The Best Of 2006

[YI]

It appears that Lucie Silvas chick has some serious rackage. >_>

Edited June 13, 2007 by YI

[Liam]

The lack of recommending 'We're Not Alone (Remix)' in the Peeping Tom review upsets me.

The inclusion of Mastodon and Ihsahn though, is awesome.

Edited June 14, 2007 by Liam Byrne

[YI]

NOTE: From this point on (30-1), everything is 'FUCKING GOOD'. If you don't have it, GET IT!

BARRY SCHINDLER'S LIST : 25-21

25. "Putting The Days To Bed" by The Long Winters

MEMBERS : John Roderick, Eric Corson, Nabil Ayers, Jonathan Rothman

GENRE : Indie-Rock

REVIEW : For me, there's a huge gap between North American and English indie-rock. For the 'most part', UK bands seem content to pick up their guitars, play some chords, make some generic songs which seem borderline punk, and have 'underground' fans jizz all over them. And ultimately come across all pretentious. However. North American indie-rock is generally, ACTUALLY pretentious. There's a hell of a lot more diversity. That's not to say there's not diversity over here, or that there's not incredibly talented indie bands, it's just that your average North American indie band, seems to be a hell of a lot better than your average UK band. I have not been into The Long Winters for a long time. And they're another one of those "If found through the OC bands"...another one of which will be making an appearence on the list later. But then again, music wise, you cannot go wrong with the OC. They had Rooney on for fucks sake. Rooney are awesome (note...Rooney are a Tiger Woods 2004 found band ). So yeah, the first Long Winters song I heard was "The Commander Thinks Aloud". Which was basically entirely made up of piano chords, loud drumming and some electronic distortion. Simple enough. But it was very, very effective. This is not actually on the album, and the LP itself is not really like this. It's a lot more guitar based, which is fair enough. I get a very Decemberists vibe from the band. Especially in the early going with songs like "Teaspoon" (Which is OUTSTANDING) and the opening track, "Pushover". This is also helped by the vocalist, who has the Decemberists' vibrato. As the album goes on they seem to develop their own style, whilst still mixing in a number of different styles. The horn section really helps build epic-ness in songs such as "Ultimatum" and as previously mentioned, "Teaspoon". With tracks like "(It's A) Departure" they go 'straight up rock', and I must say it's very impressive. If I were to be totally honest, I can't think of a single bad track on this album. It's just so consistent. Some amazing choruses. A great use of synchopation, and an overall sense of style. It does seem to miss a little bit of substance, but on the surface it's one of the catchiest albums I've heard in a long time.

BEST SONGS : "Teaspoon", "Sky Is Open", "Pushover", "(It's A) Departure" and "Clouds".

24. "Illuminare" by Umbrellas

MEMBERS : Scott Windsor, Sammy Sharon +

GENRE : Indie-Pop

REVIEW : Continuing on the indie theme, we have another North American band, this time in the electronic twinged pop stylings of Umbrellas. At this early stage it should be noted that Umbrellas make perfect music for slow motion running scenes, or at least "Boston White", "Ships", "Crooked" and "Thinking Of You" fit the bill somewhat perfectly. And its all got to do with the style of the songs. Outside of "Crooked", they all remain somewhat gentle, however there's a sense of importance, drive and an impending 'dread' to the songs. However, this is also a slight negative. As a lot of the songs seem to build and build, however there's no pay off, leaving you wanting more. This is definately the case with the final track, "We Fall", where a beautiful vocal line rides over some long keyboard/electronic chords. It builds for two minutes, and when you are prepared for an epic closing moment, it just fades away. This is partly Umbrellas style though. Never to be too overstated. It's all about atmosphere. It's about simple, mellow, sweet, yet very effective melodies. Umbrellas is basically what can simply be called, 'beautiful music', helped along from the high, somewhat 'stereotypically' angelic voice of the vocalist. Thus far I've built it up as a melencholy release, well, it is, however there are moments of sheer excitement. The tracks "Again And Again" and "Angel Or Demon" are dance-rock tracks, however they maintain more of a groove than an 'in-your-face' rock & roll vibe. There's also variation in the 'quieter' tracks. With "Tests On Your Heart", an acoustic based song, which is basically an acoustic guitar and vocals, with a piano being introduced later on. All in all, it's a haunting album. Really sweet. However it may not be to everybody's tastes, as it does seem to leave you craving more. And maybe not in a good way, to some people. The singer is THE UGLIEST MOTHERFUCKER ALIVE, as well.

BEST SONGS : "Idle And Waiting", "Thinking Of You", "Again And Again" "Tests On My Heart" and "Boston White".

23. "WWI" by White Whale

MEMBERS : Matt Suggs, Rob Pope (The Get Up Kids), John Anderson, Zach Holland, Dustin Kinsey (The New Amsterdams)

GENRE : Indie-Rock

REVIEW : The 3rd of our Get Up Kids related acts, and this is the one that's probably the least connected 'sound wise' to the kids. Well The New Amsterdams are fairly different, but at least they share a vocalist, so you get GUK flashbacks. Anyways. My point. Oh yeah. This is fucking good. Things kick off with a fairly straight forward, mid-tempo indie-rock track in "Nine Good Fingers". The album opens with a beautiful keyboard riff, that pulls you straight into the first song, and from there, you're taken on a wild ride of many different styles and songs. The album is a mix of straight up indie, psychadelic rock, post-rock and electronic influences. However it blends together so perfectly. For example, the first four tracks. You have, as previously stated the 'straight up' indie-rock track in "Nine Good Fingers". Following this you have the 7-minute, wistful "O' William, O' Sarah". Which rapidly switches from melencholy to catchy at the drop of a hat, and has some crazy psychadelic atmospherics going on in the background. Following this you are greated with "The Admiral" with drum machines and a carnival atmosphere. Building to an epic psychadelic style chorus of "Aaaahhh"'s towards the end. Then there's "I Love Lovely Chinese Gal", which is a haunting, quiet little number. Again the drum machines are present, mixed with drone influences, with distorted vocals. It's not just that track-to-track there's so much variety, in the songs themselves there's so many blends of styles. You really cannot be surprised at what this album can throw at you. Such as the squelchy styled synth which is present in "We're Just Temporary Ma'am", which doesn't seem to fit with anything which is going on around it, but it does sound cool. However this release can be somewhat overwhelming, there just seems to be so much happening that sometimes it's hard to follow. For example, I have a friend who really enjoys the first track, but dislikes the rest of the album, as there's nothing else 'like it' on the rest of the album. So whilst the songs are all good, it just really doesn't feel like that great of an album. Hopefully they find a more 'distinctive' direction for their sophomore effort. Some amazing songs on here though.

BEST SONGS : "O' William, O' Sarah", "Fidget And Fudge", "What's An Ocean For?", "Yummyman Farewell" and "The Admiral".

22. "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" by Arctic Monkeys

MEMBERS : Alex Turner, Jamie Cook, Andy Nicholson, Matt Helders

GENRE : Indie-Rock

REVIEW : As previously stated, UK indie-rock often suffers from pretentious attitudes and bands taking themselves far too seriously. Late 2005 there emerged an enigma who would be the complete opposite of this fact. The Arctic Monkeys were ready to take the country by storm as their debut album dropped in early 2006, mixing tongue in cheek humour with matter of fact lyrics, writing songs much like those of their idols, The Libertines, which would become classics among the British public overnight. This is literally the first time since maybe "(What's The Story) Morning Glory" that you could literally have casual fans singing along to just about every song on the album. I mean, there's a couple of songs that I don't like, yet still know most of the words to. "Riot Van" for example, if someone goes "UP ROLLS A RIOT VAN"...I have to 'reply' with "AND SPARKS EXCITEMENT IN THE BOYS". Stylistically it's a top notch album, there's a cheekiness that surrounds the material, which really shines through in the performance. The riff's are top notch, exactly what you want from an indie-rock album, style wise it can change from intricate to 'in your face' rock and roll in a split second, keeping the songs fresh and exciting. The fact that the whole thing seems so down to earth, and literally feels like you can attribute songs to real life situations, is one of the reasons why they are so popular. Plus, they're one of the few bands with 'straight-up' lyrics, where they don't sound forced and absolutely cringeworthy. So fair play to them. One of the best things to happen to UK music in a long time, granted you've got your fair share of followers, who I generally can't stomach, but The Monkeys themselves, brilliant.

BEST SONGS : "From The Ritz To The Rubble", "Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured", "Fake Tales Of San Francisco", "When The Sun Goes Down" and "Mardy Bum".

21. "Twelve Small Steps, One Giant Disappointment" by Bad Astronaut

MEMBERS : Joey Cape (Lagwagon, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes), Marko 72 (Sugarcult/Swinging Utters/The Ataris), Angus Cooke (The Ataris) Thom Flowers, Jonathan Cox, Todd Capps

GENRE : Indie-Rock

REVIEW : I love Joey Cape. I seriously do. If he said he'd write a song about me if I sucked him off, I would seriously contemplate doing it. Anyway, Bad Astronaut was the brainchild of Lagwagon's frontman and former drummer, Joey Cape and Derrick Plourde, respectively. Bad Astronaut always had somewhat of a 'punk-rock' vibe, especially with the first album, but there was always a mix of electonic atmospherics and acoustic styled songs, to give the band its own definitive edge. Bad Astronaut was always somewhere where Cape really held his heart on his sleeve, and poured everything out. And this album is no such different, in fact, more so than the previous albums. You see, during the writing of this album, Derrick, who was a long term manic depressive, committed suicide in 2005. From then the album was put on hold, but Joey eventually decided to finish it, release it and dedicate the final Bad Astronaut album to his friend. As previously stated, this leads to a massive split in the material. Not only is there the 'regular' split of up-beat, borderline punk-rock tracks and the acoustic based softer tracks, but the lyrical content very much changes a lot throughout the album. With a number of songs about the death of Derrick. Such as "San Francisco Serenade" where Joey holds himself somewhat responsible. "The Thirteenth Step", which is a somewhat disturbing closing track, especially with it being the last BA album. Simple acoustic strums, 'dull' vocals, string work and canned laughter and applause. It's just incredibly eery, especially how it just seems to end without a resolving chord. Then there's "One Giant Dissapointment", which is somewhat upbeat, given the subject matter. However, there's certain lines in the song that really 'get to me', "I saw more than hands with splinters from sticks/It made me sick" and the closing to the track, after a few moments 'silence' of "It's almost done/It is the last vocal, the last song I'll ever write for anyone/Because we wanted out/And you, you got out". However, the 'weirdest' part of the album is "Autocare". This was actually a song lyrically penned by Derrick, however the lyrics weren't discovered until after his death, as they were written in his journal. They were sent to Joey, and happened to fit with the only song which at the time did not have lyrics, and thus "Autocare" was born. And the song's basically about the day to day struggle Derrick was going through, and it just...I dunno. It's fucked up. However, the album's all not death related. There's your songs about suicide bombers (okay...still death related), childhood innocence and emulation etc. There's also the 8-minute class, "The 'F' Word", which I haven't brought up yet. All in all, not quite as good as "Houston: We Have a Drinking Problem", but a fitting ending for a great band. I seriously cannot wait for Aferburner, as the acoustic stuff Joey Cape does is generally the better stuff on Bad Astronaut releases, so a potential full album of it makes me giddy.

BEST SONGS : "San Francisco Serenade", "The 'F' Word", "Minus" "Good Morning Night" and "Violet".

[Bushmeister]

Wait, Ihsahn?

Holy fuck, I love you and your little gay list.

[ROC]

Wait, you don't put "A Certain Romance" on your list of best songs from the AM album? Fuck you.

[YI]

Here's a quick roundup of what's been thus far...

THE LIST: 100-21

100. "ZOMBIES! ALIENS! VAMPIRES! DINOSAURS!" by Hellogoodbye | Electro/Emo/Pop | 59/100

99. "Cassie" by Cassie | R&B | 59/100

98. "Oh! Calcutta!" by The Lawrence Arms | Punk-Rock | 60/100

97. "Everytime We Touch" by Cascada | Dance | 60/100

96. "Costello Music" by The Fratellis | Indie-Rock | 60/100

95. "The Gold Record" by The Bouncing Souls | Punk-Rock | 60/100

94. "Rest Inside The Flames" by 36 Crazyfists | Alt-Rock | 61/100

93. "Crime Slunk Scene" by Buckethead | Prog/Instrumental | 62/100

92. "Liberation Transmission" by Lostprophets | Alt-Rock | 62/100

91. "Three Cheers For Dissapointment" by Arrogant Sons Of Bitches | Ska-Punk | 62/100

90. "Letoya" by Letoya | R&B | 62/100

89. "Murder Party" by BeerBong | Punk-Rock | 62/100

88. "Threes" by Sparta | Indie-Prog/Post Hardcore | 62/100

87. "The T4 Project: A Story Based Concept Album" by The T4 Project | Punk-Rock | 63/100

86. "As Daylight Dies" by Killswitch Engage | Alt-Metal| 63/100

85. "Mr Beast" by Mogwai | Instrumental/Prog | 63/100

84. "Western Dream" by Bob Sinclair | Dance | 63/100

83. "This Is Satire" by None More Black | Punk-Rock | 63/100

82. "Under The Iron Sea" by Keane | Piano-Rock | 64/100

81. "A City By The Light Divided" by Thursday | Emo/Post Hardcore | 64/100

80. "Apocalypse In Increments" by Ryan's Hope | Punk Rock | 65/100

79. "Hello Everything" by Squarepusher | IDM | 65/100

78. "We Don't Need To Whisper" by Angels & Airwaves | Emo/Rock | 65/100

77. "Everything All The Time" by Band Of Horses | Indie-Rock | 65/100

76. "Return To Cookie Mountain" by TV On The Radio | Prog-Rock | 66/100

75. "Songs The Animals Taught Us" by Roommate | Indie-Electro | 66/100

74. "With Love & Squalor" by We Are Scientists | Indie-Rock | 66/100

73. "Taking The Long Way" by The Dixie Chicks | Country-Pop | 66/100

72. "Be Your Own Pet" by Be Your Own Pet | Punk-Rock | 67/100

71. "Get Lonely" by The Mountain Goats | Acoustic-Indie | 67/100

70. "Dying To Say This To You" by The Sounds | Electro/Rock | 67/100

69. "Amputechture" by The Mars Volta | Prog-Rock | 67/100

68. "The Always Open Mouth" by Fear Before The March Of Flames | Post-Hardcore/Math-Rock | 67/100

67. "Like A Virgin Losing A Child" by The Manchester Orchestra | Indie-Emo | 67/100

66. "Sound Of The Republic" by Raised Fist | Hardcore | 68/100

65. "Grace" by Simon Webbe | Pop | 68/100

64. "Meds" by Placebo | Alt-Rock | 68/100

63. "Spock's Beard" by Spock's Beard | Prog-Rock | 68/100

62. "Death To Tyrants" by Sick Of It All | Hardcore-Punk | 69/100

61. "Silent Shout" by The Knife | Electro | 69/100

60. "The Red Tree" by Moneen | Emo | 69/100

59. "Once Again" by John Legend | R&B | 70/100

58. "Eyes Open" by Snow Patrol | Indie-Rock | 70/100

57. "Canyoneer" by No Trigger | Punk-Rock | 71/100

56. "Stand Still, Look Pretty" by The Wreckers | Country-Pop | 71/100

55. "Futuresex/Lovesounds" by Justin Timberlake | R&B | 71/100

54. "The Bronx (II)" by The Bronx | Punk-Rock | 74/100

53. "Reignition" by Down By Fire | Punk-Rock | 74/100

52. "Chronicles Of A Bohemian Teenager" by Get Cape Wear Cape Fly | Acoustic-Indie | 75/100

51. "Dead FM" by Strike Anywhere | Punk-Rock | 76/100

50. "Armalite" by Armalite | Punk-Rock | 76/100

49. "Story Like A Scar" by The New Amsterdams | Folk-Indie-'Acoustic' | 76/100

48. "Of Whales & Woe" by Les Claypool | Funk Metal | 77/100

47. "Civilian" by Boy Kill Boy | Indie-Rock | 77/100

46. "When Your Heart Stops Beating" by Plus 44 | Rock | 77/100

45. "Ta-Dah" by Scissor Sisters | Gay | 77/100

44. "Begin To Hope" by Regina Spektor | Indie-Pop | 77/100

43. "Louder Now" by Taking Back Sunday | Emo | 78/100

42. "Razorlight" by Razorlight | Indie-Rock | 78/100

41. "Patent Pending" by Heavens | Alternative | 78/100

40. "The Life Pursuit" by Belle & Sebastian | Indie-Pop | 78/100

39. "The Sufferer & The Witness" by Rise Against | Punk-Rock | 78/100

38. "Born In The UK" by Badly Drawn Boy | Pop/Piano-Rock | 79/100

37. "Stadium Arcadium" by Red Hot Chilli Peppers | Alt-Rock | 79/100

36. "This Town's Disaster" by Blackpool Lights | Indie-Emo | 79/100

35. "He Poos Clouds" by Final Fantasy | Gay | 79/100

34. "Blood Mountain" by Mastodon | Metal | 79/100

33. "Dog Problems" by The Format | Indie-Pop | 79/100

32. "Reclamation" by Bigwig | Hardcore Punk-Rock | 79/100

31. "Peeping Tom" by Peeping Tom | Alt-Pop | 79/100

30. "The Same Side" by Lucie Silvas | Pop | 80/100

29. "Kill Them With Kindndess" by The Headlights | Indie-Pop | 80/100

28. "The Adversary" by Ihsahn | Black Metal | 80/100

27. "Billy Talent (II)" by Billy Talent | Emo-Rock | 80/100

26. "Black Holes And Revelations" by Muse | Rock | 81/100

25. "Putting The Days To Bed" by The Long Winters | Indie-Rock | 81/100

24. "Illuminare" by Umbrellas | Indie-Pop | 81/100

23. "WWI" by White Whale | Prog-Indie-Rock | 81/100

22. "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" by Arctic Monkeys | Indie-Rock | 82/100

21. "Twelve Small Steps, One Giant Disappointment" by Bad Astronaut | Prog-Indie-Rock | 82/100

[ROC]

OUR HOPES AND EXPECTATIONS! BLACK HOLES AND REVELATIONS!

Because we all know Muse is on there. >_>

[YI]

OUR HOPES AND EXPECTATIONS! BLACK HOLES AND REVELATIONS!

Because we all know Muse is on there. >_>

[ROC]

OUR HOPES AND EXPECTATIONS! BLACK HOLES AND REVELATIONS!

Because we all know Muse is on there. >_>

Muse have been. #26.

And I know that all but 1 of these bands/artists have fans on here. 1 I'm not sure about. But I've brought them up more than enough times.

[Liam]

One I guess would be Broken Social Scene, since the '10 members' quip, as I'm sure they have loads.

As do the Arcade Fire, though I'm not sure how many they have....so maybe them as well.

[Katsuya]

Technically, Scissor Sisters are listed as "Electronica/Dance".

But Gay works, so yeah. If Arcade Fire had an album out last year, no doubt they'll be on there.

[Draevyn]

I'd be amiss if I didn't hope Our Lady Peace was one of the Canadian bands, but with the taste in music that has already been displayed here, I'm quite sure my hopes shall be dashed

[YI]

Technically, Scissor Sisters are listed as "Electronica/Dance".

But Gay works, so yeah. If Arcade Fire had an album out last year, no doubt they'll be on there.

[IAceI]

I know half the bands so I don't really want to spoil the show <_

[Draevyn]

Crap, I never realized it's been that long since "Healthy In Paranoid Times" came out. But looking it up made me realize that they've got a new cd coming out in November. Cool.

[Clawson]

I'd be amiss if I didn't hope Our Lady Peace was one of the Canadian bands, but with the taste in music that has already been displayed here, I'm quite sure my hopes shall be dashed

Edited July 6, 2007 by Clawson

[YI]

The Tragically Hip. The name definately rings a bell. But I can't think of a song off the top of my head, or where I might have heard them. The name definately rings a bell though, as it's one of those 'shitty' names that gets embedded in your memory.

[Clawson]

Yeah they're the biggest band in Canada and barely known anywhere else in the world except for the northern part of New York near the border. Their first three albums (Up To Here, Road Apples, Fully Completely) are three top class albums and Bobcaygeon is a brilliant song. I'd expect you'd like them.

[Bushmeister]

Did Godspeed You! Black Emperor release anything last year?

[Draevyn]

Don't listen to Clawson, YI! The Tragically Hip are the devil.