KEXP's Top 90.3 of 2007

It’s hard to capture a year of music in just twenty-five songs, so I augmented the calendar with a Rhapsody playlist for KEXP’s annual countdown of the top albums of the year as voted on by listeners. I also tried to find a YouTube link or other streaming source for each song in the KEXP countdown.

Band names are linked to their MySpace page, which is always a great place to check out some songs if YouTube isn’t cooperating and you aren’t a Rhapsody convert.

2007 KEXP Top 90.3

1. Radiohead* – “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” – In Rainbows

I like In Rainbows just fine, and “Bodysnatchers” almost made the calendar, but I left them off in favor of lesser-known material.

On November 9^th, Radiohead did a webcast of them DJing and playing some songs. The between-song commentary by Adam Buxton is pretty hilarious. After “Bodysnatchers” at the 6:40 point, he says, “There’s Thom Yorke…Thom, of course, absolutely hates…cats…people…trucks…there’s a long list...” lol

2. Arcade Fire – “No Cars Go” – Neon Bible
3. The National – “Mistaken For Strangers” – Boxer
4. Band Of Horses – “Ode to LRC (Album)” – Cease To Begin
5. LCD Soundsystem – “North American Scum” – Sound Of Silver
6. M.I.A. – “Paper Planes” – Kala
7. Spoon – “Black Like Me” – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
8. The Shins – “Turn On Me” – Wincing The Night Away
9. Feist – “My Moon My Man” – The Reminder

The iPod Effect helped “1 2 3 4” become a big hit. 6.1M YouTube views!

10. Wilco – “What Light” – Sky Blue Sky
11. Iron & Wine – “Boy With a Coin” – The Shepherd’s Dog
12. Beirut – “Nantes” – The Flying Club Cup

Great live version…

13. White Stripes – “Icky Thump” – Icky Thump

I was gonna go with “Rag And Bone” if the Stripes made the calendar, but you can’t deny “Icky Thump” and its 3.2M views.

14. Okkervil River – “Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe” – The Stage Names

I hated leaving “Plus Ones” off the calendar. Let’s add “songs that cleverly reference other songs” to the long list of things for which I am a sucker. “Plus ones” refers to songs with numbers in their titles, but with one added (17 Candles, 100 Red Balloons, etc.).

15. Modest Mouse – “Dashboard” – We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank

1.5M YT views.

16. Pela – “Lost To The Lonesome” – Anytown Graffiti
17. Amy Winehouse – “You Know I'm No Good” – Back to Black

Of course, “Rehab” was her big hit (10.5M YT views). To see why she might need it, check out her performance of “Beat It.”

18. Blue Scholars – “North By Northwest” – Bayani

Fantastic local hip hop.

19. New Pornographers – “Challengers” – Challengers
20. Jose Gonzalez – “Down The Line” – In Our Nature

The album also has a great cover of Massive Attack’s “Teardrop.”

21. Kings Of Leon – “On Call” – Because Of The Times
22. Vampire Weekend* – “The Kids Don't Stand a Chance” – Vampire Weekend

Some of their other songs can be found on their myspace page, but they won’t have an official release until this year sometime.

23. Andrew Bird – “Heretics” – Armchair Apocrypha
24. Animal Collective – “Peacebone” – Strawberry Jam
25. Menomena** – “The Pelican” – Friend & Foe
26. Jens Lekman – “The Opposite of Hallelujah” – Night Falls Over Kortedala

A fuller-sounding live version but with lower sound quality.

27. Panda Bear – “I'm Not” – Person Pitch
28. Of Montreal – “She's A Rejecter” – Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
29. Interpol – “The Heinrich Maneuver” – Our Love To Admire
30. Yeasayer – “Sunrise” – All Hour Cymbals
31. Blonde Redhead – “Spring And By Summer Fall” – 23
32. The Cave Singers – “Dancing On Our Graves” – Invitation Songs
33. Tegan and Sara – “Back In Your Head” – The Con
34. Cloud Cult – “Please Remain Calm” – The Meaning Of 8

Check the calendar entry, their home page, or their MySpace page for listening samples.

35. The Blakes – “Don't Bother Me” (MySpace) – The Blakes
36. Kanye West – “Stronger” – Graduation

Great use of Daft Punk samples, 20.4M YT views! Highest YouTube count on the list, I think.

37. Maps – “So Low, So High” – We Can Create

Not the greatest sound quality, but a great song worth checking out. MySpace has some others.

38. !!!* – “A New Name” – Myth Takes
39. Bright Eyes – “Four Winds” – Cassadaga

This song reminds me of Lonesome-Jubilee-era Mellencamp. It’s the fiddle.

40. Shane Tutmarc & The Traveling Mercies* – “Across The River” – I’m Gonna Live The Life I Sing About In My Song
41. The Avett Brothers – “Will You Return” – Emotionalism
42. Bishop Allen – “Click, Click, Click, Click” – The Broken String
43. Battles* – “Atlas” – Mirrored
44. Editors – “An End Has A Start” – An End Has A Start
45. Fujiya & Miyagi – “In One Ear & Out The Other” – Transparent Things
46. Justice – “D.A.N.C.E.” – Cross
47. Sharon Jones And The Dap Kings – “100 Days, 100 Nights” – 100 Days, 100 Nights
48. Pinback – “Walters” – Autumn Of The Seraphs
49. Arctic Monkeys – “D Is For Dangerous” – Favourite Worst Nightmare
50. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – “Weapon Of Choice” – Baby 81
51. Rogue Wave – “Like I Needed” – Asleep At Heaven’s Gate

Love this band, love “Lake Michigan.”

52. Bloc Party – “The Prayer [Album Version]” – A Weekend In The City
53. P.J. Harvey – “The Devil” – White Chalk
54. Shout Out Louds – “Tonight I Have To Leave It” – Our Ill Wills
55. Elliott Smith – “All Cleaned Out” – New Moon
56. The Twilight Sad – “And She Would Darken The Memory” – Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters
57. Dinosaur Jr – “This Is All I Came To Do – Beyond
58. Grinderman – “(I Don't Need You To) Set Me Free” – Grinderman
59. Bruce Springsteen – “Gypsy Biker” – Magic
60. Eddie Vedder – “Rise” – Into The Wild (Soundtrack)
61. Burial – “Archangel” – Untrue
62. Explosions In The Sky – “Welcome, Ghosts” – All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone
63. The Hold Steady – “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window? ” – I’m Not There (Soundtrack)
64. Stars – “The Night Starts Here” – In Our Bedroom After The War
65. Ryan Adams – “Tears Of Gold” – Easy Tiger
66. The Good, The Bad And The Queen – “Herculean” – The Good, The Bad & The Queen
67. Les Savy Fav – “The Equestrian” – Let's Stay Friends
68. The Valley* – “Come Down” – The Valley
69. Caribou – “Melody Day” – Andorra
70. Devendra Banhart – “Tonada Yanomaminista” – Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Mountain

Here’s a vid for “Sea Horse,” also from this album.

71. The Apples in Stereo – “7 Stars” – New Magnetic Wonder

“Energy” was high on my list of candidates for the calendar…

72. Sunset Rubdown – “The Taming of the Hands that Came Back” – Random Spirit Lover

“Winged/Wicked Things” is up on YouTube…

73. Minus the Bear – “Knights” – Planet Of Ice
74. White Rabbits – “The Plot” – Fort Nightly
75. Tullycraft – “The Punks Are Writing Love Songs” (MySpace) – Every Scene Needs A Center
76. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – “Satan Said Dance” – Some Loud Thunder
77. Black Francis – “Threshold Apprehension” – Blue Finger
78. Arthur & Yu – “The Ghost Of Old Bull Lee” – In Camera
79. Elvis Perkins – “While You Were Sleeping” – Ash Wednesday
80. Sigur Ros – “Hljomalind” – Hvarf/Heim
81. Björk – “Innocence” – Volta

“Earth Intruders” also good!

82. Grizzly Bear* – “Little Brother (Electric)” (MP3 Stream) – Friend
83. Deerhoof – “+81” – Friend Opportunity
84. Ted Leo – “The Sons Of Cain” (MP3 Stream) – Living With The Living
85. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Isis” – Is Is

“Kiss Kiss” is available for listening at their MySpace page.

86. Aesop Rock – “None Shall Pass” – None Shall Pass
87. Blitzen Trapper – “Wild Mountain Nation” – Wild Mountain Nation
88. Film School – “Dear Me” – Hideout
89. St. Vincent – “Now Now” – Marry Me
90. Kevin Drew – “Safety Bricks” – Spirit If…

“Backed Out On The…” is the most-listened-to Rhapsody track from this album.

91. Nine Inch Nails – “In This Twilight” – Year Zero

“Capital G” is the most-listened-to Rhapsody track from this album.

*Album not available on Rhapsody

**Song not available on Rhapsody, alternate available song used

Christmas - Menomena

Merry Christmas!

“Evil Bee”* – Menomena – Friend and Foe

Menomena is one of those bands that reminds me here and there of any number of bands, but without ever failing to sound like Menomena. When I listen to Friend and Foe, I hear Radiohead, Elbow, the Flaming Lips, Morphine (OK, “baritone sax”), a touch of Floyd…but whatever influences Menomena have, they warp and twist them into a new, unique beast that is way more than the sum of its parts.

Menomena do the “loud-quiet-loud” thing to great effect, although it may be more accurately described as “drums-no drums-drums.” I haven’t been this spellbound by a drumming performance on an album since I first heard Who’s Next. Danny Seim is an absolute animal, and more often than not, the tone and feel of any given moment of any given song on Friend and Foe is dictated by what Seim is doing (or not doing) to his kit. Check out “Muscle’n Flo” below to see what I mean.

“Evil Bee” is the crowning achievement on an album loaded with great material, though. I love every moment on this song, from the subtle slow build to the triumphant climax, the shifting instrumentation and harrowing lyrics. “Oh to be a machine, oh to be wanted, to be useful.” There’s something depressingly profound in that thought; I don’t think I’ve heard a better lyric all year. The video lives up to the song as well, full of allegory and subtext about the plight of the worker in addition to just looking incredible.

If allegory and profundity isn’t your thing, try the “Rotten Hell” video, which is a cafeteria food fight filmed in slow motion. That’s just as brilliant, but in a completely different way.

Oh, and “Boyscoutin’” has a whistling part! Another one for that playlist…

“Rotten Hell”

“Muscle’n Flo”

*”Evil Bee” and most of Friend and Foe are not on Rhapsody, unfortunately, so I’m putting the one song on the album that is on Rhapsody on the Rhapsody advent playlist, “Wet And Rusting.”

24 - Of Montreal

“Bunny Ain’t No Kind Of Rider”

(scroll to the bottom of the page for a streaming link to it)

“Bunny Ain’t No Kind Of Rider” – Of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?

Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer is a slanted, manic-depressive, dance-pop masterpiece on which the music provides the mania and the lyrics the depression. I have a playlist called “Awful Things Sung About Cheerfully,” and almost every track on this album could make the cut for it. Euphoric, “you must dance!” music coupled with troubled, demon-wrestling lyrics abound.

On “A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger,” (youtube video below) a bouncy, Erasure-like intro builds to the brightly-sung opening line, “I spent the winter on the verge of a total breakdown while living in Norway.” “Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse” is a plea to faulty brain chemistry, on which Kevin Barnes begs, “Come on mood shift/shift back to good again/come on, be a friend.”

My favorite song on the album is “Bunny Ain’t No Kind Of Rider,” which starts in fuzzy chaos, sneaks in a dance beat and bass line underneath the haze, builds it up to the vocals, and finally bursts into a clean, sharp chorus that will stick in your head for weeks.

I hope Mr. Barnes managed to exercise some demons through this album, because I’m pretty sure I gained a few from it.

A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger

Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse

23 - Cloud Cult

“Take Your Medicine”

“Take Your Medicine” – Cloud Cult – The Meaning Of 8

“Take Your Medicine” emanates a desperate sadness; it sounds like a man pacing his room, talking to himself in the mirror, trying to cope with a personal tragedy. The repeated lines used brilliantly throughout the song dramatically reinforce that feeling.

Craig Minowa, Cloud Cult’s primary creative force, lost his two-year-old son in 2002, so this is a man who knows his desperate sadness. It shows on much of his work since—particularly on tracks like “Take Your Medicine,” which have a powerful emotional impact without context, and can absolutely bring you to your knees when framed by the personal history of the artist.

A couple of other great Cloud Cult songs that were on YouTube:

“Chemicals Collide”

“Pretty Voice” (Live)

22 - The Shins

“Sea Legs” – The Shins – Wincing The Night Away

I've been waiting six years for James Mercer to write this song. "Sea Legs" sounds like Oh Inverted World properly evolved, with the Shins expanding their sound and scope to Decemberists-level heights. Instead of the quick three-minute burst typical of the songs from the first two Shins albums, Mercer allowed “Sea Legs” to stretch and expand over five minutes, gliding in and out of different movements, and the result is one of the finest songs he has ever written.

21 - Kings Of Leon

“Ragoo” – Kings Of Leon – Because Of The Times

This is one of those songs I knew I was going to love after six seconds, that guitar part is just too beautiful. I like where Kings of Leon are taking this whole southern rock thing...

OK, I don’t have a ton more to say about this song besides "I love it," so I’m going to use this time to bring up the subject of capitalization standards in music. Early on in my life, I noticed that the words normally left lowercase in things like book titles were capitalized when it came to music (see Kings Of Leon). Song titles on records and CDs capitalized every word, and I never understood why it was different for music. I adopted that standard anyway because, well, it seemed to be the standard, and then I got used to it.

In the Internet Age, you see it both ways. I still feel that by “official standards,” capitalizing all the letters in song titles, band names, and album titles is “correct,” but I still have no idea why or how this came about. Maybe I’ll go google it for a bit and report back in the comments, but if anyone has any insights or thoughts on this, I’d be interested in hearing them.

20 - Yeasayer

“Red Cave”

“Red Cave” – Yeasayer – All Hour Cymbals

Wow, I am totally running out of slots. This is my final “flex” day, the rest of the calendar is pretty well set. I guess I’ll have a long list of alternates to share after Christmas, but for now I have to stick with my obscurity tiebreaker and go with Yeasayer’s “Red Cave.”

Yeasayer is four guys who sound like twenty with their intriguing blend of folk, multi-part gospel-style harmonies, Middle-Eastern instrumentation, polyrhythms, and good ol’ poppy hooks. There are many fine tracks on this album, but besides having a building, big-sounding choral thing going on which I can’t resist, the sentiment of the closing lyrics on “Red Cave” put it over the top for the holiday season.

“I’m so blessed to pass the good times/With my family and the friends I love/In my short life I have met/So many people I deeply care for.”

Despite the theme of this whole endeavor, I’m not big on religion (even the Church of the Red Cave), but I can certainly “amen” that...