2007 - The Year In Music
2007 was an especially good year in music, and there are a number of albums that deserve special recognition. These are my personal favorites, some of the honorable mentions, and a few albums I'm sure I'd love but just never got around to.
in no particular order, the best of 2007
Lily Allen - Alright, Still
This girl has the sweetest heavy British accent I've ever heard. She's the first female artist that I actually like, which means a lot if you know anything about me. This is, however, no sweet little girl, and this is no album of love songs. Her smart, sassy lyrics about cheating ex-boyfriends, bad "friends" and the guy "was small in the game" make her my kind of lady.
Notable Songs: LDN - In which Lily uses the high notes to sing about how beautiful the world isn't.
*Friend of Mine - This one, the story of a former friend who is "chatting shite", is both empowering and loaded with liquid tones and a reggae-influenced beat to take some of the edge off her biting lyrics.
Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
This is, without a doubt, my most-played album of 2007. Better than their first, which I didn’t think was possible; it’s fun, loud, exceptionally British and performed by young lads who aren’t afraid to call every poser trendster out and still dedicate a track to fantasizing about a girlfriend’s alone time.
(Narrowed-Down) Notable Songs: Brianstorm - This first track starts off with a machine-gun guitar and the most appropriate introduction to an album that is far from shy. Brian, the song’s lead character, is musician about as original as a Xerox with a penchant for groupies quick to drop their drapes.
*Old Yellow Bricks - This beat gets me bopping around regardless of where I am, who I’m with or who’s watching. If you see me on the PATH and I’m rocking out in my seat, I’m probably listening to this song. (I know I said he wants to sleep in a city that never wakes up but/Dorothy was right though.)
Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
I didn’t want to like this album, just for the stupid, pretentious name. Lucky for this creative Texas “indie” band, the pop hooks, innovative musical touches and quotable lyrics make this album a brilliant compilation of stand-alone tracks that fill out an album with a sense of worldly and otherworldly fun, sarcasm and experimentation.
(Narrowed-Down) Notable Songs: The Ghost of You Lingers - This song jarred me the first few times I listened to it, starting off with the kind of brash piano-bashing that made me jump in my seat at work, thinking I was being attacked. Upon further and more serious listening, this song has taken on a life of its own; a walk into a haunted house without the cheeseball factor and with delicately-placed metaphor. Oh and don’t worry, your speakers aren’t broken and your iPod isn’t haunted. I promise.
*Okay so I tried to pick another song but as I look at the track list, I can’t narrow it down. All of them, minus the last track, Black Like Me, are all absolutely amazing for completely different reasons.
Jimmy Eat World - Chase This Light
Finally! After all these years! A new Jimmy Eat World album! It was worth the wait for this album, a solid yet formulaic Jimmy album. If you know the last two albums, they haven't strayed terribly far from their "pop-punk" sensibilities, but since they’re one of my all-time favorites, I can’t exactly complain. It’s not perfect, but it’s still pretty loveable, solid Jimmy.
Notable Songs: Firefight - With just enough intensity and the kind of lyrics that I know I’ll dedicate to someone eventually, I can’t help but love this earnest, wistful crescendo of a song. I close my eyes every time I listen to it (and am not driving).
*Gotta Be Somebody’s Blues - This, the most ambitious track on the album, is a little sensual, slightly cynical and much less pop than any other track, past or present.
Kings of Leon - Because of the Times
If an album can sound like it was soaked in bourbon, this would be it. This is the dirty south from the safety of your music player, expressed in a throaty self-assurance coupled with acoustic twang and danceable-electric guitar of love.
Notable Song: Knocked Up - Because she’s going to have his baby, no matter what her momma says, and he’s more than willing to spirit her away in his Coupe de Ville. Besides that, though, the song’s starting riff is enough to make it worthwhile.
*(There are plenty more but…well…I’m a little tired. Long four days.)
Matt Nathanson - Some Mad Hope
Another long-awaited album, Matty has been teasing fans with live performances of several of the tracks on a “future” album that, after four years, is finally a reality. The singer-songwriter with heart-tugging lyrics and the sense of humor fit for HBO has struck again, with just the right mix of upbeat music and slightly cynical lyrics and still a little bit of love.
Notable Songs: Detroit Waves - To me, this song is a little bit different in scope from a lot of Matty’s other stuff. Either way, this song is very good in headphones and even better on stage. Matt has a knack for crafting pessimism into songs that sound misleadingly upbeat.
*To The Beat of Our Noisy Hearts - This is an acoustic head-bopper and quintessential Matt Nathanson; singing about a girl, telling her story with a want in his voice that successfully walks along the precariously thin line between endearing admiration and desperate neediness.
The Apples in Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder
This cheerful, synth-y band signed by Elijah Wood has put together a fun, accessible offering that gets about as intense as possible about happiness and flirts with psychedelia without crossing the line. This is the perfect bright, sunny, windows-down album for any spring/summer car ride, and the ultimate cure for the winter blues.
Notable Songs: Energy - Feeling down? This cheer-up babe of a song reminds you that no matter what happens, “the world is made of energy and there’s a lot inside of you, and there’s a lot inside of me.” So lighten up, kid, life will get better and The Apples in Stereo will join you on the journey.
*Skyway - A fast and catchy few minutes with lyrics that don’t quite match the tone give this track a bit more than the rest of this feel-good life-loving album. (Forty days in the neon haze/Festering dreams are dressed in vagaries)
honorable mentions
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
Though I've (mostly) grown out of my electronic stage, this is a clever, well-written and still dance-y album that has the balls to call New York out for getting a bit depressing (New York, I Love You, But You're Bringing Me Down) and to make anti-Eurosnobbery danceable (North American Scum).
Thrice - The Alchemy Index Vol. 1 & 2
The first two installments of this four-part concept album took me some time to get into, and unless I’m in the mood for something heavy, I tend to shy away from these twelve tracks. Volume 2, Water, is better than Vol. 1’s Fire, but each one has its merits.
Say Anything - In Defense of the Genre
I’ve never been a huge Say Anything fan, and I’ve tried my hardest to really get into them. With this new album, I’m one step closer to really appreciating them. Soon enough I’ll be able to really appreciate the first album, which is supposed to be even better than this 27-track double-album. A few songs are a little painful in their intensity but it does offer a better image of the once-tormented lead singer Max Bemis.
Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace
Foo at their typical goodness. Some loud, some mellow, always Grohl and Co. Still a far cry from those Nirvana roots, but solid, enjoyable arena rock nevertheless.
albums i should have been listening to
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Kanye West - Graduation
Against Me! - New Wave
Gogol Bordello - Super Taranta!
The White Stripes - Icky Thump
What were your favorite albums/songs of 2007?
in no particular order, the best of 2007
Lily Allen - Alright, Still
This girl has the sweetest heavy British accent I've ever heard. She's the first female artist that I actually like, which means a lot if you know anything about me. This is, however, no sweet little girl, and this is no album of love songs. Her smart, sassy lyrics about cheating ex-boyfriends, bad "friends" and the guy "was small in the game" make her my kind of lady.
Notable Songs: LDN - In which Lily uses the high notes to sing about how beautiful the world isn't.
*Friend of Mine - This one, the story of a former friend who is "chatting shite", is both empowering and loaded with liquid tones and a reggae-influenced beat to take some of the edge off her biting lyrics.
Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
This is, without a doubt, my most-played album of 2007. Better than their first, which I didn’t think was possible; it’s fun, loud, exceptionally British and performed by young lads who aren’t afraid to call every poser trendster out and still dedicate a track to fantasizing about a girlfriend’s alone time.
(Narrowed-Down) Notable Songs: Brianstorm - This first track starts off with a machine-gun guitar and the most appropriate introduction to an album that is far from shy. Brian, the song’s lead character, is musician about as original as a Xerox with a penchant for groupies quick to drop their drapes.
*Old Yellow Bricks - This beat gets me bopping around regardless of where I am, who I’m with or who’s watching. If you see me on the PATH and I’m rocking out in my seat, I’m probably listening to this song. (I know I said he wants to sleep in a city that never wakes up but/Dorothy was right though.)
Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
I didn’t want to like this album, just for the stupid, pretentious name. Lucky for this creative Texas “indie” band, the pop hooks, innovative musical touches and quotable lyrics make this album a brilliant compilation of stand-alone tracks that fill out an album with a sense of worldly and otherworldly fun, sarcasm and experimentation.
(Narrowed-Down) Notable Songs: The Ghost of You Lingers - This song jarred me the first few times I listened to it, starting off with the kind of brash piano-bashing that made me jump in my seat at work, thinking I was being attacked. Upon further and more serious listening, this song has taken on a life of its own; a walk into a haunted house without the cheeseball factor and with delicately-placed metaphor. Oh and don’t worry, your speakers aren’t broken and your iPod isn’t haunted. I promise.
*Okay so I tried to pick another song but as I look at the track list, I can’t narrow it down. All of them, minus the last track, Black Like Me, are all absolutely amazing for completely different reasons.
Jimmy Eat World - Chase This Light
Finally! After all these years! A new Jimmy Eat World album! It was worth the wait for this album, a solid yet formulaic Jimmy album. If you know the last two albums, they haven't strayed terribly far from their "pop-punk" sensibilities, but since they’re one of my all-time favorites, I can’t exactly complain. It’s not perfect, but it’s still pretty loveable, solid Jimmy.
Notable Songs: Firefight - With just enough intensity and the kind of lyrics that I know I’ll dedicate to someone eventually, I can’t help but love this earnest, wistful crescendo of a song. I close my eyes every time I listen to it (and am not driving).
*Gotta Be Somebody’s Blues - This, the most ambitious track on the album, is a little sensual, slightly cynical and much less pop than any other track, past or present.
Kings of Leon - Because of the Times
If an album can sound like it was soaked in bourbon, this would be it. This is the dirty south from the safety of your music player, expressed in a throaty self-assurance coupled with acoustic twang and danceable-electric guitar of love.
Notable Song: Knocked Up - Because she’s going to have his baby, no matter what her momma says, and he’s more than willing to spirit her away in his Coupe de Ville. Besides that, though, the song’s starting riff is enough to make it worthwhile.
*(There are plenty more but…well…I’m a little tired. Long four days.)
Matt Nathanson - Some Mad Hope
Another long-awaited album, Matty has been teasing fans with live performances of several of the tracks on a “future” album that, after four years, is finally a reality. The singer-songwriter with heart-tugging lyrics and the sense of humor fit for HBO has struck again, with just the right mix of upbeat music and slightly cynical lyrics and still a little bit of love.
Notable Songs: Detroit Waves - To me, this song is a little bit different in scope from a lot of Matty’s other stuff. Either way, this song is very good in headphones and even better on stage. Matt has a knack for crafting pessimism into songs that sound misleadingly upbeat.
*To The Beat of Our Noisy Hearts - This is an acoustic head-bopper and quintessential Matt Nathanson; singing about a girl, telling her story with a want in his voice that successfully walks along the precariously thin line between endearing admiration and desperate neediness.
The Apples in Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder
This cheerful, synth-y band signed by Elijah Wood has put together a fun, accessible offering that gets about as intense as possible about happiness and flirts with psychedelia without crossing the line. This is the perfect bright, sunny, windows-down album for any spring/summer car ride, and the ultimate cure for the winter blues.
Notable Songs: Energy - Feeling down? This cheer-up babe of a song reminds you that no matter what happens, “the world is made of energy and there’s a lot inside of you, and there’s a lot inside of me.” So lighten up, kid, life will get better and The Apples in Stereo will join you on the journey.
*Skyway - A fast and catchy few minutes with lyrics that don’t quite match the tone give this track a bit more than the rest of this feel-good life-loving album. (Forty days in the neon haze/Festering dreams are dressed in vagaries)
honorable mentions
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
Though I've (mostly) grown out of my electronic stage, this is a clever, well-written and still dance-y album that has the balls to call New York out for getting a bit depressing (New York, I Love You, But You're Bringing Me Down) and to make anti-Eurosnobbery danceable (North American Scum).
Thrice - The Alchemy Index Vol. 1 & 2
The first two installments of this four-part concept album took me some time to get into, and unless I’m in the mood for something heavy, I tend to shy away from these twelve tracks. Volume 2, Water, is better than Vol. 1’s Fire, but each one has its merits.
Say Anything - In Defense of the Genre
I’ve never been a huge Say Anything fan, and I’ve tried my hardest to really get into them. With this new album, I’m one step closer to really appreciating them. Soon enough I’ll be able to really appreciate the first album, which is supposed to be even better than this 27-track double-album. A few songs are a little painful in their intensity but it does offer a better image of the once-tormented lead singer Max Bemis.
Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace
Foo at their typical goodness. Some loud, some mellow, always Grohl and Co. Still a far cry from those Nirvana roots, but solid, enjoyable arena rock nevertheless.
albums i should have been listening to
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Kanye West - Graduation
Against Me! - New Wave
Gogol Bordello - Super Taranta!
The White Stripes - Icky Thump
What were your favorite albums/songs of 2007?