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| From | "Jim Cox" <jimcox63@gmail.com> |
| Subject | My faves of 2007 |
| Date | Thu, 10 Jan 2008 13:49:48 -0800 |
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What could be worse that a lurker posting a long-winded top 10 list?
How about Rundgren fronting The Cars* or President Mitt Romney? And
those are just examples from Massachusetts. See, it's not so bad in
perspective …
1. The Tripwires – Makes You Look Around.
Wow, I love this record. The Tripwires are John Ramberg's new band.
He was the leader of The Model Rockets and is the lead guitar player
in the Minus 5, and now he's back with a great band and a bunch of new
songs that continue the upward trend that The Model Rockets showed for
their last couple of records. This is the kind of power pop I like –
substantial, muscular, and smart. The Tripwires deliver songs that
grab you right away and then give you more and more with repeated
listens. Highlights include the beautiful shoulda-been-a-hit "Big
Electric Light" and hooky-as-hell "I Hear This Music." To quote the
title track: "It's the kind of sound that makes you look around to
find out where it's coming from."
2. Josh Ritter – The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
I keep listening and listening and listening. Several of the records
lower down on my list were great diversions for a while this year, but
I don't think Historical Conquests is a summer fling. This is a
record that I will form a long-term relationship with and keep coming
back to for a long time to come. Almost every song is something
special, and there's a genius to the sequencing here. And while it's
true that Ritter comes from a more singer-songwriter place, there's a
lot of great pop songs and production on this album (as compared to
the great-but-more-straightforward-singer-songwriter sound of "The
Animal Years" from 2006). If you didn't hear the Ritter concert
podcast on NPR All Songs Considered a few months ago, you should.
It's a great show, and he comes off as so surprised and thrilled by
the big crowd and the reception, so joyful in his performance, and so
genuine a guy as to be someone really worth rooting for. And while
that's neither here nor there in terms of evaluating the album, it
sure is nice to feel good about an artist.
3. Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
No one else does what these guys do. Well, no one does it better,
anyway. "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb" and "The Underdog" are candidates
for song of the year, but then so are about four others.
4. Band of Horses – Cease to Begin
"Everything All the Time" was my #1 last year. No way a band as
surprising as the Band of Horses could follow up with a just-as-good
record the following year, right? Especially if one of the key guys
takes a hike. But they did it. In fact, Josh Ritter, The Arctic
Monkeys, and the Band of Horses gave us great records in both 2006 and
2007. That's pretty cool. I think "Is There A Ghost" is one of the
most beautiful songs I heard this year.
5. Ian Hunter – Shrunken Heads
It was a pretty good year for geezer rock what with quality albums by
Nick Lowe, Levon Helm, Bruce Springsteen, The Mekons, Mary Weiss, and
Robert Plant. But my favorite geezer rock record (by far) of '07 is
this one from Ian Hunter. It clears the "pretty good for a old guy"
bar by a mile and gets into the conversation with the very best stuff
he's ever done. I only wish he had toured a little more.
6. Fratellis – Costello Music
I like the garage rock and the glam, and these guys bring it T.Rex
meets Libertines style. That's a good thing.
7. The Broken West – I Can't Go On, I'll Go On
Right off the bat, I knew that "Down in the Valley" was a great song.
But the whole record is some pretty damn good SoCal power pop.
8. Grand Champeen – Dial T for This
I think it's a step forward for the band in a lot of ways, and I
really like it. But why don't I love it? I think they traded some of
their live energy for studio flourishes with mixed results, but the
songs are pretty damn good. "Wounded Eye" is a hell of a song, but I
wish it would jump off the record with a little more impact the way
that "The Good Slot" did on the last record. Still, I've listed to
this a million times, will listen a million more, and won't ever miss
a Peen show if I can possible help it.
9. The Hives – The Black and White Album
I guess it's fair to say that this record is a mixed bag and that,
even in its better moments, it's really not got a lot to offer over
and above what they've done before. But fuck all that. The Hives
rock. They kick ass. "Try It Again" kicks off with one power chord
full left channel, then one full right, then bounces back and forth as
if it were produced in 1965 by a guy who had discovered the concept of
stereo the previous day. I want to be clear that this is a good
thing. When they chick backing vocals and hand claps come in later,
it is, of course, elevated to great. The Hives are my go-to iPod band
during a workout when I need a little something extra. Who needs
'roids or HGH when you've got "You Got It All … Wrong"
10. Joe Henry – Civilians
It took me a few listens to be fully grabbed by this, but grabbed I
am. I can't out his one on at work anymore because I find myself
stopping everything else to listen. For me, Joe Henry's "Kindness of
the World" from about 10 years ago is among the 20-30 records I've
listened to the most in my life. When I'm on a plane, and especially
at night, I often listen to this on headphones and am carried away
every time. I think I'll try Civilians on my next plane trip.
I also liked these …
The Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare
The Mendoza Line – 30 Year Low
The Clientele – God Save the Clientele
The Shins – Wincing the Night Away
Gogol Bordello – Super Taranta!
Wilco – Sky Blue Sky
Dr. Dog – We All Belong
The High Strung – Get the Guests
The Gourds – Noble Creatures
Nick Lowe – At My Age
I think it was a pretty good year for music. Let's hope for another in 2008.
Jim Cox (in Seattle)
* It's a joke, but go ahead, defend Rundgren fronting The Cars if you must.
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