Uncut's 2006 EOY list

25) Scott Walker – "The Drift"

own and like with significant reservations which mean they would get nowhere near my 06 list:

36) Scissor Sisters – "Ta-Dah"
28) Tom Waits – "Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards"
18) CSS – "Cansei Der Ser Sexy"

own and have not bothered to listen to:

47) Gnarls Barkley – "St. Elsewhere"

do not own, would like to hear:

37) OutKast – "Idlewild"
30) Neko Case - "Fox Confessor Brings The Flood"
23) Ghostface Killah – "Fishscale"
20) Burial – s/t
14) Cat Power – "The Greatest"
08) Hot Chip – "The Warning"
04) Joanna Newsom - "Ys"
02) Scritti Pollitti – "White Bread, Black Beer"

what a dull list!

Is a nice stretch. Also glad to see some love for Avatar.

wtf.

The re-issue list was good.

02) Various Artists "Tropicala: A Brazilain Revolution in Sound"

Listen to track 2.. (os mutantes - a minha menina)

First the laughter(which sounds like that space spore thingy that takes over master shakes brain in ATHF) and then the worlds most vicious guitar line ever™ enters.

Worth every penny just for that.

12 months ! when there are 2 months to go !

http://www.uncut.co.uk/magazine/

"was just about to say it’s getting to that time of year when we’re annually encouraged to look back in firm assessment, to reckon and rate what we’ve spent the past 12 months listening to, draw conclusions, write up lists of our favourite this and that as a matter of happy duty. I recommend you, therefore, to turn now to page 65, and our Top 50 albums of 2006, as voted for by more than 40 of Uncut’s regular reviewers."

I was nearly going to start my end-of-year CoM countdown this week, one album per day, but there are too many albums from November still to be taken into consideration (i.e. I haven't heard them yet) so I'll probably run it the week before Xmas in batches of ten as usual.

Then again I don't have strict printing/publishing deadlines to adhere to, so it's regrettable that they do run these lists so early but logistically you can understand why they do so.

The only reasons I can see not to is because the journos actually want to have some kind of holiday over Christmas and they want to have the list used as a way to boost sales of certain records on the lead up to Christmas.

From initial scanning there are only nine records in the Uncut list likely to appear in mine.

Look out for startling #74 album chart debut week after next! (grout xpost)

Uncut magazine haven't learnt any lessons from last year's ridiculously early publishing of end of year lists. They have done it again.

* premature and unwanted, no one wants end of year polls to be published during the first week of November.

* lacking depth of focus, 50 selections is just not enough. does anyone care about the results ? even if burial, scott walker, tv on the radio, mastodon, midlake and espers are included.

* magazines have forgotten how to do end of year analysis. It was so much better when opinion, analysis and informed comment where the order of the day. Melody Maker circa 1987 and 1988 are the benchmarks.

why can't they do a proper end of year issue, to go on sale say december 30th / 31st? [i.e a bit earlier than the first thursday of january]

Sadly, DJM, 50 selections are all you're going to get from me; plus at the moment I'm unsure whether I could fill a top 100 - qualitatively there have been a lot of releases this year which have been OK and/or interesting but nothing more than that.

Type Recordings
http://www.myspace.com/typerecordings

steve reich / eno type ambience

What do you mean by this? How is it any different now?

Album release schedules are so done wayyy in advance, especially re-release ones.

The possibility that Uncut might miss "ohmygod the "Lick my Decals off" re-release" sudden arrival, just isn't going to happen.

If only because the only way people know about these things in general is via Mojo/Uncut.

xpost

There would be 20 - 25 pages where writers would dissect trends / genres highlighting the excellent, good and those artists not delivering the goods.

These articles would be opinionated, subjective, analytical by informed listeners.

These days i.e the 00s we don't get this analysis in print publications.

how much of Uncut's list is not American or British?

my favourite album this year looks set to be for internet-lists only.

i.e do a proper end of year issue.

as in "He bought the NME a drink before we started the interview"

no, he bought one person, (two tops if the photographer was there too)...

xpost to Marc obv.

a good music magazine should have a mix of diverse dilletantes and music specialists that immerse themselves in a particular genre

some genres are more self contained than others:

jazz, metal, electronic of [the house/electro/techno variety] and ambient as covered by e.g http://www.starsend.org/ - are 4 examples were analysis could be done

x-post emo would flogged and ridiculed by mr agreeable

to prevent the 'famous correspondant' situation where journalist gets a name for him/herself, and becomes valuable.

(did D.Norv survive?)

31) Mastodon – "Blood Mountain"
25) Scott Walker – "The Drift"
11) The Flaming Lips – "At War With The Mystics"

I wonder which is which? ooo...mysterious....or bleedin' obvious?

They still do use "famous correspondents," e.g. Reynolds and Hoskyns, but very sparingly.

http://www.orangetwin.com/sibylle.html

it's an incredible record and i really want to hear your thoughts on it (at length in CoM) i would send you a sample track or two to yout hotmail but i don't know if you do that sort of thing?

Newsom
Midlake
Buckingham
Cat Power
Burial
Walker
Joan As Police Woman
Gnarls Barkley
Band Of Horses

am I right or am I right?

That Baier record does sound intriguing, but can I buy it in an Actual Record Shop (couldn't see it on the HMV or Rough Trade sites)?

Heard bits, turned off midway never to return to...
30) Neko Case - "Fox Confessor Brings The Flood"
47) Gnarls Barkley – "St. Elsewhere"

Own, or Will buy when I can be arsed.
25) Scott Walker – "The Drift"
10) Thom Yorke – "The Eraser" (super patchy, but worth it)
06) Arctic Monkeys – "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not"
02) Various Artists "Tropicala: A Brazilain Revolution in Sound"

apart from that, very little else I want to investigate maybe CSS for giggles...

I don't think this is a *terrible* list for some reason, perhaps just the familiarity of it. Pitchfork et al will probably have more surprises but also more mediocre-but-fashionable rubbish, and more overrating of no-marks.

xp

Martian, unfortunately I didn't get the 87 and 88 Christmas editions but this trend continued in 1989 and into the early 90s. I couldn't wait back then to get the double MM Christmas/New Year issue. Usually I'd buy it on Christmas Eve before heading to the pub with my mates. Then I'd be firmly ensconced on the sofa Christmas Day racing through it after the stuffing my face! I know it's partly to do with the fact that I was in my early 20s, at a time when music meant more to me and I was buzzing off all the new (and old) music MM was writing about but there's no doubt they were exiting times when so much more seemed to be happening. I guess that old MM spirit has long moved onto the internet and can't be reproduced in magazines anymore.

It's been some time since they were actually *worth* saving.

So, yeah.

49) Belle & Sebastian – "The Life Pursuit"
pretty, but disappointing

48) Muse – "Black Holes and Revelations"
still not converted

47) Gnarls Barkley – "St. Elsewhere"
variable, sometimes superb

40) Joan As Policewomen – "Real Life"
absolutely love it

37) OutKast – "Idlewild"
never play it

36) Scissor Sisters – "Ta-Dah"
too much vaudeville

33) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – s/t
a major let-down

18) CSS – "Cansei Der Ser Sexy"
shambolic but likeable

17) Ali Farka Toure – "Savane"
stunningly beautiful classic

14) Cat Power – "The Greatest"
yes, very nice

11) The Flaming Lips – "At War With The Mystics"
bored with them

10) Thom Yorke – "The Eraser"
best since "kid"

08) Hot Chip – "The Warning"
see gnarls barkley

06) Arctic Monkeys – "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not"
cloth ears, ILM!

02) Scritti Pollitti – "White Bread, Black Beer"
actually, not bad

10) Thom Yorke – "The Eraser" Bunch of cobbled together demos for no reason!
06) Arctic Monkeys – "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" I still like it!
04) Joanna Newsom - "Ys" Interesting! Played more than once by accident, it's growing!!!!

18) Faust "Faust IV" Yum.
11) Pulp "Different Class" Yum.
05) The Jesus and Mary Chain "Psychocandy" Yum.

I didn't buy those reissues, but still.

Joan As Police Woman: I play this all the time...love it

Lambchop: only got this recently...also played frequently...will ultimately love this, too

Scott Walker: have to admit, I've only listened to it all the way through once

Vetiver: listened to it many times over the summer...not so much now...(warm weather certainly becomes it)

Burial: don't play it often, and even then only as background noise...not sure I buy the hype here

Midlake: a grower...like it more and more, am finding new things to enjoy with each listen

Arctic Monkeys: listened to it maybe 4 times...like it, but will never love it...wish more of it could be like "Riot Van"

Scritti Politti: now you're talking...found it to be sort of meh at first, now it's in heavy rotation...(even found a way to like that Dr. Abernathy opus)

2006 has been the best year ever for alt. country solo records from girls in alt rock bands.

will probably buy:
31) Mastodon – "Blood Mountain"
04) Joanna Newsom - "Ys"

Enjoying it a lot - its methodology is very subtle and it's definitely a grower. Nice little sonic twist on track 14.

Fuck off.

at least they left mogwai off.

I haven't heard it myself, but.

49) Belle & Sebastian – "The Life Pursuit"
39) Lambchop – "Damaged"
27) Yo La Tengo – "I am Not Afraid Of You and I Will Beat Your Ass"
18) CSS – "Cansei Der Ser Sexy"
02) Scritti Politti – "White Bread, Black Beer"

Not heard, but waiting for it:

Joanna Newsom, Scott Walker, and perhaps a few more I'm not familiar with.

formatted by rym user ijkidd

Vetiver is sort of Freak Folk elevator music.

Disappointed not to see the Knife in there too.

As for CSS, for some reason the UK cares about this band and I guess I shouldn't be surprised, just thought we'd moved on to different and equally lame trends other than electroclash.

What if. It actually. Is good.

Listen to track 2.. (os mutantes - a minha menina)

Why not listen to it on any of the last ten tropicalia comps or perhaps on the proper albums.

This list is TOO EARLY.

Are they sitting on their list a bit longer this year?