Best of music 2006: Biggest Surprises
As I sit here this morning trying as always to avoid sleep, I'm reminded of a post I promised my known readership. I did say at one point I would go through the top 5 or 6 musical surprises I've encountered over the course of 2006, but due to my recent musical experiences the list is up to 10. So without further wasting of time on to the list...
10.) The Damnwells -- I get to blame this one on my friends in the general section of the Open Book (a.k.a. "the Blue board"). At the time I had picked up a number of more melodic rock bands like The Fray and Augustana, and I found a thread discussing The Damnwells as a similar type of band. After requisite myspacing and listening to the tracks "Golden Days" and "Sell the Lie". I took a chance. In general the whole CD is good, but I'm particularly fond of the songs "Accidental Man", "Louisville", "Heartbreaklist", and their intriguing nearly 10-minute version of "God Bless America".
9.) Glass Intrepid -- The first time I heard of these guys I was a marginally bitter music fan. They had won a contest to open Buzzfest last October, a contest that friends of mine in other bands also entered. As a result, I skipped their show then. It wasn't until Buzzfestivus this year that I got to experience the show they put on or at least part of it. The live show was entertaining enough that, as I often do with opening bands I enjoyed, I decided to pick up a copy of their CD, The Best is Yet to Come, It was a very energetic listen with very solid lyrics. I'm particularly fond of the lyrics in "My Everything" and "Broken-hearted". I was drawn to the energy in "Whatever It Takes" and the track "Good Enough".
8.) Dropping Daylight -- More keyboard-based rock here at #8. Minneapolis' Dropping Daylight provided a high-energy approach to hard rock with keyboards. One song from this album which has been on my personal theme song playlist is the somewhat angry "Blame Me" , a quality therapy song. "War Song" is done very well with an well-spoken political message. Unlike some of the protest songs of this year the lyrical message does not overpower the musical quality. "Waiting Through the Afternoon", "Tell Me", "Apologies" and "Lucy" also get frequent rotation.
7.) The Hold Steady -- Yes, Mike this likely would be higher if not for the "Collateral effect". It met expectations but you had built expectations fairly high so it can't qualify as as much of a surprise as it might have. "Chips Ahoy!" and "First Night" are stellar songs. I still can't get "Chillout Tent" out of my head, maybe because I've seen it happen. "Stuck Between Stations" and "Party Pit" are also solid.
6.) Revelation Theory -- This New York City band contacted me randomly through myspace on day in March and I ignored them until about June. Upon myspacing, their lead single "Slowburn" became an aggression song for me. By far my favorite song of the 10 on their debut disc Truth is Currency is a track called "Selfish and Cold" which is much slower than most of their tunes but is very solid lyrically. The track "Loathe" quickly jumped into my list of anger management tunes. Finally Rev Theory solidified their spot on this list when I saw them light up a live crowd where 95% percent of the audience had no idea who they were when they opened for Evanescence here in October.
5.) Hurt -- Dark, dreary and yet almost symphonic at times, this band has produced two of my staple songs for the year in the form of "Overdose" and "Falls Apart". However, unlike many bands whose brooding message overwhelms the music to the point where the songs sound the same, Hurt shows enough musical variation to be interesting throughout. Admittedly the lead single "Rapture" may have a message that some would be disturbed by, but this is music... these things happen. "Danse Russe" is a fabulous song which at time actually approaches positive. "Losing", "Forever", and "Dirty" are also worth several listens.
4.) Midlake -- If I give credit to the blue board for the Damnwells, then I must acknowledge the illustrious Gene for recommending his friends from Midlake. The initial single, a catchy, quirky, little tune called "Roscoe" stuck in my head since about March. Upon obtaining The Trials of Van Occupanther, I was pleasantly surprised by the entire disc of solid music. Standout tracks include "Head Home", "Young Bride" and the title track "Van Occupanther". Though Midlake's music is much different than most of this list. It has a unique place that I recommend everyone explore.
3.) Evans Blue -- It's not often for me that a disc I purchased in February is still receiving daily spins in December. "Cold (But I'm Still Here)" and "Beg" have been outstanding radio singles, but as always there are a number of tracks which are not going to be singles which deserve mention here. My personal favorite is a track called "The Promise and the Threat" which is a solid song about a relationship likely shouldn't be but still is (Like we were meant to be/ but how can that be?/ You run on evil / I run on fumes and stale air). Other songs of note include "A Cross and a Girl Named Blessed" which I quote often, the Sarah McLachlan cover "Possesion", and a slower song called "Quote".
2.) Five Dollar Friend --This Texas-based quintet was entertaining when I had watched there show last year. I wasn't initially sure as to how the music would translate to CD form but then in August I picked up XOXORx (Kisses, Hugs, and Prescription Drugs). Above and beyond the 3 tracks I knew from early myspacing ("Spilling the Blood of Hipsters", "Speeding (35 Going 85)", and "Dancehall") I was impress with the solid core of music contain in the album. Tracks like "The Return" and "Bad Words and Warnings" quickly became favorites. More up-tempo songs like "Firecracker" and "Undercover" also provide easy and consistent entertainment.
1.) People in Planes -- I shouldn't be surprised that a Wind-up Records artist that they don't wish to promote would be on this list. PiP came to my attention in January due to my searching of Wind-up's site looking for new artists. After hearing "If You Talk Too Much (My Head Will Explode)", I knew it would be a worthwhile acquistion. PiP does a solid job of varying styles and tempos between tracks to construct a solid tapestry of music. The closing track "Narcoleptic" is a stand out track, and not for it's nearly 7 minute duration. I very much enjoy the tracks "Falling by the Wayside", "Token Trapped Woman", and "Barracuda". I sure this gentleman will have more to say about PiP in a future post so I won't steal all of his thunder.
Alas it wouldn't be a cosmic rant without a completely unrelated set of song lyrics with no point whatsoever...
Song Lyrics of the Day
"Like Jessica Rabbit, she corrects bad habits
Gets her tricks for free
Animated vixen, stole Cupid's arrow
And came to rescue me"
Eve 6 -- "Rescue"
10.) The Damnwells -- I get to blame this one on my friends in the general section of the Open Book (a.k.a. "the Blue board"). At the time I had picked up a number of more melodic rock bands like The Fray and Augustana, and I found a thread discussing The Damnwells as a similar type of band. After requisite myspacing and listening to the tracks "Golden Days" and "Sell the Lie". I took a chance. In general the whole CD is good, but I'm particularly fond of the songs "Accidental Man", "Louisville", "Heartbreaklist", and their intriguing nearly 10-minute version of "God Bless America".
9.) Glass Intrepid -- The first time I heard of these guys I was a marginally bitter music fan. They had won a contest to open Buzzfest last October, a contest that friends of mine in other bands also entered. As a result, I skipped their show then. It wasn't until Buzzfestivus this year that I got to experience the show they put on or at least part of it. The live show was entertaining enough that, as I often do with opening bands I enjoyed, I decided to pick up a copy of their CD, The Best is Yet to Come, It was a very energetic listen with very solid lyrics. I'm particularly fond of the lyrics in "My Everything" and "Broken-hearted". I was drawn to the energy in "Whatever It Takes" and the track "Good Enough".
8.) Dropping Daylight -- More keyboard-based rock here at #8. Minneapolis' Dropping Daylight provided a high-energy approach to hard rock with keyboards. One song from this album which has been on my personal theme song playlist is the somewhat angry "Blame Me" , a quality therapy song. "War Song" is done very well with an well-spoken political message. Unlike some of the protest songs of this year the lyrical message does not overpower the musical quality. "Waiting Through the Afternoon", "Tell Me", "Apologies" and "Lucy" also get frequent rotation.
7.) The Hold Steady -- Yes, Mike this likely would be higher if not for the "Collateral effect". It met expectations but you had built expectations fairly high so it can't qualify as as much of a surprise as it might have. "Chips Ahoy!" and "First Night" are stellar songs. I still can't get "Chillout Tent" out of my head, maybe because I've seen it happen. "Stuck Between Stations" and "Party Pit" are also solid.
6.) Revelation Theory -- This New York City band contacted me randomly through myspace on day in March and I ignored them until about June. Upon myspacing, their lead single "Slowburn" became an aggression song for me. By far my favorite song of the 10 on their debut disc Truth is Currency is a track called "Selfish and Cold" which is much slower than most of their tunes but is very solid lyrically. The track "Loathe" quickly jumped into my list of anger management tunes. Finally Rev Theory solidified their spot on this list when I saw them light up a live crowd where 95% percent of the audience had no idea who they were when they opened for Evanescence here in October.
5.) Hurt -- Dark, dreary and yet almost symphonic at times, this band has produced two of my staple songs for the year in the form of "Overdose" and "Falls Apart". However, unlike many bands whose brooding message overwhelms the music to the point where the songs sound the same, Hurt shows enough musical variation to be interesting throughout. Admittedly the lead single "Rapture" may have a message that some would be disturbed by, but this is music... these things happen. "Danse Russe" is a fabulous song which at time actually approaches positive. "Losing", "Forever", and "Dirty" are also worth several listens.
4.) Midlake -- If I give credit to the blue board for the Damnwells, then I must acknowledge the illustrious Gene for recommending his friends from Midlake. The initial single, a catchy, quirky, little tune called "Roscoe" stuck in my head since about March. Upon obtaining The Trials of Van Occupanther, I was pleasantly surprised by the entire disc of solid music. Standout tracks include "Head Home", "Young Bride" and the title track "Van Occupanther". Though Midlake's music is much different than most of this list. It has a unique place that I recommend everyone explore.
3.) Evans Blue -- It's not often for me that a disc I purchased in February is still receiving daily spins in December. "Cold (But I'm Still Here)" and "Beg" have been outstanding radio singles, but as always there are a number of tracks which are not going to be singles which deserve mention here. My personal favorite is a track called "The Promise and the Threat" which is a solid song about a relationship likely shouldn't be but still is (Like we were meant to be/ but how can that be?/ You run on evil / I run on fumes and stale air). Other songs of note include "A Cross and a Girl Named Blessed" which I quote often, the Sarah McLachlan cover "Possesion", and a slower song called "Quote".
2.) Five Dollar Friend --This Texas-based quintet was entertaining when I had watched there show last year. I wasn't initially sure as to how the music would translate to CD form but then in August I picked up XOXORx (Kisses, Hugs, and Prescription Drugs). Above and beyond the 3 tracks I knew from early myspacing ("Spilling the Blood of Hipsters", "Speeding (35 Going 85)", and "Dancehall") I was impress with the solid core of music contain in the album. Tracks like "The Return" and "Bad Words and Warnings" quickly became favorites. More up-tempo songs like "Firecracker" and "Undercover" also provide easy and consistent entertainment.
1.) People in Planes -- I shouldn't be surprised that a Wind-up Records artist that they don't wish to promote would be on this list. PiP came to my attention in January due to my searching of Wind-up's site looking for new artists. After hearing "If You Talk Too Much (My Head Will Explode)", I knew it would be a worthwhile acquistion. PiP does a solid job of varying styles and tempos between tracks to construct a solid tapestry of music. The closing track "Narcoleptic" is a stand out track, and not for it's nearly 7 minute duration. I very much enjoy the tracks "Falling by the Wayside", "Token Trapped Woman", and "Barracuda". I sure this gentleman will have more to say about PiP in a future post so I won't steal all of his thunder.
Alas it wouldn't be a cosmic rant without a completely unrelated set of song lyrics with no point whatsoever...
Song Lyrics of the Day
"Like Jessica Rabbit, she corrects bad habits
Gets her tricks for free
Animated vixen, stole Cupid's arrow
And came to rescue me"
Eve 6 -- "Rescue"
posted by Aaron at 4:27 AM
1 Comments:
Mmm, Jessica Rabbit. I would hit that six ways from Sunday if she weren't a cartoon. But alas...
Ahem, um, anyway. Um, not really much to add here (most of my surprises of 2006 exclusive of the Hold Steady were albums I expected to be good that were merely average). I never realized how kcufed up the lyrics to Rapture were until I read them after reading this post. And, yeah, wow.
And who you callin' a gentleman?
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