djchameleon

no I haven't listened to Good Girl Gone Bad.....I just dislike RiHanna for the fact that she samples some of my favorite songs that are super popular anyways...so of course her singles are going to be popular....it's a smart business move but just tacky as an artist I guess

adidasss

Em, isn't MIA's music based on sampling?*unsure*

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Last.fm

djchameleon

yes but she creates a unique sound through sampling, it's more original....I listen to plenty of artists that sample but Rihanna just takes songs I like and are easily recognizable. She sampled Orgy for one of her songs. She also sampled MJ for that one dance song of her that's kinda popular right now. I forget the name of it.

Expletive Deleted

My list didn't change that much (except in order).

1. Daft Punk - Alive 2007
2. Matthew Dear - Asa Breed
3. Justice - †
4. V/A - Shut Up and Dance: Electronic Music for Ballet
5. TTC - 3615 TTC
6. A-Trak - Dirty South Dance
7. Efdemin - Efdemin
8. Einmusik - De' Medici
9. The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
10. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?

SEF

For me...

Beirut - The Flying Club Cup

Arthur & Yu - In Camera

St. Vincent - Marry Me

Iron & Wine - The Shepard’s Dog

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enemyat_thesix

Sure, the thread is titled "Best of 2007", but "Best of" lists are quite presumptuous. Therefore, simply post your favorite albums of 2007. Descriptions and/or justifications are cool, too.

I'm breaking my list down into genres, because my preliminary list had something like 50 albums on it.

***

Indie Pop/Rock
5. Architecture In Helsinki - Places Like This: Australia’s craziest creates their most eclectic album yet, creating something between a tropical jam and a tribal dance-party; either way, it’s quixotically exotic. Listen to: “Nothing’s Wrong”

4. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam: The Baltimore quartet manages to craft walls of guitar-noise and creeping synth-pads into their most accessible album yet. Listen to: “Fireworks”

3. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Sank: Solid hooks, catchy choruses, and a spoonful of angst: everything we’ve come to expect from the indie rock veterans. Listen to: “We’ve Got Everything”

2. Shout Out Louds - Our Ill Wills: Lush, upbeat Swedish chamber pop, with enough hooks for several albums. Listen to: “South America”

1. Tunng - Good Arrows: Subtle synths and experimental percussions over lush melodies and eerie lyrics; a perfect marriage of acoustics and electronics. Listen to: “Bullets”

HM: Seabear - The Ghost That Carried Us Away: Folk-pop for the heartbroken optimist. Listen to: “Arms”

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sleepy jack

Seabear was incredible, I did a list like this awhile ago of my top 10 I'll post it in a bit.

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sleepy jack

10. Seabear "The Ghost That Carried Us Away"
This is Icelandic indie-pop-folk band Seabear's debut, led by 23 year old Sindri Snær Sigfússon (I can't pronounce that). They create a beautiful mellow sound including, pianos, acoustic guitars, violins, gentle vocal harmonies and poetic lyrics. It came to me at the right time and holds a special Iceland shaped place in my heart.
Favorite Song: I Sing I Swim


9. Okkervil River "The Stage Names"
Will Sheff is easily my favorite lyricist ever and Okkervil River knows whats up. Black Sheep Boy is one of the greatest albums i've ever heard and how do you follow a masterpiece up? By going in a new direction! Okkervil River did this well by sticking to their lyrical concept theme type thing they decided to write about their lives being movies and stuff. If I was JD and narrated my entire life in my head this would be the album that always played in the background during emotional scenes or when Dr. Cox got angry
Favorite Song: John Allyn Smith Sails


8. Black Moth Super Rainbow "Dandelion Gum"
Lately i've been digging trippy psychadelic pop happy stuff and I don't smoke weed anymore and when I did, I didn't like this stuff. I just thought i'd throw that out there to make me describing this album more interesting. Oh and I don't know what moog-pop is. =(
Favorite Song: Drippy Eye


7. Art Brut "It's a Bit Complicated"
Art Brut are the greatest rock band to grace my ears since the Beatles and they're three times as brilliant. With their witty ironic lyrics and fun sound. I really don't understand why people hate them.
Favorite Song: Nag Nag Nag Nag


6. Devendra Banhart "Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon"
I'm running out of lame jokes/puns. So this was the first Devendra album I heard and while it's not my favorite by him, it's Devendra and it's 2007 so that's why it makes the list. That is all i'm going to say. nannanananabatman.
Favorite Song: Seahorse


5. Andrew Bird "Armchair Apocrypha"
Andrew Bird like Ellliott Smith (<3) has carved his own nitch in indie-folk, with the violins, whistling and pretty melodies he's like that warm lover you always wanted. I am in such a terriblly lazy writing mood tonight haha.
Favorite Song: Scythian Empires


4. Panda Bear "Person Pitch"
I love Panda Bear and though this album is never going to replace Young Prayer because of the connection I have with it I still place it on a pretty high pedestal.

I love Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys so Panda Bear's beautiful melodies and similar vocals immediately made my heart warm. The much happier vibe that Person Pitch also made my heart warm too. While Young Prayer served as an emotional crutch to me, Person Pitch served as the soundtrack I needed to dance now that my legs were no longer broken.
Favorite Song: Ponytail


3. Elliott Smith "New Moon"
New Moon is the latest post-humus release from my favorite musician ever Elliott Smith. Now while From a Basement on the Hill was rough with no real flow to it and obviously unfinished. New Moon sounds like a rarities compilation Elliott could've put together himself, using tracks to from his self-titled and either/or days.

Now this release took me awhile to get into because i'd heard most of the album prior to this so tracks like Either/Or, Angel in the Snow, Whatever, and Placeholder had already all been raped to death, but I finally managed to get into it as an album and not as a bunch of tracks. The album is made up mostly of Elliott and his guitar, however despite that it still manages to be a rather versatile release. From Big Starish (not just Thirteen) acoustic tracks, to ones similar to singer/songwriters like Nick Drake all the way to the Beatlesy New Monkey it proves itself to not be a monotoned for the most part. Something I always find sexy about this album is how the entire thing is made up (for the most part) of unreleased tracks and yet they're still able to stand by his released stuff without looking ****ty in comparison. Quite the opposite actually, like most of his unreleased stuff it holds some of his best work.
Favorite Song: All Cleaned Out


2. Radiohead "In Rainbows"
Like most Radiohead fans I was completely caught off guard by there being a new Radiohead album but I stayed up really late to download In Rainbows anyway. I remember putting it on repeat as soon as I had it then quickly dropping off to bed and waking up to In Rainbows, which is the greatest way to start off your day. Everytime I listen a new track jumped out on me, though after many listens i've decided Reckoner is my favorite past favorites that stuck for awhile were House of Cards, Videotape and All I Need.

I really don't have much to say on this album even though I love it so much which is odd. My first thoughts upon listening were "In Rainbows has replaced my right hand."
Favorite Song: Reckoner


1. Patrick Wolf "The Magic Position"
Patrick Wolf stated was more about making other people happy than making himself happy. It certainly shows right from the opening track a more upbeat sound. Citing his influences on this album as disco group Boney M and Giorgio Moroder. Patrick Wolf jumped into the world of pop music though he did so much differently then your average artists switching styles. The Magic Position is just as full sounding as his previous release, if not more so. Featuring a wider variety of instruments then before and a wider variety of people. It still holds songs like Augustine, which could’ve fit easily on Wind in the Wires and the violins are still there, but tracks like Accident & Emergency aren’t like anything you would’ve found on early releases.

The Magic Position may sound like a super happy album but it does have its darker moments, the album deals with love. Patrick Wolf was inspired by this, by his relationship with a painter. In the start its a simple accepting yourself to asking do you want me? Hopeful, yet slightly sad and scared. To the joy and infatuation and sex and to the insecurity of wondering whether or not this will last and then finally the album nearly closes with the Stars, a simple reflection. "I lifted my face to the night sky and for the first time in months, I saw the stars. You know when you’ve been so busy, just keeping your eyes fixed on the road in front of you and suddenly it stops?" and then finally it closes with Finale, which is riddled with subliminal messages according to Mr. Wolf. This is such an amazing record and one of my favorites ever because it captures many moods all along one theme and manages to go through them so easily. You don’t really notice how it dips quickly into despair but you feel it when it does. The Magic Position reminds you that love is happy and worth giving, but it still lets you know that romance isn’t all sex and rainbows.
Favorite Song: Augustine


Honorable Mention: The Shins "Wincing the Night Away"
The Shins are back creating their fun indie-pop songs. They seem to recall Brian Wilson yet combine it with some northwestern melancholy. Though not on all tracks, I am not in the review writing mood today all these were written awhile ago so this one is kind of weak.
Favorite Song: Australia

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enemyat_thesix

Electro
5. Surkin - Action Replay: Half originals and half remixes, Action Replay displays Surkin’s versatility as a DJ. Regardless of what he’s doing, though, you’re sure to be moving. Listen to: “Kiss and Fly”

4. Muscles - Guns Babes Lemonade: You’ve got to be doing something right if Daft Punk invites you to tour with them. The Australian DJ’s debut album mashes trance, electro, house, and pop into one of the more unique electro albums of 2007. Listen to: “Ice Cream”

3. Simian Mobile Disco - Attack Decay Sustain Release: This heavy hitting freshman release reigned over three-quarters of 2007 with infectious hooks, chorus chants, and four-to-the-floor galore. Listen to: “It’s the Beat”

2. Chromeo - Fancy Footwork: Somewhere between 80’s revival and electro sit the duo of Chromeo. Their sophomore release is the cheesiest album of 2007, complete with fat basslines, syn-toms, and retro guitar solos. This is unrepentant electro at its most fun. Listen to: “Tenderoni”

1. Boys Noize - Oi Oi Oi: 2007 was a huge year for solo artists, and one rose above them all: Alexander Ridha. His electro-house debut is the musical equivalent of an atomic bomb, trashing subs with stomping kicks and monster synth-hooks. Listen to: “Superfresh”

HM: To My Boy – Messages: This album is surprisingly good, especially considering it was self-produced in the duo’s bedroom. By far the poppiest album on the list, To My Boy are sure to cheer you up with their bright leads and spunky beats. Listen to: “Eureka”

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The Gash

1a. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
1b. Panda Bear - Person Pitch

Amazing amazing year for the Animal Collective crew.

(everything else in no particular order)

of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?/Icons, Abstract Thee EP
I'd replace a song or two from Hissing Fauna for a couple from the EP and make one incredible album.

The Good, The Bad and the Queen - The Good, The Bad and the Queen
Albarn.

Modest Mouse - We Were Dead...
For some reason I expected a lot worse.

The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
The 1/2 of the album I like makes up for the 1/2 I don't like.

Loney, Dear - Loney, Noir
Saw them live and liked them, gave the album a listen, not too shabby.

MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
This album might not be out yet for real. I think it's their debut, and I'm really excited to see where they go as a band in the next couple of years.

Disappointed with:

Radiohead - In Rainbows
Once the "OMG new Radiohead" wears off I think this album will be remembered for it's manner of release rather than the music.

Cornelius - Sensous
I think this came out in the US early '07? Anywho, big let down.