Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Solipsistic History: 100 Songs for 2006



When I published 100 Songs for 2005 on January 16, 2012, I had high hopes to follow up with 2006 and 2007 lists soon after, before embarking on a massive "Radio Free St. Cloud" list that would cover 2000-2004.  Two years later, we've reached the point where even a monthly mix is apparently too much responsibility for me.

But, today ... today we start making things right.  100 Songs for 2006!

Now, you're probably asking, "Shouldn't there be a ten thousand word essay here obsessing over the recent past and trying to find unified meaning in unrelated events?"  Well, I'm glad you asked.

The answer is, of course, yes.  I've spent far, far too much time on a long piece focusing on:

- The 2007 Fiesta Bowl;
- Whether, after you die, St. Peter can objectively rank the greatest burritos you've ever eaten;
- The companion soundtrack to the TV show Scrubs;
- Which of the characters from Dazed and Confused had the best chances to be well-adjusted adults;
- The time The Mountain Goats played a house party in St. Cloud, Minnesota;
- Sasquatch Festival 2006;
- and the tragic but unsurprising closure of the Electric Fetus record store.

Then, as you might be able to infer from that list, I decided that the essay was a terrible, disjointed mess, and none of you are ever going to see it.  (But oh man, I bet you can imagine it.)  So, instead, you just get 100 incredible songs that have seared themselves into my consciousness in a way that it may be impossible for songs to do anymore.  I hope a few of them have that same effect on you, eight years later.

(The 2007 list is done, by the way, and I hope to have it up soon.)


(1)  The Hold Steady - "Stuck Between Stations"
(from Boys and Girls In America - October 3, 2006)

(2)  Mates of State - "Punchlines"
(from Bring It Back - March 21, 2006)

(3)  Tilly And The Wall - "The Freest Man"
(from Bottoms of Barrels - May 23, 2006)

(4)  TV On The Radio - "Wolf Like Me"
(from Return to Cookie Mountain - July 6, 2006)

(5)  The Kooks - "She Moves In Her Own Way"
(from Inside In / Inside Out - January 23, 2006)

(6)  The Pipettes - "Pull Shapes"
(from We Are The Pipettes - July 17, 2006)

(7)  The Besties - "79 Lorimer Song"
(from 79 Lorimer Song (Single) - August 10, 2006)

(8)  The Weepies - "Take It From Me"
(from Say I Am You - March 7, 2006)

(9)  Johnny Boy - "You Are The Generation That Bought More Shoes and You Get What You Deserve"
(from Johnny Boy - April 13, 2006) [NON-SPOTIFY]



(10)  The Thermals - "An Ear For Baby"
(from The Body, The Blood, The Machine - August 22, 2006)

(11)  Bright Eyes - "Endless Entertainment"
(from Endless Entertainment (Single) - December 19, 2006) [NON-SPOTIFY]


(12)  The Killers - "When You Were Young"
(from Sam's Town - October 2, 2006)

(13)  The Lovely Feathers - "Photocorners"
(from Hind Hind Legs - April 18, 2006)

(14)  Snowglobe - "Dry"
(from Oxytocin - July 21, 2006)

(15)  Islands - "Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby"
(from Return to the Sea - April 3, 2006)

(16)  Scissor Sisters - "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'"
(from Ta Dah - September 15, 2006)

(17)  The Coup - "My Favorite Mutiny"
(from Pick a Bigger Weapon - April 25, 2006)

(18)  Rainier Maria - "Catastrophe"
(from Catastrophe Keeps Us Together - April 4, 2006) [NON-SPOTIFY]



(19)  The Fratellis - "Flathead"
(from Costello Music - October 30, 2006)

(20)  Regina Spektor - "Fidelity"
(from Begin to Hope - June 13, 2006)

(21)  Islands - "Rough Gem"
(from Return to the Sea - April 3, 2006)

(22)  The Format - "She Doesn't Get It"
(from Dog Problems - May 18, 2006)

(23)  CSS - "Music Is My Hot, Hot Sex"
(from Cansei de Ser Sexy - July 11, 2006)

(24)  Voxtrot - "Your Biggest Fan"
(from Your Biggest Fan EP - November 7, 2006)

(25)  Sambassadeur - "Kate"
(from Coastal Affairs - May 3, 2006)

(26)  Middle Distance Runner - "Naturally"
(from Plane in Flames - June 6, 2006)

(27)  The Submarines - "Vote"
(from Declare a New State! - March 14, 2006)

(28)  Joseph Arthur - "Enough To Get Away"
(from Nuclear Daydream - September 19, 2006)

(29)  Tilly And The Wall - "Rainbows in the Dark"
(from Bottoms of Barrels - May 23, 2006)

(30)  The Kooks - "Naive"
(from Inside In / Inside Out - January 23, 2006)

(31)  The Blow - "True Affection"
(from Paper Television - September 15, 2006)

(32)  Morningwood - "Nth Degree"
(from Morningwood - January 10, 2006)

(33)  James Figurine - "55566688833"
(from Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake - July 11, 2006)

(34)  Teddybears - "Yours To Keep"
(from Soft Machine - September 12, 2006)

(35)  The Streets - "Never Went To Church"
(from The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living - April 10, 2006)

(36)  The Hold Steady - "Party Pit"
(from Boys and Girls In America - October 3, 2006)

(37)  T.I. - "What You Know"
(from King - March 28, 2006)

(38)  Scissor Sisters - "Paul McCartney"
(from Ta Dah - September 15, 2006)

(39)  Mates of State - "Think Long"
(from Bring It Back - March 21, 2006)

(40)  The Killers - "Bones"
(from Sam's Town - October 2, 2006)

(41)  East River Pipe - "What Does T.S. Eliot Know About You?"
(from What Are You On? - January 24, 2006)

(42)  Arctic Monkeys - "Fake Tales of San Francisco"
(from Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I Am Not - January 23, 2006)

(43)  Jose Gonzalez - "Crosses"
(from Crosses (Single) - April 10, 2006)

(44)  Belle & Sebastian - "Dress Up In You"
(from The Life Pursuit - February 6, 2006)

(45)  We Are Scientists - "The Scene Is Dead"
(from With Love and Squalor - January 10, 2006)

(46)  The Decemberists - "The Crane Wife 3"
(from The Crane Wife - October 3, 2006)

(47)  Jenny Lewis - "Rise Up with Fists!!"
(from Rabbit Fur Coat - January 23, 2006)

(48)  M. Ward - "To Go Home"
(from Post-War - August 22, 2006)

(49)  The Knife - "We Share Our Mothers' Health"
(from Silent Shout - February 15, 2006)

(50)  Mistah F.A.B. - "Ghost Ride It"
(from Ghost Ride It (Single) - 2006)

(51)  The Zutons - "Valerie"
(from Tired of Hanging Around - September 19, 2006)

(52)  TV On The Radio - "I Was A Lover"
(from Return to Cookie Mountain - July 6, 2006)

(53)  Jarvis Cocker - "Don't Let Him Waste Your Time"
(from Jarvis - November 13, 2006)

(54)  Electric President - "Insomnia"
(from S/T - January 24, 2006)

(55)  Eberg - "Inside Your Head"
(from Voff Voff - June 12, 2006)

(56)  Voxtrot - "Trouble"
(from Your Biggest Fan EP - November 7, 2006)

(57)  The Hold Steady - "Chips Ahoy"
(from Boys and Girls In America - October 3, 2006)

(58)  The Weepies - "World Spins Madly On"
(from Say I Am You - March 7, 2006)

(59)  Travis Hopper - "I'd Like To Have You Here, If You Want To Stay"
(from All The Lights In The City Tonight - July 4, 2006)

(60)  The Village Green - "When The Creeper Creeps In"
(from Feeding the Fall - August 29, 2006)

(61)  Beirut - "Scenic World"
(from Gulag Orkestar - May 9, 2006)

(62)  Young Jeezy - "I Luv It"
(from The Inspiration - December 12, 2006)

(63)  Midlake - "Roscoe"
(from Trials of Van Occupanther - July 25, 2006)

(64)  Rogue Wave - "Eyes"
(from Eyes (Single) - 2006)

(65)  X-Press 2 - "Give It" (f/ Kurt Wagner)
(from Makeshift Feelgood - September 25, 2006)

(66)  Silversun Pickups - "Lazy Eye"
(from Carnavas - July 26, 2006)

(67)  Justin Timberlake - "My Love" (f/ T.I.)
(from FutureSex/LoveSounds - September 12, 2006)

(68)  The Pack - "Vans"
(from Skateboards to Scrapers EP - December 19, 2006)

(69)  The Decemberists - "O Valencia!"
(from The Crane Wife - October 3, 2006)

(70)  Tilly And The Wall - "Bad Education"
(from Bottoms of Barrels - May 23, 2006)

(71)  Joseph Arthur - "Too Much To Hide"
(from Nuclear Daydream - September 19, 2006)

(72)  The Fratellis - "Henrietta"
(from Costello Music - October 30, 2006)

(73)  The Thermals - "Here's Your Future"
(from The Body, The Blood, The Machine - August 22, 2006)

(74)  Cassie - "Me & U"
(from Cassie - August 7, 2006)

(75)  Brett Dennen - "The Holidays Are Here (And We're Still At War)"
(from The Holidays Are Here (Single) - November 21, 2006)

(76)  TV On The Radio - "Hours"
(from Return to Cookie Mountain - July 6, 2006)

(77)  The Pipettes - "It Hurts To See You Dance So Well"
(from We Are The Pipettes - July 17, 2006)

(78)  Kite Flying Society - "6000 Shipwrecks"
(from Where Is The Glow? - July 28, 2006)

(79)  Camera Obscura - "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken"
(from Let's Get Out Of This Country - May 29, 2006)

(80)  Regina Spektor - "On The Radio"
(from Begin to Hope - June 13, 2006)

(81)  The Sleepy Jackson - "I Understand What You Want But I Just Don't Agree"
(from Personality - One Was a Spider, One Was a Bird - July 25, 2006)

(82)  Amy Millan - "Baby I"
(from Honey From The Tombs - May 30, 2006)

(83)  Band of Horses - "St. Augustine"
(from Everything All The Time - March 21, 2006)

(84)  Rick Ross - "Hustlin''" (Remix f/ Jay-Z, Young Jeezy)
(from Port of Miami - August 8, 2006)

(85)  Phoenix - "Long Distance Call"
(from It's Never Been Like That - May 10, 2006)

(86)  The Streets - "Prangin' Out"
(from The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living - April 10, 2006)

(87)  The Mountain Goats - "Woke Up New"
(from Get Lonely - August 14, 2006)

(88)  Peter Bjorn and John - "Amsterdam"
(from Writer's Block - August 14, 2006)

(89)  The Roots - "Baby"
(from Game Theory - August 29, 2006)

(90)  The Coup - "We Are The Ones"
(from Pick a Bigger Weapon - April 25, 2006)

(91)  Irving - "Jen, Nothing Matters To Me"
(from Death in the Garden, Blood on the Flowers - April 4, 2006)

(92)  Mates of State - "Like U Crazy"
(from Bring It Back - March 21, 2006)

(93)  David Ford - "State Of The Union"
(from I Sincerely Apologize For All The Trouble I've Caused - May 2, 2006)

(94)  Beyonce - "Irreplaceable"
(from B'Day - September 1, 2006)

(95)  Junior Boys - "In The Morning"
(from So This Is Goodbye - September 12, 2006)

(96)  Dilated Peoples - "Back Again"
(from 20/20 - February 21, 2006)

(97)  Oppenheimer - "Breakfast in NYC"
(from Oppenheimer - June 6, 2006)

(98)  Dirty Pretty Things - "Doctors & Dealers"
(from Waterloo to Anywhere - May 8, 2006)

(99)  The Format - "The Compromise"
(from Dog Problems - May 18, 2006)

(100)  I'm From Barcelona - "Treehouse"
(from Let Me Introduce My Friends - April 26, 2006)

2 comments:

  1. Man, Stuck Between Stations never gets old...

    ReplyDelete
  2. these links dont seem to download. just a problem at my end, or is there something faulty here?

    ReplyDelete