January 2, 2007

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Top Albums Of 2006

A lot of great music has come out this year, and I've managed to listen to a small fraction of it. The spots on my top albums list are acquired based on how much I dug the albums, and I'd like to think that occasionally takes into account artistic merit, though imperfectly judged. I've seen a lot of other end-of-year top albums lists. The funniest one is here, and this one includes a roundup of all the top tens from the larger media sources.

This year's list failed to follow last year's trends of being mostly happy music, and mostly by foreign bands. The 2006 list's mood is much more ambivalent, and its bands are mostly American (or at least Canadian). Even when it's happy, the mood is more experienced, more worldly, as if they've been through a lot to get to that happiness. Last year's list was characterized more by innocent exuberance. In any case, the albums at the top of last year's list were much dearer to me than the albums at the top of this year's list. Nevertheless, this year had more depth.

Anyway, I hope that you learn about some great new music, and let me know where I went wrong. What did I miss? In which albums did I fail to see the genius? Which albums are you wondering how I could possiby like? Without further delay...




Honorable Mention:





Top 20 Albums Of 2006:

 

20. Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped

It's Sonic Youth, and you know it right from the start. It's a great vibe to get back into, and if I were to rank all of their albums (probably only half of which I've even listened to more than once) this would easily be in the top half. Of all the bands that marked the 90's scene, Sonic Youth may have best represented the music that was to come in this decade. In a marked difference with its former contemporaries, Sonic Youth's music has always been atmospheric and experimental, sometimes so much so that it is barely listenable. That's not the case with this album at all. It's much more accessible than many of their albums.

On Rather Ripped they rock out as in the days of yore. My favorite moment on the album, however, is one of the the quieter ones on any of their albums. "Do You Believe In Rapture?" is a great song that eschews the noise but is still so very Sonic Youth. It's about the promise and aspiration of redemption and catharsis that accompanies each rock show. It casts the musician as the savior, and it's a good enough song that sometimes, I'm inclined to believe it, even if only for the moment potentially.

"Burnin' eyes seek jesus comin.
Jesus comes to pave the way.
Do you believe in his sweet sensation?
Do you believe in second chance?
Do you believe in rapture, babe?"
- Sonic Youth, "Do You Believe In Rapture?"

sample (mp3): Sonic Youth - Incinerate
sample (mp3): Sonic Youth - Do You Believe In Rapture?


 

19. Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I Am Dreaming
and
Swan Lake - Beast Moans

Swan Lake is one of the supergroup thingies, consisting of, inter alia, Spencer Krug (of Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown), Dan Bejar (of Destroyer, infra, and The New Pornographers), and Carey Mercer (of Frog Eyes). The oddest thing about that mix is that they are all singer/songwriters for their respective bands, which makes this a little like Temple Of The Dog for the indie set. And it's very good.

Sunset Rubdown, on the other hand, is Spencer Krug's solo project away from Wolf Parade. A lot of people said Sunset Rubdown's first album is better than Wolf Parade's Apologies To The Queen Mary (my sixth top album of last year's list). I wholeheartedly disagree. On Wolf Parade, Spencer Krug has his noisier, less coherent, less melodic, and less songy impulses reined in by having a second singer/songwriter in the band (Dan Boeckner). Unfortunately, Sunset Rubdown's first album embodies those more ambitious but less satisfying impulses. But as in Wolf Parade, the addition of other band members on this Sunset Rubdown album has seemed to settle Spencer Krug into a more straightforward narrative.

Likewise, Swan Lake still has Spencer Krug's impulse toward the artistic wash of incomprehensible but harrowing noise, but it is tempered by Dan Bejar's melody and soul (Carey Mercer's influence is lost to me). But Swan Lake still sounds to me like it's Spencer Krug's show--just with a couple other singer/songwriters' ideas reigning him in. That's why these two albums are listed here together. Either way, they're both pretty great albums.

"Don't pull your hair out.
I won't pull my hair out.
For I have never seen the sun
That did not bury his fears in the side of the world.
And the day is done."
- Sunset Rubdown, "Us Ones In Between"

sample (mp3): Sunset Rubdown - They Took A Vote And Said No
sample (mp3): Sunset Rubdown - Stadiums And Shrines II
sample (mp3): Swan Lake - All Fires
sample (mp3): Swan Lake - Are You Swimming In Her Pools?


 

18. Thom Yorke - The Eraser

This is not a Radiohead album, it's a much smaller work, both in concept and execution. Nevertheless, it's a great album. It's very subtle, and it certainly grew on me. Initially, I didn't think it was very special, but I burned it onto a CD for my car in some extra space I had left after Beirut. Beirut, infra, proved to be something I listened to quite a bit, and so I ended up listening to the Thom Yorke album piggybacked onto it, and grew to love this album. It's worlds away from OK Computer and Kid A, but this album's sparse clicks and noises are infectious, and the album is probably one of the best ever in its use of musical whitespace.

"Peel all of your layers off,
I want to eat your artichoke heart."
- Thom Yorke, "Atoms For Peace"

sample (mp3): Thom Yorke - Black Swan
sample (mp3): Thom Yorke - And It Rained All Night


 

17. Liars - Drum's Not Dead

What can I say? This album has two big things going for it with me: First, I've been playing drums for almost twelve years, and the thundering drums that permeate this album are an all new sound to me. They're raw and primal. The closest thing to which I could compare the sound is Animal Collective. The second thing this album has going for it is that I love concept albums. From the Pitchfork review:

"[T]here is... a conceptual libretto, this time centered on the universal struggle between confidence and cowardice. These traits are represented by two characters: the instinctive and assertive Drum, and the pessimistic, apprehensive Mt. Heart Attack."

The whole thing is an allegory for the creative process, where the band's self-doubt (Mt. Heart Attack) is repeatedly forced to confront the band's intuitive and primal creative instincts (Drum, whose appearances are always accompanied by pounding drums). If that doesn't excite you, you probably won't like this album. By the way, the whole album is so lacking in traditional song structures that it seems kind of ridiculous to select sample tracks. Nevertheless, I've done so, but you're much better off listening to the album as a whole.

Mt. Heart Attack: "I'm bothered by these trembling stars."
Drum: "Then close your eyes."
- Liars, "Drum Gets A Glimpse"

sample (mp3): Liars - Let's Not Wrestle, Mt. Heart Attack
sample (mp3): Liars - The Other Side Of Mt. Heart Attack


 

16. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House

Great harmonies, and a very evocative sound. This is something that is equally suited to laying down just listening, and to playing in the background. It is not suited to dancing. I haven't gotten to listen to this one as much as I have a lot of the other ones on this list yet, or else it probably would've ranked higher. Still, it's great.

"I'm a deep sea diver with my fins,
and underneath your current I do swim."
- Grizzly Bear, "Deep Sea Diver"

sample (mp3): Grizzly Bear - Easier
sample (mp3): Grizzly Bear - On A Neck On A Spit


 

15. Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris - All The Roadrunning

Yeah, it's the guy from Dire Straits along with a country singer. Yes, they're quite old. And yes, I've put what is pretty much a country album on my top 20. But it's so very soulful and full of great love songs. Just a bunch of great songs. "I Dug Up A Diamond" is my favorite on the album, and is one of the best of the year.

"Maybe once in a lifetime
You'll hold one in your hand."
- Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris, "I Dug Up A Diamond"

sample (mp3): Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris - I Dug Up A Diamond
sample (mp3): Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris - Belle Star


 

14. Built To Spill - You In Reverse

Built To Spill would be in contention for my favorite band of all time. I've loved every album of theirs, and I love this one, too. It is a little less emotionally bare (at least, on the surface) than the last few, but it compensates by being more raw and rocking. I saw them at the 9:30 Club this year, and liked the show quite a bit. I can't wait for the next one.

As always, there are so many clever lyrics throughout. So check it out, but when you do, look up the lyrics online and read through them as well.

"When I was a kid I saw a light
Floating high above the trees one night
Thought it was an alien
Turned out to be just God."
- Built To Spill, "Goin' Against Your Mind"

sample (mp3): Built To Spill - Traces
sample (mp3): Built To Spill - Wherever You Go


 

13. The Blow - Paper Television

I had listened to this one a couple times before seeing The Blow live. I didn't go to the show for The Blow, I went for the headliner, Architecture In Helsinki. And it turns out that of The Blow's two members, one of them, the guy that does the beats and music, was on tour with some other group and couldn't make it. So it was just this one little girl on the stage, all by her lonesome, without even any instruments. Just a mic and a girl. And what did she do to make up for it? She danced. She danced like an eight-year old girl playing dress up and dancing like she saw Michael Jackson do. She danced like she didn't care how stupid she looked, and as a result, she didn't look stupid at all. It was one of those moments where, for the first three or four minutes of her set at least, no one in the crowd could tell whether she was kidding, or whether they were supposed to laugh, or whether this was really The Blow and not just a joke. It was actually very awkward. But then a few people started to get it. And they started to dance. And then a few more got it, and they started to dance. And her carefree dancing was so infectious that, by the end, everyone in the crowd was smiling these big, happy, eight-year old smiles and dancing like none of the other hipsters were watching them. Check out some of the videos of her on YouTube.

Anyway, the album is very fun and danceable, and great.

"Pardon me, but wasn't that your heart
That I felt on the bed,
In the bed, between the sheets?
I might have been confused
By all the sweat.
There was a lot of sweat."
- The Blow, "Pardon Me"

sample (mp3): The Blow - Parentheses
sample (mp3): The Blow - The Long List Of Girls


 

12. Beirut - Gulag Orkestar

The best album of gypsy music that I heard this year. Period.

But seriously, it has a wonderfully weird sound with Eastern European instrumentation and a modern, wailing singer that somehow fits with it. It's odd as hell, and pleasant. If they released another album and it sounded like this, it would be too much, but this is short and it is what is, and it's great. But still, I hope that their sound changes significantly for the next album.

"When I feel alive
I try to imagine a careless life
A scenic world where the sunsets are all breathtaking."
- Beirut, "Scenic World"

sample (mp3): Beirut - Brandenburg
sample (mp3): Beirut - Postcards From Italy


 

11. Danielson - Ships

This album is relentlessly surprising and optimistic. It just never lets down the originality. The song structures are non-traditional but the hooks are, and so it comes out absolutely delighting its listener every thirty seconds or so. I've heard some rumor that Sufjan Stevens was pretty much his protege, and that makes sense. Danielson's music has a similarly epic scope, and both of them are dirty Christians who sing about their faith. But they're also both amazing musicians.

"I've taken attendance at finishing schools
Filled with like children who go beyond rules.
They're wise as the serpents and gentle as doves,
Skipping around, so rooted in love."
- Danielson, "Kids Pushing Kids"

sample (mp3): Danielson - Ship The Majestic Suffix
sample (mp3): Danielson - Did I Step On Your Trumpet


 

10. The Candy Bars - On Cutting Tigers In Half And Understanding Narravation

Wonderful album that I only discovered a few weeks ago. And they're a Tampa band! My home city! They play shows regularly at the off-the-main-strip Ybor bars I frequent when home. I was fortunate enough to see them play at New World Brewery while home this Christmas break, and it was pretty good. The drummer wasn't there, so instead of the usual lineup of singer/guitarist, cellist, drummer, they had singer/guitarist, cellist, violist. It changed the energy, dynamics, and crescendos from their embodiments on the album, but it was still a good show.

But the album, oh! The album. It creates such a wonderful mix of bitterly haunted and hopeful moods. The singer sounds like he's spitting the words out, almost consumed by spite and self-loathing, and yet it nevertheless manages occasionally to sound optimistic. Not happy, but optimistic. Just listen.

This album also gets two more dubious awards:
1. The Song That Sounds The Most Like "Norwegian Wood." Seriously, listen to "Landscape," below.
2. The Band Member Who Looks The Most Like Chris Santoro. Seriously, look at the singer and then at Chris Santoro.

sample (mp3): The Candy Bars - Landscape
sample (mp3): The Candy Bars - Enough To Choke A Cold Air
sample (mp3): The Candy Bars - The Birthday Song


 

09. Man Man - Six Demon Bag

Tom Waits can die now, because there's a band to carry on his legacy. Like him, this stuff is also deliberately weird and carnivalesque. But like him, there's a lot of soul buried beneath the quirks. Every review of this album quotes the following lines from the song "Van Helsing Boombox:" "I want to sleep for weeks like a dog at your feet, even though I know it won't work out in the long run." The lines below are from another song, but with similar themes. It's music consisting of odd devotion to the women who have driven these artists to their pained but masculine eccentricities.

"Tiptoes on cobblestones in glass stilettos...
It breaks my knees when she hides her nosebleeds in my dreams as I sleep.
And I know I'll never be the man that she thinks she really needs,
But it don't stop me from trying to be."
- Man Man, "Skin Tension"

sample (mp3): Man Man - Black Mission Goggles
sample (mp3): Man Man - Van Helsing Boombox
sample (mp3): Man Man - English Bwudd


 

08. Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere

I don't think I need to say much about them, except that if all you've heard is "Crazy," then for fun's sake, listen to the rest of the album. There's a lot of depth, and tons of originality. What other hip-hop singer have you heard singing about necrophilia? This is not just another hit-generating album. Everything on here is pretty damn awesome. Also, see them live if you can. They came out all dressed in Roman costumes and claimed not to be the band Gnarls Barkley, but a different band called "Chariots Of Fire." Their string section had coordinated dance moves. The whole thing was quite a spectacle.

"I whispered in her ear to hear an echo, echo-co-co.
I keep her. It's cheaper. I love too much to let go.
We discussed over dinner how she would die before the day was done,
So I've caught her just in time to have a little fun."
- Gnarls Barkley, "Necromancing"

sample (mp3): Gnarls Barkley - Go Go Gadget Gospel
sample (mp3): Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
sample (mp3): Gnarls Barkley - Necromancing


 

07. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife

Inspired by the Japanese story of the crane wife (again, I love concept albums), this album is The Decemberists' best. It effortlessly transcends so many genres, but for me, the highlight of this album is the second track, consisting of three movements, below. Specifically, I think The Landlord's Daughter section (6:30 into the track) is the most badass, rocking song of the year. Probably not the best song of the year (though it's definitely up there), but the most rocking one. It's the one where the first time I listened to it, when that part hit, I just stopped and listened, mouth agape in a mix of shock and pleasure, and then when it finished, I immediately rewound and listened to it again. I never do that. I almost always listen to albums straight through, but with that song, I must have listened to it three or four times before moving on to the rest of the album.

Anyway, the whole album, I eventually discovered, is excellent. They can keep doing what they're doing for years and years, as far as I'm concerned. This is like if They Might Be Giants had played pirate-themed dungeons and dragons and had had less funny parents. It's just really unique, awesome stuff.

"Waylaid, the din of the day,
Boats bobbing in the blue of the bay.
In deep, far beneath,
All the dead sailors slowly slipping to sleep..."
- The Decemberists, "Summersong"

sample (mp3): The Decemberists - Summersong
sample (mp3): The Decemberists - I. Come And See, II. You'll Not Feel The Drowning, III. The Landlord's Daughter


 

06. Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies

Singer of the year? It's often that one hears a great singer, and it's not even all that uncommon that one hears a great singer inspired by a great songwriter. But it's quite rare that one hears a singer with a unique style. Not a unique voice--those are commonplace. When you listen to Destroyer, you will see what I mean. I've never heard anyone sing this way. He has an earnest, impatient, grandiose style that works so well with his almost-too-clever lyrics. It's almost like if you took Frank Sinatra's swagger and applied it to a theatric band like Queen, but mixed in a good amount of self-consciousness and schizophrenia. Actually, that's pretty fitting--he reminds me more of Freddie Mercury than any other singer. Great songwriting, great melodies, original and unique structural elements. This album really has it all.

"Have I told you lately that I love you?
Did I fail to mention there's a sword hanging above you?
And those who love Zeppelin will soon betray Floyd.
I cast off those couplets in honor of the void.
I was here to stay, I would weather the storm.
I pictured heaven on earth made of clay as your form dictated."
- Destroyer, "A Dangerous Woman Up To A Point"

sample (mp3): Destroyer - Your Blood
sample (mp3): Destroyer - European Oils
sample (mp3): Destroyer - Painter In Your Pocket


 

05. Final Fantasy - He Poos Clouds

This is another one that I didn't discover until pretty late in the year, but wow. I love this. It's a hip musician who was a composition major, and instead of forgetting all that he learned, he actually decided to compose his pop. Like, for a string section, piano, and timpanis. So this album is almost entirely strings and percussion, and I love it. I like classical music quite a bit, but haven't put in the effort to become knowledgeable in it. But this album is like all of my pop and rock loves distilled into a classical symphony. It's operatic in its melodrama, and is obviously highly personal, with many lyrics thin metaphors for struggling through the process of growing up gay. On the surface it's heavy stuff, but it's almost like watching theater from the back of the theater; there's enough distance between the listener and the stage that you never forget that it's theater, so you're free to analyze it. Anyway, this album works on a lot of levels. See if you like it. You've definitely never heard any other album like it.

"Do we believe in devils? No.
Winged men? The healing pow'r of love? No.
Enchantment? Social justice? No.
Dead child actors in a white, white world above? No.
Then why are all your songs about the things that don't exist?"
- Final Fantasy, "The Pooka Sings"

sample (mp3): Final Fantasy - Arctic Circle
sample (mp3): Final Fantasy - This Lamb Sells Condos
sample (mp3): Final Fantasy - Song Song Song


 

04. Midlake - The Trials Of Van Occupanther

"Roscoe," the album's first track, is probably my favorite song of the year. At least it's currently the song of the year that I like most. I can play it six times in a row, and still, two hours later, I'll be like "Hey, I haven't listened to 'Roscoe' in a while." The amazing thing is that the rest of the album totally lives up to it. This album could have come out in any year since 1962 and it would have sounded poignant and classic. It's timeless rock music. Its sound and mood reminds me of Neil Young, and in particular, After The Gold Rush, which is my favorite Neil Young album. They're tapping into something very special.

There is nothing inauthentic here. There is no faux emotion. There are no aspirations to sounding fashionable. No lip service is played to the trends of the day. No vocal tics or affectations. As far as I can tell, there is nothing electronic on this album. It's just amazing stuff, and I haven't gotten to the point yet where I'm not in awe of it every time I hear it. I hope never to get to that point. The word "pure" comes to mind. As if this is what rock ought to be if we were to peel off all its trends, its ambition, its existential crises, and just get down to people playing out their own private confrontations of the human condition. They're making this music because it's what comes out when they put pen to paper, when they idly strum their guitars, when they open their mouths to sing. Not because they seek to be inventive (though they are). Not because it's hip (but it is). Not because it will make them any money (and yeah, it probably won't). It really sounds like they make this music because it is totally natural for them to do so.

"Did you ever want to be overrun by bandits?
To hand over all of your things and start over new?
While we were out hunting for food our house was being robbed.
I caught an apple and she caught a fox,
So I caught a rabbit but she caught an ox.
So upon our return, we found everything gone,
Which for us was no loss.
We started over with a rabbit and an ox."
- Midlake, "Bandits"

sample (mp3): Midlake - Roscoe
sample (mp3): Midlake - Van Occupanther
sample (mp3): Midlake - Head Home


 

03. TV On The Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain

Punk soul funk rock. This shit is awesome. It's just a kickass album, and it grabbed me immediately. I probably listened to this album more than any other this year, and I'm not sick of it at all. Everyone loves this, and plenty has been written elsewhere, so I'll stop.

"And all your memories are as precious as gold.
And all the honey and the fire which you stole
Have you running through all your red cheek days,
Shaking loose these songs from their sacred hiding space.
Hold your heart courageously
As we walk into this dark place,
Stand, steadfast, erect and see
That love is the province of the brave."
- TV On The Radio, "Province"

sample (mp3): TV On The Radio - I Was A Lover
sample (mp3): TV On The Radio - Wolf Like Me
sample (mp3): TV On The Radio - Province
sample (mp3): TV On The Radio - Blues From Down Here


 

02. Band Of Horses - Everything All The Time

This was the album that I could (and did) loop for days and days without growing tired of it. Nothing on it stands out, because nothing on it fails to be spectacular. This is an album for roadtrips, an album for the drive home after the night out, an album for aftermath, an album for lull, a soundtrack for all the moments it takes to get to the ones you'll always remember, and then to get home. This album is like my mother's hand rubbing my back as I laid down to sleep. It sings and hums relaxed and comforting atmosphere. It's a place to return to. It's a very, very good album.

"If I stayed behind, would you let your hair grow?
I will forget the favors that you owe.
I'm dreaming of car wrecks and thunderstorms bright.
Let's bury ourselves and go haunt someone tonight."
- Band Of Horses, "Saint Augustine"

sample (mp3): Band Of Horses - The First Song
sample (mp3): Band Of Horses - The Funeral
sample (mp3): Band Of Horses - Wicked Gil
sample (mp3): Band Of Horses - Weed Party


 

01. Islands - Return To The Sea

Again, my top album is one that has a lot of silliness. It's joyous in sound, and often in the lyrics as well, but it has some emotional punches. There's nothing else that came out this year that I had more fun with. I listened more to TV On The Radio and Band Of Horses, but this album wasn't something that I particularly wanted to just leave on loop. I'd play it once and then put it away. And every time I came back to it (which was quite often), it stayed just as catchy, and always made me smile. In that way, I managed to savor it. But don't approach this album like a rare gem, and don't seek more deep meaning than is intended. Music is fun stuff. Must we always take it so seriously?

"If you ain’t sweet to me,
I’ll desert you in a heartbeat.
If you don’t savor me,
I’ll salt you, make you savory."
- Islands, "If"

sample (mp3): Islands - Swans (Life After Death)
sample (mp3): Islands - Humans
sample (mp3): Islands - Volcanoes
sample (mp3): Islands - Rough Gem




Albums I like a lot but to which I didn't listen enough yet to feel comfortable putting them on my list:

+/- - Let's Build A Fire, The Annuals - Be He Me, Bears - self-titled, The Fiery Furnaces - Bitter Tea, The Figurines - Skeleton, Guillemots - Through The Windowpane, I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness - Fear Is On Our Side, Mahogany - Connectivity!, Margot & The Nuclear So And So's - The Dust Of Retreat, My Brightest Diamond - Bring Me The Workhorse, Nobody & Mystic Chords Of Memory - Tree Colored See, Oneida - Happy New Year, Peter Bjorn And John - Writer's Block, Public Enemy - Rebirth Of A Nation, Secret Machines - Ten Silver Drops, The Stills - Without Feathers, Summer Hymns - Backward Masks, Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass, White Whale - WWI

Posted at January 2, 2007 2:41 AM | Comments (10)


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This is where I say yay for The Blow and boo for Band of Horses. I guess I'm just bored by them or something. The Blow is fabulous, though. And don't ever say Tom Waits can die, please. He also had a box set come out this year...

And a quick note about Final Fantasy: Occasionally, I play things on the radio that I have yet to hear. I will see it in the station, be curious by one thing or another, read the review written by someone in the station, and if all looks good, play it on air. Well, Final Fantasy stuck out to me because, well, you know...The album is called "He Poos Clouds" - and it's me - how could I not play it? The review said nothing about it being basically orchestral music - I knew they had strings and whatnot, but so does Sufjan Stevens. Yeah, maybe it's good, but it certainly doesn't fit in with what I play on my show, so it was sort of disappointing. I was looking for poop, not classical. But yeah...maybe I'll have to give it a try for my own listening purposes. But not for that radio show...

Posted by: Cara at January 3, 2007 3:23 PM


And I completely forgot to mention Islands. I love them! I saw them live twice last year - once because they opened for Metric, and the second time because they had been so great the first time. They are really fun...as one would expect from their music. I love hand-clapping, and they add it to Rough Gem when they play it live. I can't hear it without hand claps anymore...I love it!

Posted by: Cara at January 3, 2007 3:26 PM


-Definitely see The Blow live if you can. It's so weird and cool.
-Band Of Horses is for the quiet moments. It's a soundtrack for boredom. Definitely not something to play on a silly and fun radio show.
-Final Fantasy is also not something I'd play on a radio show, though for different reasons from Band Of Horses. Final Fantasy is for the brooding, introspective, operatic, melodramatic moments. It's like one of those moments where a character in a play, Hamlet, for instance, goes into an Aside and delivers some monologue that reveals the character's inner conflicts. I love it. But you have to listen to the album, not just play a track and hope for a party.
-Hand claps on "Rough Gem" like in this video? Sounds a bit hokey, but I guess I'd have to see it live. Also, see this version, which is absolutely hilarious because the person taping apparently is obsessed with the violinist, as they don't show anything but him the entire song. Possibly his mother?

Posted by: Barzelay at January 3, 2007 3:49 PM


I loved All The Roadrunning too. I'm surprised we never talked about this.

Posted by: Amanda at January 3, 2007 5:57 PM


Yeah, I loved that. I burned it for my mom, thinking she'd love it, and she didn't. Can't you see my mother liking that?

Posted by: Barzelay at January 3, 2007 6:02 PM


Yeah, I'm surprised she didn't care for it. I remember how excited I was to hear about these two pairing for an album (I'm equally crazy about both). I think I first found out when they played on either Conan or Letterman. Can't remember which, but it was great.

Posted by: Amanda at January 3, 2007 10:02 PM


Great list as always - lots I agree with and even more I've never heard and look forward to exploring. The only albums I've heard all the way through are TV on the Radio, Band of Horses, Built to Spill, and the Decemberists, and they're all on my top 10. I've been intrigued by Islands and Midlake (I've heard "Roscoe" but nothing else.) I'm not very familiar with Destroyer but I like Dan Bejar's New Pornos work. Thanks for all the recommendations.

Posted by: Mike M. at January 4, 2007 10:47 AM


Yes! Those are the hand-claps to which I refer. They are much more fun live than recorded from a live performance. You just don't get the same feeling on the video. Also, the violinist is the best in the live performances. His facial expressions and energy are a lot of fun, so I can see why someone would pay a lot of attention to him in the video. Again, their live performances don't really come across as energetic and exciting in those videos as they do in person.

And I'm hoping that since The Blow is from Portland, I'll have a few opportunities to see them this year.

Posted by: Cara at January 5, 2007 12:41 PM


I just got around to reading this. I agree with you for the most part and I was super happy to see you pick Islands as your number one. I was fairly obsessed with that album when I first got a hold of it.

I would highly recommend listening to The Curtains - Calamity. Its a 2006 release that I did not hear until just recently. After playing it out, I am retroactively putting it in my top ten for 2006.

Posted by: Adam at February 12, 2007 12:59 AM


Thanks. I just downloaded it, and I'll check it out.

Posted by: Barzelay at February 12, 2007 2:38 AM

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