Hunting High and Low: 2005 in Review

Hunting High and Low: 2005 in Review

Aidin Vaziri | HIGH: Coldplay The Fillmore (May). The music didn't even matter. Chris Martin could have walked out and karate-chopped a block of wood over his head and everyone would have still come away talking about how they had just witnessed the best show ever. It was all about the anticipation: the sex-for-tickets proposals that filled the Craigslist classifieds; the prospect of a Gwyneth Paltrow sighting in the balcony; the miles-long line that stretched all the way down the seedy part of Geary Boulevard. The fact that the band delivered a stunning set of songs, including a generous helping from its then-unreleased third album, "X&Y," was merely a bonus.



LOW: The White Stripes Greek Theatre (August). Watching Ian Brown get into a fistfight onstage with a surly security guard at the Great American Music Hall was an embarrassment. Seeing Kings of Leon play like zombies in their opening slot for U2 at the HP Pavilion was painful. But Jack White beat them all when he stormed off in the middle of the White Stripes' Greek Theatre concert in Berkeley because a balloon -- that's right, a balloon -- happened to bounce his way. Two nights in a row. "This is bull -- ," he announced before taking his leave. Quite.

TOP 10 SONGS OF 2005

Devendra Banhart "Heard Somebody Say." An anti-war anthem dressed up like one of Nick Drake's tender love songs, delivered by a genuine hippie with a genuine beard.

Gwen Stefani "Hollaback Girl." A cheerleading chant with a hip-hop beat and filthy chorus, with a bonus rap interlude for MTV viewers. This is how everyone should go solo.

Bloc Party "Like Eating Glass." Kele Okereke is the only Nigerian-born, British-bred singer in a punk-funk band who can make it feel like the end of the world when he sings, "It's so cold in this house."

Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan "Unplayed Piano." The world's laziest Irish singer-songwriter takes time out from his busy year of doing nothing to deliver another classic melody.

Kelly Clarkson "Since U Been Gone." Yes, it was originally released at the tail end of 2004, but that's how long it takes to accept not only that it's actually a great song from an "American Idol" contestant but also that it's one of the most thrilling breakup songs since Roxy Music's "Dance Away."

Bart Davenport "L.A. Girls." A daydream wrapped up in an existential crisis wrapped up in the perfect summer melody -- and then punctuated with a wicked guitar solo.

Athlete "Wires." A lovely piano ballad about singer Joel Pott's first harrowing night with his newborn daughter. "I see hope is here, in a plastic box/ I've seen Christmas lights, reflect in your eyes."

Kylie Minogue "I Believe in You." A roller-disco jam written by the Scissor Sisters, with a sleek post-rock luster and a killer kicker where Kylie repeats the title, oh, about 5 million times.

Beck "Broken Drum (Boards of Canada Remix)." The beat thumps at half-speed, the guitars sound as if they're melting and Beck is just a weary voice on the horizon. It's like listening to the original on magic mushrooms.

Amerie "1 Thing." First, it's impossible to go wrong with any song that samples the Meters' "Oh, Calcutta!" Then, there's that voice -- as raw and sensual as Mariah Carey's is sexless and cold.