Tops of 2006...a little late, I know.

This naturally goes into the better-late-than-never category. While just looking for an old text file on my computer, I came across this. And I'm pretty surprised at how much my picks have held up. I'm still pretty much listening to all of these a good amount.

So here goes....
I put things into little categories so it's easier to digest, and these are in no real order.

The return of the 70's:
Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther
Comets on Fire - Avatar (how this hasn't been on any lists disturbs the hell out of me)

Great heavy metal:
Mastodon - Blood Mountain
Boris - Pink
Light This City - Facing the Thousand

Rune Grammofon's sweet 2006:
Huntsville, Susanna and the Magical Orchestra, Humcrush and Thomas Strønen's albums

Jim O'Rourke's sweet 2006:
Loose Fur - Born Again in the USA
Beth Orton - Comfort of Strangers

Music that just feels plain ol' American:
Califone - Roots & Crowns
American Princes - Less and Less

Favorite meandering fuzzy guitar song records:
TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
Function - The Secret Miracle Fountain
Mono with World's End Girlfriend

Electronic music for being in my car alone:
Junior Boys - So This is Goodbye
Jan Jelinek - Tierbeobachtungen

A completely amazing year for percussion records:
the aformentioned Thomas Strønen record
Glenn Kotche's Mobile
So Percussions' Amid the Noise

A great year for deconstructing other genres and making it your own:
Ekkehard Ehlers - A Life Without Fear
Mats Gustafsson & David Stackenäs - Blues (late 2005)
Rafael Toral - Space

Not new, but new to me:
Captain Beyond - s/t (so unbelievably good) (UPDATE: found it on vinyl recently!)
Franco Battiato - everything
Egg - everything
The Action - Rolled Gold (instantly on my all-time top 10)
Mighty Baby - s/t
Arthur Russell - First Thought Best Thought

Close calls:
Final Fantasy - He Poos Clouds
Parts and Labor - Stay Afraid

I've got something to say...

I don't know if there's anything better than having a friend get married to the one person in the world that is absolutely perfect for them. I love these kids. Congrats Mike and Maia!
Here's a song for you: The Action - Something to Say

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In other news, I've been traveling for-ev-er...Went to Vegas, LA, stopped in Boulder for a day and then went back out to Miami...I've got a couple more days here and I can't wait to get home. It's been fantastic seeing the old friends, but I just can't believe that I lived here for two whole years. The city is growing faster than one would imagine is possible. I've been gone just under one year and the skyline has DOUBLED. That is no exaggeration. There are dozens of cranes in the sky. The traffic is worse, the people are as rude as ever, and man, is it hot. Whatever...I'm gunna go walk and get a slice from the friendly neighborhood pizza stand.

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BTW: that Mayweather/DeLaHoya 24 show on HBO is bonkers. Mayweather is a bonafide lunatic. There's some fantastic family dynamic stuff going on, the cash counting is hilarious, the show is shot and edited better than The Hills, and the nature-style documentary voiceover is hilarious (see: Fishing With John). Cinco de Mayweather should be a pretty great fight of Rocky IV-like proportions.