Best of 2007: Music edition

Ramblings
21

Bump for my expanded list above ^.

[QUOTE=NinerAdvocate;276750]Now that is just weird enough to get my attention. It’s that good, huh?[/QUOTE]

Guess it depends on how you feel about bluegrass, but I like it a lot. Iron Horse doesn’t try to make their tribute albums into “funny bluegrass” like Hayseed Dixie, which is why I like them. Their “Fade to Bluegrass” tribute to Metallica is also top notch.
http://www.ironhorsebluegrass.com/

Allison Krauss is great… went to her concert a few months ago and their “Live” album is an all time favorite. I like Raising Sand, but maybe I shouldn’t have put it on my “A list.” The Plant/Krauss combination is kind of awkward at times and some of those songs can really put you to sleep.

Also, if you like Norah Jones check out the “Little Willies” album from last year.
http://www.amazon.com/Little-Willies/dp/B000E6UJXS/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1197577836&sr=8-1

22

[QUOTE=Max Power;276763]Bump for my expanded list above ^.

Stuff I’ve been meaning to give a good listen:
Emerson Hart – Cigarettes & Gasoline
Iron & Wine – The Shepards Dog
Kings of Leon – Because of the Times
The Shins – Wincing the Night Away
Silverchair – Young Modern
Wilco – Sky Blue Sky
Velvet Revolver – Libertad
Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Coheed and Cambria - No world for Tomorrow
Augustana - All the Stars and Boulevards
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Feist - The Reminder
[/QUOTE]

If you’ll allow me:

Iron & Wine - can get a bit slow, but a couple of the songs are gems. The great and sometimes monotonous thing about Sam Beard is that he is always 100% sincere in his songwriting. There is no showmanship or faux hipness. He is what he’s singing.

The Shins record is a unabashed pop record. I know a lot of people who hate it for being too straight forward. I think some of the melodies are “aces” as are the production & arrangement of the songs.

Kings of Leon - get over the singer’s delivery - it actually works really well. Concentrate on the guitars. They kick butt. This album is slower & darker, but tighter than the last one. That said, [I]California Waiting[/I] is my favorite KoL song.

Spoon - is like eggnog. Acquired taste. There’s a sweet spot of 3 or 4 kickass songs in the middle of that record. Love the horns.

Wilco - this is an old fart record. And if you’ve watched any TV this year, you’ve heard snippets of half the songs in those VW commercials. Band of Horses, Shins, Feist, & Air have also appeared on big time commercials this year.

AF - Neon Bible isnt as good as Funeral, but a couple of the songs are fantastic. I love [I]No Cars Go[/I], The [I]Well & The Lighthouse[/I], and one more that I just forgot.

Feist - you had to have heard [I]1,2,3,4[/I] by now (ipod). I also liked [I]my moon, my man[/I], right away.

For some reason, I think you may like that Dr. Dog record Max. Or I could be way off base.

23

As far as my absolute favorite of all the albums I listed, has to be the M.I.A. album. I have been rocking that album for months.

And on that Feist record I love her Nina Simone cover (Sealion).

24

Thanks guys. A good bit that has been listed I have yet to check out. I try to get into LCD Soundsystem and Iron and Wine. I just cant. Same thing with TV on the Radio last year.

As far as my favorite record of the year. Hands down is the Loudon Wainwright record. Purely sentimental reasons.

25

[QUOTE=NinerAdvocate;276758]The only Fujiya Miyagi song I know is Ankle Injuries.[/QUOTE]

You have got to hear the track Conductor 71, amazing track.

26

Wow. I’m only 25 and I feel incredibly out of touch. I know very little about the artists being mentioned here. I’m a Zeppelin freak and I didnt even know Plant did a record with Allison Krauss. Others I’ve never even heard of. I still rock out to old Sound Garden and Pink Floyd and other groups that have been around for years.

27

These aren’t the bands kids are listening to, by and large, you’re in the market those bands are targeted for.

Some of it is indie college radio rock, other is mainstream. Nothing really underground or music that the kids are listening to (either mainstream or underground).

But, I am not trying to be too presumptive, but I would imagine that you never really would have listened to any of this even when you were younger.

28

[QUOTE=zepandragefan;276789]Wow. I’m only 25 and I feel incredibly out of touch. I know very little about the artists being mentioned here. I’m a Zeppelin freak and I didnt even know Plant did a record with Allison Krauss. Others I’ve never even heard of. I still rock out to old Sound Garden and Pink Floyd and other groups that have been around for years.[/QUOTE]

All good bands you mentioned, but try these out too. Truth is - these days the good music is NOT on the radio. It’s on satellite radio, band myspace pages, blogs, youtube and internet & college stations. I guaranty there is something on that list that you’ll like. Some of the harder rock stuff?

29

You are probably right, but generally speaking I have always been very knowledgeable and up to date about all genres of music. I am just very surprised at how few of these names I recognize.

30
Wow. I'm only 25 and I feel incredibly out of touch. I know very little about the artists being mentioned here. I'm a Zeppelin freak and I didnt even know Plant did a record with Allison Krauss. Others I've never even heard of. I still rock out to old Sound Garden and Pink Floyd and other groups that have been around for years.

LP…

You would hate the Plant record I think. He sounds like ass imo. I still love it just because I’m pretty sure Krauss is some sort of celestial being.

He reminds me of how bad Daltry sounded on the last Who record, The Endless Wire

31

[QUOTE=GtfoMyPorch;276781]You have got to hear the track Conductor 71, amazing track.[/QUOTE]

Im gonna see if its on project playlist. [URL=http://www.projectplaylist.com/]http://www.projectplaylist.com/[/URL]

32

Yeah I will definitely check this stuff out, I’m a fan of Allison Krauss so I will absolutely check out her album with Plant.
I will also check out a lot of the other groups listed.

33

Thanks for the summaries NA. I’ve heard pieces of most of those albums I listed. I fully expect to like The Shins and Kings of Leon albums… just haven’t gotten around to listening to them yet. Not sure about the other ones yet.

I had not heard of Dr. Dog, but it sounds interesting. I’ll look into that tonight.

34

Plant hasn’t sounded great since Zeppelin broke up. I actually think his singing since has been pretty lousy, especially live. I went to see Page/Plant in 1998 and of course the music was great but Plant just couldnt reach those high notes. Nevertheless, I’ve always been a fan of his lyrics. Plus, I’m a huge blues fan and often bluegrass, blues, folk, and even older country music blur together to create some great music. For example, I thought the Oh Brother where art thou soundtrack was very good.

35

[QUOTE=GtfoMyPorch;276767]As far as my absolute favorite of all the albums I listed, has to be the M.I.A. album. I have been rocking that album for months.[/QUOTE]

I forgot to ask/say: WTF is up with MIA and those album covers? Going for the ugliest [B]evar[/B] award?

36

It is just her visual art style, she was an artist before she did music, I like it. She designs her own covers.

BTW since some of you guys may like them Yo La Tengo is doing an acoustic storytellers show at the Visualite in early January.

37

Here is Blender’s list of the 25 best albums of 2007:

25. Rihanna, Good Girl Gone Bad 24. Bright Eyes, Cassadaga 23. Lily Allen, Alright, Still… 22. Band Of Horses, Cease To Begin 21. Okkervil River, The Stage Names 20. Brad Paisley, 5th Gear 19. Modest Mouse, We Were Dead Before The Ship Sank 18. Justice, † 17. Bruce Springsteen, Magic 16. Jay-Z, American Gangster 15. Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, Raising Sand 14. The White Stripes, Icky Thump 13. Feist, The Reminder 12. Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga 11. LCD Soundsystem, Sound Of Silver 10. Rilo Kiley, Under The Blacklight 9. Miranda Lambert, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 8. Amy Winehouse, Back To Black 7. The Dream, Lovehate 6. Radiohead, In Rainbows 5. Against Me!, New Wave 4. Kanye West, Graduation 3. Lil Wayne, The Carter 3 Sessions 2. Arcade Fire, Neon Bible 1. M.I.A., Kala
38
My faves

Panda Bear - Person Pitch
of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
The Avett Brothers - Emotionalism
M.I.A. - Kala
Feist - The Reminder
Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Pharoahe Monch - Desire
The White Stripes - Icky Thump
Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity
Björk - Volta
El-P - I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead
Amy Winehouse - Back To Black
Interpol - Our Love to Admire
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Some Loud Thunder
The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
Rilo Kiley - Under The Blacklight
PJ Harvey - White Chalk
Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
Fujiya & Miyagi - Transparent Things
Justice - Cross
Kanye West - Graduation
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Battles - Mirrored
!!! - Myth Takes
St. Vincent - Marry Me
Jay-Z - American Gangster
Ghostface - The Big Doe Rehab
Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
Burial - Untrue

Can’t recall him ever making a bad album

39

[QUOTE=Max Power;278496]Here is Blender’s list of the 25 best albums of 2007:

  1. Rihanna, Good Girl Gone Bad
  2. Bright Eyes, Cassadaga
  3. Lily Allen, Alright, Still…
  4. Band Of Horses, Cease To Begin
  5. Okkervil River, The Stage Names
  6. Brad Paisley, 5th Gear
  7. Modest Mouse, We Were Dead Before The Ship Sank
  8. Justice, †
  9. Bruce Springsteen, Magic
  10. Jay-Z, American Gangster
  11. Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, Raising Sand
  12. The White Stripes, Icky Thump
  13. Feist, The Reminder
  14. Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
  15. LCD Soundsystem, Sound Of Silver
  16. Rilo Kiley, Under The Blacklight
  17. Miranda Lambert, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
  18. Amy Winehouse, Back To Black
  19. The Dream, Lovehate
  20. Radiohead, In Rainbows
  21. Against Me!, New Wave
  22. Kanye West, Graduation
  23. Lil Wayne, The Carter 3 Sessions
  24. Arcade Fire, Neon Bible
  25. M.I.A., Kala[/QUOTE]

I have to gove them credit for trying to include all genres, including the MTV/ClearChannel crowd. It’s pretty much impossible to appease everyone, but it’s nice to see so many of the same albums on my list on there.

BTW that Justice record is on just about every list I’ve seen. Is that just a trendy pick or do people really love it? D.A.N.C.E. is kinda cool, but I don’t really know the rest of the record that well.

40

[QUOTE=NinerAdvocate;278517]BTW that Justice record is on just about every list I’ve seen. Is that just a trendy pick or do people really love it? D.A.N.C.E. is kinda cool, but I don’t really know the rest of the record that well.[/QUOTE]

I think it is really funky stuff, reminds of of Daft Punk’s Homework.