Music Of 2007
2007 was the YEAR of discovering/expanding OLD music for me [Rasputina, Tori Amos, Felix Da Housecat]……..as for all the NEW stuff this year, well…….the first half of 07’ was pretty dead music wise, got a few good releases here and there….but it wasn’t till the second half that all the albums kinda came FLOODING in, yay!..........so here they are…….my good and…err…not so good musical selections of the year:
The Best Albums...
15. Daft Punk Alive 2007
This TECHNICALLY should be in the #4 spot, but because it's a Live compilation of old songs, i decided to leave room for NEW music on the rest of my list.......anyway, it really is a ear popping listen, pretty much a non stop mash up of all their hits, remixed PERFECTLY. Daft FUNK!
Standout tracks: Err.....it's one big mash, so the WHOLE thing, uh!
14. Siobhan Donaghy Ghosts
A much stronger effort than her last album, she brings a bit of a Kate Bush vibe to some of the stuff on here. This album also gave me one of my new all time favourite songs EVER, Medevac.
Standout tracks: Medevac, Ghosts, 12 Bar Acid Blues.
13. Keiysha Cole Just Like You
VERY r&b and very "ghetto"...........i can't help but feel like patting my weave when i listen to this, still..........there is some really great stuff on here and she has a great voice.
Standout tracks: Didn't I Tell You, Heaven Sent, Give Me More.
12. The Veronicas Hook Me Up
The twins RETURN!!!!!.........and this time they ditched the pop/rock and went for a more pop/electro sound...........and surprisingly they pulled it off! I guess these girls wound up being a little more versatile than i thought. A nice change for them i think.
Standout tracks: This Is How It Feels, Everything, I Can't Stay Away.
11. The White Stripes Icky Thump
I was a little disappointed with the last effort from The Stripes [Get Behind Me Satan], it had that missing spark that made their ‘Elephant’ album so WONDERFUL.. Luckily with ‘Icky Thump’ they returned to a more accessible style of songs. With “rock” bands like Nickleback and ‘Hinder’ POISIONING airwaves, it’s good to see The Stripes really giving us a rock album that actually DESERVES it’s success.
Standout tracks: Bone Broke, Little Cream Soda, Prickly Thorn.
10. Nine Inch Nails Year Zero
When I heard ‘With Teeth’ on first listen, I didn’t really like it………so it was good sitting through Year Zero and actually loving a lot of the songs I was hearing when I first spun it. I don’t love the ENTIRE album, it does have it’s weak points, but there was enough on here that kept me
listening over and over. Plus, I must thanks Trent Reznor [Lord of the Universe] for ’Me, I’m Not’………..it’s the SEX!....oh and Vessel, that’s sex too, aheh.
Standout tracks: The Beginning Is The End, Vessel, Me I’m Not.
9. Timbaland Shock Value
After producing for every single fucking group on the planet, Timbaland FINALLY released his own album of songs. My expectations were high, and as usual with Timbo, he really delivered with the goods. So many great songs on here, ranging from r&b to pop and even a bit of rock. This has been on VERY heavy rotation since I got it. GREAT album. Now [plays ‘Time’]……I’m gonna get naked.
Standout tracks: Apologize, Time, Way I Are.
8. Kylie X
Not the BLAZING come back I expected, but this was still a really great effort from Ms. Minogue. The Queen of Plastic Face gives us a lovely BURST of electro pop with some nice catchy b-sides thrown in on the side. Her best album? Maybe…….she certainly OUT GAYED herself with this one.
Standout tracks: Speakerphone, Like A Drug, White Diamond.
7. Jennifer Lopez Brave
Yes, that's right, the biggest FLOP of the year was one of my MOST SPUN albums. It's a shame people didn't like this, because the album worked it's magic on me......i couldn't get enough of it. It's her second best album [her first being the masterwork 'J.Lo'], and i loved it so much i just HAD to shove it into my top 10 ..........i guess the fact that this was so hated is kinda cool to me, makes it more special because it feels more like it's MINE. Love you Jenny! well done.
Standout tracks: Forever, Be Mine, Frozen Moments.
6. The Donnas Bitchin’
This album came out of NOWHERE, for so long I’ve been waiting for The Donnas to BLOW my eardrums, and after getting inspired by 80’s rock bands, the girls finally managed to to do it! Heavy, loud and OH SO FUN!
Standout tracks: Don’t Wait Up For Me, Like An Animal, When The Show Is Over.
5. Kelly Clarkson My December
Something happened to Kelly in 2007, she kinda……went nuts and did a huge 360 on her new album! What I expected to be a Breakaway part 2, wound up being a very indie sounding, very sad and very personal collection of songs. The first time I heard it, I didn’t realize what was going on, but over time, the album slowly grew on me……….and eventually it blew my mind!!!!! Definitely her best album.
Standout tracks: Sober, Dirty Little Secret, Irvine.
4. Roisin Murphy Overpowered
Finally, Roisin pulled her finger out and WOKE UP, instead of giving us boring fluffy electro like on her last album, she went into the studio naked and rubbed pumping electro beats all over her body. This shit is DAMN GOOD!........whoever thought such a funny hat lady could make such dark and witheringly sexy beats. Oh!
Standout tracks: Primitive, Body Language, Pandora.
3. Britney Spears Blackout
Throughout all the mess of her life in the last 4 years, Britney still managed to put in enough studio time to give us the best album of her career. There’s so much to love on this, so many amazingly produced songs……….and even though Britney had little to do with the record, it’s still blew me away. Britney……well….Jive put a whole bunch of awesome pop songs together and wraped it up with a BIG bow! I believe her career is over, but at least she went out with a BANG!
Standout tracks: Piece of Me, Break The Ice, Gimme More.
2. Alicia Keys As I Am
Sigh, can she do no wrong?.........it’s a slow burning album, but once it grabs you, it’s SO addictive. She managed to top her last album with this……..it’s a very romantic mellow record, lot’s of nice smooth ballads. Now, let’s all sit together and drink CHAMPAIGN [clink].
Standout tracks: Go Ahead, Where Do We Go From Here, I Need You.
1. M.I.A. Kala
It’s like M.I.A was a kept in a cage……..and then finally, someone unleashed her upon the world!!!!!!! This album absolutely blew my fucking brains out, no one brought it as hard as she did this year!!!! Not only did she completely DESTROY her last album with this one, but she delivered one of my all time favourite albums EVER!!!!! She creates the beats, puts them in a fucking grinder and then THROWS them at you………..she’s a musical GENIUS! And she has completely outdone herself with this album. If it was anymore brilliant, I may have to throw myself off a cliff!!!!! In the words of the QUEEN herself………”Powah powah!”……….oh yes, Powah INDEED!
Standout tracks: Hussle, Paper Plain, Jimmy.
Special Mentions to: Marilyn Manson - Eat Me Drink Me.........Darren Hayes - This Delicate Thing We Made.............Rihanna - Good Girl Gone Bad..................Dannii - Unleashed.
The WORST Albums...
Avril Lavigne The Best Damn Thing
Ok, so Avril the PERSON is a douche bag, but Avril the musician is rather good. She has written some great songs on her first two albums, but with this third album, she shows she’s REALLY run out of things to sing about. The album sports only ONE good song [Runaway] and one other semi decent track [Keep Holding On]………the rest, absolute SHIT. The whole thing just drones on, it’s like a filler album. And has catchy as ‘Girlfriend’ was, it is a rather idiotic song………….just HOW long can she play the whole crazy coloured faux punk girl thing, it’s all getting a bit old isn’t it. Avril Lavigne - The Worst Damn Thing.
Linkin Park Minutes To Midnight
Another act I liked who seem to have run out of ideas. Poor Linkin Park, two solid albums and now a third DUD!.....not much else to say really, lots of songs lacking any sort of memorable melody, maybe two decent tracks……the rest, rather lifeless. The first single was good, but the rest………….crap. Not surprising we didn’t get any other hit singles off this one. Linkin Park - Minutes To Mediorce.
Muteya Buena Real Girl
I kinda had high hopes for this, she was always the more interesting Sugababe……so I was curious to see what she could offer as a solo act…….and it looks like not much. A lifeless boring attempt, lots of samey bullshit, some so-so tracks, but overall, just a collection of half interesting slow to mid tempo songs that don’t really take you anywhere interesting. That Amy Winehouse duet is utter SHIT as well. Muteya Buena - Real Shit.
Kelly Rowland Ms. Kelly
Jesus fucking Christ, Ms. Shitty more like it, what the fuck went wrong here?.......it’s like the worst rnb producers made this. So incredibly generic, so incredibly dull, it sounds like it was put together using songs that Christina Milian rejected. Her first album offered something pretty good actually, it was like a small taste of what was to come….or so it seemed. This album was destined to be DEAD on arrival. Kelly Rowland - Ms. Floppy.
Sugababes Change
The Sugababes have made my ears give BIRTH for a good 7 years now, always original, always catchy as hell and always MY type of pop. But this time, all they seemed to want to give me is a good long sleep, because that’s what this album does, puts me to sleep. It’s a ballad filled lifeless mess of a record, not necessarily BAD, just boring. Nothing grabs you, even the video clips were shit!........still, the girls seem to still have their own style going on which is good, and of course I still love and respect them, but I’m certainly giving THIS babes era a miss. Hopefully they pick it up again with their next album. Sugababes - Change My Diaper.
Rogue Traders Better In The Dark
Um…………….some advice, please learn to use a different type of sound!!!!!!! I can’t even remember a lot of this, I just remember everything kinda bleeding into everything…….the first single was probably a good indication of what was to come, because that single was SHIT. Sigh, they ARE a talented bunch though, a good live act, and I hope they do well. But this album, Better In The Dark?........i guess it REALLY isn’t, let’s hope their next album is made with the lights on. Rogue Traders - Not Better Off In The Dark.
Delta Goodrem Delta
If she wasn't so busy dressing up like a fairy and talking to Unicorns.....she may have actually released an album that had some fucking life in it. She showed promise with her first album and then took her second album in a much more mature and darker place...........it was with THAT second album that she finally stripped away SOME of her "pretty pretty" nonsense and gave us something.......a little more interesting. Sadly, for her new album, she has gone back to singing flower friendly ballads that have ANY sort of life to them, it's just a whole string of dead songs sung by an over airbrushed, sweet as sugar bore of a singer. The ONLY good thing this album delivered was the song 'Bare Hands'.........and she is.....growing i guess, as a performer and stuff..........but really, to me...........it's all so safe and boring. Delta Goodrem - Dullta.
