Roses + Bluejays: Favorite Albums 2006.

Fine, here's my list, usual suspects, no one cares about it really, already regret the order, etc, etc, etc.

15. Los Bunkers - Vida de Perros (US release 2006)

The sticker said "For Fans of The Strokes, Oasis, and Franz Ferdinand." Accurate as hell. See? Why can't American bands do that? All they write is that they were influenced by fucking Radiohead. YEAH YOU TWAT. YOU AND THREE MILLION OTHER SHITTY BANDS WERE INFLUENCED BY FUCKING RADIOHEAD.

14. Jeffrey & Jack Lewis - City & Eastern Songs (US release 2006)

This album is totally worth it just for this crazy song about Will Oldham. The punchline is amazing. I bow down to Jeffrey and his brother.

13. Various artists - Big Apple Rappin'

THROW YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR
PARTY HARD LIKE YOU JUST DON'T CARE

12. Cat Power - The Greatest

For those of you who like sad Chan, fuck you. Those who like happy Chan chilling with old Memphis musicians, ILU. Still waiting for her hip-hop debut though.

11. Juana Molina - Son

You know, I didn't really like her when I met her, but this album is hypnotic with all those loops, and songs like "Micael" sound like creepy lullabies.

10. The Blood Brothers - Young Machetes

Okay, this is a backhanded compliment, but The Black Parade? Totally should have sounded like Young muthafuckin' Machetes. High-pitched, over-the-top vocals, abrasive guitars, amazingly fun.

09. Javiera Mena - Esquemas Juveniles

At first I wasn't sure what to make of her, I heard another soft-voiced, cute singer-songwriter this year I liked, and I wasn't sure if I was going through a phase. BTW, the other singer is Britta Persson, who was just reviewed on Stylus with an A-, which is ridic because I would really give it a solid B. Javiera Mena's debut is so much stronger and has this quirky electropop thing going for her. It's definitely grown on me the more I listen to it, too, which is always a good thing.

08. Marisa Monte - Infinito Particular (US release
2006)

I think Marisa Monte has one of the most distinctly beautiful voices I've heard in pop music. Apparently, she studied opera when she was younger. In the US, Infinito Particular was released simultaneously with Monte's Universo ao meu Redor, which I didn't care for as much as I did for this album. But still, she's a stunning singer and her compositions in this album really play up her voice.

07. Asobi Seksu - Citrus

You guys probably aren't aware of this, because Asobi Seksu had really shit distribution with their first album so no one heard it, but the band used to have a different rhythm section, and when I found out about this I was like, "Well, that's it, Asobi Seksu are over." Except this album happened and I was impressed by how pop-y and lovely it was.

06. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House

I don't know what to say that hasn't been said. This album is beautiful, that's all.

05. The Knife - Silent Shout

Sometimes I find singer girl's voice really annoying, but when you take the music into account, it totally works. I love how moody and dark the songs sound, and there's some real standouts, like that song with that video that was marginally based on Black Hole. Good shit!

04. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood

Last year, I remember listening to Buck 65's "Blood of a Young Wolf," in which my one true love Rich Terfry namechecks several awesome ladies within the same line: "I'm talking Amelia Earhart, Neko Case, Frida Kahlo..." I was like, "How the hell do you put a pop singer in the same fucking sentence as Earhart and Kahlo?" In 2006 I got to know Case's work better, and now I know that Mr. 65 was right. Neko Case is brilliant.

03. Various artists - Tropicália

I guess it's sorta like when people think of New York City in '75 or even the late '60s and they think everyone was so damn cool and talented and loved each other and were BFFs. That's how it feels when I listen to this shit.