Once again it is that time of year when every Tom, Dick and Harry and their respectively mangy canines, in an effort to avoid the inescapably ubiquitous self-similar, holiday-season, ear-canal-clogging drivel, reminisce about the better sounding days of the passing year.

So being no stranger to social pressures, I pause and look around ce bordel, and present the morsels that moved and grooved me in 2004...

Top albums/compilations acquired:

• Sidestepper, 3AM (In Beats We Trust) (Palm Beats)
• Studio One Story (Soul Jazz)
• Favela Chic, Postonove 3
• Lágbájá, We Before Me (Indigedisc)
• Haiku D'Etat, Coup de Theatre (Decon/Project Blowed Recordings)
• Remixes From Moffou Salif Keita (Universal France)
• Djelimoussa Cissoko, Mali Kora (Culture Press)
• Henri Guédon, O Universo Rítmico de Guem (Som da Gente)
• Various Naija Jams

Best Shows:

• Jeff Mills, Luomo, Michael Mayer, JojoFlores & Wumni @ WMC Miami, March
• Frivolous, Krikor, Fax, Isolée, Noto & Junior Boys @ Mutek, Montréal, June
• Joe Cluassell @ End Up, San Francisco, Labour Day Weekend
• Broker/Dealer @ Rx Gallery, San Francisco, November
• Swayzak @ Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco, December

Other goodies, not necessarily new to this year

• T. Raumschmiere, “Zartbitter” (Shitkatapult)
• Abida Parween, “Koo-bab-koo phail gai (Ghazal - Parween Shakir)”
• Yayi Kanoute, “Djugu Magni”
• Sidestepper, “Donde Va Mi Corazon”
• Juan Luis Guerra & 440, “El Niágara en Bicicleta”
• Andreas Fragel - “Icon ( C.U.T. Remix )” (Traum)
• Luomo - “What's Good (Adjuster Rmx)” (ForceTracks)
• Ruoho Ruotsi - “Vrng Sqrd ( Igor O. Vlasov Mix )” (de'fchild)
• Jonas Bering, “Normandie 1” (Kompakt)
• Willie Williams (w/ The All Stars), “Addis Ababa”
• Eastern Dub Tactik, “Set Your Soul on Fire”
• Ja-Man All Stars, “Herb Cutter”
• Sub Oslo, “Prisoner of Dub”
• Phase Selector, “Warrior Style”
• Canta Paula Ribas, “Monami Zeca (Tonito)”
• Grey Larsen & André Marchand, “Who Will Help Me through the Woods?”
• Oreja, “Manana por la Manana” (Papa Records)
• Hollis P. Monroe vs Etta James, “This Is Goodbye (Deep)”

check this supa fresh streaming video

“I rather dance than talk with you
So why don't we just move into the other room
There's space for us to shake, hey I like this tune

Let your hips do the talking
I'll make you laugh by acting like the guy who sings
You make me smile by really getting into the swing”

Although I'm not considering investing in an iPod at the moment, primarily because of the weight, ubiquity and lack of FM tuner-age (see 'cos during my daily commute, I beef up the lingua by listening to Spanish radio programs) nevertheless, I do think these mods are pretty fresh!