what I liked last year
17 Dots has been pretty heavy on the aggregation front these past few weeks (it’s that time of year!), but as an astute comment pointed out, there hasn’t been anything from us in terms of what we, as people, actually favored from 2007. And since we’re folks who only need the slightest nudge to get all narcissistic on ya’ll, what follows is my list of favorite records that I submitted to Idolator this year for their Jackin’ Pop annual poll, along with some bonus navel gazing.
ALBUMS
01 Glass Candy, Beat Box
02 Strategy, Future Rock
03 MIA, Kala
04 Killed by 9V Batteries, Killed By 9V Batteries
05 Kanye West, Graduation
06 radicalfashion, odori
07 Yeasayer, All Hour Cymbals
08 The Answering Machine, Silent Hotels
09 Burial, Untrue
10 High Places, Ancient Almanac
So the Glass Candy we have been pimping for a while now (see the live clip below); Strategy is a wonderfully smooth example of post-punk future-soul; Killed by 9V Batteries excellent mid-’90s indie rock; the Kanye ultimately disappointing but with enough highs to make it worthwhile; radicalfashion great 20th century classical done IDM; Yeasayer weirdo indie; the Answering Machine my pick to Make It Big; the Burial consistently pleasing; and High Places a great young NYC band already gaining steam.
SONGS
01 Answering Machine, “Lightbulbs”
02 Nelly Furtado, “Say It Right”
03 Glass Candy, “Candy Castle”
05 Ghetto Fabulous Gang, “Regrets”
07 Prinzhorn Dance School, “You Are the Space Invader”
08 M.I.A., “Paper Planes”
09 Lykke Li, “Little Bit”
10 Robin Thicke, “Lost Without U”
This list is kinda out of order; anyone of these could really be number one, all are songs that have consistently stayed in my ear/head/feet. Also please don’t mistake the No Age inclusion for me being yet another dude on their jock: there’s nothing really special about them, and for someone who loves the noise shit, the attention they’ve gotten (three pages in the New Yorker!) is beyond perplexing. But still, “Neck Escaper” is gorgeous. And Lykke Li? So so so so good.
Coming soon: a year-end mix, and thoughts on movies and books. Holla!
No Battles for you? I would have bet that “Mirrored” was high on your list.
Interesting choices. I like that Glass Candy disc a lot. But as good as it is, it pales — to me — in comparison to the IDIB-compilation, “After Dark” (which had GC songs on it).
Yeah, Battles prolly coulda been on there but I haven’t listened to it in ages and so it seemed less urgent. I never end up standing by these lists. Sometimes I look back at my Pazz and Jop ballots and can’t even imagine what it was I was reacting to at that point. Still, everything up there I stand behind.
I like After Dark quite a bit, but I’ve had a long-running relationship with Glass Candy, and so I feel kinda precious about that album. That’s the best way I can put it.
I just recently snagged the Glass Candy album and have been loving it for the last couple days. If I made a year-end list (I tend not to, at least not publicly), it would certainly be high, although I simultaneously wonder if its incredible immediacy will yield much in several months. To the Chromatics credit, for a record I initially found spare to a fault, I just recently came to appreciate that “IV” only gets better with repeat listens; here’s to hoping that the GC record doesn’t have the opposite effect! (Not that I’m trying to imply anything about you ranking them top, Yancey, I’m just putting my own anxieties out there cos blogs make me get all confessional.)
And what is this about a High Place record? I have the “Shared Island”/”Universe” 7″… I’d love to complement it with something else. I’ll also have to check out those Strategy and radicalfashion records.
hi alex! the high places is just the shared island 7″, but apparently the “official” name for it. they are working on a new record right now.
I tried to check out Glass Candy but the samples sounded kind of like a weak sauce version of New Young Pony Club. Maybe I’m off base since I haven’t heard the whole songs, but on the other hand if you haven’t heard the New Young Pony Club album I recommend it.
I haven’t checked that one out, porieux. I will definitely give it a listen.
FYI, it’s not called Jackin’ Pop this year.
I’d go for Bat For Lashes, Iron And Wine, Cherry Ghost, Cinematic Orchestra,Dead Meadow, And the Tortoise/Bonnie Prince Billy album i found on Emusic.
Best live gig: Clutch b/w The Sword, who appear to have shaved an angry bear and made it play the drums.
Sorry Yancey – I assumed you’d have heard New Young Pony Club or I’d have given you a heads up sooner – I like them a great deal and have featured them a fair amount on the European side of eMusic.
OK, and this Strategy record is also a real treat. But I’m not even 3 days past the new year and already down to 12 downloads!!
Yancey,
I was able to see Glass Candy and MIA this past year and they are really good performers. Nice to see them on your lists. What’s on your list for 2008?
Have you checked out jamsbio.com? They have a feature called Lists where you can make a top5 list of favorite songs, albums, or artists. It’s a pretty neat feature. You could even add commentary to other people’s lists if you agree or disagree with them. Right now, jamsbio.com is running a contest where you can win $50 dollars each day this week if you play either their Songblitz and Jamsmatch. Give it a try, maybe you’ll be $50 richer!
- Julianne