‘Tis the season… To drink too much Christmas Ale. To feign joy over really crappy gifts. To make Top 10 lists. Every year around this time, I’m asked to submit a list of my favorite albums of the past 12 months to various publications across the country. As we head into 2007, I leave you with the CDs that rocked my 2006.
1. The Hold Steady — Boys and Girls in America: It’s about sex, drugs, and rock and roll. In that order.
2. TV on the Radio — Return to Cookie Mountain: In which Brooklyn weirdos reach a peak and make some noise.
3. My Chemical Romance — The Black Parade: Death has never been so pretentious.
4. Bob Dylan — Modern Times: Old man kicks up his heels, has a laugh, pines for Alicia Keys.
5. Arctic Monkeys — Whatever People Say I Am, That Is What I’m Not: Brash Brits spend the night getting drunk and kicked out of clubs.
6. Dixie Chicks — Taking the Long Way: Memo to country radio: fuck off.
7. Todd Snider — The Devil You Know: Memo to George W.: fuck off.
8. The Decemberists — The Crane Wife: Hot trend: dressing like Victorian dandies, playing ’70s-style prog.
9. Nelly Furtado — Loose: Who knew there was a tasty pop tart hiding in the boring folkie?
10. Regina Spektor — Begin to Hope: Jilted by one of the Strokes, Russian cutie gets even.
–Michael Gallucci
This article appears in Dec 27, 2006 – Jan 2, 2007.