Tag Archives: music

Albums Of The Year: Heard In 2006

Here are the best albums I heard, but not released, this year:

  • Dolphy, Eric Out To Lunch – Amazing.
  • Pitch Black Afro Styling Gel – If this country has any taste, whatsoever, African hip hop will blow up soon.
  • Knife, The Deep Cut’s – The Knife’s three albums are on my best albums heard in 2006 list. Need I say more?
  • Knife, The Knife, The – Why no one told me about these guys before will remain one of the world’s greatest crimes against Jason. Thanks LA!
  • Sonic Youth – During a two week period I listened to Sonic Youth’s entire discography. Mind blowing. Shame on past relationshippees for not forcing me to sit down and focus.
  • Hot Chip Coming On Strong – Too bad LA ruined the follow up for me by putting one of the tracks on loop.

Albums Of The Year: Most Disappointing

Most disappointing albums I heard in 2006:

  • Detroit Cobras: All their albums except Baby are fairly weak/standard.
  • OutKast Idlewild: Admit it. Their only “really good” now.
  • Spektor, Regina Begin To Hope: Way overproduced album from one of my favorite vocalists. Probably a result of the label’s push to make her big, ala John Legend.
  • Kano Beats And Bars: Terrible. Grime is dying. I can’t wait for Dizzee’s new album.

The Flood Begins…

NPR has released their top ten albums of the year, even though there is a almost full month left.

Based on their list, I’m fairly sure they listened to only ten albums. Of the top ten, I have listened to four of the albums on the list–Regina Spektor’s Begin to Hope, Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins’ Rabbit Fur Coat, Cat Power’s The Greatest, and TV On the Radio’s Return to Cookie Mountain–and none of them are very good, and I consider myself a big fan of Spektor and Lewis.

While I do appreciate NPR’s recent (within the past year or so) focus on music, it really is designed for the wannabe hipster or older person with a young ear. They are about as pop as you can get for “indie.” Ugh, I totally sound like a hipster.