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The Songfactors' Choice: The Very Best of 2007!


Lucky

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WELCOME TO THE SONGFACTOR'S CHOICE: THE VERY BEST OF 2007!

*ALL MEMBERS OF SONGFACTS ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO PARTICIPATE * Please join us, and share your knowledge and your love of the thing that keeps SONGFACTS the community we all know and love. MUSIC ! The basic guidelines are simple....

* The Songfactors' Music of Choice will be decided by your nominations and votes. For each edition we'll ask that you nominate 1 OR 2 selections that meet the guidelines for that edition.

* With each nomination, we'll ask that you give us a review, a few thoughts or just a description of how your selection makes you feel. No one is being graded on their writing here. What we want is for you to share your knowledge and feelings about the music you love.

* Each edition will about 3 weeks. At the end of that time, we'll ask you to vote. You know how that works! These lists will number 5, so we'll ask that you compile your list of 5 choices for the final Songfactor's Music of Choice. We will tally them, just like The Songfactors' Choice Top Ten, 1 through 5. At the close of voting, we will have our Songfactors' Music of Choice.

* Be as creative with this as you'd like. We want to encourage an exchange of thoughts, so this will be a place to learn about and enjoy the nominations, as well as the final choices. The guidelines will change with each edition.

....So, Welcome To.....

THE SONGFACTORS' CHOICE: THE VERY BEST OF 2007!

**HAPPY NEW YEAR ! This is the very first edition of 2008. So, for that reason (and yes, just because everyone else is doing it, why shouldn't we?), this month we'll highlight the best New Releases of 2007. New band, old band, new songs, or old, we don't care. What were you listening to in 2007? What did you spend your money on? What was released that you haven't gotten around to yet, but would love to? We'd like to know!

PLEASE, GIVE US YOUR NOMINATIONS NOW! :thumbsup:

:headphones:

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Oh this is easy for me Lucky!....definitely "Long Road Out Of Eden"....The Eagles

I'm not good on reviews...so I'll just say that for a band that has been around for decades to come back with an album like this is awesome..they still have all the great harmony that they always have had....not to mention the amazing talent that this band has...a great bunch of musicians that I always enjoy listening to...

Heard It On The XM gave a very nice review on this album in the "Album Reviews Thread" also... :thumbsup:

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It's no easy feat for a band to come back from decades on hiatus and sound just as good as they did in their heyday. Just ask Donald Fagen and Walter Becker about that.

But this past week, Steely Dan became mere pikers, having waited "only" 20 years (1980-2000) between studio albums. That mark has now been shattered by four of their '70s contemporaries, Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit. After a 28-year absence (1979-2007) interrupted only by a few studio tracks on 1994's mostly live Hell Freezes Over, The Eagles finally have a CD of all-new material on store shelves.

Actually, make that two CDs. Long Road Out Of Eden is a double set, a rarity for studio albums these days. The first CD is mostly country-oriented soft rock, reminiscent of the band's early years, while the second CD has a harder, more straightforward sound and sociopolitically laden lyrics, a la Hotel California or The Long Run, or much of Henley's solo material.

The album begins on an unexpected note with the melancholy a capella "No More Walks In The Wood", quite a contrast with the song it leads into, the J.D. Souther rocker "How Long" which is the album's first single. Much of the rest of Disc 1 is devoted to low-key countrified tunes about lost love, growing older and finding hope in times of despair. I found Henley and Steuart Smith's "Waiting In The Weeds" to be especially poignant. Two other high-energy tracks, Walsh's "Guilty Of The Crime" and Henley and Frey's "Fast Company" keep the first half of the set from being too much of a downer.

Disc 2 kicks off with the epic title track, a 10-minute critique of both the war in Iraq and the decline of the American way in the face of materialism and the demands of empire. The latter has been a recurring theme throughout Henley's songwriting career in particular, and turns up twice more on the second disc of this set, in "Frail Grasp On The Big Picture" and "Business As Usual" (the latter track also features a pointed jab at President Bush). Henley's sharp lyricism, polished over several solo albums recorded during the band's dormancy, abounds on both discs but really comes through on these three tracks.

"I Dreamed There Was No War", its title notwithstanding, can't really be called an antiwar protest song because, well, it's an instrumental piece, and a very short one at that, clocking in at a mere 1:37. With no lyrics and an easygoing melody, the listener is simply left to take from Frey's composition what he or she will. Other highlights of Disc 2 include "Last Good Time In Town", which can only be described as vintage Joe Walsh, and the closing track "It's Your World Now", a farewell song that is kept from becoming too maudlin by the addition of a mariachi horn section (presumably Walsh's idea; when I heard it the first thing that came to mind was "Life Of Illusion"), but nonetheless would represent a fine sendoff for this legendary group, if indeed this is to be their final studio effort together.

Fans of The Eagles, and of old-school classic rock in general, have literally waited a generation for this album to arrive. Long Road Out Of Eden won't blow them or anyone else away, but it should definitely leave them satisfied.

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Fiiine, I'll start :/ *ahem*

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Favourite Worst Nightmare - Arctic Monkeys

First... some referenced praise from the Wiki:

In its first week following release the album sold over 220,000 copies, emulating Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not in going straight to number one in the UK Albums Chart... Favourite Worst Nightmare's first day sales of 85,000 outsold the rest of the Top 20 combined, while all twelve tracks from the album entered the top 200 of the UK Singles Chart in their own right.

Then.... The first singles off the album:

Brianstorm

Fluorescent Adolescent

Followed by my favourite:

Do Me A Favour

And as a bonus... a review off allmusic which gave the album four and a half stars out of five.

The Arctic Monkeys surely showed potential on Whatever People Say I Am, but their youthful vigor often camouflaged their debt to other bands. Here, they're absorbing their influences, turning their liberal borrowings from the Libertines, the Strokes, and the Jam into something that's their own distinct identity. Unlike any of those three bands, however, the Arctic Monkeys haven't stumbled on their second album; they haven't choked on hubris, they haven't overthought their sophomore salvo, nor have they cranked it out too quickly. That constant year of work resulted in startling growth as the band is testing the limits of what they can do and where they can go. Favourite Worst Nightmare hardly abandons the pleasures of their debut but instead frantically expands upon them. They still have a kinetic nervous energy, but this isn't a quartet that bashes out simply three-chord rock & roll. The Monkeys may start with an infectious riff, but then they'll violently burst into jagged yet tightly controlled blasts of post-punk squalls, or they'll dress a verse with circular harmonies as they do at the end of "Fluorescent Adolescent." Their signature is precision, evident in their concise songs, deftly executed instrumental interplay, and the details within Turner's wry wordplay, which is clever but never condescending. Indeed, the remarkable thing about the Arctic Monkeys -- which Favourite Worst Nightmare brings into sharp relief -- is their genuine guilelessness, how they restructure classic rock clichés in a way that pays little mind to how things were done in the past, and that all goes back to their youth.

Vote for the Chilled Chimpanzees! :rockon: :rockon:

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I'll just nominate one for now:

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Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam

In my opinion, this is easily the most creative and important album to be released in 2007, and one of the best of the decade. When I listen to this album, I feel like I was just born and I'm exploring the world for the first time. Does that sound cheesey or cliche? I hope not, because nothing about this album is cheesey or cliche. This album is strange and beautiful, filled with chaos and glee, and extremely multi-dimensional and wonderful. Despite the album being so weird and out there, Animal Collective is able to turn their strange sound into catchy pop hooks, or beautiful melodies.

There is no band (including Animal Collective) that has ever made an album that sounds like this, so it's difficult to say who would enjoy this album. I think it appeals to a certain type of person rather than a certain taste in music, because really, this album transcends music. I cannot even believe this music was created by humans. Hell, I can't believe it was made in this existence. "Strawberry Jam" came from somewhere beyond, somewhere I hope to someday be.

I hope that didn't set expectations too high. Check out Peacebone and Fireworks with headphones on that are so loud they surround your entire existence.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=W6KPDWNAPBU

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Actually I'll also nominate Dan Deacon's album "Spiderman of the Rings." I'll be honest, the first time I heard this album I thought it was some kind of hipster joke. I saw the video for The Crystal Cat which featured silly images that you might find on late night public access channels, with a chubby, dorky, bald dude singing in a cartoonish voice over crazy synths and a sound so wild no sober person would dare dance to it.

Since that listen, I've realized that Dan Deacon is actually freaking awesome. I was initially turned off by the fact that he does not take himself seriously in the slightest, but now that is the very reason I love this album. The album overflows with manic glee and unaldutred happiness. It's actually sort of beautiful and touching, in a weird way.

Since I like to describe music with metaphors, here's one for Dan Deacon: Imagine a group of little boys who on little Jimmy's 8th birthday are playing nintendo and running around the house all night, fueled by twinkies, frosted flakes, mountain dew, dominoes pizza with cinnasticks, and the kind of innocent happiness that is only found in this sort of situation. That is what Dan Deacon's music sounds like.

Here's "The Crystal Cat"

Woody Woodpecker

Edited by Guest
added cover :)
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here you all can get some ideas :)

artists that released albums in 2007 include

John Mellencamp, Smithereens, Norah Jones, Van Morrison, The Stooges, Joss Stone, Neil Young, David Bowie, Joe Cocker, Black Sabbath, Martina McBride, Patti Smith, REO Speedwagon, Rush, Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen (& The Session Band), The Police, Deep Purple, Ringo Starr, Joni Mitchell, Annie Lennox, Bruce Springsteen (& The E-Street Band), Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and many many more... ;)

I think everybody can find something :) ;)

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Now thanks to Martin......To be honest, old fogey that I am, I didn't buy a single album last year. There were lots that I heard about however, that I wanted to buy. Now you've put them all in one place. I was going to go looking for just such a list... :thumbsup:

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and quite a few of them released Best Ofs / Live Compilations ;)

New band, old band, new songs, or old, we don't care. What was released that you haven't gotten around to yet, but would love to? We'd like to know!

just browse a bit, I'm sure you can think of something :thumbsup:

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btw, thanks Batman for some great choices :thumbsup: :bow:

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Era Vulgaris ~ Queens of the Stone Age

Josh Homme is a man of many talents, but he's not quite a man of his time. He floats outside of it, sniping and sneering at it, but he's not part of it -- he's too in love with rock & roll to belong to a decade that's seeing the music's slow decline. You could say that Queens of the Stone Age keep rock's flame burning, but unlike other new-millennium true believers -- like Jack White, for instance -- Homme lacks pop skills or even the interest in crossing over (which isn't the same thing as lacking hooks, mind you), and unlike the stoner metal underground that provided his training ground, he's not insular; he thrives on grand visions and grander sound. He's an anomaly, a keeper of the flame that will never be played on Little Steven's Rock & Roll Underground because Queens of the Stone Age are too heavy, too muso, too tasteless in all the wrong ways to be commonly accepted or embraced as among the next generation of rock heroes -- which only makes them more rock & roll, of course. And if rock & roll is indeed in decline in the 2000s, Homme and his Queens of the Stone Age prove that rock & roll can nevertheless be just as potent as it ever was with each of their remarkable albums.

Sick, Sick, Sick

I'm Designer (Live)

Make It Wit Chu

7's & 9's

:rockon:

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I like QOTSA but I sort of feel like you only need one album by them, and that is "Songs for the Deaf." It's not that their other albums aren't good, it's just that with one album you pretty much get the idea, and IMO Songs for the Deaf is their best.

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Songs for the Deaf definitely is their best album, no question :) but everyone of them has its own appealing sides... "Make it Wit Chu" and "I'm Designer" are songs that you wouldn't have found on a previous album... (of course that can be good or bad ;) )

anyway, may it be because I'm a fan or because I didn't get too many new albums in 07 (less than a dozen I think) - this one was a real highlight :)

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Well, I'll put one in now seeing as we're scrounging for nominations.

In Rainbows - Radiohead

radiohead_in_rainbows2.jpg

Even if you completely disregard the shock waves they sent through the recording industry (I bought this on cd, so it didn't effect me), this is a work of brilliance. Of course it is, it's Radiohead. Finally they manage a satisfying blend of their eclecticism that can please any fan of the band and serve as a great primer to those new to them. It's a fairly mellow album all the way through, for the most part, yet it still retains an edge.

Sample tracks:

Bodysnatchers Thom Yorke has compared the sound of this track to Wolfmother, which is an apt comparison, if Wolfmother were taken over by a schizophrenic robots.

Weird Fishes/Arpeggi Do you think Radiohead are Velvet Underground fans? Kudos for including the name of the dominant musical structure of the song in the song title.

Faust Arp The counterbalance between the frenetic lyrical delivery/acoustic guitar and the swirling strings certainly do lend a Faustian air to this song.

Jigsaw Falling Into Place A song that manages to rock even when driven by an acoustic guitar and a rolling bassline.

I'm almost tempted to include the entire album on here, just because I can't pick any to leave off, but I need to stop. If you like these, look up the rest or get the album.

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PJ HARVEY "WHITE CHALK"

"White Chalk"

"Grow Grow Grow"

"The Devil"

"The Piano"

"Silence"

"When Under Ether"

"Dear Darkness"

"The Mountain"

Link To: Further Album Info

LINKS TO SOME REVIEWS OF "WHITE CHALK"

"MusicOMH.com"

"UNCUT"

"DrownedInSound"

IN CONCLUSION:

Imagine the saddest thing you've ever heard, then douse it in tears, swathe it in heartbreak, and drop it into the seventh circle of hell. Yes, it's that moving and, also, marvellous.

Edited by Guest
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this is one of the examples you talked about it the other thread: I had heard of her, but I never consciously heard it...

I like it :)

she reminds me a bit of Björk... not in her music obviously, but in her additude and style if that makes sense :P :)

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