My Favorite Albums of 2006!
10. "Sound the Alarm" by Saves the Day: This album was a great comeback for Saves the Day. I think it's been three years since their last album, but I'm too lazy to look it up. Anyway, I think "In Reverie" was the most recent one, and it was their weakest, in my expert opinion. "Sound the Alarm" made me totally want to slit my wrists, which I, as a die-hard StD fan have come to expect from their weepy stylings. Good job!
9. "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out" by Panic! At the Disco: I know this album came out in 2005, but it took me a few extra months to get over my distaste for the silly "!" in the band name; also, I do what I want. Once I started listening to the album, though, I loved the hell out of it. It would have been much higher on the list if it weren't for "Introduction" and "Intermission." I'm sure some of you assholes will argue that these two tracks are an important part of the overall album or some shit, but you're wrong. They're crappy filler, and they piss me off.
8. "The Weight is a Gift" by Nada Surf: This album is right up there with Death Cab's "Plans," and it's every bit as good as the early Nada Surf stuff. This band has really grown up, but they haven't lost their listenability as they've added complexity. If there's one thing lacking from this album, it's one really supergreat single, but that might just be because it's so consistently good. "Do it Again" and "Always Love" both make a pretty good attempt but don't quite hit the mark.
7. "Dangerous and Moving" by t.A.T.u.: Yeah, I know, this album is so overproduced it's not even funny. But t.A.T.u. practically invented comical overproduction, and this album is so stinkin' enjoyable I don't even care that those two pseudo-lesbos are a total pop construction. Fuck you. I love t.A.T.u.
6. "Eyes Open" by Snow Patrol: Here's what pisses me off: when a song plays on Grey's Anatomy and is everyone's fucking away message the next day. "Chasing Cars" is probably the worst song on this album, and Grey's Anatomy shouldn't be the goddamn Oprah's Book Club of the music world. Listen to some shit you actually choose for yourself! Christ! Anyway, as a whole this album was pretty great. "Set the Fire to the Third Bar" is my favorite song of the year, and I love the repeating themes throughout.
5. "Ben Kweller" by Ben Kweller: This album doesn't quite rock, which is something I generally expect from an album of any genre, but it's so sweet and happy I can't help but like it. "Thirteen" is beautiful. It seems as though BK is trying to expand his style with "This is War," and I think he misses a bit, but the album as a whole is great. It is so good to hear it!
4. "Stadium Arcadium" by The Red Hot Chili Peppers: I think these assholes could have probably cut this epic to fifteen songs or so, but then again, I don't know what I would cut. No one likes "Hump de Bump," but it's objectively a pretty good song, I guess. This album is great to listen to straight through, but every single can stand on its own as well. Thank god it's so good, because lord knows I had to listen to it pretty much any time I was near Austin. It was almost as though he had speakers coming out his ass that constantly blasted the Chili Pepps.
3. "Robbers & Cowards" by Cold War Kids: I can't remember how I discovered this album, maybe Davis? It totally surprised me, but it's so spectac! It's original and badass. I know nothing about this band, but I'll definitely be looking for them to come to a concert venue near me.
2. "Extraordinary Machine" by Fiona Apple: It took me a while to fall in love with this album, mainly because I'd heard the original versions of some of the tracks and, in general, liked them better. But now that I've gotten used to the album as a whole, I think it's my favorite Fiona album. It's so musically complex, yet somehow simple at the same time. The melodies are extremely basic, but they rest atop constantly shifting chords and meters that make the final product impressive as well as delightful to the ears. I can't wait to fulfill my dream of writing a hit Broadway musical about the life of Fiona Apple using her own songs!
1. "The Crane Wife" by The Decemberists: I would have never thought this would be my favorite of the year, but oh shit, it is. The first song is one of the best of the year. The rest of the tracks are individually great, but more importantly, they contribute to the album as a whole. For instance, "The Perfect Crime No. 2" is a bit confusing alone, but as a part of the album, it contributes to the ebb and flow. You know, like waves. The Crane Wife is a Japanese fable that appears in several of the tracks, but overall, the album seems to be one big thematic masterpiece. I love nerdy albums that inspire me to wikipedia every allusion, and this one certainly does that. "When the War Came" tells the story of a group of botanists who fought to maintain their various species of plants during a time of terrible starvation in their country. "Shankill Butchers" is about a group of Irish murders told as a warning to children. Who writes about shit like that? The Decemberists. That's who. This is by far the best Decemberists album. It's so much more intense than the others, which tend to be to mumbling and weak for me. Oh man. It's so good. You should illegally download it.
I promise I'll update regularly this semester. Lord knows I won't have too much homework from my P.E. classes.
9. "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out" by Panic! At the Disco: I know this album came out in 2005, but it took me a few extra months to get over my distaste for the silly "!" in the band name; also, I do what I want. Once I started listening to the album, though, I loved the hell out of it. It would have been much higher on the list if it weren't for "Introduction" and "Intermission." I'm sure some of you assholes will argue that these two tracks are an important part of the overall album or some shit, but you're wrong. They're crappy filler, and they piss me off.
8. "The Weight is a Gift" by Nada Surf: This album is right up there with Death Cab's "Plans," and it's every bit as good as the early Nada Surf stuff. This band has really grown up, but they haven't lost their listenability as they've added complexity. If there's one thing lacking from this album, it's one really supergreat single, but that might just be because it's so consistently good. "Do it Again" and "Always Love" both make a pretty good attempt but don't quite hit the mark.
7. "Dangerous and Moving" by t.A.T.u.: Yeah, I know, this album is so overproduced it's not even funny. But t.A.T.u. practically invented comical overproduction, and this album is so stinkin' enjoyable I don't even care that those two pseudo-lesbos are a total pop construction. Fuck you. I love t.A.T.u.
6. "Eyes Open" by Snow Patrol: Here's what pisses me off: when a song plays on Grey's Anatomy and is everyone's fucking away message the next day. "Chasing Cars" is probably the worst song on this album, and Grey's Anatomy shouldn't be the goddamn Oprah's Book Club of the music world. Listen to some shit you actually choose for yourself! Christ! Anyway, as a whole this album was pretty great. "Set the Fire to the Third Bar" is my favorite song of the year, and I love the repeating themes throughout.
5. "Ben Kweller" by Ben Kweller: This album doesn't quite rock, which is something I generally expect from an album of any genre, but it's so sweet and happy I can't help but like it. "Thirteen" is beautiful. It seems as though BK is trying to expand his style with "This is War," and I think he misses a bit, but the album as a whole is great. It is so good to hear it!
4. "Stadium Arcadium" by The Red Hot Chili Peppers: I think these assholes could have probably cut this epic to fifteen songs or so, but then again, I don't know what I would cut. No one likes "Hump de Bump," but it's objectively a pretty good song, I guess. This album is great to listen to straight through, but every single can stand on its own as well. Thank god it's so good, because lord knows I had to listen to it pretty much any time I was near Austin. It was almost as though he had speakers coming out his ass that constantly blasted the Chili Pepps.
3. "Robbers & Cowards" by Cold War Kids: I can't remember how I discovered this album, maybe Davis? It totally surprised me, but it's so spectac! It's original and badass. I know nothing about this band, but I'll definitely be looking for them to come to a concert venue near me.
2. "Extraordinary Machine" by Fiona Apple: It took me a while to fall in love with this album, mainly because I'd heard the original versions of some of the tracks and, in general, liked them better. But now that I've gotten used to the album as a whole, I think it's my favorite Fiona album. It's so musically complex, yet somehow simple at the same time. The melodies are extremely basic, but they rest atop constantly shifting chords and meters that make the final product impressive as well as delightful to the ears. I can't wait to fulfill my dream of writing a hit Broadway musical about the life of Fiona Apple using her own songs!
1. "The Crane Wife" by The Decemberists: I would have never thought this would be my favorite of the year, but oh shit, it is. The first song is one of the best of the year. The rest of the tracks are individually great, but more importantly, they contribute to the album as a whole. For instance, "The Perfect Crime No. 2" is a bit confusing alone, but as a part of the album, it contributes to the ebb and flow. You know, like waves. The Crane Wife is a Japanese fable that appears in several of the tracks, but overall, the album seems to be one big thematic masterpiece. I love nerdy albums that inspire me to wikipedia every allusion, and this one certainly does that. "When the War Came" tells the story of a group of botanists who fought to maintain their various species of plants during a time of terrible starvation in their country. "Shankill Butchers" is about a group of Irish murders told as a warning to children. Who writes about shit like that? The Decemberists. That's who. This is by far the best Decemberists album. It's so much more intense than the others, which tend to be to mumbling and weak for me. Oh man. It's so good. You should illegally download it.
I promise I'll update regularly this semester. Lord knows I won't have too much homework from my P.E. classes.