Spring Break
Hill and Rice present the best albums of 2007
Issue date: 12/10/07 Section: Entertainment
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By Cole Hill
Entertainment Editor
cghill@smu.edu
Every tiny hair on the back of my neck stands at attention; sweat begins to build, I can't stand the anticipation. Where are all the articles proclaiming this year in music as "one for the record books"?
At least, that's what I thought the routine was. The intermittent "Texas cold" of December hits and every critic with a burgeoning CD collection and a Spin subscription starts a blog just to tell everyone how important the year has been. But maybe I'm just cynical. Britney dropped a new album. The Police did a reunion tour. Amy Winehouse went to rehab and sang about it. Even the long-dormant Radiohead released a new album, and, by doing so, as a download over the Internet for whatever price the customer chooses, may have changed the record business. Who said rock 'n' roll was dead?
Yes, 2007 sure has been one hell of a year for music. And since this is the season for giving, I'm going to make your holiday shopping a lot easier. Here are the top 10 records for 2007.
1. Spoon, "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga"
With the song-writing prowess of legends in the making and a reputation as one of the most important and constantly surprising bands in indie-rock, Austinites Spoon are already a powerhouse. But on the band's sixth full-length album, the irreverently titled "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga," Spoon isn't just catchy. The band is unstoppable. Guitars crash and swoon with the jangly fervor of bohemian beach jams on tunes like "Don't You Evah." Singer-songwriter Brit Daniel has never written deeper or more rewarding notes than on hip-shakers like The Police-tinged "Eddie's Ragga" or the Bowie-laden rhythms of "Finer Feelings." Spoon has created one of the most engaging and impressively innovative pop records in years.
2. Elliott Smith, "New Moon"
Four years ago when prolific singer-songwriter Elliott Smith took his own life, music stood still. And while Smith might not be as well known as other artists who've died young, he's no less important. "New Moon," Smith's posthumous presentation of 24 previously unreleased songs recorded between 1994 and 1997, proves just that. It may not have all of the jaw-dropping tunes that albums like "Either/Or" pulsed and trembled with, but it's impossible to deny Smith's intense, heartbreaking sincerity. Here for the first time are the original demos to songs like the Oscar-nominated "Miss Misery." And new uncovered tunes like the sarcastic fingerpicking in "Big Decision" and the remorsefully strummed "All Cleaned Out" are instant classics.
Entertainment Editor
cghill@smu.edu
Every tiny hair on the back of my neck stands at attention; sweat begins to build, I can't stand the anticipation. Where are all the articles proclaiming this year in music as "one for the record books"?
At least, that's what I thought the routine was. The intermittent "Texas cold" of December hits and every critic with a burgeoning CD collection and a Spin subscription starts a blog just to tell everyone how important the year has been. But maybe I'm just cynical. Britney dropped a new album. The Police did a reunion tour. Amy Winehouse went to rehab and sang about it. Even the long-dormant Radiohead released a new album, and, by doing so, as a download over the Internet for whatever price the customer chooses, may have changed the record business. Who said rock 'n' roll was dead?
Yes, 2007 sure has been one hell of a year for music. And since this is the season for giving, I'm going to make your holiday shopping a lot easier. Here are the top 10 records for 2007.
1. Spoon, "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga"
With the song-writing prowess of legends in the making and a reputation as one of the most important and constantly surprising bands in indie-rock, Austinites Spoon are already a powerhouse. But on the band's sixth full-length album, the irreverently titled "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga," Spoon isn't just catchy. The band is unstoppable. Guitars crash and swoon with the jangly fervor of bohemian beach jams on tunes like "Don't You Evah." Singer-songwriter Brit Daniel has never written deeper or more rewarding notes than on hip-shakers like The Police-tinged "Eddie's Ragga" or the Bowie-laden rhythms of "Finer Feelings." Spoon has created one of the most engaging and impressively innovative pop records in years.
2. Elliott Smith, "New Moon"
Four years ago when prolific singer-songwriter Elliott Smith took his own life, music stood still. And while Smith might not be as well known as other artists who've died young, he's no less important. "New Moon," Smith's posthumous presentation of 24 previously unreleased songs recorded between 1994 and 1997, proves just that. It may not have all of the jaw-dropping tunes that albums like "Either/Or" pulsed and trembled with, but it's impossible to deny Smith's intense, heartbreaking sincerity. Here for the first time are the original demos to songs like the Oscar-nominated "Miss Misery." And new uncovered tunes like the sarcastic fingerpicking in "Big Decision" and the remorsefully strummed "All Cleaned Out" are instant classics.
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