another guest post from Mac Star

It's All About The Songs, Silly! Here's some songs, new and old, that are all about the songs. Pretty stripped down, singers and their songs. Some are covers, most are originals, all have personality and something special happening. Song Name Artist Mockingbirds Grant Lee Buffalo You're a Wolf Sea Wolf Just a Little Lovin' Shelby Lynne Too Long Yael Naïm Alaska Dr. Dog Human Civil Twilight Twice Little Dragon Couldn't Sleep Milosh You Don't Have to Believe Me Eric Hutchinson The Way I Am Ingrid Michaelson Metal Heart (2008 Version) Cat Power This Will Be Our Year Ok Go Second Chance Liam Finn Falling Slowly Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova with Marja Tuhkanen and Bertrand Galen Winter Killing Stina Nordenstam

guest post from Mac Star

Macstar's Notable 50 of 2007

Here's some tracks that i've come across in this year of '07. The is not meant to be a "best singles" list or even an artist's "best tracks", but they are definitely songs and bands you should know about, get to know, and listen to.

Song Name, Artist

Lullaby (Mountain), The Acorn

Rehab Amy, Winehouse

Intervention, Arcade Fire

Fluorescent Adolescent, Arctic Monkeys

What's a Girl to Do?, Bat for Lashes

Atlas, Battles

Devastation, The Besnard Lakes

Again & Again, The Bird And The Bee

Archangel, Burial

Volver a Comenzar, Café Tacuba

Melody Day, Caribou

Mr Blue (New Version), Catherine Feeny

The Pills Won't Help You Now, The Chemical Brothers

Fancy Footwork, Chromeo

Bubbly, Colbie Caillat

The People, Common

What a Job (featuring Snoop Dogg & Andre 3000), Devin The Dude

All My Life, DJ Harry

Ok, It's Alright With Me, Eric Hutchinson

1234, Feist

Business Time, Flight of the Conchords

Whistle for the Choir, The Fratellis

Sad Sad City, Ghostland Observatory

Grip Like a Vice, The Go! Team

Beautiful Life Gui Boratto

Boy With a Coin, Iron & Wine

I'm Your Man, Jacob Golden

The Opposite of Hallelujah, Jens Lekman

Teardrop, Jose Gonzalez

D.A.N.C.E., Justice

We All Want the Same Thing (feat. Lupe Fiasco), Kevin Michael

All My Friends, LCD Soundsystem

Twice, Little Dragon

Add Your Light to Mine, Baby, Lucky Soul

Boyz, M.I.A.

Just, Mark Ronson featuring Phantom Planet

Grace Kelly, MIKA

Gunpowder & Lead Miranda, Lambert

Dashboard, Modest Mouse

Start a War, The National

Bro's, Panda Bear

The Magic Position, Patrick Wolf

Young Folks, Peter Bjorn and John

Two, Ryan Adams

Love Song, Sara Bareilles

The Underdog, Spoon

Take Me to the Riot, Stars

The Con, Tegan and Sara

You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told), The White Stripes

See You At the Lights, 1990s

quick guest post from Marion

I have enjoyed State Radio's "Year of the Crow" (admittedly I enjoy
anything even remotely related to Dispatch) and Stephen Kellogg's "Glassjaw
Boxer". I also have liked the tunes I've heard so far from Pete Francis's
upcoming (2/08?) record "Iron Sea and the Calvary".

gues post from Avram

Since it's Friday and I'm wired on espresso and chocolate:

My tops for 07ish:

Current heavy rotation:

1) Black Kids - (they only have a myspace page)

2) Girl Talk - Night Ripper

3) Barr - Summary

4) The Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam

5) Jim Becker and Coleen Burke - Sountrack to Interkosmos


Those are the newish ones. Here are some old ones I'm heavy into:

1) Gil Scott-Heron - Pieces of a Man

2) Sparklehorse - Vivadixiesubmarinetransmission

plot

3) Leonard Cohen - Death of a Ladies' Man and New Skin/Old Ceremony
(I know there are two albums there, but deal with it.)

4) Everything by Joe Frank

5) The Ex with Tom Cora - Scrabbling at the Lock

6) All Sonic Youth from the 1980s

The "gonna get big" picks for 08:

1) The Black Kids

2) Two Gallants

3) Bjork/Panda Bear (well, it's an idea)

4) The Frames

5) Iron and Wine

6) Architecture in Helsinki

7) The Klaxons

8) The Animal Collective

Shows to look out for:

1) Wilco doing their entire catalog in order of release (a la cheap
trick)

2) The Boredoms with 88 drummers on August 8th

guest post from Elliott

I don't think any of these bands were technically new this year, but
I'm pretty sure I first heard them in 2007...


Deerhunter
http://myspace.com/deerhunter

The Besnard Lakes
http://myspace.com/thebesnardlakes

Pharaoh Overlord

The Twilight Sad
http://www.myspace.com/TheTwilightSad


bonus:
my little brother's band, javelin
http://myspace.com/hotjamzofjavelin

guest post from Chris

I'm not really an "... of the year!" kind of guy, but Rachel Unthank and The
Winterset came to my attention recently. Would probably be destined for big
things if they weren't annexed in the Folk section.

http://www.myspace.com/rachelunthank
www.*rachel**unthank*.com/

guest post from Martin

From Sweden the most magnificent singer since Jeff Buckley saw the
light of day:

Moto boy - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flaGOFYZ9i8

The US band I'm looking forward to buy plane tickets for and place on
a Swedish stage in 2008 is Chromatics

http://www.myspace.com/chromaticsmusics

guest post from Julian

if there's one artist that blew me away: Julia Kent with her debut Album
"Delay"
http://www.myspace.com/Julia_Kent that is.

Apart from that i'd like to mention the following albums:

M.I.A - Kala (XL Recordings)
Burial - Untrue (Hyperdub)
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver (DFA)

Panda Bear - Person Pitch (Paw Tracks)

Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam (Domino)
CocoRosie - The Adventures of Ghosthorse & Stillborn (Touch & Go)
Boxcutter - Glyphic (Neuton Med)
Mira Calix - Eyes Set Against The Sun (Warp)
Whitehouse - Racket (Susan Lawly)
Throbbing Gristle - Part 2: The Endless Not (Mute)
Alvin Lucier - Ever Present (Mode)
Rechenzentrum - Director's Cut (Mille Plateaux)
Stereo Total - Paris <-> Berlin (Disko B)

My concert of the year was by the way Fennesz & Rechenzentrum @
Volksbühne Berlin.
Music website discoveries of the year:
http://awesometapesfromafrica.blogspot.com and http://www.toneshared.com

Most tragic moments in music this year: To hear about the deaths of
Alice Coltrane and Lady Jaye Breyer P.Orridge

guest post from Thomas

Without being too redundant, i present my top 10 (in no particular order of
course):

1. Various Artists - After Dark
2. Justice - + (cross, not plus)
3. Peter Bjorn and John - Writer's Block
4. Robert Plant and Allison Krauss - Raising Sand
5. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
6. Jay - Z - American Gangster
7. Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquest of Josh Ritter
8. Various Artists - Coming Home: Fats Domino Tribute
9. Lyle Lovett - It's Not Big It's Large
10. Lil' Wayne - Da Drought 3

guest post from Bryan

I'm not a "music critic" anymore -- this list simply represents my favorite
albums of the year, for anyone who cares. Happy Holiday, from Bryan:


1 Wilco - Sky Blue Sky (Nonesuch)
2 Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand (Rounder)
3 Lewis Taylor - The Lost Album (Hacktone)
4 The Valerie Project - The Valerie Project (Drag City)
5 Leslie & The Badgers - Leslie & The Badgers (Self-Released)
6 Neil Young - Live at Massey Hall 1971 (Warner Bros./Reprise)
7 Panda Bear - Person Pitch (Paw Tracks)
8 Band of Horses - Cease To Begin (SubPop)
9 The Clientele - God Save the Clientele (Merge)
10 Lucinda Williams - West (Lost Highway)
11 Future Clouds And Radar - Future Clouds & Radar (Star Apple Kingdom)
12 Iron + Wine - The Shepherd's Dog (SubPop)
13 Jim Ford - Sounds of Our Time: The Harlan County Album + bonus tracks (Bear Family)
14 Elliott Smith - New Moon (Kill Rock Stars)**
15 Gram Parsons & The Flying Burrito Brothers - Live At The Avalon Ballroom 1969 (Amoeba)
16 Nick Drake - Family Tree (Island)
17 Dungen - Tio Bitar (Kemado)
18 The Broken West - I Can't Go On, I'll Go On (Merge)
19 Steve Earle - Washington Square Serenade (New West)
20 Kevin Ayers - The Unfairground (Lo-Max)

guest post from Joseph

My top 10s (warning: I'm a corny pop guy at heart) :

ALBUMS:
1. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings - 100 Days, 100 Nights
[Every single person I know who has heard this album has raved about it
to others; I wish that word of mouth had really done something.]
2. Josh Rouse - Country Mouse, City House
3. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
4. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
5. Bruce Springsteen - Magic
6. Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army
7. VA - Binky Griptite's Ghetto Funk Power Hour
8. Travis - The Boy With No Name
9. Ryan Shaw - This Is Ryan Shaw
10. Annie Lennox - Songs of Mass Destruction

SINGLES:
1. Jens Lekman, "The Opposite of Hallelujah"
2. Hellogoodbye, "Baby, It's Fact"
3. Josh Rouse, "Sweetie"
4. Orson, "Ain't No Party"
5. MIA, "Jimmy"
6. Marilyn Manson, "Heart Shaped Glasses"
7. The Gossip, "Careless Whisper"
8. James Blunt, "1973"
9. Musiq Soulchild, "Buddy"
10. Maroon 5, "Makes Me Wonder"

If remixes are allowed, then toss in there Frankie Valli & the Four
Seasons' "Beggin' (Pilooski edit)."

guest post from Nick

*60 Watt Kid* - local bayarea boys did some amazing sheet on their
Absolutley Kosher debut - it's a folky-ADD version of the beach boys, in the
vein of Fiery Furnaces & Animal Collective - superbad.

http://www.myspace.com/60wattkid

guest post from my friend Will

http://www.myspace.com/creaturecreature

Creature are one of many Montreal acts which tore it up at SXSW this year. Believe - that French-Canadian city is punching well above its weight! Pigeon hole it under Disco slash Punk slash Pop, Creature come with a healthy dose of sarcasm (the female singer is called "Cowbella") and some of the best pop production I've heard in over a decade.

guest post from my friend Scott

I think the best album of the year is Tillbaka Till Samtiden by Kent. Here are some
links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k2RdYza8OQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RhDR-ks6vI