The year that was: Part III

We've come to the music portion of our recap. I feel I should point out in advance that my music list will in no way resemble the forthcoming or already out lists of music critics and similar. The reasons are simple:

I still don't like Radiohead and I never have. In fact I have actively disliked them since the first time I heard their first single get played on the local indie station way back when. I think I may have once heard a song by them that I sort of liked but I can't say for sure it was them. It sounded like them minus the suck. Can't be sure.

I still don't think that listening to The Shins will change your life in any conceivable way. I listen to their stuff and am filled with an overwhelming sense of...meh. It does nothing for me. At all. It doesn't move me or make me wonder at their skill as musicians or any other such thing.

I don't think Arcade Fire is the greatest thing since whatever the last greatest thing was. They also do virtually nothing for me.

Kanye West and his insane ego and race baiting only make me want to ignore him in hopes that he will get so desperate for attention that he will do something stupid and end up in a coma. That or just grow the hell up and get over himself. Either or.

Anyway, here's my take on the music of '07, the best album of which was...

The White Stripes - Icky Thump

Once again Jack and Meg have dropped a bomb on the ears of the world. Much more of a straightforward rock record than their last album and I think I much prefer it that way. The guitar shreds and while some people will scream that Meg is a bad drummer it seems more to me that Jack writes her drum parts to be nothing but stripped down almost primal banging. I've heard more than one reviewer call their music childish or childlike and that just shows that these people miss the point. There is nothing childish about it. You either get it or you don't and if you get it, you're going to love it.

Shit hot tracks: Icky Thump and Rag and Bone.

Coming in firmly at number two (so firmly that I almost made it number 1) is Raising Sand by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Talk about an odd pairing. On paper you think, "Bwah?" but once that sweet sweet music starts to flow all you can think is that you're hearing something truly significant. A mix of some rock and blues, folk and R&B, blue grass and maybe a little gospel in the background for flavor, all without ever getting in its own way or stepping on its own toes. The music is spare and makes certain that while you won't ignore it, it won't try to make you forget to focus on the singing which takes center stage. Producer T-Bone Burnett brings it all together in a way that makes it pure gold. This is one for the ages. Bank on it.

Shit hot tracks: Killing The Blues and Through The Morning, Through The Night.

Next up is Back To Black by Amy Winehouse. A huge voice that she and some smart producers decided to put over actual music instead of same old same old pop beats. The first time I heard a song off of this album I wondered if I had somehow come across a throwback station on the radio and would some Billie Holiday or Nina Simone be coming up next. I finally found out who it was and then Noq informed me that the entire album was like that. I ran straight out and got it. The vocals are superb, the music drives and every song is full of passion.

Shit hot tracks: Rehab and Back To Black.

The Foo Fighters released Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace and continue to put out high quality rock albums in an age where shitty rock music is the norm. Dave Grohl is, for my money, a fucking brilliant song writer and this album lives up to all his previous work, which is saying a lot. There isn't a whole lot I can say other than if you're a fan of Foo, you already love it and if you're not then there's probably something wrong with you.

Shit hot tracks: The Pretender and Long Road To Ruin.

I'm going to go out on not much of a limb and say that none of my regular readers knows who Lucinda Williams is or why she's awesome. This should change as soon as possible. Last year she released West, yet another great album. Her bluesy, folksy music combined with her far above average lyrics once again blend to make a triumphant noise...that a small fraction of the listeners she deserves will hear. Very seldom are the times I will steer you wrong. You NEED to have some Lucinda in your CD collection.

Shit hot tracks: All of them.

Finally, Ministry released The Last Sucker. Good old Al is in fine form taking shots at George W. just like he took shots at his father way back when. The album is fast, hard, heavy and pissed off like a Ministry album should be and reminds us that even though he won't be president for much longer, we shouldn't stop being furious at W.

Shit hot tracks: Let's Go and No Glory.

Now then, on to the other stuff.

Nickelback did not release an album in '07. God is good.

Godsmack went on "hiatus." God is great.

Jennifer Lopez released an album and it tanked. God is mighty...and funny.

The Award for Best Cover Song goes to Ministry for Roadhouse Blues (The Doors). The original made me want to go to the bar and get really drunk. This version makes me want to go to the bar, get really drunk and beat up everyone in the place.

The Award for Worst Cover Song goes to Godsmack for having the audacity to cover Good Times, Bad Times. Excuse me but you do realize that you're nothing but a Metallica/AiC rip off band and that it is completely offensive for you to even try to cover any song by the greatest band ever, right? Please make your hiatus permanent and never try to make music again. Fuck you.

It's not a music post by me unless I work in a reference to Maynard. He finally released an album for his Puscifer side project called V is for Vagina. For something that he mostly thinks of as one offs or things that he just wanted out of his head I gotta say, it ain't bad. Indigo Children was stuck in my head for days.

I think I'll stop now as my last post got way out of control and was damn near a novella by the time I stopped and I still hadn't got to everything I wanted to.