In this era of downloadable MP3s, the idea of albums as the
barometer of musical excellence seems rather antiquated. I
hardly listen to entire CDs anymore and rarely want to
download more than one or tunes from any particular CD;
indeed, there’s only one 2007 CD from which I downloaded most
of the tracks – Lily Allen’s Alright, Still, and it only
technically qualified as a 2007 album, since that’s the year
it was released in North America.
Thus, my primary focus here is on the best songs of 2007. At
the bottom of this story, I do list some top albums, but my
primary basis for selection was similar – CDs from which I
downloaded four or more tracks.
This year, for the first time, I heard about most of these
songs from the multitude of music bloggers on the Internet as
well as from podcasts like KEXP’s Song of the Day and NPR’s
All Songs Considered. My choice of the best music blog of 2007
is Songs Illinois (www.songsillinois.net), a daily selection
of varied, interesting music adrift from the mainstream. A
good way to find bloggers and search for individual artists
and their MP3 tracks is via the Hype Machine (http://hypem.com).
I’m not sophisticated enough, yet, to post links to the
artists or the tracks. Most of these songs can be sampled at
and purchased from iTunes and their ilk.
25 Best Songs of 2007 (album name in brackets) – Other
than the first track, these aren’t in order of importance;
it’s more of a playlist.
Rickie Lee Jones: Nobody Knows My Name (The Sermon on
Exposition Boulevard) – Number one, with a bullet.
Distinctive, bluesy rock and haunting vocals. I can’t get
enough of it
Sixfoot Apprentice: Fix Up Cognac, Dizzee Rascal/Milanese
Mashup (New Crap) – A thumping remix that works
Imperial Teen: Everyone Wants to Know (The Hair, the TV, the
Baby and the Band) – Languid pure pop, with a slow buildup and
nice female backing vocals
Spoon: Eddie’s Ragga (Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga) – Hard to pick just
one track from my favourite rock CD of 2007 by the consistently
superb Spoon
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings: 100 Days, 100 Knights (100
Days, 100 Knights) – Detroit soul makes a comeback, with Jones’s
great pipes and great supporting horn players. Answer Me is
another fine track.
Robert Plant and Allison Krauss: Please Read the Letter
(Raising Sand) – Again, hard to pick from a number of excellent
tunes from this unusual but striking pairing
Patty Griffin: Trapeze (Children Running Through) – The best
folk album of 2007. This cut is a gorgeous duet with
unparalleled harmonizer Emmylou Harris
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: Bomb Repeat Bomb (Living With
the Living) – You’ve got to have a driving rock number on this
list, don’t you? It was either this or Arctic Monkey’s
Brianstorm (Favourite Worst Nightmare)
Amy Winehouse: You Know I’m No Good, featuring Ghostface
Killah (Back to Black) – Great torch vocals and Mark Ronson horn
arrangements
Macromantics: Scorch (Moments in Movements) – Infectious
hip-hop with a great beat; might be older than 2007, but I first
heard it this year
Over the Rhine: Trouble (The Trumpet Child) – Gorgeous
vocals by Karin Bergquist, backed by elegant piano
The Eames Era: When You Were a Millionaire (Heroes and
Sheroes) – If this power pop doesn’t make you get up and dance,
you might not have a pulse. Want more? Dear Gabby is equally as
good.
Corb Lund and the Hurtin’ Albertans: Horse Sodier, Horse
Soldier (Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!) – The lyrics are a bit
laboured but the country guitars are superb
Against Me!: Thrash Unreal (New Wave) – Anthem rock at its
finest; great for workouts
Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter: Station Grey (Life,
Love, Lust & the Open Halls of the Soul) – Skyes’s distinctive
vocals and a driving guitar solo to finish it off
Ohbijou: Misty Eyes (Swift Feet for Troubling Times) – Yet
another fine Canadian indie act
Bettye Lavette: They Call it Love (Scene of the Crime) –
More Detroit-infused soul. It all sounds better than it did 40
years ago, or maybe the recording technology is just better.
White Denim: Let’s Talk About It (Let’s Talk About It) – The
latest in a long line of Austin bands
Malcolm Holcombe: I Feel Like A Train (Wager) –
Whisky-soaked, toe-tapping folk
Jesca Hoop: Out the Back Door (Kismet) – One of the more
innovative young female songwriters out there.
Steve Earle: Satellite Radio (Washington Square) – Steve
Earle. Enough said.
Storyhill: Paradise Lost (Storyhill) – A topical song about
urban sprawl wrapped in a gorgeous male duet
The Killers: Shadowplay (Sawdust) – The driving,
closing-credit song of the movie Control. It’s almost as good as
a live version of the Joy Division song (from a 1979 radio
broadcast at Les Bains Douches)
Lily Allen: Not Big (Alright, Still) – Is size everything?
Rickie Lee Jones: Circle in the Sand (The Sermon on
Exposition Boulevard) – Brings this list full circle.
A couple of last-minute additions:
Shantel: Disko Partizani (Disko Partizani) – Nouveau Balkan
Lacrosse: You Can’t Say No Forever (The New Year Will Be For
You and Me) – Infectious pop
Best Albums
Country
Eilen Jewell Letters From Sinners and Strangers – A great,
largely unknown new talent
Folk
Patty Griffin: Children Running Through – Her best album,
good throughout, with a number of up-tempo tunes
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss: Raising Sand – Plant
continues to amaze with his versatility and continued growth
Jesca Hoop: Kismet – Innovative new talent; once the
babysitter for quirky genius Tom Waits
Steve Earle: Washington Square – He’s consistently good
Honourable mention: Levon Helm’s Dirt Farmer, which I
haven’t given a good listen to yet
Rock
Spoon: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga – The consistently best American rock
band over the past decade
Rickie Lee Jones: The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard – Her
best; raw, expressive vocals and a great bluesy band.
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: Living With the Living –
Another consistent rocker.
Against Me!: New Wave – More mainstream punk rock
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Is Is – Yes, it’s only an EP and not nearly
as good as their previous two CDs, but it’s always nice to get a
fresh dose of Karen O’s sultry, snarling vocals
Pop/Alternative
Lily Allen: Alright, Still – Potty-mouth but funny lyrics,
and Mark Ronson’s production is superb; not a throwaway track
here
Mendoza Line: 30 Year Low – Marks the end of the band and
the marriage, and the songs reflect it
Over the Rhine: The Trumpet Child
Electronic/Hip Hop
M.I.A.: Kala – Keeps delivering on her youthful promise
LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver – The repetitive percussion
is intoxicating
World
Vieux Farka Touré: Vieux Farka Touré – Breaks out from his
late father’s long shadow in this debut album, which includes
performances with Dad, Toumani Diabate and other greats.
