Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - download the new album

A message from the band:

Some Loud Thunder, our second album, will be available today, January 16th, as a download sometime before 3PM EST through our web site, thanks to our friends at Insound. In a few hours we will post a news item on our site that will link you to the download, so keep checking the site today. We will also stream the entire record from our myspace page, where we currently have 4 songs.

If you order the album as a download, you will receive a real CD (made of real plastic) somewhere around January 30th when the album officially comes out. You will also be able to order a limited edition Some Loud Thunder t-shirt for an extra low price.

Here is our website, where you can download the album later today:
clapyourhandssayyeah.com

Previously the band made two new songs from the album available for your listening enjoyment.

Today's NEW releases

Just waiting for next week:

• America - Here & Now

Anything else?

Arthur & Yu - new song & news

If EAR FARM gave awards for popularity of songs that have been featured on the site, Arthur & Yu would surely have won one in 2006 for their song "Lion's Mouth". I've had more people tell me how much they love this song, more people ask "who is that?!" when I play it early in my DJ sets, than just about any other song. I'm not acting surprised though. I know full well how good "Lion's Mouth" is. It's beautiful and simple and perfect and I've posted it (again) below so be sure to check it out if you haven't already.

Now that our collective love for "Lion's Mouth" is out in the open we can move on to the matter at hand. Arthur & Yu have just recently made available a brand new song called "Come to View (Song For Neil Young)". It's got more of what you loved the first time you heard their music. More excellent vocal work, more Lee Hazelwood/Nancy Sinatra influence, more economy of notes, and more Arthur & Yu magic. I'm proud to offer it for your listening pleasure and happy to announce that Arthur & Yu have also just recently signed to Hardly Art Records. Hardly Art is a new Sub Pop subsidiary that's certain to be a fine home for these Seattle natives. I'm most definitely looking forward to their first release and am going to continue begging them to come play a show in New York. Arthur & Yu live in NYC in 2007!

Listen:
"Come to View (Song For Neil Young)"
"Lion's Mouth"

Visit Arthur & Yu on MySpace.

Those Damn Twins

Those Damn Twins are a duo originally from Raleigh, NC (like me, woot woot) who've since moved to Seattle, WA where they twin it up by making lovely and interesting and haunting music likely to please indie art scenesters thirsty for a break from Starbucks Hear Music.

Alright, not scenesters per se but those who enjoy indie art. Art that's not what you see when you walk into the doctor's office. Art with balls. No, I mean guts. Art that takes a chance. Something. Something not meant to masculinize the art I speak of but rather meant to make a clear distinction. What I mean is that the people who hang art like this on their walls might want to move on and check out some other website but people with a brain open to sounds that dare to tap dance around familiar while never quite settling in a comfortable place, those people should give Those Damn Twins a listen.

Hey, it might take a flexible ear to get into their music at first because the lyrics, atonal nature (at times), and song structures tend more towards hypnotic meditation than they do happy dance time; but then, that might be just your thing. Fans of Magnetic Fields, Mazzy Star, and that sense of adventure that drove bands like Cabaret Voltaire, will find much to like in the music of Those Damn Twins. I've selected two songs of theirs below: the Exile in Guyville era Liz Phair meets Aarktica sounding lullaby goodness of "Polar Bear" and the country drone extraordinaire "The Red One". I suggest you listen to them back to back as Those Damn Twins intended. And, if you're in Seattle, check 'em out in person sometime. Word is they put on a good show.

Listen:
"Polar Bear"
"The Red One"

Visit Those Damn Twins on MySpace.

8+

"Three Days" by Jane's Addiction which clocks in at 10:47

A shoelace starer looked me in the eyes on the way to work. I spotted her from about a block away and she must've also seen me because right as we were about to pass each other she lifted her head and peeked out from underneath the shelter of her hair. She blinked a tiny smile my way and then I thought of this song.

As soon as we'd exchanged glances I reached for my iPod and found "Three Days". A flood of memories came rushing back to me: the very first time I heard Jane's Addiction (listening to their first album on a boombox in a canoe), Jane's Addiction at Lollapalooza at Walnut Creek (yes, the first Lollapalooza but that's a long story not well suited for parenthetical explanation), and the time I had a very serious Jane's Addiction fan explain Ritual de lo Habitual/Xiola Bleu to me.

Contrary to what I asked when he first said "you don't know who Xiola Bleu is?", Xiola Bleu is not Samuel Taylor Coleridge's sequel to "Kubla Khan". No, Xiola Bleu was very much Perry Farrell's muse. Or so I was told. I was also told that she was a 12 year old girl who Perry kept locked in a closet with nothing but heroin for three days. Then when she OD'd he wrote "Three Days" about her and the closet imprisonment. That's what the guy said. Many years later I'd find myself searching for true story of Xiola Bleu on the internet.

Here's the real story:

Xiola Bleu was former girlfriend of Perry Farrell from the Psi Com days; she was only fourteen when they met. She was a friend and had a similar likeness to Casey Niccoli. Her picture is included in the back of the liner notes of the Ritual de lo Habitual album, she is also depicted on the cover as the figure in the center, embraced by Perry and Casey. Xiola died of a heroin overdose in her apartment the East Twenties of New York in June of 1987. Perry took Xiola's death pretty hard. He had introduced her to heroin nearly five years earlier and was struggling with his own addiction.

The song Three Days is about Xiola's three-day return to Los Angeles for her father's funeral. This would be the last time Perry would see Xiola before her death. The song is, however, not about her death as it was written a few months before that, in 1986. The song alludes to Perry, Casey and Xiola spending their days together in a haze of sex and drugs.

Ever since I learned about the real Xiola Bleu her story has stood out in my mind as one of the many (mostly) unknown tragic tales of artistic implosion. For some reason, the shy girl I passed today on the street reminded me of Xiola.

The version posted here is the 2006 remastered version from Up from the Catacombs: The Best of Jane's Addiction - buy that album HERE on Amazon. Or, you can find the original version on Ritual de lo Habitual, available HERE on Amazon.

EAR FARM's 8+ is a weekly feature that showcases songs longer than 8 minutes. In the recent past these songs were featured on EF's 8+:
Joanna Newsom - "Monkey & Bear"
Depeche Mode - "Never Let Me Down Again" (Split Mix)
This Mortal Coil - "Dreams Are Like Water"
The Church - “Chaos"
Alex Skolnick Trio - “War Pigs"
Arlo Guthrie - “Alice's Restaurant Massacre"
The Human League - “Morale... / You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"
Red House Painters - “River"

To see a full list of every song featured in EAR FARM's 8+ click HERE.

Vampire Weekend

Boy do I wish it was Summer right now... Not because these one-point-five days of Winter have tested my ability to deal well with cold weather, but rather because I really want to buy that Sublime box set and, you see, I'm fairly literal with what music I listen to from season to season. No Babylon by Bus in February and no Long Cold Winter on repeat in July. If you catch my drift.

Well if you're like me with all of that then I ask you to suspend your fastidiousness for the time being and check out the following band.

Vampire Weekend is a quartet of Columbia graduates who, like Islands, clearly share a certain love of the sounds that informed Paul Simon's Graceland and half of everything Peter Gabriel has ever done. While there's probably still some finishing touches that could be done on these tracks the beats and strumming you're thirsting for are all here in heaping portions, as are the mellow sunny day melodies. Judging from the song "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" I'd bet that this is one band you're really going to enjoy in a live setting and I'd even go so far as to call this band the best group of African music making white boys in all of New York.

The second song posted here, "Oxford Comma", is the one that's really gotten me most interested in Vampire Weekend. Why? For one it reminds me of things I enjoy about Bishop Allen. A certain carefree take on songcraft you're not likely to find just growing on trees. Smart pop. Ivy League pop? Yeah sure. If that means preppies who own guitars and know who Ladysmith Black Mumbazo is I'll go with that. The second reason I jumped when I first heard "Oxford Comma" is because I give a fuck about fun music, catchy lyrics, AND Oxford commas. That's how I roll. You too? Then let's make this weekend a Vampire Weekend full of boat drinks and fun in the sun. In January? You betcha.

Listen:
"Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa"
"Oxford Comma"

***also, please, do yourself a favor and check out the excellent Les Bank Robbers mashup of Vampire Weekend's "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" and Clipse's "Wamp Wamp" - listen to it on the Les Bank Robbers MySpace page HERE***

Visit Vampire Weekend on MySpace.

See Vampire Weekend on the 31st of January at Mercury Lounge.

Today's NEW releases

Another slow week:

• Neko Case - Live from Austin, Texas
• Johnny Cash - Live from Austin, Texas

Anything else?

Bell @ Sidewalk Cafe - 6 January 2007

This past Saturday night at Sidewalk Cafe was my second time seeing Bell. The first time I fell head over heels for Olga and her band so, believe it or not, this time I went into the show a bit apprehensive. That's natural for me though. I didn't want to fool myself, right? After all, Bell is a young band and the goo goo ears that I got after seeing them might have been a one-time-only thing. Maybe this show would reveal Olga Bell and her boys to be nothing more than an enchantress playing music with a couple of talentless hacks.

Okay, so that's totally not what my second impression turned out to be. This time Olga played the house piano rather than one of those fancy newer generation Juno synthesizers that she played last time and the band performed without the guest aid of Jessica from Via Audio. Happy guy was I, as this made for an entirely different experience. If the first show was a party for the eyes and ears this show was an intimate session for the heart and mind. (score one for cheese/hyperbole)

Gone was the joie de vivre dancey/clappy playing that I saw at The Delancey and in its place was a mellower style that highlighted the performing talents of the three members of Bell. At various moments Mike's bass or Jason's kit work would jump to the front but for most of the show I focused on Olga's piano playing and let her voice lead the way. The band played three cover songs (including their now instant-classic take on Ski Lo's "I Wish" and a nice twist on The Go-Go's "Vacation") that may very well have turned out to be the highlights of the evening. That's what I heard some people saying afterwards at least. Still, speaking for myself, I have to say that my favorite moments were two originals. Two songs of Bell's that I love more than words... MORE than "More Than Words" even. The first ("Expanding File") you can listen to below and the other ("Better Way") is available at Bell's MySpace page. Is it fair to say that I'm already anxiously looking forward to Bell's debut album? Is it that obvious? It should be.

Listen:
"Expanding File"

See more pictures from this show HERE.

Want to see Bell live? Bell's next show will be to perform the classic song "Do Right" as part of the Covers for the Cure: A Benefit for Breast Cancer Research at Joe's Pub. More dates HERE.

OPP

Nerd Litter's For the Record #2 features guest bloggers (including yours truly) writing about their top artists of 2006

Brooklyn Vegan tells us that David Bowie is bringing Daniel Johnston to the NYC Highline Festival in May

Fiddle While You Burn says that Redman is playing a free show at Canal Room

The Perm & The Skullet has Black Flag @ Phoenix's Calderon Ballroom in 1982

My Old Kentucky Blog just turned two

Bryan at Subinev posted the results of the contest to vote for which band should be Robotinev #50 - go check it out!

Arcade Fire - "Black Mirror"

Excited for the upcoming release of Arcade Fire's new album Neon Bible? Me too. Want to hear the lead track from it? Me too.

Listen:
"Black Mirror"

snip·pets

Nikki Bacharach, daughter of Burt Bacharach and Angie Dickinson, committed suicide

Britney Spears wants hot career comeback

R.E.M., Van Halen Lead 2007 Rock Hall Class

Jonny Greenwood to Curate Reggae Compilation

The Independent reflects on the career of David Bowie (happy 60th birthday to him today)

Arcade Fire Tracklisting Revealed

Blur reunion gets closer

Man Man @ Bowery Ballroom - 5 January 2007

Just about a year ago I saw Man Man play a show at Cake Shop. Last night they sold out Bowery Ballroom.

They've reworked some of their songs off of their first two albums and played a few new songs before closing the night with a Rage Against The Machine cover.

As usual, Man Man was on top of their game and played another totally rad show. At this point I don't think this band is capable of having an off night. (this format of having a picture coupled with a few sentences is a bit children's book, don't you think?)

I was able to record two songs with my still camera. Check out the quicktimes and extracted MP3s below. Anybody know the name of the song they go into in the first quicktime, after "Hot Bat"?

Watch:
"Hot Bat" -> "Top Drawer"
"Bulls On Parade"

Listen:
"Hot Bat" -> "Top Drawer"
"Bulls On Parade"

See more pictures from this show HERE.

Visit Man Man on MySpace.

EAR FARM Presents... Taigaa, Scott Phillips, Schooner, Erie Choir @ Bickett Gallery in Raleigh - 27 December 2006

This post is a week overdue. Usually I'm very good about getting these post-show posts up right away but this time I needed to take some time to simply enjoy New Year's Eve/Day. The delay was by no means a reflection of how things went.

Back story - when I was back home in Raleigh for the holidays I figured, hey, what better way to celebrate being home with friends than with an EAR FARM Presents... show? It was perfect, in fact, and I was really happy to see so many of my Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill friends at Bickett Gallery on the 27th of December for a holiday party that was full of awesome live music, many drinks, and fine works of art.

The audio for all of these performances was recorded, and I plan to make that available at some point in the future, but for right now I'm just going to post links to some pictures I took and a live video of each band performing a song. A note about the videos - they were taken with a digital camera. Like, as in, a still camera. The microphone limits itself quite a bit (especially for the two bands with drummers) so the sound you're going to hear is not at all what things actually sounded like. It sounded better.

Erie Choir
Erie Choir played first and featured a trimmed down, two person lineup. Having heard their songs before the show I was prepared to enjoy the set but I wasn't really ready to like their songs as much as I did. The songs, the melodies, the vibe, the performance - everything - was excellent. I highly recommend checking out this band in whatever way you can.

Listen:
"Favorite Fotos"

Watch:
Erie Choir live @ Bickett Gallery - 27 December 2006 (quicktime link)

View more pictures from this show of Erie Choir HERE.
Read a previous EF post about Erie Choir HERE.

Schooner
Schooner is a band I've been familiar with for nearly the entire 1.25 year history of EAR FARM. I got to see them once before at Lit Lounge here in the city and the show at Bickett Gallery was the complete opposite. That's a good thing. Not that they were bad, in any way, the first time I saw them, but Lit Lounge just isn't the sweetest of venues. It sucks. Schooner, however, does not. They rocked the art gallery in a mellow countrified fashion and showed that they've grown a bit as a band since I last saw them live. Their sound is more focused, their energy more unified, and their songs...as fantastic as ever. The Rocky P. tour EP they gave me has been on heavy iPod rotation the past week and you can look forward to seeing them live here in NYC soon. I promise, I'm working on it. (by the way, my camera mic had the toughest time with Schooner's sound, given how many different things it was trying to pick up all at once)

Listen:
"Normal Day"

Watch:
Schooner live @ Bickett Gallery - 27 December 2006 (quicktime link)

View more pictures from this show of Schooner HERE.
Read a previous EF post about Schooner HERE.

Scott Phillips
Scott Phillips, please come and play every single EAR FARM Presents... show ever. Okay, maybe I don't really have a realistic impression of Scott's original music (given that he played an accordion busking set made up entirely of cover songs) but how can it be anything but spectacular? Let me put it to you this way, at one point he played these songs in succession: "I Won't Share You", "But Not Tonight", and "The Saturday Boy". Yes, again, that's The Smiths, Depeche Mode, and Billy Bragg... back to back to back. And "But Not Tonight"?! That's only like my favorite Depeche Mode song. Is there any quicker way to my musical heart? Not unless a Poison song was worked in there somewhere. Scott will definitely be coming up to NYC for some shows, I'll let you know when that happens.

Watch:
Scott Phillips live @ Bickett Gallery - 27 December 2006 (quicktime link)

View more pictures from this show of Scott Phillips HERE.

Taigaa
Taigaa was the odd band out in this lineup in a few ways. One, they're from Brooklyn, not NC. Two, their sound is much more experimental and not as rooted in rock/country/folk as the others. Yet somehow they fit perfectly as the closers of the show. I'm guessing they stretched the tastes of some of the audience members a little bit, with their wide open sense of adventure and performance, and I'm guessing the audience enjoyed this. It was very evident actually. Taigaa explodes and implodes, loves and hates, dances and sleeps, all within the span of one song. In a sense, they're the perfect art gallery band given their minimalist exploration of the artistic side of things musical. I most definitely recommend checking them out.

Listen:
"Ennui Ennui Catastrophe"

Watch:
Taigaa live @ Bickett Gallery - 27 December 2006 (quicktime link)

View more pictures from this show of Taigaa HERE.
Read a previous EF post about Taigaa HERE.

***See Taigga live TONIGHT at Cakeshop***

Again, I'd really like to thank all of the bands who played. Thanks to Bickett Gallery for hosting such an excellent night and thanks a million to everyone who came out to the show. It was a blast and I definitely plan to do more EAR FARM sponsored shows in the Raleigh area in the future.

(as usual, the flyer for this show was designed by Destroy Space)

OPP

Taylor over at T-Sides hooks us up with her Top 5 Hip-Hop Albums of 2006 and also lists Top Albums & Songs

Aquarium Drunkard - L.A. Burnout :: Part One of Three

Stereogum posted about band cameos in movies

Marathonpacks - Gruff Rhys "Lonesome Words"

Creekside Review posted about Ruined Music

RBally: James Brown - The Godfather Goes To Africa

Best Art Vinyl 2006

Art Vinyl have announced the winners of the Best Art Vinyl 2006 (artist name in parentheses):

1. The Eraser - Thom Yorke - (Stanley Donwood)
2. We Are The Pipettes - The Pipettes - (Pete Hellicar)
3. Over & Over 12" - Hot Chip - (Wallzo)

See the full list as a .pdf HERE.

Beatboxing Parrot

This bird's got a sick beat...

Nominations now open for the 2007 Bloggies

You can now go and nominate your favorite blogs for a 2007 Bloggie Award. Last year I was happily surprised to have had EAR FARM nominated in the "Best-Kept-Secret Weblog" category. This year they've added a category for Best Weblog About Music and there is no limit to the number of categories a weblog may be nominated for...I'm hoping to win in both Sports and Food.

On Monday, January 22, the finalists will be announced and voting will be open again to choose the winners. So go now - go forth and nominate.

Three for Free - The Station Myth, The Wigg Report, Debra DeSalvo

Happy New Year! Ready for some excellent completely legal and free music? Of course you are. Click on the artist name to go to their website, click on the song name to listen to the song.

Listen:
The Station Myth - "Goodbye Or Goodnight"

Listen:
The Wigg Report - "Street Music"

Listen:
Debra DeSalvo - "All That I Need"

Today's NEW releases

The New Year begins slowly...but trust me, get this one as soon as you can:

• Goes Cube - Beckon the Dagger God

Anything else?

EAR FARM's Top 15 albums of 2006 (and more)

This is a re-post of EAR FARM's top albums list. Regular posting will resume tomorrow.

Last year, I posted EAR FARM's Top 15 albums of 2005 on December 1st and then returned at the end of the year to re-post the list with some comments and links to songs. This year I've decided to give you all of the goods at one time, dig? What you'll find below are my "top" 15 albums released in 2006. What does this mean? Favorites? Bests? Both, yes. These are the bests of my favorites. The most favorite-bests.

Click the title of the album to go buy it, click the artist's name to go to their site, click the (+) to read what some critics have to say, and click on the song name (songs no longer available here - sorry) to listen. As always, please feel free to comment, complain, leave your own "tops of '06" list, or tag the comments to this post with graffiti.

15. A New Dope by 7L & Esoteric (+) - listen: "Daisycutta"
The songs here are filled with influences both underground and old school while the beats and production are adventurous and interesting enough to whet the appetite of most rap fans. It's a solid album from first song to last with a refreshing lack of throwaway tracks (such as "skits" and the like) and a guest appearance by Kool Keith, but what really makes this album stand out for me are the clever lyrics and smart samples.

14. Rabbit Fur Coat by Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins (+) - listen: "The Big Guns"
This was the first album that I got in 2006 that made me think "hey, this just might show up on my year end list". Well here we are and here it is. Rabbit Fur Coat is a triumphant solo debut for Jenny Lewis and is easily one of the best country/folk records of the year. I really like every song on the album and "The Big Guns", "You Are What You Love", and "Rabbit Fur Coat" are three of my favorite songs of the year by any artist.

13. Let's Get Out Of This Country by Camera Obscura (+) - listen: "Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken"
This is the sound of Camera Obscura fully growing into themselves. The sound of a band looking back to '60s pop while constantly moving forward along the fine line between happy and melancholy. It's an album full of "I Will Survive"s for the quiet and cute book nerd set and it's an album you're going to have a hard time saying no to.

12. Show Your Bones by Yeah Yeah Yeahs (+) - listen: "Phenomena"
Great live shows tend to center my focus on a band, and/or an album, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs show I saw at Bowery in February did just that. I was blown away by the band (and mesmerized by Karen O) and spent much of the Spring listening to Show Your Bones. In my opinion, it's a better album than Fever To Tell and a fine portent of what lies ahead for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

11. Blood Mountain by Mastodon (+) - listen: "Colony Of Birchmen"
Was 2006 the year of metal? For me it was. I dusted off albums by Slayer, Metallica, and Sabbath and headbanged my way home from work to great new releases from Isis, Tool, and Ministry. However, if I had to pick just ONE metal album to put on this list...just one that's a bit better than all the others...it would easily be Blood Mountain. With this album Mastodon has restored my faith in new (not nu) metal bands continuing to release really excellent rockyourfuckingfaceoff music. If you ever wake up from your Beirut/Cat Power/Joanna Newsom coma, give this album a listen to remind yourself what it feels like to be alive. I dare you.

10. Jarvis by Jarvis Cocker (+) - listen: "Black Magic"
When I first listened to this album only two tracks really stood out. Now, the more I listen the more I can hear how brilliant the entire record is - it's almost like the proper follow-up to This Is Hardcore that we all had hoped We Love Life was going to be. Sure, there aren't any old school Pulp anthems for the posers to hang their hats on but there's more than enough on Jarvis to get the crowd gasping at Cocker's masterful control of all things musical.

9. Yellow House by Grizzly Bear (+) - listen: "On a Neck, on a Spit"
Grizzly Bear's album Yellow House is a master class in songwriting, production, and the creation of an album (rather than just a collection of songs). It's beautiful and near the top of my list of best headphone albums of the year.




8. Six Demon Bag by Man Man (+) - listen: "Van Helsing Boombox"
Perhaps you have to be of a certain type (open to oddity) to fully enjoy the Man Man experience but I can think of few other bands that kicked so much ass, both live and on record, in 2006 the way Man Man did. The only reason this album is at #8 instead of in the top three is that I might've overdone it and listened to Six Demon Bag a bit too much.

7. Hell Hath No Fury by Clipse (+) - listen: "Wamp Wamp (What It Do)"
Times like these are when I feel like a lemming/robot. YES, I LIKE CLIPSE BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE LIKES THEM. I MUST PUT ONE RAP RECORD ON MY LIST TO SEEM OPEN TO OTHER KINDS OF MUSICS. THE WHOLE WORLD SAYS THIS IS GOOD - I AGREE. It's not like that though. I love rap when it's good and this is great. Seriously. It's as good as they all say. Shit, it's better. And yes, I think it's quite a bit better than Ghostface's Fishscale. Come on, WAMP WAMP...what it do, what it do...WAMP WAMP.

6. Ships by Danielson (+) - listen: "Did I Step On Your Trumpet"
This was the first album I heard this year that got me thinking "damn, this is a masterpiece". I've stepped back a bit from that assessment but there's no question in my mind that Ships is one of the best albums of the year. It might take a certain kind of open-mindedness to music to fully enjoy what Daniel Smith and crew have achieved here but I think it's near perfection.

5. The Life Pursuit by Belle & Sebastian (+) - listen: "Another Sunny Day"
When Eric up and told me that The Life Pursuit is Belle & Sebastian's best album yet I laughed in his face. Ha ha silly tall man, no WAY it's better than If You're Feeling Sinister. Wrong I was to taunt so quickly. While I'd not go as far as to say this album is better than If You're Feeling Sinister I will say it's gotten me loving Belle & Sebastian again. In fact, I was downright shocked at how good The Life Pursuit is, considering how much I disliked their previous two efforts.

4. Return To Cookie Mountain by TV On The Radio (+) - listen: "Wolf Like Me"
I've said it before but, TV On The Radio pushes boundaries and challenges listeners and I love them for that. They're creatively creating music in a world full of mindless mimicry, so bravo to them. The only thing keeping this album from being higher on my list is that I don't want to have it at number one like everyone else. Noooo, that's not it. It's that I find it a bit tough to listen to in one sitting. It's true. In fact, I find it better to listen in three song spurts...small doses. Like that extra spicy Sriracha.

3. Classics by Ratatat (+) - listen: "Wildcat"
"The Laker girls need to be taken down a peg or two..." If there's someone following me around every day shooting a secret movie with me as the star, I sure hope this whole album is the soundtrack. I'm not being paranoid or anything I'm just saying. Just in case. Because it's perfect for that. Perfect for any situation. Perfect.

2. Return to the Sea by Islands (+) - listen: "Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby"
The Unicorns made one of my favorite albums of the '00s and then split up. Assholes. Then Nick and J'aime formed Islands and put on a show at Knitting Factory last year that got me super excited for the Islands debut album. Turns out, the album is everything I could've wanted and more. Perfect pop songs, an opening song over eight minutes in length, a song named for Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, and an overall sound that's akin to Graceland era Paul Simon. Add the fact that they picked artwork by one of my favorite artists for the cover (and a have a soundbyte from an Art Bell show leading off the song "Volcanoes") and it's really a no brainer for Return to the Sea to show up here at number two.

1. The Crane Wife by The Decemberists (+) - listen: visit The Decemberists on MySpace
For their major label debut I expected The Decemberists to (perhaps) phone it in a bit. I mean, it would've been forgiven if they just took the big bag of cash and handed Capitol some tape of Colin singing sea shanties in the shower but that's not what this is. No, this is something else. It's...it's...loss for words, I cannot say. Let's look to Tiny Mix Tapes for some help: "The Crane Wife is God damn amazing. Have I used "amazing" too many times for you? Here's some more adjectives: astonishing, astounding, bewildering, breathtaking, extraordinary, impressive, magnificent, marvelous, remarkable, spectacular, staggering, stunning, stupendous, terrific, wonderful. That should cover it." Yes, okay, I've got it. The Crane Wife is the best album released in 2006. All year I was waiting for a band to put out that one record that totally blew me away. In October, The Decemberists did just that.

There you have it. A pretty gosh darn great year for new music if you ask me. There were quite a few albums that just barely didn't make it into my top 15, some of which you'll see mentioned below. I had a hard time trying to balance between albums that I consider to be very good and the ones that dominated my own ipod/stereo in 2006 but I think I finally got everything sorted nicely. So, go ahead and offer up your criticisms and questions and name calling and all the whatever you call it... Mostly I'd like to see YOUR "tops of '06" lists, so let us have them. Or, if you still need more lists from me, keep reading below.

10 albums that nearly made EAR FARM's top 15:
Annuals - Be He Me
Fujiya & Miyagi - Transparent Things
Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
Luke Haines - Off My Rocker at the Art School Bop
Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther
Bruce Springsteen - We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped
Tool - 10,000 Days
The Walkmen - A Hundred Miles Off
M. Ward - Post-War

10 albums that just aren't my thing, no matter how good everyone else says they are:
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Beirut - The Gulag Orkestar
Cat Power - The Greatest
Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies
Final Fantasy - He Poos Clouds
Girl Talk - Night Ripper
The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
The Knife - Silent Shout
The Mountain Goats - Get Lonely
Tom Waits - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards

5 albums that let me down:
Built To Spill - You in Reverse
The Flaming Lips - At War with the Mystics
The Futureheads - News And Tributes
Morrissey - Ringleader Of The Tormentors
The Streets - The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living

18 artists whose 2007 album I'm really excited about:
Animal Collective
Art Brut
Arcade Fire
Blur
British Sea Power
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Cornelius
The Cure
Deerhoof
PJ Harvey
Mancino
M.I.A.
The National
Nine Inch Nails
Other Passengers
Portishead
Radiohead
Wilco