Shee-Luh Reflects On The Least Worst of 2005 (D&D W/O) Dec 21 '05 (Updated Mar 09 '06)    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Music Revelation [Digipak] by Journey From $12 Machine Gun Etiquette by The Damned From $40 The Bottom Line 2,005 bottles of beer on the wall...2,005 bottles of beer. Take one down & pass it around! 2,004 bottles of beer on the wall. Dear Reader, You are now being taken captive. Don't try to fight back. You'll lose -- not to mention the fact that you'll simply make a fool out of yourself. For the next several minutes, you'll take a nice musical journey with me. Yup. My opinions will be crammed down your throat. You'll glare at the computer screen and feel simply violated. On more than one instance, I'm sure you'll cry out, "Sheila has the worst taste in music ever!" It's too bad. See, speeddemon531 and Stairway2Drew are holding the annual Best & Worst of 2005 Write-Off. I just so happen to be participating. So for now, your best option is to sit back, relax, pull out the Pepsi, Cheetos & pickles, and stay a while. ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ The 10 Least Worst Songs of 2005 10. "Dance Inside" - The All-American Rejects. You know, there's something undeniably intriguing about an occasionally whiny (don't get me wrong - I adore 'em) pop/rock band doing an unapologetically perverted song such as this. Vocalist/bassist Tyson Ritter sounds wonderful as he glides effortlessly from a beautiful falsetto to his trademark trills. I'd love to see this released as a single, and this part of the chorus gets me everytime - "Each touch belongs to each new sound / Say now, you wanna shake me too? / Move down to me, slip into you." 9. "Sunspots" - Nine Inch Nails. NIN's 2005 release With Teeth has grown on me a bit since I first bought it. I'm not entirely crazy about it, but sheesh -- I love everything about "Sunspots". I really dig the song's summery, hypnotic vibe. "Sunspots" effectively blends these cool sound effects that remind me of electric pencil sharpeners with Trent Reznor's unmistakable husky voice. 8. "Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner" - Fall Out Boy. When I close my eyes and listen to this song, I can almost swear it's early Blink 182. It's not even that FOB vocalist/guitarist Patrick Stump sounds a lot like Mark Hoppus or Tom DeLonge (he really doesn't). It's just that delightful immaturity, the irresistible catchiness and that clicky, lovable drumwork. I do declare, I'm also quite fond of the following lyrical snippet - "Wear me like a locket around your throat / I'll weigh you down, I'll watch you choke / You look so good in blue...you look so good in blue!" What can I say? I'm a weirdo like that. 7. "Ugly" - Sevendust. Upon my first listen of this hit single, I was in love with the chuggy Disturbed/KoRN-esque guitar work and Lajon Witherspoon's breathy vocals. It's got this AWESOME soaring chorus -- "It's hard to keep you by my side / haunted by the vision! / Too ugly...for one day / Go live your life." If only drummer Morgan Rose didn't constantly feel the need to throw in his backing screams, I'd likely have a dangerous Sevendust obsession. 6. "Virago" - Flowing Tears. Since Italian rockers Lacuna Coil delayed their album about fifty thousand times, I had to seek out new enchanting female-fronted metal. Flowing Tears was certainly the perfect antidote, and "Virago" is a breathtaking song, with loud, whirring keyboards, blaring guitars, and downright creepy vocal work from Helen Vogt. 5. "Tearjerker" - KoRN. This touching track was the final one on See You On The Other Side, and it's one of the prettiest, most genuinely tortured KoRN songs yet. Gone are the pretentious stale ways that Jonathan Davis has unfortunately dabbled in over the past few years -- this ballad is authentic grief, quite true to its name. As Jonathan wails, "And I wish I could feel it, I wish I could steal it, abduct it, corrupt it," I can't help but get goosebumps. 4. "Diseased" - Seether. It's funny, because when I first got Karma and Effect, I didn't pay that much attention to this song. I wouldn't skip over it, but I just didn't play it as much as, say, "The Gift" or the unbelievably addictive first single "Remedy". Then one day it hit me -- this song is GENIUS! The haunting introduction swiftly gives way to bad-ass drumming courtesy of Mr. John Humphrey, and I love Shaun Morgan's sporadic croons of "Come sit close to me!" 3. "Getting Through To Her" - 311. Although I usually prefer 311 songs that have an even SA Martinez/Nick Hexum ratio, I'm just fine with SA dominating this stunning, reggae-tinged song. The intricate, rich melodies are simply wonderful. "Getting Through To Her" serves as evidence that 311 is capable of much more than meets the eye. 2. "When I Remember" - Blindside. This chilling song was the perfect album closer for Blindside's fifth outing, The Great Depression. It's nothing short of gorgeous. Everytime I hear Christian Lindskog passionately cry out, "To this day, nobody moves...nobody moves...NOBODY MOVES ME LIKE YOU! NOOOOOOOBODY!", the tears start flowing. It never fails. Sigh. It's just so overwhelmingly beautiful...seriously. 1. "Guarded" - Disturbed. Sure, it's a jumpy, heavy tune. Sure, Dan Donegan's wild guitar riffs will carve their way into your brain for hours upon hours. But that doesn't even scratch the surface of this song's appeal. What can I say? I'm a sucker for David Draiman's commanding, beautiful voice. He really lets it all out here, packing all kinds of power and intense emotion into this amazing song. David is the focal point of Disturbed for good reason. [more-songs-I-loved-but-didn't-wanna-put-because-10-is-the-pretty-magic-number]: "Doesn't Remind Me" - Audioslave. "Incomplete" - Backstreet Boys. [Go ahead. Laugh] "Put Back The Stars" - Blindside "Fall Into Sleep" - Mudvayne "Bullet With A Name" - Nonpoint "Overburdened" - Disturbed "Ever (Foreign Flag)" - Team Sleep ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ The 5 Least Worst Albums of 2005: 5. Karma and Effect - Seether. With their proper sophomore album (Disclaimer II doesn't count; it was just a re-release with some bonus stuff), Seether proved that they're more creative than the haughty critics ever wanted to give them credit for. Vocalist/guitarist Shaun Morgan's lyrics improved significantly. The songs got heavier and less predictable. Songs like "Diseased", "The Gift", and "Given" show so much growth musically. K&E's consistency is top-notch -- I still haven't gotten sick of the thing, and I've spun it way more times than I'd like to admit. 4. Razorbliss - Flowing Tears. I discovered this German female-fronted metal band earlier this year via an ad in Metal Maniacs magazine. I'll never forget what the advertisement said -- "Lacuna Coil may be enjoying the success for now, but they're off the throne now that Razorbliss has landed!" Obviously, I felt a strong need to further investigate a band that was said to be better than my beloved LC. I was quite pleased with the results. Helen Vogt's deep baritone voice lends itself wonderfully to lush arrangements of keyboards and crushing guitars. I could listen to songs like "Believe" (featuring Dirk Thurisch of Angeldust) and the eerie "Undying" all day long. 3. Don't Tread On Me - 311. I've said that From Chaos is their best work. I've said that Soundsystem simply can't be topped. Well, folks, all that jazz went down the drain after Omaha rap-rock-reggae-ers 311 released this highly anticipated disc in August. Don't Tread On Me rocks my world -- it's got a nice Nick/SA vocal balance, Chad Sexton's drumming is worthy of a standing ovation, and it's just such a feel-good album. Don't believe me? Listen to songs like "Frolic Room" and "Speak Easy" and TRY to deny the purely euphoric ways of 311. From their brilliantly cohesive musicianship all the way down to their classy handling of media-word-usage about their infamous brawl with Scott Stapp last month, the guys of 311 never cease to amaze me. 2. See You On The Other Side - KoRN. Although I consider myself a pretty big KoRN fan, I kind of expected this album to suck. Why, you ask? Hmm. I wasn't all that fond of their last studio album, Take A Look In The Mirror, and I strongly feared that they would release something similar this time around. Luckily, that wasn't the case. I'm being completely honest when I say that See You On The Other Side is the most unique, bizarre album I've heard all year. Fans were gritting their teeth about Head's dramatic departure, but the Bakersfield boys apparently aren't sweating it all that much. This album is a great mix of many genres -- it doesn't get repetitive or watered-down at all. Sometimes, it's freakishly perverted ("10 Or A 2 Way"..."Getting Off"). Sometimes, it's heartbreaking ("Tearjerker", "Seen It All"). I'll be the first to congratulate Mr. Jonathan Davis -- he held nothing back on this record. 1. Ten Thousand Fists - Disturbed. Well, well, well. How do I love thee, Ten Thousand Fists? As much as I think every Disturbed album thus far is excellent in its own right, this one surpasses the others on so many levels. David Draiman sounds better than ever -- one listen to the melancholic metal anthem "Overburdened" is definitive proof of that. Dan Donegan's guitar work has improved exponentially. He probably had it in him all along, but feared that he simply didn't measure up to other guitarists whose work was more complex, more solo-heavy, etc., etc. Songs like "Stricken" and "Just Stop" include some of David's most personal lyrics to date (both of them deal with the relationship from hell, he says, with the former focusing on a romance that does more harm than good, and the latter about an argumentative other half). Ten Thousand Fists is just so complete, with at least one thing that will surely appeal to all kinds of rock/metal fans in SOME way. ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Well, there you have it -- yet another reason to lower your trust in my musical tastes (or possible lack thereof). I'm curious about what 2006 holds in store for my CD player. P.O.D. & Lacuna Coil will likely delay their upcoming albums for the umpteenth time, so maybe I shouldn't hold my breath. Whatever the case, 2005 brought innovation, beauty, and creativity to my ever-growing CD collection. I'm sure 2006 will do the same. I should probably thank Type O Negative for inspiring the title of my submission to this W/O. I should also thank Mike & Drew for hosting this fun W/O. This review in no way reflects the opinions of Epinions, its rapidly growing community, my family, my friends, the insect that is currently crawling across my arm, the creators of the beverage I just consumed, or the artists I rant and rave about. ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Thanks for reading my junk. This has been an awesome year on Epinions, and I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas/Hanukkah/holiday season & an outstanding new year. :)

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