Idolator
It's November, and we've spotted our first 2006 critics' poll, courtesy of the across-the-pond rock aficionados at Uncut: Bob Dylan's Modern Times topped the list, which must have been put together in, say, late September, in order to accommodate magazines' long lead times. (That may be why Kingdom Come is nowhere to be found.) That said, striking first is a great way to grab attention, so here's the dad-tastic top 10 (via I Love Music):
10) Thom Yorke - The Eraser
09) Sufjan Stevens - The Avalanche
08) Hot Chip - The Warning
07) Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther
06) Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
05) Neil Young - Living With War
04) Joanna Newsom - Ys
03) Comets On Fire - Avatar
02) Scritti Politti - White Bread, Black Beer
01) Bob Dylan - Modern Times
Fun facts: The highest-ranking hip-hop album was Ghostface's Fishscale, which came in at No. 23; the reissues list was topped by a four-disc Elektra Records retrospective; and there are still critics willing to be apologists for Kasabian, whose latest album squeaked in at No. 44. And there was no singles round-up for this mag, no doubt because its critical roster is made up of serious music consumers. Hmph.
Uncut [uncut.co.uk]
Uncut's 2006 EOY List [I Love Music]
Comments
it's list time already?
i wonder if anybody would care about that scritti politti album if it wasn't on nonesuch. what if they went saint etienne and landed on savoy? critics probably wouldn't have even opened their promo packages.
joanna newsom is a fine album. damn fine. and i've got no beef with the arctic monkeys, hype or no hype. what a great album.
midlake? good grief. blog buzz gone wild. i was kinda into that album until i saw them live.
i think the scritti politti record is absolutely wonderful. (also, it came out on rough trade in the uk.) that said, there is no way it is going to place top 25 in any us critics' poll.
I think the Nonesuch release will help with some critic's polls, combined with Scritti opening for Brian Wilson in LA. Brian's poll success might rub off on Gartside.
Am I the only one that feels like we have been hyping Clap Your Hands Say Yeah for far too long? They're good, whatever, but they weren't the BEST of 2006.
The Rapture- Pieces of the People We Love is a far better record than CYHSY could ever dream of being.
Enough with going for indie cred, can we please start picking records that we'll be loving in 2020 instead of ones most people will sell back in March 2007?
I can't imagine selling back CYHSY, ever. (I ripped it in the first place, but still...) After more than a year I think it's beyond indie hype, and therefore safe to say that it more or less summed up a time and a place in my life, and I'll always have that association--no matter what revisionist criticism comes later on. That's the best thing an album can do, I think.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no...
*yawn*
How big of them to include a wacky chick artist.
Why is this gay porn magazine putting out top ten music lists?
Don't speak so soon about Scritti, Maura. You never know...
Dylan, Joanna Newsom, and Neil Young are the only ones that are *certain* to show on US critics' (note: "critics" not "bloggers") lists.
okay, so that new mastodon album made #31. i am not going to lie about it, i bought it and thought it sucked. you know, i should have known better when indie-rock fansites gave it a high rating. that group of folks wouldn't know a good metal album if it jumped up and bit them in the junk. no one else i know who (like me) almost exclusively listens to heavy music cared too much for it either.
Can I throw a question up here for fellow journo types: What's the deal with Pazz & Jop this year? Anybody know? With Chuck and The Dean gone, will the Voice use their ownership of the brand (P&Jā¢) to keep it going? Will Christgau/Eddy supporters abstain? Will another magazine try to create a P&J competitor? etc.
I'm very torn on all of the above. I've only been in the poll for two years and would hate to see it die, but I'd rather see it live on someplace...I dunno, responsible and respectable, rather than let New Times flog the brand.
That's a mighty white list. And it both Dad- and indie-tastic. The only two records I really dig in their top 50 are the Arctic Monkeys and Ghostface.
You know, at first glance I thought the list was in the other order: Thom Yorke on first place and Sufjan Stevens on second place. And I thought "Aaaah, it makes sense that the only person an indie-cred-conscious publication would allow itself to put above Sufjan Stevens would be Thom Yorke".
I'm sorry, I just see slaves to the indie sacred cows everywhere.
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