smoe.org mailing lists
ivan@stellysee.de
| From | Dan Franke <deer_lick@yahoo.com> |
| Subject | Tops of 2007 |
| Date | Tue, 8 Jan 2008 13:54:23 -0800 (PST) |
[Part 1 text/plain iso-8859-1 (7.2 kilobytes)]
(View Text in a separate window)
I decided that I was going to listen to everything and
rate each song - Then take the average of the songs
and rate the album...Not only is this time consuming,
it's not fair to albums that have lots of songs or
"album tracks" that aren't meant to be listened to out
of context. I did this for a few weeks and now I'm
bored, so I'm stopping. Here's my list:
1 New Pornographers - Challengers 4.542
The album I went back to the most all year. Standouts:
Myriad Harbour, My Rights Versus Yours, Myriad
Harbour, Go Places, Entering White Cecilia
2 Grand Champeen - Dial T for This 4.500
My favorite Austin band. They have been known to cover
the entire "Cheap Trick at Budokan" album. Think of a
really tight Replacements or Soul Asylum before they
got lame.
3 Weakerthans - Reunion Tour 4.364
Not as good as "Reconstruction Site," especially
considering the wait - But apparently ranks high
song-for-song.
4 Nick Lowe - At My Age 4.295
I listened to this as much as the New Pornographers.
Another great album from the Jebus of cool.
5 Wilco - Sky Blue Sky 4.292
This one reminds me of a grown-up version of their
first one. Lots of nice acoustic guitar songs with
incredible blast of Nels Cline's guitar - "Impossible
Germany" could be a lost Televison song.
6 Okkervil River - The Stage Names 4.278
This one benefited from my rating scale, but that
doesn't discount this solid 9-song effort. Some great
lyrics and a cool Beach Boys tribute (coda).
7 Against Me! - New Wave 4.250
They lost the slightly country-punk thing that I heard
on earlier releases and went the over-produced
punk-anthem route. They'll never be as cool as Rancid.
8 Art Brut - It's a Bit Complicated 4.136
I'm sure I'll grow tried of this, but I haven't yet. I
love the sentiment of "Blame It On The Trains"
9 Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare 4.125
I guess I'm a sucker for that accent...Art Brut,
Arctic Monkeys, Baby Shamble, Fratellis...
10 Sloan - Never Hear The End Of It 4.000
Their SXSW show was too short, had technical
difficulties, and was packed with people who weren't
necessarily there to see them - But it was the best
show of the year.
11 Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga 4.000
Even with that terrible 2nd song that I skip over &
just plain deleted from my iPod (I'm an album guy & it
was difficult for me to do this), this album ranks
high.
12 Ben Lee - Sings Against Me! New Wave 4.000
Interesting take on my #7 album that unfortunately
reveals how clunky some of the lyrics are.
13 Future Clouds And Radar - Future Clouds And Radar
3.981
Penalized in my rating system for having too much
filler, but really would've benefited from being pared
down to a single album.
14 White Stripes - Icky Thump 3.962
Probably won't win any new fans, but a return to
basics after the disappointing "Get Behind Me Satan"
15 Limbeck - Limbeck 3.955
Not only are these guys really good at writing breezy
acoustic-based pop songs, they pack a punch without
disturbing the mood. Their live shows make me wonder
what it was like to see Tom Petty in his bar band
days. Plus, They are the nicest band I have ever met -
Not one bad apple in the bunch.
16 Manic Street Preachers - Send Away The Tigers 3.955
On the best songs, I can imagine Robin Zander is
singing.
17 Knit Delicate - Pressed 3.955
A couple of ex-Blow Pops back up an old friend on his
"solo" debut with expected chime-y results - Check em
out on MySpace or CD Baby.
18 Li'l Cap'n Travis - Twilight on Sometimes Island
3.950
This one suffered from my rating system and should be
much higher. Another one of my favorite Austin bands.
Check out "Sugar Buzz" (featured in Friday Night
Lights) to hear what Pop-Drawl sounds like.
19 The Queers - Munki Brain 3.917
Unapologetic Ramones-inspired pop - To be fair, they
bring a bit of their own influences to the table. The
Shirelles to the Ramones Ronettes.
20 Babyshambles - Shotter's Nation 3.893
The accent still shines through the junkie-haze.
Unfortunately, this is probably a case of someone who
would suck if he cleaned up.
21 Fratellis - Costello Music 3.885
22 Apples In Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder 3.854
23 Band of Horses - Cease to Begin 3.833
24 You Am I - Convicts 3.692
25 Suzanne Vega - Beauty & Crime 3.636
26 Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger 3.538
27 Arcade Fire - Neon Bible 3.409
Albums I should've listened to, rated & ranked instead
of trying to "get" Arcade Fire:
Aqualung [2007] Memory Man
Bill Callahan [2007] Woke On A Whaleheart
Bruce Springsteen [2007] Magic
Crowded House [2007] Time On Earth
David Vandervelde [2007] The Moonstation House Band
Dinosaur Jr [2007] Beyond
Dr Dog [2007] We All Belong
Earlimart [2007] Mentor Tormentor
Enemy [2007] We'll Live And Die In These Towns
Feist [2007] The Reminder
Field Music [2007] Tones Of Town
Good, The Bad And The Queen [2007] The Good, The Bad
And The Queen
Ian Hunter [2007] Shrunken Heads
Interpol [2007] Our Love To Admire
Josh Rouse [2007] Country Mouse, City House
Julie Doiron [2007] Woke Myself Up
Kelly Clarkson [2007] My December
LCD Soundsystem [2007] Sound Of Silver
Lucinda Williams [2007] West
Lyle Lovett [2007] It's Not Big It's Large
Mavis Staples [2007] We'll Never Turn Back
Modest Mouse [2007] We Were Dead Before The Ship Even
Sank
National [2007] Boxer
Panda Bear [2007] Person Pitch
Pipettes - [2007] We Are The Pipettes
Polyphonic Spree [2007] The Fragile Army
Proclaimers [2007] Life With You
Radiohead [2007] In Rainbows
Ray Davies [2007] Working Man's Cafe
Redwalls [2007] The Redwalls
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss [2007] Raising Sand
Steve Earle [2007] Washington Square Serenade
Testa Rosa [2007] Testa Rosa
Thrills [2007] Teenager
View [2007] Hats Off to the Buskers
White Rabbits [2007] Fort Nightly
Albums that I listened to earlier in the year that
wouldn't have ranked much better than Arcade Fire:
- Fountains Of Wayne [2007] Traffic And Weather
Is anyone else sick of their tongue-in-cheekiness?
Plus the product-placement in songs is getting old.
- Jesse Malin [2007] Glitter in the Gutter
Still can't get over his voice, but I have a feeling
that it'll unlock to me someday & I'll really
appreciate this stuff.
- Paul McCartney [2007] Memory Almost Full
Really? I mean it's not terrible, but it's not really
good either...or even relevant.
- Rilo Kiley [2007] Under the Blacklight
I guess they are saving all of their good stuff for
their solo projects (The Elected & Jenny Lewis). File
this under "What were they thinking"
- Shins [2007] Wincing The Night Away
Maybe I just loved "Chutes Too Narrow" too much. This
was just disappointing, but may be the kind of album I
come back to in 2 years with no expectations and love.
- Voxtrot [2007] Voxtrot
I want to see these Austin boys do well. After a
string good to great EP's & Singles, they can't
maintain my interest for a full album. The album is
just sort of flat. I really want to see these Austin
boys do well, so I hope they figure it out...or better
yet, go back to the EP's - Apparently the kids don't
care about albums anymore anyway.
Dan FrankE
____________________________________________________________________________________
Looking for last minute shopping deals?
Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping
For assistance, please contact
the smoe.org administrators.