music 2007.

Here's my best-of list for the year. I didn't actually find that much new music this year for whatever reason. And my means of finding/getting music were different than last year, too: I barely bought any physical CDs; I canned my emusic subscription; I started using the Amazon mp3 service; I didn't use lala much at all. I followed a few mp3 blogs though I don't think I ended up buying too many records as a result. Meh.

Also, this obviously wasn't a "pretty music" year for me. Hah.

The Great

• Kruger - Redemption Through Looseness. Dense, heavy, well-played, ridiculous, consistent. I love this record. Also, that is how you start a record. Boom. (myspace, buy)
• Unsane - Visqueen. Huge. Great production, great songs. They "grew" without watering down their thing. (myspace)
• Replicator - Machines Will Always Let You Down. Oakland! I've been friends with Ben for a while but I had never heard his band until I got a copy of MWALYD. Which I listened to constantly. Snotty, smart angular rock played by real people. Really excellent. (myspace, buy)
• Black Cobra - Feather And Stone. San Francisco! Sludgy heaviness that charges along and constantly threatens to derail itself. And they're a two-piece. WTF. (myspace, buy)
• Dyse - s/t. Another two-piece, I believe. Tight post-punk with nice indie production. And a great use of jangly, barely distorted guitar tones a la JR Ewing. (myspace, buy)
• Neil Young - Live At Massey Hall 1971. "Here's a song I just wrote... it's called 'The Needle And The Damage Done'". "Here's another new song... 'Old Man'". etc. Holy crap.
• Radiohead - In Rainbows. They keep killing it. Not revolutionary but still great. I love pretty much everything about this record: the songs, the arrangements, the guitar playing.
• Blonde Redhead - 23. I didn't know much about Blonde Redhead before hearing this record. My near-musicologist friend Bob this record is a total sellout. I think it's great. Hooky without being sugary, neat production, great vocals.

The Good

• Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - In Glorious Times. Not their best work, but still pretty fantastic. Epic, ridiculously dense, occasionally whimsical. (myspace, youtube, buy)
• High On Fire - Death Is This Communion. Big metal. Doesn't live up to Blessed Black Wings, but what would? This record sounds a little too clean, a little too under control; the last one sounded like a tractor trailer on a Formula 1 track. (myspace)
• PJ Harvey - White Chalk. Apparently this year's "The Good" list should be titled "records by amazing artists that continue to do good work, though not their best work".
• Neurosis - Given To The Rising. See above.
• Zozobra - Harmonic Tremors. Solid, way detuned sludge with some actual hooks. Nicely done. (myspace)
• Book Of Knots - Traineater. Weird rock side project from genius violinist Carla Kihlstedt (of SGM, Tin Hat, 2 Foot Yard, etc etc etc) and a bunch of other badasses. This record is a huge leap from their first; the songs are much stronger and more diverse. (myspace, buy)
• Akimbo - Navigating The Bronze. Awesome freakout riff-core. (myspace, buy)