Mr. Trend's Best-of-2006 thus far

Part of being hip and cool is knowing what's hip and cool elsewhere. So, like many publications (at least the legitimate, non-Rolling-Stone, non-Spin ones), here's my "best albums so far of 2006" list, in order.

1. TV on the Radio - "Return to Cookie Mountain" (Ok, so it's only out in England, and doesn't hit the states until August - it's still the best album of the year, period). While their first album ("Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes") was a minor-revelation, coming out of your speakers like a late-night security-blanket and paranoia-driven freakout all at once, this album surpasses the first in every way - unbelievable, an in-your-face manifesto on music as art and a delightful and beautiful collection of songs at the same time, packing aggression, beauty, energy, and the wonderful soundscapes that only the TVOTR collective offer at this current juncture.

2. Sonic Youth - "Rather Ripped." Enough of this bullshit of the "last of a trio of albums" or "poppiest album" or "most song-driven album" - it's just fucking good. Sonic Youth's "worst" album (whatever you may say it is, though they don't have a bad one) is still any band's best album.

3. Neko Case - "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood." Sure, lots of people say she always sounds the same, is a one-trick pony, etc., but I can't agree. This album has new elements, very subtle, and its as haunting (if not moreso) than "Blacklisted" was. The best album of the first three months of the year.

4. The Black Keys - "Chulahoma". Sure, they're from my stomping grounds of Akron, OH, even went to high school with me, but this is nothing about regional bias. They, like no other rock band out there right now, get the blues, and know how to turn it into grinding, filthy, bluesy rock. Saw them in a show a few years ago, and they tore the roof off the building. They haven't lost it. This is an outstanding EP, covering Junior Kimbrough songs and making them their own (and if you haven't heard them, do so NOW. While we're at it, if you haven't heard Junior Kimbrough, go out and get his best-of, "You Better Run", NOW too).

5. Matthew Shipp - "One". I've always been a fan of solo-piano, from Beethoven to Monk and beyond. Shipp's new one is remarkable, showing just how much one man can do with just a piano, how boundaries can be extended in any instrument and any direction, and how one can perform such violence on an instrument and still make something so beautiful (you should see his shows - to cop a friends analogy, it's like he's in a 50-minute epic of completely physically assaulting the piano and then making the most passionate, delicate love to it, over and over).

6. Belle and Sebastian - "The Life Pursuit." While we're on mild rants, enough of this "they're back" bullshit, too. Sure, the middle albums weren't "genius" (a word thrown around too often), but they had some good songs on it. Get over it. And this one, while not my favorite at first, and still not my favorite of theirs (still can't decide b/t "If You're Feeling Sinister" and "The Boy with the Arab Strap"), it's damn good.

7. Scott Walker - "The Drift." This one is one of the scariest albums I've ever heard. Walker, a former 50s hearthrob, has recently been releasing albums at the pace of one every 11 years (1984, 1995, this year). It's terrifying ambient- and noise-rock, with Walker's baritone making it scarier by a magnitude of ten. All paranoia, fear, and terror. Delightful.

8. Gnarls Barkley - "St. Elsewhere." A good example of how popular tastes can actually meet with good music. The bluesy bass and drums of Danger Mouse go perfect with Cee-Lo's tenor. Seriously, does everything Danger Mouse touches turn to gold? I sure hope so...looking forward to his next "project."

9. Mojave 3 - "Puzzles Like You." Another fundamental shift from their earlier stuff. While I enjoy thoroughly their first four albums, with the slow, dreamlike pace and sound, they sound like they smoked crack (for them), picking up the speed and making the best pop album of the year.

10. The Futureheads - "News and Tributes" - A radical shift from the first album (which, for the record, I also love), showing an amazing development of maturity and sounds, while still keeping their fun, rocking sound. One of those albums that could piss off fans of the first album, while being far more enjoyable for those who may have brushed off their first album.

11. Psapp - "This Way." Rounding out the list, a humble, charming little piece, just nice beats and a voice that pulls off both cute and sexy.
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