Why do i have a photo of The Arcade Fire here, well i was recently looking at the results of surveys taken of Canadian, Australian and Americans blogs of what were considered the hottest bands/artists in 2006. Obviously the Montreal greats have been quiet in 2006, hopefully set to take us again by storm in 2007 with their hotly anticipated second album. The makers of "Funeral" still managed to finish 26th in the Canadian poll, before they take their rightful place at number one in 2007. Who won in Canada? It was Final Fantasy, just ahead of Destroyer and Sunset Rubdown. I have no arguments there as those 3 artists have produced, i think 3 of the finest records released this year. You can read the full results at I Heart Music.
I think the Canadian list was reflective of the amazing talent coming from that country at the moment, including a few new bands i like, including Tokyo Police Club, The Lovely Feathers and Land of Talk. The only glaring omission i thought was Ohbijou.

Obviously A Reminder recently published the Aussie list and i was glad to see my favs Dappled Cities Fly come out on top. To be honest i think the reason for the lads coming first is because they feel exciting and original, i still think artists here are fairly safe in what they are doing and there is not alot of jawdropping acts out there at the moment, in my opinion.

The US list was published this week at Information Leafblower and i think it proved that no country can produce a more talented and diverse pool of talent, although how My Chemical Romance got on is beyond me. TV on the Radio were worthy of finishing first as i think they are true originals. I was also glad to see new bands like Silversun Pickups, Beirut and Voxtrot find spots, although i was surprised Cold War Kids, Band of Horses, Annuals and Bound Stems failed to make the cut. Also this list excludes Spoon, Modest Mouse, Animal Collective and Interpol, all bands i love who didnt release any new stuff in 2006.
If you have time, its worth reading some of the ridiculous comments that people have posted, the most absurd comment being that bloggers discard bands after a few weeks of hype, this argument seems silly to me, as i for one would find it strange to continually write about
the same artist rather then trying to find new topics each day.

A Song from Annuals, who i love, that is really making me smile: Bleary Eyed.