I tried coming up with a list of my top 10 favorite albums (along with top 10 concerts and top 10 songs) of 2007, but couldn’t do it. I just can't come up with ten of any of the above that felt deserving of a spot. Maybe I wasn’t as active in listening to music this year as in previous years, or maybe there just wasn’t enough good music out to warrant being an absolute favorite of mine.
I don’t want to water down my lists. And even if I did like parts of other albums that will inevitably show up on other people’s lists, (e.g. Beirut, Okkervil River, Iron & Wine) I didn’t love the entire album in those instances.
This is especially true for a once beloved band, Rilo Kiley. Under the Blacklight was the supreme disappointment of the year. I got the sense that since they were a bit unmarketable, the label made some changes for them. All of the interviews I read for the release of UTB seemed feature Jenny, who has become the spokesperson for the band, defending their apparent choice of making their music sound like the myriad of average-to-shitty pop music that already plagues the airwaves. It was bound to happen, I just didn’t think it was really possible. I thought that given their background in dealing with Hollywood, that they wouldn’t bow to pressure from their label. Or perhaps this was truly the band’s vision, this mediocre album. I sincerely hope it’s the former, however as that would at least explain things. In any case though, this latest album marks their fall from being my favorite band, to one I enjoy listening to on occasion, but not for substance. There are some excellent songs on UTB, but the clunkers that follow are so bad, it leaves me with half an album of skippable tracks.
So here is a list of my favorite albums of 2007. It is completely subjective and in no particular order:
Arcade Fire--Neon Bible
Electrelane—No Shouts, No Calls
Radiohead—In Rainbows
Tegan and Sara—The Con
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah—Some Loud Thunder
Feist—The Reminder
Of Montreal—Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
Shout Out Louds—Our Ill Wills
3 comments:
I don't think I could come up with ten either. Wow, Neon Bible came out this year? That seems like forever ago! Yes, too bad about RK, hopefully they will redeem themselves on the next one (fingers crossed).
I agree, we are in need of some oldskool RK loving. Under the Blacklight will not be on my list either. Oh well, we can't always produce perfection. But you'll certainly see Radiohead's "in rainbows" on my list! I love it!
well, i guess the fact that I liked UTB proves once and for all: an indie rock snob, I am not. ;)
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