2006: The Year in Music

As 2006 draws to a close, I sit back and reflect on the year in music.  As a DJ (and by “DJ,” I mean someone who plays with CD mixers at clubs), I’m very selective about the tracks I both play for crowds, as well as the ones I listen to for pleasure.  I must say over the past year, the following tracks are by far my favorites.  It’s literally an international play list with artists from Australia, Sweden, Brazil, The U.K., and the good old USA. I’ve played all of the following (with the exception of two) on my Friday night residency, and they’ve been well received by the crowds (who are usually a bit reluctant and resistant to newer tracks, as they prefer older new wave and rock classics).

 

“Heartbeats” by The Knife is an edgy, electro-heavy ballad by Sweden’s latest import.  The track was actually released in 2002, but has gained momentum in the U.S. over the past year.  Karin Dreijer Andersson’s vocal styling is reminiscent of punk/new wave goddess, Siouxsie Sioux.  Like ABBA, Ace of Base, and more recently, The Sounds, The Knife will surely be a household name before the decade ends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aussie duo, The Presets, have made dark-wave industrial-esque rock danceable with “Down, Down, Down.”  The track is a bit dark and electro heavy, but is a new favorite with club-goers.  The duo also plays in the band, The Dissociatives, which is also co-fronted by Silver Chair vocalist, Daniel Johns. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One factor over the past six years that the indie music scene has proved is that new wave is definitely back.  Multi-instrumentalist Tom Vek from London has boasted the power of an indie solo artist this year with multiple successful singles including the danceable “I Ain’t Saying My Goodbyes.”  Channeling the greats like Gary Numan, Peter Gabriel, and Thomas Dolby, Tom Vek will definitely be a solo force to be reckoned with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brooklyn-based, We Are Scientists, have proved that dance-punk is alive and well in 2006 with their track, “The Great Escape.”  The track is literally just the right combo…  The choppy lyrics combined with the catchy chord provide a track that is both hard and danceable.  It’s actually one of my favorites…and strangely, it reminds me of a 1994 track called “Dolphin” by Brit band Shed Seven. I think we’ll hear a lot more from We Are Scientists in the coming year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perhaps the most ironic track of the year comes from a musically unassuming band from Sao Paulo, Brazil called Cansei de Ser Sexy (Portuguese for “I got tired of being sexy”).  The band is most noted for their sense of style and humorous lyrics more than music ability and/or ambitions.  However, “Lets Make Love and Listen to Death from Above” is a catchy electro-disco track, which has obtained heavy rotation in the indie club scene across the country this past year.  The song pays homage (and satirizes) the now disbanded group Death from Above 1979 (half of which is now part of the DJ/producer duo MSTRKRFT), whose track “Romantic Rights” was in my Top Tracks of 2005 list last year.

 

 

 

 

Another band from Down Under, Wolfmother, rides on the tails of the recent hard rock revival popularized by bands like The Darkness.  The guitar-heavy, high-pitched vocal track “Woman” echoes ‘70s bands like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.  However, when remixed by DJ/producers MSTRKRFT, the song is taken to an entirely different level bringing a glam/electro element, which transforms the song into a dancefloor anthem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite tracks of the year is from a southern band from Arkansas who formed in Olympia, WA and now resides in Portland, OR.  The Gossip provides an interesting combination of dance-punk and southern soul.  “Standing in the Way of Control” was written by vocalist Beth Ditto in response to the decision to deny gay marriage.  Her voice is powerful, and angst-ridden, while equally being beautiful and soulful.  The guitar hooks are haunting and fantastic.  It’s a track that gets under your skin and stays there.

 

 

 

 

Following her predecessors like Peaches, Avenue D, M.I.A., and Lady Sovereign, Miami born/Paris based MC Uffie jumps on the scene to present her own version of downright nasty Miami booty bass.  Teamed up with producer/DJ Feadz, and EP producer Kim Moyes from The Presets, “Ready to Uff” explores everything from making pimps proud, to pathetic whores, and burning koochies.  The track is gorgeous, with chirps, pops, and bass-lines reflective of mid ‘80s hip hop (think Run DMC). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not since Toni Basil showed us her pom-poms in the early ‘80s has there been a cheerleader chant so catchy as The GO! Team’s “Huddle Formation.”  The Brighton, England-based band combines a slew of musical styles, and “Huddle Formation” sounds like it belongs in one of John Hughes’ brat-pack films.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite bands of the past year hales from the east London punk scene (home of Razorlight and The Libertines).  The Rakes (rumored to have gotten their name from being “skinny as rakes”) have gained quite a bit of notoriety in Britain and have been lumped into the post-punk/art-rock genre by the British media (a genre which includes The Futureheads, Bloc Party, and Franz Ferdinand).  Acclaimed for their fashion sense, they’ve been associated with the brands Fred Perry and Louis Vuitton, and it is even rumored that Hedi Slimane designed one of his collections around them.  They even provided a soundtrack for the Dior Homme show.  Famous for singing about the mundane, The Rakes “Retreat” is a choppy, punky, pub-ish chant, which features going out too much for fear of missing out on anything, “Walk home…come down…retreat…to sleep!  Wake up…go out…again…repeat!  Walk home…come down…retreat…to sleep!  Hook up…again…this time…next week!”

 

If there were a band today that were as quirky, arty, and nerdy as Devo, then London-based Hot Chip would definitely be it.  The track “Over and Over” is a electropop/dance-punk masterpiece, and the response on the dancefloor reflects it.  I never get tired of playing it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mod is alive and well thanks to Liverpool’s latest export, The Dead 60s.  Their sound is a mixture of punk, ska, and reggae, and they’ve been compared to early ‘80s post-punk and mod revivalists, The Specials, The Clash, and Madness.  “Riot Radio” was actually first released in 2004, but has taken some time to make its way across the pond.  You can’t help but move your feet upon hearing this catchy little ditty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the best bands to come out of New York this decade is undoubtedly The Rapture.  Their dark and wild beginnings with their outrageous 2001 EP, Out of the Races and Onto the Tracks, to their 2003 full-length, Echoes (which produced indie dance-anthem “House of Jealous Lovers”), to their more mature recent sophomore effort, Pieces of People We Love, The Rapture have shown us how to dance wildly, as well as more intelligently.  The song, “Gotta Get Myself Into It” features Luke Jenner’s atmospheric, Robert Smith-ish vocals combined with an array of different sounds including an instrument that has been missing in music for quite sometime…the saxophone!

 

 

 

Liverpool-based Ladytron are one of the pioneers of the electroclash movement (synth-pop revival) of the early ‘00s.  They’ve been described as have a monochromatic harmony layered with chirpy and slightly cold synthesizers.  With the exception of 604’s “Playgirl” and Light and Magic’s “Seventeen,” the band seems to skirt around a poppier kind of sound without sounding a bit dark….until now.  “Weekend” comes off their third full-length album, Witching Hour, released in early 2006.  The track is a dancey, fully developed song, which is quite a contrast to earlier material.  Ladytron’s ability to evolve has kept them in the spotlight, whereas other electroclash artists have faded back into obscurity.

 

 

“Do the Whirlwind” by Architecture in Helsinki is a delightful, melodic, twee pop track with simple lyrics and playful synthesizers.  Its aesthetics are rooted in ‘60s-esque idealism, which comes through in the gleeful vocals, with early ‘80s synthy goodness in the background.