the New Year approaches

and with it the inevitable flood of Best Album of 2006 lists.

I'll throw my hat into the ring after the xmas rush.
In the meantime, I'll comment on those lists.

Any list including those talentless poseurs The Killers is worthless.
Q, whatever it is, should go drink toilet water to atone for this sin.

I like the new Tom Waits super-collection, but c'mon, it's basically loose ends swept together from his musical attic. Fascinating and with some classics cuts, yes. Best of the year? Nawp.

I can't stand Joanna Newsome's Yoko Ono-esque vocal stylings, I don't care how avante her garde is. I'm too old to listen to music by people who can't sing...unless they're Lemmy from Motorhead.

I can see why people like Arctic Monkeys, but I seem to have lost my taste for their style of straight-ahead pop/rock.

Serena Maneesh and Neko Case are both locks for my best of the year list, along with TV on the Radio (although I'm not as keen on the new on as their previous two releases).