speed of dark

I don't buy very many complete albums anymore. I used to buy albums all the time for one or two songs, and end up with serious buyer's remorse, a million CDs I didn't want anymore, and empty pockets, and I was reluctant to purchase bands I had read about but not heard. With the rise of iTunes (and before it, Napster and KaZaa), I was able to find what I wanted without the filler. Much of the music found on my best of 2006 list came from my wonderful fellow bloggers who introduced me to music that I might otherwise have passed over. I've only bought six complete albums this year, and you'll find all but one of them in my top five, and all of them on this list.

So I am presenting the 25 best songs, rather than albums, that I've heard this year. My self-imposed guidelines are as follows:

a) All songs must have been released during the 2006 year (duh) in the US.
b) Only one song per artist (very hard to follow).
c) Alt-gramma and I must not pick the same songs (she will post her own).

25. the raconteurs: blue veins

buy the album | official website | myspace

The closer to Broken Boy Soldiers, this song is a lovely bluesy production by Jack White, Brendan Benson, and Co. I love the backwards warping at the beginning, and the soft piano and guitar throughout. This song was of course overshadowed by the much more popular Steady As She Goes, which I liked, but this one stuck in my head.

24. beck: cellphone's dead

buy the album | offical website | myspace

I've read a lot of disparaging things about Beck's latest release, The Information. I loved Beck's Guero and Sea Change, and I'm not sure if this release measures up to either one of those albums. But it's different - and you can always count on "different" to come from Beck. I liked several tracks from this disc quite a bit, including Nausea and I Think I'm In Love, but I loved the kid's voice and laugh samples in this song more than I care to admit.

23. the mountain goats: woke up new

buy the album | official website | fansite

This prolific band, with songs named things like "Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton" and "Standard Bitter Love Song #4" broke my heart with this sweet song about the what happens on the morning after someone leaves you. It's delicate and sweet, funny and touching. The Mountain Goats are still a little bitter about love, but they know how to write a great song about it, too.

22. maritime: no one will remember you tonight

buy the album | official website | myspace

Out of the flames of The Promise Ring and The Dismemberment Plan comes Maritime, a band from Milwaukee. Maritime is currently on tour in Florida and the southern US supporting their album We, The Vehicles. I actually bought the entire album, and I like it a lot. I had a hard time choosing between this song and the album opener, Calm.

21. what made milwaukee famous: idecide

buy the album | official website | myspace | barsuk records page

What Made Milwaukee Famous is not, surprisingly, from Milwaukee. The Austin, Texas band have been featured on KEXP and Austin City Limits, and the song I've chosen, IDecide, is my favorite from their debut release, Trying Never to Catch Up. One of the great things about WMMF is that every song is very different and very inventive.