Re: Best of 2007

It's December! Release the lists!

As always. things I hear in December could conceivably alter things.

Favorite albums:
1. Against Me - NEW WAVE
2. The Good, the Bad & the Queen - TGTB&TQ
3. Radiohead - IN RAINBOWS (it definitely grew on me)
4. Georgie James - PLACES
5. Amy Winehouse - BACK TO BLACK
6. The Rosebuds - NIGHT OF THE FURIES
7. The Long Blondes - SOMEONE TO DRIVE YOU HOME
8. Arctic Monkeys - FAVORITE WORST NIGHTMARE (joins THE BENDS on the short list of sophomore albums which destroy the debut)
9. Tegan & Sara - THE CON
10. MIA - KALA
11. King Wilkie - LOW COUNTRY SUITE
12. Cafe Tacuba - SINO
13. Earlimart - MENTOR TORMENTOR
14. Celebration - THE MODERN TRIBE
15. Son Volt - THE SEARCH

Favorite Singles:
1. The Fratellis - "Flathead"
2. Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"
3. Tegan & Sara - "Back In Your Head"
4. Feist - "1234"
5. Son Volt - "The Picture"
6. Bruce Springsteen - "Radio Nowhere"
7. Aesop Rock - "None Shall Pass"
8. The Rosebuds - "Get Up Get Out"
9. MIA - "Jimmy"
10. The Shins - "Phantom Limb"
11. Jarvis Cocker - "Don't Let Him Waste Your Time"
12. Lavendar Diamond - "Open Your Heart" (Dunno if it was actually a single, but it should've been. And if it was, move it up to the #2 spot)

Worst Album
Joseph Arthur - LET'S JUST BE - see my comments in the albums you hate by artists you love thread. A worthwhile experiment that failed miserably and never should have been released. Arthur should have known better.


Disappointments
Rilo Kiley - UNDER THE BLACKLIGHT. It ain't bad, really, but the band was in the position to hit a grand slam and settled for a sacrifice pop-fly.

Alicja Trout only released one album (but it was a great one, Nervous Patterns' self-titled debut) and even worse, neglected to appear in any more Memphis underground b-movie burlesque films.


Belated additions to the Best of 2006 (I didn't hear them until 2007)
The Knife - SILENT SHOUT. Not as amazing as Pitchfork would have anyone believe, but still pretty great.

River City Tanlines - I'M YOUR NEGATIVE. The aforementioned Alicja Trout's best album yet, a ferocious slab of old school punk.

My Chemical Romance - THE BLACK PARADE. I'd dismissed My Chemical Romance as annoying Hot Topic emo slop, but hearing this, I see that they are in fact the latest in the line of enjoyably over-the-top melodramatic whiners such as Robert Smith and Billy Corgan. That may sound like more of a warning than a recommendation, but it's great stuff. And Gerard Way's UMBRELLA ACADEMY is the best comic in years.


Favorite Live Show
The Faint @ the Pageant, St. Louis - a hellaciously great concert.

Rufus Wainwright, Neko Case & A Fine Frenzy @ Harrah's Casino, Kansas City - Wainwright is always a hoot live, and Neko's voice is an astonishing freak of nature. Too bad she seems to be in an "I wanna look like a bag lady" phase these days. And Alison Sudol of A Fine Frenzy is easily the best of the glut of young Kate Bush/Tori Amos acolytes out there these days.

Mitch Easter, Tim Lee & Shalini @ Lucas School House, St. Louis
Easter and Lee were good, but the revelation was Easter's missus, the lovely Shalini Chatterjee - 80s style college rock that rivaled the best work of her hubby in his heyday.


Re-issue of the Year
THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS - Debbie Harry's hippie-folk band from the late 60s finally made its debut on CD. It's easy to see why she preferred to pretend it never existed, but really, judged by the context of its time, it's no more ridiculous than most of the stuff that was out there. Of course, that's still pretty ridiculous. But Debbie is in good voice on it, and plays a pretty mean kazoo.



Post Edited (12-01-07 13:43)

I'm probably repeating stuff I posted from other threads, but if it makes one more person listen to Ike Reilly, I'm willing to repeat myself

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

Not just my fave record of this year but my fave of recent years. Echoes of Dylan, Westerberg, Tom Waits all rolled into a righteous blend. The 2 best songs written about the Iraq war thrown in for good measure. This record is getting buried thanks to his label Rock Ridge being utterly incapable of getting him across on any Adult Alternative type push.

2. Arctic Monkeys - "Favourite Worst Nightmare"

Bigger, bolder, beefier, smarter, funnier, wearier, more romantic..........better.

3. Babyshambles - "Shotter's Nation" - Oh yeah, Pete Doherty can write songs too. A record that's been savaged in some reviews by people more willing to read the tabloids than actually listen to it.

A wonderful record that stakes out new territory and just doesn't sound like The Libertines without Carl Barat. Celebrates his messed up life, but doesn't whitewash it, then he has the good sense to question himself about it on a devastating but optimistic album closer "Lost Art of Murder" , that is something of an equivalent to "Here Comes A Regular" for "the thing I love is killing me" type knockout punches.

4. Spoon "Ga ga ga ga ga"

5. Graham Parker - "Don't Tell Columbus"

The Sloan record was groovy and i didn't hear that til '07 though it's an '06 release.

Biggest Disappointment :

Wilco "Sky Blue Sky"

I give up. I liked Jeff Tweedy back when he, you know, wrote songs and stuff. Whoever told him he was an "artiste" should be publicly flogged. This is a hallmark card set to new age music......and it'll make about a billion top 10 lists.

Phooey.

Albums

1. THE CLIENTELE - God Save The Clientele
The band I convert people to, they just get better every release, and to see them live for the first time, cemented their position at the top.

2. PATRICK WOLF - The Magic Position
3. OF MONTREAL - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer
4. JENS LEKMAN - Night Falls Over Kortedala
5. MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS - Dystopia
Probably unheard of outside Australia, but these guys are the best electronic set going around, Into The Galaxy is ELO for the Ipod Generation.

6. RADIOHEAD - In Rainbows
7. IRON AND WINE - The Sheperds Dog
8. LCD SOUNDSYSTEM - Sound Of Silver
9. YEASAYER - All Hour Cymbals
10. TWILIGHT SAD - Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters
11. PANDA BEAR - Person Pitch
12. SUNSET RUBDOWN - Random Spirit Lover
13. THE CRIBS - Mens Needs, Womens Needs, Whatever
These guys shit all over Arctic Monkeys, Babyshamble's and Dirty Pretty Things.



Singles

1. Into The Galaxy - Midnight Juggernauts
2. All My Friends - LCD Soundsystem
3. All Through The Night - Escort
4. Waters of Nazareth - Justice
5. 1234 - Feist
6. Sweaty - Muscles
7. The Magic Position - Patrick Wolf
8. No Pussy Blues - Grinderman
9. Pioneer To The Falls - Interpol
10. Mens Needs - The Cribs

Best Reissue: NEKO CASE - Furnace Room Lullaby

Dissapointments :

BJORK - Volta
WILCO - Sky Blue Sky
VOXTROT - Voxtrot
No brilliant Hip Hop albums.

Best Live Shows

6th Jan - The Mountain Goats

Two guys, one guitar, one bass, pure honest songs, amazingly energetic performance, Darnielle is a master musician.


27th July - The Clientele/Robert Scott

Small gig, no more than 200 people, but sublime performances nonetheless, Robert Scott showed he still is a brilliant songwriter, although had forgotten how to play any Clean songs

17th November - Muse

The best show in terms of spectacle i have ever seen. Smoke, lasers, balloons, video screens, light shows, in addition to the biggest, bombastic, Rush/Queen/Zeppelin hybrid going around.

Top ten pitchfork advertman. Not top thirteen. See you next year mate.

I got bumped fot this shit?

Singles?

Fuck singles.

PS Glad you're still living out the seventies light shows. Got any reefer?

Wait a minute...Robert Scott?
The Bats guy?

People like pitchforktellsmewhattolistento are probably the same people selling Clean Lp's on ebay for sixty bucks.

As Peter Jefferies once advised, per Cake Kitchen, "Don't be fooled by the label."

Buy American!



Post Edited (12-02-07 00:40)

Steve,

I enjoyed the 3 lists above. What did you bring to the table?



Post Edited (12-02-07 11:14)

Steve brings Steve-ness to the table. Which I believe should be encouraged and feared simultaneously. It's definitely a force for good in the world, just never sure if it's this world or not.

Speaking of ebay, my brother peddled A FIERCE PANCAKE by Stump on ebay for $75!

It's a crazy world. Stump CDs should go for much higher than that.



Post Edited (12-02-07 11:40)

Thanks STEVE, point taken, got a lot to learn and probably a lot more drinkin to do, before my 22 year old head comes out of my arse, or my navel, wherever i left it ....

Robert Scott is still a pretty awesome guy though, didn't mind talking to punters after the gig, was trying really hard to sell some solo work too

mats,
nice, sneaking in another well-deserved nomination for sloan's double album knockout, which i too only first heard in early '07.

i also really dig the ike reilly and babyshambles discs.

after that my favorites for 2007:
jens lekman -- night falls over kortedala
andrew bird -- armchair apocrypha
umm, architecture in helsinki -- places like this
and, icky thump!

(must still listen to prince and radiohead before the year is out)

I checked out Ike Reilly on Mats' recommendation, and will now make even more of a point of checking out everything Mats raves about. Great stuff.

A little late chiming in, but I agree that the Ike Reilly record is awesome. He got more attention this past year than he had before, but he still isn't getting the credit he deserves.

I'm buying it for myself this december holiday season. Just so as I can hoist one fer da mats when i play it.

One cundition tho, when i plays ike you palys ted (leo).

Tis agreed.

I've been curious about Leo for awhile. What's a good album to start with?

It's all good from "Tyranny of Distance" forward; not sure any one those 4 full lengths is a better starting place than the other - maybe "Hearts of Oak" since it's just one step back to "Tyranny" from there and a short leap forward to the other two.

"Shake the Sheets" is where the big guitars go boom.



Post Edited (12-08-07 15:42)

I ended up going to one of Austin's coolest record stores (End of an Ear - visit if you ever hit town) and finding both Hearts of Oak and Shake the Sheets in the used bin. Enjoying both quite a bit. I'm puzzled as to why, with all the press Leo's gotten the past few years, I haven't given him a shot before. This is right up my alley.

I was shocked to find out that the Los Shakers CD I bought from Borders about 7 yrs. ago is now going for $300-$600 at Amazon Marketplace.

My fave raves from this year would probably be Martin Newell's A Summer Tamalind, Mary Weiss' Dangerous Game, & Working Man's Cafe by Ray Davies (which is finally coming out here in Feb), as well as Icky Thump by the White Stripes, with my fave reissue being The Further Adventures of Flossie Fillett by Turquoise.

benjamin biolay - trash yeye
i am curious about iron and wine

One of my favorite top two's goes to Artpop # 14 2007.

The reissue of OLevel's 'A Day in the life of Gilbert and George' (previously issued by Revola in '92).
Nearly as earth shattering as the 2002 Shel Talmy's double deluxe Who Masters cir '65.

An absolute stunning and essential documentary of THE definitive UK punk band.

The recordings are passionate and true, ultimately providing an overall sensational feeling upon, even casual listeners, warmth for that old time keeper in us all, the heart.



Post Edited (12-15-07 04:04)

Mine here: [mybigmouthstrikesagain.blogspot.com]



Christopher @ [mybigmouthstrikesagain.blogspot.com]

wow 22, your shopping in the right mall then.
Here.
And if you must drink, don't drive and vice versa, little bro.
I don't know how I got this, this...
reputation.
I work a regular @ a state educational facility (institution sounds scary) , eat fruit and veggies, take the trash out twice a week, tell my wife i love her before going to sleep, play with my 20month old grandson, and play fetch with our new kitten.

However, on Fridays and Sundays, I don my WW (weekend warrior) suit, fire up the jbl's, grease up the turntable, open all the windows, stay up too late (sorry TPers- especially myfavpag!), eat junk food, and drink to near sunup.

I hate mondays.

PS thanks for the Jack, erik, now I'm ready for those godamn christmas carolers when they come walkin up my steps.
Mr. Reno when in Fl. from Tues to Sun please look me up.



Post Edited (12-18-07 19:08)

1) Bright Eyes - Cassadaga
2) Iron And Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
3) The Avett Brothers - Emotionalism
4) Feist - The Reminder
5) Meonomena - Friend and Foe
6) The National - Boxer
7) MIA - Kala
8) Hallelujah The Hills - Collective Psychosis Begone
9) Frank Black - Bluefinger
10) Dinosaur Jr - Beyond

Live show: Dinosaur Jr. @Paradise, Boston. Jaw-dropping volume (Ears rang for 4 days) but a great nostalgia trip and a convincingly rockin' show.



Post Edited (12-19-07 13:05)

i have one; if the dollar is worth in hong kong roughly 7:1 then how much is a massage with a happy ending and do i tip in US currency?

my trash is picked up 3 times week. you could eat off the mother fucker streets of weehawken

i thought you said it was a jew dropping show. woah!!

Does everyone in the US get their trash collected twice a week?

No.

But while we're asking completely random questions, can you still buy "Thirst" flavored Lifesavers in Australia?



Post Edited (12-19-07 19:20)

My 2007 mix CD. I no longer do "best of" lists because I can't profess to have heard enough to make a judgement but these are single songs, or songs from albums that I liked over the year.

The Opposite of Hallelujah Jens Lekman Night Falls Over Kortedala
Radio Nowhere Bruce Springsteen Radio Nowhere - Single
My Rights Versus Yours New Pornographers Challengers
Bachelor Kisses Radio Dept. FYN 51
Murderer Low Drums & Guns
Red Sea, Black Sea Shearwater Palo Santo (reissue)
Hock It (YACHT Remix) The Blow Poor Aim: Love Songs (reissue/remix)
Bouncing Off Clouds Tori Amos American Doll Posse
High Times Elliott Smith New Moon
BBC World David Kilgour The Far Now
No One's Gonna Love You Band of Horses Cease to Begin
Boy with a Coin Iron & Wine The Shepherd's Dog
Paper Planes M.I.A. Kala
All My Friends LCD Soundsystem Sound Of Silver
Brandy Alexander Feist The Reminder
Salt To The Sea Tim Finn Imaginary Kingdom
Don't Stop Now Crowded House Time On Earth
Australia Shins Wincing The Night Away
Gestation of the Sacred Beetle Mirah and Spectratone International Share This Place: Stories and Observations



Post Edited (12-23-07 12:16)

"I no longer do "best of" lists because I can't profess to have heard enough to make a judgement "

This is why I always phrase it "My favorite", although I did title the thread "best of".

"But while we're asking completely random questions, can you still buy "Thirst" flavored Lifesavers in Australia?"

Yes
(No more random questions, promise)

What exactly is the flavor of Thirst?

I've never been too sure, according to good old Wikipedia, it's citrus.

real late chiming in, but Ike Reilly saved 2007 for this flaming curmudgeon enough to sneak a cover of "When Irish Eyes Are Burning" into my bands set list.

Just got Iron and Wine from the kid's and the missus gave me Ted L's "Living With the Living" for Xmas, along with a jug of Jameson from the co-workers..............

Belated additions to my year end list:

LCD Soundsystem
Shout Out Louds
The National

Re-issue:
The Fire Engines - the list of post-punk greats unavailable on cd in the US is getting smaller. I think it's down to the Pop Group and Desperate Bicycles at this point, and apparently the Bicycles likely will not be going digital any time soon. Oh - and Orange Juice cds are still hard to come by in the states, but I imagine that'll be rectified someday soon.

As always, I appreciate these lists from TP'ers. They point out the ones I might have missed over the past year. And there always are plenty of them. Thanks!

Re: Delvins 80's no CD yet list...

Payola$ - No Stranger to Danger
Western Eyes- s/t
TV Smith-Last Words from the Great Explorer

etc

Favorite albums of 2007:

1. Deer Tick (War Elephant) - A great debut that earned the most spins on my iPod this year. Difficult to pin this one down as either Singer/Songwriter, Alt-Rock or Country as it blends all of those genres to great effect. A raw, fairly complex record that never smothers its stellar pop craft under the weight of any of its broader ambitions.
2. The Thrills (Teenager)
3. Lucky Soul (The Great Unwanted)
4. Kings Of Leon (Because Of The Times)
5. The Tough Alliance (New Chance)
6. The Fratellis (Costello Music)
7. Band Of Bees (Octopus)
8. Handsome Furs (Plague Park)
9. M.I.A. (Kala)
10. Bruce Springsteen (Magic)
11. Dr. Dog (We All Belong)
12. Polyphonic Spree (The Fragile Army)
13. Hallelujah The Hills (Collective Psychosis Begone)
14. The Clientele (God Save The Clientele)
15. Jens Lekman (Night Falls Over Kortedala)

Favorite songs of 2007 not contained on any of the above LPs:

1. Ladies Of Cambridge - Vampire Weekend
2. Time To Pretend and Electric Feel - MGMT
3. You're So Plain - Ike Reilly Assassination
4. Nevermind The Phone Calls - Earlimart
5. Don't Think Lover - A Place To Bury Strangers
6. Nantes - Beirut
7. Kingdom Of Doom - The Good, The Bad & The Queen
8. That Summer, At Home I Had Become The Invisible Boy - The Twilight Sad
9. Intervention - Arcade Fire
10. Be Good - Tokyo Police Club
11. No One's Gonna Love You - Band Of Horses
12. Lover - Devendra Banhart
13. Up The Cuts - Against Me!
14. Don't Tell Me To Do The Math - Los Campesinos!
15. Edison Girls - Saturday Looks Good To Me



Post Edited (01-06-08 13:47)

There was so much stuff worthy of a listen this year and much of it was good, making this a tough year to single out without regrets. There's a bunch of stuff that didn't make my Top 10 that are still worth a listen (Go Team, Of Montreal, BSC, Caribou, JSBX, Thurston, Sunset Rubdown, Figurines, etc.)...lots of good new ones from older/established bands...

---

10 Best Long Plays/Album Length
Apples - New Magnetic Wonder
Art Brut - It's a Bit Complicated
Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond
Interpol - Our Love to Admire
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - Living with the Living
Ponys - Turn the Lights Out
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Rosebuds - Night of the Furies
Shins - Wincing the Night Away
The Good the Bad and the Queen


Best Extra Play
Los Campesinos! - Sticking Fingers into Sockets
--runner up--
Tough Alliance - New Waves


10 Best Singles/Other Tracks
Against Me - New Wave
Built To Spill - They Got Away
Caribou - Melody Day
Chromatics - In the City
Fratellis - Flathead
Happy Mondays - Jellybean
Jens Lekman - Postcard to Nina
Okkervil River - Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe
Spoon - Yr Cherry Bomb
Amy Winehouse - Rehab


10 Best Thank the Gods
Bad Religion - New Maps of Hell
Buffalo Tom - 3 Easy Pieces
Carbon/Silicon - The Last Post
Church - Momento Siguiente
Mitch Easter - Dynamico
Fountains of Wayne - Traffic and Weather
Frank and Walters - A Renewed Interest in Happiness
Grinderman - s/t
Kilgour - The Far Now
Meat Puppets - Rise to Yr Knees


Best New Band
Los Campesinos!
--runner up--
Howling Bells


Most Welcome Back
Stooges


Best Slow Burn
Church - Uninvited, Like the Clouds


Slow Sighing Exhale
Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before
--runner up--
Wilco - Sky Blue Sky


"A" for Effort
Fall - Reformation, Post-TLC


Best Title
"Hissing Fauna, are You the Destroyer?"


Special Double Category: Best Trad Album/Lifestyle
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black


Best Live
Mountain Goats (a lot comes across)
--runner up--
Of Montreal (fun fun fun)


Most Fun to Hype to Friends
No Age


Most WTF?
Dylan - Ferryesque (or something like that)


Best Archive Release
Pylon - Gyrate Plus


Ubiquitous Annoyment
Feist - 1,2,3,4


Most Overrated
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Generic Synthpop


Best Late-Night-Distant-Radio Track
Dan Deacon - Wham City

edit::format errors



Post Edited (01-20-12 03:44)

PAGANIZER RETURNS!

Welcome back.



Post Edited (01-07-08 23:46)

New blogger here but can't help noticing a couple of my scandinavian favs not making the lists.

Anyone else have Sigur Ros or Jose Gonzales on their 2007 lists?

Anybody down with Manu Chao?

I like a lot of what's on the lists that are up there though....

Manu Chao is great. He could very easily have made my list, depending on the mood I was in when I made it.

1) The National - Boxer
2) LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
3) Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
4) Okkervil River - The Stage Names
5) Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga
6) Caribou - Andorra
7) Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
8) Panda Bear - Person Pitch
9) White Rabbits - Fort Nightly
10) Liars - Liars

I hope you can forgive me for being both very late and ultra-obscure. I just haven't been able to stop listening to "Bradley Christ" by Spirithorse for the last couple of months. I love that song maybe more than anything else new I've heard in the last year.

The three CD's that never left the player in 2007 for me were:
MIA -- Kala -- an amazingly smart and entertaining amalgam of everything that can be great about dance music. Regardless of her political leanings, this is the sort of music that needs to be listened to.

The Pipettes -- We Are The Pipettes -- Blasted brilliant girl group that never sacrificed melody for smarts.

Robyn Hitchcock and The Venus Three -- Ole Tarantula -- a return to form for Hitchcock, but more in that he's back to writing brilliant pop hooks than his more folksy stuff (Spooked, which I also enjoyed). Realizing that "(A Man's Gotta Know His Limitations) Briggs" IS actually about a character in the Clint Eastwood film Magnum Force makes it hilariously beautiful. There's an emotional pull to this album he hasn't had in a while.

I was really out of the loop this time, preferring to bask in older stuff than newer -- much like comfort food for these dark times. For some reason, I listened to a lot of Squeeze, which I know makes no sense.