Round two for singles. Now the placements are even looser, but at least the top six will be rather tight and specifically chosen. All links are still zshare.
21. All Saints - Chick Fit (Kissy Sell Out's Excellent Adventure) Probably the first great track of the year. It's fallen a few spots since then, but still has great staying power. Kissy's best work this year as well.
20. The Field - Over the Ice The Field's album works better as a complete work as it's hard for me to select a standout song. It's all good, but I suppose I particularly like the opener.
19. Chromeo - Fancy Footwork (Strip Steve U and I Remix) So many good Chromeo remixes, so little time. Save yourself the effort and get this one, nothing else comes close.
18. The Tough Alliance - First Class Riot All the elements that make TTA a great band are here. Very catchy and upbeat, while also rather strange. ...something to do with dolphins maybe.
17. Burial - Raver It might be the most straightforward track from the new Burial LP, but that's not why I really like it. I don't really know why actually. Like The Field, I'm used to seeing this in the context of other Burial tracks. Makes for a lovely ending though.
16. Armand Van Helden - I Want Ur Soul (Fake Blood Remix (Mercurius FM House Edit)) Fake Blood tore it up this year. If only his output was a little bit more frequent (we got 3 remixes this year). This edit found the best part of his AvH remix and made the whole track about it.
15. Boys Noize - & Down Talk about setting the pace for an album. "& Down" is positively explosive.
14. Studio - Life's A Beach! (Prins Thomas Mix) Studio's sandy epic gets even more blissed-out and funky with this remix.
13. Chromatics - Let's Make This A Moment To Remember This song makes me want to cry (in a good way though).
12. Radiohead - Videotape I didn't really think Radiohead would make another song of this quality. I guess they showed me.
11. Panda Bear - I'm Not Soft and gorgeous. Other Panda Bear tracks from the new LP might draw comparisons to other musicians, but "I'm Not" stands on its own two feet, sounding like nothing else.
10. Tie: Justice - D.A.N.C.E. (MSTRKRFT Remix) and Justice - D.A.N.C.E. (Jackson's "Do the J.A.H.C.B." Mix) So much good Justice this year, including great remixes. Special shout out to "Phantom" and remixes of it, which were also great, but "D.A.N.C.E." takes the cake. The MSTRKRFT take has the hottest climax of any club track this year, while Jackson's take is simply stunning as it draws in samples from the entire Justice album. I love them both, but each for different things.
9. Dragonette - Competition (Ocelot Remix) This song made me stand up and pay attention to Dragonette. This is my "Bossy - Braxe & Falke Mix" for 2007.
8. Shout Out Louds - Impossible (Possible Remake by Studio) This track is so sentimental and sweet, I just love it. Sound like it could have been right off of Studio's album this year.
7. LA Priest - Engine (Erol Alkan Re-Edit) Erol's a busy guy, but I'm glad he found some spare time to put another certified banger out in 2007. "Engine" is a sweet track all in itself, but Erol sets this on fire.
Friday, December 28, 2007
2007 Round-Up: Singles (36-22)
The actual order of some of these tracks is pretty loose, but you get the idea. Yeah, it's a top 36, but it was 13 last year. Quantity and quality. It's all here, er approximately a third of it anyway. All links are zshare.
36. Dolly Parton - Jolene (Peter Visti Slow Edit) One of my favorite surprises this year.
35. Bobmo - To the Bobmobile Simple and addictive.
34. Larry Tee feat. Princess Superstar - Work It Out (Herve Goes Low Remix) One of the most dependable club hits of 2007. Herve was on his game here.
33. Danger - 14h54 Another EP I didn't see coming. Dark, brooding, and cinematic.
32. M.I.A. - Jimmy Sorry "Paper Planes" lovers.
31. Digitalism - Pogo (Shinichi Osawa Remix) The original was good enough for the list, but Osawa's edit makes it just a little better.
30. Bloc Party - Where is Home? (Burial Remix) And here I was thinking the new Bloc Party album was a total loss.
29. Supermayer - Two of Us (Extended Album Version) I've come to appreciate more of the Supermayer album for how it's different, but this song is the type of thing everyone was expecting, and it delivers.
28. Tracy Thorn - It's All True (Martin Buttrich Remix) I was all set on loving the Kris Menace remix the best, but then this came along and, well, Kris won a lot of other places so he shouldn't be too disappointed.
27. Michael Jackson - Thriller (Villains Tootight Pants Remix) Best MJ remix I've ever heard.
26. Caribou - Melody Day Sun-drenched brilliance.
25. Battles - Atlas Tough call for favorite Battles song, but this one has the best drums.
24. The Avalanches - Ray of Zdarlight Digitalism + Wham = Yes! (the exclamation, not the band).
23. Hot Chip - My Piano Love the high-pitched synth squeals. Wish this was on the new LP.
22. Simian Mobile Disco - It's the Beat (The Teenagers Remix) Teenagers made one of the best dance singles of the year into a squelchy, climactic epic.
36. Dolly Parton - Jolene (Peter Visti Slow Edit) One of my favorite surprises this year.
35. Bobmo - To the Bobmobile Simple and addictive.
34. Larry Tee feat. Princess Superstar - Work It Out (Herve Goes Low Remix) One of the most dependable club hits of 2007. Herve was on his game here.
33. Danger - 14h54 Another EP I didn't see coming. Dark, brooding, and cinematic.
32. M.I.A. - Jimmy Sorry "Paper Planes" lovers.
31. Digitalism - Pogo (Shinichi Osawa Remix) The original was good enough for the list, but Osawa's edit makes it just a little better.
30. Bloc Party - Where is Home? (Burial Remix) And here I was thinking the new Bloc Party album was a total loss.
29. Supermayer - Two of Us (Extended Album Version) I've come to appreciate more of the Supermayer album for how it's different, but this song is the type of thing everyone was expecting, and it delivers.
28. Tracy Thorn - It's All True (Martin Buttrich Remix) I was all set on loving the Kris Menace remix the best, but then this came along and, well, Kris won a lot of other places so he shouldn't be too disappointed.
27. Michael Jackson - Thriller (Villains Tootight Pants Remix) Best MJ remix I've ever heard.
26. Caribou - Melody Day Sun-drenched brilliance.
25. Battles - Atlas Tough call for favorite Battles song, but this one has the best drums.
24. The Avalanches - Ray of Zdarlight Digitalism + Wham = Yes! (the exclamation, not the band).
23. Hot Chip - My Piano Love the high-pitched synth squeals. Wish this was on the new LP.
22. Simian Mobile Disco - It's the Beat (The Teenagers Remix) Teenagers made one of the best dance singles of the year into a squelchy, climactic epic.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
2007 Round-Up: Singles (The Big List)
I liked a lot of songs this year. Here are most of them. The very best will be ranked in an upcoming post. Let me know obvious omissions so I can check them out.
!!! - [Heart of Hearts, Must Be the Moon]
A Mountain of One - [Brown Piano (Remake by Studio)]
Acid Jacks - [Awake Since '78 (Boy 8 Bit Remix)]
Acoustic Ladyland - [Cuts and Lies (Kissy Sell Out Remix)]
Air - [Mer du Japon (Original Version), (Teenagers Remix), (Kris Menace Remix), Napalm Love]
Alan Braxe & Kris Menace - [Lumberjack]
Alex Gopher - [Brain Leech, Carmilla]
Ali Love - [Late Night Session (Phones Filter Fromage Dub)]
All Saints - [Chick Fit (Kissy Sell Out's Excellent Adventure)]
Amox & Atle - [A Witch Kiss (Ink and Needle Remix)]
Animal Collective - [#1]
Apparat - [Hold On (Chris de Luca vs. Phon. O Remix), (Modselektor Remix)]
Arcade Fire - [No Cars Go]
Architecture In Helsinki - [Heart it Races (Trizzy's Rusty Tin Can Mix), (DJ/Rupture Mix feat. Mr. Lee G)]
Arctic Monkeys [Brainstrom, Old Yellow Bricks (Cryptonites' Tease the Monkey Remix)]
Armand Van Helden - [I Want Ur Soul (Fake Blood Remix), (Fake Blood Remix (Mercurius FM House Edit))]
Avalanches - [Ray of Zdarlight, A Different Feeling (Paperclip People Remix (Avalanches Edit))]
Bag Raiders - [Punch Reprise]
Basement Jaxx - [Make Me Sweat]
Battles - [Race In, Atlas, Tonto]
Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve - [George EP]
Bjork - [Earth Intruders]
Black Ghosts - [Any Way You Choose to Give It (Fake Blood Remix), (Boy 8 Bit Remix), Some Way Through This (Plastician & Skream Remix)]
Bloc Party - [Hunting for Witches (Crystal Castles Remix), (Ruckus Roboticus Remix), Where is Home? (Burial Remix), Flux (JFK Remix), (Punx Soundcheck "Tenebrae" Remix)]
Bloody Beetroots - [Mac Mac, Verra la Morte e avra i Tuoi Occhi, Butter (demo)]
Bobmo - [Home Alone, To the Bobmobile]
Bolt Actio Five - [Tree Friend Tree Foe (The Cleft Palettes Remix)]
Bonde Do Role - [Gasolina (Fake Blood Mix), (Crookers Crunk Remix)]
Boy 8 Bit - [Suspense Is Killing Me]
Boys Noize - [& Down, Oh!, Shine Shine (Original), (AC Slater Remix)]
Bumblebeez - [Dr. Love (Trizzy's Free ODB Remix), (Crookers Remix)]
Burial - [Archangel, Ghost Hardware, Endorphin, Untrue, Raver]
Caribou - [Melody Day, Sandy, She's the One]
CFCF - [The Explorers, Sogni Rossi, Claudio]
Chemical Brothers - [The Pills Won't Help You Now, Do It Again (Olav Basoski Dub), The Salmon Dance (Herve Remix), (Crookers Remix)]
Chromatics - [Night Drive, I Want Your Love, Healer, Tomorrow is so Far Away, Let's Make this a Moment to Remember]
Chromeo - [Fancy Footwork (Strip Steve Remix), Tenderoni (Proxy Distort Mix), (MSTRKRFT Remix), (Sinden Remix feat. Kid Sister), Bonefied Lovin (Yuksek Remix)]
College - [Teenage Color (Russ Chimes Remix)]
Crystal Castles - [XxzxcZx Me, I have so much "unreleased" CC material I don't know what really came out this year. good band though]
Crystal Method - [Keep Hope Alive (MSTRKRFT Remix)]
CSS - [Alala (Clash the Disko Kids vs Keatch Edit)]
Cut Copy [Going Nowhere (SebastiAn Remix)]
Cyndi Lauper - [Girls Just Want to have Fun (MSTRKRFT Remix)]
Daft Punk - [Alive 2007 + encore, Around the World (Killdahype Remix), (Villains' More Cowbell DJ Edit), Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Deadmau5 Edit)]
Dan Deacon - [The Crystal Cat, Pink Batman]
Danger - [09/14 2007 EP]
Das Pop - Fool for Love (SebastiAn Remix)]
DatA - [Aerius Light EP]
Deadmau5 - [Faxing Berlin (Chris Lake Edit)]
Deck Raiders - [Just the Way I'd like to Go (2 Elements Remix)]
Digital Primate - [I Ain't Wid It (Acid Jacks Remix)]
Digitalsim - [Pogo (Original Version), (Shinichi Osawa Edit), Idealistic (Gimmick Machine Remix), Digitalism in Cairo]
Dirty Secrets - [5 Feet of Snow (Miami Horror Remix)]
DJ DLG - [Paramount (Rogerseventytwo Remix)]
DJ Mehdi - [Signatune (Thomas Bangalter Edit), Lucky Boy (Outlines Remix)]
Dolly Parton - [Jolene (Peter Visti Slow Edit)]
Dragonette - [Competition (Original Version), (Ocelot Remix), I Get Around (Original Version), (Van She Vocal Mix), (Midnight Juggernauts Remix), Take It Like A Man (Alan Braxe & Fred Falke Remix), (Felix Cartal Remix), True Believer]
Dubfire - [I Feel Speed (Booka Shade Dub)]
Dungen - [Familj, Gor Det Nu, Mon Amour, Svart Ar Himlen]
Dusty Little Kid - [New Ordinament EP Vol. 2]
Elektrons - [Get Up (Herve Remix)]
Erlend Oye - [Sudden Rush (The Twelves Remix)]
Escort - [All Through the Night, All That She Is]
Eternals - [Wrath of Zeus (Casanova Dub Edit)]
Ewan Pearson - [everything on Piece Work]
Fagget Fairys - [Samo Ti (AC Slater Remix)]
Feist - [My Moon My Man (Boys Noize Remix), Sealion (Chromeo Remix), 1234 (Van She Tech Remix)]
Field, The - [the whole album]
Frankmusik - [3 Little Words]
Gang Gang Dance - [Rawwar EP]
Girls Aloud - [Call The Shots]
The Go! Team - [Flashlight Fight, Grip Like A Vice]
Groove Armada - [Song 4 Mutya (Linus Loves Dub Remix)]
Gui Boratto - [Beautiful Life]
Gwen Stefani - [4 In The Morning (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Mix)]
HEALTH - Crimewave (Crystal Castles vs HEALTH Remix), Triceratops (Original Version), (CFCF Remix)]
Herve - [Cheap Thrills]
Hirasawa Susumu - [Shizuku Ippai no Kioku, Nigeru Mono (Meditational Field) from Paprika OST]
Hostage - [Gluttony EP, Schweet Dreams]
Hot Chip - [My Piano, Ready For The Floor (Soulwax Dub), Shake A Fist]
Hybrid - [Higher than a Skyscraper (Orb Remix), (Boy 8 Bit Remix), Theme From Wide Angle (Hybrid Rolling Thunder Mix)]
In The Club - [She's A Man (Killdahype Remix)]
Interpol - [Mammoth (Erol Alkan Remix), The Heinrich Maneuver]
Jape - [Floating (Prins Thomas Miks)]
Jerry Ropero - [The Storm (John Dahlback Mix)]
Junior Boys - [Dead Horse EP]
Junior Senior - [Headphone Song]
Jurgen Paape - [Take This, Fruity Loops 1]
Justice - [Stress (Original Version), (ZUER Edit), Phantom EP, D.A.N.C.E. Remixes EP, Genesis, Let There Be Light]
Justin Timberlake - [Lovestoned (Justice Remix)]
Kalle J - [Vingslag, When You See Me]
Kanye West - [Flashing Lights (Dan-O Remix), Stronger (A-Trak Remix)]
Kap10kurt - [Dangerseekers (TEPR Remix)]
Kate Nash - [Foundations (Metronomy Remix)]
Kavinsky - [1986 EP]
Kid Sister - [Pro Nails (Bag Raiders Remix)]
Killdahype - [Revolution, G-Boys]
Klaxons - [Golden Skans (Original Version), (SebastiAn Version 1.2.0 Remix), (Erol Alkan's Ekstra Spektral Remix), As Above So Below (Justice Remix), It's Not Over Yet (Original Version), (Skream Remix), Isle of Her]
Knightlife - [Ambobop, All Systems]
Kris Menace - [Steamroller]
Kylie - [2 Hearts (Studio Version), (Alan Braxe Remix), (The Twelves Remix)]
LA Priest - [Engine (Original Version), (Erol Alkan Re-Edit)]
LA Riots - [Kill Bill]
Larry Tee feat. Princess Superstar - [Work It Out (Herve Goes Low Remix)]
LCD Soundsystem - [A Bunch Of Stuff EP, North American Scum EP, All My Friends, Someone Great, Watch the Tapes, Sound of Silver]
Lehmber Hussainpuri - [Yaariyan (Remix)]
Love Is All - [Turn the Radio Off (Studio Remix) + probably more off from remix album that i've yet to listen to]
Lupe Fiasco - [Kick Push (Estaw Remix)]
M.I.A. - [Boyz (The Twelves Remix), Bird Flu, Jimmy]
Marcus Schossow, Thomas Segstad - [Moog Me]
Marilyn Manson - [Putting Holes in my Happiness (Boys Noize Remix)]
Mark Ronson - [Oh My God feat. Lily Allen (Chris Lake Remix)]
Marvin Gaye - [Sexual Healing (Mercurius FM Soul of House Mix)]
Matt & Kim - [Yeah Yeah (Flosstradamus Remix)]
Matthias Schaffhauser - [Gott Ist Tot]
Melinda Jackson - [Magic (Moustache Remix)]
Michael Jackson - [Thriller (Villains Tootight Pants Remix), I Can't Help It (Todd Terje Remix)]
Michael Sembello - [She's A Maniac (Bloody Beetroots Remix)]
Midnight Juggernauts - [Into the Galaxy, Out of the Storm (Kris Menca Remix), Road to Recovery (Miami Horror Remix)]
Minitel Rose - [Valerie Cote Ouest]
Moulinex - [Health Care]
Mr. Oizo - [Patrick 122]
Nadiya - [Tous Ces Nots (SebastiAn Remix)]
Nelson - [I Say You Can't Stop (DatA Remix)]
ODB - [Got Your Money (Gingy Remix)]
Outrunners - [Cool Feeling]
Panda Bear - [I'm Not, Comfy in Nautica, Bros]
Pantha du Prince - [Saturn Strobe, Moonstruck, Urlichten]
Patrick Wolf - [The Magic Position, Accident & Emergency]
Pinch - [Gangstaz (Instrumental)]
Pirate Soundsystem - [Loves Hit]
Pleasure - [Uptown]
Presets - [My People (Kris Menace Remix)]
Prince - [My Name Is Prince (TEPR Just For Fun Remix)]
Proxy - [Din Dah (Sleazy V Re-Edit), Ready to Watching]
Puzique - [Cissor]
Quietboy - [All Colours Within, Forever Is Over, might be from '06, can't remember]
Radiohead - [15 Step, All I Need, Jigsaw Falling into Place, Videotape]
Rage Against the Machine - [Killing in the Name of SebastiAn]
Rapture - [The Sound (Ben Trucker's Back to 95 Mix)]
Rihanna - [Umbrella (VNDLSM Remix (Diplo Edit))]
Robert Babicz - [Sin (Gui Boratto Remix)]
Roisin Murphy - [Overpowered]
Rufus Wainwright - [Tiergarten (Supermayer Remix)]
Russ Chimes - [Afterburner, She's got the Heat]
Samim - [Heater]
Scenario Rock - [Both Gotta Move On (SebastiAn Remix)]
Sebastian Tellier - [Sexual Sportswear (Original Version), (SebastiAn Remix)]
Sebastien Leger - [Sun, Mercury, Uranus]
Shesus - [Debbie's Shoes (SebastiAn Remix)]
Shinichi Osawa - [Star Guitar]
Shining - [In the Kingdom of Kitsch You will be a Monster, Winterreise, Stalemate Longan Runner]
Shout Out Louds - [Impossible (Possible Remake by Studio)]
Simian Mobile Disco - [It's the Beat (Original Version), (Teenagers Remix), Wooden, others were on the list last year, no repeats]
Sinden & Countt of Monte Cristal - [Beeper (Shake it Down), Everybody Rocking]
Sneaky Soundsystem - [UFO (Van She Tech Remix)]
Soho Dolls - [Trash the Rental (Crystal Castles vs Soho Dolls Remix)]
Steed Lord - [Bucket of Blood feat. Krummi]
Strip Steve - [Ready Steady]
Studio - [Life's A Beach! EP, No Comply, Out There, West Side, Self Service]
Supermayer - [Two of Us (Extended Album Version), The Art of Letting Go (Ewan's the Art of Getting Low Dub)]
Surkin - [Radio Fireworks 909 Edit)]
Terry Lynn - [Kocky/Kingston Logic]
Terry Poison - [Ballroom (DatA Remix)]
Timbaland - [Way I Are (Crookers Remix), Miscommunication (Bloody Beetroots Remix)]
Tonite Only - [Where the Party's At (Dada Life Remix (Larry Powers Re-Rub))]
Tough Alliance - [Something Special, First Class Riot, Miami, Neo Violence]
Tracey Thorn - [It's All True (Martin Buttrich Remix), (Kris Menace Remix), (Escort Extended Remix), King's Cross (Hot Chip Remix)]
Tuss, The - [Synthacon 9, Last Rushup 10, Rushup I Bank 12]
Underworld - [Crocodile, Beautiful Burnout]
White Stripes - [Icky Thump (Hostage Remix), 7 Nation Army (DJ Klutch's The Freaks The Creeps Remix)]
Xplo-Sean - [Tesla feat Kalle J, Female Voices]
Yelle - [A Cause de Garcons (Riot in Belgium Remix), (TEPR Remix)]
Young Josh - [Act A Fool (Ravestradamus)]
ZZT - [Lower State of Consciousness (Original Version), (Justice Remix), (Delete Remix)]
!!! - [Heart of Hearts, Must Be the Moon]
A Mountain of One - [Brown Piano (Remake by Studio)]
Acid Jacks - [Awake Since '78 (Boy 8 Bit Remix)]
Acoustic Ladyland - [Cuts and Lies (Kissy Sell Out Remix)]
Air - [Mer du Japon (Original Version), (Teenagers Remix), (Kris Menace Remix), Napalm Love]
Alan Braxe & Kris Menace - [Lumberjack]
Alex Gopher - [Brain Leech, Carmilla]
Ali Love - [Late Night Session (Phones Filter Fromage Dub)]
All Saints - [Chick Fit (Kissy Sell Out's Excellent Adventure)]
Amox & Atle - [A Witch Kiss (Ink and Needle Remix)]
Animal Collective - [#1]
Apparat - [Hold On (Chris de Luca vs. Phon. O Remix), (Modselektor Remix)]
Arcade Fire - [No Cars Go]
Architecture In Helsinki - [Heart it Races (Trizzy's Rusty Tin Can Mix), (DJ/Rupture Mix feat. Mr. Lee G)]
Arctic Monkeys [Brainstrom, Old Yellow Bricks (Cryptonites' Tease the Monkey Remix)]
Armand Van Helden - [I Want Ur Soul (Fake Blood Remix), (Fake Blood Remix (Mercurius FM House Edit))]
Avalanches - [Ray of Zdarlight, A Different Feeling (Paperclip People Remix (Avalanches Edit))]
Bag Raiders - [Punch Reprise]
Basement Jaxx - [Make Me Sweat]
Battles - [Race In, Atlas, Tonto]
Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve - [George EP]
Bjork - [Earth Intruders]
Black Ghosts - [Any Way You Choose to Give It (Fake Blood Remix), (Boy 8 Bit Remix), Some Way Through This (Plastician & Skream Remix)]
Bloc Party - [Hunting for Witches (Crystal Castles Remix), (Ruckus Roboticus Remix), Where is Home? (Burial Remix), Flux (JFK Remix), (Punx Soundcheck "Tenebrae" Remix)]
Bloody Beetroots - [Mac Mac, Verra la Morte e avra i Tuoi Occhi, Butter (demo)]
Bobmo - [Home Alone, To the Bobmobile]
Bolt Actio Five - [Tree Friend Tree Foe (The Cleft Palettes Remix)]
Bonde Do Role - [Gasolina (Fake Blood Mix), (Crookers Crunk Remix)]
Boy 8 Bit - [Suspense Is Killing Me]
Boys Noize - [& Down, Oh!, Shine Shine (Original), (AC Slater Remix)]
Bumblebeez - [Dr. Love (Trizzy's Free ODB Remix), (Crookers Remix)]
Burial - [Archangel, Ghost Hardware, Endorphin, Untrue, Raver]
Caribou - [Melody Day, Sandy, She's the One]
CFCF - [The Explorers, Sogni Rossi, Claudio]
Chemical Brothers - [The Pills Won't Help You Now, Do It Again (Olav Basoski Dub), The Salmon Dance (Herve Remix), (Crookers Remix)]
Chromatics - [Night Drive, I Want Your Love, Healer, Tomorrow is so Far Away, Let's Make this a Moment to Remember]
Chromeo - [Fancy Footwork (Strip Steve Remix), Tenderoni (Proxy Distort Mix), (MSTRKRFT Remix), (Sinden Remix feat. Kid Sister), Bonefied Lovin (Yuksek Remix)]
College - [Teenage Color (Russ Chimes Remix)]
Crystal Castles - [XxzxcZx Me, I have so much "unreleased" CC material I don't know what really came out this year. good band though]
Crystal Method - [Keep Hope Alive (MSTRKRFT Remix)]
CSS - [Alala (Clash the Disko Kids vs Keatch Edit)]
Cut Copy [Going Nowhere (SebastiAn Remix)]
Cyndi Lauper - [Girls Just Want to have Fun (MSTRKRFT Remix)]
Daft Punk - [Alive 2007 + encore, Around the World (Killdahype Remix), (Villains' More Cowbell DJ Edit), Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Deadmau5 Edit)]
Dan Deacon - [The Crystal Cat, Pink Batman]
Danger - [09/14 2007 EP]
Das Pop - Fool for Love (SebastiAn Remix)]
DatA - [Aerius Light EP]
Deadmau5 - [Faxing Berlin (Chris Lake Edit)]
Deck Raiders - [Just the Way I'd like to Go (2 Elements Remix)]
Digital Primate - [I Ain't Wid It (Acid Jacks Remix)]
Digitalsim - [Pogo (Original Version), (Shinichi Osawa Edit), Idealistic (Gimmick Machine Remix), Digitalism in Cairo]
Dirty Secrets - [5 Feet of Snow (Miami Horror Remix)]
DJ DLG - [Paramount (Rogerseventytwo Remix)]
DJ Mehdi - [Signatune (Thomas Bangalter Edit), Lucky Boy (Outlines Remix)]
Dolly Parton - [Jolene (Peter Visti Slow Edit)]
Dragonette - [Competition (Original Version), (Ocelot Remix), I Get Around (Original Version), (Van She Vocal Mix), (Midnight Juggernauts Remix), Take It Like A Man (Alan Braxe & Fred Falke Remix), (Felix Cartal Remix), True Believer]
Dubfire - [I Feel Speed (Booka Shade Dub)]
Dungen - [Familj, Gor Det Nu, Mon Amour, Svart Ar Himlen]
Dusty Little Kid - [New Ordinament EP Vol. 2]
Elektrons - [Get Up (Herve Remix)]
Erlend Oye - [Sudden Rush (The Twelves Remix)]
Escort - [All Through the Night, All That She Is]
Eternals - [Wrath of Zeus (Casanova Dub Edit)]
Ewan Pearson - [everything on Piece Work]
Fagget Fairys - [Samo Ti (AC Slater Remix)]
Feist - [My Moon My Man (Boys Noize Remix), Sealion (Chromeo Remix), 1234 (Van She Tech Remix)]
Field, The - [the whole album]
Frankmusik - [3 Little Words]
Gang Gang Dance - [Rawwar EP]
Girls Aloud - [Call The Shots]
The Go! Team - [Flashlight Fight, Grip Like A Vice]
Groove Armada - [Song 4 Mutya (Linus Loves Dub Remix)]
Gui Boratto - [Beautiful Life]
Gwen Stefani - [4 In The Morning (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Mix)]
HEALTH - Crimewave (Crystal Castles vs HEALTH Remix), Triceratops (Original Version), (CFCF Remix)]
Herve - [Cheap Thrills]
Hirasawa Susumu - [Shizuku Ippai no Kioku, Nigeru Mono (Meditational Field) from Paprika OST]
Hostage - [Gluttony EP, Schweet Dreams]
Hot Chip - [My Piano, Ready For The Floor (Soulwax Dub), Shake A Fist]
Hybrid - [Higher than a Skyscraper (Orb Remix), (Boy 8 Bit Remix), Theme From Wide Angle (Hybrid Rolling Thunder Mix)]
In The Club - [She's A Man (Killdahype Remix)]
Interpol - [Mammoth (Erol Alkan Remix), The Heinrich Maneuver]
Jape - [Floating (Prins Thomas Miks)]
Jerry Ropero - [The Storm (John Dahlback Mix)]
Junior Boys - [Dead Horse EP]
Junior Senior - [Headphone Song]
Jurgen Paape - [Take This, Fruity Loops 1]
Justice - [Stress (Original Version), (ZUER Edit), Phantom EP, D.A.N.C.E. Remixes EP, Genesis, Let There Be Light]
Justin Timberlake - [Lovestoned (Justice Remix)]
Kalle J - [Vingslag, When You See Me]
Kanye West - [Flashing Lights (Dan-O Remix), Stronger (A-Trak Remix)]
Kap10kurt - [Dangerseekers (TEPR Remix)]
Kate Nash - [Foundations (Metronomy Remix)]
Kavinsky - [1986 EP]
Kid Sister - [Pro Nails (Bag Raiders Remix)]
Killdahype - [Revolution, G-Boys]
Klaxons - [Golden Skans (Original Version), (SebastiAn Version 1.2.0 Remix), (Erol Alkan's Ekstra Spektral Remix), As Above So Below (Justice Remix), It's Not Over Yet (Original Version), (Skream Remix), Isle of Her]
Knightlife - [Ambobop, All Systems]
Kris Menace - [Steamroller]
Kylie - [2 Hearts (Studio Version), (Alan Braxe Remix), (The Twelves Remix)]
LA Priest - [Engine (Original Version), (Erol Alkan Re-Edit)]
LA Riots - [Kill Bill]
Larry Tee feat. Princess Superstar - [Work It Out (Herve Goes Low Remix)]
LCD Soundsystem - [A Bunch Of Stuff EP, North American Scum EP, All My Friends, Someone Great, Watch the Tapes, Sound of Silver]
Lehmber Hussainpuri - [Yaariyan (Remix)]
Love Is All - [Turn the Radio Off (Studio Remix) + probably more off from remix album that i've yet to listen to]
Lupe Fiasco - [Kick Push (Estaw Remix)]
M.I.A. - [Boyz (The Twelves Remix), Bird Flu, Jimmy]
Marcus Schossow, Thomas Segstad - [Moog Me]
Marilyn Manson - [Putting Holes in my Happiness (Boys Noize Remix)]
Mark Ronson - [Oh My God feat. Lily Allen (Chris Lake Remix)]
Marvin Gaye - [Sexual Healing (Mercurius FM Soul of House Mix)]
Matt & Kim - [Yeah Yeah (Flosstradamus Remix)]
Matthias Schaffhauser - [Gott Ist Tot]
Melinda Jackson - [Magic (Moustache Remix)]
Michael Jackson - [Thriller (Villains Tootight Pants Remix), I Can't Help It (Todd Terje Remix)]
Michael Sembello - [She's A Maniac (Bloody Beetroots Remix)]
Midnight Juggernauts - [Into the Galaxy, Out of the Storm (Kris Menca Remix), Road to Recovery (Miami Horror Remix)]
Minitel Rose - [Valerie Cote Ouest]
Moulinex - [Health Care]
Mr. Oizo - [Patrick 122]
Nadiya - [Tous Ces Nots (SebastiAn Remix)]
Nelson - [I Say You Can't Stop (DatA Remix)]
ODB - [Got Your Money (Gingy Remix)]
Outrunners - [Cool Feeling]
Panda Bear - [I'm Not, Comfy in Nautica, Bros]
Pantha du Prince - [Saturn Strobe, Moonstruck, Urlichten]
Patrick Wolf - [The Magic Position, Accident & Emergency]
Pinch - [Gangstaz (Instrumental)]
Pirate Soundsystem - [Loves Hit]
Pleasure - [Uptown]
Presets - [My People (Kris Menace Remix)]
Prince - [My Name Is Prince (TEPR Just For Fun Remix)]
Proxy - [Din Dah (Sleazy V Re-Edit), Ready to Watching]
Puzique - [Cissor]
Quietboy - [All Colours Within, Forever Is Over, might be from '06, can't remember]
Radiohead - [15 Step, All I Need, Jigsaw Falling into Place, Videotape]
Rage Against the Machine - [Killing in the Name of SebastiAn]
Rapture - [The Sound (Ben Trucker's Back to 95 Mix)]
Rihanna - [Umbrella (VNDLSM Remix (Diplo Edit))]
Robert Babicz - [Sin (Gui Boratto Remix)]
Roisin Murphy - [Overpowered]
Rufus Wainwright - [Tiergarten (Supermayer Remix)]
Russ Chimes - [Afterburner, She's got the Heat]
Samim - [Heater]
Scenario Rock - [Both Gotta Move On (SebastiAn Remix)]
Sebastian Tellier - [Sexual Sportswear (Original Version), (SebastiAn Remix)]
Sebastien Leger - [Sun, Mercury, Uranus]
Shesus - [Debbie's Shoes (SebastiAn Remix)]
Shinichi Osawa - [Star Guitar]
Shining - [In the Kingdom of Kitsch You will be a Monster, Winterreise, Stalemate Longan Runner]
Shout Out Louds - [Impossible (Possible Remake by Studio)]
Simian Mobile Disco - [It's the Beat (Original Version), (Teenagers Remix), Wooden, others were on the list last year, no repeats]
Sinden & Countt of Monte Cristal - [Beeper (Shake it Down), Everybody Rocking]
Sneaky Soundsystem - [UFO (Van She Tech Remix)]
Soho Dolls - [Trash the Rental (Crystal Castles vs Soho Dolls Remix)]
Steed Lord - [Bucket of Blood feat. Krummi]
Strip Steve - [Ready Steady]
Studio - [Life's A Beach! EP, No Comply, Out There, West Side, Self Service]
Supermayer - [Two of Us (Extended Album Version), The Art of Letting Go (Ewan's the Art of Getting Low Dub)]
Surkin - [Radio Fireworks 909 Edit)]
Terry Lynn - [Kocky/Kingston Logic]
Terry Poison - [Ballroom (DatA Remix)]
Timbaland - [Way I Are (Crookers Remix), Miscommunication (Bloody Beetroots Remix)]
Tonite Only - [Where the Party's At (Dada Life Remix (Larry Powers Re-Rub))]
Tough Alliance - [Something Special, First Class Riot, Miami, Neo Violence]
Tracey Thorn - [It's All True (Martin Buttrich Remix), (Kris Menace Remix), (Escort Extended Remix), King's Cross (Hot Chip Remix)]
Tuss, The - [Synthacon 9, Last Rushup 10, Rushup I Bank 12]
Underworld - [Crocodile, Beautiful Burnout]
White Stripes - [Icky Thump (Hostage Remix), 7 Nation Army (DJ Klutch's The Freaks The Creeps Remix)]
Xplo-Sean - [Tesla feat Kalle J, Female Voices]
Yelle - [A Cause de Garcons (Riot in Belgium Remix), (TEPR Remix)]
Young Josh - [Act A Fool (Ravestradamus)]
ZZT - [Lower State of Consciousness (Original Version), (Justice Remix), (Delete Remix)]
Friday, December 21, 2007
2007 Round-Up: Top 20 Albums (5-1)
Alright, so today's the final push. Really all of the albums in the top 10 have been switching constantly over the past few days, but I think this final positioning is right, and I'll agree with it for at least a week. Stay tuned for singles lists coming soon.
5. Burial - Untrue
While I haven't read any of the "hauntology" references people have been citing about Burial, I do attest that this album does feel like the long lost ghost of UK rave culture. It's easy to imagine that if one were to happen upon an old warehouse where one of the craziest, most euphoric dance parties was ever held some 20 years ago, that Untrue could be faintly heard whisping about the premises as a reminder of events long past. Untrue is the most prolific purveyor of this new brand of urban mythology. In a metropolitan setting where everything feels mapped out and pre-planned, Burial has found mystery and intrigue and renewed the possibility for discovery in such a place. It's the same sort of exhilaration that I experienced when exploring the rafters of the East College building on DePauw's campus. It's a place humans aren't supposed to go anymore despite them having created it. Related to this is the feeling of isolation. Burial's music puts the listener at distance from it's vocals and melodies by having them fade in and out and repeating the lyrics as if they were fading echoes. The only grip we are given are the cold, driving beats and basslines. It's this isolation though, the necessary condition for meditation even amongst the throngs of city populations, where the settings are most likely to generate discovery, be it personal enlightenment just something that you've never seen before.
4. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
James Murphy may not have captured the top spot on this list (I'm sure he's really torn up about it too) but he definitely gets the nod for "most improved." After an OK album with an excellent bonus disc, he then decided to wow everyone and release a masterpiece of an album where all the songs are quality enough to compete if not, I'd argue, surpass the quality of those much-loved previous singles. This album and specifically the songs "Someone Great" and "All My Friends" made me emotional about music this year. Pretty much everything on this top 10 was somehow affected by my listening to those two songs. Murphy doesn't spend the whole album being sad though, there's plenty of dancing and fun to be had as well. Actually, this is likely the most well-rounded release of the year, worthy of the Hollywood sloganeering: You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll...dance. There is no weak link in the chain and LCD's influences never get the best of the final productions. Much has been said about Murphy's "everyman" appeal, which I feel has legitimacy, especially compared to a lot of modern day "everyman" musicians who end up promoting a romanticized or satirical view of what it means to be just like everyone else. Murphy exudes authenticity and his brash tendency to speak his mind might irk some people, but at least someone's talking about these things.
3. Panda Bear - Person Pitch
This album has grown on me since it's release. I liked "Bros" and "Comfy in Nautica" since I first heard them, but didn't give the full album any attention until much later. What finally struck a chord with me was the song "I'm Not" which has subsequently become one of my favorite tracks of the year. Not to focus too much on that one song (I probably will in a later list), but it really captured my attention and enveloped me in the music. When I began to frame the album around that song rather than the other two aforementioned tracks, the Brian Wilson influence and other references took a backseat to the samples, repetitions, and melodies presented in the album. This reframing was necessary for me to get the most out of Person Pitch. Finally able to access the music was like having a machine that allows me to reexperience my favorite dreams. I can't help but draw the connections between this album and skateboarding videos. Lennox himself spelled out many of these connections saying, "Something about the motion and the fluidness of it calms me and makes me feel good. When they're really good it seems like magic and it's like watching something that's impossible, and watching those impossible moves over and over again is very satisfying for me."
This expresses some of the appeal of the Panda Bear album. He managed to capture tiny little blissful moments (how he crafted these amazing moments I cannot fathom) and repeat them over and over with slight shifts in the surrounding musical tones or pitch or timing. It exemplifies the whole aspect of trying something a billion times until it works. However, the beauty of this concept as it relates to Person Pitch is that which moment gets it right is totally subjective. He never wipes out, not once.
2. Studio - West Coast
Studio overwhelmed me this year. Their sound is stunning, so much so that I feel like my heart is going to stop every time "Out There" climbs to the top of one of its many peaks. They're not daunting expeditions, but there's just so much euphoria to manage. I mean, it's about as frenetic as "beach music" gets. It's also one of those albums where every track has taken its turn as my favorite at some point this year. My reasoning for liking Studio so much is difficult to explain because I'm not sure I understand completely. I think they incorporate a lot of what I like about both The Tough Alliance and Panda Bear this year, so that probably counts for something. Also, like Battles, they're not afraid to let their instruments do most of the talking, but when there are lyrics they work quite well. All I know for sure is that I'm enamored with Studio and want nothing more than some new material from them in 2008. And yeah, I'm listing West Coast instead of Yearbook 1 because West Coast is the CD I own and listen to quite often. That and Yearbook 1 could technically be categorized as a compilation. That said Yearbook 1 is definitely the superior of the two. Even though "No Comply" and "Radio Edit" are really really good songs to add to the already stellar West Coast, both albums would end up at the #2 space, which was the #1 space until about a month ago, which can only mean...
1. The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
3 of my top 10 albums are from Sweden this year. Something's going very right on the Scandinavian peninsula. A lot has been written about what this album does technically and the way The Field uses samples, so I'm going to talk about my personal experience with this album this year instead. As much as Person Pitch has grown on me this year FHWGS has really risen through the ranks even more significantly. After initially pretty much dismissing the album I came back to it when I began reading all of its critical acclaim. So I thought it was pretty good, but probably not top 10 material.
One thing I've begun this year with all my time in the art studio is listening to full albums again and getting good use out of my ipod. Dealing so much with weather in my work and the transitions between transforming something physical to digital to physical again, The Field helped me accelerate my thinking. Not that this album is doing exactly the same thing I am, but it's definitely related. I get a particular image in my head when I listen to this music: a vast plain of snow and ice with a bright, glowing, rising sun in the background. It's not a still image though, as there's always the sensation of speeding forward across the tundra, making the light cast on the ice shimmer with movement. Somehow this album lets me feel like I'm dreaming when I'm awake, while at the same time being so much more than background music. Its complexity demands attention, and once I gave it that attention, it definitely influenced the way I was thinking about my work. Now we're talking top 5 material.
So, then over Thanksgiving I went with my family to visit relatives in Wisconsin. I took a train to Chicago by myself the day after the holiday and with a fresh snow on the ground. It was dark when I got on the train, some ungodly hour in the AM. I knew the sun would rise while I was en route. I slumped into a seat next to a window, put The Field on my ipod, and in a half-awake daze watched my day-dream happen as close as was reasonably possible in real life. Number 1.
5. Burial - Untrue
While I haven't read any of the "hauntology" references people have been citing about Burial, I do attest that this album does feel like the long lost ghost of UK rave culture. It's easy to imagine that if one were to happen upon an old warehouse where one of the craziest, most euphoric dance parties was ever held some 20 years ago, that Untrue could be faintly heard whisping about the premises as a reminder of events long past. Untrue is the most prolific purveyor of this new brand of urban mythology. In a metropolitan setting where everything feels mapped out and pre-planned, Burial has found mystery and intrigue and renewed the possibility for discovery in such a place. It's the same sort of exhilaration that I experienced when exploring the rafters of the East College building on DePauw's campus. It's a place humans aren't supposed to go anymore despite them having created it. Related to this is the feeling of isolation. Burial's music puts the listener at distance from it's vocals and melodies by having them fade in and out and repeating the lyrics as if they were fading echoes. The only grip we are given are the cold, driving beats and basslines. It's this isolation though, the necessary condition for meditation even amongst the throngs of city populations, where the settings are most likely to generate discovery, be it personal enlightenment just something that you've never seen before.4. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
James Murphy may not have captured the top spot on this list (I'm sure he's really torn up about it too) but he definitely gets the nod for "most improved." After an OK album with an excellent bonus disc, he then decided to wow everyone and release a masterpiece of an album where all the songs are quality enough to compete if not, I'd argue, surpass the quality of those much-loved previous singles. This album and specifically the songs "Someone Great" and "All My Friends" made me emotional about music this year. Pretty much everything on this top 10 was somehow affected by my listening to those two songs. Murphy doesn't spend the whole album being sad though, there's plenty of dancing and fun to be had as well. Actually, this is likely the most well-rounded release of the year, worthy of the Hollywood sloganeering: You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll...dance. There is no weak link in the chain and LCD's influences never get the best of the final productions. Much has been said about Murphy's "everyman" appeal, which I feel has legitimacy, especially compared to a lot of modern day "everyman" musicians who end up promoting a romanticized or satirical view of what it means to be just like everyone else. Murphy exudes authenticity and his brash tendency to speak his mind might irk some people, but at least someone's talking about these things.3. Panda Bear - Person Pitch
This album has grown on me since it's release. I liked "Bros" and "Comfy in Nautica" since I first heard them, but didn't give the full album any attention until much later. What finally struck a chord with me was the song "I'm Not" which has subsequently become one of my favorite tracks of the year. Not to focus too much on that one song (I probably will in a later list), but it really captured my attention and enveloped me in the music. When I began to frame the album around that song rather than the other two aforementioned tracks, the Brian Wilson influence and other references took a backseat to the samples, repetitions, and melodies presented in the album. This reframing was necessary for me to get the most out of Person Pitch. Finally able to access the music was like having a machine that allows me to reexperience my favorite dreams. I can't help but draw the connections between this album and skateboarding videos. Lennox himself spelled out many of these connections saying, "Something about the motion and the fluidness of it calms me and makes me feel good. When they're really good it seems like magic and it's like watching something that's impossible, and watching those impossible moves over and over again is very satisfying for me." This expresses some of the appeal of the Panda Bear album. He managed to capture tiny little blissful moments (how he crafted these amazing moments I cannot fathom) and repeat them over and over with slight shifts in the surrounding musical tones or pitch or timing. It exemplifies the whole aspect of trying something a billion times until it works. However, the beauty of this concept as it relates to Person Pitch is that which moment gets it right is totally subjective. He never wipes out, not once.
2. Studio - West Coast
Studio overwhelmed me this year. Their sound is stunning, so much so that I feel like my heart is going to stop every time "Out There" climbs to the top of one of its many peaks. They're not daunting expeditions, but there's just so much euphoria to manage. I mean, it's about as frenetic as "beach music" gets. It's also one of those albums where every track has taken its turn as my favorite at some point this year. My reasoning for liking Studio so much is difficult to explain because I'm not sure I understand completely. I think they incorporate a lot of what I like about both The Tough Alliance and Panda Bear this year, so that probably counts for something. Also, like Battles, they're not afraid to let their instruments do most of the talking, but when there are lyrics they work quite well. All I know for sure is that I'm enamored with Studio and want nothing more than some new material from them in 2008. And yeah, I'm listing West Coast instead of Yearbook 1 because West Coast is the CD I own and listen to quite often. That and Yearbook 1 could technically be categorized as a compilation. That said Yearbook 1 is definitely the superior of the two. Even though "No Comply" and "Radio Edit" are really really good songs to add to the already stellar West Coast, both albums would end up at the #2 space, which was the #1 space until about a month ago, which can only mean...1. The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
3 of my top 10 albums are from Sweden this year. Something's going very right on the Scandinavian peninsula. A lot has been written about what this album does technically and the way The Field uses samples, so I'm going to talk about my personal experience with this album this year instead. As much as Person Pitch has grown on me this year FHWGS has really risen through the ranks even more significantly. After initially pretty much dismissing the album I came back to it when I began reading all of its critical acclaim. So I thought it was pretty good, but probably not top 10 material. One thing I've begun this year with all my time in the art studio is listening to full albums again and getting good use out of my ipod. Dealing so much with weather in my work and the transitions between transforming something physical to digital to physical again, The Field helped me accelerate my thinking. Not that this album is doing exactly the same thing I am, but it's definitely related. I get a particular image in my head when I listen to this music: a vast plain of snow and ice with a bright, glowing, rising sun in the background. It's not a still image though, as there's always the sensation of speeding forward across the tundra, making the light cast on the ice shimmer with movement. Somehow this album lets me feel like I'm dreaming when I'm awake, while at the same time being so much more than background music. Its complexity demands attention, and once I gave it that attention, it definitely influenced the way I was thinking about my work. Now we're talking top 5 material.
So, then over Thanksgiving I went with my family to visit relatives in Wisconsin. I took a train to Chicago by myself the day after the holiday and with a fresh snow on the ground. It was dark when I got on the train, some ungodly hour in the AM. I knew the sun would rise while I was en route. I slumped into a seat next to a window, put The Field on my ipod, and in a half-awake daze watched my day-dream happen as close as was reasonably possible in real life. Number 1.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
2007 Round-Up: Top 20 Albums (10-6)
10. Chromatics - Night Drive
Lots of people seem to be picking the Italians Do It Better comp for their year-end lists, but I prefer the proper album put out by label members Chromatics. Everything you could love about the new sound of italo disco is here. There's creepy horror flick undertones and a tremendous feeling of loss and despair, but there's hope and tenderness as well. The album plays out at a cinematic pace, beginning with an opening "scene" where a woman calls her lover to say she's headed home, but going on a drive first, hence the album title. The mood reminds me quite a bit of M83's Before the Dawn Heals Us, but the ambiance here is far more sparse, and paranoid. Often the beats and guitar ticks feel like they're stalking the vocals. It helped that I kind of got into Italian horror soundtracks this year, thanks to Justice's sampling of Goblin's "Tenebre," and Night Drive operates in a similar way to those with the exception that you feel like you're getting the whole package here instead of a piece of a much larger artwork as with a film score. Despite how great it is, I was considering placing this album lower on the list, but then I gave "Let's Make this a Moment to Remember" (a truly moving song) another good listen and decided this album belongs at least in the top 10.
9. The Tough Alliance - A New Chance
Having picked up on TTA last year via a remix of "Leg 7" I expected more along those lines this year. I was surprised to find out that there are actually vocals in in all the songs, and that they actually have a back catalog consisting of a number of albums and EPs. The album A New Chance is their best work to date though. And even though I had this downloaded and liked it, I'm glad Kyle (and those crazy Swedish bloggers) kept prodding me to listen to it because it brought me back to it. In turn I deepened my appreciation for the album and it has made the leap into my listening cycles rather than becoming something that I would probably never come back to after half-listening to it maybe once. Sad, yes, but that's usually the way it goes when I'm sifting through a new chunk of downloaded material. TTA rose to the top though, as most really good stuff does, and reeled me in with their sweet pop hooks and mesmerizing instrumentation. They sound a lot like fellow countrymen Studio with more vocals and more of a pop music sensibility. Whether you choose to believe what has written about TTA and their stage antics and what their lyrics mean is totally up to you, but I greatly enjoy the ambiguity of the bands true intentions and the way myths about them get built up simply by them not doing any press or in any way overexposing their "personas." Hmm, maybe that's kind of a theme for me this year.
8. Radiohead - In Rainbows
This is the funniest thing I've ever seen Radiohead do. For a band that's had the spotlight on them for such a long time, to still be making great music and having fun is quite the feat. It had been quite a while since album number 6 was released, and I'd all but forgotten that Radiohead would ever put out new material. Then the there was a countdown which turned out to be a tremendous hoax, and everyone's hopes were dashed...until like 2 days later when the real band announced a real album that we could all have real cheap. Oh, it turned out to be pretty good too. The upbeat tracks soar with perpetual motion, and the slower songs (most of them) are some of the most sensuous and intimate in Radiohead's career. The album highlights for me are the beginning and the end. The sample of the children's cheering exclamation followed by stittering AFX-style drum machine drills in "15 Step" is one of my favorite musical moments of the year, and "Videotape" is almost inexplicably glorious. These two songs sandwich the rest of the nothing-but-quality songs that make up the rest of the album. Here Radiohead is showing that they can do guitars and they can do electronics and they can make them all fit together with songs that were written across many different years and have all of those elements function towards a cohesive whole. That's impressive. Is this the last Radiohead album? Who's to say, but it would be a helluva way to go.
7. Boys Noize - Oi Oi Oi
As hard as Justice can rock, Boys Noize can rock harder. Clearly I feel Oi Oi Oi works as an album, just not the same way Justice chose to do it this year. Oi's pacing as an album is more like a rampaging bulldozer than an up-and-down roller coaster ride, which fits perfectly with the heaving distorted synth waves and consistently pounding basslines of which it consists. A lot of people criticize Boys Noize for reusing samples and sounds from his remixes in the songs on this album, but I think he was trying to give everyone the remix compilation they wanted, but have it be in the form of totally original tracks. For example, "Let's Buy Happiness" definitely takes the signature sound from the BN remix of Teenage Bad Girl's "Cocotte," but the actual song is rather different in terms of its structure. It's probably not as good as the remix, but that was one of BN's strongest reworks, so it's just plain tough to top. The way he used the "dance dance dance" line from his remix of Shiny Toy Guns in "& Down" is an example of how well it can work though, as that becomes one of the strongest tracks on the album and bests the remix at least twice over. All this talk is so technical and responsive to what other have said though. The sound of Boys Noize is exceedingly thrilling in its own right. Avoid the hype. Follow the Noize.
6. Battles - Mirrored
As others have said, this album hasn't aged all that well this year. Had it come out this month rather than so many moons ago, it definitely would have been number 1 or 2 on this list. Having genuinely enjoyed the B, C, and TRAS EPs from Battles, I was eagerly awaiting this album's release. I was not disappointed. Yeah, they added lyrics, but they just use them as another sonic element. As someone who grew up listening to mostly instrumental electronic music, this is a stylistic decision that I appreciate. Having been weaned on vocal pitchshifting by The Knife last year, the helium-induced squeals on the likes of "Atlas" make perfect sense. There's something very cold and calculated about the way the songs are put together, very outworldly, but strangely alive. It helps hold everything together when you have as talented a drummer as Battles has (helps to have a background in Metal too). I actually like the way everyone in the band seems to get equal time here, often divvying up who's turn it is to play by single notes at a time. The interplay between bandmembers is apparent and thus we get a sense of the infrastructure of what it took to make the record. This is illustrated further by the band's two excellent (and I mean excellent) music videos this year: "Atlas" and "Tonto." I actually don't know of another band that's doing anything like this, which is pretty, ya know, unique.
Lots of people seem to be picking the Italians Do It Better comp for their year-end lists, but I prefer the proper album put out by label members Chromatics. Everything you could love about the new sound of italo disco is here. There's creepy horror flick undertones and a tremendous feeling of loss and despair, but there's hope and tenderness as well. The album plays out at a cinematic pace, beginning with an opening "scene" where a woman calls her lover to say she's headed home, but going on a drive first, hence the album title. The mood reminds me quite a bit of M83's Before the Dawn Heals Us, but the ambiance here is far more sparse, and paranoid. Often the beats and guitar ticks feel like they're stalking the vocals. It helped that I kind of got into Italian horror soundtracks this year, thanks to Justice's sampling of Goblin's "Tenebre," and Night Drive operates in a similar way to those with the exception that you feel like you're getting the whole package here instead of a piece of a much larger artwork as with a film score. Despite how great it is, I was considering placing this album lower on the list, but then I gave "Let's Make this a Moment to Remember" (a truly moving song) another good listen and decided this album belongs at least in the top 10.9. The Tough Alliance - A New Chance
Having picked up on TTA last year via a remix of "Leg 7" I expected more along those lines this year. I was surprised to find out that there are actually vocals in in all the songs, and that they actually have a back catalog consisting of a number of albums and EPs. The album A New Chance is their best work to date though. And even though I had this downloaded and liked it, I'm glad Kyle (and those crazy Swedish bloggers) kept prodding me to listen to it because it brought me back to it. In turn I deepened my appreciation for the album and it has made the leap into my listening cycles rather than becoming something that I would probably never come back to after half-listening to it maybe once. Sad, yes, but that's usually the way it goes when I'm sifting through a new chunk of downloaded material. TTA rose to the top though, as most really good stuff does, and reeled me in with their sweet pop hooks and mesmerizing instrumentation. They sound a lot like fellow countrymen Studio with more vocals and more of a pop music sensibility. Whether you choose to believe what has written about TTA and their stage antics and what their lyrics mean is totally up to you, but I greatly enjoy the ambiguity of the bands true intentions and the way myths about them get built up simply by them not doing any press or in any way overexposing their "personas." Hmm, maybe that's kind of a theme for me this year.8. Radiohead - In Rainbows
This is the funniest thing I've ever seen Radiohead do. For a band that's had the spotlight on them for such a long time, to still be making great music and having fun is quite the feat. It had been quite a while since album number 6 was released, and I'd all but forgotten that Radiohead would ever put out new material. Then the there was a countdown which turned out to be a tremendous hoax, and everyone's hopes were dashed...until like 2 days later when the real band announced a real album that we could all have real cheap. Oh, it turned out to be pretty good too. The upbeat tracks soar with perpetual motion, and the slower songs (most of them) are some of the most sensuous and intimate in Radiohead's career. The album highlights for me are the beginning and the end. The sample of the children's cheering exclamation followed by stittering AFX-style drum machine drills in "15 Step" is one of my favorite musical moments of the year, and "Videotape" is almost inexplicably glorious. These two songs sandwich the rest of the nothing-but-quality songs that make up the rest of the album. Here Radiohead is showing that they can do guitars and they can do electronics and they can make them all fit together with songs that were written across many different years and have all of those elements function towards a cohesive whole. That's impressive. Is this the last Radiohead album? Who's to say, but it would be a helluva way to go.7. Boys Noize - Oi Oi Oi
As hard as Justice can rock, Boys Noize can rock harder. Clearly I feel Oi Oi Oi works as an album, just not the same way Justice chose to do it this year. Oi's pacing as an album is more like a rampaging bulldozer than an up-and-down roller coaster ride, which fits perfectly with the heaving distorted synth waves and consistently pounding basslines of which it consists. A lot of people criticize Boys Noize for reusing samples and sounds from his remixes in the songs on this album, but I think he was trying to give everyone the remix compilation they wanted, but have it be in the form of totally original tracks. For example, "Let's Buy Happiness" definitely takes the signature sound from the BN remix of Teenage Bad Girl's "Cocotte," but the actual song is rather different in terms of its structure. It's probably not as good as the remix, but that was one of BN's strongest reworks, so it's just plain tough to top. The way he used the "dance dance dance" line from his remix of Shiny Toy Guns in "& Down" is an example of how well it can work though, as that becomes one of the strongest tracks on the album and bests the remix at least twice over. All this talk is so technical and responsive to what other have said though. The sound of Boys Noize is exceedingly thrilling in its own right. Avoid the hype. Follow the Noize. 6. Battles - Mirrored
As others have said, this album hasn't aged all that well this year. Had it come out this month rather than so many moons ago, it definitely would have been number 1 or 2 on this list. Having genuinely enjoyed the B, C, and TRAS EPs from Battles, I was eagerly awaiting this album's release. I was not disappointed. Yeah, they added lyrics, but they just use them as another sonic element. As someone who grew up listening to mostly instrumental electronic music, this is a stylistic decision that I appreciate. Having been weaned on vocal pitchshifting by The Knife last year, the helium-induced squeals on the likes of "Atlas" make perfect sense. There's something very cold and calculated about the way the songs are put together, very outworldly, but strangely alive. It helps hold everything together when you have as talented a drummer as Battles has (helps to have a background in Metal too). I actually like the way everyone in the band seems to get equal time here, often divvying up who's turn it is to play by single notes at a time. The interplay between bandmembers is apparent and thus we get a sense of the infrastructure of what it took to make the record. This is illustrated further by the band's two excellent (and I mean excellent) music videos this year: "Atlas" and "Tonto." I actually don't know of another band that's doing anything like this, which is pretty, ya know, unique.
2007 Round-Up: Top 20 Albums (15-11)
15. Simian Mobile Disco - Attack Decay Sustain Release
Everyone likes them some SMD. Their singles were one hit after another and all those favorites are collected here, plus new gems that aren't all as big of dancefloor bangers, but are good songs in their own right. They help to round out the album too, which if anything is too concise. My version came with two bonus tracks which actually help to expand the album a little bit. "System" in particular isn't afraid to expand to double the length of most of the LP's tracks and shows SMD letting themselves go a little bit. Hopefully SMD will take more chances like this in the future as they've more than proved themselves capable of creating serious dancefloor fire with their singles.
14. Digitalism - Idealism
I'd listened to plenty of Digitalism before this album, but still focused on their very LOUD remixes above all else. Then they released "Pogo" and trumped everyone's expectations of what they were supposed to sound like. As with the SMD album, this one collects the previous singles and then adds tracks around them to flesh out an album. Most of the time these tracks work well, and surprisingly enough for an electronic album, this this rocks hard! Digitalism is a band that is full of potential. You can tell they haven't got themselves as a band all the way figured out yet, but here's hoping that they're only going to get better.
13. !!! - Myth Takes
This album is a collage of sounds churned together and flattened back out, then installed as the floor of a club. Not your typical club, no doubt, but there's definitely been some dancing going on. When !!! sticks to this formula (again, it's a whacked-out formula), everything really gels together. Tracks have a sporadic juxtaposition to one another. Some are very long and have fake endings, while others end without you even realizing it. When the frontman deviates from his whiteboy scat-rap, things get a little iffy (and on "Sweet Life" a little too much Sublime-sounding for me), but the extended psychedelic funk rock of the rest of the album more than makes up for those moments.
12. Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future
I don't know if I've ever fluctuated as much on my like/dislike for an album as much as the debut from the Klaxons. I originally thought it was OK, then my liking wained tremendously, only to have a resurgence after buying it on CD. Now I've really come to appreciate the Klaxons as a very promising, very young band that put out an album that has awkward degrees of polish and roughness, which is one of the things that makes it so interesting. There's really too much to say about what this album is doing on a conceptual level to fit in all in a little blurb, but I'll sum up the core ideas in a series of words and phrases: imagination, outer space, the future, expectations of the youth of the world, the apocalypse, super powers, and desertion and isolation...to name a few.
11. Justice - †
Of course Justice is on this list. Justice rules. As Michael said on his list, Justice seems to have done the best job of crafting a rounded, balanced, and varied album of any of the new-French-housers. I still don't really like the Uffie track, but everything else on here shines. New tweaks to early singles work out extremely well for "Let there be Light," making it one of the standouts on the album, but somehow "Waters of Nazareth" lost a lot of the power it used to have. Maybe that's because it's thrown way in the back. "Stress" and "Genesis" are undeniably good and the more I listen to "New Jack" the more I like it. They may not have lived up to the hype, but no one could. Few would have gotten this close though.
Everyone likes them some SMD. Their singles were one hit after another and all those favorites are collected here, plus new gems that aren't all as big of dancefloor bangers, but are good songs in their own right. They help to round out the album too, which if anything is too concise. My version came with two bonus tracks which actually help to expand the album a little bit. "System" in particular isn't afraid to expand to double the length of most of the LP's tracks and shows SMD letting themselves go a little bit. Hopefully SMD will take more chances like this in the future as they've more than proved themselves capable of creating serious dancefloor fire with their singles.14. Digitalism - Idealism
I'd listened to plenty of Digitalism before this album, but still focused on their very LOUD remixes above all else. Then they released "Pogo" and trumped everyone's expectations of what they were supposed to sound like. As with the SMD album, this one collects the previous singles and then adds tracks around them to flesh out an album. Most of the time these tracks work well, and surprisingly enough for an electronic album, this this rocks hard! Digitalism is a band that is full of potential. You can tell they haven't got themselves as a band all the way figured out yet, but here's hoping that they're only going to get better.13. !!! - Myth Takes
This album is a collage of sounds churned together and flattened back out, then installed as the floor of a club. Not your typical club, no doubt, but there's definitely been some dancing going on. When !!! sticks to this formula (again, it's a whacked-out formula), everything really gels together. Tracks have a sporadic juxtaposition to one another. Some are very long and have fake endings, while others end without you even realizing it. When the frontman deviates from his whiteboy scat-rap, things get a little iffy (and on "Sweet Life" a little too much Sublime-sounding for me), but the extended psychedelic funk rock of the rest of the album more than makes up for those moments.12. Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future
I don't know if I've ever fluctuated as much on my like/dislike for an album as much as the debut from the Klaxons. I originally thought it was OK, then my liking wained tremendously, only to have a resurgence after buying it on CD. Now I've really come to appreciate the Klaxons as a very promising, very young band that put out an album that has awkward degrees of polish and roughness, which is one of the things that makes it so interesting. There's really too much to say about what this album is doing on a conceptual level to fit in all in a little blurb, but I'll sum up the core ideas in a series of words and phrases: imagination, outer space, the future, expectations of the youth of the world, the apocalypse, super powers, and desertion and isolation...to name a few.11. Justice - †
Of course Justice is on this list. Justice rules. As Michael said on his list, Justice seems to have done the best job of crafting a rounded, balanced, and varied album of any of the new-French-housers. I still don't really like the Uffie track, but everything else on here shines. New tweaks to early singles work out extremely well for "Let there be Light," making it one of the standouts on the album, but somehow "Waters of Nazareth" lost a lot of the power it used to have. Maybe that's because it's thrown way in the back. "Stress" and "Genesis" are undeniably good and the more I listen to "New Jack" the more I like it. They may not have lived up to the hype, but no one could. Few would have gotten this close though.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
2007 Round-Up: Top 20 Albums (20-16)
Here's the first chunk of my favorite albums list. Notable exceptions include the Daft Punk live album which I'm categorizing as a compilation, and Body Riddle by Clark which is one of my favorites of the year except it came out last year. Oh well, onward we go.
20. Dragonette - Galore
I don't have the Chromeo album on this list, but I think Dragonette's brand of synth-pop does a lot of similar things. However, it's a little less Hall & Oats and a little more early-90s Madonna. I came to know Dragonette through a large number of truly excellent remixes of their singles, and didn't even know they had released an LP until I happened upon it in a search. The non-remixed versions of the tracks are really great songs all on their own. The lyrics are mostly about sexual promiscuity and other relationship toils driven with a strong female-empowerment streak and a sly sense of humor. It only slumps when it get a little too melodramatic, but those moments are few and far between. This album might get overshadowed by it's club-worthy remixes, but I strongly encourage listeners check out the source material.
19. Caribou - Andorra
This is a modern-day take on a 60s-era Zombies album if I ever heard one. It's certainly good though, full of lush samples and sweet serenades. The first time I listened to this album after buying it on CD it was a sunny late afternoon outside when it had just finished downpouring and was still misty outside. Everything was damp and the low sun cast rainbows of light through the mist and onto damp tree branches. It was a perfect marriage of sound and sorroundings. Andorra has never sounded as good to me as it did that first time, but it is able to remind me of that lovely experience everytime I put it on. I miss the "Lord Leopard" moments of the last LP, but this one does enough different things that are good that I suppose I'll let it slide.
18. M83 - Digital Shades Vol. 1
Even if this is isn't a proper follow-up to Before the Dawn Heals Us it's a fantastic deviation into more all-out ambience that the official LPs only touch on here and there. Compared to some of the other critically touted ambient music released this year, like the new Stars of the Lid, this digital-only release from M83 is quite accessible and varied in its sounds. There are even some vocals in there. Sounds are awash in one another, each overtaking the next in waves. There's a little bit of M83's trademark shoegazery going on here, but it's far from being a "noisy" album. If nothing else, I am now really excited for the next proper M83 album which is due early in 2008.
17. Pantha du Prince - This Bliss
There was a point in time this year where I looked at the music I was listening to and noticed how devoid it was of techno. After a quick look around to see what techno people seemed to like, I found this album by Pantha du Prince. It turned out to be the perfect perscription for my techno-less woes and also a nice break from the jittery blog house atmosphere in which I had encased myself. This Bliss is a serene listen. It hits the baselines, but doesn't flaunt them in your face. The melodies are filled with synth bursts and bell chimes, making the tracks glide along in perpetual motion. I'll be listening to this way after the latest blogtastic single has found its way to the mp3 graveyard.
16. Dungen - Tio Bitar
Dungen have been kind of unsung heroes for me ever since Ta Det Lugnt, and this year's follow-up to that record was unfortunately met with some mediocre critical reviews. After initially liking Tio Bitar quite a bit, I started to believe what the critics were saying, basically that this album was less exciting and more boring than Ta Det Lugnt. Time went by and I came back to it though. Now I think it might even be better than the last album. Yeah it's quieter in a lot of places, but it's not less interesting when it gets quieter. In fact it's enthralling and one of the few straight-up rock albums I really liked this year.
20. Dragonette - Galore
I don't have the Chromeo album on this list, but I think Dragonette's brand of synth-pop does a lot of similar things. However, it's a little less Hall & Oats and a little more early-90s Madonna. I came to know Dragonette through a large number of truly excellent remixes of their singles, and didn't even know they had released an LP until I happened upon it in a search. The non-remixed versions of the tracks are really great songs all on their own. The lyrics are mostly about sexual promiscuity and other relationship toils driven with a strong female-empowerment streak and a sly sense of humor. It only slumps when it get a little too melodramatic, but those moments are few and far between. This album might get overshadowed by it's club-worthy remixes, but I strongly encourage listeners check out the source material.19. Caribou - Andorra
This is a modern-day take on a 60s-era Zombies album if I ever heard one. It's certainly good though, full of lush samples and sweet serenades. The first time I listened to this album after buying it on CD it was a sunny late afternoon outside when it had just finished downpouring and was still misty outside. Everything was damp and the low sun cast rainbows of light through the mist and onto damp tree branches. It was a perfect marriage of sound and sorroundings. Andorra has never sounded as good to me as it did that first time, but it is able to remind me of that lovely experience everytime I put it on. I miss the "Lord Leopard" moments of the last LP, but this one does enough different things that are good that I suppose I'll let it slide.18. M83 - Digital Shades Vol. 1
Even if this is isn't a proper follow-up to Before the Dawn Heals Us it's a fantastic deviation into more all-out ambience that the official LPs only touch on here and there. Compared to some of the other critically touted ambient music released this year, like the new Stars of the Lid, this digital-only release from M83 is quite accessible and varied in its sounds. There are even some vocals in there. Sounds are awash in one another, each overtaking the next in waves. There's a little bit of M83's trademark shoegazery going on here, but it's far from being a "noisy" album. If nothing else, I am now really excited for the next proper M83 album which is due early in 2008.17. Pantha du Prince - This Bliss
There was a point in time this year where I looked at the music I was listening to and noticed how devoid it was of techno. After a quick look around to see what techno people seemed to like, I found this album by Pantha du Prince. It turned out to be the perfect perscription for my techno-less woes and also a nice break from the jittery blog house atmosphere in which I had encased myself. This Bliss is a serene listen. It hits the baselines, but doesn't flaunt them in your face. The melodies are filled with synth bursts and bell chimes, making the tracks glide along in perpetual motion. I'll be listening to this way after the latest blogtastic single has found its way to the mp3 graveyard.16. Dungen - Tio Bitar
Dungen have been kind of unsung heroes for me ever since Ta Det Lugnt, and this year's follow-up to that record was unfortunately met with some mediocre critical reviews. After initially liking Tio Bitar quite a bit, I started to believe what the critics were saying, basically that this album was less exciting and more boring than Ta Det Lugnt. Time went by and I came back to it though. Now I think it might even be better than the last album. Yeah it's quieter in a lot of places, but it's not less interesting when it gets quieter. In fact it's enthralling and one of the few straight-up rock albums I really liked this year.
2007 Round-Up (Remixers, Remixees and Can't-Wait-Fors)
Ah remixes; music's candy. For artists to be in the running for the remix categories I had to be able to cite more than one stellar remix that they were involved with this year or in general considered the phrase: "he/she/they really had some good remixes this year" when seeing the band name. I'm saving snippets and blurbs for the tracks and albums posts. Forthcoming is a full list of all my favorite songs from the year including lots of remixes inferred by the rankings in this post.
Top 20 Remix Artists
1. Soulwax
2. Erol Alkan
3. Kris Menace
4. Studio
5. MSTRKRFT
6. Fake Blood
7. The Twelves
8. SebastiAn
9. Hot Chip
10. Van She
11. A-Trak/Trizzy
12. Mercurious FM
13. Herve
14. Crookers
15. Skream
16. Burial
17. Crystal Castles
18. Villains
19. Supermayer
20. TEPR
Most Remixable Artists
1. Justice
2. Chromeo
3. Daft Punk
4. Dragonette
5. Klaxons
6. LCD Soundsystem
7. Bloc Party
8. The Black Ghosts
9. Feist
10. Michael Jackson
Can't wait for New Stuff from:
Avalanches
Gang Gang Dance
Crystal Castles
Hot Chip
Jackson
Klaxons
M83
Escort
Miami Horror
Portishead
Top 20 Remix Artists
1. Soulwax
2. Erol Alkan
3. Kris Menace
4. Studio
5. MSTRKRFT
6. Fake Blood
7. The Twelves
8. SebastiAn
9. Hot Chip
10. Van She
11. A-Trak/Trizzy
12. Mercurious FM
13. Herve
14. Crookers
15. Skream
16. Burial
17. Crystal Castles
18. Villains
19. Supermayer
20. TEPR
Most Remixable Artists
1. Justice
2. Chromeo
3. Daft Punk
4. Dragonette
5. Klaxons
6. LCD Soundsystem
7. Bloc Party
8. The Black Ghosts
9. Feist
10. Michael Jackson
Can't wait for New Stuff from:
Avalanches
Gang Gang Dance
Crystal Castles
Hot Chip
Jackson
Klaxons
M83
Escort
Miami Horror
Portishead
Saturday, December 15, 2007
2007 Round-Up (Part 1)
I want to start out by saying that I really liked music in 2007. So many trends are coming back to things that I have always liked and expanding upon them. Daft Punk is cool again, and French house is on top. Justice is on American television. Supermayer and Boys Noize gave the German music scene a swift kick in the pants. A real "new rave" is emerging. Dubstep took over the British mainstream, providing an alternative to the standard club fare. Rock turned to electronic sensibilities to create some truly stunning new albums. Over half of the stuff I really enjoyed this year was created by artists I had not previously heard of. It's all very uplifting and makes the task of looking back and consolidating 2007 and a "year in music" all the more daunting. I'll try anyway though.
Let's get through the negative and the bizarro first so we can move on to more important matters.
That's It?
2007 saw the release of new material from big beat titans The Chemical Brothers and Underworld, along with my favorite drum n bass producer Photek, and none of them lived up to my expectations. None of them were complete failures, but they all fell short in areas that seem easily reworkable. The Chem Bros. We Are The Night simply did not push things far enough. Everything they needed is already in the record, except for the truly stunning moments that make their best songs so good. The title track has some amazing stuff going for it, but it leads nowhere. The chorus dryly repeats itself at what should be the climax of the track. Underworld's new LP faces similar shortcomings, offering a few choice standouts, but also some of the worst songs they've ever made. The there's Form And Function 2 from Photek which shows Rupert Parkes abandoning the sound that he was known for and producing "hardcore" dnb that comes off sounding like any other dnb producer ever. The songs aren't bad, but they're certainly not as entralling as I was hoping for.
'Tronica Oldies
In a strange happening, both Hybrid and The Crystal Method released remix albums of their older material. This isn't bad news but it just seems so obscure. The Hybrid album has some really cool mixes from the likes of Deadmau5 and Boy 8-Bit, but there seems to be a disconnect between the original tracks and the songs these remixers usually work with. Is Hybrid really that cool anymore? TCM chose their remix album to concentrate only on their debut LP, Vegas. While some mixes are better than others, they did manage to wrangle in a mix from MSTRKRFT so good on them. I don't know what else to say other than it's Vegas remixed and it's a little bizarro.
A No-Show
I thought we were getting a Mini-LP from Kavinsky this summer. Then it was "coming soon." Then it was gone and never mentioned again. Same for the "Deadcruiser" video. I know the guy was on tour with Daft Punk and all, but let's make a New Year's resolution to follow through on things, mmkay?
V Live
I want a new Vitalic album. A live Vitalic album does not count.
No Mo Slo Mo
There's a viable excuse for low budget-looking music videos: lack of money. But why are there so many something-happening-in-slow-motion music videos? Even though Vitalic didn't release a new album this year, we all remember his video for "Poney Pt.1" with the dogs and lasers. That was as good as it gets for slow motion music videos. The concept is dead for another couple years. It's time to try something else.
Tepid Sequels
A few returning favorites released albums this year that simply failed to excite like their previous efforts had. Each may be for its own reasons, but all share the same fate: I barely listened to them. The culprits: Arcade Fire, Go! Team, New Pornos, Fiery Furnaces, White Stripes, VHS or Beta, RJD2, Air, Bloc Party, Bjork, Arctic Monkeys, Architecture In Helsinki, Photek, and Underworld. Better luck next time, I guess.
Let's get through the negative and the bizarro first so we can move on to more important matters.
That's It?
2007 saw the release of new material from big beat titans The Chemical Brothers and Underworld, along with my favorite drum n bass producer Photek, and none of them lived up to my expectations. None of them were complete failures, but they all fell short in areas that seem easily reworkable. The Chem Bros. We Are The Night simply did not push things far enough. Everything they needed is already in the record, except for the truly stunning moments that make their best songs so good. The title track has some amazing stuff going for it, but it leads nowhere. The chorus dryly repeats itself at what should be the climax of the track. Underworld's new LP faces similar shortcomings, offering a few choice standouts, but also some of the worst songs they've ever made. The there's Form And Function 2 from Photek which shows Rupert Parkes abandoning the sound that he was known for and producing "hardcore" dnb that comes off sounding like any other dnb producer ever. The songs aren't bad, but they're certainly not as entralling as I was hoping for.
'Tronica Oldies
In a strange happening, both Hybrid and The Crystal Method released remix albums of their older material. This isn't bad news but it just seems so obscure. The Hybrid album has some really cool mixes from the likes of Deadmau5 and Boy 8-Bit, but there seems to be a disconnect between the original tracks and the songs these remixers usually work with. Is Hybrid really that cool anymore? TCM chose their remix album to concentrate only on their debut LP, Vegas. While some mixes are better than others, they did manage to wrangle in a mix from MSTRKRFT so good on them. I don't know what else to say other than it's Vegas remixed and it's a little bizarro.
A No-Show
I thought we were getting a Mini-LP from Kavinsky this summer. Then it was "coming soon." Then it was gone and never mentioned again. Same for the "Deadcruiser" video. I know the guy was on tour with Daft Punk and all, but let's make a New Year's resolution to follow through on things, mmkay?
V Live
I want a new Vitalic album. A live Vitalic album does not count.
No Mo Slo Mo
There's a viable excuse for low budget-looking music videos: lack of money. But why are there so many something-happening-in-slow-motion music videos? Even though Vitalic didn't release a new album this year, we all remember his video for "Poney Pt.1" with the dogs and lasers. That was as good as it gets for slow motion music videos. The concept is dead for another couple years. It's time to try something else.
Tepid Sequels
A few returning favorites released albums this year that simply failed to excite like their previous efforts had. Each may be for its own reasons, but all share the same fate: I barely listened to them. The culprits: Arcade Fire, Go! Team, New Pornos, Fiery Furnaces, White Stripes, VHS or Beta, RJD2, Air, Bloc Party, Bjork, Arctic Monkeys, Architecture In Helsinki, Photek, and Underworld. Better luck next time, I guess.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
The 20 Best Electronic Albums of the 90s (5-1)
5. Daft Punk - Homework (1997)
It's hard to believe Daft Punk used to be as low key a duo as they were back in the 90s. Sure they'd hide their faces with masks, but their personas weren't ingrained into them until they were transformed into robots in the new millennium (it was a freak accident in the studio, if you didn't know). Homework is extremely simple and repetitive yet somehow very intense and funky. In fact, everything about this album is low-key down to the Spike Jonze-directed music videos that feature dialogue over the music. Then there's also Michel Gondry's video for "Around the World" which has quite the high rank in it's respective canon. This album has Daft Punk sounding their most like French house producers, building off of extremely catchy, groovy basslines and beats, and simply repeating them with subtle variation and the occasional noisy build-up. It's a landmark piece of work from a band that has become one of the great pop groups of our generation.
Standout Tracks: "Da Funk," "Revolution 909," "Around the World"
4. Chemical Brothers - Dig Your Own Hole (1997)
Electronica's big-beat titans, the Chemical Brothers, make arena rock albums as much as they make techno. They draw influences from so many places it's hard to keep track of, but honestly, why bother. Dig Your Own Hole was never meant to be analyzed, it's meant for movement; be that dancing, speeding down a highway, or just rocking out. If there's one good word to describe it, it's "kinetic." The bass in "Block Rockin' Beats" and "Elektrobank" sound like an air raid, and the swirling sirens of "Setting Sun" and "The Private Psychedelic Reel" spiral out in every direction. These songs were constructed with raves and festivals in mind, as they seem to be the only venues capable of hosting a sound of this scope and magnitude. The Chems have a lot of crossover appeal, and the hope was that they'd catch on over here in the States and finally bring electronic music into our mainstream. Of course this was a failure as electronic music has remained a niche underground fascination over here, but there are definitely rock-oriented Americans who cite this album very highly on their best-of lists, and I think that counts for something.
Standout Tracks: "Block Rockin' Beats," "Elektrobank," "Setting Sun," "The Private Psychedelic Reel"
3. Prodigy - Music for the Jilted Generation (1995)
The Prodigy was my perfect transition from rock music into electronic music. The power chords are more evident on The Fat of the Land, but they still had begun to show their faces back on MftJG. I actually find it a little strange that with all the hype about Justice, with their dance-rock sound and how it sound is inspired by Daft Punk, that The Prodigy never gets mentioned. Go figure. Somehow I doubt that Liam Howlett and company would really care at all. MftJG is a visceral album from start to finish. It seems that the band really wants to make you feel like you're on all sorts of crazy substances as you're listening, going so far as to dub the final three tracks "The Narcotic Suite" which sound as tripped out as the name implies; going from pleasant, tropical buzz to full-on hallucinatory, baby-wailing, spastic freak-out. The whole album is deliciously dark, and the kind of thing that provides a devious pleasure when you listen to it. Oh and "Voodoo People" and "No Good (Start the Dance)" are two of the best dance tracks I have ever heard. Period. There's a lot to like here in general, and it's a shame that (at least here in the States) this album always seems to sit in the shadow of its follow-up when this thing is so amazing in its own right.
Standout Tracks: "Break & Enter," "Their Law," "Voodoo People," "No Good (Start the Dance)"
2. DJ Shadow - ...Endtroducing (1996)
Shadow's debut album still sounds fantastic today, 10+ years later. It's still the ultimate statement of sampling prowess. Its only contender is Since I Left You by the Avalanches, but that album came out in 2001, so as far as this list goes, Shadow wins uncontested. ...Endtroducing is basically one giant string of samples sprawling from one track into the next, and they're all sorts of samples from all sorts of genres of music, spoken word pieces, and news snippets. The result is an album that conveys the experience of listening to vinyl records, even if it's recorded on CD. And even with this vintage aesthetic, there are some pretty hardcore hip-hop beats that really drive the songs forward and make them uncannily replayable. The musical historians out there will try and pick apart everything about this album, but for the general music-lover there's nothing really to dislike here, and so there's enjoyment to be had no matter how deep you choose to dig. Many cite this album as the arbiter of trip-hop; an arguable genre classification. The truth is, in whatever genre you choose to place ...Endtrodcing, it's probably the best album in there.
Standout Tracks: Uh, tracks? That's missing the point.
1. Orbital - Orbital 2 (1992)
I don't really even know where to start here. Orbital's second album is everything I've ever wanted an album of music to be, electronic or otherwise. The tracks are elaborate, beat-driven compositions that convey pictures and feelings in a more effective way than any lyrics-based music has ever done for me. Listening to "Lush 3-1" is like running through a field of tall damp grass at superhuman speed. "Monday" presents the extraordinary in the everyday of beginning another workweek. Every song does something amazing like this. Orbital 2 is a journey through a foreign, often out-worldly landscape. It's part sci-fi, part urban realism, and part imagination-inspiring illusion. I used to play "Halcyon" as I went to sleep, knowing full well that there was no way I was really going to fall asleep during the track (I'd miss all the best parts!). Orbital 2 succeeds on every classic music criticism standby that I can think of: beats, originality, variation, consistency, well-roundedness, you name it. Of course I turn into a bit of a sap nowadays when Orbital comes up in conversation on a part of the band of brothers disbanding a few years ago, but I couldn't be more satisfied with what they managed to accomplish.
Standout Tracks: "Planet of the Shapes," "Lush 3-1," "Impact (The Earth is Burning)," "Remind," "Halcyon + On + On"
It's hard to believe Daft Punk used to be as low key a duo as they were back in the 90s. Sure they'd hide their faces with masks, but their personas weren't ingrained into them until they were transformed into robots in the new millennium (it was a freak accident in the studio, if you didn't know). Homework is extremely simple and repetitive yet somehow very intense and funky. In fact, everything about this album is low-key down to the Spike Jonze-directed music videos that feature dialogue over the music. Then there's also Michel Gondry's video for "Around the World" which has quite the high rank in it's respective canon. This album has Daft Punk sounding their most like French house producers, building off of extremely catchy, groovy basslines and beats, and simply repeating them with subtle variation and the occasional noisy build-up. It's a landmark piece of work from a band that has become one of the great pop groups of our generation.Standout Tracks: "Da Funk," "Revolution 909," "Around the World"
4. Chemical Brothers - Dig Your Own Hole (1997)
Electronica's big-beat titans, the Chemical Brothers, make arena rock albums as much as they make techno. They draw influences from so many places it's hard to keep track of, but honestly, why bother. Dig Your Own Hole was never meant to be analyzed, it's meant for movement; be that dancing, speeding down a highway, or just rocking out. If there's one good word to describe it, it's "kinetic." The bass in "Block Rockin' Beats" and "Elektrobank" sound like an air raid, and the swirling sirens of "Setting Sun" and "The Private Psychedelic Reel" spiral out in every direction. These songs were constructed with raves and festivals in mind, as they seem to be the only venues capable of hosting a sound of this scope and magnitude. The Chems have a lot of crossover appeal, and the hope was that they'd catch on over here in the States and finally bring electronic music into our mainstream. Of course this was a failure as electronic music has remained a niche underground fascination over here, but there are definitely rock-oriented Americans who cite this album very highly on their best-of lists, and I think that counts for something.Standout Tracks: "Block Rockin' Beats," "Elektrobank," "Setting Sun," "The Private Psychedelic Reel"
3. Prodigy - Music for the Jilted Generation (1995)
The Prodigy was my perfect transition from rock music into electronic music. The power chords are more evident on The Fat of the Land, but they still had begun to show their faces back on MftJG. I actually find it a little strange that with all the hype about Justice, with their dance-rock sound and how it sound is inspired by Daft Punk, that The Prodigy never gets mentioned. Go figure. Somehow I doubt that Liam Howlett and company would really care at all. MftJG is a visceral album from start to finish. It seems that the band really wants to make you feel like you're on all sorts of crazy substances as you're listening, going so far as to dub the final three tracks "The Narcotic Suite" which sound as tripped out as the name implies; going from pleasant, tropical buzz to full-on hallucinatory, baby-wailing, spastic freak-out. The whole album is deliciously dark, and the kind of thing that provides a devious pleasure when you listen to it. Oh and "Voodoo People" and "No Good (Start the Dance)" are two of the best dance tracks I have ever heard. Period. There's a lot to like here in general, and it's a shame that (at least here in the States) this album always seems to sit in the shadow of its follow-up when this thing is so amazing in its own right.Standout Tracks: "Break & Enter," "Their Law," "Voodoo People," "No Good (Start the Dance)"
2. DJ Shadow - ...Endtroducing (1996)
Shadow's debut album still sounds fantastic today, 10+ years later. It's still the ultimate statement of sampling prowess. Its only contender is Since I Left You by the Avalanches, but that album came out in 2001, so as far as this list goes, Shadow wins uncontested. ...Endtroducing is basically one giant string of samples sprawling from one track into the next, and they're all sorts of samples from all sorts of genres of music, spoken word pieces, and news snippets. The result is an album that conveys the experience of listening to vinyl records, even if it's recorded on CD. And even with this vintage aesthetic, there are some pretty hardcore hip-hop beats that really drive the songs forward and make them uncannily replayable. The musical historians out there will try and pick apart everything about this album, but for the general music-lover there's nothing really to dislike here, and so there's enjoyment to be had no matter how deep you choose to dig. Many cite this album as the arbiter of trip-hop; an arguable genre classification. The truth is, in whatever genre you choose to place ...Endtrodcing, it's probably the best album in there.Standout Tracks: Uh, tracks? That's missing the point.
1. Orbital - Orbital 2 (1992)
I don't really even know where to start here. Orbital's second album is everything I've ever wanted an album of music to be, electronic or otherwise. The tracks are elaborate, beat-driven compositions that convey pictures and feelings in a more effective way than any lyrics-based music has ever done for me. Listening to "Lush 3-1" is like running through a field of tall damp grass at superhuman speed. "Monday" presents the extraordinary in the everyday of beginning another workweek. Every song does something amazing like this. Orbital 2 is a journey through a foreign, often out-worldly landscape. It's part sci-fi, part urban realism, and part imagination-inspiring illusion. I used to play "Halcyon" as I went to sleep, knowing full well that there was no way I was really going to fall asleep during the track (I'd miss all the best parts!). Orbital 2 succeeds on every classic music criticism standby that I can think of: beats, originality, variation, consistency, well-roundedness, you name it. Of course I turn into a bit of a sap nowadays when Orbital comes up in conversation on a part of the band of brothers disbanding a few years ago, but I couldn't be more satisfied with what they managed to accomplish.Standout Tracks: "Planet of the Shapes," "Lush 3-1," "Impact (The Earth is Burning)," "Remind," "Halcyon + On + On"
The 20 Best Electronic Albums of the 90s (10-6)
10. The Future Sound of London - Lifeforms (1994)
Back when I was just getting into electronic music and had bought FSOL's Accelerator I wasn't so much into Lifeforms. It's just an entirely different sound. I imagine most people who have ever liked FSOL began liking them because of "We Are Explosive" or "Papua New Guinea," their big club hits, but coming back to Lifeforms so many years later, the critics were right. Earlier FSOL works sound positively trite by comparison, and the duo themselves has reportedly denounced their pre-Lifeforms work as merely an avenue to make ends meet financially. The album itself is a sprawling tide pool of sounds and noises. It's truly a transporting experience to listen to this album, like it's your soundtrack as you explore a vast, submerged cavern full of precious crystals and deep-sea creatures. I don't know how to explain it without sounding like a new wave/hippie cliche, but maybe that's where the electronic sound sources come in and help out. Like Aphex Twin's album (see #11), Lifeforms uses electronic instruments to create sounds that are either entirely new, or that one would never think a machine could produce. It's continuously enchanting.
Standout Tracks: "Cascade," "Lifeforms"
9. Portishead - Dummy (1994)
I don't claim to know the history of trip-hop, but Portishead is as good as it gets (at least until I post my top 5). There's not much to criticize here. The beats, sampling, and scratching are all amazing and Beth Gibbons' vocals are the perfect compliment. The whole vibe of the album is downtrodden and angsty, but instead of a rebel yell, Gibbons offers a jazzy serenade. The tone of her voice is both strong and compassionate as she sings lyrics that are at times heart-wrenching. And good lord, I know I mentioned the beats already, but seriously, listen to those things. They're incredible all on their own. It's seems that new Portishead material may be on the way for the first time in 10+, which is very exciting. Beatmeaster Geoff Barrow commented recently on the difficulties of following up on two fantastic, critically heralded LPs saying (in paraphrase) "I don't know how we'll make another 'Glory Box.' Thank fuck we already made it." Yes, we're all thanking fuck for that.
Standout Tracks: "Mysterons," "Sour Times," "Numb," "Glory Box"
8. Air - Moon Safari (1998)
Is it possible to dislike this album? I'm not convinced that it is. The melodies are too soothing, the vocals too lovely, the instrumentation too diverse, and the bass too sensuous. Is Moon Safari unintentionally part of a plan for world peace? Debatable, but if you're a member of the camp that thinks people would stop fighting if everyone started getting it on, Moon Safari should be a key component in your nuclear arsenal. Aside from its infamy as one of the ultimate make-out albums, Moon Safari is a pop music triumph, doing for spacey dream-pop what Basement Jaxx did for house. It's not overtly electronic either, but rather usually modifies traditional instruments slightly, warping their sound just enough to create an aura of out-worldliness. I have a bit of a fascination with artists who themselves have a fascination with outer space. It's the whole idea of realizing that there's this great expanse that you'll likely never visit. Moon Safari is a record about longing, with respect to a number of issues, but longing that seems infinitely relatable.
Standout Tracks: "La Femme d'Argent," "Ce Matin La," "Kelly Watch the Stars"
7. Underworld - Second Toughest in the Infants (1996)
Underworld is one of those bands that really made me wish I lived in the UK during the 90s. I was so envious of the rave scene and their giant outdoor festivals. Especially when the only thing we had going here was Woodstock '99 (Woodstock 2 did have a rather nice electronic music billing though). I'm sure most "best of" lists will select Underworld's debut LP over this, their sophomore effort, but that's merely a vote in favor of cultural impact and significance. STotI takes what they started when DJ Darren Emerson joined the group and made it arguably flawless. The deep moody beats are still there, but they push their sound more into progressive house and breakbeat territory here, shedding a bit of their dancey-guitar sound. Karl Hyde still provides vocals, but he has few, if any, legitimate singer-songs here. The vocal focus instead is on surreal wordplay and heavy filtering, melding the lyrics into the whole sound and eliminating the notion that Underworld has a frontman. The opening two tracks were a frequent soundtrack for my drive to high school as together they totaled just over a half hour, and on a decent traffic day I could get there before the stereo struck 3. That's just it though, STotI offers a whole range of sounds in one excellently produced package. Perfect for listening in the morning, afternoon, and night.
Standout Tracks: "Juanita/Kiteless," "Banstyle/Sappys Curry," "Pearls Girl"
6. Boards of Canada - Music has the Right to Children (1998)
No album yet on this list (and even for a couple still to come) has dominated my music listening time for as long as MhtRtC has. I listened to pretty much nothing else for at least 2 months and heard at least part of this album almost everyday within that span. Like Air, Boards of Canada seem infinitely likable. Though BoC aren't as cheeky or French-sounding there's an overriding sense of accessibility to their music. Play this album for anyone during a group study-session or whatever, and you'll hear no objections unless they're weirded out by a couple of the vocal samples. The album's beats are a fusion of hip-hop, downtempo, and any other of a number of subgenres. The album's atmosphere is spacey and soothing, which sounds like it contrasts with it being beat-heavy at times, but it all works out somehow. This is definitely one of the more timeless albums that I own as it's not tied down to a specific movement. The cover art seems to be an altered photo from the 70s, but who's to say for sure. I just have a feeling that I'll be listening to this album years in the future and it won't be because I'm feeling nostalgic.
Standout Tracks: "An Eagle in your Mind," "Sixtyten," "ROYGBIV"
Back when I was just getting into electronic music and had bought FSOL's Accelerator I wasn't so much into Lifeforms. It's just an entirely different sound. I imagine most people who have ever liked FSOL began liking them because of "We Are Explosive" or "Papua New Guinea," their big club hits, but coming back to Lifeforms so many years later, the critics were right. Earlier FSOL works sound positively trite by comparison, and the duo themselves has reportedly denounced their pre-Lifeforms work as merely an avenue to make ends meet financially. The album itself is a sprawling tide pool of sounds and noises. It's truly a transporting experience to listen to this album, like it's your soundtrack as you explore a vast, submerged cavern full of precious crystals and deep-sea creatures. I don't know how to explain it without sounding like a new wave/hippie cliche, but maybe that's where the electronic sound sources come in and help out. Like Aphex Twin's album (see #11), Lifeforms uses electronic instruments to create sounds that are either entirely new, or that one would never think a machine could produce. It's continuously enchanting.Standout Tracks: "Cascade," "Lifeforms"
9. Portishead - Dummy (1994)
I don't claim to know the history of trip-hop, but Portishead is as good as it gets (at least until I post my top 5). There's not much to criticize here. The beats, sampling, and scratching are all amazing and Beth Gibbons' vocals are the perfect compliment. The whole vibe of the album is downtrodden and angsty, but instead of a rebel yell, Gibbons offers a jazzy serenade. The tone of her voice is both strong and compassionate as she sings lyrics that are at times heart-wrenching. And good lord, I know I mentioned the beats already, but seriously, listen to those things. They're incredible all on their own. It's seems that new Portishead material may be on the way for the first time in 10+, which is very exciting. Beatmeaster Geoff Barrow commented recently on the difficulties of following up on two fantastic, critically heralded LPs saying (in paraphrase) "I don't know how we'll make another 'Glory Box.' Thank fuck we already made it." Yes, we're all thanking fuck for that.Standout Tracks: "Mysterons," "Sour Times," "Numb," "Glory Box"
8. Air - Moon Safari (1998)
Is it possible to dislike this album? I'm not convinced that it is. The melodies are too soothing, the vocals too lovely, the instrumentation too diverse, and the bass too sensuous. Is Moon Safari unintentionally part of a plan for world peace? Debatable, but if you're a member of the camp that thinks people would stop fighting if everyone started getting it on, Moon Safari should be a key component in your nuclear arsenal. Aside from its infamy as one of the ultimate make-out albums, Moon Safari is a pop music triumph, doing for spacey dream-pop what Basement Jaxx did for house. It's not overtly electronic either, but rather usually modifies traditional instruments slightly, warping their sound just enough to create an aura of out-worldliness. I have a bit of a fascination with artists who themselves have a fascination with outer space. It's the whole idea of realizing that there's this great expanse that you'll likely never visit. Moon Safari is a record about longing, with respect to a number of issues, but longing that seems infinitely relatable.Standout Tracks: "La Femme d'Argent," "Ce Matin La," "Kelly Watch the Stars"
7. Underworld - Second Toughest in the Infants (1996)
Underworld is one of those bands that really made me wish I lived in the UK during the 90s. I was so envious of the rave scene and their giant outdoor festivals. Especially when the only thing we had going here was Woodstock '99 (Woodstock 2 did have a rather nice electronic music billing though). I'm sure most "best of" lists will select Underworld's debut LP over this, their sophomore effort, but that's merely a vote in favor of cultural impact and significance. STotI takes what they started when DJ Darren Emerson joined the group and made it arguably flawless. The deep moody beats are still there, but they push their sound more into progressive house and breakbeat territory here, shedding a bit of their dancey-guitar sound. Karl Hyde still provides vocals, but he has few, if any, legitimate singer-songs here. The vocal focus instead is on surreal wordplay and heavy filtering, melding the lyrics into the whole sound and eliminating the notion that Underworld has a frontman. The opening two tracks were a frequent soundtrack for my drive to high school as together they totaled just over a half hour, and on a decent traffic day I could get there before the stereo struck 3. That's just it though, STotI offers a whole range of sounds in one excellently produced package. Perfect for listening in the morning, afternoon, and night. Standout Tracks: "Juanita/Kiteless," "Banstyle/Sappys Curry," "Pearls Girl"
6. Boards of Canada - Music has the Right to Children (1998)
No album yet on this list (and even for a couple still to come) has dominated my music listening time for as long as MhtRtC has. I listened to pretty much nothing else for at least 2 months and heard at least part of this album almost everyday within that span. Like Air, Boards of Canada seem infinitely likable. Though BoC aren't as cheeky or French-sounding there's an overriding sense of accessibility to their music. Play this album for anyone during a group study-session or whatever, and you'll hear no objections unless they're weirded out by a couple of the vocal samples. The album's beats are a fusion of hip-hop, downtempo, and any other of a number of subgenres. The album's atmosphere is spacey and soothing, which sounds like it contrasts with it being beat-heavy at times, but it all works out somehow. This is definitely one of the more timeless albums that I own as it's not tied down to a specific movement. The cover art seems to be an altered photo from the 70s, but who's to say for sure. I just have a feeling that I'll be listening to this album years in the future and it won't be because I'm feeling nostalgic.Standout Tracks: "An Eagle in your Mind," "Sixtyten," "ROYGBIV"
The 20 Best Electronic Albums of the 90s (15-11)
*UPDATE* There has been a position switch from the previous posting. Air has been moved up to the next (currently forthcoming) post, while Aphex Twin has been bumped to number 11 as seen below. This was not done on a whim, and I think this new arrangement better fits in line with how I genuinely feel about the albums.
15. Bjork - Homogenic (1997)
Bjork is another musician that I tried listening to after they'd already released a great deal of material. This is mainly due to my refusal to listen to music with lyrics for a few years. I don't actually own a Bjork album aside from a greatest hits compilation. Truth be told, I like Bjork because of the music videos she did with Michel Gondry. The videos really bring out the beauty of the songs, becoming an engrossing audiovisual experience. Going back and listening to some of Bjork's full LPs, Homogenic stands out to me. The beats are catchy and inventive; same could be said for Bjork's vocals as well, I suppose. I've selected this Bjork album over her others because I like the flow of Homogenic the best, and also, it has my all-time favorite Bjork songs (see below recommendations). There's quite a range of material here as well, from sweeping ballads to vulnerable pleas to towering battle-cries. Each is executed as smoothly as the last. The result is an album that packs an emotional wallop.
Standout Tracks: "Joga," "Bachelorette," "Is Full of Love"
14. Massive Attack - Mezzanine (1998)
Yeah, yeah, I know what you'll say. "What about Blue Lines? Blue Lines is so much better. They never topped Blue Lines." No. Massive Attack did top Blue Lines, and they did it with Mezzanine, which I consider a much more interesting and satisfying listen. Sure their debut LP was the groundbreaker, but I'm trying to list what I consider the best here. So what makes the difference? It's mainly a result of the bands maturation of their instrumentation skills and their method of integrating them. On their debut LP, MA created some wonderful beats that served mainly as a backdrop for vocal performances that could definitely be considered an acquired taste. On Mezzanine the instrumentation not only takes center stage, but is cooler, catchier, moodier, more adventurous, and just all-around better. The album art alone is enough to make me want to listen to the thing. This is a defining trip-hop album, not to be missed by fans of the genre.
Standout Tracks: "Angel," "Risingson," "Teardrop"
13. Photek - Modus Operandi (1997)
!SPOILER ALERT! This is the only drum and bass album on the list. !END SPOILER! DnB (not to be confused with DMB) is a great subgenre, and one that I really enjoy, but sometimes I have a hard time finding a variety in the work. Maybe I just haven't listened to enough, but Photek is different. I remember reading a user review of this album years ago that despised it and said it sounded like someone emptied their toolbox into a metal trashcan and kicked it down a parking garage stairwell. Well, it kind of is, but it's far more calculated and rhythmic than I imagine said trashcan would actually sound. There's also quite a bit of subtlety here as opposed to the frantic, hardcore side of DnB. If nothing else, you can tell that Rupert Parkes is freaking paranoid. The album builds stark tension, like you're all alone in a giant, dark metal box, hearing the beats of people striking it from the outside. There's also the eerie calm of the title track, providing a momentary, if insecure, oasis from the noise. It's not all slamming metal though, Photek works wonders with silence and "distant" noises, also sampling strings and piano chords quite often to add more of a human touch. If you're driving alone at night out in the country and have even a remote fear of alien abduction, don't listen to Photek.
Standout Tracks: "The Hidden Camera," "Modus Operandi"
12. Basement Jaxx - Remedy (1999)
The debut album from the Jaxx is the most infectious, unabashedly pop, house record of the 90s. The whole LP is nothing but hooks, wonderful hooks. It's one of the first albums I owned where I really began to understand that this kind of music was meant to be danced to. Most of the electronic music I had been listening to seemed too abstract and complex for the dancefloor, but with Remedy, if you don't understand that you're supposed to dance then you're probably not capable of smiling either. I must say that I think Rooty (2001) is the best Jaxx album taken as a whole, but Remedy matches it's best songs with it's own (again, note the standouts down there). If there's one thing I've noticed as lacking from the most recent work from the Jaxx, it's the influence of salsa and other Spanish music. On Remedy and the singles that proceeded it, salsa was the foundation of the band's sound and something I'd like to see return in their work. This mainly has to do with how well the house/salsa sounds mesh on the record. I think it's no small coincidence that Remedy is so infectious because of this combination of the new and the traditional. These songs will enjoy a kind of timeless appeal in the house world that few records (some to be mentioned later on this very list) have earned.
Standout Tracks: "Rendez-Vu," "Red Alert," "Bingo Bango"
11. Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (1993)
Here's another example of me posting an album that doesn't contain any of the songs that the artist is known for, but with this release from Aphex Twin, it also doesn't really include any of his signature twitch and drill style. Instead we have a far more subdued affair, one that experiments with sounds perhaps never heard before with one-of-a-kind song compositions. SAW doesn't really sound all that ambient either, or at least not what music listeners have come to understand as "ambient." There are occasional beats and melodies, though the terrain can feel sparse at times. It's a landmark musical accomplishment made all the more impressive by the fact that, unless Richard D. James is lying to us (quite possible), AT was a mere 14 when he created some of these tracks. The late, fondly remembered CDNOW website listed this album as the greatest electronic album of all time. Clearly I disagree, but I can totally understand where they were coming from.
Standout Tracks: "Pulsewidth," "Green Calx"
15. Bjork - Homogenic (1997)
Bjork is another musician that I tried listening to after they'd already released a great deal of material. This is mainly due to my refusal to listen to music with lyrics for a few years. I don't actually own a Bjork album aside from a greatest hits compilation. Truth be told, I like Bjork because of the music videos she did with Michel Gondry. The videos really bring out the beauty of the songs, becoming an engrossing audiovisual experience. Going back and listening to some of Bjork's full LPs, Homogenic stands out to me. The beats are catchy and inventive; same could be said for Bjork's vocals as well, I suppose. I've selected this Bjork album over her others because I like the flow of Homogenic the best, and also, it has my all-time favorite Bjork songs (see below recommendations). There's quite a range of material here as well, from sweeping ballads to vulnerable pleas to towering battle-cries. Each is executed as smoothly as the last. The result is an album that packs an emotional wallop.Standout Tracks: "Joga," "Bachelorette," "Is Full of Love"
14. Massive Attack - Mezzanine (1998)
Yeah, yeah, I know what you'll say. "What about Blue Lines? Blue Lines is so much better. They never topped Blue Lines." No. Massive Attack did top Blue Lines, and they did it with Mezzanine, which I consider a much more interesting and satisfying listen. Sure their debut LP was the groundbreaker, but I'm trying to list what I consider the best here. So what makes the difference? It's mainly a result of the bands maturation of their instrumentation skills and their method of integrating them. On their debut LP, MA created some wonderful beats that served mainly as a backdrop for vocal performances that could definitely be considered an acquired taste. On Mezzanine the instrumentation not only takes center stage, but is cooler, catchier, moodier, more adventurous, and just all-around better. The album art alone is enough to make me want to listen to the thing. This is a defining trip-hop album, not to be missed by fans of the genre.Standout Tracks: "Angel," "Risingson," "Teardrop"
13. Photek - Modus Operandi (1997)
!SPOILER ALERT! This is the only drum and bass album on the list. !END SPOILER! DnB (not to be confused with DMB) is a great subgenre, and one that I really enjoy, but sometimes I have a hard time finding a variety in the work. Maybe I just haven't listened to enough, but Photek is different. I remember reading a user review of this album years ago that despised it and said it sounded like someone emptied their toolbox into a metal trashcan and kicked it down a parking garage stairwell. Well, it kind of is, but it's far more calculated and rhythmic than I imagine said trashcan would actually sound. There's also quite a bit of subtlety here as opposed to the frantic, hardcore side of DnB. If nothing else, you can tell that Rupert Parkes is freaking paranoid. The album builds stark tension, like you're all alone in a giant, dark metal box, hearing the beats of people striking it from the outside. There's also the eerie calm of the title track, providing a momentary, if insecure, oasis from the noise. It's not all slamming metal though, Photek works wonders with silence and "distant" noises, also sampling strings and piano chords quite often to add more of a human touch. If you're driving alone at night out in the country and have even a remote fear of alien abduction, don't listen to Photek.Standout Tracks: "The Hidden Camera," "Modus Operandi"
12. Basement Jaxx - Remedy (1999)
The debut album from the Jaxx is the most infectious, unabashedly pop, house record of the 90s. The whole LP is nothing but hooks, wonderful hooks. It's one of the first albums I owned where I really began to understand that this kind of music was meant to be danced to. Most of the electronic music I had been listening to seemed too abstract and complex for the dancefloor, but with Remedy, if you don't understand that you're supposed to dance then you're probably not capable of smiling either. I must say that I think Rooty (2001) is the best Jaxx album taken as a whole, but Remedy matches it's best songs with it's own (again, note the standouts down there). If there's one thing I've noticed as lacking from the most recent work from the Jaxx, it's the influence of salsa and other Spanish music. On Remedy and the singles that proceeded it, salsa was the foundation of the band's sound and something I'd like to see return in their work. This mainly has to do with how well the house/salsa sounds mesh on the record. I think it's no small coincidence that Remedy is so infectious because of this combination of the new and the traditional. These songs will enjoy a kind of timeless appeal in the house world that few records (some to be mentioned later on this very list) have earned.Standout Tracks: "Rendez-Vu," "Red Alert," "Bingo Bango"
11. Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (1993)
Here's another example of me posting an album that doesn't contain any of the songs that the artist is known for, but with this release from Aphex Twin, it also doesn't really include any of his signature twitch and drill style. Instead we have a far more subdued affair, one that experiments with sounds perhaps never heard before with one-of-a-kind song compositions. SAW doesn't really sound all that ambient either, or at least not what music listeners have come to understand as "ambient." There are occasional beats and melodies, though the terrain can feel sparse at times. It's a landmark musical accomplishment made all the more impressive by the fact that, unless Richard D. James is lying to us (quite possible), AT was a mere 14 when he created some of these tracks. The late, fondly remembered CDNOW website listed this album as the greatest electronic album of all time. Clearly I disagree, but I can totally understand where they were coming from.Standout Tracks: "Pulsewidth," "Green Calx"
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
The 20 Best Electronic Albums of the 90s (20-16)
This list was brought about by a challenge of sorts (issued here), and I found it difficult to pass up a good chance to make a list and listen to some of my favorite albums once again. I'm writing about electronic albums because that's most of what I know, and I don't know much outside of it (at least not for 90s music). While some of the albums I'm going to list are some of my all-time favorites, I'm selecting them because I think they are the best. There are no guilty pleasures on the list. If it's here, I feel genuinely about it. Alright then, let's get to it.
20. Paul Oakenfold - Tranceport (1998)
There's a reason everyone knew/knows who Paul Oakenfold is, and it's not because he's a great producer (he isn't). It's because he's a great DJ. The man has no doubt received more votes than anyone else in his career for "DJ of the Year" in such-and-such magazine, and is perhaps the first individual to truly embody the term "superstar DJ." The thing is, he lives up to it. His inclusion in this list is not for mere mention of his importance to electronic music, but because his entry into the Tranceport series is truly superb. The mix itself is seamless, recontextualizing the tracks to fit the whole, and the song selection itself remains top-notch, which is certainly helped by frequently queuing up Paul Van Dyk (3 times to be exact)and Gus Gus among other up-and-comers of the time. What more do you want from a dancefloor-ready trance mix? Track selection avoids the super-cheesiness of ATB and his ilk, but we're still talking about trance music here, so it's still going to sound like trance music. Let me put it this way: I like cheese on my pizza, but consider stuffing the crust with it to be taking matters too far. That said, Tranceport is simply delicious.
Standout Tracks: Paul Van Dyk - "Words (For Love)," Gus Gus - "Purple (Sasha v. The Light)"
19. Moby - s/t (1992)
Even more than Oakey, Moby has dealt with his fair share of criticism over his later work. Play may have been his star-vehicle into the lime-light and all it entails, but his self-titled debut is both what got him rolling and where his talent shines through most brightly. You see, back in the day, Moby used to make dance music. With the rave movement taking over in the UK, Moby was just about the strongest liaison we had here in the US to that cultural phenomenon. Here it was the underground though, and that's what Moby sounds like. The album is rather dark at times, channeling the urgency of squeezing in one more song before the cops bust up the entire scene. Sirens may abound, but Moby also takes considerable time to innovate here, creating his trademark gospel-infused dance-balladry on "Go" and experimenting with after-party chillout vibes to close the album. You can't blame the guy for wanting to move in new directions as his career expanded, but that doesn't mean the old Moby won't be missed.
Standout Tracks: "Go," "Drop A Beat"
18. Fatboy Slim - You've Come A Long Way Baby (1998)
Norman Cook's second proper LP as Fatboy Slim is just about the only album on this list to receive surmountable airplay on American radio. It's a credit to the accessibility and eclecticness of the record which approaches the big beat sound from so many different angles and somehow holds the whole thing together in a solid package. There really is something for everyone here, just name a genre and I guarantee there's at least a sample derived from it. The album never takes itself too seriously, and at times is just plain silly, but the fun, anything-goes feel is the glue that's holding everything together. I often dismiss Fatboy Slim for these very reasons, but when I put this record on again it's impossible to resist. Besides, it's nice when someone actually recognizes a song that I like rather than me having to explain why song x isn't actually techno, but rather blahblahblah....
Standout Tracks: "The Rockafeller Shank," "Praise You"
17. Sasha + John Digweed - Northern Exposure: Expeditions (1999)
In this, the 4th and final entry in S+D's Northern Exposure series, the DJ heavyweights finally seem to set out what they wanted to accomplish with it: create epic, organic soundscapes grounded in progressive house and trance beats. While it's not the be-all end-all of organic electronica, it may be the best of its genre. Song selection and mixing is impeccably tight, containing a cheesiness factor near zero. The songs on display here aren't club anthems either, making the mix as suited for the dancefloor as for bedroom listening. Spanning over two hours, this double-disc set is inherently expansive, perfectly fitting in with the tone of the mix. It's rarely in a rush to get somewhere and, on the contrary, is an album that supports the importance of the ride rather than the destination. Sasha may still be a huge name DJ (winning Essential Mix of the year two years ago, and pioneering an all digital DJ setup), and Digweed as well (recently teaming up with MSTRKRFT for a giant tour), but I'd love to see what a reunited force could produce nowadays, seeing as how they pretty much reached trance/prog house perfection with Expeditions.
Standout Tracks: Tyrantic - "Breeder," Sasha - "Belfunk"
16. The Orb - Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld (1991)
I'll be honest, I'm actually quite new to the Orb and haven't given this album as many full listens as I'd have liked to, but I have already been able to tell that there's something special here. This is ambient music that's actually interesting. Plus, some of the sampling techniques are incredibly fresh, like throwing in Minnie Riperton's "Loving You" throughout a 19 minute, largely instrumental meditation on space. Maybe I'm just so amazed by it because I've never really heard anything else like it, but that sort of thing happens when a band is touted as worthy of their own new genre; in this case it's ambient house. Now, the album isn't entirely floaty space-scapes, there are occasional beats thrown in but don't strain too hard to find the 4/4 measures as they're few and far between. The Orb have an incredible knack for songcraft, and as such, you'll never feel like the band is just sitting back and blindly stroking synth chords. It's an incredibly refreshing listen considering the current trends in electronic music.
Standout Tracks: "Little Fluffy Clouds," "A Huge Ever-Growing Pulsating Brain that Rules from the Center of the Ultraworld"
20. Paul Oakenfold - Tranceport (1998)
There's a reason everyone knew/knows who Paul Oakenfold is, and it's not because he's a great producer (he isn't). It's because he's a great DJ. The man has no doubt received more votes than anyone else in his career for "DJ of the Year" in such-and-such magazine, and is perhaps the first individual to truly embody the term "superstar DJ." The thing is, he lives up to it. His inclusion in this list is not for mere mention of his importance to electronic music, but because his entry into the Tranceport series is truly superb. The mix itself is seamless, recontextualizing the tracks to fit the whole, and the song selection itself remains top-notch, which is certainly helped by frequently queuing up Paul Van Dyk (3 times to be exact)and Gus Gus among other up-and-comers of the time. What more do you want from a dancefloor-ready trance mix? Track selection avoids the super-cheesiness of ATB and his ilk, but we're still talking about trance music here, so it's still going to sound like trance music. Let me put it this way: I like cheese on my pizza, but consider stuffing the crust with it to be taking matters too far. That said, Tranceport is simply delicious.Standout Tracks: Paul Van Dyk - "Words (For Love)," Gus Gus - "Purple (Sasha v. The Light)"
19. Moby - s/t (1992)
Even more than Oakey, Moby has dealt with his fair share of criticism over his later work. Play may have been his star-vehicle into the lime-light and all it entails, but his self-titled debut is both what got him rolling and where his talent shines through most brightly. You see, back in the day, Moby used to make dance music. With the rave movement taking over in the UK, Moby was just about the strongest liaison we had here in the US to that cultural phenomenon. Here it was the underground though, and that's what Moby sounds like. The album is rather dark at times, channeling the urgency of squeezing in one more song before the cops bust up the entire scene. Sirens may abound, but Moby also takes considerable time to innovate here, creating his trademark gospel-infused dance-balladry on "Go" and experimenting with after-party chillout vibes to close the album. You can't blame the guy for wanting to move in new directions as his career expanded, but that doesn't mean the old Moby won't be missed.Standout Tracks: "Go," "Drop A Beat"
18. Fatboy Slim - You've Come A Long Way Baby (1998)
Norman Cook's second proper LP as Fatboy Slim is just about the only album on this list to receive surmountable airplay on American radio. It's a credit to the accessibility and eclecticness of the record which approaches the big beat sound from so many different angles and somehow holds the whole thing together in a solid package. There really is something for everyone here, just name a genre and I guarantee there's at least a sample derived from it. The album never takes itself too seriously, and at times is just plain silly, but the fun, anything-goes feel is the glue that's holding everything together. I often dismiss Fatboy Slim for these very reasons, but when I put this record on again it's impossible to resist. Besides, it's nice when someone actually recognizes a song that I like rather than me having to explain why song x isn't actually techno, but rather blahblahblah....Standout Tracks: "The Rockafeller Shank," "Praise You"
17. Sasha + John Digweed - Northern Exposure: Expeditions (1999)
In this, the 4th and final entry in S+D's Northern Exposure series, the DJ heavyweights finally seem to set out what they wanted to accomplish with it: create epic, organic soundscapes grounded in progressive house and trance beats. While it's not the be-all end-all of organic electronica, it may be the best of its genre. Song selection and mixing is impeccably tight, containing a cheesiness factor near zero. The songs on display here aren't club anthems either, making the mix as suited for the dancefloor as for bedroom listening. Spanning over two hours, this double-disc set is inherently expansive, perfectly fitting in with the tone of the mix. It's rarely in a rush to get somewhere and, on the contrary, is an album that supports the importance of the ride rather than the destination. Sasha may still be a huge name DJ (winning Essential Mix of the year two years ago, and pioneering an all digital DJ setup), and Digweed as well (recently teaming up with MSTRKRFT for a giant tour), but I'd love to see what a reunited force could produce nowadays, seeing as how they pretty much reached trance/prog house perfection with Expeditions.Standout Tracks: Tyrantic - "Breeder," Sasha - "Belfunk"
16. The Orb - Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld (1991)
I'll be honest, I'm actually quite new to the Orb and haven't given this album as many full listens as I'd have liked to, but I have already been able to tell that there's something special here. This is ambient music that's actually interesting. Plus, some of the sampling techniques are incredibly fresh, like throwing in Minnie Riperton's "Loving You" throughout a 19 minute, largely instrumental meditation on space. Maybe I'm just so amazed by it because I've never really heard anything else like it, but that sort of thing happens when a band is touted as worthy of their own new genre; in this case it's ambient house. Now, the album isn't entirely floaty space-scapes, there are occasional beats thrown in but don't strain too hard to find the 4/4 measures as they're few and far between. The Orb have an incredible knack for songcraft, and as such, you'll never feel like the band is just sitting back and blindly stroking synth chords. It's an incredibly refreshing listen considering the current trends in electronic music.Standout Tracks: "Little Fluffy Clouds," "A Huge Ever-Growing Pulsating Brain that Rules from the Center of the Ultraworld"
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