Snobcast 2007: Recap
Written by The Donnybrook Writing Academy // December 3, 2007 // The Conservatory // 13 Comments
Do you feel like every week there’s some band your “eccentric” co-worker/friend is trying to turn you on to? Are you confused as to which band with the word “wolf” or “horse” you’re supposed to like? Lucky for you, every week DJ Father Guido spends hours in his lab sifting through bits and bytes of hipster blog entries and indie magazines searching for the finest aural pleasures available. Then the Father compiles them here for you to enjoy in the comfort of the Donnybrook Campus.
So here we are at the end of another year. Another great year for music…unless you’re Stephen King. So what do we have to show for it?
Well, T.I. was on his way to being the Jay-Z of the South, while Jay-Z was working on becoming the Jay-Z of 1998. The Tims brought sexy back. We were introduced to a beautiful album (Writer’s Block) recorded by PB&J, second only to the croque-monsieur as my favorite sandwich. Also this year, Kanye West became the best-paid hipster in North America, Brandon Flowers tried to become Springsteen before listening to Neon Bible, and TV on the Radio made an album, did anybody hear that one? We didn’t have a Gnarles Barkley this year, but we did have "D.A.N.C.E"; and did I mention Jay-Z is back? Also promising, we heard rumblings from both the Outkast and Wu-Tang camps. Then there’s the bands that we’ll be talking about next year (Glasvegas, Murs, Black Mountain, Burial).
However, all that is in the past. Now we are at that point of no return. The best-of lists are being compiled and nothing can be changed. If any bands out there feel like they were cheated they, will just have to do better next year; for this is the month that your critics rate the good and the bad of what we have heard and seen in the past 12 months.
Awww, the Best-Of list. Everybody longs to have the definitive outlook, but nobody ever gets it right. So here’s what we will be doing: We will be analyzing the year end lists of some other "reputable" music publications, I’ll sort of edit them accordingly to fit my preferences, and then play those songs on the Snobcast. Then you, the reader, can tell me what you think should stay; what should go; and what should be added or subtracted from the list/playlist. In the end we will have compiled the definitive Best of 2007 list.
I’m opening this up to my readers for one month – one month
where I won’t act like I know more than you, and you can bask in the
warmth of my musical credibility. So chime in.
Start voting after the jump.
Our first subject is possibly the most intellectual, but most boring of music rags, Paste Magazine.
Here’s their List:
100. Stars – In Our Bedroom After The War
99. The Fiery Furnaces – Widow City
98. Dinosaur Jr. – Beyond
97. Marissa Nadler – Song III: Bird on the Water
96. Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare
95. The Good, The Bad & The Queen – The Good, The Bad & The Queen
94. Suzanne Vega – Beauty & Crime
93. Lori McKenna – Unglamorous
92. Jesse Sykes – Like, Lust & the Open Halls of the Soul
91. The Fratellis – Costello Music
90. Devendra Banhart – Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
89. Anat Cohen – Noir
88. Do Make Say Think – You, You’re A History In Rust
87. White Rabbits – Fort Nightly
86. Ruthie Foster – The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster
85. Menomena – Friend and Foe
84. Liars – Liars
83. Deerhunter – Cryptograms
82. Dan Deacon – Spiderman of the Rings
81. Art Brut – It’s A Bit Complicated
80. Akron/Family – Love Is Simple
79. Deerhoof – Friend Opportunity
78. The New Pornographers – Challengers
77. Jeremy Fisher – Goodbye Blue Monday
76. Okkervil River – The Stage Names
75. Great Lake Swimmers – Ongiara
74. Beirut – The Flying Club Cup
73. Warm In The Wake – American Prehistoric
72. Bettye Lavette – Scene Of The Crime
71. Josh Rouse – Country Mouse City House
70. Ween – La Cucaracha
69. Bat For Lashes – Fur & Gold
68. Office – A Night At The Ritz
67. St. Vincent – Marry Me
66. Apples In Stereo – New Magnetic Wonder
65. Caribou – Andorra
64. Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam
63. Explosions In The Sky – All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone
62. Joseph Arthur – Let’s Just Be
61. Prince – Planet Earth
60. The Broken West – I Can’t Go On I’ll Go On
59. Imperial Teen – The Hair The TV The Baby & The Band
58. Romantica – America
57. The Clientele – God Save The Clientele
56. Kate Nash – Made of Bricks
55. Sunset Rubdown – Random Spirit Lover
54. Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew – Spirit If…
53. Fionn Regan – The End Of History
52. Thurston Moore – Trees Outside the Academy
51. The Frames – The Cost
50. Battles – Mirrored
49. Carolina Chocolate Drops – Dona Got A Ramblin’ Mind
48. The Weakerthans – Reunion Tour
47. Linda Thompson – Versatile Heart
46. Justice – †
45. Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings – 100 Days, 100 Nights
44. Norah Jones – Not Too Late
43. The Everybodyfields – Nothing Is Okay
42. Lifesavas – Gutterfly
41. Brandi Carlile – The Story
40. Damien Dempsey – To Hell Or Barbados
39. The Perishers – Victorious
38. Olof Arnalds – Vid Og Vid
37. Eleni Mandell – The Miracle Of Five
36. Joe Henry – Civilians
35. Peter Bjorn & John – Writer’s Block
34. Bright Eyes – Cassadaga
33. PJ Harvey – White Chalk
32. Andrew Bird – Armchair Apocrypha
31. Of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
30. Björk – Volta
29. Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
28. Mary Gauthier – Between Daylight and Dark
27. Derek Webb – The Ringing Bell
26. The Shins – Wincing the Night Away
25. Over The Rhine – The Trumpet Child
24. Patty Griffin – Children Running Through
23. Black Lips – Good Bad Not Evil
22. LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver
21. Jens Lekman – Night Falls Over Kortedala
20. Blonde Redhead – 23
19. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists – Living with the Living
18. Miranda Lambert – Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
17. Josh Ritter – The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
16. Ryan Adams – Easy Tiger
15. Kanye West – Graduation
14. Loney, Dear – Loney, Noir
13. Amy Winehouse – Back to Black
12. Avett Brothers – Emotionalism
11. Radiohead – In Rainbows
10. Iron & Wine – The Shepherd’s Dog
09. Band of Horses – Cease to Begin
08. Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
07. Wilco – Sky Blue Sky
06. M.I.A. – Kala
05. Feist – The Reminder
04. The White Stripes – Icky Thump
03. Bruce Springsteen – Magic
02. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
01. The National – Boxer
Here’s the player:
Here’s the songs:
Click here to get your own player.
- "Neon Bible" The Arcade Fire Neon Bible
- "Magic" Bruce Springsteen Magic
- "Conquest" The White Stripes Icky Thump
- "Sea Lion Woman" Feist The Reminder
- "Mango Pickle Down River" M.I.A. Feat. The Wilcannia Mob Kala
- "Sky Blue Sky" Wilco Sky Blue Sky
- "Florida" Modest Mouse We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
- "Is There A Ghost" Band of Horses Cease to Begin
- "He Can Only Hold Her" Amy Winehouse Back To Black
- "Champion" Kanye West Graduation
- "Shirin" Jens Lekman Night Falls Over Kortedala
- "North American Scum" LCD Soundsystem Sound Of Silver
- "Trancendental Light" The Black Lips Good Bad, Not Evil
- "Turn On Me" The Shins Wincing The Night Away
- "The Underdog" Spoon Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
- "Broken Harp" PJ Harvey White Chalk
- "Start To Melt" Peter Bjorn & John Writer’s Block
- "Let There Be Light" Justice Cross
- "Versatile Heart" Linda Thompson Versatile Heart
- "Atlas" Battles Mirrored
DISCLAIMER: Songs featured on the Snobcast are FOR PROMOTIONAL USE
ONLY. If you like what you hear, go buy the albums – contact us if you
don’t know where to find them. And if we feature your music and you
want it taken off the Snobcast, email us at GoDonnybrook@gmail.com.
Rock!
13 Comments on "Snobcast 2007: Recap"
In response to this egregious invasion of my esteemed status as Donnybrook Listmaker, I submit my comments in response to this blog post as a ten point list:
#1 – PB&J’s “Writer’s Block” LP was released in June of 2006, making it closer to 2005 than 2007 (just sayin’).
#2 – Bruce Springsteen? God, are we still pretending like we care that he’s alive? I can’t wait until it becomes cool to like John “Tha Cougar” Mellencamp.
#3 – Ditto for PJ Harvey.
#4 – Ted Leo is an enigma to me. How he has so many fans never ceases to amaze.
#5 – Prince? Honestly? I guess it’s time to party like it’s 1986.
#6 – Anyone who thinks the White Stripes had one of the 5 best records this year has listened to exactly 4 new releases in 2007.
#7 – Putting Norah Jones one slot ahead of Sharon Jones says everything you need to know about the writers at Paste.
#8 – Is it too early to get off our knees and stop sucking Sunset Rubdown’s flaccid penis? No? Okay, I’ll just wait until they put out a listenable album.
#9 – Records that Paste thinks are too obscure to include on their list but trump most of their entries: Yelle “Pop Up,” Wingtip Sloat “Add This to Rhetoric,” Bjorn Torske “Feil Knapp,” Calvin Harris “I Created Disco,” Earlimart “Mentor Tormentor,” Japancakes’ instrumental, alt-country track-by-track reconstruction of My Bloody Valentine’s “Loveless,” Jason Isbell “Sirens of Ditch,” La Casa Azul “La Revolucion Sexual,” Manual’s gorgeous two-disc “Lost Days, Open Skies, and Streaming Tides,” The Mary Onette’s time-capsule of a self-titled debut, Richard Hawley’s “Lady’s Bridge” (arguably a 2006 release depending on where you live), Rumskib’s self-titled, Sondre Lerche “Phantom Punch,” Von Sudenfed’s Tromatic Reflexxions
#10 – What about Korova’s excellent two-disc compendium of the Wild Swans’ Sire Records years or any of the great Fabric or DJ Kicks mixes released this year or the great “Rub-A-Dub Soldiers” reggae comp?
Paste seems to have decidedly adult contemporary taste. All of those top 5 are albums i’ve listened to and enjoyed this year, but by no means did i ever say “Oh My God that is easily one of the top 5 best albums of the year.” Then again, there was a time when I listened to Milli Vanilli on repeat for days at a time, so what the hell do I know about music?
Yeah, even the albums I like on the list become paler within a sea of boringness. Where’s Anton to defend Paste? Anton! Hey! What say you?
Arcade Fire is number two? Lord. When is everyone else going to catch up with me and realize they completely cannot stand that band? They’re like that annoying new kid in school who showed up and at first you thought you might kind of like him but then he just kept talking and talking about the same thing and bragging about things he’s done and how he’s friends with David Byrne and David Bowie and whomever and after a week you want to slit his goddamn throat.
And “Strawberry Jam” is all the way up in the sixties? Norah Jones ranks higher than Animal Collective? In what fucking reality?
I will never read Paste again!
…oh, wait, I never read Paste anyway.
Printed music magazines are this close to obsolescence, anyway. I guess let’s humor their cute little whimsy while those folks still have jobs, eh?
I don’t see Bach’s Complete Harpsichord Concerto’s by Richard Egarr on any of these lists!
I agree with Ivyy that “Paste seems to have decidedly adult contemporary taste.” But sadly, so do I.
Well, not really, but maybe a little.
That being said, although there are a lot of things I disagree with on their list, I support the presence of Mary Gauthier and Patty Griffin. I have undying love for Brandi Carlile, but I don’t think “The Story” was an exceptional album, so I’d probably lose that one.
I was really, really, surprised that Jason Isbell’s “Sirens of Ditch” wasn’t on the list. I mean seriously, no self-respecting Georgians should have missed the release of that album.
P.S. I hate Spoon. I mean, really, really hate them. Sorry.
Uh-oh…Ivyy might poison you now…..
I had already considered she might try to kill me. But, I figured if she didn’t do it at Monolith when I was badmouthing them to her face, she wouldn’t go to all the trouble to track me down and kill me now.
Although I could be wrong about that. Ivyy’s full of surprises.
Gorilla Vs Bear Best of 2007 came out Yesterday …
http://gorillavsbear.blogspot.com/
Oh yeah, which reminds me–where’s “Person Pitch” on Paste’s list?
Fucking hacks. The guy reinvents pop music and they don’t even rank him.
A slight against Spoon calls for a meticulously planned and intricately executed revenge. Yours is coming, Cap’n. Brit Bless You.
Oh, I’m with our dear Cap’n, incidentally. Spoon drives me up the wall. I mean, I know other musicians have made a career of not being able to sing–Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, etc.–but they at least wrote musically interesting and compelling songs.
The only song I can really even stand is “I Turn My Camera On,” and even then I pretty much just want to sample that opening beat and bass part for a hip-hop song and then cut the rest of the track before what’s-his-girly-name starts singing.
Oh wait, I’ve actually done that already. Excellent.
I don’t want to give too much away, but I just had to share: I’ve gotten a preview of the next Special Edition 2007 Snobcast, and there’s a sudden ascendence in musical quality once Father Guido starts spinning albums suggested by our readers.