Best of 2007!
Good day friends! Here it is, plenty of best of 2007 lists from the family, our friends and people we dig on and wish we knew better. Most everyone I talked to has agreed: it was TOO good a year for music. Personally speaking, it was hardest this year to make a list than ever before but in complaining you realize that all of that is a good thing. So I'm smiling. Thanks to those who contributed lists and to those who didn't, a lot of the usual faces were either away for the holiday or didn't have the time which is totally understandable. And thanks to Japayork for the image you see above. Finally, thanks '07, we had a blast. But 2008? Fuck yeah!
Joey Gantner of Pink Teeth Records
1. Marissa Nadler - Songs III: Bird On the Water (Kemado)
2. No Age - Weirdo Rippers (Fat Cat)
3. Spank Rock & Benny Blanco - Bangers & Cash ep (Downtown)
4. Welcome - Sirs (Fat Cat)
5. Neil Young - Live At Massy Hall 1971 (Reprise)
6. Dr. Dog - We All Belong (Park the Van)
7. Laakso - Mother Am I Good Looking? (V2)
8. Wooden Shjips - s/t (Holy Mountain)
9. Juvelen - s/t ep (Hybris)
10. Dri - Smoke Rings (Range Life)
11. Dirty Projectors - Rise Above (Dead Oceans)
12. Black Moth Super Rainbow - Dandelion Gum (Graveface)
13. HEALTH - s/t (Lovepump United)
14. Jason Anderson - Tonight (ECA)
15. The Fucking Champs - VI (Drag City)
Daniella Prince of Pink Teeth Records
1. The Bad Plus - Prog
2. Ozma - Pasadena
3. Jason Anderson - Tonight
4. Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
5. Rivers Cuomo - Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo
6. The Good Life - Help Wanted Nights
7. Dri - Smoke Rings
8. David Dondero - Simple Love
9. Devendra Banhart - Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
10. Kickball - Everything is a Miracle Nothing is A Miracle Everything is
Best Zip File I Downloaded '07: Ryen Slegr - Isle of Oughtonimis Speculashin
Jason Anderson
Top ten things that I have loved this year, but didn't necessarily come out this year:
1. My Morning jacket "Z" / "Okonokos"
2. Feist "The Reminder"
3. The Weakerthans "Reunion Tour"
4. Spring Awakening "Spring Awakening"
5. Pearl Jam "vs."
6. Joni Mitchell "Hits"
7. Van Morrison "Hymns to the Silence"
8. Phil Spector "A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector"
9. Gregg Porter "Final Final ep"
10. Gavin Degraw "Chariot"
David Conway of ECA Records
1. Lightbeam Champion - falling of the lavender bridge
2. Vampire Weekend - s/t
3. Weatherbox - american art
4. Dethklok - dethalbum
5. Paramore - riot
6. Panda Bear - pp
7. Drug Rug
8. Tegan + Sara - the con
9. O Death "Head Home"
10. there wasn't a 10th I loved with all my musical-heart-love
2008-New Jicks album!!!!! new Make Believe album!!!!!
Matthew Giordano of The bird and the vine & Adventurers
01. No Age - Weirdo Rippers
02. Familjen - Det Snurrar I Min Skalle
03. Laakso - Mother Am I Good Looking?
04. The Tough Alliance - New Chance
05. Grinderman - Grinderman
06. Juvelen - Juvelen (EP)
07. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
08. The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
09. Spank Rock & Benny Blanco - Bangers & Cash (EP)
10. The Fine Arts Showcase - Sings Rough Bunnies
11. M.I.A. - Kala
Ezra Caraeff of Slowdance Records
1. Menomena - "Friend And Foe"
2. Bats for Lashes - "Fur And Gold"
3. Jens Lekman - "Night Falls Over Kortedala"
4. Brother Ali - "The Undisputed Truth"
5. Betty Davis - "s/t" (1973 reissue)
6. Neil Young - "Live At Massey Hall 1971"
7. The Builders And The Butchers - "s/t"
8. The One AM Radio - "This Too Will Pass"
9. Jarvis Cocker - "Jarvis"
10. Georgie James - "Places"
Cale Parks of Aloha:
1- Panda Bear- Person Pitch (Paw Tracks)
2- Caribou- Andorra (Merge)
3- Radiohead- In Rainbows (website download)
4- Burial- Untrue (Hyperdub)
5- frYars- The Ides EP (frYarcorp)
6- The Tough Alliance- A New Chance (Sincerely Yours/Summer Lovers Unlimited)
7- John Maus- Love Is Real (Upset the Rhythm)
8- White Williams- Smoke (Tigerbeat 6)
9- Bear Hands- Golden EP (self released)
10- Patrick Cleandenim- Baby Comes Home (Ba Da Bing)
John Davis of Georgie James
1. Antelope - Reflector (on Dischord)
2. Axe Riverboy - Tutu To Tango (on Minty Fresh)
3. Las Palabras - Demos
4. Chuck Brown - "Chuck Baby"
5. Rain - La Vache Qui Rit (reissued by Peterbilt/Dischord)
6. President - Take Music (on Friends)
7. Ted Leo/Rx - Living With The Living (on Touch & Go)
8. The Caribbean - Populations (on Home Tapes)
9. Aloha - Light Works (on Polyvinyl)
10. Zodiac - Directed by David Fincher
Zach Hangauer of Range Life Records
Top 10 Songs of 2007
No One - Alicia Keys
You Know I Tried - Dri
Some Loud Thunder - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Cut and Run - Electrelane
Surfer Dude - Fourth Of July
A Whole Whale - Bruhder
I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You - Black Kids
Bros - Panda Bear
Mama, Won't You Keep Them Castles In The Air And Burning? - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
The Crystal Cat - Dan Deacon
Tom Sommerville of Bruhder & Sea Of Zombies
10 - Road Kill Overcoat by Busdriver
-a great single this year and a guest spot on islands' record last year. this guy is about due.
9 - Free Life by Dan Wilson
-really great single that went around the blogs but the whole disc is very good.
8 - skate.
-i burned up the disc just riding around. really good stoner game.
7 - Hearts of Darkness - A Filmmaker's Apocalypse
-a documentary about my favorite movie. it is undeniable stuff. Brando devours the whole third act, he is a monster. best ever.
6 - Kevin Drew / Feist Records
-broken social scene became pop music. cool i guess.
5 - Built To Spill at Mccarren Pool Park
-it was wide open. so much so that the vocals seemed to carry in the air. it was strange magic.
4 - In Rainbows by Radiohead
-oh radiohead not much new to say but it sure sounds real pretty.
3 - Totally Flossed Out EP by Cool Kids
-they got a commercial. good job kids. black mags chorus is the best use
of that low voice pitch shift i've heard.
2 - Super Mario Galaxy
-remember when mario came out on nintendo. it's a little bit like that but mario can fly. bowser is fucked.
1 - Bear Hands / MGMT at Eclectic Haus
-the best show i went to all year. both bands released great records this year. you probably are going to be pissed you missed this.
Charlie McArthur of Bears
not in any particular order:
José González - In Our Nature
The Lucksmiths - Spring A Leak
La Buena Vida - Sencillos (box set)
Labrador 100 (box set)
Javiera Mena - Esquemas Juveniles
Club 8 - The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Dreaming
Maritime - Heresy & The Hotel Choir
Elliott Smith - New Moon
Dinosaur Jr - Beyond
Jimmy Eat World - Chase This Light
Quincy Quartz
1. NormanOak (now poisonoak) 'a double gift of tongues' lp only
2. aids wolf/athletic automoton 'clash of the lifeforce warriors' split ep
2.5 hanz bronze 'lo fi home recordings' tape only
3. panda bear 'person pitch'
4. byron house myspace downloads
5. dri 'smoke rings'
6. no age 'weirdo rippers'
7. animental 'splat' (tape only)
High Places
Abe Vigoda-"Animal Ghosts" 7" and unreleased (as of yet) stuff, and live:
I was really wondering where "punk" was headed in 2007, because I still totally believe in it. Here is the answer. In 2008, punk will be friendly!
KIT- Broken Voyage:
Also, on my new "punk is friendly" tip. The xBxRx brothers, Lil' Pocketknife, and George Chen making the most chaotic, yet big-hearted music ever. And Kristy will smash your toes if you stand too close.
Ethan Swan-
performing live in any of his bands; With Car Clutch, it's alarming at first, and you pity the boy's knees, but he really goes for it with every show. It's an honest and necessary release. With Corpsekisser, he can seriously just raise an eyebrow and it'll make you gasp.
Marnie Stern-In Advance of the Broken Arm:
We first heard of her when we were asked to play a show her with BARR and First Nation, and Brendan was like "this is this new girl on KRS that I'm touring with, your mind is going to be blown!" So we listened to her demo songs, which made our jaws drop. Then we played the show and were floored even further, even just playing by herself. We became friends, played her record release show, we were wowed again when we heard the record with Zach Hill, then when we actually saw the band incarnation, it was just over the top. The most original sounding musician of this millennium.
Atlas Sound-Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel:
I guess I'm cheating a bit here, it "officially" comes out in 2008, but it rounded out my personal 2007 very nicely. The Atlas Sound/Mexcellent Split came out in 2007 and that (both sides actually) rules too. This record gives me the same emotional feelings that I would get when I was a teen lying in the dark, a total depressed insomniac, but comforted by the detached warmth of records such as "Loveless" and "Going Blank Again".
Lucky Dragons-"Widows" and live:
The boy works for a NASA think-tank, representing "the Artist" for crying out loud! Never has anything so "smart" been so amazingly warm and neighborly. Seeing him live restores your faith in humankind, when the digital cuddle-puddle inevitably goes down. When Luke is accompanied by Sara, it's is pretty much the most beautiful and adorable thing on earth.
Telepathe-"Chomes On It"
It's not really out yet either, but this is the future. I have to consciously make an effort to not rip off this beat every time I use a drum machine in a new High Places song.
Lloyd & Michael- "Just as God Made Us":
This record is the most timeless. If someone told me it was 40 years old, I would believe them. Not dated though. It is now and then. Beautiful. Real. Honest.
Soft Circle/Hisham Bharoocha- I put his real name in here because, as much as his music rules and is out of this world, the man himself is pretty out of sight. We roled around the country with this dude last summer in a hot metal box, and not once did he ever seem grouchy or uncomfortable. He basically kept us cracking up the whole time. Seriously, not one bad vibe out of him, even when I almost got him killed in LA by some seriously heavy dudes (eep).
BARR-"The Song is the Single":
Yess!
Ivana XL
Top ten songs:
White Chalk--PJ Harvey
Kiss--Scout Niblett/Will Oldham
Spilt Needles--The Shins
Angel in the Snow-Elliott Smith
The Park--Feist
How Low--Jose Gonzalez
Unsuffer Me--Lucinda Williams
Stutter--She Keeps Bees
Black Mirror--Arcade Fire
Rest My Chemistry--Interpol
Ryan Spellman of Quiet Life
in no particular order
David Vandervelde - Moonstation House Band
Justin Townes Earle - Yuma
Lewis and Clarke - Blasts of Holy Birth
Jason Isbell - Sirens of the Ditch
Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
King of Leon - Because of the Times
Elvis Perkins - Ash Wednesday
Dr. Dog - We All Belong
The Weigh Down - Welcome to the Family Zoo
Bruce Springsteen - Magic
Brad Amorosino of TITLES
1. Dinosaur Jr - Beyond
2. Dinosaur Jr - Beyond
3. Dinosaur Jr - Beyond
4. Dinosaur Jr - Beyond
5. Dinosaur Jr - Beyond
6. Dinosaur Jr - Beyond
7. Dinosaur Jr - Beyond
8. Dinosaur Jr - Beyond
9. Dinosaur Jr - Beyond
T. Dinosaur Jr - Beyond
Japayork
1 the most serene republic - populations
2 radiohead - in rainbows
3 rufus wainwright - release the stars
4 feist - the reminder
5 silverchair - young modern
6 via audio - say something
7 kevin drew - spirit if...
8 soulive - no place like soul
9 Foo fighters - echoes, silence, patience & grace
10 athlete - beyond the neighborhood
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