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)