a long overdue example of how much i care about this stupid rock n roll.
I've been meaning to write this out for a long time now, but i've been lazy and still had a few records to get to from this past year before i could definitively put out a list. And before i get to it, i have a few honorable mentions that didn't make the list: Belle & Sebastian The Life Pursuit, Portastatic Be Still Please, Chin Up Chin Up This Harness Can't Ride Anything, Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins Rabbit Fur Coat, My Brightest Diamond Bring Me the Workhorse, Silversun Pickups Carnavas, Mountain Goats Get Lonely, and Emily Haines Knives Don't Have Your Back. And i promise i'll have more frequent posts.
Top Five Singles of 2006
5. The Islands “Humans”
The Islands only make the singles list because I was too lazy to buy the record, which I assume is a shame, because I’ve been told all of the songs are this well crafted. I’m a nerd for this type of quirky, layered pop, and it would be well appreciated if someone would just buy me Return to the Sea.
4. Thom Yorke “Harrowdown Hill”
I won’t try to explain this due to my perpetual hard-on for anything Thom writes. I could only pick one, so I chose this.
3. Tapes ‘N Tapes “Insistor”
This band was hyped constantly all year, and this is the reason. The album itself was uneven, but if they can continue to pump gems like this out, they’ll have a long career ahead of them.
2. Built to Spill “Goin’ Against Your Mind”
The most disappointing thing about You In Reverse is that they opened with a track this incredible. I don’t care who you are, but you can’t follow something this good.
1. Camera Obscura “Lloyd, I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken”
Play this song around me and I’ll instantly act like I’m wearing a sundress and that I can charm anyone with my perfectly crafted pop. I can’t help myself at all to this song. Maybe someday Belle and Sebastian will top this, but it won’t be soon.
Top Ten Albums of 2006
10. Camera Obscura Let’s Get Out of This Country
My obligatory “Put these songs on the radio and they’d make trillions” mention. Infinitely more confident than any of their previous releases, and some of the finest hooks I’ve ever heard.
9. Band of Horses Everything All of the Time
So I have a ton of ambitions, as far as my current education in being a rhythm guitarist goes, and one of them is to sound like this. Nowhere this year will you find something this atmospheric, heartbreaking, and simple.
8. Mission of Burma The Obliterati
Something has to be said for one of my indie-rock nerdiness, and the fact that these guys can still do something this good puts all of the other shit I listen to to shame.
7. Cat Power The Greatest
I am a leaf, watch me swoon.
6. Joanna Newsom Ys
This album is the reason I put off making this list for so long. I decided to put off buying it until the day I left for xmas, and even then I hadn’t listened to it until about 3 weeks ago, and I was unsure of its quality. Since then, though, I’ve come to understand just how fucking incredible this woman is. So gloriously weird, yet grounded and honest, and fuck, she even uses her voice cracks to amazing effect.
5. The Thermals The Body, The Blood, The Machine
I didn’t think that these kids could do anything better than “How We Know.” They proved me wrong instantly.
4. Margot & The Nuclear So and Sos The Dust of Retreat
Okay, so technically this didn’t come out in 2006, but it was reissued on Artemis this year, and being the lazy bastard I am, that’s when I bought it. This album is credited as the one album each year I’ve bought multiple times, just because I couldn’t be without out it on trips, and also being the bastard I am, I kept forgetting it. You don’t hear many bands put together such intricate arrangements, and then turn around and write drinking songs about why Broadripple and the idiots that go there are morons. I now have another reason to be proud of Indiana.
3. The Decemberists The Crane Wife
Everything has already been said about this album. As far as I’m concerned, these guys can create nothing but nerdy, whimsical, heartbreaking brilliance. And the Colbert feud didn’t hurt either.
2. Neko Case Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
I have listened to this record under every influence possible. I’ve been drunk, stoned, heartbroken, in love, at work, distracted, tired, bouncy, etc., and these songs still make my guts turn into liquid every time I hear them. Everyone talks about her incredible voice, but she finally has the chops to be regarded as one of the best songwriters out there.
1. The Hold Steady Boys and Girls in America
The other reason it took me so long to write out this list is that I couldn’t stop listening to this album long enough to consider anything else. This is everything that’s right about rock ‘n roll. What makes this album the best thing I’ve heard since Sleater-Kinney’s The Woods is the fact that it’s the most sympathetic album I have ever heard. Whether they still sing about Charlemagne or other random kids, every line rings true about how desperate we are to do whatever the fuck we can to have fun for once. And then they turn around and give us a fuckton of fun rock to listen to as well. As I always say, Craig Finn writes the best rock lyrics out there, and I don’t think I could ever be convinced otherwise as long as they keep putting out albums like this. If this album isn’t remembered in ten or twenty years, than there is something seriously wrong with our culture. An album this honest, articulate, and empathic deserves its place in the canon. I could spend all day quoting incredible lyrical snippets to you, and I probably will until their next album.
Top Five Singles of 2006
5. The Islands “Humans”
The Islands only make the singles list because I was too lazy to buy the record, which I assume is a shame, because I’ve been told all of the songs are this well crafted. I’m a nerd for this type of quirky, layered pop, and it would be well appreciated if someone would just buy me Return to the Sea.
4. Thom Yorke “Harrowdown Hill”
I won’t try to explain this due to my perpetual hard-on for anything Thom writes. I could only pick one, so I chose this.
3. Tapes ‘N Tapes “Insistor”
This band was hyped constantly all year, and this is the reason. The album itself was uneven, but if they can continue to pump gems like this out, they’ll have a long career ahead of them.
2. Built to Spill “Goin’ Against Your Mind”
The most disappointing thing about You In Reverse is that they opened with a track this incredible. I don’t care who you are, but you can’t follow something this good.
1. Camera Obscura “Lloyd, I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken”
Play this song around me and I’ll instantly act like I’m wearing a sundress and that I can charm anyone with my perfectly crafted pop. I can’t help myself at all to this song. Maybe someday Belle and Sebastian will top this, but it won’t be soon.
Top Ten Albums of 2006
10. Camera Obscura Let’s Get Out of This Country
My obligatory “Put these songs on the radio and they’d make trillions” mention. Infinitely more confident than any of their previous releases, and some of the finest hooks I’ve ever heard.
9. Band of Horses Everything All of the Time
So I have a ton of ambitions, as far as my current education in being a rhythm guitarist goes, and one of them is to sound like this. Nowhere this year will you find something this atmospheric, heartbreaking, and simple.
8. Mission of Burma The Obliterati
Something has to be said for one of my indie-rock nerdiness, and the fact that these guys can still do something this good puts all of the other shit I listen to to shame.
7. Cat Power The Greatest
I am a leaf, watch me swoon.
6. Joanna Newsom Ys
This album is the reason I put off making this list for so long. I decided to put off buying it until the day I left for xmas, and even then I hadn’t listened to it until about 3 weeks ago, and I was unsure of its quality. Since then, though, I’ve come to understand just how fucking incredible this woman is. So gloriously weird, yet grounded and honest, and fuck, she even uses her voice cracks to amazing effect.
5. The Thermals The Body, The Blood, The Machine
I didn’t think that these kids could do anything better than “How We Know.” They proved me wrong instantly.
4. Margot & The Nuclear So and Sos The Dust of Retreat
Okay, so technically this didn’t come out in 2006, but it was reissued on Artemis this year, and being the lazy bastard I am, that’s when I bought it. This album is credited as the one album each year I’ve bought multiple times, just because I couldn’t be without out it on trips, and also being the bastard I am, I kept forgetting it. You don’t hear many bands put together such intricate arrangements, and then turn around and write drinking songs about why Broadripple and the idiots that go there are morons. I now have another reason to be proud of Indiana.
3. The Decemberists The Crane Wife
Everything has already been said about this album. As far as I’m concerned, these guys can create nothing but nerdy, whimsical, heartbreaking brilliance. And the Colbert feud didn’t hurt either.
2. Neko Case Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
I have listened to this record under every influence possible. I’ve been drunk, stoned, heartbroken, in love, at work, distracted, tired, bouncy, etc., and these songs still make my guts turn into liquid every time I hear them. Everyone talks about her incredible voice, but she finally has the chops to be regarded as one of the best songwriters out there.
1. The Hold Steady Boys and Girls in America
The other reason it took me so long to write out this list is that I couldn’t stop listening to this album long enough to consider anything else. This is everything that’s right about rock ‘n roll. What makes this album the best thing I’ve heard since Sleater-Kinney’s The Woods is the fact that it’s the most sympathetic album I have ever heard. Whether they still sing about Charlemagne or other random kids, every line rings true about how desperate we are to do whatever the fuck we can to have fun for once. And then they turn around and give us a fuckton of fun rock to listen to as well. As I always say, Craig Finn writes the best rock lyrics out there, and I don’t think I could ever be convinced otherwise as long as they keep putting out albums like this. If this album isn’t remembered in ten or twenty years, than there is something seriously wrong with our culture. An album this honest, articulate, and empathic deserves its place in the canon. I could spend all day quoting incredible lyrical snippets to you, and I probably will until their next album.