Since I have yet to see an overview of the music of 2007 on SG, I thought I’d share my top ten albums of the year.



10. Beirut – The Flying Club Cup

22-year-old bandleader Zach Condon found Paris as his muse for this album. The album takes off after a wail of horns into “Nantes,” in which Condon sings mournfully, “Well it's been a long time/long time now/since I've seen you smile/and I'll gamble away my fright... and in a year, a year or so/this will slip into the sea...” Condon’s instrumentation is joined wonderfully with an orchestra of violins, arranged by Final Fantasy’s Owen Pallett.

Favorite Tracks: “Nantes” and “Un Dernier Verre (Pour la Route)”



9. KT Tunstall – Drastic Fantastic

Tunstall’s music is what I like to call the thinking-person’s kind of pop. Her lyrics are full of meaning and her melodies are complex. Similar to her debut album, Eye to the Telescope, her second release is structured the same way. The beginning of the album is more rock-inspired, but it slows down toward the end into a few lovely ballads. Tunstall doesn’t keep the same bluesy quality she had with her first album, but turns to a more edgy-rock sound.

Favorite Tracks: “White Bird” and “Someday Soon”



8. Amy Winehouse – Back to Black

This woman was all over the tabloids in 2007 and many seem to get a good laugh out of her antics, but the girl sure can sing. This album is filled with the sounds of 1960s soul music. It’s evident that the woman has some great stories to tell, with the album beginning with the song “Rehab” and ending with “Addicted.” She knows how to grab people's attention, that's for sure.

Favorite Tracks: “You Know I’m No Good”



7. Spoon- Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

It doesn’t matter that this album has one of the goofiest titles ever—Spoon has every reason to be confident enough to give the album whatever ridiculous name they wish. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is one of the trio’s finest records and just good ‘ole fashioned rock ‘n roll.

Favorite Tracks: “Don’t Make Me a Target”



6. Iron & Wine – The Shepherd’s Dog

Sam Beam is trying new things—and he’s doing it wonderfully. He has managed to find different worlds of music with this album and incorporated a much fuller sound than his previous albums. Fortunately, his warm melodies and harmonies are not lost.

Favorite Tracks: “House by the Sea” and “Carousel”



5. The Shins – Wincing the Night Away

The Shins third release is clearly their transition from pop music that you’d listen to at home to rock music that you’d want to hear live. Although they have not lost their pop hooks that make their songs so catchy, there seems to be more confidence coming from Mercer, along with a harder sound. I wouldn’t call this their best album, but it’s definitely leading up to something great.

Favorite Tracks: “Sea Legs” and “Phantom Limb”



4. PJ Harvey – White Chalk
My previous news article gave a short review of PJ Harvey’s newest album. “White Chalk” places you in another world. The voice she uses on this album, which she calls her “church voice,” is a voice she has never used on any of her previous albums, and I enjoyed every second of it.

Favorite Tracks: “When Under Ether” and “To Talk to You”



3. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
Every time I hear Arcade Fire, it blows my mind. Neon Bible is the kind of album that can give the gift of self-discovery to anyone who listens to it, so I’m not going to even bother to describe the feelings it gave me while I listened to it.

Favorite Tracks: “Keep the Car Running” and “Neon Bible”



2. Radiohead – In Rainbows
Radiohead continues to prove themselves with this masterpiece of abstract and stimulating songs. I found something new that I loved about this album every time I listened to it. This is the prettiest Radiohead I’ve ever heard.

Favorite Tracks: “Faust Arp” and “Videotape”



1. Feist – The Reminder

This woman was in more commercials than the Noid. If her name doesn’t sound familiar, this song probably will.



Her ever-present appearances in commercials are entirely understandable because her music is phenomenal. In fact, her newest release, “The Reminder,” is the album I listened to the most in 2007. Although this album is more subtle and ballad-heavy than her others, I loved the unexpected melodies of the songs. And I just plain love the woman—she’s a goddess.


Favorite Tracks: “I Feel it All” and “1234”



There you have it--Elsie’s favorite albums of 2007. What were yours?

LOLLAPALOOZA DAY 2
Saturday August 4th, 2007 – Grant Park – Chicago, IL

The day that falls in between Friday and Sunday...

I was pretty underwhelmed by Friday’s lineup and even less enthusiastic about Saturday's, so Tito’s-and-Vitamin Waters were being consumed aggressively. However I did manage to catch a few acts that left very lasting impressions.

My day began around 2:30 p.m. when I had the good fortune of catching an overly impressive performance by former teenage wonders, Silverchair. Remember those 14-year-old Australian kids that followed the grunge scene with their own Nirvana-esque tribute? Well they’re still playing music and they’re really fucking good. Daniel Johns, frontman and husband to the beautiful Natalie Imbruglia, has traded in his boyish looks for some tats, nipple piercings, facial hair and muscles galore. The three-piece ripped through its hour long set with past and current hits (or so I’m told because, like Hanson, I thought they went away after they hit puberty) so impressively that I actually went home and downloaded (illegally from a strange Russian website) their two most recent albums. In all honesty, these guys are really, really good and deserve a listen.

I left the main stage to roam the grounds for a bit and was able to catch a couple minutes of Stephen Marley’s performance. Is it me or are all the Marley’s the same person? He was good, the crowd seemed to enjoy themselves, but I don’t smoke pot. After, I made my way to the smaller PlayStation stage to see my first hip-hop show of the festival (because I'm not sure if Mickey Avalon is actually considered hip-hop.) Rhymefest -- Kanye West’s protégé and co-writer of the Grammy Award winning “Jesus Walks” -- was about to take the stage. I really enjoyed Fest’s major label debut, Blue Collar, but had never seen him perform live so I was a bit skeptical. To me, hip-hop just doesn’t translate well live. But let me tell you something, this guy is a flat-out rock star.

Here’s what I liked about Rhymefest as a performer: great showman, funny as shit, got the crowd involved (and not just in some cheesy rap way by telling everyone to get their hands up) and actually seemed to care about what he was saying. Performance wise, Rhymefest had a full band plus horn section, amazing break dancers, a sidekick who could sing the lights out and songs that were slamming! The bottom line is that it wasn’t your typical hip-hop show. This one had it all, and then some. I’m pissed to admit that I missed the Cold War Kids show because I’m a big fan but there’s only so many shows you can see and I’ve seen the band several times before.

After the 3:30 p.m. performances ended, the skies turned dark and the air became wet so I retreated to the fancy, VIP area for more cocktails. My friend Nathan then dragged me to the smallest stage in the entire venue to see one of his “friends” perform. As I entered the Mindfield staging area I noticed two men seated with acoustic guitars. I couldn’t have been less excited about anything in my entire life. The first man introduced himself as James Marsden (the actor who plays Cyclops in the X-Men movies). The second guy introduced himself as Josh Hopkins (the actor from numerous TV shows including "Ally McBeal" and "Brothers & Sisters.") This made it even worse! I was about to watch Dogstar or 30 Odd Foot of Grunts or any of those other actor fronted bands.

Before they began, Mr. Hopkins announced to the crowd that this show was not for children and that all kids should be escorted out immediately. That’s when it got interesting. What I witnessed for the next 30 minutes made for the funniest concert I have ever been to in my life! These two pretty boys became the good looking version of Tenacious D. They sang songs about being honest to girlfriends, about pooping after swimming, about man-crushes and more. It was downright hysterical! I couldn’t get enough. I wanted more but before I knew it the show was over. Check out their video for a song called “Feigning Interest” on YouTube. You will not be disappointed.

Sadly, I missed Regina Spektor and was told she was marvelous, though I later watched her performance on the in-house feed. To be sure I didn't miss all of the fabulous female performers, I made sure I was front and center for Ms. Karen O and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I’ve seen this band on numerous occasions and always felt that the live show didn’t do the recorded music justice. Not today my friends, not today! They kicked major ass. The costume changes, the energy and the songs really made for one of the best performances of the entire festival. From the distance I could hear Spoon but my legs just didn’t seem to care so from 1/8 mile away I give their performance a B-minus.

Choosing between the night’s two headliners wasn’t really a choice, for me, at all. I like Interpol but they live in the US (so I’ll see them again) and they’re actually kind of boring. Muse is British and they play their instruments really loud and they have a massive light show. I chose Muse. Guess what? They’re British, they play their instruments really loud and they have a massive light show AND they still sound like Radiohead on speed. Good show chaps, good show.

Stay tuned for Day 3...

Check out Day 1 here...

Texan indie-rockers Spoon release their sixth and very solid full-length album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, on July 10th. However, thanks to the kind folks at the band's label, Merge Records, you can get all ga-ga now and stream the album in its entirety.

Merge has set up the 'Ga Ga Juke Box' to enable fans to preview all 10 of the set's tracks legally, ahead of its release. The album leaked to file sharing networks several weeks ago, two months ahead of its release.

So, as an added incentive to buy the album, Merge wil be bundling initial copies of Ga with Get Nice!, a twelve-track, 22-minute EP of mostly previously unreleased material, which, fortunately for the band and label, has not leaked.

Britt Daniel & Co. will be touring in support of Ga through the fall. The tour hits Manchester, Tennesee's Bonnaroo Festival tomorrow.

Spoon 2007 Tour Dates

Recommended VIewing:
Spoon's "The Ghost Of You Lingers", from the forthcoming Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.

July 10th is the date set for the release of Spoon's playfully titled sixth album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Though the album's title might be grabbing for smiles, Britt Daniel & Co. seem to have not exhausted of the darker sound they explored on Ga's predecessor, 2005's Gimme Fiction.

The first track to leak from the album is the approriately titiled "The Ghost Of You Lingers". The track is sans drums, just a spare piano accompanied by Daniel's spectral vocals oohing over occasional white-noise disruptions. The song requires repeated listens for full effect, but it's some of Daniel's best and most sincere-sounding work to date. And you probably won't be hearing this one in Jaguar commericals. Linger over here to get your Ghost on.

Spoon have several festival appearances lined-up for the summer, with regular tour dates likely to follow in the fall.

2007 Spoon Dates:

Recommended Viewing:
Mr. Daniel's cameo on the CW's Veronica Mars. He covers Costello.

Saquatch! Music Festival is poised to step out from the shadow of bigger American music festivals such as Coachella and Bonnaroo this year. The Washington State festival is running strong in it's sixth year and Sasqautch! organizers have snagged the likes of Björk, The Arcade Fire, M.I.A., Spoon, and Interpol for this year's 2-day run. Additional acts will be added over the coming weeks

The festival will take place over Mermorial Day weekend (May 26-27) at George, Washington's Gorge Ampitheatre and will host over 50 artists spread out over three stages.

In addition to the amazing line up, the organizers have decided to go green and make this year's festival carbon neutral.

Tickets for Sasquatch! go on sale March 3rd via Ticketmaster or Livenation.com.

Confirmed Line Up:

Spoon are in the homestretch of finishing up their newest LP. The follow-up to Gimme Fiction should be ready for an April or May release from Merge records. According to Britt Daniels, things are really starting to gel in the studio.

Daniel says the musical direction isn't clear to him yet, but the producer considers it a new direction for the band.

The band are hopeful for a November deadline, and will focus all their efforts on studio work until the LP is completed. There is a show in Austin for December 1st, at a small festival with Peaches, Dead Meadow and Octopus Project, but no further scheduling will be made until the band have wrapped up the album.

Of the new album, Daniel suggests fans will likely be familiar with songs "Don't Make Me a Target" and "Rhythm and Soul," which have become live staples during Spoon's live dates over the past year.