Top 20 Albums of 2006

All the other Top 10 lists are wrong! Mine is the only correct list! In fact, I'm so sure about my list, that I've made it a Top 20 List! Some of you might think I made it a Top 20 List because I couldn't bring myself to cut most of the albums from the list but you are wrong too!

Ok, maybe there's a little truth to that.

Anyhow, I submit for your consideration, my list. Here's a few obligatory disclaimers:

Disclaimer 1: Because I do almost all my music listening at work, on my Rhapsody player, this list is made up pretty much entirely of albums available through Rhapsody. Therefore, since some labels aren't on Rhapsody (like Drag City Records), some critical favorites are missing from this list (sorry, Joanna Newsom).

Disclaimer 2: I spent a good portion of this year listening to Broken Social Scene's self-titled album. This album would easily be on my Top 20 list, except it came out last year.

Disclaimer 3: I spent a good portion of this year listening to Magnetic Field's "69 Love Songs". This album would easily be on my Top 20 list, except it came out like 10 years ago.

Now, on to the list!!


20. Girl Talk "Night Ripper"

My love affair with all things techno largely ran its course several years ago. But, still, this album deserves a nod. The entire album is effectively one long mash-up of over 160 different songs. From Notorious BIG to the Pixies, no one is safe. Imagine listening to all your favorite songs back-to-back and you begin to get an idea of what listening to "Night Ripper" sounds like.


19. The Streets "The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living"

Mike Skinner's third release is easily his weakest album so far, but it's still better than the majority of stuff I heard this year. With this release we find Mike addressing the the price of fame. In the hands of lesser acts this usually leads to disaster; but Mike's tales of trying to date famous pop-stars and avoiding people taking pictures of him doing coke with their cell phones almost makes it sound fresh.


18. Chad Vangaalen "Skelliconnection"

This album benefits from the fact that I discovered it at the same time as Chad's first release, "Infinitheart." Alone, both albums are a tad uneven. But, together they are great. I don't like all of his songs, but tracks like "Dead Ends" are damned near perfect.


(Ignore the "Dig This" blob.)
17. Mew "And The Glass Handed Kites"

Mew is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. I generally try to describe their sounds by saying they are somewhere between Sigur Ros and Queensryche, which is also a good way of pointing out who the effectively straddle the line between very cool and really dorky. I'm not a huge fan of their slower songs, but when they rock out in songs like "Apocalypso" its bliss.


16. Neko Case "Fox Confessor Brings The Flood"

Like the Street's album, this probably isn't my favorite Neko Case album. But still, come on! It's Neko Case, and she's still got one of my favorite voices in the business.


15. Viva Voce "Get Yr Blood Sucked Out"

You want some driving guitar? I got your driving guitar right here! This is another band that I sort of stumbled across this year and don't really know much about. What I do know is that this albums got some great music on it.


14. CSS "Cansei De Ser Sexy"

I was initially resistant to this album. I think I'm a little burnt out on the electropop sound. Plus, there is just something a little to "look at how clever and hip I am" about this band. But, at the end of the day, it is a kick-ass little party album with plenty of music to keep you dancing and singing along with.


13. Swan Lake "Beast Moans"

What do you get when you mix New Pornographers and Wolf Parade? You get a great album, that's what. What is it with Canadian musicians these days though? Not only are they all apparently super talented and prolific, but they all seem ready, willing and able to switch bands more frequently than I switch my socks.

Side Note: I probably could have and should included Destroyers' new album "Rubies." But, since Destroyers' Dan Bejar is also in Swan Lake, I decided to omit it, to keep the list to an even 20. Can't have Dan hogging all the spots.


(Again, ignore the "Dig This" blob.)
12. Cold War Kids "Robbers & Cowards"

Apparently, like the Strokes, Cold War Kids had a certain amount of pre-release buzz surrounding them, so that -by the time their album actually came out- they were hit with some backlash from the hipster community. Luckily, I managed to miss all that, so I just got to enjoy a great album, with a sound that fits somewhere between the White Stripes and (more accurately) the Walkmen.


(Again with the "Dig this" blob!)
11. Ratatat "Classics"

Ratatat's second album features the same winning formula as their self-titled debut, but with a filled out sound. This album deserves to be on the list for no other reason than the sampled panther roar on the track "Wildcat." Luckily, there is even more to it than that.


10. Band of Horses "Everything All The Time"

When I first listened to this album, I was expecting some alt-country along the lines of Uncle Tupelo. So, when it didn't deliver on that, I sort of dismissed it. Luckily I soon corrected my oversight and realized what an excellent, atmospheric album this was.


9. Dirty on Purpose "Hallelujah Sirens"

This album sort of sneaks up on you. Occasionally, I'll be listening to my MP3 player on random, and a song will come on that makes me think "this is good, but I forget who it is." And when I check, its inevitably Dirty on Purpose. In addition, when I listen to the album all the way through, I always start out thinking "why do I like these guys again?" But somewhere about halfway through the album (usually on the track "Always Looking"), I find myself going "this is such a great album!"


8. Ali Farka Toure "Savane"

This year's best Blues album was recorded by a 67 year old Malian man, who died of shortly after of bone cancer. Wonderful, high-spirited, soulful stuff.


7. Califone "Roots and Crowns"

Another band who I don't know much about, but who's album I love. I like picturing them wearing leather jackets, cowboy hats and not giving a damn what anyone thinks about it. Great stuff.


6. The Decemberists "The Crane Wife"

The Decemberists have always been one of those bands that I thought I should like... but never really did. That all changed with this album though. By the sounds of it, they must have kicked out a couple of the theater geeks and replaced them with some 70's rockers. And that change is just enough to win me over. If this album consisted only of the second track, it would make the Top 10 list. That track appears to be four separate songs fused together into one magnum opus that manages to be what many songs aspire to but few reach: Epic.


5. Asobi Seksu "Citrus"

I didn't discover My Bloody Valentine until their music was featured in Lost in Translation. But, since discovering them, I've officially overplayed their classic "Loveless" while at work. Since then, I've been searching for other bands with that same sound; and finally found what I was looking for with Asobi Seksu. Asobi Seksu's music is half English, half Japanese and all wall-of-sound, fuzzy-guitar joy for my little ears.


4. Gnarls Barkley "St. Elsewhere"

This was the one album that I listened to, and before I even got halfway through it, I thought to myself "oooh, this is good, it's going to be on my Top 10 list for 2006!" Few albums this year managed to have this much energy and fun, while still being smart and innovative. Retro-soul music for the future.


3. TV on the Radio "Return to Cookie Mountain"

I have to be honest, it took me a couple listens to really come to grips with this album. It's dense, occasionally challenging and sounds unlike anything else being produced this year. A little progressive rock and a little bit do-wop. Once it gets its hooks in you though, you don't want it to let go.


2. Tom Waits "Orphans: Bawlers, Brawlers and Bastards"

You know a artist is in top form when he releases a three album box set, and any single album in the set can stand up against any other album on this list. Amazing. As Waits says himself: "Shake your fist and your poo-poo part!"


1. Beirut "Gulag Orkestar"

If you'd told me when I was 19 that in 12 years my favorite album would be by a 19-year old kid who sings like David Byrne leading a gypsy orchestra through the streets of Paris, I would have said that you were crazy. But, you'd be right! Beirut is, hands down, my favorite album of the year. You could shuffle around any of the other albums on this list, and I'd probably be fine with it, but not this one. Amazing, wonderful, hopelessly romantic (in the best sense of the word) stuff that can't help but snatch you away to some distant Eastern European country.

Well, that's it. My Top 20 List. I'll probably feel different tomorrow, but until then...

Don't Let's Talk About Art Tonight

Right before Christmas, I managed to finish Alexandra Fuller's first novel Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight.



The story recalls her childhood growing up in Africa, the daughter of two tough living, alcoholic, down on their luck white farmers in war-torn Rhodesia. It's an amazing, visceral tale which is at turns both horrific and humorous. Alexandra writing captures her childhood experience amazingly, while never becoming precious or affected. She writes the way I wished I could have during NaNoWriMo several years ago.

I'm pretty sure this will be my favorite book of the year, in a year where I've read several exceptional books.

But, at the same time, I'm glad that I was able to finish it before I began opening my Christmas presents, because I got quite a few books this year, including (un)Fashion (which I was pining about a few entries back) and David Byrne's newest book Arboretum.



Arboretum is Byrne's attempt to create organic graphs, forms and charts to show the connection of various words and concepts. The resulting forms and charts are interesting enough, but the real meat-and-potatoes can be found in the four foot long fold out section at the back of the book. In it, he discusses a number of the charts, their meaning and his process in creating them. It reads like the Director Commentary on the Musings of David Byrne's Brain.

It's the sort of high-minded silliness that he's known for. Which is fine by me, because Byrne could write about planting potatoes and I'd still find it interesting. In fact, his latest blog entry pretty much proves it.

In it, he begins by talking about his theories (and those of an author who's book he’d just read) on the role of art in society. Particularly its role in attracting members of the opposite sex, and how that was all inverted and had to be redefined after the industrial revolution and the invention of the camera. This then segues into him recounting his recent trip to Miami for a gallery show, and the work he saw there. Which, in turn, segues into his discussing Miami, its evolving culture and architecture*. And I find the whole thing captivating.

In fact, after being under whelmed and frustrated at Seattle's last First Thursday (the monthly gallery walk), I actually found that reading his thoughts on art got me interested and excited about fine art again. Just in time to stumble across this today...

With few wolves scattered in the front gallery, all ninety-nine 99 life-sized replicas of wolves run, gallop, and jump toward the far end of the exhibition hall, where a wall stands. The bravery of the wolves is met head on by the unyielding wall. As the leading wolves go down, many more follow with force and determination. As those in the front fall and pile up, those behind take up their positions.

Now, regardless of meaning, I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone who wouldn't find that impressive to see.OK, and a little grisly too. But, I know I'd love to see it in person. I don't really know anything about the artist, Cao Guoqiang but that piece (as well as some others in his collection, like these arrow-filled tigers) are amazing.

Or at least more interesting that anything I saw a couple weeks ago.


* The architecture was particularly interesting to me since he talked about some of the hotels seen in the James Bond movie, Goldfinger. I just watched the movie last night, as part of my recent obsession with James Bond… something I’ll most likely bore you all with later.

Merry Octophrost!

Here's the card that I made for my wife and I to send out to friends and family this year. My guess is that -if you are reading this,- you quite possibly received one, but just in case, Happy Holidays!

Or, Merry Octophrost, as the case may be!



If the whole "War on Christmas/Happy Holidays" debate is getting you down, I recommend you do what I think I'm going to do: Ignore the whole thing, and instead focus on how cool Octophrost - Santa of the Sea is! These little guys are the creation of Futuregirl.com and are, well, awesome.

Now, if we can just get him placed on the State Capital lawn next to a Christmas tree and Menorah, everything will be right in the world.

And, speaking of everything being right in the world, I'm not entirely sure that I'm right in the head this Christmas season. Instead of my usual desire to hear Bing sing White Christmas, I've found myself obsessed with this song. And, thanks to the wonders of YouTube, we can all bask in the video’s 80's acid-and-eggnog glory ("God bless YouTube... everyone"). But, then again, I am simply having a wonderful Christmas time.

Hope you are all too.

Something dramatic about the future.

I've got a weird fascination with Futurists. I think it started when I first got to hear Alvin Toffler speak at work a few months ago. And then purchased and read his latest book Revolutionary Wealth. There's something about the idea of being a "futurist" that interests me. It’s like the modern day version of an oracle, without the blind, hide-in-a-cave lifestyle. Or, maybe it’s because its like reading Science Fiction... with less fiction to it.

Then, again, maybe it’s just because a lot of superheroes, like Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic claim to be Futurists. In which case, maybe it still is the fiction part that appeals to me.

Regardless, I find myself reading anything written be a self-proclaimed Futurist whenever I stumble across it. Like, My Final Prediction by Bruce Sterling, which is worth reading is for no other reason than a few melodramatic quotes like this:

Technophobic refuseniks are likely to carry out violent resistance, and they may have good reason: Out-of-control technology is a distinct risk. The Lexus has collided with the olive tree, and its crumpled hulk spins in a ditch as the orchard smolders.

The other thing of note in that article is that Bruce is predicting the end of Futurism. So, I guess I should enjoy it while I can.

Speaking of things I'm enjoying currently, the illustrator in me is completely infatuated with Patchbox, an art portfolio site that gives each artist an 80x80 pixel space to provide and image and link it to his or her portfolio site. It’s a great way to spend several hours drooling over some amazing illustrations.



For example Joy Ang's art just levels me. She's got a great sense of color and shape, similar to James Jean's work. But, the kicker is that she was born in '85, which makes her, like, 10 years younger than me.

And here I was just coming to grips with Colin Farrell being younger than me. Sheesh.

World's Tallest Man Saves Dolphins

Just in time for the new year: Another bizarre sea creature related story!!

World's Tallest Man Saves Dolphins

It's lucky they had the world's tallest man on call to lend a hand. Or rather, an extremely long arm.

In a late but very strong contender for the title of most curious animal story of 2006, two dolphins in a Chinese aquarium have been saved thanks to the personal attentions of Bao Xishun, all 7 ft 8.95 inches of him.

As the China Daily and others reported excitedly today, the drama began when the dolphins swallowed pieces of plastic from the edge of their aquarium pool in the north-eastern city of Fushun.

Attempts to remove the plastic using surgical instruments failed because the dolphins' stomachs contracted in response.

Now, thought the vets, if only our arms were long enough to reach down and pull the plastic out... Hang on!

Several telephone calls later and Mr Bao, certified last year as the world's tallest man, taking the title from previous holder, Radhouane Charbib of Tunisia, by a mere 2mm, was on his way, from his home in the province of Inner Mongolia.

The 55-year-old herdsmen was able to use an arm nearly three and a half foot long to reach into the dolphins' mouths and pull out the plastic with his hands, as handlers held their jaws open with towels.

"The two dolphins are in very good condition now," said a satisfied Chen Lujun, manager of the Royal Jidi Ocean World.

Mr Bao is somewhat of a celebrity in China, especially now he is officially the world's tallest man.

Last month, the Xinhua news agency reported, he was "causing a stir" in Brazil when he went there for a book signing of the 2007 Guinness Book of Records.

Does this tale open more career options for Mr Bao, other than being a professional giant? Surely, zoos worldwide could use his talents - what do they do now when an elephant needs his back scratched and there are no stepladders around?

As someone else mentioned when they saw the story: "Awesome, his life must really have a sense of porpoise now."

Listening to the Pope

...no, not that Pope, silly! I'm referring to the popular indie comic book illustrator, Paul Pope.



There’s a sort of beautiful ugliness (or, perhaps, ugly beautifulness) to Pope's work that I've always appreciated. And the level of success he's achieved by doing things his own way is pretty admirable. But, I was still presently surprised by how interesting his blog, PulpHope, is. Whether he's giving interviews to Polish magazines, copying articles about the effects of coffee, or just posting current art projects he's working on, Pope seems to be consistently adding something new to his blog on a daily basis. In fact, while it appears he's only been keeping the blog since the beginning of the month, I'm surprised by how much he's already posted. Often adding two or three entries a day.

Which is a lot better than I've been doing maintaining this blog. But, I'm blaming the holiday season. In fact, while out running around in the rain the other day, I stumbled across a book (at Urban Outfitters of all places) that I really need to add to my Christmas list: (un)Fashion.



To quote the book description itself:

From cardboard shoes in Africa to body paint in New Guinea, from chimney sweeps in France to an Indian Elvis, (un)Fashion scans the globe to show how real people dress: at work, on the street, or for ceremonial occasions. With virtually no text, (un)Fashion pokes gentle fun at the elitism of the fashion world, presenting its provocative observations through dynamic images by some of the world's foremost photojournalists.

I was only able to flip through it for a minute or two, but it seems like it would not only be a wonderful coffee-table book, but would also be something that would be endlessly useful when coming up with sci-fi, superhero and other costume ideas in my sketchbook.

Speaking of interesting artistic references, I received Blackstock's Collection: The Drawings of an Autistic Savant for my Birthday over the weekend.



Gregory Blackstock, as the books title points out, is both autistic and an artistic savant. His art manifests itself in the form of detailed illustrated lists of everything from "the garden pest control beetles" (above) to "our states king sized jails." His dedication and skill is staggering in its ambition. And the book does a good job of displaying the breadth of his work.

Finally, I thought I'd point out the Ninja Words online dictionary. As it is subtitled: "A really fast dictionary... fast like a ninja." No longer am I bound to the slow-loading and clunky Dictionary.com. Yay!

Plus, I like to support all things ninja related.

World Maps

Here's where I've traveled to in the world so far:
MAP

Here's where I'll have been after the Round the World TRip:
MAP

Wheeee!

World map generator - Europe map generator - State map generator.

300 Carnies

Even though I really enjoyed last years Sin city movie, I thought I'd sort of burnt out on the work of Frank Miller. The last couple of comics of his I'd read -while visually stunning- had failed to resonate with me. So, while I was interested in reading 300, I was also a little hesitant.



I was happy to discover that once Miller's usual terse, hyper-masculine dialogue was removed from its usual pulp novel and film noir trappings, and placed into another time period, it suddenly became interesting again.

The plot of the graphic novel is pretty straight forward: A group of 300 Spartan's versus the "1000 Nations of the Persian Empire." Guess who wins! It's based on historical fact, but with Miller taking some pretty sizable, yet stunning visual liberties.

The thing I'm probably more excited about though is the movie adaptation that is in the works. From what I've seen in the trailer, its going to be an impressive near panel-by-panel recreation of the book, on par with what Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez did with Sin City



Check out some more comic-to-movie comparisons here.

"Our arrows will blot out the sun."
"Then we'll fight in the shade."
Indeed.

My wife and I finished the second (and last) season of Carnivale the other night too. And I'm happy to say that it was one of those series that actually improved with each additional episode and season. Sadly, there won't be any more seasons beyond this one though.



After watching the first season, I had been entranced by the idea of a show following a circus traveling across the dust bowl of 1930's America. It fits in with my whole growing fascination with the first part of the 20th Century. And, anything with Carnies in it will generally keep me amused longer than it probably should.

But, I was a little less impressed with the actual story. Too often, I thought it was attempting to go for the subtle creepiness of, say, Twin Peaks. But, instead it often ended up with the clumsy, faux-creepiness that populates your average Stephen King mini-series. Still, the interesting characters, great concept and often striking cinematography made me check out the second season.

I'm glad we did. The second season quickly picks up the leisurely pace of the first season. And continues to pile on the ideas until the whole thing reaches an edge of your seat climax and "final battle."

Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately (depending on your mood), the series finishes with one of the greatest and more frustrating anti-endings since Twin Peaks itself. I really wish there would be a season three.

Finally, we continued our Wong Kar Wai movie series with Chungking Express.



I have to admit that its somewhat fragmented storyline (or, rather, storylines) didn't win me over as quickly as 2046 or In the Mood For Love, but as more time passes, I find myself thinking more fondly about it. In addition, while the cinematography is rougher than his later films, there are still plenty of moments that sneak up on you and will linger in your head long after you've sent the DVD back to Netflix.