Point Oh!

Disclaimer: I know this has nothing to do with marketing, PR, Web X.0 or anything else that would make thematic sense on this blog but I’ve been called out by a few people to post my “best of” 2007 album list so I can’t really resist.

I apologize in advance if these aren’t terribly obscure or if they happen to be largely pre-endorsed by the indie blogs that have birthed them but it is an honest rundown of what has grabbed me this year. My collar is not at all popped on this one. Anyway, here goes…

1. Okkervil River, The Stage Names – I loved Black Sheep Boy but this definitely topped it. I have to say that this is probably the only album of 2007 that I have to resist the urge to play every day when I first turn on my iPod in the morning. Will Sheff is just a really really good lyricist and now his band has caught up with him.
2. Battles, Mirrored – Now I don’t go around recommending this album to everyone, nor do I listen to it everyday, but this supergroup of sorts really managed to produce one of the most uniquely enjoyable albums I’ve heard in a while. Not for the faint of hearted or people who need songs to sound like songs but definitely an album anyone should check out if they really want to hear something different. If you can get beyond some of the progginess, there are some amazing compositions in this one.
3. The National, Boxer – The saddest thing about the rise of Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah was that their first big tour overshadowed the fact that they were supposed to be opening for The National (who also had a great album at the time). Luckily, getting a little upstaged didn’t stop The National from releasing their best album to date. One of the most effortlessly dynamic bands I’ve ever heard.
4. Arcade Fire, Neon Bible – I heard these guys being played at a hockey game at Madison Square Garden last night so I guess the secret is officially out. Everyone from Bruce Springsteen to the most snarky bloggers seem to concede to how good this band is. Believe them.
5. Sunset Rubdown, Random Spirit Lover – Spencer Krug will probably make about 30 more great albums before he dies and this is certainly one of them. I’m more of a Wolf Parade fan overall but I can’t seem to resist the urge to stop whatever I’m doing for an hour every time I hear this album.
6. Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga – If my iTunes is to be believed, I have a severely unhealthy fondness for Spoon. It probably has something to do with the fact that every album they put out is great. They’ve evolved into one of the most straightforward rock bands out there but it works for them.
7. The New Pornographers, Challengers – Being a rabid Neko Case/Destroyer/Carl Newman fan to begin with, it doesn’t take much to make me love anything the New Pornos put out but Challengers was one album that disappointed me out of the box. There’s something distinctly more baroque and less jangly about Challengers and it takes a while to grow on you but it soon became yet another album that would convince me to take the long way to work.
8. Radiohead, In Rainbows – Technically this album doesn’t come out until 2008 but any self-respecting music fan downloaded it within hours of Radiohead deciding to give it away for donations. Marketing gimmick aside, the band decided to pull back a couple layers and produce an album that really allows you to hear the wheels turning.
9. Band of Horses, Cease to Begin – I have no idea what it is about this band. The songs are simple, the lyrics can sometimes make you cringe a little, there is way too much reverb on everything but it’s a hard album to stop listening to. I doubt they will create many more of these but I’m enjoying BoH while they’re still a beautifully flawed band.
10. Winterkids, Memoirs – No one seems to care about this band and I can’t figure it out. This is a guitar pop band that remembers everything that is good about guitar pop and packs their album with it. Love them!

Since this is such a tough list to make, I would also like to offer the following very honorable mentions to albums that could have easily made it if I was in a slightly different mood this evening:

Hot Hot Heat, Happiness Ltd.
Interpol, Our Love to Admire
Shout Out Louds, Our Ill Will
Taken by Trees, Open Field
Two Gallants, Two Gallants
Voxtrot, Voxtrot
The Weakerthans, Reunion Tour
White Rabbits, Fort Nightly
Feist, The Reminder

As one last point I would like to point out that I linked to the Amazon listings for each of these albums. If you do choose to buy or download any of these albums, I would strongly encourage you to buy DRM-free versions of the albums. The only way to really rid of the world of DRM crippled music is to stop buying it and, contrary to popular belief, you can do it without “hurting the artist.” At Amazon you can choose to buy the physical CD or buy the MP3 and actually own the music instead of renting a crippled version from a DRM supporter like iTunes or Rhapsody.