Steve's Favorites for 2006
Darren asked for Best-of lists back on December 11, and I'm just now getting to mine. It's been a crazy holiday season for me...
Now, before I start all this list-making stuff, let me just say that this year, I feel even less qualified than usual to be making a list like this, because I haven't heard everything I want to hear from 06. I've been listening to way too much 1960s music and have been focused on school crap, and there have been some notable releases I haven't yet heard. I've got a copy of Thom Yorke's The Eraser in one of my CD stacks, still sealed in shrinkwrap with a Best Buy sticker on it. I haven't purchased the new TV On the Radio CD, even though I was a big fan of the last one. Why not? I blame the shifting release dates. I went to several stores the original date it was supposed to come out in the U.S., only to find out later that it got a U.K. release first. I toyed with the idea of buying the import for a day or two, then forgot about it. By the time it came out in the States, my enthusiasm had waned... Yeah, it's kinda lame, but I don't like getting excited about new music and then having it yanked out from under me. You hear me, Axl?
So yeah, short version: I haven't heard all I want to hear, which is an unusual place for me to be. That said, after the first album, the rest aren't in any type of order. Let the listing commence!
Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
I've listened to this more than anything else this year, and I love it! So much of it sounds like old-school soul music, thanks to Cee-lo's vocals and the intelligent sample choices by Danger Mouse, but at the same time, the sound is modern. I'm still not tired of "Crazy" or "Transformer."
Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther
I first heard this on the Sound Opinions podcast while driving around Dallas, and I was so blown away by the segment I heard that I drove straight to Good Records to pick up a copy. Difficult to describe, but I think of it as early 70s California soft rock as performed by modern indie rockers.
Wolfmother - Wolfmother
The hype was immense about Wolfmother earlier this year, but it seems to have died down. I still hear them played at X-Games type events on TV, but haven't heard much about them otherwise. Retro Rawk! played very well. You can tell these guys worship the Zepp.
The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
I had a student a while back who was a big Decemberists fan, and I'm sorry I didn't listen to her. Frankly, I listened to Crane Wife with some trepidation -- wasn't sure what to expect, or if it was going to be some pretentious emo crap or something, so I was pleasantly surprised by what I heard. This may make the indie kids roll their eyes at me, but I hear some prog rock in there, along the lines of old Genesis (like there's new Genesis? I mean Peter Gabriel era Genesis) along with some Supertramp and some of the more mellow Kansas feeling... Yeah, they're rolling their eyes at me...
Neil Young - Living With War
I like the rawness... It was recorded in a hurry, and it didn't give all the perfectionists time to mess it up. I wish Neil would release more albums in this manner, though I'm sure the record company wouldn't allow it. When Neil released this, public opinion was not entirely on his side and it was a brave move. Now that public opinion is coming around, it seems to have been forgotten. Neil is doomed to continually be ahead of his time...
Regina Spektor - Begin to Hope
Regina's one of those musicians I'd heard of, and heard people discuss but hadn't gotten into. I think I listened to, like, 10 seconds of Soviet Kitsch at Tower (RIP) one night when it was about to close, but it didn't take. But I was listening to The Adventure Club one night in my car, and Josh played "On the Radio" and I was hypnotized... Bought the CD the next day. Love "Samson," "On the Radio," "Better," and "20 Years of Snow." Plus, "That Time" has introduced a new catchphrase in our house, where I yell/sing "So cheap and JUIcy" whenever I discuss citrus fruits...
John Legend - Once Again
Quite honestly, it doesn't hit as hard as Get Lifted, but it's still good. It feels more old-school soul to me. Look for "Coming Home" to get way overused as backing music for TV footage of troops coming home.
If anything, 2006 has been the year of the podcast for me. I'm pretty certain I spend more time listening to podcasts about music and cooking than actually doing either...
Now, before I start all this list-making stuff, let me just say that this year, I feel even less qualified than usual to be making a list like this, because I haven't heard everything I want to hear from 06. I've been listening to way too much 1960s music and have been focused on school crap, and there have been some notable releases I haven't yet heard. I've got a copy of Thom Yorke's The Eraser in one of my CD stacks, still sealed in shrinkwrap with a Best Buy sticker on it. I haven't purchased the new TV On the Radio CD, even though I was a big fan of the last one. Why not? I blame the shifting release dates. I went to several stores the original date it was supposed to come out in the U.S., only to find out later that it got a U.K. release first. I toyed with the idea of buying the import for a day or two, then forgot about it. By the time it came out in the States, my enthusiasm had waned... Yeah, it's kinda lame, but I don't like getting excited about new music and then having it yanked out from under me. You hear me, Axl?
So yeah, short version: I haven't heard all I want to hear, which is an unusual place for me to be. That said, after the first album, the rest aren't in any type of order. Let the listing commence!
Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
I've listened to this more than anything else this year, and I love it! So much of it sounds like old-school soul music, thanks to Cee-lo's vocals and the intelligent sample choices by Danger Mouse, but at the same time, the sound is modern. I'm still not tired of "Crazy" or "Transformer."
Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther
I first heard this on the Sound Opinions podcast while driving around Dallas, and I was so blown away by the segment I heard that I drove straight to Good Records to pick up a copy. Difficult to describe, but I think of it as early 70s California soft rock as performed by modern indie rockers.
Wolfmother - Wolfmother
The hype was immense about Wolfmother earlier this year, but it seems to have died down. I still hear them played at X-Games type events on TV, but haven't heard much about them otherwise. Retro Rawk! played very well. You can tell these guys worship the Zepp.
The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
I had a student a while back who was a big Decemberists fan, and I'm sorry I didn't listen to her. Frankly, I listened to Crane Wife with some trepidation -- wasn't sure what to expect, or if it was going to be some pretentious emo crap or something, so I was pleasantly surprised by what I heard. This may make the indie kids roll their eyes at me, but I hear some prog rock in there, along the lines of old Genesis (like there's new Genesis? I mean Peter Gabriel era Genesis) along with some Supertramp and some of the more mellow Kansas feeling... Yeah, they're rolling their eyes at me...
Neil Young - Living With War
I like the rawness... It was recorded in a hurry, and it didn't give all the perfectionists time to mess it up. I wish Neil would release more albums in this manner, though I'm sure the record company wouldn't allow it. When Neil released this, public opinion was not entirely on his side and it was a brave move. Now that public opinion is coming around, it seems to have been forgotten. Neil is doomed to continually be ahead of his time...
Regina Spektor - Begin to Hope
Regina's one of those musicians I'd heard of, and heard people discuss but hadn't gotten into. I think I listened to, like, 10 seconds of Soviet Kitsch at Tower (RIP) one night when it was about to close, but it didn't take. But I was listening to The Adventure Club one night in my car, and Josh played "On the Radio" and I was hypnotized... Bought the CD the next day. Love "Samson," "On the Radio," "Better," and "20 Years of Snow." Plus, "That Time" has introduced a new catchphrase in our house, where I yell/sing "So cheap and JUIcy" whenever I discuss citrus fruits...
John Legend - Once Again
Quite honestly, it doesn't hit as hard as Get Lifted, but it's still good. It feels more old-school soul to me. Look for "Coming Home" to get way overused as backing music for TV footage of troops coming home.
If anything, 2006 has been the year of the podcast for me. I'm pretty certain I spend more time listening to podcasts about music and cooking than actually doing either...
posted by Steve at 2:07 PM
3 Comments:
Good list...Disagree with Wolfmother, Decemberists...really like the rest. Mine will appear shortly...
Any recs on podcasts? Sound Opinions has been a pretty good winner for me, curious if there's anything else out there...
Not really... Every once in a while I just happen on a stray podcast and give it a listen... But Sound Opinions is the only one I listen to on a semi-regular basis. Sadly, I'm much more regular in listening to KCRW's Good Food, a podcast on cooking and food... I've become domesticated...
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