best of 2007 finalists?

hey brad, you wrote props on against me!'s new wave release a while back, which i then acquired and have enjoyed muchly. i am considering reinventing axl rose, any thoughts? (have at it TP wags)

...not over yet, but i am still for armchair apocrypha as best of year.

in rotation:
jens lekman -- night falls over kortedala
tmbg -- the else
the new pornographers -- challengers
the earlies -- the enemy chorus
super furry animals -- hey venus!

Some of my favorites so far are:

Bright Eyes - Cassadaga: My favorite record of his since the Desapericidos. Just the right amount of fiddle and credible alt-country flourishes. Great songwriting.

The National - Boxer: Definitely not as boring as it sounds at first listen. Focus on the drums...and the lyrics! Most humbling line: "Oh you wouldn't want an angel watching over//surprise, surprise they wouldn't wannna watch"

Hallelujah The Hills - Collective Psychosis Begone: nice release from local Boston band. Questionable production decisions knocks this down a peg but excellent songwriting.

The Avett Brothers - Emotionalism: best bluegrass-indie crossover I can recall. (OK, the only one I can recall)


Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover
Menomena - Friend And Foe
Iron and Wine - The Shepherds Dog
Spoon - Ga^5

(Hip hop and electronica releases excluded...it takes me a lot longer to sort through those)

I picked up REINVENTING AXL ROSE but haven't really had a chance to listen to it as much as I should. It didn't grab me the way NEW WAVE did, but apparently that's heresy to longtime Against Me fans, most of whom seem to hate NEW WAVE.

caetano veloso is still in my top spot.

michael yonkers, beasts of bourbon, eddy current suppression ring, group iterane, bettye lavette, sacred cowboys, golden boys, dr dog, demon's claws, ike reilly assassination, ponys, volt, wooden tit, king khan, home blitz, menomena, kirsten ketsjer, cheater slicks, prinzhorn dance school, etc etc...

lots of contenders, but only one winner.



Post Edited (10-19-07 14:31)

I was thinking about this the other day, and I don't know if 2007 is much of a year for new music (thus far).

Perhaps it's the lack of The Hold Steady in 2007 (thus far).

If pressed on the topic...?

best year in a long time
and still a couple months of new releases comin

1. The Ike Reilly Assassination - "We Belong to the Staggering Evening"

Tops the Hold Steady at the poetic bohemia lyrical challenges thing.

Achieves what Springsteen was going for in summing up the mood and vibe of Iraq-weary America in the two best songs on the subject to date ("Broken Parakeet Blues" and "It's Hard to Make Love to an American").

Makes every previous record Ike Reilly was involved with seem like a warm up act - if you knew him before, then this sounds like it's (finally) all come together for his approach. If you don't know his past work you'll say "where did THIS guy come from?".

2. The Arctic Monkeys - "Favourite Worst Nightmare" - Bigger, bolder, beefier, smarter, wearier, angrier too. Takes the one note charm of the debut and makes it face the rest of the world, outside the nightclub.

3. Babyshambles "Shotter's Nation" - I am in full NME lacky mode this year apparently. This record I think will be widely hated (US release this week) because it takes the previous sound and cleans it up (or waters it down depending on your pov) into short snappy pop songs.

The thing is, I didn't much like the previous Babyshambles album so this all sounds like an improvement to me.........makes a wonderful spot the influences kind of record too ("Delivery" = The Kinks; "There She Goes" = The Cure/Lovecats). The closer, "Lost Art of Murder" is Doherty's "Here Comes A Regular", the sad eyed album ending ballad that makes you reconsider the songs that have come before and puts it all in a different context.

Spoon & Graham Parker were also groovy this year.



Post Edited (10-20-07 06:53)

...only half liked the babyshambles debut. am happy to hear the new disc is shorter as down in albion--always took an effort listening through. i have been enjoying the blinding ep this year, and am stoked to pick up shotter's nation. and who knows, maybe dirty pretty things will spit out a release before new year's.

i completely feel the ike reilly and monkeys nominations.

2007 has been a great year, dammit.

Bruce Springsteen "Magic" is in my #1 spot.

The ones from this year I've been listening to the most is The Great Lake Swimmers' Ongiara and Ted Leo's Living With The Living.
I've read reviews of both which are not too favourable so there you go.

Erik, you got me fired the Hell up:

MAGIC walks away with the cake this year.

I won't get into all the hullabaloo about this being a "real" E Street album, this is a real album, period.

If one (1) person takes the effort to listen to MAGIC (or DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN, for that matter}, that's what it is about.

Bruce (say it with a playful lisp!) Sthpingsthteen...

WON'T GO AWAY.

Consciousness, or some form of it necessitates that I tell you, the faithful, that I, one STEVE, @ the age of fourteen did smoke my first joint to my sisters first pressing of...(drumroll please Max)

BORN TO RUN.

Contact high that is.



Post Edited (10-27-07 03:24)

Jermoe: You're damn right.

Steve: You're beautiful...and don't ever change, brother.