2007 in Music

I've been reading a lot of indie music 2007 top-ten lists the last couple weeks, spending most of the time being frustrated at the truly average choices that wound up filling virtually every chart. Honestly "In Rainbows", while certainly an enjoyable album by a great band, was not the most inspiring or worthwhile music to listen to of the year. In fact, after listening to literally hundreds of albums this year - this was, after all, my first and last year as a proud member of the inimitable bittorrent server OiNK - I've only come up with 3 albums that merit making a top-ten list.

#3 was Burial's album, released in I think the beginning of November. It was a brilliant and very logical progression from the dark, nuanced sound he had mastered about a year previously with his self-titled debut. This year, the beats were pretty much the same, if a little denser and melodic, with the big change being the inclusion of haunting, ephemeral vocals on most of the tracks. Although many have dubbed this album, as I have, a progression from the first album, and therefore superior, I found it to be a little less focused. It was still a fantastic album, but perhaps in its ambition it lost some of the godlike perfection. Definitely nothing to be ashamed of.

#2 was Justice, easily the best electronic dance music I've ever heard in my life. Justice may be proteges of Daft Punk, but their sound has eclipsed anything that existed in the era that they reference so frequently. Not only that, but since they released their breakthrough hit "Never Be Alone", they have proven to be inimitable by their contemporaries as well. I would say Justice was the album released this year that I listened to more than any other album. As dance music, it suits a startlingly wide variety of moods. The reason I call it my most frequently played album released this year is because my overall most frequently played album of the year was still last year's Burial album. This has been a beautiful year in electronic music. However...

My number #1 album of the year had very little to do with electronic music, although I believe there were a few cymbal sounds played backwards on the first track. And that wasn't even a highlight of this stunning mosaic of music present, past, and future. I'm talking about 'Rise Above' by the Dirty Projectors. A freely interpreted "remake" of an old Black Flag album called Damaged, this record throws some of the most otherworldy, twisted melodies around like they were totally natural. The vocal harmonies are very consistent and interesting throughout, the guitar playing is completely original, clearly based on a mastery of classical guitar styling, and the song arrangements forge new paths for pop songwriting in virtually direction imaginable while maintaining a certain orthodox elegance that makes them unforgettable even after a couple of listens.

OK, so there's my top three albums of 2007. Overall, it was a great year for music. If anything, there was too much new music. So please everyone, stop making music. Most of you don't know what you're doing.

Here's my honorable mentions (5 of them): I really loved all of these albums, and they probably each deserve volumes and volumes of praise and analysis, but for now, we'll just settle for artist and title:

Ava Luna - Lemming
Blonde Redhead - 23
Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity
Menomena - Friend and Foe
These Are Powers - Terrific Seasons