FAVORITE SONGS OF 2006 (as chosen in 2006)

1. “The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack” by Liars
2. “Us Ones in Between” by Sunset Rubdown
3. “Postcards of Italy” by Beirut
4. (tie) “I Feel Like Going Home” by Yo La Tengo // “Hold On, Hold On” by Neko Case
5. “LoveStoned/ I Think She Knows (Interlude)” by Justin Timberlake

* listen to my Favorite Tracks of 2006 on Spotify via P|M|W Playlist

Looking at the notes that I had for 2006, I was shocked at how fucking stacked of a year it was for amazing single songs. I have no issues with the selections here, I’m mostly just surprised that I was able to boil it down to a top five (six, i guess) at all. There were selections by Thom Yorke, Swan Lake, Mew, Midlake, and a dozen others that could have made this list. 

Looking at these selections, I would still stand by the track from Liars as the top pick. It’s a knockout track, that’s as heartbreaking as it is gorgeous. In the years since I originally put this together, I would have to say that the Neko Case and Justin Timberlake tracks are the ones that have had the most spins. Truth be told, it’s not even the entire Timberlake track. It’s the second part that I fell in love with then and continue to be mildly obsessed. It’s a gorgeous, sexy, pop song and when the beat drops out and it turns on the strings - it’s pretty much love at first listen. As for the Neko jam, it’s a fucking killer with some of the best writing of the entire year. 

I could go on and on. I’m actually going to enjoy the hell out of revisiting 2006 when I go back over these, but for the meantime, here is the list as it stood then. 

* (previous year’s top fives)

6top 5, top 5 songs, spotify, 2006, liars, sunset rubdown, beirut, yo la tengo, neko case, justin timberlake, midlake, thom yorke, mew,

FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2006 (as chosen in 2006)

1. “The Eraser” by Thom Yorke
2. “Fox Confessor Brings the Flood” by Neko Case
3. “And the Glass Handed Kites” by Mew
4. “Return to Cookie Mountain” by TV on the Radio
5. “The Body, The Blood, The Machine” by The Thermals

* listen to these 5 albums now on Spotify in a P|M|W playlist. 

This was a year that found me all over the place and the fact that these five albums were my favorites might represent that a bit, in that they might be a tad schizophrenic in theme and nature. Truth be told, I’m fine with these choices. In hindsight, I might wonder why I didn’t choose “Drums Not Dead” by Liars or “Beast Moans” by Swan Lake, because I was obsessed with those albums later in the year, but this makes sense. Also, I think I was more obsessed at that point with single tracks. As for full albums, all five of these got monster spins from me throughout the summer and fall of 2006. “The Eraser” and “Fox Confessor Brings the Floods” were the soundtrack to a very lonely period of my life, and I came out of it much stronger, but mostly much more accepting of being alone. Those albums can still go in and make me feel something special. Nothing negative or sad attached. More growth. The year of 2006 might not have been packed with watershed indie moments, but it’s rock solid and there are easily another ten or fifteen albums that could be included on this list (and will be in a revised edition). 

* (previous year’s top fives)

6top 5, top 5 albums, 2006, spotify, thom yorke, radiohead, neko case, mew, TV on the Radio, the thermals, swan lake, liars,