A look back on music in ’06 - Columnist claims it was a good year for music aficionados

By Jim Feighan
Collegian Staff
November 8, 2006

With less than two months left until we say goodbye to 2006, I recently thought about what the year had to offer us musically, and I was really pleased. Since I have a soft spot for indie music, I’m eager to provide a review of the lesser-known artists that turned heads this year. (And just as a side note, when using the term “indie,” I’m referring to genres of music that borrow from mainstream, but aren’t as popular).

Making one of the biggest impacts ever on the UK music chart, Gnarls Barkley formed this past spring and made a name for themselves on the radio, appealing to anyone who heard their schizophrenic hit “Crazy” off their debut album, St. Elsewhere. Along with popular hip-hop, DJ Girl Talk sampled from over 100 popular songs, from Ludacris to Weezer, in his mash-up breakthrough LP, Night Ripper. Philly heroes The Roots released Game Theory, their eighth and most consistent record to date since the late ’90s, calling out to practically anyone with a 215 area code. Ghostface Killah has been extremely busy, dropping the catchy, lo-fi Fishscale in late March, with another LP More Fish slated to surface Dec. 19. And while hip-hop had many instant classics, electronica/avant-garde artists had even more to offer their listeners.

Brooklyn’s TV on the Radio grew even more popular with Return to Cookie Mountain, a sordid journey through electronic drum beats and fuzzed basslines, with a guest appearance from fan and supporter David Bowie. TV on the Radio’s guitarist, David Sitek, had a very hectic year; other than touring in the fall, he produced The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s second LP effort, Show Your Bones and the ethereal Liar’s fan-favorite Drum’s Not Dead. Philly madcaps Man Man released Six Demon Bag, their best album to date, chock full of waltzes and childlike lyrics.

Radiohead fans finally stopped complaining when lead singer Thom Yorke released his first electronica-based solo LP The Eraser in late June. Speaking of eccentric singers, Beck rapped and swooned his way through derogatory Scientologist comments to create his seventh LP, the outstanding The Information. The Flaming Lips got as close as they’ll ever get to their masterpiece, The Soft Bulletin, with At War With The Mystics, a more political approach to psychedilia. Aside from experimental rock, the singer-songwriter genre of indie music deals with more personal subjects that can be overlooked in other genres, as I’ll demonstrate with Fiona Apple.

After four years of legal troubles, Apple’s record label finally released Extraordinary Machine, a beautiful collection of songs touching on Apple’s love life and the heartbreak that seems to unavoidably tag along. While Apple sulked at her piano bench though, Chan Marshall (a.k.a. Cat Power) purposely strummed her Danelectro out of tune. She took a bluesy route when writing The Greatest, a testament to the evolution of Marshall’s songwriting ability.

Completing the triumvirate of female singer-songwriters of 2006, is Charlotte Gainsbourg, daughter of French avant-garde wonder Serge Gainsbourg. Gainsbourg’s latest release, 5:55, while greeted with mixed reviews, is possibly my favorite album of the year, borrowing musicians such as Jarvis Cocker from Pulp, Neil Hannon from The Divine Comedy, electronica duo Air and producer Nigel Godrich to fabricate songs of sorrow and delusion. And where singer-songwriters fall short, garage bands are there to pick up the slack.

UK newcomers Arctic Monkeys shocked critics with a fresh spin on Brit-pop by means of their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. Clearly punk-influenced, Arctic Monkeys drown out the NME competition with the help of lead singer Alex Turner’s shrill voice, strangely reminiscent of the voice of The Strokes’ Julian Casablanca.

Last but not least is legend Bob Dylan’s contribution to 2006: Modern Times. Dylan, while backed by a cowboy country band, is able to pull off songs that mix the sounds of a dank Southern bar with subjects such as gambling and discovering Alicia Keys.

While this synopsis can’t possibly cover all of the superb indie music of 2006, I hope that any reader in search of new music can prosper from the aforementioned albums I grazed upon. Whatever 2007 holds for us, one can find solace in the fact that great music can be found in the most unexpected places.

feighanj1@lasalle.edu