The Death of Enthusiasm

I realize I'm a not really a music critic (despite the authority that comes with writing for a college newspaper), but I felt like I wanted to make a year end top 10 list like the real grown-up blogs do. I don't receive free albums like actual critics, so much of what came out this year has not graced my ears.

If you see something you would like to hear, and haven't yet, just let me know and I would be happy to send you a copy. I'm cool like that. So, here are my favorite albums of the year, and why:




10. Neil Young: Live at Massey Hall 1971

Yeah, I know, how is this new music if it was recorded in 1971? Well, Neil has been sitting on it all these years, now letting us see a little of his early golden age material while it was still forming. The best part is that he prefaces all the songs with long, rambling explanations, letting us in on the inspirations behind the classics. "A Man Needs a Maid" is in his words, "A show-tune to his life." Also, it comes with a DVD of the performance, and he looks like a caveman wearing flannel.




9. Iron and Wine: The Shepherd's Dog

I wrote a whole review for this one, so I don't want to get too detailed here, but Sam Beam has now entered the "loud-ish folk band" category of artist as opposed to the "bedroom recording singer-songwriter" label, and it suits him well.





8. Jay-Z: American Gangster

I also reviewed this very recently, so just read that. If you like American Gangster, check out DJ Skee's mash-up called "American Godfather" where he uses music from the cinematic score of The Godfather to back the Album. Pretty cool, but not as cool as "The Grey Album."




7. Dan Wilson: Free Life

Dan Wilson is probably best known as the singer for the nineties alt-rock band, Semisonic. He is also an amazing songwriter, and he co-wrote most of the songs on the Dixie Chick's latest Grammy-winning album. This is his first solo effort, and it mostly sticks to soaring ballad territory, while verging slightly on alterna-cheese in some songs. Imagine Ben Folds with a more broad pop influence. Still, it's hard to fault such solid melodies, however, and I would recommend to anyone with a still functioning heart. Better these kind of songs from Dan Wilson than other hacks like The Fray. It would make great "wedding video" music, as it were.




6. Radiohead: In Rainbows

I kind of feel guilty not putting this in the top 5, I guess I don't like Radiohead as much as I should. I do appreciate the fact that you don't have to re-configure your brain just to understand this one.




5. The Avett Brothers: Emotionalism

I wrote about these guys like six months ago. They are the Beatles, if they played bluegrass instruments and wrote brutally sincere songs about getting drunk and then feeling guilty because they can't reciprocate the love of a pretty girl from Chile. Key lyric: "I'm a little nervous/of what you'll think when you see me/in my swimming trunks."





4. Wilco: Sky Blue Sky

My family and roommates know the outrageous depths of my fanboy-ism for Wilco, so many of you may have thought they would capture the top spot. No, it wasn't the album of the year for me, but it was very, very good. Songs like "Hate it Here" explored Jeff Tweedy's 70's rock, am radio, squonky guitar sound obsession, but "On and On" washes over like a cool breeze, and will certainly still sound good in 10 years.





3. Band of Horses: Cease to Begin

Band of Horses stands as my go to cure for musical boredom. Every time I play the song, "The General Specific" I am forced to at least tap my foot. Atmospheric, gentle, and rollicking all at once, "Cease to Begin" is better than most everything I heard this year.




2. Andrew Bird: Armchair Apocrypha

A big thanks to Matt and Cate Sweeney for turning me on to Andrew Bird (and a great majority of the music I currently enjoy). Armchair Apocrypha is an album I have a hard time describing to people. "Well, he whistles really well, and ummm, he plays these violin loops, but it's really dense and layered..." Yeah, it doesn't make much sense until you listen to it. Andrew Bird makes music that is deeply soothing, and yet unsettled. That ambiguity (along with the lyrics) takes a while to sink in, but once it does, you'll never go back.



1. The Everybodyfields: Nothing is Okay

The Everybodyfields play a sad, reflective brand of country (or "Americana," if you are adverse to the genre) that recalls some of the great song-smiths of the 70's. Sam Quinn and Jill Andrews share songwriting duties, but their voices mesh in an incredible way. Quinn's high, plaintive voice is the perfect counterpoint to Jill's strong set of pipes. Every element of this band seems to be balanced just right, even with organ, piano, pedal steel, fiddle, lead electric, and bass jockeying for attention. While most melancholic country tunes are a specific sort of cry-in-your-beer loneliness, The Everybodyfields write universal anthems of human loss, and yet the melodies soar in a way that makes you forget the pain. My favorite album of 2007.



Also, I am kind of in love with Jill Andrews:




Honorable Mention:The White Stripes, Annuals, Blitzen Trapper, Arcade Fire, Spoon

Labels: music writing