2007 in Music
Is it just me, or was this year underwhelming musically? It's not to say there weren't some really good albums, but there weren't a lot of great albums - of established acts, none of the output they've put out is as good as their past albums, and, with one exception, I can't seem to see any of the new acts who made my list really meeting what they do this go 'round. I kept waiting for something to grab me like The Hold Steady or the Knopfler/Harris collaboration did, and it never really happened.
So, without further ado, the best of 2007:
1) St. Vincent - Marry Me
It's kind of artsy-fartsy, and definitely an indie record, but there's something about the useful contrast between the "difficult" songs and the more mainstream ones that really work in the greater context of the album. I couldn't recommend this to everybody, but it's really the best thing I've heard this year, and the only album I really got seriously excited about.
2) Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer
This may be more of a condemnation of the music this year and of the direction Kevin Barnes has taken Of Montreal than praise of what is probably Of Montreal's 4th best album in their existence, but this is still a fun indie electro-pop record with at least two of my favorite songs of this year on it. That this band has any popularity still blows my mind, but I suppose that's music for you.
3) Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
I suppose being a late arrival to the Spoon bandwagon worked out in the end. This is not a typical Spoon album in a lot of ways, and yet it's very Spoon - Ann, who only knows "The Underdog," can spot a Spoon song on TV anytime, regardless of what album it's on. This gets ranked high for me because it probably got more play than any other album I bought this year, and because the album, while not completely cohesive, has a number of really memorable songs, which is something I can't say about other Spoon albums (yet).
4) Apples in Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder
The best way to describe this album is that this is the Apples in Stereo album I've been waiting to hear since I got into the whole Elephant 6 thing. It's dragged down by a couple downer songs and the odd instrumental bits, but "Energy" and "Can You Feel It" alone are two of the better songs of the year.
5) Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raining Sand
I assumed this would be a train wreck. Far from it - it's actually a really good, interesting cover record. While Robert Plant got creepy, it did not weigh in my ranking.
6) Low - Drums and Guns
Low is another band I jumped onto the bandwagon for this year. This album, while very different from other Low albums, is still really, really good. A number of the songs are absolutely haunting, and it's just become more interesting the more I hear it.
7) Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
It's a shame that someone with this much talent has completely let herself go the way she has. I don't really get into the whole "passing judgment on celebrities" thing, but considering how solid this album and how good her voice is...
8) Bright Eyes - Cassadega
I'm as surprised as you are. "Four Winds" is a near perfect song.
9) Art Brut - It's Kind of Complicated
Proving that they're more than a goofy show band.
10) Voxtrot - Voxtrot
The second half of the record drags a bit, but it's still a really great album by a band that may have gotten too much buzz too early.
11) Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace
12) The Weakerthanks - Reunion Tour
A couple albums worth pointing out because they come from bands that I thought might not make a quality album again, but did. The Foo Fighters proved that they can still rock out without losing focus, and the Weakerthans proved that the amount of time off they took between albums didn't hurt things.
Other noteworthy albums:
Dan Wilson - Free Life
Editors - The End Has a Start
Freezepop - Future Future Future Perfect
Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position
Feist - The Reminder (I was underwhelmed even before the Apple ad)
Idlewild - Make Another World
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Sea Wolf - Leaves in the River
Radiohead - In Rainbows (the more I listen to it, the more flawed it sounds)
Top disappointments of the year:
PJ Harvey - White Chalk (worst album I've heard in years, and I love PJ Harvey)
Eisley - Combinations (sophomore slump)
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Some Loud Thunder (when your best song chants "Satan, Satan" repeatedly, you've got probs)
The Shins - Wincing the Night Away (it dawned on me this year that I might not actually like The Shins)
Kaiser Chiefs - Yours Truly, Angry Mob (a ridiculous step backward)
Kings of Leon - Because of the Times (see above)
Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (tried too hard to be weird)
Top 2006 albums that I loved in 2007
Peter, Bjorn and John - Writer's Block
Fujiya and Miyagi - Transparent Things
I'm From Barcelona - Let Me Introduce My Friends
Cansei de ser Sexy - Cansei de ser Sexy
Favorite songs to find and listen to:
Of Montreal - "Gronlandic Edit"
Spoon - "Don't You Evah"
Plant/Krauss - "Gone, Gone, Gone"
Apples in Stereo - "Can You Feel It?"
Art Brut - "Pump Up the Volume"
Travis - "Closer"
Idlewild - "No Emotion"
Low - "Hatchet"
Silverchair - "Straight Lines"
Sea Wolf - "You're a Wolf"
Bright Eyes - "Four Winds"
Arcade Fire - "Intervention"
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badlydrawnjeff) wrote,
