Hello All,
As you may have noticed, I’ve made some changes this year. Chief among them, this blog. Instead of track listings included with the discs, I’ve posted them here, along with some other (hopefully) cool stuff, like my favorite lyrics and thoughts on the songs.
But there are other changes too.
(Non audio-geeks can skip the next two paragraphs).
This year, all the CDs are burned on CD-R Pro high-quality, professional discs. Furthermore, 55 of the 61 tracks here are presented in lossless AIFF format (i.e. virtually identical to CD quality), including 19 out of 20 tracks on disc one (damn you, missing Feist CD!).
Of the six tracks that aren’t lossless, five of them are high-quality MP3s in the 256kbps to 320 kps range. Only one track, Radiohead’s “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” falls below the 200kbps range, because the only way to get the CD before January was to shell out 80 bucks for a gift box, and I don’t like Radiohead THAT much. Anyway, even this track has a higher bit rate than most iTunes tracks.
Another change I made was in the disc’s themes. Don’t worry, disc one is still an elclectic blend of my favorite tracks of the year. But this year, instead of dividing discs two and three into categories that roughly equaled “accessible” and “weird,” Lauren made the excellent suggestion that I divide them by the bands’ hometowns. So disc two is for all those international bands, and disc three is for bands from the good ol’ US of A. While this was a somewhat arbitrary split, I did notice that disc two ended up with funnier, dancier songs, whereas disc three had more of a rock bias, and a tendency towards denser, intricate lyrics. Whether this speaks to differences in culture or just my personal taste, I have no idea.
Lastly, some of you may well be shaking your heads in wonderment/annoyance and proclaiming “Three discs? THREE? I received but one paltry disc!” Don’t fret, my friends. The vast majority of people did, too. For while I am enough of a music nerd to make three mixes, I am not enough of a CD-burning nerd to burn the entire set for everyone in my address book. I tend to focus on giving three-disc editions to people who are a) local b) really into music, or c) have pretty similar taste to me. However, these distinctions are somewhat arbitrary. So, if you read about the other two discs here, and you think you’d enjoy them, I’d be more than happy to burn copies and send them to you.
Other than that, enjoy your mixes! And remember: play them loud.
-Adam.
2007! Disc 1
1. The National – Fake Empire
“Turn the light out, say goodnight / No thinking for a little while.”
From the album Boxer
The National previously appeared on Disc 1 of the 2005 mixes with their song “Mr. November."
The best opener of the year, from the best album of the year. A plaintive piano melody draws you in, as Matt Berninger’s funny, poetic lyrics build to a euphoric horn finale that somehow feels both inevitable and surprising.
2. Patrick Wolf – The Magic Position
“Now that the dreams are all coming true / Who is the one that leads me on through? It’s you.”
From the album The Magic Position
British wunderkind Patrick Wolf does his best Bowie impression on this giddy, dense piece of pop heaven. I don’t have much to say about this one other than it’s awesome, and that it’s nice to hear an optimistic romantic song, rather than another song of romantic doom.
Sidenote: both this song and Fake Empire mention bluebirds in the lyrics. Sadly, I was unable to keep this theme going through the rest of the mix.
3. Peter Bjorn And John – Young Folks
“I can tell there’s something goin’ on / Hours seem to disappear / Everyone is leaving I’m still with you.”
From the album Writer’s Block
The most ubiquitous indie-crossover track of the year, but like Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy," a well-deserved success. This duet between the Swedish pop group and ex-Concretes singer Victoria Bergsman is almost too catchy for it’s own good: I mean, come on, whistling and bongos? And yet you still couldn’t throw in a reference to bluebirds?
4. The White Stripes – You Don’t Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You’re Told)
“In some respects I suspect you’ve got a respectable side.”
From the album Icky Thump
The White Stripes previously appeared on Disc 1 of the 2005 Mixes with their song “The Denial Twist.”
After an ill-advised album of piano and marimba experimentation, and a slightly less ill-advised Jack White side project that you may have heard of, the Stripes are back to what they do best. And what is that, you ask? Threatening radio stations? Touring every province in Canada? Sponsoring cameras? Good guesses, all, but no, I’m talking about playing rock music. This song is the Stripes at their rockiest, full of ear-piercing solos, pounding drums (if Meg isn’t getting any better, she’s at least getting louder), and Jack’s underrated lyrics. Well, it’s not “full of” his lyrics, really. But the lyrics are good, is what I was saying. Back off, grammar police.
5. Pharoche Monch – Desire
“I’m the poetical pastor / Slave to a label but I own my masters.”
From the album Desire
Pharoche Monch's long-awaited second album may not have been my favorite hip hop album of the year, but this was my favorite hip hop single.
6. Feist – My Moon My Man
“Heart on my sleeve / Not where it should be / The song’s out of key again.”
From the album The Reminder
Feist previously appeared on Disc 3 of the 2005 mixes with her song “Mushaboom.”
I like Feist’s album, The Reminder, a fair amount, but too much of it is sleepy and quiet – it feels designed to play on a loop at a Starbucks near you. This track, though, cuts through the haze with its pounding piano. Feist’s always gorgeous vocals, at their sexiest here, rise above the fray.
7. Justice – D.A.N.C.E.
“The way you move is a mystery.”
From the album Cross
Like a bunch of kids singing a long-lost Michael Jackson song, and every bit as fun (and, okay, slightly creepy) as that sounds.
8. Black Lips – O Katrina!
“O Katrina, why you gotta be mean?”
From the album Good Bad Not Evil
Who would have guessed the Black Lips would turn topical and take on Hurricane Katrina? Then again, the lyrics could just as easily apply to an ex-girlfriend named Katrina. Or to both.
9. The Long Blondes – You Could Have Both
“I don’t kid myself about happy endings / I’m too old for all that now.”
From the album Someone To Drive You Home
It was tough to choose a song from the many highlights on this album, but I went with this one for that Pulp-like talky section in the middle, which references Billy Wilder and Scott Walker before the chorus roars back in.
10. Simian Mobile Disco – I Believe
“I believe you can be what I need to believe.”
From the album Attack Decay Sustain Release
The simple beat matches perfectly with the simple lyrics. The kind of song that would sound just as good in a club as it would sitting in your room with our headphones on.
11. Spoon – The Underdog
“You got no fear of the underdog / That’s why you will not survive.”
From the album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Now that my dear departed Sleater-Kinney have, well, departed (in that they broke up, they’re still alive), Spoon can step up an claim the elusive title of “best rock band in America.” Well, except for the White Stripes. Or the Hold Steady. Or maybe The National. Okay, let’s just say Spoon are right up there.
This track, the only one on their album to be produced by Jon Brion, is typical Brion - big, smart, pop. And whenever it threatens to drift into Billy Joel territory, one of Jim Eno’s intense drum rolls comes in to blow everything else away.
12. Amy Winehouse – Back To Black
“He left no time to regret / Kept his dick wet / With his same old safe bet.”
From the album Back To Black
Like Steven Soderbergh's The Good German, Amy Winehouse takes a style from yesteryear and imbues it with a rich sexual tension (see the above lyric) that would have been censored when said style was first popular. Unlike Soderbergh, Winehouse's results are actually good.
13. Josh Ritter – To The Dogs Or Whoever
“I love the way she looks in her underwear / I lose my page then the plot then the book then I swear.”
From the album The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter
14. Blonde Redhead – Silently
“I sway in your waves / I sing in your sleep / I stay till I’m in your life.”
From the album 23
On their seventh album, 23, Blonde Redhead abandoned their No-Wave roots for slick, romantic pop-rock. The surprise was how well it worked. “Silently” is the simplest track on the album, and the best. Kazu Makino’s lyrics are somewhat inscrutable, but her ethereal voice more than conveys the emotions beneath the words.
15. Art Brut – Nag Nag Nag Nag
“Learning lyrics from the CD inlay / To impress people with the stupid things I say.”
From the album It’s A Bit Complicated
Art Brut previously appeared on Disc 1 of the 2005 mixes with their song “Emily Kane.”
Eddie Argos writes yet another ode to mix tapes. Hey, if it ain't broke...
16. M.I.A. – Paper Planes
“Some some some I some I murder / Some I some I let go.”
From the album Kala
M.I.A. previously appeared on Disc 3 of the 2005 mixes with her song “Amazon.”
The Clash sample alone was enough to make it to disc one. The sound effect chorus made it my favorite song of the year.
17. LCD Soundsystem – Someone Great
“To tell the truth I saw it coming / The way you were breathing / But nothing can prepare you for it / The voice on the other end.”
From the album Sound Of Silver
One of two James Murphy masterpieces on Sound of Silver ("All My Friends" is the other). In this one, he takes a recycled beat from his 45:33 EP, and places it over some haunting lyrics about the loss of a loved one. Powerful.
18. Los Campesinos! – You! Me! Dancing!
“It’s sad that you think that we’re all just scenesters / And even if we were it’s not the scene you’re thinking of.”
From the Sticking Fingers Into Sockets EP
If you’re going to put a minute-long intro at the beginning of a song, the song better be good enough to follow through. Cardiff’s biggest punctuation fans, Los Campesinos!, are aware of this, and just as said intro reaches breaking point, the band kicks in with my favorite riff of the year. The song just keeps getting better from there.
19. Arcade Fire – No Cars Go
“Between the click of the light and the start of the dream.”
From the album Neon Bible
Neon Bible disappointed me, which explains why this track, my favorite on the album, was originally written all the way back in 2003, for Arcade Fire's debut EP. They re-recorded it, top to bottom, for this album, and the difference is so great it's like a completely new, hugely epic song.
2007! Disc 2: Imports
1. BrakesBrakesBrakes – Hold Me In The River (Brighton, England)
“I’m all trained up, yeah, I’m ready for the ring / They’ll be arriving in capes and leaving in slings.”
From the album The Beatific Visions
Two minutes of garage rock bliss, plus a Scarlett Johansson boner joke. What more could you want?
2. Noisettes – Bridge To Canada (London, England)
“Traveling overseas / I’m missing my sweet pea / Airports and handkerchiefs and broken families.”
From the album What’s The Time, Mr. Wolf?
The best new live act of the year almost captures their crazy performance energy on this highlight from their debut.
3. Lily Allen – LDN (London, England)
“A fella looking dapper, and he’s sittin’ with a slapper / Then I see it’s a pimp and his crack whore.”
From the album Alright, Still
It's a classic pop music trick - happy music disguising not-so-happy lyrics - but it's done well here.
4. Tokyo Police Club – Your English Is Good (Newmarket, Canada)
“Injustice is my middle name.”
From the Your English Is Good Single
Like most TPC songs, a giddy sugar rush.
5. Architecture In Helsinki – Heart It Races (Melbourne, Australia)
“And we slow to acknowledge the knots in the laces / Heart it races!”
From the album Places Like This
Architecture In Helsinki previously appeared on Disc 3 of the 2005 mixes with their song “Wishbone.”
The best song on a really disappointing album, "Heart It Races" has a gorgeous calypso vibe, thanks mostly to steel drums. Song it catchy.
6. Gogol Bordello – Wonderlust King (Kiev, Ukraine)
“Well at least it’s something different / From what they got in every other airport.”
From the album Super Taranta!
Gogol Bordello previously appeared on Disc 3 of the 2005 mixes with their song “Start Wearing Purple.”
Okay, so Gogol are technically a New York band, but I included them here because they all immigrated from Eastern Europe, and their sound is indebted to gypsy music, as evidenced on this fine ode to wanderlust.
7. Dungen – Familj (Stockholm, Sweeden)
From the album Tio Bitar
One-man classic rock machine Gustav Ejestes tones it down a bit and adds some acoustic guitars into the mix, to breathtaking effect.
8. Datarock – Computer Camp Love (Bergen, Norway)
“She’s not that kind of a girl, booger.”
From the album Datarock
Grease references + Revenge Of The Nerds references + Kraftwerk-punning title = second funniest song of the year (see track 15, below).
9. Flight Of The Conchords – I’m Not Crying (Wellington, New Zealand)
From the The Distant Future EP
“I’m not weeping because you won’t be there to hold my hand / For your information there’s an inflammation in my tear gland.”
Pitch-perfect power ballad parody. Third funniest song of the year (see tracks 8 and 15).
10. Junior Senior – Can I Get Get Get (Copanhagen, Denmark)
From the album Hey Hey My My Yo Yo
“Can I get get get to know know know you better better baby?”
In keeping with Junior Senior's love of repetition, this track is fun fun fun.
11. The Moths – Valentine (London, England)
From the Games/Valentine/Wild Birds Single
“Even when the initial flames of love are gone / Our souls are fingertip to fingertip.”
Let’s be clear: The Moths, until recently the “best unsigned band in Britain,” aren’t doing anything new. And you could argue that the last thing we need is another new-wave aping act (see my entry on track 19), when we already have bands like Stellstarr*, The Killers, and Hot Hot Heat, to name but a few. Then again, all of those bands would kill (especially The Killers…har har) for a single as good as this one, which plays as if the band members decided on a lark to see how many hooks they could fit into one track. The answer: a lot.
12. The Go! Team – Fake ID (Brighton, England)
From the album Proof Of Youth
The Go! Team previously appeared on Disc 1 of the 2005 mixes with their song “Bottle Rocket.”
As usual with the Go! Team, the vocals are buried in the mix, so no lyrics quote here, although I assume they are singing something about Fake IDs and being awesome.
13. The Fratellis – Chelsea Dagger (Glasgow, Scotland)
From the album Costello Music
“I said tell me your name is it sweet? / She said my boy it’s dagger.”
Even better than the song from the iPod commercial. If nothing else, these guys are masters of onamonapeia.
14. Jens Lekman – The Opposite Of Hallelujah (Angered, Sweeden)
From the album Night Falls Over Kortedala
“I picked up a seashell / To illustrate my homelessness."
The best Sweedish pop song not by Peter Bjorn & John.
15. Grinderman – No Pussy Blues (Melbourne, Australia)
From the album Grinderman
“I played her guitar by the hour / I petted her revolting little Chihuahua / But still she just didn’t want to.”
The funniest song of the year, which is saying something, considering tracks 8-9 on this disc. But how many songs can you name that reference Yeats, Chihuahuas and Marcel Marceau? I’m guessing three or less. But even without the humor, this ode to sexual frustration from Nick Cave and cohorts has more than enough musical excellence (those screeching solos) and eccentric touches (that typewriter intro…what is this, Atonement?) to wow.
16. The New Pornographers – Myriad Harbor (Vancouver, Canada)
From the album Challengers
“I said to John do you think the girls here / Ever wonder how they got so pretty? / Oh well I do.”
The New Pornographers previously appeared on Disc 1 of the 2005 mixes with their song “The Bleeding Heart Show.”
After putting out three masterful power-pop classics, lead New Pornographers songwriter A.C. Newman came up with this experimental idea for the Canadian supergroup’s fourth album: what if I rewrote all my old songs, but made them longer and took out the good parts? Luckily, eccentric Dan “I write three awesome tracks for each album” Bejar, came through, as always. On this track, his finest contribution yet, a McLusky-esque guitar line gives way to verses that are, in typical Bejar fashion, funny, surreal, and vaguely sexual.
17. Radiohead – Jigsaw Falling Into Place (Oxfordshire, England)
From the album In Rainbows
“What’s the point of instruments? / Words are a sawed-off shotgun.”
It was hard to pick one track of this album, as Radiohead aren't exactly a singles band. I chose this one because it's rocking, but it's really an album that should be listened to beginning to end for the best effect.
18. Fujiya & Miyagi – Collarbone (Brighton, England)
From the album Transparent Things
“Got to get a new pair of shoes / To kick it with her, not kick it with you.”
Groovalicious Krautrock from a pair of Brits with a Japanese name.
19. Pop Levi – Blue Honey (Liverpool, England)
From the album The Return To Form Black Magick Party
“Dial up my heartbeat, babe / Nothing but a dead line.”
Former Ladytron bassist Pop Levi’s debut album was one of the surprise highlights of the first half of 2007 for me. The whole thing is hugely indebted to glam rock, specifically T. Rex, but a great glam rock throwback sounds a lot more appealing to these ears than yet another post punk or new wave band.
20. Bat For Lashes – What’s A Girl To Do? (Brighton, England)
From the album Fur And Gold
“And when your dreams are on a train to train wreck town / Then I ask you now / What’s a girl to do?”
Glorious 60's girl group homage from Natasha Khan.
21. Gruff Rhys – Candylion (Haverfordwest, Wales)
From the album Candylion
“A long time ago, in the kingdom of candy…”
Super Furry Animals’ mad genius frontman Gruff Rhys toned down the dense experimentation for his English-language solo debut, but lost none of his whimsical charm or, more importantly, his hooks. This track, the lead single, is, as the title would suggest, a story about a lion made of candy. I know, I know: ANOTHER song about lions made of candy! What a cliché. Next he’ll be writing songs about how his girlfriend left him or something. Geez.
22. Augie March – One Crowded Hour (Melbourne, Australia)
From the album Moo, You Bloody Choir
“If love is a bolt from the blue / Then what is that bolt but a glorified screw?”
Weird band name. Weird album name. Great song.
2007! Disc 3: USA
1. Band Of Horses – Is There A Ghost (Seattle, Washington)
From the album Cease To Begin
“When I lived alone / Is there a ghost in my house?”
Band Of Horses previously appeared on the Disc 1 of the 2006 Mixes with their song “The Funeral."
Lyrics? Who needs them? Just write some powerful music, and repeat the same two lines over them for three minutes. Hey, it works for Band Of Horses.
2. White Rabbits – The Plot (Columbia, Missouri)
From the album Fort Nightly
“Well I could stay in bed all day / Is that such an awful thing for me to say?”
I have no idea what "I feel so...whoa oh oh oh oh" means, but I still love this Walkmen-esque song from this New York via Missouri band.
3. Menomena – The Pelican (Portland, Oregon)
From the album Friend Or Foe
“I guess some birds never learn / One day these tides will turn / And leave you nothing.”
Coming on like a whiter, nerdier TV On The Radio, Menomena craft the year's most intense song, and it's all about...birds? Something tells me there might be a metaphor or two in there.
4. Les Savy Fav – What Would Wolves Do? (Brookyln, New York)
From the album Let’s Stay Friends
“The world may seem cruel / The world it may hate us / In time we will show the world why the world made us.”
In a year where even the best releases were often too well behaved, it was great to have Les Savy Fav return with another balls-out punk rock classic. On this track, they prove a couple of things: 1) Just because you scream a lot and are in a punk band, doesn’t mean you can’t be an amazing lyricist. 2) Any song with wolves in the title is contractually obligated to contain wolf howls within.
6. Good Life – Kanye West (Chicago, Illinois)
From the album Graduation
“Having money’s not everything / Not having it is.”
Kanye West previously appeared on Disc 3 of the 2005 mixes with his song “Gone.”
The party jam of Graduation, like Late Registration's "Touch The Sky" but better, even without Lupe Fiasco.
7. Enon – Mr. Ratatatat (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
From the album Glass Geysers…Crystal Clouds
Three things that made me love this song: the pummeling drums, John Schmersal doing his best Steve Bays of Hot Hot Heat impression, and Toko Yasuda’s silky verses, complete with one of the top five sexiest deliveries of the phrase “oh baby.” Yum.
8. Battles – Atlas (New York, New York)
From the album Mirrored
“People won’t be people / When they hear this sound / That’s been glowing in the dark / At the edge of town.”
Close your eyes and you can imagine the whole thing being played by robots.
9. St. Vincent – Now Now (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
From the album Marry Me
“I’m not your mother’s favorite dog / I’m not the carpet you walk on."
Former Sufjan Stevens and Polyphonic Spree band member Annie Clark steps into the spotlight on her debut, and the only surprise is why she didn't make an album sooner.
10. Andrew Bird – Imitosis (Chicago, Illinois)
From the album Armchair Apocrypha
“And turning to a playground in a Petri dish / Where single cells would swing their fists / At anything that looked like easy prey.”
Andrew Bird previously appeared on Disc 3 of the 2005 mixes with his song “Fake Palindromes.”
Hey, Andrew Bird is from Chicago, too! I wonder if he ever hangs out with Kanye?
11. Illinois – Alone Again (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
From the What The Hell Do I Know? EP
“I’m keeping it tight in my hand till I die / I might not be able to fix things but I’ll try.”
Who could have guessed Illinois were from Pennsylvania? Confusing!
12. Okkervil River – Unless It’s Kicks (Austin, Texas)
From the album The Stage Names
“What gives this grace some mess unless it’s kicks, man / Unless it’s fiction / Unless it’s sweat or it’s songs.”
Okkervil River previously appeared on Disc 1 of the 2005 mixes with their song “For Real.”
The above lyrics are probably my favorites of the year. Like all Okkervil River songs, they sound ten times better when sung passionately by Will Sheff.
13. Jill Scott – Hate On Me (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
From the album The Real Thing: Words and Sounds, Vol. 3
“You can try as you may / Break me down but I say / That it ain’t up to you.”
I could listen to Jill Scott sing the phone book, but I'd prefer her to sing this.
14. Deerhoof – Matchbook Seeks Maniac (San Francisco, California)
From the album Friend Opportunity
“I would sell my soul to devil / If I could be on top of the world.”
Probably my favorite chorus of the year.
15. Bishop Allen – Click, Click, Click, Click (Brooklyn, New York)
From the album The Broken String
“I wasn’t someone they’d invite / And I didn’t know the groom or know the bride.”
Wes Anderson is most likely looking for a way to use "Click, Click, Click, Click" in a movie at this moment.
16. Ryan Adams – Halloweenhead (Jacksonville, North Carolina)
From the album Easy Tiger
“Head full of candy bags / Costume shops and punks in drag.”
Ryan Adams previously appeared on Disc 3 of the 2005 mixes with his song “The End.”
Good song, but I pretty much included it solely for the part where he yells "Guitar solo!"
17. The Apples In Stereo – Energy (Denver, Colorado)
From the album New Magnetic Wonder
“And the world is made of energy / And the world is possibility.”
I think this track sounds like a long-lost Beatles song. My girlfriend thinks it sounds like a Coke jingle. You decide.
18. Jay-Z – Ignorant Shit (Brookyln, New York)
From the album American Gangster
“Are you saying what I’m spitting / Is worse than these celebutantes showing they kitten? / You kidding?”
After his god-awful “comeback” album Kingdom Come, it looked like Jay-Z should have stayed retired. Then he saw a cut of Ridley Scott’s crime saga American Gangster, got inspired, and wrote a pretty sweet album of the same name. On this track, Jay raps over a menacing, Miami Vice beat, taking on the renewed criticism of rap lyrics in the wake of the Don Imus scandal.
19. The Ponys – Double Vision (Chicago, Illinois)
From the album Turn The Lights Out
“My heart’s on a break / I thought you should know.”
The Ponys previously appeared on Disc 2 of the 2005 mixes with their song “Get Black.”
The Ponys are an underrated band because they have no greater ambition than playing awesome garage rock. And that they do. Here, they prove that sometimes, to reach rock nirvana, all you need is a groovy bass line, a Richard Hell-esque vocal, and a fuzzed out guitar solo.
20. The Shins – Sea Legs (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
From the album Wincing The Night Away
“You belong to a simpler time / I’m a victim to the impact of these words / And this rhyme.”
The Shins are power-pop Gods, capable of cramming hook after hook into smart, pretty, three-minute songs. Here, as on the rest of Wincing The Night Away, they stretch their legs (their sea legs, if you will) a bit, working in a low key, rhythm-intensive style that’s reminiscent of Beck. The results are magnificent.
21. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! – Five Easy Pieces (Brooklyn, New York)
From the album Some Loud Thunder
“Too far / To go / Too young / To know / Give up.”
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah previously appeared on Disc 3 of the 2005 mixes with their song “The Skin Of My Yellow Country Teeth.”
Some Loud Thunder was a huge letdown after CYHSY’s sparkling debut, but there were a couple of marvelous tracks that saved it from a quick trip to the bargain bin. This is one of them. The unintelligible lyrics are strong, but the song’s powerful even if you can’t make them out. The chant-like quality of the vocals, combined with Dave Fridmann’s fuzzed-out production and a typically great bass line, create a six-minute, dreamlike stunner, and a perfect album closer. Shame there wasn’t a better album ahead of it.
Finally:
Ten Great Songs That Didn't Make It Because Of My "One Song Per Band" Rule.
1. Blonde Redhead - 23
2. LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends
3. Okkervil River - John Allyn Smith Sails
4. Spoon - You Got Yr Cherry Bomb
5. Menomena - Muscle'n Flo
6. Les Savy Fav - Patty Lee
7. The National - Slow Show
8. The Long Blondes - Once And Never Again
9. Amy Winehouse - Tears Dry On Their Own
10. Arcade Fire - Ocean Of Noise
Ten Great Songs That I Couldn't Find Room For Or Heard Too Late In The Year To Put On The Mixes.
1. Ghostface Killah - Celebrate
2. Lupe Fiasco - Hip Hop Saved My Life
3. Arctic Monkeys - Do Me A Favour
4. Rihanna - Umbrella
5. Busdriver - Casting Agents and Cowgirls
6. Dinosaur Jr. - Almost Ready
7. The Broken West - On The Bubble
8. Of Montreal - The Past Is A Grotesque Animal
9. Klaxons - Gravity's Rainbow
10. Marnie Stern - Every Single Line Means Something
Finally Finally:
My 25 Favorite Albums Of The Year
1. The National - Boxer
2. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
3. The White Stripes - Icky Thump
4. Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends
5. The Long Blondes - Someone To Drive You Home
6. BrakesBrakesBrakes - Beatific Visions
7. Blonde Redhead - 23
8. Okkervil River - The Stage Names
9. Kanye West - Graduation
10. Menomena - Friend And Foe
11. Black Lips - Good Bad Not Evil
12. M.I.A. - Kala
13. Gogol Bordello - Super Taranta
14. Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position
15. Radiohead - In Rainbows
16. Pharoche Monch - Desire
17. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
18. Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity
19. Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
20. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
21. Jay-Z - American Gangster
22. Arctic Monkeys - Favorite Worst Nightmare
23. 1990s - Cookies
24. Ghostface Killah - The Big Doe Rehab
25. St. Vincent - Marry Me
