Wednesday, January 27, 2010

7. I Am A Bird Now - Antony & the Johnsons (2005)


As close friends know, I assembled my Top Twenty Albums of the Year lists long before Skeleton Crew Quarterly came to be. And while rooting around through my annual lists, I uncovered a write-up I sent to my Dad and brother, describing my number one pick of the year. While it reads rather embarrassingly, this still sums up my general conviction for Antony’s Mercury Award-winning sophomore album:

“Nobody, including me, could get through hearing Antony's voice for the first time without thinking it might be a joke. His Nina Simone quiver initially feels like a burden, but by the second or third listen, it's pitch-perfect.

Most interesting to note, Antony and the Johnsons bridged the musical gap between more of my friends than any other record I can think of. Who would've thought a record about a boy wishing to be a girl (and who, in the end, becomes a bird) could win the hearts of a chauvinistic, AC/DC-loving jock friend? Not me. And I don't mean they nodded in approval, or downloaded it. I mean they went out and bought it. Anyway, this album will be just as incredible and timeless when I'm old and grey. Ah yes, another music nerd shouts "Modern Classic!" from his bedroom window.”

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