Wow, what a year in music the past year. It was year of a couple of shifts shall we say. The first shift is my taste in music. The year 2006 saw an increase in electronica/dance/trip-hop. I really don't know why I didn't like this genre before. It might have to do with me working with loops in Adobe Audition and Garageband. In fact, that's probably it. So, listening to electronica has helped me be a little bit more creative when I start a new song. I love to create atmospheric music now...stuff that make you sit back and let your mind and heart wander around in dream land. Hahahaha. =)
The second shift is using iTunes and downloading music using iTunes. A lot of the electronica that I have discovered was through the iTunes feature called "Just for you". Unfortunately, Apple took that feature out of iTunes (it was in beta so, it was understandable). If Apple is reading this blog though, let me tell you, it's the best feature ever. "Just for you" recommends music that is similar to the music that you have purchased through iTunes. I discovered a couple of groups because of this feature that I would not have found if I just did a normal search.
So, on to the My Top Albums of 2006...in no particular order:
A Collision - David Crowder BandWhy? The song that blew me away was Here is Our King. Specifically, it was the line in the chorus "Here is our God who's come to bring us back to Him". It was this line that made me think of our church and made me pray this line for our church. There are many other cool songs on this album but this one took the cake.
Black Holes and Revelations - MuseWhy? SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE!!! I sang this song over and over again for about two months and tried my best to do the falsetto part. I pretty much got everyone into this song (for example, Christin, Jason, Reuben, and even my sister!). It's one of those songs that are fun to sing along to because it has a nice beat and flow to it. Starlight is another great song as are Glorious and City of Delusion which has a Spanish flavor to it.
Eyes Open - Snow PatrolWhy? Chasing Cars anyone? I think this song is the single reason why I got this album. I heard it on a commercial for Grey's Anatomy on TV and I was like...whoa, this is a cool song. Favorite line in the song is "I don't quite know how to say how I feel." That line pretty much sums up most of my year. It was definitely an emotional rollercoaster ride this year and this song helped carry me through those tough times. Other songs that are good are The Finish Line and It's Beginning to Get to Me.
Mezzaine - Massive AttackWhy? This album was the start of the electronica/dance/trip-hop movement for me. The first four songs on this album are just amazing. When I demo'ed Angel, I was blown away at how the song starts off with the bass, brooding along and bam, the guitars kick in and smacks you in the face and then it ends off with the bass again, brooding along. The album blends the trip-hop with alternative extremely well and is a must for people who like this genre. For the boot, I also purchased the remix album. =)
Melankton - Kate HavnevikWhy? Her voice. Kate has one of those voices that I just go...ahhhh. It one of those things that just calms you down and relax. Great work music...LOL! Her music is soft electronica although the song So:Lo is more pop than the other songs on this album. This album and consequence EP's and singles were all iTunes purchases. Whoot!
Honorable Mentions:
Nuages Du Monde - DeleriumWhy? Upbeat electronica! The songs on this album are very catchy. Songs like The Way You Want it to Be and Lost and Found are brillant songs that you can't seem to get out of your head. The instrumentals are superbly put together and another great album for doing work.
Urban Angel - Natalie WalkerWhy? Because Christin recommended it! Christin and I have been searching for new music late last year and she found Natalie Walker who is part of a group called Daughter Darling. I demo'ed the song Urban Angel and Quicksand on iTunes and I was instantly hooked! Another soft electronica album similar to Kate Havnevik, Natalie blends more atmospheric instruments than Kate does...makes it a more sleepier album but nevertheless, a really good album.
