2006 In Music
Okay, Okay. So I honestly don't have that many albums from this past year...and I didn't listen to the radio that much so I only know the bare essentials of the pop music. However! Here are the 4 albums that I have, and then...I'll go off from there.
4. Yes, Virginia... The Dresden Dolls The Dresden Dolls are an exceptional group, and when I saw them in concert in 2005 they blew me away, and so it's not fair that they're at the bottom of the list--this is, of course, me just not getting albums from this past year. It is not as dynamic as their blistering eponymous debut, but with such heavies as "Sex Changes" and "Mrs. O" it's not far behind. To be fair, I haven't listened to it for a while, so I should revisit it soon, but it simply wasn't as memorable as their debut, nor did it call to me for repeated revisits.
3. St. Elsewhere Gnarls Barkley On their energetic and invigorating debut, Gnarls Barkley push well beyond the majority of rap acts, most of which either rely on their lyrical prowess while using decent but forgettable beats or, more commonly, artists that don't even care about the lyrics and are only concerned with generating beats for people to dance to. However, as he showed with his truly inspired The Gray Album, DJ Danger Mouse isn't content just to lay down some beats and see what happens. From the strangely minimalist acoustic bassline of "Crazy" to the rapid-fire "Transformer", the beats keep coming and are distinct, fresh and funk. Most of the songs are sung, and indeed the album is not so much a rap album as a pop album by two very talented men who just happen to produce rap.
2. Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards Tom Waits From Waits' first track on this sprawling three-disc set, the raucous "Lie To Me", you know you're in good hands--provided, of course, that you've ever succumbed to his drunken, bluesy charms in the first place (if you don't know who Tom Waits is, this is probably not a good place to start). Every aspect of Waits' music is touched upon over the course of the 56 songs--the old time-y "Bottom Of The World", the timely political tale "Road To Peace", the simple, moving lyric of "Tell It To Me", the beat spoken word piece "Nirvana", the as-heard-in-Shrek 2 "Little Drop Of Poison"--not all are memorable, but few can write as well, nor master so many genres on an album. And for those who may never take Tom Waits to heart, may they at least consider how incredible it is that so singular, unique and eccentric a talent has survived and flourished for over thirty years.
1. Boys And Girls In America The Hold Steady The thesis of Boys And Girls In America is found in the first line of its stellar opening track, "Stuck Between Stations": "There are nights when I think Sal Paradise was right/Boys and girls in America have such a sad time together". From that starting point, singer Craig Finn and his band spin tales of crunken hookups, drunken longings and trips that might never end, all with a soul that makes it all strangely poetic, suggesting the restlessness and passion of early Springsteen projected through a haze of beer and mushrooms.
Also, in non-album news, I really really liked "Promiscuous" by Nelly Furtado and Timbaland, though it was not nearly as good as her singles from a few years back, and after I heard it a few times, I changed my mind completely about "SexyBack". It's...it's pretty freaking awesome. You know?
As for non-2006 albums I heard last year...
#1 Record/Radio City Big Star (1972/1974) I cannot. Cannot. Cannot oversell this CD. It is two albums of the catchiest, most soulful and superb pop music that never made it to the big time. It did, eventually of course--witness the beefed-up rendition of "In the Street" Cheap Trick recorded for That 70's Show, or the random use of "I'm In Love With A Girl" in a beer ad last year. Oh, and they seriously influenced artists from The Replacements to R.E.M. They were all kinds of wonderful.
Original Pirate Material The Streets (2002) Okay. It's a British guy (Mike Skinner), with a thick Cockney accent doing something in between rap and garage. You get all that? The lyrics are extremely compelling throughout, and it is imperative that I mention "The Irony Of It All", in which a drunken lout and a quiet stoner--both voiced by Skinner--get into a fight. So freaking cool and a worthwhile album.
Rage Against The Machine Rage Against The Machine (1992) Zack de la Rocha spits fire in songs about police brutality, Eurocentricism, and the apathy of those around him. His band plays fantastic rock music. A classic of the Left is born.
Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac (1975) "Landslide". "Rhiannon". "Monday Morning". Sex. Check it out!
"Thunder Road" Bruce Springsteen (1975) Umm...wow. That's all. Wow. Such a powerful song!
That's all I have. Happy 2007!
4. Yes, Virginia... The Dresden Dolls The Dresden Dolls are an exceptional group, and when I saw them in concert in 2005 they blew me away, and so it's not fair that they're at the bottom of the list--this is, of course, me just not getting albums from this past year. It is not as dynamic as their blistering eponymous debut, but with such heavies as "Sex Changes" and "Mrs. O" it's not far behind. To be fair, I haven't listened to it for a while, so I should revisit it soon, but it simply wasn't as memorable as their debut, nor did it call to me for repeated revisits.
3. St. Elsewhere Gnarls Barkley On their energetic and invigorating debut, Gnarls Barkley push well beyond the majority of rap acts, most of which either rely on their lyrical prowess while using decent but forgettable beats or, more commonly, artists that don't even care about the lyrics and are only concerned with generating beats for people to dance to. However, as he showed with his truly inspired The Gray Album, DJ Danger Mouse isn't content just to lay down some beats and see what happens. From the strangely minimalist acoustic bassline of "Crazy" to the rapid-fire "Transformer", the beats keep coming and are distinct, fresh and funk. Most of the songs are sung, and indeed the album is not so much a rap album as a pop album by two very talented men who just happen to produce rap.
2. Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards Tom Waits From Waits' first track on this sprawling three-disc set, the raucous "Lie To Me", you know you're in good hands--provided, of course, that you've ever succumbed to his drunken, bluesy charms in the first place (if you don't know who Tom Waits is, this is probably not a good place to start). Every aspect of Waits' music is touched upon over the course of the 56 songs--the old time-y "Bottom Of The World", the timely political tale "Road To Peace", the simple, moving lyric of "Tell It To Me", the beat spoken word piece "Nirvana", the as-heard-in-Shrek 2 "Little Drop Of Poison"--not all are memorable, but few can write as well, nor master so many genres on an album. And for those who may never take Tom Waits to heart, may they at least consider how incredible it is that so singular, unique and eccentric a talent has survived and flourished for over thirty years.
1. Boys And Girls In America The Hold Steady The thesis of Boys And Girls In America is found in the first line of its stellar opening track, "Stuck Between Stations": "There are nights when I think Sal Paradise was right/Boys and girls in America have such a sad time together". From that starting point, singer Craig Finn and his band spin tales of crunken hookups, drunken longings and trips that might never end, all with a soul that makes it all strangely poetic, suggesting the restlessness and passion of early Springsteen projected through a haze of beer and mushrooms.
Also, in non-album news, I really really liked "Promiscuous" by Nelly Furtado and Timbaland, though it was not nearly as good as her singles from a few years back, and after I heard it a few times, I changed my mind completely about "SexyBack". It's...it's pretty freaking awesome. You know?
As for non-2006 albums I heard last year...
#1 Record/Radio City Big Star (1972/1974) I cannot. Cannot. Cannot oversell this CD. It is two albums of the catchiest, most soulful and superb pop music that never made it to the big time. It did, eventually of course--witness the beefed-up rendition of "In the Street" Cheap Trick recorded for That 70's Show, or the random use of "I'm In Love With A Girl" in a beer ad last year. Oh, and they seriously influenced artists from The Replacements to R.E.M. They were all kinds of wonderful.
Original Pirate Material The Streets (2002) Okay. It's a British guy (Mike Skinner), with a thick Cockney accent doing something in between rap and garage. You get all that? The lyrics are extremely compelling throughout, and it is imperative that I mention "The Irony Of It All", in which a drunken lout and a quiet stoner--both voiced by Skinner--get into a fight. So freaking cool and a worthwhile album.
Rage Against The Machine Rage Against The Machine (1992) Zack de la Rocha spits fire in songs about police brutality, Eurocentricism, and the apathy of those around him. His band plays fantastic rock music. A classic of the Left is born.
Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac (1975) "Landslide". "Rhiannon". "Monday Morning". Sex. Check it out!
"Thunder Road" Bruce Springsteen (1975) Umm...wow. That's all. Wow. Such a powerful song!
That's all I have. Happy 2007!