The Sky Report's Best Albums of 2006

1. HOT CHIP - The Warning



2. THE KNIFE - Silent Shout



3. LOVE IS ALL - Nine Times That Same Song (2005, Eur.)



4. GIRL TALK - Night Ripper



5. THE GOSSIP - Standing In the Way of Control



6. C.S.S. - Cansei de ser Sexy



7. CAT POWER - The Greatest



8. PETER BJORN AND JOHN - Writer's Block



9. EL PERRO DEL MAR - Self Titled



10. YEAH YEAH YEAHS - Show Your Bones



11. YO LA TENGO - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
12. THE RAPTURE - Pieces of the People We Love
13. LO-FI FNK - Boy's Life
14. FUJIYA & MIYAGI - Transparent Things
15. NEKO CASE - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
16. ASOBI SEKSU - Citrus
17. GNARLS BARKLEY - St. Elsewhere
18. THOM YORKE - The Eraser
19. SONIC YOUTH - Rather Ripped
20. JUNIOR BOYS - So This Is Goodbye
21. THE PRESETS - Beams (2005, Aus.)
22. MUSE - Black Holes and Revelations
23. GRIZZLY BEAR - Yellow House
24. GOLDFRAPP - Supernature (2005, Eur.)
25. THE STROKES - First Impressions of Earth

Merry Christmas!

I hope to get my Best of 2006 lists up over the holiday...I may well be the last blogger in the universe to do so.

Until then...

Merry Christmas.

Scot

New Music 2007 - !!!

"Myth Takes", the third full-length album from Brooklyn-based dancepunk outfit !!! (Chk-Chk-Chk), will see its release on March 4th, 2007. Anyone who's ever seen !!! play live knows that these boys know how to put on a non-stop, sticky, sweaty dance party.

The band suffered a tragic event back in December 2005, when their original drummer was struck and killed by a car. Though he was no longer a member of the band, it will be interesting to see what effect the tragedy has had on !!!'s sound.

The tracklist for 'Myth Takes' is here:

Myth Takes
All My Heroes Are Weirdos
Must Be The Moon
A New Name
Heart Of Hearts
Sweet Life
Yadnus
Bend Over Beethoven
Break In Case Of Anything
Infinifold

New Music 2007 - BRIGHT EYES

Conor Oberst, aka BRIGHT EYES, is set to release his latest album, entitled 'Cassadaga' on April 9th. The last time we heard from old BRIGHT EYES was 2005's one-two punch of the brilliant 'I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning' and the more experimental 'Digital Ash in a Digital Urn', both released on the same day.

The first single from the album will be 'Four Winds', preceding the album by a week on April 2, but in the meantime you can sample the free download track 'Endless Entertainment' at thisisbrighteyes.com

Janet Weiss of SLEATER-KINNEY, M. Ward and Gillian Welch are among the guests on 'Cassadaga'.

JULIETTE & THE LICKS: Kicking Sex Back Into Rock N Roll

Why aren't JULIETTE & THE LICKS bigger than they are right now? Not to say that what they're doing is in any way innovative, but they do bust out solid, hook-heavy rock songs that, in a better world, would amount to at least a handful of hit singles. Their recent singles "Hot Kiss" and "Sticky Honey" are pure rock'n'roll fun, not to mention sexy as all hell.

Could it be a backlash stemming from lead singer Juliette Lewis' fame? Maybe her Scientology involvement, or her wacky drug days, or just the memory of movies like "Evening Star" and "The Other Sister" are what keeps shying listeners away. But to all of that, I don't care. This chick puts on a amazing live show.

I caught JULIETTE & THE LICKS a couple of years ago when they played Cafe Du Nord, one of the greatest tiny venues to see a band in San Francisco. Juliette had the energy of a crack-smoking lightning bolt and the set was nothing short of awesome.

Do yourself a favor and check out the goods.

http://www.julietteandthelicks.com/

New Music 2007 - INTERPOL

The following message is posted on INTERPOL's official website, promising good things to come from the NY band in the next year:

"Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are now recording album 3. The studio is in NYC, and we're enjoying being local.
The atmosphere and the environs of a recording facility affect the sound and feel of an album in the subtlest ways.
And we are affected. And it is subtle.
Sounds great so far. But we'll be here for a while yet.
Upward and outward. Begin, begin.
Big kisses all around.
Interpol"

INTERPOL are one of the greatest bands of the last decade and I'm really looking forward to the third album. I wonder if they'll change it up, or stick with the defining sound on their first two LP's.

AND THEY'RE OFF! - OSCAR PREDICTIONS

Tis the season to be a film nerd and make Oscar prediction lists - my favorite sport of all!

Take these predictions with a grain of salt, as much is yet to be seen on the Oscar horizon. Precursor awards get going this week starting with the announcement of the National Board of Review winners, which will give better clues as to how this year will round out.

Until then, here I blindly go.

BEST PICTURE
-Little Miss Sunshine
-Dreamgirls
-The Departed
-The Queen
-Babel

BEST ACTOR
-Leonardo DiCaprio - The Departed
-Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland
-Peter O'Toole - Venus
-Ryan Gosling - Half Nelson
-Sacha Baron Cohen - Borat (I know, it's a stretch)

BEST ACTRESS
-Helen Mirren - The Queen
-Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada
-Penelope Cruz - Volver
-Kate Winslet - Little Children
-Judi Dench - Notes On A Scandal

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
-Jack Nicholson - The Departed
-Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls
-Brad Pitt - Babel
-Alan Arkin - Little Miss Sunshine
-Michael Sheen - The Queen

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
-Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls
-Abigail Breslin - Little Miss Sunshine
-Rinko Kikuchi - Babel
-Cate Blanchett - Notes On A Scandal
-Shareeka Epps - Half Nelson

BEST DIRECTOR
-Martin Scorsese - The Departed
-Bill Condon - Dreamgirls
-Stephen Frears - The Queen
-Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - Babel
-Clint Eastwood - Letters From Iwo Jima

New Music 2007 - COURTNEY LOVE

"How Dirty Girls Get Clean", the second solo effort from Madame Love, will be released in early 2007. And I for one, cannot fucking wait. All music pretentions aside, am I the only one who has ever listened to Courtney's catalogue into the wee hours of night with a 40 and a pipe, loving every fucking second of her unabashed, wailing soul? And with that I include her 2003 solo debut, "America's Sweetheart". Sure, sometimes she sounds like a maimed mule, worn down by the everlong trips up the side of the Grand Canyon, but she's never fake. Never false. Never unashamed.

Courtney, like Cher, will never go away. So get used to her. She is one of the few cockroaches in pop culture that demands to be seen, heard and spoke of. In a sense, dear Courtney is immortal.

Word is, Love has collaborated with BILLY CORGAN, DIRTY PRETTY THINGS and THE DEAD 60s on the new record.

THE MYRMIDONS

It would be so easy to forget THE MYRMIDONS this year. What with the myriad of releases over the last twelve months, not to mention the onslaught of one-off singles we have been blessed with from the new technology of mp3 blogging. Even worse, THE MYRMIDONS only have three tracks available for release to this date (as far as I can tell anyway).

Aside from their debut single "Clap (See the Stars)" being one of the coolest singles of the year, this female trio consists of two original members of BOOK OF LOVE. Holy wet dream! If you don't know who BOOK OF LOVE is, stop now and immediately go and download their tracks "Lullaby", "Tubular Bells" and the early 90's gay classic "Boy".

THE MYRMIDONS EP is available for purchase on I-Tunes.

http://www.themyrmidons.com/

SALLY SHAPIRO - Disco Romance

This month we finally see the release of a proper EP (borderline LP) from 2006's official electro princess, SALLY SHAPIRO. "Disco Romance" contains nine tracks, including two remixes, and should temporarily satisfy the thirst of hipsters around the globe.

Sally first caught the blog world's attention over the summer with the mp3 single, "I'll Be By Your Side". The track conjures a freestyle nostalgia with its deep bass line and whispy vocals. And more recently, Shapiro's second single "Anorak Christmas" has solidified her status of coolest chick to front a beat in years.

Did I mention she's from Sweden?

http://www.johanagebjorn.info/sally.html

PETER BJORN AND JOHN - Writer's Block

What is it about Sweden lately? Maybe it's just my taste, but a vast majority of great albums this year are from the country that brought us ABBA and ACE OF BASE.

"Writer's Block" is the third full length from PETER BJORN AND JOHN, but the first to feature all three of the guys on both songwriting and vocal duties. The first single, "Young Folks" features Viktoria Bergsman of The Concretes. Check out the animated and too-cute-for-words video for the track:



Other highlights from the album include the soaring standout track "Objects of My Affection" and the playful "Amsterdam".

For more information about PETER BJORN AND JOHN, visit their website: http://www.peterbjornandjohn.com/