Most of you probably figured Pitchfork’s Top Albums list would feature some combination of Joanna Newsom, The Hold Steady, and TV On The Radio in the top three slots (at least based on their nine-point-whatever scores). Well most of you are wrong! But, aside from a hindsight bump-up to the #1, the Forkers were mostly true to their initial assessment on the year’s records. Mostly.
50. Booka Shade – Movements
49. Ellen Allien & Apparat – Orchestra Of Bubbles
48. The Long Blondes – Someone To Drive You Home
47. Matmos – The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth Of A Beast
46. M. Ward – Post-War
45. Camera Obscura – Let’s Get Out Of This Country
44. The Pipettes – We Are The Pipettes
43. Sonic YouthRather Ripped
42. Mastodon – Blood Mountain
41. The Decemberists – The Crane Wife
40. Tapes ‘N Tapes – The Loon
39. Fujiya & Miyagi – Transparent Things
38. J Dilla – Donuts
37. DJ Drama & Lil Wayne – Dedication 2
36. Brightblack Morning Light – Brightblack Morning Light
35. Herbert – Scale
34. Girl Talk – Night Ripper
33. Mission Of Burma – The Obliterati
32. Lupe Fiasco – Food & Liquor
31. Danielson – Ships
30. Belle And Sebastian – The Life Pursuit
29. Lily Allen – Alright, Still
28. Cat Power – The Greatest
27. Califone – Roots & Crowns
26. Hot Chip – The Warning
25. Justin Timberlake – FutureSex/LoveSounds
24. Peter Bjorn And John – Writer’s Block
23. Yo La Tengo – I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass
22. LCD Soundsystem – 45:33
21. Be Your Own Pet – Be Your Own Pet
20. Man Man – Six Demon Bag
19. T.I. – King
18. Destroyer – Destroyer’s Rubies
17. The Thermals – The Body, The Blood, The Machine
16. Beach House – Beach House
15. Sunset Rubdown – Shut Up I Am Dreaming
14. Tim Hecker – Harmony In Ultraviolet
13. Phoenix – It’s Never Been Like That
12. Band Of Horses – Everything All The Time
11. Junior Boys – So This Is Goodbye
10. Scott Walker – The Drift
09. Boris – Pink
08. Grizzly Bear – Yellow House
07. Clipse – Hell Hath No Fury
06. Liars – Drum’s Not Dead –
05. The Hold Steady – Boys And Girls In America
04. Ghostface Killah – Fishscale
03. Joanna Newsom – Ys
02. TV On The Radio – Return To Cookie Mountain
01. The Knife – Silent Shout
Now the slackers among you have a handy to-do list for your next torrent-trading session! Get out there and work that bandwith.
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Of course, Ben Kweller didn’t release an album in 06.
Wait…
Artists that Pitchfork seemed to fall out of love with over the course of the year:
Islands
Neko Case
I was wonderfully surprised by Pitchfork’s #1. An inspired choice, even if it’s not my personal top album (that would be Sunset Rubdown).
Predictable and safe, but a good list nonetheless. None of the top ten are undeserving of that honor; although I personally can’t stand listening to Drum’s Not Dead, I realize it had a significant impact on the year in music.
overall i think it’s actually a great, very accurate list. 2006 was a great year for music and this list reflects it well… it’s not pretentious as p-fork tends to get, and listing Silent Shout as number 1, might be the most spot-on they have ever been. it truly is a perfect, groundbreaking album and i’m so happy to see it getting the recognition it deserves.
The Crane Wife is WAY too low on the list. should be at least in the top 15.
The list is fine, although I’m befuddled and disappointed that Neko is nowhere to be found and that “Rubies” is only at 18. I’m cool with The Knife at #1; wouldn’t have been my pick, but they justify it well. What burns my ass, however, is The Holdy Steady at #5. This is more than a case of sour grapes, this record just isn’t any good. And it’s funny, I read the reviews and synopses of all the albums on the list and they all make sense or are pretty convincing and then I read the blurb for “Boys and Girls in America” and I think that all powers of critical thinking have vanished from Chicago. Intentional or not, the music is banal. And the lyrics, regardless of whether Finn is or is not romanticizing the beer-soaked ennui of our youth, lack any sort of consequence or gravity; much like his beloved–and equally immature–novel “On the Road.” I “get” the record and can accept it for what it is, but then to hear all these platitudes and high rankings makes me lose some faith in Pitchfork. Okay, that’s enough Sitek for one morning.
I, too, am a bit surprised about no Neko Case. I love that album with all of my chubby little heart.
I’ll never understand the appeal of that Scott Walker album. Boooooo-urns.
The other surprise for me is Phoenix in the top 20. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fun album…but seriously?
Yes the crane wife is WAY too low. Pitchfork’s pathetic love em and leave em routine is getting so predictable you could sync it up to my roomate’s schedule of judgementless ‘liberated’ rut-rutting.
thank f’ing god they didn’t put The Crane Wife in the top 20. the decemberists are pansies.
top 10 picks were pretty solid (even though i don’t like the Hold Steady that much, it’s definitely a good album…just ain’t my thing). i would have put sunset rubdown in the top 10 though. It’s good to see Liars, Scott Walker, and The Knife get their dues.
Shocked, SHOCKED by number 1. I was really hoping to avoid that album this year.
Good point on the falling out of favor for Neko and the Islands. Those are both among my fifteen favorite albums of the year.
It’s a really good list and does what the best Pitchfork list do best: validate some of my opinions, challenge others and gives me a list of albums that I need to go hunt down.
I would have paid ten bucks to Ryan Scheiber to have Ghostface get number 1.
Either Pitchfork or you guys have #14, the Tim Hecker album, reversed in terms of artist / album title.
I guess I just don’t quite get how they came up with Silent Shout as the best album of the year. Maybe my eyes are deceiving me but I think at least half of their writers did not even include the album on their top 25 lists. Very few actually put it in their top 5. So how does it become the best of the year?
man man at 29 owns.
but im not suprised that the islands record isn’t on here. it’s a subpar album that hits really well upon first listen, but gets worse and worse with repeat listenings.
and also.. destroyer at 18? didn’t that get like, a 9.1 or something?
What’s the deal with the Knife? I gave that record a few listens but I heard nothing groundbreaking at all. The melodies are third rate and the overall aesthetic has been done countless times. Are they better seen than heard?
Will, your eyes are deceiving you. It is everywhere, including near the top, of the individual lists. Look again. It was clear from looking at the individual lists that it would come down to the Knife and Cookie Mountain.
i’m happy to see fujiya & miyaji on there just above the decemberists and tapes and tapes.
seeing the knife at number one isn’t surprising, cause they like wear masks and are like swedish and stuff.
theres not a record there that i can stand until #21. everything higher is over-pretentious indie.
oh annie! having trouble with all the over -pretentiousness in teh world, Be Your Own Pet must wash it all away for you
haha
Justin Timberlake? Every time I’ve heard his name this year, it’s made me more and more depressed that he is still making hit records, and now here he is in the top 25 of a supposed indie rock website. God, the people who write for Pitchfork must be even bigger pussies than I thought.
Justin Timberlake beats the Decemberists? Can’t be
newsflash. the decemberists aren’t that good.
second newsflash: people have different taste, some people even like radio pop.
If this list says anything about the state of music in ’06.. then I’m clearly out of touch with the indie elite over at Pitchfork (and everywhere else for that matter..).
Let us discuss the top 5:
5. The Hold Steady – Hasn’t anyone figured out that they sound like some second rate bar band from New Jersey?! Anyone.. anyone? Completely flaccid and uninvolving. How much did Vagrant pay out to Pitchfork, The Onion, et. al to get such recognition for such drivel?
4. Ghostface Killah – I don’t listen to rap (unless it’s Kool Keith) so I can’t really comment. Probably better than the top 3 left though..
3. Joanna Newsom – Now, this is one one that tickles me. Knock, knock Joanna – you can’t sing! Stay away from it. Not only that.. but your “music” doesn’t even provide an interesting counterpoint to your horrible voice. Anyone can set up some string arrangements and blast poetic narratives that run 10+ minutes over them. Does that make it any good? – well no. It’s just really annoying. The only reason all the indie snobs even like her is because they want to get into her pants.
2. TV On The Radio – What can say? I live IN Williamsburg and still can’t get these guys. By the way.. the guy(s) can’t sing (noticing a pattern here?..). I mean.. I guess the music is *ok* and all but nothing really revolutionary. But when they sing.. it just drives me up the wall. The arrangments are clumsy at times and there’s no emotional core to the proceedings at all. It’s just there and floats until you feel the rise of vomit emitting from your stomach.
1. The Knife – HAHAHAHA! This is what an abandoned Vince Clarke solo, avant-garde, throw-away album would sound like. I mean.. I love the retro new-new wave as much as the next guy.. but seriously what does this all mean? I can only imagine that this group elicits coma-inducing sleep live. I haven’t seen a picture of this group but I’ll put down 1 million that the chick is super-hot (see Newsom, Joanna). Third rate beats tossed out by the Human League twenty years ago is now P-fork’s “Album of The Year”. Oh!.. and the chick can’t sing.
Aside from the Neko Case and Xiu Xiu snubs, this is probably the best year-end list PFork has put out in a while. I’m actually sort of impressed.
The Decemberists are where they belong as far as I’m concerned, only because of “The Perfect Crime #2″ is one of the worst songs I heard this year.
“It was the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect….”, okay, we get it.
Also, Destroyer should have been in the Top 10.
Mastodon: the metal band that Pitchfork allows its indie army to like.
yeah, I like to like music outside of the realm of “hype” and “machine” and “keeping up with the cool kids.” this is an absolute shit list– roughly 30% of the top ten deserve such a rating. the rest? just cool kids picks. generally forgettable pap that won’t make it past the end of Jan. 2007 if they’ve made it this far at all.
i know. i must not be complex enough to understand complex bullshit music. here’s hoping this indie thing dies down soon and the cool kids can move on to their next flavor of the week so the rest can go enjoying music irregardless of them like we’ve always done.
I’m pretty sure The Knife at #1 validates my intuition that Pitchfork has jumped the shark.
It’s not exactly predictable, but it’s not really surprising either- which basically sums up that Web site lately.
And yeah, The Clipse album…totally derserving. Seriously….seriously.
The Hold Steady hate on here is amusing (but then I find the occasional Decemberists, TV on the Radio, Sufjan, etc. hate on here amusing, too – maybe some of you hang out with too many hipster superfans or something). If you don’t get why Boys and Girls in America is a great rock album, then you probably don’t get why Born to Run, London Calling, Tim, or Sticky Fingers are, either. Creating something amazing does not always require reinventing the wheel – sometimes it means taking what you’ve got and just making one that rolls really fucking well.
ISLANDS IS THE BEST ALBUM FOR HEADPHONES THIS YEAR IT SUFFERS IN THE STEREO BUT STIIL COMEONE ITS SHOULD BE THRE , THERES BARLEY ANY PITCFORK WE LOVE CANADA THIS YEAR SPENCER KRUG AND JUNIOR BOYS ARE VERY LONELY
ISLANDS IS THE BEST ALBUM FOR HEADPHONES THIS YEAR IT SUFFERS IN THE STEREO BUT STIIL COMEONE ITS SHOULD BE THRE , THERES BARLEY ANY PITCFORK WE LOVE CANADA THIS YEAR SPENCER KRUG AND JUNIOR BOYS ARE VERY LONELY
LOUD NOISES!
you can put the hold steady on at a party with people who don’t know the first thing about “indie music” and they have a great time. It was by the far the “funnest” record of the year, and it finally gave the non-cardingan-wearing-living-outside-of-williamsburg set something to enjoy when drinking a few beers.
“he likes the warm feeling but he’s tired of the dehydration ” – line of the year …
austin’s response is hilarious. weiiiiirdo.
i’m not a Decemberists fan but i understand why people like them. But i’m on board with the “wtf” side of the Hold Steady. I just cant picture people listening to them years from now, as far as I’m concerned they’re the Hootie and the Blowfish of underground rock music.
The Neko Case thing discredits the whole list. And honestly, since no one else is saying it, The Strokes should be on all these lists…at least in the top 50 people, come on.
Why is Justin Timberlake included…is it me or does he stick out like an immature, dorky, white kid…wait…he doesn’t, weird.
Oh yea, D, don’t compare the Hold Steady’s album to Born to Run or Sticky Fingers…and what’s Tim?
where’s final fantasy?
jesus, Neko fans are insane. She didn’t make the list. DEAL. Just because your beloved alt country crooner didn’t make the pitchfork year end list doesn’t make the list any more or less valid.
So insane
D, it’s not that we don’t like “Boys and Girls In America” because it’s not “revolutionary”, but because it’s musically uninspired. The albums you mentioned (Born To Run, London Calling, Tim, and Sticky Fingers) are great because the melodies on a lot of the songs are classic. The melodies on “Boys and Girls In America” just don’t measure up.
Third newsflash: Of course some people like radio pop; it’s the most popular music on the planet.
Fourth newsflash: If you didn’t notice this like ten years ago, Justin Timberlake sucks. Did Pitchfork just recently discover cocaine or something? They seem to be going through some “we’re trying to be ultra-egalitarian” phase, as if liking this kind of bullshit makes them young, fun-loving, and not snobby. Really, though, since not even the freshman sorority girls at my college like this shit any more, Pitchfork looks old and pathetic.
okay question what are your favrite albums in the headphones this year mine are
1. Islands(it has the youth quality of the Jesus and Mary Chains Psychocandy)i saw them live im bias
2. Tv on the radio(just insanity right?so good)
3. Band of Horses (it made my winter)
4. Danielson( that albums needs to be controlled with headphones)
5.Peter Bjorn and John(with headphones you realy apriciate the shoegazing)
hold steady really is great. It’s rock and roll, something that most of the latest indie generation doesn’t really understand. Pop, sure, but rock? nah. IF sonic youth and neutral milk are our stones and boss, then we’re gonna miss something about this. The hold steady are the new ‘faces’, which is a huge compliment.
suprised about the knife. Not really anything else.
I really do wish, however, that an album that I wasn’t familiar with made it into the top 10. I know this shit! bah. It’s like knowing your christmas presents before christmas.
Having that said, they missed these:
Bonnie “Prince” Billy – The Letting Go
Bob Dylan – Modern Times
Tom Waits – Orphans
Annuals – Be He Me
My Morning Jacket – Live
Calexico
The Roots – Game Theory
Beirut – G.O.
among others….
Oh, and JT deserves to be on the list. If you are to pretentious to see good music when it is good, then you are really missing out. If you’re too good for the artist himself, credit Timbaland, who is the main reason it IS good in the first place.
another album i guess they fell out of love with – Subtle – For Hero: For Fool
stereogum thinks it’s so cool because it waited to publish the gummy award results until AFTER pfork posted its top albums. way to make the hipsters wait, gum. indie rock hotties, wahoo.
yay the knife at number 1!!
Fascists!
First, why is M. Ward so low? I say top 10 at least. Second, where’s Secret Machines and Final Fantasy?
Figurines should’ve been on this and any other list. It’s a magnficent record!
And what about Danielson’s Ships?
I was certain it would go far higher on their list, not only because it deserves to, but also since it did get one of the highest grades year-round.
Guess its a classic case of “either you love it or you hate it”, that ends up with a mediocre ranking when averaged.
i was semi-hoping they’d reverse their mixed opinion of BITTER TEA, which remains in my top five, by the time this list was released. alas. and i like FOX CONFESSOR enough for myself *and* pitchfork, so i’m not too upset about that, either.
pretty good in general — this list is one of the few i’ve seen that achieves a true democracy between indie rock and Other Stuff, and it’s equally nice that they don’t spend half of each capsule asserting their diversity of taste. my biggest complaint is that YS is too low.
as far as timberlake goes, I’m convinced “my love” would be one of the year’s most popular songs around here if it were released by an underground Scandinavian act (it’s just too bad about “sexyback”.)
uhhh, where the fuck is Panic! At The Disco, Fall Out Boy, and My Chemcal Romance!?!? They should be the top three albums!
kev, the new secret machines was mostly awful.
I think I only own like 5 of the top 20 albums. I am so not indie.
And what about Danielson’s Ships?
I was certain it would go far higher on their list, not only because it deserves to, but also since it did get one of the highest grades year-round.
Guess its a classic case of “either you love it or you hate it”, that ends up with a mediocre ranking when averaged.
the knife is the most inane bullshit i’ve ever suffered.
Here are some others not mentioned yet that are worthy of inclusion:
Scritti Politti – White Bread Black Beer
Loney, Dear – Sologne
Lambchop – Damaged
Espers – II
Thom Yorke – The Eraser
They sure did blow a lot of wind up Greg’s (Girl Talk) skirt to throw him all the way down at 34.
yep. list is standard safe-ground predictable. for all the e-jizz, what happened to Beirut?
This year kind of sucked for music, huh? I more or less agree with Pitchfork, which is kind of depressing, because I don’t even love any of the top albums of this year. Like? Yes. Hell, I’ve listened to so much Ghostface this year people have stopped calling me a pretentious indie asshole and started calling me a wigger, but whatever, my point is… Um.. Let’s hope 2007 doesn’t suck quite as hard. Deal?
I can’t figure this out!!???! Rolling Stone has Dylan at #1 and Red Hot Chili Pepers at #2… while P4ork has the Knife and TV and Radio?
So which is it? Which list is right!!??!!!
yep. list is standard safe-ground predictable. for all the e-jizz, what happened to Beirut?
was it just me or was tapes n tapes released in 2005???
I totally agree, Annie, ’cause Clipse and Ghostface Killah are so damn indie it makes me want to puke, what with their mopish haircuts and guitar-drenched sound. Two words: Pre. Tentious.
I love Joanna Newsom, but think Ys is an over-rated album. I hope her career survives the hype.
oh give it up islands boy. without alden, nick is just another unmemorable popster. Oh, and “rough gem” has some of the most annoying lyrics ever.
That’s what they do Alicia.
They only really “like” music when it’s in their best interest to do so.
was it just me or was tapes n tapes released in 2005???
I would rather have someone slowly rip off my fingernails than have to listen to Scott Walker.
Yo, i’m sorry but how did Kingdom Come not make the top ten. That is obviously the best album of the year, with Mission of Burma a close second. TVOTR wishes they were rappers. The Hold Steady are worse then AC/DC. Joanna Newsom needs a drummer and people to tell her that 15 minute songs about animals sung in a voice that sounds like an asphyxiated meerkat being raped is not how you are supposed to make music. Oh yeah and what about Nas?
yea, I think Tapes n Tapes was released in fall (winter perhaps?) 05. What about Sound Team? I won’t even go there with Fox Confessor. I hate the Knife. HATE THEM. they make me want to stab someone. and Joanna Newsom, god if anyone was overrated.
Pitchfork hates a few things:
1. Albums that make them feel like they’re being looked down on by the more respectable, better-educated, generally smarter NPR crowd.
2. Albums that would be popular even without Pitchfork support.
3. Hip hop that doesn’t match their conception of authenticity.
That, I think, explains most of their picks, snubs, and underrankings. Destroyer, the Decemberists, and Neko Case make them feel looked-down-on. The Hold Steady and Liars make them think that assholes who spend all their time getting drunk listening to dance-punk are the real smart ones. The Knife owes them for U.S. success, and Clipse owe them for hipster success. And every rap album that isn’t 90% about coke is like way fake!
I can’t entirely respect any list of 50, that does not include Bitter Tea… or Orphans for that matter. what the fuck. also, Fab Four Suture was pretty awesome… I love Pitchfork, but this list sucks.
I’d rank these higher: M. Ward, Camera Obscura.
Missing: Beirut. Witch.
No Gnarls Barkley on the list is also kinda surprising.
if tapes n tapes was released in 2005 you would have stopped hearing about those bores by now.
clearly missing from the list -
tom waits – top 20, easily
bob dylan – it’s not the #1 album of the year like rolling stone says, but it deserves at least to be in the top 30 of this pitchfork list
neko case – great album, the best of her career, easy top 30-40 on here
xiu xiu – solid album, deserves top 50 placement
… and more commentary forthcoming!
Oh no they didn’t put The Knife at no 1? And no El Perro del Mar?!…Shit…
Maybe you have to see the hold steady live…
Major snubs IMHO:
Fiery Furnaces
Graham Coxon
Howe Gelb (possibly best album of the year)
The Walkmen
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
oh, and I lurve Asobi Seksu
Hey EVERYONE! Lighten the fuck up! Here’s how I use pitchfork: If I already like a band, I’ll listen to them regardless of what rating pitchfork gives it. If I find a certain review interesting I’ll listen to it and depending on my tastes, I’ll buy it (I just found out I don’t like Sunset Rubdown, sorta like the Knife, and really want the Liars’ album). Let pitchfork like what they like. Who cares if a band you like isn’t on the list. It’s not your list! It’s theirs, and they can put on it whoever they please. So if your fave band is on the list, appreciate your band’s placement and move on.
“Oh yea, D, don’t compare the Hold Steady’s album to Born to Run or Sticky Fingers…and what’s Tim?”
That last question reveals a LOT.
I love how posts that critisize a certain band on the list are followed up by insults that the band or pitchfork staff are pussies,pansies, etc.. Since when did indie rock kids become jackass jocks from 90′s highschool?
dear matthew. please calm down and proofread. you will sound more credible and less like a spanish child screaming for his mother after being abandoned behind the melon booth at a dirty farmer’s market.
What a shit list. I’m not saying there’s not some good stuff on there, but they’re being ridiculously neglectful. Thanks for reminding me why I want to beat my head against a brick wall everytime I read Pitchfork.
This is what really stands out for me – the too high, too low, and just right albums on the P’Fork list that i feel like mentioning -
TOO HIGH ON P’FORK LIST…
? Joanna Newsom – good ambitious album, but it doesn’t deserve #3 this year (although i expected it higher) – i’d put it in the top 20 or so
? Liars – this album tried to be everything that Scott Walker did better, and it deserves to be somewhere in the top 50, but #6 is just ridiculous
? Band of Horses – a boring blog-hyped rehash of Mercury Rev/Flaming Lips/My Morning Jacket styled rock music – wistful, achy, and full of reverb – but it’s an imitator nonetheless, and should be MUCH lower here
? Man Man – a boring Tom Waits rehash for hipsters who cannot appreciate the real thing, and speaking of Waits, where the fuck is he on the list?? this would be 10x better if Man Man swapped spots with Orphans, the latter taking the place entirely of the former :O :O !!!
? Cat Power – it’s alright, but too weak an album for top 30 placement… maybe deserves 40-50
? TAPES N TAPES – jesus christ, fuck off already, bloggers – P’fork did well to exclude Beirut, Midlake, Cold War Kids, Birdmonster, Sound Team, etc. but really fucked up with this one
TOO LOW ON P’FORK LIST…
? Junior Boys – it’s a top 10 album, guys, come on!
? Belle and Sebastian – the best album of their career, EASILY, and deserves to be in the top 20 this year, it’s a perfect pop record
? Yo La Tengo – awesome album, could be higher possibly – but i guess it’s alright where it is… maybe.
? Mission of Burma – i was surprised this made the list at all, but it’s in my top ten and deserves better here.
THE GLARING OMISSIONS…
? Tom Waits – like i said earlier… top 20 release this year, no question
? Bob Dylan – a shadow of his former albums, but it’s a top 30 album on this list, sorry Dylan hating hipsters!
? Neko Case – the best album of her career deserves to be top 30-40 here
? Xiu Xiu – a solid album, should be in the 50 at least..!
? Loose Fur – leagues better than the first album in ’03, and another top 50 omission
? Beth Orton – a beautiful album that is getting snubbed by the lists this year, and a good top 50 record overlooked
P’FORK PLACEMENT JUST RIGHT…
? The Knife – this was a deadringer for #1 after i saw their placement on p’fork’s top 100 songs list – two songs in the top 20, plus the #2 song of the year (behind timberlake) – so it was predictably the top album this year, but was correct nonetheless
? Scott Walker – great album! and i’m really glad to see this sneak into the top 10, right where it should be
? Tim Hecker – i was really surprised this made it to #14, but that’s fucking awesome – perfect placement for a great record, thanks p’fork!
? The Thermals – glad this made it up there, it’s an excellent album
? Califone – great placement, love the record
? Sonic Youth – solid album, not their best, but it’s still a great Sonic Youth album and hardly disappointing – and it deserves its spot here.
man… you people need to just write your own damn lists and post them on your myspace or something. then, when you have as much influence as pitchfork does, the next generation can bitch that their indie darlings are missing. (rinse, wash, repeat)
i think that this is a fantastic list, but is it equal to mine? no. However, The Knife definitely deserves number 1 (on my list). so, rock the fuck on, pitchfork.
aeroman’s comment was right fucking on.
I also agree that Subtle was overlooked for sure. The things this list did right:
26. Hot Chip – The Warning
20. Man Man – Six Demon Bag
13. Phoenix – It’s Never Been Like That
Every one of these placements was a very pleasant surprise for me. Also guys, make sure Questlove doesn’t visit pfork today, he might stop making music and/or commit suicide at this point.
The fact that the Knife is so polarizing is a true statement of their genius. If everyone thought it was just okay, kind of ho-hum or mostly whatever, then they may as well be Moby.
A strong reaction towards the positive or negative is always the best testament to an artist’s ability.
Face it, 2006 has been a rough year for guitar bands, because guitar bands (Asobi Seksu notwithstanding) are getting increasingly boring. Guitar rock inventiveness was pushed as far as it could go, IMHO, by MBV, Slowdive, Seefeel and Medicine back in the nineties. Buy some boutique pedals, a second amp to get it bouncing all around in stereo, and a bag of killer pot and get back to me, Hold Steady. You make me feel like I’m being talked down to.
Furthermore, the average indierockers just can’t wrap their heads around electronic music. If they don’t see a drummer and a bass player up there on stage, they can’t help but cry “fraud!” Admit that you don’t get it, and I’ll send you a list of recommendations to get you up to speed. The first two are free: “Radioactivity” by Kraftwerk and “Metamatic” by John Foxx.
The Knife are not always a far cry from some of their euro-techno and electro-pop influences, but their inventive synthesis of these influences and the ruminative uniqueness of their content make them the stand out this year.
If “Silent Shout” had not been so insular and personal and more bullshit hipster toungue-in-cheek “ironic” it would have travelled a great deal further with the “we like mainstream hip-hop as a function of our white upper-class guilt” set. Meaning: the average indie idiot would be eating it up like so much 50 Cent. Isn’t dance music supposed to fun and empty and isn’t guitar music supposed to be sincere and serious? I say start mixing up some standard issue perceptions, my brothers and sisters.
Lastly, of course, there is no accounting for taste, as they say.
you need more than uniqueness to be considered the best.
i put bacon bits when i cook fried rice; doesn’t mean the food network’s gonna grant me a cooking show.
you need more than uniqueness to be considered the best.
i put bacon bits when i cook fried rice; doesn’t mean the food network’s gonna grant me a cooking show.
i have decided to proofread b4 i post frommmm now4 ont my apolog$ies
but yea seriously i no what your saying about aldens talents but nick diamonds will soon get the recognition with Islands next record , return to the see is so perfect until Volcanos is over then it get boring good songs but boring, i also think that many ppl missed out on how great Return to the sea was as you cannot pick out the elaberate art pop on intial listen which is why headphones realy change the scope of that record but seriously Nick Diamonds new Jeff Magnum yes i certainely agree with that
ohyea i will never give it up as ISLANDS ARE FORVER
There are so many great albums. It is too difficult to list them, but here are the Top 10 of 2006 from the Indie Rock Cafe:
http://www.indierockcafe.com/2006/12/poll-top-10-indie-albums-of-2006-winner.html
IRC also has a Top 20 Countdown each week highlighting great indie rock and pop from today and yesterday, including free MP3 indie downloads every week:
http://www.indierockcafe.com/2006/11/weekly-play-best-of-indie-music-series.html
Check it out and become a contributor. We’re always looking for writers, reviewers and concert photographers.
Happy Holidays!
- IRC
is it safe to assume that the people here offended by futuresex/lovesounds’ appearance/placement in the list never actually listened to the album?
i found herbert’s “scale” to be far too low, but maybe that’s just me. such a great album.
There are so many great albums. It is too difficult to list them, but here are the Top 10 of 2006 from the Indie Rock Cafe:
http://www.indierockcafe.com/2006/12/poll-top-10-indie-albums-of-2006-winner.html
IRC also has a Top 20 Countdown each week highlighting great indie rock and pop from today and yesterday, including free MP3 indie downloads every week:
http://www.indierockcafe.com/2006/11/weekly-play-best-of-indie-music-series.html
Check it out and become a contributor. We’re always looking for writers, reviewers and concert photographers.
Happy Holidays!
- IRC
Silent Shout definitely deserves to be number 1. I dare say it will be an album looked on as a classic statement of this decade’s music, right along with Kid A and Discovery.
Also, bands who are still ripping of Built to Spill need to go the fuck away (Tapes n’ Tapes, Band of Horses). The latest BTS isn’t just terrific but it still blows those two albums away. Too much taste-making zeal and not enough reverence.
Also, why does Pitchfork continually refuse to acknowledge Stereolab, one of the most innovative bands of the last 20 years.
Otherwise I think this list is pretty spot on.
the statement that “nick diamonds [is the] new Jeff Mangum” makes me want to puke.
Jesus christ!!! Decemberists at 41!!!!! The Knife at 1!! i havent listened to that album i admit but i heard that one we share our mothers health and its good but not as good as anything on tv on the radios album. where the hell are the fiery furnaces or islands.
this list is entertaing and very acurate but it is funny how the actual ratings that albums get dont play in at all, i am very intrested in how reviews get aproved to be posted or if they are at all , but yea there was a comment before on how if you like a band dont bother reading the review so trueee, pitchfork should be used for music that you dont no , not music that you do no. and what i am talking about ratings notimportant in this list the knife 8.6 1) 2006 and i love the hold steady album but 9.4 was just asking for backlash i think they were afraid that there would be no YHF or Funeral this year which there wasnt but still a great year.
why is that guy yelling at me about where the decemberists and the knife placed?
the nick diamonds is the new jeff magnum coment was not serious please hold your puke
nick diamonds has more of a Sigmund Freud significance to our society okay now begin puking
islands are forever (or until they break p which will be in 5 4 3 2 probaly a year)
“Is it safe to assume that the people here offended by futuresex/lovesounds’ appearance/placement in the list never actually listened to the album?”
Unfortunately I have heard at least part of that album, and if you think that kind of shit is cool, then I don’t know what to tell you (unless you happen to be a fourteen-year-old girl, in which case I guess it’s okay). This is just like a few years ago during the “dance punk” trend, when Pitchfork all of sudden starting praising Kylie Minogue, and all the music that they were hyping for that year or two disappeared and has never been heard from again. Next they’ll probably be talking about how American Idol is actually a really cool show with good music on it.
Any adult male who actually listens to this shit should be forced to do so in front of his older brothers, father, grandfathers, and uncles, at which time they will (hopefully) pulverize him with their bare hands.
not liking Justin Timberlake has a lot to do with image more than anything else.