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Jan 01, 2006 UNKLE By Under the Radar staff Photography by Wendy Lynch Redfern

James Lavelle
UNKLE

Top Eight Albums of 2005

1. Mark Lanegan: Bubblegum - I like Mark Lanagan’s album thebest but it might be from last year, but fuck it, it’s still better than anything else.
2. Oasis: Don’t Believe the Truth
3. Robert Plant: Mighty Rearranger
4. Arcade Fire: Funeral
5. Black Mountain: Black Mountain
6. Queens of the Stone Age: Lullabies to Paralyze
7. Autolux: Future Perfect
8. David Banner: Certified

What was the highlight of 2005 for either you personally or for the band?

Working with Chris Goss, Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), Noel Gallagher (Oasis), Dave Catching in Joshua Tree, CA. Richard File’s vocal performances. Meeting Robert Plant and Billy Gibbons in the same day, having spent a night with Queens of the Stone Age, Twiggy Ramirez and Autolux. Performing with James Holden. And watching my daughter grow.

What was the low point of 2005 for you?

Love loss, misunderstandings and responsibility.

What are your hopes and plans for 2006?

Moving on, art and love.

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

N.W.A.: Straight Out of Compton

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

It will help the idea of an album evolve. Welcome to the next chapter of music evolution. THANK GOD!

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

Axel Rose of course, and Portishead.

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?

Sounds like Seattle all over again. Silly question.

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

I want to be a musician!

Do you feel more or less optimistic (about music, about your personal life, about the world in general) than you did a year ago?

Better. Harder. Stronger.

Arcade Fire broke through in 2004. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Wolf Parade broke through in 2005. Who will be the “it-band” of 2006?

UNKLE of course.

If you had/got to switch careers with another artist or band, who would it be and why?

Ahmet Ertegun, Atlantic Records - what taste. Or Andy Warhol – WOW!

We are now over halfway through the ‘00 decade. What five albums stand out from the last five years as the best?

Queens of the Stone Age: Songs for the Deaf
Jay-Z: The Black Album
Johnny Cash: The Legend of Johnny Cash
Mark Lanegan: Bubblegum
Massive Attack: 100th Window

Do you have any other thoughts about the current state of the world or the state of the music industry?

Mother Earth will show her hand. Protect and learn from our children. Music rules.

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