TOP ALBUMS OF 2007 (1)

1 - FIERY FURNACES - Widow City Number of reasons this is at number 1....First you get 16 great tracks...Not 9 or 12 like others...The songs have a very 70`s rock feel... with Zeppelin like riffs. Eleanor`s lyrics and the way she spits em out (almost as if they were tongue twisters) leave you wondering where the song is going to take you. There`s a press release on Wiki that explains the album best and how the background lyrics and sounds created by Matthew help set the story..."As on past Fiery Furnaces' albums, the backing tracks have a narrative aspect, excuse the expression. For instance, the long 'bassoon' and altered tabla part in "The Philadelphia Grand Jury" might indicate the singer in the song's waiting for the word (verdict). The loud guitar-drums-and-Chamberlin 'thunderstorm' part towards the end of "Ex-Guru" indicates the thunderstorm brought about by the jilted ex-guru. The synthesizer filtering of the acoustic guitar in "Duplexes of the Dead" indicates the odd light that filters through the dirty curtains a duplex of the dead would no doubt have. The swelling melody at the end of "My Egyptian Grammar" indicates the pride that likely swells up in the breast of a blue jay referred to therein. The monkey and cow noises in "The Old Hag is Sleeping" indicate the rooster at dawn. The guitar solo at the end of "Cabaret of the Seven Devils" counts to seven. The train sound effect in "Japanese Slippers" indicates a train. And so forth."...Ohh and I love the album cover ....she does look way cuter in person though...I have some pics of the show I went too a week ago as well as some tracks. I`m going to also leave ya with some tracks from MGMT. They opened up for the Fiery Furnaces and were pretty good...I`ve been loving a few tracks off the album "Oracular Spectacular" so make sure you get em.....and last but not least have a Merry Christmas!!! I don`t see myself posting much before 2008, so have a Happy New year......and I`ll be back in 2008!...CN Fiery Furnaces - Navy Nurse Fiery Furnaces - Restorative Beer MGMT - Kids MGMT - Electric Feel

TOP ALBUMS OF 2007 (10-6)

10 - JOHN VANDERSLICE - Emerald City John`s albums are always an interesting listen..The production is always so slick (I guess that comes with owning your own studio). A lot of people found his lyrics about 911 annoying (cause he did it on Pixal Revolt too) but not me..I actually perfer it...My only complaint is that the album is too short...only 9 songs!! 9 - LCD SOUNDSYSTEM - Sound Of Silver Anything James Murphy puts out these days seems to make me wanna dance....Sound Of Silver no different...I`m glad everyone else diggs it too....Its on a lot of year end lists....and it just got nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album. 8 - !!! - Myth Takes At first this album didn`t really catch on with me...It took a few listens....and then I found myself not being able to rip the damn CD out of the player...!!! (Chk Chk Chk for all you newbies) are on a roll...First no one has herd of them...Now their songs are on Tony Hawk and Fifa games...I bought a kick ass shirt when I saw em live...If I had a list of Favourite t-shirts....it would be #1 7 - PINBACK - Autumn Of The Seraphs This record is soo easy to enjoy...Defiantly their best to date...and another band I`m glad I saw live this year. Zack Smith has such an interesting way of playing bass...I have Grooves (record store in London) to thank for getting me into this album.. 6 - THE GO FIND - Stars On The Wall If I were ever to make a solo record, I would want it to sound something like this album. Its not too hard , not too soft....in fact its just right...It was the first album I really enjoyed in 2007 and I still listen to it a lot...Thanks Oink for this one (you will be missed btw) John Vanderslice - Kookaburra John Vanderslice - The Parade LCD Soundsystem - Get Innocuous LCD Soundsystem - New York I Love You !!! - Must Be The Moon !!! - Heart Of Hearts Pinback - Good To Sea Pinback - Devil You Know The Go Find - Dictionary The Go Find - Adrenaline

TOP ALBUMS OF 2007 (15-11)

15 - TALIB KWELI - Ear Drum Yes my favourite Hip-Hop album of 2007. Eardrum is packed with sick jams..16 tracks and I probably love 13 of them...It seemed like everyone else does too...Lots of favorable reviews and good album sales....Eardrum was an easy pick at #15 14 - TWO MINUTE MIRACLES - Lions Of Love Its been soo long since the last Two Minute Miracles albums...Well worth the wait...Andy Magoffin is talented both as a song writer and a producer...and it shows on Lions Of Love....Lots of 2 minute kick ass songs. 13 - BLONDE REDHEAD - 23 23 is the kind of album I like to listen to from track 1 to finish....It has a great mood to it...Which is funny cause the band admitted to having know idea where the album was going prior to mixing...Who knows what the album cover is about? 12 - ANDREW BIRD - Armchair Apocrypha This was my first album I`d herd of by Andrew Bird...so needless to say I was impressed...Yeah I know I`m a little late getting on the Andrew Bird train (guy has like 8 albums). But I`m on now!...In my opinion he looks a lot like Andrew Scott from Sloan....Go Here and Here to compare the two.. 11 - ROGUE WAVE - Asleep At Heavens Gate This album surprised the heck outta me...I can now safely say I like this album better then there last (Descended Like Vultures)...Which is tough to do...especially after switching record labels....Zack Rogue continues to be one of my favourite song writers and it shows on this record Talib Kweli - Country Cousins Talib Kweli - Electrify Two Minute Miracles - The Bee Hell Two Minute Miracles - Stay Off The Train Tracks Blonde Redhead - Dr. Strangelove Blonde Redhead - Herione Andrew Bird - Plasticities Andrew Bird - Scythian Empire Rogue Wave - Chicago X 12 Rogue Wave - Own Your Own Home

TOP ALBUMS OF 2007 (20-15)

20 - BAND OF HORSES - Cease To Begin B.O.H. slows down a lot with Cease To Begin. I find they leaned more towards an alt/country sound then the more rockin "Everything All The Time" (last years album, ranked #4 on last years list)....These arn`t bad things, and I believe this record has a lot of emotion.....I just dug their last record more.. 19 - RADIOHEAD - In Rainbows You know this is the kind of album I`ve been waiting for Radiohead to release....and what a better way to do that then to sell it online for practically free! I like how some songs sound like they coulda been on Kid A, while others on Ok Computer...The mix is what I`ve been waiting for and why this album kicks ass 18 - FIELD MUSIC - Tones Of Town I had the pleasure of seeing these young UK lads this year. Which I`m totally glad I did, I heard somewhere that there done making music for awhile...It was amazing to see the brothers Brewis play together (and switch different instruments too)...this album makes me smile 17 - GERMANS - Cape Fear If you know me then you know that I have a ton of respect for bands that are able to switch instruments...Its fun to see someone sing and play guitar on one song and then play drums on the next...The first time I saw the Germans.....I felt that`s all they did during their set...I then picked up this album...and absolutely love it.. 16 - M.I.A. - Kala Its no surprise that M.I.A. is on almost every top album list that I`ve seen so far...and yes she is super rad!..The beats on Kala are some of the best I`ve herd from M.I.A....she`s so different then the rest of the female hip-hopers....its no surprise that she made my list too. Band Of Horses - Ode To Irc Band Of Horses - Detlef Schrempf Radiohead - 15 Step Radiohead - Bodysnatchers Field Music - Working To Work Field Music - She Can Do What She Wants Germans - Tiger Vaccum Bottle Germans - I Am The Teacher M.I.A. - Boyz M.I.A. - Jimmy

TOP ALBUMS OF 2007 (26-21)

Hey guys...sorry no post yesterday...got home late from the Fiery Furnaces concert....u get 6 more albums today...CN 26 - SQUARE ROOT OF MARGARET - Teragram Photeur I start buy saying "Buy This Album Immediately HERE". I don`t know if Po Kadot and friends know how to make a shitty album...it may be their strongest to date. The two songs about "Time" are my favourites. 25 - APOSTLE OF HUSTLE - National Anthem Of Nowhere For the BSS "Hardcore`s" you may be surprised that Andrew Whiteman`s A.O.H. are at #25 on my list and Kevin Drew was at #39. For me Andrew`s touch of World Music and Spanish Lyrics makes for one kick ass album. Plus they blew my mind when they played CTO in London. 24 - AKRON/FAMILY - Love Is Simple Akron/Family was one of the main acts @ LOLA fest this year.....So I checked em out and they were horrible...well not that bad but defiantly didn`t fit in nicely with the London crowd...Regardless I grabbed the Vinyl and loved it....I still listen to it a lot. 23 - LES SAVY FAV - Lets Stay Friends Les Savy Who? is what I thought when I cought up with all the hype about this band. Every track is unique and if you didn`t know any better you may even mistake this album for a Compilation. I will "Stay Friends" with this band, as long as they are making masterpieces.. 22 - BLOC PARTY - A Weekend In The City What Bloc Party shoulda done for this one is release it as a double album...All the B-Sides and Extra Tracks are just as good as the album itself.....Last time I counted there was 12 tracks too...different versions of some. Another band I`m glad I saw live (finally) in 2007. 21 - AESOP ROCK - None Shall Pass Man I`m struggling to come up with stuff to say about Aesop....I love the fact that he produces half of the songs on the album...and the beats are sick... I`m still a little pissed about the vinyl pressing (still waiting for my copy and it apparently came out in Aug) Square Root Of Margaret - Time Bomb Square Root Of Margaret - Time Delay Apostle Of Hustle - National Anthem Of Nowhere Apostle Of Hustle - Chances Are Akron/Family - Ed Is A Portal Akron/Family - Don`t Be Afraid, Your Already Dead Les Savy Fav - The Year Before The Year 2000 Les Savy Fav - What Would Wolves Do? Bloc Party - Hunting For Witches Bloc Party - Kreuzberg Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass Aesop Rock - Five Fingers

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29 - DINOSAUR JR - Beyond Wow Dinosaur JR`s first album since forever and I loved it almost instantly... I must admit I`d only heard a few tracks prior to this years release. Still I understand why people call J Mascis the Indie Rock Genius he is...The solos on this album are ridicilous!! 28 - JOEL PLASKETT - Ashtray Rock When a JP record comes out you know its an exciting year of music..Not much gets released from the old Halifax/Murderecords scene any more....so when a new Plaskett album drops its as close to Thrush Hermit as your gonna get...and Ashtray Rock sounds like it could pass as a Hermit record...Lots of Rockin tunes...It had my vote for the Polaris Music Prize 27 - RUFUS WAINWRIGHT - Release The Stars Another great year from another Canadian artist...Rufus not only released this record..... but then did a huge tour and just released a double record of his tribute performace to Judy Garland at Carnegie hall. Rufus kinda lost me during the want albums....but I`m glad he`s back. Dinosaur Jr. - Crumble Dinosaur Jr. - This Is All I Came To Do Joel Plaskett - Drunk Teenagers Joel Plaskett - Snowed In / Crusin Rufus Wainwright - Going To A Town Rufus Wainwright - Tiergarten

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32 - VOXTROT - S/T At first I was little disappointed by this album....I was expecting good things from their debut. That doesn`t mean its shit....it just took me a little longer to appreciate this record...Nothing can touch their first two EP`s though... 31 - PETER BJORN & JOHN - Writers Block What the hell? Why is PBJ in 2007`s list?...The album came out in 2006....Ha it did...but it didn`t come out in North America until 2007. Ok the real reason is I didn`t include this album in last years list...and yes Young Folks is a great track...but there are so many other good tracks on this album.. 30 - AQUEDUCT - Or Give Me Death So much to be said about this record...not enough room here..I will say give this one another shot...a lot of reviews I read gave "Or Give Me Death" mediocre reviews...Are you kidding me? There`s a ton of solid tracks on this one. Voxtrot - Kid Gloves Voxtrot - Firecracker Peter Bjorn & John - Young Folks Peter Bjorn & John - Paris 2004 Aqueduct - Broken Records Aqueduct - Keep It Together

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35 - THE GO TEAM! - Proof Of Youth Having never herd a Go Team record before....I was quite surprised I enjoyed this as much as I do. There`s such a wide variety of gene rs too..Indie Rock, Hip-Hop and Dance...all mashed together into one interesting record. 34 - ELLIOTT SMITH - New Moon Yeah I know this one should defiantly Not be in this list....All the songs are from the early 90`s and its a double album...But it has some of my favourite Smith tracks and he is my favourite artist and this my blog....ES you can fit in at number 34 33 - THE THRILLS - Teenager Not as strong an album as I woulda hoped...Yet all the songs I do enjoy...I enjoy with a passion..Still waiting for them to come anywhere neer here so I can see em live....ohh and I love the 80`s album art The Go Team - Fake ID The Go Team - Doing It Right Elliott Smith - Georgia, Georgia Elliott Smith - High Times The Thrills - Nothing Chages Around Here The Thrills - I Came All This Way

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38 - LAURA VEIRS - Saltbreakers Pitchfork gave this album a 4.7....which is totally outrageous if you ask me...I think Laura has stuck the right chord again with another solid album...The song Saltbreakers (named after the album and her band) is a little lame, but the rest of the tracks are great. 37 - COMMON - Finding Forever This record was tough, and to be honest it wasn`t gonna even make the list. I`ll explain...I love all the beats on this record , I just can`t stand some of the name dropping...I know Common has made it big as a movie star...Doesn`t mean ya gotta put less effort towards your lyrics...I gave it a 2nd listen...and it fits comfortably @ 37. 36 - ROONEY - Calling The World The media gave this record pretty average reviews (Rolling Stone, All Music, Stv all with 2 or 3 stars outta 5)...for some reason I love this record...Its flow is soo easy and Rooney`s music is simple to get into only after a few listens....I don`t find that a bad thing...I also dig the Rubber Soul like cover... Laura Veirs - Wandering Kind Laura Veirs - Don`t Lose Yourself Common - The People Common - Break My Heart Rooney - When Did Your Heart Go Missing Rooney - Paralyzed

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41 - GOOD SHOES - Think Before You Speak Another friggin Indie Rock band from the U.K. Except I find these guys to be a little different from the others (Arctic Monkeys, Milburn)....if that`s even possible. Sophia is one of my favorite tunes of 2007....I passed on an opportunity to grab this 1 on vinyl....and I`m still regretting it. 40 - HOLY FUCK - LP The HF crew opened up for !!! and that`s where I saw them for the first time....A lot of the songs on the full length LP can be found on their earlier EP so I`m sorta cheating by tossin this 1 in my top 50. Its totally worth the buzz still.....and a band to defiantly check out if they come anywhere near your hometown. 39 - KEVIN DREW (BSS) - Spirit If... I`m still confused, is this record supposed to be a solo effort or a Broken Social Scene effort....I say BSS...It sounds just like a BSS record which is a beautiful thing....been a loyal fan for years and this one is right up there with Feel Good Lost & 2005`s Self Titled. Good Shoes - Never Meant To Hurt You Good Shoes - Sophia Holy Fuck - Lovely Allen Holy Fuck - The Pulse Kevin Drew - TBTF Kevin Drew - FKed Up Kid

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44 - FEIST - The Reminder One of most anticipated albums of 2007, Feist didn`t disappoint. The Reminder is another great showcase of Leslie Feist`s amazing songwriting ability....I think she is gonna be the next Joni Mitchell.....if she isn`t already....and I`ll bet there will be twice as much commercials with her music in it in 2008. 43 - WOODEN SKY - When Lost At Sea We saw Toronto`s Wooden Sky open for Chad Vangaalen a few months ago and their set totally had me in awe...Take Indie Rock and Country...mash em together and you have Wooden Sky. Its too bad no one outside of Ontario has herd or seen them..Hopefully that will change in 2008. 42 - THE PONYS - Turn The Lights Out One regret I have is not seeing these guys live this year....The opportunity came a few times but I was too busy. I find this record has a little dark cloud over it, its not depressing or very hardcore but has a dark side. It really should be enjoy`d from track 1-12 in order to get the full mood of the album Feist - My Moon, My Man Feist - 1234 Wooden Sky - This Bird Has Flown Wooden Sky - North Dakota The Ponys - Double Vision The Ponys - 1209 Seminary

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47 - SALLY SHAPIRO - Disco Romance I never thought that Paper Bag Records would end up distributing Disco-pop artist Sally Shapiro....then again I didn`t think Disco Romance would be in my top 50....we have Pitchfork to thank for this one 46 - DARTZ! - This Is My Ship I found Dartz! threw MySpace....."This is my ship" is a tricky record...I don`t know if I would call it punk or Dance Music...I will call it a great record though. 45 - ST.VINCENT - Marry Me Marry Me has great depth for a debut record...What I mean by depth is lots of different instruments and lots of tempo changes. The only bad thing about this album is the cover. I`ve seen way better pictures of Annie Clark, looking really cute/hot....This cover makes her look sickly skinni and spaced-out. Sally Shapiro - I`ll Be By Your Side Sally Shapiro - I Know Dartz! - Network Network Network Dartz! - Once Twice Again St. Vincent - Now, Now St. Vincent - Marry Me

Welcome Back.....Year End List (50-48)

Yea I`m back....I had to take a little break so I could put together my year end list of favourite albums.....Mine is really simple actually...Everyday is a countdown to my TOP 50.....3 albums everyday until the end of the month....Enjoy and make sure u check back to see what albums made it.... 50 - MINUS THE BEAR - Planet Of Ice Minus The Bear records are always an interesting listen. The different tempo`s, and the fantasic keyboard sounds. I play the drums a little .... so for me hearing such great production (and such a great drummer) makes the record so much more. "Knights" is a great single 49 - OMEGA WATTS - Watts Happening Only a few good Hip Hop albums came out this year as far as I`m concerned and Watts Happening is one of them. I like the soul/rap feel that Ohmega puts out.....it tends to sound a lil "Roots" (ey) in parts but overall the record is a fab listen..Get "Model Citizen"! 48 - PRINZHORN DANCE SCHOOL - Prinzhorn Dance School Such a simple sound....with most songs consisting of just a simple bass line or drum...But that`s what makes this record so friggin kool...That and their signed with NY`s DFA records (LCD Soundsystem)...I like to say "Realer.......Pretender" in an English accent...it sounds funny! Minus The Bear - Burying Luck Minus The Bear - Knights Ohmega Watts - Model Citizen Ohmega Watts - Adaptacao Prinzhorn Dance School - Realer, Pretender Prinzhorn Dance School - Up! Up! Up!