Counting Down The '00s: The Best Of 2006

2006 was the year of TV On The Radio and Arctic Monkeys, two of the best bands of the '00s. TVOR first came to our attention in 2003, when they released their breakthrough EP “Young Liars” and the following year claimed a spot in our Top 10 albums of 2004 with the excellent “Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes” LP. In 2006 the band continued its meteoric rise with “Return to Cookie Mountain” one of the most innovative rock albums in recent years. Its impressive guitar sound was enriched with soulful vocals, funky rhythms, melodic synths and unusual percussion to create a truly unique blend. Here’s how we presented the album at the unveiling of our 2006 "Best of" list: “…Their excellent debut introduced us to a band capable of experimenting and mixing disparate influences into a surprisingly accessible and ultimately fulfilling whole. With their sophomore effort TV On The Radio manage to improve on perfection and provide amble proof that we’re dealing here with exceptional talent that will certainly leave a lasting mark on this decade’s rock music”.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the pond, Arctic Monkeys took the UK by storm with the release of the record setting “Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I Am Not” (the fastest-selling debut album in the country ever), an album that continued the streak of classic Brit debuts that started a couple of years back with Franz Ferdinand and continued with Bloc Party in 2005. This is what we had to say about our second Album of the Year at the time: “...the band from Sheffield emerged fully formed out of the booming British indie rock scene and demanded our attention from the very first single. To their credit, the unavoidable music press hype didn’t get to their heads and went on to produce a classic debut that lived up to the impossible expectations. Their lyrics might sometimes be incomprehensible outside of Yorkshire but their melodic guitar fury will certainly resonate across the rock universe.”

Among the rest of the great releases of the year we find another two excellent debuts from Brazilians Cansei De Ser Sexy and teenage Nashville punks Be Your Own Pet. C.S.S. made the party album of the year, a perfect mix of dance beats and punk guitars, while BYOP delivered an adrenalin shot to the heart of the worn-out punk genre, reminding us how it used to be done 30 years ago. Thurston Moore approved and so did we.

One of the surprises of the year came from Archie Bronson Outfit, a band that made its debut on Domino in 2004. Their second album showed tremendous progress, a blues-punk explosion that demanded our immediate attention, but the majority of the British press, in its Arctic frenzy, seemed to ignore them. The Hold Steady had better luck as their third LP gave them a wider audience and gained critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. Yeah Yeah Yeahs made their triumphant comeback after 3 years by unveiling a brighter, more melodic sound in comparison to their raw debut. Despite the more pop-friendly orientation, “Show Your Bones” managed to be just as adventurous and breathtaking as its predecessor, while it cemented Karen O's status as one of the best singers of this generation. The Strokes and The Decemberists continued to amaze us with their third and fourth album respectively, while Sonic Youth and Built To Spill quenched once again our thirst for epic sounding guitars.

Top 30 Albums of 2006

1. Return to cookie mountain - TV ON THE RADIO
2. Whatever people say I am, that's what I am not - ARCTIC MONKEYS
3. Cansei De Ser Sexy - C.S.S.
4. Show your bones - YEAH YEAH YEAHS
5. Be Your Own Pet - BE YOUR OWN PET
6. Derdang derdang - ARCHIE BRONSON OUTFIT
7. The crane wife - THE DECEMBERISTS
8. First impressions of earth - THE STROKES
9. You in reverse - BUILT TO SPILL
10. Rather ripped - SONIC YOUTH
11. Boys and girls in America - THE HOLD STEADY
12. Pieces of the people we love - THE RAPTURE
13. Fishscale - GHOSTFACE KILLAH
14. Yoyoyoyoyo - SPANK ROCK
15. Standing in the way of control - GOSSIP
16. Ringleader of the tormentors - MORRISSEY
17. I am not afraid of you and I will beat your ass - YO LA TENGO
18. Rabbit fur coat - JENNY LEWIS WITH THE WATSON TWINS
19. Robbers & cowards - COLD WAR KIDS
20. Hit the floor! - YOU SAY PARTY! WE SAY DIE!
21. Sam’s town - THE KILLERS
22. The Lemonheads - THE LEMONHEADS
23. The Bronx - THE BRONX
24. The invisible deck - THE ROGERS SISTERS
25. The body the blood the machine - THE THERMALS
26. Drum's not dead - LIARS
27. Impeach my bush - PEACHES
28. The greatest - CAT POWER
29. Broken boy soldiers - THE RACONTEURS
30. Avatar - COMETS ON FIRE

Top 30 Singles of 2006

1. Steady as she goes - THE RACONTEURS
2. Wolf like me - TV ON THE RADIO
3. Turn into - YEAH YEAH YEAHS
4. The greatest - CAT POWER
5. Rise up with fists!! - JENNY LEWIS WITH THE WATSON TWINS
6. A stitch in time EP - THE TWILIGHT SINGERS
7. Alala - C.S.S.
8. Pull shapes - THE PIPETTES
9. Chosen one - THE CONCRETES
10. O Valencia! - THE DECEMBERISTS
11. Goin' against your mind - BUILT TO SPILL
12. Who the fuck are Arctic Monkeys EP - ARCTIC MONKEYS
13. You only live once - THE STROKES
14. When you were young - THE KILLERS
15. Get myself into it - THE RAPTURE
16. Standing in the way of control - GOSSIP
17. Never learn to cry - THE ROGERS SISTERS
18. Monster hospital - METRIC
19. Eleanor put your boots on - FRANZ FERDINAND
20. Solar throw-away - STEREOLAB
21. You did it! - YOU SAY PARTY! WE SAY DIE!
22. Over and over - HOT CHIP
23. Sweet talk - SPANK ROCK
24. Don’t feel right - THE ROOTS
25. Cowbell - TAPES ‘N TAPES
26. Cherry lips - ARCHIE BRONSON OUTFIT
27. Fraud in the 80’s - MATES OF THE STATES
28. You have killed me - MORRISSEY
29. Incinerate - SONIC YOUTH
30. World wide suicide - PEARL JAM