And I swear to the stars, I'll burn this whole city down.
Favorite 2006 Albums:
1. The Corner Laughers - Tomb Of Leopards
2. The Loud Family & Anton Barbeau - What If It Works?
3. The Ditty Bops - Moon Over The Freeway
4. The Nines - Calling Distant Stations
5. Jennie Lewis & The Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat
6. Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
7. Nellie McKay - Pretty Little Head
8. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
9. The Gothic Archies - The Tragic Treasury
10. The Dresden Dolls - Yes Virginia
11. Elton John - The Captain & The Kid
12. Tilly & The Wall - Bottoms Of Barrels
13. Janet Klein - Oh!
14. Roger Manning - The Land Of Pure Imagination
15. Ray Davies - Other People’s Lives
16. Matthew Sweet & Sussanah Hoffs - Under The Covers
17. Neil Young - Living With War
18. Marty Rudnick - More Songs About Cars & Girls
19. Bill Lloyd - Back To Even
20. The Format - Dog Problems
21. Blue Cartoon - September Songs
22. Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint - The River In Reverse
23. Robyn Hitchcock - Ole Tarantula
24. Michael Franti - Yell Fire
25. Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris - All The Roadrunning
Favorite 2006 reissues & collections:
1. Tarkio - Omnibus
2. The Candy Butchers - Making Up Time
3. Richard Thompson - RT
4. Andy Partridge - Fuzzy Warbles Collector’s Album
5. The Beatles - Love
Favorite pre-2006 albums heard for the first time in 2006:
1. George Formby - England’s Clown Prince Of Song (box set)
2. George Formby - The War & Post-war Years (box set)
3. Al Stewart - To Whom It May Concern / Past Present Future / Time Passages
4. Bob Dylan - No Direction Home
5. Fats Waller - Handful of Keys (box set)
6. Ian Dury - New Boots And Panties
7. The Carter Family 1935-41 (box set)
8. They Might Be Giants - Venue Songs
9. Judy Garland - The Decca Masters (box set)
10. The Sugarplastic - Primitive Plastic
11. Kings Of Cockney Music Hall
12. The Bee Gees - Idea
13. The Handsome Family - Through The Trees / In The Air / Milk & Scissors
14. Bill Riccini - Tonight I Burn Brightly
15. Shirley Collins - The Classic Collection
16. Stars - Set Yourself On Fire
17. 80 Years Of Bluegrass (box set)
18. Mr. T Experience - Yesterday Rules
19. Andrew Bird’s Bowl Of Fire - Oh The Grandeur / The Swimming Hour
20. Ashton Allen - Dewdrops
21. Mike Viola - Just Before Dark
22. David Bowie - Aladdin Sane
23. Peggy Seeger - The Folkways Years
24. Robert Johnson - The Complete Recordings
25. Steve Earle - Sidetracks
Favorite 2006 movies:
1. An Inconvenient Truth
2. Night At The Museum
3. The Queen
4. Little Miss Sunshine
5. Jesus Camp
6. The DaVinci Code
7. Brokeback Mountain
8. Hoot
9. Mrs. Henderson Presents
10. Little Children
11. The Big Buy
12. For Your Consideration
13. The Science Of Sleep
14. The New World
15. The Last Kiss
16. A Prairie Home Companion
17. Scoop
18. V For Vendetta
Favorite pre-2006 movies seen for the first time in 2006:
1. Feather Your Nest (1937)
2. Turned Out Nice Again (1941)
3. Keep Your Seats Please (1936)
4. Let George Do It (1940)
5. Metroland (1997)
6. For Me & My Gal (1942)
7. Orchestra Wives (1942)
8. Everybody’s Famous (2000)
9. It Started In Naples (1960)
10. Charly (1968)
11. Gone With The Wind (1939)
12. School Of Rock (2003)
13. Mean Girls (2004)
14. Sleuth (1972)
15. Pleasantville (1998)
16. Ella Enchanted (2004)
17. East Is East (1999)
18. The Italian Job (1969)
19. The Aviator (2004)
20. Oh What A Lovely War (1969)
21. The Anniversary Party (2001)
22. Star (1968)
23. Awakenings (1990)
24. All That Jazz (1979)
25. Babes On Broadway (1941)
26. Adaptation (2002)
27. Sherlock Holmes & The Voice Of Terror (1942)
28. Georgy Girl (1966)
29. Donnie Darko (2001)
30. Casino (1995)
31. Josie & The Pussycats (2001)
32. Whale Rider (2002)
33. Mambo Italiano (2003)
34. Wild Style (1981)
35. One Hour Photo (2002)
36. Starstruck (1982)
37. Ocean’s 11 (2001)
38. Me & My Shadows (2003)
39. Summer Stock (1950)
40. Noises Off (1992)
Favorite 2006 books (including those that came out in hardback in 2005):
1. Pop Co. - Scarlett Thomas
2. King Dork - Frank Portman
3. Jesus Land - Julia Scheeres
4. Revoltingly Young - C.D. Payne
5. Condor - John Nielsen
6. Gary Benchley, Rock Star - Paul Ford
7. The Omnivore’s Dilemma - Michael Pollan
8. Saturday - Ian McEwan
9. An Inconvenient Truth - Al Gore
10. Absurdistan - Gary Schteyngart
11. Armed Madhouse - Greg Palast
12. No Applause, Just Throw Money - Trav S. D.
13. Spook - Mary Roach
14. Bait & Switch - Barbara Ehrenreich
15. A Different Universe - Robert Laughlin
16. The Clumsiest People In Europe _ Todd Pruzan
17. California, A History - Kevin Starr
18. The Pirates! In An Adventure With Communists - Gideon DeFoe
19. Messenger Of Truth - Jaqueline Winspear
20. Happyland - J. Robert Lennon
Favorite pre-2006 books read for the first time in 2006:
1. The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffeneger
2. The Ancestor’s Tale - Richard Dawkins
3. The Corrections - Jonathan Franzen
4. The Sibley Guide To Bird Life & Behavior - David Sibley
5. Sherlock Holmes: His Last Bow - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
6. Kindred - Octavia Butler
7. St. Ursula’s Girls Against The Atomic Bomb - Valerie Hurley
8. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
9. The Power Of Myth - Joseph Cambell / Bill Moyer
10. Sick Puppy - Carl Hiaasen
11. Time Windows - Kathryn Reiss
12. Everybody Into The Pool - Beth Lissick
13. A Return To Flanders - Martin Newell
14. Pardonable Lies - Jaqueline Winspear
15. Native Tongue - Carl Hiaasen
16. Maisie Dobbs - Jaqueline Winspear
17. Voices Of A People’s History - Howard Zinn
18. Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
19. Time Travel In Einstein’s Universe - Richard Gott
20. Stargirl - Jerry Spinelli
Favorite live shows:
1. The Corner Laughers - Red Devil Lounge - 8/22/06
2. John Wesley Harding / CvS / Bigwheel - Atherton 7/22/06
3. The Corner Laughers / Variable Stars - Brainwash 10/28/06
4. Stew: Passing Strange - Stanford University 3/11/06
5. Elvis Costello / Richard Thompson - Golden Gate Park 10/8/06
6. Jersey Boys - Curran Theater 12/29/06
7. The Ditty Bops - The Attic 5/31/06
8. Billy Bragg - Golden Gate Park 10/7/06
9. Vanities - Mountain View 6/20/06
10. Ray Davies - Mountain Winery 7/12/06
Favorite “new” restaurants:
1. Kimba Vegetarian Bistro - San Jose
2. Au Lac - Fresno
3. Neecha - San Francisco
4. Pita House - Grand Rapids
5. Go Go Cuisine - Willow Glenn
6. Sanraku - San Francicso
7. Amber Café - Mountain View
8. Green Elephant Gourmet - Palo Alto
9. Cheryl’s Diner - Kernville
10. Thai Spice - San Francisco
Favorite TV shows:
1. Countdown With Keith Olbermann
2. The Daily Show
3. Nature
4. Gilmore Girls
5. Simpsons/ Family Guy/ American Dad
6. Josh Kornbluth
7. 30 Days
8. Windy’s Adventures
9. Country Boys
10. The Colbert Report