more tops

Okay, back to the ratings of things that needn’t be rated. This is the stock one — I didn’t buy enough new music in 2006 to devote an entire list to it, and honestly for a few months there I kind of hated music, so I combined a bunch of categories to divine my Top Ten Musical Experiences of 2006:

Old Time Relijun at AIR, May 27: It was a little tough to set up the sound optimally, but regardless, this show was one of my favorites of the year. Rarely does an odd little man playing mouth harp in his boxers make such an impact. Bonus points to this show because of the boy, age 15 or so, who was in awe of Arrington and stroked his beard like he was on E or something. Natura Nasa played one of my favorite sets of theirs, and Midnite Snake never disappoints.

Table of the Elements tour, March 11: While I was most psyched on Rhys Chatham, and he didn’t disappoint, Tony Conrad made this show wonderful. He had some issues setting up the visual portion (his sillhouette was projected, by a very bright lamp, onto a sheet draped across the auditorium that was being blown about by a couple large fans), but that wasn’t a big issue for me since I was sitting too close to the stage to really tell. The visuals that really struck me occurred when he would step directly between the lamp and me, creating something of a tiny eclipse. You’d think droning on a violin for 45 minutes wouldn’t be so exciting, but then, you’d be wrong.

Frida Hyvonen, Until Death Comes, Secretly Canadian: This may be the only full-length release of this year that I can say I jammed horribly hard. In a year when the hits of 1972 hit the spot for me, Frida fit right in: comparisons to Carly Simon or Joni Mitchell are tempting based on vocals alone, but the mix of light, near-novelty tunes and more weighty matters of the heart brings to mind early Elton John or, yes, Ben Folds Five.

Emperor X, April 6: Chad brought this year’s 7” (which deserves to be picked up, if you haven’t done it yet) and his unmatchable energy to ModernFormations and ran around and jumped up and down and sang along with a tape player I think, and he’s one of the best people writing songs right now, I think, so one day when he comes back, be there or suffer dire consequences.

Tour, May: As with any trip or show or series of shows, it of course had its ups and downs, but any chance to go to a bunch of places you’ve never been (and a few you have) and hang out and meet awesome people who for the most part care about the same things as you is pretty decent. Maine was beautiful even without moose; New Haven had tasty fries and guys who were stoked on vinyl and more secured wireless networks per square mile than anywhere I’ve been. New York was alright if you like overpriced bad beer and awful hipster disco punk bands that are so 2003. Etc. etc.

Belegost: I refer here to their side of the split LP (still available from Hardtravelin’ and Electric Human Project – do us all a favor and don’t put Q out of business), and their live show (I had the pleasure of seeing them a few times), and them as sweet dudes who are willing to help out in any way possible. If some permutation of these folks gets something together band-wise in the future, do give them a chance if they’re in your town.

Singing along with early-to-mid ’70s records in the kitchen: This kind of speaks for itself.

Sparrows, Swarm and Sing!: Their name is a little funny maybe, but this band is awesome and we got to play with them three times(?) They do fun things with glockenspiels and all that, and sometimes break into epic beautiful parts.

Negativland, Oct. 31: I wrote at length about this one, and it was only a couple months ago, so I’ll keep it short: it’s good that these guys are still playing(?) now and then, and their ideas have continued to develop rather than stagnating, which is the most important part.

Centipede E’est: I didn’t see them as many times as I would have liked, but I still saw them quite a few times. I’ll admit that when they first started playing I wasn’t as impressed as I felt I should be; by early this year, though, they hit their stride hard and are probably my favorite currently-operational band in Pittsburgh. Their album is wonderful and their live show is even better and they’re THE band to see in a bar in Pittsburgh, methinks.