Musical Punditry: 2006

This was a damn good year for music, no matter what your particular taste. For the first time in a long time, I’ve had to knock albums off of this list to accommodate the usual size. (Unsurprisingly, Pitchfork and I agree on one.) Without further ado, and in no particular order, I present…

The Top Nine for 2006!

The Sounds, Dying to Say This to You

The Sounds have apparently never heard of the sophomore slump, as their second album flies out of the gate with a vitality that was only vaguely hinted at on their previous disc, Living in America. This is a good-time record to rival The Cars’ Heartbeat City or Elvis Costello’s Get Happy!!, filled with insanely catchy pop hooks and irresistible melodies. The band seems loath to provide their audience with any reason to be sad, as even their ballad, “Night After Night,” is repeated in an upbeat rock version at the end of the album. Dying to Say This to You is just damn good times, and is a must for anyone who is serious about their fun.

Scissor Sisters, Ta-Dah

What can really be said about Scissor Sisters? They defy explanation. Calling them the prodigal children of Elton John isn’t quite right; there are definitely influences in the music, but the band advances what Elton was doing in the mid-seventies to such a degree that the comparison loses merit halfway through the first listen. The comparison to other bands is unavoidable, though, because one of the tracks even carries the too-literal name of “Paul McCartney.” That track is better and more complex than anything its namesake has crafted since Jet, so there’s no easy joke there. Despite the best efforts of rock critics, Scissor Sisters defy convenient namesake pigeonholing. It doesn’t matter; the urge to dance through the whole album is more than enough to banish those who wish to categorize the album.
Wait, what about if Freddie Mercury and Elton John had a baby? Yeah, that sorta works for the sound.

Arctic Monkeys, Whatever People Say I Am That’s What I Am

Yes, they are played out now. No, they were not the second coming like everyone from Rolling Stone to NME told us they were going to be. But Whatever People Say I Am is a hell of a rock record, and that can’t be changed no matter how much hype is attached to it. The Monkeys have a knack for the sort of mini-epics which The Who pioneered; witness “The View from the Afternoon,” which kicks off the album. Four different time signatures and three dominant melodies flash by in four minutes, but it holds together into one experience. Less complex but still impressive, “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor” and “Dancing Shoes” rival any other straight-rock group still recording. As long as bands such as these are keeping the tradition of crunchy guitars alive, there will still be hope for popular music.

"Weird Al" Yankovic, Straight Outta Lynwood

Michael Jackson is an irrelevant joke. Al Yankovic has a top-ten album. What kind of crazy-ass bizarro world are we living in? Don’t ask questions, just go and buy the album. You’ll die laughing.

Gnarls Barkley, St. Elsewhere

Like any good summertime anthem, no one saw it coming. One day we had never heard of it, and then the next it was the world’s favorite song. Such was the fate of this album’s leadoff track, “Crazy,” the sort of wonderful runaway hit which accompanies a sweltering June day in the city. The song felt like a breath of fresh air, as the labels had apparently decided to stop releasing good songs for the summer sometime in 1996. “Crazy” was impossible to get sick of, and was near-impervious to criticism, holding fast to the tenets which had made the Motown sound incredibly popular in the 1960s. Then we heard the album, which inexplicably was even better than the single. Thanks, Danger Mouse, for bringing funk back in a big way.

Los Abandoned, Mixtape

Los Abandoned has never heard of you either! Ever since stumbling upon their performance at a festival two years ago, I’ve been championing them to anyone who would listen. Their style is unique among the rock scene, springing forth with a massive assault that is reminiscent both of the synth-pop of the 1980s and Chicano Rock. The lyric lines are enough to floor any casual listener, as several numbers (including the fantastic “Van Nuys (Es Very Nice)”) are delivered blisteringly-fast in the Angeleno patois, a nasty little trick which guarantees that anyone not from certain areas of Los Angeles will have to listen to the track several times to decipher the intricate lyrics. If the cultural blend was all that this album had in it, it would still be worth recommending. Luckily, Los Abandoned works hard for their rock, guaranteeing that you’ll want to listen over and over again.

Matisyahu, Youth

Mark my words: we will never hear from Matisyahu again. From the beginning he was destined to be a one-hit wonder, as an Orthodox Jew singing reggae can really be nothing else. Too bad, as he has an amazing flow.

Jerry Lee Lewis, Last Man Standing

The Killer teams up with the legends of rock ‘n’ roll to prove once and for all that he’s better than all of them, and also better than you.

Elvis Costello, My Flame Burns Blue

While Rod Stewart, Barry Manilow, and countless other pop stars of the same era descend into irrelevance by recording songs made famous by their parents’ generation, Elvis Costello continues to innovate. This current record finds Costello backed by a full orchestra, gutting and reworking some of his best tunes. “Clubland” and “God Give Me Strength” benefit the most from the change, regaining the vitality which familiarity had drained from them. If this bucking of career trends isn’t enough, Elvis goes even further with the second disc, which contains Il Sogno, a symphonic work based upon A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Thank you, Mr. Costello, for never succumbing to the easy out.