krj
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Favorite Albums and Songs of 2006
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Jan 3 00:01 UTC 2007 |
OK, music fans! It's time to get those "best of 2006" lists turned in!
By my rules, it's a 2006 album if you acquired it in 2006, but feel
free to use your own rules.
Please try to say something about each entry so this doesn't become
just a dry list of titles. Music tastes are so fragmented these days
that few readers are likely to know much about any one person's
favorites.
Previous years' lists can be found in the Music2 and Music3
conferences.
((( Linked between Agora and Music conferences. )))
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krj
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response 1 of 17:
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Jan 3 00:02 UTC 2007 |
--- The Crooked Jades, WORLD'S ON FIRE
A base in acoustic old-timey music with some modern wrinkles that
become apparent in the first key change. Excellent female vocals.
(Happyboy might find this of particular interest, if he's
still reading.)
http://www.crookedjades.com/music.html
http://cdbaby.com/cd/crookedjades4
--- The Spooky Men's Chorale, TOOLED UP
A men's choir from Australia modeled on the Georgian choral style
(that's the former SSR, not the southern state). The songs are a
mix of humorous originals, a few Georgian songs and covers of both
classic pop songs and regional material. Song of the Year honors
go to "Mess Song," a song about cleaning up the kitchen.
Every one of my friends and relatives who has heard this has
loved it.
http://www.spookymen.com.au/
--- Trio DCA, MUSIQUE DE HAUTE-AUVERGNE
--- Spi & La Gaudriole, EN AVANT BALETI
Trio DCA, led by Anne-Lise Foy, is a traditional take on
hurdy-gurdy, accordion and bagpipe music for dancing from France.
Spi & La Gaudriole is also anchored by hurdy-gurdy, but
the tunes are quite a bit punchier because the band leader Spi
served time in a punk band long ago.
Trio DCA link: http://www.cuberoots.com/cdno_27.html
Spi & La Gaudriole link: http://www.cdroots.com/cp-05758.html
---Fiamma Fumana, ONDA
Fiamma Fumana continue blending Italian roots sounds on bagpipe
and accordion with contemporary dance styles. This time the band
moves to incorporate hip-hop styles and new singers.
Their Lansing concert was my favorite show of the year, a truly joyous
evening.
http://www.fiamma.org/
and clip samples available on amazon.com
--- Toumani Diabate's Symmetric Orchestra, BOULEVARD DE L'INDEPENDANCE
From Mali: Kora (think African harp) backed by a brass band.
--- Horses Brawl
Three young British instrumentalists play a blend of early music
and folk tunes, featuring (mostly) fiddle, recorder and cello.
Totally charming.
http://www.horsesbrawl.co.uk
http://www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk/content/articles/2005/08/16/music_horses_brawl
_feature.shtml
--- Feufollet, TOUT UN BEAU SOIR
Very young cajun band -- they've been a performing group since their
early teens -- and now as the players close in on 20 they are making
tremendous artistic leaps. This album is much more varied stylistically
than I usually hear with cajun music. The band played the Great Lakes
Folk Festival this year, and their two sets were a delight.
http://www.feufollet.net/
---Abnoba, VAI FACILE
---Tsuumi, AVOIN KENTTA
Two European instrumental groups to close. Abnoba, from Italy,
incorporates a big French element in their catchy sound. The Tsuumi
album is a bit more contemporary and theatrical; it's the soundtrack
to a Finnish dance company's project.
Abnoba link: http://www.cdroots.com/rd-anoba1.html
Tsuumi link: http://www.cdroots.com/cgi/searchcds.cgi?s=tsuumi
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Songs which stuck with me for the entire year, but which for some
reason never got purchased -- mostly I was worried the whole album
wouldn't live up to these two songs:
George Papavgeris, "Anytown"
Rosie Doonan and Ben Murray, "Seal Maiden"
And, this year I added two more BBC folk music programs to my regular
listening rotation. These are both much more English than anything
I had been hearing before:
Genevieve Tudor's Sunday Folk, on BBC Radio Shropshire
Folkwaves, on BBC Radio Darby, co-hosted by Lester Simpson of
Coope Boyes & Simpson
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gull
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response 4 of 17:
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Jan 9 18:27 UTC 2007 |
"The Crane Wife" - The Decemberists
This is an interesting and hard to categorize album. It's a bit
poppier then their older albums -- there isn't one sea chanty on it,
for example (Decemberists fans will know what I mean.)
I really like it, and after considerable thought I'd categorize it as
"alternative prog rock." There's a definite alt-rock vibe to it, but
it's heavy on the kind of complex arrangements and keyboard parts that
are common in prog rock. This makes me happy. One of the things that
originally kept me from really getting into alternative music was that
the grunge bands that really kicked off the alternative scene totally
abandoned keyboard instruments.
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