best of 2007!

FINALLY, my 'best of the music world 2007' list is ready. only a month late, not too bad!

here they are, my most favorite 25 musical recordings of 07:

25. CPC Gangbangs- Mutilation Nation
stoney, dirty garage punk with a lot of broke-ass fuzz and psychedelic insanity and a little bit of a nod to early Joy Division.
24. Deerhunter- Cryptograms/Fluorescent...LP
the perfect meeting of shoegaze and Factory Records, with a creepily monotonous overall feel.
23. Mammatus- Coast Explodes
psychedelic, proggy, epic, motherfuckin-heavy-ass rock.
22. Okkervil River- Stage Names
i'm typically not a fan of this sort of middle-of-the-road indie rock crap, but i was pretty much bowled over by "stage names." clever, sad, catchy and a bit heartbreaking.
21. Marnie Stern- In Advance of the Broken Arm
Marnie Stern is a mastermind of guitar weirdness. this record is both minimal and completely shredding in the most unusually intricate, finger-tapping kind of way. not to mention the truly weird Deerhoof-like vocals. the album is almost undescribable but so, so great!
20. Fucked Up- Year of the Pig 12"
brutal, punishing and haunting all in one little EP.
19. Of Montreal- Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
everyone knows about this band so i won't say much except that this is one of the funnest, danciest, electro-popish records i had the pleasure of listening to this year, perfectly paired with some of the darkest themes/lyrics.
18. Parts & Labor- Mapmaker
brilliant anthemic punk/electronic weirdness! the most exceedingly triumphant record of 2007! like a modern noise-punk version of Husker Du! i love it!
17. Miss Alex White & Red Orch- Space & Time
Miss Alex White and her Red Orchestra play ballsy, slightly poppy garage rock better than pretty much any other garage bands these days. her 2nd album is seriously fucking ripping. it's like Sleater Kinney if Sleater Kinney were boot-stompin' sneaking-cigarettes-in-the-school-bathroom tough rebel rocker chicks!
16. Jesu- Lifeline EP
everyone else loved the full-length and hated this. i thought the full-length was "eh," but fell for the heavy, airy, dreamy melodies in these 4 tracks. plus a collaboration with Jarboe (of the Swans, duh)! lot's more experimentation from these guys, and i'm loving it.
15. Oxbow- Narcotic Story
weird, scary, weird, scary, weird, scary.
14. Mark Sultan- Sultanic Verses
if you like any of Mark Sultan's other projects (namely, King Khan & BBQ Show), you will love this.
13. Boris w/ Michio Kurihara- Rainbow (technically 2006 but whatev)
Boris + guy from Ghost = pummeling psychedelic beauty.
12. Jay Reatard- Night of Broken Glass 12," Terror Visions LP, I Know a Place 7"
everything he does is brilliant, basically. absolutely PERFECT garage-pop-rnr-whatever. PERFECT.
11. Pissed Jeans- Hope for Men
the new wave of hardcore. a lot of Birthday Party-like snarling and meandering while retaining a sense of Black Flag early-days of 'core.
10. Busy Signals- S/T
Chicago's Busy Signals are waving the banner for late-70s britpunk and doing it better than anyone else. they are so much like the Rezillos that it's almost ridiculous, but goddamn this record is so catchy and great, it doesn't even matter!
9. Bobby Conn- King for a Day
my absolute favorite local talent presents us with another soul/r&b/prog/pop/conceptual/funk/rock mesh of awesomeness!
8. Daily Void- Identification Code
out of the ashes of the Functional Blackouts come Daily Void. straight-ahead, fast, perfectly-executed, mean and dark garage-punk.
7. Familjen- Det Snurrar I Min Skalle
swedish electro-pop. a 21st century New Order, anyone? wish i could understand the lyrics, though.
6. Big Business- Here Come the Waterworks
BRUTAL.
5. Vee Dee- Glimpses of Another World 7"
Vee Dee are finally back! hell yeah! i'm so excited! this single is just a premier of what's to come, but it's 3 songs of sweet sweet psychedelic garage rock. a teaser of sorts, showing us how Vee Dee are growing and changing and entering the land of longer, more meandering, more instrumentated songs...and in this case, change is good!
4. Clockcleaner- Babylon Rules
creepy, dark, flipper+cramps+birthday party+big black, screaming, screeching, ugly, violent, excellent.
3. LCD Soundsystem- Sound of Silver/45:33
i know, everyone loves this album. the best dance party album of '07, hands down.
2. Coathangers- S/T LP, Never Wanted You 7"
these Atlanta gals really know how to fucking rock. they take Riot Grrrl and turn it on its' head...actually, this is like some post-riot grrrl shit, with songs screaming about how you need to leave their boyfriend alone or else they'll punch you in the twat! no kidding! bass-heavy, danceable grooves with a certain essence of DIY punk and pure rock-and-roll, this is my new favorite band of all time.
1. Grinderman- S/T
duh. anything Nick Cave-related will always make my #1.


honoroble mentions go out to 2007 releases from Panda Bear, Akron Family, Circle, CoCoComa, Om, Andrew Bird, They Might Be Giants, Angels of Light and Neurosis.

best live shows i had the good fortune to attend in 2007:
-mika miko at Bottle
-melvins/big business at Double Door
-deerhunter at Pitchfork
-janeane garafolo & patton oswalt at the Vic
-coathangers at Ronny's
-king khan & bbq/busy signals/johnny & the limelights at Note
-zach galifianakis at Vic
-jay reatard/daily void at Hideout
-jay reatard/busy signals at Note
-plastic crimewave sound/michael younkers at Stop Smiling space
-miss alex white/vee dee at Hideout
-lcd soundsystem at metro
-mammatus/acid mothers at Bottle
-grinderman at Metro