We here at CW pride ourselves in our innovative and creative ways to provide as much information as we can to you about worldly things. We’ve devised a never-before-seen approach to providing you with what we consider to be one of, if not the, most important information that the year 2006 had to offer. We give you the list of 2006’s 36 best albums, courtesy of the CW staff.

Those other blog lists got nothin’ on us…

36.It Takes Fifteen to Tango in My Book, What Book Do You Read? - American Watercolor Movement

Brian Wilson produced these guys, and the result is awesome in two good speakers. Haunting and striking vocals and well put together tunes leave you confused and intrigued.

Listen to: American Watercolor Movement – “Dresden”

35. A Girl Like Me – Rihanna

“SOS” was one of our summer fucking jams. “A Girl Like Me” contains lots of non-traditional samples that you can dance to. Anyone who tells you that Lady Sovereign is the only person who can save an over-done genre hasn’t heard enough of this record.

Listen to:Rihanna - “SOS”

34. Paparazzi Lightning - Ghostland Observatory

It’s very rare that one should be excited about an Austin band outright. Especially an electro band. But “Paparazzi Lightning” deserved attention. Some of the album’s most frenetic moments had us imagine a collision of Freddie Mercury and Electric Six.

Listen to: Ghostland Observatory - “Vibrate” (via EMC)

33. Beatific Vision – Brakes

These Electric Soft Parade and British Sea Power veterans didn’t do so hot with us the first time around with “Give Blood.” We’ve made a better connection with their sophomore material, especially with the Scott Eamon’s at times frenzied vocals.

Listen to: Brakes - “Porcupine or Pineapple”

32. Open Season (Soundtrack) - Various Artists

This may be the best film soundtrack since 1983’s Valley Girl. Of the 13 songs, all but four are by former Replacements front man Paul Westerberg. Don’t see the film (the animals beat the hunters), but do check out the soundtrack. The guy’s still got it.

Listen to: Paul Westerberg - Love You In The Fall

31. Hind Hind Legs - The Lovely Feathers

While they may be yet another Montreal band, they are not just another Montreal band. “Hind Hind Legs” is the very distinctive debut LP for The Lovely Feathers, with loud guitar, strained vocals and lots of kick.

Listen to: The Lovely Feathers - “Frantic”

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No Decemberists? What, didn’t we list Sunset Rubdown? And where the hell is Beirut? Read after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

This just in, folks:

Saddam Hussein has been executed. Yeah. No joke.

Even after all the reports about his lawyers postponing the date for another month, the international court of law and the death penalty still prove to be much, much, much faster than in the United States. (Dare we say deadlier, too? More inhumane? Well, damn. He was hung to death. We stopped doing that shit, um, a couple of decades ago. Except in Washington State and New Hampshire. Nevermind.)

The former president turned self-appointed martyr was executed overnight in Baghad’s Green Zone, MSNBC tells us.

What’s our American President have to say?

Saddam’s conviction was hailed by President Bush as a triumph for the democracy he promised to foster in Iraq after the 2003 invasion.

We assume it’s a little late for an appeal…

More to come…

(Editor’s Note: A hell of a lot more to come, whether we write about it or not…)

We’re not talking about the doodle game played in notebook margins. Iraq’s top judge knocks down Saddam’s appeal and the former dictator will be strung up. Analysis so far says it’s a sad, sad thing for Iraq. The Economist basically says it’s a pointless act in a greater quagmire of deadly issues. We guess. Unless, you know, you’re actually from Iraq. Then we feel like it would be pretty damn satisfying.

Hundreds of Iraqis from all walks of life and religions apparently agree. The new Iraqi government does not have a hangman on the payroll. However, an adviser to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told ABC he gets over thirty requests a day for the right to pull the lever on Mr. Hussein.

Surely, another “victim” of the December of Death. He could reportedly go any day after the Tuesday ruling. (Pic from Reuters reported on Spiegel)

After viciously taking Godfather of Soul James Brown from us, December of Death decided to strike someone we all know but don’t really care that much about but will still sort of miss: former president Gerald Ford.

Ford inherited a mess when he took over in the Middle of Nixon’s second term: the end of the Vietnam War, a disgraced and criminal former president, and a mounting energy crisis - making him the kind of president the White House’s next occupant can learn something from. He was the kind of president we would like to see more of: a perfectly nice guy who was in and out fast and managed not to make things any worse.

Also, we updated our Ded Prez Pic:

Sleep tight, Gerry. We’re gonna miss you.

Use this site before it rides sparkle dust back to the North Pole:

http://www.elfyourself.com/

P.S. Look how much fun being an elf is:

(Ok, so they look like surprisingly bored elves, which totally defies the situation they’re in. We found this innocently enough on flickr.)

Unless you’re Iraqi, 2006 turned out to be a pretty good year. The Flaming Lips put out a new album, the Whitney had a pretty solid biennial, Lonelygirl was vaguely interesting, the Republicans got run out of town, Rummy got the awe, Britney showed us her cootch and Stephen Colbert became the most important human being on earth.

In the next few days we’re going to be examining some of the best stuff to come out of old aut-six, we’ll say farewell to the middle of the decade and then we’ll preview some of the bullshit we have to look forward to in old aut-seven. It’s going to be a regular laugh-riot. See you there.