[adamcohen]

Well folks, I guess it comes down to being about time for me to give my final wrap up of 2007 and the music I've listened to over the course of this past year...

When I wrote it out yesterday, its something that took me over 8 hours to write. I'll spare the long post here, but I will tell you that in the zip file I've provided, I've included the full text of the post as I wrote it. So you can look into some of the other categories and things I mentioned for the year, but for here, I'll just copy and paste the text I used for the honorable mentions and the top 10...

Honorable Mentions:
Chris Brown's Exclusive: I can not give enough credit to this kid for all he's doing. He'll be the next Usher if things keep up the way they look like. With two hot hot hot singles so far in "Kiss Kiss" and "Wall To Wall," Chris Brown's sophomore effort surpasses everything he did with his first album. And if it isn't enough that the albums sound good, you should check out some of his live performances. He's not just a singer or a dancer, he's a performer: full on shows, while singing. Major respect.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd's Ten Days Out...: A CD/DVD set that I recently picked up but knew about since November 2006, Shepherd doesn't disappoint at all. The concept was simple: travel the south and meet the legends of the blues and jam with them. With classics that are older than the dirt that these legends walked on as tots, and the simple 12 or 8 bars that come so familiar to one of the blue's crowned princes, this album doesn't disappoint.
Nine Inch Nails' Year Zero: When the viral marketing on this album went out, it was eaten alive. And even I, who's not really a NIN fan at all, was sucked into the imagination of this catastrophic world. With everything that lead up to the final drop of this album, the road set itself for Radiohead and other artists to drop their own albums off the internet with campaigns. Not as elaborate as NIN, though. The sonic soundtrack for a post-apocolyptic world, Year Zero lives up to the hype they made for it.
Sara Bareilles' Little Voice: I remember when I first heard this album, I made a remark that it'd have to be in my top 10 albums for the year. I guess I didn't really think about the albums that would be up in it at the time, but even still, she nails it. Very solid pop-rock debut from Sara Bareilles with this album. Not soft like some of her contemporaries and not over the top hard, she sticks to the middle road and reminds me a lot of Keri Noble. For this alone, I'll listen.
Will Hoge's Draw The Curtains: This one has been flip-flopping with my number 10 on my list, just because I really truely adore this album. Will Hoge has a combination R&B, rock, and blues spirit, channeling Gin Blossoms, Hootie and the Blowfish, Matchbox 20, Jonny Lang, and so many others. With a voice and songs that sound familiar and new, Hoge finally has hit the sound that he seems to be looking for on all of his prior albums. Perfectly executed.

My Top 10 Albums of 2007
#10 Kill the Alarm's Fire Away: I found out about this album because it was offered as a freebee off of AlternativeAddiction.com, and I'm glad I did. The former frontman of Granian, Garen Gueyikian, went quiet for a while and then reappeared with this project/band. Alt-rock to the core, these songs became anthems for a lot of my days and helped me feel like I could get through anything. Solid production with solider songwriting. There have been a lot of shows and touring with this album, but I'm waiting to hear what happens with a full length from them, seeing this is considered only a pre-release styled EP.
#9 Kanye West's Graduation: Mr. West, this has been your year again in so many ways. With two very smoking singles in "Stronger" and "Good Life," you continue to rocket the charts in so many ways. Sense and sensibility has created a great number of star pairings on this album, and as the tracks progress further and further to the end, it's all wrapped up inside the story. In reading his interview in Spin magazine in the issue I just received, I can definitely tell how he thought about this one more and more as he worked on it. Well done.
#8 Dashboard Confessional's The Shade of Poison Trees: Who'd have ever thought that I'd be putting Dashboard Confessional on a list at all of any sort of albums that I thought were actually good? I certainly wouldn't have, to say the least. Chris Carrabba blends the best of the guitar and instrumental work from his first few albums with the lyrical prowess of his latter work under this monkier. All of that together creates quite possibly the most listenable half hour of music that I've heard this year. I found myself spinning this album whenever I had thirty minutes to kill when I was studying, and the mellowness but upbeat nature of it surprised me and kept me going back to it. Excellent.
#7 Big & Rich's Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace: When I made my best of post two years ago, these guys hit the top three. Not to say that this album isn't as good because I think it was better than their sophomore album, but this album is something else. Formatted into two sides, the songs are all familiar but new. There's the classic humor from Big & Rich, but with a new level of radio friendly lengths and thought put into the tracks. Some very nice stand-out guests with John Legend and Wyclef Jean. Also, with a cover of AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long," you really can't go wrong with these country boys.
#6 Bedlight for Blue Eyes' Life on Life's Terms: One of my finds from this fall, I was caught in my "weird band names" phase when I found GCWCF and Explosions in the Sky. That being said, I've never regretted finding these guys as well. With more of a 90's alt rock feel rather than the indie/emo that they're labeled, these guys have been through a lot. After their 2005 debut album, they lost a guitarist and their vocalist, but turned around with new ones of each to release this introspective collection of songs. Each time I listen to the album, I find a new favorite song. Good vocal and musical hooks that keep you coming back.
#5 Mayday Parade's A Lesson In Romantics: I half kick myself for not seeing them at Rock the Wreath, but I still feel bad because this is one of the bands whom I truely support and I still haven't had a chance to go out and buy their album. Florida locals from Tally and Ocala, these guys have the same sort of pop-punk you hear out of Fall Out Boy and every other band out on the scene nowadays. Yet to me? Maybe it's the Florida connection and how a lot of those themes run through their lyrics and I feel like I've been to the places they've been from, but these guys hit me in a soft spot that I have for that emo-pop-punk that all other bands in their genre don't. Course, I'm really a sucker for "Your Song" off of their EP Tales Told By Dead Friends, but from time to time, I really love the closing track from this album "I'll Be The Wings That Keep Your Heart In The Clouds." Introspective with real depth to the music and lyrics, these guys aren't just four power-chords like the next band. There's something else there.
#4 Jonah Matranga's And...: Oh Jonah, Jonah, Jonah... Where do I begin with you? Some folks might remember that he came in second place back in 2005 with his outing under the band name, Gratitude. In honesty as that CD grew on me and I got tired of Augustana, I feel that he had the better album. And ever since I heard about And..., it made the list of my "must owns" for 2007. A strong CD with a lighter emo-indie-pop-alt.country-esque flavor, there are some classic onelinedrawing songs on here and some new cuts. Combined, tracks like "I Want To Be Your Witness," "Not About A Girl or A Place," and "Every Mistake" show the depth and heart to this indie supergiant. Supergiant? Don't believe me? He's had hand and foot in so many projects and bands, you could play 6-degrees of Jonah Matranga with the indie world through inspirations and bands. And his lyrics never cease to have the depth and amazement that I've ever found. I find myself unwrapping each album of his with the lyrics in front of me as the words come out of his mouth, just reading them line by line.
#3 Jon McLaughlin's Indiana: A late-comer to my ears, I wish I had known about him sooner. I discovered his CD while trolling what freebees I could get for buying CDs at Park Ave. His came with a free shirt, and while they were out of shirts, I still chose to get the album: one of my better choices. Piano ballads with strong hooked choruses, McLaughlin gives an unprecidented debut album in the same vein as other songsters like Daniel Powter and (dare I say it?) Jack's Mannequin. Yes, I'll put him in with a heavy hitter there, and I think he holds his own. The songs about personal change and about the small town and mid-west feel hit home with soaring epic feel on the choruses, and fun playful interludes between the other instruments. Mostly balladict in nature, the album takes its toll between alternating the softer and upbeat edges of the spectrum between "Praying to the Wrong God" and "Beautiful Disaster," even taking the time to poke fun at the music industry in the opening track, "Industry." Clever, concealed, and well contrived.
#2 Small Town Sleeper's Conversations: It almost doesn't feel fair to place this album here seeing it'll return again next year. With an iTunes release date in August 2007 and an actual physical CD release date for February 19, 2008, Small Town Sleeper has dominated this year's latter half for me. From being a fan since 2003, to opening for them last month, to becoming their Florida Street Team Leader, well, I've got a soft spot and a bit of bias for these guys. A solid album from start to finish, Conversations tells the story of these guys and their hard work trying to just be themselves and share their story of laying carpet with big dreams in the future. Rockers like the opening track "Let Me Go" effortlessly flow into balladic interludes like "It Could Be You" and "I Have Been Waiting For." And this album does everything I hope for in albums: strong intro, lighter mid parts, picks back up, and ends on the huge ballad. Expect big things from these guys.

and finally...
#1 The Weakerthans' Reunion Tour: Yes, my friends, not Small Town Sleeper. I had heard that these good ol' Canadian boys had a new album coming out this year and from the very second I heard about it, I knew I had to have it. Always more poetic than lyrical, John K. Samson's words flow so effortlessly and feel so right, even if they're so structurally different from anything you might normally call lyrics. For folks who haven't heard these northern musicians follies, it's quite a shock at first listen: Samson's vocals aren't singing in the sense you expect, and the lines are long and jutting, sticking out like ribs from a starving supermodel; the music is quite melodic and familiar, yet completely new and different; and the combination of the two leads to no choruses that are repeated, but maybe an underlying motive and motif that the title sets forth. And to be honest, with titles like "Virtue the Cat Explains Her Departure," (which is a follow-up to a song on 2003's Reconstruction Site and it nearly moved me to tears to hear) "Hymn of the Medical Oddity," and "Relative Surplus Value," it's hard to imagine how these things could be combined into anything that does make sense. But they do. And it's the type of music that the first time listening through, you might want to be in front of your computer, reading along and googling names and references. Thinking person's rock. I like it. Always new, but always so familiar.

-----------------------------------
Wow, so uh, that's a long one, eh?

That's why I'll make this next part short with a brief comment on each track I chose...

1) Chris Brown - Down (ft. Kanye West) -- The closing track from the album, and almost as much a Kanye song as a CB song, but shows the danceability and the versitility of this fresh R&B star.
2) Kenny Wayne Shepherd - The Thrill Is Gone (ft. B.B. King) -- This is the one track on the KWS album that folks are bound to recognize, and it doesn't disappoint at all. The King of the blues is in his finest, and KWS is a controlled maelstrom.
3) Nine Inch Nails - The Beginning of the End -- Speaking of maelstroms, the fire and fervor in this track from Year Zero has all of the classic fever you'd expect from Trent and company.
4) Sara Bareillis - One Sweet Love -- Most people have heard from her, but I like the lilting nature of this song, how it floats and still delivers the punch in the hook of the chorus. Familiar, but new.
5) Will Hoge - These Were The Days -- Hoge's release combines rockers and mellow softer songs, but unlike others, I find his rockers more enthralling more than his soft ballads. And in his rockers, he melds his unique blend of country, rock, blues, and R&B in beautiful fashion.
6) Kill the Alarm - No More Excuses -- This song had a lot of personal meaning to me this last year. The way it comes in slowly and then picks up, and the chorus, it just flows. And the production work on this track is so crystal clear and clean that it feels good to listen to.
7) Kanye West - Homecoming (ft. Chris Martin) -- Even with the lead singer/pianist of Coldplay, Kanye shines. In this tribute to his home city, there's a lot of sparkle and glimmer off the fact that the backing isn't sampled but actually recorded with the song. Nicely done, Mr. West. You turn what you touch golden.
8) Dashboard Confessional - These Bones -- Consider this track one of my dirty little pleasures. The fast flow of the lyrics that really just seem so indie and emo when you strip them down, and the music that's so moving and fluid from part to part, well, just well done.
9) Big & Rich - You Never Stop Loving Somebody -- This is one of my favorite tracks from Big & Rich to date. Like all country folk, they keep their songs true and with that honesty. The hook in this song is no different. Big & Rich are bigger than country, and that's what I like the most about them. This track shows that.
10) Bedlight for Blue Eyes - Whole Again -- There's something arena rock-esque when these guys let it rip on the choruses, and this track has that same vibe. That's what rocketed them up my list.
11) Mayday Parade - Ocean and Atlantic -- Punky, poppy, all around fun and catchy. Sort of buried in the middle of their album, but the dynamics at this point in the album are perfect to kick it up for the second half, and I thought it did the same thing right here as my mix entered the home stretch.
12) Jonah Matranga - I Want You To Be My Witness -- This track grew on me after a few times of hearing it and I think its because there's some honesty to it and how it builds. Like always, Jonah pours every piece of himself into his music, and it's crystal clear here.
13) Jon McLaughlin - Praying To The Wrong God -- The driving beat and forward motion on this track is stunning to me, and how it just moves forward through the chorus to the hook with simplistic production. The build is wonderful. And the build up is what makes a good song great and a great song amazing.
14) Small Town Sleeper - Blue Skies Red -- When I first heard this track, the allteration and flow of the lyrics shocked me. I loved the brash "in your face" nature behind it that kept it popping and right there. A story about miscommunication takes a new twist and a new rocking sound. Guaranteed to be stuck in your head for hours on end.
15) The Weakerthans - Civil Twilight -- The opening track from the album makes a wonderful close here, I believe. This is what these Canadian's do best: clever lyrics playing off of each other that just draw you in over pleasing riffs and smooth transitions from structural part to part. Always sounds so familiar, but so new pleasing and aesthetically beautiful when you take the parts together and separate.

So after digging through all of that, yes, there's a download link, and you can find it right here:
My 2007 Year In Review Mixtape and Full Text of my remarks on 2007 In Music

Thank you for reading and putting up with me, I promise that I'll have just as much for 2008, and I'm looking forward to hearing some opinions of other folks top albums of the year and what they think of mine...

All the best through the end of this year and as the new one starts...


And like always, we roll with the...

DISCLAIMER: All music provided on these links is copywritten and held with original rights by the original artist. All/Some songs inside are in WMA format, and you might need a converter for your music player of your choice. I provide these albums/songs only as samplers for yourself to decide if you like them or not. I ask that you delete them when you're finished listening, or if you like the album, to head out and buy it or see a show to support the artist themselves. While it might be free here, it's their art, and that's the least we can do. Thank you, and please don't sue me!

This post has been edited by adamcohen: 18 December 2007 - 08:36 AM