Feature / Music
2006: A Year In Review

Posted pre-2010

Top 5 Things That Didn't

Suck (For Some) in 2006

Quick links: Top 5 DVDs | Most Anticipated Albums of 2007 | Reasons The Fresh Prince was awesome | Top 5 Singles | Big Comebacks of 2006 | Top 5 Shows | Top 5 Things That Sucked | Top 5 Things That Ruled | Noteworthy Songs | Top Reissues | Reasons the BBC Is Killing UK Music | Top 5 Vinyl-Only Releases | Worst Cover Art | Band Tour Stories

  1. Snakes on a Plane: The Movie

  2. "Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane!"

    "Who's your daddy now, bitch?"

    "Great, snakes on crack"

    "One of those slimy pieces of shit trip a circuit, hydraulic or a relay, and pretty soon we'll go down faster than a Thai hooker!"

    Not to mention the sex scene, the scene in the bathroom, the uber-snake, and Kenan Thompson not being annoying for once. Essentially, the greatest bad movie ever made. Yes, even better than Ninja Terminator. You owe it to yourself, nay, you owe it to the world to see this movie. Something that the NME will undoubtedly be dumbfounded by, as it actually lives up to the hype.

    New Line Cinema: We salute you.

    David R. Ellis: We salute you too.

    Samuel L. Jackson: We motherfucking salute you as well.

    And last, but by no means l33tâ?¦ uh, I mean, leastâ?¦ fellow nerds, geeks and general web-hounds, plus the occasional normal person that somehow slipped through the cracks: We salute you too.

  3. Cobra Starship - Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)

  4. It's a rare thing when - and I use this term lightly - genius collides in such a fashion. Upon hearing of Snakes on a Plane, Gabe Saporta (formerly of Midtown), and a few more of his Fueled by Ramen chums somehow managed to finagle their way onto the Snakes on a Plane soundtrack. And I don't care how many virgins they had to sacrifice to do it, because I'll be fucked if this isn't one of the songs of the year. As cheesy and ridiculously over the top as the movie, this dangerously likeable pop-soul-dance-rock masterpiece, resplendent with Sam Jackson samples, hasn't left the little space it carved in my head since the day I heard it. Coupled with a fantastic video with a cameo from the great Mr. Jackson himself, and you have yourself an unstoppable, serpentine beast. And no, I don't mean that big, fuck-off snake from the movie.

  5. Nintendo Wii

  6. Okay, I'll admit that the closest I've gotten to actually playing with a Wii is uhâ?¦ well, my younger brother has a DS. I've played that a bit. It has a touch screen, you know!

    But 2006 has undoubtedly been the year of the Wii. Fat nerds everywhere rejoiced when they heard that, not only could they enjoy playing innovative new games that don't involve a silent protagonist, a first person viewpoint and the inevitably over-powered rocket launcher, but that they could actually get some exercise while doing so! Couple this with the fact that more accessible games means that more girls are likely to take up gaming as a hobby - well, I'll let the millions of pairs of soiled briefs speak for themselves. And that's before you get to the retro-emulation of Nintendo's previous consoles. No more worries about having to blow dust out of your old Super Mario World cartridge!

    Although, please - for the love of all that is sweet and good, make sure that the Wiimote is attached firmly to your wrist at all times. Innocent TVs and other breakables should not have to suffer for retarded gamers' mistakes.

  7. Snakes on a Plane: The Hype

  8. Aha! Intrigue! It made it onto both lists!? "Madness!" I hear you cry. Well, maybe it is. But it isn't without its merit, for without the hype, it's unlikely that Snakes on a Plane would have morphed into what it finally became. We'd have certainly been a few "I have had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane!"s short of a bushel, that's for sure. Not to mention the copious amounts of hilarious spoof sequels and trailers.

  9. The Deaths of Augusto Pinochet and Pauline Fowler

  10. Ok, I'm not really one to rejoice over people dying. Shit's not cool. But I doubt that there are too many people around the world shedding tears for this guy. Unless you happen to be one of his supporters, or Margaret Thatcher. Again, without wishing to sound too callous, I was a bit miffed when rumors of Maggie being consumed by her own venomous stomach acid turned out to be false. Oh well.

    As for Pauline Fowler? Non-UK readers without a penchant for terrible soaps may not understand, but for those who will, I'm certainly not sorry to see that leather-faced old prune vacate the Eastenders set, permanently. Although, I was disappointed when the much hyped hip-hop rendition of "Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead", as performed by Sonia Jackson, never materialized. If ever there was a way to ensure the Christmas Day TV ratings, it'd be that. Shame on you, Eastenders script writers. Shame on you.

(Marc)

— words by the SPB team

Related features

Vivabeat

Interviews • September 6, 2026

LA’s Art-Punk Pioneers Who Bridged Continents and Genres In 1978, Vivabeat emerged from Los Angeles with a sound that defied easy categorization. As I spoke with Marina and Mick years later, it became clear that this was a band always slightly out of step with the local scene -- East … Read more

Lethal Limits

Music Therapy

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • September 5, 2026

There are a lot of misconceptions about the life of a musician. Most musicians have day jobs – and not just to pay the bills. Jobs provide new challenges, personal fulfillment and, yes, some rent or gas money. How an artist spends their time by day will influence the creative … Read more

UK Subs

Interviews • August 23, 2026

50 Years of Chaos: Charlie Harper and the U.K. Subs More than five decades after the first sparks of punk lit up the U.K., Charlie Harper remains one of its most enduring figures. As the driving force behind U.K. Subs, Harper has seen entire scenes rise, fracture, and reinvent themselves … Read more

Commerce or Amusement? #2

Green Noise Records

Regular Columns / Commerce or Amusement? • August 22, 2026

Are You In The Music Business? Or Just Involved In Music? Interview Series #2. Featuring Martin Winch of Green Noise Records CC: Howdy Winch! Could you start off by telling the readers a little bit about yourself and Green Noise Records? How did you come to acquire it and what … Read more

Paths 2 Glory

One Question Interviews • August 19, 2026

Chris (Paths 2 Glory) SPB: What is your favorite Bad Religion song? Chris: It's hard to just have one favorite Bad Religion song. I have a few but the one that will always be my favorite or go to answer is "You." I first heard that song while playing Tony … Read more

More from this section

Anathema Editions

Music / History 101 • August 11, 2026

Did you know it’s been 10 years since Anathema Editions put out its first release? To make the moment, we reached out to founder Terence Hannum to share some label history. In keeping with our “History 101” concept, SPB asked for anecdotes about 4 of the label’s releases and then … Read more

Scene Point Blank's Favorites: The Year So Far (July 2026)

Music • July 13, 2026

That's right: we're halfway through 2026 already, although whether that means this year is a glass-half-empty or glass-half-full kind of year... well, the jury's out. But we'll let you know in December. Despite another six months of chaos, war, conflict and uncertainty, one thing in life remains static and reliable: … Read more

Demos You Want To Check #4

Music / New Kids On The Block • July 7, 2026

The musical landscape is ever changing. New genres are popping up, new hypes burst out of nowhere and die out and new bands present themselves to the world. How on earth are you expected to keep up, right? Well, it never hurts to help! So here we are, your humble … Read more