bob

Hi all — this year I subscribed to a streaming music service, so I could listen to albums without buying them. So I heard far more new music this year than I usually do, and it turns out I liked a lot of it. Sure, an embarrassing fraction of what I liked was by aging rockers I listened to as a teenager, but I still think it’s pretty good.

You can access my playlist on Rhapsody here:

Click here

You can even listen to it! When you click on a play button it will pop up the Rhapsody Player window. If you haven’t used Rhapsody before you’ll have to go through an install process, but I will vouch that the plugin is not malware, and it even works on Linux! (Anyone can listen to something like 25 songs a month for free; to hear more you have to subscribe.)

Anyway, on to my choices:

Thunder on the Mountain by Bob Dylan

From the album of the year, in my opinion. Bob is back with a collection of all original material that finds a groove early on and stays in it all record long. All killer no filler. I could have picked any of a half dozen tracks from this record; none stand out as better than the others.

Back to Earth by Willie Nelson

This maybe doesn’t deserve to be on the list on its own merits but was a sentimental pick — I saw Willie perform this at Hollywood Bowl a few weeks before it was released. And it is a fine bit of songwriting, though the performance here is uninspired.

O Mary Don’t You Weep by Bruce Springsteen

A barely-recognizable boss on a strong album of folk songs made famous by Pete Seeger.

The Lighthouse’s Tale by Nickel Creek

This is a bit of a cheat — this song has been out for a few years but did appear on a greatest hits album in 2006. But this band was new to me in 2006, a favorite of my new housemate James. Bluegrass for Generation Y.

Crazy by Gnarls Barkley

When Gnarls Barkley started getting popular I assumed that with a name like that they would be too rap for me. Then I heard the music.

The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song by Flaming Lips

I thought this went in this, the hip new bands section of my playlist. But James tells me they’re a 90s band that made a comeback. I hated this song the first time I heard it but it grew on me.

Chinese Translation by M. Ward

This is my current favorite song, combining shallow pop sensibility with a slightly-profound lyric.

Mas Que Nada by Sergio Mendes, remixed by The Black Eyed Peas

This is the coolest track from an album of hip-hop remixes of Mendes tunes — unfortunately still not as cool as this 1972 original:

click here

Sea of Love by Tom Waits

Tom waits doesn’t just cover a song, he smothers it, almost strangles it.

It’s a Heartache by Rod Steward

OK, I’m not proud of this choice. But Stewart is, AFAIK, the first aging rocker recording an album of standards to choose rock standards. And he makes them his own — when listening to his covers, I can’t remember what the original sounded like.

O Come All Ye Faithful by Twisted Sister

You might assume Twisted Sister’s Christmas album would be all tongue in cheek, and much of it is. But this, the only religious song on the album, is done straight up, and it works for me.

Like the 309 by Johnny Cash

Another sentimental pick — the last song Johnny Cash wrote. Cash had a busy 2006, releasing five albums including two live albums — pretty good for a dead guy! I don’t think it’s a great song, but does feature some nice three-part guitar work.

OK, that’s it for 2006. Stay tuned, 2007 is already shaping up to be another good year for aging boomers like me — America has a surprisingly strong album of originals out, and John Mellencamp has released one that seemed a little preachy on a first listen but is growing on me.