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Thursday, February 01, 2007

Best of 2006 Mixes

It is time again for my best of the year mixes. I did three mixes this year. I did Best of 2006, New to Me 2006, and the Best of the SXSW 2006 Bittorrent.



Best of 2006
I listened to about 65 albums released in 2006. I know that I listen to a lot of music. That should not surprise anyone. There was a lot of good music that came out this year. This mix only has a fraction of the music I would say it good.

Best of 2006

1. Fraud in The 80’s – Mates Of State
2. A Certain Romance – Arctic Monkeys
3. Gravity’s Gone – Drive by Truckers
4. E.N.Y House – Masta Killer
5. Lost In Boston – The Walkmen
6. Girl In A War – Josh Ritter
7. List of Baby Names – Bound Stems
8. Notion – Karl Blau
9. Fox Confessor Brings The Flood – Neko Case
10. Montgomery – Magnolia Electric Co
11. Chips Ahoy – The Hold Steady
12. Woke Up New – Mountain Goats
13. The Charging Sky – Jenny Lewis
14. Smiley Faces – Gnarls Barkley
15. The Competition – Kimya Dawson
16. Attraction is Ephemeral – Mecca Normal
17. Rubies - Destoryer
18. Rough Jems – Islands
19. The Greatest – Cat Power

New To Me 2006

No matter how much music I hear, something is always missed. That is why I make this mix. I think it is just as important as the best of the year mix.

New To Me 2006
1. If I’m Waiting – Jason Anderson
2. Huddle Formation – The Go! Team
3. Over and Over - Heavenly
4. So Long – Jason Anderson
5. Like A Monkey In A Zoo – K. McCarty
6. 1 Corinthians 13: 8-10 – Mountain Goats
7. I Wish I Was The Moon – Neko Case
8. Section 12 (Hold Me Now) – The Polyphonic Spree
9. Small Stakes - Spoon
10. The End Has No End – The Strokes
11. Hearts of Oak – Ted Leo / Pharmacists
12. Car Trouble – All Girl Summer Fun Band
13. You Held the World In Your Arms - Idlewild
14. Madam Truffle – Major Organ
15. At The Bottom of Everything – Bright Eyes
16. Love Steals Us From Loneliness - Idlewild
17. Off The Record – My Morning Jacket
18. The Purple Bottle – Animal Collective
19. Parisian Dream – Laura Veirs
20. Grounds For Divorce – Wolf Parade
21. Sorry Entertainer – Daniel Johnson


SXSW 2006

There are so many good bands that I have never heard of before. This is a good way to find some of them. I could spend my whole year just listening to the music from SXSW. I think that is a good thing.

SXSW 2006

1. Walkin’ On Nails – Mac Lethal
2. Binary Girl – Mathematicians
3. Memorize The City – The Organ
4. Agony – Awol One
5. Harvard Hand – The Foxymorons
6. I’ve Been Lost - +/-
7. Another Seven Year- Aberdeen City
8. na – Band of Horses
9. Postcards from Italy – Beirut
10. Birmingham – The Deaths
11. Girls & Sunshine – Dirty On Purpose
12. Hide and Seek – The Eighteenth Day
13. Buckeyed Rabbit – Grassy Knoll Boys
14. Try Telling That To My Baby – The Heavy Blinkers
15. Old Britannia – Hey Negrita
16. No Way Out – Love of Diagrams
17. Broken Plates – Magenta Lane
18. A Captive Audience – The Velvet Teen
19. No Good Here – Tim Fite
20. Red Drop - The Standard

If people want me to write about every song on this list let me know. I will get started on that entry.

Labels: 2006, best of CD Challange, bestof2006, mix, mixcd, music

- Rich, 6:34 PM |

Monday, January 22, 2007

Best Dozen Albums of 2006

I listened to about 65 new albums in 2006. That means two things, I spent a lot of time listening to music that came out last year and I listened to a fraction of all the music that came out last year. When I say these are the best albums, I mean they are my favorite.

Magnolia Electric Co - Fading Trails

This album was short and concise. With 9 songs at 29 minutes this album is slim, but powerful. With every new album Jason Molina shows his increasing skill in song writing. I think this is the best Magnolia Electric Co album to date.

I will admit that I have other reasons to love Fading Trails also. This album came out slight after a breakup. It was the ex-girlfriend who got me into Magnolia Electric company. This was a great breakup album.

Build to Spill - You In Reverse

This album is full of songs that are ear worms. I hear this album and the tunes do not get out of my head for days. The songs really rock. It is a great album to drive very fast to.

Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit

With each new album I am more impressed with Belle and Sebastian. They have grown more than any other band in the last 10 years. Compare Tiger Milk to The Life Pursuit and you will find a band that is writing totally different songs. I am amazed at the way they have been able to change and stay good. This album is good because of how it is different and the same as the other albums.

Cat Power - The Greatest

There are those albums where from the first time you hear it, you cannot put it down. It seems to always in your CD player. One of those albums you listen to for weeks and still do not get enough of it. This is one of those albums.

Josh Ritter - The Animal Years

This album surprised me. I had never heard of Josh Ritter before hearing him on the SXSW 2006 Bittorrent. The album is very complex. I know Peter would say that he is just a whiny guy with a guitar. I love the well written songs and the emotions that he sings them with.

But you need faith for the same reasons that it’s so hard to find

Gnarles Barkley - St. Elsewhere

This album is tricky and simple all at the same time. I love it becuase it makes me want to dance. It also surprises me. They take simple pop tunes and get every ounce of goodness out of them.

Islands - Return To The Sea

Everyone loves Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over The Sea. For the past two years I have been wondering where all the albums that are influenced by In the Aeroplane Over The Sea. If everyone loves this album why has it made so little impact on other music? The Islands - Return to the Sea is the album I have been waiting for. Any Neutral Milk Hotel fan should check out this album.

Mecca Normal - The Observer

The Observer is like a great movie or a good book. It is a challenging. It is not an album that you put on and rock out too. It is an album you listen to and think about. I know that people do not want to think, but that is that is their problem. This is an album that people should listen to. I think it is challenging and hard to listen to at time, but sometimes that is a really good thing. This is one of those times.

The song writing on this album just amazes me. It is insightful and interesting. The album is about relationships. It seems real in a way other albums do not. For the way the songs describe relationships it is worth listening to. I really get the idea that I understand the woman as being single about about my age.

Kimya Dawson - Remember That I Love You

I know lots of people who will not like this album. Like all K Records bands, you either dig the lo-fi, high emotion, indie ethic or you do not. This album has the feeling of someone grabbing a guitar and pooring their heart out to a microphone. Of the 12 songs on this album, about half of them make the hair on the back of neck stand up. Each time I hear this album I hear something else. Kimya Dawson is an impressive songwriter.

Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood

This is one of those albums once I hear it, I need to listen to it three or four times in a row. The songs get stuck in my head. I sing them for days at a time. They haunt me like an opportunity I did not act on or a woman I ruined my chance with.

Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies

This is the kind of album that sneaks up behind you, grabs a hold of you while you are not paying attention, and does not let go. I already love the New Pornographers. This album has just enough elements of the New Pornographers for it to be familiar and just few enough for it to be new.

Mates Of State - Bring It Back

This is the best Mates of States album to date. The song writing has caught up to match their unique sound. The songs work really well as an album.

Karl Blau - Beneath Waves

This album was a surprise to me. There is no song that really stands out. The whole album is just relentless and strong. It has a good combination of pop structures and low-fi production.

Special Mention
Joanna Newsom - Ys

I have a hard time saying this is one of the best albums of the year. I want to say it is not really an album, at least in the sense of rock and roll. This is a collection of 5 songs. The shortest song is almost 10 minutes long. It is not like old prog rock albums either. There are no long musical sections. It is a collection of songs trying to be short stories. I am not sure I get this album, but I have been listening to it a lot. It is worth taking a listen to see if it is for you.

Labels: 2006, album, bestof2006, cd, music, tag overload

- Rich, 7:02 PM |

Monday, January 15, 2007

The Mayfly Project 2006

The Mayfly Project 2006
Originally uploaded by Kristin.

Great New Years
Became Manager
Portland
Got new camera
Break Up
Lost Boss
San Diego
Wrote novel
Trying again
Stood up in the end

Labels: 2006, bestof2006, mayfly project

- Rich, 10:25 PM |

Sunday, December 31, 2006

A Year In Photography Part 1 - Best Photo of 2006

July 23: Fire Sunset
Originally uploaded by earthdog.

I think this is my best photograph of 2006. I took this driving back from Comic Con in San Diego. We were detoured off I-5 because of a brushfire in the hills. It was hot and hazy to start with. There was a lot of smoke in the air. I had heard other photographers talk about taking sunsets after fires before.

Traffic was really slow. I dropped far behind the car in front of me. Knew the car would fit into the photo. I grabbed my camera and snapped some photos. It is always fun to use my steering wheel as a tripod.

The photos turned out great. I played with the colors until I got what is above. The colors just jumped out at me. The funny thing is that this photo is not like most of my photos. Some times I try to capture some beautiful, but it is not what I am doing most of the time. It makes clear that a good percentage of photography is just having your camera ready when you need it.

I am happy I took this photo. When I started 2006 I could not have predicted I would take a photo like this. I like the idea that I do not know what the future has for me.

I am happy I took this photo.

Labels: bestof2006, flickrpost, I-5, photo, photography

- Rich, 4:36 PM |

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Calling all Mix CD Makers

It is time once again for the End Of Year Mix CD Challenge. It is time for all the mix-makers to collect the songs that mean 2006 to them. I am excited to see what mixes people will make. I have a whole bunch of new friends this year. I want to know what they thought of the year in music. If you send me a copy of your mix, I will send you a copy of my mix.

For the Silicon Valley Mix Makers, we have been talking about having a meetup where we can exchange face to face in January. Let me know if you are interested.

I would like everyone to remember, Mix Tapes are Fair Use. (That would still make a good bumper sticker)

Labels: bestof2006, cd, endofyearmix, mix, mixcd, mixtape, music

- Rich, 1:52 PM |

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Best Photos of 2006

July 23: Fire Sunset
Originally uploaded by earthdog.

This might be the best photo I shot in 2006.

Labels: 2006, bestof2006, flickr, flickrpost, photo, photography

- Rich, 8:23 PM |

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Best of 2006 early

Every year I make a best of the year mix. This year I have been focused on listening to music from 2006. I want to hear as much new music as I can stand. We are half way through the year. I realized that I could make a first draft of my best of 2006 mix right now.

I am not saying this is going to be the mix at the end of the year or that these songs will make the cut. I am just saying this is a pretty good place to start. Tell me what you are listening to this year.

2006 so far:

Belle & Sebastian - To Be Myself Completely - The Life Pursuit
Built To Spill - The Wait - You In Reverse
Drive By Truckers - Gravity's Gone -A Blessing and a Curse
Gnarls Barkley - Just A Thought - St. Elsewhere
Mac Lethal - Walkin' On Nails - SXSW 2006 Showcasing Artist
Calexico - Deep Down - Garden Ruin
Gnarls Barkley - Just A Thought - St. Elsewhere
The Minus 5 - My Life as a Creep - The Gun Album
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
Cat Power - The Greatest - The Greatest
Jenny Lewis - You Are What You Love - Rabbit Fur Coat
Cities - Writing on the Wall - Cities
Jon Langford - Gold Brick - Gold Brick
The Pixies - Debaser (Norfolk, VA - 12/6/2004) -Hey - Live Pixies
Love of Diagrams - No Way Out - SXSW 2006 Showcasing Artist
Josh Ritter - Girl in the War - The Animal Years

Labels: 2006, bestof2006, mix, mixcd, music, tag overload

- Rich, 5:35 PM |

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

The Best Albums of 2006 So Far

I have not been listening to too much music this year. Here is my list so far of the best.

Jenny Lewis - Rabbit Fur Coat
Cat Power - The Greatest
Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
Karl Blau - Beneath Waves
Mates of State - Bring It Back

Tell me if there is something else I should also be listening to.

Labels: 2006, album, Belle and Sebastian, bestof2006, Cat Power, cd, Gnarles Barkley, Jenny Lewis, Karl Blau, Mates of State, Neko Case

- Rich, 7:06 PM |

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