end of year list #2

Maybe it's something to do with the fact that I can't listen to the radio at work anymore. Or maybe it's because I obtained so much music this year that I rarely gave any of it the attention it deserves. Or the fact that the two albums I was most looking forward to ended up disappointing me. Maybe it's the fact that, unlike fellow would-be hipster L.M.S. whose list overfloweth with all things Swede, I failed to travel the world (and my favorite region was oddly quiet this year - I'm looking at you, Lawerence, and you'd better keep your promises for next year). But I'll be honest – apart from a few epic, shining exceptions, I found this year to be mildly lackluster. (Hipster point tally: + 3 points for the irritating rant about how bad music is these days. – 5 points for Ben Lee.)

ten favorite albums

10 • Gang of Losers by the Dears
Technically released last year, but purchased at the beginning of 2007. It became the soundtrack to my life for months, especially around the time I was reluctantly laid off by some of the greatest people around. We were a great gang of losers.
9 • Flashlights by So Many Dynamos
Also released last year. My soundtrack to the last half of the year – the half I spent battling the 101 at rush hour, screaming about the apocalypse along with these young rabble-rousers, wishing I could be out rousing rabble with them instead of playing at being a grown up.
8 • Sunset Tree by the Mountain Goats
Actually released in 2005. I think. But I've listened to this album more than any other album in my collection this year. And I don't know why.
7 • We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank by Modest Mouse
I resisted this album for months. And I regret it. Who knew they needed Johnny Marr to make them sound upbeat. But in a totally awesome "we're all gonna die and we're taking you down with us" sort of way.
6 • Shepherd's Dog by Iron and Wine
Sam Beam proves that change is good, and that, very occasionally, so are totally unrealistic beards. There's actual anger in these songs, and instruments that are actually plugged into amplifiers, and a band and stuff. Rock 'n' roll.
5 • Good Arrows by Tunng
Not as good as some of their previous efforts. But this album makes it to the list because of the random outburst of the word, "Soup!" in the middle of the song by the same name. Absurdity will get you far.
4 • Costello Music by the Fratellis
We're called "would-be hipsters" for a reason. Sometimes, y'know, you just need loud, retro, glammy punk-pop from Scotland. The funnest album of the year, with some of the best bass lines.
3 • Killed or Cured by the New Amsterdams
The original Killed or Cured was an EP available for free download online. It then grew into a free LP. Matt Pryor re-recorded the songs with his new band, and released this double album – the first disc ("Killed") is the original set of tracks, the second disc ("Cured") the new tracks. I still prefer "Killed", but both discs are amazing. (With the exception of the reworked "Watch the World Cave In" which is, um, well, not.)
2 • Emerald City by John Vanderslice
I don't even have words to describe why this album is great. Kidnapped children, loneliness, lethal amounts of pain killers, torture, buckets of blood, Oregon Trail tragedies, and a kookaburra. Yay! And, as an added bonus, the liner notes with the best typesetting!
1 • Reunion Tour by the Weakerthans
We thought the Weakerthans had stopped recording and touring. They hadn't. Enough said.

ten favorite songs

10 • "Love Me Like the World is Ending" by Ben Lee from Ripe
Two words: water balloons.
9 • "Herculean" by [that band that refuses to have a name] from The Good, The Bad & The Queen
One of those songs that's just in the air everywhere you go, and you realize one day that it's permeated your psyche and you love it but you don't even know it means. It doesn't mean anything? Even better.
8 • "The Underdog" by Spoon from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Yeah. I know. It's Spoon. And I don't like Spoon. But have you heard this song?
7 • "Chris Walla: Duet for Moog and Hurdy Gurdy in G Major-Ish" by Flash Hawk Parlor Ensemble from Plastic Bag In The Tree
How can that collection of words not belong to one of the greatest songs ever recorded?
6 • "You're A Wolf" by Sea Wolf from Leaves in the River
Catchy, airy, and completely enigmatic. Something about a gypsy? And streams? Wolves, there are definitely wolves. I think.
5 • "Young Folks" by Peter Bjorn & John from Writer's Block
Oh, shut up. You love it too. Or you did at first. Deep down, you know you still do.
4 • "Creepin Up the Back Stairs" by the Fratellis from Costello Music
Loud and dirty and fun and completely unnecessary. What more could you ask for?
3 • "Strangled By The Thought" by the New Amsterdams from Killed or Cured
Equally beautiful on both discs. The swelling of the strings of the Cured version makes my heart soar in the sappiest way.
2 • "Night Windows" by the Weakerthans from Reunion Tour
If I thought I'd get away with it, this whole list would be Weakerthans tracks. I couldn't choose. I picked this one on a whim, because it's got a bass line that is made of love. And the line, "depluralize our casualties".
1 • "Karma Police" by John Vanderslice from Stereogum's OKX
The booming pseudo-drums, the twinkling noises, JV's aching voice.... Everything that is right in the world is encapsulated in this beautiful cover of an awesomely bent song.


five favorite shows

5 • Ben Gibbard @ UCLA's Royce Hall
Playing music from Death Cab for Cutie, the Postal Service, and All Time Quarterback!, this was a good show. Especially because of the psychotic covers. ("All Apologies" on the piano? Oh yeah.) Kevin McDonald was there too. But mainly, the greatness of this show was what happened afterward, and finding out that Mr. Gibbard can make Asian girls cry.
4 • KCRW's Sounds Eclectic Evening @ the Gibson Amphitheatre
Regardless of the fact I was not leaning against a bassist's amp and was, in fact, halfway back and crammed against a wall of a very large theatre, there's no denying the power of the Cold War Kids, Lily Allen, the Shins, and Rodrigo y Gabriella. Have you seen a heavy metal flamenco guitar cover of "Stairway to Heaven"? Dude.
3 • Flash Hawk Parlor Ensemble @ Spaceland
On one stage there was a hammered dulcimer, a musical saw, a Moog, a mandolin, and a hurdy gurdy. Not to mention a host of more benign but equally well-played instruments, and Jenny Conlee (on whom I have an enormous girl crush). And Sebastian, the the Animatronic Conducting Gorilla.
2 • John Vanderslice @ the Troubadour
I don't think I realized how much I adored Mr. Vanderslice until that show. Anything that was wrong with the world was instantly – if briefly – mended in the three-and-a-half minutes it took him, his band, and everyone in the room to whisper-sing "Keep the Dream Alive."
1 • The Weakerthans @ the El Rey
They played on my 25th birthday. It was also the bassist's birthday. John K. Samson was there. He made noises. You couldn't ask for more.

three favorite books

3 • Klosterman IV by Chuck Klosterman
2 • Looking for Alaska by John Green
1 • Yes Man by Danny Wallace

three favorite movies

(Yeah. I'm not really a movie person. Here's some YouTube stuff instead!)
3 • The Brotherhood 2.0 videos
2 • Elmo on Rove Live (along with his handler, Kevin Clash)
1 • The Lashes' Hollywood Pizza Party with Kato Kaelin video

my secret superpower is:
using my big bag of commas and past participles to make the world safe for proper grammar. I call myself the Adverb Avenger!

my advice to other would-be hipsters:
I'm a twenty-five-year-old art school dropout who can't pay her student loans. No one wants advice from me. Just stop taking yourself so seriously.

in 2008 I might:
start feeling like a grownup. But probably not.

mp3: "Peace Beneath the City" by Iron & Wine Morning Becomes Eclectic
mp3: "The Underdog" by Spoon – from KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic
mp3: "Karma Police" by John Vanderslice
mp3: "Strangled By The Thought" by the New Amsterdams
mp3: "You're A Wolf" by Sea Wolf Morning Becomes Eclectic