Wednesday, December 17, 2008
One Day To Go
Nervous? List not ready? No sweat, we'll be blogging for a good three weeks here. See you all soon. - PGJ
Monday, December 15, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
The Paulies 2007 Recap
The 2007 Paulies Recap.
This year's Paulies has been revelatory -- 2007 actually was an incredible year for music. Just listen to "Paper Planes" by M.I.A. (find it on Chris Greenberg's entry). Music didn't sound this good in 2006, hell M.I.A. didn't sound this good on her last album.
So thank you to the contributors to the Paulies blog for sharing their thoughts, and I'm excited to keep discovering new sounds from last year. And with that said, here is the Paulies top 10. I can all but guarantee you will enjoy the records mentioned here:
This year's Paulies has been revelatory -- 2007 actually was an incredible year for music. Just listen to "Paper Planes" by M.I.A. (find it on Chris Greenberg's entry). Music didn't sound this good in 2006, hell M.I.A. didn't sound this good on her last album.
So thank you to the contributors to the Paulies blog for sharing their thoughts, and I'm excited to keep discovering new sounds from last year. And with that said, here is the Paulies top 10. I can all but guarantee you will enjoy the records mentioned here:
1. Radiohead, "In Rainbows" - 8
2. The National, "Boxer" - 6
2. Arcade Fire, "Funeral" - 6
4. Feist, "The Reminder" - 5
4. Of Montreal, "Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?" - 5
4. M.I.A., "Kala" - 5
7. Andrew Bird, "Armchair Apocrypha" - 4
8. Caribou, "Andorra" - 3
8. The Good, The Bad, & The Queen, "S/T" - 3
8. White Stripes, "Icky Thump" - 3
8. Kanye West, "Graduation" - 3
8. Menomena, "Friend & Foe" - 3
Few more who earned multiple mentions:
Levon Helm, "Dirt Farmer" - 2
JayZ "American Gangster" - 2
Panda Bear, "Person Pitch" - 2
Sunset Rubdown, "Random Spirit Lover" - 2
Kate Nash, "Foundations" - 2
LCD Soundsystem, "Sound of Silver" - 2
Beirut, "Flying Cub Cup" - 2
* * *
I was obviously completely wrong about Radiohead's latest record. I now agree - this is one of the best records of the year. Over the last month it worked its magic. And it's the collective number one, so well done. If you don't have it yet, run out and get it - put on Videotape, Nude, Bodysnatchers, whatever.
* * *
After the recent domination of the Great White North, Canada just did 'okay' this year. A real global distribution here :
England was modestly represented, no big story there this year a la The Arctic Monkeys or Franz Ferdinand; instead we got top notch records from established folks like Radiohead and Damon Albarn's The Good, The Bad, & The Queen
Canada's best talent represented, while former hopes like the Hot Hot Heat faltered; Feist, The Arcade Fire, and Caribou were each outstanding.
M.I.A. represented the rest of the globe, as her producers knew no single nationality.
And within America, a heavy Midwest representation:
Chicago - Kanye West, Andrew Bird
Detroit- White Stripes
Ohio - The National
And...
Portland, OR - Menomena
Georgia - Of Montreal
* * *
After pouring through the music magazines and All Songs Considered's recap (thanks Patrick), I want to throw out a few more records that I wish we as group had given better attention to:
Panda Bear's "Person Pitch" - also Pitchfork's #1; you all liked "Smile" from Brian Wilson last year, why not this?
Animal Collective "Strawberry Jam" - Their big label debut, and allegedly their best record to date. If Animal Collective seemed too much of the avant garde until now, this should be the starting point.
Spoon's "Ga ga ga ga ga" - Multiple Paulies entries hated on this, but F it, you're wrong, even if I forgot to put it on my own list; please revisit this album. You owe it to yourself as a music fan.
LCD Soundsystem "Sound of Silver" - I feel like most Paulies people just haven't discovered this yet - please do!
And other stuff that failed to make lists, which I find shocking:
Jarvis Cocker's debut
Holy Fuck
Sigur Ros
PJ Harvey
The Go Team
Architecture in Helsinki
Polyphonic Spree
Art Brut
Dungen
Albert Hammond Jr.
And The Shins not making a single list? Aren't they THE great indie pop band of our generation?
* * *
What divided us? Well besides Spoon, very little; this was a year of consensus. M.I.A. was really that amazing; so was Radiohead; so was Feist, The National, and Of Montreal. Just great discs each. Wilco barely got mentioned; I think we all agree it was the worst record of their career, though some defend it. The White Stripes are probably the most divisive actually; it made a few lists, but as Mark Cichra noted, some of us don't know what to think. "Icky Thump" as a song we like; but does this record 'work'? Not many people seem convinced.
* * *
And if you need a reminder of how 2007 was a categorically better year than 2006, just look at our best of list from last year:
6. The Thermals, "The Body, The Blood, The Machine"
5. Peter, Bjorn, & John, "Writer's Block"
4. Cat Power, "The Greatest"
3. Yo La Tengo, "I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass"
2. Band of Horses, "Everything All the Time"
1. TV on the Radio, "Return to Cookie Mountain"
And 2005's:
5. Bright Eyes, "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning"
3. Sufjan Stevens, "Illinois"
3. Bloc Party, "Silent Alarm"
2. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, "S/T"
1. Wolf Parade, "Apologies to the Queen Mary"
Those are 11 pleasant records; I'd take anything from '07 over all of them though.
* * *
And if you haven't checked out the oV recap, here is what the major music media of America thought were the year's best:
Radiohead's "In Rainbows"
M.I.A.'s "Kala"
Arcade Fire's "Neon Bible"
LCD Soundsystem's "Sound of Silver"
Spoon's "Ga ga ga ga ga"
Feist's "The Reminder"
M.I.A.'s "Kala"
Arcade Fire's "Neon Bible"
LCD Soundsystem's "Sound of Silver"
Spoon's "Ga ga ga ga ga"
Feist's "The Reminder"
Again, consensus.
* * *
Okay, that's it, and I'm worn out. See you in 2008.
-PGJ
Sunday, January 27, 2008
The List of Tim Ludolph
Hey, I'll keep this short since I'm so effing late (thank you, USG), but fig'd I'd weigh in anyway...
L'Elenco:
1. M.I.A. -- Kala: There were three discs I kept coming back to incessantly over the course of the year, in a host of moods and mindsets -- this, Boxer, and Armchair Apocrypha (more on them in a moment) -- but at the end of the day, things started and ended with this one. From the moment the beat drops in at 1:42 of the leader "Bamboo Banger," you're officially done, your ass set on martini mode (shaken, not stirred, dahling) until the final machine gun "da, da da da, da da da's" zing past you in the closing "Come Around." It's a whirlwind tour of the globe -- Indian Bollywood, African tribal music, British grime and techno -- and has beats so nasty they'll make you smack your grandmother. (The tribal drum armada of "Bird Flu" alone will leave the back of your head flapping in the breeze.) It's everything "world" music should be, without the cloying strangeness and aimless meanderings that usually confront us -- fun, unique, and oh-so danceable.
2. The National – Boxer: As good an example of "hauntingly beautiful" as you're likely to find, this is the album I fell in love to, and with, this year. Lead singer Matt Berninger's brooding, basement-dwelling baritone pulls you through songs that sound black as midnight at first blush – his half-hearted mumble and bleak lyrics immediately call to mind restless nights of heartache and misery -- but reveal themselves as warm and inviting the more you listen. The first four tracks are undeniable – the bright piano and horns of "Fake Empire," the thudding percussion of "Mistaken for Strangers" and "Brainy" (to say nothing of the lyrics), all building to the pitch perfect representation of the band's capabilities with "Squalor Victoria." (Bryan Devendorf's drumming on the album is worth the price of admission alone – underrated and wholly unique for a band of this style, it is phenomenal on the latter two examples.) Moping around in a fit of melancholy at 3AM hasn't had this pretty of a soundtrack in awhile.
3. Andrew Bird – Armchair Apocrypha: The final piece of this year's triad of obsession, fellow Chicagoan Bird comes through with the best disc of his career, a precious little jewel that showcases each of his myriad strengths. Sly, quirky lyrics, a masterful melding of guitar, violin, and his vaunted whistle, to say nothing of that voice -- warm as sun in the wintertime on its own, but when paired with that of Nora O'Connor, it's a marriage so perfect it will give you chills. From the irresistible violin plucking in "Imitosis," the biting sarcasm of "Heretic"'s chorus ("Thank God, it's fatal…"), the soothing call of "Dark Matter"'s whistled intro, to the pained beauty of "Armchairs," a song that sounds so much like Jeff Buckley you'll wonder if he's really dead, the disc is a treat. It builds to the masterpiece that is "Spare-ohs," a song so pretty it makes you stop and close your eyes to listen no matter how many times you hear it. Perfect for lazy Sundays in bed with the breeze quietly stirring over you from outside.
4. Band of Horses – Cease to Exist: Thirty-five minutes of pure joy (barring the sole lemon "Marry Song," an out of place song that is too Rush-y for even that band's fans) – big choruses, sweet lyrics, and a voice that will have you trying to sing along time and again as it soars for the heavens. And besides – how do you say no to a band whose lead singer has such a delicious beard and a song as pretty as they have named after former NBA-er Detlef Schrempf? I defy you to try…
5. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible: No other band today so perfectly captures the swell and grandeur of old U2 as this troupe of raging Canucks does. Songs like "Keep the Car Running" and "No Cars Go" will have you running around the room pumping your fist like a band leader, just like "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Bad" used to, while "Ocean of Noise" and "Windowsill" will break you with their quiet beauty.
6. LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver: An album that proves there are actually two Murphy's Laws – 1) anything that can go wrong, still will, but brother, 2) you WILL dance on the way down. From the inescapable piano ploinking on the lead-in to "All My Friends," the layered buildup of "Get Innocuous," to the speaker-destroying tandem of "Us V Them" and "Watch the Tapes," this is another one that will have you flipping like a jumping bean and loving every second of it.
7. Of Montreal – Oh Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?: One of my favorite finds this year, a perfect album of catchy pop quirkiness that you will return to again and again. "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse" and "Gronlandic Edit" are gems that will have you singing along like a madman (at the top of your lungs and vocal range, in the case of the latter), but nothing tops "Bunny Ain't No Kind of Rider," a kiss-off song with so many ridiculous, devastating lines ("Eva, I'm sorry, but you will never have me…I need a lover with soul power…and you ain't got no so-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ul…") you will listen to it on repeat with a grin on your face for weeks.
8. Beirut – The Flying Club Cup: Not as good as last year's debut, but still one of the most unique sounding groups (and with this album, it is more than just the 20-year-old Zach Condon playing everything) playing today. The gonzo indie marching band vibe is still firmly in place – like a weird cross between Neutral Milk Hotel and a band of Bulgarian gypsies – as is Condon's great voice. Love it or hate it, there is nothing else like this out there.
9. Wilco – Sky Blue Sky: Hometown heroes effortlessly add guitar noodler Nils Cline to the mix and deliver their best album in years. Lead singer Jeff Tweedy is reportedly off the hooch and happy pills, and the results show – he's never been sharper, and the disc is pure 70's AM radio: warm, sunny, and inviting. There's less noise and static than in recent efforts, and far less aimless rambling (no 11-minute timewasters like "Spiders" from A Ghost is Born) – this is just straight-forward songwriting, and it's virtually flawless. ("Impossible Germany" is the best thing the band has recorded in years; "Shake it Up" is the only misstep, a plodding, repetitive waste.) The new Tweedy may be happier, but he's still trying to break our hearts ("Sky Blue Sky," "Please Be Patient With Me"), and – to our delight -- succeeding.
10. Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank: Isaac Brock and the boys add Smiths guitarist – nay, legend – Johnny Marr to the mix and the results are both better ("They sound nothing like the Smiths") and worse ("They sound nothing like the Smiths!") than you expected. Brock growls and barks his way through 14 sea shanties that change pace, melody, and tone so often that by album's end you feel like you've listened to three times as many songs. It is an almost perfect album – "March into the Sea," "Dashboard," and "Fire it Up" are all fantastic, while the positively insane breakdown at the end of "Parting of the Sensory" will have you bouncing and clapping like a loon. Great stuff from a band that just keeps getting better.
Other albums worth noting that I'm either too sick of sitting at the computer to talk about, or that you all have done smashing jobs with summarizing yourselves:
Daft Punk – Alive 2007: The soundtrack to what was hands down the coolest thing I've ever seen live, a head bomb of a danceparty dropped on the Chicago lakefront this summer where I, and 60,000+ of my closest friends, completely lost our shit.
Radiohead – In Rainbows: One of the best bands out there add a new weapon to the arsenal: sexiness! Who knew Thom and the boys had it in them?
White Stripes – Icky Thump: The only other album that packs more variety, fun, and punch into an album this year is sitting way up at number 1.
The Shins – Wincing the Night Away: Mercer & Co. deliver, yet again. The marimba at the beginning of "Red Rabbits" gives me chills every time – maybe the prettiest thing they've written thus far.
Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga: Yet another solid outing from the ever-efficient boys from Austin. Tight, melodic – not a wasted note to be found. "You've Got Yr Cherry Bomb" is pure, pristine Motown and possibly the best pop song of the year. Beautiful.
NIN – Year Zero: Whether Trent's railing against The Great Decider or The Great Creator in "Capital G" (and the rest of the album, for that matter) isn't the point – what IS is that he's delivered the best sheer rock album of the year. ("The Beginning of the End," "The Good Soldier," "Meet Your Master" all destroy.) For those of us who stuck with him long after "Closer"'s wave had crested, it is yet another great reward.
Queens of the Stone Age – Era Vulgaris: Josh Homme and his rotating band of assassins have never sounded grittier, and the result is undeniable. (Topped only by the aforementioned NIN offering for best rock album, and not by much.) "Sick, Sick, Sick," "3's and 7's" and "Misfit Love" all charge forward like juggernauts, a pile of racing guitars, thudding drums, and Homme's hypersexualized crooning. Pure grit and grime here – like licking the barroom floor – but it never felt or sounded so nice.
And one to watch:
The Cool Kids – These guys (some of Chitown's finest up and comers from an already lethal hip hop scene – Kanye, Common, Lupe…have you figured out where most of the really, really good shit comes from yet? Cmon, people!) don't have a proper album yet, just a host of assorted singles and leaked tunes from their upcoming debut, but it's worth trolling the net to find them and cobbling together a playlist for yourself. The boys drop big, BIG old school hip hop beats and verses that'll take you straight back to '88, when Chucks and knee high tube socks were de rigueur. (Think Run DMC rapping about their bicycles instead of their sneakers and you've got it.) Hot, hot heat…
Okay, so that wasn't so short after all. Whatever. Like a wise man once said, I can't stop once I start…it stings…
T
L'Elenco:
1. M.I.A. -- Kala: There were three discs I kept coming back to incessantly over the course of the year, in a host of moods and mindsets -- this, Boxer, and Armchair Apocrypha (more on them in a moment) -- but at the end of the day, things started and ended with this one. From the moment the beat drops in at 1:42 of the leader "Bamboo Banger," you're officially done, your ass set on martini mode (shaken, not stirred, dahling) until the final machine gun "da, da da da, da da da's" zing past you in the closing "Come Around." It's a whirlwind tour of the globe -- Indian Bollywood, African tribal music, British grime and techno -- and has beats so nasty they'll make you smack your grandmother. (The tribal drum armada of "Bird Flu" alone will leave the back of your head flapping in the breeze.) It's everything "world" music should be, without the cloying strangeness and aimless meanderings that usually confront us -- fun, unique, and oh-so danceable.
2. The National – Boxer: As good an example of "hauntingly beautiful" as you're likely to find, this is the album I fell in love to, and with, this year. Lead singer Matt Berninger's brooding, basement-dwelling baritone pulls you through songs that sound black as midnight at first blush – his half-hearted mumble and bleak lyrics immediately call to mind restless nights of heartache and misery -- but reveal themselves as warm and inviting the more you listen. The first four tracks are undeniable – the bright piano and horns of "Fake Empire," the thudding percussion of "Mistaken for Strangers" and "Brainy" (to say nothing of the lyrics), all building to the pitch perfect representation of the band's capabilities with "Squalor Victoria." (Bryan Devendorf's drumming on the album is worth the price of admission alone – underrated and wholly unique for a band of this style, it is phenomenal on the latter two examples.) Moping around in a fit of melancholy at 3AM hasn't had this pretty of a soundtrack in awhile.
3. Andrew Bird – Armchair Apocrypha: The final piece of this year's triad of obsession, fellow Chicagoan Bird comes through with the best disc of his career, a precious little jewel that showcases each of his myriad strengths. Sly, quirky lyrics, a masterful melding of guitar, violin, and his vaunted whistle, to say nothing of that voice -- warm as sun in the wintertime on its own, but when paired with that of Nora O'Connor, it's a marriage so perfect it will give you chills. From the irresistible violin plucking in "Imitosis," the biting sarcasm of "Heretic"'s chorus ("Thank God, it's fatal…"), the soothing call of "Dark Matter"'s whistled intro, to the pained beauty of "Armchairs," a song that sounds so much like Jeff Buckley you'll wonder if he's really dead, the disc is a treat. It builds to the masterpiece that is "Spare-ohs," a song so pretty it makes you stop and close your eyes to listen no matter how many times you hear it. Perfect for lazy Sundays in bed with the breeze quietly stirring over you from outside.
4. Band of Horses – Cease to Exist: Thirty-five minutes of pure joy (barring the sole lemon "Marry Song," an out of place song that is too Rush-y for even that band's fans) – big choruses, sweet lyrics, and a voice that will have you trying to sing along time and again as it soars for the heavens. And besides – how do you say no to a band whose lead singer has such a delicious beard and a song as pretty as they have named after former NBA-er Detlef Schrempf? I defy you to try…
5. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible: No other band today so perfectly captures the swell and grandeur of old U2 as this troupe of raging Canucks does. Songs like "Keep the Car Running" and "No Cars Go" will have you running around the room pumping your fist like a band leader, just like "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Bad" used to, while "Ocean of Noise" and "Windowsill" will break you with their quiet beauty.
6. LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver: An album that proves there are actually two Murphy's Laws – 1) anything that can go wrong, still will, but brother, 2) you WILL dance on the way down. From the inescapable piano ploinking on the lead-in to "All My Friends," the layered buildup of "Get Innocuous," to the speaker-destroying tandem of "Us V Them" and "Watch the Tapes," this is another one that will have you flipping like a jumping bean and loving every second of it.
7. Of Montreal – Oh Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?: One of my favorite finds this year, a perfect album of catchy pop quirkiness that you will return to again and again. "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse" and "Gronlandic Edit" are gems that will have you singing along like a madman (at the top of your lungs and vocal range, in the case of the latter), but nothing tops "Bunny Ain't No Kind of Rider," a kiss-off song with so many ridiculous, devastating lines ("Eva, I'm sorry, but you will never have me…I need a lover with soul power…and you ain't got no so-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ul…") you will listen to it on repeat with a grin on your face for weeks.
8. Beirut – The Flying Club Cup: Not as good as last year's debut, but still one of the most unique sounding groups (and with this album, it is more than just the 20-year-old Zach Condon playing everything) playing today. The gonzo indie marching band vibe is still firmly in place – like a weird cross between Neutral Milk Hotel and a band of Bulgarian gypsies – as is Condon's great voice. Love it or hate it, there is nothing else like this out there.
9. Wilco – Sky Blue Sky: Hometown heroes effortlessly add guitar noodler Nils Cline to the mix and deliver their best album in years. Lead singer Jeff Tweedy is reportedly off the hooch and happy pills, and the results show – he's never been sharper, and the disc is pure 70's AM radio: warm, sunny, and inviting. There's less noise and static than in recent efforts, and far less aimless rambling (no 11-minute timewasters like "Spiders" from A Ghost is Born) – this is just straight-forward songwriting, and it's virtually flawless. ("Impossible Germany" is the best thing the band has recorded in years; "Shake it Up" is the only misstep, a plodding, repetitive waste.) The new Tweedy may be happier, but he's still trying to break our hearts ("Sky Blue Sky," "Please Be Patient With Me"), and – to our delight -- succeeding.
10. Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank: Isaac Brock and the boys add Smiths guitarist – nay, legend – Johnny Marr to the mix and the results are both better ("They sound nothing like the Smiths") and worse ("They sound nothing like the Smiths!") than you expected. Brock growls and barks his way through 14 sea shanties that change pace, melody, and tone so often that by album's end you feel like you've listened to three times as many songs. It is an almost perfect album – "March into the Sea," "Dashboard," and "Fire it Up" are all fantastic, while the positively insane breakdown at the end of "Parting of the Sensory" will have you bouncing and clapping like a loon. Great stuff from a band that just keeps getting better.
Other albums worth noting that I'm either too sick of sitting at the computer to talk about, or that you all have done smashing jobs with summarizing yourselves:
Daft Punk – Alive 2007: The soundtrack to what was hands down the coolest thing I've ever seen live, a head bomb of a danceparty dropped on the Chicago lakefront this summer where I, and 60,000+ of my closest friends, completely lost our shit.
Radiohead – In Rainbows: One of the best bands out there add a new weapon to the arsenal: sexiness! Who knew Thom and the boys had it in them?
White Stripes – Icky Thump: The only other album that packs more variety, fun, and punch into an album this year is sitting way up at number 1.
The Shins – Wincing the Night Away: Mercer & Co. deliver, yet again. The marimba at the beginning of "Red Rabbits" gives me chills every time – maybe the prettiest thing they've written thus far.
Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga: Yet another solid outing from the ever-efficient boys from Austin. Tight, melodic – not a wasted note to be found. "You've Got Yr Cherry Bomb" is pure, pristine Motown and possibly the best pop song of the year. Beautiful.
NIN – Year Zero: Whether Trent's railing against The Great Decider or The Great Creator in "Capital G" (and the rest of the album, for that matter) isn't the point – what IS is that he's delivered the best sheer rock album of the year. ("The Beginning of the End," "The Good Soldier," "Meet Your Master" all destroy.) For those of us who stuck with him long after "Closer"'s wave had crested, it is yet another great reward.
Queens of the Stone Age – Era Vulgaris: Josh Homme and his rotating band of assassins have never sounded grittier, and the result is undeniable. (Topped only by the aforementioned NIN offering for best rock album, and not by much.) "Sick, Sick, Sick," "3's and 7's" and "Misfit Love" all charge forward like juggernauts, a pile of racing guitars, thudding drums, and Homme's hypersexualized crooning. Pure grit and grime here – like licking the barroom floor – but it never felt or sounded so nice.
And one to watch:
The Cool Kids – These guys (some of Chitown's finest up and comers from an already lethal hip hop scene – Kanye, Common, Lupe…have you figured out where most of the really, really good shit comes from yet? Cmon, people!) don't have a proper album yet, just a host of assorted singles and leaked tunes from their upcoming debut, but it's worth trolling the net to find them and cobbling together a playlist for yourself. The boys drop big, BIG old school hip hop beats and verses that'll take you straight back to '88, when Chucks and knee high tube socks were de rigueur. (Think Run DMC rapping about their bicycles instead of their sneakers and you've got it.) Hot, hot heat…
Okay, so that wasn't so short after all. Whatever. Like a wise man once said, I can't stop once I start…it stings…
T
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Better late than never?
Or, better never than ever?
Anyone home? Is the party still going? I’m Chris. And if it’s not too late then I am fashionably late. I am ill-prepared and under dressed. I’m talking too fast, cursing too much and looking at that family portrait where you and everyone else is wearing turtle necks and sweaters a little too lasciviously. But, I stopped on the way to pick up a bottle of wine. It's Yellow Tail. Chiraz. The thought counts. Right?
Those of you know me, well, you already know what you think of me. You're not surprised that I'm late. Those of you of who don’t? Well, I'm not exactly sure what to tell you. But, you'd probably think I'm the bee's knees. If you knew me. Right? Perhaps we'll get a drink sometime together and sit on adjacent bar stools making sure that our legs don't accidentally touch while watching a Knicks game and you'll have a chance to decide for yourself. Perhaps not. Either way, 2007 happened. Right?
2007 was a year that never stood out while it was happening, when it came to music. I'd been thinking that it was going to be a struggle to come up with ten albums/songs/whatever to put on this list. I'd been thinking that I didn't even want to try. But, to be honest, it was actually easier than last year. Which I thought of a higher quality on the whole. Last year I had to reach a bit. Last year I had to study up. This year I just had to listen up. Some of these albums on this list are some of the best, most mature and fully formed works of music that I've heard in a long time even if I didn’t know it at the time.
This is largely because the world was who we thought it was in 2007, and sometimes predictability isn’t very sexy. With the exception of M.I.A. I didn’t really hear anything for the very first time this year and think that they had changed anything about anything. The new indies were just newer indies. Panda Bear is focused Animal Collective. Maybe someday soon those bands will do something that tightens my boxer briefs. But not in 2007. This was the year where the music I liked the most was the music written and performed by the artists that I already liked the most.
10. (tie) Good Bad Not Evil, by The Black Lips After all that talk I throw out some young go-getters? Yup. I saw these guys at Maxwell's in Hoboken a way's back in ought-seven and they were raw and not in control but the songs were manic and tuneful beneath the funny wigs they were wearing and the beer gauzing my ears. This album shows the same potential. Suggested Listening: O Katrina! and...
Veni Vidi Vici:
10. (tie) The Good, The Bad & The Queen, by The Good, The Bad & The Queen. Mr. Albarn is a professional musician. He's also an ethnomusicologist. He's those things and more. Is he just using his knowledge of music to take my money? Or are these all heartfelt, organic enterprises that couldn't help but be? I don't know. And I don't care, much. Although I miss Dan the Automator, who is one of my faves, it would be impossible to leave this off any top ten list.
Suggested Listening: History Song and Nature Springs and Kingdom of Doom
9. The Flight of the Concords, Season One. We (me and roommate) wore through the tape of their HBO stand-up special like we were eleven years old and this was the first porn tape that we’ve ever come across. The fully-fleshed out episodes were even better. [Ed. note: I just pulled the "I knew them before you" card out of the deck and played it immediately.]
8. In Rainbows, by Radiohead
Agreed.
7. Magic, by Bruce Springsteen.
In the year when he was being credited as a major influence on the sound on some major indie (that’s not really even an oxymoron anymore) bands, he comes out with a vibrant and urgent record and still gets no respect from too many kids who think that all this guy has ever done is Glory Days, Dancing in the Dark and Born in the USA. This is a great album and it sounds like the full-band from The River sessions recorded the songs from Nebraska. Think about it. If you don’t know what I mean then you shouldn’t act like you have an opinion about Springsteen.
Devil's Arcade
Girls In Their Summer Clothes:
6. Icky Thump, by The White Stripes. Remember when this was a kitschy, gimmicky duo notable for dressing funny and telling lies about their relationship and The Strokes were the real band, the band that was saving rock-n-roll. Remember? That almost seems quaint. The White Stripes got so reliably good so quickly that they can now be overlooked or taken for granted. This is a great, great record.
Effect and Cause:
5. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Season 2. If you don’t know what this is or have seen it while channel-surfing and just don’t really understand why Danny DeVito is on television or why they can curse on TNT please watch these clips from the double-episode “The Gang Gets Whacked” and have your questions answered.
4. 8 Diagrams, by The Wu-Tang Clan This album is brilliant. RZA is a genius. Or, actually GZA is the Genius and RZA is an auteur of the highest caliber. For me, this is the hip-hop equivalent of In Rainbows. It manages to epitomize the group’s sound while being entirely fresh and vital. There are obscure bits of movie dialogue, emotive soul samples, live instrumentation and the truest set left in the rap game. From soul-singing under a Beatles sample of Heart Gently Weeps to the Bates motel cum meth lab stab and stammering of Unpredictable this album is as diverse and prodigous as its conntributors. And, like a lot of the things on this list it was never touched save by those who were already in the fold.
Life Changes (the surprisingly heartfelt tribute to ODB that ends the album)
3. I'm Not There OST. I can hear the groans already. Ooohhhh a soundtrack! Aaaargh cover songs! Hiss! Eeeck, Bob Dylan….but this double-disk soundtrack, chock full of some of your indie darlings, is the most captivating thing I heard all year. At least parts of it are. Yes, there are some unimaginative songs here, songs where the performers were too overwhelmed by the material to own it (Eddy Vedder and Cat Power, I’m looking at you), but there are more moments of inspiration. Willie Nelson is great, Calexico is the backing band on a large chunk of the album. Yo La Tengo, the Hold Steady, Sufjan, Sonic Youth, and the ever-brooding Mark Lanegan make these songs new again. And, of course, the never officially released title track recorded way back when by Dylan and the Band is worth the price of admission all by it’s lonesome.
You Ain't Goin' Nowhere, covered by Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova
I'm Not There, covered by Sonic Youth
Goin' To Acapulco, covered by Calexico
2. Kala, by M.I.A. How do all clubs not play this music non-stop? How do all college kids not have drunk sex to this music? As previously mentioned, this young lady was the only (relatively) newbie to put out an album that just blew me away entirely. It's funny, it's sexy, it's smart, it's thoughtless. It's challenging and good for blacking out. It's everything I could ever want it to be and more.
Paper Planes:
Hit That
1. Dirt Farmer, Levon Helm. The singer/drummer from The Band just recovered from throat cancer and recorded this beautiful, honest album. Levon still lives up in the sticks near Woodstock, NY (and Big Pink). He plays these shows at his house. It's called "the Midnight Ramble" and he has different performers guesting from night to night. Tickets are pricey at $150 apiece but you go to his house to hear him and his friends play together. This sounds like music meant to pe played at one's home, for friends and family and during feasting and imbibing. And, even though Dirt Farmer can feel like it may have come out of a time capsule it is the one thing from this year that I would most assuredly put in one if I was in gradeschool and our teacher assigned such a thing.
CBS meets Levon:
Proven commodities who showed up stale: I’m looking at you Jay-Z. Seriously, American Gangster sounds like Paul or some other Jigga fan writing lyrics that they think he would write and accidentally plagiarizing old songs along the way. And trust me, I know what it means to be a fake Jay-Z.
Bands I also really liked but felt disingenuous including since I didn't really listen enough
Of Montreal
Dr. Dog
Things that I didn't think were necessarily worth the fuss
Arcade Fire
Spoon
Band of Horses
The National (gasp! No, you didn’t!)
Attempt at co-opting 9/11 that bothered me most in 2007
1. Kanye and 50
1a. Guiliani
My favorite Paul Awards moments in 2007:
Jake’s Dirt Farmer entry
The proliferation of FOC and MIA
References to Maxwell’s in Hoboken, NJ
This one.
Bye.
Anyone home? Is the party still going? I’m Chris. And if it’s not too late then I am fashionably late. I am ill-prepared and under dressed. I’m talking too fast, cursing too much and looking at that family portrait where you and everyone else is wearing turtle necks and sweaters a little too lasciviously. But, I stopped on the way to pick up a bottle of wine. It's Yellow Tail. Chiraz. The thought counts. Right?
Those of you know me, well, you already know what you think of me. You're not surprised that I'm late. Those of you of who don’t? Well, I'm not exactly sure what to tell you. But, you'd probably think I'm the bee's knees. If you knew me. Right? Perhaps we'll get a drink sometime together and sit on adjacent bar stools making sure that our legs don't accidentally touch while watching a Knicks game and you'll have a chance to decide for yourself. Perhaps not. Either way, 2007 happened. Right?
2007 was a year that never stood out while it was happening, when it came to music. I'd been thinking that it was going to be a struggle to come up with ten albums/songs/whatever to put on this list. I'd been thinking that I didn't even want to try. But, to be honest, it was actually easier than last year. Which I thought of a higher quality on the whole. Last year I had to reach a bit. Last year I had to study up. This year I just had to listen up. Some of these albums on this list are some of the best, most mature and fully formed works of music that I've heard in a long time even if I didn’t know it at the time.
This is largely because the world was who we thought it was in 2007, and sometimes predictability isn’t very sexy. With the exception of M.I.A. I didn’t really hear anything for the very first time this year and think that they had changed anything about anything. The new indies were just newer indies. Panda Bear is focused Animal Collective. Maybe someday soon those bands will do something that tightens my boxer briefs. But not in 2007. This was the year where the music I liked the most was the music written and performed by the artists that I already liked the most.
10. (tie) Good Bad Not Evil, by The Black Lips After all that talk I throw out some young go-getters? Yup. I saw these guys at Maxwell's in Hoboken a way's back in ought-seven and they were raw and not in control but the songs were manic and tuneful beneath the funny wigs they were wearing and the beer gauzing my ears. This album shows the same potential. Suggested Listening: O Katrina! and...
Veni Vidi Vici:
10. (tie) The Good, The Bad & The Queen, by The Good, The Bad & The Queen. Mr. Albarn is a professional musician. He's also an ethnomusicologist. He's those things and more. Is he just using his knowledge of music to take my money? Or are these all heartfelt, organic enterprises that couldn't help but be? I don't know. And I don't care, much. Although I miss Dan the Automator, who is one of my faves, it would be impossible to leave this off any top ten list.
Suggested Listening: History Song and Nature Springs and Kingdom of Doom
9. The Flight of the Concords, Season One. We (me and roommate) wore through the tape of their HBO stand-up special like we were eleven years old and this was the first porn tape that we’ve ever come across. The fully-fleshed out episodes were even better. [Ed. note: I just pulled the "I knew them before you" card out of the deck and played it immediately.]
8. In Rainbows, by Radiohead
Agreed.
7. Magic, by Bruce Springsteen.
In the year when he was being credited as a major influence on the sound on some major indie (that’s not really even an oxymoron anymore) bands, he comes out with a vibrant and urgent record and still gets no respect from too many kids who think that all this guy has ever done is Glory Days, Dancing in the Dark and Born in the USA. This is a great album and it sounds like the full-band from The River sessions recorded the songs from Nebraska. Think about it. If you don’t know what I mean then you shouldn’t act like you have an opinion about Springsteen.
Devil's Arcade
Girls In Their Summer Clothes:
6. Icky Thump, by The White Stripes. Remember when this was a kitschy, gimmicky duo notable for dressing funny and telling lies about their relationship and The Strokes were the real band, the band that was saving rock-n-roll. Remember? That almost seems quaint. The White Stripes got so reliably good so quickly that they can now be overlooked or taken for granted. This is a great, great record.
Effect and Cause:
5. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Season 2. If you don’t know what this is or have seen it while channel-surfing and just don’t really understand why Danny DeVito is on television or why they can curse on TNT please watch these clips from the double-episode “The Gang Gets Whacked” and have your questions answered.
4. 8 Diagrams, by The Wu-Tang Clan This album is brilliant. RZA is a genius. Or, actually GZA is the Genius and RZA is an auteur of the highest caliber. For me, this is the hip-hop equivalent of In Rainbows. It manages to epitomize the group’s sound while being entirely fresh and vital. There are obscure bits of movie dialogue, emotive soul samples, live instrumentation and the truest set left in the rap game. From soul-singing under a Beatles sample of Heart Gently Weeps to the Bates motel cum meth lab stab and stammering of Unpredictable this album is as diverse and prodigous as its conntributors. And, like a lot of the things on this list it was never touched save by those who were already in the fold.
Life Changes (the surprisingly heartfelt tribute to ODB that ends the album)
3. I'm Not There OST. I can hear the groans already. Ooohhhh a soundtrack! Aaaargh cover songs! Hiss! Eeeck, Bob Dylan….but this double-disk soundtrack, chock full of some of your indie darlings, is the most captivating thing I heard all year. At least parts of it are. Yes, there are some unimaginative songs here, songs where the performers were too overwhelmed by the material to own it (Eddy Vedder and Cat Power, I’m looking at you), but there are more moments of inspiration. Willie Nelson is great, Calexico is the backing band on a large chunk of the album. Yo La Tengo, the Hold Steady, Sufjan, Sonic Youth, and the ever-brooding Mark Lanegan make these songs new again. And, of course, the never officially released title track recorded way back when by Dylan and the Band is worth the price of admission all by it’s lonesome.
You Ain't Goin' Nowhere, covered by Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova
I'm Not There, covered by Sonic Youth
Goin' To Acapulco, covered by Calexico
2. Kala, by M.I.A. How do all clubs not play this music non-stop? How do all college kids not have drunk sex to this music? As previously mentioned, this young lady was the only (relatively) newbie to put out an album that just blew me away entirely. It's funny, it's sexy, it's smart, it's thoughtless. It's challenging and good for blacking out. It's everything I could ever want it to be and more.
Paper Planes:
Hit That
1. Dirt Farmer, Levon Helm. The singer/drummer from The Band just recovered from throat cancer and recorded this beautiful, honest album. Levon still lives up in the sticks near Woodstock, NY (and Big Pink). He plays these shows at his house. It's called "the Midnight Ramble" and he has different performers guesting from night to night. Tickets are pricey at $150 apiece but you go to his house to hear him and his friends play together. This sounds like music meant to pe played at one's home, for friends and family and during feasting and imbibing. And, even though Dirt Farmer can feel like it may have come out of a time capsule it is the one thing from this year that I would most assuredly put in one if I was in gradeschool and our teacher assigned such a thing.
CBS meets Levon:
Proven commodities who showed up stale: I’m looking at you Jay-Z. Seriously, American Gangster sounds like Paul or some other Jigga fan writing lyrics that they think he would write and accidentally plagiarizing old songs along the way. And trust me, I know what it means to be a fake Jay-Z.
Bands I also really liked but felt disingenuous including since I didn't really listen enough
Of Montreal
Dr. Dog
Things that I didn't think were necessarily worth the fuss
Arcade Fire
Spoon
Band of Horses
The National (gasp! No, you didn’t!)
Attempt at co-opting 9/11 that bothered me most in 2007
1. Kanye and 50
1a. Guiliani
My favorite Paul Awards moments in 2007:
Jake’s Dirt Farmer entry
The proliferation of FOC and MIA
References to Maxwell’s in Hoboken, NJ
This one.
Bye.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Chiming In At The Last Minute: Kate's List
Hello! I used to work with Paul at the Harvard Coop. I also beat Paul in 2006’s Oscar Pool by picking the Three 6 Mafia’s “It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp” to win Best Song. Speaking of the Oscars, I'm concerned about how the strike will affect the annual screaming, yelling, artichoke dip, violence, and cookies that have been the hallmarks of my Oscar night.
MUSIC
Favorite Albums: (in no particular order)
1. Robert Plant & Allison Krause –Raising Sand (My first of two Led-related mentions, fitting since their first concert since 1980 took place in 2007!)
2. Feist – The Reminder
3. Radiohead – In Rainbows
4. The National – Boxer
5. Interpol – Our Love to Admire
6. The New Pornographers – Challengers
7. Jay Z – American Gangster (This would be the first Jay Z album to ever enter my home. It made me want to move to Harlem and start pushing H.)
Paul asks: “Will No One Defend..”
Interpol – “Our Love to Admire”?
I have an odd, sentimental attachment to “The Heinrich Manuever,” which initially had me very jazzed about this album’s release. However, I’ve found that if you listen to it while contemplating ‘Antics’ or ‘Turn On The Bright Lights,’ you’ll feel a little let down. The trick to enjoying this album (and it is enjoyable) is to pretend that it’s not Interpol, to forget the irritation that comes with oft-discussed bands on pedestals. ‘Cause you know, they’re actually good.
New Pornographers – Challengers?
You people are whack for not liking this album. I love the refrain of “Who cares you always wind up in the ci-ty!” in “Myriad Harbor.”
Bright Eyes – Cassadaga?
No. I won’t defend this; Bright Eyes always has the prettiest album art, and the titles sure are cute, too..
but that’s the only positive stuff I have to say; I’ve never seemed to “get” the appeal of his voice; but I do get the appeal of his songs. It’s almost like when I lived in Allston and saw that chick Ari, that Ani DiFranco-look-a-like, sing a Bob Dylan song at Herrell’s and I felt guilty because her version was slightly more pleasing to the ear. Not that I’m saying an Allston hippie is better than Bob Dylan, of course..
Feist – The Reminder?
My favorite album of 2007! OK, so “1,2,3,4” was a bit overplayed because of Starbucks/iTunes but c’mon, listen to “Sea Lion Woman” – that song should suck with that title, but it’s great.
Tegan & Sarah – The Con?
Definitely not going to defend this, either. And geez, on Grey’s fucking Anatomy not a horrible episode goes by that doesn’t seem to be accompanied by either Tegan & Sarah or that guy who sang the “How to save a life” song. For female vocals to accompany a girly internal monologue I’d rather listen to Azure Ray or Bats for Lashes.
TELEVISION
Was anything good in 2007? 30 Rock- Alec Baldwin and..
.. Hilarious.
Some beefs I have with TV:
- The last season of Scrubs? Disappointing. Watch the DVDs of the first 2 hilarious and innovative seasons and you’ll want to strangle Bill Lawrence for becoming so lazy.
- I thought Pushing Daisies had potential but all the cleav’ shots and bobbling boobs are distracting. Like, more than regular television distracting. What is that all about?
- The Office? Not really doing it for me, especially with those one-hour episodes. Why make 100 episodes where 20 are good instead of just making 15 amazing ones? Shame on you, NBC; obviously the Brits know better on this one.
BOOKS
I didn’t read a single book that came out before 1970 in 2007. Did I miss anything good? Oh wait, I read “You Don’t Love Me Yet” by Jonathan Lethem. As far as fiction goes, it was yuck; he should stick to essays that revolve around his self-aggrandizing, addictive personality.
I was lucky enough to meet Grace Paley this past summer shortly before she died. She’s amazing and I read many of her short stories and poems in 2007.
MOVIES
I agree with Gilberto that it’s impossible to put together a comprehensive list for 2007 till around Oscar-time and that it’s definitely worth noting that I haven’t yet seen several movies that look promising: I’m Not There, Margot at the Wedding, The Diving Bell & The Butterfly, Sweeney Todd, etc..
Here is my list so far, in ascending order of awesome-ness:
(5.) Juno
Holy crap was I surprised at how much I liked this movie. I used to be anti-Jennifer Garner but I thought her performance was exceptional; it’s hard to pull off a truly empathetic and likeable yuppie/square.
(4.) The Savages
Sure, it’s not as great (and definitely not as comical) as the near-perfect-if-not-perfect Slums of Beverly Hills, but it was definitely one of the best movies of 2007. How awesome is Tamara Jenkins at Keeping It Real? Very awesome!
(3.) Zodiac
People I know think I’m a freak for having seen this movie 4 times since it came out on DVD. (I guess I’m a Fincher-holic. I definitely went through a phase where I watched Fight Club over and over again when I was 18, thinking both the movie and book spoke to me.) I sort of understand the complaints about the length, but the soundtrack, the cinematography, and the cast kept me going for all 160 minutes.
(2.) There Will Be Blood
I saw this in the theater last Saturday and thought about it the whole walk home. Then on Sunday I stared at a wall while eating breakfast and thought about it till Monday. In one of the scenes where Paul Dano is preaching, several audience members were audibly affected: gasps, “Oh my gods,” etc. Who would have thought the guy from Little Miss Sunshine would be able to hold his own so well against Daniel Day Lewis?
(1.) No Country For Old Men
I almost peed on myself during this movie, a sensation not before experienced in a theater, at least as far as I can remember. And speaking of urine, I was surprisingly not pissed with something at the end that several people I know are pissed about. (The vagueness is in case any of you haven’t seen it.) One of Tommy Lee Jones’s “soliloquies” had me in tears, my only tears-in-the-theater experience in 2007.
MISC
Honorable mentions:
- Marion Cotillard in La Vie En Rose. Sure, the movie followed the typical “bio-pic” format, but – much like the Judy Davis bio-pic on Judy Garland - it did so really, really well.
- Sidney Lumet making excellent use of Ethan Hawke’s aura of douchebaggery in Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead. That’s really turning a Kit Kat into a chocolate soufflé.
The debate over No Country vs. There Will Be Blood:
Which is better?
Why? During the first 10 minutes of There Will Be Blood, I thought about Daniel Day Lewis, I thought about Johnny Greenwood, I thought about how exciting it was to see the new PT Anderson movie, and I thought about the sandwich I brought with me to eat. Then the movie sucked me in once the dialogue kicked up. With No Country, I was sucked in immediately and remained so till I left the theater. I never thought for a second about the Cohen brothers or Tommy Lee Jones or whether or not I remembered to pay my cell phone bill; my mind was completely immersed in the world of the movie.
Things That Should Have Blown My Mind But Didn’t:
- Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
- Rilo Kiley – Under the Blacklight
- Bjork – Volta
Things That Did Blow My Mind:
- Conan O’Brien’s beard (2008, but started growing in 2007..)
- Across the Universe being a good movie
- Eddie Vedder making good music for both Into the Wild and I’m Not There
Things That Blew My Mind In 2007 That Were Not Released In 2007:
- Mr. Airplane Man – C’mon DJ- The Wire - Season 1
- Led Zeppelin – The BBC Sessions
Things To Look Forward To In 2008:
- ‘Election keggers’ which Tom Brokaw described and endorsed on Conan last night.
-Sex & The City – The Movie. Based on the still photographs of Kim Catrall and Sarah Jessica Parker looking their actual age yet still dressed as teenagers, I think this movie could be a huge disaster. Yet it’ll still be a guilty pleasure for females everywhere, not just the gals who wear flip flops with martini glasses on them and think ‘The Secret’ was a good read.
- Magnetic Fields - Distortion. You know 2008 is the best year to get dumped by your lover if the Magnetic Fields have a new album. “I Don’t Want To Get Over You” – at just 2 minutes and 22 seconds – is perhaps the funniest and most human break-up song I’ve ever heard and I can only anticipate Distortion to be filled with similarly cathartic and amusing tunes.
Thanks Paul, as well as everyone else involved! As always, it's been a blast!
-Kate Miles
Thursday, January 10, 2008
The Year of Magical Listing
Yes, yes, y'all (Yes, y'all!). Jake here. I worked with Paul for a spell. I'm also a Brooklynite, by way of Boston and Charlottesville. I'm excited to be a part of this plan! Great idea, and some really great lists. It's an honor to be among you all. Here's some of what I was into last year...
MUSIC
ALBUMS:
10. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Better than Funeral? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Ask me again in a couple of years.
9. Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
My sister dragged me to their concert at Summerstage this summer. I was vaguely familiar with them beforehand, though I think I had a pretty substandard view of them. In short, they kicked my ass. They are cocky, to be sure, but in a sort of "wink-wink, we know we're full of shit, but we're going to have fun anyway" vibe. Just 'avin' a laugh, eh? They are almost the anti-Oasis. All the swagger and none of the assiduous brooding. Good, driving Brit-Pop. Plus I'm a sucker for a discernible British accent, and the drummer is a force to behold.
8. Feist - The Reminder
I love you more. Especially loved you on Letterman with a large chunk of the indie scene backing you in sparkly forearm bands. Mates of State, The National, Grizzly Bear, Broken Social Scene, The New Pornographers = a pretty good chorus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmEHauRTzJI
7. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
I don't know what I can say that other folks haven't already, except to note that this album was a creeper for me. I'm still getting a little bit more enjoyment out of it each time I listen to it.
6. Levon Helm - Dirt Farmer
As any fan of The Band would no doubt agree, Levon Helm was their heart and soul. His deep Arkansas twang and steady drumming gave them so much of their sound. He had surgery for throat cancer in 1998 and couldn't speak for something like a year. To hear this album, you'd never know it. This is sweet American Roots music, perfect for a long Sunday drive in the country - ideally a fall trip to go apple picking. Keep that in mind...
5. Brother Ali - The Undisputed Truth
It's good to know that even in this Soulja Boy-obsessed ("Macarena" anyone?) climate there's still someone out there dropping tight, socially conscious rhymes. On this his second album, Minneapolis's albino MC delivers a scathing, introspective rumination on life in Dubya's America. "Uncle Sam Goddamn" takes me right back to the days of P.E. and KRS-One.
4. Thurston Moore - Trees Outside The Academy
Unlike many of my college friends, Sonic Youth was always a band I admired more than loved. Their music was too dissonant to really draw me in, unlike say Pavement. Maybe it just took them growing really old (they've got to be in their 70s by now) for our tastes to converge. I liked Rather Ripped quite a bit, and I love this album. It manages to be both contemplative and driving.
3. Ola Podrida - Ola Podrida
I can't get enough of this album. It's such an easy go-to. I've admired David Wingo's music on David Gordon Green's films, but this is so much more fulfilling. This is the one for Sunday afternoons spent on the couch with a good book. Looking forward to the Ola Podrida concert at Union Hall in a couple of weeks...
2. Radiohead - In Rainbows
Right now it's my fourth favorite Radiohead album. Given time, well, it's unlikely that it will leapfrog The Bends, OK Computer, and Kid A, but who knows what the future has in store for us (me and Radiohead). It's a welcome return to real emotion for Thom and the boys, as they reassert their humanity for the first time since OKC. The "Nude"/"Weird Fishes/Arpeggi"/"All I Need" trifecta represents, along with "Reckoner," exactly what I've missed about this band for the last seven years - and reminds me why they used to be my favorite band.
1. The National - Boxer
This one's easy for me. No other album got nearly the amount of play on my ipod this year. For me, 2007 was the year of The National. I found both Alligator and Boxer this year, and I continue to play them constantly. You want to talk about a constant go-to album? This has been mine since last spring. That should be good enough for top billing.
Honorable Mentions:
Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
Bishop Allen - The Broken String
Feist - The Reminder
Kanye West - Graduation
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
Lucinda Williams - West
Okkervil River - The Stage Names
Panda Bear - Person Pitch
Sea Wolf - Leaves in the River
Tegan and Sara - The Con
A SMATTERING OF SONGS:
"23" - Blonde Redhead
"Almost Ready" - Dinosaur Jr. Good as they ever were.
"As You Wish" - Aqueduct The Princess Bride. Nuff said.
"Australia" - The Shins
"Back In Your Head" - Tegan and Sara
"Bros (edit)" - Panda Bear
"Champion" - Kanye West Steely Dan samples? Yup, love 'em.
"Collarbone" - Fujiya and Miyagi
"D.A.N.C.E." - Justice
"Detlef Schrempf" - Band of Horses Seriously, how could I not love a song named for the original German baller?
"I Feel It All"/"1,2,3,4" - Feist Good, poppy fun.
"Impossible Germany" - Wilco It's definitely light rock, but this song gets it right. Nice seventies vibe, and Nils Cline just kills his solo.
"Myriad Harbour" - The New Pornagraphers I've never been real fan of theirs (though I love me some Neko Case), but I like this song a lot.
"North American Scum" - LCD Soundsystem Wait, are you talking about me?
"Oxford Comma" - Vampire Weekend Brooklyn's own. Looking forward to their full LP at the end of the month.
"Paper Planes" - M.I.A. She's generally too scattered and blippy for my taste, but this song is the shit. My wife hates the gun sounds and cringes every time I play it, which is often.
"The Shape is in a Trance" - Thurston Moore
"Umbrella" - Rihanna
"West Coast" - Coconut Records Schwartzman, oh how you slay me.
FILM
I didn't see nearly as many films as I wanted to this year, though of those that I saw, I particularly enjoyed Before The Devil Knows You're Dead, No Country For Old Men, Paris, Je T'aime, and Zodiac. Juno? Why didn't she get an abortion again? Oh right, it was the fingernails thing. Riiiiight...
TELEVISION
1. The Wire, Season 4 on DVD
Is this cheating? I don't care, because it is the best show that's ever been produced, and I just got this for Christmas. If you're not watching this already, Netflix it now. Right now.
2. Friday Night Lights
This show is just plain good. A little something for everyone, and Texas drawls to boot.
3. Flight of the Conchords
"I don't know if Stu is keen to, but if you want we could double-team you."
4. The Office
5. 30 Rock
6. The Unit
David Mamet+Army Special Forces=me glued to the television. Plus it turns Scott Foley (yes, the Scott Foley of Felicity fame) into a badass.
7. The Red Sox World Series Victory
How sweet it is.
8. Kitchen Nightmares
I'm pretty sure I wouldn't enjoy this nearly as much if Gordon Ramsey was American. Watching him dress down sad-sack Long Island restaurateurs with his Britishisms makes for riveting telly time.
9. The Sopranos final scene
I for one loved it. The Journey was perfect. The tension (Meadow unsuccessfully parallel parking) was perfect. When the screen went black, I literally cackled and shot out of my chair.
10. Kanye West's "Can't Tell Me Nothin'" video featuring Zach Galafianakis and Will Oldham
Even after what seems like 100 viewings, this still makes me laugh but good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x0TumWdlhk
BOOKS
Fiction:
A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian - Marina Lewycka
Tomcat in Love - Tim O'Brien
By Night In Chile - Roberto Bolano
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Spy Who Came In From The Cold - John Lecarre
various mysteries by Andrea Camilleri
Nonfiction:
Heat - Bill Buford
The Argument - Matt Bai
Love is a Mix Tape - Rob Sheffield
PODCASTS
Slate's Political Gabfest
Nadia and I are slobberingly, bloodshot eyes hooked on this. Smart, funny, and informative. We listen to it every week.
The B.S. Report
I love Bill Simmons. and I'm not afraid to admit it.
Uhh Yeah, Dude
I was recently turned on to this weekly, hour-long bullshitfest featuring John Larroquette's son and a friend of his riffing on whatever suits them. I find it is perfect to do the dishes to. It's decidedly middlebrow, but the funnier for it.
Lastly, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my largest time suck, Hattrick. It's a free online manager-based soccer game, and it's as dorky and much more addictive than it sounds. If you like soccer at all, I suggest you check it out. A million dorks worldwide can't be wrong, can they? Be sure to look for AC Tatonka... www.hattrick.org
Thanks to Paul, and to y'all. Peace.
MUSIC
ALBUMS:
10. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Better than Funeral? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Ask me again in a couple of years.
9. Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
My sister dragged me to their concert at Summerstage this summer. I was vaguely familiar with them beforehand, though I think I had a pretty substandard view of them. In short, they kicked my ass. They are cocky, to be sure, but in a sort of "wink-wink, we know we're full of shit, but we're going to have fun anyway" vibe. Just 'avin' a laugh, eh? They are almost the anti-Oasis. All the swagger and none of the assiduous brooding. Good, driving Brit-Pop. Plus I'm a sucker for a discernible British accent, and the drummer is a force to behold.
8. Feist - The Reminder
I love you more. Especially loved you on Letterman with a large chunk of the indie scene backing you in sparkly forearm bands. Mates of State, The National, Grizzly Bear, Broken Social Scene, The New Pornographers = a pretty good chorus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmEHauRTzJI
7. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
I don't know what I can say that other folks haven't already, except to note that this album was a creeper for me. I'm still getting a little bit more enjoyment out of it each time I listen to it.
6. Levon Helm - Dirt Farmer
As any fan of The Band would no doubt agree, Levon Helm was their heart and soul. His deep Arkansas twang and steady drumming gave them so much of their sound. He had surgery for throat cancer in 1998 and couldn't speak for something like a year. To hear this album, you'd never know it. This is sweet American Roots music, perfect for a long Sunday drive in the country - ideally a fall trip to go apple picking. Keep that in mind...
5. Brother Ali - The Undisputed Truth
It's good to know that even in this Soulja Boy-obsessed ("Macarena" anyone?) climate there's still someone out there dropping tight, socially conscious rhymes. On this his second album, Minneapolis's albino MC delivers a scathing, introspective rumination on life in Dubya's America. "Uncle Sam Goddamn" takes me right back to the days of P.E. and KRS-One.
4. Thurston Moore - Trees Outside The Academy
Unlike many of my college friends, Sonic Youth was always a band I admired more than loved. Their music was too dissonant to really draw me in, unlike say Pavement. Maybe it just took them growing really old (they've got to be in their 70s by now) for our tastes to converge. I liked Rather Ripped quite a bit, and I love this album. It manages to be both contemplative and driving.
3. Ola Podrida - Ola Podrida
I can't get enough of this album. It's such an easy go-to. I've admired David Wingo's music on David Gordon Green's films, but this is so much more fulfilling. This is the one for Sunday afternoons spent on the couch with a good book. Looking forward to the Ola Podrida concert at Union Hall in a couple of weeks...
2. Radiohead - In Rainbows
Right now it's my fourth favorite Radiohead album. Given time, well, it's unlikely that it will leapfrog The Bends, OK Computer, and Kid A, but who knows what the future has in store for us (me and Radiohead). It's a welcome return to real emotion for Thom and the boys, as they reassert their humanity for the first time since OKC. The "Nude"/"Weird Fishes/Arpeggi"/"All I Need" trifecta represents, along with "Reckoner," exactly what I've missed about this band for the last seven years - and reminds me why they used to be my favorite band.
1. The National - Boxer
This one's easy for me. No other album got nearly the amount of play on my ipod this year. For me, 2007 was the year of The National. I found both Alligator and Boxer this year, and I continue to play them constantly. You want to talk about a constant go-to album? This has been mine since last spring. That should be good enough for top billing.
Honorable Mentions:
Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
Bishop Allen - The Broken String
Feist - The Reminder
Kanye West - Graduation
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
Lucinda Williams - West
Okkervil River - The Stage Names
Panda Bear - Person Pitch
Sea Wolf - Leaves in the River
Tegan and Sara - The Con
A SMATTERING OF SONGS:
"23" - Blonde Redhead
"Almost Ready" - Dinosaur Jr. Good as they ever were.
"As You Wish" - Aqueduct The Princess Bride. Nuff said.
"Australia" - The Shins
"Back In Your Head" - Tegan and Sara
"Bros (edit)" - Panda Bear
"Champion" - Kanye West Steely Dan samples? Yup, love 'em.
"Collarbone" - Fujiya and Miyagi
"D.A.N.C.E." - Justice
"Detlef Schrempf" - Band of Horses Seriously, how could I not love a song named for the original German baller?
"I Feel It All"/"1,2,3,4" - Feist Good, poppy fun.
"Impossible Germany" - Wilco It's definitely light rock, but this song gets it right. Nice seventies vibe, and Nils Cline just kills his solo.
"Myriad Harbour" - The New Pornagraphers I've never been real fan of theirs (though I love me some Neko Case), but I like this song a lot.
"North American Scum" - LCD Soundsystem Wait, are you talking about me?
"Oxford Comma" - Vampire Weekend Brooklyn's own. Looking forward to their full LP at the end of the month.
"Paper Planes" - M.I.A. She's generally too scattered and blippy for my taste, but this song is the shit. My wife hates the gun sounds and cringes every time I play it, which is often.
"The Shape is in a Trance" - Thurston Moore
"Umbrella" - Rihanna
"West Coast" - Coconut Records Schwartzman, oh how you slay me.
FILM
I didn't see nearly as many films as I wanted to this year, though of those that I saw, I particularly enjoyed Before The Devil Knows You're Dead, No Country For Old Men, Paris, Je T'aime, and Zodiac. Juno? Why didn't she get an abortion again? Oh right, it was the fingernails thing. Riiiiight...
TELEVISION
1. The Wire, Season 4 on DVD
Is this cheating? I don't care, because it is the best show that's ever been produced, and I just got this for Christmas. If you're not watching this already, Netflix it now. Right now.
2. Friday Night Lights
This show is just plain good. A little something for everyone, and Texas drawls to boot.
3. Flight of the Conchords
"I don't know if Stu is keen to, but if you want we could double-team you."
4. The Office
5. 30 Rock
6. The Unit
David Mamet+Army Special Forces=me glued to the television. Plus it turns Scott Foley (yes, the Scott Foley of Felicity fame) into a badass.
7. The Red Sox World Series Victory
How sweet it is.
8. Kitchen Nightmares
I'm pretty sure I wouldn't enjoy this nearly as much if Gordon Ramsey was American. Watching him dress down sad-sack Long Island restaurateurs with his Britishisms makes for riveting telly time.
9. The Sopranos final scene
I for one loved it. The Journey was perfect. The tension (Meadow unsuccessfully parallel parking) was perfect. When the screen went black, I literally cackled and shot out of my chair.
10. Kanye West's "Can't Tell Me Nothin'" video featuring Zach Galafianakis and Will Oldham
Even after what seems like 100 viewings, this still makes me laugh but good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x0TumWdlhk
BOOKS
Fiction:
A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian - Marina Lewycka
Tomcat in Love - Tim O'Brien
By Night In Chile - Roberto Bolano
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Spy Who Came In From The Cold - John Lecarre
various mysteries by Andrea Camilleri
Nonfiction:
Heat - Bill Buford
The Argument - Matt Bai
Love is a Mix Tape - Rob Sheffield
PODCASTS
Slate's Political Gabfest
Nadia and I are slobberingly, bloodshot eyes hooked on this. Smart, funny, and informative. We listen to it every week.
The B.S. Report
I love Bill Simmons. and I'm not afraid to admit it.
Uhh Yeah, Dude
I was recently turned on to this weekly, hour-long bullshitfest featuring John Larroquette's son and a friend of his riffing on whatever suits them. I find it is perfect to do the dishes to. It's decidedly middlebrow, but the funnier for it.
Lastly, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my largest time suck, Hattrick. It's a free online manager-based soccer game, and it's as dorky and much more addictive than it sounds. If you like soccer at all, I suggest you check it out. A million dorks worldwide can't be wrong, can they? Be sure to look for AC Tatonka... www.hattrick.org
Thanks to Paul, and to y'all. Peace.
Katie's Paulie's
My name is Katie. I live in 10. The Wii
I know, I know, I started my list with something completely un-music, but I am suffering from a severe rotator cuff injury due to Wii tennis, so it's all that is on my mind. Patrick and I purchased the Wii a few months ago...I will admit I play it less, but I am the better person for it (injury aside). It has it's social merits...and I am able to whoop him in various games that involve patience. So I like it.
9. Arcade Fire: Neon Bible
I can’t believe this album came out this year. I don’t think I had it on my mental list until I read some of the other entries. I feel like that ship has sailed for me, but in reality I loved this album when it first came out. I also wanted to put it on here to make Paul squirm.
8. Darjeeling Limited, Hotel Chevalier
I know, it's also not music. But, I feel the music made this short what it is. I could watch it over and over and over. Mainly because the music is great (also because there are some classic lines). It made me want to go back to France and disappear.
7. Jose Gonzalez: In Our Nature
I became an aunt for the first time this year. I have been affected by this significantly as I am the lone trusted babysitter. When you have a screaming child in your arms and the only thing to make her stop is the soft guitar picking of Jose, this album would fall in your top 10 as well. Puts Johanna to sleep. So it wins. As long as we are showcasing hot videos, how about this one?
6. The Long, Lost Album Cover
As someone who still buys CDs, I appreciate a good album cover. They rarely come around, but some of my favorite albums made a real effort (and succeeded). Bright Eyes Cassadaga came complete with fortune cookie and decoder window to read various hidden messages. I could look at the Panda Bear cover for hours. It reminds me of better times...when I would lie on the floor studying the Mama's and the Papa's self titled album: "What if Mama Cass had Michelle Williams' chin?".
5. Feist: The Reminder
I have loved Feist ever since my first Broken Social Scene show, but her last album just didn’t showcase how great she is. I would say she is this year’s Neko Case. I’m hooked. And I love I-tunes. Apparently she does too.
4. Of
I would hate to jump on the bandwagon here, but this is a great album from start to finish. Full of some good rock songs-some nice head-bobbing music. With that sweet little voice.
3. Panda Bear: Person Pitch
I love Pet Sounds, why would I not love this?
2. Caribou: Andorra
I bought this album on a whim after a brief visit to the music shop. Loved it from first listen and did not remove it from my rotation for the rest of the year. As Patrick mentioned-easy listening. My favorite genre.
1. Bjork Live at Sasquatch.
No Question. The best show I have ever or will ever see. I wasn't a huge fan of Bjork's album this year (hence it not making the list) but holy shit Vespertine? Post? Live? Not to mention the fact that she puts on a great show. She writes a mean love song "I go through all this before you wake up so I can feel happier to be safe again." Oh. It was amazing. I am a bit of a sap, but live music rarely makes me cry. This did.
Additional music-related comments:
I wish that my boyfriend would have told me about Miracle Fortress in the year 2007. Would have most likely made the list, but I feel dishonest adding it now.
Most disappointing club-closing: The Crocodile-Seattle, WA
Owned by Peter Buck’s ex-wife, this is one last nail in the coffin of grunge. The Crocodile is a Seattle legend where bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam got their start. They even hosted a secret Beastie Boys show earlier this year. Also of note: this was the first bar where I was ever admitted with a fake ID. It was to see a Smiths cover band. Needless to say, I felt pretty cool. What a bummer.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/entertainment/2004079046_croc180.html
Most promising club-opening: The Slowdown-Omaha, NE
This is the music venue middle-America has been praying for. Saddle Creek records finally opened a proper club this summer, which allows bands to play somewhere other than the Polish community center. The place operates as a bar full-time, complete with a free (stellar) jukebox, photo booth and bartenders from your favorite bands such as Azure Ray and Tilly and the Wall. They did plenty of research on what makes a good venue, and it has paid off. The sound is better than anything I’ve ever heard from a small rock club. It’s worth a visit. I’m sure everyone on this list will add it to their vacation calendars.
http://www.timmcmahan.com/slowdownopens.htm
Best new (for me) band: Russian Circles
Based out of St Louis, they are recording their next album in Seattle. They played a free show in my neighborhood. I guess I would call it metal…maybe, but I’m no expert on the genre. No singer…just sweet guitar, bass and drums. I had so much fun listening to them wail on their axes. Pretty awesome.
Other things to mention: Aprons: the costume for the kitchen, The Colonial Ponytail, Michael Cera, Traveling by float plane, and finally, I do still love Royal Lyme cologne, but might I recommend something in the Roger and Gallet family this year?
That’s it. Thanks.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
LIST
I am Eamonn, a participant in several past lists, unattentive in the past couple years. A photo-shooter and record-recorder in the DC area who recently spent far too much money on grad school in NYC.
10. The Besnard Lakes - Are The Dark Horse
Husband and wife team from Montreal mix Beach Boys-esque vocals with the droning fuzz and reverb soaked arrangements of mid-90s American indie/post-shoegazers like UltraVividScene and Galaxie 500.
9. Rufus Wainwright - Release the Stars
Wainwright pushes melodramatic over-emoting ten times further than any other vocalist/songwriter could ever hope to get away with and still sounds believable. Where some performers may have been content to let their incredible vocal talents carry the full weight, Wainwright betters his peers by proving himself again a clever, eclectic, and ambitious songwriter.
8. Feist - The Reminder
Hopefully someone sent this one to Jeff Tweedy to show him you can make a pretty, low-key, singsongy album and still have it be interesting to listen to. The second half of "I Feel It All" is awesome - how often can you totally rock out to a quiet acoustic song? I'm sure she's endured/enduring a horrific wave of spiteful backlash slogging from the too-cool set, but dammit! It's a great collection of songs stripped of the usual female-singer/sonwriter fare and instead offering up great vocal melodies, live, loose sounding instrumentation, and is at once bittersweet and totally *fun*.
7. Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover
Paul's assessment of this record being both heavenly and hellish at once is spot on. Wolf Parade's slightly freakier, forgot-its-meds cousin. Too cool, yea?
6. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
It's already been mentioned a few times and there's not much I could add to what's been said. I like it for the same reasons I liked Feist and Wainwright - a talented vocalist who puts as much attention into the orchestration of their songs as their vocals. Recorded largely in a basement home studio, which pays off. You know how at home people are always a little more comfortable with their weirdness and indulge it a little more? Bird's slightly eccentric lyrics are a great foil to the more traditional, yet superbly executed instrumentation.
5. The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Yea, it's not Funeral. It rocks so much more! There's no moment of beauty like, well, the entire first track of Funeral, but come on... in a year where all the sudden Springsteen musical-nods were popping up left and right (and about time, yea?) was there any one better than that turn in the second verse of Intervention at around 2:06? Antichrist Television Blues? Holy Shit. That song blaring out busting down the turnpike headed back to Virginia in the middle of the night is borderline transcedental experience. Musically, lyrcically, performancewise, an absolutely majestic record.
4. Caribou - Andorra
The Doves and The Flaming Lips team up with guest vocal arranger Elliott Smith to do an homage to the soundtrack of a late '60s espionage adventure movie? Amazing balance of sounds - electronics and acoustics and massive arrangements, fantastic synthesis of classic psychedelia and modern production. So enjoyable in so many contexts.
3. Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends
It's so awesome. So, so awesome. LSF return and do something amazing. They got a little more normal, a little less chaotic and abrasive. It could have meant "BORING" in the hands of many bands, but LSF bring all the weird savage energy and wirey postpunk guitars that made past releases so exciting (and sometimes barely tolerable) to a new set of songs that proves the versatility and prowess of the band beyond, uh, pretty much all their peers. Tim's vocals retain their snap and snarl while also embracing a pretty keen melodic sense. I can't say enough good things. 2007's best rock record. Also the most insanely insane live band around. Wear protective gloves.
2. The National - Boxer
For what appears to be such a "normal" record, I can't think of anything else that really sounds like it. It's the sum of many fairly mundane parts turned into a record that stands above it's lineage. Little bits of Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Springsteen, New Order, and Tindersticks float around a decidedly nocturnal soundstage. The drummer! Listen to him! Produced by Peter Katis (who also did the first two Interpol records) it's also probably my favorite *sounding* record of the year - huge, rich, gritty immersive tones. Apparently a remarkable live band, as well - I'll find out Feb 22. Ho ho ho!
1. Radiohead - In Rainbows
My download finished a little before 4am that morning, and I sat in front of my laptop with my headphones on until past 9 listening to it in sequence over, and over, and over. For me this is their best thing since OK. Though sounding totally different it feels to me like the How Am I Driving EP, chronolgically - fights so nicely between OK and Kid A. There isn't a single song on here that seems a mis-step to me. The Arpegii/All I Need back to back combo is my favorite since Exit Music/Let Down. I don't really read any music magazines or websites so I never had to pay any mind to the hype, and then the hype about the hype, and then the backlash to the hype about the hype, and really, who cares. It's a stellar record, and Radiohead truly feels like a BAND again.
let downs: Spoon and Wilco. Each comes on the tail of each band's respective best record to date, and each, while not bad, falls utterly short of what the bands can do. Though You Got Yr Cherry Bomb is essentially perfect, the rest of Gax5 just doesn't measure up. Wilco, pleasantly boring background music does not suit you. A couple strong songs but nothing nearly rivetting enough to save the record.
2006 mention. I didn't get a list together in time but for Mark Cichra, I will say this: Battle of Mice. BATTLE OF MICE! Crushing.
--
www.eamonn-aiken.com
10. The Besnard Lakes - Are The Dark Horse
Husband and wife team from Montreal mix Beach Boys-esque vocals with the droning fuzz and reverb soaked arrangements of mid-90s American indie/post-shoegazers like UltraVividScene and Galaxie 500.
9. Rufus Wainwright - Release the Stars
Wainwright pushes melodramatic over-emoting ten times further than any other vocalist/songwriter could ever hope to get away with and still sounds believable. Where some performers may have been content to let their incredible vocal talents carry the full weight, Wainwright betters his peers by proving himself again a clever, eclectic, and ambitious songwriter.
8. Feist - The Reminder
Hopefully someone sent this one to Jeff Tweedy to show him you can make a pretty, low-key, singsongy album and still have it be interesting to listen to. The second half of "I Feel It All" is awesome - how often can you totally rock out to a quiet acoustic song? I'm sure she's endured/enduring a horrific wave of spiteful backlash slogging from the too-cool set, but dammit! It's a great collection of songs stripped of the usual female-singer/sonwriter fare and instead offering up great vocal melodies, live, loose sounding instrumentation, and is at once bittersweet and totally *fun*.
7. Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover
Paul's assessment of this record being both heavenly and hellish at once is spot on. Wolf Parade's slightly freakier, forgot-its-meds cousin. Too cool, yea?
6. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
It's already been mentioned a few times and there's not much I could add to what's been said. I like it for the same reasons I liked Feist and Wainwright - a talented vocalist who puts as much attention into the orchestration of their songs as their vocals. Recorded largely in a basement home studio, which pays off. You know how at home people are always a little more comfortable with their weirdness and indulge it a little more? Bird's slightly eccentric lyrics are a great foil to the more traditional, yet superbly executed instrumentation.
5. The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Yea, it's not Funeral. It rocks so much more! There's no moment of beauty like, well, the entire first track of Funeral, but come on... in a year where all the sudden Springsteen musical-nods were popping up left and right (and about time, yea?) was there any one better than that turn in the second verse of Intervention at around 2:06? Antichrist Television Blues? Holy Shit. That song blaring out busting down the turnpike headed back to Virginia in the middle of the night is borderline transcedental experience. Musically, lyrcically, performancewise, an absolutely majestic record.
4. Caribou - Andorra
The Doves and The Flaming Lips team up with guest vocal arranger Elliott Smith to do an homage to the soundtrack of a late '60s espionage adventure movie? Amazing balance of sounds - electronics and acoustics and massive arrangements, fantastic synthesis of classic psychedelia and modern production. So enjoyable in so many contexts.
3. Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends
It's so awesome. So, so awesome. LSF return and do something amazing. They got a little more normal, a little less chaotic and abrasive. It could have meant "BORING" in the hands of many bands, but LSF bring all the weird savage energy and wirey postpunk guitars that made past releases so exciting (and sometimes barely tolerable) to a new set of songs that proves the versatility and prowess of the band beyond, uh, pretty much all their peers. Tim's vocals retain their snap and snarl while also embracing a pretty keen melodic sense. I can't say enough good things. 2007's best rock record. Also the most insanely insane live band around. Wear protective gloves.
2. The National - Boxer
For what appears to be such a "normal" record, I can't think of anything else that really sounds like it. It's the sum of many fairly mundane parts turned into a record that stands above it's lineage. Little bits of Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Springsteen, New Order, and Tindersticks float around a decidedly nocturnal soundstage. The drummer! Listen to him! Produced by Peter Katis (who also did the first two Interpol records) it's also probably my favorite *sounding* record of the year - huge, rich, gritty immersive tones. Apparently a remarkable live band, as well - I'll find out Feb 22. Ho ho ho!
1. Radiohead - In Rainbows
My download finished a little before 4am that morning, and I sat in front of my laptop with my headphones on until past 9 listening to it in sequence over, and over, and over. For me this is their best thing since OK. Though sounding totally different it feels to me like the How Am I Driving EP, chronolgically - fights so nicely between OK and Kid A. There isn't a single song on here that seems a mis-step to me. The Arpegii/All I Need back to back combo is my favorite since Exit Music/Let Down. I don't really read any music magazines or websites so I never had to pay any mind to the hype, and then the hype about the hype, and then the backlash to the hype about the hype, and really, who cares. It's a stellar record, and Radiohead truly feels like a BAND again.
let downs: Spoon and Wilco. Each comes on the tail of each band's respective best record to date, and each, while not bad, falls utterly short of what the bands can do. Though You Got Yr Cherry Bomb is essentially perfect, the rest of Gax5 just doesn't measure up. Wilco, pleasantly boring background music does not suit you. A couple strong songs but nothing nearly rivetting enough to save the record.
2006 mention. I didn't get a list together in time but for Mark Cichra, I will say this: Battle of Mice. BATTLE OF MICE! Crushing.
--
www.eamonn-aiken.com
Meta Paulies
Patrick again. Ok, I shot my wad early and I want an excuse to post again. Instead of making a lot of comments on everyone’s post. Here is my top ten comments connected to other Paulies post.
1. Simpsons Movie was and is a disappointment. Niki argued this point nicely and I have to agree. Although I did get to go to a 7-11 that was turned into a quickie mart and it made me smile. I bought a six back of buzz cola.
2. In Rainbows. Personally, I don’t get why Radiohead always gets a free pass. I’m not really upset over In Rainbows, because I kind of like it. Now Hail to the Thief...
3. El Perro Del Mar is great. You’re welcome. I also want to give a thank you to everyone who mentioned Liars last year. I listened to that album repeatedly (It’s over 50 on my iTunes play count).
4. Y’all need to listen to more music. It’s not respectable. Seriously, hit me up and I’ll send you some. G2P is something I use that is an easy alternative to scary bittorrents and p2p networks.
5. M.I.A. I don’t know how I feel about her anymore, but paper planes is a fun one. Gun shots as percussion is the new hand clap.
6. Television. I generally hate TV and generally don’t watch it. However, Top Chef hasn’t been mentioned. I kind of got hooked on the reruns this summer when I was home for a week with nothing to do. I ended up buying all the episodes on iTunes and watching season 3 like crazy. I became a little obsessed with cooking and food this year.
7. Flight of the Conchords…good, good...Just got season one on DVD. A full length album comes out in April on Sub Pop. Here’s a clip that makes me laugh.
8. Have you all seen the short for Darjeeling Limited, Hotel Chevalier? You were able to get it free on iTunes, but it doesn’t look that way anymore. I’m curious to hear more reactions to this movie. I loved it, but it sounds like some would disagree.
9. College Radio. Love it too John. Growing up in Iowa the radio sucks. Actually growing up anywhere, the radio sucks. I was lucky enough to have KRUI, Iowa’s college radio. In grad school I came to realize what I truly like about weird college radio. They play stuff you have never heard and may never hear again. It’s like never walking in the same river twice type of stuff.
10. How bout this blog huh? I think it’s turned out pretty well. Thanks for all the submissions.
1. Simpsons Movie was and is a disappointment. Niki argued this point nicely and I have to agree. Although I did get to go to a 7-11 that was turned into a quickie mart and it made me smile. I bought a six back of buzz cola.
2. In Rainbows. Personally, I don’t get why Radiohead always gets a free pass. I’m not really upset over In Rainbows, because I kind of like it. Now Hail to the Thief...
3. El Perro Del Mar is great. You’re welcome. I also want to give a thank you to everyone who mentioned Liars last year. I listened to that album repeatedly (It’s over 50 on my iTunes play count).
4. Y’all need to listen to more music. It’s not respectable. Seriously, hit me up and I’ll send you some. G2P is something I use that is an easy alternative to scary bittorrents and p2p networks.
5. M.I.A. I don’t know how I feel about her anymore, but paper planes is a fun one. Gun shots as percussion is the new hand clap.
6. Television. I generally hate TV and generally don’t watch it. However, Top Chef hasn’t been mentioned. I kind of got hooked on the reruns this summer when I was home for a week with nothing to do. I ended up buying all the episodes on iTunes and watching season 3 like crazy. I became a little obsessed with cooking and food this year.
7. Flight of the Conchords…good, good...Just got season one on DVD. A full length album comes out in April on Sub Pop. Here’s a clip that makes me laugh.
8. Have you all seen the short for Darjeeling Limited, Hotel Chevalier? You were able to get it free on iTunes, but it doesn’t look that way anymore. I’m curious to hear more reactions to this movie. I loved it, but it sounds like some would disagree.
9. College Radio. Love it too John. Growing up in Iowa the radio sucks. Actually growing up anywhere, the radio sucks. I was lucky enough to have KRUI, Iowa’s college radio. In grad school I came to realize what I truly like about weird college radio. They play stuff you have never heard and may never hear again. It’s like never walking in the same river twice type of stuff.
10. How bout this blog huh? I think it’s turned out pretty well. Thanks for all the submissions.
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