The Year In Music, or The (An)T(h)ony Awards

Every year, I look back on the music that I've listened to and rank my top 10 favorite new albums (yes, I realize that I'm an enormous nerd for doing this, obviosuly... no need to make fun). These albums don't have to be newly released per se, just new to me. This is the first year that I've really had an outlet for my musical musings ("Musicalings?" No, that's stupid), so I thought I'd share my list with you, dear reader.The following is the (un)official list of My Top 10 Favorite Albums of 2006 ("Unofficial" because I didn't laminate it and I might hear something else new before the year's out):10. Gomez – How We Operate: After having gone through a big Gomez phase a couple of years ago, I cooled on them a bit. I had heard tremendous praise for How We Operate, so I thought I'd check it out. While some of the songs are absolute clunkers ("Woman! Man!" and "Cry On Demand" come to mind), there are some fantastic tunes with the signature Gomez touch, like the heartbreaker "Notice" and the rocking good time "How We Operate." There's even a straightforward pop song: "Girlshapedlovedrug." All in all, a pretty darn good album.9. Motown Remixed: Take a large number of high-profile DJs, and let them remix songs from the Motown Records glory days? I couldn't pick this up fast enough. With tasty selections from The Jackson 5, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson, this is a fantastic album to spin at a party. The best cut is easily the "Paul Simpson & Miles Dalto MPG Groove Mix" of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On;" it's even sexier than the original. I don't care if you don't believe me. I just can't wait for Motown Remixed 2.8. The Duhks – Migrations: I got Migrations from FirstListen (you get free music and all you have to do is review it), and haven't been able to stop listening to it in the past two weeks. The comparisons to Nickel Creek are inevitable, but The Duhks (that's pronounced like "ducks") are a little edgier and cover a lot of old spirituals. The production of the album is really what makes it stand apart from the crowd—it's mixed in such a way as to make each instrument and voice stand on its own and never fade into the background. I'm not a huge bluegrass fan, but this one's a keeper.7. Tilly & The Wall – Bottoms of Barrels: I listened to this album at a Borders listening station primarily because I really liked the cover artwork, and bought it in the same trip. Big, fun, shiny pop songs with army-of-drinkers vocals and fascinating percussion make this the happiest album of the year. You can tell they had a blast just recording it, and I bet their live show is more energizing than ten Red Bulls.6. Nada Surf – The Weight Is A Gift: Nada Surf had a mini-hit with "Popular" about 10 years ago, and faded out of existence (or so we thought). Man, are they back. I heard about them from the former manager of the (now-closed) Cactus Music (R.I.P., *sniff*), and finally decided to take his advice. I'm glad I did—"Do It Again" and "Always Love" are two of my favorite songs from the whole year.5. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Claps Your Hands Say Yeah: What a strange and interesting band. These guys managed to sell tens of thousands of albums on word-of-mouth alone; they have no record deal and initially had no distribution deal. They're one of the darlings of indie rock, and there's almost no way to describe their sound. Indie pop rock with a singer whose voice is an acquired taste (to say the least)? Sure, that'll do.4. The Magic Numbers – The Magic Numbers: Two really hairy, unattractive brother-sister duos from England playing indie pop with country and blues touches? Sign me up! Two of the best tunes are "Long Legs" and "Forever Lost;" similar-sounding, upbeat pop tunes that are simply excellent. The Magic Numbers also has one of the prettiest songs I've heard in a long time in "I See You, You See Me," about the unexpected ache of unrequited love for a close friend—just devastating.3. Ben Folds – Ben Folds Live: I've been a huge fan of Ben Folds for years, both solo and as the marquee member of Ben Folds Five; I always loved his sloppy, devil-may-care playing, and the sincere, straight-from-the heart songwriting that he puts into every song. This is a live disc of Ben (mostly) solo on the piano, and he really bashes out some excellent versions of his best tunes. The first track I always fast-forward to is the ballad-sounding "Rock This Bitch," which leads right into "Philosphy," probably my favorite BF song; it generally sounds better with a full band, but Ben sure bangs it out with aplomb here. The highlight of the show is "Army," where the audience gets to sing the horn part… it really is much better than it sounds in this description. I like live albums and this is a fine one.2. Josh Ritter – The Animal Years: What can I say about this album that doesn't make me sound like an obnoxious fan forcing you to listen to his favorite singer, and hasn't already been said? Ritter's writing is out-of-this-world good; he's simply one of the best songwriters to come along in many years. His lyrics are so expressive and outstanding: "Will I starve in this eclipse while you treat every hungry kiss like one more mouth to feed?" and "I woke beneath a clear blue sky / The sun a shout, the breeze a sigh" are probably my two favorite lines. This album fits into the general singer-songwriter genre, but breaks the mold with everything from the acoustic strummer to the acapella tune that sticks in your head, as well as a 10-minute long war protest song (the incredible "Thin Blue Flame"). Roseanne Cash named him her new favorite songwriter, as did Stephen King (known for his excellent and discerning taste in music). This one almost took the top spot, because it's just really, really good. There's not much more that one can say about it.1. The Long Winters – When I Pretend To Fall: It was a close race between this and The Animal Years, but I just keep going back to When I Pretend To Fall a little bit more than The Animal Years. John Roderick's songwriting style is very much his own; he makes you feel as though he's sitting at a table in front of you, pouring his heart out all over the place and confessing all his sins. This album is all over the map in terms of style, from rock and bar-band-style rave-ups like "New Girl" and "Prom Night At Hater High" (my favorite song on the disc, and of the year, for that matter) to pure blissful pop like "Stupid" and "Cinnamon" and even a heartbreaker or two like "Blanket Hog" (with its huge, gorgeous strings-and-electric-guitar refrain); even the less-enjoyable tunes, like "Shapes" and "It'll Be A Breeze" have their moments of beauty. I have a feeling that this album's going to be in my personal heavy rotation for years to come. On a side note, they released a new album this year called Putting The Days To Bed, and while I really liked it, it isn't the outstanding collection that When I Pretend To Fall is. There's a reason that this is the third or fourth time I've mentioned this disc in a blog; it's indie pop rock at its absolute best.