So the first act of our rock opera has just been entered into the Grammy awards process. If any of you reading happen to be voting members, please look favorably upon our tiny little band from Fort Collins, Colorado.
In other news, Act II is progressing nicely. We hope to have it and Act III out before the end of the year. We'll follow-up this year's Grammy with another for the entire boxed set. Nice.
The odds may seem insurmountable, but then again, so did the moon landing (if you believe in that sort of thing).
As sure as Dick Clark, 'best of' lists appear as soon as New Year's rears its confetti-filled head. Somehow though, it seems a bit pompous to heap superlatives on items from a year that's barely ended. Albums take time to integrate themselves into our lives; great albums grow with us.
What's more, there are a lot of albums cranked out every year. As such, it is difficult to make an authoritative statement on the entire crop. But now, I've listened to every single album released in 2006. EVERY SINGLE ONE. So here, on July 5th, as our nation enters its 232nd year, I think I can finally author my very own 'best of' list.
Damien Jurado - And Now That I'm In Your Shadow - This album is amazing. Terrifyingly stark. Like if Penderecki's Threnody had been written by a farmer. A farmer who was the last person left living in a foggy, post-apocalyptic Midwest.
Horse Feathers - Words Are Dead - Similar in tone to Jurado's masterpiece, but less scary. More Thanksgiving-y than post-apocalyptic-y. If candy corn and pumpkin pie could write music, this would be it.
Joanna Newsom - Ys - Unquestionably, the most ambitious release of 2006. The orchestration, intense. The density of the lyrics, only unraveled through careful research. The compositions, so complex your brain may explode. Despite the overwhelming grandiosity, Ys remains utterly listenable.
Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit - It's 1972. Imagine an orphan girl being left on the steps of a disco run by a former boarding-school headmaster. Unable to afford an adopted daughter, he places her in the keeping of the local Catholic church. This is the music in that girl's heart.
Sufjan Stevens - The Avalanche - John Philip Sousa is having a checkers tournament with James Burke, John Coolidge Adams, and Alexis de Tocqueville. In the end, it's a draw.
Beirut - Lon Gisland EP - Imagine a Bulgarian Great Gatsby enacted by a troupe of dancing carnies. If you pictured a bearded lady arm-in-arm with the strongman, you get bonus points.
Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther - If Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were wandering through the autumnal forests of Lothlorien, they'd unwittingly sing these songs.
Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of This Country - Everything radio should be, but is not, and will never be again. Lemonade, 100-degree temperatures, and children running through fountains erupting from fire-hydrants.
Euros Childs - Chops - My record collection fell into a blender and I was forced to reinterpret what I remembered of music with the instruments I had lying around my house. I imagine this (or a similar circumstance) is what led to Chops.
James Yorkston - The Year of the Leopard - Subtlety and modesty. Somewhere near Glencoe, a shepherd ends his day quietly, glass of Oban scotch in hand. He doesn't know this album exists. He doesn't know about CDs or mp3s. In fact, the only music he knows is that made by friends and relatives. He's happy remaining that way. And so am I.
Well, after a 200+ day hiatus, I've decided to flex the mogging fingers once again. We're in the studio, wrapping up Act II of Love Will Tear Us To Shreds. More to come soon.
Comments
Lookin forward to't. best of luck with the work!