Listening Back, Vol. 2

After I got home from work tonight, I decided to walk to Walgreens. It was a beautiful, brisk night, and I thought if nothing else, I'd enjoy some fresh air after spending all day downtown. And then I saw a guy pissing between two dumpsters in the alley behind my apartment complex.

Anyway, I finished packing (almost) and I'm taking this last opportunity to sit in front of a computer until 2007 to give you my top albums of 2006.

My Top Ten Albums of 2006:
10. Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam. I really liked this album when it came out (possibly because of the avocado on the cover). I haven't listened to it much since the summer, but that doesn't mean I didn't like it better than some of the albums in the "Honorable Mention" group below. I think it's probably their 4th best album, and the best thing they've put out since Vitalogy. Man, these guys made their debut when I was in high school and they made their three best albums before I graduated. It's almost a wonder they're still around, but they're just that good of a band.

9. The Damnwells - Air Stereo. I downloaded a couple of songs from this album ("Louisville" and "Heartbreak List"), and the strength of those two songs was enough for me to head over to Amoeba and buy the CD. I don't know much about the band, and since they don't have an entry in Wikipedia, I'm not likely to learn anytime soon. I can tell you that the opener of this album is a love song called "I Got You," in which the singer cleverly uses the titles of other songs ("More Than a Feeling" and "Radar Love," to name a few) in professing his love for whoever he might be singing to. It's like a mix tape, kind of, that you might give a girl you like in high school. Except instead of putting those songs on a tape, you put them into a song that you then put on your album. Rock stars just get to be so much cooler than the rest of us. If I did that, I'd probably get shipped for plagarism, that is, if anyone ever heard it in the first place.

8. The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers. This is Jack White's new band, presumably because he got tired of doing EVERYTHING by himself in the White Stripes, short of banging aimlessly (but adorably) on the drums. So he teams up with Brendan Benson and two other dudes and effortlessly churns out some power rock. The whole album is recognizable, even if you haven't heard the songs before. That's a good quality for a song. But they're not the White Stripes, and that's a shame. One morning I was listening to this album on my way to work and I thought they sounded a whole lot like Rush. I listened to "Chronicles" 3 times in a row and decided two things. First, they DO sound a whole lot like Rush. Second, they're not Rush either. And that's also a shame.

7. Bruce Springsteen - We Shall Overcome (The Seeger Sessions). Leave it to the coolest mother left on the planet to ditch his own band (with their blessing, no less) and hit one out of the park with a bunch of covers of folk songs. By all accounts ("all" meaning the two friends I know who saw him in concert on this tour), the shows are just electric. Dad loves it, too, which sure makes riding in The Vic (Dad's got a Ford Crown Victoria. That nickname, "The Vic," it was born about 5 seconds ago. Any good?) a little easier. Just pure, unabashed, hand-clapping, foot-stomping fun.

6. Sufjan Stevens - The Avalanche. This is an album of also-rans, basically. It's made up of songs that came from the recording of his previous album, "Illinois," that didn't make the final cut. Call them rarities, b-sides, whatever you want. They're good, but there's a reason they didn't make it. I don't want to bash this guy though, because he is abso-f'ing-lutely one of the most musically talented individuals I have ever had the privilege to see in concert. We saw him at the Wiltern back in October, and it was just amazing. He has a whole orchestra, practically, on stage with him, everybody in costumes and performing these masterfully written pop songs, but they're more than that - they're soothing and smart and, this is going to be a strange thing to say and I mean this in the absolute best way possible, but this guy makes the kind of music that they should play during state executions, because there CANNOT be a better way to go.

5. The Minus 5 - The Minus 5 (The Trials Posthumous of The Minus 5). The closest thing to an indie-rock supergroup, this band is made up of, at times (b/c they come and go as they please), members of R.E.M., Wilco, the Decemberists, and many other solo musicians and producers. This is the only album of theirs that I have, though "Down With Wilco" is one that I'd like to check out. Every song on this album fits into sort of a death motif. The opening track, "Rifle Called Goodbye," is unapologetically Beatles-esque, and "Cemetery Row," sung by The Decemberists' Colin Meloy is, in my opinion, the best the album has to offer. Unfortunately, because they are inherently a side project, they don't leave much expectation of a tour or any regularity with regard to future albums.

4. Band of Horses - Everything All the Time. Band of Horses was primed to be the next huge thing in indie rock. By that, I mean they were all over the blogs like chicken pox. Unfortunately, they evidently don't put on a very good live show. That'll hurt you. I didn't see them in concert, but I did have a ticket to see them with Jeremy before I realized the concert was on Yom Kippur. Damn religious convictions!! Anyway, I did download a live show of theirs, and I will say that I don't think it's as good as the studio album. The album is excellent, though, and I've been listening to it a lot in recent weeks. The band's sound isn't the most original, though, which also probably hurt them a bit. They sound kind of like The Shins crossed with post-grunge Seattle rock. Well, actually, that does seem sort of original. I guess I can't trash them too much; I've got them ranked #4! They must be doing something right. "Funeral" is a leading candidate for song of the year on many lists I've seen, and it would definitely be in my top ten, were I putting together such a list, which at this point, I am not.

3. The Elected - Sun, Sun, Sun. I cannot say enough good things about this album. The only reason I didn't put it at #2 is that I have only heard the first half of it (though I have been promised the second half by a friend). The songs on this album are so well written, both lyrically and musically. The originality in the arrangements of the songs is probably a big reason I like it so much, but I know absolutely nothing about music theory, so anything I try to say here is just going to come out like "awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome ..." before I start drooling all over myself, so I'm just going to say this: no matter what type of music you listen to (unless all you listen to is hardcore gangsta rap or smooth jazz - I HATE smooth jazz), you WILL like this album, so go and get it immediately. Of all the albums on this list, this is the one I'm most excited about force-feeding my parents on our drive from Houston to New Orleans tomorrow.

2. Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit. As my friend Neola put it, this is the mature side of Belle & Sebastian. My take is that their previous albums had a lot of upbeat songs that made you want to dance while not realizing that they were possibly the most depressing lyrics you've ever heard. This album is not like that. Quite the contrary, the songs are more low-key (less dance-poppy - is that a real word?) and not nearly as depressing. This is the CD that's in my car at all times for whenever I might forget my iPod (which, if you know me, you'll not be surprised to learn is incredibly rarely), and I don't know of a greater endorsement I can give. This album gave me back-to-back-to-back favorites from the band in tracks 3-5 ("White Collar Boy," "The Blues Are Still Blue," and "Dress Up In You"). It's like the Manny-Big Papi-Varitek heart of the Red Sox batting order. When you see them coming up, you just don't worry about what's going to happen next because you know it's going to be ok.

1. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife. I knew this was going to be my favorite album of the year as soon as I listened to it after downloading it illegally. Just kidding (but about which part??). I've probably listened to more of this band in the past year than most other bands, and I've probably listened to this album more than any other album that came out this year, even though it's only been out for about two months. They've definitely cemented their status in my favorite bands of the past decade. The album, partially based on a Japanese folk tale, opens with an upbeat, spirited song about a man who loses his wife. Who may or may not be a crane. The bird. Anyway, it weaves its way through some other subject matter (kidnapping, murder, forbidden love, war, and child-killing butchers) before coming full circle and reintroducing us to this man before he meets his wife, who may or may not be a crane. We witness his despair, we see them find each other, and we see their happiness together, all the while knowing he's just going to lose her at some point in the future. I know it probably sounds very strange if you haven't heard it, and if so, I'm sorry I can't do a better job of describing it, but you're going to have to take my word for it, this album is complete and it is worth every penny, illegally downloaded or not.

Honorable Mention
Tom Petty - Highway Companion A really good album. I think this is the only album I have ever bought from iTunes in its entirety. Closer than any other to crack the Top 10, probably in place of Pearl Jam.
The Flaming Lips - At War With the Mystics
Editors - The Back Room
Islands - Return to the Sea
Johnny Cash - Personal File
Jeff Tweedy - Sunken Treasure A live album, which I try not to rank with the rest. Also, the album is only part of the DVD of his concert footage. Now, as much as I loved seeing him on this tour, and watching the DVD, and listening to the accompanying CD, I just can't in good conscience put it into the Top 10 studio recordings. I have nothing if I don't have my ethics, you know.
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. Maybe it's unfair, but I'm ranking this album low because I liked "Blacklisted" better. I don't know why I'm doing that, but if you disagree, you can either leave me a comment or get your own damn blog. Neko's got one of the most powerful voices in music. It's very soft and comforting, like a warm blanket, but it sounds like it needs absolutely no warmup, no running start, like it can just take off like a bullet from a gun. I just didn't like it as much as "Blacklisted."

Disappointments
Jay-Z - Kingdom Come (Still my favorite rapper of all time, but man, he should have stayed retired. Instead, true to his word, he "came back like Jordan, wearing the 45". Jordan should also have stayed retired.)
Thom Yorke - The Eraser (I don't know why I expected to like this album. As good as Radiohead is, I haven't liked anything they've put out since their third album.)

Probably would have liked a lot if I had listened to:
Bob Dylan - Modern Times
Neil Young - Living With War
The Killers - Sam's Town