Now Hear This - The Best Music of 2006

1. Muse - Blackholes And Revelations

The best elements of Queen, Jeff Buckley, Led Zeppelin and Radiohead together in their own origianl sound, Muse delivered the best cd of the year. Listen for yourself if you haven't already.

Official Site

Muse on myspace

2. Radio 4 - Enemies Like This

Radio 4 do dance punk better than anyone else.

Official Site

Radio 4 on myspace

3. Juliette And The Licks - Four On The Floor

Juliette showing the grrrl's how it should be done. This album proves she is not just an actress singing in a band. Punk Rock at it's best.

Official Site

Juliette on myspace

4. Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam have been releasing albums pretty quietly over the past few years with a handful of memorable songs on each. Their new self titled cd brings back the energy of their early days with a punk edge. Pearl Jam have returned to greatness...

Official Site

5. The Hidden - Winged Wolves

Self released hardcore, psychedelic, punk goth from Boston. Get it.

Official Site

The Hidden on myspace

6. The Rapture - Pieces Of The People We Love

Electro, new wave, dance, punk...this one's got it all. The Rapture's best, most consistent release.

Official Site

The Rapture on myspace

7. Apollo Up! - Chariots Of Fire

From Smother Magazine: "Armed to the teeth with throaty vocals and energetic guitars, Apollo Up! do the post-hardcore thing with loud results. This band has the goods and then some!" Check it.
Official Site

Apollo Up! on myspace

8. Brand New - The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me

Rolling Stone (p.116) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he selling -- and sticking -- point is still the dark drama, with shadowy, shimmery textures, agonized choruses and frontman Jesse Lacey yowling away." Spin (p.99) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[With] the sort of Radiohead-indebted bombast that begs to be played at lease-breaking volumes." Alternative Press (p.136) - Included in Alternative Press's "10 Essential Albums Of 2006" -- "[A]n exercise in horrifying beauty, bordering on brilliance at every deconstructed song structure..."

Official Site
Brand New on myspace

9. The Killers - Sam's Town

Bolder, louder, edgier and not quite as poppy as their first album.

Official Site

The Killers on myspace

10. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

[G]arage-punk, teenage angst, loud guitars...

Official Site

Arctic Monkeys on myspace

Titan Has Liquid Lakes

Scientists report definitive evidence of the presence of lakes filled with liquid methane on Saturn's moon Titan in this week's journal Nature cover story.

Radar imaging data from a July 22, 2006, flyby provide convincing evidence for large bodies of liquid on Titan today. A new false-color radar view gives a taste of what Cassini saw. Some highlights of the article follow below.

Lake Characteristics:

Radar-dark patches are interpreted as lakes based on their very low radar reflectivity and morphological similarities to lakes, including associated channels and location in topographic depressions.

Radar-dark surfaces are smooth and most likely liquid, rock, ice or organics. More than 75 radar-dark patches or lakes were seen, ranging from 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) to more than 70 kilometers (43 miles) across.

Some lakes appear partly dry, while others seem liquid-filled. Some of the partly filled lakes may never have filled fully, or may have partly evaporated at some point in the past.

Approximately 15 of the dark patches seem filled and show no clear evidence of erosion. These dark patches resemble terrestrial lakes confined within impact basins (for example, Clearwater Lakes in Canada) or within volcanic calderas (for example, Crater Lake, Oregon). Bright patches near the lake edges could be small islands peeking through the surface. Floating "icebergs" are unlikely because most materials would not float in liquid hydrocarbons.
Other Observations:
Based on the lake characteristics, Cassini scientists think they are observing liquid-filled lakes on Titan today. Another possibility is that these depressions and channels formed in the past and have now been filled by a low-density deposit that is darker than any observed elsewhere on Titan. However, the absence of wind-blown features in this area makes the low-density hypothesis unlikely.
These northern hemisphere lakes are the strongest evidence yet that Titan's surface and atmosphere have an active hydrological cycle, though with a condensable liquid other than water. In this cycle, lakes are filled through methane rainfall or intersect with a subsurface layer saturated with liquid methane. As Titan's seasons progress over the 29-year cycle of Saturn's orbit around the sun, lakes in the winter hemisphere should expand by steady methane rain, while summer hemisphere lakes shrink or dry up entirely. (Source)