Best Albums of 2007

Post by **grisha** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 10:22 am

whoa what a snoozefest.

user_2578 · Post by **user_2578** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 10:22 am

jon abbey wrote:here's the "Jazz & Improv" list for reference:

Derek Bailey - Standards (Tzadik)
Anthony Braxton - 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006 (Firehouse 12)
John Butcher - The Geometry Of Sentiment (Emanem)
Peter Evans Quartet - Peter Evans Quartet (Firehouse 12)
Susie Ibarra's Electric Kulintang - Dialects (PR)
The Necks - Townsville (RER)
William Parker & Hamid Drake - Piercing The Veil (AUM Fidelity)
Cato Salsa Experience/The Thing/Joe McPhee - Two Bands And A Legend (Smalltown Superjazzz)
Matthew Shipp - Piano Vortex (Thirsty Ear)
David S Ware Quartet - Renunciation (AUM Fidelity)

it's a very backward thinking improv list, Efren. every single one of those musicians, with the possible exception of Peter Evans, has done better work in the past. it ignores Tokyo, Vienna, Berlin, like usual. we don't need to have this debate again, but there's your answer. for me, it's a bit depressing, having learned about so much new music in the past from the Wire, to see them essentially turn their back on the cutting edge, but on the other hand, I really don't care that much.

As I said, it was pure curiosity. I totally agree with what you're saying here. The only record I'm really interested in from that batch is the Braxton GTM set. However, I don't think it's a bad list (if you can qualify such a subjective thing) for the fact that there aren't any eai releases there but, as you pointed out, because those albums don't necessarily represent remarkable albums in their author's discographies or in their respective genres.

visa tapani · Post by **visa tapani** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 12:12 pm

sexes wrote:The thing I don't understand is Burial. I just can't listen to that stuff; totally corny. Burial is fucking whack. Then again maybe you have to be british to understand it.[...] Burial is just too corny and embarrassing.

With regards to the new one I would tend to agree to an extent, but not regarding the self-titled debut.

jpeatt wrote:it just all sounds so....average. Fundamentally ok, but just utterly unremarkable in every direction. I really fail to see the reason for the hype.[...] Burial I just fail to see the deal.

Well to me the Burial debut sounded unlike anything I had previously heard. I think the fact that he's not using a sequencer of any kind to make his music is remarkable. It just hit me immediately how different his beats sound to anything else.

In fact he's using an old version of Soundforge without even multi-track capabilities (or at least was still a while ago). He has to do a stereo mixdown of all of his material while he is working, no way of going back. He simply works differently than anybode else I've heard of and the end result reflects that.

I mean, can you seriously say that, for example, Distant Lights doesn't rock hard?

Joda · Post by **Joda** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 1:26 pm

He simply works differently than anybode else I've heard of and the end result reflects that.

I mean, can you seriously say that, for example, Distant Lights doesn't rock hard?

Well, kinda...

hatta · Post by **hatta** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 1:29 pm

Hows that Necks album? I've been a big fan in the past but have kind of missed the last couple.

Hubajube · Post by **Hubajube** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 2:18 pm

01> The Holy See - Fucking Physics
02> Burning Star Core - Operator Dead...Post Abandoned
03> Birchville Cat Motel - Birds Call Home Their Dead
04> Magik Markers - Boss
05> Valerio Cosi - And The Spiritual Committee
06> Descension Yellow Swans
07> Aluk Todolo - Descension
08> RV Paintings - Trinity Rivers
09> Burial - Untrue
10> Blues Control - Puff
11> Valerio Cosi - Freedom Meditation Music (vol 1-3)
12> Robedoor/Pocahaunted - Hunted Gathering
13> Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends
14> Birchville Cat Motel - Bird Sister Blasphemy
15> Heavy Winged - We Grow
16> Yellow Swans - At All Ends
17> Heavy Winged - Feel Inside
18> Century Plants - Sound System Sound
19> Ignatz II
20> Pulga - Pulga Loves You
21> El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead
22> Cuong Vu - Vu-Tet
23> The Books - Play All
24> Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
25> Supersilent - 8
26> Robedoor - Rancor Keeper
27> Tarentel - Ghetto Beats on the Surface of the Sun
28> Emeralds - Grass Ceiling
29> Grievous Angel - Dubstep Sufferah vol 3
30> Starving Weirdos - Shrine of the Post-Hypnotic

Post by **mudd** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 4:47 pm

the burial interview in the december wire made it pretty clear why the wire is so fond of burial. didn't give me any more insight for anyone else, though.

oh well.

and hubajube, interesting list as always. i tried the fucking physics, but it didn't do so much for me. likewise boss. i'll have to have another go at a couple of those.

m

user_4713 · Post by **user_4713** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 6:00 pm

Hubajube wrote: 05> Valerio Cosi - And The Spiritual Committee
11> Valerio Cosi - Freedom Meditation Music (vol 1-3)

Yup, these are excellent. What a promising young prolific genius of a dude Valerio has revealed himself to be. One of my best new discoveries in 2007.

FMM Vol. III is my favorite.

user_548 · Post by **user_548** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 7:09 pm

Hubajube wrote:27> Tarentel - Ghetto Beats on the Surface of the Sun

This is a pretty great record. Listening to this alongside From Bone to Satellite you can see how much the band has changed over the course of their fairly short career. Of course, From Bone to Satellite also has the great atmospherics, just implemented differently. This collection, however is way more... paranoid?

Hubajube · Post by **Hubajube** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 9:57 pm

mudd wrote:the burial interview in the december wire made it pretty clear why the wire is so fond of burial. didn't give me any more insight for anyone else, though.

oh well.

For me, much of it comes from being an ex-raver. One place in Cleveland that had lots of parties had this blocked off back area in the downstairs room. If you'd go behind there, there was this one spot where you could hide out. You'd still see all the lights hitting the far wall broken by silhouettes of kids dancing, and the sound was kind of muffled. Burial reminds me of that.

Hubajube · Post by **Hubajube** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 9:59 pm

Flesh Tantrum wrote:
Hubajube wrote: 05> Valerio Cosi - And The Spiritual Committee
11> Valerio Cosi - Freedom Meditation Music (vol 1-3)
Yup, these are excellent. What a promising young prolific genius of a dude Valerio has revealed himself to be. One of my best new discoveries in 2007.

FMM Vol. III is my favorite.

And part of what's exciting is that he still sounds a little green. You know he's going to keep getting better over the upcoming years.

Hubajube · Post by **Hubajube** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 10:01 pm

angrymice wrote:
Hubajube wrote:27> Tarentel - Ghetto Beats on the Surface of the Sun
This is a pretty great record. Listening to this alongside From Bone to Satellite you can see how much the band has changed over the course of their fairly short career. Of course, From Bone to Satellite also has the great atmospherics, just implemented differently. This collection, however is way more... paranoid?

I need to trawl through their back catalog. I listened to them years ago and remember thinking that they were just too light sounding for my taste. When I heard We Move Through Weather sometime last year, I was amazed it was the same band.

user_4713 · Post by **user_4713** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 10:21 pm

Hubajube wrote:
Flesh Tantrum wrote:
Hubajube wrote: 05> Valerio Cosi - And The Spiritual Committee
11> Valerio Cosi - Freedom Meditation Music (vol 1-3)
Yup, these are excellent. What a promising young prolific genius of a dude Valerio has revealed himself to be. One of my best new discoveries in 2007.

FMM Vol. III is my favorite.
And part of what's exciting is that he still sounds a little green. You know he's going to keep getting better over the upcoming years.

Yeah, definitely. He has all of these awesome ideas spread out over these releases, like the weirdo motorik blips of "Hoboland," or the completely messed up noise-bop of "You Can't Pretend To Be Someone," yet they almost feel half-finished. The albums themselves are pretty all over the place, too. He pulls it all off, but man, I feel like each subsequent release is more consistently excellent than the last. It's all coming together for this dude.

Hell, the whole idea of recording crazy psych-jazz (with tinges of afro-pop, noise, drone, krautrock, etc.) all by yourself, playing all the instruments... it just feels so exciting and hey, why not, semi-revolutionary?

Post by **grisha** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 2:12 am

Hubajube wrote:07> Aluk Todolo - Descension
14> Birchville Cat Motel - Bird Sister Blasphemy

yes yes yes

Dan Warburton · Post by **Dan Warburton** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 2:19 am

jon abbey wrote:here's the "Jazz & Improv" list for reference:

Derek Bailey - Standards (Tzadik)
Anthony Braxton - 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006 (Firehouse 12)
John Butcher - The Geometry Of Sentiment (Emanem)
Peter Evans Quartet - Peter Evans Quartet (Firehouse 12)
Susie Ibarra's Electric Kulintang - Dialects (PR)
The Necks - Townsville (RER)
William Parker & Hamid Drake - Piercing The Veil (AUM Fidelity)
Cato Salsa Experience/The Thing/Joe McPhee - Two Bands And A Legend (Smalltown Superjazzz)
Matthew Shipp - Piano Vortex (Thirsty Ear)
David S Ware Quartet - Renunciation (AUM Fidelity)

it's a very backward thinking improv list, Efren. every single one of those musicians, with the possible exception of Peter Evans, has done better work in the past. it ignores Tokyo, Vienna, Berlin, like usual. we don't need to have this debate again, but there's your answer. for me, it's a bit depressing, having learned about so much new music in the past from the Wire, to see them essentially turn their back on the cutting edge, but on the other hand, I really don't care that much.

Maybe they asked Phil Freeman to compile it. Nah, he wouldn't have chosen the Butcher.
Good old Derek, still topping the charts from beyond the grave..

jon abbey · Post by **jon abbey** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 2:48 am

to be fair, it's alphabetical, although I made a Derek joke too.

user_4671 · Post by **user_4671** » Sun Dec 23, 2007 3:01 am

weird, i was sure maher shalal hash baz would make a bunch of top lists this year. i must be delusional

_duif · Post by **_duif** » Sun Dec 23, 2007 3:31 am

telegramsam wrote:weird, i was sure maher shalal hash baz would make a bunch of top lists this year. i must be delusional

it was on my first sketch, but gradually got pushed down by other things.. it's definitely enjoyable, but their best is still 'Blues du jour' (2004) as I see it.

user_589 · Post by **user_589** » Sun Dec 23, 2007 10:31 am

Okay, I didn't hear anywhere near as much new music this year as in the past but this is my list of favorite 2007 releases I own and have heard, all of which I like very much. Makes me feel like an old fuddy duddy, here.

More or less in the order I encountered them:

Alvin Fielder -- A Measure of Vision
Fred Anderson and Friends -- From The River To The Ocean
Keith Rowe -- The Room
Erik M/Dieb 13 -- Chaos Club
Fred Anderson & Harrison Bankhead -- The Great Vision Concert
Ned Rothenberg -- Inner Diaspora
David S. Ware -- Renunciation
Robert Glasper -- In My Element*
R/S -- One (Snow Mud Rain)
Dennis Gonzales -- Dance Of The Soothsayer's Tongue

Best and Coolest Idea of 2007 -- Hands down winner: Reuben Raddings 12 For 12 Project, featuring a complete CD's worth of music every month via free downloads. Really great music. A great idea. I wish it had generated some press for Reuben but I hold out some hope because listeners are often ahead of writers and reviewers. Get it while you can if you haven't been keeping up with this series.

Not jazz etc favorite of year: Michael Hurley -- Ancestral Swamp (available on both lp and CD)

Honorable mention: SUNNO))) & Boris -- Altar

Favorite not-jazz reissue of the year: Jeffrey Frederick & The Clamtones -- Spiders In The Moonlight

user_935 · Post by **user_935** » Sun Dec 23, 2007 1:32 pm

favorites of 2007 - in alphabetical order:

g*park - seismogramm (blossoming noise) cd [reissue]

teiji ito - tenno (tzadik) cd

christina kubisch - night flights (important) cd [reissue]

klaus lang - missa beati pauperes spiritu (col legno) cd

r/s - one (snow mud rain) (erstwhile) cd

shellac - excellent italian greyhound (touch n go) cd/lp

aaron siegel ensemble - every morning, a history (peacock) cd

mathias spahlinger - farben der fr?he (neos) cd

traw + rhodri davies - cwymp y dwr ar ganol dydd (confront) cd (06)

david tudor - s/t (edition rz) 2 x cd

wraiths - plaguebearer (paradigms) cd

ajs
- - - - -
OUT NOW:
haptic | correction (entr'acte e47/ absurd #67) 7"
other recumbent forms (crouton) text

EVIDENCE:
http://www.longboxrecordings.com" onclick= "window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.myspace.com/promisesoffailure" onclick= "window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.eightysevenwest.com/dellariasonderberg/" onclick= "window.open(this.href);return false;