2007 Albums ----------- I had a sense that when I got to this year, I would have a bit to say in the introduction text, but didn't anticipate all the topics that would come to mind. This was a pivotal year for the music industry, and for me as a listener. These two things are not coincidental. The MP3 had almost a decade to destroy the model for pop music that had existed since the late 1960s, and at least initially, what was left in the ashes was wonderful. By 2007, portable media had made the MP3 a practical means for music consumption in almost all contexts. In mainstream music, the single was now again king, but album based rock music was somehow stronger than ever. Digital distribution had raised awareness of indie acts that in previous decades would have mostly toiled in obscurity and at best might have been the favorites of music nerds, and then only retrospectively be discovered by listeners at large. In this era of music blogs, the obscure could rapidly become ubiquitous, and attention was getting drawn to increasingly diverse models of what rock music could be. The way I was consuming music was changing rapidly, but I clung to the old ways out of nostalgic stubbornness. Like most people my age I had accumulated a significant and very not-legit collection of MP3s. Around this time in my life, I started to assemble a legit recreation and expansion of these illicit files. I was using an expanded pallette of (legal) means to acquire and curate a rapidly growing collection. This was the golden age of the subscription/buffet pricing scheme at eMusic, who for a nominal fee (15-20 dollars a month) could provide a path to 10 or more indie label releases in digital format. At the time, I had started to buy my first digital albums from Amazon, but digital was eclipsed by CDs which were still the main way music was fining its way into my collection. I would visit City Lights records every Tuesday during my lunch break and leave with a clutch of the latest releases and likely a bunch of catalog titles I had special ordered. These were the first crys of "the CD is dead" but I wasn't listening. I kept detailed records of every release that made it into my collection regardless of format and I know that the first album I bought (*Hissing Fauna, Are you the Destroyer?* by **Of Montreal**) was the 900th item cataloged. A full 372 albums later, the 1272nd record (*Weirdo Rippers* by **No Age**) would be logged, surely the most music I have ever acquired in a single calendar year. Most of the music I was listening to was still from years gone by, but I was listening to more new music than I had ever done before. I have an interesting artifact from this time, the first comprehensive attempt I ever made at a best of the year list as a full grown adult. It isn't the final version (unfortunately lost to time) but an in progress version that I sent to myself via E-mail. I remember working on this list during my lunch breaks at work during the last months of the year, and I was sending it home to complete there over the holiday break. At this point, I owned and could assess 79 different releases! I know what I considered to be my top 25 records at that time, and 21 of those still make my modern list. This is a much higher ratio than what would survive from my 2009 favorites (see below), and I think this is a product of my ability to still listen with a kind of focus that the copious consumption facilitated by digital streaming would soon destroy. One of the records that appeared on that original list of favorites that feels like a case study in everything mentioned above. *In Rainbows* by **Radiohead** was the first "pay what you want", DRM free, digital release by a major, internationally famous rock band. Admittedly, they were a famous rock band that didn't seem very interested in being famous. At the time I have no doubt that I included it on my list because I thought that it was an important release, and 15 years later, I am convinced that it is one of the most important releases there has ever been. It is hard to view this album separate from the context in which it was released, and I can't of a better way to summarize where pop music was in 2007 and my relationship with it. .. image:: images/2007.jpg :width: 900 :alt: My 2007 favorite albums .. raw:: html - *Pocket Symphony* by **Air** - A colder more somber record from these guys that fits in very well with their other work. It is happy to sit in the background in a way their other records do not. That icy, sterile album cover is a perfect summary. [*Memory*: I remember Greg from City Lights Records telling me he liked to put this on as he was starting his day in the store. That sounds just right to me.] - *American Doll Posse* by **Tori Amos** - This was the beginning of a Tori revival for me, and the start of a revival for the artist. I think playing a few "alternate roles" for the concept of this record was freeing, and we got something considerably more interesting than what had come immediately before. Every album since this one has been a winner. So many different styles on this record from the mid-tempo singer-songwriter fare of "Bouncing Off of Clouds" to the rocking "Teenage Hustling" to the classic devastating story song balladry of "Roosterspur Bridge". [*Memory*: I saw Tori for the first time on this tour, when it came to Pittsburgh. It was a halloween show and the crowd really took the costume thing very seriously.] - *New Magnetic Wonder* by **The Apples in Stereo** - I was very into Elephant 6 at the time and was very interested that one of the original bands was still making new music. This was the first of two records in a a very **ELO** style, with some weird atonal experiments thrown in. Some stunning pop music, that makes me sad that Robert Schnieder has largely retired from performing. [*Memory*: At the time I didn't like the shift to **Jeff Lynne** territory, but wow do I prefer it to the garage psych of their early records now.] - *Or Give Me Death* by **Aqueduct** - Even more than the first record, this album sounds a bit like what would happen if **Modest Mouse** went full blown pop. Some really interesting, intricate songs. I really wish more folks had found these guys so they could have made more music. [*Memory*: I saw them as an opening act at Water Street, a few years after this record came out. I think I was the only one who was familiar with their stuff. Great show.] - *Neon Bible* by **Arcade Fire** - Until the awful **Everything Now** was released, this was my least favorite of their albums. Unlike that mess, I still really like this one. It was never going to live up to the incredible debut, but there is a lot here to like. I especially enjoy the church organ and pomp of "Intervention" and "My Body is a Cage". [*Memory*: I waited a really long time to buy this one on vinyl. I'm not sure why, as this is a brilliant record that sounds great on the analog format.] - *Mirrored* by **Battles** - A really cool, percussion forward post-rock album. Not quite math rock, but still lots of interesting rhythms. They would never make something this interesting again. [*Memory*: This kind of defines the line for an album I like, but don't need to own on vinyl. I've considered it many times, but really digital is good enough for this. Why, I'm not exactly sure.] - *Flying Club Cup* by **Beirut** - One of those bands, where I like much of their music, but love only a few things. This is by far my favorite of their records. It is a much stronger statement with solid songwriting throughout. "A Sunday Smile" has those nostalgic, highly melodic, feel good vibes that is their best sound. [*Memory*: I saw Owen Pallet join them on some of these tunes at Pitchfork 2009, and it is the moment you see in the banner above.] - *..are the Dark Horse* by **The Besnard Lakes** - A really nice low-fi, psych record with some cool little **Beach Boys** elements. They would milk this formula to good effect for a few more records, but this will always be my favorite. "For Agent 13" is my favorite use of shortwave numbers stations in a song. [*Memory*: When I started buying vinyl records, this was one of the first recent releases I picked up. It was also one of the first records that made me realize the shortcomings of vinyl production, when it arrived covered in scuffs.] - *Armchair Apocrypha* by **Andrew Bird** - I know many people consider this the inferior follow-up, but I prefer it to anything else in his catalog. I think it focusses more on straight ahead indie rock in a way that serves the purpose well. The slick use of the looper and strings is still there, but the songs are sharper and catchier. That said, this isn't something I am revisiting often today. [*Memory*: I saw him on this tour at the State Theater in State College, PA. I really enjoyed the show. Only a few years later I saw him in Rochester and it was awful. Had the performance changed, or had I?] - *23* by **Blonde Redhead** - A really nice midpoint between dream-pop and straight ahead indie rock. I didn't realize it at the time since I was discovering them well into their career, but this is the sound of an "old indie" band updating their sound to fit right in with the new scene of the moment. [*Memory*: I have to admit, I bought this as much for the striking cover as for the solid reviews. Surely one of the last times I picked a record that way?] - *Andorra* by **Caribou** - It doesn't seem like it today, because this kind of thing is everywhere now, but this kind of psychedelic, electronic thing was very innovative at the time. He would have two great records after this, but this was the peak. A great mix of pop and experimentation. [*Memory*: I'm a bit ashamed to admit that back in these days I was getting almost anything Pitchfork gave BNM to that sounded half wise interesting. The indie stuff was all on Emusic, and an album was about 2-3 bucks there. It was worth it to even hate listen the thing. This one really worked out.] - *Friend Opportunity* by **Deerhoof** - My first record of theirs, and still my favorite. The perfect mix of the punk aggression and the pop cuteness. The definitive early 2000s indie band at their peak. Such complex, unusual music that manages to be unbelievably re-listenable. I'll never get sick of this record. [*Memory*: This was an amazing time for musical discovery. The tools at my disposal to hear new things and rise of indie created a unique situation I will never see again. Every couple weeks I was discovering a new favorite band like this that already had a half a dozen or so great albums.] - *Copia* by **Eluvium** - It is hard to make ambient music that really stands out. This is gorgeous, and wholely unique. There isn't anything else out there with this same kind of warm but vacant vibe. The title of the track "Indoor Swimming at the Space Station" really captures the scene well. [*Memory*: I was really into the ambient works by Eno at the time and when I saw a modern ambient record getting good press, I had to check it out.] - *Widow City* by **The Fiery Furnaces** - A number of indie pop acts had been becoming increasingly weird over the last decade or so, and these guys started out the weirdest of them all. This is a lot to digest. The funky keyboards, the Zeppelin-esque hard rock guitar, Emily Freidberger's off-kilter delivery of her brothers weird poetry, all framed by mostly jaunty piano based pop songs. Peak weird suited these guys best of all. [*Memory*: At the time, they had been so productive it was easy to assume this would go on indefinitely. Little did we know we would get only one more (fairly conservative) effort, and the sibling band would go on permanent hiatus.] - *The Good, The Bad, and the Queen* by **The Good, The Bad, and the Queen** - The work of a unusual supergroup that ends up sounding more like the somber, non-fiction continuation of its most famous member's former band (Blur). A brilliant meditation on the role of England in the 21st century. For almost 10 years, this was the most valuable record in my collection, and it deserved to be so. It is a cult classic of the highest order, and one of my very favorites. [*Memory*: In 2007 I took two trips to the UK for business. Both times I was able to get up to London to do some tourist stuff. This album became the soundtrack to the first trip and I streamed it repeatedly on my trusty old iPod nano. On the second trip I saw a special performance of the record in the moat of the Tower of London. What a memory I will cherish forever!] - *White Chalk* by **PJ Harvey** - [**2007 FAVORITE**] What a left turn for Polly Jean. The guitar is almost gone. The muscular vocals are no more, replaced with her "church voice". The aesthetic of this album is remarkable. Barely proficient enough to make a piano based record, she finds incredible songs in the simple arrangements. The creepy victorian attire she matched to this music really completed the scene. Already an all-time great, this is where it went to the next level. [*Memory*: I was already going to City Lights every Tuesday to pick up the latest releases, but I particularly remember rushing out as soon as the store opened that September to pick this one up.] - *Cross* by **Justice** - While **Daft Punk** generally get all the attention these guys made the foremost masterpiece of French Electronic music right here. Everything is perfect, from the bombast of "Genesis", through the pure joy of "D.A.N.C.E." to the wonderful crassness of **Uffie's** rap on "The Party". This might be the best electronic dance music ever made. [*Memory*: I used to like to play this during my runs at the time. I remember playing it over the stereo system in the work gym one time and being really embarrassed when **Uffie** started in on her rap, lol.] - *Sound of Silver* by **LCD Soundsystem** - It can be hard to remember that before EDM ruined things, electronic music was was of the most interesting and fertile grounds for new musical ideas. They aren't really doing anything new here, but the combination of Krautrock grooves, disco beats, and New Wave vocals was the perfect pallette for some great songs. "Someone Great" is a top 10 all-time track. [*Memory*: I was already sold on these guys from their early singles and was right on this album when it was released. I remember Greg at City lights being very lukewarm. I remember telling one of the trendy interns at work about it, and how meh they were. It eventually became regarded as an all time classic. I felt very ahead of the curve.] - *Night Falls over Kortedala* by **Jens Lekman** - This is a weird case. A classic album, that the artist decided to replace with a completely new version. I think I still like the original more, since it has a wonderful quaintness that isn't quite as strong on the new version. It is a guy trying to make the symphonic **Scott Walker** records in his bedroom. The kind of pure pop singing that only Scandinavians are allowed to do these days. [*Memory*: This was the first year that I reviewed the top albums lists by the major sites. This one was very high on the Pitchfork list and I gave it a shot.] - *Memory Almost Full* by **Paul McCarney** - Paul clearly was becoming aware of the peaking indie rock scene, and it shows. One of his strongest later year efforts, especially the power pop of "Only Mamma Knows" and the eccentric vocoder and harpsichord experimental pop of "Feet in the Clouds". [*Memory*: I remember listening to this on my Sansa as I waited for my plane from Heathrow to Dublin, drinking a Sam Smith Oatmeal Stout right at the gate.] - *Obligatory Villagers* by **Nellie McKay** - It is weird that her best album is almost impossible to hear these days, and I'm glad to have the physical CD (I assume there are rights issues). The perfect combination of comical commentary and top notch songwriting. This time with an amazing collection of jazz musicians to give everything a dramatic cabaret feel. [*Memory*: Soon after this album, she did a video with NPR music that documented her songwriting process, which was quite remarkable.] - *Friend and Foe* by **Menomena** - The first shot fired in the "floor tom band" scene. This highly percussive brand of melodic indie rock was super novel at time, but would be cliche less than a year later. Still a solid record, but it is hard to hear it the same way after all the soundalikes. The sax does add a little something extra that makes this hold up a bit better than the rest. [*Memory*: These guys hold the unique distinction of being a band I have seen live, but do not really remember having seen. I saw them in Philly in 2010, and remember it as being a good show, but nothing else really. At least I have the shirt to prove I was there.] - *Challengers* by **The New Pornographers** - An outstanding record that both shows what a great pop band they are together, but the strengths that the three primary songwriters have as individuals. Also some great vocals from new member Kathryn Calder, especially "Adventures in Solitude". "My Rights Versus Yours" is one of the greatest opening tracks ever. The way it slowly builds to introduce the sounds of the record is first rate album sequencing. [*Memory*: At first I wasn't so sure about the mellower mood of this record, but I now appreciate this as one of their finest efforts.] - *Boxer* by **The National** - The pivot album between the more punk influenced sounds of the first few records, and the mid-tempo alt-rock that would come. First rate musicianship throughout, and Matt Berninger's voice is as rich and textured as it would ever be. "Mistaken for Strangers" is the finest product of their early phase. [*Memory*: I was so resistant to these guys, and refused to engage with this record when it was new. All of a sudden when I hit my 30s, I liked few bands more.] - *Hissing Fauna, You Are the Destroyer* by **Of Montreal** - The album where his bedroom psych pop went dance. It wasn't as big of a tweak as it sounded at the time, but it was apparently the move that made the world appreciate the talent that had always been there. [*Memory*: I remember playing this CD in my office after a visit to City Lights Records on new music Tuesday. The uptempo dance groove was a bit shocking to me as a long time fan, but I was on board for the new sounds from the start. I was shocked that the general public was too. It was a unique time.] - *The Stage Names* by **Okkervil River** - This was a straightforward indie rock pallette cleanser in one of the most experimental eras. The definition of NPR music, it is quaint but not bland, and often quite pretty. "Savannah Smiles" is a particular highlight. [*Memory*: I saw these guys in Rochester on the next album cycle. It was clear from the setlist that they recognized this as their best work.] - *Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga* by **Spoon** - Indie rock was peaking and new buzz bands were emerging every week. Some of the American indie acts that had been at it since the late 90s were raising to prominence in a whole new way. This was the record where Austin's biggest secret used their heightened influence to make a very big, Motown tinged record. It was their highest point. [*Memory*: There are two times in my life I had to pull over my car because I heard a new song that was too good for me to concentrate. "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb" was one of them.] - *Marry Me* by **St. Vincent** - Far smaller, but no less complex, the contrast is stunning with where the artist is now. I miss the sound of this record (and the one that came later). Somehow she has gotten way noisier and flashier, yet way more boring. These ornate, but subtle home recordings are some of the finest songs in indie-pop history. I try to not be one of those people who complain about artists selling out for mainstream fame, but I can't see anything else here. [*Memory*: I downloaded this record from eMusic based purely on their review. I got so much great music off of that site.] - *In Our Bedroom After the War* by **Stars** - I know the record before this is supposed to be the classic (and it is a perfectly fine indie pop record) but this will always be my favorite. Such sweet little songs with strong melodies and warm vocals. Every now and then they show glimpses of something more than pop, like the jazz influenced "My Favorite Book". [*Memory*: One of those records I listened to on repeat on my Sansa MP3 player during lunchtime walks at work around the East College Ave area.] - *Random Spirit Lover* by **Sunset Rubdown** - A wonderfully strange record. Low budget indie-prog made by an artist who had won fame making straight ahead indie rock with his other band **Wolf Parade**. I assume that connection was the only reason the general music press even cared about this, but I'm glad it was brought to my attention. You get the impression that the musicians being stretched way beyond their ability, but what they produced ended up amazing anyway. "Stallion" is so over the top and outrageously good. [*Memory*: When I started buying Vinyl LPs, this was one of the first things I sought out. This is meant for physical media.] - *All Hour Cymbals* by **Yeasayer** - **Menomena** were first, but this was the record that broke the sound. One of those discs that would spawn a million imitators, this kind of percussive, dance-able indie-pop would be pervasive over the next half decade. While this band would soon move on to other things, they leave behind one of the finest and most interesting entries in the sub-genre. [*Memory*: I distinctly remember listening to this for the first time waiting for an early AM flight at the State College, PA airport.]