The Wire magazine Top Records of 2007

I don't know if we want to keep this thread going along with the Year-End Critics' Polls '07 thread, but I've also started typing up the individual genre lists since I'd done the overall top 50 as above.

Here's the first four genre lists. I felt too tired when I turned the page over to find another seven to do those as well, so Global, Hiphop, Jazz & Improv, Modern Composition, Outer Limits, Reissues and Compilations will have to follow later.

Avant Rock

Sir Richard Bishop - Polytheistic Fragments (Drag City)
Loren Connors - The Hymn Of The North Star (Family Vineyard)
Ghost - In Stormy Nights (Drag City)
High On Fire - Death Is This Communion (Relapse)
Kousokuya - Ray Night (Ray Night Music)
Liars - Liars (Mute)
Mouthus - Saw A Halo (Load)
MV & EE With The Bummer Road - Green Blues (Ecstatic Peace)
Six Organs Of Admittance - Shelter From The Ash (Drag City)
Yellow Swans - At All Ends (Load)

Critical Beats

Benga - Crunked Up (Tempa)
Blackdown & Dusk - The Blitz (Keysound)
The Bug Featuring Flowdan - Skeng (Hyperdub)
Durrty Goodz - Axiom EP (No Label)
Petre Inspirescu - TIPS (Cadenza)
Junior Boys - Like A Child (Carl Craig Remix) (Domino)
Kalabrese - Rumpelzirkus (Stattmusik)
Thomas Melchior - No Disco Future (Perlon)
Shackleton - Blood On My Hands (Ricardo Villalobos Apocalypso Now Mix) (Skull Disco)
Skull Disco - Soundboy's Ashes Get Chopped Up And Snorted (Skull Disco)

Dub

Bullwackies Allstars - Free For All (Wackies)
Disrupt - Foundation Bit (Werk)
D-Roy Band - Mawamba Dub (D-Roy/Badda Music)
Keith Hudson - Nu Skin Up (Pressure Sounds)
Kiddus I - Rockers: Graduation In Zion (Dub Store)
Carlton Patterson Meets King Tubby - Black And White In Dub (Hot Pot)
Lee Perry & The Upsetters - Ape-ology (Trojan)
The Revolutionaries - Drum Sound: More Gems From The Channel One Dub Room 1974-1980 (Pressure Sounds)
King Tubby Meets Aggrovators - At Dub Station (Trojan)
Wailing Souls - Classic Cuts 1978-1984 (Greensleeves)

Electronica

Deepchord Presents Echospace - The Coldest Season (Modern Love)
Thomas Fehlmann - Hönigpumpe (Kompakt)
Fennesz & Sakamoto - Cendre (Touch)
Giuseppe Ielasi - August (12K)
Murcof - Cosmos (Leaf)
September Collective - All The Birds Were Anarchists (Mosz)
Signal - Robot (Raster-Noton)
Andy Stott - Fear Of Heights EP (Modern Love)
Underground Resistance - Electronic Warfare 2.0 (Underground Resistance)
Uusitalo - Karhunainen (Huume)

Cheers Krakow. I'll now thank you over at the DoomedForever forum as well ;)

Thanks, one has to look out for ones online kudos/cool points. ;)

Ha ha, High On Fire is "avant rock" now.

Another 5 of The Wire's 2007 genre lists, again crossposted (not xposted) with the Year-End Critics' Polls '07 thread.

Global

Tony Allen - Moyege (Mark Ernestus Mix) & Ole (Moritz Von Oswald Mix) (Honest Jons)
Bob Brozman - Lumiere (Riverboat)
Extra Golden - Hera Man Nono (Thrill Jockey)
Group Doueh - Guitar Music From The Western Sahara (Sublime Frequencies)
Group Ineane - Guitars From Agadez (Sublime Frequencies)
Abdel Hadi Halo & The El Gusto Orchestra Of Algiers - Abdel Hadi Halo & The El Gusto Orchestra Of Algiers (Honest Jons)
Getatchew Mekuria & The Ex & Guests - Moa Anbessa (Terp)
Mohammed Jimmy Mohammed - Hulgizey: Always, Forever (Terp)
Omar Souleyman - Highway To Hassake: Folk And Pop Sounds Of Syria (Sublime Frequencies)
Rachid Taha - Diwan 2 (Wrasse)

Hiphop

Black Milk - Popular Demand (Fat Beats)
Coughee Brothaz - Waitin' Our Turn (Coughee Brothaz Entertainment)
Devin The Dude Featuring Snoop & Andre 3000 - What A Job (Rap-A-Lot)
Flying Lotus - Reset EP (Warp)
Jay-Z - American Gangster (Roc-A-Fella)
Lil' Wayne - Da Drought 3 (Mixtape) (No Label)
7L & RaZor - Bladerunners (Five Day Weekend)
Shape Of Broad Minds - Craft Of The Lost Art (Lex)
Trim - Soulfood Vol 2 (No Label)
UGK Featuring OutKast - International Players Anthem (Ear 2 Da Street)

Jazz & Improv

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)

Modern Composition

Earle Brown - Tracer (Mode)
Philip Corner - Extreme Positions (New World)
Morton Feldman - String Quartet No 1 (Hat Art)
Morton Feldman - Three Voices (Col Legno)
Jonathan Harvey - Angels (Soupir Editions)
Jonathan Harvey - Choral Music (Soupir Editions)
Tim Hodgkinson - Sketch Of Now (Mode)
Mauricio Kagel - Quirinus' Liebeeskuss (Winter & Winter)
Karlheinz Stockhausen - Stimmung (Harmonia Mundi)
Charles Wuorinen - Cyclops 2000/A Reliquary For Igor Stravinsky (London Sinfonietta)

Outer Limits

Astral Social Club - Neon Pibroch (Important)
Axolotl - Memory Theatre (Important)
Eyes And Arms Of Smoke - A Religion Of Broken Bones (Cenotaph)
Henry Flynt - Nova'Billy (Locust)
Ben Frost - Theory Of Machines (Bedroom Community)
Moha! - Norwegianism (Rune Grammofon)
Charlotte Moorman - Cello Anthology (Alga Marghen)
Charlemagne Palestine - The Golden Mean (Shiin)
RST - Other Machines (Celebrate Psi Phenomenon)
Stephen Vitiello - Listening To Donald Judd (Sub Rosa)

slightly surprised at no Stars of the Lid.

that eyes and arms of smoke album came out 2 years ago!!

Jesu is on way fewer lists than I expected, this one included.

Jesu and Ghost have suffered from being out so early in year I think.

pshrbrn, I like some of this Soundboy Punishments (or is it Skill Disco?--I'm not sure which is the artist name and which is the title) linked to on your blog. Only, I am listening to all the clips together, and I thought the first free clips were all the same song, and I was like: I like the way this song just keeps changing! (Anyway, it's that time of year to at least briefly check out strands of music I normally pay no attention to.)

(Oh wait, it says right there "Artist: Skull Disco.")

The artist is actually Shackleton (or Appleblim or occassionally Gatekeeper.) The label is Skull Disco.

This details who did what:

http://www.discogs.com/release/962132

Okay, that's not what emusic says (not that I don't believe you and discogs.com).

Yea, surprised at no Stars of the Lid as well as no Angels of Light.

Rockist: you can check out a free mix on their website:

http://www.skulldisco.com/

I actually found that just now, but the link to the mix isn't working for me.

The composition list is really half-arsed. Although I don't think I could name more than Spahlinger's "Farben Der Fruhe" as a piece that came out this year, as I'm not interested w/ dates.

Hopefully it will get a mention next year but there is little to suggest that they'll bother with much music that begins from AFTER Stock/Kagel/etc onwards..

The last of The Wire's lists

Compilations

Achilifunk: Gipsy Soul 1969-1979 (Lovemonk)
After Dark (Italians Do It Better/Troubleman)
DJ Dixon: Body Language Vol 4 (Get Physical)
Box Of Dub: Dubstep And Future Dub (Soul Jazz)
Brazil 70: After Tropicalia: New Directions In Brazilian Music In The 1970s (Soul Jazz)
Broken Flag: A Retrospective 1982-1985 (Vinyl On Demand)
Cries From The Midnight Circus: Ladbroke Grove 1967-1978 (Castle)
Doom & Gloom: Early Songs Of Angst And Disaster 1927-1945 (Trikont)
LARM: From Mouth Cavity To Laptop (Kning Disk)
Mute Audio Documents 1978-1984 (Mute)
Psychedelic Phinland: Finnish Hippie And Underground Music 1967-1974 (Love)
Remove Celebrity Centre (Junior Aspirin)
Savage Pencil Presents Lion Vs Dragon In Dub (Trojan)
Silver Monk Time: A Tribute To The Monks (Play Loud!)
Skull Disco: Soundboy Punishments (Skull Disco)

Reissues

Neil Campbell - SOL POWR (Mundane Music)
Miles Davis - The Complete On The Corner Sessions (Sony)
Vladislav Delay - Multila (Huume)
Fairport Convention - Liege And Lief (Island)
Noah Howard - The Black Ark (Bo'weavil)
Keith Hudson - Brand (Pressure Sounds)
Annea Lockwood - Early Works 1967-82 (EM)
Ju Suk Reet Meate - Solo 78/79 (De Stijl)
Nico - The Frozen Borderline: 1968-1970 (Rhino)
Daphne Oram - Oramics (Paradigm)
Pentangle - The Time Has Come (Castle)
Eliane Radigue - Jetsun Mila (Lovely Music)
Terry Riley - Music For The Gift (Elision Fields)
Terry Riley - Poppy Nogood And The Phantom Band All Night Flight (Elision Fields)
Seefeel - Quique Redux Edition (Too Pure)
Sly & The Family Stone - There's A Riot Goin' On (Epic)
Sun Ra - Strange Strings (Atavistic Unheard Music Series)
Sun Ra - The Complete Disco 3000 Concert (Art Yard)
Young Marble Giants - Colossal Youth (Domino)

I am not quite sure how the puddle of mule vomit that is Asa Breed made their year end list.

I am surprised that the new TG record didn't place higher.

I am glad the Burial and DeepChord records did well.

No Pantha, No Credibility!

I actually found that just now, but the link to the mix isn't working for me.

still ok here, fwiw (not much).

nice to see dixon in there. slightly surprised nothing from dial made it.

no Fire Engines, no credibility

2008 issue out yet?

Yes!
From Year-End Critics' Polls '08

50. Sao Paulo Underground - Long ass album title
49. Ellen Fullman and Monique Buzzarte - Fluctuations
48. Sic Alps - US EZ
47. Mark Stewart - Edit
46. Alva Noto - Unitxt
45. Peter Rehberg - Works for GV
44. Josephine Foster - This Coming Gladness
43. Murcof - Versailles Sessions
42. Vajra - Live
41. Dave Grubbs - An Optimist Notes the Dust
40. Jakob Ullmann - Voice, Books and Fire 3
39. Toumani Diabate - Mande Variations
38. Portishead - Third
37. Maryanne Amacher - Sound Characters 2
36. Emeralds - Solar Bridge
35. Vampire Weekend - s/t
34. Harvey Milk - Life...
33. Stereo Image - s/t
32. Christina Carter - Masque Femine
31. Malcolm Goldstein - A Sounding of Sources
30. Terry Riley - The Last Camel in Paris
29. Earth - The Bees Made Honey...
28. Scorces - I Turn Into You
27. Arther Russell - Love Is Overtaking Me
26. Tricky - Knowle West Boy
25. Robert Ashley - Concrete
24. Jandek - Glasgow Sunday 2005
23. Group Inerane - Guitars From Agadez
22. Hercules & Love Affair - s/t
21. Lukas Ligeti - Afrikan Machinery
20. Stephan Mathieu - Radioland
19. Bill Dixon - 17 Musicians...
18. Luomo - Convivial
17. Dusk + Blackdown - Margins Music
16. Autechre - Quaristice
15. Kasai Allstars - In the 7th Moon, The Chief Turned Into A Swimming Fish And Ate The Head of His Enemy By Magic
14. Eric Chenaux - Sloppy Ground
13. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Dig thingy
12. Ryoji Ikeda - Test Pattern
11. Kevin Drumm - Imperial Distortion
10. Caretaker - Persstant Repetition
9. The Fall - Imperial Wax Solvent
8. William S Burroughs - Real English Tea
7. Evangelista - Hello Voyager
6. Advisory Circle - Other Channels
5. Gang Gang Dance - Saint Dymphna
4. John Butcher - Resonant Spaces
3. The Hospitals - Hairdryer Peace
2. Philip Jeck - Sand
1. The Bug - London Zoo

ex-wire journalist in number one alb shockah

talking of wire journos, really surprised that the new dead c rec didn't make the list - its one of their v. best

pleased to see the emeralds disc make the list

the first alb i can get with on this is:

11. Kevin Drumm - Imperial Distortion

honestly tho i haven't heard much else here. happy to see peter rehberg, maryanne amacher, harvey milk, cc/scorces on here.

Also pleased to see Emeralds place and Jeck so high.

If I had to rank S. Ripatti's output I'd put Karhunainen somewhere near the top and Convivial somewhere near the bottom, so a little :/ that the latter made the list this year while last year the former was relegated to the Electronica list, but hey, I know the critical consensus is that Luomo is the best thing ever (but this one? really? I guess I should reread its own thread to answer that, though).

Hadn't expected the Wire to like Vampire Weekend so much, though I know the African-influenced-indie-pop-gets-popular angle is kind of convenient for underlining yr relevance for championing real African music. Or maybe they just like it, of course...

(I've hardly read the Wire this year so probably shouldn't comment)

Have they put reissues on their list before? Also that David Grubbs album deserved a mention amongst the million lists.