Year-End Critics' Polls '07

Studio's West Coast EP is fantastic, so I imagine the full-length (which has many of the same tracks) is just as fantastic.

BTW, Tim F.'s opening few posts on the Studio thread paint a vivid picture of how the disc sounds.

man, i've been listening to the tracks from pitchfork's 100 tracks. i can't believe my ears. so many not-so-interesting tracks. groove armada? ellis-bextor? BARR? dirty projectors? bat for lashes? magic markers? no age? old time relijun? times new viking? so this is the sound of indie rock right now? correct me if i'm way off because it's been a long time since i listened to indie stuff.

dblcheeksneek, when you're done lqtying, you should check out studio, "indo" especially

I don't think those represent ''the sound of indie rock right now,'' but complaints about the supposedly tired state of ''the sound of indie rock right now'' are old as dirt (i.e., they've been around forever).

XP, obv.

Those tracks don't really represent "the sound of indie rock" at all. I don't know if you could create a representative sample of indie rock tracks in 2007, but if you could Old Time Fucking Relijun definitely would not be in the conversation.

I dunno, the non-indie rock tracks on the Pitchfork list aren't really very interesting either. There were some good albums in 2007 but it really just wasn't a great year for individual tracks.

That Groove Armada track is good, duke.

between UGK and dblcheeksneek's list most of 51-60 on the p4k list are mentioned. Clientele and Menomena were also in there. We do have a slightly complicated tallying system for each list.

slightly complicated, yet evidently mostly democratic.

Boomkat's charts, inc. charts form Skull Disco, Robt Wyatt and others.

actually matos, i'd suspect the field was way more popular with non-dance critics than dance critics.
and that no age is pretty great, durrr, give the album a shot.

that boomkat list is awesome! kind of seems what the wire's list should've been...

i'd suspect the field was way more popular with non-dance critics than dance critics

Seconding Phil here.

Not that I mean that as a dis. (Although I don't really see what the fuss was about, at all. That record to me feels like one half-decent idea, never fully baked, repeated over and over and over again. And no, I don't think that's what all techno (or minimal or whatever) does.)

That record to me feels like one half-decent idea, never fully baked, repeated over and over and over again.

yes! sometimes this half-decent idea works -- there are parts of the album i enjoy -- but most of the time it gets pretty stale quite quickly. the half-bakedness of it all really shows, i think.

I actually really like it -- got on my Idolator ballot because I kept listening to it, the basic rule of thumb -- but no question it's simpler in comparison to something like, say, P***a B**r. Yet I also retain a belief than 'simpler' != 'worse.'

no question it's simpler in comparison to something like, say, P***a B**r.

Arrgh.

Of all people to have that touch a nerve with!

Prada Boar?

They're out there, you know.

No, I don't think that simpler != worse either. But I don't think that the Field is quite "simple" (to use a reductive shorthand term) enough. I'd rather listen to purer drone music (Rosy Parlane, say). I don't think the Field's sound design is terribly good, either -- those hi-hats are pure meh. Rhythmically, it's also snoozeville; I'd rather he'd left out the kick and hi-hats altogether, since all they're really doing is keeping metronomic time.

Rosy Parlane, say

Mmm, Rosy Parlane. I should dig those discs out, thanks for the inadvertant reminder! :-)

What's annoying with The Field is that he clearly put a lot of effort into "Over The Ice" and "Things Keep Falling Down" (both of which sound really smartly constructed and effective to boot - esp. the former) but most of the new tracks on the album simply take the underlying formula to those tracks and deploy them without any extra ideas. I suppose you could say he was moving towards some idea of sonic purity, but it's not like a Basic Channel story where the simpler the grooves the more eternal and natural they sound - The Field is far too herky-jerky for that.

ned, you heard the new one on touch, right? it's luscious.

Yup. I think I reviewed it for the AMG, not sure.

term out: arpeggiator
term in: herky-jerkiator!

That Skull Disco free mix linked to above was pleasant enough but it's not making me jump up and down or smile broadly--it's just standard dub meets art disco...

I reckon Skull Disco tracks work better in the mix with other stuff rather than as one big conglomerate.

Philip/Tim OTM re: The Field. I was actually just discussing this recently in an email. It's kind of frustrating when he hits a really great initial groove (e.g. "Everyday") and then the lack of development in drum programming/sound design really start to hinder things midway through.

Gosh, I think Everyday really kicks into gear at around the 2:00 mark, just after the chopped up female vocals. I actually thought one of The Field's strengths was how he shift gears so well during a song.

Of all people to have that touch a nerve with!

Whenever someone mentions P*7*$ B$@&* I get itchy.

Comin' down to the wire for my ballot OMG, four candidates for one spot. Or maybe two spots. Ugh.

http://sayhey.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/bwin.jpg

Haha I caved on Fefe Dobson after all!

http://pages.prodigy.net/davidson.fam/in.jpg

hey rev are you ready for THE BIG TAKEOVER?

http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/73131532.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=0A988CE895E095AA14B36490B36BBCB6A40A659CEC4C8CB6

i missed the jackin pop deadline. should i still submit

Yes (if you still can).

If not, email your ballot in.

(and comments)

emailed

Haha I caved on Fefe Dobson after all!

Dude?!? I just heard it for the first time yesterday--it's great!

In partial response to chuck's question above, Of Montreal wasn't on my list, but I was also surprised it wasn't making many lists given how much critical love I'd seen for it. Apparently that love was limited! It seemed like a whole bunch of people went "holy shit, Kevin Barnes" this year, but I guess it was all just people I knew.

I talked about Fefe's album plenty in my comments -- not that anyone reads them, but then again I figured it wasn't like anyone else was going to vote for that album, and the five or so poor sad souls who actually care about my list will read the comments anyway so it's all good.

Of Montreal was a last-minute addition to my list; sure it's indie and fey and precious and all that, but it's pretty astounding nonetheless. I was shocked at how much a lot of those songs stuck with me. I've got emotional problems but NOT THAT BAD, DUDE. Made me feel better.

In general this year I went with shiny surfaces over tasteful tuneage. That's just the way I feel right now.

Acts on zero out of four critics' Top 10 album lists in the NY Times: M.I.A., Miranda Lambert.

Act on four out of four critics' Top 10 album lists in the NY Times: Feist.

I wouldn't have predicted that.

Whoa, that's pretty freaky. What have they done with Jon Pareles?

I'm surprised (more disappointed, I guess) that A Place To Bury Strangers self-titled debut disc didn't make anyone's Best-Of lists. I had no idea I was going to like that nu-industrial sound so much, but I was hooked as soon as those undulating guitars roared into To Fix A Gash In Your Head.

<a href=http://www.musicomh.com/music/features/albums_review-2007_1207.htm>;<b>musicOMH</b></a>

01. LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver
02. M.I.A. - Kala
03. Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
04. Radiohead - In Rainbows
05. !!! - Myth Takes
06. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
07. Asobi Seksu - Citrus
08. The Good The Bad & The Queen - The Good The Bad & The Queen
09. Simian Mobile Disco - Attack Decay Sustain Release
10. The White Stripes - Icky Thump
11. Interpol - Our Love To Admire
12. Björk - Volta
13. Holy Fuck - LP
14. Edwyn Collins - Home Again
15. The National - Boxer
16. Justice - +
17. Rufus Wainwright - Release The Stars
18. Klaxons - Myths Of The Near Future
19. The Cribs - Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever
20. Kings Of Leon - Because Of The Times

musicOMH