MCT DIRECTSure college is hard – papers, exams, presentations, themed fraternity parties – but everyone needs music. What were you listening to in 2006? We here at Cadenza, in our perpetual quest to make Wash. U. more worldly, have compiled a short list of what you should have been listening to and what we fear you may have been listening to . by accident, of course.
Cursive released “Happy Hollow” and the lack of cello made us all cry a bit, but the intense and artful way Catholicism was dissected and pushed into the light of reason and cynicism in the 21st century made for a well-appreciated listen.
“The Mother, The Mechanic, and the Path,” three discs of emo glory, dropped in July. The Early November has always been that bitchy band your age from New Jersey who whines about life, women, and mainly being a teenager in our generation. With this triple-disc release, however, they really took it to a new level. Their best songs are mainly on the first disc (“The Mother”) and focus on the theme of growing up in our generation. Their worst tracks are mainly on the second disc (“The Mechanic”) and focus on gushy love crap. In fact, the last song on this disc is the sappiest I’ve ever heard, but it’s so damn funny you can’t help but love it. Lastly, the third disc (“The Path”) is the story of a newly-legal boy who finds himself taking the same path as his father (whom he despises). The story is told through eerie spoken word therapy sessions and strange corny semi-songs. This isn’t something you’d listen to every day, but it’s a cool story presented in an interesting way.
Beck released his seventh album, “The Information,” this year. Sure he’s a crazy scientologist, but he’s the kind of crazy we want. I’m looking at you, TomKat. It’s near impossible to write about Beck; every time he releases an album it’s completely different. This album is no exception. Just accept that it is a culmination of years of work. In 12 years Beck has managed to cover electronica, blues, R&B and rock, to name only a very few. This album showcases many of his past endeavors.
“Young Machetes,” the fifth album from the Blood Brothers, spun in our CD players this year. The Blood Brothers are one strange band. Loved by fans of hardcore and indie hipsters, they’re that perfect mix of intensity and musical prowess. One can’t really determine if they’re singing or screaming the majority of the time, but what you do know is that what they’re saying means something. The songs on “Young Machetes” are dark and lyrically beautiful. The music range varies widely. “Camouflage, Camouflage” is a good example of the many sides of the Blood Brothers’ music; parts of it are dancy, parts are “hit you over the head” intense, and parts are slow and strangely beautiful.
Similarly minded deviants Gnarls Barkley and Justin Timberlake produced two of the most interesting albums of the year, “St. Elsewhere” and “FutureSex.LoveSounds” moved pop music in an interesting direction. “Crazy,” the catchy, sparse arrangement by Gnarls’ front man Cee-Lo Green, is the sweetest single of the year. Timberlake’s futuristic, synthesized sound delivers the goods on cuts like “SexyBack,” which producer Timbaland warns “just might make straight men (question themselves).”
Saves the Day managed to reestablish themselves in our eyes with “Sound the Alarm.” After the crap that was their previous sugary pop album “In Reverie,” this is Saves the Day’s return to grace. “Sound the Alarm” is poppy emo bliss and includes the fantastic morbidity displayed in their most popular album, “Stay What You Are.”
TV on the Radio, previously just critically acclaimed, are now making waves in American popular culture and (strangely enough) being played on MTV. “Return to Cookie Mountain” is even more soulful than their last album. The music is catchy and interesting and has a very eerie feel to it.
The leader of Radiohead, Thom Yorke, dropped a bomb on the music industry when he announced he had written and recorded a solo album which would be released in a month. “The Eraser” focuses on themes of isolation in a post-nuclear world but somehow does it in a way you might be able to dance to and can definitely have sex to.
Regina Spektor, a rising star who hit it big with “Begin to Hope,” is by far the sexiest little muffin ever to emigrate from a former Soviet republic and a talented pianist and vocalist in New York’s so called “anti-folk” scene. Her voice is lucid and compelling, and her strong affirmation of life produced one of the coolest albums of the year. Check out “On the Radio” for a dose of this audible goodness.
Best known for their use of a tap dancer for percussion, Tilly and the Wall returned with a sophomore release even better than their first. “Bottoms of Barrels” is as upbeat and carefree as they have ever sounded while focusing on real issues such as transexuality with lyrics that are poetic in their irony.
The fact that Cadenza did not review “Patent Pending” by Heavens upon release was a huge mistake and we humbly apologize. Heavens is the side project of Matt Skiba, lead singer of Alkaline Trio. While the sound of the music and to some extent the voice is not like that of Alkaline Trio, the lyrics show the connection. The music is stripped down, sounding at times like a dancier version of the Strokes. Other moments in the album are slower with a dramatic sound, but even during these moments there is still an upbeat feel to the music. This works in a way that’s really interesting as it clashes with the dark themes presented so clearly and beautifully in the lyrics. One of the highlights of this technique is in “Another Night” when Skiba sings “Another night with your head in the oven / simmering like a heat wave over you / sweat drops hiss at the bottom / blood droplets cook like glue” over slow yet somewhat upbeat guitar and drum lines. This album might be the most underrated album of the year.
Wash. U. is really into white guys with acoustic guitars, but the problem is that the majority of them suck. Brian Vander Ark and his newest album “Angel, Put Your Face On” is an example that doesn’t. He is also the lead singer of the super-popular 90’s alt-rock band The Verve Pipe (yeah, that band that wrote “The Freshmen”) and now in his solo career has managed to write some of the best songs of his career. Highlights include “I Don’t Want to Be a Bother,” which is an ironic take on religion and government in America, and “Too Good For this World,” a sappy love song that manages to somehow feel real.
At Cadenza, we feel that 95 percent of the time artists drop political lyrics, they sound like socially awkward 12-year-olds. “George Bush . is an evil moron.” In what is no doubt the most politically charged album of the year, Coldcut’s “Sound Mirrors” manages to keep from falling into such a conundrum while producing one of the tightest and most intelligent albums out there. Take a look at some of their genius and brilliant production with “Just for the Kick” and “Mr. Nichols.”
Blind Melon managed to get back together, even though lead singer Shannon Hoon died from a drug overdose in 1995. Twenty-five-year-old replacement Travis Warren manages to either sound amazingly similar to Hoon or be one of the best impersonators we’ve heard in a long while. We tried hating this turn of events but the tracks were so solidly written and preformed, and we fell in love with Blind Melon all over again.
Bloc Party left its position as openers for Panic! At the Disco after only three shows in a move that proved, yet again, that we love musical drama as much as the next American addicted to train wrecks of social interaction.
The Flaming Lips released yet another album to add to their vast and acclaimed collection, “At War With the Mystics,” managing to tackle tough topics ranging from the War on Terror to the intense fanaticism of Beck. Wayne Coyne lets us into his mind and it makes us wonder how we lasted without his quirky antics and 16-word-long track titles. It also makes us yearn for the feature film he’s had on the back burner, but we’re willing to forgive him. As long as he keeps releasing albums and having live shows where he gives out vibrating underwear that he controls, we can forgive him indefinitely.
At once epic and accessible, Snow Patrol’s “Eyes Open” propelled the British band into the stratosphere of Coldplay and Keane and into the homes of “Grey’s Anatomy” fans everywhere. Beginning with the fast-paced yet lyrical “You’re All I Have” to the hushed conclusion of “The Finish Line,” the album deftly straddles the line between the sincerity of old-school indie songwriting and the euphoria of all out rock. Although overshadowed by radio favorite “Chasing Cars,” “Open Your Eyes” is the true star of the album, slowly building the namesake refrain into a powerful anthem.
Critic favorite Feist once again delivers a solid album made even more remarkable by the fact that the songs are all remixes from her previous effort, “Let It Die.” One track, “Mushaboom,” is reinvented four times, each version as enjoyable and fresh as the last. With legendary Jane Birkin as well as current indie darling Postal Service lending their (considerable) talents, “Open Season” is as surprising as it is satisfying.
R. Kelly wowed audiences yet again with his modern rap opera. “Trapped in the Closet” managed to break through boundaries many didn’t even know existed. By introducing characters in such an eloquent way, Kelly kept Americans on the edge of our collective seat as we were amazed to find out the baby’s daddy was in fact the stripping midget. Hopefully 2007 will bring chapters 13-22 and the answers to our questions: who are Tina and Roxanne? How does the policeman know Chuck and Rufus? And how can our judicial system be so messed up as to send Twan to jail?
So overall it was a good year. Don’t be fooled though; 2006 had some lowlights. Next up, the much more humorous aspects of 2006: the major screw ups, total flops and huge let-downs of the year.