Because Christine Keeler asked for, nay demanded, such a post (and I was going to do something along these lines anyway), discuss your musical favourites over the fold and I’ll start with a few of my favourites from the year.
Danko Jones – Sleep Is The Enemy
Rock’n'roll as of she is spoke. Tales of love going wrong, love gone wrong and no love at all all done with riff heavy aplomb and attitude.
Oakley Hall – Gypsum Strings
Time for for some self plagiarization:
Oakley Hall use the past as a way to the future. Their music is a ragged glorification of country, rock and psychadelia. But don’t get caught up in labels. Just enjoy the music as Gypsum Strings is a cracker of an album.
A stunning, heartfelt tribute to the songwriters of California. In a just world Alvin would be a roots music deity feted by everyone. In this world, just be content that he is still out there making music. My review from earlier in the year.
Five Horse Johnson – Mystery Spot
As I said:
There are times when all you need is just sweet, melodic music that soothes the savage beast within. And there are times when you need to let that savage beast roam free, living it up listening to riff-driven, gravel voiced, beer soaked rock and roll. And for such times of the beast Five Horse Johnson are the perfect band.
Raising The Fawn – The Maginot Line
Refugees from a Broken Social Scene, The Maginot Line is not impregnable but quite accessible and a band with riffs and they are not afraid to use them. Indie rock avoiding the usual pitfalls that trap other bands.
Legendary soul singer doing country? Not that far fetched. A brilliant collection of country soul produced by Buddy Miller and with a little help from some friends.
Prior to this album things didn’t seem well in the You Am I camp. The troubles were overcome and ragged, raucous celebration of rock’n'roll and return to form was the result. Also contains my favourite lyric of the year. The wonderfully resigned “Now my words they’re drowning in the amber again, its like explaining cricket to Americans.”
Jeff Lang and Chris Whitley – Discolation Blues
This collaboration with the late Chris Whitely serves both a fitting tribute to Whitley and testament to how ridiculously brilliant Jeff Lang is. A great collection of rootsy sounds including a great version of Stagger Lee, some Bob Zimmerman songs and some great original tunes.
Your turn now.
Eagle’s of Death Metal – Death by Sexy
Not the most refined choice to be sure but anything there’s a fine rock tradition in music that inspires air guitar and laughter. Welcome back the falsetto and hello Josh Homme on drums.
Ah mornings *Eagles* – no apostrophe.
[bonus rock trivia] ‘pparently the name came while they were listening to death metal in the back of a van and one lighter band came on and the comment was “this isn’t death metal, these guys are the Eagles of death metal” and the rest is rock history
Oh and actually just watching the Pixies Acoustic Live in Newport DVD I picked up yesterday and it’s really very nice. Gotta go. Must sing along to Here Come’s your Man.
Jeebus what is it with me and apostrophes this morning?
awooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Oh goody, it’s time to play “my favourites are more obscure than yours”.
Actually, I’m ashamed to admit I haven’t updated my IPod since July last year. Thanks for reminding me to check out some new stuff.
Various Production, “The World Is Gone” was a particular highlight. As was Kate Bush’s new album ‘Aerial’ which is beautiful, I bought it at the end of last year or the very beginning of this year, I think technically it’s a 2005 album but it is gorgeous and she’s a genius.
A fairly obscure but amazing album is A Night at the Hip Hopera by The Kleptones.
Only downloadable off the net it is a mashup of Queen with various Hip Hop artists.
Now before you groan “oh no…not Queen…” which is my tendency, I recommend having a listen to what The Kleptones have done with the music.
It is available at http://www.kleptones.com/pages/downloads_hiphopera.html
I just got a pre-Xmas present of the new Beatles CD Love. The new version of Get Back is sheer brilliance on George Martin’s part. The orchestral version of While My Guitar Gently Weeps is quite astounding too.
Mars Volta’s ‘Amputechture’ – it offers up serpentine riffs snaking their way through rapid fire drumming; an amazingly underrated album.
Also,
Gotye’s ‘Like Drawing Blood’ – perhaps the best album released by an Australian this year.
In no particular order:
Aerial – Kate Bush
The Eraser – Thom Yorke
Living with War – Neil Young
Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards – Tom Waits
The Crane Wife – The Decemberists
Before anyone else gets it in there:-
Tom Waits’ “Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards”.
3 CDs. 54 songs of near-consistent brilliance, respectively in the genres of Waits-rants, Waits-ballads and Waits-weird. At least they weren’t all written in 2006, but are a compilation of don’t-fit-elsewheres from the last few decades.
Anyone who remembers Captain Hook singing “A Little Drop of Poison” in “Shrek 2″ has had a sneak preview. Another particularly memorable piece is “Army Ants”, which is a bit of an Evil Twin to Vincent Price’s intro to “The Black Widow”, or like watching Attenborough’s “Life In The Undergrowth” on Very Bad Drugs.
Thom Yorke’s “Eraser” is another instant classic, too, particularly “And It Rained All Night” and “Harrowdown Hill” (dedicated to the late Dr David Kelly).
Haven’t got the new Peter Hammill yet.
And yes, Tyro, “Aerial” IS gorgeous, but is also very 2005.
Damien Rices new album, 9, is pretty listenable. Also Mates of States new album Bring It Back.
Ha Ha, beat you.
I was introduced to M.Ward’s Post War by a work colleague and was very glad she thought to suggest it.
Still waitin’….
Alex: you b*gger!
Beat me by ONE MINUTE while I was wittering about Aerial. Beat me with both Waits and Yorke. And mentioned Neil Young, who I forgot to put in.
You b*gger!
So I’d better contribute something new. This one’s on behalf of the missus (although I like it almost as much):
Dresden Dolls: “Yes, Virginia”.
And here’s one very obscure but lovely:
Inga Liljestrom: “Quiet music for quiet people”
And the 2006 new things by following didn’t quite live up to expectations, but are still very good:
Sarah Blasko, Jeff Martin, Muse
My albums of 2006:
1. Neko Case – Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
2. Crayon Fields – Animal Bells
3. TV On The Radio – Return To Cookie Mountain
4. The Decemberists – The Crane Wife
5. Darren Hanlon – Fingertips and Mountaintops
6. The Grates – Gravity Won’t Get You High
7. Tim Rogers and Tex Perkins – My Better Half
8. Augie March – Moo, You Bloody Choir
9. Dappled Cities Fly – Granddance
10. Midlake – The Trials of Van Occupanther
Though not from 2006 the two good discoveries I made were Meadowland by The Wrens and One Man’s Treasure by Mick Harvey
Dresden Dolls is a good one, Andy. Very talented and very, very original.
Not familiar with, Inga Liljestrom, so i’ll check it out.:-)
Check Inga out here:
http://www.ingaliljestrom.com/
<img src="http://www.groovescooter.com/catalogue/images/inga_cabaret200.jpg"
I thoroughly concur on Kate Bush, M. Ward and Neko Case but think more of Sarah Blasko’s new album than andyc.
I’d add some of my own:
Jolie Holland – “Springtime Can Kill You”
http://jolieholland.com/
The Ditty Bops – “Moon Over the Freeway”
http://www.thedittybops.com/
(which I found via an earlier LP thread – thanks, Darryl!)
Coda – “Calling Mission Mu”
http://www.inthemix.com.au/music/28754/Coda_Calling_Mission_Mu
And, of course, Beth! “Comfort of Strangers”
http://www.bethorton.mu/
Latest aural candy:
1. Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglo – “The Swell Season” – crooner from The Frames teams up with pianist/vocalist to put fellow Oirish warbler Damien Rice to shame.
2. The Last Town Chorus – “Wire Waltz” – in which a lap-steel wielding lass tries out a slow-burn cover of Bowie’s “Modern Love” and sounds like a countried Mazzy Star.
3. Anjani – “Blue Alert” – jazz vocalist shows the middle finger to Diana Krall. Bonus points for Leonard Cohen producing.
Oh, and the Grates too. Yay for Brisbands!
Good Songs 1987-1989 by Widdershins
Love Specifics by Four Hours Sleep
This Hungry Life by Tanya Donelly
Stranger On The Sofa by Barry Adamson
Stranger on the Sofa is good, isn’t it? Just the right mix of cool and creepy. I’m just now whistling My Friend the Fly.
By the way, Brisvegas punters can see both the Grates and Neko Case (singing in the New Pornographers) at the Alfred St Block Party in the Valley tonight. Presumably they’ve got some contingency plans if it keeps raining!
“…This Hungry Life by Tanya Donelly…”
Wow, is Tanya Donnelly still making records? I remember seeing her at a club on the Sunset Strip, back when she was still TEH SHIZNIZZIZZIT, and the Strip had only fairly recently revolted from subjection by those mobs of hair bands with the stoopid top hats, trying to look like Slash I guess. Tanya ruled okay.
I wouldn’t say these lists are ‘obscure,’ they’re just still able to stay au courant in a way I for one no longer can; jeez, I only even *recognize* about five or six of the names here (outside of stalwarts like Yorke and Waits). So I guess that settles it; just north of forty and already I’m a fucking old fart. But actually, that’s how it should be; the kids should be hip and cool, and I should just play the frump and let on like I’m outraged and baffled by their wacky new stylings, secretly warming my innards with fond memories of Thurston and Lee smashing the pentatonic scale into sub-atomic particles, or Tom Verlaine wigging out on Little Johnny Jewel.
Meanwhile, somebody (don’t know who, the CD’s not in front of me) made a really good new recording of some of Shostakovich’s string quartets, that I really liked. Yep, it’s like that these days; warm milk, oatmeal cookies, and Dmitri. Ah well.
“So if you see that little guy…
Wink yr eye.”
“Good Songs 1987-1989 by Widdershins” has the most amusing liner notes I’ve read this year. One of the tracks therein was dusted off and covered recently.
Neko Case is also returning for a solo tour in January. I don’t know the dates in other cities but she’s playing the Annandale on Jan 30th. Should be great.
Also for those interested Largehearted Boy has compiled a list of all the end of year music lists from blogs, websites etc.
Shaun, re: Oakley Hall. Did you like Second Guessing as well? I couldn’t really seperate them in goodness.
Aargh. Forgot to look for Second Guessing this month. Thank the diety who invented booster packs. I’ll let you know in a few hours.
I’m doing a marathon best of 2006 at my place. Emusic has expanded the number of new releases I’ve heard about eight fold.
I’ve listened to Gypsum Strings and Second Guessing together from the beginning so I don’t have a clear idea of the profile of each one. They’ve both kinda bled into each other. I’m relying on you to tell me what the differences are.