Ace (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} inhisgrace) wrote,@ 2007-12-31 23:22:00 |
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My Top 10 Albums of 2007
TEN:
oh mr. beam. what have we got here now? sitar? drums? voice effects? well, havent we gotten a lot more hi-fi since the last album. to be really honest though, i didnt like this cd that much. i guess that i was so used to low fidelity iron and wine that this album hit me in a sore spot. not to say that its bad or anything, because musically, its very nice. im sure that if i heard this without hearing the previous albums, i probably would have liked it more. but compared to the others, i feel as though his voice is too soft to be carried over the all the sounds that are going on, to the point where i cant understand what hes saying sometimes. but thats why i think it works so well with an acoustic guitar, because his voice fits with the music. i had hoped that this album would have sounded like Resurrection Fern, an updated version of the old so to speak, but in the end, it was just ok to me. i still perfer "The Creek Drank The Cradle" over this any day.
NINE:
a surprising choice even for me, but i throughly enjoyed this. funny because i dont even really like thrice except for back in 2000 when they were more rapcore (haha). but this i think i like, more because it doesnt sound anything like thrice. eh... but its a simple acoustic guitar and a voice and its awesome. simplicity is amazing at times.
EIGHT:
i liked what i heard from this album so much that i went on itunes and downloaded it because it was out of print on cd at the time. i have never paid money for a download of any artist or album ever, just because i think its ridiculous to a point, but only did so because i couldnt buy it. but of course i should have waited as now it is in print once again and i should buy it, but alas, this is still one i enjoyed. the cd itself seems a bit scattered though.. not cohesive really except in its sound. but the songs seem really randomly placed and completely different in topic. im guessing perhaps because this is his first cd and merely a compilation of songs. and yes like most, there is a bit of repetitiveness and cheese and filler, but doesnt every album have that? nonetheless, the singles are breathtaking and i loved every minute of them. i think i may just be partial to him though because he has such an awesome beard.
SEVEN:
if animal collective sounded like this all the time, i think they would be my favorite band ever. luckily, panda bear gave me what i wanted with disappointment.
SIX:
"how did this even happen? i mean really? when did i start listening to this kind of music?" "THIS kind of music"? whatever... i dont even care. justice is awesome and as much as it is D.A.N.C.E. all of you know how much i like to shake my thang. it was written for me anyways. from start to finish, ive got my ears peeled and dont want the beat to stop.
FIVE:
even though it got really REALLY annoying listening to this everyday at work whether i had the choice to or not, i still very much enjoyed this album. i would sing the songs at work all day long and bother all of my employees. whats funny is that i heard it so much i probably know about half of the album by heart, yet i dont even own it, just because i listened to it so much everywhere else. and while i know "1234" was everywhere this year including iPod commercials, ive been a fan of Feist since last year (she was actually on my list last year too!) and i still love it.
FOUR:
David Bazan, what can you not do? i still want to meet Jim. next time you see him, tell him i said hi.
THREE:
with a sound that was completely new, yet familiar at the same time, beirut became one of the sleeper bands of the year for me, with me listening casually at first, then building to listening almost every hour. sad and haunting, yet full of hope, songs on this disc make me smile. a lot of times, his voice just causes me to pay attention as the assorted accordion, horns and random sound effects in french play as a wonderful backdrop.
TWO:
i even saw them twice this year. thats a big deal for me. their live show itself is what sells let me tell ya.
ONE:
so why damien jurados album from last year as number 1? well, even before i could say a thing about it, zach told me last year that it was so good and i would love it, and being that he and i have almost the same exact taste in music, i didnt doubt his judgement. but i didnt get a chance to buy this album until early this year, and according to my last.fm chart, i consequently listened to it more than any other cd in the past 6 months. which doesnt surprise me in the slightest. this is one album that i can just put on and listen to in its entirely and enjoy it all. very rare does an album come along and have that effect on me at all, and even then, still have single tracks that i love as well. "denton tx" is one of damiens finest songs to date and even has its own story within its song that it could easily be a single. and speaking of stories, the whole albums story is nothing short of a graphic novel told through song, with plot twists of murders and affairs and searching and self-discovery from beginning until end. and whats even more amazing is that this is probably his most simplistic record to date. a lot of tracks are just damien singing to his guitar and yet it seems so full of sound and story, you dont even notice. Amazing is the only word i can choose to describe it properly.
so whats missing in this years list? well, to be honest, nothing in 2007 particularily blew me away in terms of music. dont know why... sometimes thats just how it goes i guess. perhaps it was the lack of a proper new starflyer cd (sorry, but the 7" box set was too expensive and i dont care for vinyl at all really). there was also a lot of new cds by artists i like (rosie thomas, wilco, minus the bear, etc) that i just never gave a listen to. that happens to me every year though, as is evidenced here with my top choice. but i suppose that i am not that big of a music fan to seek out every album that i should listen to ever. plus im a pretty poor person. but who knows? perhaps ill get my hand on one of those and listen to it next year.
happy new year everyone.
TEN:
 | Iron & Wine "The Shepherd's Dog" Released: Sub Pop, 2007 Fav Tracks: Resurrection Fern, Innocent Bones, Pagan Angel And A Borrowed Car "And we'll undress beside the ashes of the fire Both our tender bellies wound in baling wire All the more a pair of underwater pearls Than the oak tree and its resurrection fern" |
oh mr. beam. what have we got here now? sitar? drums? voice effects? well, havent we gotten a lot more hi-fi since the last album. to be really honest though, i didnt like this cd that much. i guess that i was so used to low fidelity iron and wine that this album hit me in a sore spot. not to say that its bad or anything, because musically, its very nice. im sure that if i heard this without hearing the previous albums, i probably would have liked it more. but compared to the others, i feel as though his voice is too soft to be carried over the all the sounds that are going on, to the point where i cant understand what hes saying sometimes. but thats why i think it works so well with an acoustic guitar, because his voice fits with the music. i had hoped that this album would have sounded like Resurrection Fern, an updated version of the old so to speak, but in the end, it was just ok to me. i still perfer "The Creek Drank The Cradle" over this any day.
NINE:
 | Dustin Kensrue "Please Come Home" Released: Equal Vision, 2007 Fav Tracks: I Knew You Before "I still stand here waiting, with my eyes fixed on the road, and I fight back tears and I wonder, if you're ever coming home, don't you know son that I love you, and I don't care where you've been, so please come home" |
a surprising choice even for me, but i throughly enjoyed this. funny because i dont even really like thrice except for back in 2000 when they were more rapcore (haha). but this i think i like, more because it doesnt sound anything like thrice. eh... but its a simple acoustic guitar and a voice and its awesome. simplicity is amazing at times.
EIGHT:
 | William Fitzsimmons "Until When We Are Ghosts" Released: Self Released, 2006 Fav Tracks: Funeral Dress, Passion Play "And don’t worry if laughter is on your lips Cause you wouldn’t be you if you changed for this And I won’t measure love from the tears that drip From your face" |
i liked what i heard from this album so much that i went on itunes and downloaded it because it was out of print on cd at the time. i have never paid money for a download of any artist or album ever, just because i think its ridiculous to a point, but only did so because i couldnt buy it. but of course i should have waited as now it is in print once again and i should buy it, but alas, this is still one i enjoyed. the cd itself seems a bit scattered though.. not cohesive really except in its sound. but the songs seem really randomly placed and completely different in topic. im guessing perhaps because this is his first cd and merely a compilation of songs. and yes like most, there is a bit of repetitiveness and cheese and filler, but doesnt every album have that? nonetheless, the singles are breathtaking and i loved every minute of them. i think i may just be partial to him though because he has such an awesome beard.
SEVEN:
 | Panda Bear "Person Pitch" Released: Paw Tracks, 2007 Fav Tracks: Comfy In Nautica, Bros "hey man whats your problem dont you know that i dont belong to you its hard and hard enough to keep it up when everything is so new..." |
if animal collective sounded like this all the time, i think they would be my favorite band ever. luckily, panda bear gave me what i wanted with disappointment.
SIX:
 | Justice "†" Released: Downtown/Ed Banger, 2007 Fav Tracks: D.A.N.C.E, Phantom Pt. II, DVNO "Do the D.A.N.C.E. 1 2 3 4 fight Stick to the B.E.A.T. Get ready to ignite..." |
"how did this even happen? i mean really? when did i start listening to this kind of music?" "THIS kind of music"? whatever... i dont even care. justice is awesome and as much as it is D.A.N.C.E. all of you know how much i like to shake my thang. it was written for me anyways. from start to finish, ive got my ears peeled and dont want the beat to stop.
FIVE:
 | Feist "The Reminder" Released: Cherry Tree, 2007 Fav Tracks: Sea Lion, I Feel It All, The Limit To Your Love "There's a limit to your love Like a waterfall in slow motion Like a map with no ocean There's a limit to your love" |
even though it got really REALLY annoying listening to this everyday at work whether i had the choice to or not, i still very much enjoyed this album. i would sing the songs at work all day long and bother all of my employees. whats funny is that i heard it so much i probably know about half of the album by heart, yet i dont even own it, just because i listened to it so much everywhere else. and while i know "1234" was everywhere this year including iPod commercials, ive been a fan of Feist since last year (she was actually on my list last year too!) and i still love it.
FOUR:
 | David Bazan "Fewer Moving Parts" Released: Barsuk, 2006 Fav Tracks: Fewer Moving Parts, Selling Advertising, Cold Beer And Cigarettes "i still run the show and dont you forget it so i had to let some go dont think i dont regret it because i do and i dont think im better off alone" |
David Bazan, what can you not do? i still want to meet Jim. next time you see him, tell him i said hi.
THREE:
 | Beirut "The Flying Cup Club" Released: Ba Da Bing, 2007 Fav Tracks: Nantes, A Sunday Smile "all i wanted is the best for our lives my dear, and you know that my wishes are sincere..." |
with a sound that was completely new, yet familiar at the same time, beirut became one of the sleeper bands of the year for me, with me listening casually at first, then building to listening almost every hour. sad and haunting, yet full of hope, songs on this disc make me smile. a lot of times, his voice just causes me to pay attention as the assorted accordion, horns and random sound effects in french play as a wonderful backdrop.
TWO:
 | The Avett Brothers "Emotionalism" Released: Ramseur, 2007 Fav Tracks: Living In Love, The Weight Of Lies, Shame "With Lucifer beneath you and God above If either one of them asks you what your living of Say love, say for me love Say love, say for me love" |
i even saw them twice this year. thats a big deal for me. their live show itself is what sells let me tell ya.
ONE:
 | Damien Jurado "And Now That I'm In Your Shadow" Released: Secretly Canadian, 2006 Fav Tracks: Denton, TX, I Am Still Here, Hoquiam "Here is a photo of our first baby Here is a photo of our wedding day Nothing has changed My love still the same I am still here and here I remain" |
so why damien jurados album from last year as number 1? well, even before i could say a thing about it, zach told me last year that it was so good and i would love it, and being that he and i have almost the same exact taste in music, i didnt doubt his judgement. but i didnt get a chance to buy this album until early this year, and according to my last.fm chart, i consequently listened to it more than any other cd in the past 6 months. which doesnt surprise me in the slightest. this is one album that i can just put on and listen to in its entirely and enjoy it all. very rare does an album come along and have that effect on me at all, and even then, still have single tracks that i love as well. "denton tx" is one of damiens finest songs to date and even has its own story within its song that it could easily be a single. and speaking of stories, the whole albums story is nothing short of a graphic novel told through song, with plot twists of murders and affairs and searching and self-discovery from beginning until end. and whats even more amazing is that this is probably his most simplistic record to date. a lot of tracks are just damien singing to his guitar and yet it seems so full of sound and story, you dont even notice. Amazing is the only word i can choose to describe it properly.
so whats missing in this years list? well, to be honest, nothing in 2007 particularily blew me away in terms of music. dont know why... sometimes thats just how it goes i guess. perhaps it was the lack of a proper new starflyer cd (sorry, but the 7" box set was too expensive and i dont care for vinyl at all really). there was also a lot of new cds by artists i like (rosie thomas, wilco, minus the bear, etc) that i just never gave a listen to. that happens to me every year though, as is evidenced here with my top choice. but i suppose that i am not that big of a music fan to seek out every album that i should listen to ever. plus im a pretty poor person. but who knows? perhaps ill get my hand on one of those and listen to it next year.
happy new year everyone.
