Favorite Records of 2006 (thus far)
Normally by now, I have my top ten records of the year solidified and readied for any published appearances said list may make. Be it on Silent Uproar, Stranded in Stereo, or CMJ (if I find a way to slip it in), this annual task is one of the pinnacles of my (and all music nerds) year. To do it here would require effort (I'd have to head to my wreck of a bedroom to scour mountains of music to jog my memory), and I would risk awakening the little runt of a puppy sleeping in here...a sin I'm not willing nor ready to commit.
The new Destroyer record is definitely fuckin' great. Dan Bejar is one of my favorite modern songwriters, I'd say. Often quizzical and bizarre, the New Pornographers collaborator never fails to write interesting songs. Yes. Maybe number one on the list.
M. Ward, maybe? Post-War is solid. I love his work, almost always. But then the new Lucero record is excellent as well, and I'm only starting. Shite.
These bands are/were so hyped in blogs that I would sorta be ashamed to put them on the list:
Cold War Kids
Division Day
Oh No! Oh My!
Voxtrot (though they only have an EP for the year)
I'm almost too self-conscious for their inclusion; "trendy" is one of many adjectives I aim to avoid, but if it's good, it's good, right? Trend or not shouldn't be a question. Whatever.
The Starlight Mints had a pretty sweet album in Drowaton...I don't know if it's their strongest. Their records are usually hit/miss throughout the tracks, but are never letdowns.
Casper & the Cookies, Oppenheimer, THE PAGE FRANCE RE-ISSUE IF IT COUNTS, Murder by Death, I don't know. Too many, but few that I think will be captivating 20 years from now.
Isn't it quite the quandary to critique music in a present context? I don't know how people felt about Closing Time or the first Clash record or Forever Changes when those records were released, but decades down the road they're some of the most important musical artifacts of my life. Nothing breaks much ground anymore, or plays rough, or whatever you want to call it. Nothing fucking blows my mind. That's all I want out of a record. Or maybe I'm a victim of nostalgia for an era unknown to my senses, to my memory? The past has a certain essence and maybe that's what makes these records transcend mere music, and become pure soul. I guess. There aren't many albums as of late that really, really impress me. Maybe I'm spoiled, closed-minded? The last Page France, that's maybe one. The Destroyer record from 2004, possibly. What else? I can't think of much. The Akron/Family, maybe those guys. Dungen. Of Montreal would fit the bill, but it's very cerebral and psychedelic and goofy, not ironic or ominous, not dangerous, not affecting my personal philosophy. I don't grow because of it, and because it has little effect on me, it's not nearly as powerful. XTC is a band that can strike me on all levels, any emotions. I think Jens Lekman may be one of the brightest upcoming songwriters, though, and I'm really looking forward to his career. There's a lot of really cool shit out these days, but I think the web has made this little insulated pretentious indie world go global, its exclusiveness pissed on and thrown out. Which, has its positives and negatives. I, for one, who was raised in a mildy cultured area of the United States, with little access to anything subversive or alternative, have become a (burgeoning) student of Vonnegut, Abbie Hoffman, AK Press, socialist and anarchist philosophy, animal rights, etc. I'd go to the State Hospital here in town if I was open about my opinions, however learned or unlearned I may be. Not my fault. Off subject. No, the net has made it possible for anyone to learn about bands and styles and trends that were once inclusive and underground. Because of this, the underground has disappeared; now there's basically just "hip" and "un-hip," two terms which have been around forever, I guess, and whether meant pejoratively or not, I think they're fitting. What I'm trying to say is, "good" and "bad" have been tossed aside, or aren't as effective, because so much stuff is "good" that it's hard to discern what's "great." I think. The levels have changed, because there's so many people on the second and third levels of the four-story condo that the floors have broken and everyone's on the ground. There are steps and there's an elevator, there's even a fucking tree you can climb to reach the roof, but most everyone is drunken and trying to fuck someone there in the basement. Right? How many bands do you hear on Myspace that you like, but don't love? I can't be infatuated with new groups--is it because I'm subconsciously jealous that they're doing something that I sorta wanted to do when I was a less-ignorant, less-realistic, sophomoric jerkoff? Because they're about my age? Because I can't look up to them in some freakishly fatherly fashion? Joe Strummer would be a bit older than my dad, if alive. It's not idol worship, because I don't believe in that tripe. But maybe...?
The new Destroyer record is definitely fuckin' great. Dan Bejar is one of my favorite modern songwriters, I'd say. Often quizzical and bizarre, the New Pornographers collaborator never fails to write interesting songs. Yes. Maybe number one on the list.
M. Ward, maybe? Post-War is solid. I love his work, almost always. But then the new Lucero record is excellent as well, and I'm only starting. Shite.
These bands are/were so hyped in blogs that I would sorta be ashamed to put them on the list:
Cold War Kids
Division Day
Oh No! Oh My!
Voxtrot (though they only have an EP for the year)
I'm almost too self-conscious for their inclusion; "trendy" is one of many adjectives I aim to avoid, but if it's good, it's good, right? Trend or not shouldn't be a question. Whatever.
The Starlight Mints had a pretty sweet album in Drowaton...I don't know if it's their strongest. Their records are usually hit/miss throughout the tracks, but are never letdowns.
Casper & the Cookies, Oppenheimer, THE PAGE FRANCE RE-ISSUE IF IT COUNTS, Murder by Death, I don't know. Too many, but few that I think will be captivating 20 years from now.
Isn't it quite the quandary to critique music in a present context? I don't know how people felt about Closing Time or the first Clash record or Forever Changes when those records were released, but decades down the road they're some of the most important musical artifacts of my life. Nothing breaks much ground anymore, or plays rough, or whatever you want to call it. Nothing fucking blows my mind. That's all I want out of a record. Or maybe I'm a victim of nostalgia for an era unknown to my senses, to my memory? The past has a certain essence and maybe that's what makes these records transcend mere music, and become pure soul. I guess. There aren't many albums as of late that really, really impress me. Maybe I'm spoiled, closed-minded? The last Page France, that's maybe one. The Destroyer record from 2004, possibly. What else? I can't think of much. The Akron/Family, maybe those guys. Dungen. Of Montreal would fit the bill, but it's very cerebral and psychedelic and goofy, not ironic or ominous, not dangerous, not affecting my personal philosophy. I don't grow because of it, and because it has little effect on me, it's not nearly as powerful. XTC is a band that can strike me on all levels, any emotions. I think Jens Lekman may be one of the brightest upcoming songwriters, though, and I'm really looking forward to his career. There's a lot of really cool shit out these days, but I think the web has made this little insulated pretentious indie world go global, its exclusiveness pissed on and thrown out. Which, has its positives and negatives. I, for one, who was raised in a mildy cultured area of the United States, with little access to anything subversive or alternative, have become a (burgeoning) student of Vonnegut, Abbie Hoffman, AK Press, socialist and anarchist philosophy, animal rights, etc. I'd go to the State Hospital here in town if I was open about my opinions, however learned or unlearned I may be. Not my fault. Off subject. No, the net has made it possible for anyone to learn about bands and styles and trends that were once inclusive and underground. Because of this, the underground has disappeared; now there's basically just "hip" and "un-hip," two terms which have been around forever, I guess, and whether meant pejoratively or not, I think they're fitting. What I'm trying to say is, "good" and "bad" have been tossed aside, or aren't as effective, because so much stuff is "good" that it's hard to discern what's "great." I think. The levels have changed, because there's so many people on the second and third levels of the four-story condo that the floors have broken and everyone's on the ground. There are steps and there's an elevator, there's even a fucking tree you can climb to reach the roof, but most everyone is drunken and trying to fuck someone there in the basement. Right? How many bands do you hear on Myspace that you like, but don't love? I can't be infatuated with new groups--is it because I'm subconsciously jealous that they're doing something that I sorta wanted to do when I was a less-ignorant, less-realistic, sophomoric jerkoff? Because they're about my age? Because I can't look up to them in some freakishly fatherly fashion? Joe Strummer would be a bit older than my dad, if alive. It's not idol worship, because I don't believe in that tripe. But maybe...?
posted by a monster-free tokyo at 7:28 PM
1 comments
