By Cole Hill
Entertainment Editor
Every tiny hair on the back of my neck stands at attention; sweat begins to build, I can’t stand the anticipation. Where are all the articles proclaiming this year in music as “one for the record books”?
At least, that’s what I thought the routine was. The intermittent “Texas cold” of December hits and every critic with a burgeoning CD collection and a Spin subscription starts a blog just to tell everyone how important the year has been. But maybe I’m just cynical. Britney dropped a new album. The Police did a reunion tour. Amy Winehouse went to rehab and sang about it. Even the long-dormant Radiohead released a new album, and, by doing so, as a download over the Internet for whatever price the customer chooses, may have changed the record business. Who said rock ‘n’ roll was dead?
Yes, 2007 sure has been one hell of a year for music. And since this is the season for giving, I’m going to make your holiday shopping a lot easier. Here are the top 10 records for 2007.
1. Spoon, “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga”
With the song-writing prowess of legends in the making and a reputation as one of the most important and constantly surprising bands in indie-rock, Austinites Spoon are already a powerhouse. But on the band’s sixth full-length album, the irreverently titled “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga,” Spoon isn’t just catchy. The band is unstoppable. Guitars crash and swoon with the jangly fervor of bohemian beach jams on tunes like “Don’t You Evah.” Singer-songwriter Brit Daniel has never written deeper or more rewarding notes than on hip-shakers like The Police-tinged “Eddie’s Ragga” or the Bowie-laden rhythms of “Finer Feelings.” Spoon has created one of the most engaging and impressively innovative pop records in years.
2. Elliott Smith, “New Moon”
Four years ago when prolific singer-songwriter Elliott Smith took his own life, music stood still. And while Smith might not be as well known as other artists who’ve died young, he’s no less important. “New Moon,” Smith’s posthumous presentation of 24 previously unreleased songs recorded between 1994 and 1997, proves just that. It may not have all of the jaw-dropping tunes that albums like “Either/Or” pulsed and trembled with, but it’s impossible to deny Smith’s intense, heartbreaking sincerity. Here for the first time are the original demos to songs like the Oscar-nominated “Miss Misery.” And new uncovered tunes like the sarcastic fingerpicking in “Big Decision” and the remorsefully strummed “All Cleaned Out” are instant classics.
3. Minus The Bear, “Planet of Ice”
Whoever thought that Pink Floyd worship and acid-rock guitar solos were a thing best left in the ’70s must not have been paying attention. Lucky for everyone else, Minus The Bear was. On “Planet of Ice,” the band’s third album, these boys have crafted one of the most ambitious rock records of the past decade. Songs range from the danceable and accessible “Knights” to seizure-shock-rocking climax builders like “Double Vision Quest.” Finally, Minus the Bear has pushed its sound and genre to the next level.
4. Ampere, “Ampere/Das Oath Split”
If there was ever a musical equivalent to getting kicked in the teeth and spit on, this is it. That’s just what Massachusetts natives Ampere had in mind for their split with New York thrash punk band Das Oath, whose songs clock in at a neck-breaking pace of barely less than seven minutes. Made up entirely of covers of classic punk standards such as the Bad Brains’ “The Regulator,” these new renditions rival the original cuts. Ampere’s version of “Money Stinks,” originally written by seminal English post-punks Wire, lurches with all the reckless insanity of a drunk driver going against traffic.
5. Magnolia Electric Co., “Sojourner”
Jason Molina has always been a mystery. Whether it has been manning the helm as singer-songwriter for the cult-classic indie group Songs: Ohia or as the writing force and voice behind his most recent incarnation in Magnolia Electric Co., he’s never been one to loosen grip over the reigns. Here, though, on the group’s fourth album, the sprawling and grand box set “Sojourner,” he’s never been more inviting. Granted the subjects stay the same as Molina and his guitar wail against the backdrop of lonesome, moonlit country highways in tracks like the heavenly built “Texas 71.” But with a vision for his art this precise and uniquely imagined, who’s complaining?
6. Bright Eyes, “Cassadaga”
“How can you live in the same state that that traitor in the White House came from?” Yes, Bright Eyes’ main man Conor Oberst is even quotable outside his lyrics. But in the past two years, Oberst has done what no one expected of him – actually grown up. Proof comes courtesy of the country-tinged folk rock on the concept album “Cassadaga.” Based around themes related to faith healing, spirituality and general freaked-out mysticism, this is an album that skimped on none of the potentially alienating artistic awkwardness. Instead, though, it embraces it. Fortunately, it works incredibly. “Cassadaga” creates a captivating world desperate for meaning and acceptance in songs like the catchy and ironically light-hearted “I Must Belong Somewhere” and the blackly triumphant “Soul Singer In A Session Band.”
7. Iron and Wine, “The Shepherd’s Dog”
No one was quite sure what to think when Iron and Wine frontman and songwriter Samuel Beam announced that his group’s latest effort would be a politically-charged album. And while that may have been the initial intention behind some of “The Shepherd’s Dog,” you probably won’t find much. But with tracks like the serenely beautiful “Carousel” and the driving, dark magic of “House by the Sea,” there are clearly more intriguing concepts at work here.
8. Dizzee Rascal, “Maths + English”
Plenty of people will tell you that hip-hop begins and ends with the artists in the U.S. Even more will localize it to scenes like L.A. and New York. But the truly enlightened will do the right thing and see U.K. grime/hip-hop performer Dizzee Rascal for what he truly is: a visionary. On “Maths + English,” the east London rapper’s third record, Rascal is as raucous and brilliant as some of hip-hop’s greats. Tracks like “Where Da G’s” with rappers Pimp C and Bun B of Houston legends UGK sizzle and surprise in all the right places. From its infectious and original beats to its humorous, intelligent and surprisingly conscious rhymes, “Maths + English” finally creates a determined and fully realized sound for Rascal.
9. Meneguar, “Strangers In Our House”
With a name that sounds like it’s straight out of black-metal folklore and an age of less than four years, Meneguar is quite the odd beast. But, scary sounding or not, these Brooklyn kids have used their intense indie-rock understanding and the raw energy of punk to create the incredibly catchy and imaginative “Strangers In Our House.” Every song sounds like the makings of a drunk sing-a-long with your best friends to the catchiest song you haven’t heard yet. Tunes like the “Freshman Thoughts” jerk and spasm and threaten to careen out of control at times but continue forward in a continuous challenge. Just wait to see what this band does next.
10. Patton Oswalt, “Werewolves and Lollipops”
Comedian Patton Oswalt may have been a moderately successful actor with small parts on shows like “King of Queens,” but with the release of “Werewolves and Lollipops,” there’s no doubt he’ll rise to the status of a cult favorite. KFC’s Famous Bowls, college, hometown life and racists: nothing and no one is safe from Oswalt’s commentary and ridicule. And yeah, Oswalt did “Ratatouille” too. That was funny, but never has Oswalt been funnier, more insightful or relevant than on this recording from a concert he performed in Austin.
By Beau Rice
Music Columnist
1. Animal Collective, “Strawberry Jam”
Just when you thought Animal Collective couldn’t get any crazier, the band released its most inventive and exhilarating work yet. Cacophonous, free-wheeling and triumphant, “Strawberry Jam” is the must-hear record of the season.
2. M.I.A., “Kala”
Sri Lankan-British electro-muse Maya Arulpragasam outdid herself in 2007 with an album that initially strikes the listener as annoying, but eventually becomes the most fun they’ve had in ages. “Kala” is transcendently humorous, unabashedly weird and progressive to a fault. By the time you reach “Paper Planes,” the last track and best single of the year, you’ll have your hand in the shape of a gun, shooting along to the explosive shots in praise of M.I.A.’s precocious brilliance.
3. Feist, “The Reminder”
It’s hard to believe, but “The Reminder” is “Pitchfork”-approved pop for hipsters and their grandmothers alike. Best known for the Apple-endorsed “1234” and its luminous music video, the track is hardly the only fun to be had on this record. While listening to “The Reminder,” it’s nearly impossible not to fall in love with Leslie Feist. Her songwriting is seamless and her voice could break the heart of the most insatiable cynic. And I admit, song after song, it did.
4. Of Montreal, “Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?”
This album, released early in 2007, is lead singer Kevin Barnes’s grand ode to depression and drugs that unfailingly captures the ups, downs and way-downs of party animal escapism. In a single minute, it can turn from euphoric to deadpan to hopeless. It is the quintessential religious text for the self-destructive, pill-popping “indie star” inside all of us.
5. LCD Soundsystem, “Sound of Silver”
Centered by the fabulous and painfully true pop masterpiece “North American Scum,” LCD Soundsystem’s second record is a sly electronic work that undermines stereotypes with tongue-in-cheek intelligence and refreshing genre-hopping. It further blurs the lines between electro and pop-rock.
6. Justice, “Cross”
The much-anticipated debut from this French electronic duo left some Daft Punk-lovers disappointed, but left me salivating for more. It’s a tough love, what with its heavy metal influence and sundry collection of not-exactly-cohesive tracks, but it’s a rewarding journey for the strong of heart. “D.A.N.C.E.” and the two-part “Phantom” are especially delicious, but the whole album constitutes a step forward for electronic music.
7. New Young Pony Club, “Fantastic Playroom”
Undoubtedly the poppiest album on this list, New Young Pony Club’s debut is deceptively simple and unapologetically fun loving. A darling of 2007’s retail radio stations, it’s likely you’ve heard clips from the appropriately titled “Fantastic Playroom” but relatively unlikely that you’ve encountered the whole thing. Next time you do, if you’re on the lookout for a party-hearted barrel of monkeys, I suggest you get in on it and let the dancing ensue.
8. Panda Bear, “Person Pitch”
This lovely and subtle seven-track album from Animal Collective member Panda Bear is, simply put, exquisite and brave. Its two best songs, in fact, “Bros” and “Good Girl/Carrots,” exceed the 10-minute mark, a death wish for any commercial artist. However, Panda Bear is far more than commercial. “Person Pitch” is best listened to from start to finish, and its Beach Boys-influenced indie pop makes the perfect companion for a drowsy Sunday or stroll through the park. (Additional honors: Best Cover Art of 2007.)
9. Spoon, “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga”
This 2007 effort from Spoon provided much-needed proof that the modern music scene had not moved way beyond its brand of good-old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll. “The Underdog” is arguably the band’s best song ever, and other tracks like “Finer Feelings” and “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb” get stuck in your head and stay there. Kudos to Spoon. I’m ga-ga. (Sorry, I had to say it.)
10. Various Artists, “I’m Not There” OST
The soundtrack to Todd Haynes’s weird-as-hell Bob Dylan biopic gathers together some of the best talent of today and gives them free reign on some of Dylan’s most popular songs, in addition to some obscure selections. Cat Power’s radiant take on “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again” is a highlight, as is Sufjan Stevens’s triumphant imagining of Dylan’s Christian-era “Ring Them Bells.” A must-have for any Dylan fan, and a decent introduction to the music god’s towering discography.
Other artists who made 2007 sound great include Radiohead, Girl Talk, Amy Winehouse, Simian Mobile Disco, Kanye West, The White Stripes, St. Vincent, The Arcade Fire, !!!, Jens Lekman and The National.
Here’s hoping 2008 will give us a similarly healthy stock of progressive, interesting, and entertaining records.
