Because I've been asked by a couple of places and I haven't gotten around to actually doing this yet, here's my belated Best of '06 List.  Granted, this year I will readily admit to not having a whole lot of records to list, so there's some non-records on this as well.

1. Jeffrey Simmons: Farewell, My Sweet Alibi. One of his best records, and easily one of the best alt.country/country rock/whatever you'd call good Neil Young records in quite some time.  Brodeur at the Dig put it best when he ordered his reader to report to this disc immediately.

2. Brett Rosenberg: Drop Dead Air.   Brett's another songwriter who's much better than he gets credit for. He's made a better Elvis Costello record here than Elvis has made in at least a decade.  You don't own this because....?  Don't let that strange negative review in the Noise throw you off.

3. Robbie Williams: Rudebox. While I'm not usually one for Euro-pop/dance records, he's got the Pet Shop Boys with him, and a kickass cover of "Lovelight." A bonus track, pulverizing Oasis for being famous jerks is aptly titled "Dickhead." 

4.  Eddie Murphy in Dreamgirls.  Probably the best movie he's been in that wasn't a Disney flick in eons.  He gets right into the heart of drug abuse with one look, towards the middle of the film.  Amazing.

5.  Band In  Boston's Flophouse sessions.  Cool podcast of a great selection of local bands.  I'm told it's a living room affair, and it's got the coziness, immediacy and intamacy of that vibe.

6.  Negative Action.  Easy Action +/ -  a few folks = Negative Approach for the Touch and Go festival and All Tomorrow's Parties.  Missed it?  Too bad, it's not gonna happen again. 

7. Radio Birdman tour the US.  Actually, they took along Easy Action.

8. The Warsaw Village Band: Uprooting. Ok, this was out in 2004, but I've only heard it recently as a result of Balkan Beat Box.  I played this for Nick, and his comment sums it up best: "Wow, they're a Polish Firewater.  This is cool."

9. Tod A. finnishing the new Firewater record.  Tentative titles have been flung about, trips to the Middle East have been taken.  Let's hope we get to hear this in '07.

10. The Rudds not winning the Rumble.  Probably the best thing, in terms of that silly "Rumble curse" and they won't be doomed to doing Cheap Trick covers all of the time.