Not Quite The Timmys, Part One

I have completed my final rankings of the 2004 Timmy Awards, which is essentially my top 25 albums of the year list. I give myself until the Grammys as my deadline, as I have many other duties which keep me from cranking out album reviews of all the year has to offer during that calendar year.

In the past, I have listed Honorable Mentions just by title and artist. Since I now have a blog and need stuff to write about, these will get brief write-ups here. I have 8 albums that I deem close but no cigar.

Sometimes the honorable mentions are harder to determine than the Top 25. This year, I've identified 16 albums as being good, but somehow flawed enough not to be in my short list of
Honorable Mentions. They are still worth pursuing for those die-hard fans of a particular style- these are all decent albums. But they ain't Timmy winners, and I'll tell you why.

Welcome to Not Quite The Timmys. This is the lower half of the Sweet 16, in no particular order...

Rufus Wainright- Want Two
Style: Operatic, Out Of The Closest Alternative Folk
Fatal Flaw: Overly Dramatic- could be as good as Want One, released last year, but it was fresh then. This is a sequel that sounds like a sequel.
Try Instead: Rufus Wainright- Want One (#12 on the 2003 Timmys)

Graham Coxon- Happiness in Magazines
Style: "Look, Ma, I Don't Need Blur!"
Fatal Flaw: Blur albums still readily available.
Try Instead: Blur- Best Of Blur

The Libertines- The Libertines
Style: Drug-Addict drama over catchy 1977-style UK punk-pop
Fatal Flaw: Makes one want to listen to The Clash, not more Libertines.
Try Instead: You guessed it, anything by The Clash

Wiley- Treddin' on Thin Ice
Style: UK Garage Rap- techno beats, British accents
Fatal Flaw: Repetitive, some do this better.
Try Instead: Dizzee Rascal- Showtime

The Thrills- Let's Bottle Bohemia
Style: Irishmen visit California and fall in love with The Byrds and The Eagles, then listen to some Motown
Fatal Flaw: That singer's voice. I put up with it on the debut but cannot do so any longer.
Try Instead: The Thrills- So Much For The City (#11 on the 2003 Timmys)

John Cale- HoboSapiens
Style: An aging, artsy cult hero tries his hand at 21st Century pop.
Fatal Flaw: Sounding a little too much like Warren Zevon, which is fine if you're Warren Zevon, unsettling if you were once in The Velvet Underground.
Try Instead: Brian Eno & John Cale- Wrong Way Up

Hope Of The States- The Lost Riots
Style: Turn up the Radiohead, Baby- It's Coldplay Outside
Fatal Flaw: Hasn't grown on me yet- maybe it will, maybe it won't.
Try Instead: Whatever Radiohead you're missing, starting with OK Computer and moving forward

Skinnyman- Council Estate Of Mind
Style: UK Rap, more old school than Dizzee or Wiley
Fatal Flaw: Good, but repetitive
Try Instead: Either Dizzee Rascal Album or Beastie Boys- To The 5 Boroughs