I’ve never been so busy doing absolutely nothing. I thought during winter break I’d be blogging all the time, but seeing as how I finally have the opportunity to do nothing, I’m taking full advantage of it. I think I watched college bowl games for 10 hours straight on New Year’s Day. And by the way, shame on anyone who didn’t watch the Fiesta Bowl. It was, quite possibly, the greatest college football game ever played.

Slacking aside, I’ve been listing to a lot of new music lately (surprise, surprise). I’m still working on the top 10 Songs and Albums of 2006; there were a lot of great albums released at the end of the year. So in the meantime, enjoy what I call “The New to Me List.” It’s composed of bands I discovered in 2006, though they have been around for much, much longer.

MONO

My discovery of the Japanese post-rock band Mono may very well have saved this year in music for me. I was desperately looking for something worthy of obsessing over. When I heard One More Step and You Die for the first time, I knew Mono was it. Their collaboration with world’s end girlfriend,Palmless Prayer / Mass Murder Refrain, features my favorite song of 2006, “Part Five.” I thought about including it in the Top 10 Songs of 2006 podcast, but it’s almost 20 minutes long.

• Mono & world’s end girlfriend – Part Five
• Mono – Sabbath

THE TWILIGHT SINGERS

I know that I’ve blogged about these guys before, but I feel the need to do it again. The Twilight Singers rock. Their album Powder Burns is definitely making my Top 10 Albums of 2006 list. Not to mention they also released a fantastic EP called A Stitch In Time in October. I highly, highly recommend checking them out if you passed on them the first time (the mp3′s are posted again below).

• The Twilight Singers – The Lure Would Prove Too Much
• The Twilight Singers – Fat City (Slight Return)
• The Twilight Singers – Forty Dollars

NEKO CASE

2006 will go down in history as the year I started listening to bands fronted by female musicians. I don’t know why I held out for so long (actually, I know exactly why), I’m just glad I finally gave in. I guess Neko Case is responsible for the change. Her rootsy brand of indie rock features her gorgeous vocals, which remind me of … wait, what am I talking about, I don’t know any other female singers.

• Neko Case – Hold On, Hold On
• Neko Case – Star Witness

SHEARWATER

I originally started listening to Shearwater because I desperately wanted to find more music by Okkervil River. With the release of Palo Santo, Shearwater is no longer just an Okkervil River side project. In fact, the album sounds nothing like Black Sheep Boy. And while my love of the River may have initially drawn me to Shearwater, I’ve come to appreciate the ‘Water for what they truly are: a great band.

• Shearwater – Nobody

CAT POWER

I hate cats, which is why I also hate cat power. Not the band, but the thought of giving power to cats. Turns out the band Cat Power is quite good. I especially like the song “Good Woman.” I first fell in love with the live version, but after hearing the album version with its children’s choir, I think I like studio cut better. I can’t wait until my eMusic downloads refresh so I can finally listen to 2006′s The Greatest.

• Cat Power – Good Woman
• Cat Power – Good Woman [live @ KCRW]

There were many other great bands I discovered in 2006, including Calexico and Destroyer. I would also include Bishop Allen, but I feel like 2006 was their breakout year, thus violating the “been around for much, much longer” rule. Anybody wanna add to the list?