Monday, October 29, 2007

Favorite Songs of 2007

Yeah, I know, there are still two months left in the year. So things could change. But it just seemed time for a new list because:

1) Lists are fun.
2) Lists are educational, and
3) Lists provide the illusion of order and objectivity to our increasingly chaotic and inscrutable lives.

So this is the 4-CD box set, complete with 64-page illustrated book and collectible "Best Songs of 2007" stamps. I dearly love all these songs, all of which have been released this year. And since they cross genres and moods, I won't even begin to try to fit them into some sort of coherent/consistent mix. Here they are, in alphabetical order.

CD 1
1. Filibuster XXX – Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra
2. Beautiful Machine, Parts 1 – 4 – Apples in Stereo
3. Keep the Car Running – The Arcade Fire
4. Direct Hit – Art Brut
5. For Agent 13 – The Besnard Lakes
6. Fiery Crash – Andrew Bird
7. Country Caravan – Blitzen Trapper
8. Suffering Time – Bottom of the Hudson
9. Down in the Valley – The Broken West
10. Melody Day – Caribou
11. Ain’t Gonna Worry No More – Peter Case
12. Brighton Beach to Santa Monica – The Clientele
13. Maasai – Damien Dempsey
14. It’s Natural to be Afraid – Explosions in the Skies
15. My Moon My Man – Feist

CD 2
1. Scar That Never Heals – Jeremy Fisher
2. Long Dark Night – John Fogerty
3. People Get Ready – The Frames
4. Bushels – Frog Eyes
5. American Highway – Ezra Furman and the Harpoons
6. Hurricane Judy – Future Clouds and Radar
7. Everything in its Right Place/Maiden Voyage – Robert Glasper
8. Trapeze – Patty Griffin
9. No Pussy Blues – Grinderman
10. Wave Backwards to Massachusetts – Hallelujah the Hills
11. You Can’t Fail Me Now – Joe Henry
12. Downtown – Malcolm Holcombe
13. Wonderful World – Jolie Holland and Booker T. Jones
14. Enemy – Jesca Hoop
15. Goin’ to Acapulco – Jim James and Calexico

CD 3
1. All My Money on You – Diana Jones
2. If I Were You – Chris Knight
3. 31 Candles – The Mendoza Line
4. Fake Empire – The National
5. Place to Be – Christopher O’Riley
6. Spotlight – Anders Osborne
7. Bros – Panda Bear
8. Lord Franklin – The Pentangle
9. Young Folks – Peter Bjorn and John
10. Killing the Blues – Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
11. Bodysnatchers – Radiohead
12. Draconian Crackdown – Rasputina
13. Put a Penny in the Slot – Fionn Regan
14. Make Money Money – John Reuben
15. To the Dogs or Whoever – Josh Ritter

CD 4
1. Chemicals – A.J. Roach
2. Cool Sounds Are Here Again – The Safes
3. Rainy Day Man – Patti Scialfa
4. Swamp Thing – The Soul of John Black
5. Oh God, Let Me Back In – Southeast Engine
6. You Got Yr Cherry Bomb – Spoon
7. Long Walk Home – Bruce Springsteen
8. Dress Sharp, Play Well, Be Modest – Devon Sproule
9. Superette – Tandy
10. Beauty – Linda Thompson
11. Dad’s Gonna Kill Me – Richard Thompson
12. Grey in L.A. – Loudon Wainwright III
13. Utilities – The Weakerthans
14. 300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues – The White Stripes
15. Let It Roll – Willard Grant Conspiracy

7 comments:

mg said...

i'm a big fan of 'long walk home' too.

axegrinder said...

Rilo Kiley - 15
Dropkick Murphys - Vices and Virtues
New Pornographers - Mutiny, I Promise You
Bishop Allen - Click Click Click Click
Astra Heights - Choices
Norah Jones - Sinkin' Soon
The Shins - Australia

Anonymous said...

good god, send me this box set!

-- jnf

Andy Whitman said...

Hey Josh, it's yours if you want it (well, minus the 64-page booklet and collectible stamps). But I'll be happy to send some mix CDs your way.

Julie Zickefoose said...

Hello iTunes. Thank you, Andy, for four cool lists and some new ideas for a stale iPod.

You rokk!

Scott Lahti said...

Great blog. Loved your Nick Drake essay, and your ''Dancing About Architecture'' post from 2005 on music's daimonic power to transport. You are a perpetual-motion machine of musical-artist knowledge, to be envied, a one-man AMG.

Favorites of 2007 - I hop about from channel to channel and genre to genre on XM, and so am way behind on all the stuff the groovy kids are twisting to on their hi-fis, but - I've developed a real crush on a real sleeper among the XM channels, namely the all-Canadian ''The Verge'' on XM 52, and nominate ''No Cars Go'' by Arcade Fire, and ''Dark Come Soon'' by Tegan and Sara; and I must cheat in tossing in two cuts from 2006 by Hinterland (from Vancouver), ''Inside-Outside'' and ''Sirens''. Play the 2-minute clips of each at CD Baby - then pick your jaw off the floor.

http://cdbaby.com/cd/hinterland

Natsthename said...

Hey, I read your columns in Paste, and I dig them. Thanks for making this list, so I can check out some of the music I may have missed.

Darn good and eclectic list here, Mr. Whitman!

I used to live in Worthington way back in the 80's, and I still miss the Columbus area.