A Perfect Song Series from a Shuffling iPod #1

"Beautiful Feeling," PJ Harvey
"Fancy," The Kinks
"Klaus Kinski," Saint Joan

Eerie, eerier, eeriest.

The semi-deluge of best-of-2006 lists with contributions from yours truly begins... now. City Paper's annual Top 21 list can be accessed here. They've fancified the online presentation this year. To see my write-ups, click on entries 9 and 18. And to see the top ten lists of me and everyone else who voted, go here.

Well, this evening I scored one of those fabled once-in-a-lifetime bargains from Tower Records' last stand. I picked up one of my collection's last few missing pieces of Pulp music. The import copy (as we all know, nothing Jarvis Cocker puts out gets a U.S. release anymore --it's like a law or something) cost a mere $7.26, easily the lowest amount I've ever paid for an import full-length. I'm pretty sure it was the only copy in the store.

I was also amused to hear some Beatles best-of playing over the sound system; not only were the songs fairly appropos to Tower's decline and fall ("Help!," "Yesterday," "We Can Work it Out," ah, if only), but it was truly odd to hear very famous music in a record store and not be able to buy that music there, if you were so inclined.

ITEM! Anchor Steam's Christmas Ale really is something. Try and drink it sometime!

Oh, Alright

Commentary TK. Or not, if I never find the time.

Top Albums of 2006
1. Sonic Youth, Rather Ripped (Geffen)
2. Jarvis Cocker, Jarvis (Rough Trade)
3. Quasi, When the Going Gets Dark (Touch and Go)
4. Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (Anti)
5. Lupe Fiasco, Lupe Fiasco's Food and Liquor (Atlantic)
6. Ray Davies, Other People's Lives (V2)
7. Campfire Crush, Lunar Moss (self-released)
8. Espers, II (Drag City)
9. Cheap Trick, Rockford (Big 3)
10. Electrelane, Singles, B-Sides and Live (Too Pure)

Top Singles/Tracks of 2006
1. Jarvis Cocker, "Running the World" (Rough Trade)
2. Sonic Youth, "Pink Steam" (Geffen)
3. Lupe Fiasco with Jill Scott, "Daydreamin'" (Atlantic)
4. Neko Case, "Star Witness" (Anti)
5. Camera Obscura, "Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken" (Merge)
6. The Dears, "Ticket to Immortality" (Arts and Crafts)
7. Tom Petty, "Saving Grace" (American)
8. OK Go, "Here it Goes Again" (Capitol)
9. The Divine Comedy, "To Die a Virgin" (Parlophone)
10. The Pernice Brothers, "B.S. Johnson" (Ashmont)

Not that Kelefa Sanneh's writing needs more exposure or anything, but I thought his Jarvis piece (which somehow slipped by my radar till yesterday) was pretty spot-on.

(Coming soon: top 10 albums and singles lists for 2006, once I get a sizable break from my current workload to figure out the latter.)

Pick here.

Here's a column, one that I've anticipated writing for some time now.