Nada Surf - all is a game, 2005

"Nada Surf have composed fine songs for free-thinking, analytical, and pensive individuals, without being overly complex. The result of all this experience and reflection is that Nada Surf and producer Chris Walla have made a great pop/rock record. It's more of an emotive affair, with soft-hued guitar layers, hushed harmonies, and frontman Matthew Caws' signature aching, bittersweet vocals. From the gloomy orchestrations of "My Legs Grow" and the shiny hopes of "All Is a Game" to the more unapologetic, rollicking moments such as "Blankest Year" and "Armies Walk," the disc never loses momentum. The Weight Is a Gift is Nada Surf's most honest and earnest record to date."

Nada Surf - what is your secret, 2005

"Nada Surf have composed fine songs for free-thinking, analytical, and pensive individuals, without being overly complex. The result of all this experience and reflection is that Nada Surf and producer Chris Walla have made a great pop/rock record. It's more of an emotive affair, with soft-hued guitar layers, hushed harmonies, and frontman Matthew Caws' signature aching, bittersweet vocals."

Nada Surf - always love, 2005

"The album was produced by Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Chris Walla and mixed by Geoff Sanoff, John Goodmanson, John Agnello and Ed Stasium. Tom Beaujour did some guitar overdubs. The album features vocals from the Long Winters frontman John Roderick."

My Morning Jacket - into the woods, 2005

"The album was the second highest rated album of 2005 according to Metacritic, behind Sufjan Stevens' Illinois; the album has a total score of 90 out of 100. Technically, both Z and Illinois were tied for the highest Metacritic rating in 2005, with a score of 90 each. However, the score for Illinois was based on a larger overall number of reviews: 40, compared to 31 for Z."

The National - mr november, 2005

"The band supported Barack Obama's presidential candidacy in 2008. In July of that year, the band designed and sold a T-shirt featuring Obama's image above the words "Mr. November", a reference to both the closing track on the album and the month of the U.S. presidential election. All proceeds were donated to Obama's campaign. The song had been written, in part, about John Kerry's candidacy four years earlier."

Editors - come share the view, 2005

"The Back Room lunges at you with a dynamic that's fierce, wiry, and slightly fashionable. Alternative rock hasn't seen anything like this since the release of Turn on the Bright Lights."

Editors - forest fire, 2005

"The British indie rock band Editors released their debut album The Back Room on July 4, 2005 (via Kitchenware Records in the UK). "Forest Fire" is a track from this album, known for its post-punk revival sound with driving guitars, brooding vocals, and themes of fleeting intensity and emotional turmoil. The song's title evokes the metaphor of a consuming blaze—passionate yet destructive—mirroring the lyrics' exploration of impermanence in relationships."

Etienne Daho - bleu comme toi live, 2005

"Bleu comme toi (Live 2004)" is an iconic live performance by French singer Étienne Daho, featured on his live album Sortir ce soir - Best of Live, released in 2005. This version captures the energy of a 2004 concert."

Etienne Daho - retour à toi live, 2005

"The most iconic live version is from 2004, captured in the Sortir ce soir - Best of Live album (released 2005), recorded during high-energy concerts where Daho’s rock-pop vibe and emotional delivery shine."

Editors - lights, 2005

"We still feel like we have things to say and ways of saying things that some people want to hear. It’s important what us five think and if you lose some people that’s fine. If you gain some others, that’s cool too."

Étienne Daho - le premier jour du reste de ta vie live, 2005

"recorded during the "Tour De l'Eté Sans Fin" May, 6th & 7th 2001 - Bruxelles (Halles de Schaerbeek)."

Coldplay - til kingdom come, 2005

"Til Kingdom Come" is a hidden track on Coldplay's 2005 album X&Y. It appears as an unlisted track after "Twisted Logic" on most editions of the album. Written by Chris Martin, the song was originally intended for Johnny Cash, but his death in 2003 led Coldplay to include it as a tribute. It’s a stripped-down, acoustic ballad with introspective lyrics about love, devotion, and waiting, featuring Martin’s vocals accompanied by minimal instrumentation—mostly guitar and subtle organ tones. The song’s placement as a hidden track gives it a special, almost secretive feel, rewarding attentive listeners."

The Coral - something inside of me, 2005

"Singer James Skelly - now 24 - still resembles a schoolboy given detention. Their fans come for their musical spells, haunting melodies that have survived a re-alignment further left-of-field. She Brings the Mourning perhaps over-references Can; Something Inside Me sounds like Madness and madness. The night's highlight, Late Afternoon, is an affecting slice of regret for lives left behind. "The place where we meet, tears in our eyes," sings Skelly, and the band leave the stage to be whisked off by Tardis, or tour bus."

My Morning Jacket - it beats for you, 2005

"In 2004, a dreamy cover of "Rocket Man" concluded My Morning Jacket's first volume of rarities. Which was prescient, because it's Elton John that Jim James' songs for 2005's Z first bring to mind."

Enya - it's in the rain, 2005

"A small oasis. A harbour. A haven. The sound of the rain can soothe the mood. Quiet moments of reflection and imagination."

Echo And The Bunnymen - in the margins, 2005

"In the Margins" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen that was released on 31 October 2005 in the UK and on 3 November 2005 in the US It was the second single to be released from the 2005 album, Siberia. It reached number 226 on the UK Singles Chart."

Saint Etienne - slow down at the castle, 2005

"The exact setting of the stories told by the album's setting is somewhat amorphous. The real Turnpike House is a high-rise block of flats in Goswell Road, EC1, an area of ex-council blocks between Clerkenwell and Upper Street. The band had spent a lot of time in Turnpike House, as filmmaker Paul Kelly lived there during the period in which they were collaborating on What Have You Done Today, Mervyn Day?. However, Sarah Cracknell has said that the building imagined in the album is "not nearly as smart" as the real Turnpike House. Bob Stanley has said that he imagined the album's setting to be more suburban, "probably somewhere like Croydon or possibly Ponders End". Pete Wiggs has said that his experience of living in Croydon was the inspiration for "Side Streets" and "Slow Down at the Castle" (the Castle is a water tower in Park Hill Recreation Ground). However, the title of "The Birdman of EC1" refers to the postal district in which the real Turnpike House is located."

Coldplay - talk, 2005

"The band received permission from the electronic music German band Kraftwerk to use the main riff from their song "Computer Love", from its 1981 studio album Computer World, for "Talk", replacing Kraftwerk's synthesizers with guitars. In a track-by-track interview given by the band on X&Y, bassist Guy Berryman reported that in response to the band's request, Kraftwerk founding member Ralf Hütter "said something like, 'Yes, you can use it, and thank you very much for asking my permission, unlike that bastard Jay-Z'" (a reference to the latter's "(Always Be My) Sunshine", which uses a Kraftwerk sample). Martin also recalled in a 2007 article in Q magazine the process of requesting permission to use the melody: He sent a letter through the lawyers of the respective parties and several weeks later received an envelope containing a handwritten reply that simply said "yes". That riff was originally written by former Kraftwerk member Karl Bartos."

Moby - love should, 2005

"‘love should’ is a love song, a simple, little love song."

Coldplay - swallowed in the sea, 2005

"Coldplay has a knack for weaving poignancy into melodies, and ‘Swallowed in the Sea’ from their 2005 album ‘X&Y’ is no exception. At first listen, this track seems like a beautiful, yet straightforward love lament. However, a deeper dive suggests a multifaceted tapestry of emotions, entwining loss, redemption, self-realization, and an ephemeral hope that hovers over the sometimes tragic human condition."