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 Patrick Braxton-Andrew's 2006 Year-end Lists: Top 10 Records of 2006, Top 11 Movies of 2006, and Top 6 Television Series of 2006, among other things!
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Top 10 Records of 2006: |
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Number 10: |
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Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain
And so, being imbued with holiday laziness, I quoth thyself: "This is the way black-ish metal is supposed to sound -- cold. Sometimes dark and subdued, other times imposing and expansive, this utterly bleak and desolate album is the perfect soundtrack for fall and winter." Clean guitar work and acoustic moments balance nicely the distorted heaviness, while beautiful, haunting melody is the norm. Turn down the lights, turn up the volume, and transport yourself to a lifeless frozen tundra. |
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Number 9: |
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Sway - This Is My Demo
British MC Sway Dasafo is yet another reason Americans need to stop ignoring global hip-hop. Acclaimed by zine critics and bloggers, Sway won BET's "Best UK Hip Hop Artist" award -- aka the Best Rapper People Will Never Hear award. His debut is filled with a breathless and dexterous flow that is surprisingly easy to discern, atypical and intelligent lyrics (including an argument against illegal downloading and a courageous address of domestic abuse), and a sense of humor -- "And now I'm makin' Ps and pleasin' my people /Not
even a Jamiroquai hat could fit my ego" -- that makes even the skits enjoyable.
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Number 8: |
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Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
It's no secret, Ghostface sits atop the hip-hop hierarchy. A Wu-Tang legend, now he just releases consecutive classics. A master lyricist and storyteller, Ghost's tales are terrific exploits of street life, capturing everyone from the never-touch-dope dons atop the coke game to the ripped-jean stick-up boys and judgment impaired fiends. Traditional boundaries mean nothing to Ghost -- "Whip You WIth A Strap" remembers the glory days of disciplining lil' troublemakers -- and he conjures moods like no other -- "Big
Girl," set over a Stylistics sample, aches with nostalgia and aged wisdom, and is as clear a smoky bar drug scene as ever put on film in a mobster classic. |
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Number 7: |
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No Trigger - Canyoneer
Straightforward, no-holds-barred punk rock is still my personal favorite. Manic drumming and melodic guitar lines layered with gruff yells and shouts, a la the spectacular Strike Anywhere, will always get me furiously head-nodding, fist-pumping, and screaming along -- often to the amusement of highway passersby. And Canyoneer finds a nice balance between the grit of Strike Anywhere and the musicianship of A Wilhelm Scream (with whom the band is soon touring), which is, quite simply, the perfect formula for enjoyment.
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Number 6: |
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Dead Hearts - Bitter Verses
If Bitter Verses is any indication, and if music can reflect genetics, the future of human genetic engineering will be exciting. Dead Hearts -- sometimes methodical and plodding, churning through dark, burdened riffs with hoarse screams and gang-vocals echoing in the foreground, sometimes screaming along behind blazing melodic guitar work and breakneck percussion, spitfire vocals keeping the pace, turning in the timely pit-churning breakdown -- has spliced an incredible, unique sound from punk and hardcore stalwarts Modern Life is War, Good Riddance, and Comeback Kid. It's simple: Fans of hardcore and punk will love this record.
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Number 5: |
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Bambix - Club Matuchek
When I pulled Club Matuchek from the package of promo discs, I never would have imagined it making a lasting impression -- not a good one, at least --despite the cool cover art. I rolled my eyes at the press release, "Been around for a long time? C'mon, seriously. Who the hell is Bambix?" But Bambix is the surprise of the year. Led by guitarist and lead singer Wick Bambix -- whose fantastic and distinct female vocals set the band apart -- Bambix plays no-frills punk rock; objective: to rock. From fiery political diatribes to the catchiest pop-punk odes to love and drinking, the band never plays a bad note. Hailing from the Netherlands, Bambix is virtually unknown in the US, but Club Matuchek absolutely deserves recognition for being a fun, and above all, great, album.
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Number 4: |
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Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury
When lesser-knowns from the clique -- here, the Re-Up Gang's Ab-Liva -- are dropping gems like, "I make all of her twist like Dickens," top-album chatter is mandatory. Clipse, brothers Malice and Pusha T, turn irredeemable coke talk into irrepressible elation, cutting their vile, violent foundation with metaphor, wit, and crooked swagger -- all over 12 of Chad and Pharrell's finest. There's an allure to Clipse effortless criminal confidence, and even the purest consciences will have trouble denying dudes who can "Get it cross state with the Grace of Maria." And if Hell Hath No Fury had been released before the end of November, it probably would have had time to work its way closer to the top of my list.
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Number 3: |
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Crime In Stereo - Our Troubled Stateside
As much as I like Crime In Stereo, pre-release I didn't expect Our Troubled Stateside to make my year-end Top 10. But the way the band tears through tracks, with guitars swirling around the manic percussion, gruff vocals and shouts punching through the hard-edged melody, it's impossible to be unimpressed. I enjoy Our Troubled Stateside anytime, in any mood, and always with shout-along, toe-tapping and finger-pointing ecstasy.
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Number 2: |
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Set Your Goals - Mutiny!
The interbred product of hardcore meatiness, pop punk sensibilities, and a teenage party mindset, Mutiny is an identity crisis gone right. A throwback to old school New Found Glory, Set Your Goals offers 11-tracks of head-nodding nostalgia, complete with chunky breakdowns and searing, melodic guitar work. My English professors would've stressed brevity, and there's a perfect one-word description and review of Mutiny: FUN!
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Number 1: |
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Ignite - Our Darkest Days
Our Darkest Days is amazing; the obvious best album of the year. Nothing else stood a chance. From the day I bought this burner from Ignite, it didn't leave my stereo for, quite literally, months. Everyone I talked to anyone, every time I offered a recommendation, it was, "I don't care what else you buy. But if you have a soul, and you claim to enjoy music, you must buy Ignite's Our Darkest Days." It's is up-tempo melodic hardcore with serious heart, and the sing-a-long factor is off the charts. The political lyrics, and the scorching guitars and rhythm sections are all exceptional; singer Zoli Teglas boasts my new favorite voice in hardcore, with a clean style of singing -- yes, actual, beautiful singing! -- that makes everyone else sound pedestrian, if not silly for growling. Just how great is this album? On first listen, it vaulted itself into my Top 50 of All-Time, where it's nestled comfortably forever.
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Honorable Mentions: |
Agent - I Wouldn't Trade That For Anything EP
Ambitions - Question EP
Burst - Origo
Count The Hours - We Don't Care
Deftones - Saturday Night Wrist
Drive By Truckers - A Blessing And A Curse
The Hold Steady - Boys And Girls In America
Killer Mike - I Pledge Allegiance To The Grind
The Lawrence Arms - Oh! Calcutta!
Lil' Keke - The Album B4 The Album Mixtape
Lil' Wayne mixtapes - The W. Carter Collection; Tha Carter 2, Part 2: Like Father, Like Son; Dedication 2
The Loved Ones - Keep Your Heart
Mastodon - Blood Mountain
Nas - Hip Hop is Dead
National Razor - Naked Before God And Country
Park - Building A Better Tomorrow
Strike Anywhere - Dead FM
Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - #3
T.I. - King
Trae - Restless
TV On The Radio - Cookie Mountain
Twelve Tribes - Midwest Pandemic
The Warriors - Beyond The Noise
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Bands I'm Glad I Finally Started Listening To In 2006: |
5) Against Me
4) Bambix
3) Aborted
2) Ignite
1) Drive-By Truckers
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Top 11 Movies of 2006: I'm positive this list would be significantly different if I made more trips to the theater -- I missed a lot of promising films this year, indies and blockbusters alike -- but at a conservatively estimated rate of 5 movies watched/week (abusing online services' 1-month free trials, using my Blockbuster RewardsŪ membership, and renting free! from the public library's surprisingly wide selection), I'd be broke. So, from the limited selection of theatrical releases I saw, these are my favorites: |
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Number 11: |
District B-13
A futuristic action flick set in the cordoned, gang-ruled French ghetto that supplies to movie's name, District B-13 is all about great action sequences and cool choreography. Sure, there's a little plot, but it easy to digest fare that streamlines the steady stream of ass-kicking. Expect fun and subtitles (unless you're a simpleton who tolerates dubbing). The motherfuckin' ridiculous, suspension of disbelief-limits-testing Snakes On A Plane was vying for this spot, but the badass B-13 kicked it back to honorable mention. |
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Number 10: |
ATL
I didn't expect to like a movie that spends half its time in a roller-skating rink, but I gave it a chance. Tip Harris (dirty south rapper T.I.) plays Rashad Swann, a high school senior playing it straight in the midst of shit. He's gotta deal with a broken home, trying to keep his younger brother from joining the legion of D-boys beholden to the ruthless neighborhood supplier (Antwan Patton, aka Big Boi of Outkast), a love interest who isn't exactly as she passes herself off, and everything other obstacle life can throw his way. It's been done before, but here it's done well. A good soundtrack and well-acted characters make ATL a pleasant surprise. |
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Number 9: |
X-Men: The Last Stand
I grew up on comic books (and cartoons), notably Marvel's X-Men (and Spiderman). So there's no way I wasn't going to love this movie, especially after the first two chapters were favorites from years past. Unfortunately, the third (and final?) chapter didn't follow the trend of improvement from the first to second, and is the weakest of the three. Still, it's always entertaining, and watching all the heroes and villains from the Marvel universe on screen is a dream come true. |
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Number 8: |
Tsotsi
Another great foreign language flick, Tsotsi follows an impoverished South African criminal who mistakenly kidnaps a child in a carjacking gone violently awry. As a criminal with a conscience, he ends up keeping the child, which throws his entire world off-kilter. Simultaneously an uplifting and devastating film, Tsotsi is worth your time. |
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Number 7: |
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
Tommy Lee Jones directs and stars in this stunning contemporary American western, about a rancher, Pete, (Jones) who kidnaps the overzealous border patrolman who killed Pete's immigrant farmhand and close friend, Melquiades, and takes the patrolman on a journey into Mexico to give Melquiades' body proper burial. Tommy Lee Jones' character resonates with loyalty bordering on madness, and the movie is the embodiment of dusty anguish. |
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Number 6: |
Superman Returns
Again, there's no way I wasn't going to love it. Superman Returns isn't as impressive as standard-setters Sin City and Batman Begins, but that's expecting too much. A cool, fun flick, with a little more gooberish romance than I needed. |
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Number 5: |
Night Watch
The Russian export features some of the coolest visual effects (the reactive, color-changing subtitles that bleed and diffuse into onscreen environments!) I've ever seen. The first America-released chapter of an ultra-successful Russian horror/fantasy trilogy, it's always entertaining and strange, though a bit hard to follow as armies of characters (with different superpowers) are introduced. But I'm eager for the second installment, Day Watch. |
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Number 4: |
The Proposition
A dirty, violent Western set in the Australian outback -- and my favorite Western since Tombstone. An embittered criminal, Charley Burns, is torn between his brutal, outlaw family and a well-meaning, revenge-driven lawman with leverage -- Charley's little brother Mikey's life is in his hands, locked behind bars. The Proposition is a heartbreaking and depressing expedition in loyalty and conscience.
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Number 3: |
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
The concise review: Laugh until it hurts. Comic genius Sacha Baron Cohen (Da Ali G. Show) brings (previously cult-favorite) Kazakh reporter Borat Sagdiyev to the big screen. At its worst, the film goes for easy gross-out jokes and unwarranted attacks on innocent targets -- and they're absolutely hilarious. At its best, Borat's feigned, naive-foreigner-doesn't-know-any-better admissions of hate and anti-Semitism disarm prejudiced, every sad variety of -ist Americans into shocking candor. There's more hate stewing in America than people are willing to acknowledge, and this movie might be most valuable in making that clear. Either way, as comedy or sociology, it's unarguably successful. |
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Number 2: |
Slither
A movie about slimy, killer alien slugs? Sweeeeeeeeeeet. Such elementary simplicity proves perfect. Gut-wrenching for gross outs and a killer horror-comedy script, Slither was rightfully lauded by creeps and critics alike. This is a movie I'll never tire of watching, one that makes me laugh as much alone as with a crowd of friends. |
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Number 1: |
Little Miss Sunshine
Quite simply, Awesome. Stellar writing, superb casting, and inspired acting make this a classic feel-good black comedy. It's consistently funny, frequently laugh-out-loud so (i.e. the confusion during a traffic stop and search -- with a dead body stuffed in the back of the van), and you can't help but empathize with the characters. Nearly flawless. |
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Honorable Mentions: |
Blood Diamond
Dave Chappelle's Block Party
Happy Feet
The Inside Man
King Kong
Snakes On A Plane
Thank You For Smoking
V For Vendetta
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Top Documentary (and Music Film): |
Afro-Punk
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Top Six Television Series of 2006: |
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Number 6: |
Big Love (Season One)
As you'll notice through this list, I didn't pick any shows not on a premium network. Why? Premium networks don't have to worry about censors, an essential freedom. And, because HBO and Showtime feature less original programming than other networks, they have higher standards of quality. Take Big Love, a show I'd never have watched if it wasn't on HBO. A family-centered drama about a Utahan polygamist family trying to escape its Mormon compound and survive in the "real world," it's so well-written and subtly funny I couldn't help getting hooked. The moral of 2006 TV: HBO (whose final half-season of The Sopranos debuts in early 2007!) and Showtime belong on every Christmas list. |
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Number 5: |
Entourage (Season Three)
A clever if unsophisticated jock-comedy, HBO's Entourage is a crude but consistently funny and engaging look at a millionaire actor, his group of misfit friends, his stable of beautiful "girlfriends," and his egomaniac super-agent. Life's a party: drinking, getting high, (not) reading scripts, creating studio bidding wars, and being generally worthless, but it's a damn good time viewers can't help but enjoy. |
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Number 4: |
Brotherhood (Season One)
Another great Showtime newcomer, this isn't just The Sopranos junior. Sure, the gritty Providence, RI based mob-drama focuses on the violent underworld of organized crime, but more so than its HBO cousin, Brotherhood examines the inextricable relationship between crime and politics. Framed by a ruthless, resourceful mobster and his rising-star politician brother, Brotherhood elucidates corruption and moral ambiguity know no bounds. |
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Number 3: |
Dexter (Season One)
Michael C. Hall (Six Feet Under) plays Dexter Morgan -- a forensic scientist blood-spatter analysis expert by day, serial killer by night -- in Showtime's impressive new black comedy. Certainly not for the weak of heart (though the violence is more implied than explicit), this show is controversial for the moral boundaries it crosses. Humanizing a serial killer? Absolutely. A butcher with a conscience? Exactly. Dexter works hard to catch criminals, and he deals with the ones who escape deserved justice in his own twisted way, to control his urges. Dexter is a wicked treat, and the top newcomer of the year. I'm hoping ratings are high enough that the show survives. |
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Number 2: |
Weeds (Season Two)
Who knew life in gated communities was so exciting? Showtime's signature comedy about a widowed suburban mom (Mary-Louise Parker) venturing into the world of major pot-dealing is the funniest show on TV (with the incomparable Arrested Development cancelled). Drug dealer drama, a precarious fling with a DEA big shot, Snoop Dogg rapping about MILF weed, and devious competition for the City Council (Kevin Nealon as the laid back, bud-smoking, filth-spewing incumbent provides a laugh-a-scene) are only the beginning of the antics. The drama is touching, the plot twists sometimes random but always hilarious. The best part: you don't need to be a part of stoner culture to be caught laughing uncontrollably. |
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Number 1: |
The Wire (Season Four)
The best season yet of the best television show ever -- seriously! -- HBO's next-to-final fourth season of the critically acclaimed The Wire tackles Baltimore's beyond-troubled education system, focusing on four 8th-grade friends, each faced with dire circumstances of his own. Power shifts in the streets -- Marlo Stanfield's crew coming up in the Barkdale crew's absence -- and city hall -- the election of a white mayor, Thomas Carcetti -- keep the tension at full-tilt, and the writing and acting are brilliant per usual, bleeding together every dimension of Baltimore's grimy underbelly in the most brutally honest and realistic depiction of power and struggle ever. |
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