As expected, DHMBIB is a little bit late with our "Best CD's of '07" post. But here it is. And for those of you have been regular readers of our posts here -- or elsewhere across the tubes -- this list should come as no surprise.
Read on for the full list...
The ranking is in the ever-popular "1-to-10" style, with a caveat. Read on.
1) Amy Winehouse, Back To Black
DHMBIB's Album Of The Year [well, obvs...it is "number 1", after all -- Ed.]
Grammy Nominations: 6+1
* Album Of The Year
* Record Of The Year -- "Rehab"
* Song Of The Year -- "Rehab"
* Best New Artist
* Best Female Pop Vocal Performance -- "Rehab"
* Best Pop Vocal Album
* Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical -- Mark Ronson ("Back To Black", "Rehab", "You Know I'm No Good" [Amy Winehouse]; "Littlest Things" [Lily Allen]; Version [Mark Ronson])
2007 Nationwide Mercury Prize Short List
Put quite simply, Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson have created a masterpiece of popular music. Ronson replaced the retro-jazz-diva-meets-hip-hop sound of Amy's first album, the Salaam Remi-produced Frank, with a retro-jazz-diva-meets-Motown-and-Brill-building-and-classic-soul motif. [Remi also contributed knob-twiddling assistance on the new album]. For the band, Ronson brought in The Dap-Kings, the band that together with Sharon Jones has single-handedly revived the classic soul sound of the 60's and 70's. Married to the sound are Amy's heart-wrenching, poetic lyrics about love, loss, betrayal, anger, depression, and addictions of all kinds. Singing those vulnerable-yet-defiant lyrics is a one-in-a-million voice. It was a big gamble for all involved, working outside their normal comfort zones, but Amy and Ronson have pulled it off here and produced an album that will be in the upper ranges of critics' "Best Of ..." lists for years to come.
Were it not for Amy's tabloid-captured troubles, she would probably be considered a lock to sweep her 6 Grammy nominations. Even considering the stiff competition Amy faces from Kanye West and Rihanna, among others, Back To Black is that good. However, in the real world, Amy's behavior has turned off many a fan and critic, and her upset loss of the prestigious Nationwide Mercury Prize in September 2007 was widely seen as both a plea and a warning. It remains to be seen how Grammy voters will react to developments in Amy's life over the last year.
If Amy does well with her 6 nominations, she has history within her sights. No female artist has ever won more than 5 Grammys on the same nite, although that's happened 5 times now, including 4 times in the last 6 years. And only once has an artist swept "the Big Four". The main reason for the latter is that it is rare that a "new artist" [BNA] comes along with the chops to write [SOTY] one of the best records [ROTY] on one of the best albums of the year [AOTY]. Amy Winehouse is that artist. In spite of Amy's tabloid adventures, you would not be making a bad bet to put your money on Amy to sweep her categories.
READ MORE [wikipedia]:
Amy Winehouse
Back To Black
Mark Ronson
* * * * *
2) Kanye West, Graduation
DHMBIB's Hip-Hop/Rap Album Of The Year
Grammy Nominations: 6
* Album Of The Year
* Best Rap Solo Performance -- "Stronger"
* Best Rap/Sung Collaboration -- "Good Life" (feat. T-Pain)
* Best Rap Song -- "Can't Tell Me Nothing"
* Best Rap Song -- "Good Life" (feat. T-Pain)
* Best Rap Album
[Kanye also is nominated for 2 Grammys for work he did outside of Graduation.]
It's hard to overstate the accomplishments of Kanye West in the last seven years. After spending about three years as one of hip-hop's most original and unorthodox producers -- Kanye loved to build songs around samples from artists who were obscure or outside the realm of most hip-hop fans and performers -- Kanye finally convinced his friend -- and production client -- Jay-Z to give Kanye a shot with a record deal. Kanye did not blow his shot. In barely 3 1/2 years, Kanye West as a performer has produced 3 of the 50-or-so best hip-hop albums of all time.
Graduation picks up exactly where 2004's The College Dropout and 2006's Late Registration left off, and is surely at least the equal of either of those excellent records. Sonically, Kanye is still making us all say "whaaaaa???" at some of his samples -- Daft Punk in "Stronger"; Steely Dan in "Champion" -- but it is this willingness to consciously appeal to non-traditional hip-hop fans with samples that they recognize and enjoy that has made Kanye perhaps the most popular hip-hopper across multiple demographic groups.
Graduation would appear to be the strongest competitor to Back To Black in the AOTY race, and although we're pulling for Amy around here, an AOTY win for Graduation would not be undeserved.
READ MORE [wikipedia]:
Kanye West
Graduation
* * * * *
3) Rihanna, Good Girl Gone Bad
DHMBIB's Pop/R&B/Dance Album Of The Year
Grammy Nominations: 6
* Record Of The Year -- "Umbrella" (feat. Jay-Z)
* Song Of The Year -- "Umbrella" (feat. Jay-Z)
* Best Dance Recording -- "Don't Stop The Music"
* Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals -- "Hate That I Love You" (feat. Ne-Yo)
* Best R&B Song -- "Hate That I Love You" (feat. Ne-Yo)
* Best Rap/Sung Collaboration -- "Unmbrella" (feat. Jay-Z)
[Rihanna is personally eligible to win 4 Grammys -- she is not credited as a songwriter on the 2 nominated songs and thus is not eligible to win those awards.]
Since first appearing on the scene in 2005, Rihanna has had trouble shaking a perception as a nasally Beyonce knockoff whose albums were little more than filler to surround her handful of minor pop hits. Though popular among international club-goers for her Carribean-influenced sound, the Barbados native was not catching on with fickle pop fans in the US, and she looked to be about to blow her chance.
Even though she had put out 2 albums a mere eight months apart in 2005 and 2006, the still only 18-year-old Rihanna raced back to the studio in early 2007 to record her third album. Label head Jay-Z, for whom Rihanna's failure to catch fire was very much a reflection on his decision-making as well, decided that a new formula and new personnel were needed. Added to Rihanna's long-time production team were superproducer Timbaland, Tim's male muse Justin Timberlake, Ne-Yo, the Swedish superproducer team Stargate, and the team of Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The-Dream" Nash.
Whatever the cost of assembling this near "dream team" of high-wattage talent, the result was certainly a smashing success. Stewart and Nash brought along the song "Umbrella", which Nash had actually written for Britney Spears (she never responded to his offer) and was also offered to Mary J. Blige (who didn't say "yes" fast enough). "Umbrella", released as a single in March, quickly became a ubiquitous world-wide phenomenon, hitting #1 in 27 different countries and propelling Rihanna to international pop superstardom.
Even though many critics feared the "too many cooks" aspect of the ensuing album Good Girl Gone Bad would render it a sonic mess, it's actually responsible for the album being so accessible and listenable. In short, there's something here for everyone -- "Shut Up And Drive" rocks more than any song on any other "Pop/R&B/Dance" record this year, and also is, 25 years later, "Little Red Corvette" from the female's perspective; longtime fans of Rihanna's euro-club bangers will love "Don't Stop The Music" and "Push Up On Me"; fans of Rihanna's balladry will love her collaboration with Ne-Yo, "Hate That I Love You"; fans of Timbaland's style will eat up "Sell Me Candy"; fans of Rihanna's R&B contemporaries can get behind "Say It", and so on. Probably because there is so much that is so different, Good Girl Gone Bad also stands out as Rihanna's first album that truly needs to be heard all the way through, again and again.
2007 admittedly was very weak in the "Pop/R&B/Dance" genre, with most of the genres biggest names (Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, Beyonce, Fergie, etc.) having released new material in 2006. But Good Girl Gone Bad does not stand out simply for a lack of competition. Rihanna and her team have produced a record that most pop starlets only dream about. Rihanna's new-found international superstardom is well deserved. We hope she can maintain it for a while.
READ MORE [wikipedia]:
Rihanna
Good Girl Gone Bad
* * * * *
[Notice anything about the top 3? That they all generated 6 Grammy nominations? Notice anything about the next 7? That not one generated more than 1 Grammy nomination? See any significance in that? No, we don't either -- Ed.]
[DHMBIB's numbers 4 through 10 albums of the year all could share the number 4 honor. They are all different records, with different intended audiences, and different ways in which they challenge the listener. Consider these rankings fluid -- on any other list-making day, we might have ordered them differently -- Ed.]
4) Fall Out Boy, Infinity On High
DHMBIB's Modern Rock Album Of The Year
Grammy Nominations: 0
Rihanna is not the only artist on this list to breakthrough to superstardom with help from Jay-Z in 2007. Jay-Z had long been an ardent proponent of Fall Out Boy -- he did have financial incentives of course -- but his appearance on Infinity On High's leadoff track, the outstanding "Thriller", gave FOB some valuable street-cred to go along with adoration they had cultivated among teens and "emo kids".
Of all the albums on this list, Infinity On High made by far the fewest "Best Of '07" lists I saw. Much of that is undoubtedly due to the rock critics' scorn of "emo", or to their image of Fall Out Boy as a band with far too much appeal to teenage girls. Much of it is also undoubtedly due to FOB's polarizing lead figure, bassist Pete Wentz, and his Hollywood associates. But it's too bad the critics didn't give this record its due, because Infinity On High was, in our opinion of course, the best Modern Rock album of the year.
Wentz's songwriting, and Patrick Stump's vocals, show the positive effects of their rise to stardom in 2005 and 2006. The songs are more mature and less quirky, and Stump's singing has definitely gotten stronger. It may sound hyperbolic to some, but Fall Out Boy right now remind us a lot of the artistic and critical growth of The Who around the beginning of the 1970's. We hope they continue to grow stronger, and we hope the critics start sacking up and giving FOB their critical due.
READ MORE [wikipedia]:
Fall Out Boy
Infinity On High
* * * * *
5) Miranda Lambert, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
DHMBIB's Country Album Of The Year
Grammy Nominations: 1
* Best Female Country Vocal Performance -- "Famous In A Small Town"
Miranda Lambert first achieved national attention when she finished 3d in the inaugural season of Nashville Star, an American Idol-like competition focusing entirely on country music performers. Her debut album, Kerosene, was released in 2004 to critical acclaim but initially modest sales. Then, her barn-burner of a performance of the title track at the 2005 CMA Awards added, well, kerosene to the sales of the record, and eventually it went platinum.
Miranda spent much of 2005 and 2006 touring, and in 2007 released her 2d album, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. But even with a command performance of "Gunpowder And Lead" at the 2007 CMA Awards, Crazy appears to have stalled out in the US with barely 300,000 scans, and that's too bad, because this is one hell of a record.
As every review written about Crazy has noted, this is not just an album of 2 or 3 surefire hit songs surrounded by sound-alike filler. This is an album that top to bottom sounds like an interwoven fabric of material -- probably as close as you can come to a fully-realized "concept album" in modern country music. Miranda is not just a talented singer with a gift for expressing complex emotions with her voice, she is also one of Nashville's best songrwiters -- from the anger of the abused lover in "Gunpowder And Lead" to the way she stands genre cliches on their head in "Famous In A Small Town", Miranda shows here that she is a once-in-a-generation talent, akin to Loretta Lynn or Kris Kristofferson.
Which of course means her label will probably drop her next year. Sigh.
READ MORE [wikipedia]:
Miranda Lambert
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
* * * * *
6) Lily Allen, Alright, Still
DHMBIB's Brit-Pop Album Of The Year
Grammy Nominations: 1+1
* Best Alternative Music Album
* Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical -- Mark Ronson ("Back To Black", "Rehab", "You Know I'm No Good" [Amy Winehouse]; "Littlest Things" [Lily Allen]; Version [Mark Ronson])
The earliest US-released album on this list, Alright, Still has gotten lost on a lot of critics' year-end lists, likely to due the large number of critically-acclaimed albums released later in the year. Also, some critics' attempts to lump her in with Amy Winehouse in their "British ladies invade the U.S." motifs, combined with the tabloid-headline-grabbing year Amy had, have left Lily Allen little room to grab critical mindshare.
It's too bad that so many people have already forgotten this year-old CD, which was far and away the most fun listen of the year. Lily has an incredible knack for writing subversively humorous -- or is it humorously subversive? -- songs that are sweet and funny, catchy and familiar, and instantly likeable. Throw in another perfect production performance from superstar producer Mark Ronson, and this album is a perfect pop album.
Lily has an engaging personality and is adorable in interviews and on her own blog. She also avoided some of the high-profile tabloid-headline-grabbing activity to which so many of her contemporaries were attracted in 2007. She has already expressed that she may retire after delivering her next record, in order to start a family and spend time with them. We hope she changes her mind, but even if she doesn't, we'll always have Alright, Still, the "fun" album of the year.
READ MORE [wikipedia]:
Lily Allen
Alright, Still
* * * * *
7) Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Raising Sand
DHMBIB's Americana Album Of The Year
DHMBIB's Collaboration Album Of The Year
Grammy Nominations: 1
* Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals -- "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)"
DHMBIB is a HUUUUUGE fan of Alison Krauss. But when we first heard about this project, we were skeptical. We are not fans of most of Krauss' collaborative work outside her work with her modern Blue Grass / Americana band, Union Station. Perhaps it's been her choice of projects, or just the difficulty of meeting high expectations, but these collaborations have largely disappointed.
So it was with trepidation that we approached this project. We have great respect for Robert Plant, of course, but his best days seemingly were long ago. But upon hearing Raising Sand, we realized that not only were our fears unfounded, but that we were amazed at the depth of soul and emotion on this project. The two vocal legends teamed with legendary producer-and-artist T-Bone Burnett to create a truly unique listening experience. Burnett was able to persuade Plant and Krauss to step way outside some of their normal comfort zones, and the result is an inspired creation that came from out of nowhere onto many critics Best-of-'07 lists.
Robert Plant famously played a one-off show with his old mates from Led Zeppelin back in November. This, naturally, led to speculation that Led Zeppelin would embark on a reunion tour. Robert Plant could earn upwards of a gazillion dollars on that tour. But instead, Robert Plant announced that he wanted to tour with Alison Krauss in support of Raising Sand.
Yeah, this record is that good.
READ MORE [wikipedia]:
Robert Plant
Alison Krauss
Raising Sand
T-Bone Burnett
* * * * *
8) M.I.A., Kala
DHMBIB's What-Do-You-Call-This-Style? Album Of The Year
Grammy Nominations: 0
Maya Arulpragasam -- the artist known as M.I.A. [section 13(d)(3)(K)(iv) of the Music Blogger Style code requires all music bloggers who write about M.I.A. to write out in full, at a minimum, her last name -- Ed.] -- has always been a challenging artist in many ways. Most challenging has been "categorizing" her music. Is it "dance" music? Is it "world" music? Is it "club" music? Is it it "indie"? Is it "pop"?
However you choose to categorize Kala, one thing you can say about it is that it is easily the most political album on this or most other year-end lists. M.I.A. does not shy away from using her work to promote her causes, be those causes third-world poverty, immigrant rights, sexism, racism, or classism. But unlike most artists who make "political" music, M.I.A. never clubs you over the head with her beliefs. And you can bet your ass that you will be snapping and bopping along the whole time.
M.I.A. intended to record a significant part of Kala with superproducer Timbaland, which sounds like a good match in theory. Both are known for using unusual sonic elements to produce something completely unexpected. But visa problems (which provided the inspiration for "Paper Planes") kept M.I.A. out of the United States for most of Tim's free time, so the two only produced one track together, "Come Around". Oddly, it stands out as the weakest track on the album, so I'd say the visa problems actually worked out in her favor.
READ MORE [wikipedia]:
M.I.A.
Kala
* * * * *
9) LCD Soundsystem, Sound Of Silver
DHMBIB's Dance DJ Album Of The Year
Grammy Nominations: 1
* Best Electronic/Dance Album
If you were to synthesize the hundreds of "music critic's best albums of '07" year-end lists in search of some sort of "consensus No. 1" -- to gather some sort of BCS ranking for CDs, as it were -- Sound Of Silver would probably come out on top. I think I saw this CD in the top 3 of more lists this season than every other CD on this list combined.
I agree that it was one of the best of the year. And -- my earlier "coulda pulled them outta my hat" caveat aside -- it would probably be higher on my list if the final track, "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down", weren't such a downer. Yes, that's stupid, but it's also true, and it needed to be said.
Seriously, from every album I heard "almost" all the way through this year -- and this list plus about ten others is THE LIST of such albums -- "New York..." was the one track I most often skipped over [iTunes tells us that we heard "North American Scum" 3 times as often as we heard "New York..." -- Ed.]. And it doesn't help that the track is not only a downer, but it also clocks in at 5:35, which is waaaaaaay too long for me to be listening to a downer track.
So, James Murphy, kudos to you! You took 9th "this week".
READ MORE [wikipedia]:
LCD Soundsystem
Sound Of Silver
James Murphy
* * * * *
10) Arctic Monkeys, Favourite Worst Nightmare
Grammy Nominations: 0
2007 Nationwide Mercury Prize Short List
In 2006, Britain's Arctic Monkeys became the first act to achieve superstar status largely as a result of an online community of fans reaching critical mass. Their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, debuted to critical acclaim and strong sales. After the Monkeys were awarded the prestigious Nationwide Mercury Prize later in the year, the Monkeys' status as Britain's premier rock-and-roll group was cemented.
Many critics worried that the Monkeys would fall victim to the dreaded "sophomore slump", both due to the expectations placed on them after taking the NMP, and because they were so young -- leader Alex Turner was only 20 years old when Whatever... dropped. But seeking to capture the momentum of their solid 2006, the Monkeys raced back into the studio to record Favourite Worst Nightmare.
The critics needn't have been concerned. The Monkeys have managed not only to not slump, but Favourite... actually betters their debut, and demonstrates artistic growth and teases a promising future for the band. The critics largely agreed, and honored the Monkeys in 2007 by again placing them on the Short List for the Nationwide Mercury Prize, making the Monkeys the first artist to be on the Short List in 2 consecutive years (alas, they did not win the 2007 award).
READ MORE [wikipedia]:
Arctic Monkeys
Favourite Worst Nightmare
Alex Turner
* * * * *
READ MORE:
Idolator's Idolator Pop '07 Music Critics' Poll
Idolator's round-up of other critics' lists
Village Voice's 2007 Pazz & Jop Poll
Sunday, February 10, 2008
The Year In Music, 2007: The Best CD's Of The Year
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
The Year In Music, 2007: The Best Music Videos Of The Year
UPDATED
Hi, kids! Did you know that "record companies", to promote awareness and sales of their "records", used to pay tens of thousands of dollars -- and in some cases, even more than a million dollars -- to make mini-movies showing their "recording artists" lip-synching their "songs" while water-skiing or being trapped in the closet and miscellaneous whatnot, which mini-movies were for some strange reason referred to as "music videos"?
Isn't that just crazy???
I know, right???
Well, even though there are precious few outlets outside of YouTube for playing music videos these days, a few of them are still being made. Below are DHMBIB's favorite videos of 2007.
[Disclaimer: DHMBIB does not spend all our time watching YouTube. Accordingly, we did not see every video in 2007. So please don't write in complaining that we didn't recognize your favorite "Lil Wayne feat. T-Pain & Akon" video. kthxbai -- Ed.]
It's impossible to rank these in any meaningful way. So I'll simply present them in alphabetical order by artist, along with some thoughts about why I loved them so much.
[N.B. Some of the aforementioned "record companies" -- especially labels that are part of Universal Music Group (UMG) -- don't want their videos to be "freely available" on YouTube and other such sites, and they're pretty aggressive with takedown notices. They want to share in ad revenue, so they make the video non-embeddable from YouTube, or they require some sort of pre-roll ad on the video. We have tried to find "free" versions of the videos below, but in some cases we could not. We'll alert you where you face a required "look at this ad!", in case that sort of thing offends you. -- Ed.]
Alanis Morissette, "My Humps"
Back in April, if you asked a friend, "Have you seen the video of Alanis Morissette covering the Black Eyed Peas' 'My Humps'?", the response probably would've been a puzzled "Whaaa???" if your friend wasn't plugged in to the music and celebrity bloggosphere. But indeed, Alanis did record "My Humps", apparently completely on a lark and completely to mock this ridiculous paean to "lady lumps" [is it appropriate to say Alanis was being "ironic" here??? -- Ed.]. She also filmed a video and somewhat quietly loosed it on the world, and the meme exploded in the bloggosphere for a few brief moments in April.
Alanis' "My Humps" was certainly the funniest video I saw all year.
Amy Winehouse, "Back To Black"
The first time I heard this track from Amy's superb album of the same name [Back To Black] -- the first time I really heard it -- I literally stopped dead in my tracks. For me, this song is the centerpiece of the record, and the video does the track complete justice. Cinema verite -- check! Amy metaphorically burying her broken heart -- check!
A few other tracks from Back To Black gained wider public exposure in 2007, but none had a better video than "Back To Black".
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the best video from the best album of the year.
Cold War Kids, "Hang Me Up To Dry":
This is also one of my favorite songs of 2007. I absolutely love the movie-trailer concept and the black-and-white photography. Cinema verite is almost always a good choice.
Fall Out Boy, "I'm Like A Lawyer (Me & You)":
[if the video doesn't appear above, go here]
Even in an era of ladybag-flashing celebutards who are paid by papparazi to tip them off on the next time they'll be heading out to Starbucks or the next time they'll be passing out in the gutter outside that hot new night club, some celebrities insist on occasionally doing The Right Thing and employing their celebrity in support of a good cause. In 2007 emo-scene poster-boy band Fall Out Boy teamed up with the non-profit organization Invisible Children to raise awareness of civil war and forced child soldiering in Uganda. For their part, FOB went to Uganda to film a video for their song, "I'm Like A Lawyer With The Way I'm Always Trying To Get You Off (Me & You)", a gorgeous Babyface-produced tune about love and heartbreak. But they turned the song's protagonist into a Ugandan boy trying to avoid conscription and certain death, just to be with his girlfriend. FOB mostly stay in the background and they thankfully dropped, well, some of the frivolous FOB-ness of the song's title. Throw in some outstanding direction and lush landscapes, and the video is one of the year's best.
Feist, "1234":
This Grammy-nominated video was reportedly shot in one complete take, which, if true, is both impressive and awesome. It is also notable for being the source of about a gajillion "is this a video or is it a commercial for The Gap?" jokes.
"1234" [or however it should be written -- Ed.] may be the most "entertaining" video of the year.
Justice, "D.A.N.C.E.":
I got nothing particularly profound to say about this video, the second on this list to be nominated for a Grammy. I just like it.
"Marshall Eriksen" [Jason Segel], "You Just Got Slapped":
If you don't already know what this is, I probably won't be able to explain it to you. Try going here or here.
My Chemical Romance, "Teenagers":
Hmmm...smells like homage.
Rihanna (feat. Jay-Z), "Umbrella":
[caution: kinda sorta possibly NSFW due to mild artistic sensuality and implied nudity]
["ad-free" unofficial version which may already be gone]
[30-second pre-roll ad-viewing required]
[Click here for non-embeddable official version with 30-second overlay ad]
Really, any of Rihanna's videos from her outsanding 2007 record Good Girl Gone Bad could've ended up on this list. I went with "Umbrella" because its combination of outstanding direction [you almolst can't tell she's not really toe-dancing!], artsy sensuality [19-year-old Rihanna nude! covered only in silver body paint! and wait, is that side-boob at the end???] and Rihanna martial-arting away the CGI'd water to keep us all safe and dry combine to make it leap off the screen and instantly memorable. Plus, "Umbrella" is the song of the year, and this is its video.
Also, by choosing "Umbrella", I get to post this bonus video -- a hilarious cover of "Umbrella" by Italian emo-punks Vanilla Sky:
Snoop Dogg, "Sensual Seduction":
If you have just watched this video, you certainly don't need me to tell you why it's on this list. If you have not just watched this video, stop reading, watch the video, and come back. We'll wait.
Huzzah, sir Snoop!
Saturday, December 1, 2007
BREAKING: Area Blogger Not Kidnapped By Aliens
We here at DHMBIB have been remiss about posting recently. In fact, we see that it's been 9 weeks since our last post. That was not our intention. It's just that we got caught up in other life events, like job-related things, moving-related things, blah-blah-blah-related things. And as such.
We are back, and we'll try to make it worth your while for occasionally stopping by and checking us out.
With regard to our "Best CDs of 2007" project, we plan to condense the remaining posts into more-easily-writeablereadable nuggets. And we are also planning on doing some nice, arbitrary "end of the year" stuff.
Thank you for your patronage.
Eds.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
The Year In Music, 2007: The Best CDs Of The Year [Part 1] -- Amy Winehouse, Back To Black
US Release Date: 13 March 2007
Pop Album Of The Year
Classic R&B/Soul Album Of The Year
_____ Album Of The Year
Album Of The Year
No, I'm not being redundant with that last entry.
Back To Black is not only the best album of the year in any genre, it will also be nominated for the AOTY Grammy and right now has to be considered the favorite to win.
Yes, this record is that good.
* * * * *
Amy Winehouse first hit my radar screen the same way she hit a lot of other people's screens -- as the object of a story about how she was really drunk and screwed something up. The comment section gets lit up by people laughing at her, and then about halfway down, someone pipes in: "hey, Amy Winehouse is really quite talented, you should check her out".
While minding my own business and doing some web surfing back on October 18, 2006, I came across this headline and short piece in Stereogum:Charlotte Church Covers Michael Jackson
And why do you care? 'Cause her duet partner, Amy Winehouse, is plastered. From the classical singer's terrible variety show. Quite amusing.
Quite amusing, indeed. I chuckled at the clip at the time, but I was intrigued by the entreaties of so many of her fans to check her out. Amy's appearance on The Charlotte Church Show was in support of the release of Back To Black in the UK. The buzz around the record in the British music mags was growing louder by the day. Her label seeded a few tracks to some opinion-makers in the States who were instantly hooked. I first heard some tracks in December, and I knew I was going to have this record.
Every time I hear Amy sing now, I cry a little bit more for that clip of "Beat It", because damnit, that could have been fucking terrific!
* * * * *
[Necessary disclosure: I started working on this post a loooooooong time ago. For lots of reasons, I didn't finish it in a timely manner. I've finally decided to just wrap it up and roll with it. I have included a few things that have happened since the end of June -- this series was supposed to be, after all, a wrap-up of the first 6 months of the year -- but I've also excluded some things. We'll cover those important developments later. -- Ed.]
[What kind of fuckery is this??? -- Ed.'s Ed.]
When I started writing this post, I planned to rehash Amy's trainwreck of a spring and summer. But that's been holding this up, and I've already covered a lot of that.
Amy Winehouse has demons. Lots of demons. The booze. The loved-and-lost. The booze. The drugs. The booze. The missed performances. The booze. The love-of-her-life. The booze. The eating disorders. The booze. The cutting. And did I mention the booze?
[image courtesy witz.org and modified by DHMBIB. Left: 2004, at the Nationwide Mercury Prize award ceremony. Right: 2007.]
[apropos of not very much, compare these photos to the EXTREMELY photoshopped cover of Back To Black above. Also, to point it out for no reason at all, among the "editing" that was done on the cover photo was to draw in a bikini top on the tattoo on Amy's left arm. The real tattoo has the subject topless. If you look carefully, you can see that in the video below of Amy performing at the Nationwide Mercury Prize award ceremony -- Ed.]
And everyone already knows about all of that. So, I'll write about something else instead.
* * * * *
Put quite simply, Amy Winehouse and producer Mark Ronson [more on him later -- Ed.] (with some help from Amy's old producer Salaam Remi) have created a masterpiece in Back To Black. To Amy's Shirley Bassey / Billie Holiday / Dinah Washington classic jazz sound, Amy and Ronson added Ronson's trademark retro Motown / Wall of Sound / R&B to produce a unique audio style that seems at once both retro and modern, classic and timeless....What kind of fuckery is this?
["Me & Mr. Jones"]
You made me miss the Slick Rick gig...
But Back To Black doesn't just stand out due to the compelling combination of Amy's retro-jazz voice and Mark Ronson's retro-R&B sound. It's Amy's songwriting that completes the perfect storm here.
Back To Black shares the confusion, hurt and anger of a woman going through a stormy relationship and ultimately a fiery breakup. Amy wrote these songs about her relationship and subsequent breakup with her then-former boyfriend, Blake Fielder-Civil [indeed, the pain expressed here is so profound that Amy's fans were shocked to find that Amy and Blake reconciled and secretly married in April 2007]. The lyric sheet reads like a tome of poetry that stands on its own as a narrative of love, loss, betrayal, confusion, anger, regret, and despair. And on top of all of that, coping with these feelings and the additional problems that can cause.It's okay in a day, I'm staying busy
["Wake Up Alone"]
Tied up enough so I don’t have to wonder where is he
Got so sick of crying
So just lately
When I catch myself I do a 180
I stay up clean the house
At least I'm not drinking
Run around just so I don't have to think about thinking
That silent sense of content
That everyone gets
Just disappears soon as the sun sets
His face in my dreams, seizing my guts
He floods me with dread
Soaked to the soul
He swims in my eyes by the bed
Pour myself over him
Moon spilling in
And I wake up alone...
Here, Amy says "at least I'm not drinking". Turning to booze and other self-medication as a coping mechanism is a theme that courses through the entire record. Indeed, the "black" of the album and song title is both "the black hole of despair and depression" and "so intoxicated I black out":He left no time to regret
["Back To Black"]
Kept his dick wet
With his same old safe bet
Me and my head high
And my tears dry
Get on without my guy
You went back to what you knew
So far removed from all that we went through
And I tread a troubled track
My odds are stacked
I'll go back to black
We only said good-bye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to.....
I go back to us
I love you much
It's not enough
You love blow and I love puff
And life is like a pipe
And I'm a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside
We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to
We only said good-bye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to
Black, black, black, black, black, black, black,
I go back to
I go back to
We only said good-bye with words...
Most people are familiar with Amy from "Rehab", in which Amy defiantly refuses the entreaties of her friends and family that she seek help for her addictions ["they tried to make me go to rehab, but I said no, no, no / yes, I've been black, but when I come back, you won't know, know, know..."]. But songs such as the tragic "Back To Black", the mischievous "You Know I'm No Good" [in which "carpet burns" become evidence of infidelity and betrayal], and the haunting "Love Is A Losing Game" are far superior both musically and lyrically:For you I was a flame,
["Love Is A Losing Game"]
Love is a losing game
Five story fire as you came,
Love is a losing game
One I wish I never played,
Oh, what a mess we made
And now the final frame,
Love is a losing game
Played out by the band,
Love is a losing hand
More than I could stand,
Love is a losing hand
Self-professed, profound
'Til the chips were down
Know you’re a gambling man
Love is a losing hand
Tho' I battled blind,
Love is a fate resigned
Memories mar my mind,
Love is a fate resigned
Over futile odds,
And laughed at by the Gods
And now the final frame,
Love is a losing game
From top to bottom, there is not a single "miss" on this record. Amy and Mark Ronson have managed to craft an out-of-nowhere classic that will make the best-of-the-year -- and, for years to come, the best-of-the-decade -- lists of all but the most snobbery of critics.
If you enjoy reading this blog, I can assure you that will enjoy this record and agree with me that Back To Black is the best album of at least the last 3 years.
* * * * *
Probably because Amy's style and Back To Black's sound are so unique in modern popular music, Amy has won the adoration and acclaim of critics and peers of all stripes. I have never seen a review of Back To Black even approaching "mediocre". And Amy's fans among her peers range all the way from hip-hop royalty such as Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, and Ghostface to dancehall-pop fave Shaggy to fellow nu-soul peer Joss Stone to pop royalty such as Justin Timberlake and Paul Weller to modern rockers [and fellow Nationwide Mercury Prize honorees] Arctic Monkeys. Below I've included a couple of my favorite Back To Black "spin-off" tracks: a Jay-Z remix of "Rehab", in which his usual "I'm the best rapper alive!" shtick is filtered through the track's theme of addiction to become a rather humorous I'm-addicted-to-being-the-greatest-and-I-can't-get-up verse ["'oh look, he's relapsin'...just look how he's rappin''...every time I try to get out it pulls me back in..."]; and an Arctic Monkeys cover of "You Know I'm No Good" that is so note-for-note perfect you would think the track is an Arctic Monkeys original if you didn't know any better. Recognizing the genius of this track, they didn't even bother to change the gender-specific lyrics, and that was a great call, as the song may just have fallen apart if they had [or maybe it is still appropriate -- maybe Alex Turner likes teh guys?...don't know, don't care -- Ed.]
* * * * *
[image courtesy the Daily Mail]
Amy Winehouse has drink and drug problems. Amy Winehouse has tantrums backstage and destroys her dressing room.
I have surprising news for you -- Amy Winehouse is a ROCK STAR. And she's behaving like one.
Back in the era of, say, Janis Joplin and Grace Slick, no one would have batted an eye at Amy's behavior. Unfortunately for Amy, however, she lives in an era in which the public has become obsessed with celebrities and all of their foibles and follies. We love to break down our stars and watch them implode under the crush of the paparazzi and the 24x7x365 stream of tawdry celebregossip. To people who know Amy only through the pictures they see on the internet and through her song about refusing to go to rehab, Amy is not a rock star like Janis Joplin, she is a celebrity trainwreck like Britney Spears.
So after Amy's missed and botched performances, her two recent in-and-out stints in rehab [heh], and her bloody fight with her husband Blake, Amy -- like Britney -- appeared to be in danger of losing her career, or [heaven forbid] something far more meaningful. Amy herself was desperately in need of her own triumphant comeback.
Enter the Nationwide Mercury Prize.
The Nationwide Mercury Prize is a peculiar British institution. It is an award created a few years ago by the British equivalent of the RIAA as an alternative to the BRIT awards [a/k/a "the British Grammys"]. I'm still not clear on the "why?" part. Anyway, a panel of "experts" singles out 12 albums by British or Irish artists from the previous year to be recognized for their artistic achievement. In Britain -- and in international music critic circles -- it is considered a singular honor merely to be nominated for this award. To absolutely no one's surprise, Back To Black made this year's "short list" for the award [another British peculiarity about this award is that the list of 12 selected albums is not referred to as a list of "nominees" or "finalists", but as the "short list"].
This was not the first time Amy was on the short list for this prestigious award. In 2004, Amy made the short list for her first album, Frank, although she lost that year to Franz Ferdinand's self-titled debut [Frank was not released in the U.S., but due to the success of Back To Black, Amy's record company has announced plans to release it in the U.S. "later this year"]. The photo above shows Amy at the award ceremony in 2004.
The 2007 award ceremony occurred on Tuesday 4 September, less than 2 weeks after Amy and her husband Blake had a fight that left them both bloodied and cut. Coming just a couple of weeks after Amy was in-and-out of rehab -- twice -- many observers believed Amy maybe had finally gone over the edge. And many wondered whether she would even show up to the Nationwide Mercury Prize award ceremony.
[Image courtesy Getty Images. Amy with Quentin Tarantino at the 2007 Nationwide Mercury Prize award ceremony.]
An early-favorite going in to this year's ceremony [along with the 2006 winners Arctic Monkeys], Amy alas did not win the award [The award went to Klaxons for their album Myths Of The Near Future]. Many observers thought her loss was the first sign of a critical backlash against her antics that could endanger her career.
All artists on the short list are invited to perform at the ceremony, and 11 of the 12 artists performed this year [only Arctic Monkeys, who were on tour in the U.S., did not perform]. In some quarters, Amy's stock had sunk so low that critics began referring to her Mercury performance as a potential "comeback" performance. This was widely seen as her best -- maybe last? -- chance for her to show that she still "had it" and had not become a Britney-Spears-style trainwreck. For her performance, Amy decided to go low-key, turning in a haunting performance of "Love Is A Losing Game", accompanied only by an acoustic guitar. It's a breath-taking performance that brought the house down:
[okay Britney, THAT is how you put on a "comeback" performance -- Ed.]
Okay, two words -- WOW!!! I'm not completely fluent in the singing-ese language, but I think the above roughly translates into "Piss off Klaxons, you've just been pwn3d! All your news coverage are belong to me!"
Those wacky Brits have an end-of-summer awards mini-season. Wednesday 19 September saw two separate music awards ceremonies, the Mobo ["music of black origin"] Awards, and the Vodafone Live Music Awards. That night, Amy picked up the Female Artist Mobo and the Live Female Artist Vodafone award. Amy appeared at the Mobo ceremony and continued her "comeback" tour-de-force with excellent performances of "Tears Dry On Their Own" and "Me & Mr. Jones":
[Amy appears to be having fun head-faking the censors during "Me & Mr. Jones"]
[reviews of Amy's performance of "Tears Dry On Their Own" have been mixed, but her performance of "Me & Mr. Jones" has been widely applauded. We think she did great on both songs -- Ed.]
These fantastic "comeback" performances confirmed that Amy still "has it" and is still a performer not to be missed. If Amy can more-or-less stay out of trouble -- or at least lower her tabloid profile -- and continue showing up and putting on performances like these, she should take that Grammy she so clearly deserves.
* * * * *
Some of the audiovisual goodness from Back To Black...
["You Know I'm No Good"]
["Rehab"]
["Back To Black"]
["Tears Dry On Their Own"]
* * * * *
Here, Amy shows a great sense of humor in a video interview with...wait for it...Kelly Osbourne [huh??? -- Ed.]:
[note: this was clearly recorded on a hand-held DV, so the video is quite shaky. But worth viewing nevertheless -- Ed.]
* * * * *
Amy Winehouse, Back To Black
Reviews / Ratings:
All Music [out of 5]: 4
Entertainment Weekly: A-
The Guardian [out of 5]: 4
IGN [out of 10]: 8.6
The Observer [out of 5]: 4
Pitchfork [out of 10]: 6.4 [what kind of fuckery is this??? actually, read the review, it's better than the rating, which is actually assigned by an editor, and not the reviewer, for some ungodly reason -- Ed.]
Rolling Stone [out of 5]: 3
Yahoo! Music UK [out of 10]: 9
metacritic.com [weighted combined rating, out of 100]: 82
* * * * *
Amy Winehouse - Back To Black [MP3, via YSI]
Amy Winehouse - Back To Black [MP3, via zShare]
Amy Winehouse - Love Is A Losing Game [MP3, via YSI]
Amy Winehouse - Love Is A Losing Game [MP3, via zShare]
Amy Winehouse - Rehab (remix feat. Pharoahe Monch & Jay-Z) [MP3, via YSI]
Amy Winehouse - Rehab (remix feat. Pharoahe Monch & Jay-Z) [MP3, via zShare]
Arctic Monkeys - You Know I'm No Good [MP3, via YSI]
Arctic Monkeys - You Know I'm No Good [MP3, via zShare]
Monday, July 23, 2007
The Year In Music, 2007: The Best CDs Of The Year [Part 1] -- Lily Allen, Alright, Still
US Release Date: 30 January 2007
MAINSTREAM POP ALBUM OF THE YEAR
DEBUT ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Okay, let's just get this out of the way right now. Lily Allen is abso-freakin'-lutely adorable. And so is Alright, Still.
We cannot talk about 22-year-old Lily Allen without taking a quick trip through her family background. Lily is what we now in the US might refer to as "celebuspawn". Lily's father is Keith Allen, a middlingly-famous British actor and musician not famous enough that we in the US would know who he is without googling him. Lily's mother is British TV producer Alison Owen.
Lily's celebrity upbringing was both a help and a hindrance to her desire to become a singer in her own right. Fans and detractors -- and potential competitors -- constantly questioned her bona fides, and asked how much her celebrity parentage was helping her career along. Tiring of these barriers, eventually Lily decided to create her music career the new-fashioned way: on MySpace. Indeed, Lily Allen may be the first true "pop star" to emerge entirely from her MySpace presence. [Take THAT, Tila Tequila -- Ed.]
In addition to posting all of her music on MySpace, Lily kept in touch with her fans -- and attracted legions of new fans -- through her MySpace blog, in which she opened up about her life: her body-image issues, her beloved English Bull Terrier, Maggie May [whom she reported missing back in December, but who turned up safe-if-not-so-sound shortly thereafter -- that's Maggie May in the lower-left corner of the CD cover photo], and, perhaps most famously, her "feud" with fellow Brit singer Lady Sovereign:Dear Lady Sovereign
In response to Miss sovereigns comments , I've spoken to my Dad and he says he'd be happy to adopt you if you think it will give you a leg up .
The 21-year-old rapper - who is enjoying chart success in the US - thinks it is unfair she is attacked in Britain for her sense of style, while Lily is lauded for her quirky dress sense.
Lady Sovereign told the Observer Music Monthly magazine: 'I'm not appreciated. You get some of the media hating people like me 'cause they're chavish but Lily is the biggest chav going and everyone seems to love her.' The 'Public Warning' singer insists she doesn't hate Lily, but thinks she has had it easy, because she is the daughter of successful comic actor Keith Allen.
She added: 'I'm not hating on her but someone like Lily Allen, just 'cause her dad's famous, doesn't have to work as hard as someone like me.' The Wembley-born MC also claims her next album is going to be so controversial, her record label Def Jam will 's**t themselves'.
The rapper - who can count Nas and LL Cool J as her label mates - said: 'If they think my current album is irregular the next one's going to be pretty f**ked up. I've got so many things to say. They're going to s**t themselves.'
Perhaps growing up with famous-for-British-"Hollywood" parents gave Lily a unique perspective on fame and stardom. She seems remarkably humble and self-composed for being a huge break-out popstar. Perhaps that's also due to the fact that she's still just 22 and this all seems so new and remarkable to her.
Back in late May -- it seems like so much longer ago -- Lily had the chance to duet with her idol, Blondie's Debbie Harry, on The Today Show. Lily is still so in awe of her idols that she doesn't want to take the spotlight away from Debbie, not even appearing on stage until after Meredith Viera finishes her interview with Debbie:
And Lily has no problem making herself -- or her fellow break-out stars -- the butt of a joke by, well, looking ridiculous:
[Lily as Amy Winehouse recently on the British teevee show "Friday Night Project" -- Ed.]
But wait -- isn't this post supposed to be about Alright, Still?
Lily's debut CD is a brilliant tour-de-force that mixes elements of brit-pop, ska, R&B, dance, and neo-60's-Motown to produce the best "mainstream pop" CD of the first half of 2007.
Yes, I just wrote that.
Part of it is Mark Ronson's brilliant production work [more on HIM later -- Ed.]. Part of it is Lily's unique and entertaining songwriting. Whether she's writing and singing about the pitfalls facing ladies in the club scene ["Knock 'Em Out", "Friday Night"], past lovers who have done her wrong ["Not Big", "Littlest Things"], her body-image issues ["Everything's Just Wonderful"], or her "little baby brother" Alfie who won't stop smoking weed and pullllllling her hair ["Alfie"], Lily manages to create a nearly perfect concoction of sing-a-long lyrics and head-bouncing music. Ironically, at the tender age of 21 [when she recorded this record] Lily managed to create the precise CD that Geri ["Ginger Spice"] Halliwell spent 10 years of her career struggling -- and not succeeding -- to make.
Part of it is also Lily's sailor-mouth. Brits -- especially female Brits -- can "get away away with" being "foul-mouthed sailors" in ways that Americans can't. Lily also benefits from being a young woman -- out of her 22-year-old mouth, it doesn't sound crass -- in context, it even sounds subversively fun. ["oh, my gosh, you must be joking me / if you think that you'll be poking me", from "Shame For You" -- Ed.]
And speaking of subversive fun, Alright, Still is the most subversively "fun" record of the year. Listen to the three most head-bouncing singles on this CD: "Smile", "LDN", and "Alfie". Listen to the lyrics VERY CAREFULLY. Unless you are the asshole-ex-boyfriend of "Smile", the old-lady-who-got-mugged-in-the-park of "LDN", or the "twat" [= rhymes with "hat", not "hot"] baby brother of "Alfie", you will have no choice but to grin slyly as you bounce your head along, feeling like you are "in" on an inside joke.
Lily Allen's Alright, Still is head-and-shoulders-above-the-crowd one of the best pop records of the year. If Lily can maintain her careful balance of clever songrwriting, ahead-of-the-curve production, and attitude, she just may be able to cultivate that career she's long wanted.
*****
[Lily Allen performing "Everything's Just Wonderful" and "Littlest Things" live at the Bonnaroo Music Festival, 25 June 2007 -- Ed.]
[Lily Allen music video for "Smile" -- Ed.]
[Lily Allen music video for "Alfie" -- Ed.]
[Lily Allen music video for "LDN" -- Ed.]
*****
Still haven't fallen in love with Lily Allen yet? And you need more?
Seriously???
[Lily Allen music video for "Smile" in Simlish -- the "language" for The Sims. Seriously, there is a language for The Sims. This may actually be nerdier than those people who go to Star Trek conventions dressed as Klingons and only speak to each other in Klingon. Seriously. Just sayin' -- Ed.]
Invite Lily to go bowling sometime:
[Lily went bowling with a friend in Japan while on tour in early 2007. We have no idea which bowler is Lily -- Ed.]
*****
Okay, you still aren't sold? This is the last best hope for you...
Lily Allen has a third nipple. And she's not afraid to whip it out and show you.
Check please!
*****
Lily Allen, Alright, Still
Reviews / Ratings:
Blender [out of 5]: 4.5
Pitchfork [out of 10]: 8.3
Rolling Stone [out of 5]: 3.5
Spin [out of 5]: 4
metacritic.com [weighted combined rating, out of 100]: 79
*****
So, what MP3's could I possibly post from this record? All of the hits are ubiquitous by now, and there are some great tracks beyond those hits.
This will plague me over the course of this project.
For Alright, Still, I've decided to post my favorite of the three "hit" tracks, "Alfie", and a great "album" track, "Everything's Just Wonderful". Enjoy!
Lily Allen - Alfie [MP3, via YSI]
Lily Allen - Alfie [MP3, via zShare]
Lily Allen - Everything's Just Wonderful [MP3, via YSI]
Lily Allen - Everything's Just Wonderful [MP3, via zShare]
*****
[Next: This Ain't A Scene, It's A God Damn Great Record -- Ed.]
The Year In Music, 2007: The Best CDs Of The Year [Part 1]
Okay, I've been promising and promising forever. I'm ready.
I've been working on a recap of the Best CDs of the Year. I'll be posting about these CDs chronologically based on their US release date. Most posts will discuss why I think the CDs stand out and will includes references to reviews and what other critics or blogs thought about the CD. Some will even have a couple of MP3's.
Of course, my tastes are not everyone's tastes. What I consider to be among the best, may be on your "Worst! CD! Ever!" list. I'll even talk about some of the CDs that recently disappointed me. I should get around to nearly every CD I bought this year, either in a "best of" post or in a recap of some "meh" CDs.
To qualify, the CD had to be released in the US for the first time on or after 1 January 2007. The CD also had to be composed of "new" material, so I will largely be ignoring "Greatest Hits" and other similar compilations. [Note: "CD" includes digital collections, and my evaluation may include "bonus material" available only in digital form.]
I hope to post about at least one CD every day/night. But please bear with me.
Thanks again for your continued support.
DHMBIB
