Chris Wodicka’s Faves of 2007
Once again, I’ve compiled my list of favorite albums from 2007. Unlike last year (and the previous year(s)), there were actually several albums in the running for my theoretically coveted top spot, and I didn’t just arbitrarily choose to single out an album I enjoyed. In the end, I made like Paste and decided on The National in all their atmospheric moodiness.
Originally, I was going to write up a short blurb for each release, but since I have no time to do stuff like that, I didn’t. This list represents music I actually heard. There are a bunch of other 2007 albums that I didn’t quite absorb, but with a few more listens, I’m sure some of them would have made this list, whether cracking the top 25 or necessitating a longer list. Instead, they’re in the honorable mentions section.
1. The National – Boxer
2. The White Stripes – Icky Thump
3. Okkervil River – The Stage Names
4. Les Savy Fav – Let’s Stay Friends
5. Wilco – Sky Blue Sky
6. Patrick Wolf – The Magic Position
7. Battles – Mirrored
8. 65daysofstatic – The Destruction Of Small Ideas
9. Interpol – Our Love To Admire
10. Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
11. LCD Soundsystem – Sound Of Silver
12. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
13. Sunset Rubdown – Random Spirit Lover
14. Jens Lekman – Night Falls Over Kortedala
15. Marissa Nadler – Songs III: Bird On The Water
16. Feist – The Reminder
17. God Is an Astronaut – Far From Refuge
18. Raising the Fawn – Sleight Of Hand
19. Maritime – Heresy And The Hotel
20. Radiohead – In Rainbows
21. Laura Veirs – The Saltbreakers
22. Great Lake Swimmers – Ongiara
23. White Rabbits – Fort Nightly
24. Of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
25. Blonde Redhead – 23
Honorable mentions (these albums were dec(ent)):
Iron and Wine, Justice, Minus the Bear, Pinback, A Place to Bury Strangers, Frog Eyes, Klaxons, Black Lips, Band of Horses, Warm in the Wake, Mancino, The Subjects, Arctic Monkeys, Apples in Stereo, Clinic, Eluvium, Do Make Say Think, Explosions in the Sky, Pelican, The Go! Team, Besnard Lakes
Five things I just don’t get:
1. M.I.A. – Kala
2. Panda Bear – Person Pitch
3. Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam
4. Burial – Untrue
5. The Field – From Here We Go To Sublime
My ten big disappointments:
1. Voxtrot – Voxtrot
2. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
3. The Shins – Wincing The Night Away
4. Radiohead – In Rainbows
5. Stars – In Our Bedroom After The War
6. Rilo Kiley – Under The Blacklight
7. Straylight Run – The Needles, The Space
8. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Some Loud Thunder
9. Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
10. Ted Leo – Living With The Living
That’s all.
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January 24th, 2008 at 1:42 am
I love how three of you disappointments were in my top 5
January 24th, 2008 at 10:06 am
I felt the Voxtrot album was very uneven. Some songs were great; some I didn’t really care for. Meanwhile, on at least their first two EPs, I felt every song was stellar. Maybe it’s wrong to expect that kind of near-perfection, but I think, had they taken more time on the LP, the end result would have been stronger.
The Shins album I thought was kind of bloated, but I’ve been listening to it some more lately.
The Modest Mouse album was a step in the right direction after Good News, which I actually did like, but I think their older stuff is still better.