James
Hanna
Asobi Seksu
Top Ten Albums of 2006
1. Comets on Fire: Avatar—Best
Record of the year, hands down. They cleaned up their sound and made the
kind record you wish was made in 1972.
2. Sonic Youth: Rather Ripped—Pretty good,
they are probably my favorite and this is their best in a while. “What
comes first the music or the words?” is the best song lyric
this year.
3. Acid Mothers Temple: Have You Ever Seen the Other Side
of the Sky—When they are on they are among the most
intense live bands I have ever seen. This album comes closes to capturing
their insane energy.
4. Broadcast: The Future Crayon
5. Liars: Drum’s Not Dead—Had actually
never really heard their stuff until this album. Pleasantly surprised
by it.
6. Darker My Love: Darker My Love—They
were fun to play shows and hang with. This album is perfect to listen
to while driving in the desert for ten hours.
7. Six Organs of Admittance: Sun Awakens—The
whole little band collective these guys and Comets have going are making
the most interesting guitar stuff right now.
8. Acid Mothers Temple: Powerhouse of the Holy—A
limited live release with an amazing title, though not as amazing as AMT’s
earlier 41st Century Splendid Man.
9. Yo La Tengo: I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your
Ass—Another comeback LP. The title is either awful,
hilarious, or amazing—I’m not sure.
10. Mogwai: Mr. Beast—Mogwai’s noise
parts are still the best thing I’ve ever seen live—they should
be on every top ten list for this alone.
What was the highlight of 2006 for either you personally or for the band?
The highlight of this year band-wise was touring after Citrus was released and seeing more people in the audience than we ever thought. When we recorded the album we were proud of it but didn’t really expect people to like it as much as they did so it was a nice surprise.
What was the low point of 2006 for you?
Getting handcuffed twice by redneck cops, first in Louisiana and then in North Dakota.
What are your hopes and plans for 2007?
To tour a little more and then get to work on our next album. Nothing seems more exciting than recording new material and finding a supportive home for it.
What was the best album released in 2006 that few people heard?
Kevin Federline’s Playing With Fire.
What do you hope to hear more of in 2007? Less of?
More reverb, less obnoxious male vocals.
What album or song do you feel best defines this generation?
“Don’t Eat Stuff Off the Sidewalk” by The Camps
What’s the biggest goal for your life that you have yet to achieve?
Money, lots of money.
With the rise of MySpace and the ever-increasing presence of bloggers, what is your feeling about using the Internet as a promotional tool? Will MySpace last and are you actively involved in your band’s MySpace page? With the music blogs seen as an increasingly influential source for breaking new artists, do you read them and are they a positive influence that bypasses the industry machinery or just empty hype?
I only became aware of all these mega popular blogs recently. It used to be about zines and now it’s blogs. In 2011 it will go back to zines and in 2022 people will communicate the hot new bands through smoke signals.
If you could have any superpower, what power would you want to have and why?
Flying—I’m sick of driving.
If you could be one fictional character, who would you be and why?
Aquaman, so I can communicate with fish. Trout are apparently amazing conversationalists. Their knowledge of the Gnostic Bible is astounding.
1/2007