So here it is, the long awaited best of '06 music post. Keep in mind that these are groups that
I've heard in 2006 and not necessarily albums that came out during the year. Here we Go!
10. Taylor
Hollingsworth,
Tragic City
A perfect example of something you might find on best of lists next year. This does not come out until this
Tuesday but I have bee
n listening to it for months now (see how ahead of the curve I am.)
I've heard this guys voice described as Leonard Cohen on helium which if that doesn't get you running to the record store I don't know what will. This guys instrumentation is good and the
songs really grow on you. I listened to the record five times before I could admit that I liked it. It might take you just as long. I know that doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement, but at least he made the list.
Choice Cut: Gambling Barroom Blues
9. The Killers,
Sams TownThere are two types of aging hipsters. Both of these groups approach aging and their decreasing hipness in different ways.
There is type A, which is the rarer breed, who resist the slow slide in too
uncoolness at every turn. They read the cool magazines, they listen to volunteer radio, they go to midnight shows of band you've never heard of, they live at the record store or on
itunes forever searching for the next big thing. They didn't have to use to work this hard to keep up, but now that their
friends have moved on to normal (uncool?) lives they are left alone to fight on. They will not go quietly into that long dark night of John
Tesh albums. You see these guys out at the shows or behind the counter at the record store and you pity them and their
Sisyphean existence. While they are
pathetic you have to admire them for their unwillingness to give up the fight. Shine on you crazy diamond!
While your empathetic to Type A, because you see yourself in their shoes one day and
shudder, you should have no such feeling for Type B. Type B wants to stay hip just like Type A but they are unwilling to put in the work. These are the friends that left Type A behind. They don't have the time to read the magazines. The shows start too late and the bars are too smoky. They bought an
Ipod but it's for their
audio books. When they get depressed and want to feel hip they cast about for a new band to listen to they think will make them look hip. This is why bands like The Killers exist. These Type B types need a contemporary band that kind of reminds them of the bands they use to listen to and makes them feel like they are still with it and that they think will make them look cool to the temps at the office. The problem is that these bands cool cred has a short shelf life and the backlash starts quicker then it used to. Which means every 18 months or so type B has to start searching again.
Coldplay is totally uncool now, and Norah Jones won't score much points anymore.
Unfortunately for type B, I think we are nearing the end of The Killers
ascendancy and the backlash is beginning. It is enough to make a Type B just t
hrow in the towel and buy Rod Stewart's
latest standards album. Hey, you still always have U2 guys. So the Killers are the current band keeping guys from having to buy Corvette's to make themselves feel young again, thanks guys.
That being said I liked this album.
Choice Cut: When You Were Young
8. The Black Keys,
Magic Potion
These guys took the top spot on this list a few years back and now they are back with their major label debut. You know the deal these guys are what the White Stripes still want to be. They would be ranked a little higher but their sound seems a little more refined on this corporate disc then the stuff they did on Fat Possum records. It was the raw sound of those first albums that really caught my ear so hearing the extra polish on their sound is disappointing. Other than that their like the best band ever!
Choice Cut: Your Touch
7. Gnarls Barkley
This is the album that I have seen at the top of most end of the year lists lately and the ranking is well deserved. Danger Mouse is the DJ of the moment. Just like with the Gorillaz album of last year his mere presence seems to propel this collection of rap/dance/rock fusion over the top. Also, we must not forget Cee-lo who is not the also an of this couple. This record is probably the album that willl be most remmebered from this year.
Choice cut: Crazy
6. Jeff Tweedy,
Sunken Treasure
This is not really an album per se. These are the songs from the live DVD that Tweedy released this year. If you put the DVD on your computer you could download the songs to your computer and burn CD. If you follow these simple instructions you too could have your own copy of the #6 album on the Billosh World List '06.
These songs are mostly Wilco songs done acoustic. Hearing these songs stripped down really makes you appreciate what a good songwriter Tweeddy can be. Now, Jeff if you are reading this you could get this moved all the way up to number one if you get the Uncle Tupelo reunion going. Hey, I come cheap!
Choice Cut: Airline to Heaven
5. Snow Patrol, Eyes Open
Snow Patrol continues it's attempt to be the new Coldplay with this new release. I think it is good but their changes slightly. Moving away from the crunching guitars of their debut and more towards the soaring productions that has become Coldplay's trademark. The result is good. I certianly don't want to see them go to far down this road but for now it still works.
Choice Cut: Hands Open
4. Raconteurs,
Broken Boy Soldiers
What would this list be without some kind of Jack White post? This band made believe that Jack White can read my mind. Last years best of list contained rankings for The White Stripes, Brendan Benson and The Greenhorns. So it would only be logical that this Super group made of White, Benson and members of the Greenhorns would rank real high on this list. It has the Greenhorn's garage rock combined with Benson's songwriting style and White's ear for hooks. It really is a homage to the cassic rock these guys grew up on. Where are the anthems of our youth indeed.
Choice Cut: Level
3. Phoenix,
It's Never Been Like That
I was a little at loss as to how to describe this band so I will allow amazon.com do the honors:
Amazon.com Warning: Even limited exposure to this French band's music is liable to turn the listener into a crazed zealot desperate to "just turn people on" to their music or to wander about aimlessly wondering aloud why they're not at least as well known as, say, Erlend Oye. The band's been relentlessly eclectic since they formed in the late '90s; they make hybrid music, an electronic-flavored rock that's impossible to describe without using up half a dozen hyphens in the process. It's their most straight-ahead, "rock"-sounding release, and if your first thought is that it wouldn't hurt if It's Never Been Like That had a little bit more of a cocaine disco unicorn vibe to it, give it another listen. This record is an effortless-sounding, mini-masterpiece that mixes art song elements with delightful retro-pop. And it's scary how simply and truly great it is--easily amongst the best albums of 2006. --Mike McGonigal
See the hyphen button on my computer is broken so you can see why I was a little hesitant about any of usual The Strokes meets blank comparisons.
Choice Cut: One Time Too Many
2. The Decembrists, The Crane Wife
This band is the perfect antidote for the former jam-head who has tired of that scene and is ready for some music that does not remind them of a veggie burrito. They are the thinking man's jam band. Their songs are very literate. Their playing shows talent but also a restraint that makes you know that these guys aren't ever going to try and cover Darkside of the Moon in concert. So if you are one of those lost friends of Trey just looking for a band you can enjoy without having to get high in tent before you listen to them these are your guys.
Choice Cuts: O Valencia!
1. The Kooks,
Inside In/Inside Out
These guys have made a huge splash across the pond. The album is full of fun British rock/pop that has equal part Beatles and T-Rex sound to it. It was what I listened to the most this year so it gets number one.
Choice Cut: Ooh La
Labels: music
These guys have made a huge splash across the pond. The album is full of fun British rock/pop that has equal part Beatles and T-Rex sound to it. It was what I listened to the most this year so it gets number one.