The great and frustrating thing about music is, no matter how much you hear you can never hear it all. Here’s 5 albums I found about by reading other peoples’ lists (most of which I found on Largehearted Boy’s master online list).

1. Andrew Bird-Armchair Apocrypha. How the hell did this album get by me? It sounds like something that should have been submitted by the label. Shame on Fat Possum for not doing that. God bless e-music, where I found this delightful pleasure. Great singer-songwriter tunes, perfectly crafted and constantly engaging. Not a flawed track on the entire album.

Andrew offers lots of free music on his download page, so go check it out. Like this:

Imitosis (Four Tet remix)

2. Ha Ha Tonka-Buckle in the Bible Belt.

A really, really, really good album, also available on e-music. Self-described “foot-stompin indie rock,” this is easily as great as The Broken West. Being a huge Americana fan, I can’t understand how this album never made a blip on my radar all year long. Maybe it was the fact that their name is nothing like their music.

Off one of my favorite labels, Bloodshot Records.

Caney Mountain

3. Scarface-Made.

The fact that this ex-Geto Boy can make solid, compelling, and utterly merciless hardcore rap albums in his sleep shouldn’t deter you from buying every single one. One of the most underrated artists in hip hop today, a true O.G., and a brilliant storyteller.

4. The Pipettes-We Are The Pipettes.

Of course I had heard this band’s big single, “Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me,” several times last year, but it didn’t move me. I didn’t realize how witty the album was until Universal unloaded a bunch of copies on my office, needing to “get rid of them.” What a thrill! I take back anything negative I may have said about this fun retro frolic. Sometimes the major labels get it right, and this is one of those times.

5. Blockhead-Uncle Tony’s Coloring Book. A selection from the always dependable Passion of the Weiss, my favorite blog (I like it more than my own, actually). Go read what he wrote about it, and listen to the track he posted, available below:

grape nuts and chalk sauce

This is a very difficult album to find–I think it is out of print–and I happened to luck upon it at my favorite used CD store, but the copy I got is slightly scratched. I love it if someone gave it to me for Christmas.

You reading Mr. Weiss?

I can’t say more than the dozens of bloggers I’ve seen put this album in their top 10 or 20, except that more of them should have put it at number 1. Fun, choppy, funky, and bouncy, it’s an album that never stops giving.

Here’s some stuff they released this year, including bonus cuts off of Ga etc.

It’s Gonna Take an Airplane (Dan Bejar cover)

I Can Feel It Fade Like An AM Single

1975

Mean Mad Margaret

In no particular order. These albums aren’t necessarily bad, but they should have been much better. 50 Cent’s “Curtis” isn’t here because, frankly, I didn’t have high expectations for it in the first place.

1. Common, “Finding Forever.” Lots of folks swear by Common, but to me he’s rarely been more exciting than a bath, and that’s at his best on joints like “I Used to Love H.E.R.” and “Bitch in You.” His last album, Be, had good Kanye beats and a few catchy pop songs like “Go,” but there wasn’t much meat there. He tries so hard to be likable that his message has all the meaning of a candy cane. Sure, it tastes good and looks nice, but after you’re done all you’re left with is a sugar high. Sometimes he’s creative, often he’s familiar, and he gets points for not stooping to the lowest common denominator, but I’ve never understood what about him is so great that Jay-Z had to name-check him and Ice Cube bothered to battle him.

Instead Buy: Blue Scholars: Bayani. It’s got all the lyricism critics seem to find in Common, and all the wit, but none of the sentimentality.

The Distance-Blue Scholars

2. Rilo Kiley, “Under the Blacklight.” I’m not a huge fan of this band’s albums, but their earlier work includes some inspiring and brilliant singles. Usually, I can count on at least four really, really good songs on each Rilo Kiley record. Up until now. As for “Under the Blacklight,” diehards should be saddened by the brevity (it’s under 37 minutes) and the fact that, although a few of the songs do pop, it’s lyrically pedantic and musically unsurprising. New listeners will not be attracted, either, because there’s no clear singles. It took them this long to come up with an album that sounds like B-Sides and outtakes?

Instead Buy: The Parkas:Put Your Head In The Lion’s Mouth or Bat for Lashes: Fur and Gold. Two much better somewhat cerebral, obtuse pop albums. (Parkas Review)

Change of Heart-Parkas.

Raggedy Ann-Parkas.

3. The Dead 60s, “Time to Take Sides.” Expecting another rollicking joyride like their last album, I instead got watered-down, studio-exec friendly Clash-lite. Looks like success spoiled them. Dead 60s, meet Jet. Discuss.

Instead Buy: Bedouin Soundclash: Street Gospels. Solid whiteboy ska with all the international flavor of The Clash.

Jealousy and the Get Free-Bedouin Soundclash

Or: The Cops: Free Electricity. Uncommercial, confrontational punk rock from a band that toured with The Hold Steady.

It’s Epidemic-The Cops

Terrible Empty Pockets-The Cops

4. The New Pornographers, “Challengers.” I’m a huge fan of their earlier work, loved AC’s solo record, and enjoyed (but didn’t go ga ga over) Neko’s solo albums. This album? Feh. There’s a clear lack of the catchy pop that hooked me into their earlier work and made their more experimental songs acceptable. Album by album, both the Pornos and Neko’s solo works get progressively worse. I really cannot understand why so many folks put this record on their top 10s.

Instead Buy: The White Rabbits: Fort Nightly. Experimental pop with some jangly hooks. (Review)

White Rabbits: Kid on My Shoulders

White Rabbits: The Plot

5. M.I.A., “Kala.” This is more of an overrated album than a disappointing one. It’s not horrible, just mediocre, but so was her first (and this is nowhere near as good as her first, which had some really good singles, but on the whole the center did not hold). The folks I see digging M.I.A. generally dislike American hip hop and praise M.I.A. up and down for sounding global. If that’s what you want, check out Me’Shell.

Instead Buy: Meshell Ndegeocello: The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams.

(Major label-No samples.)

6. Feist, “The Reminder.” This is another one that lots of critics and bloggers got all wet for, but I can’t understand that if any of them heard any of her earlier albums, all of which are not good but are, in fact, excellent. Feist’s major label debut is exactly what you’d expect from a contracted release: Soulless, toothless, and completely lacking in adventure.

Instead Buy: Julie Doiron: Woke Myself Up. Sadly, this LP is out of print. But you can still find it.

No More-Julie Doiron

8. Interpol, “Our Love to Admire.” Each Interpol album is regressively like the one before it, more watered down and less innovative. It’s like listening to a copy of a tape that was a copy of a tape.

Instead Buy: The Editors: The End Has a Start.

9. The Good, the Bad and The Queen, “Self Titled.” Fans of The Clash and The Gorillaz rejoiced! A new project would combine members of both bands, and the title promised a good mix of politics and grit. Together, this supergroup managed to do what I never thought would have possible: They were boring.

Instead Buy: Carbon/Silicon: The Last Post. I haven’t been able to get my hands on it yet, but if it’s anything like the singles they’ve been throwing up on the internet all year long, it’s frickin’ awesome.

Total Fucking Madness-C/S

It’s almost time to go back to business as usual here, reviewing indie rock and rap.  Tomorrow I’ll post the #1 album, we’ll have a few Xmas posts, and we’ll be doing our old thang.  I hope posting all these things that I’ve already posted throughout the year wasn’t a big waste of time for too many of you.  I had fun doing it, anyway.

Here’s #2:

2. Amy Winehouse-Back to Black.

Drinking self-destructive retro Motown revival tattoos no no no cigarette bra hair.

You Can Only Hold Her/That Thing (Lauryn Hill cover)

Hey Little Rich Girl (Specials cover)

You Wondering Now? (Specials cover)

Monkey Man (Toots and the Maytalls cover)

Rehab (live, acoustic version)

3. Brother Ali-Undisputed Truth (Plus bonus disc) (review)

“Undisputed Truth” begins with the birth of a new MC (“I came in the door 1984 . . .”) and that first track tells of fights over lunch money and growing up hard. Every track after that is pure brilliance. In a year where Jay-Z returned to his roots, Wu-Tang reunited, and Ghostface released another characteristically mind-blowing album, the best rap record belonged to Minneapolis’ Rhymesayers artist Jason “Ali” Newman. With a delivery that changes from song to song, hopping from the powerful growl of Ice Cube to the nasal, martyrous Eminem to the chanting, get-up-and-dance cadence of Jay-Z, Ali proves he can do any style, and does it mostly without stooping to silly gangsta bravado, profanity, or lame sex raps. Producer Ant (of Atmosphere) does some of the best work of his career here, but the show belongs to Ali. Never lazy, always stretching, this album is a must-buy, plain and simple. If you can score a copy of the limited release bonus mixtape CD, featuring tracks produced by MF DOOM and Pidgeon John, you can count yourself doubly blessed. There is not a single skippable song, not a single missed opportunity, no flaws at all on this, the best hip hop record of 2007.

Doomage – Brother Ali and Slug, Produced by MF Doom (from the bonus album)

Live From the Chippie (from the bonus disc)

Truth Is (Passion of the Weiss’ #16 best hip hop cut of the year)

Original King

6. Band of Horses-Cease to Begin (Review)

Also a candidate for best sophomore album of 2007 (tied with Amy Winehouse), BoH prove that the loss of an essential bandmember need not be a death knell but instead can be a way to grow. This album stays true to the indie rock sound and formula, but integrates an Americana feel. Pure magic. I get chills every time I hear, “Is There A Ghost?”

Here’s a concert from October of this year, proving why the band deserves my #6 slot. A few tastes, then a zip.

Is There a Ghost?
Great Salt Lake
Islands on the Coast
Wicked Gil
Ode to the LRC
Funeral
No One’s Gonna Love You
Marry Song
Our Swords
First Song
The General Specific
Am I a Good Man (Them Cover)

ZIP FILE

Another foray into the non-musical, my post on the best films (that I saw) in 2007. Bonus: My lists aren’t snooty!

THE TOP 10 FILMS (THAT I SAW) OF 2007.

10. Transformers. Yeah. I frickin’ loved it. Deal with it.

9. American Gangster. Yes, it was too long. Yes, it skipped over some of the most fascinating parts in the lives of its protagonists. But it was still great.

8. Rescue Dawn. Werner Herzog’s P.O.W. based-on-a-true-story film starring the increasingly amazing Christian Bale.

7. No Country For Old Men. Would’ve rated higher if they’d tightened up the third act.

6. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. It was long, but no film this year has left such an indelible visual impression on me.

5. 28 Weeks Later.

4. The Simpsons Movie. Admit it, even if it wasn’t as good as any episode from the first 5 seasons, it was hysterically funny to see Bart naked.

3. Zodiac.

2. Eastern Promises. It’s not David Cronenberg’s best, but its close, and I often find myself thinking of the menace lurking under the conversations outside of the Russian restaurant. Much more than the bathhouse knife fight, those scenes were impressive. They managed to convey all of the intimacy of a Sopranos scene, but with characters the viewer didn’t know nearly as well.

1. Michael Clayton.

OTHER AWARDS:

Top Two Films that were Much Better Than I Thought They’d Be: 1408, 30 Days of Night.

TOP 5 SEQUELS/REMAKES

5. The Bourne Ultimatum
4. Spider Man 3
3. Live Free or Die Hard
2. Halloween
1. 3:10 to Yuma

TOP 5 POINTLESS AND STUPID FILMS OF 2007

5. Captivity

4. Hostel 2
3. The Hills Have Eyes 2
2. Wild Hogs
1. Rush Hour 3

Most Not-As-Good-As-The-T.V.-Show-It-Was-Based-On: Reno 911: Miami.

Most Not-As-Good-As-The-T.V.-Cartoon-It-Was-Based-On: Alvin and The Chipmunks.

Most Better-Than-The-T.V.-Cartoon-It-Was-Based-On: Transformers.

Most Somewhat-Better-Than-The-T.V.-Cartoon-It-Was-Based-On, Much Better Than The Films It Was Based On, And Not Nearly As Bad As It Could Have Been: TMNT

Best Movie Released Too Late To Be Considered In My List And I Haven’t Seen Yet But Really, Really, Really Want To: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Biggest Disappointment: Ghost Rider. Granted, the comic book was light on premise, light on story, and mostly managed to get almost 100 issues based solely on the fact that Ghostie looked so damn cool. Why, then, did the movie take almost an hour to unveil him? Almost the entire film is about Johnny Blaze. There’s a reason why secret identities are secret: They’re boring!

Best Movies I Have No Desire To See: Juno; Margot’s Wedding; Atonement.

THE TOP 5 WORST FILM ENDINGS OF 2007.

5. Gone Baby Gone. I defy you to explain what the hell happened at the end, and how Casey figured it out.

4. No Country For Old Men. And I’m not talking about the Tommy Lee Jones closing scene, that was fine. This movie broke down when it never explains who or how or why the Brolin story ended the way it did, but even that was forgivable. It was when Javier gets hit by a car that I just got angry. Such a cliché. Every time you see a driver-side shot like that, the guy gets T-boned. It’s almost as predictable as the black guy dying in the horror film. Then Javier wanders off, leaving the viewer to imagine not what happens next (make-your-own-endings are fine) but what should have happened at the end of this film.

3. The Mist. This film easily could have been one of my favorite movies of the year: An old-fashioned (read: non-CGI) monster flick with plenty of humor, suspense, and cool action scenes. But it should have ended when the jeep drove off into the fog. As I understand it, that was the way it was when Stephen King wrote it. The tacked on, silly, “ooh I gotcha” irony of the last five minutes of the film ruin the story, and subject you to an unnecessarily brutal and nauseating version of Sophie’s choice.

2. The Bourne Ultimatum. He lands in water? Really?

1. Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer. Let me get this straight. We’ve been threatened during the whole movie that Galactus is gonna show up and eat the Earth, but we never get to see him? I thought we waiting for Galactus, not Godot.
Runner up: The Brave One. Good thing Terrence arrived when he did! They say it’s all in the timing, after all.

Most Underrated Film: Mr. Brooks. Kevin Costner makes a great, unassuming villain, putting his real-life superiority complex to very good use.
Runner up: Shoot ‘Em Up. The critics missed the point of this satirical, nonstop thrill ride that name-checked or otherwise referenced just about every action star in history, from Dirty Harry to Bugs Bunny (Clive is eating carrots when he’s introduced). Plus, it had Paul Giamatti as a villain!

Best Actor Portraying Himself: Robert Downey, Jr., as the self-righteous know-it-all brilliant alcoholic in Zodiac

Best Anti-Colonization Film Made By A Racist: Apocalypto. This film also gets my award for Most Overly Hyped Violence. It was a great ride, but it
was hardly as violent as all the critics noted/complained. Basically, the film is Death Wish in ancient times.

Most Overly Praised Film: The Host. As my list probably shows, my affection is for violent, action-heavy films. Horror is an often promising and just-as-often disappointing (see Hostel 2, Hills Have Eyes 2) genre in this respect. But critics know nothing about horror. The Host, the Korean version of Toxic Avenger, features a monster that, inexplicably and indiscriminately, kidnaps or kills. It certainly had its moments, and was a step above most horror movies, but it was hardly a masterpiece. And I’m sick of critics talking about horror that “transcends its genre.” Plenty of horror films are great. I can reel off half a dozen or more in a heartbeat: The Exorcist; Halloween; Nightmare on Elm Street; the first King Kong, Dracula, Frankenstein, etc. . . If you want to see a better action/monster movie, go see The Mist.

Runner-Up for Most Overly Praised Film: Ratatouille. I saw it with my kids, and zzzzzzz.

Title Most Repeated By Folks Watching the Movie: Are We Done Yet?

And, the answer is yes. We’re done. Looking forward to next year, with all the writer-strike damage.

7. Voxtrot-Voxtrot. (review)

Where rappers do mixtapes, indie bands do EP and web releases, and Ramesh Srivastava’s five-piece have been content to do just that since 2003. This year, we finally were treated to the full length album for which all those EP and web singles were the prelude. And the result, Voxtrot, was no disappointment.

And speaking of mixtapes, Lupe Fiasco’s The Coolest Mixtape came out in ’07 and it was pretty good. It certainly has whetted my appetite for the full-length, which will not be released in time for this ’07 best of list. Like all of us did since 2003 for Voxtrot, we must wait patiently for Lupe’s release.

Maybe I’m just hungre for more Lupe, because the series of mixtapes that led to his first album was fucking amazing, but I’ve been spinning the latest one over and over and over. (The proper album drops soon, but too late to be considered for this year’s list.) There’s a little too much filler, but the new verses dropped her, like “What It Do” and “Dumb It Down” are amazing. And “Us Placers” (with Pharrell & Kanye West) is really growing on me, with its Radiohead hook. One thing, though: Is anybody else here completely bored with Lupe’s threats that he’s gonna retire? I didn’t believe it when Jay said it. I didn’t believe it (or care) when 50 Cent said it. Lupe’s only released one real record. The thought that that made him enough money to retire just pisses me off.

Real Life Version-Voxtrot (from the album)

Shayla (Blondie Cover)-Voxtrot (Ramesh solo)

Heaven (Talking Heads cover)-Voxtrot

Love Vigilantes (New Order cover)-Voxtrot

Us Placers-Lupe, Kanye, and Pharrel

The Coolest Mixtape (album download)

Trouble-Voxtrot (from the album)

8. Arcade Fire-Neon Bible. (Halftime award!) I picked this album when I was only halfway through the year, but you’re forgiven if you forgot that this March release actually came out in ’07. Unlike Funeral, which made a deep and lasting impression on the blogosphere, Neon Bible came and went with less than a month of real hype or fanfare. Partly, I suspect, this was because there are so many more releases (and so many more bloggers) than back in the glory days when I first got started and fell in love with Arcade Fire. But The Foo Fighters helped keep the hype running with their cover of “Keep the Car Running,” and then Bruce joined in the fun. It’s darker than Funeral (if that’s possible) in it’s truly bleak world outlook, but it also marks a wonderful trend of returning to music that matters: Protest songs abound in a time of war, and many of the tunes on this record are powerful examples. More importantly, at a time when the world is desperate for faith, AF explore the issue with overtly simplistic lyrics but true depth of feeling. It’s not rated higher because of the fact that one of the best songs on it is over five years old (“No Cars Go”). When I first got it, this made me wonder if the band had shot its creative load. Fortunately, there are enough great songs on it—and enough of a theme holding the entire thing together—that I was convinced otherwise.

And kudos for not taking a major label contract!

I’m So Bored With The U.S.A. (Clash cover)/Intervention

I’m Sleeping in a Submarine

Still Ill (The Smiths cover)

The Guns of Brixton (Clash cover)

Distortions (Clinic cover)

An excuse to post or repost some of my favorite covers of the year . . .

10. Guilt By Association (link). A wonderful collection of covers by indie bands. What sets this collection apart from all the other covers projects this year is a truly eclectic (but not eclectic for its own sake) selection of artists, as well as the fact that each song is a kinda cheesey 80s rocker that the covering artists claims as a (you guessed it) guilty pleasure. The Petra Haden cover of ”Don’t Stop Believin” (Journey) (see below) is transcendant, but every track is worth a listen and others are just as brilliant. My favorites include Luna ”Straight Up” (Paula Abdul), Goat ”Sugar We’re Going Down” (Fall Out Boy), and Mooney Suzuki ”Just Like Jesse James” (Cher).

9.”Huey Lewis”.

Actually, I only know of two Huey Lewis covers released this year, but they’re both gems. I especially like Apostle of Hustle’s complete reworking of the original, but The Pigeon Detectives must be given a Big Brass Balls award for daring to cover a lame tune from a lame soundtrack to a great movie.

The Power of Love-The Pigeon Detectives

I Want a New Drug-Apostle of Hustle

8. KT Tunstall on Tour. I enjoyed KT’s first record, but her new one leaves me kind of cold. Live, though, her tour has been tons of fun and she’s broken out many covers of all types. Three cheers for KT!

Get UR Freak On (Missy Elliot cover)

Walk Like An Egyptian (Bangles)

I Want You Back (Jackson 5 cover)

The Prayer (Bloc Party)

7. Northern and Western + Graves-Fleetwood’s Hack. (Review.) A six-song tribute to 50’s/60’s doo wop band, The Fleetwoods, with covers of that band’s classic tines including Mr. Blue, To Know Her (Is To Love Her), and Come Softly To Me. Beautifully nostalgic.

6. Arcade Fire! Finally, the greatest indie rock band ever gets recognized for its great songwriting. Mainstream artists like Springsteen and The Foo Fighters try to get in on Arcade Fire’s glory, and lesser known bands pay tribute as well. Of course, none of them dared to cover tunes off AF’s first record, because those cannot possibly be improved upon.

Keep the Car Running-The Foo Fighters

Ocean of Noise-Norah Jones

Ocean of Noise-Calexico

5. Astrid Swan’s web page! Best Killers cover ever, and a rare example of a cover song better than the original tune.

When You Were Young (Killers cover)-Astrid Swan

4. The Superbowl! Prince’s half time show cover of numerous tunes including The Foo Fighters’ “The Best of You” (returning the favor for their cover of “Darling Nikki”) is legendary. It’s also not something I’m going to post ’cause the Purple One is quite litigious.

3. When Amy’s in rehab, others come out to play!

Rehab (Amy Winehouse cover)-Paolo Nutini

Rehab (Amy Winehouse cover)-Seether

You Know That I’m No Good (Amy Winehouse cover)-Arctic Monkeys

2. Graceland!

Graceland-Hot Chip

Graceland-Grizzly Bear

1. “Don’t Stop Believin’.” The end of The Sopranos will go down in history as being both the best and worst ending of a series ever. One of the great things about it, though, was that it revived a great heart-pumping anthem. From Cam’Ron and other rappers using the riff as a hook to the genius version recorded almost entirely acappella by Petra Haden, this classic song emerged from retirement better than Jay-Z ever could.

Just Us-Cam’Ron

Don’t Stop Believin’-Of Montreal

Don’t Stop Believin’-Badly Drawn Boy

Don’t Stop Believin’-Petra Haden