posted
Well, it's that time of year again. Everyone is putting out their lists of Album of the Year, and I thought I'd get Hatrack's feedback on them. First off, here are some links:
I've gone through a lot of new CDs this year. Although there were many that I liked, I haven't been as overwhelmed by the greatness as I was in 2006. I'll come back later and throw in my two cents for best and worst albums I've heard this year.
Meantime, any thoughts? Any of these lists look right on? Any of these people smoking crack? And what are your favorites?
Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
Any list that puts "Neon Bible" ahead of "In Rainbows" is automatically disqualified from consideration.
But in all seriousness, based on what I've seen so far, there's been a certain mild backlash against the latter among critics, who seem to think that according Radiohead yet another "Album of the Year" award would somehow be too obvious. So you see "In Rainbows" appearing in the 2nd through 5th place spots with one or more glaringly inferior albums tossed above it so that the particular critic(s) responsible for the list can feel marginally less uncreative about their choices.
Which isn't to say that "In Rainbows" is, objectively, the best album of the year (although when combined with the stellar "Disc 2," I happen to think it is- by a fairly substantial margin). But when you see lists that inexplicably put mediocre records like "Neon Bible" or The New Pornographers' disappointing "Challengers" above it, you gotta wonder.
Given the above, it's probably no surprise that my favorite "top albums of 2007" list so far is Popmatters's. It's not surprising to me, either- compared to other online music criticism websites, I've found that Popmatters consistently adheres most closely to my own tastes. They're like Pitchfork minus the indier-than-thou sneer and predilection for ludicrously overwrought reviews that spend more time describing the reviewer's life than actually talking about the album.
Anyway, my top records of the year are as follows...
Edit: Edited to include some names that I missed.
1. Radiohead - In Rainbows (either with or without Disc 2) 2. Tegan and Sara - The Con 3. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga 4. Pinback - Autumn of the Seraphs 5. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin 6. Dinosaur Jr - Beyond 7. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank 8. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Living With the Living 9. The National - Boxer 10. Blonde Redhead - 23
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posted
2006 was a golden year for new music. I've been scouring my music collection, and I only found 4 2007 releases this year. In order:
4. Modest Mouse: We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank - I listened to it once through and just threw it into shuffle after that. I mainly bought it out of respect for their early albums, which I treasure.
3. Jose Gonzalez: In Our Nature - Great quiet acoustic music, though I liked his first release, Veneer, better.
2. Radiohead: In Rainbows - Topping most other people's lists, but not mine. Obviously a great album, but not groundbreaking or risky from a musical standpoint.
1. The Dear Hunter: Act II - I'd seen this band pop up here and there around the forum and elsewhere, and when my friend finally gave me a listen to the first album, I was hooked. This is my pick for best release 2007. This album skyrocketed to my top 5 all-time albums, as an amalgamation of everything I like in music. Of course, I don't expect everyone else to like it like I do, but I think it's some of the most brilliant stuff I've ever heard.
2007 was a year for buying old music for me. I bought like 30 classical CDs, tons of jazz, A Cappella groups (anyone else listen to barber shop?), a whole whole lot of 90's music, and I've gotten a taste for Techno.
Posts: 1314 | Registered: Jan 2006
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Wah! I forgot I need to get the new Super Furry Animals.
I forgot what came out in 2007, I know there's a lot I really really loved... but they're mixed in with things I got this year that I really really loved that weren't from 2007...
posted
How odd I don't think I listened to 10 whole albums this year. Mostly because alot of those bands who keep showing up in multiple lists failed to interest me with a single track on their highly acclaimed albums.
I will say the entire guitar intro to Kid Rock's So Hott is pure awesome condenced into about 40 seconds.
Also I can't believe Jimmy Eat World was slighted on all those lists. There are at least 5-6 songs on their new album that could easily be top of the hour power rock radio.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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1. Radiohead - In Rainbows (either with or without Disc 2) 2. Tegan and Sara - The Con 3. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga 4. Pinback - Autumn of the Seraphs 5. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin 6. Dinosaur Jr - Beyond 7. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank 8. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Living With the Living 9. The National - Boxer 10. Blonde Redhead - 23 [/QB]
Any list that puts Tegan and Sara ahead of Pinback, Ted Leo and Spoon (even if it's only by one) is automatically disqualified too. Posts: 368 | Registered: Aug 2007
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posted
Hey, what can I say? I'm a sucker for well-written pop songs, and as brilliant as Spoon's and Pinback's new albums are, the simple fact is that I just found myself listening to "The Con" more often than either "Ga x5" or "Autumn." Tegan and Sara may be young, wear their hearts openly on their sleeves, and have a fanbase with an average age of 16, but I think it's undeniable that they write consistently solid, memorable melodies. And whereas their previous album was minimalist in its arrangements so as to emphasize those melodies, "The Con" drapes the twins' vocals with unexpected textures, subtle counterpoint, and unorthodox rhythms, making it a much more rewarding (and mature) listen than your average power pop record. It's one of those rare albums from a pop band that successfully "goes experimental" while still maintaining the hook-laden catchiness that made them big in the first place.
So yeah, I put Tegan and Sara ahead of Pinback and Spoon this year, even though the latter bands consist of (arguably) better musicians and more experienced songwriters. Spoon and Pinback certainly have more indie cred, but if we were going to rank bands by that metric, we might as well just read Pitchfork. And nobody wants to go down that road. I just liked "The Con" a whole lot. It hit me in that indefinable way that an album sometimes does, where you could argue about its relative merits all night but ultimately it just comes down to the simple fact that you love the songs, and you love the feelings they provoke in you. That's what "The Con" does for me, and that's why it's number two on my list.
As for Ted Leo's new album... well, "Living With the Living" is, sadly, his weakest work to date. No way it's better than any of the albums above it on my list- and I'm saying this as someone who would put Ted Leo as one of his top five favorite songwriters of all time based on his first two "Pharmacists" records alone. "Living With the Living" is a fun listen, and has some great tunes, but it doesn't anywhere near approach the heights that Leo hit with such casual ease on "Tyranny of Distance" or "Hearts of Oak."
Posts: 1321 | Registered: Sep 1999
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posted
I'm not ready to make a list yet, but I think that when I do, Neon Bible and In Rainbows will both be on it... As will Wincing the Night Away, which was a big hit inside the world my brain lives in.
Those three.
What else was good that came out this year? Somebody just toss me a few titles and jumpstart my memory, please.
Posts: 2267 | Registered: May 2005
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posted
Good thoughts so far. A lot of those I haven't heard yet.
I'm not going to make a "Top 10" list or anything, since I don't think I've heard enough CDs this year to make a definitive "Best Of" list. I've heard a lot of new stuff this year, but I'm not a music critic with unlimited funds, so a lot (by my standards) is a drop in the bucket. Nevertheless, here are a few of the ones that have impressed me:
Amiina: Kurr This isn't on any year end lists, and I understand why. It's hard for the debut album by a quartet of Icelandic multi-instrumentalists playing subdued electronica to make a big enough impact on the zeitgeist to rank on any definitive lists. Still, I can't imagine anyone hearing this and not being moved by it. The music is subtle, intelligent, and absolutely gorgeous, and made with more self-assuredness than most debut albums. I've been listening to this album frequently since March, and it has yet to wear out its welcome.
Galactic: From the Corner to the Block This has seemed a particularly weak year for hip-hop, and a pretty good year for a neo-funk revival. This album is the best I've heard in both genres. Galactic is a New Orleans funk band, and for their latest album they collaborated with many of the biggest names in indie hip-hop. The funk is wicked all the way through, and the rapping is much more consistent than these projects tend to be.
Once (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) This album may be considered a cheat. Many times it's easier to connect with music after it's been given cinematic context. Once is a magnificently beautiful musical featuring the music of Glenn Hansard (of Irish group The Frames) and Czech musician Marketa Irglova. I watched it with my wife and we both fell in love with it. We got the soundtrack the very next day, and I can't listen to most of the songs without getting chills. Whether that's because of the music or the memories of the film I'm not sure, but it's a reaction I haven't had with any other album in 2007.
Minus the Bear: Planet of Ice This album is very Pinback-esque, and I haven't heard the new Pinback yet, so it may not be the best album of its kind this year. Still, I was very impressed with it. Not only are almost all the songs fascinating, but the album itself is probably the best constructed I've found this year. It has a unity of sound, but the way the songs flow manages to keep my brain interested without becoming fatigued, which is quite a feat for 50 straight minutes of math rock.
Modest Mouse: We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank I've loved their last two full-length albums, but I was afraid they'd start to get a bit repetitive by now. Turns out Johnny Marr was just what the band needed. Brilliantly played and composed, I still don't think they've bested The Moon and Antarctica, but it's closer than I'd anticipated.
Tinariwen: Aman Iman: Water Is Life Sort of an electric Bedouin jam band, this is my non-English (I hesitate to use the term "World Music") album of the year. Hypnotic rhythms and melodies, and virtuostic playing, I'd love to see these guys live.
Andrew Bird: Armchair Apocrypha I can't even describe why I like this disc without making it sound like easy listening, which is certainly isn't. I'll just say that it's beautifully arranged and produced, adventurous and original, stimulating but not irritating. Perhaps the loveliest vocal album I've heard this year.
I guess that's a good representation of my favorite albums this year. There are plenty more albums I like, but not as much as these. I haven't heard In Rainbows, and I liked Neon Bible, but not as much as the critics seem to think I should, so this list has very little in common with any of the ones compiled by pros. But that's my two cents.
Maybe I'll be back to talk about some of my second-tier favorites, or my biggest disappointments. But that's it for now. Merry Christmas, all. Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Tarrsk: Tegan and Sara may be young, wear their hearts openly on their sleeves, and have a fanbase with an average age of 16, but I think it's undeniable that they write consistently solid, memorable melodies.
I don't know about that first part... I'm in my early 30s, and I quite liked Tegan and Sara's last two albums. I haven't heard the new one, but I've been meaning to pick it up.
They play the kind of pop-punk that is ordinarily written for 16-year-olds, but they're more intelligent than the genre deserves. The way I like to describe them is that they're what Avril Lavigne would be if she were as good as she thinks she is. If there were any justice in the world, all Avril's fans would be listening to Tegan and Sara, and Avril would be busking in subway stations.
I'm glad to hear the new disc is good. Maybe I'll move it up the list.
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posted
My favorite albums of 2007 (in no particular order):
* Rival Factions by Project 86 * The Kane Mutiny EP by Project 86 * II by Maylene and the Sons of Disaster * Storm the Gates of Hell by Demon Hunter * City of Echoes by Pelican * Zeitgeist by Smashing Pumpkins * Era Vulgaris by Queens of the Stone Age * Year Zero by Nine Inch Nails * Polarity by The Wedding * Five Score and Seven Years Ago by Relient K * Cities by Anberlin * Southern Weather by The Almost * Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace by Foo Fighters * The Big Dirty by Every Time I Die * The Fiancee by The Chariot * An Ocean Between Us by As I Lay Dying * Pressure the Hinges by Haste the Day * Build a Nation by Bad Brains * The Flame In All of Us by Thousand Foot Krutch * When I Am God by Oh, Sleeper
Off the top of my head, I think that's most of them. I listen to a lot of music.
posted
Wow. Listening to Alison Kraus and Robert Plant's new album, "Raising Sand," and it is HOT.
Speed, have you heard it? I think you would like it a lot. She was talking about it on a talk show, and said she felt her talent stretch and grow more than it ever had. (paraphrased)
posted
"Tinariwen: Aman Iman: Water Is Life Sort of an electric Bedouin jam band, this is my non-English (I hesitate to use the term "World Music") album of the year. Hypnotic rhythms and melodies, and virtuostic playing, I'd love to see these guys live."
They are PHENOMENAL live. In fact, you should be able to get a live copy from the Internet archive.
It will still pale in comparison to seeing them, because it is incredible to see men in traditional desert garb rocking out. We saw them a few years ago at GrassRoots.
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