Best of 2006: Music

Come Christmas, I usually amass a collection of tunes and burn them to a disc. They usually represent a “best of” cd, although the cd certainly doesn’t mirror the billboard chart for the year. In fact, the songs don’t even have to be from 2006. Rather, I gather those songs that made the deepest impression upon me or seemed to remain while others drifted back into obscurity.

So it is again this year. These are the fifteen songs I found myself tuned into throughout the year of 2006 – some are fairly popular, some mostly unheard of.

There were two strong trends that seemed to dominate the year of 2006: horns and guitars. The two together are classic elements of jazz and the blues, so it’s not surprising to find Coltrane and Quincy Jones on here. But sometimes the horns are left out in favor of the heavier, harder sounds of rock – represented here by the veterans (Rolling Stones) and the newbies (Coldplay). A number of the songs have really powerful guitar licks, too, as if the guitar itself were singing: Talk by Coldplay and Once Upon a Time There Was an Ocean by Paul Simon are wonderful examples.

Some of the rare finds include a song by Roger Miller, which I’ll share more about below and The Five Blind Boys of Alabama. Enough, though! On with the list:

1. The World at Large – Modest Mouse – Although not released in 2006, I didn’t start listening to this group until this year. It seems best as an introduction to 2006, since it includes many of the elements that dominated the 2005 musical year for me: digital effects and urban sounds mixed with chaotic, every-day lyrics. This song also begins with a subtle guitar riff – a facet it will share with many on this list.

2. Kentucky Rain – Elvis Presley - I bought a collection of 80 Elvis songs for this very song. I figured it was a must if I were moving to Kentucky to be a pastor. But there are all sorts of reasons to love this song – perhaps most importantly -- it is a good story. And, I just love the way Elvis songs fall and rise.

3. Miss You – The Rolling Stones – I’m into my fifth year of marriage, and the unity that builds – the oneness – is impossible to describe. This song is fabulous at explaining the yearning that builds in love. Being away from the one you love is a heart-wrenching emotion, one The Stones express well. (By the way, there is an incredible version of this song on the Austin Powers: Goldmember CD.)

4. Talk – Coldplay – There’s something chilly and stirring in the long-guitar that begins this song (like a cold winter’s wind blowing over a prairie), the same guitar which explodes when the drums come in. I dig this song because it reminds me of friends (brothers) and the comfort that comes from picking up the phone and opening up. I love how it descends at the end into the same haunting sound and the refrain, “Let’s talk.”

5. Little Green Apples – Roger Miller – I first heard this song driving on the 110 freeway headed into downtown Los Angeles. Add to that this classic line from the song, “If God didn’t make the little green apples, and it don’t rain in Indianapolis,” and it seemed to tie together perfectly two worlds I never imagined together: the world of 70-mph freeways in the heart of LA and the slow, summer sounds of Indiana.

6. In a Sentimental Mood – John Coltrane – When the soft-sparkle of piano becomes enveloped by smooth horns and drums, it’s hard not to be in a sentimental mood. This song is great at the end of the day, and I know it will be with me well beyond 2006. Best if enjoyed with a nice glass of wine or a cocktail. P.S.: listen for the last key of the piano at the end, classic.

7. King of Kings – Ladysmith Black Mambazo – I’ve already shared my love for Ladysmith Black Mambazo, so I will simply say this song is a great prayer. Somewhere between a praise and a lament, it lifts up God continuously as Sovereign, yet it is never detached from the plight of God’s Kingdom, which seems to suffer often in Africa. “Reveal yourself, reveal yourself from heaven!” is a wonderful cry, right up there with Maranatha!

8. God’s Gonna Cut You Down – Johnny Cash – Really 2005 was the year of Johnny Cash for me, but this song did not get released until July 4, 2006. I heard it originally on a trailer for a movie about sexual abuse and the Catholic Church. Yet as gloomy and dark as the song is, you can’t help but tap your toe. And there’s something of the Psalms in it with its desire for vengeance – e.g. Psalm 139:19-21.

9. By and By – The Five Blind Boys of Alabama – When I would listen to Moby spirituals (“Don’t Leave Me” or “In My Heart”) the past five or six years, I always wondered if it was possible to get to the roots of that music. “By and By” by the Blind Boys is as close as I’ve found – soul-full and some great emotion.

10. Bo Diddley – Bo Diddley – Until a few minutes ago, I swore this was the song in The Shawshank Redemption when Tommie arrives at the jail, but I was wrong (That was actually the Johnny Otis Band, “Willie and the Hand Jive”). Still, the similarities are amazing, and I love both of these songs. Bo Diddley’s self-titled song is full of – you guessed it – some great guitar. There’s a great “twang” to it that proves Bo knows best.

11. What If – Coldplay – Back to Coldplay and their neo-classical, gloomy-English rock. To me, this song is all about abandonment – abandonment of our most cherished gifts, our most beloved persons and – at a basic level – abandonment of life (“let’s take a breath, jump over the side”). It’s a song of agony and dread – something we all face from simply being human and facing endless decisions day-to-day. Life invariably forces us to ask, “what if?” But, behind all the elemental darkness, this song also seems to hint at another reality – a more positive one: life can only be enjoyed if we dare to answer the “what if’s” with commitment and a healthy abandonment.

12. Oh Happy Day – Quincy Jones – The first time I heard this song was last week during the movie Rize! The version on the soundtrack is much harder – an effected, hyped-up version of a classic Gospel choir song originally crafted by Edwin Hawkins up in the Bay Area back in the 60’s. The version I have is jazzier, and the lyrics of the song are replaced at the beginning with a funky melody complete with keyboard and flute. This song is quickly becoming a great reminder of Wyatt’s birth-day. It begins sunny and light – like the day Wyatt was born. Then in the middle it is interrupted by an explosion of choral joy, winds down again, rises one final time, and then descends with a choir singing “oh happy day.” Such are the elations of parenthood – sometimes subtle and soft, other times ecstatic and day-bright!

13. Once Upon a Time There Was an Ocean – Paul Simon – The master singer-songwriter-storyteller was back at it again in 2006 releasing Surprise. There were other songs on this cd that were bigger hits – none bigger than “Father & Daughter.” But, the song I invariably played over and over again in my car was this one. Again, a guitar riff creates this songs power – coming in after the song has already begun and changing dramatically the tone. Paul Simon is also the master at colliding the casual, ordinary aspects of daily-life with the global, elemental forces of creation. And, in this song, he contrasts the angst many modern people have as they struggle to “get outta here” versus the great powers that shape our world over large spans of time. Or, as he says, “Nothing is different, but everything has changed.” Brilliant.

14. Green Onions – Booker T. & The MG’s – Being young means you think cool things can only exist in the future. Steadily, I’m learning that there is plenty of cool to be derived behind us. Case in point: “Green Onions.” This is a hip song, man, and made even hipper by the fact that it is an organ, a bass guitar and a guitar. That’s it.

15. That’s All Right – Elvis Presley – You can listen to this song and know – and feel – why The King swept the nation with his pulsating rhythms. It is short enough to make you want to play it multiple times in a row. I can’t ever play it just once. I don’t know how to explain this song except to say it is great music, full of kick.

~Wes