The Paulies 2009: Paul's List and Listitude

Willkommen, bienvenue, and welcome -

Gluklich zu sehen, je suis enchante, happy to see you.

Bleibe, reste, stay!

So what was the 2007 story in music? "Umbrella"? "Rehab"? Britney? Free Radiohead? Maybe it was the lack of story - did anything really give us pause, shake us like "Sexy Back" or "Crazy" did in 2006? Was "Umbrella" really that good anyway, or is Rihanna just that sexy lovable?

Maybe it was the Dap Kings? Think about it, there they were backing not only Sharon Jones on her acclaimed record, but also Amy Winehouse, hanging out so coolly in the Rehab video. What sweetness!

Was this the year indie disappeared, at least conceptually? What I like best about my oV compilation list (click here) is that the most mainstream of places - Rolling Stone, Spin, Associated Press - are all covering the same albums as the most 'indie' of places like Filter and Pitchfork. Is music just music again? Maybe; if so, that sounds like a good thing to me. Let's hold Starbucks responsible. For the first time, Starbucks sold indie giants like Ryan Adams, right next to Paul McCartney and his mandolin. How about those never ending ITunes commercials with Sir Paul et al, can't they be given credit for breaking down this wall - Feist and Mary J. Blige on equal footing? How strange.

In the true spirit of rock n roll, Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd was as good as anything else from 2007; maybe Johnny Depp is the story of the year, taking a brilliant Sondheim musical and giving it rock vocals. Of course.

How did music 'change' this year? I'd point to two things I read in '07, one from Da Capo's Best Music Writing 2007 and one from the current issue of Rolling Stone, which treat in detail the production of contemporary records - i.e., equalling a record's troughs and peaks, raising the overall recorded volume, and clipping the high end and low end, to make a record that is heard at the same incessant loud volume. And the great majority of records, from the Arctic Monkeys to the White Stripes do this, not just dance pop records. So maybe music changed by becoming more innocuous across the board; we're seeing the full result of it only now.

My '07? The seventy seven drummers in Brooklyn (see below) was a cultural moment I won't soon forget - even if I was barred from entering. A couple of my favorite artists (Kanye and Damon Albarn) made classic records, but neither provided much of a story. Kanye might be the rapper of his generation, but phony feuds with 50 Cent and mock tantrums are boring stuff. As Niki pointed out, Of Montreal live was an easy highlight, along with the Beastie Boys first ever show in Brooklyn. The '07 New Orleans Jazz Fest was a highlight certainly, so was seeing Jarvis Cocker live, even in he wasn't surrounded by Pulpmates.

The Boredoms and 77 Drummers in Brooklyn:

With that said, here 's my list:

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10. Beastie Boys : The Mix Up & In Concert

The record was clearly their strangest to date - no vocals, all instruments, and even then, few funked out jams. But surprisingly musical, and in concert it translated well. The highlight as already mentioned was the Brooklyn show. When Ad-rock yells out "HELLO BROOKLYN" from the Paul's Boutique closing medley (and as sampled by JayZ this year on "American Gangster") he's yelling that for the first time to his homeland. And when the guitar from "No Sleep Til Brooklyn" charges the crowd, and we in turn lose our mind, it's a cultural moment of sorts.

9. "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse

For me, this is easily the track of the year. How to incorporate Amy's biography into feelings about the song is your problem. For me it just feels like a new direction in sound, one fresher than Kanye's sped up samples or Timbaland's beats or anything from indie rock (sans LCD Soundsystem). Whatever she is - alcoholic, modern day Bille Holiday, Ronette - she's a real original; let's enjoy the moment.

Amy Winehouse & Dap Kings on Letterman:

8. Lil' Wayne.

Maker of lots of bootlegs I didn't hear, but his guest spots on American Gangster and Graduation were enough for me. The New Yorker called him the best rapper alive and few people disagree at this point. Except maybe for number 6 on my list. Also supplier of my favorite New Orleans inspired rhyme of the year : "Where Brooklyn at, where Brooklyn at / Have you seen her, and when she tell you something you better believe her / she told me she like my New Orleans demeanor / and so I said goodbye Katrina / And hello Brooklyn."

7. Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip

For my thoughts on this, check out the oV here.

But more to the point, as a lifelong Anglophile and occasional critical snob, this was like a gift from on high. Scroobius is like a British LCD Soundsystem, a guy who can just get by on wit and a clear sense of exactly what is happening in the culture, and RESPONDING.

Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip:

6. Jay-Z : American Gangster

At times you can see Jay cheating a bit - stealing rhymes from past records, referencing Austin Powers in a needless, uncool way, even quoting his now rival, Kanye West. But even though the rhymes were written in haste, Jay is still king. Rolling Stone gave "Roc Boys" song of the year, and that's a fair claim. As already mentioned "Hello Brooklyn" with Lil Wayne and the B Boys sample drops a Grand Canyon bass, that shit is deep!

5. Menomena : Friend & Foe

Still the best band from Portland, OR, and with another layered, strange record to their credit. I haven't gotten around to Animal Collective's latest or Panda Bear, but Menomena filled my 2007 quota for eclecticity. Sidenote: when Menomena learn to write proper lyrics - emote, tell stories, get weird, whatever - they'll become one of the great American bands, a Spoon-like popularity awaiting them. Until then, no chance.

4. Feist : The Reminder

The best 'adult' record of the year, this is an album you can listen to thirty years from now (can I say that about Kanye or Lil Wayne?). True, this isn't a necessary quality in a pop record, or to paraphrase Nik Cohn on Sgt. Pepper, It's brilliant, musical, layered, smart instrumentation, inventive vocals, but since when did any of that matter in pop music. Still, good stuff. 1, 2, 3, 4.

3. Modest Mouse : We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

The best indie record of the year, bar none. Well, minus the records I still don't know with any depth - LCD Soundsystem, White Stripes, Of Montreal, Spoon, Arcade Fire, M.I.A., Animal Collective, !!!. But kidding aside, Modest Mouse were doing just fine in their career, and adding Johnny Marr just made them that much better. Ever wonder what Radiohead after OK Computer could have done? Try Modest Mouse after The Moon & Antartica. I.e., so very much indeed.

2. Kanye West : Graduation

I can safely say these last two will be with me over the next decade - not so sure about the others. So, Graduation. It's Y'e's most egorific records (which is saying something), but still full of the clever, precise wordplays. Highlights range from Kanye's best career jam "Everything I Am" to the Lil Wayne infused "Barry Bonds." "Stronger" with that Daft Punk sample is ultra-overrated, but everything else on here soars.

1. The Good, The Bad, & The Queen : S/T

From January 2007 this began as my favorite record of the year. Nothing came near it. As Itty pointed out, Damon Albarn has a body of work few of his peers can touch (can you name an artist who has fronted 3 totally different, but GREAT bands ever?). Here Damon sings moody songs of England in the 21st century (no accident his organ was covered in a Union Jack when they performed on Letterman). As with the Gorillaz, he pulled together an eclectic group of artists - here from The Clash, The Verve, and Fela Kuti - to a unique effect. And as a nice counterpoint to Jarvis's adult record from 2007, this takes a more nuanced view of modern liberalism in a failing political climate.

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The 2007 Rivers Cuomo Award for Failed Expectation:

Air & Radiohead

Air just made a bad record, plain and simple. This is not shocking necessarily, but disappointing all the same. We've given up on Moon Safari Part Two, but at this point we'll settle for Talkie Walkie Part Two. Radiohead made a good record, but one grossly overhyped in the press. And as mentioned in an earlier comment, one that does little to stir the soul or provoke - two things Radiohead used to trade in with ease.

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And finally, David Bowie on Extras: