lesson never learned, never let jack go in front of me. i haven't even heard 8 of his 10, and only cuts off of the black lips and sharon jones (both of which i liked!). when i started to make my list i even wondered if i'd heard 10 albums that i'd put up for best of year. turns out i had. no REAL order, suckily written reviews (i don't like writing these all of the sudden).
Beat the Devil
www.myspace.com/beatthedevil
honestly, i don't even know if their release came out in '07 or if it's even a legit one, but randomly hearing Shilpa Ray's ragin blues-addled voice on WNYC's Soundcheck was my fave music moment of the year. band was great live when i caught em this summer ... Mishka Shubaly's bass runs the show, and i apologize that i haven't gotten round to his solo joint.
Amy Winehouse "Back to Black"
i'll take the sharon jones argument over her, but without sounding like jim farber, this was a fantastic album. modern, backward & all that shit.
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists "Living with the Living"
teddy's london calling if ya will ... pop/punk driven anti-war sprawl, earnest with a capital N. somebody needed to say this. few did. that fucking sucks.
Grinderman
fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck ... nick the pillager back for a long overdue visit.
Ticklah "Ticklah Vs. Axelrod"
dig his instrumentals way more than the vocal treatments, but i love this record. this dude is onto something.
Oakley Hall "I'll Follow You"
suffice, these dudes get better with evry release. bent ass smart country/rawk. great singin, great nasty gtrz. righteous
White Stripes "Icky Thump"
used to dismiss em. then i saw em live. fuckin jack white's got more talent in his left pinkie than the whole lot a bedford ave. there's some annoying shit on this record, but the highs are worth every shrill ass note white shreds.
Wu Tang "8 diagrams"
don't understand the in-house fighting on this one. rza's put together a mini-masterstroke. doped out/driven and outplayin ghostface's pretty decent but ridin on fishscale fumes "big doe rehab".
Thurston Moore "Trees Outside The Academy"
I'd like to have told you 20 years ago that this was what Sonic Youth would sound like today. following SY's reachin back and pretty great "rather ripped", this amalgam of acoustic drone and petty melody rings
Radiohead "In Rainbows"
15 step put hair on my neck hairs. kudos for puttin major labels on watch. kudos period.
single of the year:
Rehab
oh really? ... fuck you
Most disappointing:
Rilo Kiley "Under the Blacklight"
Was never a fan of the band, but after Jenny Lewis's great album (me top 10 last year), I had high hopes. This pop drivel with an ear to the mainstream was borderline nauseating.
Wilco "Sky Blue Sky"
I tried. I really did.
5 comments:
In no particular order, here are the albums I liked this year:
Bettye LaVette: Scene of the Crime
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings: 100 Days, 100 Nights
Amy Winehouse: Back to Black
The New Pornographers: Challengers
Imperial Teen: The Hair The TV The Baby & The Band
Iron & Wine: The Shepherd's Dog
The National: Boxer
Joe Henry: Civilians
Robert Plant and Alison Krause:Raising Sand
Thurston Moore: Trees Outside the Academy
Andrew Bird: Armchair Apocrypha
Miles Daves: Live at the 1963 Monterey Jazz Festival
Radiohead: In Rainbows
Pending: PJ Harvey
Dud of the Year: Wilco
The Oakley Hall record is great. Merge put out good records this year. And you're right - the Rilo Kiley record was weak. I couldn't get through the second listen. I also agree with you on the Wilco record even though I haven't heard it.
you left off a certain somebody's years in the making masterpiece. cough.
sorry xmas, but bruce couldn't a spent more than 2 weeks writing said "masterpiece" ... specially with tommy tutone giving him the leadoff track
Thurston & Amy on the same list.. how diverse
~ The Octopus Project - Hello Avalanche
~ Pinback - Autumn of the Seraphs
~ Pig Destroyer - Phantom Limb
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