Sorry Khaled, but I NEED that! lol I'm really proud to announce that WRAS-Atlanta [Album 88] was picked as both the Editors & Readers of Creative Loafing ATL as the best OVERALL radio station in Atlanta. Not V-103! Not Hot 107.9! Not Dave FM! US! Its really crazy and humbling to be a part of something like this. I'm hoping we can keep the momentum going into next year, and with all of our listeners' help, we should. If you've EVER listened to WRAS, be it Tha Bomb or regular rotation, THANK YOU!

Oh yeah, we're also nominated for an mtvU Woodie Award! I'll keep you posted on the details for that [soon] because we'll need you to vote your ass off for us.

I think another thing that makes this post so joyful is its sheer eclecticism -- the strange sitting alongside with the obvious, the rare with the (indie) popular. The major condition to be on this list is that I listened to these albums. Alot. Or, I enjoyed them. Alot. These are ordered (sorta) alphabetically and that's it! I hope that you find something new, too.

Tomlab Alphabet Series: Q by Alig Fodder
Tomlab has this wonderful series of 7" records that has been coming out over the past several years, each one for each letter. Alig Fodder from Family Fodder fame shows up on letter 'Q' and later as an Idol Fodder EP. Addictive elements both aboriginal and electronic, and looping laughs.

• Death and the Maiden, The Onliest Thing

Strawberry Jam by Animal Collective
First album released on Domino, hailed as their most pop-oriented yet. For me, this album was eclipsed by drummer, Panda Bear's, solo album, and Sung Tongs and Feels are still landmark albums in my mind. Nonetheless, Fireworks (and the live blending with Essplode) and For Reverend Green do stand out as the best Animal Collective songs ever made.

• Peacebone, Fireworks / Essplode [Live @ KEXP], For Reverend Green

Neon Bible by Arcade Fire
The slow leak that was their sophomoric album on Merge could not contain the raw excitement over their debut, Funeral. Any band that starts with a landmark album automatically sets themselves up for failure, no matter how good the follow-up. I'm happy that they received KROQ love, but their listeners only knew Intervention at the amazing Greek performance. Take another listen to the following layered, dark gems and lookup my favorite, (Antichrist Television Blues).

• Black Mirror
  

In Camera by Arthur & Yu
I became so captivated by the first Hardly Art (a SubPop sublabel) release that I have the promo disc as well! The finest folk this side of the Mississippi, as many readers know I discovered them on the 5th track of Dntel's Dumb Luck. They remind me of Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood, like OP8 featuring Lisa Germano, and everything good about Peter, Paul and Mary.

• There Are Too Many Birds, Come to View (Song for Neil Young), The Distance (featuring Arthur & Yu)

Load Blown by Black Dice
I've known about Eric Copeland by proxy on other Paw Tracks releases, most notably from The Sailor by Terrestrial Tones, although I didn't start listening to Black Dice until Mr. Copeland opened for the Animal Collective show at the Henry Fonda. It was very LOUD but it perked my interest enough to buy their latest album, full of quirks, beats, and other transporting soundscapes.

• Roll Up, Kokomo

Spiderman of the Rings by Dan Deacon
Another great artist on Carpark, and his video is the cheesiest. I saw Dan Deacon at Coachella this year and I have to say it was the best show at the festival, the best show I've ever gone to and I need to posted pics and movies later. Dan Deacon is interactive, he's a fun sing-along, with electronic cannons made with casiotone sugar. Also get all of Dan Deacon's old MP3s

• The Crystal Cat, Okie Dokie, Wham City

The Enemy Chorus by The Earlies
I think I love this Secretly Canadian release if only for the song When the Wind Blows. This Austin based band plays it with syncopated electronic beats, power chords on what sounds like a baby grand, and softened with melodic strings. Yet when I hear this bluesy proggy, and ambitious album, there is so much that is good with it, it simply takes its time to sneak-up and arrest you.

• No Love in Your Heart

We Don't Just Disappear by Future Conditional
I read a pan of this album somewhere and I conject you are not ready for Piano Magic's side project or the 80s electropop seems to slippery to grasp. Both of these of which I fell victim. Still, for the sheer hotness of The Switchboard Girl should give you enough pause before moving on. Below the surface of this album are 80s drum machine references to New Order (Substance Fear) and other musical nods I've yet to place (Typos).

• We Don't Just Disappear [Future Con Remix]

Panic Prevention by Jamie T
My only major label (Virgin), I love these hyper-masculine, boyish rhymes, (rap, um, not so much) from Jamie Treays debut. I listened to these tracks intensely for about a month and even won a Flavorpill trivia contest to see him at the Troubadour but alas I had (writing) class. Still, almost a year later songs like Calm Down Dearest and So Lonely Was the Ballad are emotional charged and poignant. I hope for good things to come.

• Calm Down Dearest, Salvador, On Holiday

Broken Social Scene Presents: Spirit If... by Kevin Drew
Arts & Crafts is certainly becoming one of my favorite labels, steered in part by Broken Social Scene founder, Kevin Drew. His first solo album in what will be a Broken Social Scene Presents series featuring each member, it is both a departure from the mega-group's broad arrangements, and also an amplification of the intimate chamber pop that makes it so good. My only regret is how little I've listened to this album.

• Age of Consent, Frightening Lives

Loney, Noir by Loney, Dear
SubPop has been pushing all their releases into my life this past year, and this swede is no exception. With almost english titles, I previously proclaimed that I bought the title track, I Am John, within 30 seconds of hearing it. Along with the cutest video, and a 7", his prior releases (anything before Sologne) are difficult to find. Have a listen to this multilayered, pop-stylist. It's addictive and sweet as Swedish Fish:

• I Am John, Hard Days 1,2,3,4, Saturday Waits

Sticking Fingers into Sockets by Los Campesinos!
I had the pleasure of seeing this this Wales band from Arts & Crafts at the Troubadour last Saturday with the Parenthetical Girls and they are Twee as Fuck. They have a firm understanding of the C-86 bands: not to say they're only as sweet as Sarah Records, they firmly put their own little punk spin on their collection of songs. Plus, I think they're a little fey -- makes me go all smiley inside.

• You! Me! Dancing!, It Started with a Mixx, Death to Los Campesinos!, We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives

Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? by Of Montreal
Their latest release on Polyvinyl is both the band's darkest and best release to date. I find it rare that a band gets better with each release, but when that happens, it's a joy to hear how the album becomes more refined while pushing its own limits. Hateful dance hippy intellectual glamrock. It's ABBA's evil twin, but better. How can you go wrong?

• Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse, Faberge Falls For Shuggie

Book of Bad Breaks by Thee More Shallows
Here is a case where anticipating a bands latest release, their first on Anticon, I fall in love with their prior albums. And that's what happened, I listened to More Deep Cuts to a dirty grave (ironically, Ave Grave being my favorite song on the album) and then Monkey vs. Shark. I still intend to wrap my head around the Book of Bad Breaks, but I still am charmed by earlier moody releases. Alas!

• Night at the Knight School, Freshman Thesis, 2AM

Our Ill Wills by Shout Out Louds
I'm not sure I did the right thing by not having their first Merge album in my top 10. Another case where I happened upon their first album Howl Howl Gaff Gaff first which stuck to me like Swedish Superglue (Re: Loney, Dear). It took a little while to warm up to Our Ill Wills, the maritime flagship of a follow-up album. "Yeah, but they sound like The Cure!" Um, hush now and and have a good listen.

• Tonight I Have to Leave It, Tonight I Have to Leave It [Russian Futurists Remix]

Tromatic Reflexxions by Von Südenfed
Two parts Krautrock inspired Mouse on Mars and one part Mark E. Smith, the punk pioneer and The Fall's repetitious frontman, their Domino debut proves (against all odds) to be amazingly harmonious, integrated, and awesome. The deep beats of the DJs fully support the rhyming rhythms that play within that structure to make for some unique and playful songs that together raises the stakes on the sum of its parts.

• The Rhinohead, Flooded, Fledermaus Can't Get It

1. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao—Junot Díaz
2. The Yiddish Policemen’s Union—Michael Chabon: We didn't like this book and are frankly astounded at all the praise it's garnered.
3. The Savage Detectives—Roberto Bolaño: It's in a stack waiting to be read. The stack is very big though, and the book is very big, so, who knows (in all likelihood it will beat out last year's reader fave, Pynchon's impossibly large Against the Day).
4. Tree of Smoke—Denis Johnson: We loved it. Top pick of the year. Very divisive, strangely--just read through the Amazon reviews.
5. Then We Came to the End—Joshua Ferris
6. No One Belongs Here More Than You—Miranda July: Oh my gosh. Seriously? Really? I read half of this at a Barnes & Noble, no exaggeration. I sat and drank coffee and read it. I'm not saying that a book has to take a while to read in order to have weight or substance, but in this particular instance, no, nothing, fluff. This is the kind of thing that people who quit reading after high school mistake for literature.
7. On Chesil Beach—Ian McEwan: The library has this on CD; I'll listen to it this summer. I've grappled with the first five pages of Atonement too many times to bother, really. And then I saw the movie, and it sucked. So...
8. Zeroville—Steve Erickson
9. Like You’d Understand, Anyway—Jim Shepard
10. Slam—Nick Hornby: We suspect that The Believer's readers are partial to Hornby; would they have given another Young Adult novel a nod? We doubt it.
11. Divisadero—Michael Ondaatje: Also in the stack.
12. Bowl of Cherries—Millard Kaufman: A pamphlet containing the first three chapters was published as an insert in an issue of McSweeney's. It was pretty funny.
13. Varieties of Disturbance—Lydia Davis
14. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian—Sherman Alexie: This was fantastic. And it was YA! We rescind our Hornby complaint.
15. The Abstinence Teacher—Tom Perrotta
16. Call Me by Your Name—André Aciman
17. After Dark—Haruki Murakami: Murakami is the writer we wished that we love but we just can't get into. We remember reading some of his short fiction years ago, in Harper's and other places, but even The Elephant Vanishes was a trial to get through.
18. Darkmans—Nicola Barker
19. Diary of a Bad Year—J. M. Coetzee
20. Falling Man—Don DeLillo: Dry, self-important, rarely engaging, and not nearly as good as it was pretending to be, Falling Man was only a step above its dark twin, the pre-9/11 novel Cosmopolis.
21. Five Skies—Ron Carlson
22. God Is Dead—Ron Currie, Jr.
23. Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name—Vendela Vida
24. Shortcomings—Adrian Tomine
25. Samedi the Deafness—Jesse Ball
26. The Gum Thief—Douglas Coupland: We consistently forget about Coupland. Why? We loved Microserfs, after all...
27. Remainder—Tom McCarthy
28. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows—J. K. Rowling: We listened to all the HP books on mp3 over the winter and spring breaks. Deathly Hallows was okay. Lots of time in the forest. Kinda boring, really.
29. Acme Novelty Library #18—Chris Ware: We love Chris Ware!
30. An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England—Brock Clarke
31. Exit Ghost—Philip Roth: Never made it through an entire Roth novel.
32. Bad Monkeys—Matt Ruff
33. The Last Novel—David Markson
34. The Raw Shark Texts—Steven Hall
35. Inglorious—Joanna Kavenna
36. Mister Pip—Lloyd Jones
37. Spook Country—William Gibson: We passed on this one. Gibson has disappointed us too many times now.
38. Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey—Chuck Palahniuk: Should we give it a shot? Isn't this guy just a dirty hack?
39. The Indian Clerk—David Leavitt
40. The Terror—Dan Simmons

As the fulcrum of the large, messy, and unpredictable Broken Social Scene and the Arts & Crafts label, Kevin Drew has a lot of talented friends to assist him in his debut album. This means that Spirit If... has contributions by people from indie legends Spiral Stairs and J Mascis to fellow Torontonians and every damn person on A&C, such as Feist, Jason Collett, Amy Millan, Emily Haines, everyone in Do Make Say Think, even Gonzales and Tom Cochrane, among many others. This is in its own modest way an all-star project (Broken Social Scene PRESENTS).

Well, if you have a working familiarity with the A&C crew, then you might have some idea of the objects in play. It has the uncomfortably open sexuality of Stars, the epigrammatic cryptic nature of Broken Social Scene, the sunny playfulness of The Most Serene Republic, and the jumbled folk/rock ensemble sound of all of them. However, rather than being unwieldy and ramshackle (especially considering the assembled nature of this set, taken from two years of recordings), it is remarkably well-honed and satisfying. Sure, it's messy, but for work from this collective, it sounds downright polished.

The first track, "Farewell to the Pressure Kids" (although said 'Pressure Kids' return later in the album) is an assault on the senses, synthesizers and vibraphone battling for earspace with raucous guitar, drums, and bass, then breaking just as suddenly for an ambient interlude before a slow, perfected rebuilding with violin and clarinet. It is the beating back of the chaos, and Spirit If... proceeds from this point with lush and considered instrumentation. "TBTF" lays down acoustic guitar, vibraphone, and synthesizer and over the course of three minutes layers in trombone, flute, and saxophone in rising harmony.

Much of the melody of the album is built up in accents, the songs starting out with a primary heartbeat of rhythm and progress by adding rhyming patterns of notes. Guitars and organs chime and bounce showers of notes off each other, everything is built on interplay and cooperation, the sculpture of many talents bridged together. However, the highest point of the album is much more explosive, "Lucky Ones" with an embittered message of anger and hope that cannot resolve itself. While nothing else ever quite reaches the same level of serendipity, the overall effect of the album is strong, an unexpectedly well-composed collective of sound with only minor and endearing disarray.

81% => **** ---currently #14 on my best of 2007 list---

Beastie Boys The Mix-Up and Bad Brains Build A Nation

These albums were intentionally released on the same day and Beastie Boy MCA produced the Bad Brains album. That's only one part of why I'm lumping these 2 albums together. These bands have long been associated with each other and have been recording for a million years (1980 Bad Brains, 1982 Beastie Boys). Another thing that these albums have in common is a lack of surprises. The B-Boys album is mostly made up of the funky instruental jams they've been making since 1992. It's pretty much devoid of any hip-hop and I think the reason is clear: they were lazy. It takes a lot of time to put together a bunch of samples to make a good beat and just as long to come up with some stupid lyrics and memorize them. They probably wanted to avoid annoying fans complaining about long gaps between albums and they decided this would be the easiest way to get around that. There's nothing wrong with the album but given the Beasties' pedigree it doesn't leave much of an impression. More than any other band I can think of, each Beastie Boys album was an EVENT, even including their lackluster 2004 effort. The albums never came out very close to each other and there was always something really NEW and exciting about each of them, not to mention that they were always jam-packed with 20-some songs. You didn't even know which members of their extended backup band would be contributing.

The Bad Brains album certainly reflects more effort but not a great deal of innovation. It seems like they've been somewhat influenced by current trends, pouding out some bone-headed drop-D riffs while H.R. occasionally finds some strong melodies. Other tracks are stronger and, of course, there are the obligatory reggae tracks. Overall it just doesn't have the immortal and iconic feeling that their earlier albums had. It's a good album for Bad Brains fans but might not win anyone else over.

Both of these albums come across as a bit unnecessary.

Straight grade: B
Graded within the context of their overall careers: C

El-P I'll Sleep When You're Dead

lol - Nice fucking title. And the album? Booooooooooring. My overall interest in Definitive Jux Records was already on life support after weak efforts from Cage and Mr. Lif and this album may have completely killed it. El-P has always had some big weaknesses and this is the album where he gave in to all of them. One of these weaknesses is that he takes himself very seriously and clearly thinks he has some important things to say. He really lets this element run the show this time around, becoming as humorously dark and broody as Trent Reznor, who happens to be a guest on the album. This may be getting old, but El-P has also always been a pretty weak MC, but his beats have always kept him afloat. Now the beats are confused and boooooooooooring. I appreciate the fact that it doesn't sound jut like his previous work but that doesn't excuse it from being bad. Five years ago I found Def Jux to be a very exciting group of artists and now YAWN.

Straight grade: C
Graded within the context of his overall career: D

Tomahawk Anonymous

This is the 3rd album from the band that features former members of Faith No More and The Jesus Lizard and it's easily their best. It's also an interesting experiment in its own right. The band perused 100 year old transcripts of traditional Native American songs and arranged them for a 4 piece rock band. As Tomahawk is a metal-ish band with artsy leanings you might expect the songs to simply be typical metal songs with Native American melodies on top. Thankfully, the only thing hard rockish about the album are the instruments and the tones. The performances attempt to capture the feel and rhythms of the original songs. The band doesn't riff away over straightforward rock beats. Instead, they play some variation of the main melody which results in a somewhat simple but haunting and powerful delivery. There are some missteps, like a section where singer Mike Patton does his dumb suave, talk-rap thing, but for the most part Native American feel is intact and works very, very well.

Grade: A

kicknz

Gue menemukan kebuntuan untuk memutuskan kallimat pembuka tulisan ini. Again, words failed me. Yang terngiang-ngiang justru adalah kalimat-kalimat yang sepantasnya menjadi penutup. Mengadukan realita ini kepada seorang teman baik yang juga adalah seorang penulis yang cukup handal, sang teman baik dengan lugasnya bertanggapan "..ya mulai aja dari kalimat terakhir,". What a genious. Knapa ga pernah terpikirkan oleh gue yaa?? (with a bit of sarkasm tone ;p).

I love it when my favorite song goes last. It's orgasmic. It's Too Much This Way; lagu yang tanpa sengaja gue anugrahi posisi penutup setiap saat gue memutar Soundtrack 3 Hari Untuk Selamanya, sebuah film yang gue jatuhi mahkota sebagai film Indonesia terbaik tahun 2007. Pertama kali mendengar Float sekitar seminggu setelah menonton filmnya pertengahan Juni 2007 lalu dan cuma menangkap tiga lagu yang terdengar empuk di telinga gue segera membuat gue ga ambil pusing sama 8 lagu lainnya. Pemenangnya sudah pasti 3 Hari Untuk Selamanya, lagu yang bisa mengobati sesal gue karena hanya berkesempatan satu kali nonton filmnya. Pulang adalah lagu yang sangat personal buat gue, and I'm too overwhelmed to give any minimum description. Just listen to it and feel the blissless lyric and tone. "Dan lalu, rasa itu tak mungkin lagi kini tersimpan di hati. Bawa aku pulang, rindu bersamamu.." mengingatkan gue pada rasa patah hati yang pernah ada dan masih agak menyentil. But lets skip the sentimental part.

"You and I stealing kisses from each other when we fight," di Stupido Ritmo memunculkan senyum gue lagi. Romantika. Dengan musik yang sangat variatif dan ga monoton tapi tetap memunculkan 'ke-Float-an'nya di sudut sini dan sudut sana, terutama vokal tanpa cela sang vokalis, akhirnya gue merasa telah mengkhianati mereka karena nggak pernah mendengarkan the whole album properly. Dimodali kebosanan yang memuncak sekitar dua minggu lalu gue mendedikasikan sepasang kuping gue untuk mendengarkan suara-suara lain yang selama ini agak terpinggirkan dan gue menemukan sisi magis di setiap musik dan lirik yang mereka sodorkan. Mendengarkan Sementara sejak detik pertama dimana kuping disuguhi bunyi riak kecil air yang terasa adalah damai. Perasaan yang sudah cukup langka dirasakan dan mungkin ga akan dirasakan dengan mudah tanpa difasilitasi media pendukung seperti musik.

.....................................................................

no star-gazing late at night | and no candle light | no french-speaking, no moonlight | it just came out right | no wondering words to say | and no music play | its just simply found today | love’s too much this way| beauty’s what i’ve found in you | and true romance, too | there won’t be just “i love you” | what i’ll say to you | no pretending to be nice | i wont need it twice | and i will go and tell all the guys | about the magic in your eyes | it takes no moon, it takes no sunshine | and neither June with the bluest skies | she wore no perfume, i brought no wine | my love is hers, her love is mine |

Float's Too Much This Way - Track 9/11

....................................................................................

Dihadapkan pada realita lain lagi bahwa Too Much This Way sebenernya bukan lagu terakhir, gue ga perduli. Ga semua kesalahan harus diperbaiki, terkadang itu membawa kita ke keadaan yang lebih baik daripada kebenaran itu sendiri. So, Too Much This Way still goes last, still is my fave song in the album, and still is orgasmic. Yang terhormat Hotma Roni Simamora ( Vocal /Guitar), W. Benyamin ( Sound Design /Guitar), Raymond Agus Saputra ( Bass /Backing Vocal), Timur Segara ( Drums), you guys will definitely have your band's name on the wall.

Discordianism, the religion of chaos balancing order, holds that all events revolve around the number 23, providing you twist events enough to fit the schema. It is both an essential facet and a parody of numerology, anarchically knowing that if you twist anything enough it will fit wherever you want it to, but stating that this one is the true one, the only order in a chaotic religion in which everyone is Pope. Fitting things to the number 23 is a Fortean game, and it is largely what we as music reviewers do when approaching something vague, we build into it whatever schema we would like it ideally to fit.

Blonde Redhead are an avant-garde sort of musical act. Their earliest work is squelching noise-rock, heavily influenced by Sonic Youth, but recently they have consciously opted for quieter climes, shaping their discord and feedback into something more deliberate. In interviews they've said that they had no real direction for this album until it neared completion, that it is itself the process of its own making. The band had no real ideas going in, and worked together this dreamlike beauty. It is chaos somewhat ordered.

It is also a gentle sort of chaos. From the Loveless-referencing warped notes of the title track, the album has a vibe of throttled-forward movement riding on the air itself, great heights above the clouds. The word 'love' is tossed around a lot but these are not love songs, they are self-negating with messages of songs internally conflicting - 'Don't let the dress trick you, I love you less now that I know you' is followed by 'I won't count the scars again because I do love you' ("The Dress"). It is the personal made alien, "Heroine" is the incantatory stress of the inability to follow a loved one into death yet echoed with vocoder (possibly the prettiest use of the device I've ever heard), the utterly magical "Spring and by Summer Fall" seems to illustrate a desperate urge to know oneself through others, "Silently" is classic Motown filtered through synthetic distortion, about forgiveness and realizing a lover's nature as separate from one's own.

While I was initially put off by the album's dreaminess, its smoothness, over time it has aggregated deep meaning and beauty, as with the grandiose rush of "Publisher" as it sweeps into the chorus or "My Impure Hair" with its swooning showers of notes in the background.

Don't know what to make of that four-legged flapper with the tennis racket on the cover, though.

87% => ****1/2 ---currently # 9 on my best of 2007 list---

General Excellence: Daily Newspaper
1st      Idaho Statesman
2nd     Times-News
3rd    Idaho Press-Tribune

General Excellence: Television Division A
1st    KIVI - Channel 6
2nd    KTVB - Channel 7
3rd    KTRV - Fox 12

Reporter of the Year
1st    Dan Popkey - Idaho Statesman
2nd    Michelle Stark - KIVI  Channel 6
3rd    Alyson Outen - KTVB Channel 7
Honorable Mention -    Mellisa Paul - KIVI Channel 6

General Excellence: Website Print
1st     Staff - The Idaho Statesman
2nd    Jill Kuraitis - New West Boise
3rd TIE
Craig Morgan - The Wood River Journal
Staff - Idaho State Journal

General Excellence: Website Broadcast
1st    KIVI Today's Channel 6 -KIVI -TV
2nd    Curtis Jackson, Idolina Walker - KIFI Local News 8
3rd    Don Day, John Masters - KTVB-TV Channel 7

Wonder when they will start awarding for Best Blog? Time will tell...
You can see the full list of winners here

And in interest of full disclosure : ) this blog author was fortunate to walk away with two first place honors (Best Media Kit & Best Media Campaign) for my public relations work at Tamarack Resort.

-Jess

An excellent film that was perfectly acted by Brad Pitt, and Casey Affleck, along with an outstanding supporting cast.  Directed masterfully by Andrew Dominick, the cinematography was one of the best in years.

From the opening credits, I loved this film.  The smoothness of the characters, the hold that it takes upon the audience and the flowing landscapes in which it was shot.

Casey Affleck was powerful in the role of Robert Ford.  He presented this character with a realness that is rarely seen on film.  He truly gave a performance of a lifetime.  Brad Pitt as Jesse James was masterful and calculated just as the man he portrayed.  I have said it before, Brad is unfortunately one of the most under-rated actors of our generation and needs to get his due by the Academy.

Not only was this one of my favorite films of 2007, it is alos one of my favorite so far for the decade. A+

'Baby, you tried, but here come the falls.'

Our Love to Admire is a troubled album. Apart from the lowering of the reverb knob and increased presence of piano/keyboards, there is not much different about it from the previous two, but something is off. I don't think it's Interpol-by-numbers as many have suggested, but rather characteristic of an inner tension or a loss of footing. Things start off strong as an icy guitar part introduces "Pioneer to the Falls" and the song is indeed one of their best, cold and brutal. It quite sets the tone, because Our Love to Admire is a dark and mean album. Every song seems to be about cutting someone out like a cancer, and the pace rarely revs up past a dirge except to get furious (as with "Mammoth" - 'I won't let you sit by so cold in the pitch night, it's enough with this fucking incense'). "Pace Is the Trick" as they say, as Paul Banks characterizes a woman as a lioness, talking about lack of self-control and insatiable nature, and at the bottom of it all, destruction and corruption.

The band has taken the sound context of Turn on the Bright Lights but replaced the exhausted introspection with a fiery look outward. Perhaps in doing so it does not quite devastate the way that album did (and I maintain it is one of the finest debuts of the past decade or more), it is still an emotional limpet-mine of an album that tears you apart when you're not expecting it.

84% => ****

---as of this writing, this is #11 on my best of 2007 list---

Since I'm not listing the brilliant 2007 posthumous Elliott Smith release, New Moon (a collection of recordings from 1994-97), I feel it's appropriate to start things off with Robert Gomez's Brand New Towns, an album with vocals and arrangements so eerily similar to those of Smith's, it would be a shame not to mention both albums.

 49. Bill Callahan - Woke On A Whaleheart

Known as Smog until 2005, Bill Callahan has created an odd and convincing mash-up of Motown soul and the country & western sounds from 2005's A River Ain't Too Much to Love.

 48. Thurston Moore - Trees Outside The Academy

An unusually soft and tuned-down sound from the Sonic Youth co-mastermind, Trees Outside the Academy is a inwardly intriguing acoustic engagement.

 47. Air - Pocket Symphony

Subtly illuminating and beautiful melodies comprise this fifth full-length from Air, their best album since The Virgin Suicides.

 46. Marnie Stern - In Advance Of A Broken Arm

The hooks and blazing finger-work radiating from Marnie Stern's guitar are mind-blowing - her songwriting is just as heavy and energetic. 

 45. Mekons - Natural

Spiritually introspective and anxiously quiescent, Natural (Mekon's 26^th album over their 30 year career) takes a cynical, yet profound look at an external and internal world in turmoil.

 44. Grizzly Bear - Friend EP

Friend features interesting remixes of Grizzly Bear's first two full lengths, Horns Plenty and Yellow House, along with new tracks in collaboration with "friend" bands, Beirut, CSS and Band of Horses. It's a wildly eclectic, reflective collection - far more ambitious than any regular old EP.

 43. Blonde Redhead - 23

23 is a step back in the right direction for Blonde Redhead, seven years removed from the epic Melody of Certain Undamaged Lemons.

 42. Page France - Page France And The Family Telephone

Catchy and folksy, yet deeply symbolic, Page France has crafted a delightful pop album that will have you singing along, then pondering what the hell just came out of your mouth.

 41. Arboretum - Rites of Uncovering

Rites of Uncovering is as sleepy as music gets, but the abstruse lyrics somehow keeps me awake in a futile attempt to uncover the album's meaning.

 40. Diminisher - Imaginary Volcano

Former Elephant Six contributor, David McDonnell, compiles an impressive collection of ambiguous and off-kilter tunes.

 39. Beirut - Flying Cup Club

Just when I thought I'd had enough of Balkan-inspired accordion music, Zach Condon introduces even more complex arrangements, topping last year's debut, Gulag Orkestar. Though, where does Beirut go next?

 38. Liars - Liars

One of today's most unpredictable bands crafts hard rock/art rock album that is far more tangible than last year's wildly experimental Drums Not Dead. Though they are still nowhere approaching the realm of "conventional".

 37. Karl Blau - Dance Positive

Anacortes, Washington's other, more productive oddball, Karl Blau shifts gears with a Beck album that's better than anything Beck has recorded in five years.

 36. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank

With Johnny Marr(!?) sharing guitar duty, Isaac Brock and co. make a semi comeback with some really solid tunes. Still, this album is nothing close to their unparalleled production of the mid to late 90s. Oh, how I miss the old Modest Mouse.

 35. Dean & Britta - Back Numbers

This Husband (Galaxie 500) and wife (the voice of Jem on all the Jem and the Hologram songs) duo have crafted a sometimes sprightly, sometimes sleepy collection of very well-crafted tunes - a very beautiful, easy-listening (in a good way) album.

 34. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

Neon Bible is just as intense as Arcade Fire's brilliant 2004 debut, Funeral. Though it lacks the sharpness and cohesiveness of Funeral, there are some wonderful and essential tracks presented here.

 33. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha

The lyrics are just as clever and confident as 2005's ...Mysterious Production of Eggs, but the second half of Armchair Apocrypha album feels as if it drifts into obscurity. Nevertheless, Andrew Bird is an extremely gifted songwriter.

 32. Field Music - Tones of Town

Sunderland, England's Field Music certainly owes a debt to XTC, in all its incarnations. It's also just as complex and catchy. The first half of the album is genius. I wish I could say the same for the second half. Still, it's a very strong album.

 31. Yeasayer - All Hour Symbols

Often miscategorized as world music, this Brooklyn ensemble experiments with an array of sounds and genres in a richly cultivated debut. Their kitchen sink approach opens the door for unlimited creative possibilities and a very promising future. 

 30. Caribou - Andorra

How does an electronic, sample-laden album come off as one of the most authentic sounding 60s psychedelic thefts in years? Maybe it is why Dan Snaith has a Ph.D., not in mathematics, but in pure mathematics - "distinguished by its rigor, abstraction and beauty". That would be an apt description of the process of Snaith's music-making. It could really be summed up as a trip back 40 years to the sound of The Zombies' Odyssey and Oracle... a real trip, indeed.

29. Feist - The Reminder

The Reminder is a complicated and diverse record - not nearly as charming on the whole as it's immensely popular singles that have been proliferated throughout every conceivable form of media. There are dark and sleepy moments that can tend to interrupt, rather than interact with the perky flow of such catchy tunes as ‘1234', and ‘I Feel it All' (‘My Moon My Man' does allude to this feeling, and seemed an odd choice for the album's first single). Beautiful, yet unsettling songs like ‘So Sorry', ‘The Park', and ‘the Water' are so distinct from the uptempo jingles that it's hard to absorb that these tracks are from the same album. The songs work so well on their own, but as a collection there's a definite lack of consistency.

 28. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

I hate to say it, but I feel Spoon's output has slowly declined over the past few years, starting with their last release, Gimme Fiction. While that slide continues with Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, these albums are still very good. It is really just a reminder of the caliber of their earlier albums - particularly Girls Can Tell, A Series of Sneaks and Kill the Moonlight. I've always been impressed by Britt Daniel's success in writing such brilliant stripped-down tunes over the years. And while I love their first single from the album, The Underdog, I still feel that an overkill of elaborate arrangements have hindered their progress when they've proven to be so successful with a more minimalist approach. 

 27. Super Furry Animals - Hey Venus!

This sharp and concise pop album from the eclectic Welshmen is their best release since 2001, and their tightest record in ten years. The songs of Hey Venus! have a more seasoned and conventional sound than I have come to expect from an Super Furry Animals album. However, in no way should this mean that the Gruff and the gang have grown out of their out-of-this-world realm of sonic experimentation... at least I certainly hope not.

 26. White Rabbits - Forty Nights

For a debut, Forty Nights is a lively, thickly-settled album - both musically and lyrically. White Rabbits simply throw the assorted musical recipe into the mixer - from big band, to jazz fusion, to even a tinge of ska - and the result is an ambitious and competent rock album. The lyrics are heavy with literary influences (particularly F. Scott Fitzgerald), which could really only work with this kind of music. Though, their most amazing attribute is that I can't tell if there is an actual leader of the band - and there are six members! All of this, in addition to their relatively meteoric rise from absolute obscurity, and something's got to give at some point. Until then, I'm happy to go along for the symphonic ride.

 25. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver

Sound of Silver is an album that speaks to the aging hipster who is too tired (or jaded) for the club scene (and the New York scene). It's certainly more introspective than the self-titled 2005 debut. The music of James Murphy is always so well crafted, and the references and influences are simply all over the place (Gang of Four, Bowie/Eno, New Order, Talking Heads). What is surprising is how much more dense and meaningful the lyrics are in Sound of Silver compared to the first album. It is a great dance/rock album for someone who is not too much into dance music (like me).  

 24. Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala

Jens Lekman has certainly come a long way since he delightfully channeled the vocal style (and songwriting cleverness) of Jonathan Richman in his 2004 debut, When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog.  Back then, his songs were built on simple orchestrations and exceedingly charming lyrics about trams and parties. Now in 2007, his vehicle has shifted to the over-the-top adult contemporary arrangements of... Barry Manilow!? Not only that, but there's not a single mention of a party on this album until track 10, and no sign of trams anywhere! As always, there's no shortage of wry love songs from Lekman, which is what he does best. While Night Falls Over Kortedala may not have that stripped-down bedroom-pop feeling of earlier releases, and I do feel it slightly suffers from being a bit too polished for its own good, Lekman's ability to write some of the quirkiest songs (and their not all so sugary sweet) remains thoroughly enjoyable.

 23. Gruff Rhys - Candylion

It struck me as unusual that a lead singer's band would release an album within months of his solo full-length. Though, Super Furry Animals' frontman, Gruff Rhys, is not your average musician - or person, for that matter. His second solo release, Candylion, juxtaposes serene and pleasant melodies (employing a variety of intriguing musical styles) with difficult themes like violence and loneliness.  Never to shy away from political social issues in the past (from U.S. foreign policy, to global warming, to turning down a $1.8 million Coca-Cola deal after visiting a plant in Columbia), Rhys' poignant, yet playful lyrics feel even more provoking with the accompaniment of such toned-down, pastoral melodies.

 22. Frog Eyes - Tears of the Valedictorian

It's hard to keep track of who's in which band these days - especially if they're Canadian. Frog Eyes was founded by Carey Mercer and Spencer Krug (of Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown), who also collaborated with Dan Bejar (of Destroyer and New Pornographers) to form Swan Lake. Frog Eyes has also been the touring band for Destoryer. Now that we have this out of the way, Tears of the Valedictorian is an album of raging emotion and high energy throughout (even the slower songs emit a tortured tension in Mercer's hyper-Bowiefied voice). It's not a spazzed-out recording though. What makes it work so well is the densely layered musical composition and complex lyrical structure (if you can actually make out the words). All of this will ensure that you will not be satisfied with just one listen.

 21. Through the Sparks - Lazurus Beach

Lazurus Beach was a real surprise album this year. It's a uniquely crafted record focused on suburban Americana - in all its undistinguished dysfunction. It's a lyrical adventure through the transition of growing up through Cold War suburbia to a post-Cold War return to your childhood home - "Ain't it hard getting over the bombs". While there is certainly a concentrated theme to the lyrics of the album, the music is more or less all over the place. From 7/4 beats to saxophone solos to carnival music interludes, this album throws it all in there, wrapped up with 70s prog overtones and more Bowie-sounding vocals (not to mention their nod to The Band in every interview of theirs I've read). The song ‘Action Figure Graveyard' is a very personal song for me. To this day, my mom digs up old Star Wars and GI Joe action figures when she's gardening in the backyard. I thought I was the only kid strange enough to inexplicably bury action figures.

 20. Radiohead - In Rainbows

I remember when I had my old Toyota station wagon that had a just tape deck (ah, the 90s). I actually bought the cassette and CD of OK Computer so I could listen to the album on the way home (let's just say I was about an hour away or so). It's a safe bet that a majority of fans would say OK Computer is their favorite Radiohead album. I think it's on of my favorite albums ever. So when I say that In Rainbows feels like a collection of outtakes from OK Computer, that's actually a compliment and a criticism. In fact, ‘Nude' was actually written in 1997. OK Computer was an album that reinvented Radiohead - they've since been reinvented a couple times over. When Kid A was released in 2000, I was disappointed because it felt so far removed from their 1997 masterpiece. However, as time went on, Amnesiac and Hail to the Thief came around, I really started settling in to the Radiohead of the 21^st Century. The songs of In Rainbows bring me back to a time when Radiohead recorded actual traditional rock songs. ‘Bodysnatchers' could easily be found on either The Bends or OK Computer. Radiohead has evolved so much in the past 10 years that I find it so hard to hear them in this back-to-the-past context. There are no really weak tracks on In Rainbows, but the album lacks the cohesiveness I have come to take for granted with every Radiohead release. And that is what makes the album less effective - almost really like it was a collection of B-sides simply thrown together. I was not expecting such a reaction from this kind of album. I've been waiting for this type of Radiohead release for years. But it really just makes me realize how much I actually appreciate their other three albums since OK Computer.

 19. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

The two founding members of the Brooklyn-based MGMT, Andrew Vanwyngarden and Ben Goldwasser, are young, eccentric, and certainly confident in their approach. Their videos are filled with early 80s pseudo-CGI F/X similar to the Jackson Five epic, ‘Can You Feel It'. I would have to assume that they're just having fun with it all, but it does look like they're absorbed in the video performances a bit too much. Their full-length debut, Oracular Spectacular, opens with a Dandy Warholian manifesto, faux-fantasizing about success, drugs, and model wives - with great power comes great responsibility. There's certainly a Jekyll and Hyde component to their music. Half the album is deep-seeded in early 60s Stones and T Rex. The other half sounds like a Scissor Sisters rip-off. The synth-groove dance tracks (‘Electric Feel and ‘Kids) are compelling and it appears most people are drawn to this element of their music. Though, I'm surprisingly impressed with their psychedelic throwbacks (‘Weekend Wars', ‘Youth',  ‘Pieces of What', and ‘4^th Dimensional Transition'). These songs are very well crafted with sharp, catchy hooks. Then there's the hybrid dance/rock cuts (‘Of Moons, Birds & Monsters' and ‘The Handshake'), which are very intriguing. Do they need to focus on one particular sound in order to maintain some sort of direction? I think so. Given a choice between dance and rock, they'd probably choose to stick to the dance element because it really resonates with the audience. In my opinion they sound their best when they mix the two sounds, and I think this route will bring them the most success. They're young yet.  

 18. St. Vincent - Marry Me

The origin of the title of St. Vincent, or Annie Clarke's, debut is just hilarious. After countless interpretations by critics of the title referring to some form of desperation or issues with relationships, Clarke had to set the record straight and declare that it's just a line from her favorite TV show, Arrested Development. Apparently, naming an album these days is as simple as a Maeby Funke reference. Clarke's songs aren't nearly as simplistic. Her mezzo-soprano voice and playful narrative is just the veneer of the substance that lies within her wickedly clever lyrics: "sticks and stones have made me smarter, it's words that cut me under my armour they say". The arrangements are impeccable - she conceived and recorded all of the effects on the album. This may be her first solo album, but Clarke is no newcomer to the music industry. She was in the touring band for Sufjan Stevens, and is a member of The Polyphonic Spree (but who isn't?). These days, she seems to be doing well enough on her own.

 17. Panda Bear - Person Pitch

Panda Bear's second full-length solo album is a departure from his 2004 release Young Prayer. While his debut album was unabashedly personal, exposing, and musically stripped bare, Person Pitch is obscure, muffled, and sonically dense. The best description I've come up with for Person Pitch is that it sounds like Mike Love singing in an underwater cave. The composition is built up of layers of odd samples and beautifully arranged, distant harmonies. Panda Bear's real name is Noah Lennox, and up until 2007, he was better known for his prominent role in Animal Collective. I've always had a hard time with the Panda Bear songs on Animal Collective albums, particularly because they were usually so long and drifting. However, I've always felt that Lennox's solo efforts worked more effectively bound together than intermingled with the spazzier songs of Avey Tare. A partial drawback for me is that there are still some long, drawn out songs on Person Pitch, but they flow into each other so nicely. It's easy to get absorbed in the sounds and harmonies, almost to the point where it feels like a soundtrack to a bizarre, slow-motion dream. It's full of tenderness, and wide-eye emotion, but above all, its spirit brings out the unfeigned human in Panda Bear.

 16. Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army

This year, the 23-strong members of Polyphonic Spree shed their colored-marshmallow robes in an attempt to ostensibly reveal their darker side. Their album cover depicts the group wandering zombie-like in a field, donning black army uniforms - amazingly they still find a way to look like a cult - though, more Heavan's Gate than Aum Shinrikyo. What kind of foreboding message could these former enrapturing, poptimist icons be sending us with this new look? Could their music be as colorless as their appearance? While it may not contain the individual sprawling melodies of their first two albums (leading to inexplicable spots on TV and film soundtracks), The Fragile Army is by far their most sturdy release from beginning to end. There's still plenty of sunshine-pop carried over from their previous releases, The Beginning Stages of... (2002) and Together We're Heavy (2004). However, the songwriting of Jim Jones, Tim DeLaughter, and Julie Doyle are more complex, adding a well-needed sense of tension to the Spree dynamic. There's no doubt that any feeling of melancholy is easy to miss when they are drowned out by choirs, horns and overall zaniness. It's a small change that makes a big difference for this seemingly happy-go-lucky crew. I feel that by adding this element of woefulness takes them in a new direction that has yet to be thoroughly explored. After all, you can't be full of sunshine all the time. And at the end of the day, when they're not in character, they're just regular people.

 15. Dr. Dog - We All Belong

The name of this band sounds like some half-baked tribute band you'd see playing some truck stop dive bar off Route 353 in Cattaraugus County. Dr. Dog is a funky looking bunch, wearing sunglasses indoors and clothes that look both a size too big and a size too small. On paper, they even sound like a cover band, with Beatles and Beach Boys comparisons in everything you read about them. Sometimes I wonder if they got ahold of long-lost sheet music of all these 60s and 70s bands. However, they are not imitators, but rock reconstructionists. There music gives off an effortless aura and a sense that fun will always supersede pretension. Their 2005 release, Easy Beat, certainly channeled the bands mentioned above with an uncanny accuracy - sing-alongs, melodies, bizarre arrangements. We All Belong continues in this vein, but tightened up some of the rough edges from the previous releases - just a little bit, though. However, the influences that shine through most intriguingly are those of The Band, with the organs, piano and soulful vocals. It's the unapologetic nostalgic tone of Dr. Dog's music that actually makes me stop and wonder if tribute bands are all that bad. Then I think back to all the tribute bands I've seen and the thought stops then and there. 

 14. Of Montreal - Hissing Fuana, Are You the Destroyer?

My favorite albums of 2004 and 2005 were both Of Montreal albums (Satanic Panic in the Attic, and Sunlandic Twins, respectively). These albums signified frontman Kevin Barnes' seemingly bizarre, but inevitably ingenious transformation of the band from the folksy, key-changing, twee-pop tentacle of the mythical giant squid known as Elephant Six, to a more electronic-based neo-glam troupe. I say troupe because they haven't lost the theatrical flair of their earlier live days, when the band would perform strange skits during and between songs. In fact, the live theatrics have intensified to such a extraordinary level, that it would be more apt to characterize an Of Montreal live performance as a production rather than a rock show. The music of their previous two albums was filled with hooks and beats that merely approached the listener with its levity and enthusiastic charm. Hissing Fuana is an album on the attack. It is angry, alarmingly fervid, and most notably, uncharacteristically personal. From the inception of the band in the mid 90s, Kevin Barnes' writing style had involved invented characters and fantastic stories. Since the band's stylistic makeover in 2004, a few songs had talked of personal adventures on tour and living in Norway. However, following the breakup with his wife, Barnes fell into a depression requiring treatment. He claims the lyrics were written under the influence of antidepressants - he also attributes this to the foolhardy (to say the least) decision to change the lyrics of ‘Wraith Pinned to the Mist (and Other Games)' for the Outback Steakhouse commercials everyone has seen or heard at some point within the last couple of years. On first listen (before I learned of the conditions under which it was recorded), I thought Hissing Fuana was just a dreadful departure for the band. Many of the melodies were upbeat, but the lyrics were awfully disturbing. Some points in the album were just plain frightening. But this was the voice of an awfully disturbed and plainly frightened soul, and taken in this context, it was a departure that gradually felt appropriate. It takes a while to get used to such delightful music as the backdrop for lyrics like "Chemicals, don't strangle my pen... Chemicals don't make me sick again." But as always, most of the melodies are so catchy and the writing is pure emotion. It is a powerful album - one that sinks to the bottom while the previous releases had been so buoyant. Kevin Barnes and his wife have since reconciled, and who knows which direction the music of Of Montreal will turn. It is certain that it will be an adventure, regardless.

 13. Fiery Furnaces - Widow City

As you can tell with all of the links on these reviews, music videos are making a big comeback despite the fact that MTV has long since killed of the "M" in its name. Even MTV2 hardly shows videos anymore. What's the new MTV? Youtube! It's actually better than MTV because I can actually see good bands on demand, unlike in 1994, when I had to wait through the Offspring and Candlebox videos to get to Dinosaur Jr. on a golf outing in ‘Feel the Pain', or Dre and Snoop taking shots at Easy E in ‘Dre Day'. Nowadays, you don't have to be mainstream to have your music video seen, and it's amazing the amount of hits the videos get. Oh, God love the internets. I always thought videos augmented the music itself by presenting a new image-based dynamic to the listening experience. This also happens when I see an outstanding live performance of a particular song. The imagery resonates when I listen to the song from that point forward.

This is actually a supposed to be a write up on the Fiery Furnaces' album Widow City, which is their most accessible and controlled collection of songs since 2005's EP (hardly an EP at 41 minutes). I felt the above paragraph was necessary in the context of this review because, in my mind, two decent songs from this album (‘Duplexes of the Dead' and ‘Navy Nurse') became great songs. This was primarily the result of viewing the videos for these songs posted on Youtube. The visual stimuli enhances the listening experience, and when I listen to the song, I will always have the visions of the unique projected images and speeding cars from ‘Duplexes' and the home movie-like footage of lead singer Eleanor Friedberger on holiday in ‘Navy Nurse'. Not so coincidentally, they are both great rock songs, which is a bit rare for Eleanor and her bandmate brother, Matt. Of course, there are the wacky schizophrenic tempo and melody changes (and overall tire-burning musical U-turns), but these don't get in the way nearly as much they had in some of their relatively intangible releases (less with Blueberry Boat and Gallowsbird Park; more in Bitter Tea and Rehearsing My Choir). What makes this album work is the emphasis on the guitars and the easing of the overwhelming laser synths - hey, they listened to the plea I made last year (see Bitter Tea at #27). Matt's trademark off-kilter lyrics (one in particular details a birth-chart made up by a "special commission of Navajo basketball coaches and blonde ladies") and Eleanor's semi-detached vocals are in prime Furnace form. It's a good primer for getting your feet wet with this difficult duo.     

 12. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin

I don't know whether it was because it was the only CD I had driving around the cliffs of Big Sur on the California coast for the first time, but every time I hear Cease to Begin, I think about how much I love visiting the west coast - and interestingly enough, Band of Horses is no longer a west coast band. Since last year's superb debut, Everything All the Time, they picked up their gear and moved from Seattle to South Carolina to "wash (their) bones in the Atlantic shore". What is more interesting is that I don't think this is a very prolific album. But I just can't do anything about it - its overwhelming sappiness sucks me in. Lead singer, Ben "beard of bees" Bridwell, has even inexplicably adopted a preposterous southern twang in his vocals, and I still can't stop listening to it. Cease to Begin is overly simplistic and unapologetically sentimental, but it's the impressively effortless and torturously catchy melodies that make this album and irresistible soundtrack for any good ole boy occasion.

 11. The Shaky Hands - The Shaky Hands

The Shaky Hands' lead singer, Nick Delffs, sort of sounds like someone who just doesn't feel like being in front of a microphone. His flat, off-key, voice seems to drag behind the tempo of the rest of the band, and at times he sounds like he's esentially mailing it in - doesn't sound like review of a band that would have an album ijust shy of the top 10. That's where the band as a whole and Delffs' arrangements come in. He fits all the awkward pieces together to make one of this year's most consistent albums, with straggling guitars and a half sunshine, half backwoods, scruff-pop sound. All of the songs from this album are very similar, and I'm usually looking for variety in a good album. I think their sound is so hearty and delightful that they do well not to deviate from their formula. And this formula is nothing new. It's been done by countless great bands before (I'm particularly reminded of early R.E.M.). For many bands it just doesn't click, but this Portland, Oregon bunch has found a niche. The only problem is, this is ok for an album or so, but at some point they'll need to expand into something more innovative, and I really don't see these guys heading toward Life's Rich Pageant or Document territory. But you never know. Maybe in 25 years, when they release their 14^th album and haven't had a decent album in over ten years, we'll all be reflecting on charm and simplicity of The Shaky Hands debut way back in 2007.

Since I went online in the Fall of 1998, Melodicrock.com has been my first stop everyday for updates and news on many of the bands I grew up with. Melodicrock covers it all: AOR, Hard Rock, Metal, Melodic Rock, and Modern Rock.....anything and everything I need to know is usually there.

The best part of the year is when Andrew posts his end of the year awards. Unfortunately, this year's awards were delayed but not forgotten, they were posted online yesterday (Wed. 4/9). Andrew always has great diversity in his picks and there are always some surprises. Read The 2007 MelodicRock.com Awards now.

Here is a price comparison for products that appeared on the Sephora Best of 2007 list.

Kinerase Lotion
Kinerase is a well deserved winner in the Face Moisturizer Category. Because of it's great mixture of natural and scientifically designed elements, it's one of the must have moisturizers.

Murad Oil-Free Sunblock SPF 30

Sun Protection and Skin care rolled up into one.

This item sells at Sephora for 30.00
We sell Murad Oil Free Sunblock at Banler for 25.50

Aqua Di Gio Pour Homme
The WINNER in its class, Giorgio Armani's Aqua Di Gio hit a home run with Sephora this year, earning the top spot for Colognes.

This one is a little tricky when doing the price comparison. You see, Sephora sells the 1.7 oz version of this cologne for 47.50

However, Banler sells the 3.4 oz (twice the size) for the same amount! That's right, Acqua Di Gio for 47.50!

Sephora's Breakout Product Winner!
GoSmile Advanced Formula B1
This product more than deserves to be a break out winner. One of the best teeth whitening systems to ever hit the market, 2007 has been the year for GoSmile.

GoSmile sells this product at Sephora for 89.00
We sell GoSmile Advanced Formula B1 at Banler for 62.95

Great work Sephora!

This is just a price comparison from their annual Best Of series, but again, we prove that we are fighting the good fight to have the very best in health and beauty at the best prices, EVER!

And we don't care who comes after us for doing it! We are constantly barraged by corporate powers trying to thwart our vision, NEVER SELL A PRODUCT WE CANNOT DISCOUNT!

Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters by the Twilight Sad is the best album of 2007. Original, new, brilliant, meaningful, emotional, real, great. Great live performers, as well. Nice people, too.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is probably the best 2007 film I have seen. It is the most enjoyable film of the year.

Some of my favorite tracks of 2007 include (there are some covers here):

• "Furwinked The Lion/Bear Song" by Tereu Tereu, from Feline Ambition
• "Ed Is A Portal" by Akron/Family, from Love Is Simple
• "City Of Echoes" by Pelican, from City Of Echoes
• "The Opposite of Hallelujah" by Jens Lekman, from Night Falls Over Kortedala
• "We're All From Barcelona" by I'm From Barcelona, from Let Me Introduce My Friends
  
• "I Love The Unknown" by Eef Barzelay, from the Rocket Science motion picture soundtrack
• "Grizzly Jive" by Georgie James, from Play
• "Pretty in Pink" by The National, from their Daytrotter Session
• "Pinklon" and "Ethiopians" by the Mountain Goats, from their Daytrotter Session at SXSW
  
• "Pom Pom" by Matthew Dear, from Asa Breed
  
• "Daughter" by Loudon Wainwright III, from Strange Weirdos...
• "Conqueror" by Jesu, from Conqueror
• "Skinny Love" by Bon Iver, from For Emma, Forever Ago
• "Brand New Kind Of Actress" by Jason Isbell, from Sirens Of The Ditch
• "Statues" by Foo Fighters, from Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
• "I Was Zapped By The Lucky Super Rainbow" by The Flaming Lips, from Good Luck Chuck Soundtrack
• "In Our Talons" by Bowerbirds, from Hymns For A Dark Horse
• "Not A Problem" by Black Lips, from Los Valientes del Mundo Nuevo

And of course, the standard indie rock singles were all nice and fine:

• "The Underdog" by Spoon, from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
• "Keep The Car Running" and "Neon Bible" by Arcade Fire, from Neon Bible
  
• "Thrash Unreal" by Against Me!, from New Wave
  
• "Dashboard" by Modest Mouse, from We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
  
• "D.A.N.C.E." by Justice, from † (yes, it's a catchy song)

Some of my favorite albums of 2007 include (key track/s. If no key tracks that means the album is really, really good.):

• Let's Stay Friends by Les Savy Fav
• A Place To Bury Strangers by A Place To Bury Strangers
• In Rainbows by Radiohead
• Armchair Apocrypha by Andrew Bird
• Challengers by The New Pornographers ( "My Rights Versus Yours," "Myriad Harbour")
• Sing the Greys (2006) by Frightened Rabbit ( "Be Less Rude," "The Greys")
• Era Vulgaris by Queens of the Stone Age ( "Turnin' On The Screw," "I'm Designer," "Misfit Love," "3's & 7's")
• Places by Georgie James ( "Cake Parade," "Need Your Needs")
• Casually Smashed To Pieces by the Six Parts Seven ( "Falling Over Evening" <great, great song)
• From Beale Street To Oblivion by Clutch ( "You Can't Stop Progress," "When Vegans Attack")
• Graduation by Kanye West ( "Can't Tell Me Nothing," "Stronger")
• Mirrored by Battles
• It's Not How Far You Fall, It's The Way You Land by Soulsavers ( "Revival," "Paper Money," "Kingdoms Of Rain")
• In Our Nature by José González

Notable Albums of 2007 include (they range from good/okay to excellent):

• Friend Opportunity by Deerhoof ( "+81," "Believe E.S.P.")
• Holy F**k by Holy F**k
• Nothing Is Underrated by Joe Lally
• Myth Takes by !!! ( "Must Be The Moon," "Heart Of Hearts")
• HEALTH by HEALTH
• U.F.O.s At The Zoo - The Legendary Concert In Oklahoma City by The Flaming Lips
• VI by The F**king Champs
• All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone by Explosions In The Sky
• Legendary Demo by Clouds
• Play Drums + Bass by C.O.C.O.
• Here Come The Waterworks by Big Business
• Adrian Orange & Her Friends by Adrian Orange & Her Friends
• Good Bad Not Evil by Black Lips
• The Last Days of Rome by Snog
• Harmonic Tremors by Zozobra
• Tears of the Valedictorian by Frog Eyes

- R.H.

Before I get into all the great music I would like to touch on the shows that didn’t get recorded and the shows that didn’t end up happening. My biggest disappointment of the year was not being able to record Neko Case. She has an amazing voice and it was a great show. That show would have added at least 3 or 4 songs to this best of 2007. The same is true for the Modest Mouse/Man Man show that I caught in November. Man Man was an out of nowhere sound explosion for me and Modest Mouse is just a great band that had a great night. The Note was packed that night and the sound was great. The good news is that I actually got to see and record Man Man this year, so check out the site for the Man Man show and great ready for the Man Man additions to the best of 2008 compilation.
Now the shows that didn’t happen. I actually bought tickets to two shows that got cancelled this year, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and The Polyphonic Spree. These two bands have a very interesting and different sound that would have fit in nicely with the mix of music that I got to record this year. I am not sure why Clap your hands cancelled, but damn the stomach flu for hitting the Spree before they made it up to Columbia from the big D.
It would be impossible to review each and every show listed in this compilation of music. If you want a more detailed covering of the shows just go to my site and check out the individual shows pages and check out how the night went. I will say that there are some great headliners in this set as well as some amazing and surprising opening acts. You most likely know the likes of Wilco, Spoon, Blue Mountain, and Yonder Mountain String Band, however acts like Illinois, Dubconscious, Gil Landry, Tim Easton, Robbie Fulks, and Tapes N Tapes just might grab your attention. Check out the local singer songwriters Casey Reeves (solo and with his band) and Noah Earle. They are starting to play more regional shows, so support them if you can.
I only offer the best of sets as MP3 files on my site, and they are only offered as zip files. In this case three sets of zip files. I do this in the hopes of exposing people to some new music, so download, sit back, and enjoy my great year of music.

Here is the link for this set up music: Best of 2007

01) Wilco-You are my Face
They opened the show for this song and it set the stage for a great night of music.
02) Blue Mountain-Eyes of A Child
The Triumphant return of Blue Mountain. Don’t be fooled by this quiet track, these guys bring the rock to every show.
03) Spoon-Mathematical Mind
This song made a good show great. It still blows me away how they build the song’s intensity
04) The Hold Steady-You Can Make Him Like You
An enternal truth from one of the most fun bands on tour today.
05) Tapes N Tapes-Insistor
This is the song that got me to the show. It is their “hit”, and truly a great alternative song
06) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club-Berlin
Another show opener, the music and the lights for this song worked as one. You just had to be there, but not to enjoy this great song.
07) The Apples In Stereo-Do You Understand
My favorite song of this night at the True False Film show, live these guys have a great pop sensibility
08) Illinois-Oh Asia
Talk about an amazing introduction to a band. They opened with this song, and let’s just say they had me at hello
09) Dubconscious-Bringers Of The Vibration
OK, I have never been a big fan of the Reggae, but damn these guys are great!!!! You don’t just hear this song, you feel it!
10) Mucca Pazza-?
This is a hard band to capture with mere audio recording. They are music in motion with so many people moving on stage, in the crowd, on the balcony, oh yeah and then there was the cheerleader. This is what happens when the bad band kids keep their instruments from high school
11) Gill Landry-Loneliness
I went to this show based solely on the description, and he was great. He bleeds Bourbon Street.
12) Tim Easton-Runnin Blues
Tim Easton would have been the best thing about Twangfest, if it weren’t for Blue Mountain. He played solo, with a Two Cow Garage’s Drummer, and with the entire Two Cow band.
13) Noah Earle-Dollars To Donuts
I have heard of Noah for a little bit on the Columbia scene, but this was my first time seeing him. This is a great narrative song filled with humor and an interesting story.
14) Casey Reeves-By First Light
The other local singer/songwriter in this mix. They have a very different style, but they both write and sing great music
15) Cary Hudson-Skinny Dippin’
I have loved this man’s music since 1994. This is a new song, check out the Blue Mountain songs to get a since of this man’s history
16) Danny Barnes-Footprints In The Snow
Ok, this is one man and one banjo. That’s it. Outrageous! If you want to see what this man can do with a banjo, check out the rest of the Robbie Fulks/Danny Barnes show.
17) Carrie Rodriquez-I Don’t Want To Play House Anymore
This woman has a beautiful voice, and layers with great acoustic old school country music
18) Robbie Fulks-I Told Her Lies
If you don’t laugh at this, you have no funny bone.
19) Caulfield & The Magic-Wicked People
Remember Casey Reeves up there, here he is with his band.
20) Yonder Mountain String Band-Kentucky Mandolin
Welcome to the Bluegrass. This is a great instrumental.
21) Blue Mountain-Black Dog
Remember when I said these guys can rock? Well here it is.
22) Black Rebel Motorcycle C