Yes, it’s a bit late, but I’ve been elsewhere (as the title of the blog would indicate). A few weeks acrosss the Ditch, in Adelaide, Melbourne and then up to the Sunshine Coast to Mooloolaba for sun and surf (where I realized I’m not really a sun and surf person at heart). It was great, and I’m glad for the plethora of flora and fauna we saw while there. Goannas, galahs, cockatoos, parrots, kookaburras, scrub turkeys, many beautiful but deadly spiders, flying foxes, among others. Oh, and heaps of great fresh fruit (no bananas, as they’re still out of our spending bracket). A final day spent in Brisbane, overlooking the treetops in the valley was a magical moment, just to see so many of these birds jetting about. Glorious.

As for end-of-the-year lists, it’s been a while since I did this, and really this year has been all about blogspot and rapidshare for me (in a land where new CDs are far out of reach of young-ish lecturer’s salary, I didn’t purchase one new CD in 2006, though the same can’t be said for vinyl).

In no particular order:

Peter Bjorn and John - Writer’s Block (the neo-folk sound continues, this time name-checking The Chills - no doubt showing up on Grey’s Anatomy some time soon…)
Ellen Allien and Apparat - Orchestra of Bubbles (dance throb dance throb dance)
Nathan Fake - Drowning in a Sea of Love (lo-fi electronic pop)
Charlotte Gainsbourg - 5-55 (like father like daughter… and mother, for that matter)
Readymade - FC Babilonia (fey boy girl ethereal pop with music boxes and other gew gaws, with Feist and David Sylvian guesting)
Lo-Fi FNK - Boylife (great Swedish electropop)
Catpower - The Greatest (cheering up she is, sort of)
Beirut - Gulag Orkestar (emo and the Arcade Fire, with horns)
Lambchop - Damaged (it’s been a while since I’ve liked an album of theirs. ‘Bout time)
Nouvelle Vague - Bande a part (yes, it’s ubiquitous music, heard in cafés, or at least I imagine it being heard in cafés, across the world, but that’s comforting in its own way. And at least it’s not the Buena Vista Social Club)
Poni Hoax - Poni Hoax (yes, more indietronica, sort of, but so many hooks and a lovely Gallic flair)
Ms. John Soda - Notes and the Like (lovely stripped down pop, a la Lali Puna)
Dominique A - L’Horizon (French pop, crafted as only this man does it)

Singles for me (some might have shown up at the end of 2005, however):
Madonna - Sorry (Thin White Duke Remix)
Fairmount - Gazebo
CSS - Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death from Above (and remixes)
Jamie Lidell - Multiply Additions
Sebastian Tellier - La Ritournelle (Metronomy remix)
The Cure - Fire in Cairo (Digitalism Remix)
Royksopp - What Else is There (Thin White Duke Remix and the Jacques Lu Cont Remix)
Breakout - Planet Rock (live cover of the electro classic)

Reissues:
Jack Blanchard and Misty Morgan - Life and Death (And Almost Everything Else)
Luna - Best of Luna
Selda - Selda (Turkish psychedelia/disco/rock)
VA - Cult Cargo Belize City Boil-Up
VA - Bombay Connection (Vols. 1 & 2)
VA - In-Kraut: Hipshaking Grooves Made in Germany 1966-1974 (Vol. 2)
Mike Sammes Singers - Comp.
VA - Boogaloo Pow Wow: Dancefloor Rendez-Vous In Young Nuyorica

RIP James Brown, Bernard Estardy, Grant McLennan and too many others to count.

A sample of some things recently dug up:
Eddy Mitchell - Tighten Up
Kati Kovacs - Sehnsucht
Michel Polnareff - La Mouche

Have a good year all,
G.

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