Top 10 CDs of 2006

Begin To Hope – Regina Spektor

This CD I listened to when I was working through the summer. It started off
with my obsession with Samson.

Though I am much fonder of the original recording on Song. However this CD won
me over with the songs Better, Fidelity and Hotel Song. This CD was in heavy
rotation while I was preparing for school, working half-heartedly and getting
over heartbreak.



Ballad of the Broken Seas - Isobel Campbell

Ballad of the Broken Seas came to me though CKUA, like most other things. I
was heartbroken to hear of Isobel Campbells departure from Belle & Sebastian,
but I was comforted greatly by this release. It is one of those CDs that is
like listening to a story book. The song The Circus Is Leaving Town is my favorite,
but I tend to listen to the whole CD when I listen to it.



The Greatest – Cat Power

This CD was anticipated greatly by me. My first introduction to it was a sample 7" from Megatunes. On the one side it had The Greatest and on the other
side was Hate. I would put it on my record player and lay on the floor of the
living room and listen to one side, flip, listen to the other, flip... I'd do
this for a good hour before I was pestered to give it up. When the CD finally
came out I listened to it rather obsessively. I adore the song The Moon, it
randomly gets stuck in my head all the time. All in all, Living Proof ended
up on repeat numerous times.



Knives Don't Have Your Back – Emily Haines

I said that my only fall CD purchase would be Knives. I thought for sure that
there would be no notable music coming to my ears in Halifax. However, as we
shall see later on was not the case. Moving on. I purchased Knives quite eagerlyl
from Sam the Record Man, an exciting event in itself. Upon listening to it I
was quite excited about the songs Doctor Blind, Our Hell and Lottery. I really
enjoyed the solo Emily vocals, it took me back to the original Metric recordings. It was incredibly comforting to me to be assured that while Metric has gone
to shit with recent recordings, Emily still has that illustrious charm.



Jill Barber – For All Time

I first heard Jill Barber in St. Matthews Church in Halifax. I was told by
a dear girl in my life that I should go to the CD release party, and in the
hopes of seeing her again I dragged my roommate out on a friday night. I must
say, I knew nothing of the brilliance of Ms. Barber at the time, but by the
end of the evening I had been completely won over. I quickly ran out to purchase
the CD. It however did not have the same charm as the live show did and it sat
on my shelf for a couple of weeks until I started spending more time with said
special girl and the CD once again found itself in heavy rotation. I am continually
surprised by the sadness in the songs, and how they still make me feel hopeful
and happy. My favorites are Hardline and Legacy.



War Brides – Amelia Curran

Oh, Amelia. What can I say about Amelia? I first heard Amelia in Refelections
Caberet on FemFest night. The show as a whole was a bit of a bust, but Amelia
was spotted from across the room and I thought, "That girl, she's interesting." She got up on stage and commanded the attention of the flighty room of females. I since listened to her Myspace over and over. I'd play the CD when ever I was at Shannon's. It's brilliant. She is a fabulous musician and songwriter. In anycase, this is one of those CDs that I so good, I can't really do it justice.



Honey From the Tombs – Amy Millan

Amy Millan impressed me. I heard a sample while listening to CKUA one late
spring evening. I immediately could not believe how amazing it sounded. This
CD is a perfect mix of music and vocals. The songs are so incredibly sad and
perfect for a raining melancholy day. I find myself listening to this a lot
with a cup of tea, blankets and books. I don't have a favorite song. I do however
quite like Wayward and Parliament, Skinny Boy, and Baby I. This is a good CD
for secretly singing along too.



Rabbit Fur Coat – Jenny Lewis

My father loves this CD. Or I thought he would. On a long four hour drive to Fernie in the summer, me behind the wheel and him in the passenger seat we listened to it several times before he realized that we had listened to it more from once. This CD is lovely. This seems to be the year of branching out to more soulful, less pop music. Jenny Lewis is probably way too country for my usual tastes, but that didn't keep me from adoring this CD. The Watson Twins doing backup are a perfect compliment to Jenny's vocals. Run Devil Run is fabulous, as is Happy and Melt Your Heart. The icing on this CD is however the track Handle With Care which was originally placed on a mix tape for my valentines day. I immediately fell in love with this song.



Fox Confessor Brings the Flood – Neko Case

Neko Case was supposed to play the Calgary Folk Fest this year.
Alas she was unable to attend and while there was already far too much music
to take in, I would have gratefull sat down and shut up to be mesmerized by
the vocal awe that is Neko Case's vocals. What gets me about this CD is the
story. There isn't as far as I've noticed a overriding story, however, the stories
that are told by each song are beyond amazing. My favorite songs are, Margaret
vs. Pauline, Star Wittness and A Widow's Toast. Oh man, if you have not listened
to this CD, go find it, listen to it, listen to it more than once. Enjoy.



The Crane Wife - The Decemberists

Okay, so, this is the top cd on every list of 2006. I swear, I'm not just following
the trend. I am an English student, it is a CD based on an Japanese Folktale,
what part of that am I not supposed to love. Not only is the over riding story
amazing, but also the epic musical score that accompanies the story. Twelve
minute songs, that is amazing. I expect everything to be copied by many a band
in the future, but the Decemberist are the creators of such musical fantasies.