Friendstealer's Top 20 of 2006

friendstealer is a record geek and recording artist from kittanning.

1. joanna newsom – ys (drag city)

yeah, I decided to listen to it more closely after seeing the arthur piece and photos. I've got blood in me....c'mon.

I go to sleep to this a lot and couldn't dream of coming up with it...in a good way.

2. mew - and the glass-handed kites (evil office)

this album went thru a big series of emotional crap with me this year. without going into a bunch of self-descriptive garbage, it's good for joy, heartbreak, and sometimes just a good nap.

3. bonnie 'prince' billy - the letting go (drag city)

I hated this...went into some big rant about how I was ready for oldham to come off the soft rock trip. shows you what I know. the little instrumental break in the second song will break the heart and fortify, all at once and stuff.

4. howlin rain - s/t (birdman)

evidently, I enjoy this album more than anyone else in the world, excepting maybe their moms or girlfriends. well, that's fine with me. sure, there's a mention of beer, but I'll let it slide. it sounds likes the black crowes.

5. colossal yes - acapulco roughs (ba da bing)

along with the 2 good songs on the comets record, which is generally been-done unlistenability, these are some nice pop moments, full of hooks and drama. I like that. that's cool with me.

6. black keys - magic potion (nonesuch)

just because rock and roll's evil and I'm trying to be a better person, doesn't mean I'm a brick wall.

7. shearwater - palo santo (misra)

lou says this bores him. I think it's their best and most dramatic album yet. who's right? probably neither one of us, but you get the point.

8. ladyhawk - s/t (jagjaguwar)

can you listen to 'the dugout' without pumping your fist and thinking about everything you can and cannot ever have in this shitty world? probably. I have a hard time doing it, though, and right now, it's all about me.

9. magnolia electric company - fading trails (secretly canadian)

my favorite jason molina record ever...and just when I was about to throw in the towel. these songs get in and out pretty well. they're no-nonsense. right off the bat, it's like, "don't fade on me..." damn right, jason. I feel ya.

10. albert hammond, jr. - yours to keep (rough trade-u.k.)

okay, I hate the strokes. this album is also named after (I'm assuming) a guided by voices song...I hate guided by voices more than any other musical entity not named stephen stills. still...(haha)...this thing is great. simple. from the heart. real. you might cry, but you also might just dig it. it's like a way better jonny polonsky or however you spell his name...or a less musical jason falkner or something.

11. jeremy enigk - world waits (lewis hollow)

I saw sunny day real estate years before I really took to their music. jeremy was a hooded figure who, I swear, had an older dude who seemed to be functioning as his "handler" or some shit. I was amused. now, it all seems so right. this guy can sing, and he brings the drama. these are great things in my world.

12. wooden wand & the sky high band - second attention (kill rock stars)

I don't really have anything to say about this. I dig it a lot, as I do most of his stuff. there's some stones in here to go with the charlie, if you need it.

13. kaki king - until we felt red (velour)

I truthfully have listened to this less than anything here, so I may be the wrong person to comment on it, but it seems a lot more standard song-oriented to me. I love her stuff and this is nothing but a welcome slight change for a pedestrian dude like me. she plays guitar, in case you didn't know. she's on, like, guitar magazine covers and stuff...

14. raconteurs - broken boy soldiers (v2)

what can I say? I mean, it's plain and simple devotional rock, I'd say.

15. fiery furnances - bitter tea (fat possum)

surely more standard than the ones before it. still, it's not like you'd hear it in giant eagle. if I could make an album with my sister, it would sound nothing like this, but that's not really any kind of indictment.

16. minus 5 - s/t (yep roc)

this should be higher...maybe I just take scott for granted. god, he's one of the very very few people who make records this far into a career that can stand up to their early work. not to mention his hardcore straight-edge values, values which inspire me everyday.

17. sean lennon - friendly fire (capitol)

I love this a lot, but I can tell you right now, I may not listen to it for a few years. there's some painful shit here. it sounds like elliott smith and that kinda vibe...and julian lennon...

18. belle & sebastian - the life pursuit (matador)

their best record. yes.

19. danielson - ships (secretly canadian)

dude's got a lot to live up to, his dad being the incredible lenny smith, and he does a pretty damned good job here.

20. jason molina - let me go, let me go, let me go (secretly canadian)

I don't like it as much as his other record from this year, but this is a fine return to form after a couple of genuinely crappy albums. the guy loves randy rhoades. do you need more?