Charles Mininger

1. Darker Than Blue -- Soul From Jamdown 1973-1980

Classic soul and R&B from the 70s reinterpreted as
reggae songs. The song selections have a strong
militant, black power bent. Best cut…..War's
"Slipping Into Darkness" sung by Carl Bradney and
produced by Scratch Perry ..it burns.

2. Roots – Game Theory – Listened to this for two
weeks straight. Favorite song, ‘long time’.

3. Eccentric Soul -- The Deep City Label

From the vaults of the Deep City Label, musicians,
many of whom were members of Florida A&M’s marching
100 lay down some driving soul and R&B, much of which
none of us have ever heard before.

3. Donny Hathaway – Everything is everything

4. K os – Joyful Rebellion –

MC from Canada comes to save the hip-hop

5. Black Uhuru – Red
6. The Band – Last Waltz

I really don’t want to hear it. Yes it’s old and no I
just didn’t discover it. Anyways, Muddy Waters, Van
Morrison, Mavis Staples, Dr. John, and many more, plus
The Band. I like it.

7. Allan Brothers – Live at Fillmore East –

I don’t care, I like it.

8. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, are you the Destroyer
–

Songs 5 and 6 is top notch, I poop on the rest
of the album.

9. Radiodread –

Turns OK computer into a dub and reggae album... very
nice.

10. Brenda Russell – Greatest Hits

Piano in the Dark is my jam!!

Rick Sieber

Best of 2007 (So Far)

Here is my mid-year report, highly subject to change by the end of the year. I’ve limited my lists to those albums that were officially released before June 30. Look for a major list shake-up once albums from Spoon, New Pornographers, Interpol, PJ Harvey & Radiohead arrive, and once I make good on my resolution to listen to more hip-hop. Many thanks to all of the friends and critics who introduced me to much of this music.

Albums:

1. Tones of Town – Field Music
2. Wincing the Night Away – The Shins
3. Sound of Silver – LCD Soundsystem
4. The Good, the Bad, & the Queen – The Good, the Bad, & the Queen
5. Never Hear the End of It – Sloan
6. Memory Almost Full – Paul McCartney
7. Neon Bible – Arcade Fire
8. Sky Blue Sky – Wilco
9. The Far Now – David Kilgour
10. Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? – Of Montreal

Bubbling Under:

God Save the Clientele – The Clientele

Back Numbers – Dean & Britta

Traffic & Weather – Fountains of Wayne

Release the Stars – Rufus Wainwright

Writer’s Block – Peter, Bjorn, & John

Tracks:

1. “Ever Present Past” – Paul McCartney
2. “No Cars Go” – Arcade Fire
3. “Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse” – Of Montreal
4. “North American Scum” – LCD Soundsystem
5. “Sea Legs” – The Shins
6. “Plasticities” – Andrew Bird
7. “Rehab” – Amy Winehouse
8. “Disaster” – The Besnard Lakes
9. “Between My Legs” – Rufus Wainwright
10. “Grace Kelly” – Mika

Bubbling Under:

“A House is Not A Home” – Field Music

“Someone Great” – LCD Soundsystem

“Cryptograms” – Deerhunter

“Amsterdam” – Peter, Bjorn, & John

“Someone to Love” – Fountains of Wayne

Vinay Kini

hey. for the mid-year list i shall only post albums. that is my
policy. of laziness. here they are.

1) Lil' Wayne - Da Drought 3
2) Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity
3) Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
4) The Field - From Here We Go To Sublime
5) Blonde Redhead - 23
6) Fujiya and Miyagi - Transparent Things
7) Dalek - Abondoned Language
8) Amon Tobin - Foley Room
9) LCD Soundsystem - SOund of Silver
10) El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead

Lucas' Mid-Year Best of List (So Far) 2007

Albums:
1. Spoon - Ga, Ga, Ga, Ga (Advance Copy)
2. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
3. The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
4. The New Pornographers - Challengers (Advance Copy)
5. Justice - "Cross"
6. The National - Boxer
7. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
8. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
9. Interpol - Our Love to Admire (Advance Copy)
10. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

Honorable Mention:
Field Music - Tones of Town
Elliott Smith - New Moon
The Clientele - God Save the Clientele
Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full

Songs:
1. Give It To Me - Timbaland, feat. Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake
2. The Underdog - Spoon
3. North American (Scum) - LCD Soundsystem
4. No Cars Go - Arcade Fire
5. Genesis - Justice
6. Failsafe - The New Pornographers
7. Going To A Town - Rufus Wainwright
8. Rehab - Amy Winehouse
9. Fiery Crash - Andrew Bird
10. Fake Empire - The National

Honorable Mention:
Working to Work - Field Music
Restless - UNKLE (Advance Copy)
The Pills Won't Help You Now - Chemical Brothers (Advance Copy)
All the Things That Go To Make Heaven And Earth - The New Pornographers (Advance Copy)
(Mainly for the Brian Eno-esque synth circa. Roxy Music-Roxy Music "Virginia Plain" My favorite Roxy Music song of all time.)

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

Charles Mininger

Here are my discoveries for the year. I got into some
roots reggae and some world music stuff. Ngungi is
from my Mom tribe, the Hip-Hops is stright up tight,
Vinay is right on that Mike Jones... That song will
make the meekest person feel as thought he can walk
through walls. I love Paul Wall! Justin Timberlake
makes me dance like Michael used to back in the day.
The rest is some old business that I kind of started
digging as of late. Here it is:


1) Still Tippin..Mike Jones - Quit being white and
just listen... word to vinay
2) Running Away - Roy Ayers
3) Ngungi - Franco (He is from my Mom's tribe,
Bakongo, he is a semi god...Died of AIDS in the late
1990's) and Rochereau
4) Mega - Antipop Consortium-Hip-Hop and
Opera...respect
5) Open up the Gate - The Congos - Transcendent!!!!!
6) Water no get no Enemy - Fela............
7) Can You Get to That - Funkadelic
8) She Will be Loved - Maroon Five...Make fun.... but
fuck you
9)Right Time - Mighty Diamnonds - Lucas we actually
saw these guys in Seattle way when... Album is genius
10) Signs- Snoop Dogg, Charlies Wilson (Gap Band) and
Justin Timberlake.....Tight

Addendum:

Fishscale - Ghostface Killah....Wu-Tang lives
Sexyback - Timberlake is hot, seriously, finally a Michael Jackson for the new millenium, and he's white....awesome

Nickel For Your Thoughts

Since it seemed to be such a hugely wild or wildly huge success last year, we'll give it another try for 2-o-o-6. This year, we won't just limit it to albums and singles. Do lists for any range of things that pertain to this year that was, but try to include a list of albums and singles if you can. Maybe you saw 10 really good films this year that you'd like to let us know about. Maybe you really got into NASCAR and you'd like to list your top 10 drivers that didn't make the Nextel Cup Race. Whatever it may be, you can surely post it here.

Megan Ramer

A List by Megan Ramer, a good friend that currently resides in Chicago. She has submitted her own description and disclaimer.

Megan’s Top (& only) Eleven of 2005…

These are really the only 2005 releases I added to my collection this year. This list, therefore, doesn’t so much reflect my favorites out of a much larger pool of candidates so much as it reflects artists I consistently like, or shows I went to see, or new stuff that happened to grab my attention for one reason or another. They appear more or less in order from 1 to 11, though I really suck at this top-ten list thing. In a certain mood or environment, nothing will beat Sinead’s collaborations with the likes of Massive Attack, Afro Celt Sound System, Asian Dub Foundation, The The, etc.

Franz Ferdinand – You Could Have It So Much Better

Clem Snide – End of Love

The Long Winters – Ultimatum (EP)

Kelly Joe Phelps – Tap the Red Cane Whirlwind

Sufjan Stevens – Come On! Feel The Illinoise!

Moby – Hotel

The Posies – Every Kind of Light

Jackstraw – Rubber Wheels

Iron & Wine – Woman King (EP)

Ten Cent Redemption – Worst Plan Ever

Sinead O’Connor – Collaborations

Amber Friesen

Finally, a list from a woman. Thanks, Amber, for taking the risk:

madonna - confessions on a dance floor
jump

sufjan stevens - illinois
john wayne gacy, jr.

stars - set yourself on fire
your ex-lover is dead

sufjan stevens - illinois
chicago

stellastar* - harmonies for the haunted
lost in time

annie - anniemal
chewing gum

calexico and iron & wine - in the reins
16, maybe less

deathcab for cutie - plans
your heart is an empty room

spoon - gimme fiction
the beast and dragon, adored

clap your hands say yeah - clap your hands say yeah
let the cool goddess rust away

Matt Wiens

Matt Wiens sends us his lists from NYC where he is attending NYU for Film Scoring:

Good Albums:
Broken Social Scene – Broken Social Scene
Transistor Radio – M. Ward
Jacksonville City Nights – Ryan Adams & The Cardinals
Black Sheep Boy – Okkervil River

Interesting Singles:
Hide And Seek – Imogen Heap (Best Use Of A Vocoder)
Mushaboom – Feist (Best Use Of Hand Claps)
Magnetized – Laura Veirs (Best Use Of The Word “Zirconium”)
Great God Bird – Sufjan Stevens (Best Song About A Woodpecker)

Ryan Osborne

This is a list of favorite songs from Ryan Osborne, who is much more into singles than albums. Ryan has even added notation to accompany his list:

Tired of Being Sorry -- Ringside
-- under-rated, clap, clap, clap-clap-clap...

Trapped in the Closet -- R Kelly
-- how we all feel sometimes, surely

These Words (I Love You, I Love You) -- Natasha Bedingfield
-- makes me want to get up and dance. literally, dance.

Unplayed Piano -- Damien Rice
-- not sure if this came out this year, but I listened to it a lot

Beast and Dragon, Adored -- Spoon
-- reminds me why I still make rock music

Hollaback Girl, Cool -- Gwen Stefani
-- this my shhhh, this my shhhh

Oh Mandy -- The Spinto Band
-- i was on this tip at least a month before the commercial

Rick Sieber

This list is from Rick Sieber, perhaps the inspiration for this blog. His care in listmaking is second to none, and his knowledge of music almost the same.

Top 10 Albums

Blinking Lights & Other Revelations – The Eels
Twin Cinema – The New Pornographers
Gimme Fiction – Spoon
Oceans Apart – The Go-Betweens
The Woods – Sleater-Kinney
Guero – Beck
At the National Grid – The Bats
Get Behind Me Satan – The White Stripes
Man Made – Teenage Fanclub
Come On, Feel the Illinoise! – Sufjan Stevens

Top 10 Songs

“Use It” – The New Pornographers
“Maureen” – Fountains of Wayne
“Darlinghurst Nights” – The Go-Betweens
“Heard ‘Em Say” – Kanye West
“Chicago” – Sufjan Stevens
“16 Military Wives” – The Decemberists
“Feel Good Inc.” – Gorillaz
“1 Thing” – Amerie
“Your Little Hoodrat Friend” – The Hold Steady
“Since K Got Over Me” – The Clientele

Vinay Kini

Our third submission is from Vinay Kini. Vinay is currently a Med School Student at Temple University. As a former DJ during his undergrad years, Vinay has formulated an extensive backlog of musical tastes. Here are his lists:

albums, in no particular order:
MIA - Arular
Common - Be
Kanye West - Late Registration
LCD Soundsystem - s/t
Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary
The Go Team - Thunder Lightning Strike
Ladytron - Witching Hour
Various - Run the Road
Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock and Roll
M83 - Before the Dawn Heals Us

singles, no order:
The Game - Hate it or Love it
Kanye - Heard 'Em Say
Common - Be
MIA - Galang
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - The Skin of My Yellow
Country Teeth
Three 6 Mafia - Stay Fly
Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc.
LCD Soundsystem - Tribulations
Mike Jones feat. Paul Wall - Still Tippin'
Ladytron - Destroy Everything You Touch

D. Lucas Swartzendruber Landis

Here's my music lists:

Album List:

1. M.I.A. – Arular
2. Sufjan Stevens – (Come on Feel the) Illinois
3. Wolf Parade – Apologies to the Queen Mary
4. Spoon – Gimmie Fiction
5. The Eels – Blinking Lights And Other Revelations
6. The Gorillaz – Demon Days
7. The Go! Team – Thunder, Lightening, Strike
8. Isolee – We Are Monster
9. Coldplay – X&Y
10. Ladytron – Witching Hour


Honorable Mention: Elbow – Leaders of the Free World, Madonna – Confessions on a Dance Floor, Depeche Mode – Playing the Angel.

Songs List:

1. Hung Up – Madonna
2. Galang – M.I.A.
3. Galvanize – Chemical Brothers
4. Feel Good, Inc. – The Gorillaz
5. A Pain That I’m Used To – Depeche Mode
6. Grounds For Divorce – Wolf Parade
7. Hollaback Girl – Gwen Stefani
8. Speed of Sound - Coldplay
9. John Wayne Gacy – Sufjan Stevens
10. I summon you – Spoon