Oh man it's Decembertime
Dear Internet,
It's almost the end of the year, and you know what that means! You get to hear me tell you all about my top 10 albums of the year! Gosh! I bet you are so excited. Well let me tell you, 2007 was an amazing year for music. I thought that was true of 2006 but man, 2006 was just lame compared to 2007. And when it came time for me to start thinking about this list seriously, I realized I had bought a total of 24 new albums this year (when I say new I mean ones that came out this year. I bought plenty of old albums too). I think last year I had like 16 to choose from, and even that made my decisions difficult. So for real, this year, no more "I pick most of the albums I liked this year and put them in a list and talk about them. This is serious! There was narrowing down. There were difficult decisions. All ten of the albums are beyond phenomenal. That being said, I thought I should tell you about some notable albums that sadly did not make the list, to build anticipation for the top 10, which I shall start posting after Xmas as usual. So here they are, your Honorable Mentions for 2007, in no particular order:
Feist - The Reminder
Aw, how can you not like Feist? Her voice just makes me happy. I really think everyone ought to be familiar with her music. She's just got a nice way of saying things. This album is almost all original songs that she wrote herself (instead of half and half like on her first album), so good job Leslie Feist!
The Go! Team - Proof of Youth
Another act I think everyone just ought to be familiar with. I think listening to them will make you feel good. This album is another great collection of fun hip hop dance pop fun noisy rock. You just have to hear them live. They are phenomenal.
Hot Hot Heat - Happiness Ltd.
2007 was a year of musical surprises for me. I wasn't really thrilled with HHH's last effort, but I didn't lose faith in them and they really did a bang-up job with this one. They are getting back to some of their old-school effortless-sounding pop rock songwriting skills that were a little rusty I guess on Elevator, but they maintain a nice bit of polish that makes some of these songs sound downright epic.
Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
There is a lot to love about these guys. Honestly, they don't write bad songs, ever. I don't understand how they can get away with lyrics like "The world is such a wonderful place" and "Watch how you treat every living soul" but dang it they do, and they never sound sappy. The sound like awesome folksy rock. While this doesn't really top their stellar debut, it's a great addition to their sound and shows some real growth. They are going very very good places, I promise.
Softlightes - Say No! To Being Cool, Say Yes! To Being Happy
OK admittedly sometimes these guys just don't make any sense at all, but I think you know what you're getting with an album title like that. Maybe check out this album for some delightful pop stylings, I think it will make you feel good. In fact, watch this video of theirs and you'll get a good idea of what's going on. It's an amazing video, too.
It's almost the end of the year, and you know what that means! You get to hear me tell you all about my top 10 albums of the year! Gosh! I bet you are so excited. Well let me tell you, 2007 was an amazing year for music. I thought that was true of 2006 but man, 2006 was just lame compared to 2007. And when it came time for me to start thinking about this list seriously, I realized I had bought a total of 24 new albums this year (when I say new I mean ones that came out this year. I bought plenty of old albums too). I think last year I had like 16 to choose from, and even that made my decisions difficult. So for real, this year, no more "I pick most of the albums I liked this year and put them in a list and talk about them. This is serious! There was narrowing down. There were difficult decisions. All ten of the albums are beyond phenomenal. That being said, I thought I should tell you about some notable albums that sadly did not make the list, to build anticipation for the top 10, which I shall start posting after Xmas as usual. So here they are, your Honorable Mentions for 2007, in no particular order:
Feist - The Reminder
Aw, how can you not like Feist? Her voice just makes me happy. I really think everyone ought to be familiar with her music. She's just got a nice way of saying things. This album is almost all original songs that she wrote herself (instead of half and half like on her first album), so good job Leslie Feist!
The Go! Team - Proof of Youth
Another act I think everyone just ought to be familiar with. I think listening to them will make you feel good. This album is another great collection of fun hip hop dance pop fun noisy rock. You just have to hear them live. They are phenomenal.
Hot Hot Heat - Happiness Ltd.
2007 was a year of musical surprises for me. I wasn't really thrilled with HHH's last effort, but I didn't lose faith in them and they really did a bang-up job with this one. They are getting back to some of their old-school effortless-sounding pop rock songwriting skills that were a little rusty I guess on Elevator, but they maintain a nice bit of polish that makes some of these songs sound downright epic.
Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
There is a lot to love about these guys. Honestly, they don't write bad songs, ever. I don't understand how they can get away with lyrics like "The world is such a wonderful place" and "Watch how you treat every living soul" but dang it they do, and they never sound sappy. The sound like awesome folksy rock. While this doesn't really top their stellar debut, it's a great addition to their sound and shows some real growth. They are going very very good places, I promise.
Softlightes - Say No! To Being Cool, Say Yes! To Being Happy
OK admittedly sometimes these guys just don't make any sense at all, but I think you know what you're getting with an album title like that. Maybe check out this album for some delightful pop stylings, I think it will make you feel good. In fact, watch this video of theirs and you'll get a good idea of what's going on. It's an amazing video, too.