(the inevitable dumb) BEST OF '06 (thread)

[Mollusc]

Feeling lazy and coy so just a list of stuff I've liked this year:

Tortoise- A Lazarus Taxon
Hot Chip- The Warning
The Young Knives- Voices of Animals and Men
Radio Dept- Pet Grief
North Sea/Ramses III- Night of Ankou
Burial- Burial
Helios- Engiya
Mates of State- Bring it Back
TV on the Radio- Return to Cookie Mountain
Mountains- Sewn
Belong – October Language
Chihei Hatakeyama- Minima Moralia
Guillemots- Through the Windowpane
Juana Molina – Son
Fink-Biscuits for Breakfast
King Creosote- K.C. Rules OK
Band of Horses- Everything All the Time
The Knife- Silent Shout
Junior Boys- So This is Goodbye
Boris- Pink

 

[Guybrush]

Apologies for the typo, it's the type of the year (end of the semester) when I need word to check everything for me.

A good example of what I was referring to is the (second) pitchfork list for the 1990s that basically superimposed (former) writer Rollie Pemberton's top albums - which tended towards hip hop - over the very indie pitchfork list. I think it's hard to deny that there is a tendency nowadays in which "snobbery" in the traditional sense has veered away from the indie rock/kraut rock/classic rock hipster (the type of thing ilx has been against forever) to the eclectic dilettante. And while I think the fork (and many other entities in music criticism whether informal or not) tend to pander a bit because of that, to disregard albums like the clipse and burial just because they are an easy "eclecticity" addition doesn't mean that the albums themselves aren't fantastic

Sorry, the square brackets came across as needlessly snotty, I wanted to emphasize that I understood the word but not the meaning of the sentence—now I think I see what you mean.

Isn't what you're describing just slightly modified tokenism? Adding a few certified “hip” albums to ones list to show both that one has a finger on the pulse and, in addition, to imply that one likes the indie albums on the list despite having heard all of the token inclusions (“indie still rules supreme even though we're pretty fond of these other genres”).

 

[swears]

Why is it indie-rock publications and sites like the NME, Pitchfork, etc have to justify their relevence by making token gestures of approval towards genres like hip hop and dance music, whilst other specialist outlets seem happy to stick with thier chosen field? You wouldn't get say, Source magazine putting a band like The Strokes in their top albums of the year would you? You wouldn't get Kerrang bigging up Ricardo Villalobos. I don't get the indie-head complusion towards inclusivity.

 

[Guybrush]

Surprises so far: No Gnarls Barkley, no Chamillionaire and no “Relevee”(!).

EDIT: Sloppy browsing on my behalf; there are some mentions of the names above, but fewer that I expected.

 

[Guybrush]

Oh, and Uffie seems to be gone with the wind.

 

[don_quixote]

Why is it indie-rock publications and sites like the NME, Pitchfork, etc have to justify their relevence by making token gestures of approval towards genres like hip hop and dance music, whilst other specialist outlets seem happy to stick with thier chosen field? You wouldn't get say, Source magazine putting a band like The Strokes in their top albums of the year would you? You wouldn't get Kerrang bigging up Ricardo Villalobos. I don't get the indie-head complusion towards inclusivity.

insecurity?
dissatisfaction?

 

[ChineseArithmetic]

I guess it stems from the history of the NME, and indie rock seeing itself as a child of punk, which traditionally had some alliance with reggae through The Clash etc, and with hip-hop. Sadly, the NME of today is a shadow of the 80's when you might find Derrick May or Troublefunk actually on the cover.

 

[DJ PIMP]

Oh, and Uffie seems to be gone with the wind.

Surprised? She seems like a lot of the new rave things that appear to be happening... cute eclectica "now" for the young and fashion conscious.

i-D #270 has a funny and terrifying manifesto on New Rave...

"Punk is the most meaningless word for our generation. Rave is a hundred times more punk than punk; it's a million times harder to actually want to believe something than to say 'fuck everything and fuck you!'"

"It's about wanting knowledge - to be a geek is the future - it's also about short circuiting your brain for the ultimate physical experience. Actually feeling stuff... actually letting go."

"The difference between then and now is that everything really was "neu" then - the drugs, the music, the combined experience."

"BANG its a cult of weird kids holding hands and jumping into the future and dragging it to the now."

"To dismiss Neu Rave as ironic is to miss the point. Irony is what people say when they don't have the guts to say they feel. Neu Rave is about your imagination. It's about dreaming of building the future... it references acieeed-house, hardcore, rave culture and old school gaming but its anything but nostalgic. We are a generation raised on Sonic and Mario; our world is built of Tetris blocks, arcade battles and sonic green hill level forests."

I love that they deny irony. And in the same breath come out with the exact same set of iconic arcade games that people mentioned with jungle and ardkore etc.

"Its about... selling your music through MySpace with a fit inducing gif pimped page..." - tho I can talk, I'm practically a whore for Beatport.

 

[DJ PIMP]

Which makes me think i'm a crabby old curmudgeon at the age of 32. So a few more bits that I really do like:


The Martin Brothers - Stoopit
Perfect dancefloor bumper with a great mix of zipper-bass, pitching fizzy synths, wobble bass, congas, and a stuttered e-e-e-eee-e-e-e-ee vocal. Very acid house.

Lake & Leger - Aqualight
One of the years most gorgeous sounding techno tracks - the new trance! Chris Lake and once again, my brother from another mother, Sebastien Leger.

Moonbeam - Forgotten Feeling - Pavl Khvaleyev mix
Solee - Impressed
Again with the new-trance but on the vibe thats more overtly emerged out of electro-house. Big thick layered synth textural melody-riffs... with feeling! The kind of sound that Extrawelt have done so well this year. Feeling this sound pretty hard... fits in with the more elegant, spare material from Bodzin and Romboy et al. Warehouse Trance?

Gray - Compiland
Two words: Baaasssssss Ruuusssssshhhhhhhhhhhhh.

 

[the undisputed truth]

just listening back to boxcutter - oneiric...

...and it's pretty damn nifty. Great blend of organic and synthetic. Tight as programming !!!

props to planet mu for the last couple of years releases...

...hardout looking forward to the next few from that stable

 

[don_quixote]

cassie - me & u
villalobos - fizheuer zieheuer
nathan fake - drowning in a sea of love [album]
skream - midnight request line (zinc remix), skream! [album], stagger, whatever skreamisms were from this year, almost everything he touched apart from one of the tracks on the album which was utter GASH
ellen allien and apparat - orchestra of bubbles [album], jet
rihanna - sos (rescue me)
alex smoke - paradolia [album], meany
holden - the idiots are winning [album], idiot (esp. played at about 12.0+ speed), at the controls, every mix i've heard from this year basically
jarvis cocker - the trip [album], all the reissues (esp. this is hardcore), the jarvis cocker record [album], running the world, tonite
wiley - sorry, pardon, what?, wear my own garmz, gangsters
ruff sqwad - died in ur arms
ariel pink's haunted graffiti - house arrest [album], hardcore pops are fun, west coast calamaties
beirut - gulag orkestar [album]
bodyrox - yeah yeah (d ramirez remix)
burial - burial [album]
css - lets make love and listen to death from above
cut copy - fabriclive 29
gyptian - serious times
petter - some polyphony
junior boys - so this is goodbye [album], fm, in the morning
kode9 + spaceape - memories of the future [album], correction, kingstown, 9 samurai, portal
loco dice - seeing through shadows
various artists - gypsy beats and balkan bangers, shantel - bucovina
various artists - pop justice mix album
hot chip - the warning [album], over and over
alesha - lipstick
outkast - morris brown
gnarls barkeley - crazy
love is all - nine times the same song [album]
various - kisuné maison comp 3
kano & vybz kartel - buss it up

 

[Ned]

Oh, and Uffie seems to be gone with the wind.

She's just had a single out.

 

[Guybrush]

She's just had a single out.

These two tracks did the blog rounds in the early autumn, too, but yes: It was that one record I had in mind. Bleep's dismissal ("cute eclectica 'now' for the young and fashion conscious") is a little unfair: even though it's perfectly true that doesn't make it a bad record. I'm surprised it's nowhere to be seen since it was intensely hyped in the spring and remains a strong record (if not one I'm personally fond of).

alesha - lipstick

One of the year's missed opportunities, I think. Had they released the Ignorants remix (with Shystie on rap duties) instead of the MOR-rock original I think it could have done really well on the charts.

 

[childrentalking]

re. the minimal moving on thing -- just saw Luciano DJ for 5 hours at Fabric, and nary a minimal tune was played. super deep, spacey, fat techno was the order of the day... with the odd electro tune (inc. 'Numbers'!) and some ridiculous extended vocal house (15 minute female vox acid mantra...)

 

[bruno]

bunnyhausen, benne gesserit were very special (very weird!).

i can't remember when i've listened to more music and with more pleasure that this year, i've been on a natural high that has probably clouded my judgement. apart from ruff sqwad and loefah it's mostly old synthy things, the list would go something like this:

loefah - ruffage (2006) [12'']
valerie doré - the night (1984) + savage - don't cry tonight (1984) [the italo disco collection 4cd]
eighth wonder - i'm not scared (1988) [mp3]
memory control one - basic (1984) [12'']
g. j. lunghi - acapulco nights (1984) [mp3]
glass eye - i won't set you free (1983) [mp3]
monoton - monotonprodukt 02 (1980) [cd]
explorer - enjaw (indecs edit) (1982/2005) [mp3]
besombes-rizet - pôle (1975) [cd]
myron - we can get down (groove chronicles mix) (1998) [12'']
jago - i'm going to go (dub) (1983) [disco galaxia 12'']
one way ft al hudson - don't stop (1983) [from one of dr.lloyd's mixes]
alden tyrell - times like these 1999-2006 [cd]
giacinto scelsi - elohim (1965-67) [cd]
kma - cape fear (1997) [from woebot's ace noir desire mix]

there is a lot more but i don't have time right now!

 

[MankyFiver]

sort of late edition cos im finally getting through the cbs top 100 from 2005 and freak electrique's P.H.A.S.E.R. absolutely mindblowing even though its not 2006, aint heard an electronic track that good in years and love it when the cbs dj ( i think its I.F.) says over the end of the track " you can cry all you want but you'll never sound like this"

gets me everytime, even though im not sure what he means

 

[bruno]

the good thing with i.f. is it doesen't matter what he means! you just sit back and enjoy the proceedings. the 2006 top 100 can't come soon enough.

 

[HMGovt’s Glorious Return!]

kma - cape fear (1997) [from woebot's ace noir desire mix]

Which reminds me.... that mix is up there for me this year. Along with the Autonomic Computing mix, the May 2006 Plasticman mix and Joanna Newsom's Ys of course. Parts of Fiery Furnaces Bitter Tea. Nelly Furtado\Timberland Promiscuous Girl.

Not so sure about Burial - apart from the bassline on Pirates, as heard trapped inside in a transit van, in a traffic Jam, in London, in July. That was intense.

 

[MankyFiver]

the good thing with i.f. is it doesen't matter what he means! you just sit back and enjoy the proceedings. the 2006 top 100 can't come soon enough.

oh my god its nearly a cbs thread

definitely looking forward to it, especially since if a track has been in the last 2 its disquelified and his obvious move away from italo

but he truly is the best radio dj

 

[polystyle]

There were some good things in '06, certainly some overated product
Some I liked, not sure about 'Best'

Mikkel Metal - "Dorant" from Victimizer (Kompakt)
Trentmoller - "Vamp" The Last Resort (Poker Flat)

Burial - possibly overated, but still impressive
Villalobos - overated much as I tried, and tried got tired

Great year for reissues: Hosono, Sandy Bull, This Heat, Monoton,
Konrad Schnitzler
Minimal Wave Comp.,
Ike Yard (yes ! finally )
New York Noise 3 (lotta werk but worth the result - don't sleep on it. Cheers Soul Jazz)

Would be happy to never hear again - Beyonce
and that gawd awful first single off Jay -Z