Premature Judgment

We're only halfway through November. Monday was the 318th day of the year. We've got 47 days yet to go before 2005 is over. That's 12.88 percent of the year still ahead of us. More than one-eighth. It seems to me that it's a mite early to be making year-end lists and wrap ups. But that's exactly what Q magazine has done. Their Best of 2005 CD is out with the newest issue. It seems that the release of these CDs shifts around from year to year. I don't know that I've ever seen it prior to December before, although there was one odd year when it didn't show up until January. Since Q is a British magazine, it's possible that it didn't show up around here until some time in December because of shipping and customs delays. Perhaps it seems so early this year simply because shipping has become more efficient. But since the CD theoretically compiles the best material of the year but the actual year-end issue doesn't come out until next month, we don't really know how Q considers this stuff to stack up. Two years ago, the CD included tracks from two albums that didn't even make their list of best albums in the following issue.

Even though it seems far too early to know, Q must feel that 2005 is an excellent year for music. They've come up with two CDs full of best-of-the-year tracks. With each CD including fifteen tracks, that gives us a total of thirty songs. For various reasons, I haven't bought a lot of music this year, so much of this material is new to me. Many of the usual suspects are here, as well as some newcomers who are entirely expected--Franz, Doves, Bloc Party, Arcade Fire, Kaiser Chiefs, Antony & the Johnsons. Somehow Q always enjoys Stereophonics, so they're here again, as are long-AWOL performers such as Depeche Mode and The Go-Betweens. I'm not sure why Q feels that greatest hits albums and rereleases should be recognized here, but we've got a thirteen-year-old Prodigy song as part of the collection. Kirsty MacCall's best-of collection is represented, as well, but at least there we get a previously unreleased track. There are a few new people who I've either heard of but haven't actually heard, such as Athlete, The Magic Numbers, and M.I.A., or haven't even noticed before, such as Hard-Fi and KT Tunstall. I'll write more about the music after I've had a chance to listen to it for a while.