Rick Sieber

Not the most adventurous list, I must confess. Most of my trailblazing this year involved older stuff, which may be a sign that I am about to turn 32. I would like to at least give a shout out to the Move, Mott the Hoople, Afrika Bambaataa, Curtis Mayfield, and the Beach Boys. These were a few of my very favorite artists in 2006, even if they all broke up (or stopped being good) ages ago.

As for this year’s releases, I feel I have only listened to a fraction of the great stuff that’s out there. I’m sure I’ll get to it eventually. For now, Yo La Tengo takes the title. It’s one of their three or four best albums to these ears, and their predictably consistent quality is the only reason this album isn’t finishing higher in year-end polls. That, and the horrible album title. I was also rather high on the redhead alt.country chanteuses this year, with Neko Case edging out Jenny Lewis for the title. And though people are leaving the Flaming Lips bandwagon in droves, I think they are still bringing the goods. This album is certainly of a piece with their recent (and much more highly praised) work, but what do I know.

A special thank you to all of you who turned me on to any of the artists (past or present) mentioned here.

New Year’s Resolution: Listen to more hip hop.

FAVORITE ALBUMS:

1. I am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass – Yo La Tengo
2. Fox Confessor Brings the Flood – Neko Case
3. At War With the Mystics – The Flaming Lips
4. Let’s Get Out of this Country – Camera Obscura
5. Rabbit Fur Coat – Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins
6. Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not – Arctic Monkeys
7. Return to Cookie Mountain – TV on the Radio
8. Modern Times – Bob Dylan
9. News & Tributes – The Futureheads
10. The Lemonheads – The Lemonheads



FAVORITE SONGS:

1. “The W.A.N.D.” – The Flaming Lips
2. “Phantom Limb” – The Shins
3. “Pittsburgh” – The Lemonheads
4. “Don’t Feel Right” – The Roots
5. “Next Door Neighbour” – Ray Davies
6. “Angelita” – Jon Auer
7. “A Certain Romance” – Arctic Monkeys
8. “Crazy” – Gnarls Barkley
9. “Worry About It Later” – The Futureheads
10. “Lloyd, I’m Ready To Be Heartbroken” – Camera Obscura

Janneken Smucker

5 Albums I like

Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins, Rabbit Fur Coat

Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood

Camera Obscura, Let’s Get Out of this Country

Flaming Lips, At War with the Mystics

Yo La Tengo, I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass


5 Songs I Like

Shakira, featuring Wyclef Jean, “Hips Don’t Lie”

Jenny Lewis and friends, “Handle With Care”

The Shins, “Phantom Limb”

Camera Obscura, “Lloyd, I’m Ready to be Heartbroken”

Flaming Lips, “Free Radicals”

5 TV Shows I Like to watch on DVD

The Wire

Lost

The West Wing

Project Runway

Weeds

Michael Freed

10 Favorite Albums
1. Destroyer's Rubies - Destroyer
2. The Crane Wife - The Decemberists
3. Return to Cookie Mountain - TV on the Radio
4. I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass - Yo La Tengo
5. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - Arctic Monkeys
6. Game Theory - The Roots
7. Modern Times - Bob Dylan
8. The Body, The Blood, The Machine - The Thermals
9. The Information - Beck
10. The Eraser - Thom Yorke

Matt Wiens

Awesome Albums:

The Body, the Blood, the Machine: The Thermals

Appreciation Night: Bound Stems

News And Tributes: The Futureheads

Fishscale: Ghostface Killah

The Animal Years: Josh Ritter


Almost Awesome Albums:

Phages: The Most Serene Republic

Yellow House: Grizzly Bear

He Be Me: Annuals

The Warning: Hot Chip

Rabbit Fur Coat: Jenny Lewis With The Watson Twins


Super Singles:

Long Distance Call: Phoenix

Don’t Know Why (You Stay): The Essex Green

Atoms For Peace: Thom Yorke

Ize Of The World: The Strokes

That Teenage Feeling: Neko Case


Fun Films:

Half Nelson

The Descent

L'Enfant

United 93

Children Of Men


Best Books:

The Omnivore’s Dilemma: Michael Pollan (Non-Fiction)

The Moral Animal: Robert Wright (Non-Fiction)

Counting Heads: David Marusek (Sci-Fi)

What Is The What: Dave Eggers (Semi-Fiction)

The Lost Painting: Jonathan Harr (Non-Fiction)

Ryan M. Osborne

Whatever, so I'm bored already looking at my list. There's nothing incredibly bold or inspiring here. This is a simple listing of songs that were featured prominently on my portable listening device or on my computer at one point or another during 2006. Thanks to Charles's prodding, I've managed to bust through seemingly impenetrable barriers, tried to stop being so White, and incorporated some African-American music into my rotation. Many of these songs are already devoid of any meaning to me, as their relentless play makes me actually not want to hear them at all anymore. See "Crazy"

Bossy – Kelis

In the Morning – Junior Boys

Irreplaceable – Beyonce

Crazy – Gnarls Barkley

Kick Push – Lupe Fiasco

My Love – Justin Timberlake

Why You Wanna – T.i.

S.O.S. -- Rihanna

I Don't Feel Like Dancin' – Scissor Sisters

Don't Feel Right – The Roots

Bonus non-2006 songs!!! Ear-Gasms Guaranteed!!!

No Thing on Me – Curtis Mayfield

A Song for You – Donny Hathaway

La Camisa Negra – Juanes

You'll Think of Me – Keith Urban

D. Lucas Swartzendruber-Landis

2006 was a helluva year for the Swartzendruber-Landis household. In January: our first pregnancy, our first miscarriage. March: A trip to Costa Rica with Bradley Bergey and Tonya Swartzendruber. April: I turned 30, David and Amber split. June: Tara is accepted to Villanova. July: We buy a house, Tara switches jobs. August: We move in. September: Car accident in NJ, sidelined for a week, Tara turns 30, We're pregnant again, buy a new car. October: Tara finds a $200,000 painting at work. December: We marry our good friends Vinay and Amy, I get a promotion and raise, and we have 3 more months till we add a new Swartzendruber-Landis to the world.

With that out of the way: My 2006 Year-end Music List.

Best Albums:

1. Hell Hath No Fury by Clipse
"The best hip-hop album of 2006." – Entertainment Weekly




2. Hip Hop is Dead by Nas
"Nas has made a passionate album to reawaken your love of the art and if your heart isn't thumping in your chest by the end then it's not hip-hop that's dead, it's you." – RapReviews.com


3. Night Ripper by Girl Talk
"Time will tell whether it's still fresh in 12 months, when the very recent samples (M.I.A., Gwen Stefani, Webbie) lose their chic appeal next to Smokey Robinson, the Pixies, and Public Enemy-- but for 2006, Night Ripper is the soundtrack of the summer." - Pitchfork

4. Return to Cookie Mountain by TV On The Radio
"As an artistic achievement, it ranks incredibly high on the list of great postmodern statements. Here is a piece of music (but oh so much more) that proves that something new can be done, and it can be entirely engaging." – Filter

5. Movements by Booka Shade
"Movements is like a symphony: progressing through several moods and genres. And unlike many of their contemporaries, Booka Shade is concerned with songwriting." – Stylus


6. Silent Shout by The Knife
"A freaky, moving masterpiece." - Spin




7. Game Theory by The Roots
"Game Theory is a heavy album, the Roots' sharpest work. It's destined to become one of Def Jam's proudest, if not most popular, moments." – All Music Guide


8. The DFA Remixes: Chapter 1 by The DFA
"What's best is the sense that no DFA remix will sound quite the same way twice. That applies to the sounds within as well as the complete tracks, which beg to be approached from different directions--as contemplative rock, frazzled dance, wonky prog, and so on--so they can show off entry points lurking almost everywhere." – The Onion (A.V. Club)

9. The Crane Wife by The Decemberists
"This is an amazing, innovative, storytelling record that takes you on [a] fantastic fun trip." – URB



10. St. Elsewhere by Gnarls Barkley
"As we approach the halfway point of 2006, it's unlikely that a more vivid or arresting debut will drop this year, marking St. Elsewhere as not only an audacious accomplishment, but one of the year's best." – Slant Magazine

Runners Up: Destroy Rock & Roll by Mylo, Fishscale by Ghostface Killah, I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Kick Your Ass by Yo La Tengo.

Best Songs (In No Order):
* Click on the song title to preview the song in some form or other

"Black Republican" by Nas Featuring Jay-Z
"Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley
"Hello New World" by Clipse
"In My Arms" by Mylo
"Province" by TV On The Radio
"SOS" by Rihanna
"I Feel Like Going Home" by Yo La Tengo
"The W.A.N.D." by Flaming Lips
"Put Your Records On" by Corinne Bailey Rae
"Kick, Push" by Lupe Fiasco
"Neverland" by The Knife
"The Eraser" by Thom Yorke
"F-cking Boyfriend" by The Bird and The Bee

Best Films of 2006:

(To Be Continued)

Vinay Kini

albums.

T-1. The Thermals - The Body, The Blood, The Machine
T-1.Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury
3. TV On The Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain
4. Nas - Hip-Hop Is Dead
5. Junior Boys - So This Is Goodbye
6. Girl Talk - Night Ripper
7. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
8. Band of Horses - Everything All The Time
9. Erase Errata - Nightlife
10. NOMO - New Tones

songs (in no particular order).

The Rapture - Get Myself Into It
Trae - Swang
Shakira - La Tortura (alternate version)
Rhymefest - Tell A Story
The Pipettes - Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me
Nas ft. Jay-Z - Black Republican
Clipse - Wamp Wamp (What It Do)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Gold Lion
Lupe Fiasco - Kick Push
Mr. Lif - For You
Justin Timberlake - My Love