So it's no lie that this blog is actually just a free place for me to either reference major life changes or to talk about music every year or so. I'm sure that's particularly hard to hear for all of you who subscribe to my blog in your RSS reader on a weekly basis (cue cricket noise and tumbleweed).In any case.. it's that time of year again, for random people like myself to tell you what the best music of the year is. Well.. I'm not gonna do that. I'm just going to share with you my favorite songs of 2007 and to tell you why. In reality it's just a vehicle for me to share you my favorite Eric Estrada poster of the year.
Here are the liner notes for my best songs of 2007...
Keep the Car Running by Arcade Fire
I couldn't think of a better song to start out with than this one. I must admit McKinley had to twist my arm to get into these guys, but when I did.. I did big. One of the highlights of the decade (yes decade) for me was this concert. The all night road trip across Missouri with the great friends, alone made it a blast.. but to show up and see a performance with this kind of energy, musicianship and overall aura pretty much blew me away. I've seen a lot of shows and this is definately top 5 of all time. Keep the Car Running like many other Arcade Fire songs is peppered with biblical imagery. I'm not exactly sure what this song is about but lyrics like ... "If some night I don’t come home, Please don’t think I’ve left you alone. The same place animals go when they die, You can’t climb across a mountain so high. The same city where I go when I sleep, You can’t swim across a river so deep." seem to me to demonstrate a duality of fear and anticipation about the eventual end and where that will lead him, whether it be Heaven or some other place.
This is the best clip I could find of them performing this live. Unfortunately it's a BBC appearance, but hopefully it gives you some idea of how chaotically energetic this band is live. If you ever get a chance, don't miss it. Definately worth a 5 hour drive.
Play Your Cards Right by Common feat. Bilal
I admit it, I'm becoming a closet Common fan. I'm somewhat out of touch with the whole hip-hop/rap scene these days, but it's hard to refute the burgeoning talent of rapper/producers like Jay Z, Kanye and Common. For the most part, this is just a really fun song to listen to. Common, like many of his contemporaries has the ability to produce songs that utilize the best pieces of forgotten 70's and 80's obscure licks and transform them into the anthem of the night. This was the standout song from the "Smokin' Aces" soundtrack. The movie itself was so-so, but it's worth seeing just for the large array of cameo appearances (including Common himself) and the raw action that ensues. No one else can sum up so much wisdom in so few words like Common when he says "Sometime to make peace, you need a full clip!" ... So true Common, so true...
Heretics by Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird's album Armchair Apocrypha is definately one of 2007's best. Call me lazy, but I decided to put two of his songs from that album on my best of just because. So sue me, jerk! Anyhow, I don't really know much about this dude. From his Wikipedia entry it seems like he was schooled in something called the "Suzuki Method" which is some combination of total music emersion from the time you are very young and tea-sipping, tree hugging hippyness. Either way, it results in some cool tunes.
Reckoner by Radiohead
Wicked song from a good album. This one grew on me too. My first reaction to "In Rainbows" was, ehh. I still don't necessarily feel like the album is a perfect comprehensive piece, because it doesn't flow well together. It feels more like a compilation of a bunch of different kinds of songs to me, but that's cool. It results in some great tracks. Reckoner fits the typical echoey haunting sounds that Thom Yorke is a master at crooning to. Plus it has a cool beat.
For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver
Props again to McKinley for helping me stumble upon this guy. Apparently he was in a band for some time that broke up, and he retreated to a secluded cabin in northern Wisconsin for 4 months by himself to record this album. While those circumstances shouldn't matter when I'm listening to music, I can't help but think about how lonely and isolated he felt. I think it really comes out in his music in a serene and elegant kind of way. I believe Emma was his mother.
Please Baby Please by Jon Hardy & The Public
Another album that deserved multiple tracks on my best of, was Jon Hardy & The Public's "Working in Love". This album is a great collection of tunes about love had, and love lost. The amazing ability of Jon Hardy himself to layer complex emotional themes into catchy songs is astounding. Besides just song writing, just about all of the songs have a different musical feel and arrangement. I rarely feel like its just more of the same old thing when I listen track by track. The addition of a horn section was genius in particular as this song, while a throw-back to a time before the band was born, rivals it's predecessors in no small way.
Plus Ones by Okkervil River
When, on our 3am conversation on the road back from Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem, Janous told me that Okkervil River was his top band of 06 and that midlake wasn't even on his list, i took great pause. "Outlandish!" was probably not the word I used, but you get the idea. These dudes are still growing on me, but thanks to Bryan's prodding, I really did take to this song. You'll notice it's filled with witty references to a breadth of older songs with numbers in the title. Not sure why I like it so much, but it was clever and it just stuck in my head.
Scenic World (Version) by Beirut
Once again, a 20 something acordian playing kid from New Mexico got something right. This remix of a song from his debut album appeared earlier this year on the EP "Lon Gisland" (get it?) Anyhow... this is an amazing song, and even though he put out an entire other album after it, this is still my favorite song of his this year.
Sea Legs by The Shins
I almost forgot this came out in 2007. The thing is, I think the Shins keep getting better and better. Sure, they had a much cooler feel when no-one knew who they were, but the entire "Wincing the Night Away" album is a great comprehensive piece that I can listen to front to back effortlessly. I'm not certain what this song is about, but being a big fan of nautical imagery, lyrics like... "Of all the intersecting lines in the sand, I routed a labyrinth to your lap
and never used a map sliding off the land, On an incidental tide, And along the way you know, they tried, They tried.." are not lost on me completely.
Flightless Bird, American Mouth by Iron & Wine
I like just about everything that Sam Beam has done. This is no exeption. Again, an album I can listen to front and back. Some critics might not like it for it's larger instrumental scope or better production value, seeing as how that's a departure from his rather low-fi soft melodies, but I love the variety and the broader musical strokes. That being said, I probably picked the simplest, but in my opinion sweetest song on the album. Most folks will pick Resurrection Fern, which is also an awesome tune, but this song makes me want to weep instantly when I hear it, and I don't even know (as usual) what the hell it's about.
The Plot by White Rabbits
It's not every day you see home boys from the same zip code start getting notable fame in indie circles. These guys are pretty talented. They performed this live on Letterman earlier this year. I'm pretty sure my wife, at some point, made out with the drummer... but hopefullly that was in middle school and not last week. I can't tell for sure. Actually that might have been her friend Sara. Whatever... it's cooler to say it was my wife.. since he's a big time rock star now. Great musicianship and stage performance. These guys have a lot of energy and are fun to watch.
Drivin' Me Wild by Common (Feat. Lily Allen)
So once again, I am a sucker for meaningless hip-hop. This is a fun song to listen to and again, amazing production value. Seems like Common is best suited to collaborate with folks, rather than do stuff on his own.
Right Moves by Josh Ritter
Not sure why it's taken me so long to get into Josh Ritter. Nate has preached to me that this guy is nothing short of genius. I'm slowly finding this to be true. Talk about a litmus test for song-writing ability. This guy weaves all kinds of metaphor and nature terminology all while making fun songs to sing along to. This song in particular resonates with me because of it's vulnerability. I think this is why I like this genre of music so much. It's raw ability to connect with real folks, with real insecurities in lyrics like... "Am I making all the right moves, Am I singing you the right blues, Is there a chance that I could call you, Just to see how you are doing?" really resonate with me.
Saltbreakers by Laura Veirs
I honestly don't know much about Laura. I know she is a pacific northwest girl (you can tell just by listening to her music) and that her recent album "Saltbreakers" was in some way produced with the help of one of The Decemberists (one of my favorite bands). Again, I'm a sucker for nautical imagery (Saltbreakers is code for "big waves"). In paticular the chorus (and the bandmates echo) remind me of a couple harrowing experiences I had in 15 foot waves on the North Shore of Hawaii in November... "Saltbreakers.. (flashing in the night, crashing all around my eyes), Saltbreakers... (throwing me down turning on the fire flies), Saltbreakers...
(the ebb and the flood, clearing all the channels of your heart)..
Spare-Oh's by Andrew Bird
Oddly enough this is the second song on the mix that references a "flightless bird". What kind of tree-hugging hippy have I become? Perhaps I'm being obtuse here.. but it seems fairly ironic that a guy named Andrew Bird would have a picture of a bird on his album, sing about sparrows and swallows and robins and whistle like a parakeet in half of his songs? Anyhow.. yes.. I put two songs from this album on here. It's that good. I think he sounds like Thom Yorke in this song. He's a great crooner and as a vocalist myself, I love tight harmonies.
Someone Great by LCD Soundsystem
There is a reason why Pitchfork Media has two songs from "Sound of Silver" in their top 10 of 2007. I believe "All of My Friends" is actually their number one of the year. Great song, but I like this one better. Maybe it's my long-time affection for electronica, or the fact that I saw this performed right before the Arcade Fire show in KC, but this song does such a great job of being experimental and melodic all in the same song. Usually it's one or the other. Plus, you can tell this song is embattled with heart ache and lessons learned which shows emotional depth and a capacity for more than just bloops and bleeps. If you had to pick up 2 albums for all of 2007, buy LCD Soundsystem's "Sound of Silver", and Arcade Fire's "Neon Bible". I love this song!
Cassius Clay by Jon Hardy & The Public
The best song on "Working in Love" hands down. Perfectly demonstrates Jon Hardy's ability to write great music. I think you just have to listen to this song to really appreciate it. Obvious remnants of an empassioned love-worn song-writer, demonstrate the paradox of the being a band front-man while struggling desparately not to lose the humility and earnestness that got him there in lyrics like... " I'm like Cassius Clay, but you're the name that we all say!"
The Thanks I Get! by Wilco
The only downside to this song is that it was used in some stupid car commercial. Not sure why this wasn't the lead single for Wilco's "Sky Blue Sky", instead of it simply ending up a bonus track on early releases. Definately my favorite by Wilco in 2007. Sure it's poppy, but it's still got all of Wilco's grit and grime, all wrapped up in a catchy tune. I think a lot of people are ashamed to like a band's more mainstream sounding songs. This song is right up there for me with "Kamera," "Theologians," and "Jesus etc.". I just really think they make some great pop songs, alright? Quit judging me!"
Deep Blue Sea by Grizzly Bear
These guys sound like they're from some remote corner of Canada with their weird low-fi sound. Most of the stuff sounds like it was recorded in a big warehouse or something. I love it though. "Yellow House" was their debut album in 2006. Definately worth investing in. I ran into this song earlier this year because they apparently woke up one morning and sent the word out that they wanted to play a song for their fans on the beach, so they performed this cover of the old tune "Deep Blue Sea". The video below is actually better than the track on the CD, because the band harmonizes so well, which is lost on the track itself. Note: Yet again, another nautical reference. I love this stuff. Watch this, it's worth it...
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