Thursday, December 07, 2006
Top Ten Albums of 2006!
This year's theme seemed to be "albums with a few simply amazing songs and a lot of filler crap." There were countless albums that, had the songs been of consistent quality, would have been fighting it out for the number one slot. However, it was not to be, and most of those albums didn't even make the list.
As always, we bought way too much music this year for me to studiously listen to all of it. I'm sure that in a couple of months I will discover an album that we've had since May or June, and I'll kick myself for not putting it on the list. Alas, I can't wait any longer - the deadline is here!
One note: I read too many reviews this year. Anything intelligent I have to say about these albums would probably be unintentional plagiarism. So, for the most part, I'm just going to speak from the heart.
So, without further ado...
10. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
This is one of the aforementioned albums with a few great songs and some not-so-nice ones. Critics fell over themselves praising this album, but I think it's a step back for everyone's favorite band of pirates, soldiers, and thieves. We knew they could get proggy (see The Tain), but boy howdy, do they trot it out on this record! What redeems this album are the three parts of "The Crane Wife" - they are so beautiful, particularly "The Crane Wife 1." And the Decemberists are just kooky enough to put the third part first.
Standout Tracks: "The Crane Wife 1 & 2" "The Crane Wife 3" "O Valencia!"
9. Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies
The theatre major in me loves Destroyer. I will forever picture Dan Bejar singing alone on an stage, wearing a cape, surrounded by musical instruments. One of the pleasures of listening to Destroyer is finding all of the musical in-jokes that he drops. He even references his last album here, and instead of seeming pompous, it just makes you smile. There are a couple of duds on here, but I forgive him.
Standout Tracks: "Your Blood" "Watercolours Into the Ocean" "Rubies"
8. Phoenix - It's Never Been Like That
This year's hipster party album. It's consistently good, a solid album (finding standout tracks was hard, because it's such an even sound). I feel as though I need a special hipster outfit for listening to this. Or maybe just a hipster hairdo. How many times can I use the word hipster? It's not like the singer had a baby with Sofia Coppola or anything...
Standout Tracks: "Consolation Prizes" "Lost and Found" "One Time Too Many"
7. Editors - The Back Room
There are few people who could say, with any real weight or certainty, that early U2 didn't suck. Say what you will about their later albums, but in the 80s, U2 was great. On The Back Room, Editors (perhaps without even meaning to) channel those early guitar sounds that helped the Edge become so famous, and many of their songs have the same frenetic energy as early U2. The rest, however, sounds very modern. Maybe it's Interpol meets Mullet U2. I don't know. I just really like it.
Standout Tracks: "Blood" "All Sparks" "Someone Says"
6. The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
And here we have a different type of party album. The year I graduated high school, my uncle in Wisconsin got married. My family took a roadtrip in the Upper Midwest on the way to and from the wedding. I saw lots of corn, Minneapolis, Green Bay, and a lot of lakes. At one point, I found my underage self in a seedy, small-town Midwestern bar, watching the local kids dance and drink cheap beer. I tried to imagine what it would be like to grow up there. This album sounds like that trip.
Standout Tracks: "Chips Ahoy!" "You Can Make Him Like You" "Massive Nights"
5. Beirut - Gulag Orkestar
I'm not going to be able to talk about this album without sounding like I'm ripping off every music journalist out there. So I'm not going to try to say anything profound. This stuff is good. It doesn't make any sense, I can't even understand most of the words, but I like it.
Standout Tracks: "Brandenberg" "Mount Wroclai (Idle Days)" "After the Curtain"
4. Morrissey - Ringleader of the Tormentors
I think all of us would feel refreshed after a long Italian holiday. Morrissey certainly does. He's always been one for pouring his heart out, but he seems to get, for lack of a better word, more real on this album. Yes, he addresses his sexuality, which got a lot of press for this album. I find it refreshing, even while it's a little silly to hear a man in his 40s gushing about sex for, really, the first time (not counting allusions in "Stretch Out and Wait" and whatnot). He overdoes it, though, on songs like "I Just Want to See the Boy Happy" or "Now I am Born," but can you blame him? This is definitely a mature album; maybe the most mature we've seen from Morrissey.
Standout Tracks: "Life is a Pigsty" "On the Streets I Ran" "In the Future When All's Well" "The Youngest Was the Most Loved"
3. Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
After the stringstravaganza(tm) of Dear Catastrophe Waitress, Belle and Sebastian have presented a stripped-back sound on this album, as much as a seven-member band can. I think they also strive to have a bit more fun with this album, and it works well for them. They also experiment a bit more, and for the most part it works... although when it fails, it fails miserably (I'm looking at you, "Song for Sunshine"). But overall, this is a very strong album. I may even have a new favorite B&S song in the wonderful build-em-up, knock-em-down "Another Sunny Day."
Standout Tracks: "Another Sunny Day" "Dress Up in You" "Act of the Apostle" "For the Price of a Cup of Tea"
2. Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat
I was excited when I heard this was coming out, since I really like Rilo Kiley, but this album far surpassed my expectations. It is chock-full of heat, compassion, and love. Jenny's voice sounds wonderful, and the harmonies provided by the Watson Twins are the perfect accompaniment. She openly struggles with herself in the lyrics, including her spirituality, her beliefs, and, especially, her past. She channels the old ladies of country, even down to the arrangements and production. It warms my heart and reminds me of my childhood. This is an album for fireplaces, blankets, and countryside. When Jenny sings "They warn you about killers and thieves in the night/I worry about cancer and living right," all I can think is, "Hey, me too." It's too bad more women don't sing like she does.
Standout Tracks: "You Are What You Love" "Born Secular" "Melt Your Heart" "The Big Guns" "Happy"
1. Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
It's nearly impossible to talk about this album without using profanity, because damn, it is good. You know what, the title pretty much says it all. This album makes me feel almost every emotion at once. There's love, happiness, sadness, meloncholy, nostalgia, loss... it's all here. But there's no anger, no hate... just all of my favorite feelings (yes, I enjoy sadness from time to time). I don't know what they're doing to tap into my brain and my heart so thoroughly, but they do it. And they do it well. I think that if this album had been around in high school, I would have freaking loved it.
Standout Tracks: yeah, pretty much all of them! But especially "Monsters" "The First Song" "The Great Salt Lake" "I Go to the Bark Because I Like the" "Saint Augustine" "Weed Party"
On the Cusp:
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I Am Not
Regina Spektor - Begin to Hope
Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of This Country
Placebo - Meds
The Streets - The Hardest Way To Make an Easy Living
Disappointments:
The Killers - Sam's Town
The Flaming Lips - At War with the Mystics
Thom Yorke - The Eraser
Single of the Year:
Justin Timberlake - "SexyBack" and "My Love" (tie) This album, by the way, was probably on the cusp of being on the cusp.
Runners Up
Camera Obscura - "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken"
My Chemical Romance - "Welcome to the Black Parade"
Beyoncé - "Check on It"
Box Set of the Year
Sufjan Stevens - Songs for Christmas
Illegal Album of the Year
Girl Talk - Night Ripper
There you have it. Another year, another ridiculous sum spent buying CDs. It's worth it, though. If i am lost it's only for a little while!
This year's theme seemed to be "albums with a few simply amazing songs and a lot of filler crap." There were countless albums that, had the songs been of consistent quality, would have been fighting it out for the number one slot. However, it was not to be, and most of those albums didn't even make the list.
As always, we bought way too much music this year for me to studiously listen to all of it. I'm sure that in a couple of months I will discover an album that we've had since May or June, and I'll kick myself for not putting it on the list. Alas, I can't wait any longer - the deadline is here!
One note: I read too many reviews this year. Anything intelligent I have to say about these albums would probably be unintentional plagiarism. So, for the most part, I'm just going to speak from the heart.
So, without further ado...
10. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
This is one of the aforementioned albums with a few great songs and some not-so-nice ones. Critics fell over themselves praising this album, but I think it's a step back for everyone's favorite band of pirates, soldiers, and thieves. We knew they could get proggy (see The Tain), but boy howdy, do they trot it out on this record! What redeems this album are the three parts of "The Crane Wife" - they are so beautiful, particularly "The Crane Wife 1." And the Decemberists are just kooky enough to put the third part first.
Standout Tracks: "The Crane Wife 1 & 2" "The Crane Wife 3" "O Valencia!"
9. Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies
The theatre major in me loves Destroyer. I will forever picture Dan Bejar singing alone on an stage, wearing a cape, surrounded by musical instruments. One of the pleasures of listening to Destroyer is finding all of the musical in-jokes that he drops. He even references his last album here, and instead of seeming pompous, it just makes you smile. There are a couple of duds on here, but I forgive him.
Standout Tracks: "Your Blood" "Watercolours Into the Ocean" "Rubies"
8. Phoenix - It's Never Been Like That
This year's hipster party album. It's consistently good, a solid album (finding standout tracks was hard, because it's such an even sound). I feel as though I need a special hipster outfit for listening to this. Or maybe just a hipster hairdo. How many times can I use the word hipster? It's not like the singer had a baby with Sofia Coppola or anything...
Standout Tracks: "Consolation Prizes" "Lost and Found" "One Time Too Many"
7. Editors - The Back Room
There are few people who could say, with any real weight or certainty, that early U2 didn't suck. Say what you will about their later albums, but in the 80s, U2 was great. On The Back Room, Editors (perhaps without even meaning to) channel those early guitar sounds that helped the Edge become so famous, and many of their songs have the same frenetic energy as early U2. The rest, however, sounds very modern. Maybe it's Interpol meets Mullet U2. I don't know. I just really like it.
Standout Tracks: "Blood" "All Sparks" "Someone Says"
6. The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
And here we have a different type of party album. The year I graduated high school, my uncle in Wisconsin got married. My family took a roadtrip in the Upper Midwest on the way to and from the wedding. I saw lots of corn, Minneapolis, Green Bay, and a lot of lakes. At one point, I found my underage self in a seedy, small-town Midwestern bar, watching the local kids dance and drink cheap beer. I tried to imagine what it would be like to grow up there. This album sounds like that trip.
Standout Tracks: "Chips Ahoy!" "You Can Make Him Like You" "Massive Nights"
5. Beirut - Gulag Orkestar
I'm not going to be able to talk about this album without sounding like I'm ripping off every music journalist out there. So I'm not going to try to say anything profound. This stuff is good. It doesn't make any sense, I can't even understand most of the words, but I like it.
Standout Tracks: "Brandenberg" "Mount Wroclai (Idle Days)" "After the Curtain"
4. Morrissey - Ringleader of the Tormentors
I think all of us would feel refreshed after a long Italian holiday. Morrissey certainly does. He's always been one for pouring his heart out, but he seems to get, for lack of a better word, more real on this album. Yes, he addresses his sexuality, which got a lot of press for this album. I find it refreshing, even while it's a little silly to hear a man in his 40s gushing about sex for, really, the first time (not counting allusions in "Stretch Out and Wait" and whatnot). He overdoes it, though, on songs like "I Just Want to See the Boy Happy" or "Now I am Born," but can you blame him? This is definitely a mature album; maybe the most mature we've seen from Morrissey.
Standout Tracks: "Life is a Pigsty" "On the Streets I Ran" "In the Future When All's Well" "The Youngest Was the Most Loved"
3. Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
After the stringstravaganza(tm) of Dear Catastrophe Waitress, Belle and Sebastian have presented a stripped-back sound on this album, as much as a seven-member band can. I think they also strive to have a bit more fun with this album, and it works well for them. They also experiment a bit more, and for the most part it works... although when it fails, it fails miserably (I'm looking at you, "Song for Sunshine"). But overall, this is a very strong album. I may even have a new favorite B&S song in the wonderful build-em-up, knock-em-down "Another Sunny Day."
Standout Tracks: "Another Sunny Day" "Dress Up in You" "Act of the Apostle" "For the Price of a Cup of Tea"
2. Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat
I was excited when I heard this was coming out, since I really like Rilo Kiley, but this album far surpassed my expectations. It is chock-full of heat, compassion, and love. Jenny's voice sounds wonderful, and the harmonies provided by the Watson Twins are the perfect accompaniment. She openly struggles with herself in the lyrics, including her spirituality, her beliefs, and, especially, her past. She channels the old ladies of country, even down to the arrangements and production. It warms my heart and reminds me of my childhood. This is an album for fireplaces, blankets, and countryside. When Jenny sings "They warn you about killers and thieves in the night/I worry about cancer and living right," all I can think is, "Hey, me too." It's too bad more women don't sing like she does.
Standout Tracks: "You Are What You Love" "Born Secular" "Melt Your Heart" "The Big Guns" "Happy"
1. Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
It's nearly impossible to talk about this album without using profanity, because damn, it is good. You know what, the title pretty much says it all. This album makes me feel almost every emotion at once. There's love, happiness, sadness, meloncholy, nostalgia, loss... it's all here. But there's no anger, no hate... just all of my favorite feelings (yes, I enjoy sadness from time to time). I don't know what they're doing to tap into my brain and my heart so thoroughly, but they do it. And they do it well. I think that if this album had been around in high school, I would have freaking loved it.
Standout Tracks: yeah, pretty much all of them! But especially "Monsters" "The First Song" "The Great Salt Lake" "I Go to the Bark Because I Like the" "Saint Augustine" "Weed Party"
On the Cusp:
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I Am Not
Regina Spektor - Begin to Hope
Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of This Country
Placebo - Meds
The Streets - The Hardest Way To Make an Easy Living
Disappointments:
The Killers - Sam's Town
The Flaming Lips - At War with the Mystics
Thom Yorke - The Eraser
Single of the Year:
Justin Timberlake - "SexyBack" and "My Love" (tie) This album, by the way, was probably on the cusp of being on the cusp.
Runners Up
Camera Obscura - "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken"
My Chemical Romance - "Welcome to the Black Parade"
Beyoncé - "Check on It"
Box Set of the Year
Sufjan Stevens - Songs for Christmas
Illegal Album of the Year
Girl Talk - Night Ripper
There you have it. Another year, another ridiculous sum spent buying CDs. It's worth it, though. If i am lost it's only for a little while!
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