Thursday, December 28, 2006

2006 in a Nutshell

The older I get, the more I dislike the holiday season. The stress, the noise, the gift giving, the gift receiving. But December offers another Christmas for me, another special treat. The overwhelming conglomoration of top 10's, 20's, 50's and 100's! I freaking live for this. Suddenly I'm ranting like a sports fan over right choices, wrong choices and surprising choices. Below, for the convenience of my two readers, I've compiled some of my favorite best-of lists for quick consumption.

Pitchfork's Top 50 Albums of 2006

We bloggers may bitch and moan about Pitchfork and their choices, usually the BAD reviews and low scores, but occasionally we even gripe when they don't give a great album it's much deserved but highly elusive 10.0 score. But all the same, when these Chicagoans crank out a best of (such as their 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s) we fall all over ourselves trying to consume the music they claim to be the greatest. I look over every list shamed when they post something I've never heard of (Grizzly-who? They sound like the Animal Collective??? DAMMIT!) and overjoyed when they list something I know and love (That's right y'all! Beach Boys is number 1 from 1966 to the twenty-double-ought-six!) So naturally I took this years top 50 and have actively sought out samplings of every album so I too can be a music know-it-all snob! Here's the top 5:

  • One) The Knife - Silent Shout

  • Dos) TV On The Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain

  • Tre) Joanna Newsom - Ys

  • Qua) Ghostface Killah - Fishscale

  • Five) The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls In America


Also peep out Pitchforks Top 100 Tracks of 2006 especially because they link legal mp3s and streaming audio and video for nearly all of the tracks. There's no less than 50 legal mp3s to nab over there friends, and nab I did!

Stylus Magazine's Top 50 Albums of 2006

Not quite as omnipresent as Pitchfork, but still a worthwhile authority on all things music (and film!) is Stylus Magazine, which is the second music site I turn to for reviews. I favor this list because of the presence of a few acts that I really really liked that were sadly overlooked by Pitchfork, by which I mean Final Fantasy. Here's THEIR top 5:

  • One) Ghostface Killah - Fishscale

  • Dos) Hot Chip - The Warning

  • Tre) Joanna Newsom - Ys

  • Qua) TV On The Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain

  • Five) Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury


Prefix Magazines Best Albums of 2006

Kudos to Prefix as well for hooking readers up to some streaming samples from each album. There's nothing like finding out that you're uncool just because you've never heard Herbert's "Scale" and then have no remedy. I'm not saying I want everything for free, but we've got an expectation these days that we can at least SAMPLE and album before we throw down near-twenty dollars.

  • One) Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury

  • Dos) TV On The Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain

  • Tre) Herbert - Scale

  • Qua) Liars - Drum's Not Dead

  • Five) Joanna Newsom - Ys


NPR's All Songs Considered Best Albums of 2006

I always consider NPR's music to be a little more ear-friendly. Not that it's better, it's just that they're less likely to throw Masonna onto the programming list. Their territory lies halfway between the boomers' tastes (ie, Bob Dylan's "Modern Times" fairs well here) and the most boomer friendly of indie rock (ie, is anyone at all shocked that a protest album by the Decemberists topped all?) The fun twist on this show is that, well, it's a show. Rather than read list after list, it's an hour of music fun, while Bob Boilen coaxes the voting listeners to push Regina Spektor into the top ten. He also brings in DJs and critics from around the country to include their top 10's. The only downside, it's pretty rare for Boilen to actually play a song in its entirety. Here's the top 5 as determined by NPR listener's everywhere (and FYI, I voted for He Poos Clouds which received no props...):

  • One) The Decemberists - The Crane Wife

  • Dos) Neko Case - The Fox Confessor Brings the Flood

  • Tre) Bob Dylan - Modern Times

  • Qua) M. Ward - Post War

  • Five) TV On The Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain



Meta Critic's Best of 2006

I love MetaCritic because I figure, it every single critic loves it (if that's the case) then I must also. If you haven't perused this site, it simply sums up the reviews for a single album (film, tv show, video game or book) and gives it a numerical score averaging all the numbers and stars. Every year they set up a little best of accumulating the top ranking product of each medium. I have made a habit of seeking out and hearing the top ranking albums from the site because, well, if EVERYONE loves it, maybe I will to. Here the top 5:

  • One) Ali Farka Toure- Savane

  • Dos) Tom Waits - Orphans: Bawlers, Brawlers and Bastards

  • Tre) Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury

  • Qua) Bob Dylan - Modern Times

  • Five) Joanna Newsom - Ys


Another fun feature of the MetaCritic 2006 roundup is their OWN compilation of Best Of lists from every publication from Pitchfork to Rolling Stone, plus a list of each album on the page and how many times it appeared on the compiled lists (I'll save you the search trouble... TV On The Radio made the most appearances, followed closely by Joanna Newsome and Ghostface.) Disturbing is the number of times (3) the Red Hot Chili Peppers appeared on these lists. Jibbly-jibbly...

A'ight, I'll make my own top 5 or 10 tomorrow... in the meantime, lay yours down here or on your own blog for end-of-year good times!

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

States I Called Home / What Sufjan Should Write About Part 3: Oregon

I bet his mom tied that for him and he just loosens it and keeps it hung up on a coat rack.
Today is the conclusion of a series helping every critics favorite SteveReich-PhillipGlass-BrianWilson-JohnFahey-influenced songwriter, Sufjan Stevens, in his ongoing pact to create an album for each of the 50 states. I need not go on too long about my doubts that he'll ever complete such a task, but before he abandons the project (even though I truly hope he doesn't) I've got to secure an album for the three states I've called home. So to help him along, I'm compiling some notes as to what he can write about when he tackles Oklahoma, Washington and Oregon. Today we look at the state I lived in for the least amount of time, but the one where I received my higher education: Oregon!


1) I didn't live in Oregon long enough to come up with the same kind of pet peeves I have for Seattle. I don't have anything in Portland to veto for any album. But I can encourage you towards my favorite landmark in the town. I call it my second home. It's where I go to find peace in the world. It's the largest freaking bookstore I've ever visited: Powells. Maybe there's bigger bookstores in the world, but not anywhere near where I shop. Four stories of new and used goodness, and the easiest way for me to blow a paycheck in a single sitting. Maybe this doesn't scream number 1 pop hit to most, but who thought we'd be rocking out to Casimir Pulaski Day?

2) Astoria. There's so much to be had here. They call it "Little San Francisco." It's got Scandanavians seeping out of the woodwork. It's got a giant column called, appropriately, The Column which visually chronicles the history of the first settlers into the area. There's fish, there's old houses. There's the old canneries. There's a real history there of a once working class town turned vacation spot. C'mon F-ING GOONIES WAS FILMED THERE! This town alone has enough material for an EP all on its own. And what better way to find out about its history than the archives of my last place of employment, The Daily Astorian (I'm not at all biased).

3) Lewis and Clark. What else do you need? This tale is just screaming for a song, or several songs... It's about American expansion, it's about entitlement. It's everything that makes a good Sufjan Stevens song.

4) Eugene is home to many things. Hippies, Ducks (the University of Oregon variety!), tie-dye. Plenty to be found. But if I were to focus on one thing, it would be the strong presence of anarchist communities. It seems like sitting around talking with some locals over some beer might bring up some interesting compositional material, and given the growing presence of noise in Stevens' live set, it seems like he could have some fun with such a theme.

5) And of course... the Oregon mascots. I thought about giving a shout out to my own beloved Ducks (go ducks!) but it's important to note that just an hour north of Eugene lies a school that proudly follows its beaver mascot. Somehow the desire to have aggressive, penis-resembling mascots like most towns (the DAWGS, as they call them in Washington, or Vikings, or whatever the hell else sports teams come up with), Oregon went down to the goofiest and most unassuming creatures of the animal kingdom. Something about Beavers and Ducks could provide material for either a song, or perhaps costume motif for the pending tour.

Monday, December 18, 2006

States I Called Home / What Sufjan Should Write About Part 2: Washington

"I'm a banjo pickin' man! And I takes cash tips when I can...."
Today, we continue helping our friend Sufjan Stevens in his ongoing pact to create an album for each of the 50 states. Early on I was rather skeptical about his ability to finish this project. As I've mentioned, he's moving at a rate of 1 state every 2 years, putting him well into his hundreds before he finishes the project. While I hate to see him finish the project, I worry that it will never happen, but he can't abandon his dream before he tackles the three states I've called home: Oklahoma, Washington and Oregon. So to make sure he gets on track, I thought I'd steer his research on each of these states this week. Today we look at the State I've lived in the longest, and the one that I see being my home for many years to come: Washington!


1) Let's just cut to the chase and talk about Seattle. We already know that if you create a Washington album (a cover adorned, no doubt, with apples and salmon, resembling a fish and wildlife magazine) that Seattle is going to get a monster track on a "Chicago" level. So let's start here with what you SHOULD NOT sing about. We're tired of the Space Needle. Please, for the love of ALL things holy, stay AWAY from the Space Needle - and when you make your album cover, don't show it poking out from behind Mount Rainier. Also, monorails - touchy subject. I'd just avoid mass transportation (or the lack thereof) altogether. And to sum up a few other things, let's have a hearty NO to the following: Kurt Cobain, Rain, Ted Bundy, Flannel, Grundge, Coffee. Simple rule, if it can be heard in Robyn Hitchcock's "Viva Sea-Tac," we shouldn't hear it on your CD. Sir Mix-A-Lot is fair game though.

But let's stick with the positive, shall we? I can't narrow down what topic you'll cover for this fair city, but I can make one rock solid recommendation. When you visit Seattle, stay off of I-5 and travel strictly up and down Highway 99. This was once the way to get through Seattle quickly, and also sports the best view of the best parts of Seattle. Heading North you see the oldest portions of Seattle, Pike Place Market, the Puget Sound and our arsenal of Ferry Boats. Head north out of Downtown and you can see the Seattle Center (remember what we discussed about the Space Needle?) You head toward Ballard (which frankly deserves its own song) and Wallingford. Stop at about 85th. There's only car dealorships and box stores that far up. Also, pull off at Fremont to see the Troll underneath the Ballard Bridge.

2) The Skagit Valley is where we grow our foods and flowers on the West Side of the state. It's also the home of the Tulip Festival. Lots... and lots... of tulips. As I've been told (by sources that may or may not be reliable) the tulips come from Holland and were shipped to the Northwest as a safety precaution, preserving the old Dutch blossom. When? I don't know... during some war, or some drought, or something... I just heard they're from Holland. But drive through during tulip season and you will see fields, and fields of technocolor flowers. They're not for picking, and many of them are not even for harvesting. Half the fields are just to draw in tourists who see a couple acres of nothing but red and yellow.

3) Edward R. Murrow spent the better part of his childhood in Edison, Wash. Mr. Sufjan, if you make it through these 50 states without the godfather of broadcast media, we may have some issues. This is a good place to start. It's where he learned hard manual labor and grew to appreciate the working class before running off to report the Blitz from London rooftops. Across the state he attended Washington State University, which was otherwise considered barely a blip on the academic map until he brought it some national attention.

4) Fair is fair, and if I'm trying to steer you away from unnamed coffee behemoths and the grundge movement, I've got to steer you towards our computer and internet history. There's gotta be some good songs to be found here. What rhymes with Microsoft?

5) As if you needed more to think about in Seattle, taking a trip through Pioneer Square is necessary, being of the oldest areas. Taking the Underground Tour is interesting, but alarmingly uneducational when you discover that the tour guides just make crap up. And while you're there, you can peep out the Elliott Bay Bookstore, the bestest darned bookstore in Seattle!

Thursday, December 14, 2006

States I Called Home / What Sufjan Should Write About Part 1: Oklahoma

I had a uniform like that, and a hat EXACTLY like that. And it was covered in pins too!
So it occurred to me that if Sufjan Stevens is going to complete his 50 states project, he's going to need some help. To begin with, at 1 state every 2 years, our 30-year-old songster is going to be well into his hundreds before he's done. I'm not holding my breath waiting to own an album for each state, and I give him less than 10 albums before he jumps to EPs (in the best case scenario) or cans the entire project (in the worst case scenario). But he can't give up yet! He's yet to touch on the three states I've called home: Oklahoma, Washington and Oregon. So to make sure he gets on track, I thought I'd steer his research on each of these states this week, starting with my birth state, Oklahoma.


Mr. Stevens, here's FIVE great things to check out when you're travelling through the prairie!

1) For 13 years of my life, I was fed, clothed and sheltered off of paychecks bearing "Halliburton." Now I don't want to see Sufjan's material descend into political cockamame, but down in Duncan, Oklahoma (my birth town!) lies the ground where Erle P. Halliburton established the first headquarters for New Method Oil Well Cementing Company (later Halliburton Energy Services) in 1921. The town is what it is, mainly because of Halliburton. There's some interesting territory to explore for sure. Duncan is also the birthplace of Ron Howard and Jean Kirkpatrick.

2) Tahlequah, Oklahoma is one of the final destinations for the displaced Cherokees at the end of the Trail of Tears. If us proud Oklahomans are lucky, Stevens will not cover the Trail of Tears when he writes about Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri and Arkansas.

3) Some reference to the old slogan, "Oklahoma is OK!"

4) Bill Wallace, from Chickasha, Oklahoma, was a favorite author of me and my bros when we were younger. I imagine that if Sufjan Stevens were to have spent his childhood on the prairie and got trapped in caves, chased by panthers, or had a younger brother dying of lukemia, that it'd look an awful lot like a Bill Wallace book.

5) Only in places like Oklahoma can you get away with using geographical terms like "Panhandle" without people looking at you oddly. Take advantage of this.

That should get you started on your next state installment Mr. Stevens! No need to compensate me for my time or genius, just mention me in the Thank You section when the CD comes out!

I've put "The Unusual" on hold as my originally-intended 5-part series. It'll pop up now and again, but never again will I promise a continuing series without their being written in advance.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

The Unusual, Day 3: El Perro Del Mar

I've taken a shine to five musicians recently, in last week's effort to seek out the Dr. Pepper of music, as I like to call it: The Unusual. I'd found myself in a rut of listening to the same-old same-old and my ears needed a jolt. I searched out music I've never heard, and music I never gave a chance, and the five performers highlighted this week stuck out like sore thumbs to soothe my bored ears. Today: El Perro Del Mar!

So it's almost a little unfair to place El Perro Del Mar on a list titled "The Unusual," seeing as my attempt was to branch out my tastes a little bit. El Perro Del Mar's most obvious influences are Phil Spector and the 60's girl groups, but El Perro Del Mar pulls equally from the 1960s easy listening vocals that creates a beautiful and eerie discomfort. She pulls from much of the same music as the Pipettes, but without the dance floor backdrop.

The week I snagged this album, I was having some odd nausea and car sickness, and the music was so compelling that I refused to listen to it for fear of picking up an aversion to the music. I believe I succeeded at this.

The track "God Knows" really highlights just what is so compelling about this Swedish songster. There's a steady beat that's only noticable if you're paying attention, there's the pips that never overwhelm, and then El Perro Del Mar's vocals kick in with such fragility that a board mix is the only thing that layers it above anything else.

It's music that really speaks for itself.

El Perro Del Mar - God Knows

sidenoteNPR's All Songs Considered broadcast its Best of 2006 show last night. The top ten list (by listener vote) and the show can be foundhere. It's worth a listen to hear the different top ten lists from the guest, including KEXP's John Richards. I voted for He Poos Clouds by Final Fantasy because I figured Joanna Newsom didn't need any more help...