There were plenty of surprises to be found in the Jackin’ Pop results–The Dresden Dolls? Really?–but we were also shocked at what didn’t make the count. What follows is a brief look at some of the albums that didn’t place at all. And while none of them seemed like sure-fire hits, we figured they’d at least get one nod.
Matisyahu, Youth
WHY WE THOUGHT IT WOULD AT LEAST GET ONE VOTE: When it was released in March, Youth was one of the most heavily covered albums of the first quarter, with profiles and reviews in most of the major music magazines and a smattering of mainstream publications (not that press equals votes, but the sheer volume of Matis love led us to believe that at least a few writers actually liked him).
WHY IT GOT SNUBBED: Youth is completely unlistenable.
Rick Ross, Port Of Miami
WHY WE THOUGHT IT WOULD AT LEAST GET ONE VOTE: Ross made a few dents on the singles chart, including “Hustlin’,” which landed at No. 36. Plus, wasn’t this guy at one point supposed to be a critics’ darling? Or did that just last a day?
WHY IT GOT SNUBBED: He couldn’t stretch his “I used to deal, and I like Miami” bit past five songs.
Rascal Flatts, Me And My Gang
WHY WE THOUGHT IT WOULD AT LEAST GET ONE VOTE: Even though it received less-than-favorable reviews, Gang sold more than 2 million copies; you’d think someone would champion it–or at least go the “It’s actually a new country-pop-rock gem!” route.
WHY IT GOT SNUBBED: Soundscan be damned, it’s only slightly more listenable than the Matisyahu record.
I enjoyed the below albums to varying degrees, and they weren’t on the list at all. Some of them are really marginal, but I was especially surprised about the absence of Stereolab, Robert Pollard, Mouse on Mars and Eric Matthews, who all had strong critical support at one time or another.
I *think* these were all 2006 releases….
Les Claypool/Of Whales and Woe
Cracker/Greenland (worst Cracker album ever, though)
The Wedding Present/Search for Paradise (perhaps passed over for being a compilation)
The M’s/Future Women (one of my favorite unexpected discoveries of the year…crunchycatchy Elephant 6-style pop)
Adrian Belew/Side Three
Nick Cave/The Proposition (soundtrack)
Tanya Donelly/This Hungry Life
Great Lakes/Diamond Times
Eric Matthews/Foundation Sounds
The Minders/It’s a Bright Guilty World
Mosquitos/Mosquitos III
Mouse on Mars/Varcharz
Mudhoney/Under a Billion Suns
Robert Pollard/Normal Happiness
Portastatic/Who Loves the Sun (soundtrack)
Stereolab/Fab Four Suture
David Sylvian/Blemish
Tom Verlaine/Around
The Vines/Vision Valley
I’ve never heard any Rascal Flatts other than a couple songs that had videos, but oh lordie, those were terrible. If the rest of the album is similar I find it hard to believe that it’s not the most unlistenable album of the year.
The problem is that while Matisyahu makes good press, virtually no one actually listens to him. Back to the Hillel circuit, probably.
I wonder why the Donnas’ album didn’t get any votes. Oh wait, it’s because they didn’t put out an album in spite of their claim that “part[ing] ways” with Atlantic wouldn’t impact their next album.
I’ve rarely seen such a short half-life on a novelty/emerging act like Matisyahu. What was it, two months? Three? This time last year, he was going to be one of 2006’s most exciting new acts. But it was a classic case of a disconnect between magazine editors/feature writers and actual rock critics. First wave of hype was all the former bunch (”He keeps kosher!” “Toasts on Thursday, fasts on Friday!”) and then the critics came in on the second wave with, “Oh, by the way, this guy is a poseur, and the album sucks,” and it was over. (See, editors: this is why critics still matter.)
“King Without a Crown” is actually a pretty respectable single - the one instance where his persona meshed with a good melody - and in a weaker year for tracks I might’ve placed it at #10. But 2006 was a pretty good singles year, and c’mon, “King” wasn’t that good. Actually, I thought the Live at Stubbs version that got some radio play was better than Sony’s tricked-out studio version. And actually, the fact that there were two albums might account for why the Jackin’ crowd said “feh” to the whole enterprise.
Got to admit that I find it pretty scary that Paris Hilton’s trainwreck of an album came in as high as it did (119 in ranking). In contrast the Dirty Pretty Things album “Waterloo to Anywhere” involved a real band and showed up 100 spots lower on the list. Guess there’s something to be said for name recognition. Carl and co. just don’t get the press over here that Paris does.
matisyahu is certainly no paul barman.
dont get me wrong, “port of miami” was awesome and memorable, but being catchy doesn’t make it one of the best albums of the year.
Really? I thought Matisyahu actually WAS paul barman with a beard.
matisyahu’s not doing that badly, really - he just played 3 sold out nights at hammerstein. i think he’ll have a solid touring career - youth was a crappy record but his live shows have a lot more to offer.
memo to Matisyahu:
G-d, you suck!
What ever happened to The Stills? When Without Feathers came out in May, it was blowing up th…, at least?
Don’t know what happened with that f’d-up comment above…just said I was surprised the Stills album didn’t get at least one vote based on the kinda bitchin’ flowers-on-fire cover art alone.