2007

[SpacemanRob]

Dull! Dull! Dull! Dull!

What a shite year for music!!!! End of year and struggling to find 5 albums that really excited! Some truely great gigs from SPZ with QEH, Brixton(+Massive Attack) and Shepherds Bush. But great albums.... Radiohead walk away easily, Julian Cope continues to attain greatness, The Warlocks finally banish Surgery, The Yoko album great in parts, The White Stripes make a whole brilliant album.....

Come on 2008 we need excitement, thrills and a renewed love in rock n roll....

Come on.

[runcible]

Well I discovered a few decent things.

Album of the year was Wooden Shjips by a long way.

Also:
White Hills - Glitter Glamour Atrocity and Heads on Fire (yup - 2 full albums in 1 year, both excellent).
The Heads/Big Naturals - Rituals pt 1 and 2 (also 2 full albums in 1 year)
Spindrift - The Legend of God's Gun
Warlocks - Heavy Deavy Skull Lover
The Icarus Line - Black Lines At The Golden Coast

As far as music goes I'd list these as new discoveries which I've really enjoyed:
A Beautiful Noise - Electric Soul EP
Kontakte - Transmitter
The Nova Saints - Draft EP
People's Revolutionary Choir (new to me)

I also got into a few things that had eluded me previously - Pretty Things pre S.F. Sorrow, Funkadelic, Notorious Byrd Brothers, unreleased La's recordings.

So 2007 has been fine as far as I'm concerned. I don't see it as being inferior to 2006 or even 2005 actually. But then I find little which is new that excites me. I guess that's because I'm becoming old and boring. Or just fussy.

[SpacemanRob]

Good call on The Wooden Shjips - discovering the joy of them. Tell me more about the Spinrifts - why are they in your top 5? Being lazy man but would like to know more!

Cheers.

[spzretent]

2007 was way better than 2006.
The Aliens- Astronomy For Dogs
Hopewell- Beautiful Targets
Caribou- Andorra
Soulsavers- Its Not How Hard You Fall....
Dean & Britta- Back Numbers
The Warlocks- Heavy Deavy Skull Lover
Spindrift- Legends Of Gods Gun
Simple Kid- 2
Blanche- Little Amber Bottles
Deadstring Brothers- Silver Mountain

[MODLAB]

I picked up The Warlocks album today.

FANTASTIC!


Thank you all!


M

[Stuart X.Hunter]

2007 has been awright for me, musically

Electronically;

The Field ~ Here we go Sublime (Kompakt)
Gui Boratto ~ Chromophobia (Kompakt)
L. Pierre ~ Dip (Melodic)
Matthew Dear ~ Asa Breed (Ghostly)
Vector Lovers ~ Afterglow (Soma)
False ~ s/t (Minus)

Other;

UNKLE ~ War Stories (Surrender All)
Mira Calix ~ Eyes set against the Sun (Warp)
The Earlies ~ The Enemy Chorus (679)
The Aliens ~ Astronomy for Dogs (Pet Rock/EMI)
M83 ~ Digital Shades Vol. 1 (EMI France)
Gravenhurst ~ The Western Lands (Warp)

Biggest Letdown;

Dean & Britta ~ Back Numbers (sorry it's gash could've done with far more PK treatments and/or songwriting & melodies like L'Avventura).

Biggest Find;

The Blue Nile ~ Hats

Best mix album;

Soma Coma ~ mixed by Alex Smoke

[spzretent]

1. I'm surprised this thread has been so slow.
2. I am a sucker for and Dean/Luna related releases. My expectations aren't that high or low, i am just a sucker for his records.
3. Finds; Old Crazy Horse records, Gram Parsons & Nick Cave(both of whom I could never get into for some reason.

Singles(remember them?):
People's Revolutionary Choir- The Breeze That Blows
People's Revolutionary Choir- Do You Feel Like I Do?
The Lea Shores- Guillotine
A Beautiful Noise- EP
The Tamborines- Sally O'Gallon

[Stuart X.Hunter]

1. I'm surprised this thread has been so slow.

I'm not as 2007 has been pretty lame in general for music. I know we all shudder at the thought of reflecting on the (UK) Top 40 to see if any acts have made a dent on the "mainstream" but has anybody credible to our tastes done that?
Can't think of anything this year that has made me sit-up and take notice or even reconsider my (usually hastily) preconcieved opinions.
Bloc Party with there "Weekend in the City" album raised my left eyebrow...something about the combination of drumming, words, the delivery/tone of the singers voice and their endeavour to try new (to them) things allows me to waggle cagily a thumbs up.
Apart from that feck all... 'cept maybe some consistent "tap the fingers" production/re-mix from Timbaland and Freemasons.
Forgot to mention Bjork' album Volta as well in my list...excells again...her intepretation of (some) poem whilst sharing vocal duties with Anthony (Hegarty) on "dull flame of desire" is a stand-out pour moi.

2. I am a sucker for and Dean/Luna related releases. My expectations aren't that high or low, i am just a sucker for his records.

I'm not a sucker for any man...no matter how handsome he is. I was thoroughly disappointed with "backnumbers" after the first albums promise and PK tinkering with a few of it's many highlights. The recent release didn't have the same atmosphere and thus got bumped very quickly from my rotation schedule. I've been back to it since but still nothing...there's a more sinister air about it than the first release and i was hoping for more sugar.

3. Finds; Old Crazy Horse records, Gram Parsons & Nick Cave(both of whom I could never get into for some reason.

Mostly all of the above words spell corduroy to me.

Singles(remember them?):
People's Revolutionary Choir- The Breeze That Blows
People's Revolutionary Choir- Do You Feel Like I Do?
The Lea Shores- Guillotine
A Beautiful Noise- EP
The Tamborines- Sally O'Gallon

I bought one i think and can't remember if it was a 2007 release or not. the excellent Alienoid Starmonica. I'm not a fan of singles, 12" or EP's in general.

Anyone for any advance on the lame 20 odd decent bits of tunage available this year?

[spzretent]

just thought this was a thread to post your fave music of 2007.
not a point by point criticism.
wow!

[Stuart X.Hunter]

just thought this was a thread to post your fave music of 2007.
not a point by point criticism.
wow!

Apologies but it seems like only you, I and spaceman Bob in this thread, kiddo...just trying to keep it fresh and perhaps others will partake.

The parts about corduroy and sucker (i repeat sucker) were not criticisms but my attempt at humour. You didn't laugh???? It sais far more about me than what your discoveries/highlights of 2007 were, if you give it some thought.

Any info on Hopewell...purely for the name alone it stands out...

Take care

[stegraham]

I tried to come up with a nice round top 10 albums, but fell one short:

The Aliens - Astronomy For Dogs
Emma Pollock - Watch the Fireworks
Super Furry Animals - Hey Venus!
The Go! Team - Proof of Youth
Ulrich Schnauss - GoodBye
Subhumans - Internal Riot
Earthless - Rhythms From A Cosmic Sky
The Cult - Born Into This
Trembling Blue Stars - The Last Holy Writer

I think out of those the Ulrich Schnauss album is my most played/fav. It might not be as good as his previous offering "A Strangely Isolated Place", but it comes darn close. There are a couple of albums that I haven't got round to buying yet - "Lust, Lust, Lust" by the Ravonettes and the new Warlocks album, so one of those might get the final place.

[spzretent]

The parts about corduroy and sucker (i repeat sucker) were not criticisms but my attempt at humour. You didn't laugh???? It sais far more about me than what your discoveries/highlights of 2007 were, if you give it some thought.

Any info on Hopewell...purely for the name alone it stands out...

Take care

It did make me laugh and then i realized i dont own a pair of corduroys. I was bummed. But I do have a Rolling Stones Toungue logo pewter belt buckle if that helps.

Hopewell are ex M Rev members. A couple of great tracks but the vocals start to annoy. But worth checking out for: Tree & Monolith(which was on their myspace page).

[Stuart X.Hunter]

Excellent. Not only can you find some great music in the threads (get it, threads...duds...trews!?!?!) of the Spiritualized forum but you can gain fashion tips and over at Gigs you get laundry advice...

When is the next Spiritualized ~ Brothers in Arms convention?
I'll be the one with the low-peaked black leather cap with inconspicuous "spirtiualized electric mainline" logo hand-stitched on the side in diamante.
Apparently Dicky Ashcroft is making a special guest appearance and talking about why he really cut his hair short and went peroxide.

See you there chaps (get it...chaps...mine are arseless by the way...so that's "peaked hats and arseless chaps" almost could be the name of the new Scissor Sisters album)

Sorry...when I start flirting with iconic gay images i tend to go off on one...

ex Merc. Rev. members are going to be checked out at the end of Spiritualized day.

Ta muchly

[sunray]

Can't say its been an amazing year for music but then again considering the insane amount of gigs and festies this year i haven't been able to buy much music. Just figured out i've been to a gig every 8 days this year not including festies or 1 dayers so Im asking all promoters to lay off for 6 months so i can start buying again.

What i will recommend though is this handful:
Dan Deacon - Spiderman of the rings.
The Oscillation - Out of phase
Julian Cope - You gotta problem with me
Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity
The Aliens - Astronomy for dogs (much better live though)
Mugstar - Mugstar (i think,may also have been last year. It seems to have disappeared off my laptop NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!)

Single of the Year:
LCD Soundsystem - All my friends. I was surprised that this didnt become the big hit of the summer, great tune and bittersweet lyrics. Their album Sound of Silver is a grower as well, give it a go. I wasnt a fan until a couple of months ago but am now a convert.

Im sure i would've put up a lot more but like i said i've not been able to afford it,live music has won out this year. Still ive got a nice list to look at longingly!

[BzaInSpace]

Dull! Dull! Dull! Dull!
What a shite year for music!!!! End of year and struggling to find 5 albums that really excited!
... we need excitement, thrills and a renewed love in rock n roll....

Rob! Sometimes I wonder if you say stuff like that just to be controversial - either way i don't envy your ears mate!

2007 threw up a bunch of great music, as always. And there was always some great stuff being uncovered form the past, as always. The highlights for me :

M.I.A - Kala
Freddie Scott - Cry to me
Two Lone Swordsmen - Wrong Meeting I & II
Amerie - Because I like It
Pharoahe Monch - Desire
PJ Harvey - White Chalk
White Stripes - Icky Thump
Phantom Band - Throwing Bones
Amy Winehouse - Rehab
Slayer - Christ Illusion
Wu-Tang Clan - 8 Diagrams
Burial - Untrue
Gwen Stefani - Wind it up
Sons & Daughters - Killer
Prince - Planet Earth
Tweet - Turn the lights off
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Eagles Of Death Metal - Death by Sexy
Bjork - Volta
Ghostface Killah - The Big Doe Rehab
Mastodon - Blood Mountain
Primal Scream - Sometimes I Feel So Lonely (xmas single 2007)
Yoko Ono and Spiritualized - Walking On Thin Ice
Olivia Tremor Control - Dusk at Cubist castle
Neil Young - Live Fillmore 1970
Sam Cooke - Night Beat [reissue]
V/A - Death Proof OST
V/A - The Roots of Dubstep

For me personally the MIA album is outstanding. Live she was something else - was really lucky to see her xmas gig at The Arches. Rave on! The Radiohead album is the best thing they have ever done [and the only music, for me, they have ever done that is worth repeat listens]. The White Stripes album was going to get my vote as one of the loudest albums ever but according to fuzzhead's 'Modern Music Is Rubbish Thread' this is a mastering error!? Still great - especially the Scottish barndance song. The new Wu-Tang album is a killer and it seems to have split the fanbase - always a good sign. Its fantastic.
Otherwise mostly mainline pop stuff ...mostly. All good. And if you wanted a live record of the acoustic mainlines tours the Boston 2007 gig, kindly shared here, was unbelievable! Great sound and performances, thanks again.

Now, on for 2008! Last year was a bit of a dog, to put it mildly

All the best

X

[SpacemanRob]

I quite like your list BZA but just find it so difficult to find much new music that excites. Radiohead , Julian Cope, and The White Stripes offer great albums. Thank God the Warlocks forgot the past and delivered their best album for years!!!! And finally a new album that sounds briliant is the Burial album 'Untrue' - finally something that excites!!!! Probably the only commercial album we will all remember(sadly) is Amy Winehouse but i am not sure???? Sometimes she sounds ok & other (many)times(too many times) just too predictable?
Any Spz Acoustic release would be perfect - shows were cool!!!!

[TheWarmth]

2007 wasn't that great for music, but there were some good albums. Here's my list, in no particular order:

Super Furry Animals ~ Hey! Venus
Richard Hawley ~ Lady's Bridge
Tunng ~ Good Arrows
PJ Harvey ~ White Chalk
Radiohead ~ In Rainbows (no we don't really need to get into it, but I'm not going to leave it off of my list, either)
Dungen ~ Tio Bitar (don't think I saw this on anyone else's lists, surprisingly)
Feist ~ The Reminder
The Clientele ~ God Save The Clientele
The Shins ~ Wincing The Night Away
Gruff Rhys ~ Candylion
Ryan Adams ~ Easy Tiger (yes, I'm slightly embarrassed by this, but it's a good record)

[andyblacktoo]

crikey, has no-one liked the maps album? or asobi seksu ?

[Nomen_Luni]

I thought there were some amazing new albums released last year. My favourites are...

Fur And Gold - Bat For Lashes
Night - Gazpacho
Somewhere Else - Marillion
Fear Of A Blank Planet - Porcupine Tree
Blackfield II - Blackfield

This year, I'm looking forward to new albums by Spiritualized (naturally ), My Bloody Valentine (I've certainly been waiting long enough ), The Cure, Marillion and Gemma Hayes. There will be others too.

[twentysixdollars]

Sam Cooke - Night Beat [reissue]

Night Beat was reissued again? My version (in a luxe digipak) is from 2005! Was there extra material?

Apparently 37 (!!) Van Morrison albums are going to be reissued this year with bonus material.

[sunray]

crikey, has no-one liked the maps album? or asobi seksu ?

I checked out the Maps album after lots of people seemed to be banging on about it and didn't think much of it to be honest, only listened twice mind you so maybe i'll give it another go.
Asobi Seksu i found to be a bit too poppy in places for my tastes although there was some good stuff on there too. Would like to see them live.

Special mention has to go to Grinderman for the best musical tv moment since Snub TV when they appeared on Jools Hollands show earlier this year; No Pussy Blues ended and i got a text off my mate that read "and then Travis came on", 'nuff said.
The Sister Vanilla album too,major grower.

[jack white]

Apparently 37 (!!) Van Morrison albums are going to be reissued this year with bonus material.

haven't heard about this, but it is the 40th anniversary of Astral Weeks. belfast is having a big to do over the next few weeks. not very exciting so far in that the headline event is a night where local musicians are going to be playing (covering) the record in full.

the highlight of the year in terms of new music for me was the remake of walking on thin ice. it continues to astound. thought it was absolutely terrific.
aside from that, i'm in love with the weirdness still.
dug the icarus lines new one too - they've yet to put out a record that isn't exactly what i've been lusting after without even knowing it. got to see them live again too, and meet joe, which was nice. unfortunately it was as a support slot for the lemonheads which... well, anyway. really liked nick cave and warren ellis' soundtrack for that jesse james film, and grinderman is great fun. so too was anything the super furry animals guys turned out - though saw them live for the second time and wasn't nearly as fun as the first or i thought it'd be. mia and lcd soundsystem also tickled my fancy for a while. all these names that have been mentioned elsewhere.

my most major musical rewards though came from townes van zandt. fell dangerously in love with the guy to such a degree he's well surpassed just about everyone that isn't called guns n roses or bob dylan as my favourite musical act. finally got round to nina simone too, she's utterly blown me away. had the pleasure of being stuck in a snow storm with her company last night. and like someone else who i can't particularly find at the minue in this thread, i got into the byrds pretty heavily, probably thanks to this board. nils lofgren too.

have been really disappointed by the white stripes record though. it and get behind me satan, and maybe even elephant if i cared to remember it, just seem to lack the charm and fun that made their earlier records such nice treats. started listening again to van halen at the turn of the year there, that's been good.

[twentysixdollars]

After much deliberation I'm ready to call The Sadies - New Seasons album of the year 2007 and in fact the best new album I've heard in maybe five or six years. I don't know if I've had quite enough time to assimilate it, but I think I enjoy it more than any other album I've heard since Let It Come Down. It's been at least a decade since an album started as strongly as "Introduction/The Last Inquisition, pt. IV". Excellent, nicely eclectic settings, warm thumpy analog sound, memorable (if basic) "Wayfaring Stranger"-type melodies, amusing and heartfelt words, all in a snappy 35 minutes. Definitely retro - the stylistic reference points are few and obvious, basically the Clarence White Byrds ("Never Again" is a blind steal of "Wasn't Born to Follow") & Flying Burrito Brothers, a bit of paisley underground here and there, Gordon Lightfoot on "Yours to Discover" (a joke title I'll probably be the only one here to get), maybe a little Nick Drake, and the heavier numbers sound like the 13th Floor Elevators minus the jug. Several wonderful songs - subtle, but you're really missing out if you haven't heard it. It's out in the US on Yep Roc - not sure about internationally. [Edit: according to Amazon.co.uk this has UK distribution.]

Tired of all the ancient records I'm always haranguing you to buy? Well then fucking buy this one. If you like good records, that is.

[TheWarmth]

Bummer. It seems as though New Seasons isn't available on vinyl.

[twentysixdollars]

It absolutely is:

http://www.amazon.com/New-Seasons-Sadies/dp/B000VDDB8O/

[TheWarmth]

Fantastic. Thanks for the link. When I didn't see it listed in the vinyl section of the shop on their site, I figured it didn't exist.

[eeee22]

Favorite albums I heard:
!!!, Feist, Panda Bear/Animal Collective, Of Montreal, Explosions in the Sky, The Field, and the closest thing to a 5 star album LCD Soundsystem

Disappointments: Arcade Fire and Radiohead

It seems like with the rise of the MP3 we are entering another age of albums consisting of a couple good singles and a lot of filler. Maybe it's always been like that but it's still sad to see.

Other stuff I really got into this year included all that I could find by The Zombies, Dylan, The Beatles, Can, Bearsuit, Tom Waits and a lot of punk/garage-y stuff like Wire, Television, Cramps, Sonic Youth.

It was a good year for me.

Looking forward to in '08: Magnetic Fields, Mercury Rev, Stereolab, Wolf Parade, The Postal Service, MBV, and of course SPZ!

[Stuart X.Hunter]

Favorite albums I heard:
...The Field...

Seconded, again.
EDIT: Have you got "The Sound of Light" EP? Think it was digital only and a comissioned by the Nordic Light Hotel...it's an album-length (~60mins) ep.

Cheers

[BzaInSpace]

Disappointments: Arcade Fire and Radiohead

It seems like with the rise of the MP3 we are entering another age of albums consisting of a couple good singles and a lot of filler. Maybe it's always been like that but it's still sad to see.

Indeed it supposedly has! Substitute the word 'MP3' for 'Vinyl' or 'album' and your reality is around 1962 and Phil Spector is THE Mark Ronson.

Disappointments : Radiohead - whatever, but 'reckoner' is b e a u t i f u l for ever and ever.

Arcade Fire? The Deacon Blue it's Ok to like.
Beyond that...when Iggy sweats like that he means it. But ...where are the fucking songs?

Sorry.

Listen to M.I.A.

She sorted me out.

X

[runcible]

That Sadies album is rather good actually.

[twentysixdollars]

That Sadies album is rather good actually.

Yes. Yes it is.

[twentysixdollars]

I don't know about Slade (or Croz for that matter), but New Seasons and Buffalo Springfield make fine bedmates. The latter in particular has my favorite Neil Young song ever on it ("Flying on the Ground Is Wrong"). Come to think of it, it has most of my favorite Neil Young songs that aren't on Rust Never Sleeps and his solo debut.

[runcible]

I bought some Slade recently - takes me back to school days! Slade Alive is surprisingly heavy in places.

[runcible]

Speaking of which (and it's a shame you don't know If I Could Only Remember My Name - I was pretty much counting on you)...

That solo Crosby album is brilliant. It has just about the greatest acoustic guitar sound I know on it (in 'Laughing', a stupendous track).

[twentysixdollars]

Speaking of which (and it's a shame you don't know If I Could Only Remember My Name - I was pretty much counting on you), are Cowboy Movie and Gowgirl in the Sand related? There's nothing in the internet about it...

Oh, come on now, you really ought to give me more credit than that! I meant "I don't know about..." as an expression of ambivalence, not ignorance. I was, in other words, being tactful! In point of fact I don't feel very strongly either way about that Crosby album - not nearly so much as Runcie, for example - it has its moments (harmonies, some Garcia guitar) but is a touch on the smooth side for my tastes - and besides, I'm of the tiny minority opinion that the raggedy '73 Byrds version of "Laughing" is superior!

[twentysixdollars]

I suppose there's a reason you haven't addressed my inquiry about the similar sounding songs about cattle hands by Crosby and Young, but I hesitate to guess what it is now. I feel it would be impolite, for one thing.

Well, I don't mind speculation, but I didn't feel I had anything to add! I don't really hear the similarity myself, besides (perhaps) structurally. When Crosby arranged "Cowgirl", it was usually brief and major-key, minus solos - see 4 Way Street.

And how about the (Ambrose) Slade? Do you not 'know', or not 'know about' them?

The latter - wrong generation, wrong country, perhaps!

The Sadies - I'm sure you compared them to White/Parsons era Byrds. I got that alright.

Yes!

[twentysixdollars]

Ahem. Same question but with 'Cowboy Movie' and 'Down By The River' (the song titles distracted me - and I had to remember the sounds of the Neil Young album)? The guitar sound, the riff, the rhythmic feel? More than the structure in that case, no?

(Throws up hands) I dunno. A lot of/most Crosby songs of the period are based mostly on 2-chord, minor-key vamps, like "River" and "Cowgirl". I suppose there are superficial similarities but I wouldn't say "Cowboy Movie" is obviously derived from "River".

I shudder to think of Crosby writing a song called 4 Way Street - did he learn nothing from the 'Triad' débâcle?

Ha! No, that was a CSNY live album. Good one, though.

Although I ought to have added that I couldn't really see (from a first pass) what they'd added. It may as well have been cover versions.

Fair comment - that was my initial impression as well, after all - but I think the songwriting is what's remarkable, and also, though the style immediately evokes the Parsons-White Byrds, you'd be hard-pressed to point to a Parsons-White tune that actually sounds all that similar to, say, "What's Left Behind", with its uptempo and thoroughgoing harmonies.

Meanwhile, isn't one of their songs named after the Toronto Tourist Board's slogan?

I thought I would be the only one to get that! I thought it was a cute way of evoking a road trip/tour, since that is one of the two slogans that Ontario (not just Toronto) license plates used to sport. (A kewpie doll to whoever remembers the other one!) It was the more common one, if my memory hasn't failed me. The other one was a little goofier.

"If This World Were Mine", which Slade covered, was in fact a (very) small hit for Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell in '67. It's one of the few songs in his name where he didn't use a cowriter.

[eeee22]

Favorite albums I heard:
...The Field...

Seconded, again.
EDIT: Have you got "The Sound of Light" EP? Think it was digital only and a comissioned by the Nordic Light Hotel...it's an album-length (~60mins) ep.

Cheers

Not heard of that, I didn't know anything about the field til a friend gave me that album randomly one day and it just really clicked with me. Is the EP new or old? and where can I find it?

[Stuart X.Hunter]

Favorite albums I heard:
...The Field...

Seconded, again.
EDIT: Have you got "The Sound of Light" EP? Think it was digital only and a comissioned by the Nordic Light Hotel...it's an album-length (~60mins) ep.

Cheers

Not heard of that, I didn't know anything about the field til a friend gave me that album randomly one day and it just really clicked with me. Is the EP new or old? and where can I find it?

It's 4 pieces of music put together for the Nordic Light hotel that specialise in light therapy.
It is a stunning looking hotel and I plan on going (someday) though I don't suffer from SAD but i'm desperate to see the light.
The tracks are titled; Morning, Day, Evening & Night.
Unfortunately it was an iTunes only release but somebody left it on mp3 at http://www.megaupload.com/?d=E3TCOGKB

[Stuart X.Hunter]

Favorite albums I heard:
The Field

Have you chanced upon the new LP; Yesterday & Today....this is 5 star

http://www.kompakt.fm/releases/yesterday_today