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2005 Year-End Artist Survey

Jan 01, 2006 By Under the Radar staff Photography by Emily Wilson Web Exclusive

Ira Elliot
Nada Surf

Top Ten Albums of 2005

I've only listened to about a dozen albums this year and I only liked three of them. And I don't feel like telling you what they were.

What was the highlight of 2005 for either youpersonally or for the band?

Playing “White Riot,” “The Kids Are Alright,” “Pretty Vacant,” and “I Should Have Known Better” with Steve Jones [of Sex Pistols] live on the air in Los Angeles.

What was the low point of 2005 for you?

I didn't have one. I was high all year.

What are your hopes and plans for 2006?

I plan to keep touring and hope my girlfriend can put up with it.

If you could drop a copy of one album in the mailbox of every American citizen, what album would it be?

Led Zeppelin: The Complete Remasters (with Robert Plant removed).

Will the iPod, and its ability to combine all genres and its emphasis on individual songs, render the album format irrelevant?

No, but it could potentially make Corey Feldman more relevant. And we can’t have that.

With Kate Bush, Gang of Four, Ray Davies, Scott Walker, and others issuing new releases, what icon needs to return and make another album?

Henry Winkler.

With the mainstream success of artists like Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie, Bright Eyes, The White Stripes, and Franz Ferdinand, has the meaning of "indie rock" shifted? Has the term lost all meaning?

Given that it didn’t really have much of a specific meaning to begin with then yes, perhaps it’s time for a new industry-spawned moniker to give music that radio won't play. I can hardly wait. Hey, let’s just go back to using ‘underground.’ That was a good one.

If you couldn’t be a musician, what other profession do you think that you’d enjoy and why?

Salesman, lingerie department, Bloomingdales. Because it would be an easy commute on the 6 train.

If you could travel through time, where and when would you go and why?

I’d go back to October 1945 and throw a bucket of cold water over George and Barbara Bush as they tried to conceive Dubbleya.

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