Since I ended the last entry with a comment about music I figure I might as well follow through on it.
It’s that time of year again. Time for every anal-retentive, list-obsessed person with a blog to compile their top X favorite lists for the year (be it albums, movies, books, tantric sex positions, cattle mutilation photographs or whatever).
Far be it for me to ignore this tradition despite my self-assertion that I’m neither anal, nor list obsessed — I may not even be a person but that’s a discussion for another time. I’m just going to stick with music this time around and if I’m feeling up to it I will follow through with more banality over the weekend.
Here’s my list (in no particular order)
Personal Five Favourite Albums of 2007
(Heh. Typing that makes me feel just like Rob Fleming from High Fidelity. Now if I only had John Cusack’s style and savoir-faire (and possibly his paycheque) while doing it, then life would truly be grand)
Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare I love this album. It’s witty and brilliant and the lyrics are pure working class teenage Britain. I love hearing the lead singer’s Yorkshire accent come through when he sings. The colloquialisms, odd phrasings and 80s pop references are all part of the charm for me. I’m partial to the songs D is for Dangerous and Fluorescent Adolescent. After all I don’t think you can go wrong with a song that contains the lyric “you used to get it in your fishnets, now you only get it in your nightdress”
Foo Fighters – Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace I’ve always been a big fan of Dave Grohl and the Foos, ever since they released their first album back in ’95. They’ve always managed to incorporate lyrical integrity with melodic rock and this latest album is no exception. I’ve had the lead track off the album, The Pretender, on loop for quite some time now and it still hasn’t got old. Plus the album’s title itself evokes something and strikes a chord deep within me. Hrrm, I wonder if I can find anyone interested in going to their concert in March.
Rilo Kiley – Under The Blacklight I was introduced to this fine group by a friend and was pretty much instantly hooked by their folk/rock/pop gems (Plus the lead singer, Jenny Lewis, isn’t half bad to look at which is always a bonus… What? Sex sells. Sheesh! Deal with it already!). This album is a bit of a sidestep from their earlier releases and I really like it because of that. It’s more rock-like and less folky and I love how they’ve stretched and challenged themselves musically. At times it reminds me very much of an early Fleetwood Mac album and at others it’s it’s own beast. If I were to pick, I’d probably have to go with either The Moneymaker or Dejalo as my favourite tracks.
Bad Religion – New Maps of Hell I’ve always been a big fan of BR, ever since I harassed my sister about buying “the devil’s music” despite the fact that I had all their albums to date at the time (hypocrisy is a grand thing when sibling harassment is involved isn’t it?). I’m glad Gurewitz is back with the band as I felt their work was sub-par during his absence. Now that he’s back, they’re capable of some damned good music. Sure, this isn’t as punk as some of their earlier works, but the songs are all well crafted and still very lyrically relevant. New Dark Ages would have to be my favourite, though Germs of Perfection runs a close second.
Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank My first exposure to Modest Mouse came after hearing their song Dashboard on the radio. At the time I bobbed my head at the melodically quirky song and moved on. Then I found the video for the same song on Youtube and I was intrigued. It was totally surreal and the more I listened to the lyrics the more discordant the video’s images became. Needless to say I was hooked. Dashboard‘s video is probably my favourite, but I can’t say that I have a favourite song off the album… yet.
I’m sure you can all play this game at home yourselves. Have fun creating your own lists.
If you’re interested in any of the above artists, feel free to search either YouTube and MySpace for their music. You won’t be disappointed.