The Nu-ILX Thread for Publication Year End Lists

New Releases Top 10
1 Branford Marsalis Braggtown Marsalis Music
2 Soweto Kinch A Life In The Day Of B19 Dune
3 EST Tuesday Wonderland ACT
4 Tomasz Stanko Lontano ECM
5 The Bennie Maupin Ensemble Penumbra Cryptogramophone
6 Finn Peters Su-Ling Babel
7 Joe Lovano Streams of Expression Blue Note
8= Kenny Garrett Beyond the Wall Nonesuch
8= Andrew Hill Time Lines Blue Note
10 John McLaughlin Industrial Zen Verve

Reissues & Archive Top 10
1 Miles Davis Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions Prestige
2 Weather Report Forecast Tomorrow Columbia Legacy
3 Miles Davis The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 Sony/BMG
4 Gil Evans Complete Pacific Jazz Sessions Blue Note
5 Mike Westbrook Citadel/Room 315 BGO
6 John Coltrane Fearless Leader Prestige
7= Thelonious Monk/John Coltrane Complete 1957 Riverside Recordings Riverside
7= Steve Reich Phases Nonesuch
8= Ray Charles Pure Genius Rhino/Atlantic
8= Jelly Roll Morton Complete Library of Congress Recordings Rounder

Individual writers lists in the new issue of Jazzwise now on sale.

On their promo website they have already listed the OMM 20 best albums of the year. [Strange, why have they reduced it to only a best 20 when last year they did a top 100. How the heck can you scope a year with only 20 selections !] List presented below:

OMM - best 20 albums of the year

1. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever people say...
2. Ali Farka Toure - Savane
3. Tom Waits - Orphans
4. Lambchop - Damaged
5. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
6. Bob Dylan - Modern Times
7. Lily Allen - Alright, Still
8. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
9. Jarvis Cocker - Jarvis
10. Joanna Newsom - Ys
11. The Killers - Sam’s Town
12. K’naan - The Dusty Foot Philosopher
13. Mastodon - Blood Mountain
14. Bellowhead - Burlesque
15. Michael Wollny - [em] II
16. Cat Power - The Greatest
17. The Feeling - Twelve Stops and Home
18. Burial - Burial
19. The Young Knives - Voices of Animals and Men
20. Bruce Springsteen - We Shall Overcome

30 Acid Mothers Temple - Starless & Bible Black Sabbath
29 Jazkamer - Metal Music Machine
28 Jamie Saft & Merzbow - Merzdub
27 Oxbow - Love That's Last
26 Grief - Alive
25 Ghostdigital - In Cod We Trust
24 OOIOO - Taiga
23 The Residents - Tweedles
22 Unearthly Trance - The Trident
21 Made Out Of babies - Coward
20 Yellow Swans - Psychic Secession
19 Current 93 - Black Ships Ate The Sky
18 Slayer - Christ Illusion
17 Wizardzz - Hidden City
16 Boris - Pink
15 Subtle - For hero, For Fool
14 Wolf Eyes - Human Animal
13 Whitehouse - Ascetici-sts
12 Converge - No Heroes
11 Kayo Dot - Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue
10 Isis - In The Absence Of Truth
09 Jesu - Silver
08 Liars - Drum's Not Dead
07 Zombi - Surface To Air
06 Dub Trio - New heavy
05 John Zorn - Moonchild
04 Othrelm - Behold The Arctopus
03 Peeping Tom - Peeping Tom
02 Sunn O))) & Boris - Altar
01 Melvins - (A) Senile Animal

Decibel Albums Of the Year

1. Mastodon - Blood Mountain
2. Battle Of Mice - A Day of Nights
3. Converge - No Heroes
4. Nachtmystium - Instinct: Decay
5. Cult of Luna - Somewhere Along the Highway
6. Jesu - Silver
7. Celtic Frost - Monotheist
8. Enslaved - Ruun
9. Tragedy - Nerve Damage
10. Gojira - From Mars to Sirius
11. Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain
12. Burst - Origo
13. Isis - In the Absence of Truth
14. Akercocke - Words...
15. Taint - The Ruin of Nova Roma
16. Craft - Fuck the Universe
17. The Hope Conspiracy - Death Knows Your Name
18. Napalm Death - Smear Campaign
19. Planes Mistaken for Stars - Mercy
20. Iron Maiden - A Matter of Life and Death
21. Suffocation - s/t
22. Fucked Up - Hidden World
23. Dragonforce - Inhuman Rampage
24. Jucifer - If Thine Enemy Hunger
25. Killswitch Engage - As Daylight Dies
26. Katatonia - The Great Cold Distance
27. Unearthly Trance - Trident
28. Goatwhore - A Haunting Curse
29. Scott Walker - The Drift
30. Genghis Tron - Dead Mountain Mouth
31. Made Out of Babies - Coward
32. Engineer - Reproach
33. Lamb of God - Sacrament
34. Boris - Pink
35. Kylesa - Time Will Fuse Its Worth
36. Protest The Hero - Kezia
37. Cretin - Freakery
38. The Sword - Age of Winters
39. Mogwai - Mr. Beast
40. First Blood - Killafornia

NME Albums Of Year

50 The Kooks - Inside In / Inside Out
49 Absentee - Schmotime
48 Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly – The Chronicles of A Bohemian Teenager
47 Wolfmother – s/t
46 Semifinalists – s/t
45 Bob Dylan – Modern Times
44 Isobel Campbell And Mark Lanegan – Ballard of The Broken Seas
43 Beck – The Infromation
42 The Automatic – Not Accepted Anywhere
41 The Gossip – Standing In The Way of Control
40 Midlake – The Trials Of Van Occupanther
39 The Young Knives – Voices Of Animals and Men
38 Metric – Live It Out
37 Be Your Own Pet – s/t
36 Datarock – Datarock Datarock
35 Forward Russia – Give Me A Wall
34 Albert Hammond Jr – Yours To Keep
33 The Bronx – s/t
32 Lily Allen – Alright, Still
31 The Sunshine Underground – Raise The Alarm
30 Cat Power – The Greatest
29 The Spinto Band – Nice and Nicely Done
28 Morrissey – Ringleader of The Tormentors
27 Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! – s/t
26 Jarvis – That Jarvis Cocker Record
25 Mogwai – Mr Beast
24 Secret Machines – Ten Silver Drops
23 The Knife – Silent Shout
22 The Flaming Lips – At War With The Mystics
21 The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldiers
20 The Streets – The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living
19 The Longcut – A Call And Response
18 The Rapture – Pieces of The People We Love
17 The Futureheads – News and Tributes
16 Amy Whinehouse – Back To Black
15 Thom Yorke – The Eraser
14 TV on the Radio – Return To Cookie Mountain
13 PANIC! at the disco – A Fever You Can't Sweat Out
12 The Killers – Sam's Town
11 Howling Bells – s/t
10 My Chemical Romance – Welcome To The Black Parade
09 Kasabian – Empire
08 The Strokes – First Impressions of Earth
07 The Long Blondes – Someone To Drive You Home
06 Gnarls barkley – St. Elsewhere
05 CSS – Cansei De Ser Sexy
04 Hot Chip – The Warning
03 Muse – Black Holes and Revelations
02 Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Show Your Bones
01 Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

WAHT

1. Bob Dylan – Modern Times
2. Scritti Politti – White Bread, Black Beer
3. Comets On Fire – Avatar
4. Joanna Newsom – Ys
5. Neil Young – Living With War
6. Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
7. Midlake - The Trials Of Van Occupanther
8. Hot Chip – The Warning
9. Sufjan Stevens – The Avalanche
10. Thom Yorke – The Eraser
11. Flaming Lips – At War With The Mystics
12. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – The Letting Go
13. Lindsey Buckingham – Under The Skin
14. Cat Power – The Greatest
15. Brightblack Morning Light – Brightblack Morning Light
16. The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Solders
17. Ali Farka Toure – Savane
18. CSS – Cansei De Ser Sexy
19. Beck – The Information
20. Burial – Burial
21. Vetiver – To Find Me Gone
22. Espers – Espers II
23. Ghostface Killah – Fishscale
24. Howlin’ Rain – Howlin’ Rain
25. Scott Walker – The Drift
26. TV On The Radio – Return To Cookie Mountain
27. Yo La Tengo – I’m Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass
28. Tom Waits – Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers And Bastards
29. Oakley Hall – Second Guessing
30. Neko Case – Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
31. Mastodon – Blood Mountain
32. Johnny Cash – American V: A Hundred Highways
33. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
34. Granddaddy – Just Like The Fambly Cat
35. Sonic Youth – Rather Ripped
36. Scissor Sisters – Ta-Dah
37. Outkast – Idlewiled
38. Lilly Allen – Alright, Still
39. Lambchop – Damaged
40. Joan As Policewoman – Real Life
41. Jenny Lewis – Rabbit Fur Coat
42. Donald Fagen – Morph The Cat
43. Bruce Springsteen – We Shall Overcome
44. Kasabian – Empire
45. The Walkman – A Hundred Miles Off
46. Band Of Horses – Everything All The Time
47. Gnarls Barkley – St Elsewhere
48. Muse – Black Holes & Revelations
49. Belle & Sebastian – The Life Persuit
50. Drive-By Truckers – A Blessing And A Curse

MOJO:End of Year Lists: 2006

Albums

1. Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldiers
2. Bob Dylan – Modern Times
3. Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
4. Bruce Springsteen – We Shall Overcome: Seeger Sessions
5. Archie Bronson Outfit – Derdang Derdang
6. Vetiver – To Find Me Gone
7. Amy Winehouse – Back to Black
8. James Hunter – People Gonna Talk
9. Midlake – Trials of Van Occupanther
10. Cat Power – Greatest
11. Morrissey – Ringleader of the Tormentors
12. Sonic Youth – Rather Ripped
13. Johnny Cash – American V: A Hundred Highways
14. Scritti Politti – White Bread, Black Beer
15. Young Knives – Voices of Animals & Men
16. De Rosa – Mend
17. Who – Endless Wire
18. David Gilmour – On an Island
19. Beatles – Love
20. Joanna Newsom – Ys
21. Broken Social Scene – Broken Social Scene
22. Espers - II
23. Bert Jansch – Black Swan
24. Kelley Stoltz – Below the Branches
25. Belle & Sebastian – Life Pursuit
26. Brightblack Morning Light – Brightblack Morning Light
27. New York Dolls – One Day it Will Please Us to Remember Even This
28. Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan – Ballad of the Broken Seas
29. Comets on Fire – Avatar
30. Lupe Fiasco – Food & Liquor
31. Graham Coxon – Love Travels at Illegal Speeds
32. Fionn Regan – End of History
33. Elton John – Captain & the Kid
34. Bonnie Prince Billy – Letting Go
35. Jerry Lee Lewis – Last Man Standing
36. Lindsey Buckingham – Under the Skin
37. Zutons – Tired of Hanging Around
38. J Dilla [Jay Dee] – Donuts
39. Guillemots – Through the Windowpane
40. Thom Yorke – Eraser
41. TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain
42. Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World
43. Kasabian – Empire
44. Ali Farka Touré – Savane
45. Corinne Bailey Rae – Corinne Bailey Rae
46. Simple Kid – 2
47. Flaming Lips – At War with the Mystics
48. Sparks – Hello Young Lovers
49. Lily Allen – Alright, Still…
50. Amp Fiddler – Afro Strut

Reissues

1. Various Artists – Complete Motown Singles Vol 5: 1965
2. Various Artists – Forever Changing: Golden Age of Elektra
3. [Fania reissue series]
4. Jam – All Mod Cons: Deluxe Edition
5. Arthur Russell – First Thought, Best Thought
6. Wire – Chairs Missing
7. Jesus & Mary Chain – Psychocandy
8. Jake Thackray – Jake in a Box: EMI Recordings 1967-1974
9. David Axelrod – The Edge: 1966-1970
10. Gil Evans – Complete Pacific Jazz Sessions
11. Triffids – Born Sandy Devotional
12. Captain Beefheart – Doc at the Radar Station
13. Bert Sommer – Road to Travel
14. Karen Dalton – In My Own Time
15. REM – And I Feel Fine: Best of the IRS Years 1982-1987
16. John Cale – Paris 1919
17. Darondo – Let My People Go
18. Big Youth – Screaming Target
19. Johnny Cash – Personal File
20. Vince Martin – If the Jasmine Don’t Get You… the Bay Breeze Will

World

1. Ali Farka Touré – Savane
2. Vinicio Capossela - Ovunque Proteggi
3. K’Naan – Dusty Foot Philosopher
4. Dengue Fever – Escape from the Dragon House
5. Lobi Traoré Group – Lobi Traoré Group
6. Rachid Taha – Diwan 2
7. Holden (Chile) - Chevrotine
8. Dominique A – Horizon
9. Toumani Diabaté – Boulevard de l’Indépendance
10. Etran Finatawa – Introducing…

Reggae Reissues

1. Various Artists – Life Goes in Circles
2. Sound Dimension – Jamaica Soul Shake: Vol 1
3. Horace Andy – Natty Dread a Weh She Want
4. Various Artists – More Pressure: Straight to the Head
5. Various Artists – Studio One Scorcher: Vol 2
6. Stanley Motta, Ivan Chin & Ken Khouri – Take Me to Jamaica: Story of Mento
7. Various Artists – Ska Bonanza: Studio One Ska
8. Prince Far I – Silver & Gold: 1973-1979
9. Various Artists – Dynamite! Dancehall Style
10. Augustus Pablo – Meets Lee Perry & the Wailers Band: Rare Dubs 1970-1971

Americana

1. Howe Gelb – Sno’ Angel… Like You
2. Greg Brown – Evening Call
3. Hayes Carll – Little Rock
4. Neko Case – Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
5. Kelly Joe Phelps – Tunesmith Retrofit
6. Josh Ritter – Animal Years
7. Handsome Family – Last Days of Wonder
8. Vetiver – To Find Me Gone
9. Johnny Dowd – Cruel Words
10. OX - Dust Bowl Ballads

Folk

1. Bellowhead – Burlesque
2. Tim Van Eyken – Stiffs Lovers Holymen Thieves
3. Waterson-Carthy – Holy Heathens & the Old Green Man
4. Tunng - Comments of the Inner Chorus
5. Nic Jones – Game, Set & Match
6. Seth Lakeman – Freedom Fields
7. Téada – Inné Amárach (Yesterday Tomorrow)
8. Jim Moray – Jim Moray
9. Jackie Oates – Jackie Oates
10. Show of Hands – Witness

Soundtracks

1. Bruno Spoerri – Glücks Kugel
2. Miklos Rozsa / Walter Schumann – Lost Weekend / Night of the Hunter (2 on 1)
3. Ennio Morricone – Chi l’Ha Vista Morire?
4. Brian Easdale – Red Shoes
5. Sven Libaek – Inner Space: Lost Film Music of…
6. Chico Hamilton – Film Music of…
7. Jean Yatove – Girl in the Bikini
8. Bruno Nicolai - Dama Rossa Uccide Sette Volte
9. Richard Thompson – Grizzly Man
10. Clint Mansell – The Fountain

Urban

1. Lupe Fiasco – Food & Liquor
2. Roots – Game Theory
3. Ghostface – Fishscale
4. HKB Finn – Spoken Herbs
5. John Legend – Once Again
6. OutKast – Idlewild
7. Gnarls Barkley – St Elsewhere
8. Blade – Guerilla Tactics
9. Nicole Willis & the Soul Investigators – Keep Reachin’ Up
10. E-40 – My Ghetto Report

Blues

1. Watermelon Slim - & the Workers
2. Various Artists – Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of
3. Michael Powers – Prodigal Son
4. Guy Davis – Skunkmello
5. Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials – Rattleshake
6. Joe Louis Walker – Playin’ Dirty
7. Otis Spann – Complete Blue Horizon Sessions
8. Little Junior Parker – 1952-1955
9. John Lee Hooker – Boogie Man
10. Boo Boo Davis – Drew, Mississippi

Jazz

1. Wolfgang Muthspiel – Bright Side
2. Alcyona – Around the Sun
3. Martijn van Iterson – Whole Bunch
4. Benjamin Herman – The Itch
5. Tony Kofi – Future Passed
6. Triosk – Headlight Serenade
7. Scott Hamilton & Alan Barnes – Zootcase
8. Finn Peters – Su-Ling
9. Pat Metheny & Brad Mehldau – Metheny/Meldau
10. Neil Cowley – Displaced

Underground

1. Wolf Eyes – Human Animal
2. Om – Conference of the Birds
3. Whitehouse – Asceticists 2006
4. Alexander Tucker – Furrowed Brow
5. Yellow Swans – Psychic Secession
6. Wooden Wand & the Vanishing Voices – Gipsy Freedom
7. Xasthur / Leviathan - Xasthur / Leviathan [split CD]
8. Hototogisu –Chimärendämmerung
9. Growing – Color Wheel
10. Jazkamer – Metal Music Machine

DVD of the Year: Devil & Daniel Johnston

Track of the Year: Gnarls Barkely – Crazy

Woman of the Year: Amy Winehouse

Trend of the Year: YouTube

OMG and then I saw the Q list :-(

those Mojo spotlight genre lists are selected by individuals and not aggregated

1) The Secret Machines - TSD (great!)
2) Isis - ITAOT (great!)
3) The Mars Volta - Amputechture (great!)
4) The Fiery Furnaces - Bitter Tea (pretty damn good!)
5) Jesu - Silver (pretty damn good!)
6) Mogwai - Mr. Beast (horribly disappointing!)

are the only albums from this year that I've thoroughly dissected, analysed, and judged. A more interesting list would be my top PURCHASES of the year, now that'd take some real thinking...

This doesn't mean that I've heard little of the other releases. Thing is, almost everything from, say, the upper reaches of the Q list that I have heard has been diabolical.

Stuff from this year that I still really want to buy because I WILL think it is awesome: Mastodon's album, that Boris album, maybe TV On The Radio...and doubtless a load of stuff that'll crop up in years to come.

Yes, 'At The Soundless Dawn' was bought a month ago...and wonderful it is too! Cheers for the tip!

Best track = erm, probably the 11-minute one in the middle.

btw Louis you might like Rock-A-Rolla
Also if you like Isis/Neurosis check out the Cult Of Luna album(s)

I doubt there will be much great on the Kerrang/Metal Hammer/Rock Sound lists also.
Perhaps Comets On Fire will make it on the Kerrang one, lets hope Stevie has an influence.

http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=61::6%3CHP

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/music/2006/12/omms_50_best_albums_of_the_yea.html

In the new Observer Music Monthly, the magazine's critics make their pick of the 30 best albums of 2006. Here's that list, plus the 20 bubbling under, a list of the 10 best compilations of the year, and the names of those critics.

OMM's 50 best albums

1. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - Arctic Monkeys

2. Savane - Ali Farka Toure

3. Orphans - Tom Waits

4. Damaged - Lambchop

5. Back To Black - Amy Winehouse

6. Modern Times - Bob Dylan

7. Ys - Joanna Newsom

8. Fishcale - Ghostface Killah

9. Jarvis - Jarvis Cocker

10. Alright Still - Lily Allen

11. Sam's Town - the Killers

12. The Dusty Foot Philosopher - K'Naan

13. Blood Mountain - Mastodon

14. Burlesque - Bellowhead

15. [EM] II - Michael Wollny

16. The Greatest - Cat Power

17. Twelve Stops and Home - The Feeling

18. Burial - Burial

19. Voices of Animals and Young Men - The Young Knives

20. We Shall Overcome - Bruce Springsteen

21. Ringleader of the Tormentors - Morrissey

22. Skinny Grin - Acoustic Ladyland

23. At War With the Mystics - the Flaming Lips

24. St Elsewhere - Gnarls Barkley

25. Boulevard de 'independence - Toumani Diabate's Symettric Orchestra

26. The Drift - Scott Walker

27. YoYoYoYoYo - Spank Rock

28. The Warning - Hot Chip

29. One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This - The New York Dolls

30. The Eraser - Thom Yorke

31. Broken Boy Soldiers - The Raconteurs

32. The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living - The Streets

33. 12 Songs - Neil Diamond

34. White Bread Black Beer - Scritti Politti

35. B-Day - Beyonce

36. The Gulag Orkestar - Beirut

37. Superfinos Negros - Free Hole Negro

38. Crazy Itch Radio - Basement Jaxx

39. Ta-Dah - Scissor Sisters

40. Standing in the Way of Control - The Gossip

41. Black Holes and Revelations - Muse

42. Fundamental - Pet Shop Boys

43. The Opera Circuit - Micah P Hinson

44. Comment on the Inner Chorus - Tunng

45. Kingdom Come - Jay-Z

46. To Find Me Gone - Vetiver

47. Futuresex/lovesounds - Justin Timberlake

48. This Is My Demo - Sway

49. Riot City Blues - Primal Scream

50. Love - The Beatles

The 10 best compilations
1. Good For What Ails You: Music of the Medicine Shows 1926-'37 - Various

2. Kitsune Maison Vol 3 - Various

3. African Pearls 1: Congo, Rumba on the River - Various

4. Rogues Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys - Various

5. Strange Folk - Various

6. London Is The Place For Me 3 - Various

7. North By North West: Liverpool & Manchester from Punk to Post-Punk & Beyond 1976-1984 - Various

8. Pop! Justice 100% - Various

9. From the Closet to the Charts: Queer Noises 1961-'78 - Various

10. Like A Daydream - Various

1. Art Brut, Bang Bang Rock & Roll
2. Lily Allen, Alright, Still
3. Gnarls Barkley, St. Elsewhere
4. The Decemberists, The Crane Wife
5. Lupe Fiasco, Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor
6. Grandaddy, Just Like the Fambly Cat
7. Neil Young, Living with War
8. Peaches, Impeach My Bush
9. The Dresden Dolls, Yes, Virginia…
10. Rhymefest, Blue Collar
11. Cursive, Happy Hollow
12. Beck, The Information
13. Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins, Rabbit Fur Coat
14. Van Hunt, On the Jungle Floor
15. The Raconteurs, Broken Boy Soldiers
16. Mission of Burma, The Obliterati
17. Tom Petty, Highway Companion
18. Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
19. Secret Machines, Ten Silver Drops
20. Album Leaf, Into the Blue Again

Greg Kot's Best of 2006

1. TV on the Radio, Return to Cookie Mountain
2. Clipse, Hell Hath No Fury
3. Mission of Burma, The Obliterati
4. Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins, Rabbit Fur Coat
5. Midlake, The Trials of Van Occupanther
6. Ghostface Killah, Fishscale
7. Art Brut, Bang Bang Rock & Roll
8. Girl Talk, Night Ripper
9. Parts and Labor, Stay Afraid
10. Lupe Fiasco, Lupe Fiasco’s Food and Liquor
11. M. Ward, Post-War
12. Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
13. Love is All, Nine Times that Same Song
14. Rhymefest, Blue Collar
15. The Decemberists, The Crane Wife
16. Mastodon, Blood Mountain
17. Gnarls Barkley, St. Elsewhere
18. Tom Waits, Orphans
19. Lily Allen, Alright, Still
20. Cursive, Happy Hollow

TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say That I Am, That's What I'm Not
Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade
Joanna Newsom - Ys
Cat Power - The Greatest
My Morning Jacket - Okonokos
Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury
Beck - The Information
The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
Hot Chip - The Warning
Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat
T.I. - King
Lady Sovereign - Public Warning
Editors - The Back Room
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
The Streets - The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living
The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers
Lupe Fiasco - Food & Licquor

SPIN's Top 20 Singles of 2006

"Crazy" - Gnarls Barkley
"When You Were Young" - The Killers
"Ain't No Other Man" - Christina Aguilera
"Welcome to the Black Parade" - My Chemical Romance
"Wolf Like Me" - TV on the Radio
"Hustlin'" - Rick Ross
"Ridin'" - Chamillionaire feat. Krazie Bone
"Steady as She Goes" - The Raconteurs
"Smile" - Lily Allen
"Rise Up with Fists!" - Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins
"Kick, Push" - Lupe Fiasco
"I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" - The Artic Monkeys
"Cheated Hearts" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
"Notorious" - Turbulence
"I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" - Scissor Sisters
"Vans" - The Pack
"The Funeral" - Band of Horses
"Silent Shout" - The Knife
"Trains to Brazil" - Guillemots
"Be Gentle with Me" - The Boy Least Likely To

1. crazy - gnarls barkley
2. steady as she goes - the raconteurs
3. ridin' - chamillionaire
4. what you know - t.i.
5. vans - the pack
6. thunder on the mountain - bob dylan
7. smile - lily allen
8. wamp wamp (what it do) - clipse with slim thug
9. dimension - wolfmother
10. ooh la la - goldfrapp
11. world wide suicide - pearl jam
12. read my mind - the killers
13. free radicals - flaming lips
14. ghetto story - cham
15. miss murder - AFI
16. you only live once - the strokes
17. welcome to the black parade - my chemical romance
18. ain't no other man - christina aguilera
19. get myself into it - the rapture
20. the long way around - dixie chicks
21. sexyback - justin timberlake
22. tell me baby - red hot chili peppers
23. fidelity - regina spektor
24. how can a poor man stand such times and live - bruce springsteen
25. when the sun goes down - arctic monkeys
26. province - tv on the radio
27. capillarian crest - mastodon
28. level - the raconteurs
29. smiley faces - gnarls barkley
30. over & over - hot chip
31. the clock - thom yorke
32. do it to it - cherish
33. chill out tent - the hold steady
34. when you were young - the killers
35. summersong - the decemberists
36. SOS - rihanna
37. strange apparition - beck
38. gin & milk - dirty pretty things
39. dance, dance - fall out boy
40. incinearte - sonic youth
etc etc...

(also, does *anyone* actually care about end of year lists, other than as an excuse to go "woah, the collective writers of every magazine ever are a bit dull and pander to their readers a bit"?)

if so, your band is aces, chris.

people are just fascinated by lists esp. music lists. but i'm not seeing much constructive discussion/criticism following the lists so far, not that i'm sure there could really be any anyway. but i could be being far too cynical here. it would seem weird for there to be no EOY-list acknowledgement on ILM at all given circumstances.

i'd be theoretically interested, at least temporarily, in collation of numerous polls to form one mega poll...except we know the results would be fairly tedious unless you ignored the mainstream rock press, and that their lists are all more or less the same.

Jackin' Pop seems more interesting by design (as does/did P&J) and the discussion around that might be better depending on who is involved and the range of electorate (in terms of location, tastes, agendas, politics etc.), and if enough excitement/enthusiasm comes through in the documentation/presentation (which i think it will tho it may be hard for some to relate to of course, being critic-led as it is). i assume most people are more curious about this than the magazine lists?

Not that that's a bad thing.

*also probably on my list

Have you seen any country music lists?

I don't think Songlines put their list out yet.

the only list i ever really expect to be surprised by is the Wire one but even those are getting predictable - bet i could guess half of the top 50 right now and be mostly on point.

Baltimore City Paper list here: http://www.citypaper.com/special/story.asp?id=13025

I know the dude's got a few extra pounds, but "exeunt"??

"A bad year for hip-hop? People kept saying that throughout the last 12 months, but you'd never know it to look at the results of our 2006 Top 10, with no less than six rap albums placing. Maybe hip-hop really is the last populist genre in town worth a damn. That certainly seems to be true among many critics; none of ours seemed too interested in stumping for Sugarland or Hinder or Rascal Flatts or any of 2006's chart-topping non-rap. (Whether that's evidence of a hip-hop bias or the fact that all that stuff, like, really sucks is up to you.) And even the populist part is up for debate, given that many of our hip-hop picks were, well, commercial flops. Commercial flops on major labels and by artists whose names your rap-hating uncle might even recognize, but nonetheless."

are the individual ballots for the baltimore paper posted on the website? i didn't see the link...

http://www.citypaper.com/arts/review.asp?rid=11175

In the words of Bay Area hip-hop critic Oliver Wang, Lil' Wayne "sounds more confident as an MC [and] wields a genuinely impressive array of different styles". It's obvious Weezy is feeling Wang on this

okay meta-question for everyone

how important is "diversity" (artists/genres/styles) on one's individual list? how does this relate to how you view and/or judge someone else's list?

And I never put more than one song by the same artist on a singles list. If it's a "featuring" performance, then sure, but otherwise no. I put "SexyBack" on my Stylus list but am considering replacing it with "My Love" on my Idolator ballot. But I wouldn't want to list them both, because then that opens up more room for novelty country acts and dance-punk 7-inches.

Goofy as it sounds, I’m heartened when I see folks’ top ten lists and they’re all over the place genre-wise, particularly when loaded with stuff I’ve never heard of. (Mind, my own Top Ten for 2006 ain’t like that at all – it’s heavily weighted towards noise stuff, but usually my picks are more varied.)

Ghost was in my running 10 for a while but got pushed out by better stuff. The T.I. was sort of perfect but somehow it wasn’t, and it’s tough for me to articulate why exactly – maybe it’s an age thing? I think the 17 year old me would have loved it but the 29 year old me just admired it yet couldn’t embrace it. Newsom I heard too late but even if I’d heard it sooner I didn’t rate it that high. The Hold Steady I don’t “get,” and the others I never heard in their entirety.

I’ll go on the record right now and postulate that Ghost and the Hold Steady will make the BCP 2007 Top Ten without breaking a sweat.

(no soyo = “no sonic youth”)

But Wayne is still a Hot Boy, albeit one who likes to get his grown man on. He's eager to prove he's far from a little squirt, and he likes to rub it in constantly. Weezy's been beating off the competition for so long now it's understandable if he's feeling a little testy. A rapper with this much spunk coming out his mouth doesn't need to spend any more time boning up on his skills.

Sometimes his spunk dominates the album so much that it seems Birdman gets the shaft. Fortunately Stunna still has a little thug in him, and he knows when to just sit back and let Weezy do his thing. As president of Cash Money, Baby has been feeling Wayne for years now, and while his previous albums are hardcore classics, he really blows himself away on this one.

In the words of Bay Area hip-hop critic Oliver Wang, Lil' Wayne "sounds more confident as an MC [and] wields a genuinely impressive array of different styles". It's obvious Weezy is feeling Wang on this, as he bounces from naked emotion to popping shots in the span of a single track. He never lets you forget he's sitting on 20 inches, but when the lyrical rim jobs wear out he's ready to lay himself bare on an emotional tribute of "Like Father, Like Son". Weezy is a man who will bend over backwards for a hot line, and fleshes out his long arcs with violent thrusts of short diction, while never leaning on rhyming words that merely resemble each other - no homophones.

The New Orleans rapper brings it uncut on "Over Here Hustlin", proving he knows how to handle the white stuff. These two aren't just about pumping crack though - rhymes like "call my bullets some lumps, I put 'em deep in ya neck" would be a mouthful for anyone. Stunna goes even harder on "Leather So Soft", while "Army Gunz" illustrates this pair still knows how to cock and squeeze. On "All About That" the self-described "Fireman" continues to bring the flames over imitation Just Blaze production which shows Birdman and Wayne know how to handle spitting on organs. My only complaint is that the pair blow their load early on, and the second half of the album goes down in the process. But don't worry, there's still enough hotness here to make sure you keep coming back.

http://www.mchang.com/VBall%20-%20Win2003/03.13.03/HighFive_lg.gif

Nice intro Jess:
"A bad year for hip-hop? People kept saying that throughout the last 12 months, but you'd never know it to look at the results of our 2006 Top 10, with no less than six rap albums placing. Maybe hip-hop really is the last populist genre in town worth a damn. That certainly seems to be true among many critics; none of ours seemed too interested in stumping for Sugarland or Hinder or Rascal Flatts or any of 2006's chart-topping non-rap. (Whether that's evidence of a hip-hop bias or the fact that all that stuff, like, really sucks is up to you.) And even the populist part is up for debate, given that many of our hip-hop picks were, well, commercial flops. Commercial flops on major labels and by artists whose names your rap-hating uncle might even recognize, but nonetheless."

: )

From the linked Baltimore City Paper music year in review thing up a few threads...

* 50 It's Never Been Like That PHOENIX
* 49 Pick a Bigger Weapon THE COUP
* 48 Public Warning LADY SOVEREIGN
* 47 Brightblack Morning Light BRIGHTBLACK MORNING LIGHT
* 46 You Don't Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker WILLIE NELSON
* 45 Fox Confessor Brings the Flood NEKO CASE
* 44 Show Us Your Bones YEAH YEAH YEAHS
* 43 Tropicalia: A Brazlian Revolution in Sound VARIOUS ARTISTS
* 42 Under the Skin LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM
* 41 Friendly Fire SEAN LENNON
* 40 Make History THUNDERBIRDS ARE NOW!
* 39 The Tragic Treasury THE GOTHIC ARCHIES
* 38 10,000 Days TOOL
* 37 Alive and Kickin' FATS DOMINO
* 36 I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass YO LA TENGO
* 35 Once Again JOHN LEGEND
* 34 The Eraser THOM YORKE
* 33 The Devil You Know TODD SNIDER
* 32 Supernature GOLDFRAPP
* 31 Like Father, Like Son BIRDMAN AND LIL' WAYNE
* 30 Robbers & Cowards COLD WAR KIDS
* 29 We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
* 28 Broken Boy Soldiers THE RACONTEURS
* 27 Pieces of the People We Love THE RAPTURE
* 26 FutureSex/LoveSounds JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
* 25 Blue Collar RHYMEFEST
* 24 The Information BECK
* 23 The Crane Wife THE DECEMBERISTS
* 22 Night Ripper GIRL TALK
* 21 Begin to Hope REGINA SPEKTOR
* 20 The Black Parade MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE
* 19 Taking the Long Way DIXIE CHICKS
* 18 Game Theory THE ROOTS
* 17 Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not ARCTIC MONKEYS
* 16 Food & Liquor LUPE FIASCO
* 15 Wolfmother WOLFMOTHER
* 14 American V: A Hundred Highways JOHNNY CASH
* 13 Pearl Jam PEARL JAM
* 12 One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This THE NEW YORK DOLLS
* 11 Continuum JOHN MAYER
* 10 Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards TOM WAITS
* 9 Blood Mountain MASTODON
* 8 Boys and Girls in America THE HOLD STEADY
* 7 Hell Hath No Fury CLIPSE 6 The Greatest CAT POWER
* 5 Fishscale GHOSTFACE KILLAH
* 4 Return to Cookie Mountain TV ON THE RADIO
* 3 Rather Ripped SONIC YOUTH
* 2 Stadium Arcadium RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
* 1 Modern Times BOB DYLAN

summary list: via
Product Shop NYC
http://tinyurl.com/wn4vu

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/12800635/the_top_50_albums_of_2006

Africando, "Ketukuba" (Stern's Africa) (Senegal)
Various Artists, "African Guitar Summit 2" (CBC Records)
Ali Farka Touré, "Savane" (World Circuit/Nonesuch) (Mali)
Cheikh Lô, "Lamp Fall" (World Circuit/Nonesuch) (Senegal)
Various Artists, "Congotronics 2: Buzz 'N' Rumble From the Urb 'N' Jungle" (Crammed Discs) (Congo)
Etran Finatawa, "Introducing Etran Finatawa" (World Music Network) (Niger)
Marisa Monte, "Universo au Meu Redor" (EMI) (Brazil)
Salif Keita, "M'Bemba" (Decca) (Mali)
Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, "Living Like A Refugee" (ANTI- Records) (Sierra Leone)
Thomas Mapfumo "Rise Up" (Real World) (Zimbabwe)

Pitchfork's Top 50 Albums of 2006: The Drinking Game
http://moroccanrole.blogspot.com/2006/12/pitchforks-top-50-albums-of-2006.html

also

Spin Top 40
http://www.spin.com/features/magazine/2006/12/0601_40best/

More information on Afropop Worldwide's top 10

fRoots magazine

http://www.frootsmag.com/content/critpoll/

"The top 4 albums in the poll, which thus go forward as the Albums Of The Year nominees in the BBC Radio 3 Awards For World Music are (alphabetically):
BELLOWHEAD Burlesque (Westpark)
TOUMANI DIABATE’S SYMMETRIC ORCHESTRA Boulevard De L’Independance (World Circuit)
LILA DOWNS La Cantina: “Entre Copa Y Copa” (Narada/EMI)
ALI FARKA TOURE Savane (World Circuit)

The rest of the top 15:

5. Tim Van Eyken- Stiffs Lovers Holymen Thieves (Topic)
6. Maurice El Medioni Meets Roberto Rodriguez- Descarga Oriental – The New York Sessions (Piranha)
7.Moussu T e lei Jovents- Forever Polida (Manivette/ Le Chant du Monde)
8= Nuru Kane- Sigil (Riverboat)
9Tartit Abacabok (Crammed Discs)
10 (tie)= Natacha Atlas- Mish Maoul (Mantra)
Bob Dylan- Modern Times (Sony)
K’naan- The Dusty Foot Philosopher (Track & Field)
Seth Lakeman- Freedom Fields (I Scream)
Estrella Morente- Mujeres (EMI)
Ojos de Brujo- Techari (Diquela)
Karine Polwart Scribbled In Chalk (Spit & Polish)

Runners up (alphabetically):
Africando Ketukuba (Sterns); Afrissippi Fulani Journey (Electric Catfish); Akli D Ma Yela (Because); Afel Bocoum & Alkibar Niger (Contre Jour); Marie Boine Idjagiedas (Emarcy Universal); Mercan Dede Breath (Doublemoon); Kris Drever Black Water (Reveal); El Tanbura Between The Desert And The Sea (World Village); Etran Finatawa Introducing Etran Finatawa (Introducing); Liu Fang Le Son de Soie (Accords Croisés); Free Hole Negro Superfinos Negros (TCI-Rapem); Gigi Gold & Wax (Palm Pictures); Hazmat Modine Bahamut (Geckophonic); Salif Keita Mbemba (Universal); Kekele Kinavana (Stern’s); Reem Kelani Sprinting Gazelle (Fuse); Kila & Oki Kila & Oki (Kila); Samba Mapangala & Orchestre Virunga Song & Dance (Virunga); Eric Marchand, Costica Olan, Jacky Molard & Viorel Tajkuna Unu Doaou Tri Chtar (Innacor); Marisa Monte Infinito Particular (EMI); Marisa Monte Universo Ao Meu Redor (EMI); Oki Dub Ainu Deluxe (Chikar Studio); Orange Blossom Everything Must Change (Wrasse); Kelly Joe Phelps Tunesmith Retrofit (Rounder); Refugee All Stars Living Like A Refugee (Anti); Salsa Celtica El Camino (Discos Leon); Bruce Springsteen The Seeger Sessions (Columbia); Rachid Taha Diwan 2 (Wrasse); Tengir-Too Mountain Music From Kyrgyzstan (Smithsonian Folkways); Think Of One Trafico (Crammed Discs); Irma Thomas After The Rain (Rounder); Waterson:Carthy Holy Heathens & The Old Green Man (Topic); Värttinä Miero (Real World)."

The L.A. Times posted a bunch of different top 10s including several 'pop' ones, a jazz one,a country one, a 'world' music one...

Here's the Latin top 5:

BEST OF 2006 | LATIN MUSIC
Crossing borders, blending sounds
By Agustin Gurza, Times Staff Writer

Chambao, "Pokito a Poko" (Sony Norte). This Spanish group, the hot exponent of flamenco chill, has perfected its hypnotic, graceful fusion of flamenco and electronic music in an album buoyed by irresistible rhythms, spiritual serenity and uplifting messages.

Quetzal, "Die Cowboy Die" (Quetzal Music). L.A.'s only world-class Chicano band since Los Lobos, Quetzal has made its best album, employing its smartly balanced blend of rock, R&B, Afro-Cuban and son jarocho to propel songs that are provocative, heartfelt and strikingly original.

*

Tego Calderon, "The Underdog/El Subestimado" (Jigiri/ Atlantic). The long-awaited new album by this hoarse-voiced Puerto Rican is everything hip-hop was meant to be — edgy, outraged, witty, vibrant and danceable — but in Spanish with salsa flavors.

*

Julieta Venegas, "Limón y Sal" (Sony BMG). This Mexican singer-songwriter continues her sunny transformation from artsy alternative chanteuse to queen of pop hooks in an album that combines both sides with wonderful melodies and crafty lyrics. She sings of romance with intelligence.

*

Marisa Monte, "Infinito Particular" (Metro Blue). With this gorgeous album of new songs, Monte consolidates her status as one of Brazil's major female pop figures, gifted with a pure and seductive voice and a natural knack for blending her samba legacy, classical training and jazzy influences.

*

BEST OF 2006 | WORLD MUSIC
Redefining age-old traditions


By Don Heckman, Special to The L.A. Times

Best of 2006: The Complete Critics Round-Up

Ali Farka Toure, "Savane" (Nonesuch). The Malian singer-guitarist's final album (he died of bone cancer in March) is one of his best, a superb example of his primal linkage of African music and the American blues.

*

Anouar Brahem, "Le Voyage de Sahar" (ECM). The trio of oud master Brahem, pianist Francois Couturier and accordionist Jean-Louis Matinier creates music that floats in space, evocatively calling up references to classical music, jazz, Arabic modes and the indefinable beauties of spontaneous improvisation.

*

Hossein Alizadeh & Djivan Gasparyan, "Endless Vision" (World Village). Recorded in 2003 during a concert at Tehran's Niavaran Palace, the atmospheric tar playing of Alizadeh and the sensual duduk work of Gasparyan are featured in a spellbinding contemporization of Persian and Armenian traditional music.

*

Camille, "Le Fil" (Narada). Using her voice as the primary instrument through extensive multi-tracking, French singer-performance artist Camille Dalmais produces songs that are simultaneously witty, sweet and wicked, in styles that transcend genres and cultures.

*

Sara Tavares, "Balance" (Times Square). The Portuguese-Cape Verdean singer-guitarist transforms traditional mornas and coladeiras into strikingly contemporary form with subtle infusions of rap, reggae and a sprinkling of jazz rhythm.

I dunno about that. I haven't heard the 2nd Cee-lo album, but the first is in the running for worst record I've heard. The decision to produce himself was a bad one. (Although judging by "Don't Cha" & "Take Control", he's gotten a lot better.)

Sunday, Dec. 17, 2006
10 Best Albums
By JOSH TYRANGIEL

1. WHATEVER PEOPLE SAY I AM, THAT'S WHAT I'M NOT ARCTIC MONKEYS

THEY RIPPED OFF THE BEST BITS of Franz Ferdinand and the Strokes--speed, swagger and hooks upon hooks--but instead of hipster navel gazing, Arctic Monkeys' singer Alex Turner looked at the world with a working-class smirk and turned a number of memorable phrases. ("There's only music/ So that there's new ringtones.") The first rock album in ages that feels dangerously smart.

2. ST. ELSEWHERE GNARLS BARKLEY

IT'S A MYSTERY WHY CEE-LO, one of rap's most appealing personalities, never became famous on his own, but teamed with Danger Mouse, his caterwauling made Crazy the indelible hit of 2006. The rest of the album mixes neosoul loops with Cee-Lo's view from deep space: "Way over yonder there's a new frontier/ Would it be so hard for you to come and visit me here?"

3. SAVANE ALI FARKA TOURE

SAVANE OPENS WITH A FEW NOTES on a single-stringed African violin. Then Touré comes in with a guitar riff worthy of onetime boss John Lee Hooker, and Pee Wee Ellis, James Brown's ex-saxophonist, blows on through. And there you have it: the journey of the blues from West Africa to the Apollo in just a few seconds. It's rare that world music actually contains multitudes, but Touré, a hero in his native Mali, picks the pocket of any culture with something to offer. There's a stew that makes you optimistic about the future, even if Touré, who died before the CD's release, won't get to see it.

4. FOOD & LIQUOR LUPE FIASCO

HE RAPS, SO HIS DEBUT GOT FILED under hip-hop by default. But this Chicago-born Jay-Z protégé relies on orchestral swells far more than beats, and his subjects range from an indictment of rap fantasies ("Now come on everybody, let's make cocaine cool/ We need a few more half-naked women up in the pool") to a gentle skateboard romance as innocent and sincere as Annette Funicello.

5. TAKING THE LONG WAY DIXIE CHICKS

THE INCIDENT, AS THEY CALL IT, took a commercial toll, but musically the Chicks have never been stronger. The instrumentation on their fourth album keeps a toe in country, yet the songs are the best kind of pop--smart, instantly memorable and fussed over until they sound effortless. Not Ready to Make Nice broadcasts their grievances, but Bitter End and So Hard (a sing-along about infertility) prove that complicated songwriting for the masses still flourishes.

6. RETURN TO COOKIE MOUNTAIN TV ON THE RADIO

BECAUSE THE MEMBERS OF THIS band look like students in a math Ph.D. program, you expect their songs to sound cleverly tortured and insufferably internal. They are clever--note the use of unconjoined in their lyrics--but their rock experimentation owes more to David Bowie (who cameos on Province) than to John Cage. Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone's harmonies radiate awkward warmth, while the rhythms pause just long enough to reveal surprising melodies.

7. YS JOANNA NEWSOM

THE SECOND ALBUM FROM THIS ululating California harpist ... Hey! Where ya going? O.K., so no record released this year sounds less appealing when described--or more transporting when played. Songs shift moods and tempos gradually, moving from sweetness and light to gothic black with the assuredness of great storytelling.

Z8. FUTURESEX/LOVESOUNDS JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE

THERE'S SOMETHING REFRESHing about a pop star whose goal is no grander than "bringing sexy back." Timberlake leans heavily on producer Timbaland for stuttering beats and dense, humid melodies that sound the way a packed club feels. Then he levitates into a falsetto that honors Prince and Michael Jackson without stealing from them.

9. THESE DAYS VINCE GILL

TOSSING THE DULL BALLADS THAT made him beloved, Gill dives into bluegrass, jazz and Southern rock on this four-disc set of originals, showing off guitar chops that seem to have come from nowhere. Meanwhile, his singing, stripped of its usual Nashville production dross, delivers numerous heart-piercing moments.

10. MODERN TIMES BOB DYLAN

A GOOD EFFORT FROM DYLAN beats a great one from most other musicians, which is why this least interesting of his still-got-it-era albums belongs with 2006's best. Barely. The lyrics are playfully obtuse ("Walkin' with a toothache in my heel"), and the grooves, when they come, deep and satisfying. If not quite the masterpiece claimed by gushing Dylan-holics, it's still, you know, good enough.

"Caterwauling"? WTF?

Huh? I'd like to hear his explanation for that phrase from his Ali Farka Toure blurb.

(first time I'm checking out the original of Wolf Like Me, by the way, and I prefer the Twilight Singers live cover)

I'm just surprised and noting how it barely placed at all on other lists relative to it's coverage & broad approval, equally surprised at how all-conquering the Burial record became. This being objective, obsessive stats watching and not a commentary (I didn't like Movements and Burial still bores me unfortunately) I should say.

Amid the endgame of microscopic sub-genres and unconvincing pastiches that is contemporary music, Walker's hard slap reminds us that music can be both High Art and utterly new. --Drew Daniel

yes. otm!

it makes more sense than Lady Sov comparisons (not saying much but still)

http://www.metacritic.com/music/bests/2006.shtml

http://www.slate.com/id/2155532/entry/2155544/?nav=tap3

"Last year we had Amadou and Mariam (whom I saw this year in Hollywood, what beaming joy) and Konono No. 1; this year, there was Ali Farka Toure's introspective final album, but what else?"

Don't look too hard Ann...

My New Year's resolutions are twofold: get a handle on country, and return to exploring world music. It's funny, one of those genres is, as Carl sez, the only commercially robust scene going, and an obsession of many New York critics, while the other seems to have receded in the discourse. Last year we had Amadou and Mariam (whom I saw this year in Hollywood, what beaming joy) and Konono No. 1; this year, there was Ali Farka Toure's introspective final album, but what else? And where is the critical interest in Middle Eastern music right now? Isn't that something we should all be tracking, in the name of cultural diplomacy, if nothing else?

I like that Jody Rosen responded to her with some links to listen to Iranian music.

That Slate article infuriated me in a way that only a bunch of old irrelevant rock critics can.
-- Michael (polyphoni...), December 19th, 2006.

Can you elaborate. I don't think those folks are that old, but that point aside what bugged you? The demographics analysis? The Timbaland and Timberlake takes? The attempts to draw overly broad conclusions from certain albums!
Ann Powers' writing often bugs me--especially when she throws in hippyish psychobabble, but I generally like Rosen, Caramanica, and Wilson's prose.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2006140003-2006580096,00.html

(some semi-WTF choices in the rest of the top 100 tho. Where/when does the Sun even review records anyway? Just oneline?)

those border community albums (fake & holden) are so fucking overrated

you'd only expect Mixmag not to go nuts for them if you'd never read it.

but Border Community is 1) english label

desperate nationalism needs to be stamped out, it really is a key factor in the shitness of the uk music press (all of it, dance and rock and pop and 'urban' and everything). IT DOES NOT MATTER WHERE PEOPLE ARE FROM. IT DOES NOT MATTER THAT BRITISH PEOPLE ARE NOT AS GOOD AS AMERICANS OR GERMANS AT THE MOMENT. GET OVER IT.

you've only got to look at the way some romanticise a place for the sense of buzz/scene in it - having that kind of thing closer to your home would be more exciting and inspiring i think. people generally want the culture they're surrounded by to match their own ideas and fuel it further...esp. in creative/art-based sense.

it's not nationalism but individual desire to feel more connected to that which is important and exciting to you.

That's the big problem. They should be surrounded by the kind of culture which introduces them to new ideas.

(predicted lex reaction to pfork top 10)

Thing is, how 'Clara' by Scott Walker didn't make the top 100 is utterly beyond me, and furthermore despite their album being in Pitchfork's opinion 'a disappointment', The Secret Machines' 'Alone, Jealous And Stoned' is one of the most astonishingly awesome songs I've heard in the past year; I'd say its omission even on objective grounds is a mistake.

I had been led to believe that the Knife hardly ever played live.

Louis, the whole album's good! That song (opening track) is far from representative of just how whacked out the whole album becomes.

Until this year that was very true but they've been practically whoring it on the road for much '06 in the end, adding date after date - in Europe at least.

IF Pitchfork's is bad, most others lists are badder.

BUT perhaps people expect too much or make unreasonable demands.

MAYBE it doesn't really matter either way.

Might try the album out seeing as everyone on here thinks it's, erm, the second coming...

He's been smashing it on the remix front too - Andy Caldwall, Luke Soloman, Fedde De Grande. Particularly love the remix of Caldwall's "Warrior".

The only problem is that most of his tunes have that signature bouncy production sound which can begin to sound a bit too immediately identifiable at times.

01. Burial - Burial [Hyperdub]
02. Scott Walker - The Drift [4AD]
03. Joanna Newsom - Ys [Drag City]
04. Carla Bozulich - Evangelista [Constellation]
05. Wolf Eyes - Human Animal [Sub Pop]
06. Ornette Coleman - Sound Grammar [Sound Grammar]
07. Ekkehard Ehlers - A Life Without Fear [Staubgold]
08. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - The Letting Go [Domino]
09. Om - Conference Of The Birds [Holy Mountain]
10. Phill Niblock - Touch Three [Touch]
11. Scritti Politti - White Bread Black Beer [Rough Trade]
12. Matmos - The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth Of A Beast [Matador]
13. Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped [Geffen]
14. Wolf Eyes & Anthony Braxton - Black Vomit [Victo]
15. The Knife - Silent Shout [Mute/Brille]
16. Christian Wolff - 10 Exercises [New World]
17. Keiji Haino & Sitaar Tah! - Animamima [Archive/Important]
18. Brightblack Morning Light - Brightblack Morning Light [Matador]
19. Arthur Russell - First Thought Best Thought [Audika/Rough Trade]
20. Broadcast - Future Crayon [Warp]
21. Niobe - White Hats [Tomlab]
22. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House [Warp]
23. Reanimator - Special Powers [Community Library]
24. Current 93 - Black Ships Ate The Sky [Durtro Jnana]
25. Excepter - Alternation [5RC]
26. Alexander Tucker - Furrowed Brow [ATP]
27. Gruppo Di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza - Azioni [Die Schachtel]
28. Rafael Toral - Space [Staubgold]
29. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale [Def Jam]
30. MV/EE & The Bummer Road - Mother Of Thousands [Time-Lag]
31. Wooden Wand & The Vanishing Voice - Gipsy Freedom [5RC]
32. Celtic Frost - Monotheist [Century Media]
33. Kieran Hebden & Steven Reid - The Exchange Sessions Vols 1 & 2 [Domino]
34. Ran Blake - All That Is Tied [Tompkins Square]
35. Mordant Music - Dead Air [Mordant Music]
36. Julius Eastman - Unjust Malaise [New World]
37. Little Annie - Songs From The Coalmine Canary [Durtro Jnana]
38. Ruff Sqwad - Guns And Roses Volume 2 [Ruff Sqwad Recordings]
39. Volcano The Bear - Classic Erasmus Fusion [Beta-Lactam Ring]
40. Leopard Leg - The Seven Sistered Sea-Secret Of Shh Shh Shh [Upset The Rhythm]
41. Harlassen - A Way Now [Sustain-Release]
42. Text Of Light - Metal Box [Dirter Promotions]
43. Peaches - Impeach My Bush [XL]
44. Robert Ashley - Foreign Experiences [Lovely Music]
45. Charalambides - A Vintage Burden [Kranky]
46. Peter Evans - More Is More [PSI]
47. Sunn O))) & Boris - Altar [Southern Lord]
48. Dabrye - Two/Three [Ghostly International]
49. Chris Corsano - The Young Cricketer [Hot Cars Warp]
50. Josephine Foster - A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing [Locust]

That Wire list gets pretty boring beyond the top ten.

Are Volcano The Bear still going? Goodness.

I'd like to hear that Little Annie album 'cos Jackamo is yet another unacknowledged '80s classic.

Going to try and forget I really wanted to go check out Carla Bozulich live and had to spend the evening in the fucking pub (again)!! w/long time friend who flat out refused to go do anything exciting that night. nngh.

1. Promiscuous (Nelly Furtado)
2. Temperature (Sean Paul)
3. Hips Don't Lie (Shakira)
4. Bad Day (Daniel Powter)
5. Unwritten (Natasha Bedingfield)
6. Sexyback (Justin Timberlake)
7. Over My Head (Cable Car) (the Fray)
8. Buttons (Pussycat Dolls)
9. Check On It (Beyonce)
10. SOS (Rihanna)
11. I Write Sins Not Tragedies (Panic! At the Disco)
12. You're Beautiful (James Blunt)
13. Crazy (Gnarls Barkley)
14. Ridin' (Chamillionaire)
15. Me & U (Cassie)
16. Run It! (Chris Brown)
17. StickWitU (Pussycat Dolls)
18. Move Along (All-American Rejects)
19. Ain't No Other Man (Christina Aguilera)
20. London Bridge (Fergie)
21. Where'd You Go (Fort Minor)
22. Unfaithful (Rihanna)
23. Dance, Dance (Fall Out Boy)
24. Grillz (Nelly)
25. Everytime We Touch (Cascada)
26. Dirty Little Secret (All-American Rejects)
27. Walk Away (Kelly Clarkson)
28. So Sick (Ne-Yo)
29. Because of You (Kelly Clarkson)
30. Be Without You (Mary J. Blige)
31. Lips of an Angel (Hinder)
32. What's Left of Me (Nick Lachey)
33. Far Away (Nickelback)
34. Gold Digger (Kanye West)
35. Photograph (Nickelback)
36. How to Save a Life (the Fray)
37. Chasing Cars (Snow Patrol)
38. Savin' Me (Nickelback)
39. My Humps (Black Eyed Peas)
40. Dani California (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
41. Too Little, Too Late (JoJo)
42. Shake That (Eminem)
43. (When You Gonna) Give It Up to Me (Sean Paul)
44. Don't Forget About Us (Mariah Carey)
45. Ms. New Booty (Bubba Sparxxx)
46. Laffy Taffy (D4L)
47. Sugar, We're Goin' Down (Fall Out Boy)
48. I'm n Luv (Wit a Stripper) (T-Pain)
49. My Love (Justin Timberlake)
50. Do It To It (Cherish)
51. Beep (Pussycat Dolls)
52. It's Goin' Down (Yung-Joc)
53. Snap Yo Fingers (Lil Jon)
54. Money Maker (Ludacris)
55. There It Go! (The Whistle Song) (Juelz Santana)
56. Smack That (Akon)
57. U and Dat (E-40)
58. Black Horse and the Cherry Tree (KT Tunstall)
59. We Be Burnin' (Sean Paul)
60. Pump It (Black Eyed Peas)
61. Call Me When You're Sober (Evanescence)
62. When I'm Gone (Eminem)
63. What Hurts the Most (Rascal Flatts)
64. One Wish (Ray J)
65. Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It (Dem Franchize Boyz)
66. Sexy Love (Ne-Yo)
67. For You I Will (Confidence) (Teddy Geiger)
68. Yo (Excuse Me) (Chris Brown)
69. Hate Me (Blue October)
70. It It's Lovin' That You Want (Rihanna)
71. Chain Hang Low (Jibbs)
72. Gallery (Mario Vasquez)
73. Show Stopper (Danity Kane)
74. Life is a Highway (Rascal Flatts)
75. Hung Up (Madonna)
76. Bossy (Kelis)
77. Right Here (Staind)
78. Soul Survivor (Young Jeezy)
79. So What (Field Mob)
80. Stupid Girls (P!nk)
81. Girl Next Door (Saving Jane)
82. Rompe (Daddy Yankee)
83. L.O.V.E. (Ashlee Simpson)
84. Gimme That (Chris Brown)
85. I'm Sprung (T-Pain)
86. Let U Go (Ashley Parker)
87. Stars Are Blind (Paris Hilton)
88. Get Up (Ciara)
89. Feel Good Inc. (Gorillaz)
90. What You Know (T.I.)
91. Waiting on the World to Change (John Mayer)
92. A Public Affair (Jessica Simpson)
93. Luxurious (Gwen Stefani)
94. Do I Make You Proud (Taylor Hicks)
95. Deja Vu (Beyonce)
96. Stay Fly (Three 6 Mafia)
97. Fergalicious (Fergie)
98. Jesus, Take the Wheel (Carrie Underwood)
99. Beverly Hills (Weezer)
100. Wake Me Up When September Ends (Green Day)

Quick thoughts:

Had no idea Sean Paul and Nickelback were so popular in 2006... Surprised there is only one Nelly Furtado... Four of these for sure will make my Top 10 (#5/#15/#22/#41), possibly two others (#20/#92)... Number/percentage of these I haven't, to my knowledge, heard: 33.

I need to relisten to "Buttons"--first thing I've even tolerated by them, but it did sound really good.

rather amused that Arctic Monkeys SOTY is 'Put Up Your Hands Up For Detroit' and that Jupitus digs Camille and CSS

"I became sure 2006 would be "the day the rockism died"—to trump Jody's list of lame anthems—the moment a brilliant young Torontonian who helps run one of the world's best indie labels told me what he was currently into: early Hall and Oates. (I'm setting aside their new Xmas album for him.)

This is what SoulSeek, iTunes, and their kin have wrought. Along with the existing music industry, what's vanishing are the genre prejudices, sham distinctions between fake and real, and other myths that have been brain-sucking parasites on rock talk since the 1970s.

A decade ago, would you have found even two, let alone four critics in this kind of exchange who'd praise in the same breath an aesthete like Joanna Newsom, a sweaty popthlete like Justin Timberlake, and a whole lot of quick-witted make-believe drug dealers? Now anti-rockism writers reign at most credible publications. Even indie juggernaut Pitchfork has shed some blinders. It's the age of anything goes: When a blogger last spring joked that the Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt would be collaborating with Snoop Dogg, I got e-mails from friends who couldn't wait to hear the track."

http://www.slate.com/id/2155532/entry/2155755/

Ha, but did any of them put Disney High School Musical and Rascal Flatts in their top 10 albums list? I kid. I guess popism does not mean having to like the biggest selling cds of the year (Jess Harvell touched on this way upthread in his Baltimore City Paper best-of intro).

(lots of other people like her anyway. tom, frank, dave moore, cis, tim f, lots of people i know.)

"oh yeah, i think ian penman coined PARIS 69 as well :D"

"haha, lovely paris still makes alla y'all very angry!"

It's not flat, you just need to turn on your bass channel *winky*

as for hipster, nah. I don't think the Knife are that zeitgeist, medium trendy but certainly no Justice, Ratpure or Joanna's Newone. And there's plenty of substance in there, even in the lyrics (imho obv.)

I am being lazy with those comparisons yes. COuld think of hipper. I'm always behind the curve though.

Far from flat and lifeless I find the music very detailed, rich in tone and full of 'life'. I don't know what is meant by 'no tunes' - nothing that gets in your head? nothing to sing along to? The album has plenty of this. No melodies? I'm confused here too because I thought these were also evident. No headtwisting sonics? WTF? Again they are all over the recording and if nothing else the one main characteristic.

What kind of list could someone make that WOULDN'T be ripped to shreds by some major segment of the ILM population? Too exotic, too bland, too esoteric, too tokenist, too rockist, too popist...

I don't know Shearwater from Kalefa Sanneh's list.

Sanneh and Ben Ratliff both listed Alan Jackson. Ratliff also listed
TENGIR-TOO: ‘MOUNTAIN MUSIC OF KYRGYZSTAN’ (Smithsonian Folkways) which ain't exactly a Pitchfork-style selection. He also likes his jazz pianists--Bebo Valdes and Gonzalo Rubalcaba both made his list.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/24/arts/music/24ratl.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/24/arts/music/24pare.html?ref=arts

Pareles' lone non-English language release was a Marisa Monte effort, and his lone rap cd was Ghostface Killa's.

1) Victor Manuelle - Decision Unanime

2) El Gran Combo / Gilberto Santa Rosa - Asi Es Nuestra Navidad

3) Oscar D'Leon - Fuzionando

4) India - Soy Diferente

5) Charlie Cruz - Mas De Mi

6) Andy Montanez - Salsa Con Reggaeton

7) Tito Nieves - Hoy, Manana Y Siempre

8) Son De Cali - Mas De Mi

9) Gilberto Santa Rosa - Directo Al Corazon

10) Tiempo Libre - Lo Que Esperabas

he better -- he's the jazz critic. (well him and nate chinen, but ratliff's a staffer, so he's basically the jazz beat guy.)

and that tengir-too disc really is pretty great. i got a promo copy of that smithsonian set, and the other two are good too, but that's the highlight.

1. Ali Farka Touré, "Savane

2. Patricia Barber, "Mythologies."

3. Kekele, "Kinavana."

4. Mina Agossi, "Well You Needn't." Backed by just drums and bass, the Paris-based, French-African singer distills standards and her own quirky compositions to a rhythmic rare essence. A powerful stage presence, she makes deconstruction funky.

5. Toumani Diabaté's Symmetric Orchestra, "Boulevard de l'Indépendance."

6. Heather Headley, "In My Mind." A striver's ethic pervades in Headley's songs of love, loss, and spirituality; this is grown-folks R&B
7. Cassandra Wilson, "Thunderbird."

8. Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri, "Simpático."

9. Kudu, "Death of the Party." East Village... electro-pop... collage.

10. Sean Jones, "Roots." ...gospel side of jazz... from a young New Orleans-raised trumpeter

I am not going to copy the names out, because anyone not interested enough to click on the link will not be interested.

not that I would know
the difference between WOW
and just MEH or EW

problem with this music: i have never actually SEEN any of it at any store I go to, and i ain't got the scratch to be buying it online, and i ain't never seen any editors getting it for me to try to write about. actually, that is more a problem for me/

I've heard the PEDRO LUIS FERRER which is acoustic, sorta-folky but still rhythmic and poppy...But I do not know most of the salsa listed, especially by the other Descarga writer

8 Y MÁS!: Juega Billar (Haven't heard it. Audio clips sounds okay, but it's more of the same New York retro cover stuff that I tend to avoid these days)
BENEDICT & THE MAGIC BAND: Swing Sabor 3 (Bought it. Didn't really like it very much, though it's okay and it does kind of remind one of an early 70s Willie Colon sound at times.)
ALBERTO CAICEDO: La Voz De Colombia - Gerardo Rosales Presents: Alberto Caicedo (Don't know it.)
MAMBORAMA: Directamente Al Mambo (Haven't liked the other Mamborama I've heard, and didn't like the samples or sample tracks or whatever that I heard from this--BUT, as I've said ad nauseum, I don't like timba very much, and that's basically what this band does.)
OCHÚN: En El Año De Ochún (Don't know it. Don't like the samples I checked out.)
LEFTY PÉREZ: Salseros Unidos (Haven't heard it, don't really know him. Have heard some not so pleasant things about him.)
REAL CHARANGA: Real Charanga (I think I checked some samples from this and said nah, but it's charanga after all and I tread carefully in that style.)
LITTLE JOHNNY RIVERO "PEQUEÑO JOHNNY": Pasos (Bought it. Wanted to like it, tried to like it, ultimately found I didn't like it.)
ROBERTO ROENA Y SU APOLLO SOUND: Sr. Bongó (Haven't heard or really heard much about. Roena has to compete with his own reissued Fania albums. I think I would rather get those before trying something like this, although I wouldn't mind hearing it. He's made some great music in the past.)
TELMARY: A Diario (Don't know it.)
AFRICANDO: Ketukuba (This didn't really sound like my thing from the millisecond clips I checked, but I would like to hear it. I don't think the African artists involved do music I would ordinarily be that interested in.)
LOS ASES DE LA TIMBA: Aquí Están Los Ases (More timba. I'm hoping someone will eventually hook me up with a copy of this, since it's one of the more talked about timba releases this year, and maybe I would find something I'd like--but I'm not about to just buy it.)
IGNACIO BERROA: Codes (I think I checked some of this out and it was too jazzy.)
DESCEMER: Siete Rayo (Don't know it.)
MIGUEL ANGA DIAZ: Echu Mingua (One of my favorite albums from the last few years, as mentioned before.)
PEDRO LUIS FERRER: Natural (I'm not interested in this. I suspect this is a case where knowing Spanish is more of a necessity.)
PEDRO GIRAUDO: Desconsuelo (Don't know it.)
EL GRAN COMBO: Arroz Con Habichuela (Bought it. I really like the title track and "No Te Detengas A Pensar." Still kind of making my mind up about it.)
HAYDÉE MILANES: Haydee (Don't know but the audio clips sound nice, if more Matt's territory than mine.)
FRANCISCO MELA: Melao (Don't know it.)
GOZA PEPILLO: Inter-Activo (Don't know it. I think I managed to track down some audio samples and it was nothing like the description in descarga.com, but I might be imagining that since I can't remember what it did sound like.
GONZALO RUBALCABA: Solo (Haven't heard. Won a Lammy. I think maybe the only album on this list that did.)

x-post:

I have to admit that I'm a little worried abou the whole political thing about Cuban salsa [see also: Pitbull's El Mariel]

What do you mean?

http://www.staticmultimedia.com/content/music/features/feature_1167281582?info=music

Miami definitely has a history of really extremist activity (including violence, threats of violence, and vandalism) from some elements of the anti-Castro crowd of Cuban exiles. There was a pretty famous/infamous Los Van Van show there in the 90s where anti-Castro crowds just pelted attendeees with bottles and whatnot.

i also dont know how political salsa dance music is ever going to be

furthermore, we've already made more of this than it's worth, sorry for the bandwidth crime

Agreed (though at least it's a change from posting goddam lists lists lists! not that I don't enjoy that).

RS, Have you heard that Eddie Palmieri duo disc with someone whose name I've forgotten that made the Jazz Times poll??

Alright I'm out the door...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/28/AR2006122800338.html

http://www.nodepression.net/blogs/grant/

Now there's a shit list. Editor Hickman prescribes an enema for indie rock, and then goes to list Secret Machines as number 26. Maybe he should have spent less time with Howard Stern and more seeking out something better. Instead he found Nelly Furtado. She made my list too . . . at #421.

10. Alejandro Sanz, "El Tren de los Momentos." Sanz is so eager to prove he's a real artist that he's getting edgier than some alternative acts. His duet with Shakira is even more satisfying than "La Tortura," and his collaboration with Residente Calle 13 with Juanes on guitar is destined to become a progressive pop
classic.

http://www.newsday.com/features/printedition/ny-fflatin5030895dec31,0,5664992.story?coll=ny-features-print

The new El Gran Combo is pretty good and there is some shifting around going on. In particular, the vocals seems exceptionally strong on this. I think it's a better album overall than their last one, but there's no track that's quite as classic as "El Matrimonio." At least, I don't think so--although the title track has really insinuated itself into my consciousness.

(You may be right about the Sergio Mendes album. I have no idea what it sounds like.)

i dont know about Groove but De:Bug only does individual writers lists (not all of which are about music) and a reader poll

More importantly, is there any politics to Cuban-American salsa music?

And it shouldn't be a problem at all for Cuban music released on labels outside of Cuba.

Brainwashed: Current 93, lol. Then again, I haven't heard it and maybe I should.

I never actually saw the Metal Hammer/Rock Sound lists.