Day 4 of listening to my entire CD collection…

19. Coldplay – Brothers & Sisters

Three song EP that came out a year before Parachutes. It’s not hard to hear why they were picked up by a major label based on early material. Also not hard to see that they were going to be huge.

20. Einojuhani Rautavaara – Cantus Articus

Cantus Articus is a concerto for birds and orchestra. Taped bird noises interwoven with live orchestra. Sounds lame, sounds gimmicky, but it’s not. I’ve seen this live in concert (thank you Alabama Symphony Orchestra) and was blown away. Needless to say, it rubs the traditionalists the wrong way (and it was awesome to hear grumbling and complaining in the concert hall), but this is very serious music and worth paying attention to.

21. Anoushka Shankar & Karsh Kale – Breathing Under Water

Another album in the tidal wave of Indian electronica. I really like Kale’s solo material and have enjoyed Shankar’s forays into the genre (Rise is really good), but this album is kind of a mixed bag. Some really strong tracks interweaving sitars and ambient electronics and then others kind of don’t fit or are a bit lame (like the song with Sting on vocals… yuck.) I was really hopeful for this disc and will still listen to it, but I find myself skipping tracks instead of listening the whole way through.

22. Brad Mehldau – Songs: The Art of the Trio Volume 3

Mehldau really helped spark an interest in jazz for me that has carried me back to classic performers and gotten me interested in current performers as well and this is the album that did it. I wanted to hear a jazz take on Radiohead and Mehldau simply nails “Exit Music (For A Film) and makes it feel natural for a jazz trio of piano, bass and drums.

23. Radiohead – The Bends

That naturally led me into listening to a Radiohead album. The Bends is such a great record and for all intents and purposes I consider it their first since Pablo Honey sticks out like a sore thumb in their catalog. “Just” is one of my favorite music videos of all time and a great tune. I saw them on this tour opening for R.E.M. Who knew they were only one album away from ruling the world?

24. Alan Hovhaness: Mysterious Mountain/And God Created Great Whales

Hovhaness was an American composer primarily active in the latter half of the 20th Century. He wrote tonal works though that incorporated elements from many different cultures. “Prayer of St. Gregory” is a short four minute piece in honor of the patron saint of Armenia (Hovhaness’ heritage) and it is simply gorgeous. “And God Created Great Whales” incorporates taped whale calls into an orchestral piece. Cool stuff, but definitely different.

25. Takemitsu: I Hear the Water Dreaming

This disc features works by the Japanese composer that incorporate flute. Some of them are quiet and beautiful, others are a bit more challenging. Takemitsu frequently incorporated elements of Japanese folk music into his works and there are times where the flute sounds more like a shakuhachi.

26. Band Of Horses – Cease to Begin

This album didn’t grab me at first, but it really sunk its teeth into me with repeated listens. “Detlef Schrempf” is one of my favorite songs from last year. Sublime quiet songs and louder tunes like “Cigarettes, Wedding Bands” made this one of my favorites of last year. Ben Bridwell also uttered one of my favorite pieces of concert banter last year in Atlanta, “Sorry my voice is shot. I sound like chipmunk fucking a dolphin.”

27. My Bloody Valentine – Loveless

“Only Shallow” is one of the greatest “Side 1, Track 1s” ever. Their career could’ve been that one song and people would still be talking about it.

28. Jack Johnson – Sing-A-Longs & Lullabies for the Film Curious George

Kids’ music that adults can dig on too. I listen to a lot of super serious music, but it’s nice to have stuff to throw on sometimes when you just want to tap your toes and smile.

29. Blac k Lips – We Did Not Know the Forest Spirit Made the Flowers Grow

This album contains three of my favorite Black Lips songs, “M.I.A.” “Juvenile” and “Stranger.” One of the few bands I love that can write a really interesting two minute song.

30. Nikhil Banerjee – Raga Misra Kafi

This album is the complete opposite of a Black Lips album as far as time is concerned. One piece of music lasting over 70 minutes. That’s like two and half Black Lips albums. Anyway, Nikhil Banerjee’s music is sublime. I can’t heap enough superlatives on it. I hate that he died so young and that I never got to see him in concert. His music truly changed the way I think about music. If I could only listen to one performer of Indian classical music for the rest of my life, it would be him… no contest.