Since there are approximately 11 weeks left in 2005, I thought it might be a good time to start reviewing the music I enjoyed the most this year. Thus, each week for the remainder of the year, I will list my favorite songs from each month of the year. These picks won't be limited to albums released in the particular month or even in 2005.

My criterion is simple: create a playlist (using Smart Playlists in iTunes) from songs added to my library in the relevant month, where my rating is greater than two stars, limited to 70 minutes (so I can burn a CD later). The only editing I've done is to remove duplicate artists. The order is random.

And so it begins, with January:

Arthur Russell - "You Did the Right Thing When You Put That Skylight In" (from Let's Go Swimming EP, 1986, Audika Records): From The Wire: "This exclusive track from the previously unreleased 1985 album Corn is a seemingly banal tribute to close friend and collaborator Ernie Brooks who had recently installed a home skylight. "It makes your place, your pad, a nicer place to be, and that's a good thing", he said. However, with its trademark, distorted cello, and Russell's liquid, lethargically soulful vocals, "You Did The Right Thing" is strangely moving. The right stuff indeed."

Chad Vangaalen - "Somewhere I Know There is Nothing" (from Inifiheart, 2005, Sub Pop): This track is a brittle collage of Chad's mournful voice, crumbling, sighing strings, and distant waves of electronic seas.  Its loneliness gets me every time. Download "Somewhere I Know." (MP3) from Flemish Eye.  

The Chemical Brothers - "Galvanize" (from Push the Button, 2005, Astralwerks)

Doves - "Snowden" (from Some Cities, 2005, Capitol): Even though I view Some Cities as a minor disappointment, this is one of the best songs Doves has written to date. "Snowden" rushes through one grand moment after another, elevated by a towering and ghostly choral howl.

Life Without Buildings - "New Town" (from Any Other City, 2001, Tugboat): Either Sue Tompkins jittery, manic, repetitive vocals are the most annoying thing you've ever heard, or the most addictive. I fall into the latter category. Listening to LWB I imagine a wounded, tough girl driving out her demons one by one, line by line. Sadly LWB broke up in 2002. Listen to Real Audio clips from Any Other City here (click on Audio).

Luna - "Chinatown" (from Penthouse, 1995, Elektra): Luna was the first band I saw live in New York City. Listening to this song will forever remind me of that cold November night at the Knitting Factory, circa 2000. The towers still stood and the streets were still full of mystery. Read more about Penthouse here.

M. Ward - "I'll be Yr Bird" (from Transistor Radio, 2005, Merge)

M.I.A. "Bingo" (from Arular, 2005, XL): This track still kicks with adrenaline and I'm still sad M.I.A. did not play it the one time I saw her live.

Prefuse 73 - "Hideyaface" (from Surrounded By Silence, 2005, Warp)

Gina Villalobos - "So Much for Dying" (from Rock `N' Pony, 2004, Kick Music): Gina is just rough enough, just country enough to avoid Sheryl Crow territory. I'll admit I'm a total sucker for songs with lap steel guitars. Combine them with Gina's gravel-in-the-honey voice and the results are genuinely affecting. Download Gina's cover of World Party's "Put the Message in the Box" (MP3).

Red Sparowes - "A Brief Moment of Clarity." (from At the Soundless Dawn, 2005, Neurot): From Drowned in Sound: "At just over an hour long, At The Soundless Dawn is a sprawling, effortlessly epic work that requires absorption; you can not hope to gain anything from it through skip listening or by playing it whilst washing up, or vacuuming, or reading the Monday jobs section. This needs time, and love, and absolute attention. It doesn't ape Explosions In The Sky; it launches bright new fireworks of its own."

Regina Spektor - "Chemo Limo" (from Soviet Kitsch, 2004, Sire)

Shuttle358 - "Scrapbook" (from Chessa, 2004, 12k): How convenient that my first month mix ends with this graceful ambient piece from Dan Abrams' Shuttle358 project. From 12k: "Chessa is the third release from Abrams' Shuttle358 moniker on 12k and he continues to do what he does best: attempt to move microsound away from the world of theory and towards absolute real life. Like his photographs, Chessa is music about, and to be listened to in, unexpected places." Listen to clips from Chessa here.