speed of dark

OK, I almost have this figured out. I have 25 favorite songs for 2006. But I just got a new album, so I might throw in another; who knows. I do know that I have posted seven of them so far. Don't worry, I'll pull it all together into one list at the end.

I still refuse to number them (you saw how many headaches Indie Mom had over that), but in time-honored tradition, I am saving the ones I like the very best for last.

Favorites of 2006, 15 - 18:

Decemberists: O Valencia from The Crane Wife
Sadly, I have still not fallen in love with the entire saga of The Crane Wife, but I do like this little Romeo and Juliet number. It isn't "Shiny" or "Red Right Ankle", but the Decemberists on a bad day are still awfully good.
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Lindsey Buckingham: To Try For the Sun from Under the Skin
Under the Skin as a whole was a little bit of a disappointment for me, but like Colin Meloy, Lindsey Buckingham can't write a bad song. I love the frantic picking here, and as always, the impeccable production qualities make listening an exquisite pleasure. I can't help noticing however, that this song was actually written 14 years ago for the unreleased Gift of Screws CD. It's sad that after all these years, this wasn't a better album. See my previous post here.
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Keane: Leaving So Soon? from Under the Iron Sea
I really did not want to include a Keane song in my Favorites. I bought an earlier Keane CD, and I got tired of it fairly quickly. Squeaky-clean pop gets boring after a while. But the more I listened to songs from Under the Iron Sea, the more I liked the sparkling melodies and the clarity of Tom Chaplin's voice. Is It Any Wonder, Atlantic, Let It Slide, and Crystal Ball are all good songs. I have to admit that this one is a Favorite, played over and over.
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Snow Patrol: Headlights on Dark Roads from Eyes Open
I am a Gary Lightbody fan, both in Snow Patrol and Reindeer Section, however, I was not as crazy about The Final Straw as I thought I should have been. Ironically, that's the album that turned everybody else into Snow Patrol fans. But this song from Eyes Open contains all the sense of danger and yearning that I originally liked about Snow Patrol back when they made When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up.
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