Best of 2006
Artists:
Artists that released new albums in 2006 are given slight priority, though a few bands that haven't released anything this year are on this list. Biographies are from http://allmusic.com.
10. The Decemberists
Colin Meloy leads the Decemberists, a five-piece outfit whose pop sound has been compared to the likes of Neutral Milk Hotel and Belle & Sebastian. Meloy, who hails from Missoula, MT, is the main songwriter for the group. Rounding out the lineup are Ezra Holbrook on drums, Nate Query on upright bass, Jenny Conlee on accordion, and Chris Funk on theremin and pedal steel guitar. Frontman Meloy previously devoted some time to an alternative country group before breaking off to pursue his craft as a singer/songwriter in the city of Portland, a period that eventually led to the Decemberists' formation. He also holds a degree in creative writing. In addition to her duties on the accordion, Conlee plays piano. Funk is the band's newest member. Before Hush Records released the Decemberists' first album in 2002, the group put out an EP of five tracks. Their full-length debut, Castaways and Cutouts was re-released that same year on the Kill Rock Stars label, and the band began to accumulate a serious fan base. 2003 saw the release of Her Majesty, another fine collection of theatrical indie pop with British folk sensibilities that further cemented their growing reputation as a band to watch. The following year they released the five-part epic EP, The Tain, based on the eighth century Irish poem of the same name, followed by their third full-length, Picaresque, in 2005. The group made the move to the majors (Capitol Records) for 2006's The Crane Wife.
9. Death Cab For Cutie
Bellingham, WA, indie pop quartet Death Cab for Cutie began in 1997 as the solo project of singer/guitarist Ben Gibbard, who previously recorded under the name All-Time Quarterback. The underground success of the cassette You Can Play These Songs' Chords inspired Gibbard to recruit a full-time band including guitarist/organist Christopher Walla (who recorded the early DCFC sessions as well), bassist Nick Harmer, and drummer Nathan Good, and in the summer of 1998, Death Cab for Cutie issued their debut LP, Something About Airplanes, to much acclaim from indie circles. Just prior to completion of the 2000 follow-up We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes, Good left the group and was replaced by drummer Michael Schorr. In fall 2000, the band released the Forbidden Love EP. A solid selection of new cuts were found on The Photo Album the next year. In 2003, Eureka Farm's Jason McGerr joined the group and the band's stunning fourth album Transatlanticism appeared in October. While touring in support of that album in spring 2004, Death Cab For Cutie recorded seven brand new tracks. The John Byrd E.P., which was named for the band's touring sound engineer John Byrd, was issued on Barsuk in March 2005. After a lengthy courtship with Barsuk, the group inked a deal with Atlantic and released their label debut, Plans, in August of 2005. It sold nearly 90,000 copies during its first week of release, entering the US album chart at number four.
8. U2
Through a combination of zealous righteousness and post-punk experimentalism, U2 became one of the most popular rock & roll bands of the '80s. Equally known for their sweeping sound as for their grandiose statements about politics and religion, they were rock & roll crusaders during an era of synthesized pop and heavy metal. The Edge provided the group with a signature sound by creating sweeping sonic landscapes with his heavily processed, echoed guitars. Though the Edge's style wasn't conventional, the rhythm section of Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr., played the songs as driving hard rock, giving the band a forceful, powerful edge that was designed for arena rock. And their lead singer, Bono, was a frontman who had a knack of grand gestures that played better in arenas than small clubs. It's no accident that footage of Bono parading with a white flag with "Sunday Bloody Sunday" blaring in the background became the defining moment of U2's early career -- there rarely was a band that believed so deeply in rock's potential for revolution as U2, and there rarely was a band that didn't care if they appeared foolish in the process. During the course of the early '80s, the group quickly built up a dedicated following through constant touring and a string of acclaimed records. By 1987, the band's following had grown large enough to propel them to the level of international superstars with the release of The Joshua Tree. Unlike many of their contemporaries, U2 was able to sustain their popularity in the '90s by reinventing themselves as a postmodern, self-consciously ironic dance-inflected pop/rock act, owing equally to the experimentalism of late-'70s Bowie and '90s electronic dance and techno. By performing such a successful reinvention, the band confirmed its status as one of the most popular bands in rock history, in addition to earning additional critical respect.
7. Rock Kills Kid
Based around singer/songwriter/guitarist Jeff Tucker, California alternative rock outfit Rock Kills Kid initially came together in the last part of the '90s. Recently graduated from high school, Tucker was directionless and socially withdrawn when he finally worked up the nerve to hook up with some local punk bands and begin writing songs. Together with two of his bandmates, drummer Chris Poulson and bassist Kirk Huffman, Tucker formed Rock Kills Kid and recorded a demo that led to the guys inking a deal with Fearless Records in 2000. Their eponymous EP appeared in early 2001 to decent response, but Rock Kills Kid never really toured behind it.
Tucker soon found himself with no money and living as a squatter in the Los Angeles recording studio. Over the next few years, he constantly wrote -- barely leaving his illegal quarters -- and by the end of 2003, Tucker had amassed close to 150 songs. Meanwhile, Rock Kills Kid was still alive in name, but with an unstable roster, far from actually being a band. Undeterred, Tucker eventually recruited bassist Shawn Dailey, keyboardist Reed Calhoun, drummer Ian Hendrickson, and guitarist Sean Stopnik to once again complete the group. After the band signed to Reprise during the recording process, the emotionally tense Are You Nervous? arrived in May 2006. Produced by Mark Trombino (blink-182, Jimmy Eat World), their full-length debut was a post-punk-inspired effort that Tucker used to deal with his years of self-imposed isolation. March was spent on the road with the Electric Six and Nightmare of You; various tour dates followed the record's release as well.
6. Green Day
Out of all the post-Nirvana American alternative bands to break into the pop mainstream, Green Day was second only to Pearl Jam in terms of influence. At their core, Green Day was simply punk revivalists, recharging the energy of speedy, catchy three-chord punk-pop songs. Though their music wasn't particularly innovative, they brought the sound of late-'70s punk to a new, younger generation with Dookie, their 1994 major-label debut. Green Day wasn't always able to sustain their success -- Dookie sold over eight million, while its follow-up, Insomniac, only sold a quarter of its predecessor -- yet their influence was far-reaching because they opened the doors for a flood of American neo-punk, punk metal, and third wave ska revivalists.
Green Day was part of the northern California underground punk scene. Childhood friends Billie Joe Armstrong (guitar, vocals) and Mike Dirnt (bass; born Mike Pritchard) formed their first band, Sweet Children, in Rodeo, CA, when they were 14 years old. By 1989, the group had added drummer Al Sobrante and changed its name to Green Day. That year, the band independently released its first EP, 1000 Hours, which was well received in the California hardcore punk scene. Soon, the group had signed a contract with the local independent label Lookout. Green Day's first album, 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hour, was released later that year. Shortly after its release, the band replaced Sobrante with Tre Cool (born Frank Edwin Wright III); Cool became the band's permanent drummer.
Throughout the early '90s, Green Day continued to cultivate a cult following, which only gained strength with the release of their second album, 1992's Kerplunk. The underground success of Kerplunk led to a wave of interest from major record labels; the band eventually decided to sign with Reprise. Dookie, Green Day's major-label debut, was released in the spring of 1994. Thanks to MTV support for the initial single, "Longview," Dookie became a major hit. The album continued to gain momentum throughout the summer, with the second single, "Basket Case," spending five weeks on the top of the American modern rock charts. At the end of the summer, the band stole the show at Woodstock '94, which helped the sales of Dookie increase. By the time the fourth single, "When I Come Around," began its seven-week stay at number one on the modern rock charts in early 1995, Dookie had sold over five million copies in the U.S. alone; it would eventually top eight million in America, selling over ten million copies internationally. Dookie also won the 1994 Grammy for Best Alternative Music Performance.
Green Day quickly followed Dookie with Insomniac in the fall of 1995; during the summer, they hit number one again on the modern rock charts with "J.A.R.," their contribution to the Angus soundtrack. Insomniac performed well initially, entering the U.S. charts at number two, and selling over two million copies by the spring of 1996, yet none of its singles -- including the radio favorite "Brain Stew/Jaded" -- were as popular as those from Dookie. In the spring of 1996, Green Day abruptly canceled a European tour, claiming exhaustion. Following the cancellation, the band spent the rest of the year resting and writing new material, issuing Nimrod in late 1997. Three years later, their long-awaited follow-up, a refreshingly poppy record titled Warning, was released. Another long wait preceded 2004's American Idiot, an aggressive rock opera that became a surprise success -- a chart-topper around the world, a multi-platinum seller, and easily the best reviewed album of their career. Green Day reveled in the album's success, hitting numerous award shows and performing as part of Live 8 in July 2005. That fall brought Bullet in a Bible, which documented the trio's expansive Idiot live show.
5. Fall Out Boy
The four members of Chicago's Fall Out Boy came together in suburban Wilmette around 2000. Vocalist/guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist/lyricist Pete Wentz, drummer Andrew Hurley, and guitarist Joe Trohman had all been in and out of various units connected to Chicago's underground hardcore scene. Most notably, Hurley drummed for Racetraitor, the furiously political metalcore outfit whose brief output was both a rallying point and sticking point within the hardcore community. As Fall Out Boy, the quartet used the unbridled intensity of hardcore as a foundation for melody-drenched pop-punk with a heavy debt to the emo scene. They debuted with a self-released demo in 2001, following it up in May 2002 with a split LP on Uprising that also featured Project Rocket. The band returned on the label in January with the mini-LP Fall Out Boy's Evening Out with Your Girl, but by this point a bidding war of sorts was already in full swing. Fall Out Boy eventually signed a deal with Gainesville, FL's Fueled by Ramen, the label co-owned by Less Than Jake drummer Vinnie Balzano, but also received an advance from Island Records to record their proper debut. The advance came with a right of first refusal for Island on Fall Out Boy's next album, but it also financed the recording of Take This to Your Grave, which occurred at Butch Vig's Smart Studios compound in Madison, WI, with Sean O'Keefe (Lucky Boys Confusion, Motion City Soundtrack) at the helm. Grave appeared in May 2003, and Fall Out Boy garnered positive reviews for its gigs at South by Southwest and numerous tour appearances. Their breakout album, the ambitious From Under the Cork Tree, followed in spring 2005, quickly reaching the Top Ten of Billboard's album chart and spawning two Top Ten hits with "Sugar We're Going Down" and the furiously upbeat "Dance, Dance." The album went double-platinum, and earned the guys a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. Fall Out Boy's star status in the underground -- driven by the especially extroverted Wentz, who also gained exposure with his clothing line and Decaydance imprint (of Fueled By Ramen) -- had boiled over into the mainstream. They toured extensively behind the album, both at home and abroad, including spring 2006 arena dates, in addition to appearing on TRL, late night television and music award shows. Without taking a break, the guys eventually hunkered down to work on their follow-up record with Cork Tree producer Neil Avron and, somewhat surprisingly, Babyface. Infinity on High, whose title was taken from a line in one of Van Gogh's personal letters, appeared in February 2007, spearheaded by the song "This Ain't a Scene, It's An Arms Race."
4. Panic! At The Disco
Just barely out of high school, emo-pop outfit Panic! at the Disco burst out of suburban Las Vegas in 2005 with their full-length debut, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. Taking their name from a line in Name Taken's "Panic," the group materialized when friends Spencer Smith (drums) and Ryan Ross (guitar) grew tired of covering blink-182 tunes together and thus recruited classmates Brendon Urie (guitar/vocals) and Brent Wilson (bass) to complete the quartet. Crafting pop-influenced songs with theatrical touches, quirky techno beats, and perceptive lyrics, Panic! at the Disco posted some demos online and soon caught the attention of Decaydance, the Fueled by Ramen imprint headed by Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz. Even though the band had yet to play a live show, they subsequently became the first band signed to the label. With their record issued in September 2005, the guys hit the road that fall on the successful Nintendo Fusion Tour alongside Fall Out Boy, Motion City Soundtrack, Boys Night Out, and the Starting Line. As their single "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" found its way into TRL hearts (and the Top 40) by the early months of 2006, the band kept the momentum going on the road with the Academy Is..., Acceptance, and Hellogoodbye. Proving to be a popular lineup, the tour consistently sold out venues across the country. Wilson was fired from the group mid-year; Panic! pressed on with their friend Jon Walker on board for a full summer of headlining dates around the country that culminated with appearances in Chicago at Lollapalooza and overseas at the U.K.'s Reading and Leeds festivals. Their second single from Fever, "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage," also began making waves on radio and TV, as the guys picked up Video of the Year at MTV's yearly VMA ceremony, beating out heavy hitters like Madonna and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. A collector's boxset version of Fever, full of random Panic paraphernalia and a DVD, came out just in time for the 2006 holiday season.
3. My Chemical Romance
Based in New Jersey, My Chemical Romance is an alternative pop/rock and punk-pop band that has been compared to Thursday and, to a lesser degree, Cursive. Their name was inspired by author Irvine Welsh (of Trainspotting fame), and while many of their songs are loud, fast, hyper, and aggressive, My Chemical Romance's work also tends to be melodic and pop-minded. My Chemical Romance got started in the early 2000s, when lead singer Gerard Way and drummer Matt Pelissier decided to try writing some songs together. The first tune that Way and Pelissier -- who had been friends since high school -- came up with was called "Skylines and Turnstiles" (a post-9/11 song written after Way witnessed the Twin Towers fall while working at his animation job in New York City). Way and Pelissier both felt good about the song, and Way asked guitarist Ray Toro if he would be interested in working with them. My Chemical Romance's five-man lineup was complete when Way, Pelissier, and Toro joined forces with bassist Mikey Way (Gerard's little brother) and guitarist Frank Iero. With that lineup in place, the band started playing all around the Northeast Corridor and made plans to begin working on their first album.
In 2002, Eyeball Records (the New York-based indie for which Thursday had recorded) released My Chemical Romance's debut album, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love. The album was often compared to Thursday -- a comparison that, for various reasons, was inevitable and unavoidable. Both bands were from New Jersey, both had recorded for Eyeball, and both combined punk-pop's musical aggression with introspective, confessional lyrics. Plus, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love was produced by Thursday vocalist Geoff Rickly. But Thursday isn't their only influence; reviewers have cited the Smiths, Morrissey, the Cure, and the Misfits as influences, while the older Way has even cited British heavy metal icons Iron Maiden.
Lyrically, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love is as dark as it is introspective and cathartic; Way has been quoted as saying that the band's lyrics were a great way for him to deal with the problems he had been going through (which included severe depression, drug/alcohol abuse, and a serious illness in his family). The 2002 release included Way and Pelissier's first song, "Skylines and Turnstiles," and many of the album's other song titles were equally intriguing, including "Honey, This Mirror Isn't Big Enough for the Two of Us" and "Vampires Will Never Hurt You." In 2003, My Chemical Romance signed with Reprise/Warner Bros. and released the aggressively slick Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge one year later. Proving to be hugely popular, the album boasted several successful singles on commercial radio and MTV, including "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)," "Helena," and "The Ghost of You," as the album climbed the Billboard charts.
Amid their growing popularity, Pelissier departed from the band in mid-2004, and he was soon replaced on drums by Bob Bryar; they'd previously met while touring with the Used, as Bryar was doing sound for the Utah act. Relentless touring continued to increase their fanatical fan following; the band headlined dates with Alkaline Trio, scored an opening slot for Green Day, and shared bills with Story of the Year, Taking Back Sunday, and the Used, among many others. As My Chemical Romance prepared to enter the studio for their third album, they issued Life on the Murder Scene in March 2006. The CD and double-DVD package extensively documented practically everything MCR, including demos, music videos, live footage, interviews, and more; it sufficiently tied fans over until My Chemical Romance (now boasting a sober and bleach-haired Gerard Way) issued the darkly conceptual and highly ambitious The Black Parade that October. Anticipation for the album could barely be contained at the release of its grandiose first single, "Welcome to the Black Parade," whose elaborate accompanying video looked and sounded like the result of Tim Burton directing Queen.
2. 30 Seconds To Mars
Initially known as an actor (most notably on the '90s TV drama My So-Called Life and in movies like Requiem for a Dream), Jared Leto also had musical ambitions. His band, 30 Seconds to Mars, debuted in 2002 with a self-titled effort featuring a post-grunge sound suggestive of groups like Chevelle or Incubus. 30 Seconds returned three years later with A Beautiful Lie, an emotional album thematically based around the concept of change. By that point the lineup had shifted a little, slotting in Tomo Milicevic at guitar alongside Leto's vocals and guitar, his brother Shannon Leto on drums, and bassist Matt Wachter. Constant touring and an expanding fan base set the stage for a nomination for MTV's 2006 Best Rock Video for "The Kill."
1. The Killers
Brandon Flowers (vocals/keyboards), David Keuning (guitar), Mark Stoermer (bass), and Ronnie Vannucci (drums) took the fashionista pop world by storm in summer 2004 with "Somebody Told Me." The perfectly stylish song pulls from the band's influences -- the Smiths, New Order, Oasis, and the Cure -- and it was just enough to get them on MTV. Part new wave and part new-millennium post-punk, this Las Vegas foursome originally got together in 2002. Flowers had left behind his former synth pop band, Blush Response, when he noticed a classified ad in the local newspaper placed by Keuning. Both of them were huge Oasis fans, and within weeks the two composed their soon-to-be cult hit, "Mr. Brightside." Stoermer, a former medical courier, and Vannucci, a classical percussion major at UNLV, soon joined the fray that became the Killers.
The London-based indie imprint Lizard King caught wind of the band's brewing hype and quickly signed them to issue the limited-edition single for "Mr. Brightside" in fall 2003. In October, the Killers' buzz earned them a prime spot at the annual CMJ Music Marathon. A worldwide deal with Island followed shortly thereafter, positioning the Killers to join the ranks of Interpol, the Rapture, and the Strokes. Shared U.K. dates with British Sea Power and stellastarr* in summer 2004 also gave the band the opportunity to showcase material from its debut album. Hot Fuss arrived in June and two months later, it was announced that the Killers were among the ten finalists up for the 2004 Shortlist Music Prize. Singles such as "Somebody Told Me," "Mr. Brightside," "Smile Like You Mean It" and "All These Things That I've Done" became worldwide chart hits for the group while Hot Fuss eventually earned five Grammy nominations in 2005 and sold over five million copies.
The Killers ultimately scrapped their plans of taking a break to recover from their relentless touring regime, and instead got right to work on their sophomore album. Writing came together quickly around a common theme of longing for the way things used to be since the demise of old-fashioned American values. Soon the guys were ready to hit the studio, and became the first band to record inside the newly built facility at Vegas' Palms Hotel and Casino; helming the controls were legendary producers Flood and Alan Moulder (who had previously worked together with U2 and the Smashing Pumpkins). High praise from press and fans over early music, including the Bruce Springsteen-inspired lead single "When You Were Young," led up to the highly anticipated release of Sam's Town in early October 2006.
Albums:
One of these albums was released at the end of 2005, but I didn't get into it until 2006, so I'm including it in the list. All reviews are from http://allmusic.com.
5. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
Colin Meloy and his brave Decemberists made the unlikely jump to a major label after 2005's excellent Picaresque, a move that surprised both longtime fans and detractors of the band. While it is difficult to imagine the suits at Capitol seeing dollar signs in the eyes of an accordion- and bouzouki-wielding, British folk-inspired collective from Portland, OR, that dresses in period Civil War outfits and has been known to cover Morrissey, it's hard to argue with what the Decemberists have wrought from their bounty. The Crane Wife is loosely based on a Japanese folk tale that concerns a crane, an arrow, a beautiful woman, and a whole lot of clandestine weaving. The record's spirited opener and namesake picks off almost exactly where Picaresque left off, building slowly off a simple folk melody before exploding into some serious Who power chords. This is the first indication that the band itself was ready to take the loosely ornate, reverb-heavy Decemberists sound to a new sonic level, or rather that producers Tucker Martine and Chris Walla were. On first listen, the tight, dry, and compressed production style sounds more like Queens of the Stone Age than Fairport Convention, but as The Crane Wife develops over its 60-plus minutes, a bigger picture appears. Meloy, who along with Destroyer's Dan Bejar has mastered the art of the North American English accent, has given himself over to early-'70s progressive rock with gleeful abandon, and while many of the tracks pale in comparison to those on Picaresque, the ones that succeed do so in the grandest of fashions. Fans of the group's Tain EP will find themselves drawn to "Island: Come and See/The Landlord's Daughter/You'll Not Feel the Drowning" and "The Crane Wife, Pts. 1 & 2," both of which are well over ten minutes long and feature some truly inspired moments that echo everyone from the Waterboys and R.E.M. to Deep Purple and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, while those who embrace the band's poppier side will flock around the winsome "Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)," which relies heavily on the breathy delivery of Seattle singer/songwriter and part-time Decemberist Laura Veirs. Some cuts, like the English murder ballad "Shankill Butchers" and "Summersong" (the latter eerily reminiscent of Edie Brickell's "What I Am"), sound like outtakes from previous records, but by the time the listener arrives at the Donovan-esque (in a good way) closer, "Sons & Daughters," the less tasty bits of The Crane Wife seem a wee bit sweeter.
4. Rock Kills Kid - Are You Nervous?
Even though Rock Kills Kid have always claimed the Cure as an influence, spins through their prior EP showed the alternative rockers to be seemingly more familiar with the likes of Jimmy Eat World. At the time, the Cure only appeared as a mild undercurrent to their distinctive rock, but now that the entire band lineup has since altered save for its primary songwriter, singer/guitarist Jeff Tucker, well, Rock Kills Kid seem to have become way more acquainted with Robert Smith and company. But they don't blatantly wear this influence on their sleeves -- for every instance of nocturnal brooding, a lively dance step (i.e., "Paralyzed," "Midnight") is close behind. Much of the album stems from Tucker's experiences as a socially withdrawn teen that continued into near isolation following the aforementioned EP's release. It got to the point that for a few years he was illegally squatting in a recording studio, constantly writing songs and rarely venturing outside. As such, Are You Nervous? is a moody, dark-edged effort where Tucker often sounds like a young Bono fronting a band sonically similar to a less synth-reliant Communiqué or more subdued version of the Killers. Tracks are dotted with both attitude and hints of swagger and new wave dramatics as the album runs on Tucker's mature, soothing vocals, which give him -- and the overall record -- a contented and seasoned feel, even if Nervous is technically their first full-length. The airy "Hideaway" parallels Coldplay's more uplifting moments, while the moving, Editors-esque "Back to Life" is an unhurried moment that finds Tucker moving forward from the seclusion that previously filled his life. Tapping into the post-punk dance craze, "Hope Song" even more clearly (as the title suggests) represents the album's underlying hopeful and redemptive nature amid its otherwise solemn realms. Rock Kills Kid seem to have found their musical niche, and as a result, Are You Nervous? is a wonderfully satisfying late-night treat from a band just really getting started.
3. Panic! At The Disco - A Fever You Can't Sweat Out
The state of pop-punk/emo in 2005: it's hip to be self-aware. "Dear studio audience," Panic! at the Disco vocalist Brendon Urie quavers in "Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage." "I've an announcement to make/It seems the artists these days are not who you think." He goes on to shout out, "Applause! applause!" His lyrics also say he's the narrator, but that's for debate. Because later on A Fever You Can't Sweat Out Urie's hooting about meeting the press and his band being a "wet dream for the webzines," so who's worrying about stardom now, the narrator or Panic! at the Disco? With Fever it's clear that the MySpace revolution has come full circle -- no longer just a convenient promotional tool, the site is now something to sing about. Writing music that webzines actually want to cover should be more important that assuming they will and then obsessing over it. But bands like Panic! at the Disco don't see that. On Fever they fill the gaps between their formulaic guitars and warbling urgency (interchangeable groups include the Academy Is... and Fall out Boy) with painstakingly layered vocals, trumpet, vocoder, and weird breakdowns of rickety piano or synths. This is a band in love with making a record -- making a statement -- but there's nothing unique inside, neither in their formula nor the vaunted and sticky production. Panic! at the Disco's name doesn't even ring true -- the guitars, keyboards, and bittersweet vocals of the Panic Division ring close enough to cause real identity problems.
2. My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade
At the heart of My Chemical Romance lore is the story of lead singer/songwriter/mouthpiece Gerard Way, an animator who decided to abandon illustrations and do "something with his life" in the wake of 9/11. Needless to say, that "important" thing was My Chemical Romance, which quickly rose to prominence among the emo and neo-punk bands that cluttered the rock landscape of the 2000s thanks in large part to "I'm Not OK (I Promise)," a surging piece of emo pop with a hook as ridiculously catchy as its title was ridiculous. It deservedly became a hit on both sides of the Atlantic in 2005, dragging its accompanying album -- 2004's Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, the group's second -- along for the ride, turning MCR into stars, at least in modern rock circles, but anybody who didn't follow the fashions of emo and punk closely might have ignored the group's tragic, romantic neo-goth image and merely assumed that MCR was another good poppy punk one-hit wonder, not far removed from, say, Fall Out Boy. My Chemical Romance intended to dispel all such misconceptions with their third album, The Black Parade, an unabashed, old-fashioned concept album, complete with characters wandering through a vague narrative that concerns very big themes like death.
1. The Killers - Sam's Town
Not even the Killers, the champions of retro new wave, think that synth rock is music to be taken seriously, and Lord knows that this Vegas quartet wants to be taken seriously -- it's a byproduct of being taken far too seriously in the first place, a phenomenon that happened to the Killers after their not-bad-at-all 2004 debut album, Hot Fuss, was dubbed as the beginning of the next big thing by legions of critics and bloggers, all searching for something to talk about in the aftermath of the White Stripes and the Strokes. The general gist of the statement was generally true, at least to the extent that they were a prominent part of the next wave, the wave where new wave revivalism truly caught hold. They were lighter than Interpol and far gaudier, plus they were fronted by a guy called Brandon Flowers, a name so ridiculous he had to be born with it (which he was). And although it was hailed to the heavens on various areas of the Net, Hot Fuss became a hit the old-fashioned way: listeners gravitated toward it, drawn in by "Mr. Brightside" and sticking around for the rest. Soon, they made the cover of everything from Spin to Q, earning accolades from rock stars and seeing their songs covered on Rock Star, too. Heady times, especially for a group with only one album to its name, and any band that receives so much attention is bound to be thought of as important, since there has to be a greater reason for all that exposure than because Flowers is pretty, right? One of the chief proponents of the belief that the Killers are important is the band itself, which has succumbed to that dreaded temptation for any promising band on its sophomore album: they've gone and grown beards. Naturally, this means they're serious adults now, so patterning themselves after Duran Duran will no longer do. No, they make serious music now, and who else makes serious music? Why, U2, of course, and Bruce Springsteen, whose presence looms large over the Killers' second album, Sam's Town.
The ghosts of Bono and the Boss are everywhere on this album. They're there in the artful, grainy Anton Corbijn photographs on the sleeve, and they're there in the myth-making of the song titles themselves -- and in case you didn't get it, Flowers made sure nobody missed the point prior to the release of Sam's Town, hammering home that he's just discovered the glories of Springsteen every time he crossed paths with the press. Flowers' puppy love for Bruce fuels Sam's Town, as he extravagantly, endlessly, and blatantly apes the Springsteen of the '70s, mimicking the ragged convoluted poet of the street who mythologized mundane middle-class life, turning it into opera. The Killers sure try their hardest to do that here, marrying it to U2's own operatic take on America, inadvertently picking up on how the Dublin quartet never sounded more European than when they were trying to tell one and all how much they loved America. That covers the basic thematic outlook of the record, but there's another key piece of the puzzle of Sam's Town: it's named after a casino in the Killers' home town of Las Vegas, and it's not one of the gleeful, gaudy corporate monstrosities glutting the Strip, but rather one located miles away in whatever passes for regular, everyday Vegas -- in other words, it's the city that lies beneath the sparkling façade, the real city. Of course, there's no real city in Vegas -- it's all surface, it's a place that thinks that a miniature Eiffel Tower and a fake CBGB's is every bit as good as being there -- and that's the case with the Killers too: when it comes down to it, there's no there there -- it's all a grand act. Every time they try to dig deeper on Sam's Town -- when they bookend the album with "enterlude" and "exitlude," when Flowers mixes his young-hearts-on-the-run metaphors, when they graft Queen choirs and Bowie baritones onto bridges of songs -- they just prove how monumentally silly and shallow they are. Which isn't necessarily the same thing as bad, however. True, this album has little of the pop hooks of "Mr. Brightside," but in its own misguided way, it's utterly unique. Yes, it's cobbled together from elements shamelessly stolen from Springsteen, U2, Echo & the Bunnymen, Bowie, Queen, Duran Duran, and New Order, but nobody on earth would have thought of throwing these heroes of 1985 together, because they would have instinctively known that it wouldn't work. But not the Killers! They didn't let anything stop their monumental misconception; they were able to indulge to their hearts' content -- even hiring U2/Depeche Mode producers Alan Moulder and Flood to help construct their monstrosity, which gives their half-baked ideas a grandeur to which they aspire but don't deserve. But even if the music doesn't really work, it's hard not to listen to it in slack-jawed wonderment, since there's never been a record quite like it -- it's nothing but wrong-headed dreams, it's all pomp but no glamour, it's clichés sung as if they were myths. Every time it tries to get real, it only winds up sounding fake, which means it's the quintessential Vegas rock album from the quintessential Vegas rock band.
Tracks:
This includes tracks released in 2006, even if the album was released in 2005 or will be released in 2007. If you'd like a download link for any of these songs, let me know.
10. Fall Out Boy - Dance, Dance
9. Cobra Starship - Snakes On A Plane (Bring It)
8. Rock Kills Kid - Paralyzed
7. Green Day and U2 - The Saints Are Coming
6. Fall Out Boy - This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race
5. Panic! At The Disco - The Only Difference Between Martyrdom And Suicide Is Press Coverage
4. - My Chemical Romance - Welcome To The Black Parade
3. The Killers - Read My Mind
2. 30 Seconds To Mars - The Kill
1. The Killers - When You Were Young