SPELUNK DA FUNK

Here's The Mandatory My Top CDs of 2006

Posted over 2 years ago
My Top 20 Cds Of 20061. She Wants Revenge - She Wants Revenge: these guys help thwart my Joy Division/Interpol jones. Saw them play live online at Lollapolooza in Chicago & was mesmerized.2. Thom Yorke - The Eraser: One of the criminally underappreciated cds of last year. Proves the electronic blips & bleeps of Radiohead won't be going away too soon = ).3. TV On The Radio - Return To Cookie Mt.: Saw these guys live at the Download Festival in Sept. & they sounded amazing live but weren't too interesting to watch. Forging into new, innovative music.4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones: Karen O is still the baddest rock chick around even at half the volume!5. The Killers - Sam’s Town: Despite the bad press reviews I have a special place in my heart for these guys. This cd really rocks & I love it. Saw them live in SF in Oct. & not only did they sound incredible, they are quite the showmen. Lots of fun live.6. The Strokes - First Impressions Of Earth: The cd that convinced me of their brilliance. Wasn't too crazy about the first two cds but have come around since I liked this one. More of a developed & dare I say, mature rock sound.7. Lou Rhodes - Beloved One: The previous voice of the electronic group Lamb releases an amazing solo debut. Stunning voice. See my post on her a few back.8. Flaming Lips - At War With The Mystics: Godfathers of Freak Out Rock get an even bigger sound & freak out further! Love these guys.9. Outkast - Idlewild: So you didn't like the movie? Too bad, I did. It was an American version of Moulin Rouge & I thought it was thoroughly entertaining! And the cd? More inventive & interesting than most bands at their best. 'Nuff said.10. The Presets - Beams: These Aussies kick serious ass even though it's an electronic dance cd. The beats are bumpin', proving white boys can funk too! 11. Scissor Sisters - Ta Dah: Retro '70s rock & disco combust to make some very danceable tunes. Jake Shears is a wild mofo!12. Muse - Black Holes & Revelations: More white boys gettin' down, dirty & funky. Saw these guys at Download Festival too & they impressed the most w/their hard rockin' show!13. The Coup - Pick A Bigger Weapon: Politically conscious rap/hip hop shows 'em all how to seriously bump that azz!14. DJ Shadow - The Outsider: Not the best Shadow cd but still far better than most other DJs even at their best. He ventures into some more traditional hip hop/rap than ever before on a few of the tracks but his signature sound is still very present.15. The Charlatans UK - Simpatico: TCUK smoke some ganja & get all reggae on us. A very welcome change that works nicely w/their sound.16. The Velvet Teen - Cum Laude: Local boys make good. Harder than their two previous releases w/some great electronic touches here & there. Saw these guys back in June & they sounded great live while kicking ass. Noah Nagel has a gorgeous voice & amazing range w/an incredible falsetto.17. Peaches - Impeach My Bush: Dirty. Nasty. Rockin'. Hilarious. Can't get through any of her cds w/out cracking up over her gender bending lyrics. Puts it right in your face & pushes the boundaries.18. PJ Harvey - Peel Sessions: Any Old PJ is good PJ. I LURVE me some PJ . So ballsy & emotional.19. The Cure - Boys Don’t Cry(reissue):Still kicks all the Now Wave bands all to hell.20. The Cure- Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me(reissue): Probably my fav cd of the '80s which is saying alot cause there were some great ones. Robert Smith really cuts loose w/his Bipolar tendencies here, creates some amazing soundscapes & goes from giddiness to depressive grandeur. My first Cure cd I bought too.Cds not released this year but discovered in 2006 1. OkGo - Oh No(2005) Done two posts on them, need I say more?2. The Auteurs - Black Sessions Live(never officially released so shhhhh) got this from a Turkish guy on last.fm who was listening to it. Wonderful live recording.3. The Auteurs - After Murder Park(1996) Their best, most rockin' cd.4. World Leader Pretend - Punches(2005) Incredible songwriting & all over the map style. REM song title as their band name couldn't be better.5. Morrissey - Southpaw Grammar(1995) The Moz gets all experimental & proggy. I lost interest in him after "Kill Uncle" & discovered I'd missed some of his best when I heard a song on Pandora off this cd.And here's a vid for She Wants Revenge of "These Things" w/Shirley Manson from Garbage. See, abuse can be cool! j/k

Comments (21)

  1. Anna says The vid is fabulous. She Wants Revenge, Thom Yorke, Killers, Strokes, Muse, DJ Shadow, Charlatans, Peaches! Whoa! I've never liked so many albums from such a list. Very nice!
    Permalink posted 02/02/2007
  2. Rawkkiddoh says Glad to see 2 picks on there. The Strokes and the Coup. two highly underrated bands. The rest of your list is solid as well!
    Permalink posted 02/02/2007
  3. Anna says I think that Heart In A Cage is the best (or my fav) Strokes song.
    Permalink posted 02/02/2007
  4. Rawkkiddoh says Good call Anna, I like/love that one alot too.
    Permalink posted 02/02/2007
  5. Augusts1 says Glad you so wholeheartedly approve Anna! I can die happy now, lol. I like "You Only Live Once" cause it just really swings. It gets me a movin'. I'm listening to it now. Kev, The Coup are seriously underrated & are a rappers rap group cause they are very respected in the rap/hip hop community. They performed here on New Years & I was gonna go see them but I came down w/the flu. They are actually from Oakland so in the bay area. I really thought The Strokes were so hyped & overrated when they first came out. Now I think they are underrated. This last cd didn't get great reviews but I love it!
    Permalink posted 02/02/2007
  6. Rawkkiddoh says I think the Strokes became the band everyone loved to say they hated.
    Permalink posted 02/02/2007
  7. Augusts1 says Definitely Kev. I think what made the difference for me on the new cd is that they really expanded their sonic palate & did some different stuff & some people didn't like that. But fuck 'em. I think since they released basically a carbon copy of their first cd as their 2nd cd, that soured alot of people.
    Permalink posted 02/02/2007
  8. Johnny Q Public says I don't agree with everything on your list, but here's to another SWR fan. *clink*
    Permalink posted 02/02/2007
  9. Augusts1 says Clink backatcha Johnny! Thanks for commenting & welcome to my Mog. I don't expect everyone to agree BUT it's my list & opinions of what I enjoyed most last year so you may bow down to it or tell me what you disagree about. That's the beauty & difference of being human. I'm always open to opposing views & if you have a valid argument then I wanna know. Good cerebral discussion is always cool with me!
    Permalink posted 02/02/2007
  10. darmuzz says Augusts1, just curious, since this is a top CDs list, do you buy CDs? The reason I ask is that my budget for 2006 was about 24 CDs, so it would be tough to come up with a top 20!
    Permalink posted 02/02/2007
  11. Augusts1 says Darmuzz, I do buy cds but not necessarily all the ones on my list. Just can't afford them all ya know! I tend to buy more used cds of older stuff that I've wanted for awhile. I had AOL as my ISP for 6 months & they had a new release listening option where you could hear a bunch of new cds that came out for a week after they were released, so I got to hear alot of the new stuff. After that I joined Rhapsody.com music service & listened to a bunch more cds that way($14.99 a month). So I listened to all of those cds numerous times plus many many more which was cool. I just ordered She Wants Revenge, TV On The Radio, The Strokes & Yeah Yeah Yeah cds through my BMG music club(haven't received them yet)but listened to them extensively on one of those svcs. or another. I did buy The Killers cd brand new & The Velvet Teen cd as well new too. I only do that when I absolutely can't wait for it to come out in my music club.
    Permalink posted 02/02/2007
  12. chucky says I didn't know Morissey had something new out. The last one I got by him I wasn't feeling. I'll have to check that out. Idlewild too - meant to get that ages ago.
    Permalink posted 02/02/2007
  13. Augusts1 says Actually, he does have something new that came out last year called "Ringleader Of The Tormentors" which I wasn't too keen on, nothing new really. The cd I wrote about above ,"Southpaw Grammar" came out in 1995 but I just discovered it in 2006. Reread what I wrote above dear, lol! Idlewild isn't as great as their double cd "The Love Below/Speakerboxx" which won the grammy for album of the year that year(2004 i think?) but it's better than most rap artists best!
    Permalink posted 02/02/2007
  14. chucky says Oh yeah - you did say that you had just discovered it last year. Have I mentioned my reading comprehension problems? Haha. I have Bona Drag and Vauxhall and I. I loved Vauxhall and I and hated Bona Drag. But, damn I love his voice. I have The Love Below/Speakerboxx. I lost the Speakerboxx and considered it no great loss but I love The Love Below.
    Permalink posted 02/02/2007
  15. Augusts1 says Uh, why yes you did mention it, hehe! If you hated Bona Drag(which I loved), which was a singles collection, you probably wouldn't like "Southpaw Grammar" cause there are some really long, progressive rock type songs (my fav song is the longest one which is 11 mins. called "The Teachers Are Afraid Of The Students". It's one of my Songs You Gotta Here list on the left column on my mog homepage. Vauxhall is an ok cd but I like Your Arsenal better cause it's rockier. Speakerboxx was more traditional rap whereas The Love Below was more innovative & played w/various styles of music, it was more fun. But I liked em both for different reasons.
    Permalink posted 02/02/2007
  16. chucky says Ah...good to know. So - I should go for the Morrisseys that you don't like. Haha.
    Permalink posted 02/02/2007
  17. Augusts1 says You are correct madame, hehe! I do tend to like more offbeat stuff but then again, lots of stuff on my list above is fairly popular. Maybe it's just the Morrissey music, lol!
    Permalink posted 02/02/2007
  18. lemontwist says Good stuff on here. Though I found the Flaming Lips CD great at first, I think it had a limited shelf life for me. I can't listen to it anymore. Who knows. I can be fickle. I love the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, one of my favorite discoveries of 2006.
    Permalink posted 02/03/2007
  19. Augusts1 says Yea, I go through phases w/The Lips where I can't get enough of them & then other times where I don't listen to them for a long time. I have to be in the mood too!
    Permalink posted 02/03/2007
  20. darmuzz says Augusts1, late to the party here :) I am also trying to work out a system I can live with, re: what I can pay for. Some of the subscription services like Rhapsody aren't available here in Canada. Here's something I am trying out: first, I try to listen to new stuff from legal sources like their 4 songs on myspace or from their homepage. Then I try to borrow their stuff, give it a couple of listens, and give it back. If I am real confident I will buy something on CD or on iTunes. If all else fails I download a few songs. If I adore them, I buy the album. If they're just OK, I listen a couple of times and delete them. Good in theory but there's a lot of stuff that's "in between" - I don't rush out and buy it, but I can't bring myself to delete it either... right now my digital collection is 2/3 legal and 1/3 not.
    Permalink posted 02/04/2007
  21. Augusts1 says Darmuzz, I think we all have illegally downloaded stuff in our collections, so don't feel bad. The average person just can't afford to keep up w/all the cds that come out. It's great to support the bands & their music but shit, when you're poor you're poor. Music is a luxury although I like to think of it as a necessity. I can't live w/o eating but I can live w/o buying new music for awhile, lol! I try to stay legal as much as possible but there are always those 'lean' times. I really do believe in supporting artists by buying their cds but sometimes artists who's cds I've purchased for ever I feel it's ok, if I don't have the money. It's a fine line to walk for sure.
    Permalink posted 02/04/2007

Comment on this Post

Login using email and password below.

Forgot Password?

Don't have an account?
Join MOG. It's Free!

© 2006-2009 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved