FRIDAY FLASHBACK: Every Friday we set the Hot Tub Time Machine to one year in rock history and give you the best (and worst) music from that year, all day long beginning at 1:00 AM EST and running for 24 hours on Jivewired Radio powered by Live365.
This week: 2006
Next week: 1988
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Album art from 2006 - Click album cover to purchase at Amazon.com
2006 Album I Wish I Owned: Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards by Tom Waits
2006 Album I'd Give Back If I Could: Undiscovered by Brooke Hogan
2006 Most Underrated Song: GirlShapedLoveDrug by Gomez
2006 Most Overrated Song: You & Me by Lifehouse
2006 Most Memorable Song: Bad Day by Daniel Powter
2006 Most Significant Song: Smile by Lily Allen
2006 Most Forgotten Song: Heart's A Mess by Gotye
2006 Fan's Choice For Most Popular Song: You're Beautiful by James Blunt
2006 Album Of The Year: St. Elsewhere by Gnarls Barkley
2006 Most Likely To Start A Party Song: Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis
2006 Please Don't Play Anymore Song: Fergalicious by Fergie
2006 Song That I Like More than I Actually Should: Story Of My Life by Smash Mouth
Overplayed In 2006: Nickelback
Not Played Enough In 2006: Guster
Greatest Single Chart Re-Entry from 2006: Thriller by Michael Jackson (1983)
Best Cover Song Of 2006: Gone Daddy Gone by Gnarls Barkley
Worst Cover Song Of 2006: Every cover of the song Crazy by Gnarls Barkley
An unheralded great album from 2006: It's Never Been Like That by Phoenix
An unheralded great single from 2006: Lazy Eye by Silversun Pickups
Best Soundtrack of 2006: Sing-A-Longs & Lullabies for the Film Curious George
Our Top
01. Soul Meets Body by Death Cab For Cutie
02. Dare by Gorillaz
03. Upside Down by Jack Johnson
04. Shake That by Eminem
05. Waiting On The World To Change by Jon Mayer
06. GirlShapedLoveDrug by Gomez
Our Top
01. Back To Black by Amy Winehouse
02. St. Elsewhere by Gnarls Barkley
03. Future Sex/Love Sounds by Justin Timberlake
04. Plans by Death Cab For Cutie
05. Black Holes & Revelations by Muse
06. It's Never Been Like That by Phoenix
Welcome to the Pretentious Music Society, aka 2006 in music. Rockstar. I Write Sins Not Tragedies. Story Of My Life. I'm Bringing Sexy Back. I Want To Go Where Soul Meets Body.
MySpace.
You get the picture. Music was a lesson in stripped down, devastating understatement with lyrical messages that conveyed something a little more on the opposite end of the spectrum.
Best selling rock records in 2006 had become one-shot deals for the artists here in the United States, and why not? The music industry had decided that smaller album advances and minimal promotion meant creating a one-and-done environment in popular music. Performers like Amy Winehouse, Evanescence, Fall Out Boy, Daniel Powter, Silversun Pickups and Snow Patrol fell victim to that business mentality. Just look at the promotional strength, or lack thereof, of the follow-up mainstream releases for those artists.
And besides, the Music Industry felt they were on to something with American Idol. In February 2006, Kelly Clarkson became the first American Idol contestant to win a Grammy, grabbing two, one each for her song Since You've Been Gone and her album Breakaway. All the promotion the RIAA and major labels needed was provided by Simon, Paula and Randy and America's most watched television program ever. Whether the music was/is any good is debatable, as Idol at times seems like prime time karaoke. Maybe it's just me.
So.....where did the indie artists turn? MySpace of course. But MySpace only perpetuated the one-and-done mentality of the music business, though it did offer insane exposure to a lot of under-the-radar indie artists. The record companies didn't like that very much. They couldn't control what we listened to on MySpace and wanted to kill the behemoth social networking site, and relying solely on Tila Tequila wasn't doing anything to speed that process up. So the four major record labels converged and bought MySpace Music. Eventually, shortsighted economic policy and desire for complete control by those labels killed MySpace and MySpace Music.
But, thanks to MySpace and MySpace Music, there are well over a couple hundred favorite albums and singles of 2006 listed by the editors of so many varying music services. That is what MySpace gave us, albeit very briefly: choice. To a lesser degree however, that tells you a lot about music that year and its eclectic state.
It also tells you a lot about the industry model.
If you can't beat it, buy it and kill it. Shoot the foot off to save the leg. Chop down the forest to save a tree. Again, you get the picture.
The symbolic hope of popular music in 2006 therefore rooted itself across the ocean and an inordinate number of great songs from the U.K. (which is why I confidently state that the British Invasion was not any one, single year), increasing the popularity of artists such as Muse, Razorlight, Lily Allen and Gomez in the United States. England has always figured it all out when it comes to popular music - the music comes before the label and before all the industry regulation.
Think of the significance of Lily Allen. The music industry had no idea how much it needed her until she arrived. Her indie success convinced her label to allow her more creative control over her debut album and to use some of the songs that she had written, rather than forcing her to work with mainstream producers. Allen decided to work with producers Greg Kurstin and Mark Ronson. The album was released in July 2006. Most of the tracks had been previewed on her MySpace page, including the single Smile. On the strength of MySpace -- MYSPACE! -- Entertainment Weekly named Alright, Still as one of the top 10 albums of 2006 despite the fact that it had not yet been released in the U.S.
****Incidentally, Mark Ronson's influence on music for the first part of this century is immeasurable, but that is for another article and another time. I could not do Ronson justice in a paragraph or two.****
Here at home, think of the significance of Eminem. During each decade previously rock had delivered to us an iconic musical hero of sorts, be it Elvis in the 1950s, The Beatles in the 1960s, Bruce Springsteen in the 1970s and the triumvirate of the 1980s: Michael Jackson, U2 and Madonna. Our rock hero for the first half of the 2000s and in 2006 specifically may have been Eminem. Eminem represented something different. He was the anti-Rock God. Outspoken and nasty. Great Opposer of the system. Not only that - believe it or not - a huge precipice known as the Black-White Divide had still existed in music. Eminem crossed and conquered that barrier.
In the 1950s, Chuck Berry invented the paradigm that is rock music: three minute melodic songs, mainly driven by electric guitar over a rhythm of bass and drums, and often arranged with secondary instrumentation and studio effects. After fifty years and more than one million songs, the only thing that had changed was how music was marketed, how it was obtained and where it was obtained from. Sad to think that after one half of one century the music business was still trying to figure out it's own direction and business model.
Gone Too Soon:
- Lou Rawls (January 6)
- Wilson Pickett (January 19)
- Buck Owens (March 25)
- June Pointer (April 11)
- Billy Preston (June 6)
- Syd Barrett (July 7)
- James Brown (December 25)
New Music Downloads At The Speed Of Sound:
It's seems slightly contrived, but Coldplay's Speed Of Sound became the one billionth download on iTunes on February 22, 2006.
Speed of Sound was the recognized Song of the Year by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and it was nominated twice at the 48th Grammy Awards. The song won a Brit Award in the category for Best British Single in 2006. The track's music video was nominated for four MTV Video Music Awards.
Speed of Sound, one might say, also indicates how quickly one can purchase new music through the iTune application. One might say. If one wanted to.
Look, I'm not one to start or perpetuate a conspiracy theory. But doesn't it seem a little far-fetched and slightly ironic that Speed of Sound was the one billionth download and not something like Slow Train Coming by Bob Dylan for instance?
Of all the songs in the vast iTunes library, worldwide no less, that song is officially the one billionth download of all time? And, the lead singer and his wife have a child named Apple Blythe Alison Martin? (admittedly a little bizarre)
Sounds like amazing marketing to me and nothing less.
Color me skeptical. I'll say no more.
Go forth, for you are the future of rock & roll........
The following bands were formed in 2006: Cage The Elephant, Baskery, Miniature Tigers, Punch Brothers, Lady Antebellum, Ra Ra Riot, Daughtry, Vampire Weekend, Carmen & Camille, Japandroids and Bon Iver. On the flip side, 2006 also gave us La Coka Nostra and Polka Floyd.
......and we honor those who came before.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced its 2006 inductees on November 28, 2005. These talented musicians, producers, and songwriters were honored at the annual Induction ceremony in New York City on March 13, 2006: Black Sabbath, Blondie, Miles Davis, Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Sex Pistols.
Playlist For Friday Flashback 2006 (Alphabetical Order by Performer):
001. Rehab by Amy Winehouse
002. You Know I'm No Good by Amy Winehouse
003. Back To Black by Amy Winehouse
004. I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor by Arctic Monkeys
005. New Years by Asobi Seksu
006. Thursday by Asobi Seksu
007. The Great Salt Lake by Band Of Horses
008. Think I'm In Love by Beck
009. Pump It by The Black Eyed Peas
010. Don't Phunk With My Heart by The Black Eyed Peas
011. My Humps by The Black Eyed Peas
012. You're The One by The Black Keys
013. Modern Times by The Black Keys
014. Who Says You Can't Go Home by Bon Jovi
015. Crazy Bitch by Buckcherry
016. Ain't No Other Man by Christina Aguilera
017. The Skin Of My Yellow Country Teeth by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
018. Speed Of Sound by Coldplay
019. Bad Day by Daniel Powter
020. Soul Meets Body by Death Cab For Cutie
021. Land Of Confusion by Disturbed
022. Shake That by Eminem
023. Call Me When You're Sober by Evanescence
024. Dance, Dance by Fall Out Boy
025. Sugar, We're Goin' Down by Fall Out Boy
026. Fergalicious by Fergie feat. Will.I.Am
027. Clumsy by Fergie
028. London Bridge by Fergie
029. Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis
030. Over My Head by The Fray
031. How To Save A Life by The Fray
032. Crazy by Gnarls Barkley
033. Gone Daddy Gone by Gnarls Barkley
034. Ooh La La by Goldfrapp
035. How We Operate by Gomez
036. Hamoa Beach by Gomez
037. GirlShapedLoveDrug by Gomez
038. Better Days by The Goo Goo Dolls
039. Give A Little Bit by The Goo Goo Dolls
040. Feel Good Inc. by Gorillaz
041. Dare by Gorillaz
042. Heart's A Mess by Gotye
043. Knife by Grizzly Bear
044. Annie, Let's Not Wait by Guillemots
045. Satellite by Guster
046. One Man Wrecking Machine by Guster
047. Inside Of You by Hoobastank
048. Over And Over by Hot Chip
049. Upside Down by Jack Johnson
050. Broken by Jack Johnson
051. People Watching by Jack Johnson
052. Jungle Gym by Jack Johnson feat. G. Love
053. You're Beautiful by James Blunt
054. Call On Me by Janet Jackson
055. I Defy by Joan As Police Woman
056. Crowd Chant by Joe Satriani
057. Waiting On The World To Change by John Mayer
058. Belief by John Mayer
059. Gravity by John Mayer
060. Sexy Back by Justin Timberlake feat. Timbaland
061. My Love by Justin Timberlake feat. T.I.
062. A Bad Dream by Keane
063. Crystal Ball by Keane
064. When You Were Young by The Killers
065. Black Horse & The Cherry Tree by KT Tunstall
066. Suddenly I See by KT Tunstall
067. Can't Let Go by Landon Pigg
068. You & Me by Lifehouse
069. Smile by Lily Allen
070. Hung Up by Madonna
071. This Love [live] by Maroon 5
072. King Without A Crown [live] by Matisyahu
073. Grace Kelly by MIKA
074. Starlight by Muse
075. Map Of The Problematique by Muse
076. Knights Of Cydonia by Muse
077. Off The Record by My Morning Jacket
078. Unwritten by Natasha Bendingfield
079. Photograph by Nickelback
080. Far Away by Nickelback
081. Rockstar by Nickelback
082. Love & Memories by O.A.R.
083. Etherclock by Ozric Tentacles
084. Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have With Her Clothes On by Panic! At The Disco
085. I Write Sins Not Tragedies by Panic! At The Disco
086. World Wide Suicide by Pearl Jam
087. Gone by Pearl Jam
088. Consolation Prizes by Phoenix
089. Long Distance Call by Phoenix
090. One Time Too Many by Phoenix
091. North by Phoenix
092. Sometimes In The Fall by Phoenix
093. Pull Shapes by The Pipettes
094. Why Did You Stay? by The Pipettes
095. Steady As She Goes by The Raconteurs
096. In The Morning by Razorlight
097. America by Razorlight
098. Dani California by Red Hot Chili Peppers
099. Hump De Bump by Red Hot Chili Peppers
100. I Don't Feel Like Dancin' by Scissor Sisters
101. Phantom Limb by The Shins
102. Australia by The Shins
103. Well Thought Out Twinkles by Silversun Pickups
104. Lazy Eye by Silversun Pickups
105. Story Of My Life by Smash Mouth
106. Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol
107. Dakota by Stereophonics
108. You Only Live Once by The Strokes
109. Juicebox by The Strokes
110. Take It From Me by The Weepies
111. World Spins Madly On by The Weepies
112. Modern World by Wolf Parade
113. Mind's Eye by Wolfmother
114. Gold Lion by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
115. Way Out by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
116. Dudley by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Previous In This Series: Friday Flashback 1977
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