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The Best Music of 2007, as Chosen by Reasonoids
As promised yesterday, here's a special music thread: Reason editors David Weigel and Radley pick their favorite music of the year (and a couple disappointments). Prove us wrong in the comments!
David Weigel's picks:
I. Best Albums
Porcupine
Tree – Fear of a Blank Planet
Lyrically, it's ridiculous: Steve Wilson burbles and whines about
the crush of technology and XBox 360s turning young brains into
mush. If your grandma was theming a prog rock album, it'd come out
something like this. Musically, though, it's some of the tightest
and most evolved music the band has ever composed. They're aided by
the guitar work of Robert Fripp, who's in more of a thrashy
Thrak mood than a repetitive Lark's Tongues mood.
You don't like Fripp? No problem: Alex Lifeson guests on this too.
(Watch the video for the title
track.)
Sloan
– Never Hear the End of It
Released at the end of
2006 in Canada, where it has some commercial success, but dropped
in January here, where it met the usual chorus of snores that greet
new Sloan albums. (When they hit D.C. they only filled a third of
the Black Cat's
mainstage.) That's more perplexing than ever. In a year when Fall
Out Boy sold out stadiums and Rilo Kiley metamorphized into
Fleetwood Mac I'd have thought there'd be room for throwback 70s
cock rock with heavenly melodies. And if the band was ever going to
break through, it would be with a 30-song LP that has everything
from hardcore pastiches ("HRXNSHC") to psychedelica ("Golden Eyes")
in between the pop songs. (Watch the band play "I Understand" on
the 2007 tour.)
M.I.A.
– Kala
Yes, critics occasionally call this stuff
right. Two years ago the Pitchforkerati anointed a tough-cute,
fashion-conscious Tamil rapper named Maya
Arulpragasam for an album, Arular, that sounded awfully
gimmicky. If M.I.A. had released another album of warped horn
samples and Space Invader bleeps I probably would have written her
off as a music
video director who'd been a little too clever about her image.
Then comes this album and its Bollywood cover ("Jimmy"), its
funked-up Clash and New Order samples, and the use of automatic gun
fire as pop hooks. And the lyrics, even if they're not straight
outta Jaffna, are pretty much what I'd expect terrorists to rap
about. In "Bird Flu":
I have my hard down
So I need a man for romance
Streets are making em hard
So they selfish little roamers
Jumpin’ girl to girl
Make us meat like burgers
When I get fat
I’ll pop me out some leaders
(Watch the video for "Paper Planes.")
Rufus Wainwright – Release the Stars
It's
striking, how influential Wainwright hasn't been. His first record
came out nine years ago and critics swooned over his anachronistic,
baroque pop. He had a minor hit ("California") in 2001 and covered
Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" for Shrek that same year, the
first in a string of stirring movie themes. But nobody's tried to
copy him. He's gotten more bombastic and operatic as the rest of
the singer-songwriter world has gotten more earthy (KT Tunstall) or
more cutesy (Regina Spektor). Opinion on his music is completely
split: You think he's a genius or you think he's an insufferable
whiny rich kid. I'm one of those first people and think this is the
best album he's made. (Watch the video for "Rules and
Regulations.")
Roisin
Murphy – Overpowered
I don't like to bitch about this or that musician not getting the
fame they deserve, but I don't understand how Roisin Murphy hasn't
broken through stateside. She writes hooky electro-pop at least as
catchy as anything by Gwen Stefani or Rihanna or Robyn, but with
smart-assed, Stephin Merrit-style lyrics. From this album's title
track:
As science struggles on to try to explain
Oxytocin's flowing ever into my brain
So there's that, there's her Alison Moyet-on-a-diet voice, there's her stunning good looks, and her willingess to obscure said looks by dressing like an insect or an opera clown. For this record she put some of her quirks on the shelf and hired pure pop producers who supply shockingly catchy dance track after shockingly catchy dance track, in a plenitude of styles: I didn't know electro-glam existed, but that's what "Movie Star" is. (Watch the video for "Overpowered.")
II. Best Songs
Richard Thompson, “Dad’s Gonna Kill Me”
I'm From Barcelona, "The Painter"
Aesop Rock, “None Shall Pass”
Rihanna, "Umbrella"
KT Tunstall, “If Only”
III. Most Underrated Album
Rilo Kiley,
Under the Blacklight. After years and years of inching
into the mainstream, they make it all the way there, and the
pile-on begins. But I like it better than the rest of their
catalogue.
IV. Most Overrated Album
LCD Soundsystem,
Sound of Silver. The three fantastic singles are bordered
on either side by a bunch of boring studio wankery. (And "North American
Scum" is 9/10 of a ripoff of "Homosapien.")
V. Worst Album by a Good Artist
I almost chose Erasure’s
Light at the End of the World, but really, who was
expecting greatness from a 2007 Erasure record? My biggest
disappointment was the barrage of
Robert Pollard releases: Coast to Coast Carpet of
Love, Standard Gargoyle Decisions, and the Circus
Devils side project Sgt. Disco. His experiment with
staying at home, trading the live circuit for studio time, is
resulting in dingier songs with duller chord sequences.
VI. Best Concert
Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, touring their songs from the
movie Once. Almost unbearably sweet, from the Technicolor
love between the two musicians to the joy in Hansard’s face when he
saw he’d sold out the 9:30 Club. Before Once he was
struggling to fill tiny clubs in the Virginia suburbs, and now he
was filling D.C. ballrooms with swooning hipsters and oldsters.
VII. Best Movie Soundtrack
Strange Weirdos, Loudon Wainwright III's soundtrack to
Knocked Up.
VII. Time Capsule Song
Tay Zonday, "Chocolate Rain."
The guy lived a Dickens novel this year. He writes his latest in a
series of weird, inscrutable songs, but this one is an epic about
racism in post-Katrina America. His intonations and weirdness make
this hilarious, and 12 million people check out the video on
YouTube. He gets on late night TV. By the end of the year his song
has been remixed and he's shot a music video for
Doctor Pepper, turning his mournful cry for justice into a soda
jingle. When Hit & Run Commenter Jr. asks you what the 2000s
were like, you can point him to this.
Radley Balko's Picks
I. Best Albums
Joe Henry -
Civilians
The 1900s - 1900s
Mavis Staples -
We'll Never Turn Back
Josh Ritter -
The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
Iron & Wine -
The Shepherd's Dog
Honorable Mentions: John Fogerty, Spoon, Ryan Shaw, The New Pornographers, Joan as Police Woman, The National, Ian Hunter.
II. Best Songs
"You Don't Know What Love Is," by the White Stripes
"Looking for a Love," by Ryan Shaw
"Fans," by Kings of Leon
"Florescent Adolescent," by Arctic Monkeys
"Berlin," by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
III. Most Underrated Album:
Everything Joe Henry has ever done. But this year, Civilians.
IV. Worst Album by a Good Artist
I was pretty disappointed in the new albums by both The Shins and Fountains of Wayne.
V. Best Concert
The Tarbox Ramblers at Iota in Arlington, Virginia.
VI. Best Movie Soundtrack
Loudon Wainwright III's Strange Weirdos from the movie Knocked Up.
VII. Time Capsule Song:
Given the Lohan/Anna-Nicole/Spears/Hilton/Ritchie sagas, I'll go with "Rehab," by Amy Winehouse.
|12.29.07 @ 12:35PM|#
Dave, I may be mistaken, but didn't they use the John Cale version of Hallelujah in Shrek?
Dave Weigel|12.29.07 @ 12:38PM|#
The Cale version appeared in the movie, but the Rufus version (arranged identically) is on most of the soundtracks and was recorded specifically for the film. Cale had covered the song years earlier and I assume there were rights issues.
vault_dog4|12.29.07 @ 12:43PM|#
If I really want to be a good libertarian, does that mean I have
to listen to that crappy unheard of music too?
I mean, I can make a good argument against seat belt laws and
drinking and driving, but I'm not sure I can handle this...
|12.29.07 @ 12:45PM|#
I highly recommend Von Sudenfed, a great collaboration between Mouse on Mars and Mark E. Smith released this year.
|12.29.07 @ 12:46PM|#
Bambi's Dilemma by Melt-Banana.
Jim Bob knows what's right.
Also, ahem:
Clutch.
That's all.
ThoseDamnKids!|12.29.07 @ 12:48PM|#
Does anyone think that "the best music of 2007"
is any good? Pick any year ending in "7" from the last century for
comparison. I'm an out o' touch ol' timer but in trying to stay
"hep" I grabbed the "pitchfork top 50 singles of 2007" as a free
download. I kinda like the Shellac song--that is about it.
Fortunately, thanks to the Defense Department and Al Gore, a goodly
portion of the entire musical output of the 20th Century is readily
available for FREE so it isn't like I can't hear something "new"
everyday.
Bingo|12.29.07 @ 12:50PM|#
I want to boink MIA so bad.
Also I ended up liking Teddy Picker a lot more than Fluorescent
Adolescent for some reason... either way the Arctic Monkeys manage
to vocalize the bittersweet bar/club scene pretty well.
SpiderMatt|12.29.07 @ 12:53PM|#
In many ways, I think Wincing the Night Away was some of the best music produced by The Shins. To me, the band keeps getting better and better. I don't know that I would say the album is entirely better than their last, but I think the band is improving their style. Too bad you didn't like it. I had a hard time turning it off at the beginning of the year.
ThoseDamnKids!|12.29.07 @ 12:53PM|#
Reading the comments I don't feel so much like Rip van Winkle
after all.
Tuning into the local college radio stations is always fun as they
play mostly stuff from before they were born.
some music guy|12.29.07 @ 12:55PM|#
Best anarchist music of the year goes to _Against Me!_ and _New Wave_
Barry|12.29.07 @ 12:57PM|#
" but this one is an epic about racism in post-Katrina
America."
...lemmie guess; it's all whitey's fault?
|12.29.07 @ 1:02PM|#
30 years together and 2007 brings another new album of totally
original music...a concert tour that grosses Top25 of 2007...next
to no radio airplay...and a long history of being associated with
libertarian themes and general geekiness...how can RUSH not be on
the list?
;-)
dhex|12.29.07 @ 1:11PM|#
2007 was a good year for music, i think.
some highlights:
om - pilgrimage (despite steve albini's fucking
quietquietLOUDLOUDLOUDLOUD mix)
the orb - the dream (only out in japan, it's the orb doing a pop
album, and it has grown on me like yeast)
today is the day - axis of eden (metal that scares metalheads
because it's too weird = metal i like)
venetian snares - my downfall (cellos + breakcore =
yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaa)
not breathing - the black old pueblo
jesu put out pale sketches and lifeline, a nice look at really
early and really late material.
stars of the lid - and their refinement of the decline (this is
them at their best)
marumari is giving away his new ep on his website; it's remarkably
good.
does the release of the super roots series by boredoms via vice
records count? if they'd put out a recording of 77 drums that'd be
in there as well to be sure.
|12.29.07 @ 1:11PM|#
Gaijin - Honestly, by year's end I wasn't listening to Snakes and Ladders much, so it would have been unfair to bump it up.
dhex|12.29.07 @ 1:12PM|#
how can RUSH not be on the list?
because rush does more to discredit libertarianism than that
colloidal blue dude?
ZING!
|12.29.07 @ 1:23PM|#
because rush does more to discredit libertarianism than that
colloidal blue dude?
haha! the Papa Smurf guy...he'd make a great Santa Clause for a
blue xmas.
|12.29.07 @ 1:24PM|#
I have only heard of about 2 of those bands in those
lists.
Best anarchist music of the year goes to _Against Me!_ and _New
Wave_
That is the only album I bought this year. What is it about
anarchist that make such great music?
|12.29.07 @ 1:33PM|#
Does anyone think that "the best music of 2007"
is any good? Pick any year ending in "7" from the last century for
comparison. I'm an out o' touch ol' timer but in trying to stay
"hep" I grabbed the "pitchfork top 50 singles of 2007" as a free
download. I kinda like the Shellac song--that is about
it.
I don't know about 1967 - but do I need to remind you in 1966, the
band that sold the most albums was - not the Beatles, not the
Stones but - Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass?
90% of all pop music has always been shit. You just forget
the bad stuff when you get old and nostalgic.
Pig Mannix - Nostalgic Old Fart
|12.29.07 @ 1:44PM|#
Dave - shame, shame from this Rush fan. First of all, it's
"Snakes and Arrows" and secondly for giving up on it.
Porcupine Tree, however, is an excellent choice. Great band.
David (no not that one)|12.29.07 @ 2:01PM|#
I was listening to Fear of a Blank Planet just before I read
this post.
C'mon Dave, the lyrics aren't that bad.
Random thoughts: Fripp on Thrak, blech. Fripp on Discipline,
yum.
Still haven't heard Lifeson on Porcupine Tree.
Snakes and Arrows, great album, great concert. The disc is still my
current go-to music. The band I'm in is debating adding Far Cry to
our set list...
|12.29.07 @ 2:23PM|#
Pretty scary. Something that I actually agree with Weigel about.
PT has been one of my guilty pleasures for a couple of years now.
Lyrically, they always seem to be dicey. After all, they were the
guys that came up with a concept album about a serial killer - very
creepy. What's silliest to me is how much he whines about his
parents. Most 40 year olds have gotten over that by now.
But musically it's brilliant. His production is spotless and they
have the best damn heavy metal drummer I've heard in years. Ignore
the lyrics and crank it up.
Haven't heard much of of the others, but it may give me a reason to
try something out.
As for years ending in 7 - Sgt. Pepper came out in 67. 77 had the
Talking Heads debut, plus a lot of other good punk rock. 87 was the
year of the Joshua Tree. Not so bad really.
|12.29.07 @ 2:26PM|#
Neil Young's Live at Massey Hall was my favorite release in 2007, although that might be cheating since it was recorded in 1971.
|12.29.07 @ 2:39PM|#
Here's my list of 2007's best:
Down -- Over The Under
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAvFTGVJuAo
Ministry -- The Last Sucker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvmNeVOygfc
(Couldn't find a current music video of theirs, but who can argue
with a punk chick?)
Siouxsie Sioux -- Mantaray
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3CC0t66gd4
Best concert DVD: Heaven & Hell -- Live From Radio City Music
Hall
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_pbftZLA_s
Seems the older I get though, the less good MODERN music I can
find. lately, I find myself reaching back to the music I grew up
with, such as Black Sabbath, KISS, Bauhaus, Christian Death, Alice
Cooper & Mahogany Rush.
|12.29.07 @ 2:47PM|#
I saw Against Me with Mastodon once. Fucking lame, and all their
fans were 14-year-old suburban pseudopunks. They all walked out
before Mastodon came out and kicked ass. I never wanted to do so
much strangling in my life. Kids these days.
The best albums of 2007, in no particular order:
Arch Enemy - Rise of the Tyrant
Turbonegro - Retox
Queens of the Stone Age - Era Vulgaris
Ministry - The Last Sucker
High on Fire- Death Is This Communion
Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero
Municipal Waste - The Art of Partying
Vintersorg - Solens Rötter
|12.29.07 @ 2:49PM|#
I forgot Down - Over The Under.
Nice to see someone besides me here has discriminating taste.
|12.29.07 @ 3:07PM|#
(Couldn't find a current music video of theirs, but who can
argue with a punk chick?)
Not really a
video, but it's the best song on The Last Sucker. I love the
Lizard-Bush.
highnumber|12.29.07 @ 3:09PM|#
Glenn Mercer Wheels in Motion
Weigel, Balko, you two should be ashamed for missing that, not to
mention the Hives' Black and White Album.
Mr Balko, good call on the Mavis record. That's some powerful
stuff. Fogerty's and Ian Hunter's records were great, too. Did the
Arctic Monkey's new one come out this year? Best sophomore album
since The Libertines, maybe better. Maybe.
|12.29.07 @ 3:10PM|#
I nominate the new Anal Cunt album, Defenders of the
Hate. Check out this track listing:
1. "All Our Fans Are Gay" - 1:25
2. "Limp Bizkit Think They're Black, But They're Just Gay" -
0:45
3. "You Were Too Ugly to Rape, So I Just Beat the Shit Out of You"
- 0:57
4. "Hebosaurus" - 0:28
5. "Even Though Your Culture Oppresses Women, You Still Suck, You
Fucking Towelhead" - 1:06
6. "If You Don't Like the Village People, You're Fucking Gay" -
0:32
7. "Obviously Adopted" - 0:54
8. "Walker, Texas Corpse" - 1:31
9. "The Word "Homophobic" Is Gay" - 0:24
10. "You Converted to Judaism So A Guy Would Touch Your Dick" -
0:28
11. "Bonus Track #4" (Live) - 0:20
12. "You Quit Doing Heroin, You Pussy"
13. "Fred Shitbreath"
14. "Beating Up Hippies for Their Drugs at a Phish Concert"
15. "Anyone Who Likes The Dillinger Escape Plan is a Faggot"
16. "I'm Glad You Got Breast Cancer, Cunt"
17. "The South Won't Rise Again"
18. "I'm Glad Jazz Faggots Don't Like Us Anymore"
19. "Bonus Track #5"
20. "Ha Ha Holocaust"
21. "We're Not 'In Da House', You Fucking Wigger"
Track 5. I got chills. You pussy mother fuckers should get this.
It's the real shit.
Click \'n\' Learn|12.29.07 @ 3:57PM|#
This song is from last
year, and I guess that's the only reason it wasn't included.
Unfortunately, I'm going to have to reprimand comrades Balko and
Weigel for failing to note simple-minded songs that
support their shared simple-minded views.
But, seriously, for the grown-ups, this was released
this year.
There's also a lot of free stuff available here; see also the links page.
Stephen The Goldberger|12.29.07 @ 4:11PM|#
"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture." -
Elvis Costello
with that said
1. Modest Mouse - We were dead
2. Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
3. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
4. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
5. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
And I'll echo Dave's thoughts on LCD Soundsystem. I just don't get
why everyone loves them. Seems like mediocre dance/rock to me.
Thomas Paine\'s Goiter|12.29.07 @ 4:39PM|#
Can someone please end the awfulness that is KT Tunstall and Amy Winehouse?
|12.29.07 @ 4:44PM|#
Leaving off Snakes and Arrows is a pretty major oversight. Libertarianism aside, it's some great work, and proof that old guys can still put out great music.
|12.29.07 @ 4:48PM|#
Best concert? I think by historical and sheer RAWK standards,
hands down it has to be the Led Zeppelin reunion earlier this
month!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpB4jsu32Rg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv-lW7K66M0
|12.29.07 @ 4:50PM|#
Can someone please end the awfulness that is KT Tunstall and
Amy Winehouse?
I think Amy Winehouse is on track to take care of that herself.
|12.29.07 @ 5:10PM|#
That Sloan album is just painfully dull. I'm a fan of Twice Removed and One Chord To Another, but after trying 3 or 4 times to enjoy this one I deleted everything but "Can't You Figure It Out."
Jozef|12.29.07 @ 5:11PM|#
I surely hope I'm not the only one so out of touch that I didn't recognize a single artist, album or song on the list. But then again, I was most happy about a rare recording of Dvorak's Slavonic Dances I got for Christmas.
Principal Skinner|12.29.07 @ 5:17PM|#
Why, there are no children here at the four-H club, either! Am I so out of touch...? No, it's the children who are wrong.
The Wine Commonsewer|12.29.07 @ 5:19PM|#
Tuning into the local college radio stations is always fun
as they play mostly stuff from before they were born
I was surprised to find out that my 15 year old niece is totally
into the Beatles, The Doors, The Stones, and Clapton. Not just
passingly interested but passionately interested.
And, no, there isn't anything wrong with her. She's bright,
articulate, gorgeous, popular, and gets 40 text messages per day on
average (and she won't check her email).
The Wine Commonsewer|12.29.07 @ 5:23PM|#
I surely hope I'm not the only one so out of touch that I
didn't recognize a single artist, album or song on the
list
Well, your one of the few admitting to it. :-)
I am both more selective and less knowledgeable. I hear stuff I
like but have no idea who it is.
Plus time moves so rapidly...well, for instance, I still think
Three Doors Down is a new band. Hell, I still think the Pretenders
is a new band.
The Wine Commonsewer|12.29.07 @ 5:26PM|#
Amy Winehouse. Wow, finally an artist I've heard of. Mrs TWC
likes her stuff and although she seems bent on self destruction, I
think she's pretty talented.
Brandybuck, it is my prediction that within ten years the first
1000 parking spaces in front of every store in America will be
Handicapped parking for Boomers. Half will be empty at any given
time.
|12.29.07 @ 5:33PM|#
TWC-Your niece isn't unusual. I know a few younger folks that are into 60s/70 stuff. Perhaps that's because today's music sucks.
|12.29.07 @ 5:44PM|#
Indeed Captain Chaos.
My 16 year old son's taste in rock is decidedly 1970s, with some
nods to more recent proggish bands (Spock's Beard, for example).
He's also a saxophonist, so it's interspersed with jazz and big
band stuff. Mix it up good I say.
The technology-inspired fragmenting of the music industry is
responsible for both so many of us not knowing the music many
younger folks listen to AND for some of those young folks going
back to our music because it does represent a shared musical
culture that is now largely gone.
ThoseDamnKids!|12.29.07 @ 5:54PM|#
There were a few "geezer artists" on the Reasonoid list. I saw
Ian Hunter in concert when I was in HS. I had no idea he made a
record in 2007 (assuming it is the same Ian Hunter).
The best --new to me--recording I heard/obtained this year was
Little Richard's the Complete Specialty Sessions. Recorded well
before I was born, I have no idea when it was released as shiny
discs--but a nice high bitrate rip of the digital files should be
floating around the intartubes somewheres.
The Wine Commonsewer|12.29.07 @ 6:00PM|#
Cap'n C, Even though my kids like my music (and their own) it
was/is news to me that young people still like the old stuff.
That's cool. My folks hated rock and in theory it was banned from
our house. Yet, I have distinct memories of my Dad walking around
singing Blueberry Hill and Charlie Brown when I was a little
kid.
Steve, I used to play sax. Imagine this: I quit playing at age 20
because I couldn't see a musical future that included saxophones.
Doh.
Got that thing out a few years ago and I couldn't even make it
squawk.
|12.29.07 @ 6:09PM|#
What were the best releases that weren't compressed to
shit?
Fav track this year was probably the Carl Craig remix of Like A
Child by Junior Boys.
Grumpy asshole|12.29.07 @ 6:48PM|#
Balko and Weigel,
Keep pretending that your risible, execrable punditry on music
matters one fucking whit. Those of us with half an ear and a brain
will give your drivel all the treatment it deserves--a flush down
the puppy farm lavatory--and find better use of our precious time
and amusement elsewhere.
|12.29.07 @ 6:51PM|#
TWC:
My son is safe if your future comes about: he's picked up clarinet
and oboe just in case, and now he's dabbling on piano.
My 12 year old daughter plays flute and violin and now is turning
to bass. Look out Geddy Lee (or Tina Weymouth I guess).
I have not a musical performance bone in me but my basement looks
like the green room at some weird jazz festival.
ThoseDamnKids!|12.29.07 @ 7:01PM|#
Good Steve Albini quote on music from 2007
in response to this question:
Pro tools or logic? explain plz.
I don't use computers to make records. I use tape machines,
like nature intended. I use computers for correspondence,
arguments, poker and porn.
Chris|12.29.07 @ 7:11PM|#
Richard Thompson is the man. Saw him 3 times. Twice in '05, once in '07. Some of the best shows I've ever been to.
Dave W.|12.29.07 @ 7:28PM|#
LP of the year: New magnetic Wonder by The Apples In
Stereo
song of the year: "Almost ready" by Dinosaur Jr.
mia: The Hold Steady
disappointment of the year: ,i>Era Vulgaris by QOTSA
dpotts|12.29.07 @ 7:35PM|#
Absolutely no mention by anyone of Panda Bear's Person Pitch. Shameful. Noah Lennox comes on all Brian Wilson meets Basic Channel in Can's attic and nobody mentions it. Personally, I can't seem to turn that shit loud enough. Also a big fan of that Arcade Fire record and the new Okkervil River. As far as the beats go, Gui Boratto's Beautiful Life, and even though it came out at the end of '06, Silicone Soul's Save Our Souls pretty much hit the spot, too.
|12.29.07 @ 7:51PM|#
I was surprised to find out that my 15 year old niece is
totally into the Beatles, The Doors, The Stones, and Clapton. Not
just passingly interested but passionately interested.
I think I hit my lifetime quota on the Beatles about 15 years ago.
It's like fingernails on the chalkboard to me now. Can't we all
just agree that Paul Mcartney is a 3rd rate song writer and to stop
ecouraging him by buying his stuff?
Now that I'm in my 40's, I'm finding it harder and harder to find
new bands that I like. There are a few that I do like, Arctic
Monkeys, Silversun Pickups, Interpol, The Morning After, to name a
few. I knew very few of the bands listed above. Basically, if it
isn't on XM's Ethel, I probably won't hear it.
And I really do wish I could find more bands that I like, as I'm
getting tired of the stuff I already have and listen to. I'm just
about this far away from being burnt out on anything from the 70's.
It's getting hard to even listen to Costello any more. You can only
listen to the same songs so many times in one life. (Drawing an
exception to "What's so Funny About Peace, Love and
Understanding.")
Anyone else my age get a chuckle out of seeng young kids jam out to
Freebird on Guitar Hero?
Greg N.|12.29.07 @ 8:04PM|#
You guys (including commenters) should enter the "Top 07 of '07"
competition over at Burke's Landed Gentry. Winner gets a hard drive
loaded with nearly 30 gigs of pretty damn good music (and the odds
of winning are good; I won last year)
Link: http://www.burkeslandedgentry.blogspot.com/
Enjoy!
|12.29.07 @ 8:59PM|#
Jozef,
Nah, I don't have any idea who most of the people on the list are,
either.
I like (at the moment):
Meshuggah
Ghost Machine
Dead Can Dance
Roseland
Morbid Angel
Lisa Gerrard (solo work)
Motograter
Bulgarian Women's Choir
As a trained drummer I guess I tend toward more rhythm-oriented
stuff but I enjoy female vocalists as well.
Also, I suppose I'll never be one of the cool indie kids. When the
intellectuals start talking about music I politely excuse myself
and go write a song.
Tacos mmm...|12.29.07 @ 9:21PM|#
Re: Overpowered
I'm pretty sure that Roisin is singing "oxytoxin," not "oxytocin,"
allowing for a more interesting interpretation combining poison and
pleasure.
Brandybuck|12.29.07 @ 9:28PM|#
I have to confess. Although I publicly praise classic prog rock from the 70's, I do find myself gravitating towards house and trance, as they make excellent background music for programming by.
jpok|12.29.07 @ 10:21PM|#
gaijin,
I was going to mention Rush's Snake and Arrows as one of this
year's best. Glad to see you beat me to it. It's Rush's best in
decades too.
But my favorite from 2007 is Radiohead's 'In Rainbows.' It's very
beautiful.
|12.29.07 @ 10:26PM|#
Pick any year ending in "7" from the last century for
comparison
1987 was a dreadful year for music. One of the worst ever as I
remember it, even the few albums I did dig that year, like WIre
The Ideal Copy were actually released in late 1986.
1997, on the other hand, was a great year. Way better than this one
-Radiohead, Spiritualized, Missy Elliott, Chems and much
more.
Anyhoo, I'm glad to see that I wasn't the only one who really got
into that MIA disc. Also, the National.
|12.29.07 @ 11:22PM|#
TDK-
Pick any year ending in "7" from the last century for
comparison.
I was 13 in 1977- One of my favorite songs was this...
(Gratuitous Boz Scaggs link...)
But, the very best-est "7th-year" would surely be 1967...
Consider... The Beatles, Floyd, Hendrix, Stones, Kinks, Love,
J-plane, Mayall(w/Clapton), Traffic, Velvet U, Doors, Dylan, Small
Faces, Moody Blues, Buffalo Springfield, Cap'n Beefhart, Amboy
Dukes(Nugent), and Procol Harum--- all within
the top 30 albums!
(Don't forget... Aretha, Cream, The Who, the Byrds,
Yardbirds/Pre-'Zep'...)
The Wine Commonsewer|12.30.07 @ 12:56AM|#
Speaking of old.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMyeS1XRBb4&eurl
Ginger Baker looks like he just came off a gig for the Corpse Bride
and Jack Bruce looks like congestive heart failure waiting to
happen but the bass is dancing like the old days and I'm not sure
until half way thru the video that it's really Clapton, but then he
does the guitar thing and there's no question about it.
|12.30.07 @ 1:36AM|#
'just finished downloading the Anal Cunt CD. Nice vocals. I
recommend everyone go out and spend top dollar on the disc, just
like I did. thepiratebay.org has this one on sale right now for
free ninety five.
(I actually used to own an Anal Cunt CD - purchased and
everything)
Guy Montag|12.30.07 @ 6:00AM|#
'Popular' music has been going down hill since the failure to follow up "Rock Candy" by the Frigs. General Motors has done a nice try at reviving them, but it does not seem to be getting any traction.
|12.30.07 @ 6:25AM|#
we is old. dam, we is old.
No need to remind us, TWC. It's becoming painfully clear as year
year rolls by. Just turned 42 last month!
I distinctly remember the moment I wasn't YOUNG anymore: I was
listening to KLOS radio when they announced that they would play
Dio's "Last In Line" album in it's entirety on a "classic albums"
show. I thought "Christ almighty. Music from my early 20's is now
considered classic!"
Of course, I write this at 3:35 am because the older I get, the
more I seem to suffer from insomnia.
20-something Hipster|12.30.07 @ 6:38AM|#
My top 10...
The National - Boxer
Stars - In Our Bedroom After the War
Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond
Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Elliott Smith - New Moon
Feist - The Reminder
The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna Are You the Destroyer
A Place to Bury Strangers - A Place to Bury Strangers
Thurston Moore - Trees Outside the Academy
20-something Hipster|12.30.07 @ 6:39AM|#
And I too agree that LCD Soundsystem is pretty overrated. I just haven't been able to get into them, and I like electronica. Similar case with Animal Collective.
Guy Montag|12.30.07 @ 7:13AM|#
Is everybody else (including the staff) at Church this morning or something?
ed|12.30.07 @ 8:10AM|#
90% of all pop music has always been shit
That's charitable. I'd say closer to 98%, but the remaining 2% is
thousands upon thousands of interesting and sometimes even great
songs. The list above reads like a review from another planet to
me, but I concur with the dissing of Fountains of Wayne's latest
recycling of every hook and trick from their previous efforts. By
track 4 you're looking for knitting needles to plunge into your
ears.
|12.30.07 @ 10:21AM|#
vault_dog4 | December 29, 2007, 12:43pm | #
If I really want to be a good libertarian, does that mean I have to
listen to that crappy unheard of music too?
I mean, I can make a good argument against seat belt laws and
drinking and driving, but I'm not sure I can handle
this...
AMEN to that. Have any of you people even fricking heard of Johann,
Wolfgang, or Ludwig Van?
Do you think anybody will have heard of any of this in 2057?
|12.30.07 @ 11:08AM|#
My Best Movies of 2007, in no real order:
1. Amazing Grace
2. The Namesake
3. The Wind that Shakes the Barley
4. Blades of Glory
5. Year of the Dog
6. Away From Her
7. Paris je t'aime
8. A Mighty Heart
9. Rescue Dawn
10. Moliere
11. SuperBad
12. Eastern Promises
13. Into the Wild
14. Darjleeing Limited
15. Michael Clayton
16. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
17. No Country for Old Men
18. Charlie Wilson's War
19. Black Book
20. Hot Rod
ed|12.30.07 @ 11:14AM|#
Have any of you people even fricking heard of Johann,
Wolfgang, or Ludwig Van?
Sure. I can play entire Beethoven symphonies in my head. But they
don't exactly qualify as "pop", do they? Pop by definition appeals
to the masses and isn't expected to last more than a year or, these
days, a week. Oddly, or perhaps inevitably, the communications
revolution has made pop music more disposable than ever. It is now
a commodity with the shelf life of a Q-Tip.
Guy Montag|12.30.07 @ 11:19AM|#
Warren,
Have any of you people even fricking heard of Johann, Wolfgang,
or Ludwig Van?
It is almost time for a remake of A Clockwork Orange and
LVB's 5th. Perhaps Lennie Kravitz can do "Rollover Beetoven" this
time?
NicK|12.30.07 @ 11:59AM|#
Quick note on the Porcupine Tree album.
The lyrics are from a 10 year old kid's point of view. It has
nothing to do with Steven Wilson's parents !!
The Wine Commonsewer|12.30.07 @ 12:22PM|#
42! Gene, one thing that marks time for you nicely is watching
your kids grow. Your girl has gotta dang near be in college by now.
That'll make you feel old.
I was complaining about feeling old the other day to my dad and he
responded by saying you think you feel old? How do you think I
feel? I've got a son your age!
|12.30.07 @ 12:32PM|#
TWC....the girl will turn 22 in April, has a full time job doing admin work for a manufacturing company and moved out of home about 8 months ago.
The Wine Commonsewer|12.30.07 @ 1:16PM|#
Thunk. That's me, Gene, falling outta my chair and hitting my head on the floor. 22?
rho|12.30.07 @ 1:34PM|#
I've never heard of any of these bands either. Of course, nobody
will have heard of these bands in a year or so anyway. Modern bands
are less cohesive than JPod and Mohommed in a blender (and what a
great idea).
There is a newsletter that goes out to hipsters that keeps them up
on the music scene. That's assuming these are not just jokes. Were
I a music reviewer I'd be hard pressed to not make shit up.
"The Gristling Slicepunchers have a new-folk sandpapery
sound with subtle dulcet overtones like Liquid-Plumr in a French
tickler."
Music reviewers would rather eat their own cocks than review
something that even smells like mainstream.
|12.30.07 @ 1:55PM|#
First, there was the stuff that was far and away better than it
ought to have been:
Lucky Soul - The Great Unwanted
Various Artists - After Dark (Italians Do It Better)
Electrelane - No Shouts, No Calls
Then, there was the stuff that was about as good as expected:
El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead
Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity
Battles - Mirrored
Then, there were the ones that were actually a tiny bit beneath
what I'd expected of them:
Future of the Left - Curses
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Queens of the Stone Age - Era Vulgaris
Finally, the stuff where it's impossible to guage how good it was
because by the time I heard it, I had already read too much
spurious praise. I enjoyed these two in spite of that:
Justice - +
Liars - Liars
|12.30.07 @ 1:58PM|#
15. Michael Clayton...
18. Charlie Wilson's War
Any movie where either the main protagonist or hero is a lawyer or
a politician is automatically excluded from any "best of."
|12.30.07 @ 2:05PM|#
TWC.
Yes. It seems like yesterday she was just a wee thing and playing
with sparklers in your backyard during one of your past July 4th
gatherings!
dhex|12.30.07 @ 2:29PM|#
Do you think anybody will have heard of any of this in
2057?
maybe. who knows?
alls i knows is whats sounds goods. n' stuff.
Music reviewers would rather eat their own cocks than review
something that even smells like mainstream.
this may be true in some cases.
alternate explanation: sometimes people like stuff that's not on
mtv!
gasp!
seriously, how else do you find out about new music?
|12.30.07 @ 3:25PM|#
seriously, how else do you find out about new
music?
More than a few times I bought random CDs in countries other than
my country of origin (in person, in a store). I couldn't even read
the packaging!
Nowadays I find a lot of random stuff on the Internet. If I like it
I pursue it.
What I don't do is hang out with my hipster friends and find out
what band they like at the moment, because as soon as more than
five people know about said band it becomes "mainstream" commercial
pap and unfit for gourmet consumption.
Also, it seems to me that sometimes people are more interested in
discussing the ideas put forth by music (assuming there are any)
than in appreciating musicianship. In my experience people who
intellectualize music (dancing about architecture? More like
shitting about architecture) are oblivious to the actual playing of
the instruments and how much work and talent it takes to learn how
to play a musical instrument well. The way some people discuss
music enhances the intellectual aspect of music while gutting its
emotional impact.
|12.30.07 @ 3:39PM|#
alternate explanation: sometimes people like stuff that's not on
mtv!
MTV plays music? But frankly, I'm too busy trying to make money
than have time for new music. How about your best stock picks of
2007? After all, we're libertarians - we like to make money, right?
I'll put Juniper (JNPR) and Activision (ATVI) as two of mine..
|12.30.07 @ 3:41PM|#
not even a mention of Beirut's flying club cup? seriously? you
guys make me sick.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq2s0AhdFE4
Ken|12.30.07 @ 4:09PM|#
Always amusing to see people take such garbage music so very
seriously.
Why Do So
Many Smart People Listen to Such Terrible Music?
|12.30.07 @ 5:07PM|#
how else do you find out about new music?
Winamp + Shoutcast + "Search". And for
listening to new things when I'm away from the computer, Shoutcast
+ Streamripper.
|12.30.07 @ 5:11PM|#
Ha-ha! I get to be the one to introduce the "R" word here
...
Best Album of 2007: Radiohead - In Rainbows
Close as hell, might as well be a tie second...
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Guy Montag|12.30.07 @ 5:28PM|#
JW,
Any movie where either the main protagonist or hero is a lawyer
or a politician is automatically excluded from any "best
of."
Am I missing domething here? Rep. Wilson was a House member, but I
do not recall him or any of the main charicters having ever been
lawyers.
I could be missing some info, just have not heard it yet.
ben|12.30.07 @ 6:06PM|#
Are Libertarians only allowed to listen to crappy rock and pop
music?
What about the most libertarian music of all: hip hop.
SIV|12.30.07 @ 6:18PM|#
From Ken's link:
It's a shame when people reject the best traditions and practices
of the world's most talented, artists, in favor of music that is
the most amateurish and least sophisticated.
Mickie Willis
What a fuckin' tool ! He is a degreed "professional" too . "Public
sector" employee , natch.
Ken|12.30.07 @ 7:23PM|#
SIV quoted the following from the article "Why Do So Many Smart
People Listen to Such Terrible Music?":
It's a shame when people reject the best traditions and practices
of the world's most talented, artists, in favor of music that is
the most amateurish and least sophisticated.
True statement, SIV. What's the problem?
SIV|12.30.07 @ 7:59PM|#
Ken,
The author is an elitist snob in regard to both people and
music.His essay is a condescending whine about how people, who
should know better, reject educated professionals such as himself
for "primitive" music played by "amateurs".
Those who can do, those who can't are the Director of Music and
Education Programs for the Louisiana Division of the
Arts.
I repeat this guy is a fucking tool.
We encountered a lot of gritty, funky, down-home, barroom music
- Cajun, zyedeco, blues, honky-tonk music of various sorts - day in
and day out. We practically couldn't escape it. But it held no
glamour or mystique or kitsch appeal. To us, it just seemed to
typify what became of musicians who didn't have the talent,
initiative, or opportunity to do better. These days, however, with
the overwhelming media domination of popular music and culture,
these musicians are the successes. Touted by NPR, and fueled by
misguided, affluent adults who can do better - in terms of their
listening habits - but, because of whatever combination of personal
inadequacies, psychological needs, or naive romanticism for what
they evidently consider the direct and "honest" expressions of
uncultivated traditions, don't, exert their economic influence and
contribute to the proliferation of sorry music that fills our
world.
I bet he thinks there are students and teachers at LSU who are far
better musicians than Jerry Lee Lewis.
|12.30.07 @ 8:07PM|#
What a fuckin' tool ! He is a degreed "professional" too .
"Public sector" employee , natch.
ZOMG, THERE ARE GUITARS INVOLVED! THAT CAN ONLY MEAN IT'S PABULUM
BEING SPOON-FED TO THE LUMPEN PROLETARIAT!
The author is an elitist snob in regard to both people and
music.His essay is a condescending whine about how people, who
should know better, reject educated professionals such as himself
for "primitive" music played by "amateurs".
Yep.
|12.30.07 @ 8:11PM|#
Good to see Josh Ritter, M.I.A., and I'm From Barcelona. And the
Chocolate Rain mention gave me a good laugh, but in a good
way.
It's silly to say that you want them to write about music you've
"heard of". What does that even mean? Billboard charts? A
personalized list?
Here's a good blog to hear more new music:
www.iguessimfloating.blogspot.com
|12.30.07 @ 8:50PM|#
I'm going to pretend I never read that Willis essay . . . he makes me utterly sick. He's worse than any hipster I've ever encountered. Ever.
NP|12.30.07 @ 9:54PM|#
Warren,
Have any of you people even fricking heard of Johann, Wolfgang,
or Ludwig Van?
Do you think anybody will have heard of any of this in
2057?
Good point. My rule of thumb is that I just listen to whatever damn
pleases me at the moment, but no one is going to replace the "Big
3."
Speaking of classical music, check out the
fantastic new CD by the French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky.
Not the biggest voice you'll hear, but the sheer virtuosity is
simply mind-boggling. (For even more fireworks check out his
earlier CDs, or this video.)
Finally for world music fans: run to grab Andy Palacio's
latest album Wátina. I tell you, I'll be stunned if this
doesn't win the Grammy for Best World Music Album come 2008.
|12.30.07 @ 11:22PM|#
The way some people discuss music enhances the intellectual
aspect of music while gutting its emotional impact.
Funny, for me it's often the other way around; it is rarely worth
it to me discussing the intellectual aspect of music unless I've
already been punched in the gut by its emotional impact. From that
point on, I'm usually just trying to articulate what it was that so
affected me. The very inadequacy of that pursuit ensures that
nothing gets gutted.
The Wine Commonsewer|12.30.07 @ 11:26PM|#
Easy to throw rocks at other people's tastes, especially when
they listen to disco or hip hop. :-) [turns and barfs]
Music is like women, some is obviously and universally great. But
mostly there is no accounting for taste.
SIV|12.30.07 @ 11:29PM|#
My favorite "Oldies radio show" Personality Crisis on WREK just played The Ramones It's Alive which was recorded 30 years ago tomorrow night. I am so old.
SxCx|12.31.07 @ 1:21AM|#
A pick to divide libertarians: Big Business - Head For The
Shallow.
And Retox is Turbo's best showing since Apocalypse Dudes.
SxCx|12.31.07 @ 1:22AM|#
Oh fuck, that was their first record. I've been revisiting it after playing the shit out of their 2007 release, Here Come The Waterworks.
SxCx|12.31.07 @ 1:27AM|#
To address the lack of hip hop: anyone heard the new Ghostface Killah? He thought up the album title while lapsing out of sleep.
Ken|12.31.07 @ 1:59AM|#
Warren wrote:
"Have any of you people even fricking heard of Johann, Wolfgang, or
Ludwig Van?"
Granting that this is a thread on pop music, I am with you on this,
Warren. Thus my curmudgeonly
post from earlier today. And after those three we could also
ask about Franz Josef, Richard, Franz, Georg Friderich, Felix and
on and on. These fellows along with some others created the
greatest music in the history of the planet but they have never and
will never appeal to the masses.
Warren also wrote:
"Do you think anybody will have heard of any of this in
2057?"
In 2057, yes...just as there are plenty of people today who listen
to the popular music of 1957. Of course most of these folks are in
their 50s and 60s, grew up with this music and kept it in their
lives thus keeping the music itself alive.
But in 2107, no...just as no one today is listening to or cares
about the pop music of 1907...even if it were readily available, no
one would listen to it.
And so it will be with contemporary pop music...some of it will be
around in 50 years because the folks listening to it now will be
around. But 50 years later...no dice.
The Wine Commonsewer|12.31.07 @ 2:05AM|#
It seems like yesterday she was just a wee thing and playing
with sparklers in your backyard during one of your past July 4th
gatherings!
Ahh, Gene, the now defunct 4th of July Bashes. We did the last one
in 2002 or 2003. Pretty sure you came to the last one ever. That
was the one where all the girls danced in a circle to the
Monkees.
They were a lot of fun. I think Nick was at the sparkler one, which
was when King George the I was prez (was that when we did the North
Carolina Chop BBQ?). Hell, it all runs together anymore.
Keep thinking we'll do one again but maybe time has slipped and
moved on.
Big Sigh
The Wine Commonsewer|12.31.07 @ 2:07AM|#
And for the record, the very first commercial tune ever was called After the Ball is Over. No recordings, sheet music only.
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herodotus|12.31.07 @ 2:56AM|#
"I bet he thinks there are students and teachers at LSU who
are far better musicians than Jerry Lee Lewis."
Well, in the sense that they can play anything that Jerry Lee Lewis
could have played, while being able to play things that Jerry Lee
Lewis could not have played, they are right.
But most people don't give a shit about that.
Most people are populists when it comes to music, whatever their
political beliefs.
But of course that has nothing to do with the fact that these
people KNOW ALMOST NOTHING ABOUT MUSIC.
No, that has NOTHING to do with it.
But in any case, everyone's dumb ass musical favorites are well
protected by rock journalist created cocoons of musical
ignorance.
Worry not, O musical plebeians, you SHALL inherit the earth.
Sean Kinsell|12.31.07 @ 3:20AM|#
"I don't like to bitch about this or that musician not getting
the fame they deserve, but I don't understand how Roisin Murphy
hasn't broken through stateside."
Well, she doesn't seem to be much into the self-promotion game.
(Not that I think that makes her pure and noble--there's nothing
wrong with wanting an audience.) Even here in Japan, where it
usually seems anyone who can come up with some catchy dance music
and high-design videos will be set for life, I know plenty of other
gay disco fans who haven't even heard of the new album--even those
who remember her from Moloko or Ruby Blue. Maybe she'll do
a higher-profile tour once her stage injury heals?
Anyway, yeah, great album.
ed|12.31.07 @ 6:56AM|#
no one today is listening to or cares about the pop music of
1907
That would be ragtime, and I both listen to it and play it for
pleasure.
The predecessor to jazz still has its fans.
|12.31.07 @ 7:56AM|#
Reason has degenerated into a dopey, pop-music rag. What next, a bunch of fourteen year old girls as contributing editors for Reason? Geesh!
Guy Montag|12.31.07 @ 8:30AM|#
JW,
Guy--Michael Clayton. Clooney plays a lawyer.
I was not commenting on that movie, I was commenting on Charlie
Wilson's War. BTW, great film.
Guy Montag|12.31.07 @ 8:37AM|#
wayne,
If they did that then they would have to compete directly
with TNR, espically now that Franklin Foer has decided to
try out the anti-war tack.
This list has no Mojo Nixon, thus it needs more fixin'. Needs more
cowbell too.
NP|12.31.07 @ 8:45AM|#
Ken,
Music, of all genres (well, most), is the single great love of my
life, and your screw-that-trash attitude towards pop music is an
issue I encounter and think about often, so I thought I'd provide a
detailed (and hopefully constructive) critique of your last
comment(s). (And Warren, feel free to chime in if you're inclined
or interested.)
First of all, I think you, like most classical buffs, don't
understand the virtues (if I can call 'em that) of popular music.
You're right that the great dead white males (but, alas, no females
thus far--sorry gals) of the past have left us with timeless music
that will never appeal to--let alone be understood by--the masses.
I think it's safe to say that even if everyone in the world had
compulsory musical ed (of the usual kind, not courses in, say, the
societal ramifications of trance and hip-hop), only a select few
would truly understand and appreciate, to use a few famous
examples, Bach's St. Matthew Passion and Chaconne, or
Beethoven's late piano sonatas and string quartets. Which is fine,
because that's the way it's supposed to be. So far we're in
agreement.
But--and this is an important but--the mistake you and
many others make is to judge popular music by the same standards
you apply to classical or (to use a term I dislike) "serious"
music. Almost all popular (save jazz) musicians have little if any
formal musical training, and even those are classically trained
often turn to pop, some because they're not among the most gifted
who can make it to the top, others because they simply find it more
appealing. And they find pop more appealing because it is
cruder and less sophisticated than classical music. With
Britney Spears or even the Beatles you're not gonna get a whole lot
of counterpoint, modes, high Cs or lengthy melismas, and this is a
side of popular music that appeals to many listeners.
That's all good, you say, but there are many classical works that
are downright catchy and don't require a nanosecond of musical
training to enjoy. Why don't people prefer these works to the
current Top 100 jingles? And you know what? They do. I'm willing to
bet that, in terms of numbers, Beethoven's Fifth, Mozart's Turkish
March (actually it's a rondo, but I digress) or The
Nutcracker in fact have a larger audience than all but the
biggest chart-toppers right now, and if not now they will
eventually, years after the current bunch of hits make room for the
next. (BTW, this exposes the claim that classical music is dying as
the nonsense it is.) So there must be something besides its
simplicity and accessibility that make popular music
popular.
And now we come to the most important point: Pop is not just about
music; it's about culture. People don't listen to the Sex
Pistols for intellectual rewards or even great tunes, because there
isn't any; they listen to the Pistols to feel what it is like to be
the most nihilistic, impolite brat in the world without becoming
one themselves. Likewise, no (informed) one who listens to Eminem
thinks he really means what he says (well, most of it); they listen
because they know and appreciate his lyrics will offend the prudes
and puritans who will miss their funny yet dark social
commentaries. Sure, catchy melodies and beats help, but stripped of
its cultural underpinnings pop music would greatly lose its power
and value. This is why pop/rock criticism is a lot more fun and
interesting to read than mostly boring classical books and reviews,
though I admit that I myself read more of the latter than the
former. (And it's also why I can't stand Radiohead and their ilk
who think their music a lot more than it is, though I have to say
RH do serve pretty nicely at cocktail parties.)
So let me wrap this up. It is, again, simply wrong to apply the
same standards to pop that you would to its classical counterpart.
People listen to pop because it is democratic, not
necessarily because they find it musically superior to the great
masterpieces from the past (though some clueless listeners do). And
I think this is a state of affair that we libertarians, even
classical diehards like you and myself, should celebrate. I hope
you agree and, if not, at least give credit where and when it's
due.
Peter T.|12.31.07 @ 9:25AM|#
I agree that The Fratellis, "Costello Music" was the best album
of the year. Their concert DVD was also terrific.
The best music DVD was by a band that few in the US or Europe have
ever heard of: Weddings Parties Anything's "A Long Time Between
Drinks". Think The Pogues meet Richard Thompson, in a crowded bar,
with everything to prove. You won't be disappointed.
Sean|12.31.07 @ 9:41AM|#
Wow, Reason is chock full O' Hipsters, eh?
No mention of Bad Religion's "New Maps of Hell"... I'm ashamed of
you!
Guy Montag|12.31.07 @ 10:12AM|#
Was Christina Agulara's remake of Bette Middler's remake of the
Andrews Sister's "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" this year or last
year?
I love the video.
VM|12.31.07 @ 10:58AM|#
Sean-
their concert was fantastic, as usual. The Briggs was a great
opening act, too.
|12.31.07 @ 11:05AM|#
Balko, already a personal hero of mine, is a Joe Henry fan?
Awesome!
My first-born has been named: Balko de stijl has quite a ring to
it.
|12.31.07 @ 12:14PM|#
This is awesome... The next time I go to a show and feel old because I'm surrounded by a bunch of 18-year-olds, I can re-read some of these curmudgeonly comments and feel young again! For crying out loud, people, my 49-year-old mom (who raised me on the likes of Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, Robin Trower, etc.) enjoys contemporary bands such as Spoon, the New Pornographers and Wilco and she could care less about seeming hip or cool. If you've really taken the time to listen to a wide variety of today's music and still don't like it, fine. But stop with the "real music ended when I turned thirty" crap. You think your music was really so great? I've got three words for you: Starland Vocal Band.
highnumber|12.31.07 @ 12:31PM|#
These comments have settled it. I will stop listening to
classical music. It really does turn you into a fuddy-duddy
stick-in-the-mud snob.
At least jazz fans know how to have a good time.
Ken|12.31.07 @ 12:49PM|#
Dan wrote:
At least jazz fans know how to have a good time.
Yeah, it's all about having a good time, all the time, right?
Music Major|12.31.07 @ 1:10PM|#
Well, in the sense that they can play anything that Jerry Lee Lewis
could have played, while being able to play things that Jerry Lee
Lewis could not have played, they are right.
Yeah, every piano major can run through the Jerry Lee repetoire
duplicating the style to a "T".
Most of us learned that country blues, boogie-woogie, whorehouse
rock n roll stuff when we were 8 or 9 from that old lady who played
at church and taught the neighborhood piano lesons.I hated having
to keep practicing playing with my feet.
|12.31.07 @ 1:22PM|#
Best album of the year: The Klaxons...they only have one album
and I don't do album names.
By the way i totally called it that Weigle is a hipster.
Ken|12.31.07 @ 1:22PM|#
NP:
Thank you for your intelligent, knowledgeable and reasonable
response.
This may shock the heck out of you, but I agree with just about
everything you wrote.
First, let me respond specifically to some of your
statements:
First of all, I think you, like most classical buffs, don't
understand the virtues (if I can call 'em that) of popular
music.
I grew up with virtually no exposure to classical music, listened
exclusively to rock music, got in my first rock band at the age of
15 and played in bands, on and off, for the next 20 years. (For a
number of those years I studied music, composition specifically, in
college. So I am one of those who came to classical AFTER {and
during} my experience with rock music.) My point here is that I
"get" rock music.
But--and this is an important but--the mistake you and many
others make is to judge popular music by the same standards you
apply to classical or (to use a term I dislike) "serious"
music.
I am glad you brought that up…and I agree with you completely. For
one to use the same standards that apply to classical music to
judge popular music would be like a gourmet using their standards
of fine dining to judge McDonald's. In the same way McDonald's
serves a FUNCTION, a function quite different than a 3-star
restaurant, so does popular music serve a different function than
classical…I recognize that fully. (One problem I have is that most
folks don't.) As such, I am not going to criticize any of the bands
named on this page for not producing music on the level of
Palestrina or Haydn or Stravinsky or Corigliano.
Sure, catchy melodies and beats help, but stripped of its
cultural underpinnings pop music would greatly lose its power and
value.
There was a time when "cultural underpinnings" were mostly
irrelevant in regard to the power and value of popular music. Good
popular music had some MUSICAL value. In short, popular music
started going downhill MUSICALLY when it started taking itself
seriously and "making a statement".
…it's also why I can't stand Radiohead and their ilk who think
their music a lot more than it is…
Amen to that!
Now let me explain something: my original "beef" here wasn't about
popular music per se…it was more along the lines of this post by
Wayne:
Reason has degenerated into a dopey, pop-music rag. What next,
a bunch of fourteen year old girls as contributing editors for
Reason? Geesh!
As such I purposely played provocateur and posted:
Always amusing to see people take such garbage music so very
seriously.
What I should have posted is:
Popular music is (or can be) fun and enjoyable and all but it
really doesn't warrant this type of attention and discussion. It's
musical fast food; consume it and enjoy it but see it for what it
is. And why is an excellent magazine like this wasting time and
space on this subject?
Thanks again for your post NP.
Ken
Ken|12.31.07 @ 1:24PM|#
Correction RE: my post from December 31, 2007, 12:49pm:
"Dan" should be "highnumber".
Sorry about that
Platinum Blond|12.31.07 @ 1:42PM|#
Ah, so reason has drunk the M.I.A. Kool Aid as well, eh? I gots news for y'all: She sucks.
Pop Fan|12.31.07 @ 1:45PM|#
Classical music was OK back in the day when it was,uh, popular
music.Many people today appreciate hearing the "oldies" sometimes.
There have been some excellent classical music cover bands--usually
using the not-so-original name of whatever city they hail
from.
Today the best part of the music is ritual and reenactment.
"Modern" or "Contemporary" composers don't put butts in seats, or
move any records.
Classical and academic music is welfare music.
That is why it is usually heard on tax-payer funded public radio
stations. Pro sports franchises are envious of the percentage of
revenue classical bands and music halls rake in from Fed State and
local government compared to their lowly tax funded/subsidized
stadiums.
The arrogance, elitism and snobbery of you welfare sucking,
"serious musicians" is comical. Yeah we don't listen to the stuff
you wrote for your master's degree because the media tells us that
crap music is better and we are too dumb to understand what is
truly great.
May be the reason we don't appreciate your music (outside of cover
versions of the "hits") and why it wouldn't exist as anything more
than a hobby without Statist Subsidy, is because it really isn't
that good at all.
highnumber|12.31.07 @ 1:50PM|#
Ken,
No, not that it's all about having a good time, you fuddy-duddy. It
is that jazz fans, at least, have that. You, you stick-in-the-mud,
do not even have that. I would pity you if it were in my nature. It
is not, so I will simply avoid you.
R C Dean|12.31.07 @ 2:46PM|#
I was commenting on Charlie Wilson's War. BTW, great
film.
I thought it was kind of a mess. But I am also in the apparent
minority that finds Julia Roberts almost unwatchable in any
role.
De gustibus, etc.
|12.31.07 @ 2:49PM|#
-sigh- Pop Fan, you're making us "popular" music fans look bad.
Though you get points for making your rant sound like a Colbert
one, hehe.
I can see where you're coming from though, I think the treatment of
"popular" music by some of the commenters is a bit unfair. Rock,
pop, and hip-hop can all have value, but value that is different
from classical music. It's not always "fast food", though plenty of
it is.
People like to express themselves through sound, and the various
genres that are out there are just testimony to the range of human
creativity. It similar to saying that Renaissance art is better
than dadaism. Who says? Now if you prefer one to the other, that's
a personal choice.
DJ Voton|12.31.07 @ 5:50PM|#
"The Gristling Slicepunchers have a new-folk sandpapery
sound with subtle dulcet overtones like Liquid-Plumr in a French
tickler."
LOL! You just can't parody pop music criticism, can you? No matter
how over the top it is, it sounds real.
Do you think anybody will have heard of any of this in
2057?
Popular music is more ephemeral than yesterday's newspaper. It's
not written for the ages. If it survives for fifty years, it won't
be because the composers or performers intended it to.
highnumber|12.31.07 @ 6:52PM|#
Any self-important asshole who creates anything with the
intention that their work lasts through the ages deserves to be
forgotten instantly if they ever do get noticed.
Of course, if they don't think of their work in that manner,
they're worthless too.
And in either case, the opposite holds true as well.
NP|12.31.07 @ 7:28PM|#
highnumber,
I'll assume that you were just temporarily in a rather sour mood
when you posted that last comment, because by your standard
any music deserves to be forgotten. Let me ask you one
thing, though. You keep bringing up jazz as the model of good but
unpretentious musical entertainment. Do you really think Cecil
Taylor or late-period Coltrane is as much "fun" as, say, Justin
Timberlake? No, of course not. They wanted to create something
"higher" (to use a term you'll most likely hate), and I don't think
any objective listener will say all their music is self-important
drivel. (For the record, I do think Coltrane in his later period
went a little too far, but his stuff up till the legendary Village
Vanguard sessions is damn good music.)
SIV|12.31.07 @ 9:25PM|#
Forget any negative opinions I might have expressed re "serious music" under this or any other names....Renee Fleming is on the TeeVee, if she were a single gal I'd hit that shit until I broke it off.
NP|12.31.07 @ 9:43PM|#
Ken,
I'm glad you liked and took the time to respond to my last post.
(BTW, I'll also assume that you had a temporary fit of insanity
when you put Corigliano in the same sentence with Palestrina, Haydn
and Stravinsky. Well, at least you didn't mention Philip Glass...)
Let me add one last comment before the New Year celebration kicks
in.
It's good to see that you do "get" and enjoy pop/rock music, but I
gotta say you still give it less credit than it's due. As I said,
pop often has more to do with culture or personality than with
music per se, and as such it should be taken seriously. I
don't think any of the comments here (at least none I've seen so
far) have suggested that M.I.A. or Rufus Wainwright offers the same
spiritual depth as Mozart's Requiem, or the same level of
sophistication as any of his serenades, for that matter. They and
other artists/bands, besides providing entertainment, tell the
cultural trends of our time, and it would be a great mistake for
magazines like Reason not to devote time and space to this
subject.
You also objected that the pop artists, in all their brass and
arrogance, often make a "statement." I find that annoying as much
as you do, but I don't see how anyone who deals with lyrics can
avoid that. Now of course some do wear their self-importance on
their sleeve (Radiohead, again), and these clowns deserve all the
contempt we throw at their face. But others can make a statement
and not come off as grandiloquent half-wits, even when their words
and attitude suggest an unmitigated itch for chaos and rebellion.
And it is this ability to make a statement but also not take
themselves too seriously that informs the best of rock'n'roll
(again the Sex Pistols are my favorite example), and for which we
listen to and enjoy it.
One more thing. You said in your earlier post that any of the bands
currently in vogue may be listened to 50 years from now by the old
generations, but will be forgotten a century later after those
generations are gone. I don't think that's quite true. Sure, most
will be mere relics of the past, but I think the very best tunes
will survive.
Take the famous old Portuguese theme "La Folia," for example. It's
a short, charming tune, but also very simple and, dare I say it,
unsophisticated--much like pop music, in fact. But the tune has
lived on, as you know, having been used (or should I say recycled?)
by all the bigwigs from Ortiz in the 15th century through Corelli
and Marais (my favorite) during the Baroque up till today's
Vangelis. And we have many other examples of old tunes still with
us: the last of the Goldberg Variations (based on German
folk songs), the countless arrangements/transcriptions of
"Greensleeves," and, last but not least, the good ol' Christmas
carols. If these tunes have survived for so long I don't see why
today's most popular tunes can't do the same.
Now you may counter that these tunes are either traditional or folk
music, so it's wrong to compare them with today's pop songs. And I
say: The great hits of our time, given their popularity with the
folks, are folk songs in all but name, and they
will be traditional a century or two from now. Try this:
Take the most popular musicians of the 20th century--Sinatra,
Elvis, the Beatles, Michael Jackson and Madonna--and compare them
with, say, most of the New Wave one-hit wonders from the '80s.
Which side comes out ahead? Talk about a rhetorical question. These
guys (and gals) didn't get all those ridiculous sales figures for
nothing. Great tunes live on regardless of their genre,
and I'm willing to bet that their (and others') best songs, if not
necessarily in their original form, will still be heard and enjoyed
many years from now.
Hope I've provided some food for thought. Enjoy and Happy New
Year.
NP|12.31.07 @ 9:47PM|#
SIV,
As an admirer of Fleming's myself, I must say I find your last
comment rather disturbing, to say the least.
|12.31.07 @ 10:25PM|#
But I am also in the apparent minority that finds Julia
Roberts almost unwatchable in any role.
I'm right there with you RC. Gwyneth Paltrow is another in that
vein.
|12.31.07 @ 10:43PM|#
Classical and academic music is welfare music. That is why
it is usually heard on tax-payer funded public radio
stations.
Pssst. Satellite radio has over a half dozen channels devoted to
classical and opera.
Until Bonneville pulled the plug on WGMS here in DC, it was one of
the more successful for-profit stations in DC. WETA, at the left of
the dial, which was also a classical music station, actually dumped
their classical programming because of WGMS. Unfortunately,
Bonneville thought that very valuable frequency that WGMS and the
50K watt transmitter it occupied would be more profitable with an
all-news format on FM. It moved WGMS to another frequency with a
less powerful transmitter. Now, WETA has classical back.
You can thank the FCC and the National Association of Broadcasters,
clinging to their obsolete and discredited scarcity business model,
for that formula for "success." Which is why I left FM radio far
behind for satellite radio and MP3s. Fuck the NAB and the
depression-era horse it rode in on.
|12.31.07 @ 10:52PM|#
Yo SIV--Don't forget
Kristin Chenoweth.
Full disclosure: I work for an opera company (and know very little
about opera, nor do I appreciate it all that much. I just don't
have the gene for it. Which is too bad, considering I get free tix)
and let me tell you, opera has a ton of young, and very hot babes,
stunning really, singing these days. I get to see them up close at
rehersals and lemmee tell you, there ain't no fat lady singing any
more.
NP|12.31.07 @ 11:05PM|#
highnumber,
Heh, if you say so...
SIV,
I know. That's what I found disturbing.
NP|12.31.07 @ 11:38PM|#
SIV and JW,
Wait a second. Are you guys freakin' blind or something? How can
you talk about hot opera babes without mentioning the greatest of
'em all,
Anna Netrebko? She's gained some weight recently, but not even
a half-awake moron would deny that she's still a babe.
SIV|12.31.07 @ 11:49PM|#
NP,
I was using a crude colloquialism to pay Ms Fleming the highest
compliment on her beauty,charm and talent.
JW,
Nice
NP|1.1.08 @ 12:14AM|#
Oh, c'mon SIV! You're taking my faux seriousness way too
seriously. Point (was) taken.
Anyway Happy New Year, folks.
|1.1.08 @ 12:24AM|#
NP--Yep. That's what I mean by stunning. All the more reason for
me to go to rehersals!
Happy New Year all!
dhex|1.1.08 @ 1:17PM|#
To address the lack of hip hop: anyone heard the new
Ghostface Killah? He thought up the album title while lapsing out
of sleep.
i thought it was a typo he just decided to run with.
so why do some people get pissy when someone says "i really liked
album xyz this year" and it's something they've not heard of? no
one can hear everything - well, john peel tried and we saw how well
that worked out!
|1.1.08 @ 7:53PM|#
so why do some people get pissy when someone says "i really liked album xyz this year" and it's something they've not heard of?
Why do some folks get pissy when someone says "i really liked album
xyz this year" and it's something you can actually find in a store?
Dunno, people put a lot of ego into that sort of thing.
|1.1.08 @ 9:57PM|#
Here's my top 10
1. Fog - Ditherer
2.Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna
3. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
4. Architecture in Helsinki - Places Like This
5.Daft Punk - Alive
6. New Pornogrphers - Twin Cinema
7. Dethklok - The Dethalbum
8. Feist - The Reminder
9.Voxtrot - Voxtrot
10. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
Fog is really hard to find, but its probably one of the greatest
indie albums ever. It really took me a few listens to get it
though.
Robert|1.1.08 @ 10:08PM|#
I wonder if any of the old farts complaining here that there's
no new pop/rock music being made these days have even heard of The
National or Andrew Bird, let alone their excellent albums, which
came out this year.
Just because this music is not showing up on the radio or on MTV
doesn't mean it ain't being made. Do a little digging folks and
don't get lazy in your old age. Or if you ain't willing to dig,
quitcha bitchin.
*Feist was great, too, yeah
ARJ|1.2.08 @ 7:40PM|#
Er, note to Mr. Weigel on PT: Robert Fripp doesn't play any of
the heavier bits at all on Fear of a Blank Planet. Fripp provides
the guitar soundscapes, while Steven Wilson plays those
parts.
Good choice for a number one spot, though. But if you're going to
be a music critic, check your facts.
|1.2.08 @ 8:11PM|#
Ok, I'm really late to this thread. Here are some of my
favorites of 2007:
Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
Caribou - Andorra
The Coral - Roots and Echoes
lunchstealer|1.4.08 @ 4:36PM|#
To outshine Smacky on the late-to-the-thread meme...
I gotta go with Dave here that Fear of a Blank Planet is just a
more interesting album than Snakes and Arrows. He's right about a
lot of the lyrics, although there are some bright spots there. I
still find myself liking Deadwing more, but this was a great
album.
I think I know where Lifeson's parts are, but I haven't heard
anything that I can spot as clearly Frippian.
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