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

foot set.

i'm back to archiving my DJ-sets. since smoking in bars is now banned in Chicago, i distract myself from all those wanting-to-smoke feelings by meticulously writing out everything i play. soon i'll get around to posting my "best of 2007" list, so keep an eye out!

Club Foot set 1/28/08

the monkees- tear drop city
coathangers- tripod machine
reatards- monster child
vee dee- glimpses of another world
bobby conn- on the farm
OMD- messages
pere ubu- breath
sparks- a big surprise
icicle works- whisper to a scream (birds fly)
nick cave & the bad seeds- train long-suffering
om- unitive knowledge of the godhead
crispy ambulance- bardo plane
sisters of mercy- gimme shelter
and also the trees- suffering of the stream
the names- cut
blondie- x offender
forget the whimpering child & become the warrior- left you lying
kraftwerk- the model
ministry- cold life
heaven 17- play to win
kissing the pink- big man restless
yaz- nobody's diary
pete shelley- homosapien
the three johns- awol
robert ellis orrall- white noise
erase errata- beacon
james white & the blacks- irresistable impulse
red lorry yellow lorry- hollow eyes
killing joke- complications
gary numan/tubeway army- my shadow in vain
the the- uncertain smile
daily void- the man without a face
Q-factor- i'm not that stupid
jay reatard- my family (i KNOW, already played Reatards, this was a request!)
cpc gangbangs- what love is
vindictives- this is my face
deep wound- dead babies
loli & the chones- sick of you
dillinger 4- holy shit
ruts- babylon's burning
stranglers- (get a) grip (on yourself)
sonics- strychnine
animals- for miss caulker
yardbirds- for your love
shadows of knight- tomorrow's gonna be another day
the leaves- hey joe
DMZ- you're gonna miss me
the monks- cuckoo
truth & janey- around and around
kim fowley- the trip
the who- so sad about us
morgen- welcome to the void
clockcleaner- vomiting mirrors
dead kennedys- buzzbomb
bhopal stiffs- product of society
sham 69- hey little rich boy
dickies- rosemary
minutemen- political nightmare
big boys- no love
roky erickson- i walked with a zombie
queen- keep yourself alive
gilberto gil & caetano veloso- bat macumba
psychic tv- good vibrations
captain beefheart- white jam
hamilton, joe frank & reynolds- don't pull your love out
plastic bertrand- ca plane pour ma