaz with their "Demon Days" disc, which
features contributions from Dennis Hopper and Happy Mondays' Shaun
Ryder, who Gorillaz drag out even though he hasn't done much for the
past ten years. Garbage, meanwhile, offer up their "Bleed Like
Me" album, which proves that Shirley and the boys have still got it,
although they are yet another band uncertain of their future at this
point.
May is all about The Black Eyed Peas,
whose latest disc, "Monkey Business," causes perhaps one of the two
biggest stirs of the month (we'll get to the other in a minute.) With
its funky tracks, edgy lyrics, and you-can't-help-but-move rhythms, the
Peas become favorites of many, crossing genres and being heard blasting
from car stereos everywhere as the weather warms up. That other big
stir is, of course, Weezer, whose "Make Believe" album spawns a
sarcastic hit single, "Beverly Hills," and cements Weezer's continuing
status as one of the best bands out there. In heavy rock news, Ozzy Osbourne announces this year's Ozzfest lineup, which
will include Black Sabbath (of course), Velvet Revolver, Rob
Zombie, and Iron Maiden.
 June offers up another pair of landmark discs - namely, Coldplay's much-anticipated "X&Y," with its immediate hit single "Speed of Sound," and Detroit's own White Stripes, who first release the track "Blue Orchid" and then present "Get Behind Me Satan," yet another full-length album that keeps the Stripes' fans intact and still wanting more - which they get when the Stripes hit the road for a series of live shows that will continue off and on through most of 2005. Jewel also announces that she's almost completed work on her 6th album, which is expected out this fall.
July is a big month for music, most notably
for The Big Event of the month - the Live 8 concerts as helmed by
ambitious fundraiser and musician Bob Geldof. A huge charity
event whose aim was to reduce debt in struggling countries (mostly in
Africa), Geldof rounded up an impressive roster of musicians for
concerts on the same day in several cities, much like his Live Aid event
in the '80s. This year's event included performances from Sarah
McLachlan, Paul McCartney, Robbie Williams, Jet, Stereophonics, the
aforementioned Black Eyed Peas, and many, many, many more - the
end result being that the G8 does indeed listen to Geldof's (and the
public's) pleas and make some moves to provide more financial aid and
that debt reduction that Geldof was aiming for. Lollapalooza
also takes place in July - this year in Chicago - with sets from
Cake, Kaiser Chiefs, The Pixies, Dashboard Confessional, and more.
August sees American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson move even further away from her American
Idol roots by releasing more singles that hipsters everywhere, oddly,
seem to be warming up to. "Killer Queen: A Tribute" hits stores on
August 9th, and is exactly what it sounds like - a tribute album to
Queen, featuring covers from the likes of Jason Mraz, Gavin DeGraw,
Rooney, and Sum 41. Bob Geldof is nominated for a Nobel Peace
Prize for his Live 8 work. And the MTV Video Music Awards honor
Green Day, Kelly Clarkson, Gorillaz, and Fall Out Boy.
September might mean that the summer is
over, but that's not stopping U2, who kick off the third leg of
their huge Vertigo Tour in Toronto. In the "Pop Music News That You
Couldn't Get Away From" department, performer Britney Spears
releases not an album, but a baby - her first with wannabe dancer-rapper
Kevin Federline. And British singing sensation Robbie Williams
plans out several exclusive club shows and other events in preparation
for the release of his new album, "Intensive Care." Martin Scorsese
releases "No Direction," the film that depicts much of how legend Bob
Dylan's career progressed.
October starts with big news from Apple
- namely, the release of the video ipod, the newest innovation that
stands to (yet again) revolutionize how people listen to and carry
around their music. Nellie McKay's new album, "Pretty Little
Head," hits stores, as does Fiona Apple's long-awaited
"Extraordinary Machine" album, the album left in limbo by the record
company for so long that fans weren't sure they were ever going to get
to hear it. The Hives, prepping to release a new DVD called "Tussels
in Brussels," continue their international tour, which this month sees
them in Japan. And New Order release a retrospective DVD sure to be
snapped up by their fans.
November sees Detroit's own Madonna
regain her Queen of Pop throne with the release of her tenth full-length
album, "Confessions on a Dancefloor," which revitalizes interest in the
always-relevant Maddie and sees her new video hit MTV. Fellow
Detroiters The White Stripes release an extra five-track EP of
rarities and covers called "Walking with a Ghost." Bright Eyes
kicks off his tour in Santa Barbara, California. Alanis Morissette
releases her "The Collection" album, a retrospective disc that also
includes an hour-long DVD documentary. And The Concert For Bangladesh
gets a re-release on DVD - and a splashy L.A. premiere to go with.
And that's the Year in Music, 2005 - now
all we have to do is wait and see what 2006 will bring!
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