Bestof theYear Pete/s SoothingSongs for a TurbulentYear Dave's Soul Stirring Genre Mash TOP FIVE (with impertinentcommentary when irrepressible) Art Srut: BangBang Rock & Roh -Bg- Tom Verlaine: Songs and Other Things oh thosewicked charms EricBachmann: To the Races T-Bone Burnett: True False ldentity Ane Brun: ATemporaryDive Alejandro Escovedo: the Boxing Mirror !p f/t count Belle& Sebastian:the LifePursuit JonDeeGraham: Full...ofguitardrlvenpaeanstodesperation&emotionalrescue The Streets:the HardestWay to Makean EasyLiving Kaki King: Until We Felt Red queenofaltthingsstringed&more THEREST Paul Simon: Surprise soundscapescounesy Eno the Be-GoodTanyas: Hello Love Jel: Soft Money &ha.dtruths the BlackKeys: MagicPotion Jon Langford: Gold Brick ainol list Bonnie'Prince"Billy: the LettingCo A by Kelly Mogwai: Mr. Beast BottleRockets: Zoysia Cotan Project: Lunatico .Calexico:the GardenRuin the DresdenDolls: YesViroinia Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3: Ole! Tarantula the Decemberists: 'Sno Califone:Roots & Crowns the Craie Wife Howe Celb: Angel Like You H.c.'sinimirable gospelplow White NekoCase: Fox confessor Brings the Flood Whale:WWI 50 Foot Wave: Free Music (EP) surfis... Centro-matic:Fort Recovery Calexico:Garden Ruin Squarewave: s/t transcendent the Cush: NewAppreciation for Sunshine CameraObscura: Let's Cet Out ofThis Country Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris: All This Roadrunning plas "Live" cDlDVD DeadMeadow: s/t Placebo:Meds Ooubledup anddelicious MatesofState: Bring the Drams:Jubilee Drive it Back Carrie Rodriquez: Seven Angels on a Bicycle Orive-8yTruckers: A Elessingand a Curse the M's: FutureWomen Charlie Musselwhite: Delta Hardware lV Thleves:lf WeCan't Escape My Pretty ArabStrap: the LastRomance Mare Edstrom: Keys to the castle Cob lron: DeathSongs for the Living Beck:the Information Sean Lennon: Friendly Fire ghosts,echoes & presentsense MountainGoats: BabyonSprings (EP) All lndla Radio: Echo Other MarkPickerel: Snake in the Radio Dave Holland Quintet: Critical Mass & crucialjazz the Sadies:Tales of the RatFink TonyJoe White: Uncovered sourcematerial for in(ludedguesrs, etc, the Thermals:the Body,the Blood,the Machine Califone: Roots &Crowns waterloo: out ofthe Woods Eleventh Dream Day: Zeros and ones NeilYoung: LivingWith War MaeRae: More Please... NeilYoung: At the Fillmore| 970 Cigi: Cold & Wax soNcs BertJansch: Black Swan "AnotherSunny Day" Eelle& Sebastian Black Keys: Magic Potion undilutedand elemenrall "Kickapoo"Tenacious D Ennio Morricone: Crime & Oissonance E.M.'emorr tuisted runeage comp. on zorn'slabel "MyLittle BrotherJust Discovered Rock & Roll" Art Brut Tanya Donelly: This Hungry Life 'The Night'sOisguise" Rocky Votolato Neko Case: Fox Confessor Brinqs the Flood "StrangeDesire" the BlackKeys B-Side Beck: the lnformation sHows Andrew Hill: Time Lines Art Erut @Cabaret Metro (Chicago) Bob Dylan: Modern Times Belle& Sebastian/NewPornographers @ Riverside(Milw) lndependenl TV on the Radio: Return to Cookie Mountain Calexico@ Pabst Theater (Milw) Yo La Tengo: I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass afterall thesr years it's Drive-ByTruckers @ Wolfrun Hall (Wolverhampton - UK) WAYTOOEASYto take thesefolks & their x-trordinarilyhigh aim for granted.BIG MISTAKE, thatl Touch& Co 256Anniversary Fest @ Hideout(Chicago) MusicShop Tom Verlaine: Around &backtothe beginning,instrumentally. ...andthanks again to CathyDethmers for the Too latefor last vea.'slist but multi-year& ligt-wonhvhence inclusion here deoanment: High NoonSaloon; the FriendllestClub in the World Since1982 Paul Mccartnev: Chaos & Creation in the Backyard OJ'sFinal Mix Lindsay'sDozen Broadcast:the FutureCrayon CD NekoCase: FoxConfessor Erings the Flood JuanaMolina: Son the BlackKeys: MagicPotion Claire'sCuts i'igeonJohn:And the SummenimePool iarty JeremyEnigk: WorldWaits 6otan Project:Lunatico Cossip:Standing in the Wayof Control Dilla:Donuts Art Brut: BangBang Rock & Roll J. Peaches:lmpeach My Bush Bettie Lenine:s/t Serveert:Bare Stripped Naked TV on the Radio:Return to CookieMountain 8ob Dylan: "SeriousTimes' (various current anisrs) ModernTimes Jamaican the Evens:Cet Evens Tom Waits: LindseyBuckingham: Under the Skin Orphans Houndrunner:s/t NekoCase: The YearOf: SlowOays FoxConfessor Brings the Flood theOld Haunts: Fuel on Fire Calexico:Carden PaulSimon: Surprise Ruin CnarlsBarkley: St. Elsewhere Beck:the Information HughMasekela: Chinsa years I 965-75 \ HankWilliams lll: Straightto Hell Newsom:Ys Subtle:For Hero: For Fool Joanna DVD: NekoCase "Live From Austin TX." RichaldBu6kngy; Yg366rry Nightmareson Wax: In a SpaceOuttaSound sHows Bonnie"Prince'Billy: the Letting DerekTrucks Band: Songlines Leslie& the Ly's@ Caf6 Montmartre / HNS co Yo LaTengo: I Am NotAfraid you your Metheny/Mehldau the Melvins@ HNS of and I Will Beat Ass lsobelCampbell & MarkLanegan: RootsTonic meets Laswell Cossip/EraseErrata @ the Annex Balladof the BrokenSeas Bill lsobelCampbell: Milkwhite Bonnie"Prince" Billy: the Low @ HNS Sheets LettingCo Califone:Roots & Crowns CeU: s/t WandaJackson(D@ HNS TV on the Radio:Return t6 Doctor of Singles CogolBordello @.the Annex CookieMountain Alimantado:House PJHarvey: Peel Sessions "LifeCoes in Circles"(sounds from Talent Co.p. I 974-79) Pavement:Wowie Zowie (detuxeedition) steve's Gift Basket SUPERsIX FOR'05 Yo La Tengo: I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass I am not afraid to sav: this band RULESonce aqain- Yeah, y€ah...they alwdys appear on my list. -.but haven'l hit *I in a while. Their strongest in 9 years...or maybe 20. A 5prawling, multifaceted. face-melting epic lennv Lewis w/ the Watson Twins: Rabbit Fur Coat A real head- turner, Lyrically powerful & cufting, taking on authoriry & faith & fakery, but wrapped in gorqeous folk-pop melodles. Hauntingly suog by Jenny and her soulful, gospel-styled Watson Twins. An artislis breakthrough. Califone: Roots & Crowns This band's apparent kitchen-slnk-and- more instrumentation was awe-inspirinq on their debut 5 years ago. The Regina Spektor: Begin to Hope next couple albums were enjoyable, but not as amazing 6 that first one. Quasi: When the Going Gets Dark The boys have matched (topped4 that disc with this richly textured treal oIBEBATBUUL(random) Neko Case: Foj( Confessor Brings the Flood one ofthe most Joanna Newsom: Ys effonlessly powerful iioge6 of our time racks up another winner. lfyou're PJHarvey: the Peel Sessions not familiar with this phenom, you owe it to yourself to take the plunqe. Built to Spill: You in Reverse Squarewave: s/t way back in the mid-eighties,there wa5 a'sconnie 'local' band called tvory Library. They were my favo.ite band fo. over a the Essexcreen: cannibal Sea decade. Their last disc came out I I years ago. NowJeff & Pat are ,?r4lt the Strokes: First lmpressions of Earth back with a new band, new disc, new inspiration. Lush, deluxe psych-pop. 200ri Belle and Sebastian: the Life Pursuit the Cush: New Appreciation for Suns hine A favorite new discovery. DeniseJames: Promises Also on the lush psych-poptrain, these thoughdul, creativeVermonters are Cat Power: the Greatest bv a husband & wife team. With dashes of Amerlcana, this disc can fronted in the Way of Control compare favorably w/ the be5t song5 of the Mendoza Line or sparklehorse. Cossip: Standing OTHERALPHABETICALLY NOTEWORTHY NOTIONS Destroyer: Destroyer'5 Rubies Asteroid#4: An AmazingOream Shows 2006 ((hronologi€lorder) : lsobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan: Ballad ofthe Broken Seas BandOf Horses:Everything All the Time Kelly stoltz: Below the Branches Beck:the Information the Dial5/Screamin'Cyn cynlBrief candles/His & HerVanities @ HNs Megan Reilly: Let Your Ghost Go (Petefest) Saloon(HNS) Walls: All GoodDreamers Pass This Way DrunkDrivers/Shakey/MaeRae @ High Noon SilverJews: Tanglewood Numbers Bedroom duo @ ChateauKiki ChrisMills trio/charlemagne the Sadies: ln Concert vol. I Belle& Sebastlan:the Llfe Pursuit RichardBuckner + Doug Cillard @ Caf6 Montmartre TV on the Radio: Return to Cookie Mountain BettieServeert: BareStripped Naked Jim white,/the HandsomeFamily @ StageDoor the BlackAngels: Passover Undenoworchestra (Bazan,/Eitzel/John5on/Chesnutt) @Stage Door Matmos: The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of'the Beast the BlackKeys: MagicPotion the NewPornographers/Matt Pond PA/Dios (malos) @ the Barrymore Yo la Tengo: I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass FrankBlack: FastMan Raider Man the M's@ Union Rathskellar Pernice Brothers: Live a Little Bonnie"Prince" Billy: the LettingCo NadaSurf/Rogue Wav€ @ the Annex M. Ward: Post-War (!) Ane Brun: ATemporaryoive RayDavies @ the Barrymore Nina Nastasia: On Leaving EdithFrost + zincs@ Caf€Montmanre the Black Keys: Magic Potion BuiltToSpill: You In Reverse Centro-matic/CreatLake Swimmers @ King Club Bonnie'Prince" Billy: The Letting Go Calexico:Garden Ruin Josh Rouse@ Stage Door lsobelCampbell/Mark Lanegan: Ballad ofthe BrokenSeas Low @ HNS Richard Buckner: Meadow Cameraobscura: Let'sGet out ofThis Country Silve(Jews,/Why?@ HNs Jennifer O'Connor: Over the Mountain, Across the Valley... Centro-matic: Fort Recovery RobbieFulks @ Harmof,y 8ar Mates of State: Bring lt Back OrnetteColeman: Sound Crammar Rhett Miller @ the Barrymore Jim Noir: Tower of Love the New Pornographers/ArcherPrewitt @ HNS Magnolia Electric Company: Fading Trails Cordero:En Este Momento (!) AaronScholz + ForeverChanges trio @ Mickey's Band of Horses: Everything All the Time cougar: Law weaver/Charlemagne@ Caf6Montmanre Craham Lindsey/8en Deitrich Cosser: City of Windows MaryroseCrook: Ghostsof Our VegasLives WORTSlock Parw! RayDavies: Other People's Lives Tapes'n'Tapes