Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Top 20 (+1.5) Albums of 2007
Ah, it's that time of the year again. Breathe it in, that there's the air of a fresh new year beginning (with the slight stench of the dead, decaying corpse of the old year in the background) and, as always, I return with a totally pointless list that only serves to bolster my own self-importance. Comments at the bottom, bitches; Here we go!
(+0.5) Flight of the Conchords - The Distant Future: HBO's hottest import released an EP (a full length is supposedly on the way for 2008) and absolutely blew me away. See, I don't have HBO, and for some reason torrents take forever for me to download (curse you, Comcast!), so I knew nothing about them except most of the Internet was raving about them. So, I picked up this CD for 5 bucks, and was absolutely slain. These guys are fantastic at playing everything straight, even when singing the most ludicrous lyrics possible (or busting out a sweet binary solo). Highly recommended.
Recommended Tracks: There's only 6 tracks on the EP, but Robots is the standout hit (Business Time is a close second).
(+1) Patton Oswalt - Werewolves and Lollipops: I am honest to Satan shocked that Patton Oswalt isn't a huge household name yet (despite starring in Pixar's most adult-oriented movie to date). Like a nerdy amalgam of David Cross and Dave Attell, Patton waxes philosophical about Star Trek, Star Wars, Obscenities on TV, the birthing process and Death Bed, the Bed That Eats People, among a couple dozen other subjects. I haven't laughed so hard at a comedy CD since listening to Adam Sandler's first album when I was in 6th grade (hey, that shit was a revelation in 1993, back off!). Every single syllable out of his pudgy mouth is absolutely hysterical, even his horrible Bruce Springsteen impression early on in the album. He just has a way of phrasing sentences that demands attention and comes out as being laugh-out-loud funny. This guy is one album and one fantastic movie away from being an American icon. Here's hopin'.
Recommended Tracks: America Has Spoken, The Miracle of Childbirth, Physics For Poets, Wackity Schmackity Doo!
20. Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare: Arctic Monkeys start off their much-anticipated sophomore album with a song called Brianstorm. They really know how to market exclusively to ME! (even though the song is about a dude named Brian being an asshole, I gotta love it. There's not nearly enough 'Brian' songs). A little better production, a more glossy finish on everything, the music is still both rockin' and catchy as hell. These guys are paving the way for the new evolution of Britpop, and I am SO already along for the ride.
Recommended Tracks: Brianstorm, D is for Dangerous, Fluorescent Adolescent
19. Lupe Fiasco - Lupe Fiasco's The Cool: This would be WAY higher if it was released earlier than December 18 and had time to grow on me. Even without the buffer, this is one of the finest hip hop albums I've ever listened to. The whole album reads like a love letter for what Hip Hop used to be, and how Lupe is trying to bring it back to that kind of purity of the art form, even though it's a concept album (which, quite frankly, SHOULD NOT WORK) about the life and death of the main character and his attempt at being a professional rap star. Seriously, this guy is one of the best lyricists working on a major label, though he does have a slightly annoying penchant for repeating the lines of the hook over and over again (moreso than Static-X and Coal Chamber combined). But still, any rap artist that can come up with lines like "And I would never feel pain/And never be without pleasure, ever, again/And if the rain stops, and everything's dry/She would cry, just so I could drink the tears from her eyes" is a winner in my book.
Recommended Tracks: Go Go Gadget Flow, The Coolest, Hip Hop Saved My Life, Little Weapon, Dumb It Down
18. Brother Ali - The Undisputed Truth: Speaking of outstanding hip hop albums, Brother Ali shows some serious chops, and is the first real independent artist on the list. Check this out, a Muslim albino that, despite his appearance, has such enormous street cred that he has fostered an army of faithful fans where (and this is where you should be paying attention) HIS MUSIC AND TALENT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE IMAGE. This is a glimpse into the mind and conflicting emotions churning about in his big bald head, an extremely autobiographical record with very strong political overtones that hit hard and fast. He has a slower, more laid back flow than most of the other rappers on this list, it's almost an old school hip hop-type vibe going on, but the subject matter is distinctly relevant and topical. Very personal, very awesome, get this now.
Recommended Tracks: Truth Is, Letter From The Government, Uncle Sam Goddamn, Listen Up, Take Me Home
17. Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero: Screw all the haters out there, this album has a bunch of fantastic tracks that hold up with anything off Downward Spiral or The Fragile. There's no need top defend this album, it stands up by itself. The first part of a two part concept album about a dystopian future of a theocratic America (far-fetched science fiction, right? Right?? Mike Huckabee anyone???), this is seriously one of my favorite NIN albums. Then again, I love crazy, glitchy, Aphex Twin-ish techno IDM music. Trent Reznor is drifting farther and farther away from straight up industrial into full blown IDM territory, and I LOVE it.
Recommended Tracks: Capital G, Meet Your Master, the fearsome foursome of the last 4 tracks put together (The Great Destroyer, Another Version of the Truth, In This Twilight, Zero Sum)
16. Thrice - The Alchemy Index Volumes I & II: The former emocore outfit is seriously distancing themselves from their old, slightly artsy-fartsy derivativeness into truly grand artistic visions of substance and texture, more in line with Poison The Well than The Used. The latest evidence of their maturing process is this, the first 2 parts of a four part series of EPs about the essence of 4 elements of the Earth (or, if you will, four of the five parts of Captain Planet). This first part, consisting of the discs Fire and Water, are beautiful and ferocious at the same time. The Fire disc is appropriately loud and fast, with notes and riffs jumping all over like the flames of a burning pyre, while the Water disc has a more laid back, slow, quietly electronic-based flow to it, like a placid lake (perhaps Lake Placid??!) It comes off as being genuinely interesting without being pretentious or overblown. Pretty cool, it actually reminds me a little bit of Deftones' White Pony album (which, as we all know, is the only truly great album they ever released or ever will).
Recommended Tracks: Firebreather, Burn The Fleet, Digital Sea, Lost Continent, Night Driving (an awesome instrumental)
15. Battles - Mirrored: a techno album that was created entirely with live instruments...sure, it's been done before, but I doubt it's been done quite this well. Now, this selection IS kinda pretentious (and thus has been embraced by annoying indie snobs the world 'round), but it just sounds SO GOOD. Very few actual lyrics, the vocals are used more like an extra instrument; as such, this release leans closer to Fantomas than Chemical Brothers, where the songs are more about the concept or environment of the subjects rather than any certain subject, really. Very evocative and yet very head-noddingly cool.
Recommended Tracks: Ddiamondd, Tonto, Snare Hangar, Atlas
14. Gallows - Orchestra of Wolves: Holy shit! Finally, a punk band that really, really sounds goddamn dangerous to be around. They do sing a couple songs about love and heartbreak, but the approach to every song is absolutely ruthless. I doubt anybody leaves one of their shows without getting bloodied (or at least without getting someone else's blood on them). Plus, the title track is one of the most gloriously obscene songs I've ever listened to, and yet it's so thrashingly violently awesome that when it eventually devolves into the throat-shredding screams of "the hardest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return", it comes across as both hilarious parody and heart-rending truth. Punk hasn't sounded so genuine, at least not in a great while.
Recommended Tracks: Orchestra of Wolves, Abandon Ship, The Belly of a Shark, Rolling With the Punches
13. Clutch - From Beale Street to Oblivion: The hardest rockin' band in America, hands down. Blues metal at it's finest, with one of the most distinctive (and goddamn LOUD) vocalists in the world. Somehow, the bellows and wails sound completely soulful when paired with the heavy-as-lead riffs going on in the background. Some of the lyrics border on the absurd, but let's face it; most of Clutch's albums were made to just sit back and get high with your friends with. These guys are picking up where Black Sabbath left off and are dragging the classic sound through Maryland mud, and are doing one hell of a job running with it.
Recommended Tracks: You Can't Stop Progress, Electric Worry, White's Ferry, Black Umbrella, Mr. Shiny Cadillackness
12. Kanye West - Graduation: Can we call this guy a legend yet? Because I think it's entirely appropriate at this point. Dude's only released three albums, and all three are absolute classics. I mean, even Jay-Z has released some stinkers (Kingdom Come, anyone? Blueprint 2, perhaps?) Kanye has completely revolutionized hip hop, writing tracks less concerned about violence and drug dealing and more concerned with just being fucking COOL. As a person, he's an egotistical asshole; but as an artist, I can totally respect the man. He somehow flies even farther away from sounding mainstream, while becoming exponentially more popular. Funny how that works...almost as if people want to hear something different...hmmmmm....
Plus, he gets points just for having the craziest, trippiest album cover I've ever seen on a mainstream rap album. That's just awesome.
Recommended Tracks: Good Morning, Stronger, Good Life (just the fact that he made a song with the annoying black Peter Frampton catchy and listenable speaks more for the man than anything I write ever could), Barry Bonds, Everything I Am, Can't Tell Me Nothin'
11. Machine Head - The Blackening: This is Machine Head's masterpiece, hands down. After releasing one horrible album (Burning Red) and one entirely unlistenable album (Supercharger), Machine Head had redeemed themselves with Through the Ashes... But this, THIS album is one of the finest collections of thrash since Metallica's Master of Puppets. Producing their most political album to date, along with ruminations on the reasons behind violent tendencies and needless warfare makes this an absolute must-listen to anybody, metalhead and non-metalhead alike. A short track listing hides the fact that half the songs on the album are over 9 minutes long, each one an enveloping, sprawling epic combining both classic thrash and the new wave of American heavy metal sound inherent in bands like Chimaira and Shadows Fall (have I dropped enough names yet?). Nearly perfect.
Recommended Tracks: Clenching the Fists of Dissent, Now I Lay Thee Down, A Farewell to Arms, Slanderous
10. Dethklok - Metalocalypse: The Dethalbum: Here's what I don't get; Shadows Fall, Arch Enemy, Dimmu Borgir, Chimaira and Behemoth all released new albums this year (all of which I purchased and have listened to), and yet this fake cartoon band blows every single one of them out of the water. What the fuck gives?? More than likely, it's because the musicians behind Dethklok don't take themselves too seriously, and just do what they do for the love of all things metal. I mean, when you get right down to it, Dimmu Borgir is absolutely fucking ridiculous. But if you take Dimmu Borgir and have them sing a song about mermaids, that there is gold, Jerry, gold. The fact is, the reverence for the genre presented by Brandon Small and his Dethklok teammates, combined with a warped sense of humor makes for one of the most listenable, most accessable and, indeed, most head-banging metal albums to come out in years. Also, let's face it, Mermaider is one of the heaviest songs ever put to CD. EVER.
Recommended Tracks: Mermaider, Go Into the Water, Bloodrocuted, Briefcase Full of Guts, Birthday Dethday, Hatredcopter, Detharmonic
09. The Smashing Pumpkins - Zeitgeist: Okay, I'm a fucking fanboy. There, I said it, I got it out of the way, so there's no need to bring it up in the comments. That being said, I do genuinely love this album, more than I think I should. No, it's not a return to the Siamese Dream/Mellon Collie glory days, but if you thought it would be, then you're a goddamn fool. It may be Zwanshing Pumpkins, but I don't care, it's still a completely solid rock album, and Billy Corgan can still shred like a fucking madman. This album would probably be positioned somewhere in the middle of their discography as far as quality goes; above Adore (and WAAAAYYYY above Machina), but below Gish. Not too bad, I'd say. At the end of the day, any Smashing Pumpkins is better than no Smashing Pumpkins, and this dark, moody album is just the thing to hit the spot.
Recommended Tracks: Doomsday Clock, 7 Shades of Black, Tarantula, United States, Bleeding the Orchid
08. Amy Winehouse - Back To Black: Crazy, drug-addicted tabloid fodder? Perhaps. But eventually you gotta face facts: the bitch can sing. Contemporary emotional autobiographical (and somewhat vulgar) lyrics juxtaposed with a 60's and 70's soulful R&B sound just fucking WORKS. The fact that it comes out of a short, skinny Jewish heroin addict is besides the point; the music speaks for itself. You just have to separate her public persona from the music. And hey, when she dies in the next year from an overdose (or choking on her own vomit after an overdose), she'll be a punk rock-type legend; won't that be cool?
Recommended Tracks: Rehab, You Know I'm No Good, Back to Black, Tears Dry On Their Own, Some Unholy War
07. Between the Buried and Me - Colors: These guys are what Pink Floyd would sound like if they were a death metal band. Seriously, who thought that Death Prog would even be a genre? Well, here it is, and Between the Buried and Me prove themselves with their most ambitious and eclectic album to date. Sounding like a bizarre cross between old Dillinger Escape Plan, Mr. Bungle and Dream Theater, these guys have released an album that is essentially one 64-minute song cut into 8 parts. Jumping between genres, time signatures and narratives, this band released the best and most creative metal album of the year. Absolutely amazing.
Recommended Tracks: Sun Of Nothing, Ants Of The Sky, Informal Gluttony
06. Radiohead - In Rainbows: A lot has been said about the marketing of this album (which was brilliant) but not until the end-of-the-year lists started coming did anyone tackle the important question: How good is In Rainbows? I was one of the assholes that downloaded it for free. After listening to it for a week straight, I ended up ordering the $82 discbox version. This is what Hail to the Thief should have been. A masterpiece in every sense of the word. Magnificent.
Recommended Tracks: Videotape, Jigsaw Falling Into Place, Bodysnatchers, Weird Fishes/Arpeggi, Nude
05. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank: Modest Mouse managed to top themselves with this years' We Were Dead... starts out with a dirge-y concertina and proceeding to sound like a mix between a drunk sing-along in a dirty bar down by the pier and a garage band playing a gig at a friend's backyard, all with Isaac Brock's signature quirky twists and turns and unmistakable vocals. It's catchy, it's artful, it's poetic, and it's good and noisy.
Recommended Tracks: We've Got Everything, March Into The Sea, Dashboard, Parting the Sensory, People As Places As People
04. Gogol Bordello - Super Taranta!: This band is a fucking party. It may not be my number one, but this is the most fun you could have listening to an album, period. Between the broken English, singing verses in Russian and totally over-the-top....well...EVERYTHING, this band managed to release an album that not only demands that you listen, but demands that you chant along, dance, and just have a goddamn good time with it. The world's best (and only) Gypsy punk band. Leon Hutz is Mick Jagger in his prime (only, you know, Ukrainian).
Recommended Tracks: Ultimate, Supertheory of Supereverything, Harem In Tuscany, Wanderlust King, American Wedding
03. Silversun Pickups - Carnavas: Yes, this was released in July of 2006(There seems to be one of these type albums on my list every year, just go with it), but only on their tiny indie label in California. It got picked up for nationwide distribution late 2006 and, even then, I couldn't find it until January or February 2007; so I'm totally fucking counting it. With that out of the way, these guys are goddamn amazing. A perfect concoction with equal parts Siamese Dream-era Smashing Pumpkins and Goo-era Sonic Youth, with just a pinch of Pavement (maybe a half teaspoon of Pixies?). Do I like them so much because of a freaky 90's nostalgia kick? Perhaps, but nevertheless these guys can bring the rock, no question. From the jangly Checkered Floor to the intense Future Foe Scenarios, all the way down to the fuzzed-out Common Reactor, this is one of the most listenable albums to come out this year (official release dates be damned!)
Recommended Tracks: Future Foe Scenarios, Lazy Eye, Well Thought-Out Twinkles, Little Lover's So Polite
02. Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass: I've never before heard somebody who can bend the very English language to his will like Aesop Rock. With None Shall Pass, Aes took all his previous releases, indeed, his entire career's evolution, and polished and refined it into this trippy, angular, head-nodding hard-hitting monster of an album. The beats, the production, everything on this album is stepped up to the maximum, and is absolutely Aesop Rock's best release to date. While trying to follow every narrative in every song is certainly a challenge, every song has a dozen or so lines that will swim around your head for days afterwards. Almost nothing is presented straightforward, and you do have to decode the metaphors, references and...well, poetry (there's really no other word for it), but you are more than rewarded for your efforts;. If there was any justice in this world, Aesop Rock would be as big as Outkast or Ludacris or, at the very least, Soulja Boy.
(note: wait 2 years, reread this review and see if you can remember who the hell Soulja Boy is/was. Hi Future Readers! I'm dating myself!!)
Recommended Tracks: None Shall Pass, Citronella, Coffee, The Harbor Is Yours, Catacomb Kids, Pigs (Hidden Track)
That only leaves us with the Number One spot. The single best album of 2007. Bums, Bastards and Other Bums, I am proud to present to you:
01. The White Stripes - Icky Thump: Jack White is the goddamn devil. He is the GODDAMN DEVIL. Seriously. I have no idea how someone can go from forming a band in obscurity to total worldwide superstardom in less than 10 years and STILL top their previous efforts with every subsequent release; yet somehow, someway, The White Stripes do just that. With Icky Thump, The White Stripes manage to release both their most heartfelt and loudest rockin' album to date. They have made an album that is both very mainstream and yet completely avant garde, sounding both brand new and timeless. They've never come so close to heavy metal as with Little Cream Soda, never come so close to straight up folk music as with Effect & Cause and never come so close to being a mariachi band as with Conquest. Every guitar wail and moan, every isolated note from the keyboard, every cymbal crash reverberates cool and hangs in the air; this music is so awesome it is PALPABLE. Make no mistake, this is their loudest record; this is their bluesiest record, this is their best record and, without any doubt in my mind at all, this is THE best album of 2007. Rejoice!
Recommended Tracks: Little Cream Soda, Icky Thump, Conquest, Catch Hell Blues...fuck it, every single track is brilliant. Why don't you have this album yet??
THERE'S NOTHING LEFT FOR ME TO TELL YOU...NOTHING LEFT FOR ME TO TELL YOU....NOTHING LEFT...ohwellohwellohwell...ohwellohwell.
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Ah, it's that time of the year again. Breathe it in, that there's the air of a fresh new year beginning (with the slight stench of the dead, decaying corpse of the old year in the background) and, as always, I return with a totally pointless list that only serves to bolster my own self-importance. Comments at the bottom, bitches; Here we go!
(+0.5) Flight of the Conchords - The Distant Future: HBO's hottest import released an EP (a full length is supposedly on the way for 2008) and absolutely blew me away. See, I don't have HBO, and for some reason torrents take forever for me to download (curse you, Comcast!), so I knew nothing about them except most of the Internet was raving about them. So, I picked up this CD for 5 bucks, and was absolutely slain. These guys are fantastic at playing everything straight, even when singing the most ludicrous lyrics possible (or busting out a sweet binary solo). Highly recommended.
Recommended Tracks: There's only 6 tracks on the EP, but Robots is the standout hit (Business Time is a close second).
(+1) Patton Oswalt - Werewolves and Lollipops: I am honest to Satan shocked that Patton Oswalt isn't a huge household name yet (despite starring in Pixar's most adult-oriented movie to date). Like a nerdy amalgam of David Cross and Dave Attell, Patton waxes philosophical about Star Trek, Star Wars, Obscenities on TV, the birthing process and Death Bed, the Bed That Eats People, among a couple dozen other subjects. I haven't laughed so hard at a comedy CD since listening to Adam Sandler's first album when I was in 6th grade (hey, that shit was a revelation in 1993, back off!). Every single syllable out of his pudgy mouth is absolutely hysterical, even his horrible Bruce Springsteen impression early on in the album. He just has a way of phrasing sentences that demands attention and comes out as being laugh-out-loud funny. This guy is one album and one fantastic movie away from being an American icon. Here's hopin'.
Recommended Tracks: America Has Spoken, The Miracle of Childbirth, Physics For Poets, Wackity Schmackity Doo!
20. Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare: Arctic Monkeys start off their much-anticipated sophomore album with a song called Brianstorm. They really know how to market exclusively to ME! (even though the song is about a dude named Brian being an asshole, I gotta love it. There's not nearly enough 'Brian' songs). A little better production, a more glossy finish on everything, the music is still both rockin' and catchy as hell. These guys are paving the way for the new evolution of Britpop, and I am SO already along for the ride.
Recommended Tracks: Brianstorm, D is for Dangerous, Fluorescent Adolescent
19. Lupe Fiasco - Lupe Fiasco's The Cool: This would be WAY higher if it was released earlier than December 18 and had time to grow on me. Even without the buffer, this is one of the finest hip hop albums I've ever listened to. The whole album reads like a love letter for what Hip Hop used to be, and how Lupe is trying to bring it back to that kind of purity of the art form, even though it's a concept album (which, quite frankly, SHOULD NOT WORK) about the life and death of the main character and his attempt at being a professional rap star. Seriously, this guy is one of the best lyricists working on a major label, though he does have a slightly annoying penchant for repeating the lines of the hook over and over again (moreso than Static-X and Coal Chamber combined). But still, any rap artist that can come up with lines like "And I would never feel pain/And never be without pleasure, ever, again/And if the rain stops, and everything's dry/She would cry, just so I could drink the tears from her eyes" is a winner in my book.
Recommended Tracks: Go Go Gadget Flow, The Coolest, Hip Hop Saved My Life, Little Weapon, Dumb It Down
18. Brother Ali - The Undisputed Truth: Speaking of outstanding hip hop albums, Brother Ali shows some serious chops, and is the first real independent artist on the list. Check this out, a Muslim albino that, despite his appearance, has such enormous street cred that he has fostered an army of faithful fans where (and this is where you should be paying attention) HIS MUSIC AND TALENT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE IMAGE. This is a glimpse into the mind and conflicting emotions churning about in his big bald head, an extremely autobiographical record with very strong political overtones that hit hard and fast. He has a slower, more laid back flow than most of the other rappers on this list, it's almost an old school hip hop-type vibe going on, but the subject matter is distinctly relevant and topical. Very personal, very awesome, get this now.
Recommended Tracks: Truth Is, Letter From The Government, Uncle Sam Goddamn, Listen Up, Take Me Home
17. Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero: Screw all the haters out there, this album has a bunch of fantastic tracks that hold up with anything off Downward Spiral or The Fragile. There's no need top defend this album, it stands up by itself. The first part of a two part concept album about a dystopian future of a theocratic America (far-fetched science fiction, right? Right?? Mike Huckabee anyone???), this is seriously one of my favorite NIN albums. Then again, I love crazy, glitchy, Aphex Twin-ish techno IDM music. Trent Reznor is drifting farther and farther away from straight up industrial into full blown IDM territory, and I LOVE it.
Recommended Tracks: Capital G, Meet Your Master, the fearsome foursome of the last 4 tracks put together (The Great Destroyer, Another Version of the Truth, In This Twilight, Zero Sum)
16. Thrice - The Alchemy Index Volumes I & II: The former emocore outfit is seriously distancing themselves from their old, slightly artsy-fartsy derivativeness into truly grand artistic visions of substance and texture, more in line with Poison The Well than The Used. The latest evidence of their maturing process is this, the first 2 parts of a four part series of EPs about the essence of 4 elements of the Earth (or, if you will, four of the five parts of Captain Planet). This first part, consisting of the discs Fire and Water, are beautiful and ferocious at the same time. The Fire disc is appropriately loud and fast, with notes and riffs jumping all over like the flames of a burning pyre, while the Water disc has a more laid back, slow, quietly electronic-based flow to it, like a placid lake (perhaps Lake Placid??!) It comes off as being genuinely interesting without being pretentious or overblown. Pretty cool, it actually reminds me a little bit of Deftones' White Pony album (which, as we all know, is the only truly great album they ever released or ever will).
Recommended Tracks: Firebreather, Burn The Fleet, Digital Sea, Lost Continent, Night Driving (an awesome instrumental)
15. Battles - Mirrored: a techno album that was created entirely with live instruments...sure, it's been done before, but I doubt it's been done quite this well. Now, this selection IS kinda pretentious (and thus has been embraced by annoying indie snobs the world 'round), but it just sounds SO GOOD. Very few actual lyrics, the vocals are used more like an extra instrument; as such, this release leans closer to Fantomas than Chemical Brothers, where the songs are more about the concept or environment of the subjects rather than any certain subject, really. Very evocative and yet very head-noddingly cool.
Recommended Tracks: Ddiamondd, Tonto, Snare Hangar, Atlas
14. Gallows - Orchestra of Wolves: Holy shit! Finally, a punk band that really, really sounds goddamn dangerous to be around. They do sing a couple songs about love and heartbreak, but the approach to every song is absolutely ruthless. I doubt anybody leaves one of their shows without getting bloodied (or at least without getting someone else's blood on them). Plus, the title track is one of the most gloriously obscene songs I've ever listened to, and yet it's so thrashingly violently awesome that when it eventually devolves into the throat-shredding screams of "the hardest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return", it comes across as both hilarious parody and heart-rending truth. Punk hasn't sounded so genuine, at least not in a great while.
Recommended Tracks: Orchestra of Wolves, Abandon Ship, The Belly of a Shark, Rolling With the Punches
13. Clutch - From Beale Street to Oblivion: The hardest rockin' band in America, hands down. Blues metal at it's finest, with one of the most distinctive (and goddamn LOUD) vocalists in the world. Somehow, the bellows and wails sound completely soulful when paired with the heavy-as-lead riffs going on in the background. Some of the lyrics border on the absurd, but let's face it; most of Clutch's albums were made to just sit back and get high with your friends with. These guys are picking up where Black Sabbath left off and are dragging the classic sound through Maryland mud, and are doing one hell of a job running with it.
Recommended Tracks: You Can't Stop Progress, Electric Worry, White's Ferry, Black Umbrella, Mr. Shiny Cadillackness
12. Kanye West - Graduation: Can we call this guy a legend yet? Because I think it's entirely appropriate at this point. Dude's only released three albums, and all three are absolute classics. I mean, even Jay-Z has released some stinkers (Kingdom Come, anyone? Blueprint 2, perhaps?) Kanye has completely revolutionized hip hop, writing tracks less concerned about violence and drug dealing and more concerned with just being fucking COOL. As a person, he's an egotistical asshole; but as an artist, I can totally respect the man. He somehow flies even farther away from sounding mainstream, while becoming exponentially more popular. Funny how that works...almost as if people want to hear something different...hmmmmm....
Plus, he gets points just for having the craziest, trippiest album cover I've ever seen on a mainstream rap album. That's just awesome.
Recommended Tracks: Good Morning, Stronger, Good Life (just the fact that he made a song with the annoying black Peter Frampton catchy and listenable speaks more for the man than anything I write ever could), Barry Bonds, Everything I Am, Can't Tell Me Nothin'
11. Machine Head - The Blackening: This is Machine Head's masterpiece, hands down. After releasing one horrible album (Burning Red) and one entirely unlistenable album (Supercharger), Machine Head had redeemed themselves with Through the Ashes... But this, THIS album is one of the finest collections of thrash since Metallica's Master of Puppets. Producing their most political album to date, along with ruminations on the reasons behind violent tendencies and needless warfare makes this an absolute must-listen to anybody, metalhead and non-metalhead alike. A short track listing hides the fact that half the songs on the album are over 9 minutes long, each one an enveloping, sprawling epic combining both classic thrash and the new wave of American heavy metal sound inherent in bands like Chimaira and Shadows Fall (have I dropped enough names yet?). Nearly perfect.
Recommended Tracks: Clenching the Fists of Dissent, Now I Lay Thee Down, A Farewell to Arms, Slanderous
10. Dethklok - Metalocalypse: The Dethalbum: Here's what I don't get; Shadows Fall, Arch Enemy, Dimmu Borgir, Chimaira and Behemoth all released new albums this year (all of which I purchased and have listened to), and yet this fake cartoon band blows every single one of them out of the water. What the fuck gives?? More than likely, it's because the musicians behind Dethklok don't take themselves too seriously, and just do what they do for the love of all things metal. I mean, when you get right down to it, Dimmu Borgir is absolutely fucking ridiculous. But if you take Dimmu Borgir and have them sing a song about mermaids, that there is gold, Jerry, gold. The fact is, the reverence for the genre presented by Brandon Small and his Dethklok teammates, combined with a warped sense of humor makes for one of the most listenable, most accessable and, indeed, most head-banging metal albums to come out in years. Also, let's face it, Mermaider is one of the heaviest songs ever put to CD. EVER.
Recommended Tracks: Mermaider, Go Into the Water, Bloodrocuted, Briefcase Full of Guts, Birthday Dethday, Hatredcopter, Detharmonic
09. The Smashing Pumpkins - Zeitgeist: Okay, I'm a fucking fanboy. There, I said it, I got it out of the way, so there's no need to bring it up in the comments. That being said, I do genuinely love this album, more than I think I should. No, it's not a return to the Siamese Dream/Mellon Collie glory days, but if you thought it would be, then you're a goddamn fool. It may be Zwanshing Pumpkins, but I don't care, it's still a completely solid rock album, and Billy Corgan can still shred like a fucking madman. This album would probably be positioned somewhere in the middle of their discography as far as quality goes; above Adore (and WAAAAYYYY above Machina), but below Gish. Not too bad, I'd say. At the end of the day, any Smashing Pumpkins is better than no Smashing Pumpkins, and this dark, moody album is just the thing to hit the spot.
Recommended Tracks: Doomsday Clock, 7 Shades of Black, Tarantula, United States, Bleeding the Orchid
08. Amy Winehouse - Back To Black: Crazy, drug-addicted tabloid fodder? Perhaps. But eventually you gotta face facts: the bitch can sing. Contemporary emotional autobiographical (and somewhat vulgar) lyrics juxtaposed with a 60's and 70's soulful R&B sound just fucking WORKS. The fact that it comes out of a short, skinny Jewish heroin addict is besides the point; the music speaks for itself. You just have to separate her public persona from the music. And hey, when she dies in the next year from an overdose (or choking on her own vomit after an overdose), she'll be a punk rock-type legend; won't that be cool?
Recommended Tracks: Rehab, You Know I'm No Good, Back to Black, Tears Dry On Their Own, Some Unholy War
07. Between the Buried and Me - Colors: These guys are what Pink Floyd would sound like if they were a death metal band. Seriously, who thought that Death Prog would even be a genre? Well, here it is, and Between the Buried and Me prove themselves with their most ambitious and eclectic album to date. Sounding like a bizarre cross between old Dillinger Escape Plan, Mr. Bungle and Dream Theater, these guys have released an album that is essentially one 64-minute song cut into 8 parts. Jumping between genres, time signatures and narratives, this band released the best and most creative metal album of the year. Absolutely amazing.
Recommended Tracks: Sun Of Nothing, Ants Of The Sky, Informal Gluttony
06. Radiohead - In Rainbows: A lot has been said about the marketing of this album (which was brilliant) but not until the end-of-the-year lists started coming did anyone tackle the important question: How good is In Rainbows? I was one of the assholes that downloaded it for free. After listening to it for a week straight, I ended up ordering the $82 discbox version. This is what Hail to the Thief should have been. A masterpiece in every sense of the word. Magnificent.
Recommended Tracks: Videotape, Jigsaw Falling Into Place, Bodysnatchers, Weird Fishes/Arpeggi, Nude
05. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank: Modest Mouse managed to top themselves with this years' We Were Dead... starts out with a dirge-y concertina and proceeding to sound like a mix between a drunk sing-along in a dirty bar down by the pier and a garage band playing a gig at a friend's backyard, all with Isaac Brock's signature quirky twists and turns and unmistakable vocals. It's catchy, it's artful, it's poetic, and it's good and noisy.
Recommended Tracks: We've Got Everything, March Into The Sea, Dashboard, Parting the Sensory, People As Places As People
04. Gogol Bordello - Super Taranta!: This band is a fucking party. It may not be my number one, but this is the most fun you could have listening to an album, period. Between the broken English, singing verses in Russian and totally over-the-top....well...EVERYTHING, this band managed to release an album that not only demands that you listen, but demands that you chant along, dance, and just have a goddamn good time with it. The world's best (and only) Gypsy punk band. Leon Hutz is Mick Jagger in his prime (only, you know, Ukrainian).
Recommended Tracks: Ultimate, Supertheory of Supereverything, Harem In Tuscany, Wanderlust King, American Wedding
03. Silversun Pickups - Carnavas: Yes, this was released in July of 2006(There seems to be one of these type albums on my list every year, just go with it), but only on their tiny indie label in California. It got picked up for nationwide distribution late 2006 and, even then, I couldn't find it until January or February 2007; so I'm totally fucking counting it. With that out of the way, these guys are goddamn amazing. A perfect concoction with equal parts Siamese Dream-era Smashing Pumpkins and Goo-era Sonic Youth, with just a pinch of Pavement (maybe a half teaspoon of Pixies?). Do I like them so much because of a freaky 90's nostalgia kick? Perhaps, but nevertheless these guys can bring the rock, no question. From the jangly Checkered Floor to the intense Future Foe Scenarios, all the way down to the fuzzed-out Common Reactor, this is one of the most listenable albums to come out this year (official release dates be damned!)
Recommended Tracks: Future Foe Scenarios, Lazy Eye, Well Thought-Out Twinkles, Little Lover's So Polite
02. Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass: I've never before heard somebody who can bend the very English language to his will like Aesop Rock. With None Shall Pass, Aes took all his previous releases, indeed, his entire career's evolution, and polished and refined it into this trippy, angular, head-nodding hard-hitting monster of an album. The beats, the production, everything on this album is stepped up to the maximum, and is absolutely Aesop Rock's best release to date. While trying to follow every narrative in every song is certainly a challenge, every song has a dozen or so lines that will swim around your head for days afterwards. Almost nothing is presented straightforward, and you do have to decode the metaphors, references and...well, poetry (there's really no other word for it), but you are more than rewarded for your efforts;. If there was any justice in this world, Aesop Rock would be as big as Outkast or Ludacris or, at the very least, Soulja Boy.
(note: wait 2 years, reread this review and see if you can remember who the hell Soulja Boy is/was. Hi Future Readers! I'm dating myself!!)
Recommended Tracks: None Shall Pass, Citronella, Coffee, The Harbor Is Yours, Catacomb Kids, Pigs (Hidden Track)
That only leaves us with the Number One spot. The single best album of 2007. Bums, Bastards and Other Bums, I am proud to present to you:
01. The White Stripes - Icky Thump: Jack White is the goddamn devil. He is the GODDAMN DEVIL. Seriously. I have no idea how someone can go from forming a band in obscurity to total worldwide superstardom in less than 10 years and STILL top their previous efforts with every subsequent release; yet somehow, someway, The White Stripes do just that. With Icky Thump, The White Stripes manage to release both their most heartfelt and loudest rockin' album to date. They have made an album that is both very mainstream and yet completely avant garde, sounding both brand new and timeless. They've never come so close to heavy metal as with Little Cream Soda, never come so close to straight up folk music as with Effect & Cause and never come so close to being a mariachi band as with Conquest. Every guitar wail and moan, every isolated note from the keyboard, every cymbal crash reverberates cool and hangs in the air; this music is so awesome it is PALPABLE. Make no mistake, this is their loudest record; this is their bluesiest record, this is their best record and, without any doubt in my mind at all, this is THE best album of 2007. Rejoice!
Recommended Tracks: Little Cream Soda, Icky Thump, Conquest, Catch Hell Blues...fuck it, every single track is brilliant. Why don't you have this album yet??
THERE'S NOTHING LEFT FOR ME TO TELL YOU...NOTHING LEFT FOR ME TO TELL YOU....NOTHING LEFT...ohwellohwellohwell...ohwellohwell.
