Hello friends. The time has come for my annual round up of all the best things of the past year. I realize how much everyone truly looks forward to this e-mail, so I will do my best not to disappoint. 2006, a pretty okay year I guess. For me, well, my parents sold our house and took off for the sunshine state with George the dog. He has been living large down there, getting it on with all the other dogs in the neighborhood, females and males, not that there is anything wrong with that. My brother became a mountain man for 6 months. I spent a month traveling this fine country of ours in the back of a bus, it ruled. I got tenure at work, it rules. Oh, and I turned 30. I lost some more hair but what can ya do? So yeah, it was an alright year in retrospect, lots of changes. More friends got engaged and/or married, moved in with their lady friends, or just grew up in general. Good times. And I of course continued to spend entirely too much money on records and shows! And I guess that brings us to the point of this here electronic mailing. So, without further adieu, here’s some of my favorite things of 2006…
By the way, yes, I do realize it is pretty dorky to write and distribute this list, but what can ya do. Please feel free to send a response making fun of me or making fun of my selections for that matter. It’s a bit sad because the older you get, the less you see or even talk to your friends. I hope everyone is doing really well. Have a great 2007! And hopefully I’ll see or hear from you soon. Happy new year!
FAVORITE RECORDS OF 2006
Part I- Notable Releases- here’s a bunch of records I liked this year in no particular order:
TV on the Radio- return to cookie mountain
Belle and Sebastian- the Life Pursuit
Bruce Springsteen- We Shall Overcome
The Strokes- First Impressions of Earth
Lambchop- damaged
Tom Petty- Highway Companion
Oakley Hall- both of them
Sufjan Stevens- the avalanche
Juana Molina- son
Yo la tengo- I am not afraid of you and I will beat your ass
Asobi seksu- citrus
Annuals- be he me
The evens- get evens
Lilys- everything wrong is imaginary
Swan lake- beast moans
Beirut- gulag orkestra
Wilderness- vessel states
Mono- you are there
Flaming lips- at war with the mystics- I was pretty disappointed with this, but even when Wayne and company disappoint, it is still better than most other bands out there!
Old Crow Medicine Show- Big Iron World
PART II- The Twenty Best Records of 2006
20. built to spill- you in reverse- Doug Martsch and company return after a lengthy hiatus for an album that eschews the 3 minute pop of their last two records, in favor of some guitar heavy jams. Doug’s still got one of the best beards in the business.
19. the raconteurs- broken boy soldier- Jack White teams up with Brendan Benson and the rhythym section of the Greenhorns to create one of the best straight-up rock records of the year.
18. mogwai- mr. Beast- Another slab of instrumental heaviness from the boys of Glasgow. My only complaint is that the songs are so short!
17. arctic monkeys- whatever people say I am, that’s what I’m not- getting chased by cops, drinking, chasing girls- these guys give a great reminder of what it’s like to be a teenager in the suburbs. Though, one could argue I am better at all of those things at 30 than I was at 17. Well, except for the cop thing! Man, I gotta grow up! This stuff lives up to the hype!
16. yeah yeah yeahs- Karen O keeps on bringing the finest in new york art punk. Though nothing may be as immediate as maps, this is a pretty amazing record!
15. bonnie “prince” billy- the letting go- easily one of the saddest records of the year and one of oldham’s best
14. Mojave 3- puzzles like you- Mojave 3 writes their super pop record… everything is more upbeat and fun than it was before.
13. cat power- the greatest- Yeah, apparently Chan Marshall is pretty happy, but his is still a record for the terminally morose… it is amazing!
12. sunset rubdown- shut up I am dreaming- the new album from spencer krug, my favorite guy in wolf parade… buy it, okay!
11. destroyer- destroyer’s rubies- this album took me a long time to get into- it is like reading Ulysses or something, you need a guidebook to get through it! The lyrics are a great maze, and the music helps you travel though it. A lot of fun!
10. m. ward- post-war- um, this guy is incredible!
09. neko case- fox confessor brings the flood- it is all about the voice… doesn’t matter that she may be the most beautiful woman alive!
08. thom yorke- the eraser- this is why radiohead is amazing!
07. sonic youth- rather ripped- so, who woulda guessed that 2 and a half decades into their career these guys would still be relevant! Yes, they are one of the most important bands ever, but the fact that they keep on putting out vital records is icing! After two art-inflected, jim o’rourke influenced, amazing records, the rulers of the underground return with their most streamlined album since goo. This is indie-noise pop perfection!
06. portastatic- be still please- Mac MacCaughan continues his streak of unbridled excellence. This is easily the most focused porta record to date… he takes the best of all his sensibilities and combines them for an amazing record! Emotional, uplifting, and moving… you need to hear this record… a great work form one of our greatest artists!
05. Joanna newsome- YYYs- yeah, there was a lot of hype for this one, but it lives up to it. It is a record you need to take a lot of time with, but it is amazing. Newsome is one of our most important artists!
04. califone- roots and crowns- roots, where you are from, and crowns- where you want to be- this record encapsulates everything in between. Califone’s take on roots music is still one of the most original around. It isn’t for everyone, but if you like great music…
03. eric bachmann- to the races- still one of the world’s most underrated artists… bachmann strips things down and gives us one of his most vulnerable albums ever. Essential! Just buy it!
02. the thermals- the body, the blood, the machine- amazing political pop punk from this northwest punk band! It is a quasi-concept album about a future fasco-christian state… wait, is that so far in the future? Scary stuff!
01. band of horses- everything all the time- the record I listened to most this year… it may not be the most original, but it is my favorite. BK was all like “ since when did emo bands start using banjos?” but I don’t agree with him! This is soaring, anthemic, melancholy indie rock! The best kind there is! It is sad, it is rocking, it’s got reverb… what else do you need?
The guys I can’t put in a list:
Bob dylan- modern times
Morrissey- ringleader of the tormenters
Disappointments- the decemberists, the flaming lips… what a bummer! Biggest disappointment of 06 was not seeing superchunk at all. I think 2006 was the first year since I was 16 that I didn’t see them at least once. The worst part about it is they even played irving plaza this year… I was on a model UN trip.
Reissues of 2006
Pavement- wowee zowee, soridied sentinels edition. Okay, so pavement is one of the best bands ever and this is their third album with a lot of bonus stuff… buy it and be cool!
Sebadoh- III- the quintessential lo-fi band and their quintessential album
Rem- the best of the IRS years
Broadcast- the future crayon- singles collection of one of the coolest bands out there
Best of luna
PJ Harvey- peel sessions
Sonic youth- the damaged room
Mathew sweet- girlfriend- one of the best albums ever remastered with a bonus disc!
LIVE ROCK AND ROLL
Silver jews at webster hall- So I saw silver jews two nights… night one was st. patrick’s day… I met some peeps from work for a little pre-game at the ginger man. Jennie b, renee, erin, eric, and maria b were in the house… I did finally meet frank too- nice guy. Anyway, I left to see the silver jews first show in ny and it was amazing. Played all my favorites and I bonded with a bunch of other drunken jew fans! After the show, I got my mesh jews cap and met up with jennie b, eric, and renee… needless to say, we had a ton of fun… they are great! The next night I saw silver jews sober and it was amazing! The song pretty eyes almost knocked me off my feet… I ain’t kidding!
Wolf Parade at Webster Hall- So, here is another example of me seeing the same band twice… on day one, me a sal went to down the hatch for beers… we then headed over to Webster hall… we met my bro at bar none on third avenue and we continued to tear it up… we were drunken messes, the show was amazing! Those guys rule live! The next night I saw them sober and they still ruled!
Sonic youth with yeah yeah yeahs- me and sal checked these bands out at McCarren park in hipsterville, USA, aka Williamsburgh. We started at a bar on Bedford where we drank and people watched for hours… hipsters are a funny, fucked up genre of people! The show was great- SY rules…
Ted Leo- I took my british lady friends to this free show on the seaport while they were staying with me… it was great, but I don’t think Ali and Rachel were expecting me and cousin chris to get so drunk… maybe the anal bead jokes were a bit much? Cousin Chris disappeared and mark utreras tried to help the situation but failed!
Modest mouse- okay, modest mouse with Johnny marr… do I really need to write anything? Me, Jeremy, brian, chris, caitlin met Josephine at bar none- the Hawaiian IPA was great, but the show was better!
Portastatic- saw mac twice- great shows- and I met Josephine at the maxwell’s show- that’s like an extra bonus!
Bruce Springsteen- took my mom to see the boss before she moved to florida. He ruled! Thanks to craig b. for the tickets. He is too kind!
Bob dylan and the raconteurs- amazing show- the raconteurs were sick and the version of visons of Johanna left me speechless… bob rules!
Best Video-
The great salt lake by Band of Horses- okay, baseball, beer, and rock and roll…how could you possibly make a better video?
Best Song-
I’ll believe in anything- wolf parade- yeah, 2 years, and still the best song!
The funeral- band of horses- sweeping, sad, uplifting… this one has it all!
Favorite Cover Song- band of horses covering the new year’s the end’s not here- taken from the OC volume 6. thanks to gina for e-mailing me the mp3 so I didn’t actually have to buy it!
Movies-
Borat
Departed
Old Joy
Little Miss Sunshine
Jackass II
INLAND EMPIRE- just a word of advice- not a good movie to take a date on if you’d like to keep seeing her! But it is amazing! Come to think of it, Mulholland Drive was the second to last movie I saw with lu. And last year, when I showed m Eraserhead because she liked horror movies she was seriously disturbed and we stopped talking shortly thereafter! Maybe david lynch and girls are a bad mix or maybe it is just me!!
Reasons to be excited!
New Modest Mouse Album! Johnny Marr is in the band!
New Explosions in the Sky album- these guys follow up the only instrumental album you need: the earth is not a cold dead place, and they are playing live!
New Arcade Fire- hope I get ticket to see them live!
New Superchunk song- they’ve got one new song coming out on the Aqua Teen movie soundtrack. I really cannot wait!
Original sebadoh lineup reunites. I did see them once with Gaffney, but still…
Favorite TV SHOWS
The office (BBC), freaks and geeks, and arrested development
Favorite Crushes-
Laeticia Casta
Amy Poehler
Neko Case
Amanda Peet
Laura Balance
Alright if you got all the way here, congrats! I hope everyone has a fantastic 2007!