Ten Best Records of 2006

BulletProofChen: It's not quite the end of January yet, so I don't think it's too late to dole out top ten lists of 2006. Since this is the Music Face-Off! blog, I figured I would post my list of ten favorite records of 2006, with the caveat that there are several albums that were released in the last quarter of 2006 that I haven't gotten a chance to listen to yet (most notably 'The Crane Wife' by The Decemberists and 'Orphans' by Tom Waits). Here they are in reverse order:

10. Tool - 10,000 days
I don't think Tool can possibly top the greatest of 'Aenima', so on the one hand this record feels like a letdown. On the other hand, taken on its own, it's plenty good. The syncopated rhythms that made Aenima so great are still there, just put together with less elegance and power. The great thing about Aenima was how every riff, every drum beat, every melody all worked together to bring a controlled rage and fury to the speakers. This album has great riffs, great drum beats, great melodies, so it's quite listenable, but it doesn't all tie together to create that wave of power flowing over you as you listen to it.

9. Silversun Pickups - Carnavas
This album was not what I thought it would be. For $7.99 on sale at Best Buy I can't complain too much, but it definitely sounds like a first record by a new band. The song 'Lazy Eye' is what drew me in, like most people. That song is the type of song that I like: a very simple rhythm in the main guitar riff that is self-sustaining and interesting just by itself, but then a slowly layered approach to the main melodies that builds and builds until it finally explodes, then dies down and ends in a nice finale. The problem is the rest of the album is not like that, but instead feels like an explosion of guitar distortion and echo effects. The band feels like they are still trying to find their identity, and thus experimentation with effects is necessary and desirable. If they focus more on songwriting and less on effects I think they will turn into a fine band. Otherwise, this is only a passable album.

8. My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade
The first time I listened to this album I liked it, then the next few times I didn't, and now I'm starting to like it again. I didn't care much for their music prior to this album, as it was too much emo-punk. This album still contains some elements of that, which is probably why I have such a love-hate feeling towards it. However, My Chemical Romance has clearly gone for a huge concept and associated sound with this album. The theme of death that pervades this album ties it all together, and the grandiose and ambitious melodies really gives this album a kick. Some of the songs are just flat-out rock anthems like you don't hear anymore, a wonderful throwback to the glam rock 80's. I will probably enjoy it more as time goes on, but for now it only rates here.

7. Tom Petty - Highway Companion
A great return to form for Petty after the rather pedantic and preachy The Last DJ. This album is at turns quiet and contemplative, other times get up and boogie fun. It feels much more intimate. The only problem is that it doesn't stack up to most of Petty's other great albums, such as Full Moon Fever, Wildflowers, or even Echo. The melodies aren't good enough to stand on their own, and the album lacks the power of, say, the heavy sadness that pervaded Echo. Overall, it's a pleasurable but forgettable experience.

6. Scissor Sisters - Ta-Dah
Another album mostly concerned with death, or at least falling from grace, this album has that wonderful mixture of sweetness and grotesqueness, energetic beats mixed with world-weariness, that is both uplifting and depressing at the same time. In that way it reminds me of 'Plans' by Death Cab for Cutie (the best album of 2005, IMO). Quite an accomplishment for a band whose first album seemed more like a joke and a gimmick than anything. Considering how many sophomore albums have disappointed recently (Franz Ferdinand, Hot Hot Heat, Kasabian, and The Killers, anyone?), this is a nice surprise. An even nicer one sits at the top spot though ...

5. Dirty pretty things - Waterloo to Anywhere
This debut album from a few members of The Libertines is fantastic straight-ahead British rock and roll. You can feel the beer in one hand and the cigarette in the other as this band swaggers through their songs, just wonderful. There are few bands that play this brand of rock in 2006, and this is one of the best.

4. Wolfmother
Speaking of straight-ahead rock, this band unapologetically worships 70's hard rock. The first time I listened to this album I thought "there's a bit of Sabbath, oh there's some Led Zeppelin ... and there's some Deep Purple". Most importantly is the attitude that pervades this album. This is no-holds-barred rock. It reminds me of Brian Johnson wailing away on Back in Black, it makes a strong statement about the band's attitude. Not lean and elegant like Dirty pretty things, but meaty and blue collar. I thought that this brand of rock and roll had died, but Wolfmother is trying to resurrect it.

3. Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
The first time I listened to this album I was sorely disappointed. The problem is that 'Absolution' was such an incredible album from head to toe, it was almost impossible to top. The next level beyond Absolution would have resulted in absolute perfection. It would have been like Metallica following up 'Master of Puppets' with '...And Justice For All', which is a pretty hard thing to do. So I suppose I was bound to be let down. But at least this album isn't like when Metallica followed up Justice with the Black album. I suppose what threw me off the most was the heavier, more electronic and synthesized sound of this album. I didn't particularly want them to go that route, but now that I've accepted it this album has grown on me the more I've listened to it. The long sweeping melodies set over a undulating rhythm are still there in songs like Starlight and Invincible. And frequently the synthesized sounds and heavier bass lead to nice hard rhythms that nicely accentuate the melodies. And of course songs like Knights of Cydonia just flat-out rock, especially that ending riff. The homage to Queen is nice as well, a fitting tribute for a band that has always had a strong sense of theatrics. Overall it's a good solid album, if not the masterpiece that I was hoping for.

2. Dixie Chicks - Taking the Long Way
This album, on the other hand, is very much a great return for a band that went in an odd direction with their last album, 'Home'. Perhaps I just don't like bluegrass, but Home featured few songs that I could identify with. The sweet melodies, the gentle edges, the clever turns of a musical idea, those were all there in the Chicks' first two albums, but sorely missing on Home. Luckily they are back, and with a force. Just from the opening guitar chords I could tell this album was going to be great. Just that soft gentle swaying motion from the back-and-forth of the guitar chords and I knew they were back. I think what makes the Dixie Chicks great is that combination of sweet melodies, inventive rhythms, and hard-edged attitude, all those wonderful things shoved together, providing wonderful contrasts and edges. Home saw them perhaps a little too content with every band member finding love and familyhood. The debacle that was their infamous George W. comment reignited their edge, and I think it shows in this album and gives it that spark that makes it interesting.

1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
The choice for number one album of the year was easy. Nevermind that this year's crop of albums was not terribly good (honestly, it was a struggle to come up with ten albums that I really liked, as you may have noticed from the descriptions of some of the albums above), Show Your Bones could easily compete as album of the year in any year. Their first album was a bit rough around the edges, feeling very much like garage rock. Many of the songs just featured Karen O squawking. In fact, seeing them live, it felt like all of their songs were just like that. But even then, I could hear that I really liked the underlying music. The simplicity of a three-person band, welded with good musical instincts and a knowledge of how to play with rhythms to generate the motion that is inherent to good rock-n-roll, led to a clarity of musical ideas that I really liked, despite Karen O's theatrics. This album feels like a maturation of the band into a powerful force, a honing of their skills to produce barebones rock. The essence of garage rock and the movement back to simplicity exemplified by The White Stripes has always been to strip rock and roll back to its fundamental frame, to re-expose the core of rock and figure out what makes it good to begin with. This album does that and then adds just a bit of polish to make it feel hardened and purposeful. The result is songs that are so simple in design, with just single repeating notes forming a line of dots, rhythms that imply motion but give musical cues that lead to the simplest of melodies, the bare minimum required to convey a musical idea. The purity of the music is just amazing, and enables me to listen to this album over and over again. Easily the best album of the year.