When my esteemed colleague the Co-Assistant Music Editor – Under Junior Assistant Music Editor, and he knows it – DJRadiohead was asked to perform the laborious and thankless task of compiling the official BC Magazine Best Albums of 2006 I knew that I wouldn’t agree with any of the choices. Not because they are wrong but simply because I have better taste than… well certainly better than the DJ’s, who is - as he himself will admit - the sniveling, weasly Peter Pettigrew to Guster’s Voldemort. (Side note: This is all good natured teasing on my part — I absolutely adore DJRadiohead, he is the best of men! Guster, however, are the Voldemort of music and they have DJR under their spell.)
So with that in mind I began to think of all the albums I had gotten this year. It has been a lean year in the fabulous albums category, that’s for sure — whether that’s because record labels aren’t getting it, that we don’t want that middle of the road, homogeneous, committee-chosen crap, or that the few actually talented artists out there either didn’t release albums this year or what they did release wasn’t good enough. So here is Assistant Music Editor A.L. Harper’s list of the ten best albums of the year – in my humble but professional opinion.
10. Veneer - Jose Gonzalez
Listening to Veneer is like dreaming with your ears. Acoustic guitar so softly played, so bare, everything else just seems like unnecessary clutter. Perfectly plucked Spanish guitar, haunting, exhaled vocals, and naked lyrics. What more do you need in a dream? Every track is stunning, honest and exposed music. If this album has any weakness it is that the first half is slightly stronger than the second but when something is so good there just isn’t a bad.
Veneer is a must-have for lying in front of a fire reading a book, or lying in the bathtub with a glass of wine, or lying in the garden in my hammock on a warm breezy summer afternoon, or for dancing, swaying back and forth, wrapped, naked, in the arms of your lover. I can’t think of a time when you couldn’t enjoy Veneer.
9. No Disassemble - Slow Runner
This debut album from the South Carolina-based band Slow Runner sounds like Grandaddy’s grandson. With a retro-swish sound and look, they are a hard band to pin down. Slow Runner are what happens when Star Wars fans grow up and get funky. They sound like the movie The Iron Giant looks. Retro - late '50s, early '60s - beat poet, with a bit of Johnny Number Five thrown in. The odd sounding bleeps, blips, and bloops that are scattered throughout the album give the tracks a funky sound and unique charm.
Article comments
1 - M.D. Sandwasher
Excellent Best of List.
I totally agree with Iggy Pop's work with the Teddybears. When I first heard the song, I couldn't believe that was Iggy. I didn't think he still had it in him.
2 - A.L. Harper
Iggy is brill on Punkrocker. Best thing he has done in ages!
3 - D'oh
Another one that has forgotten 10,000 Days by TooL
But that's ok, I'll just add it here for you.
Give it a listen, and be amazed.
4 - Al Barger
"Stupid Girls" is a fine song as music - melody, rhythm and harmony, stuff like that. It's also a good, well-focused lyric seriously challenging the culture and behaviors of her own audience. She's saying something important at the significant risk of alienating part of her audience.
But this lyric Miss Harper quotes for "Dear Mr President" is crap. Now, I hate Bush as bad as the next guy, but direct political polemics generally make for poor songwriting craft. As is common for such things, this is just typical leftwing boilerplate that doesn't adhere as any kind of cohesive artistic statement. She could have just as well said simply "Bush sucks" over and over and left it at that.
Also, specifically the business about how Bush would hate his daughter if she were gay is just a complete malicious fabrication. No Bush has been anti-gay. It's just dumb and dishonest to say that. But Bush is a bad guy, so it's ok to just make up any old evil dumb crap on him, cause he deserves it. Indeed, it'll automatically rate your pedestrian song as a Major Artistic Statement.
Which is not to say that Bush can't be usefully and memorably criticized artistically. WAY the best artistic bashing of W that I've seen is through The Boondocks. The worse than worthless heir Ed Wuntzler III is a danger to humanity playing gangster with family immunity insulating him from all the damage he does. Note his big gold "W" bling hanging around his neck as he goes around wreaking havoc and trying to convince himself that he's Billy Badass from the streets.
But this involves Mr McGruder putting in some actual creative thinking about how to portray this character and dramatize the damage. That's a lot harder than a puked up diatribe.
5 - Greekmenrule
Why such Harsh Criticism of Mariah Carey? I don't understand, There is enough room for everyone. I bet you have never listened to her music beyond what you might hear on the radio. Her Music and Voice are Divine and there is truly alot more substance to her music and artistry than you are giving her credit for. You sicken me..Pink's album deserves to be on this list, Snow Patrol=OVER RATED along w/ all of your other "Music"...give ANY of these artists the chance at serious mainstream success and they'd sell alot more than their souls for it!
6 - DJRadiohead
Yeah, Guster is Voldemort and Pink released the third best album of the year. I think that about says it all.
7 - A.L. Harper
*laugh* So I take it you haven't heard the new Pink album darling.
8 - DJRadiohead
I heard a clip of whatever that rubbish first single was and have heard her previous rubbish material. Hideous.
9 - A.L. Harper
A clip? You're judging from a clip? Sad.... very sad.
10 - Mark Saleski
ms. harper, i thought that the best chance (and it's a small one, i admit) of the dj enjoying Aquilera would be to send him an mp3 of something from the second disc, maybe "Nasty Naughty Boy".
but, like...he knows where i live and stuff.
11 - Mark Saleski
...and the same goes for Pink. though in that case the change of enjoyment is pretty much zero.
12 - DJRadiohead
I didn't have to hear the whole thing to know I hated it. I'm decisive. I know crap when I hear it. =)
13 - neptunian
Snow Patrol....hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!! no soul, no balls and not an ounce of originality in this album. Sorry, I visited the wrong planet, I shall now go back to planet earth. My fellow earthlings won't believe me when I tell them that...
14 - Mark Sahm
I won't take sides on the Snow Patrol or Pink threads here (since I've heard neither). But I can fully agree with the #10 choice, as Jose Gonzalez is a seriously talented singer-songwriter. Veneer has this optimistic tragedy to it that makes it a complete listen, and not just a couple good singles with filler.
Ms. Harper, if you should have the chance to see Gonzalez live, I highly recommend it. I wrote an article here at BC about a show he did with Zero 7 last fall. My wife and I enjoyed his performace a lot, and bought Veneer the next day. Cheers.
15 - r dorsett
your right on with g.r.o. and snow patrol.great songs through entire album.thanks
16 - A.L. Harper
R, you are very welcome! I'm so pleased you liked GRO.