QotD: Top 5 in '06 - Music

1.  AFI - Decemberunderground.  I remember my friend Justin being so excited because they got a bootleg copy of this CD a full week before it was released, and I have to admit, I like the cd quite a bit.  Yes, it's poprock, but dammit, it is catchy and great to listen to while snowboarding, which is the criteria I use for most cds these days. 'Summer Shudder' is probably my favorite track, and though 'Kill Caustic' is a tad too screamy for me, "Affliction' balances the two nicely.

2. Snow Patrol - Eyes Open.  Even though this is (I believe) the band's fourth album, it's the first one I've bought.  There are so many great songs on this one, more than just the beautiful if somewhat repetitive Chasing Cars.  I love 'Hands Open' and 'It's Beginning to Get To Me" always gets me going when I'm at the gym. "The Finish Line", to me, is even prettier than 'Chasing Cars', but I could just be on overkill from all the play Chasing Cars is getting these days. I will say that the songs (with the exception of Finish Line) all sound a bit formulaic (I can't believe I actually just used that word) to me, but luckily it's a formula that I like.

3. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium.  I'm deeply upset I haven't purchased this yet, but how can you not acknowledge the first album to come out of the Chili Peppers in four years? Most of my exposure to this album comes from the radio, sadly, because I refuse to even attempt to download the rest of the songs. I will wait til I get the album, thank you. Still, I love the mellow 'Snow (Hey, Oh) song, and the kind of jazzy 'Hey'.  'Dani California' is just fun and I have a predetermined liking to anything with 'California' in the title. 

4. Tool - 10,000 Days.  Speaking of not putting out albums in a while.....I believe it's been 5 years for Tool? Why, Tool? Why do you do this to me? Again, haven't gotten this album yet (I am horrible at buying music for myself; I'm far too lazy.), but have heard the whole thing more than a few times. I love the newest releases off the album, 'Vicarious' and 'The Pot', and 'Rosetta Stoned' is probably my favorite to listen to, although there are moments where I'm wondering what demons the singer is invoking.




5. Rise Against - The Sufferer & The Witness.   Ok, Siren Song of the Counter Culture (2004) from this band will still remain my favorite CD from them, but this CD had too many good songs on it to ignore. 'Ready to Fall' is an awesome workout song, 'Prayer of the Refugee' is a great example of a song that just keeps building and building until you feel ready to bust out dancing (moshing, whatever ;) ), and then smooths back to all mellow tunes. Reminds me of Blister in the Sun from the Violent Femmes back in the day and watching Angela Chase jump around her room like a crazy person when she realized she'd finally, FINALLY gotten over Jordan Catalano.