Here are what I believe to be the best albums of 2006. As you all know, my taste in music cannot be faulted, so you would do well to pick these up! In no particular order they are:
Keane - Under the Iron Sea
While not managing to surpass the genius of their debut album, Hopes and Fears, the trio come mighty close with this follow-up. Best song: Nothing in My Way
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium
I'm not with a lot of critics who say that this is their masterpiece. I would rate Blood Sugar Sex Magik, By The Way, One Hot Minute (just kidding!) and Californication over this. Having said that, the quality throughout this 2-disc is fantastic. SO many artists bring out a double-album that only has about one album's worth of good songs on it (yes, I'm talking to you Foo Fighters and R Kelly!). Best song: Dani California
Outkast - Idlewild Soundtrack
This was easily my most anticipated album of the year. Outkast are, after all, my favorite band. I suppose it was inevitable that they couldn't top the untoppable (is that a word?) heights of Speakerboxx/The Love Below. Hell, they didn't even manage to top Aquemini or Stankonia either. However, Outkast running on half-power are still better than most artists at full strength. Best song: Morris Brown
Prince - 3121
The greatest artist of all time released this follow-up to his "comeback" album, Musicology, in March. I never understood why Musicology was so popular. I thought it was one of his least genius-like albums ever (I just can't use the word "worst" when referring to the man). 3121 was certainly a step up from Musicology and there were even flashes of the old master. On the Prince scale, I'd rate this album as a 6 out of 10, which is 10/10 for anyone else! Best song: Black Sweat
The Feeling - Twelve Steps and Home
These guys came out of nowhere to score five UK top ten hits from this, their debut album. As I mentioned in a previous post, they are like a happier Coldplay and write some of the catchiest choruses you'll ever hear. Best song: Sewn
Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape
Having listened to this album quite a few times since the first review I posted, I can confirm that it is brilliant. I still can't get over the fact that she's managed to top Love Angel Music Baby with an even more eclectic CD, but she certainly has. Best song: Early Winter
Various - BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge
There's a DJ called Jo Whiley on BBC's radio 1 who does a weekly feature called the Live Lounge, where she gets musical guests to come into the show, go into the studio and then do acoustic versions of either their own songs or covers. This double-disc is a collection of these from the past few years. A few highlights are: The Automatic doing Gold Digger, Outkast-Ms Jackson, Queens of the Stone Age-No One Knows, Lemar-I Believe in a Thing Called Love, Franz Ferdinand-What You Waiting For. Best song: Gold Digger
Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds
I can't believe that this guy used to be in a boyband. I think JT is possibly the best male solo artist working today that is not Prince. The album gets more and more rewarding with each listening. Seriously, if you haven't picked this up yet, I urge you to do so. Best song: My Love
Scissor Sisters - Ta-Dah!
I think that I Don't Feel Like Dancin' was possibly the greatest song of the year. If you don't get his album, at least download that song. But, if you like infectious disco beats with a dash of Elton and a dollop of 70s New York, download the whole thing. Best song: I Don't Feel Like Dancin'
Razorlight - Razorlight
Lead singer Johnny Borrell is a dickhead in the vein of Liam Gallacher or Brandon Flowers. I'm talking major assholeage, here. However, as long as Razorlight keep coming up with albums this good, I suppose we can let this slide. Best song: America
Honorable Mention:
In a weaker year, all of these would have made the list. I really liked
John Legend - Once Again
Pharrell - In My Mind
Diana Krall - From This Moment On
Nelly Furtado - Loose
Gnarls Barkley - St Elsewhere
Lily Allen - Alright Still
Dixie Chicks - Taking The Long Way
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I am, That's What I'm Not
30 Dec 2006
19 Dec 2006
The Best Video of 2006
Saturday Night Live and Andy Samburg have done it again. After last year's Lazy Sunday video comes this. Justin is always great on SNL, but this could be the best thing he's ever done on the show. It's like R. Kelly done by Color MeBadd!
11 Dec 2006
9 Dec 2006
Now THIS, my friends, is a man who can play guitar, PART 2!!
Since YouTube took down my last posting that proved Prince's guitar genius, here is some replacement evidence of why I'm always right.
What I'm listening to right now
Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape
After a wait of two years since her solo debut, during which she managed to give birth to her first child, comes the highly anticipated (and not just by me) release of Gwen's second album. L.A.M.B. was both a critical and commercial success and, along with Kanye West's College Dropout and Keane's Hopes and Fears, was my favorite album of 2004. With a build-up like this, her sophomore offering could only be a let down, right? Wrong. As unlikely as it sounds, The Sweet Escape is even better than it's predecessor. The album is paradoxical in that it's more of the same but completely different. L.A.M.B.'s great success was it's Prince-like marriage of different genres; from pop to R&B to funk to hip-hop to ballads. The Sweet Escape offers the same eclectic mix which, by definition, makes it different but the same. The usual suspects, Pharrell and Timbaland, are here, along with some surprising appearances by the likes of Keane's keyboardist/songwriter Tim Rice-Oxley. I didn't, two weeks ago, think I would be writing that this album was better than L.A.M.B but do yourself a favor, download/get it now.
Download: Wind It Up, Early Winter
Snoop Dogg - Tha Blue Carpet Treatment
First question: Does Snoop cover any new ground here? Answer: No.
Next: So it's just more of the same from Rap's laconic icon? Answer: Yes
Next: Are there songs about the stickiest of the icky? Answer: Take a wild guess
Next: What about bitches? I assume they're also represented? Answer: Hell yizz-ess!
Next: Are there numerous guest appearances? Answer: What do YOU think.
Next: Pharrell and Timbaland? Answer: Check.
Next: R. Kelly and Dr Dre? Answer: Check.
Next: (Flavors of the month) Akon and Jamie Foxx? Answer: Chizz-eck.
Next: So why should I get it? Answer: Because it's the Snoopy D-O-double-gizzle!
Download: Does it really matter?
25 Nov 2006
16 Nov 2006
15 Nov 2006
A Letter from Liberals to Conservatives
I'm on a mailing list where I was sent the below letter today. Please read.
A Liberal's Pledge to Disheartened Conservatives
November 14th, 2006
To My Conservative Brothers and Sisters,
I know you are dismayed and disheartened at the results of last week's election. You're worried that the country is heading toward a very bad place you don't want it to go. Your 12-year Republican Revolution has ended with so much yet to do, so many promises left unfulfilled. You are in a funk, and I understand.
Well, cheer up, my friends! Do not despair. I have good news for you. I, and the millions of others who are now in charge with our Democratic Congress, have a pledge we would like to make to you, a list of promises that we offer you because we value you as our fellow Americans. You deserve to know what we plan to do with our newfound power -- and, to be specific, what we will do to you and for you.
Thus, here is our Liberal's Pledge to Disheartened Conservatives:
Dear Conservatives and Republicans,
I, and my fellow signatories, hereby make these promises to you:
1. We will always respect you for your conservative beliefs. We will never, ever, call you "unpatriotic" simply because you disagree with us. In fact, we encourage you to dissent and disagree with us.
2. We will let you marry whomever you want, even when some of us consider your behavior to be "different" or "immoral." Who you marry is none of our business. Love and be in love -- it's a wonderful gift.
3. We will not spend your grandchildren's money on our personal whims or to enrich our friends. It's your checkbook, too, and we will balance it for you.
4. When we soon bring our sons and daughters home from Iraq, we will bring your sons and daughters home, too. They deserve to live. We promise never to send your kids off to war based on either a mistake or a lie.
5. When we make America the last Western democracy to have universal health coverage, and all Americans are able to get help when they fall ill, we promise that you, too, will be able to see a doctor, regardless of your ability to pay. And when stem cell research delivers treatments and cures for diseases that affect you and your loved ones, we'll make sure those advances are available to you and your family, too.
6. Even though you have opposed environmental regulation, when we clean up our air and water, we, the Democratic majority, will let you, too, breathe the cleaner air and drink the purer water.
7. Should a mass murderer ever kill 3,000 people on our soil, we will devote every single resource to tracking him down and bringing him to justice. Immediately. We will protect you.
8. We will never stick our nose in your bedroom or your womb. What you do there as consenting adults is your business. We will continue to count your age from the moment you were born, not the moment you were conceived.
9. We will not take away your hunting guns. If you need an automatic weapon or a handgun to kill a bird or a deer, then you really aren't much of a hunter and you should, perhaps, pick up another sport. We will make our streets and schools as free as we can from these weapons and we will protect your children just as we would protect ours.
10. When we raise the minimum wage, we will pay you -- and your employees -- that new wage, too. When women are finally paid what men make, we will pay conservative women that wage, too.
11. We will respect your religious beliefs, even when you don't put those beliefs into practice. In fact, we will actively seek to promote your most radical religious beliefs ("Blessed are the poor," "Blessed are the peacemakers," "Love your enemies," "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God," and "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."). We will let people in other countries know that God doesn't just bless America, he blesses everyone. We will discourage religious intolerance and fanaticism -- starting with the fanaticism here at home, thus setting a good example for the rest of the world.
12. We will not tolerate politicians who are corrupt and who are bought and paid for by the rich. We will go after any elected leader who puts him or herself ahead of the people. And we promise you
we will go after the corrupt politicians on our side FIRST. If we fail to do this, we need you to call us on it. Simply because we are in power does not give us the right to turn our heads the other way when our party goes astray. Please perform this important duty as the loyal opposition.
I promise all of the above to you because this is your country, too. You are every bit as American as we are. We are all in this together. We sink or swim as one. Thank you for your years of service to this country and for giving us the opportunity to see if we can make things a bit better for our 300 million fellow Americans -- and for the rest of the world.
A Liberal's Pledge to Disheartened Conservatives
November 14th, 2006
To My Conservative Brothers and Sisters,
I know you are dismayed and disheartened at the results of last week's election. You're worried that the country is heading toward a very bad place you don't want it to go. Your 12-year Republican Revolution has ended with so much yet to do, so many promises left unfulfilled. You are in a funk, and I understand.
Well, cheer up, my friends! Do not despair. I have good news for you. I, and the millions of others who are now in charge with our Democratic Congress, have a pledge we would like to make to you, a list of promises that we offer you because we value you as our fellow Americans. You deserve to know what we plan to do with our newfound power -- and, to be specific, what we will do to you and for you.
Thus, here is our Liberal's Pledge to Disheartened Conservatives:
Dear Conservatives and Republicans,
I, and my fellow signatories, hereby make these promises to you:
1. We will always respect you for your conservative beliefs. We will never, ever, call you "unpatriotic" simply because you disagree with us. In fact, we encourage you to dissent and disagree with us.
2. We will let you marry whomever you want, even when some of us consider your behavior to be "different" or "immoral." Who you marry is none of our business. Love and be in love -- it's a wonderful gift.
3. We will not spend your grandchildren's money on our personal whims or to enrich our friends. It's your checkbook, too, and we will balance it for you.
4. When we soon bring our sons and daughters home from Iraq, we will bring your sons and daughters home, too. They deserve to live. We promise never to send your kids off to war based on either a mistake or a lie.
5. When we make America the last Western democracy to have universal health coverage, and all Americans are able to get help when they fall ill, we promise that you, too, will be able to see a doctor, regardless of your ability to pay. And when stem cell research delivers treatments and cures for diseases that affect you and your loved ones, we'll make sure those advances are available to you and your family, too.
6. Even though you have opposed environmental regulation, when we clean up our air and water, we, the Democratic majority, will let you, too, breathe the cleaner air and drink the purer water.
7. Should a mass murderer ever kill 3,000 people on our soil, we will devote every single resource to tracking him down and bringing him to justice. Immediately. We will protect you.
8. We will never stick our nose in your bedroom or your womb. What you do there as consenting adults is your business. We will continue to count your age from the moment you were born, not the moment you were conceived.
9. We will not take away your hunting guns. If you need an automatic weapon or a handgun to kill a bird or a deer, then you really aren't much of a hunter and you should, perhaps, pick up another sport. We will make our streets and schools as free as we can from these weapons and we will protect your children just as we would protect ours.
10. When we raise the minimum wage, we will pay you -- and your employees -- that new wage, too. When women are finally paid what men make, we will pay conservative women that wage, too.
11. We will respect your religious beliefs, even when you don't put those beliefs into practice. In fact, we will actively seek to promote your most radical religious beliefs ("Blessed are the poor," "Blessed are the peacemakers," "Love your enemies," "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God," and "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."). We will let people in other countries know that God doesn't just bless America, he blesses everyone. We will discourage religious intolerance and fanaticism -- starting with the fanaticism here at home, thus setting a good example for the rest of the world.
12. We will not tolerate politicians who are corrupt and who are bought and paid for by the rich. We will go after any elected leader who puts him or herself ahead of the people. And we promise you
we will go after the corrupt politicians on our side FIRST. If we fail to do this, we need you to call us on it. Simply because we are in power does not give us the right to turn our heads the other way when our party goes astray. Please perform this important duty as the loyal opposition.
I promise all of the above to you because this is your country, too. You are every bit as American as we are. We are all in this together. We sink or swim as one. Thank you for your years of service to this country and for giving us the opportunity to see if we can make things a bit better for our 300 million fellow Americans -- and for the rest of the world.
12 Nov 2006
I met Gordon Ramsey!!
So Courtney and I and some friends went to this event in London today called the BBC Good Food Live show. Basically, it happens around this time every year and it showcases great food from around the world. It's like a convention for food lovers. Like most conventions, there are famous people in attendance. This year, among other celebrity chefs that you may or may not have heard about, Gordon Ramsey (Hell's Kitchen, The F Word, Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares)was there. He gave a cooking demonstration on how to cook a three course meal in under 30 mins and then he did a book signing! Needless to say, Courtney, her Mom and her friend Carleen all got their book signed by the great man, while I took the pictures and called him Gordon! I wanted him to tell me to fuck off or shut up or something but, alas, there was no time. See the pics below:
Gordon doing his thing....
...and again...
Gordon signing Courtney's book...
...and Courtney looking particularly pleased about this!
7 Nov 2006
What I'm listening to right now, Gay Edition
Scissor Sisters - Ta-Dah
It's a crying shame that this New York quintet are virtually unknown in their native land. Their biggest following is in the UK, where they have scored two number one albums out of two. They are also well-known in their hometown of New York City, but nowhere else in the United States of Jesusland. As with their eponymous first album, Ta-Dah is firmly rooted in disco/dance. Unlike their debut, though, there is more depth here. With a few songs co-written by her majesty Elton and lyrics about the price of fame, the Sisters have given a superficial genre some meaning. However, this is still an album top put on at a party or to just cheer you up. Highly, highly recommended.
Download: I Don't Feel Like Dancing, Lights
Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds
I agree with something that has been written in numerous places about this album. If the thinking black man's white boy's first album was an homage to Michael, this album is definitely a riposte by Prince. Gone are the first tentative steps out of N'Sync. Replacing them are the grinds and thrusts of His Royal Badness circa the mid-80s. What's for sure is that JT has moved on artistically. Funk, R&B, hip-hop, rock and 80's synth-pop are all covered here with aplomb. So earnest is Justin here, that at first it's hard to just "enjoy" the album for what it is. On the third or fourth listening, though, it begins to dawn on you that Timberlake has given us something better than we expected and that we may not have realised and thus been put off by that at first. While he deserves a lot of the credit for this, it would be remiss of me to not send some of the plaudits Timbaland's way. He's done what he does best: take an already credible artist and make them better than we or they could have expected.
Download: FutureSex/LoveSounds, My Love, Chop Me Up
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