Best of 2014: Music

If 2014 was a lackluster year for film, it was a pretty fantastic one for music, at least from my own vantage point. As the ways in which we consume and discover new music rapidly changes, I can never assume what anyone I know encounters throughout a given year. I also have no idea the best way to present this list to you. YouTube links? A Spotify playlist? Or are you using Rdio? Should I spend an extra hour gathering all the mp3s and uploading a zip file? I don't know, so I'll just do it as I've done in previous years with links to the songs in question (most of which surprisingly didn't come with music videos… maybe I have no idea what makes and what doesn't make a single these days). I wanted to single out the ten albums that got the most rotation from me this year, both to broaden the number of tracks I'm posting but to distinguish a little between the ways in which I personally consumed the 2014 music I came across. This isn't to say that the albums the 20 singles I'm posting below aren't worth your time. It's just that I found myself drawn to the single in question over the actual album—perhaps because I didn't even hear the rest of it.

If I had to choose the best new track I heard in 2014, that honor would go to the first single off the Swedish group Lust for Youth's latest album International: a little ditty called "Epoetin Alfa." I, too, am disappointed at the lack of pop music on the list, but either I missed it (very likely) or 2014 wasn't a good year for it. I actually liked Grimes' summer single "Go," even if it sounded pretty dated and uncool. I'm happy Rihanna passed on it so we could hear Grimes explore her vocal range, and I'm also happy her fans didn't like it, prompting her to trash her album and start fresh. Special mention to two albums I listened to the shit out of that aren't exactly 2014 albums: The Knife's Shaken-Up Versions, which is basically the tour album for their Shaking the Habitual tour (which is also the duo's farewell tour), and Cold Cave's Full Cold Moon, which is really just a compilation of the singles the band released since their last album. For samples of each, check out the lesbian redux of The Knife's classic "Pass This On" featuring Shannon Funchess of Light Asylym and "God Made the World" from Cold Cave. Whatever, I hope all this copying-and-pasting is of some use to you guys. Here's to new PJ Harvey in 2015!

10 Tracks from the 10 Albums I Liked/Listened to Most, No Order:

• "Can't Do Without You" from the album Our Love by Caribou
• "Clearing" from the album Ruins by Grouper
• "New Boys" from the album International by Lust for Youth
• "Dripping" from the album Barragán by Blonde Redhead
• "Words I Don't Remember" from the album "What Is This Heart?" by How to Dress Well
• "Splits Are Parted" from the album Love by Amen Dunes
• "Mr Noah" from the EP Mr Noah by Panda Bear
• "Queen" from the album Too Bright by Perfume Genius
• "Chamber of Reflection" from the album Salad Days by Mac Demarco
• "Human Drama" from the album All Love's Legal by Planningtorock

21 Additional Tunes, Including My Favorite Song of 2014 at the Top

• Lust for Youth - "Epoetin Alfa"
• Trust - "Capitol"
• Sharon Van Etten - "Your Love Is Killing Me"
• Ballet School - "Heartbeat Overdrive"
• Iceage - "Stay"
• Simian Mobile Disco - "Tangents"
• The Brian Jonestown Massacre - "Fist Full of Bees"
• Movement - "Like Lust"
• Todd Terje featuring Bryan Ferry - "Johnny and Mary"
• Swans - "A Little God in My Hands"
• Röyksopp & Robyn - "Monument (T.I.E. Version)"
• Kelis - "Jerk Ribs"
• Hercules and Love Affair featuring John Grant - "I Try to Talk to You"
• Dum Dum Girls - "Lost Boys and Girls Club"
• Heterotic featuring Vezelay - "Rain"
• Azealia Banks - "Soda"
• The War on Drugs - "Under the Pressure"
• Kylie Minogue - "Feels So Good"
• Perfect Pussy - "Interference Fits"
• The Juan MacLean - "I've Waited for So Long"
• Grimes featuring Blood Diamonds - "Go"

Don't You Wish You Never Met Her?

 

As I was scrolling through my shameless social media addiction, Instagram, a friend of mine posted a shot of the album cover for PJ Harvey's Rid of Me (and, oh, what a cover it is!), remarking "still as raw, bracing, and wonderfully unsettling as ever." Though PJ Harvey is never far from my mind on any given day, I was reminded specifically of the first time I ever listened to the album, something I hadn't  thought about in a long while. I probably shouldn't have been operating a motor vehicle at the time, because from the first note of the title track, I was entranced. I remember the exact intersection I was trying to make a left turn at when tears just started pouring down my face as Polly delivered that guts-on-the-floor, earthquake of a wail in the song "Legs." It wasn't that I started weeping; they weren't tears as I had known them before. They were just a way for my body to react/release/process that intensity. I can't think of any other album that opens with a more astonishing hat trick (the title track, "Missed," and of course "Legs") than Rid of Me, but that's just one of the many superlatives I could use when talking about the album I've identified over the past ten years as my undisputed favorite album of all time.

For the invisible man who can sing in a visible voice

March has been a sad month for music lovers, with Alex Chilton, lead singer of Big Star, dying of a heart attack yesterday and Mark Linkous, the mastermind behind Sparklehorse, taking his life over a week ago. Big Star was one of the great American rock bands of the 1970s, headed by Chilton and the tragic, late Chris Bell. While commercial success eluded the group in their heyday, their influence could be heard on countless American rock bands from the mid-1980s on, from R.E.M. to Primal Scream. Chilton's musical legacy was immortalized twice for subsequent generations by Paul Westerberg and his The Replacements' brilliant anthem to the singer, titled simply "Alex Chilton," and Ivo Watts-Russell's 4AD "supergroup" This Mortal Coil, who covered "Kangaroo" (with vocals by Cindytalk lead singer Gordon Sharp) and "Holocaust" (sung by Howard Devoto of The Buzzcocks) on the album It'll End in Tears. A Big Star tribute album was released in 2006, which featured covers by Wilco, The Afghan Whigs, The Posies and Teenage Fanclub. Chilton and Big Star's music started appearing in a number of Gen X films like Noah Baumbach's Kicking and Screaming and Empire Records and more recently in both Adventureland and Thumbsucker.

Mark Linkous was the brains behind Sparklehorse, one of the great, lesser known bands to come out of the mid-90s. Sparklehorse reached its greatest success in 2001 with the album It's a Wonderful Life, which featured guest vocalists PJ Harvey, Tom Waits and Nina Persson of The Cardigans. In 2009, Sparklehorse and Danger Mouse collaborated together on a project entitled Dark Night of the Soul, which was to be accompanied with a photo booklet from David Lynch. The vocalists on the album included Iggy Pop, Persson, Julian Casablancas, Lynch, Frank Black, The Flaming Lips, James Mercer of The Shins, Suzanne Vega and the late Vic Chesnutt. Despite legal troubles with the release, Dark Night of the Soul was available streaming on NPR's website, and it rumored to have an official release sometime this year. A number of musicians have been offering requiems for Linkous, including Steven Drozd, Steve Albini and Patti Smith.

All My Friends: Millennium Mambo, Take 2: Damion Clark

Damion and I met when he was hosting a Queer Film Blog-a-thon two years ago at his old blog Queerying the Apparatus. While I miss visiting his blog, we kept in touch, and he helped me with some source material for my undergraduate thesis last year. He's working on his Ph.D. in English Language and Literature at the University of Maryland. If you're wondering, a mutual love for Bruce LaBruce and PJ Harvey is always a great starting point for a friendship. Thanks, Damion!

Films

01. There Will Be Blood, 2007, d. Paul Thomas Anderson, USA
02. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004, d. Michel Gondry, USA
03. Mulholland Drive, 2001, d. David Lynch, France/USA
04. Bad Education [La mala educación], 2004, d. Pedro Almodóvar, Spain
05. Far from Heaven, 2002, d. Todd Haynes, USA/France
06. No Country for Old Men, 2007, d. Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, USA
07. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days [4 luni, 3 săptămâni şi 2 zile], 2007, d. Cristian Mungiu, Romania
08. Requiem for a Dream, 2000, d. Darren Aronofsky, USA
09. Hedwig and the Angry Inch, 2001, d. John Cameron Mitchell, USA
10. The Royal Tenenbaums, 2001, d. Wes Anderson, USA
11. Dancer in the Dark, 2000, d. Lars von Trier, Denmark/Netherlands/Germany/France/USA/UK/Sweden/Finland/Iceland/Norway
12. Kill Bill, Vol. 1, 2003, d. Quentin Tarantino, USA
13. The Departed, 2006, d. Martin Scorsese, USA/Hong Kong
14. Children of Men, 2006, d. Alfonso Cuarón, UK/USA/Japan
15. United 93, 2006, d. Paul Greengrass, UK/USA/France
16. Mysterious Skin, 2004, d. Gregg Araki, USA/Netherlands
17. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly [Le scaphandre et le papillon], 2007, d. Julian Schnabel, France/USA
18. The Squid and the Whale, 2005, d. Noah Baumbach, USA
19. Let the Right One In [Låt den rätte komma in], 2008, d. Tomas Alfredson, Sweden
20. Good Night, and Good Luck., 2005, d. George Clooney, USA/UK/France/Japan
21. Volver, d. Pedro Almodóvar, 2006, Spain
22. Shortbus, 2006, d. John Cameron Mitchell, USA
23. Where the Wild Things Are, 2009, d. Spike Jonze, USA
24. The Raspberry Reich, 2004, d. Bruce LaBruce, Germany/Canada
25. Secretary, 2002, d. Steven Shainberg, USA

Albums

01. PJ Harvey - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000)
02. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black (2006)
03. Morrissey - You Are the Quarry (2004)
04. Gossip - Music for Men (2009)
05. OutKast - Stankonia (2000)
06. Antony and the Johnsons - Antony and the Johnsons (2000)
07. Coldplay - Parachutes (2000)
08. Radiohead - Kid A (2000)
09. New Order - Get Ready (2001)
10. Johnny Cash - American IV: The Man Comes Around (2002)
11. Jay-Z - The Black Album (2003)
12. Depeche Mode - Playing the Angel (2005)
13. The Killers - Hot Fuss (2004)
14. M.I.A. - Arular (2005)
15. The Bravery - The Bravery (2005)
16. Kylie Minogue - X (2007)
17. Keane - Hopes and Fears (2004)
18. Madonna - Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005)
19. Christina Aguilera - Stripped (2002)
20. Muse - Black Holes and Revelations (2006)

All My Friends: Millennium Mambo, Take 1: Jason Huettner

Jason and I established a cyberspace amity based on two great mutual obsessions: PJ Harvey and queer cinema. He's my go-to man when it comes to PJ news and rumors, a job of no small importance for someone like me. He currently resides in New York City. I'm happy to have Jason as the first entry in this series. Neither of his lists are in preferential order.

On Music: "I hate lists that are aimed at developing some kind of consensus about art. Here are ten albums, in no particular order, released in the 00's that are essential to my 00's experience. This list isn't definitive at all (plenty of other 00's albums that I love).. but all are quality and have sentimental value. The music speaks for itself."

Life Without Buildings - Any Other City (DCBaltimore2012, 2001)
Diamanda Galás - Guilty, Guilty, Guilty (Mute, 2008)
Various Artists - Give Me Love: Songs of the Brokenhearted - Baghdad, 1925-1929 (Honest Jon's, 2008)
Scott Walker - The Drift (4AD, 2006)
Mayyors - Deads 12" (self-released, 2009)
A Frames - "1" (S-S Records, 2002)
Quasimoto - The Unseen (Stones Throw, 2000)
Stars of the Lid - And Their Refinement of the Decline (Kranky, 2007)
The Thing (with Joe McPhee) - She Knows... (Smalltown Superjazz, 2002)
Power Douglas - Pentecostal Fangbread (FiveSix Media, 2008)

On Film: "Again, sentimentality plays a big part here. Picking just ten is hard. I am prone to alarming lapses of taste in films."

Bad Education [La mala educación], 2004, d. Pedro Almodóvar, Spain
Brick, 2005, d. Rian Johnson, USA
Children of Men, 2006, d. Alfonso Cuarón, UK/USA/Japan
Dancer in the Dark, 2000, d. Lars von Trier, Denmark/Netherlands/Germany/France/USA/UK/Sweden/Finland/Iceland/Norway
Eastern Promises, 2007, d. David Cronenberg, UK/Canada
O Fantasma, 2000, d. João Pedro Rodrigues, Portugal
Mulholland Drive, 2001, d. David Lynch, France/USA
Notre musique, 2004, d. Jean-Luc Godard, France/Switzerland
Pan's Labyrinth [El laberinto del Fauno], 2006, d. Guillermo del Toro, Mexico/Spain/USA
The Proposition, 2005, d. John Hillcoat, Australia/UK
The Raspberry Reich, 2004, d. Bruce LaBruce, Germany/Canada
The Royal Tenenbaums, 2001, d. Wes Anderson, USA
Strange Circus, 2005, d. Sion Sono, Japan
There Will Be Blood, 2007, d. Paul Thomas Anderson, USA
Waltz with Bashir, 2008, d. Ari Folman, Israel/Germany/France/USA

The Decade List: Albums/Singles (2007)

I falsely assumed that the closer I got to the present, the bigger the music posts would get... and while 2007 has 120 individual songs singled out, I couldn't find much more than ten, or eleven, albums worth listing as my favorite. Naturally, PJ Harvey's finest offering this decade, the piano-based, moody, stripped-down White Chalk, topped the list. It's perfect timing, seeing as it's been close to two years and a month since White Chalk was released, and I can think of no better autumn album (though the weather here has been more nasty than mild this year).

By limiting his second full-length album to close to half the self-titled's songs, a single disc and a lot less "Daft Punk Is Coming to My House" obnoxiousness, LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy crafted an amazing, layered electronica album in Sound of Silver. The sole pop album, Kylie Minogue's X, felt disappointing upon its release, but, at least for me, has managed to hold up two years later, certainly better than M.I.A.'s Kala, a step up from her debut (aside from the grudgingly overplayed "Paper Planes") but an album whose delights reveal themselves too quickly. No Age's Weirdo Rippers filled in at the eleventh spot as it technically isn't an album as much as it is a compilation of their previous EPs. The rest of the albums below are listed in vague order of preference.

PJ Harvey - White Chalk
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
Blonde Redhead - 23
Beirut - The Flying Club Cup
Benjamin Biolay - Trash yéyé
Justice - † (Cross)
Studio - Yearbook 1
Kylie Minogue - X
Montag - Going Places
M.I.A. - Kala
No Age - Weirdo Rippers*

Assorted Jams for the Year 2007

Again, I've singled out the best songs, in my not-so-humble, extremely-biased opinion. Below you'll find the Top 35, an arbitrary round-ish number, in descending order of preference. Below that you'll find 85 more songs, not organized in any way. Strangely, I have little to say this year.

I will, however, point you to some of the more impressive music videos (some of which weren't released until 2008 with the actual single). Naturally, Feist's lovely "1234" [d. Patrick Daughters], Kanye West's "Flashing Lights" [d. Spike Jonze], Justice's "D.A.N.C.E." [d. Jonas & François] (which was nominated for MTV's Video Music Award for Best Video, only to lose to Rihanna's "Umbrella." Similar to the year the Academy nominated David Lynch for Mulholland Drive, MTV should have just not nominated the video if they weren't going to give it to them), Björk's "Dull Flame of Desire" featuring Antony Hegarty [d. Christoph Jantos, Masahiro Mogari, Marçal Cuberta Juncà] (a collaborative video combining three fan-submitted ideas that works rather seamlessly) and M.I.A.'s "Jimmy" [d. Nezar Khammal].

Special mention for two live-recorded Beirut videos, for "Nantes" and "Cliquout" (with Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear lending his vocals instead of Zach). And for the person who got Beyoncé and Shakira to look like the same damn person!

The Top 35

PJ Harvey - "Dear Darkness" [White Chalk]
LCD Soundsystem - "All My Friends" [Sound of Silver]
Beirut - "Nantes" [The Flying Club Cup]
Björk featuring Antony Hegarty - "Dull Flame of Desire" [Volta]
of Montreal - "The Past Is a Grotesque Animal" [Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?] (note that the link is not the full 12-minute track]
Blonde Redhead - "23" [23]
Architecture in Helsinki - "Heart It Races" [Places Like This]
Jens Lekman - "A Postcard to Nina" [Night Falls Over Kortedala]
Yelle - "Ce jeu" [Pop up]
Dizzee Rascal - "Pussyole (Oldskool)" [Maths + English]
Róisín Murphy - "Overpowered" [Overpowered]
Kanye West - "Flashing Lights" [Graduation]
Feist - "I Feel It All" [The Reminder]
Studio - "No Comply" [Yearbook 1]
Animal Collective - "Fireworks" [Strawberry Jam]
PJ Harvey - "The Mountain" [White Chalk]
Beirut - "Cliquot" [The Flying Club Cup]
Shellac - "End of Radio" [Excellent Italian Greyhound]
Justice - "Genesis" [†]
M.I.A. - "Bamboo Banga" [Kala]
Electrelane - "To the East" [No Shouts No Calls]
No Age - "Every Artist Needs a Tragedy" [Weirdo Rippers]
Benjamin Biolay - "Dans la Merco Benz" [Trash yéyé]
Kylie Minogue - "Stars" [X]
!!! - "Heart of Hearts" [Myth Takes]
Chromatic - "In the City" [After Dark, compilation] (the video is an abridged version)
Escort - "All Through the Night" [All Through the Night EP]
Montag - ">(Plus grand que)" [Going Places]
Simian Mobile Disco - "I Believe" [Attack Decay Sustain Release]
Kevin Drew - "TBTF" [Spirit If...]
Mark Ronson featuring Amy Winehouse (though not in the video) - "Valerie" [Version]
Aesop Rock - "None Shall Pass" [None Shall Pass]
Timbaland featuring Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake - "Give It to Me" [Shock Value]
Air Formation - "Adrift" [Daylight Storms]
Rihanna featuring Jay-Z - "Umbrella" [Good Girl Gone Bad] (also worth listening to: the Umbrella/Cinderella Remix featuring Jay-Z, Chris Brown, Young Platinum & Lil' Mama; I don't know from where it originates, likely an online mash-up of the various remixes)


Les autres 85

Dr. Dog - "Heart It Races" [Architecture in Helsinki - Heart It Races single]
PJ Harvey - "Liverpool Tide" [The Devil single]
Spoon - "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb" [Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga]
LCD Soundsystem - "Get Innocuous!" [Sound of Silver]
Feist - "1234" [The Reminder]
Rekid - "Next Stop Chicago" [Next Stop Chicago]
King Khan & The Shrines - "Le fils de Jacques Dutronc" [What Is?!]
Jens Lekman - "The Opposite of Hallelujah" [Night Falls Over Kortedala]
Beyoncé & Shakira - "Beautiful Liar" [Beautiful Liar single]
Timbaland featuring Keri Hilson & D.O.E. - "The Way I Are" [Shock Value]
Le loup - "We Are Gods! We Are Wolves!" [The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly]


Kylie Minogue - "Wow" [X]
Pieter Nooten - "Head Circles About the Body" [Ourspace]
Deerhunter - "Wash Off" [Fluorescent Grey EP]
Lil' Mama - "Lip Gloss" [Lip Gloss single]
Radiohead - "Reckoner" [In Rainbows]
Blonde Redhead - "Spring and by Summer Fall" [23]
Montag - "No One Else" [Going Places]
No Age - "Neck Escaper" [Weirdo Rippers]
Efterklang - "Mirador" [Parades]
Rich Boy featuring Polow Da Don - "Throw Some D's" [Rich Boy]
PJ Harvey - "Silence" [White Chalk]


Ra Ra Riot - "Dying Is Fine" [Ra Ra Riot EP]
Justice - "D.A.N.C.E." [†]
Deerhunter - "Cryptograms" [Cryptograms]
Matthew Dear - "Deserter" [Asa Breed]
Carla Bruni - "Those Dancing Days Are Gone" [No Promises]
Caribou - "Melody Day" [Andorra]
Rihanna - "Please Don't Stop the Music" [Good Girl Gone Bad]
Benjamin Biolay - "Dans ta bouche" [Trash yéyé]
Beirut - "Cherbourg" [The Flying Club Cup]
Mark Ronson featuring Daniel Merriweather - "Stop Me" [Version]
The National - "Fake Empire" [Boxer]


BARR - "The Song Is the Single" [Summary]
Kylie Minogue - "2 Hearts" [X]
Apostle of Hustle - "My Sword Hand's Anger" [National Anthem of Nowhere]
The Clientele - "Bookshop Casanova" [God Save The Clientele]
Étienne Daho - "L'invitation" [L'invitation]
Eve featuring Sean Paul - "Give It to You" [Give It to You single]
Yeasayer - "Wait for Summer" [All Hour Symbols]
Tracey Thorn - "It's All True" [Out of the Woods]
Tegan and Sara - "Back in Your Head" [The Con]
The Honeydrips - "Fall from a Height" [Here Comes the Future]


Yoko Ono - "Walking on Thin Ice (Pet Shop Boys Electro Remix)" [on both Ono's Open Your Box and Pet Shop Boys' Disco Four]
José González - "How Low" [In Our Nature]
Studio - "West Side" [from Yearbook 1]
Jay-Z featuring Beanie Sigel - "Ignorant Shit" [American Gangster]
Interpol - "The Scale" [Our Love to Admire]
The Shins - "Sleeping Lessons" [Wincing the Night Away] (I hate the lyrics to this song, but it's undeniably pretty hard to resist otherwise)
Glass Candy - "Beatific" [B/E/A/T/B/O/X]
Arcade Fire - "Black Mirror" [Neon Bible]
Queens of the Stone Age - "Sick, Sick, Sick" [Era Vulgaris]
M.I.A. - "20 Dollar" [Kala]


Vera November - "Our Last Night Together" [Four Songs by Arthur Russell compilation]
Mark Ronson featuring Tiggers & Ol' Dirty Bastard - "Toxic" [Version]
Yeasayer - "Sunrise" [All Hour Symbols]
Kylie Minogue - "Like a Drug" [X]
Jens Lekman - "A Little Lost" [Four Songs by Arthur Russell compilation]
Bon Iver - "Flume" [For Emma, Forever Ago]
Pieter Nooten - "Stop Time" [Ourspace]
Mika - "Grace Kelly" [Life in Cartoon Motion]
Kanye West - "Stronger" [Graduation]
Montag - "Softness, I Forgot Your Name" [Going Places]


Sophie Ellis-Bextor - "Me and My Imagination" [Trip the Light Fantastic]
Benjamin Biolay - "Bien avant" [Trash yéyé]
Kevin Drew - "Back Out on the..." [Spirit If...]
Pinback - "Kylie" [Autumn of the Seraphs, bonus track]
Electrelane - "The Greater Times" [No Shouts No Calls]
José González - "Teardrop" [In Our Nature]
Alicia Keys - "No One" [As I Am]
Björk - "Wanderlust" [Volta]
LCD Soundsystem - "Someone Great" [Sound of Silver]
Justin Currie - "Still in Love" [What Is Love]
Yelle - "Je veux te voir" [Pop up]


Pantha du Prince - "Saturn Strobe" [This Bliss]
Shannon Wright - "Everybody's Got Their Own Part to Play" [Let in the Light]
The Field - "A Paw in My Face" [From Here We Go Sublime]
Hilary Duff - "With Love" [Dignity] (Obviously I have none)
Ted Leo and The Pharmacists - "La Costa Brava" [Living with the Living]
Band of Horses - "Is There a Ghost" [Cease to Begin]
Burial - "Archangel" [Untrue]
Dirty Projectors - "Rise Above" [Rise Above]
Kylie Minogue - "Sensitized" [X]
Glass Candy - "Candy Castle" [B/E/A/T/B/O/X]
Soulja Boy Tell 'Em featuring Arab - "Yahh!" [souljaboytellem.com] (Super fucking annoying)

The Decade List: Albums/Singles (2006)

When I mentioned in the 2005 edition of Albums/Singles that another of my favorite albums of the remaining four years was likely going to align with Pitchfork's choice, 2006 was the year. The Knife's Silent Shout is an album to be reckoned with, one that I'm still unable to rid from my mind. It's the sort of album that serves as a teleportation device for the mind, soaring it into uncharted landscapes and rhythms. Its sonic pulsations are still likely to send chills down my back, in a much different way than the Dreijer siblings have managed before. Though Silent Shout produced four singles, none even tried to call to mind their wildly successful "Heartbeats;" for the reclusive brother-sister pair, Silent Shout returned them into the tenebrosity they'd always preferred. Silent Shout is a luminous and terrifying creature, certain to appear in the upper tier of my official Decade List album ranking come December.

As for the rest, I've "fudged" a bit on some of these. I suppose technically Tom Waits' Orphans is more of a compilation than a 3-disc album. That sort of leeway was granted unfairly to a few others, some of which showed up (Massive Attack's "Silent Spring" with Liz Fraser, PJ Harvey's Peel Session version of "You Come Through," Pinback's "Versailles" off a collection of B-sides and rarities), some of which didn't (I omitted anything off Broadcast's The Future Crayon simply because I didn't have space for them). There are a number of other factors I didn't care enough about to adjust, such as my preference of The Hidden Cameras' Learning the Lie EP from 2005 over their LP Awoo from '06, which features a lot of the same songs re-polished, and the inclusion of Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová's The Swell Season, which is comprised mostly of songs from the film Once which probably should go along with the film music post I'm working on. With 2006, it's become clear to me the supreme importance of the few people who have shaped my musical awareness and taste for the past several years. So, a lot of credit goes to Bradford and Mike for leading me down the right path(s).

Honorable mention should be given to the Pet Shop Boys' Fundamental, Bat for Lashes' Fur and Gold, Sonic Youth's Rather Ripped and Peter Bjorn and John's Writer's Block. The albums are in loose descending order, with the number 1 as the only absolute.

The Knife - Silent Shout
Sally Shapiro - Disco Romance
Tom Waits - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
The Radio Dept. - Pet Grief
Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
Beirut - Gulag Orkestar
Junior Boys - So This Is Goodbye
Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová - The Swell Season
TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds
The Hidden Cameras - Awoo
Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
Lily Allen - Alright, Still
Adem - Love and Other Planets
Psychic Ills - Dins

Assorted Jams for the Year 2006

Again, I've placed significance on the singles which made the deepest impression on me. This time around, I've ranked the top 30 and left the additional 70 in no particular order. There are, of course, some annotations to a few of them. Quite a few have incredible videos to accompany them, so if the art of the music video is your thing, check out The Knife's "We Share Our Mothers' Health," Gnarls Barkley's Zelig-inspired "Smiley Faces," Kelis' "Bossy" (yes, really), the Pet Shop Boys' "I'm with Stupid" starring the boys from Little Britain as Neil and Chris, Bat for Lashes' "What's a Girl to Do?" and The Hidden Cameras' "Death of a Tune."

Naturally, not all of the videos are as good as their respective songs. Overlong, non-musical narratives appear to have been in fashion in 2006, the worst of which being Busta Rhymes' send-up of Mr. & Mrs. Smith for "I Love My Bitch," which was known in MTV world as "I Love My Chick." It's joyless, unclever and finds the idea of replacing Kelis, the titular "bitch/chick," with actress Gabrielle Union for the video to be an acceptable one (it's not). "I love my baby" just doesn't have the same ring as "I love my nigga."

And yes, I'm aware of the ridiculousness of including Beyoncé's "Ring the Alarm," off her curiously titled album B'Day (I guess no one alerted her to the homophonous connection one could make with a device used to clean one's anus and genitalia). I must still cling to defensiveness in regard to my guilt-free love of pop music. Hopefully by next month I won't even have to address it. The songs without links weren't mistakenly left without them; I just couldn't uncover them streaming anywhere and didn't feel like mentioning it every time. Enjoy.

The Top 30

The Knife - "We Share Our Mothers' Health" [from Silent Shout]
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - "Strange Form of Life" [from The Letting Go]
Sufjan Stevens - "Sister Winter" [from Songs for Christmas]
Justin Timberlake featuring T.I. - "My Love" [from FutureSex/LoveSounds]
Bat for Lashes - "Trophy" [from Fur and Gold]
The Hidden Cameras - "Learning the Lie" [from Awoo]
Gnarls Barkley - "Smiley Faces" [from St. Elsewhere]
The Knife - "The Captain" [from Silent Shout]
The Radio Dept. - "The Worst Taste in Music" [from Pet Grief]
Grizzly Bear - "Easier" [from Yellow House]
Sally Shapiro - "I Know" [from Disco Romance]
Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová - "The Moon" [from The Swell Season]
TV on the Radio - "Wolf Like Me" [from Return to Cookie Mountain]
Tom Waits - "2:19" [from Orphans]
Pinback - "Versailles" [from Nautical Antiques]
Hot Chip - "And I Was a Boy from School" [from The Warning]
Cat Power - "The Greatest" [from The Greatest]
Ellen Allien & Apparat - "Way Out" [from Orchestra of Bubbles] (thanks, Jordany!)
Rihanna - "SOS" [from A Girl Like Me]
The Gothic Archies - "Crows" [from The Tragic Treasury: Songs from "A Series of Unfortunate Events"]
Lily Allen - "Smile" [from Alright, Still]
Kelis featuring Too $hort - "Bossy" [from Kelis Was Here]
Beirut - "Rhineland (Heartland)" [from Gulag Orkestar]
Amy Winehouse - "Me and Mr. Jones" [from Back to Black]
Elvis Perkins - "Moon Woman II" [from Ash Wednesday]
Peter Bjorn and John - "Amsterdam" [from Writer's Block]
Junior Boys - "So This Is Goodbye" [from So This Is Goodbye]
Beyoncé - "Irreplaceable" [from B'Day]
Adem - "Launch Yourself" [from Love and Other Planets]
Pet Shop Boys - "I'm with Stupid" [from Fundamental]

Les autres

Oakenfold featuring Brittany Murphy - "Faster Kill Pussycat" [from Faster Kill Pussycat]
Massive Attack featuring Elizabeth Fraser - "Silent Spring" [from Collected]
Albert Hammond, Jr. - "Cartoon Music for Superheroes" [from Yours to Keep]
Bat for Lashes - "What's a Girl to Do?" [from Fur and Gold]
Psychic Ills - "Another Day Another Night" [from Dins]
Grizzly Bear - "Sure Thing" [from the Sorry for the Delay EP]
The Knife - "Neverland" [from Silent Shout]
The Rapture - "Get Myself Into It" [from Pieces of the People We Love]
Busta Rhymes featuring Kelis and will.i.am - "I Love My Bitch" [from The Big Bang]
Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton - "Crowd Surf Off a Cliff" [from Knives Don't Have Your Back]

Archie Bronson Outfit - "Cherry Lips" [from Derdang Derdang]
Grizzly Bear - "Knife" [from Yellow House]
Prince - "Black Sweat" [from 3121]
T.I. - "Why You Wanna" [from King]
Sufjan Stevens - "Star of Wonder" [from Songs for Christmas]
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - "Deus Ibi Est" [from Ballad of the Broken Seas]
Christina Aguilera - "Candyman" [from Back to Basics]
Band of Horses - "The Funeral" [from Everything All the Time]
Sally Shapiro - "I'll Be by Your Side" [from Disco Romance]
Danielson - "Did I Step on Your Trumpet?" [from Ships]

The Radio Dept. - "It's Personal" [from Pet Grief]
Sonic Youth - "Jams Run Free" [from Rather Ripped]
Beirut - "Bratislava" [from Gulag Orkestar]
Nouvelle Vague (vocals by Mélanie Pain) - "Dance with Me" [from Bande à part] (I'm not terribly sure whether this is a fan video or not, but Anna Karina dancing to this is just lovely)
Kelis - "Trilogy" [from Kelis Was Here]
The Knife - "Silent Shout" [from Silent Shout]
Hilary Duff - "Play with Fire (Richard Vission Remix)" [from the Play with Fire promo single] (This verse-free, loud remix is the only way to listen to this or any other Hilary Duff song... if only this was the direction her music career was heading...)
French Kicks - "So Far We Are" [from Two Thousand]
The Speakers - "The Mountain Tomb" [from Yeats Is Greats]
Xzibit - "Family Values" [from Full Circle]

Justin Timberlake - "FutureSex/LoveSound" [from FutureSex/LoveSounds]
The Black Angels - "The Prodigal Son" [from Passover]
Beyoncé - "Ring the Alarm" [from B'Day]
Soundpool - "On High" [from On High]
Lily Allen - "Knock 'em Out" [from Alright, Still]
Air France - "Beach Party" [from On Trade Winds]
The Zutons - "Valerie" [from Tired of Hanging Around]
Alcian Blue - "See You Shine" [from Alcian Blue]
Nelly Furtado - "Maneater" [from Loose]
Teddybears - "Alma" [from Soft Machine]

PJ Harvey - "You Come Through (Peel Session)" [from The Peel Sessions: 1991-2004]
Junior Boys - "The Equalizer" [from So This Is Goodbye]
Robin Guthrie - "Darkness of the Heart" [from Waiting for Dawn]
Grizzly Bear - "On a Neck, On a Spit" [from Yellow House]
Ludacris featuring Pharrell - "Money Maker" [from Release Therapy]
Awesome Color - "Grown" [from Awesome Color]
Amy Winehouse - "You Know I'm No Good" [from Back to Black]
Cold War Kids - "Hang Me Up to Dry" [from Robbers & Cowards]
Unk - "Walk It Out" [from Beat'n Down Yo Block] (forever linked with that amazing Bob Fosse dance trio)
Tom Waits - "Bottom of the World" [from Orphans]

Vapnet - "Thoméegränd" [from Jag vet hur man väntar]
Mos Def - "Crime & Medicine" [from True Magic]
Thom Yorke - "The Eraser" [from The Eraser]
The Hidden Cameras - "Death of a Tune" [from Awoo]
Grizzly Bear - "Particular to What?" [from the Sorry for the Delay EP]
Cat Power - "Lived in Bars" [from The Greatest]
Adem - "Crashlander" [from Love and Other Planets]
Peter Bjorn and John - "Up Against the Wall" [from Writer's Block]
Eagles of Death Metal - "I Want You So Hard (Boy's Bad News)" [from Death by Sexy...]
Christina Aguilera - "Ain't No Other Man" [from Back to Basics]

Cazwell - "All Over Your Face" [from Get Into It]
Gnarls Barkley - "Crazy" [from St. Elsewhere]
Grant-Lee Phillips - "Under the Milky Way" [from Nineteeneighties]
Asobi Seksu - "Thursday" [from Citrus]
Gwen Stefani featuring Akon - "The Sweet Escape" [from The Sweet Escape]
Charlotte Gainsbourg - "The Songs That We Sing" [from 5:55]
TV on the Radio - "I Was a Lover" [from Return to Cookie Mountain]
Tom Waits - "Children's Story" [from Orphans]
Phoenix - "Long Distance Call" [from It's Never Been Like That]
Grizzly Bear - "Colorado" [from Yellow House]