The Loop : Wrapping up 2004 - 2006

The Loop : Wrapping up 2004 - 2006

So another month has come and gone and we're now six years into our journey into ten years of great albums. This has been an eye opening challenge for me, forcing me to learn how to articulate music in more ways than "dance party" and "awesome". I feel like I got to more albums than last month, however no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get to all of them. At the end of this, I'll post some of the bands that just didn't make it before December, either by lack of things to say or just plain time, but who I highly recommend.

I chose the picture of The Blaze 1260AM studios because it became clear to me just how much of this time period was influenced by working in college radio at ASU. As I mentioned in my Band of Horses feature, the idea of college radio was fairly new to me starting out, having only listened to our alternative/modern rock stations. Going back through these albums and realizing that so many bands start there brings the title of this blog, "Seven Watt Media" into perspective. We only had seven watts to power our station and it's often joked that you can't drive to the next block and still hear it. But the music still had a home there and the DJs spoke with as much passion as I've ever heard music spoken of to this day. None of the logistics of reaching a mass audience mattered because we were championing these artists in every other way possible, on air and offline. It's a drive I try and still have today and hope to never take for granted.

This era also introduced a lot more Arizona local bands, as they were a huge part of my life during my time at ASU (and to this day) It's exciting to have found them as organically as I found some of my favorite national records, weaving themselves into a consciousness of just plain GOOD music.

I'm excited that it is now December and to dive into the last period : 2007 - 2009 and ultimately my top 10 albums of 2009. Ready, set, go.

But first a re-cap of albums we just didn't have time for (but still love! immensely!)

Augustana - All the Stars and Boulevards:
"Sunday Best"

Augustana - New Music - More Music Videos

As Tall As Lions - S/T
"I'm Kicking Myself"


Ben Lee - Awake is the New Asleep
"Into the Dark"


Cartel - Chroma
"Luckie St"


The Decemberists - Picaresque
"The Engine Driver"


Get Back Loretta - Over the Wall
"Gotta Believe"


Goodbye Tomorrow - Tied By Miles
"Time Restrains"


Great Lake Swimmers - Bodies and Minds
"Various Stages"


Peachcake - Chain Letter EP
"Stop Acting Like You Know More About the Internet Cafe Than Me"


De Capulet - Ourglass EP
"The Paradigm"



And what we DID cover in 2004-2006 (and 35 handy links!):

• The Loop : Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
• The Loop : Garden State Soundtrack
• The Loop : Ryan Adams and The Cardinals - Cold Ros...
• The Loop : Ed Harcourt - Strangers
• The Loop : Gratitude - S/T
• The Loop : Skybox - Arco Iris
• The Loop : Hellogoodbye - Hellogoodbye EP
• The Loop : Green Day - American Idiot
• The Loop : Band of Horses - Everything All the Tim...
• The Loop : Nada Surf - The Weight is a Gift
• The Loop : The Academy Is . . . - Almost Here
• The Loop : Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake It's Morni...
• The Loop : The Loveblisters - EP
• The Loop : Matt Pond PA - Winter Songs EP
• The Loop : Rogue Wave - Descended Like Vultures
• The Loop : Mew - The Zookeeper's Boy EP
• The Loop : The Snake The Cross The Crown - Mander ...
• The Loop : Joshua Radin - We Were Here
• The Loop : The Fray - How to Save a Life
• The Loop : Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
• The Loop : Zachary James Dodds - Words, Cranes & M...
• The Loop : DeYarmond Edison - Silent Signs
• The Loop : Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther...
• The Loop : Reubens Accomplice - The Bull, The Ball...
• The Loop : Jack's Mannequin - Everything in Transi...
• The Loop : Various Artists - Not One Light Red : A...
• The Loop : Margot and the Nuclear So and So's - Th...
• The Loop : Rocky Votolato - Makers
• The Loop : Denison Witmer - Are You a Dreamer?
• The Loop : Say Anything - ...Is A Real Boy
• The Loop : Matt Nathanson - At the Point (Live)
• The Loop : The Long Winters - Ultimatum EP
• The Loop : Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Shake the...
• The Loop : Elliott Smith - From a Basement on the ...
• The Loop: Jimmy Eat World - Futures

Hello December.