Pitchfork's Top 50 Albums of 2006 Abridged

It’s that most wonderful time of year, no not Christmas, Pitchfork has again published its picks for the best albums of 2006 and regardless of your feelings towards the pretentious site it is hard to ignore its influence and the generally accurate reviews they generate. To look through the entire list click here. As I, along with most other people, have not had the chance or money to enjoy all of the albums on the list I thought I would offer an abridged version of my favorites.

43. Sonic Youth – Rather Ripped





After missing the first seven albums on Pitchfork’s list, mine starts off with a bang. Sonic Youth’s streamlined album “Rather Ripped” is an excellent introduction to one of the most influential bands of our generation, and an exciting variation for long time fans. This release was a departure from their longer and more difficult “Sonic Nurse” but was able to do so without losing any of the no-wave, noise rock charm that has defined them for more than twenty years.

Top Tracks: "Do You Believe in Rapture?" and “Incinerate"


41. The Decembrists – The Crane Wife

The Decembrists have long been one of my favorite bands and thanks to an ever evolving sound and superb song writing by Colin Meloy they keep getting better. Merging elements of their post rocky EP “The Tain” with the literate pop that has made them famous on the indie scene they create one of the most adventurous and yet inviting albums of the year based on an ancient Japanese tale.

Top Tracks: "The Island" and "The Crane Wife 1 & 2"


40. Tapes ‘n Tapes – The Loon



Minnesota natives Tapes ‘n Tapes were a surprise for many readers, partially due to the bands penchant for plundering elements of Modest Mouse, Pavement and the Pixies for much of the album. However “The Loon” does so with such magnificent results that simply naming influences does an injustice to this catchy album.

Top Tracks: "Insistor" and "Cowbell"


36. Brightblack Morning Light - Brightblack Morning Light

Combine one part indie, one part hippie and stir in a good deal of guitar noodling, Rhodes organ, group chanting, flutes and you have something like Brightblack Morning Light. With all tracks nearing or exceeding the six minute mark this isn’t an album for the impatient, but for the indie fan who isn’t afraid to admit a fondness for Phish, this is the album for you.

Top Track: “Fry Bread” and “A River Could Be Loved”


34. Girl Talk - Night Ripper

One of the most fun and most danceable albums of the year, this effort by Gregg Gillis a.k.a. Girl Talk takes the practice of mashing up and turns it into an art form. With over 120 samples throughout the album you are guranteed to catch some of your favorites intermixed with current rap hits and classic oldies. Interested listeners can check out a compiled list of all samples here.

Top Tracks: "Bounce That" and "Smash Your Head"


31. Danielson - Ships



Daniel Smith has appeared over the years in many forms, sometimes with his family as Danielson Familie, a smaller version called Brother Danielson, sometimes even as a lone tree. No matter the incarnation he always creates beautiful, if sometimes grating, lush music accompanied by his unusaul voice. Here he constructs a masterpiece, a song cycle based on ships creating what Pitchfork aptly calls a “majestic, melodic beast.”

Top Tracks: "Did I Step on Your Trumpet" and "Ship the Majestic Suffix"


28. Cat Power - The Greatest



I did not think this was one of Cat Power’s greatest. In fact after about a week of initial listening I haven’t returned to Chan Marshall’s Memphis infused album. Sure the instrumentation is excellent and her voice is great but something just didn’t click. Many listeners would disagree so if you have liked her previous works don’t let me discourage you.


20. Man Man - Six Demon Bag

Man Man is consistently one of the strangest bands in the indie arena and “Six Demon Bag” finds them channeling the best parts of Captain Beefheart and Tom Waits along with some of their own flair to create their best album to date. Able to create both quietly emotional songs along side jaunty rock dirges this album takes a while to get used to but is immensely fun when you get there.

Top Tracks: "Young Einstein on the Beach" and "Van Helsing Boombox"


18. Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies

On “Destroyer’s Rubies” Dan Bejar crafts another outstanding album, exceptional song writing has always been his strong suit and here he finds the melodies and instruments to back it up. This is a great album but not the best he released this year, as one third of the band Swan Lake he released what I thought to be a far superior album entitled “Beast Moans”. Anyone who is a fan of Destroyer, Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown or Frog Eyes should be sure to check it out.

Top Tracks: "Your Blood" and "Watercolours into the Ocean"


08. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House

Certainly in my top three of this year and maybe my overall favorite, the Canadians called Grizzly Bear do everything right on this their sophomore effort. After their first album “Horn of Plenty” drew comparisons to Animal Collective this second album did a great deal to create a completely individual identity for the band. Recorded in Edward Droste's mother's Cape Cod home, “Yellow House” contains beautiful acoustic interludes, plucked banjo and flute, but can quickly change into a driving rocker and then just as quickly devolve into a psychedelic jam. Beautiful harmonized vocals flow through songs that one wishes would never end. Every track on the album is good. Do not miss out on this excellent record.

Top Tracks: “Knife” and “On a Neck, On a Spit”


06. Liars - Drum's Not Dead



A surprising favorite this year came from one of the most indefinable bands on the scene today. They began their career during the garage rock boom, followed up with a weird and critically canned album and only to come back and deliver one of the best albums of 2006. It is a dark album, it includes elements of electronica, folk and indie rock. The lead singer Angus Andrew has a somewhat scary but overall endearing falsetto, which is not so much the focal point of many of the songs but another instrument. While it may not be for everyone this is really an exceptional album.

Top Tracks: "The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack" and "Let's Not Wrestle Mt. Heart Attack"


03. Joanna Newsom – Ys

There is no doubt that this is a beautiful record, her voice accompanied by a harp and full orchestra on four of the five tracks makes sure of that. However, I am not a huge fan of the album. It feels long and at times grating, an album I can’t imagine ever really getting into. Like a lot of classical music, it is gorgeous but, at least for me has little replay ability. Again, this was a pretty universally praised album so if you like lush orchestral music be sure to give it a chance.

02. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain

I have mentioned previous to this point that there are a few albums in contention for my favorite of the year, but in the end I do think TV on the Radio’s second album wins. As a result of an uninviting name and very little publicity I was late in listening to their first album “Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes” but I was immediately taken in with the emotional heft of the singing and electronic/rock elements of the music. On “Return to Cookie Mountain” they have refined their song craft and deliver one of the most emotionally charged albums all while remaining lyrically obscure. Ripping guitars, ominous bass and frantic drumming all add a sense of urgency to the record. It is a dense and dark album that gets better with every listen, and traditional music lovers will be sure to enjoy the beautiful harmonies and excellent instrumentation. Get it, you won’t regret it!

Top Tracks: "I Was a Lover" and “Wolf Like Me”


01. The Knife - Silent Shout

Finally we have reached Pitchfork’s number one album of the year. Over the past five months I have begun to listen to and enjoy electronic music, even to the extent of preferring it over most other types. This may not be a direct result of The Knife (Four Tet, Fennesz, STS9 and My Bloody Valentine certainly played a part) but has had a significant impact. The album, like many of the best this year, is dark, menacing chords play over ghostly vocals but at the same time listening to it makes you want to dance. It certainly is not the usual techno one hears on the radio, complex sampling and intense instrumental segments are matched with beautiful washes and ambient soundscapes. The vocals keep the listener interested when other electronic music might get repetitive. For the adventurous or already electronically initiated there is no doubt why this was named the best album of the year.

Top Tracks: "Silent Shout" and "We Share Our Mother's Health"


That ends the round-up of the albums I had the pleasure of listening to this year, if anyone would like to add on, just post in the comments section and I can add it later.

Real News #1 Kansas Outlaws Practice Of Evolution

In response to a Nov. 7 referendum, Kansas lawmakers passed emergency legislation outlawing evolution, the highly controversial process responsible for the development and diversity of species and the continued survival of all life.

"From now on, the streets, forests, plains, and rivers of Kansas will be safe from the godless practice of evolution, and species will be able to procreate without deviating from God's intended design," said Bob Bethell, a member of the state House of Representatives. "This is about protecting the integrity of all creation."

The sweeping new law prohibits all living beings within state borders from being born with random genetic mutations that could make them better suited to evade predators, secure a mate, or, adapt to a changing environment. In addition, it bars any sexual reproduction, battles for survival, or instances of pure happenstance that might lead, after several generations, to a more well-adapted species or subspecies.

Violators of the new law may face punishments that include jail time, stiff fines, and rehabilitative education and training to rid organisms suspected of evolutionary tendencies. Repeat offenders could face chemical sterilization.

To enforce the law, Kansas state police will be trained to investigate and apprehend organisms who exhibit suspected signs of evolutionary behavior, such as natural selection or speciation. Plans are underway to track and monitor DNA strands in every Kansan life form for even the slightest change in allele frequencies.

"Barn swallows that develop lighter, more streamlined builds to enable faster migration, for example, could live out the rest of their brief lives in prison," said Indiana University chemist and pro-intelligent-design author Robert Hellenbaum, who helped compose the language of the law. "And butterflies who mimic the wing patterns and colors of other butterflies for an adaptive advantage, well, their days of flouting God's will are over."

Human beings may be the species most deeply affected by the new legislation. Those whose cytochrome-c molecules vary less than 2 percent from those of chimpanzees will be in direct violation of the law.

Under particular scrutiny are single-cell microorganisms, with thousands of field labs being installed across the state to ensure that these self-replicating molecules, notorious for mutation, do not do so in a fashion benefitting their long-term survival.

Anti-evolutionists such as Hellenbaum have long accused microorganisms of popularizing "an otherwise obscure, agonizingly slow, and hard-to-understand" biological process. "These repeat offenders are at the root of the problem," Hellenbaum said. "We have the fossil records to prove it."

"No species is exempt," said Marcus Holloway, a state police spokesman. "Whether you're a human being or a fruit fly—if we detect one homologous chromosome trying to cross over during the process of meiosis, you will be punished to the full extent of the law."

Although the full impact of the new law will likely not be felt for approximately 10 million years, most Kansans say they are relieved that the ban went into effect this week, claiming that evolution may have gone too far already.

"If Earth's species were meant to change over successive generations through physical modifications resulting from the adaptation to environmental challenges, then God would have given them the genetic predisposition to select mates and reproduce based on their favorable heritable traits and their ability to thrive under changing conditions so that these advantageous qualities would be passed down and eventually encoded into the DNA of each generation of offspring," Olathe public school teacher and creationist Joyce Eckhardt said. "It's just not natural."

Some warn that the strict wording of the law could have a deleterious effect on Kansas' mostly agricultural economy, since it also prohibits all forms of man-made artificial selection, such as plant hybridization, genetic engineering, and animal husbandry. A police raid on an alleged artificial-insemination facility outside McPherson, KS on Friday resulted in the arrest of a farmer, a veterinarian, four assistants, one bull, and several dozen cows.

Agribusiness leaders, who rely on evolution science to genetically modify crops, have voiced concerns about doing business with Kansas farmers.

"If Kansans want to ban evolution, that is their right, but they must understand that we rely on a certain flexibility in the natural order of things to be able to deliver healthy food products to millions of Americans," said Carl Casale, a vice president with the agricultural giant Monsanto. "We're not talking about playing God here. We are talking about succeeding in the competitive veggie-burger market."

Taken from TheOnion.com