No, I'm not talking about the pantomime American Jarvis. The real one. Jarvis Cocker. The man who, four months ago, was not even a contender for this list because no one knew he had an album coming out. An album that turned out to be genius, contrary to the nonsense Pitchfork wrote. In a year when there was little to excite me, Jarvis pulled through with flying colors.
F has the zeitgeist spot-on when he describes 2006 as the "year of the disappointment," in music at least. A number of groups important in my life delivered albums that were not just dull... but disastrous, career-sinking abortions. The beloved Primals will never be the same in my eyes again, while The Killers (shepherded by Flood and Alan Moulder) became obese rock 'n' roll parodies. And Richard Ashcroft released a soundtrack for a dentist's office.
There was such a dearth of great new records this year that I could not name ten that I thought deserved to be on this list. Jarvis handily won the top spot, though Morrissey and TV On The Radio were close contenders. I should note that I really wanted Kasabian to land at or close to number one, but the initial rush of excitement I felt for their sophomore album dropped off considerably. Two of their three single choices have been appalling, more than half of the new songs aren't sticking with me, and while I still rate them highly, I miss the sound and style of the Chris Karloff era more and more. Let's hope this changes.
In contrast, so many classic records were reissued this year that I had difficulty paring my list to the ten best. But as I said before, the best of the best could not come within a mile of the three Pulp reissues curated by Jarvis. Even Robert Smith from The Cure couldn't touch these, and his own series of remastered box sets has been stellar in every respect.
Lastly, my glass is raised to Nick Rhodes and John Taylor of Duran Duran for curating the year's best compilation album.
BEST ALBUMS:
01. Jarvis Cocker — Jarvis (Rough Trade)
02. Morrissey — Ringleader Of The Tormentors (Attack/Sanctuary)
03. TV On The Radio — Return To Cookie Mountain (4AD)
04. Yeah Yeah Yeahs — Show Your Bones (Interscope)
05. Kasabian — Empire (BMG)
06. Lamas, Gustavo — Mareo (Casa Del Puente Discos)
07. Twilight Singers, The — Powder Burns (One Little Indian)
08. Lily Allen: Alright, Still (EMI)
ALBUMS THAT NEARLY RUINED MY YEAR:
01. Primal Scream — Riot City Blues (Sony)
02. Gustavo Cerati — Ahi Vamos (BMG Argentina)
03. Killers, The — Sam's Town (Island)
04. Ashcroft, Richard — Keys To The World (Virgin)
BEST SINGLES:
01. Jarvis Cocker — "Running The World" (Rough Trade)
02. Delia Gonzalez And Gavin Russom — "Revelee" (DFA/Astralwerks)
03. Serena-Maneesh — "Drain Cosmetics" (Playlouder)
04. Morrissey — "You Have Killed Me" (Attack/Sanctuary)
05. Yeah Yeah Yeahs — "Gold Lion" (Interscope)
06. Shit Robot — "Wrong Galaxy/Triumph" (DFA/Astralwerks)
07. Knife, The — "Silent Shout" (Brille/Rabid)
08. Pet Shop Boys — "I'm With Stupid" (EMI)
09. Kasabian — "Shoot The Runner" (BMG)
10. Depeche Mode — "Suffer Well" (Mute)
BEST ALBUM TRACKS/B-SIDES:
01. Jarvis Cocker — "Black Magic" (Rough Trade)
02. Kasabian — "Stuntman" (BMG)
03. Gustavo Cerati — "Lago En El Cielo" (BMG Argentina)
04. TV On The Radio — "Province" (4AD)
05. The Twilight Singers — "Bonnie Brae" (One Little Indian)
06. Morrissey — "To Me You Are A Work Of Art" (Attack/Sanctuary)
07. Yeah Yeah Yeahs — "Dudley" (Interscope)
08. Transmission — "Glade" (Malicious Damage)
09. Killing Joke — "This Tribal Antidote" (Cooking Vinyl)
10. New Order — "I Told You So" (Stuart Price Remix) (Warner)
BEST REISSUES/LIVE SETS/GREATEST HITS:
01. Pulp — His 'N' Hers/Different Class/This Is Hardcore (Island)
02. Comsat Angels, The — Fiction (Renascent)
03. Cure, The — The Head On The Door (Rhino/Fiction)
04. Various — Nick Rhodes And John Taylor Present Only After Dark (EMI)
05. Depeche Mode — Songs Of Faith And Devotion/Violator (Rhino/Mute)
06. Jam, The — Snap! (Special Edition) (Universal)
07. Manic Street Preachers — Everything Must Go (Sony/BMG)
08. Cale, John — Paris 1919 (WEA)
09. Tears For Fears — Songs From The Big Chair (Deluxe Edition) (Mercury)
10. Jesus And Mary Chain, The — Darklands (Rhino)
BEST GIGS OF 2006:
01. Jarvis Cocker — La Cigale (November)
02. !!! — Northsix (June)
03. TV On The Radio — Bowery Ballroom (April)
04. Maserati — Northsix (December)
05. Serena-Maneesh — Mercury Lounge (January)
06. Yeah Yeah Yeahs — Bowery Ballroom (February)
07. Dead Meadow — McCarren Park Pool (July)
08. Kasabian — Webster Hall (September)
MOST ANTICIPATED ALBUMS OF 2007:
01. Brett Anderson — TBA (TBA)
02. Kraftwerk: Der Katalog (Astralwerks)
03. !!! — Myth Takes (Touch And Go)
04. Maserati — Inventions For The New Season (Temporary Residence)
05. LCD Soundsystem — Sound Of Silver (DFA/EMI)
06. Doves — TBA (TBA)
07. MIA — TBA (XL)
08. Johnny Marr And The Healers — TBA (TBA)
09. Modest Mouse — We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank (Epic)
10. Chris Connelly — The Episodes (Durtro/Jnana)
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