Top 10 Best/Favorite Albums of 2007 (part 1): #5 - #1

The top 5 of 2007. These albums are really great. I've looked and re-looked at my choices several times, and feel like I've done a good job of honestly placing bands where I think they should be. So, here we go:

(please see my old post for a more in depth review of #15 - #6:

15. Sigur Ros - Heima and Hvarf-Heim
14. Spoon - GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA ga
13. Bloc Party - Weekend in the City
12. M.I.A. - Kala
11. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
10. (tie) Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
(tie) Portugal. The Man - It's Complicated Being a Wizard
9. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
8. Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground - Live at the Pretty Parlor
7. John Vanderslice - Emerald City
6. The Frames - The Cost

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5. Handsome Furs - Plague Park
Montreal band fronted by Spencer Krug, they are spectacular. Really, Spencer Krug is spectacular. He also fronts one of my most enjoyed bands, Wolf Parade. They are groovy and I dig his voice (despite the comparisons to Isaac Brock's voice). The guy's a genius and so is his music. So, check'em out!
Standout Tracks: What We Had, Handsome Furs Hate This City, Cannot Get Started, The Radio's Hot Sun.

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4. The National - BoxerThe National came out of nowhere for me. I kept hearing them mentioned on sites like metacritic.com, so, I checked them out. If forced to pick a sentiment, I would say they sound like if Leonard Cohen started a rock band. That in mind, the "Leonard Cohen" singer figure looks somewhat like Lyle Lovett. Either way, this geeky bunch of Long Islanders write good songs that go down easy.
Standout Tracks: Fake Empires, Mistaken For Strangers, Green Gloves, Start a War

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3. Maritime - Heresy and the Hotel ChoirThis Milwaukee band has been my warm and fuzzy spot in Milwaukee since moving back here. Former Promise Ring, now Maritime's, Davey Von Bohlen leads their latest effort. It's a cohesive collection of well-crafted indie-pop songs that make me happy to live in the same town as them. If you don't know'em, get to know'em. So, maybe you can say, "Hey, I knew about this band before they blew up." My prediction is that they will.
Standout Tracks: Guns of Navarone, For Science Fiction, Hours that you Keep, Witches and Snowmen

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2. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even SankI've only liked Modest Mouse for 10 years. So, this year is one of nostalgia to some degree. My old friends have come up with new material. I was really happy with their "Float on" success, but this album has heralded something of a return to the songwriting that I expect from Modest Mouse. This album expresses more of the great anger and energy that I have come to love from Modest Mouse, and that coupled with creative lyrics has made this band into my most listened to band. They make me smile. There is one track on this album that destroys me. It's Spitting Venom. The lyrics and the percussive nature of Isaac Brock's voice is quintessential Modest Mouse. I love it.
Standout Tracks: Fire it up, Little Motel, Spitting Venom, People as Places as People

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1. Radiohead - In Rainbows
I like radiohead. I have for around 12 years now. The production value on this album is so high. As my friend Floyd would always say, "You like all that music with the beeps and whistles". And I do. This album is sonically brilliant like the class of primary school kids yelling, "Yay," on 15 step, but there are also endearing tracks on the album like Videotape that I really connect with. I'm very pleased with almost the entire album, except for House of Cards. Somehow, I just didn't get into it.
Standout Tracks: 15 Step, Reckoner, Videotape

Peace!

Top 15 Best/Favorite Albums of 2007 (part 1): #15-#6

It's nearing the end of 2007, and I'm looking back at this year's music. In the last week or two, I looked at and re-looked at a bunch of albums in order to determine the albums that were my favorites or that moved me in some way. There are fellow bloggers who usually put out their lists, and there's a little bit of a pressure to make sure that my list really represents where I'm coming from. So, here's the first half of my list:

15. Sigur Ros - Heima and Hvarf-Heim
This album is nice to listen to because it's Sigur Ros, but I did expect more from the live album. Give me some kind of vamping or something. So, it's a letdown, but still eeks its way onto my list.

14. Spoon - GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA ga
This is an album which isn't top 10 worthy for me personally, but had some very bright spots (ie the Ghost of you Lingers), which made it absolutely necessary to mention.

13. Bloc Party - Weekend in the City
This album started strong with songs like The Prayer and Song for Clay, and I like their sound, but that might be the longevity issue I'm having with them. After a ton of listens, their songs start to sound like one another, and they've begun to wear on me. I can't even handle Hunting for Witches anymore.

12. M.I.A. - Kala
What can I say about MIA? It took a couple of listens to adjust to the uniqueness of this Sri Lankan (via East London) hip hop artist, but this my idea of music you would listen to as you drove to the beach in summer in your drop top (done this). Songs like Paper Planes with the hefty low end, catchy lyrics and cheesy gunshots on the chorus make it the perfect summer soundtrack. .

11. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
This is a good album. I really don't care for Is there a Ghost, but songs like No One's Gonna Love You more than make up for it. That song is great.

10. I have these two as a tie because they are both short CDs, and they are both wicked awesome.

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(tie) Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss EveryoneMy old roommate, Eric, says that this band's earlier work is very similar to this album, so, this is kind of a more of the same EP. But I haven't heard their earlier work, so, I dig it.
Standout Track: The Birth and Death of the Day.

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(tie) Portugal. The Man - It's Complicated Being a WizardThis Alaskan group has a real 70s rock vibe that I don't really get into, but this EP put out in summer is 23 minutes of straight electronica indie rock music broken up into 9 different types of magic. It's a great thing, and I encourage all of you to check it out, and then let them know that you want to hear more electronica from them because it's outstanding.
Standout Tracks: Ruby Magic, Black Magic

This video isn’t even on this small album, but I couldn’t find any that were, and this captures them fairly well. Enjoy!

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9. Andrew Bird - Armchair ApocryphaA Chicagoan, a professional whistler. and very classy in style, Andrew Bird has released a really good sophomore effort this year. This follow up is more rich in layers and production than his previous effort, and I think it really works. Plasticities is this amazing track of subtle dynamic and heavily layered production; all things I love.
Standout Tracks: Plasticities, Heretics, Yawny at the Apocalypse.

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8. Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground - Live at the Pretty Parlor
Their cellist was my old music pastor out in Seattle. They just recently played on Late Night with Carson Daly. Their sound is like if the Muppets started an amazing rock band with sincere lyrics. I adore them, and can't wait for a studio release sometime in ’08.
Standout Tracks: Hey Momma, Simon Courage Flees the Coop, Night of the Star Child's Funk.

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7. John Vanderslice - Emerald City
Can a guy move up on this list by having one song that was listened to 43 times in one day? Yes. His name is John Vanderslice. And the song is Kookaburra. It floors me. This longtime produced also drops a really likeable album.
Standout Tracks: Kookaburra, Time to Go, Numbered Lithograph.

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6. The Frames - The Cost

I surprised Sarah this past spring with a trip out to Seattle to see the Frames live at the Showbox. It was a great show, and this is a pretty great album. This is a phrenetic connection of violin melodies, led by an ever optomistic, but never creepy Glen Hansard. They are true showmen, and if I had found the Frames when I was doing my 2005 list, Burn the Maps would have ranked fairly highly.
Standout Tracks: Falling Slowly, When Your Mind's Made Up, Sad Songs, The Cost.

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