Matthew Kagler – Tag Team Etiquette Coach/Small Business Owner/Nervously Gay For Deng Pei/Anger Management Specialist/Surprisingly Fragile
1. TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain
Makes me wanna take some of that acid I keep hearing the kids at D-22 are supposedly “importing” and join in a “phat” trust-a-farian drum-circle down in Kunming.
2. Joanna Newsom – Ys
Every vintage t-shirt wearin’/white belt clad hipster kid’s wet dream (sept’ for Kyle)…figures that shit’s on Drag City.
3. The Evens – Get Evens
Instantly cured my Beat Happening/Fugazi hangover…
4. Irving – Death in the Garden, Blood on the Flowers
Irving…the best thing that’s happened in LA since Skooby’s Hot Dogs opened up on Hollywood Blvd.
5. Karl Blau – Beneath Waves
The raddest quasi-lo-fi / 60’s sounding stuff I heard all year with off kilter time signatures that make you feel like you did when you kissed your 2nd cousin in 4th grade (sorry Katherine).
6. Liars – Drum’s Not Dead
After I finished up at the above mentioned drum-circle down in Kunming I would most likely drop anther tab and throw this on…
7. Band of Horses – Everything All the Time
As Ian pointed out the other night, “You’re full of shit if you don’t put that on your list after spinning it daily for a month or whatever!” I always cave to peer pressure…
8. Biography of Ferns – Pastel Gothic
THE most underrated indie band in the whole of the Pacific NW. These dudes should be gettin’ blown by all 22 of Steven Malkmus’ 14 year old girlfriends simultaneously…’sept, uhhh, they wouldn’t be into that?
9. Justin Timberlake – Future Sex / Love Sounds
Fuck you all!!! I recently got so “Justified” with this shit dialed to 11 in my living room at 3:45am that I tore a rotator cup trying to pop-lock. If anyone flips me shit for putting this on my list I’ll sick my German on em’!
10. Sunset Rubdown – Shut Up I Am Dreaming
Sounds like a bunch of extremely talented/musically proficient 7 year old children fucking around with a vintage 12 Track after they listened to their dad’s favorite LPs and found them to be “as gay as that Xiu Xiu dude who wears Morrissey shoes”, then went to bed and had turgid nightmares…
Andrew Hustad – Tag Team Heartthrob/Youth Pastor/Closet (Pole) Smoker/Professional Nebraskan
1. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
2. Mewithoutyou - Brother, Sister
3. Tom Waits - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards
4. Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
5. Marconi Union - Distance
6. Mogwai - Mr. Beast
7. Clark - Body Riddle
8. The Flaming Lips - At War with the Mystics
9. Visual Aura - The Legacy
10. Johnny Cash American V - Hundred Highways
Kyle Schaefer – Tag Team Consiglieri/Unlicensed Pharmacist/Silver Shadow Believer/Metrosexual/12th Level Wizard/Orc Wrangler/Useless In a Fight…Seriously.
Not in any particular order. (fuck you I take drugs)
1/10. TV on the radio - Return to Cookie Mountain.
Everybody put this on their list. Fucking Spin magazine said it was the album of the year, but then again Spin turned me on to G.G. Allen when I was 13. Also my dad likes it because it sounds like Fine Young Cannibals
2/9. Sun O))) & Boris – Altar
It’s weird when noise rocks harder than rock does. Why do good things sound so good loud? I’m totally buying a smoke machine.
3/8. Benga - Newstep
Fuck all this dubstep shit, but when the zombies invade, I’m getting a pump action shotgun with a sparkly purple pump and this is going on my ipod. On repeat. Forever.
4/7. Xiu Xiu – The Air Force
People don’t weep enough these days. Turn it up loud so you can hear it over your sobbing, pussy.
5/6. Drum Ecstasy H.D.M.
If Belarusian’s banging on things doesn’t get you wet, I’ can’t help you. This might of come out in December 2005, I can’t remember (I take drugs). Fuck you Pope Gregory XIII.
6/5. The Ladies – They Mean Us
I dunno, I like the drums.
7/4. Julie Doiron - Woke Myself Up
Sometimes I like to feel like a sad girl. Fuck you.
8/3. Band of Horses – Everything all the Time
I got tired of waiting to build a time machine and go show up at Built to spill shows and sing along to all the songs that hadn’t come out yet and wear a t-shirt from one of their future albums. Then BoH put this out.
9/2. Jason Molina. Let Me Go (x3)
Features possibly the most depressing song of all time.
10/1. The Knife -Silent Shout
Everybody else likes this. I am just like everybody else. Not, I repeat, not a beautiful snowflake that will melt on your tongue (p.s. you have bad breath)
Heike Kagler – Tag Team Brain Trustee/Bean Counter/Hausfrau By Nature
1. Band of Horses – Everything All The Time
2. LCD Soundsystem – 45:33
3. Joanna Newsom – Ys
4. The Knife – Silent Shout
5. Regina Spektor – Begin to Hope
6. Tapes‘n Tapes - The Loon
7. Cat Power – The Greatest
8. Beck – The Information
9. Figurines – Skeleton
10. The Pipettes – We Are the Pipettes
Ian Sherman – Tag Team Scribe/Foot Soldier/Religious Historian/Token Limey/Willing To Chug Van Morrison’s Nasty Old Cock At Any Given Moment
1. Man Man - Six Demon Bag
Manic circus music toned down from their debut, but still a marvelous record.
2. Ellen Allien & Apparat - Orchestra of Bubbles
Not at all like Allien's solo stuff [which tends to be harder and dancier] or very similar to anything Apparat's done [and he's a prolific guy]. This is, erm... ambient music for the dance floor? Check it out, it fucking kills me every time.
3. Rock Central Plaza - Are We Not Horses
Worst band name ever. Achingly familiar yet constantly elusive indie-folk from Canada. A concept album about robot horses.
4. Peter, Bjorn and John - Writer's Block
Icy and spacious, yet somehow warm pop music from Sweden.
5. Akron/Family - Meek Warrior
Mellower than before, still bizarre and wonderful. Goddam Hippies!
6. Archie Bronson Outfit - Fur
Terrifying scuzz blues inflected indie rock. Bit of a one trick pony, but it's a great fucking trick!
7. Joanna Newsom - Ys
Whimsical, ecclectic, epic harp operettas. Still have no idea what she's wittering on about, but she does witter beguilingly.
8. Matt & Kim - Eponymous
Giddy, sequenced indie pop.
9. New Young Pony Club - Eponymous EP
Sweet indie dance.
10. Parenthetical Girls - Safe as Houses
Like a minor league Xiu Xiu. That's a good thing.
Joewi Verhoeven – Arrows Made of Desire Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist/Tag Team Pin-Up/Little Boy With His Finger in the Dyke
1. Quasi - When the going gets Dark
2. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
3. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Howl Sessions
4. Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped
5. Scott Walker - The Drift
6. Sunset Rubdown – Shut Up I Am Dreaming
7. Band of Horses – Everything all the Time
8. Built to Spill – You in Reverse
9. The Thermals – The Body, The Blood, The Machine
10. The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldiers
Christiaan Virant – ½ FM3/God Damn Buddha Machine Slinger/Dreamcore Dreamboat/Ageing Lothario/Mullet Havin’ Ambient Rock Star
Winter in Beijing is cold, gray and gloomy. As a result, my listening tends toward the dark and deep as the year draws to a close.
Since my music memory is about 2 weeks (one reason I’m still struggling to write a decent pop tune), I cant really list a 2006 list…simply can’t remember that far back. But here is what is on heavy rotation at HQ FM3 this winter:
1. Boris - Dronevil
Double CD issue of this drone/riff carnivore! Like all truly visionary metal bands, they made the two CDs to be played at the same time - one called Drone and the other called Evil. Years ago, while flirting with a major label, I proposed a similar concept to a record exec. He laughed it off and said the concept was destined to fail. Boris puts a fist of sonic fury right up his ass!
2. John Fahey - Sea Changes and Coelacanths
Picked this up on vinyl in the only Hong Kong record store worth visiting - White Noise. What can i say? The man is a genius. Beautiful, soul-stirring music that makes me wish I had an endless-repeat function for my turntable.
3. Svalastog - Woodwork
Its albums like this that either make you give up music cos you'll never be this good, or send you into a work frenzy to try and up your game. Woodwork is the 2006 gold standard for folk electronic musicianship.
4. The Necks - Chemist
A few years ago, FM3 played a gig supporting Jah Wobble in Marseille. As you would expect, the south of France is serious about its parties, and since we were touring a hyper minimalist set that year, we requested to play either early in the evening, or at 4 in the morning. All was set, until Wobble and his crew decided to go on before us. Naturally, they just rocked the place and got everyone geared up for some dance action. Then Zhang and I came on and sat quietly through 40 minutes of beer cans, taunts and some rather drunk chick in the back who kept screaming "breakbeat DJ!" Fortunately, we had a mic in the audience, so we got a killer live recording of the gig!
In late March, we play a show in Berlin with the Necks and Konono No.1. Thank god we are the opening act on this one. Cos the Necks fucking rock! In a very slowly-developing 1-hour-per-track kind of way
5. Spank Rock - YOYOYOYOYO
More ass tappin' and damp pussy per rhyme than any other release this year! Listen to this one after you've been to a pretentious art rock or sound art event to remind yourself of what is seriously lacking in the Beijing music scene: in-your-pants attitude and a sense of humor.
6. Carla Bozulich - Evangelista
Don't really know why this one works, but it does. Dark, haunted and oddly catchy. If I wanted to pour a dark Beijing alleyway onto tape, this is what it would sound like.
Gregg Vossler – Submissionaries Bass/Vocals/Circumcision Expert (ask him!)
1. TV on the Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain
2. The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth
3. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
4. Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped
5. Band of Horses - Everything All the Time.
6. Bob Dylan – Modern Times
7. Tom Waits: Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
8. LCD Soundsystem - 45:33
9. The Streets - The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living
10. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
Marcus Kagler – Tag Team Spiritual Advisor/Under the Gay-dar Staffer/Hollywood Douchebag/A Real Charmer
1. TV On The Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
When Brian Eno was in prison he was repeatedly gang raped by these guys, except for the white dude. He watched while sitting in a chair smoking a cigar making comments like, "Yeah, that's good."
2. Beirut - Gulag Orkestar
A friend of mine summed up this record best. "This album is like listening to Conner Obherst getting buttfucked at a Hungarian wedding."
3. Joanna Newsom - YS
Yes, her voice sounds like a dying sparrow. Yes, her main instrument is the gay harp. Yes, she makes hipsters cum in their hands at the very mention of her name. Yes, she's crafted an epic, surreal, completely original album. Yes, I'm going to see the new David Lynch movie.
4. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
Why this woman isn't an international super star I don't know. Case is at the top of her game here. Her voice has never been more sultry and gorgeous as she spins salt of the earth yarns. "Hey little baby come get high with me/ we can stay at my sisters if we say we'll watch the baby."
5. Swan Lake - Beast Moans
Dan Bejar (Destroyer), Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade) and Carey Mercer (Frog Eyes) prove a side project can be a little more meaningful than a throw away experiment. Beast Moans plays like Dali's lost basement tapes.
6. Ratatat - Classics
Not just more dudes from Brooklyn making a lo-fi racket. Ratatat have taken the instrumental indie rock sound into a new universe where disco is king, computers have souls, and wild cats eat babies.
7. PAS/CAL - Dear Sir EP
Detroit's PAS/CAL conclude their EP trilogy with their best effort yet. Equal parts Beach Boys harmonies, toe tapping barnstorming, pop hooks galore, and handclaps all around. If you don't like this you're a shithead!
8. Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther
When I was a kid I nursed a sick bird back to health. I named it Fleetwood Mac. When the bird recovered I released it back into the wild where it immediately took a shit on Stevie Nicks head and stabbed Lindsey Buckingham in the heart. That's kind of what this album is like.
9. King Kong Ding Dong - King Kong Ding Dong EP
Long ago in the Garden of Eden Thurston Moore and Kevin Shields spawned a love child. At Thurstons’ request they named it King Kong Ding Dong. Then one day KKDD ate them both like a black widow spider, ingesting their mojo, and crapping excellence.
10. The Mountain Goats - Get Lonely
Hey, Colin Meloy! You're trying way too hard to be John Darnielle. Stop it. John's just a bro like the rest of us. Chill out and play a video game. I played video games with John just the other day and he didn't quote Proust once...asshole.
Ingela Pelomaki – Submissionaries Lead Screamer/Fit Swedish Chick/Doc Martens’ Spokeshoe
1. The Knife - Silent Shout
2. Prototypes - Prototypes
3. Cassius - 15 Again
4. Junior Boys - So This is Goodbye
5. Basement Jaxx - Crazy Itch Radio
6. Tiga - Sexor
7. Joanna Newsom - Ys
8. The Dresden Dolls - Yes Virginia...
9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
10. Anna Ternheim - Girl Laying Down
Steve Barker – BBC DJ/Dubstep Guru/3 Day Beard Aficionado/Tall Scary Man
1. Burial – Burial
Dubstep was the dance story of 2006, except no one knew how to dance to it – this cool blast of South London highrise alienation came from the still anonymous Burial on Kode9's label.
2. Sir Richard Bishop – Fingering the Devil
One third of the Sun City Girls stops off in London for a flurry of steel string shenanigans.
3. Little Annie – Songs From The Coalmine Canary
The little girl from Yonkers is about to marry an Irish gumshoe and produces her best work in collaboration with Anthony, up close and very personal.
4. Skream – Skream
This obscenely talented 19 year old avoids the temptation to issue a 10 CD box set of his work so far as a debut album.
5. Various Productions – The World Is Gone
Fizzing with an amalgam of London street beats this duot have occupied the Boomkat top ten at the end of the year and rewritten the rules for pop tunes.
6. Yo La Tengo - I am not afraid of you and I will beat your ass
Believe it!
7. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
The opening track – 'I Was A Lover' – could only come from a New York band and is enough to convince these boys to believe their own publicity.
8. Tom Waits – Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
Tom Waits for everyman….
9. Sandro Perri - Plays Polmo Polpo
Canada hits back, one half of Polmo Polpo plays with itself…
10. Rickard Javerling - Two Times Five Lullaby
Best way to chill, beautifully functional music for de-stressing.
Fredrik Lindell – Arrows Made of Desire/Submissionaries Drummer/Behavioral Psychologist/Pseudo-Gay American Housewife/Prozac Warrior
1. Tool - 10,000 days
How come a mediocre Tool album still massacres so many other albums?
2. Slayer - Christ Illusion
I say no more. Slayer Slayer Slayer!!!
3. Cult of Luna - Somewhere along the highway
Someone described this as the sound of the apocalypse inaugurated in northern Sweden. Yummy Yummy. Cult of Luna will have to do, since Deadbird's "Head and the Heart" and Opeth's "Ghost Reveries" came out last year.
4. 20 Minute Loop - Yawn + House = Explosion
Beautiful harmonies and some tearing angst-pop to darken your bright days.
5. Cassie - Cassie
6. Bleeding Thought - The Truth
Since The Minor Times' "I fuck for money" is just a brilliant title but a less brilliant song, while The Truth is I keep wondering how the hell they can play live sets longer than 3 minutes. [Please Note: Tag Team completely and totally disavow this pun in its entirety].
7. Giant Squid - Neonate
From Alternate Endings. Distributed in China by Hong Kong’s ever passionate Trinity Records.
8. David & the Citizens - Stop the Tape Stop the Tape
The angst-pop goes power poppy in the new D&tC. Better than ever, and probably the best band in Sweden right now. Go David!
9. El Caco - The Search
The most uplifting stoner rock today, inexplicitly from Norway - the country of doom, gloom and funny commercials.
10. Danko Jones - Sleep is the enemy
Great album title. Stunningly handsome singer. The songs…delectable.
Deng Pei – Lonely China Day Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist/Fuhrer/Laptop Fetishist/Beijing Alpha Male/Cui Jian’s Wet Dream
1. Mogwai - MR. Beast
2. Capitol K - Nomad Junk
3. Audrey - Visible Forms
4. MEMO - Static Scenery
5. The American Dollar - The American Dollar
6. The North Sea and Ramses III - Night of the Ankou
7. Ryan Teague - Coins & Crosses
8. Xela - Dead Sea
9. Brian Eno - Another Day On Earth
10. Mouse on Mars - Varcharz
Matt Bruns – ½ Everybody/Knob Fiddler/Chai Drinker/Dreamweaver/Your Perfect Cousin
1. Bob Dylan - Modern Times
2. Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
3. Starlight Mints- Drowaton
4. Sean Lennon - Friendly Fire
5. Sparklehorse - Dreamt for Lightyears In the Belly of a Mountain
6. Danielson- Ships
7. The Advantage - Elf-Titled
8. Paul Mcartney -Chaos and Creation in the Backyard
9. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
10. Islands - Return to the Sea
DuYun – Over Educated Composer/Musician/Spanish Harlem Renaissance Whore (she gave us permission…honestly… she’s a whore, how do you think she paid to go to Harvard?)
Since I’m a just a lowly Spanish Harlem Renaissance ‘or, I don’t give a damn re: the year list. However as we speak, Matt is reading over my shoulder while puffing a cigarette and drinking 500 RMB whisky, which does not belong to him (BTW) & I feel a proletarian obligation deconstructing. With much stress, here is my list:
1. Peter Evans - More is More
The best out-there trumpeter around the globe, who often finds himself incapable of drinking anything after his show, due to his trembling over-worked lips
2. Deerhoof - Friend Oppurtunity
Comes out in a month, Jan. 2007 I think. Fuck Tag Team’s silly rules!
3. Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
4. Lumatic - Swimming to the Hook
Self-released. Check out www.lumaticmusic.com
5. Electric Masada - At the Mountians of Madness
6. Louis Andriesson - Eponymous
7. So Percussion - Amid the Noise
four over educated, yet still rad musicians
8. Telefon Tel Aviv - Faherenheit Fair Enough
9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
Brian Chase is my fav drummer and I like his eyebrows.
10. Rhys Chatham - Die Donnergotter
Jim Walsh – ½ Everybody/Former Beverly Hills 90210 Character/Professional Dancer/Le Incroyable Hip Homme Fudge Packer/All Star Nice Guy
1. The Knife - Silent Shout
2. The Advantage - Elf-Titled
3. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
4. Danielson- Ships
5. Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of this Country
6. Bonnie "Prince" Billy - The Letting Go
7. Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
8. Islands - Return to the Sea
9. El Perro Del Mar - El Perro Del Mar
10. Charlotte Gainsbourg - 5:55
He Feng - Lonely China Day Bass Player/Lady Slayer
1. MEMO- Static Scenery
2. Bu Yiding - shui xian hou jiqing feng yue
4. 48v - The South
3. Dou Wei – Translation “Sigh of the Rain”
5. Erik Truffaz - Face-a-Face
6. September Malevolence - Tomorrow We'll Wonder Where This Generation Gets its Priorities From
7. Xela - For Frosty Mornings and Summer Nights
8. The Album Leaf - Into the Blue Again
9. Mono - Are You There
10. When They Know You They Will Run - When They Know You They Will Run
Kendra Wiseman – Bad Ass Tag Team Chick You Don’t Wanna Fuck With. Ever.
Kendra (aka The Slayer) was way too fucking cool to submit her list to us & we were way too fucking scared of her to ask for it more than twice. Peace.
Luo Hao – Lonely China Day Drummer/Sheryl Crow Enthusiast
1. George Benson/Al Jarreau - Givin' It Up
2. Damien Rice - 9
3. Aaron Neville - Bring It on Home... The Soul Classics
4. Manu Katch - Neighborhood
5. David Gilmour - On an Island
6. Yo La Tango - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
7. Lunik - Life is Our Side
8. Robbie Williams - Rudebox
9. J.J. Cale/Eric Clapton - The Road to Escondido
10. Indigo Girls - Despite Our Differences
Wang Dongtao – Lonely China Day Guitarist/Debate Team Captain/Drunken Chinese Philosopher/Founding member of the Church of Deng Pei and the Latter Day Laptops
1. The American Dollar -The American Dollar
2. Sea - Last Days
3. The Album Leaf - Into the Blue Again
4. Mouse on Mars - Varcharz
5. F.S. Blumm - Summer Kling
6. Barry Adamson - Stranger on The Sofa
7. God Is an Astronaut - A Moment of Stillness EP
8. Talk Demonic - Beat Romantic
9. Mugison - Little Trip
10. Friends Of Dean Martinez - Lost Horizon 2006
Shou Bei Te – Lonely China Day Groupie/Videographer/President of the Big & Tall Club for Men
1. Lonely China Day – Sorrow
2. Lonely China Day – Sorrow
3. Lonely China Day – Sorrow
4. Lonely China Day – Sorrow
5. Lonely China Day – Sorrow
6. Lonely China Day – Sorrow
7. Lonely China Day – Sorrow
8. Lonely China Day – Sorrow
9. Lonely China Day – Sorrow
10. Lonely China Day – Sorrow
Hua Dong – Rebuilding the Rights of Statues Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist/Overloard/Gothkid in Disguise/Only Person in Beijing with No Mobile Phone
[Please Note: Hua Dong does NOT live in the year 2006 & we didn’t wanna burst his bubble by telling him that it’s not 1978. We’re also not sure whether he knows the difference between the numbers 5 and 10?]
1. Television – Marquee Moon
A very special debut album from a very special band. These guys created a new direction for punk/new wave music in the late ‘70s
2. Bauhaus – In the Flat Field
Bauhaus have had a strong influence on our band. Every member of their group is great – they’re real musicians, not just the people who invented Goth-culture.
3. Siouxsie and the Banshees – Once Upon a Time
I first heard this album ten years ago. Today I still put this album in my stereo all the time – I’ll never get sick of their music.
4. Tones on Tail – Everything
Formed by Bauhaus’ guitarist and drummer with a new bassist, this group introduced me to a very different kind of music from that of Bauhaus…their musical style is so much more versatile.
5. David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
One of the Classic albums in the entire history of rock! It’s influence is immeasurable!