Cogs can think.

There are five albums I’m currently waiting for. These five albums will more or less define my music habits for 2008 and 2009.

First and foremost, a new album by my idol, my girl knight in shining armour, my future wife, my everything: Fiona Apple. I need not introduce you to my admiration downright obsession with Fiona, and I also need not detail (again) why she is, by far, the greatest singer/songwriter that has ever walked this earth. Just go to the little search field in my sidebar, and do a query on her name.

Anyway, she said in the first half of 2007 that by fall 2007, she’d dive into the studio to work on her fourth album. Her third album, “Extraordinary Machine”, was released on 4 October 2005 (after an excruciating seven-year wait) to basically unanimously raving reviews, but it did mean the end of an era; “Tidal”, “When The Pawn…”, and “Extraordinary Machine” together form a trilogy. On “Tidal”, Fiona portrays herself mostly as sullen, slightly sad, and sometimes even as the victim. On “When The Pawn…”, she’s more of an agressor instead of a victim; she details the damage she ((un)willingly?) inflicts upon others, and she comes across as more assertive, ready to pick up a fight. On “Extraordinary Machine”, however, we hear a Fiona who has come to terms with her past, who accepts herself for what she is - we finally hear a Fiona who is content, even happy. The final line on the album closener “Waltz” says it all: “Everyone else’s goal’s to get big headed / why should I follow that beat being that I’m / better than fine.”

So, now that the trilogy is complete, what’s next for my beloved Fiona? Time will tell, but I hope Time won’t take its sweet time like it did between 1998 and 2005.

The second album I’m waiting for is The Cardigans’ 7th studio album. Studio time is planned for late 2008/early 2009, and knowing The Cardigans, who pride themselves on never having made the same album twice, we’ll be surprised and baffled by what they’ll come up with this time. I hope for at least a little dash of “Gran Turismo”, as I think that album’s dark and electronic sound had much more in it than just “Gran Turismo” - which is not to say it could’ve been better, I’m just saying the sound hasn’t been explored to its fullest of potential.

I’m also waiting for a new Garbage album. “Bleed Like Me” left me with a bitter aftertaste, as the album was a clear response to criticism the band received after “Beautifulgarbage”, a highly experimental, difficult-to-listen-to-at-first masterpiece. And you really shouldn’t listen to music critics. Because they are idiots. “Beautifulgarbage” was highly stylised, and mostly lacked the powerful guitar riffs from their highly successful and critically acclaimed first two albums. So, for “Bleed Like Me”, Garbage tried to sound more ‘grunge’, more raw, and it just didn’t work very well. Garbage is a band consisting of four producers (Butch Vig being one of them) so they should stick to what they do best: studio albums. Turn and twist those knobs, Shirley, Butch, Steve, and Duke, I know you like it.

Speaking of Shirley, she’s recording her solo album, and I’m obviously awaiting that one too. The album will be “quite dark and moody”, and that’s just how I like Shirley Manson.

This leaves me with number five on this list, and that’s the second A Camp album. A Camp is the solo project of Nina Persson, vocalist of The Cardigans. A Camp’s first album, imaginatively called “A Camp”, caught me completely off-guard, and even though it was not love at first sight, a few listens later, I embraced it for what it was: a slightly experimental journey into the unknown, Nina breaking free form the shackles of being in a band. It’s a great album, although I’m sure its country influence won’t be to everyone’s liking.

The coming two years are going to rock. Well, musically at least.