BWC’s Music Writers Pick Their Favorites of 2006

It’s so hard for me to make lists like these. Music is ridiculously accessible nowadays, which makes a music junkie like myself go into nervous fits wondering what I should download next. And with the amount of incredible music being released by a wide variety of artists and musicians, well, narrowing it down to five or ten songs or albums seems like a fool’s errand.

Still, we love making lists like these and wouldn’t dream of letting our favorite music of the past year go uncategorized. So, here, fair readers, are our many music writers chiming in on the music of 2006. Feel free to argue, kvetch, cajole and praise their selections in our comments section. We do love the feedback.

Top Five Songs That Set My Feet to Dancing and/or My Heart to Breaking by Ariele Gentiles

5. “My Son, the Astronaut” - Oppenheimer (from Oppenheimer)
“Isolation makes this incomplete…”

4. “Did I Step On Your Trumpet” - Danielson (from Ships)
“How am I lookin’ in your frilly bonnet with the diamond on it?”

3. “Another Sunny Day” - Belle and Sebastian (from The Life Pursuit)
“The lovin’ is a mess, what happened to all of the feeling?/I thought it was for real; babies, rings and fools kneeling…”

2. “Country Mile” - Camera Obscura (from Let’s Get Out of this Country)
“The more you look forlorn, the more to you I warm…”

1. “Emily” - Joanna Newsom (from Ys)
“The ties that bind, they are barbed and spined and hold us close forever…”

Top Five Albums of the Year (in order) by Adam Newton

1) TV On The Radio — Return to Cookie Mountain
2) The Hold Steady — Boys & Girls in America
3) Cat Power — The Greatest
4) The Decemberists — The Crane Wife
5) Morrissey — Ringleader of the Tormentors

Why are those my favorite albums of the year? It’s because they either a) provide new twists & fresh energy to familiar styles, or b) they run roughshod over traditional genres, representing a wide variety of sounds & doing so with depth. Whether with their unmistakable voices (Chan Marshall, Morrissey, or Craig Finn) or with their overall musicality (TVOTR & The Decemberists), these five records truly represent the BEST of 2006.

Best Concerts/Tours I had to Miss Because of Sickness, Weddings, and Other Extenuating Circumstances by Will Thompson

-May: Band of Horses
-May: Decemberists, Beck, Band of Horses, Iron & Wine, et al at Sasquatch
Festival
-June: Danielson
-October: Sufjan Stevens
-October: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Thankfully, nothing kept me from seeing Bob Dylan

My Top Five Shouty Rock Songs By British Bands Of 2006 by Jan Carson

1. The Fratellis: “Chelsea Dagger”- Glaswegian trio come up with the year’s most stompingly infectious anthem. Indie kids everywhere punch the air furiously and sing along. Chelsea Dagger brings out the cockney showgirl in everyone. Not sure if this is a good thing or not.

2. Razorlight: “In The Morning”- Johnny Borrell has still got the ugliest teeth in rock but this is a jolly nice single off a tight little record and it’s very good for singing along with in the car.

3. The Long Blondes: “Lust In The Movies”- What the world needs now is a really good shouty girl band. Enter the wonderfully named Long Blondes. It’s Debbie Harry bringing Elastica back from the dead to shout about sultry movie icons. I’ve waited my whole life for this AND they wear berets.

4. Dirty Pretty Things: “Bang, Bang You’re Dead”- This year Pete Doherty made newspaper headlines for all the wrong reasons and Carl Barat formed a sweet little “almost as good as the Libertines” rock group and made nice records like this one. Advantage: Carl.

5. Kasabian: “Shoot The Runner”- It’s big but it’s not very clever and it struts like a peacock on speed. It’s dance music for people who like Oasis and dressing up in military outfits. I’m fed up pretending I don’t like Kasabian; this is marvelous stuff.

Best Songs Left Off Guitar Hero II (song, band, difficulty) by Will Thompson

1. “Neighborhood #2 (Laika)” by Arcade Fire - Easy
2. “Devil’s Haircut” by Beck - Easy
3. “Dramamine” by Modest Mouse - Medium
4. “Inertiatic ESP” by the Mars Volta - Hard
5. “Come On! Feel the Illinoise!, Pt. I: The World’s Columbian Exposition / Pt. II: Carl Sandburg Visits Me In a Dream” by Sufjan Stevens - Face Melter

Top Five Records of 2006 by Bob Ham

1. Scott Walker - The Drift: A dark, scary ride through the fevered brain of this unsung musical genius. The entire record sounds like the warped soundtrack to a Constructivist-era Eisenstein film. If you have any idea what I’m talking about, you should buy this album immediately.

2. Joanna Newsom - Ys: The distinctive voice and the harp are still there, but they are wrapped up in the finely hued orchestration by none other than Van Dyke Parks. The lilting, allegorical anthems are turned from mere songs into living, breathing creatures that will haunt your dreams for months on end.

3. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale: There were a half a dozen or more hip-hop records released in 2006 devoted to the world of cocaine slinging, but none of them could pass muster when held up against this masterpiece. Over a bed of clattering beats and samples from “Rocky”, Killah spits out some of his most emotional and ridiculous rhymes to date.

4. Matmos - The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast: This San Francisco duo took 10 artists/thinkers/famous people that they admire and create anthems and homages to their creative endeavors. The result is an Impressionistic masterpiece that is surely the group’s finest work to date.

5. The Heads - Under The Stress of a Headlong Dive: If you are hungry for some face-melting proto-metal, look no further. These four English gents create an unholy racket that is equal parts Sabbath, Blue Cheer, and Dead C. I’ve never taken any hallucinogens but after hearing this record, I don’t think I need to.

Top Five Hip-Hop Songs of 2006 (according to a 21-year-old white male) by Ryan Smith

1. Be Easy by Ghostface Killah from Fishscale: Nothing short of entirely electrifying, Ghostface cuts loose the Wu and leaves us with Staten Island’s catchiest anthem. Jay-Z may have left his NYC drinks-in-the-air crowd-pleasers at the door, but Fishscale all but reinvents them with this track.

2. Tell a Story by Rhymefest from Blue Collar: Chicago was largely silent in 2006 (no new Kanye, Common, et cetera) but Rhymefest from the south side takes the helm beautifully on Blue Collar. This song in particular has a “Shorty Wanna Be a Thug” flavor about it but exhibits a casual, realistic delivery and remains interesting for all four and a half minutes.

3. Kingdom Come by Jay-Z from Kingdom Come: There’s West Coast, East Coast, Dirty South and then there’s Jay-Z. The New York native doesn’t break any ground with this incredible track lyrically, but that’s not really the point. The point is the beat. The snapping snare and minor-key jabs at the keyboard make it impossible to ignore even if you hate HOV.

4. Mr. Me Too (feat. Pharell) by Clipse from Hell Hath No Fury: While it may not be the most complicated track, “Mr. Me Too” sits in the third spot on hip hop’s finest LP of the year. Clipse (with the Neptunes) have created one of the most engaging albums about crack in years. Never forgiving, always interesting, Hell Hath No Fury is one for the ages and this track is no exception.

5. King Back by T.I. from King: To top it off, T.I. makes good on the South early in the year. King finds its fault in its exorbitant length but finds its strength in charming, fun tracks like “King Back,” which leads off the record. This is Just Blaze’s second track on this countdown (“Kingdom Come”), certainly awarding him the Producer of the Year award.

Get these records, listen to these songs. Indie rock would do well to learn from these fine gentlemen.

Definitive Top 10 of 2006 by Jordan Green

1. Fox Confessor Brings the Flood - Neko Case: This isn’t just the best album of the year. I’ve been listening to this album constantly…CONSTANTLY…since March, and it’s one of my five favorite albums of all time.

2. Gulag Orkestar - Beirut: The boozy horns and slushy piano remind me of Bosnia, even if the clubs there played “turbo folk” which is a million times worse than it reads. How a 19 year-old kid figured out to play this music astounds me.

3. The Body, The Blood, The Machine - The Thermals: While the neo-cons seem a more appropriate target of their ire, The Thermals are reasonably frightened of a Christian-lead dystopia. I’ll take totalitarianism if it means more albums like this.

4. The Crane Wife - The Decemberists: Even with the dabbles in prog-rock, The Crane Wife keeps with the rich storytelling and unique, Dickensian (at least that’s what everyone says) sound. “Sons and Daughters” is the best album closer of the year.

5. The Baby & the Satellite - Micah P. Hinson: Technically, this might be a 2005 release, but Hinson’s collection of eight demos redone is wonderful folk, and I can’t leave it out. While Hinson’s voice is rough, his charmingly repetitive guitar picking works a fine melody, weaving songs together at the same time. If that’s not enough, Hinson includes a 29-minute track at the end, each of the songs in their original demo format.

6. Boys and Girls in America - The Hold Steady: It’s not the songs, necessarily…it’s the feeling this album gives you, like those first few years after you moved out of your parent’s house, and you were young and went out and didn’t care about responsibility. I’m surprised how much this album reminds me of Drive-By Truckers, especially on “Southtown Girls”.

7. Let’s Get Out of This Country - Camera Obscura: This Scottish band makes me wish I’d paid more attention to Belle & Sebastian. Only their bland live show cooled me on this great pop record.

8. Everything All the Time - Band of Horses: Band of Horses borrow heavily from My Morning Jacket, but like talents given to good servants, they cash in big time with some epic, country-inflected rock.

9. Bring It Back - Mates of State: Gotta thank Stephanie Nikolopoulos for making me aware of this album, which is just flat-out good.

10. Live a Little - Pernice Brothers: Even when he’s not at the top of his game, Joe Pernice writes a disgustingly awesome pop song. Pernice Brothers are one of the top 5 bands playing today. I’m serious.

Honorable Mention: The Greatest - Cat Power; Derdang Derdang - Archie Bronson Outfit