RIFF MARKET

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Throughout this week and probably next, Riff Market is proud to publish some friends' remarks on Music 2006, with the emphasis on riffs. Each contributor was asked to spend only 35 minutes on his piece, though there were no particulars given topic-wise. Check back mid-day for the next one. Thanks for reading. --NBS

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YEAR IN RIFFS: SEAN BOYLAND
The Thermals had a new album this year.

I don't listen to as much music as I used to - age has crippled my sense of fun and wonder - so I don't know too much about what "happened" this year in music. It doesn't matter, though, it certainly wasn't illegal to listen to music predating the year 2006. So if you're a young person or something, you can also go out and get a Joni Mitchell album or Hot Rocks or something, which is probably a good idea.

I don't know all the music that came out this year - I know that Kanye West had an album last year and everybody got a bit too excited about that - it was good, but it wasn't that good. I think Smile also came out last year? Exact same case. Anyways, whatever.

The Thermals had a new album this year. I still like those guys, but I started liking them because their songs were all really short and repetitive and simplistic, but in a good way, a way that I liked. Then they started this political stuff and they hate the President, and they refused to license a song to Hummer, and now I guess they hate Jesus or something, too, although I feel that they may be projecting a bit of their anger towards the President onto Jesus. Anyways, that album was pretty good, one song is about a pillar of salt and it has a lot of pep. You should probably get it.

Joanna Newsom is also pretty good, but her new album is kind of ~. It's good, but the strings and orchestration and so forth are pretty schmaltzy. It's like a fan-score for one of the Lord of the Rings movies except 40 minutes of score for one mundane non-action scene, where they buy new rope in town or something. Anyways, I guess it's not her fault? I saw her play a show at Webster Hall; she played two songs, the entirety of her new album - in order, which was a terrible idea, it got mad boring - and then like two more songs. Everything was fine and whatever but the performance was super sterile and the show was totally the opposite of rock. Although at one point, I saw a girl emerge from the heart of the crowd with the news that her companion had fainted. A security guard waded over to grab him just as the music got to the most exciting part. It was - and you must understand if you are not familiar with this particular brand of Lisa Frank crystal arranging music that I am not making this up - the part where the monkey and the bear go swimming at the beach.

I also saw good concerts this year. I saw the Grates twice. So much fun! Totally rocks! I don't know if I can unconditionally recommend their album unless you've seen their show. Sorry! I also saw Final Fantasy, except only once. He named his new album "He Poos Clouds"? What? What an idiot! I also almost saw a bunch of awesome shows that I wish I had scene except a series of mishaps prevented me - stood up for date; was sick; Union Hall, which everyone thinks is sooo cute, doesn't know how to sell tickets to people who aren't unemployed bums who live around the corner from them; got lazy; became overcome with laziness; forgot... But if I were better at forming and following plans, I would have seen all kinds of sick shows by extremely hip people like Sparrow House and some other jerks.

I didn't get the Tom Waits album - too expensive. I don't know what year Love Is All and Gnarls Barkley and Silversun Pickups count as. I got an edited version of the new Panda Bear song, but I only listened to it once, and that was at work. I guess that Arcade Fire released "Intervention" which is a really great song, except since I'm really popular and a huge mover and shaker, I got it off the Internet like two years ago.

Anyways, let's cut the shit. Time Magazine released a list of their "All-Time Greatest Albums" (Get it? TIME.) and it was pretty much for crap. It was like a dummy went through the Rolling Stone 200 from like 1996 and purged all the better albums. There are a lot of problems with the list, but let's get to the heart of it. They include Time Out Of Mind but not Blood on the Tracks or Desire. What? Say what? Shut up, Time Magazine! Anyways, you should get Modern Times, it's really nice for like a car trip or if you're cooking dinner or if you have a rocking chair on your porch or some shit, but maybe you should make sure you already have Desire? I didn't say Blood on the Tracks, because if you just have Blood on the Tracks, you don't count. There are also a lot of other nice albums to get, like get some Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, and pretty much anything you like.

Anyways, my favorite album of the year was Taiga by OOIOO and my favorite song was "UMO" on the same. It has SO MUCH pep. I'm pretty sure despite my initial skepticism that I heard other new music this year that I liked, but I forget what. Hey, nice job being totally unmemorable, music.

PS: I don't know what NBS means by "riffing" in reference to writing, but if it means not editing except for any spelling errors I caught while I was typing, then riffed I have.

91 YEAR-END RIFFS

Labels: year-in-riffs-2006