Albums for 2006

I bring you a list of the albums I bought in the year 2006. All 27 of them in total. (Mind you, some of them were downloaded). Of course, there are those I cannot get enough of, those I listen to to get by my days, those that totally ripped me off and those that is just there. Accompanied are some album arts and links to Amazon, as well as some sample tracks. ('Tis the season of giving, I guess). Although, some tracks are in m4a format and the links are only valid for seven days.

The loves
O by Damien Rice
I listen to this album when I could not sleep at night. I listen to this album when I needed a good cry in the middle of the day. I listen to this album when I wanted company out in the chilly spring night. This album is orchestrated perfectly as a whole as one tune connects to the next with slender threads of angelic vocals, heartbreaking strings and crying pianos. Although each with a different story to tell, the chapters managed to bind together into a book. It is the story of O. A newfound love. A star-crossed love. A blower’s daughter. No one’s daughter. An Eskimo friend. A darlin’. A storyteller. Read me your favourite line. A flying cannonball. I remember December. All dressed up for Prague.
- The Blower’s Daughter.mp3

9 by Damien Rice
I woke up earlier than usual the day this album was released in Australia. I had a quick shower – because I would do anything for love, but I won’t leave the house without showering first – and before having my breakfast, I hopped on a bus to the city to get myself a copy. It was not as if the album was going to sell out within seconds. It was the wait that made me do it. It rained almost the instant I returned home. I spent the rest of the day drawn into a world unlike O. A long time ago, my Eskimo friend sat me in his car and played me his favourite tracks on O and called Damien Rice a fucking genius in such an enthusiastic tone I would rarely see coming from him. He sent me a B-side, The Professor, and complimented Damien was versatile. I did not know how that word worked with Damien. Until 9.
- The Animals Were Gone.m4a

Declare A New State! by The Submarines
My anthem of the year. The tracks are arranged in the album – consciously or unconsciously – with vocals sang alternatively by the female and male lead. The songs are written at the saddest peak of their lives apart from each other, filled with so much misunderstanding, regret, depression and hopelessness only a long distance relationship would know how. Yet nonetheless, it does not hurt to be optimistic and faithful at the end of the day. Blake and John have voices that blend well together. Perhaps a match made in Heaven. Pronounced husband and wife. You may kiss the bride. The musical arrangements, both lyrical and technical, are simple and sincere. Just the way I like it.
- This Conversation.m4a

Move Along by The All-American Rejects
It was the first and only concert I went to in Australia this year. I was probably the only person who attended the concert by herself. I was too old for the pushing and shoving up front at the stage. I ordered vodka and lime upstairs and stood behind Australians one foot taller than me, peeking at Tyler in between bopping heads and jumping shoulders. But at least I got to stand still with nobody sticking his or her sweaty body up against me. It was a good concert. It would probably have been better if they played Straitjacket Feeling, or if I were a foot taller.
- Dance Inside.mp3

Plans by Death Cab For Cutie
I have never understood what my friends mean when they say, “Stop playing this album, it’s so fucking depressing.” Or when people on the Internet associates Death Cab For Cutie with being emo. “One guitar and a hell lot of complaining”, Summer Roberts said. All I hear is good music – the simplest piano repetitions and guitar riffs. All I hear is the most original words – Ben Gibbard is too fucking wonderful with his pen. Until. One bad day, I listened to What Sarah Said again and I was surprised I did not feel so sad when I first heard it. Maybe it was only lately I figured out what the song was about. What Sarah was really saying. The truth is, I never listen. Well, I do listen. But the problem is, all I hear are babbles and notes. Until it is too late.
- What Sarah Said.mp3

The likes
Trouble is Real by Johnathan Rice
The Last Kiss soundtrack
Eyes Open by Snow Patrol
Trigger by Sandrine

The honourable mentions
We Don’t Need to Whisper by Angels and Airwaves
Dusk and Summer by Dashboard Confessional
Parachutes by Coldplay

The dislikes
Good News for People Who Love Bad News by Modest Mouse
From Underneath the Cork Tree by The Fall Out Boy

The et ceteras
Grace by Jeff Buckley
More Than You Think You Are by Matchbox Twenty
Blink 182 by Blink 182
I Am Me by Ashlee Simpson
Sketches for My Sweetheart The Drunk by Jeff Buckley
Give Up by The Postal Service
Everything in Transit by Jack’s Mannequin
North by Something Corporate
Continuum by John Mayer
Warnings/Promises by Idlewild
Final Straw by Snow Patrol
In Between Dreams by Jack Johnson
X & Y by Coldplay

* Album arts credit: CDNow.com