pic by Cobrasnake2006 was an incredible year for music. We got some awesome new albums from Peaches and Hot Chip, discovered great new bands such as Cansei de Ser Sexy, The Knife, and Pete Bjorn & John, said our goodbyes to grrl rock pioneers Sleater-Kinney and rising star
The Organ, and got a taste of the exciting future from up-and-coming acts like St. Vincent and The Bird and The Bee.
So what's the proper way to celebrate?
The dreaded year-end list. Any music lover will tell you they have a
love-hate relationship with this annual tradition.
Nothing is more difficult than trying to sum up 365 days of great new music into a single top ten list. It's excruciating. Yet fun at the same time. Do you go with the critics' faves? Do you consult Billboard?
(hell no) Do you follow your Itunes playlist count? Woe is me!
So after much deliberation and a few "heated conversations,"
Swan's Songs & I narrowed down our "Best Of" counts to the following categories: Top 10 Shows, Top 10 performers, Top 10 Albums, Top 10 Singles, and Top 10 Videos of '06 (cause let's face it, we're nerds and
1 top ten list is just not enough).
And without further adieu (DRUM ROLL PLEASE), here are the results:
TOP 10 SHOWS (Attended by IDP)
1. Sleater Kinney w/ The Rogers Sisters @ Webster Hall
SK's Last Song EVER, from Crystal Ballroom show2. Peaches w/Eagles of Death Metal @ Irving Plaza
Peaches Live at Irving Plaza3. The Gossip w/ Mika Miko and Erase Errata @ Irving Plaza: I'm pretty sure both my expert singing and fist pumping make an appearance in this clip!
The Gossip Live at Irving Plaza4. Diplo w/ Bonde de Role and Cansei de Ser Sexy @ The Warsaw
Craziest Tour Bus of '06?? Yeah I'd say so5. Broken Social Scene @ Prospect Park
6. The Dears w/ The Grates @ Bowery Ballroom
7. Cat Power w/ The Memphis River Band @ Town Hall
8. Hot Chip w/ Shychild and Gang Gang Dance @ Webster Hall
9. Spank Rock @ Bowery Ballroom
Spank Rock at McCarren Park Pool Party this summer10. St. Vincent @ The Mercury Lounge
TOP 10 PERFORMERS
1. Cat Power
2. Hot Chip
3. Cansei de Ser Sexy
Crazy CSS Performance4. The Gossip
5. Broken Social Scene
6. Feist
7. Peaches
8. Jamie Lidell
9. TV On The Radio
10. Jenny Lewis
TOP 10 ALBUMS
1. Cat Power "The Greatest"
2. The Gossip "Standing In The Way Of Control"
3. Grizzly Bear "Yellow House"
4. The Dears "Gang of Losers"
5. Jenny Lewis "Rabbit Furcoat"
"Melt Your Heart"6. Peaches "Impeach My Bush"
7. Cansei De Ser Sexy "Cansei de Ser Sexy"
8. TV On The Radio "Return To Cookie Mountain"
9. Hot Chip "The Warning"
10. Joanna Newsom "Y's"
TOP 10 SINGLES (in no particular order)
1. Justice Vs. Simian "We Are Your Friends"
2. The Rapture "Get Myself Into It"
3. Pete Bjorn & John "Young Folks"
4. Cat Power "Love & Communication"
5. The Gossip "Standing In The Way Of Control"
6. MSTRKRFT "Easy Love"
7. Justin Timberlake ft. T.I. "My Love"
"DFA Mix"8. CSS "Let's Make Love And Listen To Death From Above"
9. Hot Chip "Over & Over"
10. Spank Rock "Bump"
TOP 10 VIDEOS (in no particular order)
1.
The Gossip "Listen Up" (directed by Morgen Dye)This video is great because it perfectly captures exactly what we do whenever we hear this song: dance with our friends in our bedroom and then eat copius amounts of fried chicken and pizza with Beth Ditto while Brace strikes ironic guitar poses and Hannah drums by our window, duh. (I wish! Seriously. Beth, let's hang out.)
2.
CSS "A La La" (directed by Cat Solen)3.
Peaches "Boys Wanna Be Her" (directed by Kris Lefcoe)Blood is back bitches, it's time to recognize. Both of these videos have an artsy 70s/throw a tampon at Carrie at the prom/glam rock appeal to them. Gotta dig that.
4.
Hot Chip "Over and Over" (directed by Nima Nourizadeh)5.
The Rapture "Get Myself Into It" (directed by Ben Dickinson) We love these boys. All of them. All of these videos just make you want to party (with them). To their music (with them).
6.
Broken Social Scene "Major Label Debut" (directed by Sarah Haywood)We love this video because it taps right into our fantasies of being roadies. Look at all the cool shit we could see + do on the road with Broken Social Scene: in between setting up gear and random hackey sack matches with Brendan and Justin, Kevin will realize he should marry us, Andrew will become our love slave, and Feist, Amy and Emily our new best friends!
7.
Sleater-Kinney - "Jumpers" (directed by Matt McCormick)Do I even need to say anything about this video?? Great song from one of the best bands of all time. And hello, close-ups of Carrie's guitar solo, Janet's manic drumming, and Corin's trademark wail. Enough said.
8.
Fiona Apple "Not About love" (directed by Michael Blieden)When the new Fiona Apple album came out at the end of '05, I was super psyched to get it, and then super disappointed. I don't know, just didn't click right away. Then 3 months later ('06), I saw the video for this song, and it clicked. I don't know, something about seeing the words of this song sung by a man to Fiona instead of seeing Fiona sing it really brought a new meaning to the lyrics and music. Great video for a great song.
9.
Junior Senior "Can I Get Get Get" (directed by The Fans, which evidently include Peaches + JD Samson)10.
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Cheated Hearts" (directed by The Fans)We love both of these videos because they both have that "I totally could have done that" quality that every crazed fan always thinks when they see music videos but know that it's not actually true because they have no real talent, but in this case, they really could have made both of these videos (and really did, since both are compilations of actual fan videos).
And let's be honest, who among us has never dressed up like Karen O. and run screaming across our apartment floor while our roommates played air guitar and banged on the walls with the tv remote?? No...okay, maybe that was just us.
Agree? Disagree? Let us know!
Labels: Year In Review
