Best Album of 2007
It often seemed folks spent more time discussing the distribution model, but when it came time to weigh in on In Rainbows qualitatively, you guys gave Radiohead the thumbs_up, doubling the votes for runners up the National. We tip our hats: That's a strong Top 20, all. Now consolation time: Liars, Low, Burial, Deerhoof, No Age, Besnard Lakes fans -- we feel your pain. Know they were close. Good to see various dark horses scattered throughout the voting, like albums by Eluvium, the Clientele, Bettye LaVette, Black Moth Super Rainbow, CocoRosie, Times New Viking, Sir Richard Bishop, Tiny Vipers, and Frog Eyes, all lodging many votes. And holy hard rock and heavy metal: some notable love for Dillinger Escape Plan, Boris, Big Business, Baroness, Witchcraft, Om, Dragonforce, and Watain. (Worth a note: For all the ire it received, Against Me!'s New Wave did really well. Maybe Bruce Springsteen was stuffing the ballot.) But MVP of the Album race, and maybe the Gummys writ large? Noah Lennox, for having a hand in two of this year's top ten albums (see also: Mr. Indie Rock). It's good to be Panda Bear.
50
Blonde Redhead
23
49
Yeasayer
All Hour Cymbals
48
Stars
In Our Bedroom After The War
47
The Twilight Sad
Fourteen Autumns And Fifteen Winters
46
Klaxons
Myths Of The Near Future
45
Les Savy Fav
Let's Stay Friends
44
Bloc Party
A Weekend In The City
43
Tegan And Sara
The Con
42
Patrick Watson
Close To Paradise
41
Caribou
Andorra
40
Elliott Smith
New Moon
39
Dirty Projectors
Rise Above
38
Arctic Monkeys
Favourite Worst Nightmare
37
PJ Harvey
White Chalk
36
Kevin Drew
Spirit If...
35
Grizzly Bear
Friend EP
34
Interpol
Our Love To Admire
33
Ryan Adams
Easy Tiger
32
Bright Eyes
Cassadaga
31
Deerhunter
Cryptograms
30
St. Vincent
Marry Me
29
Kings Of Leon
Because Of The Times
28
The Shins
Wincing The Night Away
27
Miracle Fortress
Five Roses
26
Rilo Kiley
Under The Blacklight
25
The White Stripes
Icky Thump
24
Justice
†
23
Modest Mouse
We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
22
The New Pornographers
Challengers
21
Iron & Wine
The Shepherd's Dog
20
Kanye West
Graduation
19
Band Of Horses
Cease To Begin
18
Wilco
Sky Blue Sky
17
Battles
Mirrored
16
Andrew Bird
Armchair Apocrypha
15
Sunset Rubdown
Random Spirit Lover
14
Menomena
Friend And Foe
13
Jens Lekman
Night Falls At Kortedala
12
Beirut
The Flying Club Cup
11
Feist
The Reminder
10
Okkervil River
The Stage Names
09
M.I.A.
Kala
08
Panda Bear
Person Pitch
07
Animal Collective
Strawberry Jam
06
LCD Soundsystem
Sound Of Silver
05
of Montreal
Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer
04
Spoon
Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
03
Arcade Fire
Neon Bible
02
The National
Boxer
01
Radiohead
In Rainbows
Radiohead should have been higher. ;)
Otherwise good list!
It's funny. I know that 'Gum readers made this list, but it is genuinely the first list that makes sense. I'm sure there are some Radiohead haters out there, but the majority voted "In Rainbows" as number 1.
Every other cd in the top 10 deserves to be there. Of particular note, Animal Collective, Panda Bear and Of Montreal finally getting well-deserved recognition.
Man, Of Montreal is the album of the year... look at that top 5. Think about it.
Another boring Radiohead album tops the list, wooooooooooooooooooooo! Still, it's a good list. (pats self on back)
I wish people would stop bitchin' about Of Montreal not getting more respect. Most overrated, most overblogged and possibly the worst live performance I have ever seen (at Pitchfork).
While this year had a ton of good music, it's a little sad to not see a single new band in the top 16.
Maybe I listened to "Mirrored" so much this year that I was deluded into thinking EVERYONE was digging it as much as I was.
C'mon, people! It's the most innovative shit ever! Okkervil River sounds like the Counting Crows!
Mine are 14 and 7. Aqueduct gets no love but that's not surprising. Overall I think this is the best list I've seen.
27 and 47 are pleasant surprises!!
where's paramore!!!!???!!!! i know at least 2 people who voted! :)
WHAT! A Radiohead album came out! ALBUM O' THA YIZZLE!!!!
ARCADE FIRE HAD AN ALBUM TOO THOUGH! O Gawd. Wat to do! Can there be two albums of the year???
God stereogum readers are stupid.
No !!! makes me sad.
This list as a whole is good, but the top 3 is worrisome. It's almost as if people voted on hype; In Rainbows and Neon Bible were good, but not top 3, and it's especially worth asking if Radiohead did a traditional distribution, would it still have been No. 1? My top criteria for an album is repeat listenability, and with that in mind Kanye's gotta be No. 1, with the National staying right where they are.
Sad about no Ted Leo.
I didn't find In Rainbows to be that good, but I still like this list. Stereogum readers = smart.
Where the hell is Patrick Wolf?
Wow--you're all predictable little indie drones. We're told to like this music, so let's show how we can assimilate and be like everyone else!
I truly have no problem with this voting but it's starting to scare me that indie kids are just as easily manipulated as the same mainstream lovin' crowd they scoff at.
Definitely a couple of albums on this list that I still need to check out...
Can I say that I'm actually surprised that Boxer didn't take No. 1?
Radiohead was great though. It's my 2nd or 3rd fav of the year, depending what mood I'm in.
Omg, maybe I shouldn't check them out! My desire to hear good music might turn me in to a predictable drone, and then what will my hipster friends think?!?
johnada, Of Montreal's set at Pitchfork was incredible. Maybe you were too far back and the poor acoustics ruined the set for you and you couldn't see the stage? Or maybe you would have preferred they just stand there and play their instruments? Did Kevin Barnes in fishnets and all of the gender bending lyrics make you feel uncomfortable? How could you not be awestruck by the bizarre spectacle they put on?
this is definitely the best list i've seen so far. However, I have to agree with nooka-- Patrick Wolf is definitely a Top 50 Album of the year, if not a Top 20. Why is that album continually left off these year end lists?
Why does everyone hate Marnie Stern? Not just this list - but the majority of lists I've seen (even really long 100 album lists) have neglected to mention her album that was getting so much love earlier this year? Wha happa? She sucks live? So what? The album is so rocking.
Matt,
It's true that the fishnets and the gender bending lyrics made me feel uncomfortable. Uncomfortable that in 2007 a band can present a poor man's David Bowie meets Marilyn Mansion routine and that the kids would gobble it up so easily. I guess if I was a high school kid seeking the easiest way to be "weird", this would appeal to me. While I was close enough for sound and visuals, I admittedly may not have been close enough for Kevin Barnes' nudge nudge, wink wink.
As for the music, it's fine pop and all, but there's no way anyone could convince me that the songwriting is on par with the National or Iron & Wine. As for throwback pop, Caribou did it way better. And in a year with some thoroughly innovative albums (Kala, Mirrored, Rise Above), I just don't think it is a top album. Of course, you didn't really ask me about this, so I'll shut up now. I do like the list overall.
Wow, it's really easy to get on a high horse in the blogging world. (Not quite as easy to get off.)
p4k was creaming their pants for her then when her album came out they gave it a 7 something.
I think the national album is way better than the new radiohead and i really like the new radiohead. and where is PELA's Anytown Grafitti on this list ? That should not be left off of any year end list for 2007.
I'm just glad the 30 Seconds to Mars fan club didn't get a hold of the Gummys.
"C'mon, people! It's the most innovative shit ever! Okkervil River sounds like the Counting Crows!"
uhm, no offense, but if you think Battles' Mirrored is innovative you need to listen to more music.
pretty solid list overall, but White Stripes should be lower and the new Rilo Kiley shouldn't be anywhere near a top 50 albums of 2007 list.
no Bon Iver? ah well, i'm sure it'll show up on next years list somewhere.
I can't believe with all my heart that people can actually vote for anything made by "Kings of Leon" as album of the year
Same goes for Rilo Kiley
It's very , errr , perplexing
Not sure why people are complaining about a list that they themselves helped construct? Geez, if you're so dissatisfied with a list that's elected by stereogum's readership, maybe just make your own and stfu
And, yes, I wish we could just all agree that both: of Montreal's last record was very good--and that Kevin Barnes is a douchebag.
I'm surprised the Fiery Furnaces have fallen this far in esteem. Widow City was a return to form ... for those who bothered to listen to it.
I support this list! Boxer is my favorite album of the year, and I'm glad to see Jens in the top 15.
kings of leon - hahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAhahahahahahah lol, oh LMAO ROFL!!!!! thats rich.
I'm sorry, I listen to just as much music as the next guy, and I don't understand all the backlash against the arcade fire and radiohead. yeah both bands are covered heavily in blogs but i thought their respective albums this year were fucking incredible. can somebody explain what was wrong about these albums.
also i think this list is interesting because it only asked for readers top three. that might explain why graduation and others are so low. while they may be in a lot of top tens, they are not in a ton of top threes.
I 45th the fact that this is a damn good list. Minus Rilo. Who keeps voting for them? They're a good band, but that album was hugely disappointing.
With all these year-end lists sprining up and listing LCD Soundsystem, I thought I'd give it a fair listen. Thanks for the suggestion. I'm actually enjoying the batch of tunes.
@ky Jelly:
On the real, Marnie's record pretty much defined 2007 for me. When I saw her over the summer, her whole set felt like a sustained epiphany.
I hope, however, that everyone reading this list is smart enough to realize that there's no "should have been higher" to it. We all voted on this and, in my opinion, it turned out way better than most other lists I've seen. I find almsot of all of this year's usual suspects trite and mediocre, but at a certain point you just realize that you're out of step and take it as sign of original taste instead of lying to yourself that you think "In Rainbows" deserves to be in the pantheon of classic records.
Just one hip-hop album on the entire list, and it's Kanye West. Good job, Stereogum readers! I could come up with a top 50 hip-hop albums of 2007 list that would dwarf this bullshit.
No Springsteen No Smashing Pumpkins No heavy metal = lame list. And yes, I voted so I can bitch about it all I want. Every year it's the same thing - a mix of indie favorites and obscure crap no one really listens to after a year. All I can say is thank God Clap Your Hands Say Yeah didn't make the list. That's consolation for me.
ok, so about half of my top 10 made the list. And the ones that didn't, I wasn't too surprised. Except for I'm From Barcelona, which I would have maybe voted "Rookie of the Year" (are they new this year?)
What a lot of people seem to be saying is that there's a number of albums from great bands, or bands that I love, that I just didn't think were awesome. White Stripes, Stars, Interpol, PJ Harvey, Modest Mouse all put out damn good/pretty good albums, but not best in show. At certain times, I might even say the same of Radiohead and Arcade Fire (who was narrowly edged out of top 3 by Kanye).
Somebody needs to explain to me why Kings of Leon is so bad, because I've yet to hear a good reason. In my opinion, put out one of the best 5 albums of the year, but I'll surely get shit on for saying that.
This list pretty much makes sense for Stereogum. Part trendy hipster garbage (Panda Bear, Okkervil, Beirut, Andrew Bird), part overhyped acts that put out follow-ups that aren't nearly as good as their breakthrough albums (Arcade Fire, Interpol, Ryan Adams, Rilo Kiley, Bloc Party), and a good amount of quality, quality music (Radiohead, Spoon, LCD, White Stripes, Modest Mouse, of Montreal...etc.)
A few records that people still really need to check out: the Black Lips put out two great records (the live one has become one of my favorite albums ever), Liars had an awesome one, and Besnard Lakes's shit was dope. It's a shame that these records were so underappreciated this year, because I'd personally rather listen to any of them than any of the fifty albums on this list. I'd also like to mention that I can't stop listening to the I'm Not There soundtrack, which I also find better than anything on this list.
I would say I'm getting too old for this music scene (I'm 28), but since the number one group has been mystifying me with their international popularity since I was a freshman in high school, I guess that theory goes out the window. I see the appeal of Radiohead, but come on.
Radiohead should not even be considered in these kinds of polls anymore. We should all just give them a lifetime achievement award and move on. I respect what they do musically, and think they are head and shoulders above the rest of what is happening. But "In Rainbows" was not as strong as past efforts, but they are still raking in votes all over the place because of the weight of their name. It's like people are still voting for "Ok Computer" and "Kid A".
As an Aside, Patrick Watson was released a year and a half ago. But I'm not going to complain, because it's an amazing album and was overlooked last year.
Justin: "I would say I'm getting too old for this music scene (I'm 28)..."
Wow, I'm 33.
DS48: "Part trendy hipster garbage (Andrew Bird)..."
How on earth is Andrew Bird "trendy hipster garbage?" I was listening to The Swimming Hour (2001) earlier today, a fun and energetic album that does its own thing throughout. "Trendy" and "hipster" did not come to mind.
i love this list.
where the hell is Blizten Trapper?
And if Patrick Watson gets to be included on this list, Silversun Pickups's brilliant "Carnavas" record should have too because hardly anyone paid attention to it until the end of 2006 and the early half of 2007 when modern rock radio finally discovered their music. I met those guys at Newbury Comics in March - really great people in person too. It's too bad they're getting overlooked on everybody's year-end lists. I WILL put them on mine.
Did everyone forget about el-p?
I'll sleep when you're dead was easily one of the top ten albums of the year...who cares if it's hip-hop, it's damn good music and at the least better than MIA and Okkervil River
I cried when I saw Of Montreal up in the top 5. Finally! First year-end list in which they came even close to getting what they really deserve.
how is rogue wave not on this list?
Kevin: Unfortunately, I have not heard The Swimming Hour, so I don't really know about that one. But I've listened to his last two, and I've (unfortunately) seen him live twice at festivals and he was awful both times. He's one of those artists that hipsters love because he's weird for the sake of weird. Like David St. Hubbins said, "There's a fine line, you know, between clever and stupid."
Charlie: Completely agree with you on Silversun Pickups. They're in my top ten, "Carnavas" wasn't released nationwide until late January '07.
"I'm surprised the Fiery Furnaces have fallen this far in esteem. Widow City was a return to form ... for those who bothered to listen to it."
I was thinking this the other day. I remember when the EP came out, Pitchfork starting their review with something like, "at this point, if you don't like Fiery Furnaces, I don't like you."
Then they made an album with their grandma. Ouch.
Your statement about "for those who bothered to listen to it" is so true. I definitely bought it alongside some other stuff after it came out, and I don't think I got past unwrapping it. I think my only thoughts were, "oh hey, thats not Leslie Feist on the cover. Bummer."
"Radiohead should not even be considered in these kinds of polls anymore. We should all just give them a lifetime achievement award and move on."
I agree.
Also, great list! Good job everyone! I really liked the Calvin Harris and Kate Nash album too, but I guess this list is a bit less UK-y.
"Radiohead should not even be considered in these kinds of polls anymore. We should all just give them a lifetime achievement award and move on."
Shouldn't be considered? Only because it's not the next best thing anymore and you think your 'coolness' is on jeopardy if you say you dig them?
Ffs, stop being so childishly pretentious.
And I didn't even like In Rainbows all that much.
"Carnavas" wasn't released nationwide until Jan. '07? Someone better tell All Music Guide, 'cuz I looked there and it said the album was released in July of 2006. That's why I compared it to the Patrick Watson inclusion. Anyway, glad someone other than myself liked that album enough to even consider it for a top of 2007 list. It's a shame so many other "hipster" bloggers have forgotten it.
I could've sworn Stereogum readers hated Dan Deacon a little less.
Guess what everyone! The National album was shit! yeah i said it!
i got the silversun pickups album last christmas...which means, knowing my parents, it had to of been in wide release before the year 2007
pretty decent list.. The National suck and Radiohead is way too high on the list.. but overall I can live with this list.
This list seems the precise amalgam of every blogger top 10 list...which is fitting (and inevitable), I guess...
That's not a criticism, btw, it also makes it a useful catch-up list for late year listening.
boo. hiss.
WORKING FOR A NUCLEAR FREE CITY
I voted for the "I'm Not There" OST number 1. I'm disappointed my fellow Gummers did not feel the same. Oh well. To each his own.
This just proves that no matter what albums you put at the top of these lists, someone is going to bitch about how it's only because of hype, what the mindless indie zombies are told to listen to, etc. ect. Is it that outlandish that people voted for these albums because *gasp* people actually LIKED them and not solely because Pitchfork Media blew their collective loads over them?!?! Maybe they were hyped a lot because the artists making the albums were actually genuinely talented?
Seriously, I don't care for Arcade Fire at all, but do I throw hissy fits on the internet because other people like them? No. You're free to hate the National and Radiohead as much as you want, but seeing people bitch and whine on one of the most respectable music blogs I've read irritates me to no end.
I'm sorry, but that PJ Harvey is worst piece of crap I have ever heard. I have heard cats screw with more rhythm. She lost me on this album.
Apparently you didn't listen to Throbbing Gristle's "Part Two The Endless Not".
Yeah, I completely forgot about the Blitzen Trapper record and how much I love it. Unfortunately everyone else must have forgotten, too. Bummer.
admittedly when limiting my scope to three albums this year i would probably overlook it, but did anyone else enjoy the nick drake album? at the time i was getting into robert johnson, so i loved it. no one else seems to mention it.
diggin' the andrew bird, menomena and sunset rubdown love... compared to other lists I feel they arent peaking as high as they should be.
take shitty arcade fire and radiohead off this list and you have a golden list :)
I like this list. Shame to not see Explosions in the Sky on here, but admittedly, they've released better. Cheers to a good year in music.
Its crazy that I have almost 80% of the albums on this list, but where is Two Gallants, and Explosions in the Sky?
IF I empire by AVA is in the catorgory it should have definately made the list
Artic Monkeys 38? fuck that; dig the kings of leon, and no Against Me!, the topper of many lists
Definately Against Me New wave is better than a # of these full lengths
now this is a list that i can agree with mostly. i would have hoped ryan adams and tegan and sara would have polled higher, but at least they are on the list. i liked the new arctic monkeys record, i think it should have polled higher as well. not as good as their previous one, but still record of great songs.
http://www.killabot.wordpress.com
I'm impressed to see patrick watson and especially miracle fortress on the list, nobody's mentioned them at stereogum (at least not for a while) and i didn't know anyone knew about them outside of montreal . . .
Do you guys seriously mean to tell me four normal, mundane and inessential records are the best this year has to offer?
The Spoon record sounds like a hodgepodge of bad Beatles ideas and those particularly Beatles ideas were bad hodgepodges of vaudeville and the Everly brothers to begin with. Twisted Sister's last Christmas record had more pep. Spoon's record is an example of successful marketing, not successful music.
Arcade Fire's Neon Bible would probably be better served as a radio play with no music. Maybe that's why critics like it, because they can just read the liner notes and not worry about the music. I can't imagine actually shutting off everything and listening to this thing ten times in a row at home, really focusing on the sounds involved. The arrangements have the creative depth of a traced-out image of a Mortal Kombat ninja. To me, every song sounds like a plodding tractor going from 0 to 60, then stopping and driving really slow for the last seconds. It's like Springsteen's The River... but absolutely retarded.
I must admit I enjoy the National record. However, I enjoy it the way I enjoy Smiths' albums. It doesn't make them particularly important ... they just speak to the lonesome kid in me the way I imagine a Alan Jackson does for others. The music is endearing and very charming, but is it "great?" If Person Pitch is Starry Night... an evocative and alien, yet humane and humble, vision of an imagined endless summer ... then The Boxer is a very nicely woven basket ... a nicely woven basket that people compliment for a few years until a similar basket comes along in 2010.
And last but not least ... Radiohead! Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed many'a Radiohead turn, especially considering how terribly they began and the hideous company in their tax bracket. But that's just it ... compared to the rest of the year's records, it kind of sounds like any great bands' umpteenth album. I think this one has some nice songs, but am I the only person on Earth who thinks the whole thing sounds like some guys who wrote a few casual songs, recorded them in an extremely normal way, mixed them entirely conventionally and then released it in a unique manner? Come on guys! Isn't the way it was released better than the music itself? At the end of the day, In Rainbows is catchy tunes, occasionally in "odd" signatures (odd by the standards of Burt Burt Bacharach and Donna Summers) with very little to say about them. In 2007, it's not particularly unique, not particularly taxing and not particularly grand. How is it any better than Pearl Jam's Yield? Our generation (early-20s to mid-30s) needs to get over this or else we'll end up just like Rolling Stone, giving R.E.M. fours two decades after they've to be musically relevant, except replace R.E.M. with you know who.
I think what people need to keep in mind when they make these lists is ... in sixty years, when rock music is no longer produced, when the guitar is a novelty once again, which of these albums will still be talked about? What has philosophical merit and why? These are the parallels we should be drawing when we make "best-of" lists.
Now, I'm off to listen to that Spoon record ... catchy t00nz, man!
"While this year had a ton of good music, it's a little sad to not see a single new band in the top 16."
That's because this was Democratic ... an election. And we all know that consensus is not accurate and the more people who take part, generally, the less accurate it gets (because, in my opinion, good art is made by unique individuals, most people cannot grasp unique individuals [by design, "unique" means different] and thus the more people who vote for something, the less those who have really heard enough records to conclude which were the best matter.
Democracy may be dandy for economic systems and administration, but not for art.
An addendum to that last one ... perhaps a requirement for voting for the best album of the year is having heard at least 500 records from that year, five times each? That's not too difficult.
Sorry, 'philosophical merit' was not high on my criteria to take into account when I was deciding what to vote for.
stereogum, if you're going to list the top albums in drumroll-inducing reverse order, as you did and as i think you should, it seems silly to announce the top two finishers in your introductory comments. spoiled the fun of scrolling through.
Obviously, not enough people are listening to the Les Savy Fav. That record is ridiculously good.
you've got to be kidding me? el-p easily made one of the top three records this year. no jay-z or ghost either. This year, quality hip-hop > inspiration-less indie rock.
Very pleased, 6 of my top ten are in the top ten here.
However, it's criminal to have a best of 2007 with Justice at #24. That album fucking owned this year. Anyone who says otherwise is trying way too hard to be cool.
who is this band radiohead? are they any good? i will have to check them out.
Is it the lastest trend with you elitist bastards to bash Radiohead so you could be different from the crowd?These comments are laughable,I wish I was that cool :(
How about bashing Radiohead for writing songs with the creativity of a wayward Dave Matthews jam, except minus a muppet singing and plus the melodramatic wail of a bird repeatedly flying into a closed window.
Is everybody like honestly I haven't seen one positive comment about Radiohead.How did they make number one if you guys hate them so much or at least pretend to because "WE IS DIFFERENT & COOLZ".
1. andrew bird-armchair apocrypha
2. sunset rubdown-random spirit lover
it's true
Friend And Foe! A million hurrahs for that.
radiohead put out the best album of the year?
huh.
who knew?
TO HOST:
Yes, host. I don't like Radiohead, because I want to be "different and cool." It's not because most of their songs are simple ditties (yes, ditties) that simply happen to be slightly more interesting than the next (i.e. they may be atmospheric, are occasionally in "odd" time signatures and employ obscure [$20,000] instruments like the ondes martenot). However, they remain ditties ... contained, rarely long or ambitious, almost always adherent to traditional structures laid-down 300 years ago (and when they go out of those structures, it never sounds sincere, but academic, as if a conversation was had about the emulation of others [from Bach to Debussy to Pink Floyd to Cluster to Faust to Eno] who broke structure [another similarity with the Beatles]).
I don't listen to much Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, because I don't find it very modern. I count Radiohead in a similar court: undoubtedly talented, but not particularly invigorating in light of the homegrown innovations that happen everyday in musical pockets around the world without hundreds of thousands of dollars or an endless array of instruments.
No love for Frog Eyes!? Blasphemy. And come on the new Rilo Kiley!? Ughhhh
If a band puts out an album of beautiful songs, then fuck all else. There's only so long you can talk like "However, they remain ditties ... contained, rarely long or ambitious, almost always adherent to traditional structures laid-down 300 years ago (and when they go out of those structures, it never sounds sincere, but academic, as if a conversation was had about the emulation of others" before people are going to say that the pretension is suffocating.
When I listen to In Rainbows, I do not think of how much money the odnes martenot costs, believe it or not, because it has no bearing on the music. It's an album of beautiful pop songs. I can understand if that isn't your thing, truly. But don't btich and bitch about how Radiohead is ancient and uninspiring just because you'd rather listen to freak folk and indie rock.
We don't need to kill our idols if they're doing what they're supposed to. They aren't the stones, this isn't a backtrack. They took a turn into subtlety and made a great album, so, hate it or dont hate it. But don't be a pretensious t$%t just because you've got it out for them. And don't call it a Dave Matthews Band jam. That just makes you look like a jerk who didn't even bother to listen.
this list makes a lot of sense. neon bible as number 3 in terms of where everyone else is makes sense.
"before people are going to say that the pretension is suffocating."
Pretentious means ostentatious or or not genuine. I think real analysis is the opposite of pretentious, even though a lot of people just put the two together. When someone makes statements without logic behind them (for example, making statements like: Radiohead are the greatest band ever! Thom's heart is caught in a thrusher, what soul, listen to all those instruments, its completely unlike anything, etc. etc., without any further qualification or reference to where the music was born), that to me is pretentious. Or grafting a lot of weird noises onto pop songs to try and "avant-garde" them up. That seems pretentious, because there's nothing really revolutionary going on, just a mask.
Your position is nice, though, and I can appreciate it. It's humble and you like what you like. You listen to In Rainbows and hear "beautiful." I can understand that. However, "beautiful" is subjective.
I don't think all value is subjective, though. I think we can (pretty close to) objectively look at an artist's works against the framework of their peers, what has come before and what that work may symbolize. Art critics are in fairly solid agreement about what works have merit (though not immediately when a work is made). Cinema is a bit more divided, but academic circles are solid.
"And don't call it a Dave Matthews Band jam. That just makes you look like a jerk who didn't even bother to listen."
I agree, it would be a great Dave Matthews' jam, but still, I don't think a few tunes are that far off ... I'm thinking of the acoustic lift in Jigsaw Falling Into Place and the faux-jazz of Nude. Also, Faust ARP might as well be Mother Nature's Son.
I'm not trying to be a jerk either and I don't just have it out for Radiohead. However, it is upsetting to see critical-thinking people pick an album as the best of the year without really engaging without seriously questioning it and taking the time to listen a lot of other great things that can give a fresh perspective on something's merits.
Mike A.,
You could've written, recorded, mixed, and mastered a Radiohead album in the amount of time you've spent bitching on here.
yeah, we all know most of this music is ultimately disposable. At least those of us somewhere in the industry who actually have a clue and a musical bone somewhere. It's unfortune but true. We still market it, and make believe it's the next greatest thing because we have to. More than ever an overhype machine. Music is a human need, so it'll always be there. Right now is just one of those times when it's there just for the sake of it. There's no traditional "movement" going on. This is a transparent movement, or moreso just an evolution, and it's the movement of technology liberation. So this is the sound of it. It's the sound of hearing too many things at once. It's the sound of everyone wanting to contribute something when most of what they're contributing is garbage. It's the sound of everybody being enabled. What once was great fame and adoration belonging to a select highly talented few is now a smattering of fame, adoration, and talent spread out among the thousands of indie bands. Isn't it boring? Nothing good enough to warrant real long term value. We've created a music industry that functions like the fashion industry.
I think the old model created an eye dropper of sorts where talent was focused into an extremely valuable, robust concentration. Greatness influenced greatness. Today we're in a firehose blast of everything at once, mediocrity is the result.
But that's precisely why I truely fear for the future in which mediocrity will influence even greater mediocrity.
The greatest challenge for any artist now, and in the future, will be to set extremely high standards- personal standards- to try to match the quality level of those who made it out the end of the eye dropper model instead of just accepting a level of making mediocre music. What does that mean? It means studying the fuck out of music-songwriting, arranging, melodicism, learning to fluently express through an instrument, engineering, production, artwork, presentation, marketing and being born with great innate talent, then putting it into practice. This new model means an artist will have to have such levels of knowledge of every aspect of every facet of their career. I don't think people will be able to fully adapt for quite a while, at least until we're done transitioning from old model to new. Until then I'll be listening to the best that the old machine churned out, with hope gleaming in some distant corner of my eye. Oh and I'll be making an album to blow all of this crap out of the water. It needs to be done.
You'll say, "where did this come from? How could someone be such a tasteful melodic player, yet write great, creative, songs and produce the whole thing? Oh I guess he must've had some experience behind a console and played with a great songwriter or two. And wow, look, he played several instruments on the album with such prowess, very unlike that Tom Vek fellow who tried that a couple years ago with the talentlessness of a multi-instrumentalist Meg White. Oh, I guess it really takes a lot of thought and talent to make a great album. I guess it takes a long forgetten work ethic standard and supreme dedication. Maybe the template for the artist of the future is one who knows how a dominant scale colors over certain chords and who knows what pre-amp colors a snare drum with the perfect woody bite, and what makes something sensationally media worthy while still having merit. That sounds like a lot of work"
I would have liked to see Nicole Atkins on here, although it was a recent release. The Band of Horses album was pretty good too. I should say that there is a disturbing lack of hip hop here. Where's Aesop Rock or Ghostface?
Dear Mike A.
I am a very dedicated listener of Radiohead's music and find it to be the best balance of innovative and euphorically enjoyable music amidst the record industry.
My question to you is if you took the time to display how Radiohead is "pretentious" and is a pale reflection of some greater more innovative music, what exactly is this music they are poorly trying to copy?
I am asking simply because if this band or genre of music exists I would like to listen to it...
please respond
I think Radiohead is great, if you like a shitty Johnny Rotten impersonation meets some boring music. Aiiight, at least I heard one song on there that actually grooves slightly for two seconds. Otherwise, more whiny, boring music for white people.
"My question to you is if you took the time to display how Radiohead is "pretentious" and is a pale reflection of some greater more innovative music, what exactly is this music they are poorly trying to copy?"
I can't speculate on who Radiohead try to emulate, but I do know some of their methods have been common in pop music (using odd [for pop music] instruments and disorienting mixing techniques to obscure, but not break, normal pop song structures ... I think comparable examples are the Beatles' Sgt. Peppers, Pink Floyd's Dark Side and David Bowie's Heroes).
That said, I think Thom Yorke and co. know a fair amount about rock music past (even if they do write pretty normal tunes anyway). In Radiohead, I occasionally hear Robert Wyatt, Tim Buckley, Kraftwerk, but that stuff always seems in the background. The foreground, to me, seems like pop music in the Beatles tradition.
I am not trying to say Radiohead are an awful band, they simple aren't the greatest of this year and certainly not of all times. They're not a pure emulation of any one band or genre, either, they're the pop analog of several experimental ones. Essentially, Radiohead take adventurous musical ideas and boil them into ditties (rather than stretch them into lofty compositions or alien snapshots).
I think some bands an adventurous fan of Radiohead (willing to try new things) would enjoy and may not have heard are (or you may have heard them all, who knows) ...
-Soft Machines (especially Moon in June)
-Tim Buckley (Lorca and Starsailor)
-Robert Wyatt (was a member of Soft Machine)
-Cluster (all nice, but Sowiesoso is beautiful)
-Art Bears (and Henry Cow)
-This Heat (have a complete box set)
-Popul Vuh (specifically Hosianna Mantra, though it borders on religious music)
-Neu! (compare with Radiohead's Bodysnatchers and Cuttooth)
-Brian Eno's first three "pop" albums
None of those bands sound "like" Radiohead. Radiohead occasionally come close in their most rarefied moments, the biggest different being the vocals and the structure. I believe Radiohead's primary influences are other pop artists who performed similar operations grafting the avant garde to the disposable (Beatles, Pink Floyd, David Bowie). I also think, at their worst, bad electronic pop and trip hop is in the mix. Oh yes and R.E.M. and U2.
Anyway, Joseph, those are probably the less obscure recommendations and they should be pretty easy to find online. However, I don't know that much about what you're into and what you've heard, so the depth of referral could be greater with more info. What else are you really into?
Why the fck are some people overanalyzing the matter here-it's a clash of opinions,DEAL WITH IT.a bunch of nobodys with too much time on their hands arguing about the silliest thing ever-please,f-ing get over it PLEASE.
I personally think Mike A needs to get the hell over himself...
I don't know about everyone else on here, but I'm a college student and I definitely don't have the time or money to listen to "over five hundred new albums at least five times" a year
so I'm somehow less qualified to vote for something like this than him? oh please...
Dear Mike A.
Thanks for the insightful response,
I also listen to Bob Dylan, Bjork, Jeff Buckley, Scott Walker, Can, Captain Beefheart, Aphex Twin, Animal Collective, etc.
so basically a wide range of stuff. I might even have similar tastes, seeing as how you listen to Tim Buckley (Jeff's father) which is very jazz influenced rock like Can.
Still, I find radiohead to be an excellent group, perhaps they are similar to the beatles, but the beatles were also a great band. Radiohead is consistent, very rarely writing a poor song. They are not afraid to make something simple. All of their albums follow the making of an album in the traditional sense of the word, as in making the music sound cohesive and flow as piece of art. They are constantly experimenting with new instruments and sounds and thematic content. Perhaps they are not as good as in some aspects as other bands, but they definitely are a well rounded musical group and deliver music that is both intellectually challenging and melodic/ "Catchy." They have never claimed to be more than a pop band and I believe they are one of the best pop bands in the last ten years, dare I say fifteen years. To each his own but to discredit them of that is obsurd.
Makka: "so I'm somehow less qualified to vote for something like this than him? oh please..."
Doesn't knowing more about a subject make you more qualified to talk about it?
I wouldn't argue that I'm more qualified to speak about Eurasian films than David Bordwell.
500x5x42 minutes (average) = 4 hours and 48 minutes/day (average)
And that's not including any time spent listening to music released from the dawn of time up through December 31st of the previous year. And if you should want to listen to something a sixth time, you're eating into precious time to listen to the next one. Better move on.
Possible, but unlikely. You're also spending $4000+ on music, the majority of which you're probably not going to like.
I wonder whether ANYONE (in the world) listened to 500x5 released this year.
I only heard 32 or so albums released in 2007, many of which left me cold.
About time someone mentioned of Montreal on a best of list. After seeing them at the Pageant here in St. Louis I've been in complete awe of Kevin Barnes and the wonderful magic he does.
Mike A...okay, yes, you have established the fact that you are far more qualified to critique music than anyone else on this site. Sorry, won't try to argue with that anymore...
I just wonder how on earth you have the time/money to listen to so much new music every year (and assume that it would be easy for others to do so)...Is it part of your job? I'm honestly curious...
To Kevin White: "500x5x42 minutes (average) = 4 hours and 48 minutes/day (average)"
Sifting through the mass of commercially released music isn't easy. In the past, there were so few records released (comparably) that distinguishing between best from worst wasn't as difficult. The worst part is it's getting tougher.
Also, I guess some REEEEALLY bad albums reveal themselves as bad almost instantly (i.e., they immediately sound near exactly like other albums already released) and that time can be reserved for other listens.
"I wonder whether ANYONE (in the world) listened to 500x5 released this year."
I'm certain that many have. Those with long commutes may find themselves listening to that much music incidentally.
"You're also spending $4000+ on music, the majority of which you're probably not going to like."
Yeah and that sucks. Unless you have a job that gets you music for free, have access to friends with large collections or are willing to sift the sea of the 'net to get them.
------------------------
Makka: "Is it part of your job? I'm honestly curious..."
It used to be. I used to be a music writer. I studied musicology in school. Now I'm working on a PhD (unrelated to music). I also tour so that can lead to a lot of six-hour listening sessions. I admit I'm in a pretty good position to listen to music most of the day, but I've put myself in that position.
wow, you're quite lucky. being a music writer has always been my dream job. Unfortunately I'm stuck here at a school in the deep south where everyone considers Jack Johnson and Dave Matthews to be the epitome of "good music"...
...while all my music-savvy friends from high school went to schools in cool places like Boston and NYC where they go to amazing shows every weekend
sorry for the rant, life's unfair, kay i'll shut up now
Just because you write a lot doesn't make you right. Knibb High Football Rules!
Pretty good list, although I like Popmatters better because everything they wrote made me want to get that respective album.
Check out www.patrolmag.com for their list. I don't have the direct link but it's the cover.
THANKS FOR ANOTHER GREAT YEAR STEREOGUM!!!!!
To Mike A...
This is going to be a long response, but I think that you are very off-base in your assessment of the Spoon and Radiohead albums, and that you are off-base about Radiohead in general.
First off, what exactly are you looking for in your pop music? The way that you are writing about music makes me think that you are a fan of classical music or jazz more than you like vocally-driven music, and if that is the case, why are you writing on this website? I am not trying to marginalize you, indeed it seems that your mind may be much more musically sophisticated than mine, but it seems like the way that you value music must be 99 percent different than everyone who comments on this website. And keep in mind that Radiohead's worshipers are not confined to indie rock simpletons like me. The conductor for the LA Philharmonic Esa Pekka Salonen or however you spell his name called the Radiohead album OK Computer "a masterwork." Classical pianist Christopher O'Riley has recorded albums made up completely of Radiohead covers, and the jazz pianist Brad Mehldau has covered their songs before as well. In fact, my brother played some of their music to my grandfather. He who used to teach music theory at the University of Texas and Williams College and hates the Beatles and almost all popular music that isn't a jazz standard. He was blown away. So please get off of your high horse for a second and try and give them a second chance, even if you say you don't hate them. To call "Pyramid Song" "Letdown" "Motion Picture Soundtrack" and countless others "simple pop ditties" is missing the point and being entirely too dismissive too quickly. And the new album, while being perhaps their most accessible since Ok Computer, is marvelous by the way. I don't care how much music you listen to. Rectify yourself, fool.
So what exactly is your problem with Spoon? Forget the Beatles comparisons. I doubt the Beatles would make anything as sparse and ethereal as "The Ghost of You Lingers," they were simply too talented as instrumentalists and vocalists to even think about reverbing up their voices and playing the same repetitive yet melodic piano line. Times have changed. The only similarity to the Beatles that I see Spoon having is the fact that they both wrote catchy pop songs. The Beatles had more creative arrangements, better lyrics, vocals, etc. The Beatles revolutionized rock music, as many of us know. Spoon is carrying on tradition.
But what of Spoon being more marketing than music? That is simply not true. They are one of the few bands that could have made the jump to a major label countless times but have stayed on Merge because of their loyalty to the label. What about bands such as Squeeze? Joe Jackson? Elvis Costello's first album? The Jam? I see more of an influence of these artists on Spoon than anything else. If you like none of these, than you have rendered me speechless. This means that pure, infectious, bristling pop-punk has no place in your heart, and if that is the case go out there and buy My Aim is True, Look Sharp and I'm the Man until those records have made a lasting impression on you. Thank you for your time.
"The way that you are writing about music makes me think that you are a fan of classical music or jazz more than you like vocally-driven music, and if that is the case, why are you writing on this website?"
I'm primarily a fan of rock music, though I've written about and studied classical, jazz, folk and "world," too. One thing I'm extremely stoked about in modern rock is the manic integration of exotic influences going down over the past five years (from the Boredoms [the biggest] to High Places [the latest]).
"To call "Pyramid Song" "Letdown" "Motion Picture Soundtrack" and countless others "simple pop ditties" is missing the point and being entirely too dismissive too quickly."
Pyramid Song: 4:51. Standard length. A soft jazz shuffle, with a tonal ascending chord progression. Well-constructed song for sure. Nicely mixed. It's probably my favorite Radiohead song. A fusion of Miles Davis "cool" (the sound of the 50s) and Beatles pop (the sound of the mid-60s). Strings remind me of Bernard Hermann. I can't say much bad about this one, but it's not exactly Sister Ray(as far as game-changing rock tracks go).
Letdown: I don't see any real difference between this and any number of countless moody REM ballads. I guess there's a touch of the Byrds.
Motion Picture Soundtrack: A couple of chords and a sound not unlike "Goodnight" by the Beatles (which was a parody of the romantic pop crooning of the 40s and 50s anyway). It's just an organ-driven pop ballad. A very nice one, but that's all.
"They are one of the few bands that could have made the jump to a major label countless times but have stayed on Merge because of their loyalty to the label."
Spoon were on a major. Elektra. They got dropped. They have the best publicists in indie rock. Despite music "journalists'" statements to the contrary, a good publicist can make a world of difference when there are 5,000 to 10,000 records a year for a critic to choose from.
"So what exactly is your problem with Spoon? Forget the Beatles comparisons. I doubt the Beatles would make anything as sparse and ethereal as 'The Ghost of You Lingers,'"
That particular one wreaks of Kate Bush to me. However, I was thinking of a few songs in particular (the Merseybeat of Cherry Bomb, which boasts the "depth" of Ob la Di, and Don't Make Me a Target, which sounds too much like Cry Baby Cry to be a coincidence). The whole album plays like a tribute to pop's most benign moments. The Underdog might as well be Billy Joel (Only the Good Die, seriously, compare the two).
"If you like none of these, than you have rendered me speechless."
I don't dislike them, but I wouldn't list them as greats. I don't see that much more value in Elvis Costello than in Tom Petty (some more, but not much). I like the Jam, but they weren't exactly a revolution. More fashion than art.
Consider this, while Weller was "cuddling a warm girl and smelling stale perfume," elsewhere in England, This Heat, the Slits, the Pop Group and others were creating some of the most adventurous and abrasive sounds of the magnetic age, absorbing Stockhausen, ethnic percussion and free jazz respectively into distinctly rock music. Suicide was terrorizing the lofts of New York with an electronic, robot replication of "good ol' rock n' roll." Even in the pop world, Kraftwerk and Giorgio Moroder were laying the foundation of what would become electroclash twenty-five years later. The Jam were wearing cool suits and playing jingle-jangle.
To Mike A...
I guess your tastes are simply more avant-garde than mine. I like a well written pop song more than anything else you just mentioned. I guess our tastes just don't align. Oh well. God bless you and merry christmas.
how the hell did Against Me!'s New Wave not make the list. They had one of the best albums this year and they still dont get any respect.
Gah... Tegan and Sara's "The Con" should've been higher. They're the Lennon & McCartney of their generation. NO ONE today is churning out incredible pop rock songs so consistently.
so uhh... immaculate machine's "fables". where is it?
that would probably be my number one. right there.
no more of this "in rainbows" shite. that would be number 1 for most anticlimactic, disappointing album of the year. and i'm generally a ridiculously huge radiohead fan.
props for iron & wine, bright eyes, and the new pornos though. and menomena. this list is by far the best i've seen this year.
but i do need to second the overwhelming sad i feel about ted leo's lack of inclusion :(
yeah man we all totally love kanye, he is the only african american hip hop artist to make a good album this year
I have never ever liked Radiohead, but In Rainbows was a pleasant surprise.
And for all of you indiefolk who hate Kings of Leon, quit your bitching. Just because they don't sound like Beirokkervilrandabeapjharibouhunter, doesn't mean you have to bash them. Step down from your high hipster horses!
OMG this is actually a good list! sure, it pisses the hell off of me that bloc party album made it (that was quite a tragedy from such a great band [same goes to rilo kiley]) and that apparently im the only person in this universe that cant stand Of Montreal, but some of my favs bands made it...
wish Klaxons were higher though!