Sound Bites

Best of 2006 | Blender

What to make of Blender's list? Like Q's, it feels chosen and second-guessed to death. And like Q, it feels British. As in a bunch of 40-something Brits trying to still seem cool. So for all of this Anglophilia, why is Art Brut on this year's list? "Because it didn't come out in America until 2006." Okay, then why is Lily Allen on the list when her album Alright, Still doesn't drop Stateside till January 30, 2007? "Sod Off!" Isn't that an English expression? "We said Sod Off!!!"

Blender's Top 20 Albums of 2006

1. My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade
2. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever...
3. Bob Dylan - Modern Times
4. Justin Timberlake - Futuresex/Lovesounds
5. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
6. The Beatles - Love
7. The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
8. Mary J. Blige - The Breakthrough
9. Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury
10. Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock and Roll
11. Regina Spektor - Begin to Hype
12. DJ Drama & Lil Wayne - Dedication 2
13. Girl Talk - The Night Ripper
14. Todd Snider - The Devil You Know
15. Lily Allen - Alright, Still
16. John Legend - Once Again
17. New York Dolls - One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This
18. Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped
19. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium
20. Lamb of God - Sacrament

Blender's Top 20 Singles of 2006

1. "Crazy" - Gnarls Barkley
2. "What You Know" - T.I.
3. "My Love" - Justin Timberlake feat. T.I.
4. "Promiscuous" - Nelly Furtado
5. "When You Were Young" - The Killers
6. "Cheated Hearts" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
7. "Ridin'" - Chamillionaire
8. "Welcome to the Black Parade" - My Chemical Romance
9. "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" - Arctic Monkeys
10. "All of the Above" - Big City Rock
11. "Me & U" - Cassie
12. "Chillout Tent" - The Hold Steady
13. "Ring the Alarm" - Beyonce
14. "Over and Over" - Hot Chip
15. "Call Me When You're Sober" - Evanescence
16. "J.E.E.Z.Y." - Young Jeezy
17. "The Big Guns" - Jenny Lewis
18. "Wolf Like Me" - TV on the Radio
19. "We Fly High" - Jim Jones
20. "45:33 Nike Original Run" - LCD Soundsystem

Onion Holiday Party with Sloan + David Cross | Union Hall | 12.15.2006

"Is anyone recording this?" Chris Murphy yelped midway through a marathon-length version of "Sensory Deprivation" from Sloan's 1999 opus, Between the Bridges. As all four members of Sloan write and sing, when it's Andrew Scott's turn on the mike, Murphy takes over for drums... and goes apeshit. He's already a ham when playing bass, but put him behind the kit and he turns into an exaggerated Keith Moon impersonation, a barrage of constant fills and stick twirls. Andrew Scott's voice seemed to be giving out, so "Sensory Deprivation" became one monster riff jam that kept going and going and going.

Sloan were in town just to play The Onion's Holiday Party at the very cool Union Hall in Park Slope. "Sloan has played a number of these 'corporate gigs' over the years," Murphy told the crowd. "But this is the first one we've actually looked forward to." It probably helped that Between the Bridges was chosen as the inaugural entry in The Onion's feature "Permanent Records:  Albums in the AV Club's Hall of Fame," or as Murphy called it, "The Hall of Commercial Disappointments." In fact, they were giving away copies of Between the Bridges at the door.

The main space Union Hall is a quite large -- part ski lodge, part Ivy League library, part bocce ball court -- but the downstairs performance space is tiny, maybe holding 150 people. So it was a real treat to get to see one of my all-time favorite bands (who normally play Bowery Ballroom) in such a small venue and who were there mainly to enjoy the party like everybody else.

SoundBites Best of 2006 | Albums

While my Top Ten remained pretty solid, I finagled with the rest of the list right up to this posting. Lots and lots of good music this year, some of it was even great. Brits dominated the list this year (I am an Anglophile for sure) with the USA, Canada, Sweden, Denmark and, in a shocker, Australia rounding things out. If you disagree with my choices, I offer this quote from Yukon Cornelius: "You eat what you like, and I'll eat what I like!" (MP3s are expired, sorry)

1. Hot Chip – The Warning (DFA/Astralwerks) | Overflowing with ideas, melody and humor, The Warning had it all: killer singles (“Over and Over,” “Boy from School,”), slow jams (the affecting “Look After Me”) and whiteboy funk (“Arrest Yourself”). Hot Chip are like a modern day New Order, and they do it without imitating Peter Hook's bass style. It’s the sound of real live people playing – not programming – sythesizers, and that human element shines through.

Buy It | MP3: Hot Chip - "No Fit State"

2. Sloan – Never Hear the End of It (Murderecords) | Canada’s indie elder statesman return after a few years of trying to grab the brass ring and go back to doing what they do best – being themselves. The result is their best album in years; a sprawling, beautiful mess of 30 interwoven songs that never gets boring. Though you never really went away, Sloan, it’s good to have you back.

Buy It| MP3: Sloan - "Set in Motion"

3. Midlake – The Trials of Van Occupanther (Bella Union) | Yes, Midlake’s songs are often soft. But they’re not soft rock. Michael McDonald never sounded like this... or sang about 19th Century agrarian society. Bookish and beautiful, The Trials of Van Occupanther is a perfect album for Sunday mornings, drives through lush countrysides or doing research for that second doctorate.

Buy It | MP3: Midlake - "Roscoe"

4. Figurines – Skeleton (Control Group) | Denmark's Figurines sound like a Best of '90s Indie Rock compilation all rolled into one band. A little Pavement, some Modest Mouse, with liberal splashes of Teen Beat and Flying Nun thrown in for good measure. More than anything else, Skeleton is loaded with fantastic songs. Great Danes indeed.

Buy It | MP3: figurines - "i remember"

5. Kelley Stoltz – Below the Branches (Sub Pop) | Here's a record that took nearly six months to work its magic on me, but has now burrowed deep under my skin and refuses to leave. Below the Branches has a real timeless quality about it, and it's not just the songwriting. It's not retro, yet it sounds like it could've been recorded any time over the last three decades. Kelley Stoltz is also a real charmer in person -- don't miss a chance to see him play.

Buy It | Kelley Stoltz - "Birdies Singing"

6. The Knife – Silent Shout (Mute) | Certainly one of the most hyped records of the year, Silent Shout deserved it's accolades. The Knife's music is like one of those sea creatures that lives in the deepest waters: spooky, phospherescent, undulating, mesmerizing. And you can dance to it. Yet for me, this is a perfect record to listen to while walking around the city at night.

Buy It | MP3: The Knife - "Neverland"

7. Phoenix – It’s Never Been Like That (Astralwerks) | Phoenix started as slick dance-pop and have been devolving their sound ever since. Though we know they are skilled musicians, Phoenix pull off the sloppy, Strokesy rock with much elan. This is just one of those records that just sounds great, and their songs are catchy as ever. One of the most fun albums of the year.

Buy It | MP3: Phoenix - "Rally"


8. Luke Haines – Off My Rocker at the Art School Bop (Degenerate) | Like Mark E. Smith, I don't think Luke Haines is ever going to run out of bile. It fed four Auteurs albums, one by Baader Meinoff, three from Black Box Recorder, and a flurry of solo work here in the last few years. And all of it is awesome. That being said, I was a bit taken back by just how awesome Off My Rocker at the Art School Bop is. Always looking on the dark side of life and England, this time, Haines fixates on Serial killers, aging rock stars, the art world, and the music biz -- all wrapped up in glammy disco (not unlike Denim) and whispered vocals. This is may be one of the best things Haines has ever done. And that is saying something.

Buy It | MP3: Luke Haines - "Off My Rocker at the Art School Bop"



9. The Dears – Gang of Losers (Arts & Crafts) | Montreal's perpetual underdogs are just starting to get some attention (aka play on Grey's Anatomy) and it's about time. After touring their asses off in 2005, gaining the reputation as one of the most firey live bands on the planet, the Dears finally nailed it in the studio. (Playing it mostly live with minimal overdubs helped.) Gang of Losers is the post-apocalyptic romantic pop album of the year. Not that there was much competition.

Buy It | MP3: The Dears - "Whites Only Party"

10. Dirty on Purpose – Hallelujah Sirens (North Street Records) | Maybe it's that Mercury Lounge seemed to be playing this album before every band I saw there this year, but Hallelujah Sirens is one of my most-listened-to albums of the year. Or maybe it's just that there is no filler here -- every song is great. Dirty on Purpose are friends of mine, but listening to this album, I am a mere fan.

Buy It | MP3: Dirty on Purpose - "Light Polution"

Albums 11 - 20 after the jump.

Best of 2006: Rolling Stone

Though not as bad as Q, the Rolling Stone best-of seems kind of desperate to stay cool. Not desperate enough to put anything but Bob Dylan as #1, but they threw in TVotR, Clipse and Ghostface Killah in the Top Ten. And as others have noted... Stadium Arcadium at #2? (Though I question John Mayer at #11 more.) I wonder how many of these Jann Wenner has actually heard? Heard of? I'm not sure if anybody cares anymore about RS. I can't remember the last time I actually bought an issue, and has seemed out-of-touch as long as I've read it. Out-of-touch isn't necessarily a crime, but when you're out-of-touch and try and pretend you're still hip to the scene, you get something like this. You can check out the mag's whole Top 50 at thier website.

Rolling Stone's Top 20 Albums of 2006

1. Modern Times - Bob Dylan
2. Stadium Arcadium - Red Hot Chili Peppers
3. Rather Ripped - Sonic Youth
4. Return To Cookie Mountain - TV On The Radio
5. Fishscale - Ghostface Killah
6. The Greatest - Cat Power
7. Hell Hath No Fury - Clipse
8. Boys And Girls In America - The Hold Steady
9. Blood Mountain - Mastodon
10. Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers And Bastards - Tom Waits
11. Continuum - John Mayer
12. One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This - The New York Dolls
13. Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam
14. American V: A Hundred Highways - Johnny Cash
15. Wolfmother - Wolfmother
16. Food & Liquor - Lupe Fiasco
17. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - Arctic Monkeys
18. Game Theory - The Roots
19. Taking The Long Way - Dixie Chicks
20. The Black Parade - My Chemical Romance

Best of 2006: Maybe "Best" is the Wrong Word

Pitchfork's "Worst Album Covers of 2006": Yeah, what was up with that Built to Spill art?

The Passion of the Weiss' "Ten Most Disappointing Albums of 2006": I'm not sure how one can be disappointed with Morningwood. With a name like that, what do you really expect?

For those wondering how Silent Alarm will fare in ten years, The Onion's AV Club looks back at "11 Ghosts Of Best-Of Music Lists Past (1989–2000)." Were people really excited about Living Colour's Time's Up? (Apparently yes... J from Heart-on-a-Stick certainly was. Still, not my thing.) Elsewhere, the editors explain why The Raconteurs, Beck, Clipse, Joanna Newsom and other common end-of-year contenders didn't make their list.

The Golden Globe noms are in... the picks are unsurprisingly milquetoast. Dreamgirls, Blood Diamond, Seal for best song...zzzz.

SoundBites Best of 2006 | Gigs

I think I saw upwards of 70 shows this year, some more memorable than others. Some didn't get written up even though they should've (The Young Knives, Battle, Aberfeldy) and others didn't cause they weren't worth it (dEUS comes to mind). But these ten were probably the best.

1. Hot Chip | Bowery Ballroom | 3.11.2006
   "I hadn't seen a Bowery Ballroom crowd go this bananas since the LCD Soundsystem show a year ago. Heck, I was dancing... and I wasn't even that drunk."


2. Soulwax + Klaxons | Studio B | 9.21.2006
   "Soulwax rival LCD Soundsystem in their ability to bring electronic music to life in a live setting. Or to put it another way, they absolutely rocked. (How many ways will I write a variation on that statement? Read on.) Why did it work so well? A perfect blend of skill, material, presentation and volume."


3. Richard Hawley | Sin-é | 3.23.2006
   "With a velvety croon, reverbed, twangy guitars and lush orchestration, his music recalls Jimmy Webb, Scott Walker, Johnny Cash, Burt Bacharach, and Marty Robbins. That out-of-time quality was reinforced at last night's show at Sin-é that can be summed up in two words: Pure class."


4. Rakes + Towers of London | Bowery Ballroom | 3.21.2006
   "What a raucous night at Bowery Ballroom, with what I'm sure will be the most cups of beer, ice and water ever thrown at the stage, and the most gobbing by a band I have personally seen in the last ten years."


5. Cansei de Ser Sexy | Warsaw | 7.20.2006
   "The queen of the party, however, was singer Lovefoxxx, a Bjork-lookalike who jumped around, stripped off clothing, mooned the audience, jumped into the fray, and generally partied-it-up the entire show."


6. The Dears | Bowery Ballroom | 9.14.2006
   " You can say a lot of things about The Dears, but no one can claim that they don't give 100%. If it were not physically impossible to give 110%, I'm sure they would've done that."


7. New Young Pony Club | Williamsburg White Room | 12.09.2006
   "From the catchy-as-hell, extremely danceable songs, to the tight musicianship, to the effortless charisma of spitfire singer Tahita Bulmer, New Young Pony Club just had their shit together. It was like they were born fully formed, ready for the big time, and I mean that in the best possible way."


8. Belle & Sebastian | Nokia Theatre | 03.02.2006
   "Stuart Murdoch isn't shy anymore; now quite the cheeky frontman, dancing, telling jokes, flirting with the audience... but still forgetting the words. Luckily, Stevie Jackson (looking dapper in a mod-ish suit) knows them all and filled in the missing lines, not missing a beat."


9. Midlake | Mercury Lounge | 6.20.2006
   "There were so many old keyboards, patch-bays, racks of guitars and other stuff up there the band didn't really have much room to move. But they could play. Every member was miked, and the harmonies flowed out dense and beautiful."


10. Art Brut + We Are Scientists + The Chalets | Knitting Factory | 5.18.2006
    This is as far as I got with this review: "I wish the Knitting Factory did shows like this all the time. Let a band currate an entire evening on both floors..." And so began the SoundBites Blog Blackout of Late Spring 2006. Which is now over, obviously.

Best of 2006 | The Guardian Music Monthly

Part of the erstwhile left-leaning British weekly, The Guardian, the Observer Music Monthly is a lot like what Q used to be (and what WORD is now) -- a music mag for adults, who are still quite into music, thankyouverymuch. Again, no surprise as to the #1 album (it's as if British mags MUST choose it or look like fools) but there are some curveballs in the list. Both the albums and singles lists actually go to 20, so read the full versions there, complete with commentary.

The Observer's Top 10 Singles of 2006

1. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
2. Ali Farka Toure - Savane
3. Tom Waits - Orphans
4. Lambchop - Damaged
5. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
6. Bob Dylan - Modern Times
7. Joanna Newsom - Ys
8. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
9. Jarvis - Jarvis Cocker
10. Lily Allen - Alright, Still

The Observer's Top 10 Singles of 2006

1. "Crazy" - Gnarls Barkley
2. "Sheila" - Jamie T
3. "Supermassive Black Hole" - The Muse
4. "LDN" - Llily Allen
5. "Standng In the Way of Control" - The Gossip
6. "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" - Scissor Sisters
7. "Country Girl" - Primal Scream
8. "Prangin' Out (Version)" - The Streets
9. "We Are Your Friends" - Justice vs Simian
10. "Over and Over" - Hot Chip

Best of 2006 | The Onion A.V. Club

The Onion has changed and expanded more in the last year than it has in its its previous years of existence combined. This goes for the funny stuff, as well as its awesome, smart Arts & Entertainment section (which is also funny), The A.V. Club. Previously, the editors have shied away from making a Definitive Statement about the best year, instead offering individual lists from all its writers.

This year, however, for the first time (I think) there is a Definitive List:

The Onion A.V. Club's Top Ten Albums of 2006

1. The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
2. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
3. Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther
4. Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat
5. Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
6. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
7. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
8. The Coup - Pick a Bigger Weapon
9. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
10. Band of Horses - Everything All the Time

The list actually goes to 25, and the writers all get thier individual top tens as well. Check out the whole thing here. Once again, my own Top 20 is like a combination of Noel Murray and Keith Phipps' lists. The A.V. Club's annual "Least Essential Albums of the Year" list has yet to publish, but you can check out the also-not-to-be-missed Cheap Toy Roundup (including the "Future Gun" seen here, right).

SoundBites Best of 2006 | Singles + Tracks

I probably could've done a Top 50. It was a good year for great songs...

1. "Over and Over" - Hot Chip (video)
2. "Young Folks" - Peter Bjorn and John (video)
3. "Crazy" - Gnarls Barkley (video)
4. "Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death From Above" - CSS (video)
5. "Supervitesse" – Mahogany (MP3)
6. "Love It When You Call" - The Feeling (video)
7. "Rehab" – Amy Winehouse (video)
8. "You Only Live Once" – The Strokes (video)
9. "Casual Use" – The Shortwave Set (MP3)
10. "Moving To New York" – The Wombats (MP3)
11. "Roscoe" – Midlake (video)
12. "When I Wake" - The Changes (MP3)
13. "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken" –  Camera Obscura (video)
14. "Parentheses" – The Blow (video)
15. "Boy From School" - Hot Chip (video)
16. "Consolation Prizes" - Phoenix (video)
17. "If You Fail We All Fail" – Fields (MP3)
18. "O Valencia" – The Decemberists (video)
19. "Rough Gem" – Islands (video)
20. "She’s Attracted To" - The Young Knives (video)
21. "God Knows" – El Perro Del Mar (MP3)
22. "45:33: Nike + Original Run" – LCD Soundsystem
23. "Lust in the Movies" – The Long Blondes (MP3)
24. "LDN" - Lily Allen (video)
25. "Gravity’s Rainbow" – The Klaxons (video)

Best of 2006 | SPIN

I wonder how many US magazines are going to have Cookie Mountain as their #1 album of the year? Will Pitchfork? (Joanna Newsom seems likely, though) Every time a song from it comes up on shuffle, I like it, but rarely find myself listening to the whole thing. Ponder these questions as you peruse SPIN's end-of-year lists. The singles seem to be chosen by Charles Aaron again (he's been doing it there for eons) -- I have really grown to appreciate his taste. "Crazy" may be obvious, but that doesn't mean it's not true.

SPIN's Top 20 Albums of 2006

1. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
2. Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
3. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say That I Am, That's What I'm Not
4. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
5. My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade
6. Joanna Newsom - Ys
7. Cat Power - The Greatest
8. My Morning Jacket - Okonokos
9. Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury
10. Beck - The Information
11. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
12. Hot Chip - The Warning
13. Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat
14. T.I. - King
15. Lady Sovereign - Public Warning
16. Editors - The Back Room
17. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
18. The Streets - The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living
19. The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers
20. Lupe Fiasco - Food & Licquor

SPIN's Top 20 Singles of 2006

1. "Crazy" - Gnarls Barkley
2. "When You Were Young" - The Killers
3. "Ain't No Other Man" - Christina Aguilera
4. "Welcome to the Black Parade" - My Chemical Romance
5. "Wolf Like Me" - TV on the Radio
6. "Hustlin'" - Rick Ross
7. "Ridin'" - Chamillionaire feat. Krazie Bone
8. "Steady as She Goes" - The Raconteurs
9. "Smile" - Lily Allen
10. "Rise Up with Fists!" - Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins
11. "Kick, Push" - Lupe Fiasco
12. "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" - The Artic Monkeys
13. "Cheated Hearts" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
14. "Notorious" - Turbulence
15. "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" - Scissor Sisters
16. "Vans" - The Pack
17. "The Funeral" - Band of Horses
18. "Silent Shout" - The Knife
19. "Trains to Brazil" - Guillemots
20. "Be Gentle with Me" - The Boy Least Likely To