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nicklesslanding's top albums (3 months) 1. Explosions in the Sky - The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place (304) 2. Brand New - Deja Entendu (239) 3. Crime in Stereo - The Troubled Stateside (189) 4. blink-182 - blink-182 (185) 5. Crime in Stereo - Is Dead (185) 6. August Burns Red - Messengers (148) 7. Jimmy Eat World - Futures (127) 8. Explosions in the Sky - All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone (127) 9. Polar Bear Club - Sometimes Things Just Disappear (116) 10. This Will Destroy You - Young Mountain (109) 11. Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape (109) 12. Yellowcard - Ocean Avenue (106) 13. Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism (101) 14. Strike Anywhere - Iron Front (97) 15. Life Long Tragedy - Runaways (92) 16. God Is an Astronaut - All Is Violent All Is Bright (91) 17. Title Fight - The Last Thing You Forget (90) 18. Break Even - The Bright Side (90) 19. Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head (85) 20. Lifetime - Lifetime (85)

siko237's top albums (12 months) 1. Porcupine Tree - The Incident (disc 1) (192) 2. Hammock - Raising Your Voice... Trying To Stop An Echo (90) 3. Oceansize - Everyone Into Position (80) 4. The Dear Hunter - Act III: Life and Death (77) 5. Exxasens - BEYOND THE UNIVERSE (76) 6. The Appleseed Cast - Sagarmatha (76) 7. The American Dollar - A Memory Stream (74) 8. The Dead Sea - The Dead Sea (70) 9. Deerhunter - Microcastle (69) 10. Clint Mansell - Moon (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) (68) 11. Porcupine Tree - Stupid Dream (63) 12. Sigur Rós - Með Suð I Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust (62) 13. Apse - Eras (61) 14. Oceansize - Effloresce (59) 15. Scythelence - Post-Romantic Syndrome (58) 16. Porcupine Tree - In Absentia (58) 17. Sigur Rós - Takk (58) 18. Air - The Virgin Suicides (57) 19. A Whisper in the Noise - Dry Land (56) 20. Blueneck - The Fallen Host (56) 21. Caspian - Tertia (55) 22. dredg - The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion (55) 23. 65daysofstatic - The Fall of Math (53) 24. Gazpacho - Tick Tock (52) 25. Hammock - Kenotic (52) 26. This Will Destroy You - Young Mountain (52) 27. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion (50) 28. Tomoshibi - ULAI (50) 29. The American Dollar - The Technicolour Sleep (50) 30. Steven Wilson - Insurgentes (50) 31. Slon - Antenne (49) 32. Hearts No Static - Motif (48) 33. Tim Hecker - An Imaginary Country (48) 34. iLiKETRAiNS - Progress - Reform (47) 35. Tool - Aenima (46) 36. Mogwai - Mr. Beast (46) 37. Russian Circles - Geneva (46) 38. Mogwai - Happy Songs for Happy People (46) 39. Rhian Sheehan - Standing In Silence (45) 40. The Album Leaf - In a Safe Place (45) 41. Porcupine Tree - Deadwing (45) 42. Cheju - Broken Waves (44) 43. múm - Sing Along To Songs You Don't Know (43) 44. Interpol - Our Love To Admire (43) 45. The Calm Blue Sea - Siegfried OST (43) 46. Maybeshewill - Not For Want Of Trying (43) 47. Il Cielo Di Bagdad - Export for Malinconique (43) 48. If These Trees Could Talk - Above the Earth, Below the Sky (43) 49. Eluvium - Copia (43) 50. Porcupine Tree - On the Sunday of Life (43)

100. Magnus - Summer's Here
99. Mew - White Lips Kissed
98. Some Weird Sin - Stiletto
97. KT Tunstall - Universe and U
96. Madrugada - The Kids Are On High Street
95. Scarlett Johansson feat. David Bowie - Falling Down
94. Girls in Hawaii - Birthday Call
93. Vincent Delerm - Châtenay-Malabry
92. Auf der Maur - Followed The Waves
91. Kent - Kärleken väntar
90. Marlango - Not without you
89. Sambassadeur - Dead leaves
88. Wir sind Helden - Denkmal
87. Amy Macdonald - This Is The Life
86. Belle and Sebastian - Marx and Engels
85. Reverend and The Makers - The State Of Things
84. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - As I Sat Sadly by Her Side
83. Arctic Monkeys - Mardy Bum
82. Air - Playground Love
81. Placebo - Follow the Cops Back Home
80. Cat Power - New York
79. Yann Tiersen - La Dispute
78. Daft Punk - Digital Love
77. DJ Tiësto - Traffic
76. The Dresden Dolls - Slide
75. Marlango - Automatic Imperfection
74. Koop - Koop Island Blues
73. Muse - Plug In Baby
72. Vincent Delerm - La vipère du Gabon
71. Kent - Dom som försvann
70. Editors - Escape the Nest
69. Denali - Lose Me
68. dredg - Bug Eyes
67. Grandaddy - He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's The Pilot
66. The Stills - Still in Love Song
65. Wir sind Helden - Du Erkennst Mich Nicht Wieder
64. De Staat - Kill The Man
63. Interpol - Evil
62. Nouvelle Vague - The Guns of Brixton
61. Marlango - Maybe
60. Damien Rice - Accidental Babies
59. System of a Down - Chop Suey
58. Franz Ferdinand - Auf Achse
57. Dido - My Life
56. Toploader - Achilles Heel
55. Keane - Bedshaped
54. Placebo - Meds
53. Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton - Crowd Surf Off A Cliff
52. Missy Higgins - Where I Stood
51. UNKLE - Lonely Soul
50. The Dears - The Second Part
49. Nelly Furtado - Try
48. Oasis - The Importance Of Being Idle
47. Girls in Hawaii - Casper
46. Lady & Bird - Shepard's Song
45. The Organ - A Sudden Death
44. Feist - Mushaboom
43. Spinvis - Wespen op de appeltaart
42. Hooverphonic - Vinegar & Salt
41. Wolfsheim - Kein Zurück
40. dredg - Ode To The Sun
39. Zero 7 - Distractions
38. dEUS - Bad Timing
37. Blonde Redhead - In Particular
36. The Kills - Fuck the People
35. Da GrassRoots Body - Language
34. The Airborne Toxic Event - Sometime Around Midnight
33. Denali - Normal Days
32. Florence + The Machine - Drumming Song
31. Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová - If You Want Me
30. Ghinzu - The Dragster-Wave
29. t.A.T.u. - All the Things She Said
28. Coldplay - Politik
27. Rammstein - Ich Will
26. The Chemical Brothers - Star Guitar
25. K's Choice - Shadowman
24. Woven Hand - The Speaking Hands
23. UNKLE - Burn My Shadow
22. t.A.T.u. - How Soon Is Now
21. TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me
20. Röyksopp - What Else Is There?
19. K's Choice - Virgin State Of Mind
18. Radiohead - There There
17. Coldplay - Yellow
16. Nelly Furtado - Say It Right
15. Death Cab for Cutie - I Will Possess Your Heart
14. Denali - Everybody Knows
13. dEUS - Include Me Out
12. Ghinzu - Blow
11. Coldplay - Spies
10. The Walkmen - The Rat
9. This Will Destroy You - There Are Some Remedies Worse Than The Disease
8. Marlango - I suggest
7. Radiohead - How To Disappear Completely
6. The Dears - Find Our Way To Freedom
5. Hooverphonic - Mad About You
4. The Organ - Memorize the City
3. dEUS - Nothing Really Ends
2. Kent - Mannen i den vita hatten (16 år senare)
1. Denali - Surface

Presented in alphabetical order, because with this many tracks it's impossible to rank them.

1. Juanes - A Dios Le Pido
If you're a Spanish teacher, this song is great for teaching the subjunctive. It's also Juanes' best song.

2. Kaki King - Air And Kilometers
Kaki King manages to wring an incredible amount of emotion out of her guitar. The breakdown about a minute in is great.

3. LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends
Surprisingly, the repetition of the keyboard line for 7 minutes doesn't get tiring, but just adds to the melancholic punch of the lyrics: "You spent the first five years trying to get with the plan, and the next five years trying to be with your friends again."

4. Yeasayer - Ambling Alp
It's got a great hook and appealing vocals, but it's the complexity of this song that brings it up a notch: the intricate bassline, the synth run at the end, the drums that anchor the rhythm.

5. Thom Yorke - Analyse
Deceptively simple and terribly affecting.

6. Porcupine Tree - Anesthetize
Porcupine Tree's best song. Really, each of its three sections could be a separate song and they'd all be great.

7. Broken Social Scene - Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl
Emily Haines' vocals steal the scene, and I didn't really notice how great the instrumentals are until I listened to the instrumental version of this song, Pitter Patter Goes My Heart.

8. Regina Spektor - Après Moi
Sadly, I think this is the only track where Regina Spektor sings in Russian. She should do it more often.

9. Islands - The Arm
I'm in the minority in preferring Arm's Way to Return to the Sea. The entire album is deliciously complex and unrelentingly intense, and this is its best track. The violins are especially good.

10. Battles - Atlas
If this list were ordered, this song would definitely be in the top 5. Battles are one of the most precise and technically skilled math rock bands around, but what sets them apart is their sense of whimsy, which is never more apparent than on this track, which is probably the most fun song of the decade.

11. Do Make Say Think - Auberge le Mouton Noir
As a genre, post-rock is often labelled as being formulaic and repetitive, but the compositional complexity of this song shows that creative post-rock is still being produced. The bit starting at 3:30ish is wonderful.

12. Late of the Pier - The Bears Are Coming
Another song with a great sense of fun. The combination of an infectious beat with a dance-punk aesthetic is what makes this song.

13. Crystal Castles - Black Panther
When you listen to Crystal Castles' debut album, you start to think that you've heard these songs before. The melodies are so basic, so inevitable, that it's hard to believe that nobody's come up with them before.

14. The Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat
Yes, this song is about a blueberry boat being attacked by pirates. The "doom chords" (if you know this song, you probably know what I'm talking about) are sheer awesomeness.

15. Kyte - Boundaries
I'm surprised at how little attention these guys get. Their debut album was a completely original sound, and this song is complete bliss.

16. Pure Reason Revolution - The Bright Ambassadors of Morning
The last four minutes of this song are one of the most epic things you'll ever hear.

17. Panda Bear - Bros
For a 12-minute song built around one chord, this is pretty damn awesome.

18. Animal Collective - Brother Sport
This is my most listened-to song ever, according to iTunes. It deserves the spot, too.

19. Pure Reason Revolution - Bullitts Dominæ
Yet another PRR song. The Dark Third was one of the best debuts of the last few years, despite the nonsensicality of the lyrics ("And as I ask them inside everlasting the inosphere's collided, everyone's falling, sun-suicide's optimal").

20. This Will Destroy You - Burial on the Presidio Banks
This song destroys me. One of the most explosive climaxes in post-rock.

21. Wolf Parade - California Dreamer
The best chorus Wolf Parade has ever written, probably.

22. Vampire Weekend - Campus
This song is so light and breezy, and any song with the line "spilled kefir on your keffiyah" is good in my books.

23. Sufjan Stevens - Casimir Pulaski Day
The saddest song written about cancer before The Antlers released Hospice.

24. Muse - Citizen Erased
I always have a hard time choosing my favourite Muse song, but this song has their best riff (and they're a very much riff-based band) and their best solo.

25. Porcupine Tree - Collapse the Light Into Earth
The piano is kind of reminiscent of Coldplay's "The Scientist," but this song is much more affecting. It'd be a good song to play at your funeral.

26. Joanna Newsom - Colleen
I can't help but break out into a grin whenever she does the "yip" between verses.

27. Metric - Combat Baby
On their tour this year, Metric ended their concerts with a sing-along acoustic rendition of this song. That it actually worked testifies to their melodic genius.

28. Sufjan Stevens - Come on! Feel the Illinoise!
I could put this song on the list just for the title.

29. Mew - Comforting Sounds
That's funny, I didn't know Mew was a post-rock band. Listen to this song on full volume and you'll be blown away.

30. Joanna Newsom - Cosmia
This is the shortest track on Ys, but it still has more depth than 90% of the songs out there.

31. José González - Cycling Trivialities
Simple but beautiful. It's 8 minutes long but it feels more like 3.

32. Justice - D.A.N.C.E.
The fact that this is the only dance song that made the list says something about how great it is.

33. The Mars Volta - Day of the Baphomets
The section that starts with "I am the reason for your missing child" is so intense. Actually, this entire song is intense.

34. Wolf Parade - Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts
Spencer Krug can basically do no wrong, but nowhere is his songwriting stronger than on Apologies to the Queen Mary.

35. Under Byen - Den Her Sang Handler Om At Få Det Bedste Ud Af Det
This is possibly the most underappreciated song ever. It used to be my favourite song, and it's still in my top 5. The climax and piano coda are incredible.

36. 65daysofstatic - The Distant & Mechanised Glow of Eastern European Dance Parties
Frankly, I don't see how anyone could dislike this song.

37. Do Make Say Think - do
Like "Auberge Le Mouton Noir," a beautifully complex post-rock song. It's hard to decide which one is their best.

38. Architecture in Helsinki - Do The Whirlwind
Such unadulterated joy.

39. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Down Boy
I used to think that nobody could top Jim Morrison when it comes to yelps, but Karen O certainly comes close in this song.

40. Sunset Rubdown - Dragon's Lair
This is Spencer Krug's best post-Apologies to the Queen Mary song, especially the guitars at the end.

41. Patrick Watson - Drifters
The delicate piano intro and the wall-of-sound climax couldn't be more different, but they fit together seamlessly.

42. 65daysofstatic - Drove Through Ghosts to Get Here
Usually when I'm walking and listening to music, I involuntarily step to the tempo of the music. If I did that for this song, I'd be running by the end.

43. Joanna Newsom - Emily
This song contains Newsom's worst lyrics ("peonies nod in the breeze and while they wetly bow with hydrocephalitic listlessness, ants mop up their brow"), but also some of her best ("I dreamed you were skipping little stones across the surface of the water, frowning at the angle where they were lost and slipped under forever, in a mud-cloud, mica-spangled, like the sky'd been breathing on a mirror" and "the ties that bind, they are barbed and spined and hold us close forever"). I could go on about this song, but I won't.

44. At the Drive-In - Enfilade
The amount of energy in this song is remarkable.

45. Cloud Cult - Everybody Here Is a Cloud
Making lyrics about mortality fun!

46. Radiohead - Everything In Its Right Place
This is a rarity, a song that grabs you from the very first note, and keeps your attention until the end.

47. The National - Fake Empire
There's an entire group on last.fm dedicated to this song, and not without reason.

48. Andrew Bird - Fake Palindromes
This is one of the few tracks that I never skip when it comes up. The lyrics at the beginning give it a momentum that carries through to the end: "my dewy-eyed Disney bride, what has tried swapping your blood with formaldehyde? Monsters? Whiskey-plied voices cried fratricide, Jesus, don't you know that you could've died, you should've died?"

49. TV on the Radio - Family Tree
Such a tender song. It's hard to believe that this is the same band that made DLZ.

50. Animal Collective - Fireworks
This song is the ultimate jam when they play it live. It starts strong with a driving, train-like beat and doesn't let up.

NOTE: To keep things more interesting i limited myself to 1 album per artist

Please comment.

50. Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why There are Mountains (2009)
49. Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight (2008)
48. mewithoutYou - Brother, Sister (2006)
47. Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles (2004)
46. The Unicorns - who will cut our hair when we're gone (2003)
45. The Decemberists - Castaways and Cutouts (2002)
44. Born Ruffians - Red, Yellow, & Blue (2008)
43. Panda Bear - Person Pitch (2007)
42. St. Vincent - Actor (2009)
41. The Postal Service - Give Up (2003)
40. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (2005)
39. Unwound - Leaves Turn Inside You (2001)
38. Spoon - Kill the Moonlight (2002)
37. This Will Destroy You - This Will Destroy You (2008)
36. The Knife - Silent Shout (2006)
35. Beirut - The Flying Club Cup (2007)
34. Lightning Bolt - Wonderful Rainbow (2003)
33. Man Man - Six Demon Bag (2006)
32. No Age - Nouns (2008)
31. The Books - The Lemon of Pink (2003)
30. Liars - They Threw Us All In A Trench And Stuck A Monument On Top (2001)
29. Madvillain - Madvillainy (2004)
28. The Notwist - Neon Golden(2002)
27. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven (2000)
26. Boris - Pink (2005)
25. Menomena - Friend & Foe (2007)
24. The Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat (2004)
23. Mastodon -Leviathan (2004)
22. Bright Eyes - Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground (2002)
21. Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster... (2008)
20. Band of Horses - Everything All the Time (2006)
19. The Antlers - Hospice (2009)
18. Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy (2005)
17. Titus Andronicus - The Airing Of Grievances (2008)
16. Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing in the Hands (2004)
15. Fennesz - Endless Summer (2001)
14. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It in People (2002)
13. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (2007)
12. Explosions in the Sky - Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever (2001)
11. Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump (2000)
10. Interpol -Turn on the Bright Lights (2002)
9. Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004)
8. mclusky - mclusky Do Dallas (2002)
7. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam (2007)
6. Why? -Alopecia (2008)
5. ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Source Tags & Codes (2002)
4. Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary(2005)
3. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois (2005)
2. The Microphones - The Glow, Pt. 2(2001)
1. Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctica (2000)

1.How did you get into no.29?
Electric Wizard - My dearest brother

2. What's the first song you ever heard by no.22?
queens of the Stone Age - Go With The Flow

3. Whats your favorite lyric by no.33?
Rage Against the Machine - Everytime he says 'fuck' :)

4. How did you get into no.49?
Audioslave - I dunno, how do people usually get into them?

5. How many albums by no.13 do you own?
The Mars Volta - 6

6. What is your favorite song by no.50?
Autolux - Turnstile Blues

7. Is there a song by no.39 that makes you sad?
Filter - I'm Not The Only One

8. What is your favorite song by no.15?
Placebo - Scared of Girls

9. What is your favorite song by no.5?
As Tall as Lions - This question is too difficult to answer

10. Is there a song by no.6 that makes you happy?
Coldplay - Strawberry Swing

11. What is the worst song by no.40?
Cut Copy - Anything after 2004

12. What is your favorite song by no.10?
The Smashing Pumpkins - Too many

13. What is a good memory you have involving no.30?
Amusement Parks on Fire - Listening to them?

14. What is your favorite song by no.38?
Deftones - Change in the House of Flies

15. Is there a song by no.19 that makes you happy?
The Bronx - Heart Attack American

16. Is there a song by no.25 that makes you sad?
Muse - Not that I recall

17. What is the first song you ever heard by 23?
Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor

18. What's your favorite lyric by no.11?
The Vines - Or am I lost inside this dream? Tied to my head tied to my feet.

19. Who is a favorite member of no.1?
Explosions in the Sky - the musical one.

20. Is there a song by no.14 that makes you happy?
Spiderbait - Stevie

21. What is a good memory involving no.27?
This Will Destroy You - I think Mr Canadian Joe told me about them.

22. What is your favorite song by no.16?
Foo Fighters - But, Honestly

23. What is the first song you ever heard by no.47?
Secret Machines - Nowhere Again

24. What is your favorite album by no.18?
Radiohead - The Bends

25. What is your favorite song by no.21?
Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Velvet Glove

26. What is the first song you ever heard by no.26?
Tool - Probably Vicarious

27. What is your favorite album by no.3?
Sigur Ros - They're all my favourite in their own ways

28. What is your favorite song by no.2?
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - All You Do Is Talk

29. What was the first song you ever heard by no.32?
Regular John - Transmitter

30. What is you favorite song by no.8?
At The Drive In - haah they're all amazing

31. How many times have you seen no.17 live?
The Strokes - none :(

32. Is there a song by no.44 that makes you happy?
The Music - Most of them I reckon

33. How did you get into no.12?
Fanfarlo - Radioheads Myspace bulletin post

34. What is the worst song by no.45?
Do Make Say Think - I dont really know.

35. What was the first song you ever heard by no.34?
Paramore - Crush

36. What was the first song you ever heard by no.48?
Mutemath - The Nerve

37. How many times have you seen no.42 live?
pg.lost - None. But they would probably be amazing.

38. What is you favorite song by no.36?
Fu Manchu - Thinkin' Out Loud

39. What was the first song you ever heard by no.28?
Electric Wizard - Vinum Sabbathi

40. What is you favorite album by no.7?
Porcupine Tree - Trains

41. Is there a song by no.31 that makes you happy?
Shihad - Comfort Me

42. What is your favorite album by no.41?
Led Zeppelin - I only have greatest hits

43. What is your favorite song by no.24?
Built To Spill - Ancient Melodies of the Future

44. What is a good memory you have involving no.46?
The Datsuns - screaming along to MF from hell with my brother

45. What is your favorite song by no.35?
Modest Mouse - People As Places As People

46. Is there a song by no.9 that makes you happy?
Grinspoon - Summer

47. What is your favorite album by no.4?
The Sound of Animals Fighting - Ocean and the Sun

48. Who is your favorite member of no.37?
Rachmaninoff

49. What is the first song you ever heard by no.43?
Kasabian - Not sure

50. What is your favorite song by no.20?
Mogwai - I dont really have one anymore

Part two to be published tomorrow :-)!

Seeing as I am a bit of a post rock junkie I decided I would do like a top 5 songs thing for each of my favourite post rocky bands.. just for fun.

I have a rather complex lil relationship with this music but I loveeeeeee it because I truly believe that music is really MEANT to make you feel something, good or bad (and maybe even occasionally make you feel nothing at all). It doesn't matter what kind of mood I'm in - these tracks always makes me FEEL and I revel in it.

This Will Destroy You
Favourite album: This Will Destroy You
.. pretty much my absolute favourite band. All of their songs are infused with the most powerful aspects of human nature and I can honestly say their music has changed my life for the better.

1. Freedom Blade (Field Studies) - Probably takes the cake as the most beautiful song I have ever heard. I must admit that all of This Will Destroy You's music takes me away from everything else, but Freedom Blade is something really, really special to me.
2. Threads (This Will Destroy You) - I've somehow grown to associate a lot of memories with this song. I always seem to think of the same things when I'm listening to it and I can't help but to smile. The fill from 2:29 onwards honestly makes my heart soar and at 3:58 it pretty much explodes.
3. They Move On Tracks Of Never-Ending Light (This Will Destroy You) - Gets me every time. I feel like this song is filled to the brim with hope and wonder and maybe a little apprehension or anxiety of the absolute best kind. I know those feelings. It's an incredible composition, it really is.
4. Burial on the Presidio Banks (This Will Destroy You) - I think the varying atmosphere in this song is what make it so fucking amazing. It makes easy, smooth transitions from sorrow and nostalgia and all the feelings associated with loneliness/missing someone to something beautiful and undeniably uplifting.. and sometimes it even manages to merge the two.
5. The World is Our ____ (Young Mountain) - A VERY fitting title. I see this song as an outpouring of the triumph and peace and caress of love and everything that is pure in the world.


Moving Mountains
Favourite album: Pneuma
I suppose you could say that Moving Mountains is a relatively recent discovery for me, but they have shot up my charts without my even really noticing. Their music is so easy to become enamored by and caught up in; Gregory Dunn and Frank Graniero's vocals are stunning, especially against the amazing instrumental backdrops the band manage to put together on every single track.

1. Ode We Will Bury Ourselves (Pneuma) - Without a doubt the song that has more of an effect on me than any other piece of music I have ever heard. Every time I listen to it I get the "shivers" and more often than not I have to close my eyes to take all of it in. The vocals from 2:37 - 3:01 were what originally REALLY got me about this song, but now I am enraptured from the very beginning. The fill that immediately proceeds the aforementioned vocal clip is now my major "weakness" within the track (which probably isn't saying much, considering the entire song makes my heart go mental).
2. 8105 (Pneuma / Moving Mountains) - .. and the demo, too. In fact, it's possible that I like the demo more (although the female voice in the main version is very endearing). Anyway, they're both amazing tracks and the "one thing I know you didn't know" verse and the proceeding instrumentals/vocal fill are the best parts of both of them, despite the differences in lyrics. The entire song is just so.. effective and endlessly meaningful. The intro caught me and the remainder of the track kept me there without trouble. Easily one of my most favourite songs. Ever.
3. Sol Solis (Pneuma / Moving Mountains) - Again, and the demo. The demo is especially amazing, actually - you'd think that in a twelve and a half minute song there'd be huge room for error, but every second is constructed entirely of genius and amazing. It's slow, but it's infinitely relaxing and it draws you all the way in. Incredible feat for such an extended acoustic song, I think.
The main version - perhaps not what you would come to expect from Moving Mountains, but a pleasant surprise nevertheless. One of the most catchy and beautiful acoustic songs I have ever heard in my life (think "Things, they always die/Just give it time/They always die/But we/Someday we'll see/Our love will shine/Our love will shine", and also "Things like this are better off untold/Someday the sun will die and I'll grow cold/I hope someday your love finds its way home" and the instrumental it precedes).
4. Cover The Roots, Lower The Stems (Pneuma) - "You know it's really hard to do/To think of anyone but you/And how your soul lives in mine" - perfect first line, if you ask me. The remainder of the song follows the Pneuma theme and does inexplicably well in doing so. This song is just.. intense. There's no other way to put it..
"And someday the trees will sing/Oh my God/My heart is with you now.."
5. Grow On, Grow Up, Grow Out (Pneuma) - "Oh God/What the fuck is going on/With me/And everyone" - another perfect opening lyric. It just seems to fit with the song from the start. The transitions between fast and slow in this song are rather mesmerizing - in terms of the lyrics AND instrumentals (compare the intro with the piece from 2:13-2:43 "This time it's different/I swear to God/The sun's exploding/Within my arms"). The lyrical fill that begins just past halfway through the song speaks for itself.. I'm tempted to note the lyrics here, although they aren't quite the same without the voice to back them up.
"Because you and I were blown away by love and hope for better days/You and I were blown away"

God Is an Astronaut
Favourite album: Far From Refuge
One of my very first post-rock discoveries and undoubtedly still one of my favourites. This is the band that really spurred me into seeking out more and more post-rock, especially of the instrumental variety. I think the ambient feel in a lot of their tracks is a major part of what keeps me hooked.

1. Coda (The End of the Beginning) - I cannot put into words how much I love this song. The first time I listened to it, it was quite unlike anything I had ever heard before in my life, and it's stuck with me since then. I can listen to it over and over and over and not get even the slightest bit sick of it. It is just TOO good. Another one of my most favourite songs of all time.
2. Fragile (All Is Violent, All Is Bright) - The first track I ever heard from this band, and coincidentally the track that made me crazy about their music. It made me cry the first time I heard it, and the first time I saw the video clip I absolutely bawled. I wasn't aware it was possible to condense so much meaning into four and a half minutes (although I have since been proven wrong a million times). I think this song honestly made me appreciate music (and life) more than I ever had before.
3. Fire Flies and Empty Skies (All Is Violent, All Is Bright) - My love for this song near rivals my love for Coda.. but not quite. I think the reason I like it so much is because of the similarities I can pick out between this track and Coda. It has so much feel to it. That's all I can really say about it.
4. Darkfall (Far From Refuge) - A more recent favourite. The piano in this song is somewhat heartbreaking. It kind of just makes me want to close my eyes and freeze and listen and not do anything else ever.
5. Frozen Twilight (A Moment Of Stillness) - I feel like this track is the embodiment of everything that is God is an Astronaut, and for that reason, I love it. It is beautiful and sorrowful and hopeful and angry and wistful all at once. Not many tracks manage to accomplish that blend.

The American Dollar
Favourite album: .. can't even choose LOL.
I disliked this band without even listening to them - I'm not sure why, I just had some kind of odd aversion to them before I had even heard any of their tracks. However, I caved when my most recent significant other began preaching about them to me.. and I'm glad I did. I had serious trouble picking these five out because there are so many overly good tracks to choose from..

1. Anything You Synthesize (A Memory Stream) - The track that really caught my attention the first time I listened to A Memory Stream the whole way through. This track made me listen harder to the rest of the album and on my second listen I realized what I had been missing - pure brilliance. My long-sustaining favourite.
2. Glow (The American Dollar) - If I had to use a single word to describe this song, I'd say heartwarming. It's just.. encouraging, and it really is possible for an instrumental track to be that way. It's one of those pieces that just makes everything feel OK. It sorta reminds me of one of Kyle Landry's piano covers (which are absolutely fantastic, by the way) with some added elements. I think the title of this song is really rather fitting as to the effect it produces.
3. Cambian (The American Dollar) - Whatthefuckincredible. It's songs like this one that make me wish I had discovered this band a lot earlier. This music is so simple in composition but what's behind it is something that I could never quite manage to define. The natural sound effects incorporated into this song make it something different and rather unforgettable. "They change"
4. Call (A Memory Stream) - This track has a bit of everything and it mixes it all up incredibly well. It's absolutely gorgeous. I feel like this track is exactly the right length.. had it been any longer or shorter, it wouldn't have been nearly as fantastic as it is.
5. Thompson (The American Dollar) - Short, but amazing nonetheless. I fell in love with this track the first time I heard it. It's hauntingly beautiful and is one of those songs you wish would just go on forever.

And a special mention to Time (The Technicolour Sleep) - The film edit from Ambient One is not really a patch on the original. The conclusion of the film edit is brilliant, but comparatively speaking, the entirety of the original version is brilliant. The build up from start to finish is perfectly executed and all but entrancing.
.. and Supernova Landslide (The Technicolour Sleep), because I somehow managed to forget it.

written for God Is In The TV Zine's albums of 2008.

3. Portishead – Third

Portishead are well known for their silence as well as their music. They’ve spent 12 years on and off without any contact with the music world since their world-class debut and Mercury music prize-winning ‘Dummy’ was released in 1994. They revealed five songs from ‘Third’ at the first live set for ten years at their curator’s set in All Tomorrow’s Parties, Minehead and so again unleashed an incredibly dark, but incredibly original sound once again.
‘Third’, as the title suggests, is still only their third album after 14 years. This long period is contributed to by the epic times spent in a recording studio perfecting the albums – another three being the number of years spent on ‘Third’. Portishead, like many other bands this year, took advantage of the burgeoning switchover of music mainstream to the internet by releasing their album on last.fm as a web stream a week before it’s release, with a listenership of over 300,000 in just 24 hours.
The album itself is far removed from the mainstream success of ‘Dummy’. Intensely digitised but accompanied by deep orchestral realisations. The combination of classical and ultra-modern might seem passé now, but it was Portishead who really started to combine it.
The percussive elements of ‘Third’ really drive the album forward – especially with their trip-hop roots in Bristol (home of another huge 90s act – Massive Attack). The mounting sense of dread synonymous with the album is felt especially in the arduous ‘We Carry On’ and ‘Threads’. The word ‘haunting’ is used all too often with Beth Gibbons’ vocals but with such tracks as ‘The Rip’ and the darkest, most intense track (and probably the best) of the album ‘Machine Gun’ it’s hard not to think anything but.
Although too dark to really match the success and wide-ranging appeal of their debut, ‘Third’ is still an incredibly complex and layered album worthy of a high standing in any record collection – just don’t have nightmares…

20. Vessels – White Fields And Open Devices
With a more than impressive build-up to 2008, Vessels returned to the UK after recording their debut in America with ‘wall-of-sound’ engineer John Congleton (Explosions in the Sky, This Will Destroy You). They performed in two UK tours through the year to support their debut, as well as releasing the single and video for ‘A Hundred Times In Every Direction’. The Leeds band impressed indie critics nationwide with their eclectic debut.
Their post-rock sound is originally punctuated with effervescent guitar and smooth unadulterated vocals. Their debut featured previously unheard songs such as the incredible ‘Wave Those Arms, Airmen’ (so complex and beautiful it has only been performed once) and the fantastic and calm ‘Walking Through Walls’ and inspiring new versions of ‘Two Words & A Gesture’ and ‘Yuki’.
This is the kind of music that inspires awe in all those patient enough to listen the cataclysmic 10-track hour long odyssey which jumps from cool calm acoustics to full blow hard rock overtures. Epic is not a big enough word to describe it.