The annual music-of-the-year post
What would a year of sparse posting on this blog be without my year-end list of music? My listening habits are kind of crap lately, so I don’t have much of a system anymore except to look at other people’s year-end lists and say “oh yeah, I liked that one.” But for what it’s worth, here it is. To save space, I’ll put the top 2 above the fold. Click through for 3-10.
The National - Boxer
I’d like to think that my musical tastes have grown up with me. Smarter (or at least more wily), with a more mature wit, and less acerbic without being any less rocking. So I heard Boxer and i said to myself, “Oh, I get it. This is kinda like me.”
Brother Ali - The Undisputed Truth
Political / socially conscious music is hard to find these days, and when you do they’re often preachy and uninteresting, like Tom Morello. These problems are magnified in hip hop because there’s such an emphasis on materialism and thugishness. But Ali finds just the right mix of authentic rage and confessional candor. He talks about his personal demons in a way that makes you believe him. His outlook might be angry, but you see quickly that it’s directed anger.
Nine Inch Nails - year zero
Before this year, it looked like Reznor was facing that crossroads between cranking out more material that no one was interested in and entering nostalgia mode, opening for REO Speedwagon or The Troggs at county fairs. Not sure what might have happened or what Faustian bargain he might have struck, but he found some new souce of anger, and channeled into a frighteningly good record.
Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass
I think Aesop would like you to believe that his flow is all stream-of-consciousness, a completely random trip through his head like Beck or Kool Kieth excel at from time to time. Don’t believe it. If you listen, you will find a much better-organized brain than you might think. He pairs that amazing flow with giant, funky beats that should make Kanye West want to quit. And he makes it look easy.
Amon Tobin - The Foley Room
I hadn’t liked his last couple after he got away from the crazy drum samples and jazzy structures. This isn’t really a return to that, but it’s a new direction that tickles me. Lots of found sound, along with the signature loping beats and loops I’ve come to love.
El-P - I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead
El-P sounds like he’s going to explode. As in, you need to run for cover right now or risk losing your limbs to the blast that seems imminent. But somehow he manages to contain that at the last second and redirect it into a tightly focused laser beam.
Galactic - From the corner to the block
I’d never heard of Galactic before coming across this record. They’re a smoking funk band, the kind of thing I would appreciate but not seek out, except that they put together a record featuring vocals by several of my favorite rappers (Gift Of Gab, Mr. Lif, Juvenile). The result is glorious.
Burial - Untrue
This one, like the last Burial album, is very moody and ominous. I have a long history of liking paranoid, claustrophobic, creeped-out records, and this one definitely fits firmly into that category.
Electric Six - I Shall Exterminate Everything Around Me
These guys obviously don’t care what anybody thinks of them, which makes them interesting and infuriating at the same time. A little self-control or attention to detail would make them a much better band, but then they wouldn’t be as fun.
Radiohead - In Rainbows
I number myself among the fans of Radiohead. I don’t hunt to the ends of the Earth for their stuff, but when I have the chance to download it at high bitrates for a low price (I paid 6 bucks, I think), It’s hard to pass up. I can’t say I hear a lot of difference from the last album, but then they’re still probably five years ahead of where most other smart rock bands are.
Honorable mentions:
Minus The Bear - Planet Of Ice
Mark Ronson - Version
We Are Wolves - Total Magique
Dirty Projectors - Rise Above
Also, bands I ended up liking, but didn’t even know about until I started reading best-of-2007 lists:
A Place To Bury Strangers - A Place To Bury Strangers
Gogol Bordello - Super Taranta
Battles - Mirrored
December 26th, 2007 - Posted in Music | |
