Another stray thought: "My Friend Dario" sort of plays the same role on OK Cowboy as "Frontier Psychiatrist" does on Since I Left You: it's the single, and initially the standout track, but it's such a departure from the rest of the Vitalic album, which has such a unified sound (all those drunken carnival organs) that it begins to grate when listened to in context.

I don't really like "Fix You" that much, but it was probably smart of Coldplay to release a "Yellow" in between two "Clocks."

I set a goal earlier this year to listen to 100 albums from 2005, partially so I could make a top 40 or 50 list at the end of the year without feeling like I was scraping the barrel. I didn't think it would be all that difficult, either: I'd do my usual amount of buying, downloading, and acquiring from friends, and then be more assiduous about monitoring sites like Luisterpaal, where I can stream full albums that I probably wouldn't have otherwise sought out.

Anyway, there are 39 days left until the New Year, my Stylus ballot is probably due much earlier than that, and I've heard a grand total of 86 records.

So here is where I beseech you, readers, to recommend me ONE album from this year that I absolutely need to hear. Ideally, it'd be something you think I'd like: I mean, I'd post this on ILM, but I don't just want a predictable list of the year's most-raved about records. I want a personal recommendation, so I can convince myself that listening to it is crucial.

Here's the list of what I've already heard. Now go forth!

I can't hear Boards of Canada's "Chromakey Dreamcoat" (probably the highlight from The Campfire Headphase) these days without also hearing Kanye West's unctuous "Addiction" over it. Both tracks feature a cleanly picked electric-guitar figure in a dreamy minor key (on "Addiction," it's a sample of a recording of "My Funny Valentine"), and the sound is similar enough that a mash-up would wind up being redundant instead of revelatory. I'm reminded of how much BoC's beats are hip-hop-derived, which is surprisingly uncommented upon; I do think those simple, heavy drum loops are a key to their popularity among people who otherwise don't have much grounding or interest in electronic music.

NEW COVER CONNECTIONS (OLD)

You know, I don't usually like to talk about my band on this blog -- in general, I prefer to keep my writer side separate from my musician side -- but I'll just say this: The new Canasta album is out this week, and I think it turned out pretty good.

Early-in-the-week singles now.