Best Albums of 2007

[Richard Pinnell]

Yasuo Totsuka / Takefumi Naoshima - New Tears of Flowers

Thats a really nice disc you don't see mentioned that often. Is it not from 2006 though?

[sound plague]

I love these threads...

First, the minute we enter December someone starts a best of the year thread....

Someone usually immediately complains its too early and the year doesn't end for a month yet....

Then really long lists of obscure CDs appear as everyone scrabbles to show how many CDs they bought this year...

Then people start to point out that certain CDs came out just before the year began.... arguments ensue...

Then Jon hints at what would be in his top ten if he made them, but he doesn't any more...

Then Fear and panic (correctly) points out that the thread should be titled favourite albums of 2007 rather than best albums of 2007...

Then the audition people start asking for lists for their consolidated top ten...

Various cynics make wisecracks along the way....

Ahhh don't you just love this time of year?

Well done.

[_duif]

Thats a really nice disc you don't see mentioned that often. Is it not from 2006 though?

not according to IMJ
http://www.japanimprov.com/tnaoshima/disco.html" onclick= "window.open(this.href);return false;

[Richard Pinnell]

Thats a really nice disc you don't see mentioned that often. Is it not from 2006 though?

not according to IMJ
http://www.japanimprov.com/tnaoshima/disco.html" onclick= "window.open(this.href);return false;

Aha, it was the other one Pushed out from the tube that came from '06. its not difficult to confuse those two releases!

[SuperlativeHors]

THE LAGAN TAPES - The Lagan Tapes

Do you know if that's a reference to the River Lagan in Northern Ireland?

[Salty Swift]

big shug - street champ
christ. - blue shift emissions
devin the dude - waitin' to inhale
the tuss - rushup edge

Do you get off on Christ.'s "Bike" as much as I do?

[user_5099]

has the top ten, best of the year thread existed more than two years?

anyway

I'd like to thankwhoever recommended me to Rachel Unthank, Clipse, Devin the Dude, Valgeir Sigurdsson, Wooden Shjips because they would be on my best of for this year (or was hell hath no fury last year??)

wow I can't believe it's over, it's finally over, finally 8 more months to the summer olympics in Beijing! I am so excited that I am going to countdown to it years in advance. I'm sure it won't be a stinker!
or just turn out to be just as dull as olympic games fare to go since the Munich one.

[jon abbey]

Then Jon hints at what would be in his top ten if he made them, but he doesn't any more...

I'm doing some kind of list this year, actually. people keep asking me what recent releases I recommend from ErstDist, so at the very least, I'm going to do a 2007 recommended list.

[Yii]

Yasuo Totsuka / Takefumi Naoshima - New Tears of Flowers

Thats a really nice disc you don't see mentioned that often. Is it not from 2006 though?

it has been recorded at mitaka city arts center, 2005 and released in april 2007.

[user_4584]

Favorite 10 Albums of 2007:

Library Tapes - Sketches
Part timer - Blue
Murcof - Cosmos
John Maus - Love Is Real
Bosques de mi Mente - Trenes de Juguete
Goldmund - Two Point Discrimination
Grampall Jookabox - Scientific Cricket
Grouper - Cover the Windows and the Walls
Hauschka - Room To Expand
Jasper TX - In A Cool Monsoon

Honorable Mentions:
Near The Parenthesis - Of Soft Constructions
Panther - Secret Lawns
Xiu Xiu Larsen - ?Spicchiology?
William Basinski - Shortwavemusic

Most Disappointing Albums of 2007
Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
Merzbow - Merzbear
Panda Bear - Person Pitch

[user_294]

big shug - street champ
christ. - blue shift emissions
devin the dude - waitin' to inhale
the tuss - rushup edge

Do you get off on Christ.'s "Bike" as much as I do?

I finally managed to download it earlier today. First track had a busier, dayvan cowboy vibe to it on the surface. It's like a low-fat, crispy version of Boards music. I'll give it a better listen tomorrow

track 3, 'chopper' is tickling my ears and making the farts ease out

[Gaendaal]

Then people start to point out that certain CDs came out just before the year began.... arguments ensue...

Hah, this is my problem with making Best/Favourite of 200X lists. I can never remember when things came out.

Having said that, these discs come to mind:

Wolves in the Throne Room - Two Hunters
Iamseamonster - Cloudcoverednightsky
Bat for Lashes - Fur and Gold (first released in 2006, yeah, but I have the 2007 re-issue so ner!)
White Stripes - Icky Thump
Amiina - Kurr
SleepResearch_Facility - Deep Frieze

[user_1823]

an excellent year for music, though as with last year, for me most of the best releases have been by well established artists.

whitehouse : racket
faust + nurse with wound : disconnected
consumer electronics : nobody's ugly
diana rogerson / a bad diana : the lights are on but no-one's home
fovea hex : neither speak nor remain silent [the first two EPs have been released earlier but as the whole set is complete i include it in its entireity]
carter tutti : feral vapours of the silver ether
the threshold houseboys choir : form grows rampant
the ceramic hobs : al al who
thinguma*jigsaw : (awakeinwhitechapel)
irr. app. (ext.) : cosmic superimposition
agitated radio pilot : world winds down
aube reworks nimh : volume 1
frida abtan : subtle movements
alvin lucier : ever present
the best of ethiopiques

top reissues of the year:

nurse with wound : insect and individual silenced
" " " " : homotopy to marie
" " " : gyllenskold...

more miss than hit:

throbbing gristle : the endless knot. "vow of silence" is a wonderful track, and "greasy spoon" and the solo tracks by CC, CFT and PC are all very enjoyable, but the rest is dull as dishwater. this album pales into insignifance compared with the THBC and carter tutti material. "almost a kiss" is by far the worst thing i have ever heard with the TG name attached to it.

andrew liles : vortex vault. liles seriously needs to start exercising quality control, sadly most of his output is now more mediocre than anything else (still , earlier albums such as "without season", "mother goose" and "my long accumulating discontent" are wonderful).

pointless releases of the year:

throbbing gristle : desertshore sessions box set. uninteresting and unrewarding.

current 93: birdsong in the empire, black ship in the underworld. another live album and another mediocre rehash of earlier material to add to c93's discography, in which the myriad of monotonous live recordings, alternate album versions which sound virtually identical to the orginal material, and sloppy remixes that add nothing to the works threaten to outnumber the proper albums. i personally dont want to hear about "black ships" ever again, though the appalling remix by foetus is due out next year, possibly the worst thing i have heard in a long time.

"whats the appeal" bands of the year:

battles (soul-less trendy wank), sigur ros (coldplay with sub-radiohead whinging)

[Cornelis]

IVarious cynics make wisecracks along the way....

and to add a few

I don't know about 95% of the stuff mentioned...
never even heared of those bands (or forgotten asap.... don't remember)
wondering (not joking) if I should I be really worried now


I think in 2008 (yes, NOT dec 2007) we should do a "best of 2006" (or even earlier) list.
because somtimes you hear something and become very obsessed for a few months, and sometimes the opposite, you only start to appriciate something after a year or so......


oh well, mixing some stuff by Toshi Nakamura at the moment, and I think even his worst stuff beats a lot of the best of 2007 anyway

(hurts my ears though.......)

Cor

[james]

My favorite album of 2007 was Meg Baird's Dear Companion.

Also enjoyed these a lot:
Magik Markers - Boss
Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
500mg - Apocatastisis
Blues Control - s/t
Cato Salsa Experience & The Thing With Joe McPhee - Two Bands And A Legend
Wooden Wand - James and The Quiet
Death Unit & Prurient - Terminal Cases (mainly the Prurient disc)
La Otracina - Tonal Ellipse Of The One
Mammatus - The Coast Explodes
Group Doueh - Guitar Music from the Western Sahara
Tom Carter & Christian Kiefer - A Rather Solemn Promise

[frozen reeds]

nihil

[james]

I never understand how people can put these lists together as I rarely buy things that came out in the last year or so. That said, I think this CD is worth a mention...

Congratulations on being non-compulsive, neurotic, obsessive and/or broke.

[Alastair]

Hah, this is my problem with making Best/Favourite of 200X lists. I can never remember when things came out.

I find that looking at the copyright dates help. But then you have to actually have the physical releases to do that.

(not a dig at you personally Gaendaal)

[grisha]

THE LAGAN TAPES - The Lagan Tapes

Do you know if that's a reference to the River Lagan in Northern Ireland?

it is.

http://www.myspace.com/thelagantapes" onclick= "window.open(this.href);return false;

btw fully downloadable here:

http://www.miklataklitim.com/Downloads% ... %20014.htm" onclick= "window.open(this.href);return false;

the packaging is quite rad though, available at Aquarius.

of course this is not my proper top whatever, which i'm not sure i am gonna make this year, but local stuff i liked.

[burnstand]

would it be considered bitchy and presumptuous to ask which favorite releases people actually /bought/ this year?
Though I imagine that this forum is probably one of the best for people actually buying the music they listen to...