Year-end lists
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Posted on Dec 19, 2007 04:26 pm
Tadpui
I am not a crook's head
Member Since: Mar 14, 2003
I hate reading year-end lists. Except when they're mine!
My top albums of 2007:
1 - The Stage Names by Okkervil River
2 - Armchair Apocrypha by Andrew Bird
3 - GaGaGaGaGa by Spoon
4 - In Rainbows by Radiohead
5 - Sky Blue Sky by Wilco
6 - The Shepherd's Dog by Iron & Wine
7 - Andorra by Caribou
8 - Neon Bible by Arcade Fire
9 - Sound Of Silver by LCD Soundsystem
10 - SK2 by Simple Kid
Never heard of most of these? Well then, its time to head off to either eMusic.com or Amazon.com and look these bands up and listen to some of the song samples. See if you like them and buy yourself a nice little xmas present if you do!
This year, it was more like "my favorite album of the year, and the rest" because The Stage Names by Okkervil River just blew me away. Far and away my favorite album of the year. Its great rock and roll with lyrics that could cut glass. This guy is right up there with Bob Dylan as far as lyric writing.
An excerpt from "Love To A Monster" which is an eMusic-only bonus track to that album, which may be the most cruel and cutting breakup song in history (and yes, I own Blood On The Tracks):
[quote]
Yeah so here I go just exploding the hope we'll be speaking
Someday years from now seeking, friendship and understanding
and I hope you get angry and hurt and have the hardest of landings
and I hope your new man thinks of me when he sees what a number I did on you
I grow tired of this song, turn my eyes to the blonde in the bleachers
She's a lovely young creature. I think she's seeking adventure
I think she's ready to see that the world ain't so sweet nor so tender
I won't break her just bend her, and make her into my new ringer for you
[/quote]
Oh, the interior rhymes, the stinging sentiment, all set to a capoed acoustic guitar, bass and drums. Go listen to it!
So what albums made your best of 2007 list?
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Dec 19, 2007 06:01 pm I posted mine on my www.homemadehitshow.com (plug plug) page a week or so ago.
Yours Truly, Angry Mob - Kaiser Chiefs
Neon Bible - Arcade Fire
An End Has a Start - Editors
Made of Bricks - Kate Nash
Challengers - New Pornographers
Send Away The Tigers - Manic Street Preachers
Chase The Light - Jimmy Eat World
Magic - Bruce Springsteen
Shotter's Nation - Babyshambles
Contact - Thirteen Senses
Twighlight of the Innocents - Ash
The Crane Wife - The Decemberists
Calling the World - Rooney
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Dec 19, 2007 07:43 pm The Crane Wife is one of my all-time favorites. What an incredible album! It's one of those rare albums that I like more every time I listene to it. Although it was a 2006 release.
Dec 19, 2007 07:55 pm I live in my own world and I only heard of it or bought it in 2007 hence in my, most important, world it came out in 2007 :)
Dec 19, 2007 09:51 pm Tadpui,
you forgot one
The National - Boxer
Awesome list otherwise :D
Dec 19, 2007 09:53 pm Tony,
i love the new pornographers but challengers was horrible.
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Dec 19, 2007 11:47 pm Oh crap! I did forget The Boxer. That'd definitely knock SK2 out of my #10.
Hey its OK Tony, I do that a lot too. I didn't discover OK Computer until like 2003 :-D
Dec 20, 2007 01:24 am I love Challengers. Each to their own.
I tend to live in the current year and almost never listen to stuff more than a year or two old. 2005 has been a good year :)
Dec 20, 2007 01:56 am i thought in rainbows sucked. i'm a huge radiohead fan.
Dec 20, 2007 07:39 am Shoot...I can't even name ten albums that were released in 2007! Talk about being old and out of touch!
I did acquire some new music in 2007. Here are the ones I like the most (in no particular order):
Chrome Dreams II by Neil Young
Magic by Bruce Springsteen
Traffic and Weather by Fountains of Wayne
5th Gear by Brad Paisley (incredible guitar)
(Title Unknown) by HRC's own Thermocaster
Sky Blue Sky by Wilco
Tad, I'm very intrigued by your comments regarding Okkervil River. I've never heard of them, but I'll definitely be checking them out!
Dec 20, 2007 10:25 am You can't claim ignorance of the year and then provide a list where most, if not all, were actually released in 2007
I don't get the love for Sky Blue Sky, I found it very dull.
Traffic and Weather should probably have been on my list.
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Dec 20, 2007 10:36 am Its the guitar playing in Sky Blue Sky that I fell for. Oh, that solo to Impossible Germany, it just raises goosebumps on my arms.
Compared to Wilco's more experimental stuff recently, sure it's relatively dull. But I think Tweedy really reeled it in just right because while Summerteeth and YHF plotted a stellar trajectory, A Ghost Is Born showed that the trajectory was headed straight off the map of listenable material.
I'm glad that they dialed it back to a classic rock kind of atmosphere instead of continuing along the dead-end path of noise rock. It could have ended badly...we'd have an entire album of feedback and slack guitar strings.
Dec 20, 2007 10:50 am Well...I just got lucky with the 2007 thing. Those are mostly albums I would have bought anyways, because I always buy the latest albums by those particular artists. The only exception being the Wilco album. That was the first album I ever bought from them, and I became attached to it before searching out their back catalog.
Where do you hear about some of the artists and bands that you've listed? I've never even heard of many of them, and certainly I'm not familiar with their music. Is that just one of the curses related to living in rural America?
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Dec 20, 2007 11:09 am I tend to keep an eye on Pitchforkmedia.com on a daily basis. They review tons of independant music, although their reviews are pretty obnoxious sometimes. You really have to weed through 10 total B.S. reviews to find a good one. But they're responsible for introducing me to countless of my current favorite artists. Like them or lump them, they definitely have their fingers on the pulse of new independant music.
Amazon.com is another great resource for finding music. Their "customers who bought this album also bought..." and "listmania" features on every product page is a very powerful way to find new music.
Last.fm is another great way to find new music based on what you already know and like.
Dec 20, 2007 01:41 pm pitchfork is a pain in the ***, but i too have found it crucial. thanks for the reminder! i failed to port that one over to this laptop's firefox, but will now.
pitchfork gives 'music' 6.8:
www.theonion.com/content/...gives_music_6_8
"CHICAGO—Music, a mode of creative expression consisting of sound and silence expressed through time, was given a 6.8 out of 10 rating in an review published Monday on Pitchfork Media, a well-known music-criticism website." (cont)
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Dec 20, 2007 02:30 pm LOL yeah I saw that a couple of months ago. That's pretty funny. The Onion has a pretty low opinion of Pitchfork. I think that they've had a few different articles ripping on them for being so pretentious.
I like to keep an eye on their "best new music" section. It's a pretty good chronicle of stuff that's at least worth checking out.
Did anybody catch Pitchfork's top 50 albums for this year? It seams that every year I grow a little farther apart from their opinions. Two years ago it was Arcade Fire's "Funeral" that took the top spot and I couldn't agree more. The next year it was Sufjan Stevens' "Come On Feel the Illinoise" which was also at the top of my list. Last year it was The Knife's "Silent Shout" that took honors at Pitchfork and I just couldn't justify that as a better album than Joanna Newsom's "Ys", which took 2nd I believe. But this year their list was almost totally upside down from mine.
Battles' "Mirrored" (#8) was borderline unlistenable to me other than their single "Atlas".
Animal Collective lost me forever with their first album, but "Strawberry Jam" somehow made their #7.
Of Montreal's new one was so uninspiring and boring to me yet made #6.
M.I.A.'s Kala is the most obnoxiously unlistenable tripe I've laid ears on in years yet it made #3 (OK so I listened to Bamboo Banga a few times and kinda like it, but YOU try to listen to that album all the way through!)
And their #1 album, Panda Bear's "Person Pitch", was a Brian Wilson influenced over-reverbed mess. I just don't get the allure of that album nor any of their associated Animal Collective psych-folk/freak-folk genre. They try to make every song go in every direction. Now I don't mind a bit of meandering and exploration, but this new Attention Defecit Disorder style of songwriting just has never garnered any of my respect.
Dec 20, 2007 02:34 pm Last.fm is good but most of my list comes from monitoring the UK charts and reading UK music magazines (Uncut, Mojo etc.)
Dec 20, 2007 05:40 pm [quote]
Battles' "Mirrored" (#8) was borderline unlistenable to me other than their single "Atlas".
[/quote]
i love this album, very unique.
Pitchfork is pretty accurate for me for this review alone :D
www.pitchforkmedia.com/ar...ne-over-the-sea
TallChapAnswer:On a good day, lipstick.Member
Since: Jun 24, 2004
Dec 20, 2007 06:26 pm Say what you will, but Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" is possibly the best album I've heard in a while.
I'll go so far as to say "Love is a losing game" is one of the best songs of the last 15-20 years.
Sappy? Sure.
Moon/June? Very.
Catchy? Hell-yeah!
Classic? Definitely.
Quote:
I don't get the love for Sky Blue Sky, I found it very dull
Ahem........
Yep.
TallChapAnswer:On a good day, lipstick.Member
Since: Jun 24, 2004
Dec 20, 2007 06:27 pm Quote:
i thought in rainbows sucked. i'm a huge radiohead fan.
Ahem......
Yep.
Dec 20, 2007 07:29 pm Is "Ahem Yep." some kind of critical comment :)
I have tried very hard to like Back To Black and in fact I like most of the songs but I just can't get excited about it even though I know I should :)
TallChapAnswer:On a good day, lipstick.Member
Since: Jun 24, 2004
Dec 21, 2007 11:13 am Just agreeing with the previous posts, Tony.
I think there has been some very average stuff been pumped out in the last year.
There have been one or two stunners, but on the whole I've been unimpressed.
I guess I'm a product of the 70s and 80s when everything 'seemed' to be fresh and unique. I'm kinda burned out on the cookie cutter thing.
Yes, I sound like my/your dad. Sorry.
I'll see myself out.
Dec 21, 2007 11:22 am Quote:
I'll see myself out.
Well, I'm with you, TallChap. Out of Tad's and Tony's lists, the only artists I've heard of are Radiohead and Springsteen.
Now I think I'll grab a bottle of Serutan and wheel my Hoveround over to my Zeppelin box collection.
Dec 21, 2007 12:23 pm My list is actually pretty mainstream just mostly British.
Which classic 80's music were you into ? Duran Duran ?? Spandau Ballet ?? While I enjoyed it as much as anyone the 80's music hasn't held up that well.
Dec 21, 2007 12:26 pm Gang,
I have toyed with the idea of making a "lists" feature for things just like this...members can start lists and others add on...and the script tallies totals...thought it would be fun, no discussion, just lists...
Anyone else see that being a worthy, and fun feature?
Dec 21, 2007 12:27 pm I definitely think it would be fun. People could then be encouraged to make list of anything they want. I vote for "Hottest Girl"
TallChapAnswer:On a good day, lipstick.Member
Since: Jun 24, 2004
Dec 21, 2007 02:38 pm [quote]My list is actually pretty mainstream just mostly British.
[/quote]
I'm pretty mainstream, and mostly British!
My point isn't that the 80's bands were durable, just that they were all very different, and there wasn't one sound, one haircut, one uniform, one tuning...etc. There was usually something unique going on (especially in Britain due to the rampant unemployment and the fact that musicians were basically paid by the government to sit at home writing songs...). Today I feel is a little too formulaic.
The very reason I like the Amy Winehouse thing is that it's pretty much out there on its own. New? Not really, but not like anything else currently out there.
Apart from her lyrics, the album could have been released late 1964 and be a classic by now.
I don't think the last Coheed and Cambria/Dashboard Confessional/AFI album will be played much in forty years.
And while I'm not a direct fan, you actually might want to take a listen to some Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran. There is some fine musicianship, production, and songwriting in there. I was lucky enough to hear Spandau Ballet in a rehearsal studio just before a world tour. The did "True." I could not believe how f***ing good they were!
Here's the British Top Singles from March 1984. A few forgettable songs, but a LOT of classics. Also, not how very different they all are. I bet most people here could sing a few bars of at least half of these. Remember we are 24 years on from there.
1 99 Red balloons Nena
2 Joanna/ Tonight Kool & the Gang
3 Street dance Break Machine
4 Wouldn't it be good Nik Kershaw
5 Relax Frankie Goes To Hollywood
6 Hello Lionel Richie
7 An innocent man Billy Joel
8 Somebody's watching me Rockwell
9 It's rainning men Weather Girls
10 Jump Van Halen
11 What do I do Phil Fearon & Galaxy
12 The music of Torvill & Dean EP Richard Hartley / Michael Reed Orchestra
13 Run runaway Slade
14 Robert De Niro's waiting Bananarama
15 Doctor doctor Thompson Twins
16 Your love is king Sade
17 Hide and seek Howard Jones
18 It's a miracle Culture Club
19 Radio Ga Ga Queen
20 My ever changing moods Style Council
Dec 21, 2007 07:53 pm Just for the record I saw Duran Duran in concert twice and Spandau Ballet about 11 times :)
I don't agree with this "there's nothing new" argument that many people give (not picking on you). Stuff like Arctic Monkey's, Kate Nash, Lily Allen etc. all fall into the Winehouse category of "maybe not new but it's fresh". I think people, as is their right, just prefer the old and comfortable stuff.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Dec 21, 2007 10:39 pm Tadpui, LCD Sound System is in my top 10 for the year as well. I'll have to come back to this as I'm swamped at the moment though.
GregorMember
Since: Jan 08, 2004
Dec 23, 2007 04:28 pm 1.After Forever - After Forever
2.Nightwish - Dark Passion Play
3.Paradise Lost - In Requiem
4.Symphony X-Paradise Lost
5.Within Temptation - The Heart of Everything
6.Monstrosity – Spiritual Apocalypse
7.Graveworm - Collateral Defect
8.King Diamond - Give Me Your Soul...Please
9.Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos
10.Redemption - The Origins of Ruin
11.Obituary - Xecutioners Return
cooloFrisco's Most UnderratedMember
Since: Jan 28, 2003
Dec 26, 2007 04:56 pm I'm usually somewhere about a year late in terms of picking up full albums... I usually wait until I can get a bargain on them in the used or clearance section of the local store. For example, on Monday I picked up:
Miseducation of Lauryn Hill ($1.99)
Common - Be ($2.99)
Ayentee - don't know the name...($1.99)
Bored Stiff - From the ground up ($1.99)
Actually none of these are in the one year old range, but whatever, you get the point. The Bored Stiff is actually quite new. So, the point of all this is just to say I'm going to give a top x of what I've been listening to in 2007, not necessarily what came out.
In no particular order:
Common - Finding Forever
Buff One - Pure
Bored Stiff - From The Ground Up
Mayday! - Mayday!
Majestic Legend - Free
Jay Electronica - Style Wars
Laif - Psychology 101
Outkast - Idlewild Soundtrack
Common Market - ???
Atari Logic and El Rasoul - The Wellness
There, I got 10.
