Best of 2006: Music found on YouTube

We close out the year with the massive blow up of the YouTube phenomena.
It drastically changed the online experience, as it also affected the way we saw and shared music visually. Love it or hate it.

We now are able to access to concert footage (quality varied), broadcast footages, and actual music videos (slipped through the eyes of big record label attorneys) that might have slipped through under the radar.

Here's what I found, and I'm sure there's alot out there I've missed:

Cat Power "The Greatest"


Asobi Seksu "Thursday" @ Joe's Pub


Band of Horses "Funeral"


Grizzly Bear "Knife (Acapella in Paris)"


Spinto Band "Oh Mandy (in Paris)"


The Knife- Interview (if you know their native language)


Beirut- "Elephant Gun" (at the Troubadour)

Today's Brew | Chrome Children

As you already had guessed, the holiday spirits have placed this blog site in an erratic mode. We hope to resume our regular blogging right after New Year's Day.
Til then, the entries will pop in now and then.
Be sure to visit the ADD Choice Blends listed off to the side.

RIP: James Brown

Here's a little diddy that was released back in October of this past year.


Peanut Butter Wolf presents
Adult Swim & Stones Throw's
CHROME CHILDREN
Featuring: Oh No, MadLib, J Dilla, MadVillian, Dudley Perkins, Percee P & Quasimoto, JayLib, and more.



mp3: Oh No- "Oh Zone"
(YouSend: for a limited time)

mp3" Peanut Butter Wolf- "Chrome Mix"
-features most of the music in the Chrome Children compilation
(Courtesy of Stone Throws)

official site: Chrome Children

Buzzin' 07 | Day Five

I've posted multiple entries about these guys, but I think with the addition of a new drummer, and not to say that Gena Olivier did a great job as a lead vocalist and drummer. She can now focus as a lead vocalist, although I've heard she does switch ups with the drummer now and then.
Also, they made their trek to Seattle to work with Steve Fisk (Screaming Tree, Nirvana and Soundgarden) and record at Robert Lang's Studio (Death Cab For Cutie, Pretty Girls Make Graves).

Lion the Girl (2007)
sometime in March.

A notable entry about them this past year ovah here.

Video: Midnight Movies- "Patient Eye"

Buzzin '07 | Day Four

Now hearing from some folks who were fortunate to catch LA Weekly's Detour this past year mentioned that chk chk chk (!!!) was one of the highlights of that evening. They actually played their new material and even jokingly mentioned that although the album won't be out, that there's a good chance that the album will leak way before that on the internet.
It's their highly anticipated follow up from their 2004 release Louden Up Now that I'd list this album as someting to keep your eye on.

Myth Takes
March 4, 2007


the new album track list includes:
Myth Takes / All My Heroes Are Weirdos / Must Be The Moon / A New Name / Heart Of Hearts / Sweet Life / Yadnus / Bend Over Beethoven / Break In Case Of Anything / Infinifold

From their album Louden Up Now (2004):
mp3: !!! (chk chk chk)- "Hello, Is This Thing On?"
(courtesy of Insound)

My Space: chk chk chk
official site: chk chk chk

Buzzin' 07 | Day Three

Day Three on looking ahead.
From listening to "My Sword Hand's Anger", I'd say, keep your eyes on these guys as well. Hopefully the rest of the album will be just as good or even better than this track.
Andrew Whiteman (one of the members of the collective, Broken Social Scene) and company bring their sophomore release in the early part of next year.


The National Anthem of Nowhere
Feb-Mar. 2007

mp3: Apostle of Hustle- "My Sword Hand's Anger"
(YouSend: for a limited time)
Also visit their site to download the track there as well.

official site: Apostle of Hustle
My Space: Apostle of Hustle

Buzzin' '07 | Day Two

My next pick for early 07 to watch is the new album from: Deerhoof. Loved their 2005 releases of "Runner Four" and "Green Cosmos". Their new album Friend Opportunity drops on January 23rd.



mp3:Deerhoof- "Plus 81"
(courtesy of MySpace)

From their 2005 EP Green Cosmos:
mp3:Deerhoof- "Green Cosmos"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

By the way check out P'forkins Top 100 tracks and their Top 50 Albums of this year. I reserve my own opinions on Pitchfork, but once in awhile, they do write or put some interesting things. Like their little gift, new track from the forthcoming Friend Opportunity LP is definitely something to look forward to, but its also available ovah at their My Space site.

official site: Deerhoof
My Space: Deerhoof

Buzzin '07 | Day One

So since, last week was devoted to the best of 2006, and the lists are still oozing out, I'm sure, from myriads of blogsite and music related sites.
Thought we devote this week with lookin' ahead into 2007 with this week called Buzzin'07", maybe more like lookin ahead the first few months, since I really don't know what's coming out later on in the coming months. But thought, we look at a few up and coming releases, and if anyone wants to share theirs, let me know.

One big buzz is the new track from Arcade Fire "Intervention". Yes it's been circulating around the blogosphere for some time now, especially with this enigmatic toll free number with the words NEONBIBLE.
The song itself has evolved considerably, since their initial debut of the song back at KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic in 2004.



You Aint No Picasso has a radio ripped version of the song, and its pretty damn amazing with the pipin' church organs blaring some serious decibels.
This is a band to keep a definite eye on, as they bring us their follow up "Funeral".
Supposedly their new album is called "Neon Bible", whether or not its legit or not, is still to be determined, but for now...wow.

From their album "Funeral" (2004):
Arcade Fire- Rebellion (Lies)"
(YouSend: for a limited time)

My Space: Arcade Fire
Official Site: Arcade Fire

Day Five | 1-5

So we finally conclude our list of the best albums of 2006 according to yours truly. It appeared that The Knife "Silent Shout" would remain on top, but low and behold...we have the changing of the guard.
Here are the final five, that made by list...



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5. Sonic Youth "Rather Ripped"
(June 13, 2006)

Notable entry about them ovah here.
mp3: Sonic Youth- "Do You Believe in Rapture? (live)"

4. TV on the Radio "Return to Cookie Mountain"
(July 3, 2006)

Notable entry about them ovah here.
mp3: TV on the Radio- "Tonight (Live-One Music Session)"

3. The Knife "Silent Shout"
(US release: July 25, 2006)

Notable entry about them ovah here.
mp3: The Knife- Silent Shout

2. Califone "Roots and Crown"
(October 10, 2006)

Notable entry about them ovah here.
mp3: Califone- "Spider's House"

1. Cat Power "The Greatest"
(January 24, 2006)


This year belongs to Chan Marshall aka Cat Power. Maybe not the greatest, but the album definitely left an impression on me as one of her strongest. She started at the top of my list at the beginning of the year, and although The Knife dominated most of the year, 2006 ends with her being at the top of my list.


Notable entries about her ovah here and here.
follow the link: Cat Power: Music and Video

Day Four | 6-11

So we finally enter the single digit phase of the list, as we get closer to numero uno. We come to the animal name segment of the list. As most of you already know, there's a whole history of bands that have adopted animals as part of their group's name, maybe they may not dress the part, and maybe they really didn't think too much about it either or maybe they did. If one were to make an extensive list of all the animal names, one could create an incredible symphonic zoo that included bands from the past and now present. This entry includes a few animals: Sparklehorse, Grizzly Bear, Swan Lake, and Band of Horses.



-----------------------------

11. Sparklehorse "Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain"
(September 26, 2006)

Past entry about them ovah here.
mp3: Sparklehorse- "Morning Hollow"

10. Hot Chip "The Warning"
(June 13, 2006)

Past entry about them ovah here.
mp3: Hot Chip- "No Fit State"

9. Swan Lake "Beast Moans"
(November 21, 2006)

Past entry about them ovah here.
mp3: Swan Lake-"The Freedom"

8. Grizzly Bear "Yellow House"
(September 5, 2006)

Past entry about them ovah here.
mp3: Grizzly Bear-"On a Neck, On a Spit"

7. Beirut "Gulag Orkestar"
(May 9, 2006)

One of the notable entries about em ovah here.
mp3: Beirut- "Mount Wroclai (Idle Days)"

6. Band of Horses "Everything All The Time"
(March 21, 2006)

One of the notable entries about them ovah here.
mp3: Band of Horses- "The Great Salt Lake"

Day Three | 12-17

Day Three.
Any of the following albums could've made the top ten list, but we had some strong solid contenders. Also, some female solo acts have made a considerable impression in this year's list, as we already included the duet album by Isobel Campbell, Metric's Emily Haines in her solo effort, and Joanna Newsom. And here are a few more as we continue...



-------------------------------

17. Radio Dept. "Pet Grief"
(May 30, 2006)

Past notable entry about them ovah here.
mp3: Radio Dept.- "What Will Give"

16. Asobi Seksu "Citrus"
(May 30, 2006)

One of our many entries about them ovah here.
mp3: Asobi Seksu- "Thursday"
(courtesy of insound)

15. Neko Case "Fox Confessor Brings The Flood"
(March 7, 2006)

Past notable entry about her ovah here.
mp3: Neko Case- "Lion's Jaw"

14. Danielson "Ships"
(May 9, 2006)

Past notable entry about 'em ovah here.
mp3: Danielson- "Five Stars and Two Thumbs Up"
(YouSend: for a limited time)

13. Planning To Rock "Have It All"
(June 7, 2006)

Past notable entry about her ovah here.
mp3: Planning To Rock- "I Wanna Bite Ya"

12. My Brightest Diamond "Bring Me The Workhorse"
(September 7, 2006)

Past notable entry about her ovah here.
mp3: My Brightest Diamond- "Something Of An End"
(courtesy of insound)

Day Two | 18-25

The saga continues...



We continue with Day Two of our countdown of the Best Albums of 2006, from yours truly. On Day Four, I'll write a little snippets, but til then, enjoy the previous entries I've blurbed about this past year.

--------------------------------------------------

25. Emily Haines & Soft Skeleton "Knives Don't Have Your Back" (September 26, 2006)

mp3:Emily Haines & Soft Skeleton- "Our Hell"

24. William Elliott Whitmore"Song of the Blackbird" (August 29, 2006)

Previous entry about him ovah here.

23. Bishop Allen "EP-a-month 2006" (2006)

Previous entries about these guys ovah here.

22. The Decemberists"The Crane Wife" (October 3, 2006)

One of the previous entries about them ovah here.

21. Memphis "A Little Place in the Wilderness" (August 24, 2006)

mp3: Memphis- "I'll Do Whatever You Want"
20. Liars "Drum's Not Dead" (March 21, 2006)

Previous entry about the album ovah here.

19. Silversun Pickups "Carnavas" (July 25, 2006)

mp3: Silversun Pickups- "Lazy Eye"

18. Joanna Newsom "Ys" (November 14, 2006)

An entry about her ovah here.

Day One | 26-33

So begins our one week journey for the quest of the numero uno spot for the best album of 2006 according to yours truly.
The list consists of releases from January 1, 2006- December 10, 2006. And as usual, I always throw in this statement that this list is flawed in the sense that I'll probably discover a good plenty of contenders that deserved to be on the list, that haven't been discovered yet. But for now, this is what it is.
And this list will be more about less text...cuz I'm a firm believer in less is more.

To see the progression of the changes within the list, one could look back at the following lists:
2006: Three Quarters (So Far)
2006: Half Year (So Far)
2006: First Quarters (So Far)

And now, it begins...


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33. Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan "Ballad Of The Broken Sea" (March 7, 2006)

My previous entry about this ovah here.
32. Cold War Kids-Robbers and Cowards (October 10, 2006)

I got multiple entries about these guys, but here's a good starting point ovah here.
31. The Roots "Game Theory" (August 29, 2006)

My previous entry about them ovah here.
30. A Hawk and Hacksaw "The Way The Wind Blows" (October 17, 2006)

mp3: A Hawk and Hacksaw- "Fernando Giampari"
29. Be Your Own Pet "s/t" (June 6, 2006)

mp3: Be Your Own Pet- "Adventure"
28. Sunset Rubdown "Shut Up I'm Dreaming" (May 2, 2006)

My previous entry about them ovah here.
27. Bonnie Prince Billy "The Letting Go" (September 19, 2006)

mp3: Bonnie 'Prince' Billy- "Cursed Sleep"
26. Guillemots "From the ClifFs" (Mar. 14, 2006)

mp3: Guillemots- "Who Left the Lights Off?".

Today's Brew | Madlib

A continuation from my previous entry of LA Weekly's feature on the Stones Throw Records label, with an entry on this guy.



In 2001 Madlib went on KCRW's Chocolate City and did a live mix.
A bootleg CD was made from the streamed audio at KCRW. Madlib does not profit from this bootleg CD, did not authorize it, and thinks the cover is ugly. (from the Stone Throws site)

Judge for yourself if this is ugly or not.
mp3: Madlib: Live at Chocolate City (2001)

To view the tracklist, visit Stone Throws: Bootleg of the Month

official site: Madlib

Late Night Brew | LA Weekly: Stones Throw Rec.

This week the LA Weekly put out an interesting article about the indie music scene in LA. And of course it explores the obvious area of Silverlake and a few crop of bands that came out of LA, such like the Silversun Pickups, Earlimart, Autolux, Midnight Movies and the sorta defuncted Giant Drag.

Read about them ovah at these two links here:
LA Weekly: LA Music '06- Welcome to Indie Land
LA Weekly- "Weird Scenes Inside the Silver Mine" -A look at the Eastside Indie Rock Scene in LA.

But I'm primarily interested in the Stone Throws Records label story, with the indie Hip Hop scene with such acts as MadLib, Peanut Butter Wolf and Percee P.


LA Weekly: Rebel Central-A look at the Stones Throw Record Label- L.A.’s pre-eminent indie hip-hop label

mp3: Peanut Butter Wolf- "Umbrella"
mp3: Edan featuring Percee P- "Torture Chamber F"

(YouSend: for a limited time)

My Space: Peanut Butter Wolf
My Space: MadLib
My Space: Percee P

ADD look: remixes of 2006

Remixes. I love Remixes. I think its safe to say, most people love them too.
Call it a remix, a rework, extended mix, extended version, edit...and then you gotta give yourself a clever name of some sort- like MSTRKRFT, Cassettes Won't Listen, etc.

So here's my pick of some that I really liked the past year. I'm sure there are alot more, but I just can't remember them all. And feel free to send me any remixes that I may have missed in the past year.




Depeche Mode-"The Sinner In Me (Ricardo Villalobos Conclave Remix)"
The Knife-"We Share Our Mothers Health (Trentemoller Remix)"
Goldfrapp Ooh La La (Benny Benassi Remix Extended)
Asobi Seksu Strawberry (CWL Remix)
Asobi Seksu String (Glass Factory Remix)
Editor All Sparks (Cicada Remix)
Hot Chip Boy From School (Hot Chip Re-Work)
Justin Timberlake My Love (DFA mix)
Midlake Young Bride (CWL Remix)
Feist- "Mushaboom (VV Mix)"

Top 20 Songs of 2006 (so far that I know and like)

As a little segway before we do the countdown list of the albums of this past year which will begin on Monday- Dec. 11th.

Also, be sure to check out Passion Weiss for his take on the best debut albums of the past year.

I thought I throw in my fave top songs of this past year. As it appears that everyone's throwing in their list of various sorts. Like any of the other lists I compile-- it has its flaws, but for now, this is a sampling of what I've enjoyed the past year.

1. Cat Power “The Greatest” (scroll down to find the song link- courtesy of matador)
2. Califone “Spider’s House”
3. My Brightest Diamond “Something of an End”
4. Band of Horses “Funeral”
5. Charlotte Gainsbourg “The Songs That We Sing”
6. Hot Chip “No Fit State”
7. The Knife “Silent Shout”
8. Sparklehorse “Morning Hollow”
9. Swan Lake “All Fires”
10. Feist “La même histoire” (courtesy of natalieportman.com)
11. Neko Case “Hold on, Hold on”
12. Fields "Songs for the Fields"
12. Silversun Pickups “Lazy Eye”
13. TV on the Radio “Province”
14. Bonnie “Prince” Billy “Cursed Sleep”
15. Joanna Newsom “Monkey and Bear”
16. Grizzly Bear “On a neck, On a spit”
17. Danielson- "Did I Step On Your Trumpet"
18. William Elliott Whitmore “The Chariot”
19. Asobi Seksu “Thursday”
20. Emily Haines & Soft Skeleton “Our Hell” and Thao Nguyen "Feet Asleep" (tied)

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Honorable mentions:
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Zero 7 Feat José González "Futures"
Radio Dept. “The Worst Taste in Music"
Sonic Youth “Do You Believe in Rapture?”