Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Pitchfork Media Releases there Top 50

This is one list I look forward to every year. I don't always agree but they always do a bang up job. They list there 50 records of 2006 plus some other lists including staff picks.

www.pitchforkmedia.com

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Rolling Stone Release There List

To be fair Rolling Stone was the 1st music magazine I subscribed to while I was a wee lad, but over the years it hasn't offered me much in way of insight, but everyone gets a crack at these year end lists.

Wow I feel like I'm being hard on the old magazine, ah well here's the list: http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/12800635/the_top_50_albums_of_2006

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

The List of Lists

The holiday season has arrived and with that the yearly onslaught of year end list. What journalists consider the best releases of the last 12 months. I realize that the professional journalists have some insight to share but there's something special about the everyman chiming in. I put more weight into what the record buyer thinks as opposed to what the journalists thinks.

For the last 4 or 5 years I've been compiling a list along with my like minded music loving brethren and wanna be rock scribes. If you would like to share send your list along to bryanhamill@yahoo.com.

The first list of the year comes from across the pond courtesy of the much loved and hated New Musical Express.

NME's top 50 albums of 2006 are:
1. Arctic Monkeys - 'Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not'
2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - 'Show Your Bones'
3. Muse - 'Black Holes And Revelations'
4. Hot Chip - 'The Warning'
5. CSS - 'Cansei De Ser Sexi'
6. Gnarls Barkley - 'St Elsewhere'
7. Long Blondes - 'Someone To Drive You Home'
8. The Strokes - 'First Impressions Of Earth'
9. Kasabian - 'Empire'
10. My Chemical Romance - 'The Black Parade'
11. Howling Bells - 'Howling Bells'
12. The Killers - 'Sam's Town'
13. Panic! At The Disco - 'A Fever You Can't Sweat Out'
14. TV On The Radio - 'Return To Cookie Moutain'
15. Thom Yorke - 'The Eraser'
16. Amy Winehouse - 'Back To Black'
17. The Futureheads - 'News And Tributes'
18. The Rapture - 'Pieces Of The People We Love'
19. The Longcut - 'A Call And Response'
20. The Streets - 'The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living'
21. The Raconteurs - 'Broken Boy Soldiers'
22. The Flaming Lips - 'At War With The Mystics'
23. The Knife - 'Silent Shout'
24. The Secret Machines - 'Ten Silver Drops'
25. Mogwai - 'Mr Beast'
26. Jarvis - 'Jarvis'
27. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - 'Clap Your Hands Say Yeah'
28. Morrissey - 'Ringleader Of The Tormentors'
29. The Spinto Band - 'Nice And Nicely Done'
30. Cat Power - 'The Greatest'
31. The Sunshine Underground - 'Raise The Alarm'
32. Lily Allen - 'Alright, Still'
33. The Bronx - 'The Bronx'
34. Albert Hammond Jr - 'Yours To Keep'
35. Forward Russia - 'Give Me A Wall'
36. Datarock - 'Datarock'
37. Be Your Own Pet - 'Be Your Own Pet'
38. Metric - 'Live It Out'
39. The Young Knives - 'Voices Of Animals And Men'
40. Midlake - 'The Trials Of Van Occupanther'
41. The Gossip - 'Standing In The Way Of Control'
42. The Automatic - 'Not Accepted Anywhere'
43. Beck - 'The Information'
44. Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - 'Ballad Of The Broken Seas'
45. Bob Dylan - 'Modern Times'
46. Semi Finalists - 'Semi Finalists'
47. Wolfmother - 'Wolfmother'
48. Get Cape Wear Cape Fly - 'The Chronicles Of A Bohemian Teenager'
49. Absentee - 'Schmotime'
50. The Kooks - 'Inside In/Inside Out'

Friday, December 1, 2006

Bad News For Blowfish and Strong Lions





I'm back after a crazy couple of weeks and unfortunately I don't have good news to share. This news sucks plain and simple, Robert Pollard has decided to stop touring indefinitely. After injuring himself on his most recent tour he's decided to take a break from playing shows. If you've seen him with GBV or with The Ascending Masters you know that he will be missed on the national touring circuit. That being said he has 7 new albums planned for release in the near future so there is a bit a good news to share. At 49 and the amount of time that he has spend on the road I knew that things would come to an end eventually. He hasn't ruled out playing Live again but as of now he will be close to home in Dayton, OH doing what's he's been doing for what seems like forever, recording and releasing pop/prog/rock magic.


The full story can be found here:


http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003466526