2006年 12月 25日 月曜日 04:34

Haven't put anything up on here in awhile, so thought I'd stick my 2k6 list up, originally posted here… A list of the best individual cuts can also be found here… Enjoy!

What a year of music.. Last year this time I was hunting through the year's albums for stuff to fill out this list, this year I'm kicking discs by Tool and The Flaming Lips off the list. Though I must admit, there weren't as many truly amazing albums this time around, there were a ton of really good ones. Anyway, lots of great stuff this year, and while I certainly haven't heard all of it yet, these are the 20 best cuts I have heard, and they're all high in quality, low in suck. Anyway, here they are, my 20 favorite albums to come out in the last year, with poorly written descriptions of why I like them, too!

1. Girl Talk - Night Ripper

Yes, that's right, my number 1 album of the entire year is a disc full of mashups. But seriously now, these aren't just any mashups, there're over a dozen tracks stuffed into each of these songs, mixed up, twisted about, and all lined up in such a way that they manage to come together into a coherent whole. Simply amazing stuff, I've had this cd in my car literally since I first got it, and by in my car I mean in the single-disc cd player in my car. Whenever I get tired of the radio this is what I put on - this and this alone, it's that good. Anyway, maybe I'm insane and this actually sucks, but there's just something special about biggie rapping over elton john… and it sounding like it's supposed to be there.

2. Hot Chip - The Warning

Every year I seem to fall absolutely in love with some electropop album… and here's this years entry. Not quite perfectly polished, but this album is just absolutely FULL of wonderful pop melodies, and keeps the crystal-clear synths that define the genre I love so much. "Boy From School", "Colors", and "The Warning" are all absolutely amazing pop tunes, and the rest of the album, if not resting on such spectacular heights, certainly doesn't disappoint. Truly a wonderful album.

3. Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds

I must admit, the first time through I really wasn't feeling Justin's new effort. Most of the songs just sounded.. weird. Or featured completely inane topics, like the one where he talks about smoking crack. Yeah, ok JT. But it started to grow on me. Then "My Love" broke as the massive single it deserves to be. Then the rest of the songs slowly started to make sense. And then I started listening to them all.. all the time. Oh well, I give up, I like it. It's certainly weird, a sort of disco/funk hybrid that certainly recalls the 80s pop stars he so admires, but with the best of modern synths and beats (thanks timbland) backing him up. Massive. Really odd, but massive.

4. Various Artists - Chrono Symphonic

A video game remix project based on the single greatest game to ever grace the video game world featuring the single greatest soundtrack to ever grace the video game world. Yeah, I'm in. Amazing stuff, with cinematic tracks from amazing artists (ok, they aren't exactly pros, but they're great for the genre) putting together cuts from some of the most amazing and addictive melodies EVER. Fantastic songs, especially the ones by Blake Perdue, Reuben Kee/Pixietricks, and Sleepy Emp. Sure, most of you fools aren't going to be into this as much as I am, but whatever, it's great stuff.

5. Tv On The Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain

Definitely the best stuff they've ever put out not titled "Staring At the Sun", this album is absolutely excellent. "Wolf Like Me" is definitely the best song they've cut since the aforementioned monster-single, and the rest of the disc is likewise wonderful. The soundscapes are all deep and evocative, the melodies are good (often the thing their music lacks), and Tunde manages to not-quite fall off the edge with his singing. This album skirts the edge of falling apart all the way through for me, but always manages to pull back when it's reaching a point of just "too much", and keeps me listening on the edge of my seat for where they go next. Great stuff.

6. Band of Horses - Everything All The Time

Absolutely excellent guitar soundscapes. Every one of these tracks is like a sonic painting to enjoy, powerful melodies and powerful emotions. Bridwell's voice isn't quite as well-suited to this kind of music as it was to the hazy dream-pop they were putting out with Carissa's Weird, but it's certainly adequate, and the songs are truly amazing. Not as singles, but as part of a wonderful whole. Personal favorite tracks would be "Our Swords" and "The Funeral", but it's really not a singles disc.

7. The Pipettes - We Are The Pipettes

60s girl groups brought back to life? Sure, why not, as long as they don't suck. This is an album absolutely _loaded_ with hooks, "Because It's Not Love" and "Pull Shapes" being the standout cuts for me. It's certainly different, but despite the goofy spotted dress 60s persona they felt the need to pull off to fit their theme, the music is excellent.

8. Devin Townsend Band - Synchestra

I really didn't hunt down a whole lot of new metal this year, but the latest from devin certainly wasn't going to be missed. I guess this is more prog than metal, but it's excellent all the same, mostly a series of really deep guitar soundscapes, featuring multitracking like crazy. Really, really, good.

9. Mew - And The Glass Handed Kites

Oh my, more spacy electropop goodness. This is another fantastic disc of pop hooks, though in between wonderful songs they falter a bit. Anyway, "Zookeeper's Boy" is one of the best songs to come out this year, and wonderful melodies exist all throughout this album.. give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

10. Lily Allen - Alright, Still

Mmm, the british loudmouth myspace discovery.. I really wanted to be annoyed by her music, but I couldn't quite pull it off. She's got a cynical and sarcastic sense of humor that just (shockingly) speaks to me, and as slices of pop the songs aren't bad either. "Smile" and "LDN" are the big standouts, and the former was probably my song of the summer.

11. Various Artists - To: Elliott, From: Portland

Making a tribute album that doesn't suck is hard. Making a tribute album constrained by only using local artists from one city not suck is nearly impossible. How to do it? Cover a whole list of songs that are just so amazing a monkey with a ukelele could pull them off. That's what we have here. Featuring nothing but local acts from elliott smith's hometown of Portland, they take his fantastic tunes and shove them into whatever genre they happen to prefer. And for the most part it works. Sure, there're some falls (whoever Lifesaves is, they need to get a day-job, though the rap-break was an interesting touch), but a lot of solid work. The Decemberists, Swords, Crosstide, and Helio Sequence cuts are definitely the strongest, but none of them truly fails to be at the least an interesting new take on some of the greatest melodies ever.

12. Various Artists - Blood On The Asphalt

Another, video game album, this time tackling the music of Street Fighter II. A solid set of songs, especially the Richter/Shael Riley colab on the Guile ending theme that helps close the album out. Well done stuff.

13. Islands - Return To The Sea

This is a weird album for me. When it first came out I listened to it a TON, and then I just… stopped. I remember loving the album, and I remember it being great… but I don't really remember the album. Opening song "Swans" is certainly excellent, but the rest of the disc just sort of fades out on me now.

14. Beatles - Love

A remix album of beatles songs? For Cirque de Soleil? Sure, why not. This is really just another excuse to run through a bunch of absolutely wonderful beatles songs. The remixes really aren't all that great, and certainly not necessary, but the songs are still wonderful, and the sound quality of them here is truly fantastic. If you like beatles music, you'll like this, and if you don't.. well, you probably don't have a soul anyway.

15. Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit

More b&s, same b&s. Melancholy indie pop, if you like them you'll like the new disc, if you don't, you won't. I do, but there's certainly nothing surprising or standout here…

16. Beyonce - B'Day

Wow, only the 2nd truly mainstream disc on the list, at #16.. pop music really is turning into a singles format, there's just not much need to pick up anything on the albums that isn't getting radio play. Anyway, this is a very solid disc, the singles are strong ("Irreplaceable" anyone? "Deja Vu"? How about "Ring the Alarm"?), and the rest of the album manages to not suck. Radio saturation hurts a bit, but these songs, and the singing on them, really is solid.

17. Sufjan Stevens - The Avalanche

A whole album of outtakes from my favorite album of last year, this is just more of the same from Sufjan. And that's really the only problem it has. By what amounts to the 43rd song of Illinoise, you've really just had enough. Anyway, "Adlai", "Mistress Witch", and the "Chicago" remixes are all solid, if nothing new.

18. Thom Yorke - The Eraser

Well, a solo album by radiohead's frontman is certainly an interesting premise… and well, that's what the album is too; interesting. The songs are ok, the performances is ok, but it's really just an excuse to hear more of thom yorke. On top of that, this is just a downright dreary album, full of heavy, depressing soundscapes. It's good, it's interesting, I'm not sure it's all that entertaining though…

19. Christopher O'Riley - Home to Oblivion: An Elliott Smith Tribute

Mmm, yet another elliott smith tribute, this time all done on piano. That's right, nothing but solo piano arrangements, because these melodies are just that good. Absolutely fantastic stuff, if you're into elliott at all. (If you're not, you need to be.)

20. Lady Sovereign - Public Warning

This is just nothing but entertaining. "Love Me Or Hate Me" is amazingly fun, and the rest of the album follows the same sarcastic chick-rap blueprint wonderfully. The heavy accent gets a little old, but other than that this is great stuff.