Maso’s Music Moments 2007

I’ve been meaning to write this for some time now, ever since reading Locamama’s post of a similar nature Link I liked her list as it reflected a good range of music and also her particular tastes, which is what a good list should do. I am hoping my list will do the same.

But first of all, as a comparison , following is a list of the Top 10 selling albums of 2007 here in Australia.

1. Call Me Irresponsible - Michael Buble
2. I'm Not Dead - P!nk
3. Future Sex/Love Sounds - Justin Timberlake
4. On A Clear Night - Missy Higgins *
5. The Dutchess - Fergie
6. Dream Days At The Hotel Existence - Powderfinger *
7. Grand National - The John Butler Trio *
8. Long Road Out Of Eden - Eagles
9. Young Modern - Silverchair *
10. Timbaland Presents: Shock Value - Timbaland

I’m pleased to say of the ten bands, four are Australian (for those who don’t know, I’ve put an asterix next to the Aussie artists). For the record (sorry, bad pun, I know) I don’t own any of these albums. This is not because I don’t like any of these artists. I’ve simply found other music I’m more interested in having.

While it is not surprising to see The Eagles in this list, given how popular they still are, but I am surprised to see Michael Buble, with an album of covers, at the number one spot. Yes, sure, the man can hold a tune but it concerns me to see this as I know there are so many good, original songs being written. As far as I’m concerned, Buble is doing the industry a disservice releasing this record. But I’m not here to beat the music industry up again.

As a discussion point, though, this list provides some good fodder. I wonder how the commercial charts from other countries compare to this. I’d be interested and if anyone could pass this on, I’d appreciate it.

Looking back at the music I brought and loved in the last 12 months, I surprised myself because I realised a good percentage of the music I purchased in 2007 is actually not new or is in compilation form. For instance, this year I got the Best of Talking Heads: Once In A Lifetime. I have this (and other Talking Heads) on vinyl but not on CD. I found their music still as vital and relevant today as it was ***shudder*** 20 years ago.

Others included Thin Lizzy’s Greatest Hits, The Specials Singles, The Church’s Greatest Hits, Cold Chisel’s Greatest Hits and Curtis Mayfieid’s soundtrack to Superfly. While I’m mentioning soundtracks, I also saw David Chapelle’s Block Party and immediately went out and got the soundtrack too. While the soundtrack is great, seeing the performances in context of the movie is much better. If you want to see some real hip hop instead of the blinging, booty-shaking crap regurgitated by MTV, check this movie out.

On the compilation side, I picked up some great collections this year. My favourites would have to be the 4 CD Dub Anthology Collection, which is simply superb, a collection called The World’s Rarest Funk 45s, a collection of rare New Orleans funk, a collection titled Super Disco Funk and a great free collection from Mojo magazine of rare reggae tracks. In fact, at least half the compilations I got in 2007 came from the front of British music magazines (which, by the way, are the best in the world).

But lets get to my picks for the year. Some of the following weren’t released in 2007 but close enough to it to count, in my books.

1. Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare – these lads prove they’re more than passing sensations with a followup album chock full of great licks and smart, funny lyrics. Alex Turner could very well be the ‘new’ Paul Weller.

2. The Bumblebeez – Prince Umberto and the Sister of Ill – This Aussie band are a brother and sister from a little town called Braidwood in New South Wales. Their music is categorised as ‘Electronica and Dance’, which does it absolutely no justice whatsoever. It is crazy, fun, sexy, stimulating and cool as fuck. I haven’t heard anything quite like this since I first heard Beck. They also released my favourite music video of the year for a song called ‘Dr. Love’. Check it out on YouTube here; Link This is, without a doubt, my favourite Aussie release of the year and is going to be hard to beat for the next few years too.

3. Beck – The Information – Speaking of the man (or musical pixie, as I like to think of him), Beck continues to inspire me to greater musical accomplishments. A lot of his fans have been disappointed with his recent releases but not me. ‘The Information’ has all the excellent, whacky, spacey and stream-of-consciousness’ fans have come to expect from him. Then there was his released-online-only single ‘Timebomb’, which proves he can still write fun, funky, sexy music people want to dance to.

4. The Good, The Bad & The Queen – Self titled – Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz) hooks up with Paul Simonon, previously of The Clash, Simon Tong from The Verve and Tony Allen from Fela Kuti. Damon once again proves, at least to me anyway, why he can do no wrong. I can’t get enough of this record. It is different to Blur and Gorillaz but still has a quality very few can achieve these days. This is my favourite British release of the year.

5. Katalyst – Whats Happening – DJ Kalalyst is an Aussie whose ‘Dusted’ compilation has to be one of the best compilations of old and new hip hop, trip hop, soul and RnB. On this release, Ashley Anderson, as he is known to his mum and immediate family, shows why he is one of the best soul hip-hop DJ’s in the world (yes, another big claim I know but who is writing this, huh?) On this album, he features guests from around the world, including the wonderful Stephanie McKay, as well as Hau and Yungun from my favourite Aussie hip hop band, Koolism, and the very sexy Adilita from Magic Dirt.

6. Queens Of The Stoneage – Era Vulgaris – Josh Homme and crew continue on their psyched out excursions into the world of crunching rock. While not nearly as popular with the critics as previous releases, I thought this album demonstrated their continuing dedication to making my arse shake, which it did all over the place when I first heard it. In some cases, it was the pure adrenalin rush of distorted guitars and ravaged vocals, in others it was the slinky sexiness this band is so very capable of achieving that kept my bum busy. Either way, my ‘back’ enjoyed the attack.

7. True Live – The Shape Of It – This Melbourne-based Aussie band are a clever twist on live hip hop. Made up of a MC/singer, keyboardist, drummer and a three piece string section consisting of a violin, cello and double bass, this band’s explorations of groove make for a unique, lush listening experience. This album, their first, highlights the considerable talents of their MC/singer whose raps sound very international and not typical of the rash of ‘Aussie hip hop’ artists with their fake drawls and unintelligible lyrics. This is my favourite hip hop release of the year.

8. Easy Star All Stars – Radiodread – This dub/reggae outfit from New York first made a name for themselves by releasing an album titled ‘Dub Side of the Moon’, which, as the name implies, was a song for song interpretation of Pink Floyd’s classic ‘Dark Side of the Moon’. Floyd fans could find no better homage to this slice of psychedelia. This time around, the band has taken on Radiohead’s seminal ‘OK Computer’. Including some awesome collaborative performances with artists such as Toots & the Maytals, Junior Jazz and Sugar Minott. In particular, Toots’ version of ‘Let Down’ is absolutely shining. This is my favourite American release of 2007.

9. Paul Kelly/Dan Kelly & the Alpha Males – Stolen Apples/Drowning in the Fountain of Youth – In Australia, Paul Kelly is considered almost a national treasure. His recording career has spanned 30 odd years and some of his songs are considered Australian masterpieces. This release adds another dozen songs to his ever-expanding songbook of story-driven folk rock. His nephew, and a member of his live band, Dan, also released his second album early in 2007 (or maybe it was late in 2006 – doesn’t matter, I didn’t get it until 2007 anyway). Dan’s music is very different from his uncle, with more obtuse wordplay and humour as well as decidedly non-pop timing changes and segues. While Paul’s relevancy is doubtless, Dan’s is still yet to be fully realised. But I’m sure this will change in time.

10. Resin Dogs – More – Another Aussie outfit, this band have been a live festival favourite for about ten years but have yet to crack the mainstream. This album, however, may well change this for them. The Dogs have spent the last half dozen years touring the heck out of the planet and picking up some impressive fans along the way. This album features a roster of local and international guests including Yungun and Hau from Koolism (they’re everywhere), Mystro, Abstract Rude, N’fa from 1000 Techniques and more, taking up the Dogs mix of hip hop, funk and soul with an abandonment, in some cases, Christian conservatives would consider sinful. If you want to get your party started right, you could do no better than firing up some Resin, dogs.

11. Dan The Automator – Presents 2K7 Tracks – I’ve been a fan of Dan ‘The Auomator’ Nakamura for some time, particularly with his association with Damon Albarn and the Gorillaz. On this mixed tape, Nakamura brings together a disparate bunch of hip hop artists such as Slim Thug, A Tribe Called Quest, Lupe Fiasco, Ghostface Killah and Mos Def. The album stylistically jumps around, as you would expect with such a mixed bag of artists. The consistency here can be found in the depth of the tracks Nakamura has provided each artist. More a chilled out experience than a party album, I find I like this more and more with each listen.

12. Rastawookie – Perfectly Ordinary – I had to add these guys in, not just because they’re friends of mine but because this is a great piece of roots and reggae. The Wookies, as they’re affectionately known, are a 9 piece band from my hometown who have been together for about 6 years now but have only recently received the attention and recognition they deserve. This is their first album and a great introduction to the Rastawookie sound.

13. Radiohead – In Rainbows – This album, being the most recently released of the above list, is still in the ‘honeymoon’ period for me, but absolutely deserves to be on my list. I think Radiohead have confounded and confused fans with their last few releases. ‘In Rainbows’ while still maintaining some of their now-signature electronica elements, is their most accessible work since Kid A. And of course, they’ve scared the pants off record company execs around the world by being able to release this online, to enormous success, without the aid of a record company. As Thom said “I like the people at our record company, but the time is at hand when you have to ask why anyone needs one. And, yes, it probably would give us some perverse pleasure to say 'Fuck you' to this decaying business model.” Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Notable mentions: Josh Pyke – Memories & Dust; Goyte – Mixed Blood; Solaa – Steps In Time; Wu Tang Clan – 8 Diagrams; Uncle Ho – Circus Maximus and Eskimo Joe – Black Fingernails, Red Wine.

I hope I haven’t bored you, dear reader and I do hope you have a listen to some of the above artists, if you’ve not already. If you do, let me know if you think I was on the mark with my appraisal or full of shit. Either way, the feedback would be appreciated.

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