Category Archive

Two-thirds of 100b have been massive fans of The Black Keys for since we first heard their glorious sound blasting from our speakers. One-third of us had only listened to them casually previous to this assignment. In honor of their wonderful new album, Attack & Release, our mission was to choose their very best song and justify our choice in 100 words or less. It turned out to be pretty difficult for all of us. If you choose to accept this mission, play along with us in the comments.

aDawgg:

The best Black Keys album is Rubber Factory, which gobbled up six of the 10 tracks on the Long List. Sadly, when forced to pick the best single song, nothing from Rubber Factory made it to the Big Three: “Breaks” (The Big Come Up). “Have Love Will Travel” (thickfreakness). “Modern Times” (Magic Potion). Listening to each one last time right now I still haven’t decided. I guess I prefer musics that tug at my gut. Give me rhythm and memorable guitar play. That’s what it takes to get me hooked. The best of the Black Keys? Just listen to it.

   The Black Keys - Modern Times

Bean:

When I think about the The Black Keys, the first thing I think of is their incredible live shows. I think of feeling like the music is physically blowing you away. I think of Patrick Carney drumming so hard his glasses fly off and the floor tremors like an earthquake. I think about feeling Dan Auerbach’s guitar in my knees and hearing his voice in the pit of my stomach. These are not the only qualities that make The Black Keys great, but they’ve made the deepest impression on me. “Grown So Ugly” epitomizes that feeling. Listen to it LOUD.

   The Black Keys - Grown So Ugly

Tamboosh:

I remember what it felt like to stand in a row to be picked for teams during gym classes. You stand there so vulnerable, exposed, and spotty and pray that you’re not the last one called. It’s dehumanizing and gym teachers who force kids to go through it are cruel. I didn’t want any of The Black Keys’ - whom I love with an almost disturbing passion - songs to go through that so in a low whisper I say, I choose “Set You Free” from Thickfreakness. Sexy, loud, raw, stirring, and passionate, it’s everything I heart about them Keys.

   The Black Keys - Set You Free

Whether it’s the shear chutzpah of selecting Elvis as your stage name, stunts like busking at a convention of record company bigwigs to get noticed and signed in the U.S., or releasing your next album on vinyl and as a digital download only, the bespectacled Declan Patrick MacManus, better known as Elvis Costello, has shown he has what it takes to succeed and survive at this wicked game.

aDawgg:

   Elvis Costello - Watching The Detectives

Perhaps it’s fitting, after listening to Elvis Costello again and again the past couple of weeks, I ended up settling on his first serious hit, one I knew would end up on the short-list anyway. “Watching The Detectives” was a standalone single released in the U.K. in late-1977, before later making it onto releases of My Aim Is True. The rhythms and chorus mask a dark and menacing tale of murder. This single marked the start of a wide-ranging career now in its fourth decade and matched by very few.

Bean:

   Elvis Costello - Oliver’s Army

Oliver’s Army” is the kind of hit that indie bands are still trying – unsuccessfully, for the most part – to write. A genuine indie (or post-punk or new wave or whatever you want to call it) / pop crossover is rare. For it to also say something real about the state of the world – and not just some generic Peace To The World drivel – is almost unheard of. And to have it still be loved by people of all tastes, ages, shapes, and sizes over 30 years later? Almost a miracle.

Tamboosh:

   Elvis Costello - Lipstick Vogue

A musical chameleon and soldier against cynicism, who nevertheless never resorts to sentimentality, Elvis Costello understands the essence of every single genre he has covered and executes them perfectly. Trying to explain what is lovely about a song is hard to express when limited by words. While listening to his songs, I jotted down my thoughts. I’ve used phrases like ‘pop perfection’, ‘beautifully country’, and ‘heart-breaking gospel’, but “Lipstick Vogue” simply got a heart. I love this song and whatever grand description of the other songs, nothing can win it from a heart. It’s fast, tragic, passionate, and unmistakably Costellian.

Last month we celebrated the legendary Ramones, and today we put the spotlight on The Strokes. Both bands hail from New York, but we promise it’s just a coincidence and not 100best’s running theme. The Strokes are partly responsible for the 100b crüe getting together as united music geeks. They’re one of a very short list of bands that could have made us stand in line in the cold for seven hours for exclusive tickets to a small venue, and dear Lord, they were worth it. They have a special place in our hearts, and today we choose one song that we consider the best of their entire oeuvre. If you agree or think another song is more deserving of the accolades, feel free to have your say. But like we said last month, we have to stick by the rules and do it in 100 words or less, so it’d be cool if you did too.

aDawgg:

   The Strokes – Last Nite

Take Is This It?, Room On Fire and First Impressions Of Earth. Reduce until the deliciousest core remains, “Last Nite”, “Reptilia” and “You Only Live Once”. Sip each in turn, loud and soft, eyes open and closed. Which kicks most? Which is the pure and unadulterated essence of The Strokes phenomenon? “Last Nite”, indubitably. We crusty bunch may not easily recall, now, what it was like, then, to crank up Is This It? for the first time and be blown away by something so different from everything else at the party. It was love at first listen. And still is.

Bean:

   The Strokes - Soma

This was tough. I got it down to a shortlist (“Soma”, “Last Nite”, “Modern Girls and Old Fashion Men”, “When It Started”, “Under Control”), all of which I love dearly. They each have the trademark Strokesian elements: rolling drums, calmly insistent guitars, vocals that sound like they were screamed over a tin can telephone. But “Soma” has one other tiny thing that I couldn’t ignore: that wee drum roll that starts off each verse. You know it: it’s at 00:07 and 01:10 and can’t possibly last more than 2 seconds. It’s nearly nothing, but it’s enough to make the difference.

Tamboosh:

   The Strokes - Reptilia

My favourite is “Someday” because it was the first Strokes single I’d heard and I was immediately hooked. But I tried to choose not out of nostalgia, but by which song represents their sound best. I decided to take baby steps and chose one from each album first. After whittling the list down, I was left with “New York City Cops”, “Reptilia”, and “You Only Live Once”. All three high energy, über Strokes-y, spitfires of songs. I finally chose “Reptilia”, because the rousing chorus oozes with emotion and the instruments seem as much part of the dialogue as the lyrics.

Welcome to 100best, our new monthly feature. Here’s how it works: we each pick what we think is the best song by a particular band or artist, and have to make our case in 100 words or less (our name gives us the opportunity for all sorts of semi-gimmicky shenanigans). For this first edition of 100best, we’ll take a look at the Ramones, the band whose wonderful music gave us our name as well as an extraordinary number of classics. But what’s their single best song?

aDawgg:

   Ramones - Needles & Pins

So many songs to choose from! “Needles & Pins” – written by Sonny Bono and Jack Nitzsche and originally recorded by Jackie DeShannon (1963) and prominently by The Searchers (1964) – captures The Ramones perfectly. While “I Wanna Be Sedated” stole the limelight on the band’s fourth album, Road To Ruin (1978), “Needles & Pins” boldly declares their 1960s influences. Yet, they managed to make the song their own, breaking the public image – or stereotype – of what punk was and is. Don’t try to cram us into what you want us to be. Don’t like it? Suck it! Punk.

Bean:

   Ramones - Sheena Is A Punk Rocker

“Sheena” represents all those little things we love about the Ramones in one short burst. It’s a perfect combination of pop and punk: surfer music, 60s girl groups, a peppy chorus you can’t help dancing to, Johnny Ramone’s chugging guitar, and Joey’s beautifully odd voice. It’s got incredibly simple lyrics, telling a story that will appeal to anyone, anywhere, who doesn’t quite fit in. All the kids were going to the discotheque, but Sheena had to go to New York City, where she could be free to be a punk rocker and just be herself. What’s more punk than that?

Tamboosh:

   Ramones - My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down (Bonzo Goes To Bitburg)

I’d written about my favorite, “Beat On The Brat” when one google result showed a thread that debated whether people should keep Ramones records due to ‘Nazi imagery’. Seriously?!? Never mind the fact that Joey was Jewish and any mention of Nazis is obviously tongue-in-cheek, “My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down” protests Reagan’s visit to a cemetery where SS soldiers were buried! When it mattered they were suitably outraged and didn’t limit their show of disapproval to the music they listen to. So here’s my vote for 100best, because thanks to this song we can all enjoy “Blitzkrieg Bop”, guilt-free.

100b encourages you to share your opinions in the comments but if we have to follow the rules, so do you: let us know what you think the Ramones’ best is (or even why we’re wrong), but do it in 100 words or less. It’s harder than you think.

Here’s 100b’s selection of tunes by artists that didn’t make the best albums list, but are definitely nothing to pooh-pooh at. Here are the songs that made 2007 seem less like the rainy, dreary, slosh-fest it was for a good part of the year:

Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma
Ryan Adams - Pearls On A String
Maximo Park - Our Velocity
Kylie - 2 Hearts
Devendra Banhart - Shabop Shalom
The Raveonettes - Sad Transmission
Interpol - All Fired Up
Blanche - I Can’t Sit Down
Killers ft. Lou Reed - Tranquilize
Shout Magic - Branch Davidians
The Bees - Who Cares What The Question Is?
The Rakes - We Danced Together
Sons And Daughters - Gilt Complex
Dizzee Rascal - Sirens
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - 100 Days, 100 Nights
!!! - Must Be The Moon
Menomena - Wet And Rusting
LCD Soundsystem - Someone Great
The View - Same Jeans
Klaxons - Golden Skans
Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent
The Royal We - All The Rage
Pharoahe Monch - Body Baby
Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit - Tickle Me Pink
M.I.A. - Boyz
Black Kids - I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You
Jack Peñate - Spit At Stars

These songs sound that much better combined with their videos:

Sonny J - Can’t Stop Moving

Cloud Cult - Chemicals Collide

The Go! Team - Doing It Right

Snoop Dogg - Sexual Eruption

•   15. Bloc Party, A Weekend In The City
          essential tracks: “The Prayer”, “I Still Remember”
•   14. Kings Of Leon, Because Of The Times
          “Ragoo”, “Fans”
•   13. Architecture In Helsinki, Places Like This
          “Heart It Races”, “Like It Or Not”
•   12. Elvis Perkins, Ash Wednesday
          “While You Were Sleeping”, “May Day!”
•   11. Arcade Fire, Neon Bible
          “(Antichrist Television Blues)”, “No Cars Go”
•   10. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Some Loud Thunder
          “Satan Said Dance”, “Underwater (You And Me)”
•   9. Feist, The Reminder
          “I Feel It All” (mp3), “1234″
•   8. Bonde Do Role, With Lasers
          “Geremia”, “Tieta”
•   7. Kate Nash, Made Of Bricks
          “Foundations”, “Mariella”
•   6. Pop Levi, The Return To Form Black Magick Party
          “Pick-Me-Up Uppercut”, “Dollar Bill Rock”
•   5. The Shins, Wincing The Night Away
          “Turn On Me”, “Australia”
•   4. Jamie T, Panic Prevention
          “Brand New Bass Guitar”, “Sheila”
•   3. Modest Mouse, We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
          “Dashboard”, “Parting Of The Sensory”, “Steam Engenius”
•   2. The White Stripes, Icky Thump
          “Icky Thump”, “300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues”
          “Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn”
•   1. Patrick Wolf, The Magic Position
          essential tracks: all of them.

This list isn’t the same as my usual year-end lists. Normally, I carefully consider and mentally rank things like originality and impact and consistency. Those qualities are all present here but this list is probably more representative of myself than it is of 2007’s offerings. If you think of the albums you listen to as your own personal soundtrack, this list is the soundtrack of my 2007. This is the music I listened to while moving to a new country, the albums I still wanted to play while I went through a brief music slump, the artists that felt good to hear while I was missing my old home and exploring the new one. It’s quite possible that all music is at the mercy of your mindset right at the moment you first hear it - it’s not unreasonable to think that you might at first be unimpressed with a slow or sad album if you’re celebrating good news on a beautiful summer evening. But under different circumstances, you might have loved it instantly.

In any case, these are the albums I loved last year. There are probably others that are better and there a good number that might have appeared here if I had kept up with new releases better. But these are some great albums here, full of magnificent sounds and wonderful voices.

None more so than Patrick Wolf, who I’ve posted about a number of times and whose latest release is one of the best I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to. Perhaps not since the first time I heard The White Stripes have I been this enthralled with an artist. It is incredibly rare to find a musician with as unique a voice and outlook as Patrick Wolf - his use of industrial beats, electronica, and classical instrumentation still blows my mind ever time I listen to The Magic Position. His blend of music style and influence is unlike anything I’ve ever heard. His voice - his literal singing voice, that is - is absolutely captivating. His lyrics are beautiful yet deceptively simple. “The Magic Position” is, as I said back in May, is a joyous cacophony. “Magpie” is magically melancholy, a fairytale for the haunted. “Let’s Go (Get Lost)” is definitely the most real description of being in love that I’ve ever heard. The Magic Position is the kind of album that reminds you of all the most important things in your life, of both the beauty and the pain in the world, and of the profound effect music can have on you. And you just know that you’ll listen to it forever and never stop being amazed by it.

   Patrick Wolf - (Let’s Go) Get Lost

I am on a Word Of The Day mailinglist (if anyone was wondering the word of the day was “cincture”), so I figured it would be fun to have word of the day songs. It feels familiar though, I might have - subconsciously of course - ripped this word theme thing off of some undoubtedly super innovative blogger so if you’ve seen this before or if this is your brainchild even, let me know and I’ll make sure to thank you every time we do this. Remember, imitation is the highest form of plagiarism.

The word of the day is Chicken!
Here is 100b’s top 5 featuring our feathered friends:

1.)    The Bees - Chicken Payback
Before Justin ever brought sexy back the wonderful Bees brought chicken (pay)back. Well, it would have been clever if it made any sense.

2.)    Louis Jordan - Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens
A special request from The Bean and the original chicken song. I like to think this is the tune that started it all.

3.)    The Detroit Cobras - Shout Bama Lama (Otis Redding cover)
Q: “How many chickens have I stole?” A: “One last night and the night before. I’m gonna have to try to get 10, 11 more.” Now that’s a serious love for chicken.

4)    Old Crow Medicine Show - Chicken Pie
I’m sure I’d like chicken pie. This might be the chickenest one of the bunch, they actually cluck in this song. Plus it sounds like a party in a real chicken coup.

5.)    Brakes - Spring Chicken
Coocoocachaaah! An awesome song by one of my favorite bands. I hope The Spring Chicken dance looks a little something like this:

2006 is a tiny speck on the horizon now, but the award season celebrating the best of last year has just started, so as far as I’m concerned this list is right on time and not two months late. Here are the songs that shaped the year by bands that aren’t in our Favorite Albums List. It’s a mouthful, but otherwise this already long list would be even longer. They’re in random order and every song on it is an essential part of 100b’s 2006 experience, but we think that The Futureheads’ “Skip To The End” was the single of the year for sure. We first heard them play it live in April last year and we loved it straight away. You know a song is good when you remember it after only hearing it once.

Like every other year, Tam and I went to approximately one zillion concerts in 2006. To be honest, that’s the main thing we do when we go out together. And we saw some good stuff last year: Beck put on a puppet show, Ryan Adams walked off stage for some reason we still don’t know, Art Brut covered Metallica, The Datsuns covered The Misfits, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah got down with Dr. Dog, Maximo Park blew last year’s show away, Tapes N Tapes celebrated a birthday, and The Magic Numbers played a wee little show to a crowd that wouldn’t let them leave the stage. Good times indeed.

But we’re dorks and we like lists, so here’s our favorite shows of the year - the ones that we’ll still be reeling from years from now - in chronological order:

Tam already wrote about this show, and she described it perfectly. I’m still in awe of the Lips’ ability to make every single show an event. I’d read about their insanity but I still had no idea what what coming. It was like an explosion (literally) of music and glitter and balloons and dancing. If you haven’t seen them yet, get yourself some tickets and I’ll give you your money back personally if you don’t have a good time.

What can I say about The Decemberists? We’ve written about them several times and their The Crane Wife was my Number One album of 2006. I think this night was probably the beginning of my obsession with them - Tam asked me to go along with her and I agreed happily. I figured that if she liked them, they must be worth seeing. I went home that night and immediately downloaded everything else that emusic had of theirs. And we get to go see them again next month - I’m practically counting down the days.

Any night you get to hear Jack White play is better than … well, the nights you don’t get to hear him play. The Raconteurs are even better live than on record, and this was a wonderful concert experience in general. There weren’t any push-you-out-of-the-way-to-get-the-front types there, everyone just seemed to be having a really good time. Plus, The Raconteurs covered Nancy Sinatra and that tops just about everything.

We saw The Black Keys on their last tour and we thought they were absolutely amazing live. But this show was something else altogether. It felt a little like that old Maxell commercial where the guy gets literally blown away by the music.

Tam and I were just as excited to see Cold War Kids as Two Gallants, though I think we were two of the very few Cold War Kids fans there. They definitely won over the crowd though - at the end of “Hang Me Up To Dry”, when all the instruments gradually drop out and only Nathan Willett’s goosebump-inducing voice is left, there was this split second of stunned silence before the room absolutely erupted in applause. That silence, that may have been the most perfect moment of the entire year.

Needless to say, Two Gallants were even way more than we’d expected. I mean, c’mon - their shows have been known to incite riots. Seriously though, I did think they’d have a hard time following up Cold War Kids, but they got the job done. As I said in my Albums Of The Year post, I don’t think I really appreciated Two Gallants until we’d seen them live. Hearing an entire room full of people sing along to the chorus of “Las Cruces Jail” is another concert moment I won’t ever forget.

So now we just have to sit around and wait for the upcoming Fratellis, Elvis Perkins / Cold War Kids / Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Decemberists, and Brakes shows. I expect at least a couple of those will make the list next year.

•   15. The Long Blondes, Someone To Drive You Home
          essential tracks: “Giddy Stratospheres”, “Swallow Tattoo”

We’d all been waiting for The Long Blondes’ debut album for so long, it was beginning to feel like it would never get to us. But, even though we’d all heard a lot of the songs before, it’s as good as we all hoped it would be. Sassy and sultry, like a 50s movie come to life.

•   14. Beirut, Gulag Orkestar
          “Postcards From Italy”, “Bratislava”

Beirut is definitely one of the most original bands of 2006. I’ve never heard anything like this album before. Old world gypsy folk music, done up all indie. It’s beautiful and haunting. The only reason Gulag Orkestar isn’t higher on this list is that it’s not really an album that can be listened to at any time. It’s a specific mood album, but when you’re feeling a bit dark or sad, it’s perfect.

•   13. The Black Keys, Magic Potion
          “Your Touch”, “Modern Times”

The Black Keys just keep getting better and better. This album is a little moodier and harder than their previous releases - a bit more Jimi Hendrix than they’ve been in the past. Between Dan Auerbach’s amazing voice and Patrick Carney’s ass-busting drumming, they really get into your guts.

•   12. Dan Sartain, Join Dan Sartain
          “World Is Gonna Break Your Little Heart”, “Replacement Man”

I once read a description of Dan Sartain as a ‘one man hurricane’. Whoever said that wasn’t wrong. He charges through this album, leaving you wondering what just happened. It takes a few listens to realize that what you just heard really is as good as you thought it was.

•   11. The Magic Numbers, Those The Brokes
          “Most Of The Time”, “Undecided”

I love The Magic Numbers. I just love them.

•   10. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Show Your Bones
          “Honeybear”, “Cheated Hearts”

As good as Fever To Tell is, Show Your Bones might be even better. Yeah Yeah Yeahs have expanded their sound a little, and given us the chance to see Karen O’s enormous heart. Not that they’ve lost the edge that makes her a little bit scary, just that they’ve let us hear what else they can do.

•   9. Two Gallants, What The Toll Tells
          “Steady Rollin’”, “Long Summer Day”

Tam turned me on to Two Gallants but, as I’ve said before, I actually liked The Throes better than this album. That is, until we saw them live in November. Hearing the songs from What The Toll Tells live made me realize exactly how great they really are. Almost nothing beats the anger you feel listening to “Long Summer Day”, I reckon it’s the most emotionally powerful song of the year.

•   8. The Fratellis, Costello Music
          “Chelsea Dagger”, “Creepin’ Up The Backstairs”

I realize this one may be an unpopular choice, seeing as how The Fratellis aren’t ‘indie’ enough to be considered good by a lot of people. But those people are just silly. I triple dog dare them to find a better party album from 2006.

•   7. The Bicycles, The Good, The Bad, And The Cuddly
          “Luck Of Love”, “Paris Be Mine”

I didn’t expect to fall so in love with The Bicycles, I just thought theirs would be a fun, charming album. It is, but if you give it a chance, it’ll dig it’s sweet, fluffy little claws right into you and won’t let go. It’s one of those rare albums that makes you feel so good about the world, you just want to play it again the minute it ends.

•   6. Brakes, The Beatific Visions
          “If I Should Die Tonight”, “Spring Chicken”

Beatific Visions was my choice for Album Of The Month back in November, so you already know what I think about this one. They somehow manage to put everything you want from the world into one short album, it’s amazing.

•   5. Tapes n Tapes, The Loon
          “Cowbell”, “Omaha”

In theory, a band’s debut album really shouldn’t be this good and interesting. I honestly couldn’t even describe them if I wanted to. Like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah last year, Tapes n Tapes rocked the world of (nearly) every music dork around by sounding completely different. Which is pretty much the highest complement I can give a band.

•   4. Belle And Sebastian, The Life Pursuit
          “Sukie In The Graveyard”, “For The Price Of A Cup Of Tea”

I’ve quite liked Belle And Sebastian for a while now, but this is the album that made me really love them. They still sound like they always have, but hearing bits of glam and other funkiness creep into their sound made me very happy indeed.

•   3. The Raconteurs, Broken Boy Soldiers
          “Broken Boy Soldier”, “Intimate Secretary”, “Call It A Day”

I spent most of the year expecting Broken Boy Soldiers to be at the top of this list, it’s that good. I’m a huge fan of just about everything that Jack White touches and when he teamed up with the lovely Brendan Benson, we all knew it would be awesome. This is even better than I’d hoped it would be. They’ve got some Rubber Soul and Magical Mystery Tour all wrapped up in Brendan Benson’s buttery voice, which fits perfectly with Jack White’s howl. It sounds like everything good from pop music history all at once.

•   2. Cold War Kids, Robbers & Cowards
          “Hang Me Up To Dry”, “Saint John”, “Hospital Beds”

Cold War Kids’ Robbers & Cowards was the greatest surprise of the year. I was interested enough in them, based on the few mp3s I’d heard, to write about them for New Band Day back in May. But I have to admit I’d sort of forgotten about them until I saw their debut album was out. It immediately became the CD that never leaves my stereo - all funky, danceable gut-wrenching songs about drunks, death row, broken promises and loneliness.

•   1. The Decemberists, The Crane Wife

The truth is, I would’ve been happy to have those last three in any order. They all could’ve been my Number One. But The Decemberists ended up making their way to the top by default when I tried to pick the three ‘essential tracks’. With a bit of struggle, I could just about manage to narrow The Crane Wife down to maybe 7 tracks (out of 10). And I always say: if you’re physically unable to pick out essential tracks, that’s the Album Of The Year. I’m sure we’ll gush about them some more when we share our top concerts of 2006 with you, but for now just know that they are one of the most original bands I’ve ever heard and that every album they release is better than the last.

So there we have it. Another year of music come and gone. I’d be sad, but there’s new albums by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and The Shins out in a few weeks, so at least we have something to look forward to.

•   15. They Shoot Horses Don’t They?, Boo Hoo Hoo Boo

Crazy, chaotic playful pandemonium with a horn section.

•   14. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Show Your Bones

The dreaded second album and they came out on top again! Still sleazy, sexy and moving, but just a little bit older.

•   13. Beirut, Gulag Orkestar

Haunting vocals and lingering melodies will transport you to an older world shrouded with mystery and magic.

•   12. The Fratellis, Costello Music

Unapologetically big, bawdy, loud and glam. Love it.

•   11. The Bicycles, The Good, The Bad And The Cuddly

Cuter than Carebears, cooler than Fonzie. Fifties pop with a twist done to perfection.

•   10. Man Man, Six Demon Bag

With their silly voices and indescribable instruments Man Man redefines what I find beautiful in music every time I listen to them.

•   9. Hot Club De Paris, Drop It Till It Pops

They’re a bit kooky, but so good! Wonderful harmonies and surprising hooks.

•   8. Brakes, Beatific Visions

They were number two on my list last year, but this doesn’t mean I love them less, on the contrary, they just have some really tough competition. Beatific Vision is political at times, but never preachy. They sound more grown up now, but still excellent.

•   7. The Black Keys, Magic Potion

I had to move them up a couple of times, because of new bands that have surprised me this year, but damn Sam I love the bluesy garage sounds of The Black Keys. Those new bands put out some amazing albums last year, but The Black Keys will have a permanent spot on my all-time favorite bands list, the same goes for Two Gallants.

•   6. Two Gallants, What The Toll Tells

See The Black Keys. Passionate and reminiscent of the wild wild West, they always manage to pull at my heart strings. It looks like I’m their crazy fangirl for life.

•   5. Tapes n Tapes, The Loon

The Indie superstars of 2006 with good reason, The Loon is so beautiful. It sounds complicated, but accessible. I really hope the hype around them doesn’t hit that pivotal point where it’s way cooler to hate than to love them.

•   4. Cold War Kids, Robbers And Cowards

To be honest there’s very little difference between my love for the last four albums, but I had to put them in order. The Bean has introduced me to many of the lovely bands in this list, but these guys blew me away! I wanted to shake the whole world and make them listen to Robbers And Cowards when I first heard it. I would be their roadie just to figure out how on earth they’re doing this. If you ask me, this was definitely the most soulful album of 2006.

•   3. The Decemberists, The Crane Wife

I wrote about them before and it was pathetic, I just went on and on about how amazing and innovative and amazing they were, so I’m just not gonna do it. All I’m gonna say is that after four albums they still manage to give us unexpectedly glorious music and I hope it never ever stops.

•   2. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Broom

I’m not even kidding when I say that my heart skips a beat when I put on this CD. I can’t explain why, it’s just a feeling. It’s funny how easy it is to point out what you hate about a certain band or song, but when you find that special something there are no words. Well, they make me feel like talking about music is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever tried to do.

•   1. The Raconteurs, Broken Boy Soldier

Yeah boiii, The Raconteurs! I love them for putting a healthy dose of pop into familiar genres. To me Broken Boy Soldier is the perfect package. Individually the songs make excellent singles, but as a whole they’re elevated to great heights. Every song sounds better because of the one that comes before and after it. This album will always remind me of 2006.

Here are a few more lists of good stuff from 2005, brought to you by the (entire) staff of 100b. The entries are in no particular order, they’re just things we thought were great and deserved mention.

Concerts Of The Year:

Fine, we lied. The rest of these lists aren’t ranked, but this was definitely The Show Of The Year. From the moment the ’secret’ Strokes tour was announced, 100b obsessed over getting tickets. We never actually imagined that we would. It took 7 hours standing in the freezing cold and a lot of hope, but we did it. And it was more than worth the trouble. We saw The Strokes in 2003 at Amsterdam’s Heineken Music Hall, a venue over 9 times bigger than the Melkweg’s small hall, and it was fantastic. But this show - it blew away all memories of that dumb ole 2003 show. We’d never been part of anything that was such an event. We read the reports from the other shows - the “VIPs” filling the venues, rather than the fans who were willing to stand in line all night. But that didn’t seem to be the case in Amsterdam, the crowd appearing to be at least 90% actual fans. The intense anticipation and excitement of the audience, combined with The Strokes insanely energetic performance made this the single best night of the whole damn year.

Oh, and it was fun to see that loser from MTV (Holland) get told off by The Strokes’ enormous security guy for filming without permission. Tee hee.

We managed to agree on which shows belonged on this list, just not on the order. (Which should explain why we haven’t ranked them.) 100b goes to a lot of concerts (we go see just about anyone who passes through these parts), but these are the ones that really left us speechless. There’s no real need to go into why - you should just go check them out for yourself and you’ll see what we’re talking about.

Tracks Of The Year:

Bright Eyes, “When The President Talks To God”
Kanye West, “Golddigga”
Devendra Banhart, “I Feel Just Like A Child”
Gwen Stefani, “Hollaback”
Eels, “Hey Man (Now You’re Really Living)”
Kaiser Chiefs, “I Predict A Riot”
Arctic Monkeys, “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor”
M.I.A., “Bucky Done Gun”
The Go! Team, “Ladyflash”
Babyshambles, “Fuck Forever”
LCD Soundsystem, “Daft Punk Is Playing At My House”
Weezer, “Beverly Hills”

(Video and/or audio are available for all these tracks via the links provided.)

This should really be called the Tracks Of The Year That Aren’t Already Covered By Our Best Albums Lists list. Mostly, they’re just really great songs - great pop, great rap, great indie, great funky hippie folk. If you made a CD (or playlist, for those Pod people out there), it would be one hell of a mix. I personally would like to give some special attention to Bright Eyes’ “When The President Talks To God”. As insane as it will sound to some people outside of the States (or not from the States), recording this song was a really brave and gutsy thing for Conor Oberst to do. (Not to mention singing it on nationwide television.) A lot of entertainment industry folk have spoken out about the Bush administration, but barely anyone has dared to be this blunt. Most of the recent protest songs hide behind vague concepts like peace and freedom. They make you feel good to be on the same side, but when the anger drips off Conor Oberst’s voice, he makes you feel like it’s actually worth trying to change things.

Honorable Mention Albums:

•  Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Howl
•  The Boy Least Likely To, The Best Party Ever
•  Kaiser Chiefs, Employment
•  Babyshambles, (First) ½ of Down In Albion
•  The A-Sides, Hello, Hello

These are just some albums that are definitely worth your time, but didn’t quite make it into either of our lists for one reason or another.

So we conclude our list of lists celebrating the brilliant music given to us all in 2005. And it begins again, with (hopefully) another year of exciting new music to discover in 2006.

•   15. The Magic Numbers, The Magic Numbers
•   14. Beck, Guero
•   13. Ryan Adams, Jacksonville City Nights
•   12. Bright Eyes, Digital Ash In A Digital Urn
•   11. Bloc Party, Silent Alarm
•   10. Bright Eyes, I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning
•   9. The Cribs, The New Fellas
•   8. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
•   7. Maximo Park, A Certain Trigger
•   6. Franz Ferdinand, You Could Have It So Much Better
•   5. Wolf Parade, Apologies To The Queen Mary
•   4. The Rakes, Capture/Release
•   3. The White Stripes, Get Behind Me Satan
•   2. Brakes, Give Blood
•   1. Arcade Fire, Funeral

2005 was a year of ups and downs for some new bands: one moment your band is the hottest thing on the block, the next it’s just that little bit trendier to hate you (see Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Bloc Party, to name a few). It was amusing to witness some of the music critic’s schizophrenia at first, but after a while it got mighty annoying. It made me question what I wanted out of an album. Well, I thought long and hard about it and the only thing I could come up with was: “It must not suck”. So it is quite safe to say that this list is totally, 100 percent free of suckage.

Picking the albums I wanted on the list was not the problem, putting them in a particular order was the pickle. It was hard. I mean heartbreakingly hard. I don’t ever wanna do this again … until next year. Now, after a bajillion revisions, I’m still not sure I got it right. I wasn’t sure how to rate one band I love over the other. How do you measure the degrees in appreciation?? I decided to pick the albums I keep going back to and/or the ones that moved me the most. Well, here they are, these are the albums that moved me to dance, cry, laugh or nod my head vigorously in 2005. Oh poop. I just changed it again …

I love them all for different reasons: For their originality, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Wolf Parade, Brakes and Arcade Fire were the bands that really surprised me. Or the way they transform guitar music into a celebration of being young like The Rakes and The Cribs do so well. Or for the unchanging – unless it’s for the better - quality and constant creativity Ryan Adams, Beck, The White Stripes and Bright Eyes give us. Or the way Bloc Party, Maximo Park and Franz Ferdinand make me want to get down and boogie reminiscent of the dance scene in The Breakfast Club. Or just for being able to make me grin in the street like an idiot with headphones, which is what The Magic Numbers and The A-Sides (who didn’t make the list but are still worth mentioning) did for me.

•   15. Beck, Guero
•   14. Maximo Park, A Certain Trigger
•   13. Franz Ferdinand, You Could Have It So Much Better
•   12. Ryan Adams, 29
•   11. Black Wire, Black Wire
•   10. Brakes, Give Blood
•   9. The Magic Numbers, The Magic Numbers
•   8. Bright Eyes, I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning
•   7. Bloc Party, Silent Alarm
•   6. Arcade Fire, Funeral
•   5. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
•   4. The Cribs, The New Fellas
•   3. Bright Eyes, Digital Ash In A Digital Urn
•   2. The Rakes, Capture/Release
•   1. The White Stripes, Get Behind Me Satan

You know, I tried to write a little bit about each of these albums - I suppose I was trying to describe them for people who haven’t heard them - but no matter what I wrote, it just didn’t sound like me. The thing is, you don’t really need me to describe them for you. That’s what album reviews are for, and you can find those anywhere.

I picked these albums as my Best Of 2005 because I love them, because they surprised me, because - after other albums have been released and I’ve checked those out - these are the albums I kept coming back to. I chose The White Stripes because their creativity knows no bounds; because everything they do is fresh and new and different from what came before. I picked The Rakes because they’re spokesmen for the everyday goings-on of our generation. Bright Eyes deserves two spots because these albums contain some of the most beautiful poetry I’ve ever heard; no matter how often I listen to them, they give me goosebumps every time. I love the Cribs because they feel like a sloppy, chaotic Friday night out and they play from their guts. I chose Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Arcade Fire, and Bloc Party because they don’t sound like anyone else and they all deserve even more hype than they’ve already gotten. The Magic Numbers sing from the rooftops; Brakes mix up just about every genre there is in under 40 minutes; Black Wire makes pop music for the apocalypse. Ryan Adams’ 29 is his most breathtaking album since Heartbreaker. I picked Franz Ferdinand because they dared to do mix things up on their second album and Maximo Park because A Certain Trigger gets better with every listen. And Beck because he’s just so damn funky. These are the albums that were the soundtrack to my year and the albums I will continue to listen to for a very, very long time.

(Pretty please go to amazon.co.uk, amazon.com, HMV, insound, Rough Trade or somewhere else that you like to shop and buy these albums.)