Introducing #MyYearInMix for 2005, and Why it Was a Formative Year for Me and Music in General
According to the “Date Added” column on my Apple Music app—which I, the last holdout who refuses to subscribe to a streaming service, still use to organize and play my collection of precisely 21,120 digital music files—everything changed at 11:30 p.m. June 9, 2005. That’s the moment that I ripped a recently purchased Decemberists CD so that I could load it on the used iPod that one of my dad’s work buddies had bequeathed me. Approximately 48 hours later, I purchased the new single by an R&B singer named Amerie from the iTunes Music Store.
Soon I was carrying hundreds, then thousands, then tens of thousands of songs around in my pocket, adding them to playlists, hopping from my new favorite System of a Down track to my new favorite Aimee Mann track. Some songs quickly ascended the ranks to my Top 25 Most Played. Others were ignored, regularly skipped, and forgotten. The importance of albums as a cohesive artistic medium began its long slow decline. For me, 2005 was an entirely new era for the discovery of and interaction with music—establishing habits and patterns that I basically still follow today. Many of those tracks I added in those first few months of the iPod age are still among my most played and most beloved songs.
Skip ahead 19 years, two months, and 21 days later, and I find myself increasingly drawn into the #MusicChallenge community on BlueSky. Along with other Twitter refugees, we use our accounts to share music according to certain prompts. There are a dozen or so accounts that without fail like whatever I post. I think they like everything everybody posts, but my dopamine receptors appreciate the attention regardless. They, in turn, are introducing me to new music. And I like the quote-unquote challenge of finding the perfect song in my collection that fits the prompt of the day.
One of the many active challenges for September 2024 is #MyYearInMix organized by @begoodjohnny84.bsky.social. Users were encouraged to sign up on a first-come-first-served basis for a particular year, and then starting at 6 p.m. EDT (the universally agreed upon magic hour for a #MusicChallenge) on Aug. 31, post a song a day from that year for the next 30-40 days, creating a digest of your musical relationship with that particular annum.
As you may have guessed, I selected 2005. There was actually quite a lot going on that year.
YouTube launched in February 2005 and, with an early assist from The Lonely Island, the concept of viral videos was born. Pitchfork, The A.V. Club, Stereogum and a blogosphere of independent writers were just coming into their own, forging a new style of music criticism. The first bubblings of Poptimism were starting to shift the conversation away from rock and guitars and pretentious authenticity. Don’t discount the advent of satellite radio, which allowed drivers to tune into entire channels devoted to strange sub-genres even in the most rural terrestrial-radio wastelands. Generationally, the crest of the Millennial cohort—the 10 million people born in 1990 and 1991 that form the peak of America’s population chart—were getting their driver’s licenses and setting the pop culture agenda.
Me, I’m a few years older, stuck in the grey area between Gen X and Millennials. My self concept always aligned me more with the cooler, ironically detached older kids, but any honest survey of my favorite music screams “2000s indie pop kid” way more than “1990s grunge slacker dude.” In 2005, I was a few years into my first real job, learning how to write about music, playing in a band, and generally honing what would be my adult pop-cultural identity.
That year, there were not one, not two, not three, but FOUR albums that still rank among my Top 10 of all time and are all pretty easily categorized as hyper-literate folk-rock. You’ll find them all represented among the 40 tracks I’ve prepared for my #MyYearInMix, along with a lot of melodic, guitar-driven indie rock and a smattering neo-traditionalist country and Americana, underground hip hop, abrasive metal and garage rock, and inventive covers. You won’t find any Black Eyed Peas, Fallout Boy, or 50 Cent, I’m afraid, but there are a couple of genuine radio hits, along with one novelty fundraising track. I’m excited to share it with all 12 of my BlueSky buddies.
As the challenge goes on, I’ll embed posts here and a playlist.
OK, let’s do this. #MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 1. “Caterpillar Girl,” Lou Barlow Barlow made his name pioneering lo-fi indie rock in Dinosaur Jr. & Sebadoh. His first solo release is … not that. It’s all lush instrumentation and polished production. youtu.be/DTcbImxnIfw?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) Aug 31, 2024 at 5:31 PM
#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 2. “Choctaw Bingo,” Ray Wylie Hubbard (James McMurtry cover) Hubbard slowed the tempo and sleazed up this 8 1/2-min. alt-country epic a/b a dirtbag family reunion full of crystal meth, surplus ammo & lusting after cousins. youtu.be/YX4o6-5h7vM?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) Sep 1, 2024 at 4:58 PM
#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 3. “Fake Palindromes,” Andrew Bird If ever there was a year for a talented violinist/singer/songwriter but a virtuoso *whistler* to break through and make a bunch of critics’ best-of-the-year lists, it’s 2005. youtu.be/l01rGqgzHLQ?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) Sep 2, 2024 at 10:25 PM
#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 4. "Hold On," Redbird (Tom Waits cover) The folk trio did exactly what you're supposed to do with Waits: unearth the beauty lurking beneath his gravely voice and junkyard instrumentation. The vocal harmonies here are superb . youtu.be/xp1FSSOTzwA?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) September 3, 2024 at 3:17 PM
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#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 5. "In State," Kathleen Edwards On her 2nd album's lead single, Edwards again finds the sweet spot between sneering and sympathetic for her tales of wronged women, set to steady roots rock (is it Americana if it's Canadian?) youtu.be/el6AZ5QEU5I?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) September 4, 2024 at 3:48 PM
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#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 6. "Lucky Today," Cloud Cult OK this is twee as fuck. While more people should know about this positive little MN indie pop group, I like their subsequent work better. But that BEAT. It might be the most 2005 tune on my list. youtu.be/L_qVfYJwTgM?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) September 5, 2024 at 4:58 PM
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#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 7. "Kerosene," Miranda Lambert One surefire way for a country singer to get my attention is to happily give Steve Earle a songwriting credit because you listened to him so much that you accidentally plagiarized him by osmosis youtu.be/rB7ONnfIjaI?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) September 6, 2024 at 2:52 PM
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#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 8. “The Alternative to Love,” Brendan Benson I don’t have documented proof, but I like to think Jack White thought his Detroit buddy’s solo album deserved more recognition & that led to the pair forming The Raconteurs in 2005. youtu.be/O30M37gKxB0?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) September 8, 2024 at 12:23 PM
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#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 9. "We Both Go Down Together," The Decemberists "Picaresque"—and this morally ambiguous song in particular—made me a Decemberists superfan, & it's still among my favorite albums not just by the band or of 2005 but of all time youtu.be/8aecyFEnMYs?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) September 8, 2024 at 4:05 PM
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#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 10. "Qué Onda Guero," Beck At first this sounds like the stream-of-surrealism Beck is famous for (Dust Bros. production helps), but it's a detailed, observational tribute to the rough-and-tumble LA neighborhoods he grew up in youtu.be/fVW35uuMYTY?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) September 9, 2024 at 4:21 PM
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#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 11. “Beauty,” Edan One of the best-reviewed hip-hop albums of 2005 (only MIA ? and Kanye ?? are ranked higher on Metacritic) was by a Jewish kid outta Maryland on an indie label. Broke through in Britain but ignored in the US. youtu.be/3oi-B_28288?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) September 10, 2024 at 3:05 PM
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#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 12. "Black," Okkervil River I didn't truly appreciate how complex this song is until I tried to write about it. It requires a ?. 1/6 youtu.be/qextQHRmePM?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) September 11, 2024 at 4:05 PM
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#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 13. "The Party's Crashing Us," of Montreal "The Sunlandic Twins" marked the first hints of the transition from of Montreal's early twee-pop years to the psycho-introspective synthpop of 2007's "Hissing Fauna … ." youtu.be/LolPT5a_ZMc?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) September 12, 2024 at 3:13 PM
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#MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 14. "Isabella County, 1992," Great Lakes Myth Society If there is one song in this #MusicChallenge I want to highlight, it's this accordion-led folk ballad about college life in Mount Pleasant, MI. GLMS is not well know, and that's a tragedy. youtu.be/WBAdCgqxCjY?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) September 13, 2024 at 5:22 PM
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#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 15. "You to Thank," Ben Folds Folds swore up and down that the songs about miserable marriages he kept writing in the mid-'00s weren't a reflection of his own marriage … which turned out to not be exactly true. youtu.be/-FP1R-80SR8?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) September 14, 2024 at 3:08 PM
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#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 16. "1 Thing," Amerie Officially the best single of the 21st century, according to #FEAROFMU21C participants. I loved this from the moment I heard it. Everyone did, right? "1 Thing" is the one thing we can all agree on, yes? youtu.be/bbqVg_23otg?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) September 15, 2024 at 3:35 PM
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#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 17. "This Year," The Mountain Goats Until TikTokers mysteriously obsessed over "No Children," this was J. Darnielle's most popular song by a wide margin. Rightly so. It's anthemic in ways no Mountain Goats song had been before. youtu.be/i546fS2CPJs?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) September 16, 2024 at 4:32 PM
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#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 18. "I Can't Help You Anymore," Aimee Mann Aimee Mann has never sounded better and more Aimee Mann-ish than on this forgotten deep cut from her forgotten 2005 album, "The Forgotten Arm." Listen to this production. Perfection. youtu.be/ROMBKaOf9cg?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) September 17, 2024 at 9:13 PM
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>#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 19. "Your Little Hoodrat Friend," The Hold Steady In which Craig Finn establishes the mythos of Holly, crashing her way through the seediest parts of Minneapolis where sex, drugs & born-again Christianity all swirl together. youtu.be/BD1vW24NoKE?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) September 18, 2024 at 3:24 PM
[image or embed]#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 21. "The Beast and Dragon, Adored," Spoon A brooding opening to the Austin band's 4th album, with title taken from a 16th c. tapestry depicting the Book of Revelation. "I been watching my friends move away" hit hard in my 20s. youtu.be/d-5nbJu6HG8?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) September 20, 2024 at 4:31 PM
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#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 20. "Only," Nine Inch Nails I was kinda looking for an excuse not to include this. But it has a cool groove, and I always get a kick out of Reznor being Reznor: "I just made you up to hurt myself. And it worked. Yes it did!" youtu.be/wwvLlEtxX3o?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) September 19, 2024 at 3:11 PM
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#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 22. “B.Y.O.B.,” System of a Down Glad to have been alive in a time when a track combing blast beats, caustic political satire, Armenian folk modality & party jam grooves could get mainstream radio airplay and win a Grammy. youtu.be/zUzd9KyIDrM?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) September 21, 2024 at 5:16 PM
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#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 23. "Where There's a Road," Robbie Fulks This went unnoticed in all but the most insular alt-country circles, but it was a huge shock that the songwriter who'd written "Fuck This Town" a/b Nashville put this out 8 years later. youtu.be/0uzEhlsnxrY?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) September 22, 2024 at 8:03 PM
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#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 "I Killed Sally's Lover" (live), The Avett Brothers Their 2nd live album captures what it was like to see them when they were still a folk-meets-screamo trio, banging the hell out of an acoustic guitar & banjo in small clubs. youtu.be/HiLshKJ75s0?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) September 23, 2024 at 3:23 PM
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#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 25. "Feel Good Inc.," Gorillaz feat. De La Soul The highest charting of the 3 songs on my mix that made Billboard's Top 100 of 2005 & as such the purest pop hit. And it's a social critique by a cartoon band of simian cyberpunks youtu.be/HyHNuVaZJ-k?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) September 24, 2024 at 3:35 PM
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#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 26. "My Doorbell," The White Stripes What if I told you the best White Stripes song didn't have any guitar aside from some subtle, fuzzed bass effects; used piano as the lead instrument; and came out 2 years after "Elephant"? youtu.be/IlcMRq3gb1s?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) September 25, 2024 at 3:22 PM
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#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 27. "Best of You," Foo Fighters Shocked to learn this is Foo Fighters' highest-charting single. One spot higher than "Learn to Fly." It takes that song's guitar-pop instincts + Dave Grohl absolutely wrecking his vocal cords. youtu.be/h_L4Rixya64?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) September 26, 2024 at 3:08 PM
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#MusicChallenge #MyYearInMix #MyYearInMix2005 28. "The Girl I Can't Forget," Fountains of Wayne This is 1 of 2 brand new songs the band released on a compilation of non-album tracks following the success of "Stacy's Mom." One of the great blackout-drunk story songs. youtu.be/7eO6_BX7mdk?…
— All The City Lights (@atcl.bsky.social) September 27, 2024 at 4:09 PM
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