Year-End Analysis: Gnarls In Charge Of Our Wrongs, And Our Rights

As the 2006 year-in-music critical polls continue to roll in, our cranky kvetching continues to roll out. Tomorrow we’ll look at some blog choices, but for now, let’s go to the old-media staples:

– The Rolling Stone singles list predictably puts “Crazy” on top, whiffs by landing J.T.’s “My Love” at No. 50, and finds room for oddball choices like James Kochalka Superstar and Oakley Hall. One of many quibbles: As much as we love the Dropkick Murphys’ “I’m Shipping Up to Boston,” didn’t that come out last year? [Rolling Stone] – NPR’s All Songs Considered list: With the exception of Regina Spektor, we could have called all of these. [NPR] – After seeing how many members of the Sound Opinions crew are crushing hard on Jenny Lewis, we can only imagine that her on-air appearance was full of lots of giggles, sighs, and “Do you like me?” mash notes. [Sound Opinions] – Though New York‘s music coverage sometimes drive us batty–enough already of the grade-school teachers talking about how much their kids love Sufjan–their sorta-review, sorta-round-up gets points for name-checking the Essex Green. [New York]