Favorites of 2006

Here's my disclaimer on this list: I scrounged it together in the past eight hours, and a few popular albums of the year won't get mentioned because I haven't heard them completely. That includes Joanna Newsom, Ratatat, Spank Rock, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Young and Sexy, Whitest Boy Alive, Califone, Ghostface, Okkervil River, and Neko Case. So whatever. I like the following albums, in any case, but probably not in this order. I don't know.



01. Hot Chip – The Warning

I don't feel like I really need to explain this one, if that's okay.
Oh, except for the fact that I'm immediately won over by spelling out words a la Mickey Mouse Club. That probably has something to do with my never having participated in the school spelling bee (thanks to various technicalities and brown nosers), but until we know for sure, I'll listen to "Over and Over" over and over. Yeah, I'm sure that pun hasn't been made yet.

02. Kite Flying Society – Where is the Glow?

First of all, when I got this album in the mail, the envelope had a personal message written on it: "We like your name. Hannah Harp. Lovely! -KFS." Needless to say, I was won over immediately, as I am also partial to my name (thanks mom!). Second of all, I had already heard and fallen in love with "6000 Shipwrecks," the soft and poppy indie sea anthem that totally gives away the fact that KFS are landlubbers. I can detect that sort of thing quite readily since I'm a n00b when it comes to all things maritime. But this song actually made me kind of wish that I was on a boat feeding popcorn to seagulls or something. The rest of the album is full of innocent acoustic guitar riffs and winsome harmonies. Sometimes I wish that Jim were a little more dysfunctional so that I didn't feel weird about having put "If I Could Split" on a mix for him. I mean, it's heart-wrenching and beautiful and all of that, but I don't think Jim's ever done downers, nawmean?

03. Love is All – 9 Times That Same Song

This album is magnetic; I want to dance and make out/fall out/make up, which may be useful to someone someday. The thing that does it for me is that the background sounds in "Used Goods" kind of remind me of Marble Madness.

04. Cat Power – The Greatest

I kind of want to smoke a cigarette with Chan Marshall, you know?

05. MSTRKRFT – The Looks

I am intoxicated by this fat/phat synthy repetition that morphs into something new and hypnotizing at precisely the right moment. Do what you will, MSTRKRFT. Do what you will.

06. Sunset Rubdown – Shut Up I am Dreaming

It's all about balance: distressed vocals, engaging melodies, literate lyrics. Maybe it has limited accessibility, but I'm pretty sure that is why I love this album. I am personally concerned with its well-being and I take tender, tender care of it.

07. The Pipettes – We Are the Pipettes

I feel like such a GIRL when I listen to this album. I feel like wearing stilettos and red lipstick and kissing boys and making them cry. Anyone who knows me knows that these are pretty foreign sensations to me, but I don't think any girl would feel any differently about We Are the Pipettes. This album is especially significant because it marks the beginning of my tolerance of female vocalists who lack mind-blowing talent. I'm not bitter towards the Pipettes for being successful female musicians. As far as I'm concerned, they kick ass, and I'm content just to listen to this one. Also, I would never make this kind of music, which is another reason I'm not bitter. That is, however, why Elephant Parade is further down on this list, those bastards. Take that, EP (lolzjklylas).

08. The Concretes – In Colour

So I'm mildly chagrined that my original #8 was Channelizing Paradise by Los Super Elegantes, an album that was released in 2002. Mislabeling is the bane of my existence. But if you want to check out a punk-mariachi-hip hop outfit from L.A. that sings in Spanish, English, and sometimes clumsy French, then that's the way to go. That's okay though, because now I can tout one of my favorite Swedish tweepop groups. The Concretes are back with In Colour with a more diverse (but still sugary) song list. My beef with this album is that you can usually tell what they're saying. Their unintelligibility has got to be at least half of the charm of former albums. But anyway, another largely guileless and charming album from The Concretes. Surprise.

09. Black Bear – The Cinnamon Phase

The Cinnamon Phase is designed specifically for abstract-sequentials like me. Sam gave us liner notes in such meticulous detail that it's difficult NOT to love this earnest lo-fi synthpop album. The songs are arranged from January to December, with the other ten months in order between those two. God, I love things that are in order. The first song is about a BLACK BEAR. There is whistling, spoken word, and a reference to Back to the Future. I don't really know what else to say about that. It does get tiresome after awhile, but until it does, it's pretty awesome.

10. Elephant Parade – Bedroom Recordings

Let's remember that this is Hannah's Top 25, not yours. Objectively this album may not be too hot, but it's so naked and honest and adorable and recorded in various bedrooms in NYC that it survived five straight days in my car's CD player, which is a considerable achievement for a twenty minute album or however long this is. "For You" is basically the kind of song that I compose extemporaneously and sing over the phone.

P.S. This is what my voice sounds like: a small child. For more information about why this isn't further up (because I absolutely adore this album), see #7. I'm trying to be vindictive and it's not working.

11. The Rapture – Pieces of the People We Love

12. Eef Barzelay – Bitter Honey

13. Shout Out Out Out Out – Not Saying/Just Saying

14. CSS – Cansei de Ser Sexy

15. TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain

16. Liars – Drum's not Dead

17. Junior Boys – So This is Goodbye

18. Beirut – Gulag Orkestar

19. Maritime – We, the Vehicles

20. Grizzly Bear – Yellow House

21. Voxtrot – Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, and Wives

22. The Knife – Silent Shout

23. The Lovely Feathers - Hind Hind Legs

24. Anathallo – Floating World

25. Girl Talk – Night Ripper