Month: December 2006

My top 10 favorite concerts of 2006, in descending order:1. Porcupine Tree (Keswick Theatre, Glenside, PA & State Theatre, Falls Church, VA; October 07 & October 08): These back-to-back shows top the list because Steven Wilson and his group simply put on awesome performances both nights. In what seemed like a common theme on all concerts on the band’s entire Arriving Somewhere tour, both the shows were divided into two halves. The band played unreleased material from the upcoming album on the first half and the regular favorites during the second. The new material, which included the brilliant tentatively-titled “The…

In baseball they call it a rebuilding year… that in-between space where you’re more preoccupied with missing the past and looking forward to the future than with focusing on the present you’re inhabiting.  I can’t say the year 2006 made a big impression on me musically.  Other than the few standouts noted below, the biggest news for me this year was that Fountains Of Wayne, the Redwalls and Jimmy Eat World are all back in the studio working on 2007 releases.  That said, here are a few randomish awards:  Album I Most Regret Not Reviewing This Year Like many latter-day fans…

No drawn-out introduction here. Below you'll find a top 10 list of the records I personally enjoyed most in 2006:10. Gnarls Barkley -- St. ElsewhereAfter all the British-sponsored hype about this dynamic duo, the likely one-off release was a major disappointment. However, tracks like "Go-Go Gadget Gospel," "Crazy," "Smiley Faces" and "The Last Time" provide more than enough forward-thinking sheen to gain this relatively dull offering numerous top 10 entries this year -- including mine. If you want to call it R&B or soul (which I do), this is certainly the most notable release in a very, very long time.9.…

For the music charts, this was the year of Justin Timberlake and High School Musical, not to mention entirely too much attention given to Paris Hilton and Kevin Federline. American Idol continued its reign, Beck released an album with stickers for do-it-yourself album art and I still haven’t figured out the appeal of Fall Out Boy or Panic! At The Disco. But for me, on the other hand, 2006 was also the year of some fantastic indie debuts, follow-ups from old favorites and the odd supergroup who detested being termed a supergroup -- not to mention a lot of paychecks…

As I've mentioned before, I was moving and getting settled for most of the early part of 2006. As such, I present the DV faithful with the Top 14 of 2005 and 2006: 14. Nickel Creek -- Why Should The Fire Die? Newgrass wunderkinds Nickel Creek break out of their sophomore slump with a tight, powerful CD of brilliant music. 13. Blackmore's Night -- Winter Carols I don't often put holiday music on this list, but I had to in this case. Candace Night has the most beautiful voice currently recording.  12. Il Divo -- Siempre Yes, they're manufactured. Yes, they're…

Has it been a year already? Indeed it has, and 2006 definitely was a step up from a so-so 2005. From revitalized classic rock artists to newfound respect for current performers, this year was a bit more like it.  Comeback Album Of The YearElton John -- The Captain and the Kid This was one of the hardest categories for me to decide on. There were three extremely worthy artists: Meat Loaf, Elton John and Cat Stevens as a late bloomer. In the end, though, Elton takes this category simply because this is his best in 30 years. While all three albums are…

Ghostface Killah proved that rap is not exclusively a young players' game. The weirder Tom Waits gets, the more popular he becomes. And Cee-Lo, a person whose career was as commercially dead as K-Fed (but for all the wrong reasons), is now set for a long time with “Crazy,” perhaps the only shoo-in for “Top Ten Songs of the Decade” in a year that saw virtually no shoo-ins for “Best Albums of the Decade” – even though there was a ton of great stuff out there. Bob Dylan achieved “instant classic” status again with Modern Times, though some fans began…