And My Refinement of the Top 2007 Albums

I've waited too long, so here's the hush-hush, rush-rush version of my top albums of 2007 web-log. Log it, learn it, and don't forget it. Unlike last year where I altered the previous year's top ten albums, I'll merely rehash the top ten of 2006, in case you forget. I did have thirty, as I will again this year, but the top ten are the most important, they say.

Tip-top 2006 albums:
1. TV on the Radio- Return to Cookie Mountain
2. Grizzly Bear- Yellow House
3. Junior Boys- So This Is Goodbye
4. The Hold Steady- Boys and Girls in America
5. Tapes 'n Tapes- The Loon
6. Band of Horses- Everything All the Time
7. Peter Bjorn and John- Writer's Block
8. Cat Power- The Greatest
9. Yo La Tengo- I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
10. Islands- Return to the Sea

Of course, I missed some albums in my quest for musical domination. Here are some notable mentions of albums I overlooked or underscored in 2006.

Beach House- Self-titled (missed the top 30, this high mention should've placed close to top ten)
Fujiya & Miyagi- Transparent Things (also high mention only, could’ve been top 30)
The Knife- Silent Shout (another high mention that may even be top ten now)
Tim Hecker- Harmony in Ultraviolet (missed altogether)
Tom Waits- Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards (missed altogether)
Keith Fullerton Whitman- Lisbon (missed altogether)
Herbert- Scale (should’ve made high mention, perhaps)
Girl Talk- Night Ripper (overlooked)
Chad VanGaalen- Skelliconnection (missed altogether, and could've placed)
Annuals- Be He Me (somehow didn’t get recognized, but I don’t think I listened until December, then became more excited about it in January- deserves top 30)

Last year, I also made mention of my most anticipated of the upcoming year (2007), and that high honor went to Radiohead. They even made a news announcement claiming there would not be a new Radiohead album in 2007, then before you knew it, we were surprised by an announcement that the album would be released, digitally, a week later. So, after shocking the world and saving babies from burning buildings, where did the elusive Radiohead LP7 place? Also, it should be noted that I proclaimed of Montreal's new album to be the best so-far album of 2007 when I wrote last year's top album blog. Even at that early point, it had some heavy competition by the likes of !!!, LCD Soundsystem, Deerhoof and the Shins. Could of Montreal hold up after twelve months? And, we've all been waiting since 2003 for a new Radiohead album with high anticipation, so it had to disappoint, right? Plus, it should be noted that I listened to somewhere over 150 full-length 2007 albums. And, unlike Spin magazine among others, I don't need to lean back on 2006 albums they attempt to masquerade as 2007 due to US release dates or their own negligence. These answers come now:

The Top Albums of 2007:
1. Panda Bear- Person Pitch (The album that hypnotized me with a mix of sunny 60's pop harmonies, electronic grooves, African and Brazilian music, also convinced me to envelop myself in Animal Collective prior to their most recent release. I have to give this album a slight edge over the Animal Collective album due to the mythical original reaction it evoked, as well as the mere fact that I've likely listened to the album in its entirety over forty times. That's more than any 2006 album could say at the close of that respective year. Person Pitch will blow your britches off. You can thank me after you catch your breath. I can't wait for more output from the pop experimentalists, Animal Collective, but I really hope for another solo Panda Bear release in the near future.
2. Animal Collective- Strawberry Jam (The most accessible and simultaneously inaccessible Animal Collective album yet is also them at their most focused. An album title that could be read as one of the worst of 2007 if it weren't strangely apt: this album is messy, art pop that is digested as gooey goodness.)
3. of Montreal- Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? (Their best effort yet comes in the form of a post-breakup, psychedelic electro-pop for the kids. Their live show might single-handedly bring back glam rock, but this album is great for all occasions.)
4. LCD Soundsystem- Sound of Silver (Upon first listen, I hated this album. I would often speak of how diverse the self-titled album was in contrast. After plays on sattelite radio slowly convinced me to give the album another go, I was slowly won over. I'm still a bit uneasy of the lyrics in "Sound of Silver", but most of the tunes are excellent. The analog synth gets me every time, and the same gripe I used to have was transformed into a realization that this album functions much better as a whole. This is the after-party to any great night.)
5. Radiohead- In Rainbows (What do you want me to say? It's Radiohead. These are fantastic tunes whether they are stripped from the context of the album, or not. Unfortunately, "Videotape" and "House of Cards" are weaker than you'd ask for from these English fellows, but this is another fine album that didn't make me regret purchasing that high-priced diskbox.)
6. Spoon- Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (Seriously, guys, can you even release a sour album? Their appeal extends as far as to my dad, and they experiment just enough to keep me entertained. But really, do they even have to? They're just fine-tuning the blueprint for rock 'n roll that they've nearly perfected already.)
7. The National- Boxer (Almost typed ‘boxers’ by accident, and if it were true, it boosts this rank. This is, however, a cozy album you'd be comfortable getting close with.)
8. Menomena- Friend and Foe (As complex as pop music can get, and it's epitomized by their live act where they shift instruments constantly and loop the notes they play. And, they play the shit out of anything they get their hands on.)
9. Battles- Mirrored (Speaking of having fun with just playing, that is exactly what Battles are doing. I was telling my English major/Peace Corps friend, Elin, about Battles and laughing about a track title by proclaiming, "D-d-da-diamonddd," just as our professor, Dr. Diamond walked in the door. Whoops. Unlike the brooding tribal drums found in Liars’ Drum’s Not Dead, Battles functions as a crazier stomp as we witness what Kid A might’ve sounded like had it been written by machines obsessed with being human as opposed to humans destroying rock and replacing it with machines. Every cymbal, snare, guitar segue, ‘vocal’ and the like is so meticulously calculated that you’d wonder how many different takes it took to perfect it. Then, you realize they’re robots; so, one. If the singer/songwriter was replaced in the future by computers that generated music by mixing algorithms, generating ‘vocals’ at the expense of lyrics and accurately calculating the human attention span, this is what it would sound like. Well, then, I revoke my previous childhood assumptions-- yes, I thought about computers writing music as a kid-- and this future wouldn’t be so bad if it all sounded as good as this.

So, assuming Radiohead are aliens and Battles are musically inclined personal computers and/or machines programmed to rock, humans seem rather inconsequential at the moment. After all, if lyrics largely go ‘over my head’ as the Fray would argue, and often even require two conflicting titles in order for the general public to comprehend, then they are irrelevant. And if the alternative option was to settle for human music in the realm of the Fray, well, I’d even choose computers that could only produce one album on the level of Battles’ Mirrored once a year. Sure, it’d be bleak and lonely in the months when only sub-par music was being released, but at least I wouldn’t hang myself with guitar strings. I mean, we all know no one has ever died by the keys of a laptop.)
10. Jens Lekman- Night Falls Over Kortedala (I promise I'll keep this one brief. This is Jens Lekman growing up, and finally convincing me that he is a songwriter worth taking note of.)
11. Nina Nastasia & Jim White- You Follow Me (I had this list figured out weeks ago. As a last push, I bumped this album and Bon Iver up from where they were previously below Kanye. I couldn't help it. Since they are both in the realm of folk, and I began listening to them around the same time, I tend to associate them. It's natural that they'd come back-to-back in my album list. Their simple charm finds me coming back for repeat plays practically every week.)
12. Bon Iver- For Emma, Forever Ago
13. M.I.A.- Kala (A few duds, but, overall, this is a fun, political dance album.)
14. Dirty Projectors- Rise Above (This is an attempt to rewrite Black Flag's Damaged from memory, but I can't remember when angst and torment sounded this good.)
15. Les Savy Fav- Let’s Stay Friends (Yes, let's.)
16. Kanye West- Graduation (I was obligated to include this due to my fall graduation. Oh, and it was a pretty good album too.)
17. !!!- Myth Takes (Dance-punk never hasn't sounded this convincing since the genre started- whenever that was.)
18. Feist- The Reminder (1234, let me tell you that I love you more, than your last album, this is a great upgrade, oh teenagers could even dig this.)
19. Sally Shapiro- Disco Romance (US version) (Okay, okay, it could be argued that this was released in 2006, but this version found three fantastic little tunes tacked on that only enhanced the strength of this lovely disco pop release.)
20. Burial- Untrue (What the hell is dubstep anyway? Whatever it is, this is a great place to start considering the fact that I'm not sure where else you would.)
21. Okkervil River- The Stage Names
22. Blitzen Trapper- Wild Mountain Nation (An album that often begs me to sing-along in rockabilly fashion. Sound a bit strange? Definitely worth checking out.)
23. Caribou- Andorra
24. Stars of the Lid- And Their Refinement of the Decline (The ambient album that pulses and shifts slightly for over an hour. Oh, there's so much space between the tones.)
25. The Field- From Here We Go Sublime
26. Studio- Yearbook 1 (It took me forever to check this out, and I was glad when I did.)
27. Andrew Bird- Armchair Apocrypha (It lacks the stunners of the last album, but it has enough to keep me returning.)
28. Deerhunter- Cryptograms / Fluorescent Grey EP (The EP functions as the album's extension, and I usually listen to the EP immediately following the album, or even on its own accord.)
29. White Rabbits- Fort Nightly
30. Shugo Tokumaru- Exit (This is an elusive little album from my favorite Japanese artist. It lacks a US release currently, and the artist website is in Japanese. But wait, was that chord progression in one of the later tunes a slight altercation of "Wonderwall"? No, couldn't be.)

Honorables/High Mention, since I’m not ambitious or enlightened enough to rank them into a top fifty, and I know I’ll probably kick myself later for ranking or not ranking them anyway:
The Shins, A Sunny Day in Glasgow, Liars, St. Vincent, Future of the Left
The Clientele, Beirut, Black Lips, Chromatics, Deerhoof,
James Blackshaw, Arcade Fire, the White Stripes, Yeasayer, Jay-Z,
Band of Horses, Handsome Furs, Iron & Wine, Justice,
Shuta Hasunuma, Sunset Rubdown, The Twilight Sad, Art Brut,
Grizzly Bear EP, Super Mario Galaxy Soundtrack

Promise: White Denim, Vampire Weekend, High Places,
Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Sure, they have two LPs and a smash song, “Maps”, that precede the Is Is EP, but never have I been so excited about them as I am with this short snippet of savory goodness.)

Biggest Disappointment of 2007:
Arcade Fire (Every album can't be Funeral, but at least Neon Bible could've been close, right?)

'What the Fuck' Album of 2007:
This honor should go to Battles, as well as the honor for 'worst lyrics' by default since vocals are utilized more as an instrument. Also, a high mention is Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan's album (Avey is another member of Animal Collective) because the album is played backwards on purpose. C'mon guys, really?

Best Comedy Album of 2007:
Patton Oswalt- Werewolves and Lollipops

Artist of the Year:
Every year there is an artist that seems to engulf me further than any other act out there. This year it was easily Animal Collective. If we were to go back in time, you'd find 2006 was the year of TV on the Radio, 2005 was for Blur, 2004 was probably Rufus Wainwright, and 2003 was Radiohead.

So-Far Best of 2008:
Here's what I've heard thus far,
Atlas Sound- Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
Beach House- Devotion
Hot Chip- Made in the Dark
The Magnetic Fields- Distortion
Nada Surf- Lucky (and also maybe ‘nada’ for promise)
Blood on the Wall- Liferz
Black Mountain- In the Future
Cat Power- Jukebox
Vampire Weekend- Self-titled
The Mountain Goats- Heretic Pride
Thao Nguyen- We Brave Bee Stings and All
Los Campesinos!- Hold on Now, Youngster…

The best of the bunch is most likely Beach House, but there are a few great albums here.

That's it for now, but I'll post the 16 concerts I've seen this year later, and maybe a couple more surprises. It's also notable that this is the year I upgraded from my 60gb iPod to a 160gb iPod (very necessary), as well as my graduation present being another desktop computer with tons of storage space for musical adventures.