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Tuesday, December 26, 2006

2006

So, this will be my last post of the year, and probably last post of this blog - I think I'm going to use the new Blogger format, which means this one might go away, archives and all - we'll see.

But I wanted to post a list of the music that made my life easier in 2006. I've heard a lot of new music this year, and some of it is new, some old - but all good. It's not a 'best of 2006 releases' list - just a good playlist of music to wrap up the year. It's not in any order (well, it is in alphabetical order, but still...)

I'll make a short list, then elaborate below that. 42 songs by 20 artists - some that share members, others that have nothing to do with anyone but themselves:

1) Appleseed Cast - Woodland Hunter Pt. 2, Strings, View of a Burning City, Fight Song
2) Broken Social Scene - 7/4 Shoreline, Canada Vs. America
3) The City On Film - Anticlimatic
4) Foo Fighters - Free Me, Times Like These, My Hero, Razor
5) Hey Mercedes - Boy Destroyers, Unorchestrated
6) Minus The Bear - Drilling, Michio's Death Drive, Spritz! Spritz!
7) Mock Orange - In Even Time
8) The National - Secret Meeting, All The Wine
9) Nirvana - Drain You, On A Plain
10) Oh My God - The Sneak, Houston, Action!, Better Than That
11) Owen - Everyone Feels Like You
12) Pearl Jam - Hail, Hail, Go, Animal
13) Pinback - Non Photo-Blue, AFK
14) Rival Schools - Looking, Don't Change
15) Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock, Wound
16) Soundgarden - Slaves and Bulldozers
17) Tears For Fears - Head Over Heals, Sowing The Seeds Of Love
18) Thursday - Understanding In A Car Crash
19) Walking Concert - Hands Up!
20) Zwan - Lyric, Heartsong

Appleseed Cast - This band blew me out of the water - I went from being so uninterested to being the only thing I could listen to for months on end. They went from simple emo toss-off music to layered operatic albums with depth and meaning - SO worth the listen. Thank you to B (my ex) for introducing me to them.

Broken Social Scene - Those songs have a real drum driven, head nodding appeal to them. I've been into these guys for a while, but these songs always seem to stand out.

The City On Film - I love this song, it's so basic and beautiful - and the drums have a mean hook in them that really make the whole song.

Foo Fighters - Dave Grohl = awesome at whatever he touches. 'Nuff said...

Hey Mercedes - Boy Destroyer's first 30-40 seconds make up for the rest of the albums shortfalls. I do rather like the album, but pretty much only the first half of it, then it gets a little bland until the last song. Unorchestrated is a gorgeous song, and the live version they recorded only adds to the overall mood of the song...

Minus The Bear - I saw these guys originally on the Braid reunion tour. They were okay, and I wanted an EP after the first show, but then was underwhelmed by a repetitive drum beat throughout their body of work at the second show. This album shied away from that beat, and added much more depth to their music - old fans don't like it as much, but I just find it brilliant - although Spritz! Spritz! is from another album, it should be a B-side to the new one or something, in my opinion.

Mock Orange - Another of Brian's suggestions to me. They're good, not great - it's like a sterile version of what braid was back in the Age of Octeen days. Worth a listen, and good for times when you don't wanna think about your music, but want something angular and indie-rock.

The National - Taylor (my old roommate) introduced me to these guys, and I could never get past the singers low Bowie-ballad-style vocals. Once I got over it, the music spoke for itself, and I'm quite glad I got over it.

Nirvana - I always find an old Nirvana song that I didn't like that suddenly becomes a favorite - here are those 2 examples for this year.

Oh My God - This group has always amazed me. The new stuff is heavier and darker, while the old is lighter and more accessible. I love the sound, I love Billy's voice, I love Bish's drumming abilities... I just love it all.

Owen - I don't like the lyric in this song "You bring the drinks, I'll bring the 'fuck you's" cause it's a STUPID lyric. But the song layers nicely a couple of acoustic guitars that work REALLY well together. Good times.

Pearl Jam - I love the drums on Animal and Go, and Hail, Hail has a lovely section about a minute before the end that stays in my head for long periods of time.

Pinback - These songs are so interesting - a couple guitars, drumming, monotone lyrical wailing, I'm curious to see where this band goes with its career.

Rival Schools - These songs are from the Lost Album, which isn't a great album, but these songs are magnificent examples of Walter's ability to write a GREAT song.

Smashing Pumpkins - I rediscover this band every couple of years, and find new songs that I just love. No exception here...

Soundgarden - Driving bass and exquisite drums. 'Nuff said...

Tears For Fears - Classics, and always will be...

Thursday - I don't like this band a whole lot anymore, but this song has an ending that just blows me away. Energy and anger and just everything that embodies Hard Rock music.

Walking Concert - This song is just so fun. So catchy, so irreverent, so beautifully put together. It's just good fun.

Zwan - These are underdogs on this mediocre-at-best album. I hope the actual smashing pumpkins reunion is better than this smashing-pumpkins-lite project that I'm glad is over...

And there you have it, the playlist of my life, 2006. Hope you like some of it! Talk at ya next year!

xoxo

posted by grey as mike @ 12:17 PM 1 comments

Monday, December 25, 2006

xmas

merry xmas people. Be ready for updates and news in the next 4 weeks.

later bitches!

xoxo

posted by grey as mike @ 10:04 AM 1 comments

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