“Lester Bangs couldn't handle the Rolling Stones. Bangs was never a dispassionate critic anyway, but when the subject was Mick and Keith, any pretense of detachment flew out the window, and with it his surgical insight and analysis. That may be why I love his work on the band so much. Read in chronological order (as one can in the 2003 collection Mainlines, Blood Feasts, and Bad Tastes), one can see in Bangs not so much a disillusionment, but rather a steadfast refusal to bring truth to his illusions. They remain the gods that saved his life when he was fourteen, and as they continue to make bad record after bad record, it's not so much their own reputation they are sullying, but his own memory. And that's why he's pissed off, and it's no small wonder: Bangs' work on the Stones is an example of what happens when your private obsessions no longer correspond to cultural ones; a sustained note of fear that as your avatars and heroes become irrelevant, so do you.”
Wow, Alexander is really giving it to the new Stones’ release, huh? Nope. This was the
opening paragraph for Cokemachineglow’s review of Smashing Pumpkins’ just released
Zeitgeist.
Most Overused Expression of 2007: And the Bears go 3 and out.
Top Ten Things Said By Craig Finn to Close Out a Show in 2007 
10. “There is so much joy in what we do up here…”.
9. “There is so much joy in what we do up here…”.
8. “There is so much joy in what we do up here…”.
7. “There is so much joy in what we do up here…”.
6. “There is so much joy in what we do up here…”.
5. “There is so much joy in what we do up here…”.
4. “There is so much joy in what we do up here…”.
3. “There is so much joy in what we do up here…”.
2. “There is so much joy in what we do up here…”.
1. “There is so much joy in what we do up here…”.
Top Ten Chicago Concerts of 2007 (that I attended)10. Wilco @ Millenium Park, September 12, 2007 -- This felt like the unofficial end of summer, but on an unseasonably cool September night at the incomparable Millenium Park, Wilco delivered a great set with Jeff Tweedy and the boys in an exceptionally festive mood. They kept playing well into the night and we kept
listening. I italicized the word “listening” because I had the $10 lawn seats and couldn’t actually see the band. But it didn’t matter. When Tweedy called out “Nailed it!” after a pepped up version of “Walken” I knew we were in for a good evening. And not being able to see isn’t always a bad thing….remember Jeff’s appearance at the 2006 Lollapalooza? They played songs from every Wilco album, even serving up some “Casino Queen.” The only disappointing part of the night was their refusal to play their classic “This Is Our Country” from all those Volkswagen ads.
9. Neko Case @ Park West, March 29, 2007 -- Remember having to suffer through that ridiculous “art” show on the overhead screen that seemed like a combination of “An Inconvenient Truth” with some Sesame Street mixed in? Well, once Case took the stage all was forgotten, right? What a great concert. I milked as much as I could out of the
Fox Confessor… album so finally seeing the songs live brought me some closure. Now who can we blame for that slide show? I bet Ani Difranco has some blood on her hands.
8. Berto Ramon @ Double Door, November 9, 2007 -- Quite simply, the best unsigned band in Chicago. This energetic yet intelligent hip-hop group brought a capacity crowd at the Double Door to a near Biggie-Smalls’-funeral-procession-on-the-streets-of-Harlem like frenzy.
7. The Walkmen @ Schubas, March 11, 2007 -- Packed in at tiny Schubas, lead singer Hamilton Leithauser raged into the microphone like he had just had a home run taken away for too much pine tar on his bat. Also playing a few new songs with Louisiana-like horns, the Walkmen continue to prove they’re a band that needs to be seen and spit on by and not just heard.
6.
The New Pornographers @ Union Park, 2007 Pitchfork Festival, July 15, 2007 -- While De La Soul closed out the 2007 Pitchfork Festival for most people, the New Pornographers closed it out for me. Well, that’s not technically true. On the way home, the homeless guy on the El who swore he only needed a dollar and not my entire wallet pretty much officially shut down the weekend. Still a great couple of days though.
5. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists @ The Metro, April 28, 2007 -- I have seen Mr. Leo five times and this is the one that sticks out. Having to be out of the Metro by 10pm and hustle over to the Hideout, they stormed through their set of mostly new material from the recently released
Living With the Living. They didn’t even leave the stage for an encore, they just kept playing until their time was up. It's the show I always wanted to see out of Ted Leo.
4.
Matt & Kim w/ Dan Deacon @ Logan Square Auditorium, October 2, 2007 -- The Logan Square Auditorium hasn’t smelled the same since.
3.
Okkervil River @ Logan Square Auditorium, September 18, 2007 -- Great show as always/expected.
2.
The Hold Steady w/ Art Brut @ The Metro, October 31, 2007 -- I’ll never forget where I was on Halloween night of 2007. It’s the Kennedy assassination of concerts.
1. The Arcade Fire @ Chicago Theatre, May 20, 2007 -- Simply put, the best show of the year.
If you read below you’ll see Matt Farra claim that the Besnard Lakes rival the Arcade Fire in concert. Pffft. I’ll believe that when I never see it.
Best of the Rest: Rogue Wave @ The Double Door, Tapes ‘n Tapes @ Abbey Pub, Menomena @ The Metro, Band of Horses @ The Metro, Fujiya & Miyagi @ The Empty Bottle
Top Ten Songs of 200710. “Halloweenhead” by Ryan Adams -- Everyone’s favorite (or least favorite) grump reminds us with this song what the
Rock N Roll album should have sounded like.
9. “Late Night” by Nina Nastasia and Jim White -- Nastasia at her finest. Simple vocals, simple guitar chords, and simple drumbeats yet there is something brilliant about it. Simple but brilliant….pretend that also applies to this description.
8. “Direct Hit” by Art Brut -- Sure.
7. “Heretics” by Andrew Bird -- Thank God it’s fatal. Thank God
what is fatal? Beating on Tina Turner? Hmmm, I guess you could say it’s fatal. But an extra forty-five years is still a long time to live with a supposed “fatal” ailment.
6. “The Sons of Cain” by Ted Leo & the Pharmacists -- When we live in a world plagued by controversial issues like the war in Iraq and whether or not Jennifer Love Hewitt is fat, it sure is nice to have Ted Leo around to tell it like it is. I mean, isn’t it?
5. “(Antichrist Television Blues)” by The Arcade Fire -- The Arcade Fire continues their love/hate relationship with religion with this up-tempo song that culminates with a dramatic ending. And yes, I just gave away the entire plot to Jerry Seinfeld’s “Bee Movie”.
4. “The Underdog” by Spoon -- An undeniably great song culled from an album with an undeniably stupid title.
3. “Rotten Hell” by Menomena -- The lyrics say “rot in hell” but the song is called “Rotten Hell”. I don’t have anything clever to say I just wanted to point that out.
2. “Atlas” by Battles -- Back in July at the Pitchfork Festival I wrote this: “I’m sorry, but if this song (“Atlas”) doesn’t seep into your spine and without warning make you start dancing all over the place I don’t know what to tell you.” I still don’t. When I run out of coffee I play this song. When I run out of this song I’m not fun to be around. The polar ice caps know what I’m talking about.
1. “Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe” by Okkervil River -- This song kicks off one of the best albums of the year, one that examines pop culture imagery, mid-level fame, and even one’s inner thoughts the moments before committing suicide. On this particular song, Will Sheff stretches his vocals to ranges not previously seen while discussing art in the eye of the beholder. By the time he screams out, “Hey, I’d watch it.” you’re already hooked. The song ends and you’ll probably give it another listen because it’s undoubtedly a song that’s not going to give everything away on the first listen and that’s what makes it the best song of 2007. ( Oh, and 54 plays on my ipod. Eat your heart out, Farra.)
Best of the Rest: “Fake Empire” by The National, “The Mending of the Gown” by Sunset Rubdown, “23” by Blonde Redhead, “John Allyn Smith Sails” by Okkervil River, “I Feel It All” by Feist
Top Ten Albums of 200710. Rogue Wave
Asleep at Heaven’s Gate -- This album came out to decent reviews and for whatever reason was essentially dismissed. Big mistake. Recorded after drummer Pat Spurgeon went through a kidney transplant, the album is dedicated to all those that helped with his ordeal along the way. Filled with quirky pop hits that define the Rogue Wave sound, you’ll breeze through this album and not find a bad song among the bunch. Even though it’s coming in at number 10, had there been a category for most underrated album of the year this would have been in the top spot hands down. Notable tracks include “Chicago x 12” and “Like I Needed”.
9. Band of Horses
Cease to Begin -- After the release of 2006’s
Everything All the Time, Band of Horses saw the departure of co-founder Mat Brooke. Once
Cease to Begin was released, any concern that this would hurt their next effort was dashed away faster than Ben Bridwell’s razor. Other than the beards, you won’t find much change from the last album. But that’s a good thing. Bridwell emerges as the star of the show and pens beautiful songs such as “No One’s Gonna Love You” and “Ode to LRC”. Country influences abound as well with the hook shot “Detlef Schrempf”.
8. Spoon
Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga -- Did we ever get a decent explanation from Britt Daniel as to why the album was named this? And are we as responsible people ready to accept these sorts of antics without demanding the simplest of answers? I’ll look the other way on this one just let me know that’s where everyone else stands so I can move on. Notables include “The Underdog”, “Don’t Make Me a Target” and “Eddie’s Ragga”.
7. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists
Living With the Living -- Would you become a vegan for a year if it gave you the ability to craft a great rock album? Me neither. Good thing Ted Leo is around to do it for us. “Bomb. Repeat. Bomb.” is the polarizing track on this record. If you make it past that track unscathed, there’s no excuse not to have this record in your top ten. None. Notables include the “The Sons of Cain”, “Who Do You Love?”, “C.I.A.”, and “Bottle of Buckie”.
6. The Arcade Fire
Neon Bible -- I know what you’re thinking. Illinois does not deserve to be in the Rose Bowl. False. The way the system is currently made up, the bowl scenarios play out so the Rose Bowl is able to maintain a traditional Big Ten/Pac-10 match-up. Once Ohio State slipped into the BCS championship game, the logical choice for the Rose Bowl committee was to invite the second best team from the Big Ten conference to face USC. That just happened to be Illinois. If anyone doesn’t deserve to be in the BCS it is Kansas. They played a creampuff schedule, had virtually no notable wins, and were exposed badly on national television when they played the only decent team (Missouri) on their schedule. So what happens? Missouri goes to the Big 12 Championship game and loses to a very good Oklahoma team. The fallout begins, Missouri slips out of the BCS and Kansas takes their spot. If anyone got screwed it was Missouri! Pretty much what the BCS is saying is that Missouri would have been better off losing the week before to Kansas and sitting idle the next week while Kansas inevitably gets their doors blown off by Oklahoma. Unbelievable. And don’t talk to me about playoffs. Playoffs?!? Folks, this the system we’re stuck with and it’s not going to change anytime soon. Notables include “Intervention”, “(Antichrist Television Blues)”, “Windowsill”, and “No Cars Go.”
5. Les Savy Fav
Let’s Stay Friends -- I think there needs to be at least one good record like this released each year. Nothing too fancy, just some loud and abrasive guitars with a frontman that sings as if he’s shouting over someone during an argument. I just realized that NME also had this album at #5 on their list. I’m not surprised….they’ve been ripping off nql for years. Notables include “Pots and Pans”, “What Would Wolves Do” and “Patty Lee”.
4. The New Pornographers
Challengers -- I thought people low-balled this record when it came out in August and I still do. This is what I
wrote back then in a response to a less than flattering Pitchfork review. In fact, I like this album so much I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few names from this “super group” pop up in the newly released Mitchell Report. No one could make an album of this caliber without some sort of performance enhancing drug. Notables include “Challengers”, “My Rights Versus Yours”, “Myriad Harbour”, and “The Spirit of Giving”.
3. Okkervil River
The Stage Names -- This should be the album that helps Okkervil River shed the “lit-rockers” label. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing. But here they prove they’re just as capable as releasing a good, solid rock and roll album as anyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in second track “Unless It’s Kicks”. The record reaches an appropriate climax, however, when it channels Brian Wilson in last track “John Allyn Smith Sails” and morphs into a cover of Sloop John B while detailing the last moments of poet John Berryman’s life. Those still clinging to the band’s “lit-rock” image won’t be disappointed as Sheff continues to carefully weave thought-provoking lyrics in the story-telling style that he has made all his own. Notables include the aforementioned “Unless It’s Kicks” and “John Allyn Smith Sails”, and “Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe” and “Plus Ones”.
2. Menomena
Friend and Foe -- If you scroll down you’ll notice this album may have received the most acclaim by average of nql contributors. It’s very deserving. One listen to this album and you realize you probably won’t hear anything like this until Menomena puts out their next record. Only Menomena can capture this sort of eclectic musical bravado and groove it into songs that are both bizarre and catchy at the same time. The songs are a testament to the democracy of this band as all three members share song writing and singing duties all the while sharing instruments with the same ease that Bill Clinton and Martina Navratilova used to demonstrate when sharing girlfriends. Notables include “Muscle ‘N Flow”, “Weird”, “Ghostship”, “Rotten Hell” and “Air Aid”.
1. Nina Nastasia and Jim White
You Follow Me --All hail the dark horse! Trying to capture the best album in a year filled with amazing music is not easy. I had five potential albums that I thought could realistically fill this spot. The album I kept coming back to was this one. No other album from the past year so consistently keeps getting stronger as it nears the end. Nastasia’s vocals sound haunted at times and beautiful at others. Jim White’s percussion moves the album
along and manages to give the album serious depth beyond Nastasia’s vocals. The album doesn’t last much longer than the 30-minute mark which to me is one of its strong points and makes it obvious that anything that wasn’t up to par was left on the cutting room floor. Produced in classic Steve Albini fashion, everything is stripped down to its most simplistic form and proves that Albini is at his best when behind the scenes. At the end of the day, the lyrics are what make this album a triumph and prove that poetry and good songwriting should never be considered mutually exclusive. And that is why this is the best album of 2007. Notables include “Odd Said the Doe”, “Our Discussion”, “Late Night” and “How Will You Love Me”.
Best of the Rest:
The Reminder by Feist;
Wincing the Night Away by The Shins;
Icky Thump by The White Stripes;
23 by Blonde Redhead;
Random Spirit Lover by Sunset Rubdown;
Armchair Apocrypha by Andrew Bird--AC
10. Besnard Lakes
Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse -- Sometimes all it takes for me to love a record is a strong positive association--like the one I have with
Are the Dark Horse. The day I got this album was shitty: rain to freezing rain to snow to ice, stranding my wife in Indianapolis and rendering motorists retarded in Bloomington (driving tests should be administered in the snow…anyone who loses their cool doesn't get a license, ever). But it was also the day I got a cell phone that actually worked, the day I reconnected with an old friend I hadn't spoken to for almost four years, and the day I got
Dark Horse. All of these circumstances conspired, leaving me alone in our apartment to get hammered on leftover Miller Lite and to listen to
Dark Horse over and over and over.
9. Dälek
Abandoned Language --
Abandoned Language machined the spurs off Dälek's previous output while remaining indulgent to their dual predilections for noise and jam: they are hip-hop's Sonic Youth (wanna fight about it?). The packaging and liners are as inscrutable as the hazy lyricism of "Content to Play Villain". And, to me, packaging is as important a part of the message as any beat or couplet. Speaking of, Dälek said, "Never write my songs for consumers / I rhyme it cuz I write for heads with fat laces on they Pumas." Hells yeah.
8. Twilight Sad
Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters -- I didn't figure out my adolescence until I was 25 either.
7. El-P
I'll Sleep When You're Dead -- Once, aged 14 or so, I set a ping pong ball on fire in my bedroom because my friend Eric told me it would explode when set to flame. It did, but what Eric didn't tell me was that the melting, smoldering plastic would burn a big black ring into the carpet. While my carpet was being destroyed, I was simultaneously exhilarated (sweet, it worked) and terrified (oh shit, it worked). That's what happens when I listen to
I'll Sleep When You're Dead: excitement and dread at the same time, an auditory metaphor for our impending sucky future. But maybe it won't be so bad: My parents never said anything about the burn mark.
6. Okkervil River
The Stage Names -- Possessed of a different perspective than most folks, Will Sheff doesn't write elegies or songs as much as he writes stories. No simple paean to a lost soul, "Savannah Smiles" isn't about a porn star's suicide, it's about a porn star's suicide's effect on a father who can only see his daughter "age 8" and regret that he may have had a hand in her demise. "John Allyn Smith Sails" is a suicide mission statement ("wise men know when it's time to go") blending elements of truth and conjecture, transforming "Sloop John B" from a song about homesickness into something else entirely. Ultimately, though,
The Stage Names is an album about being in the middle (life isn't a movie, after all), composed, ironically, by a band at the height of their craft.
5. The National
Boxer -- Matt Berninger writes lyrics like a, uh, writer: vivid with detail and imagery, employing alliteration, sibilance, and anaphora. But his lyrics wouldn't hold up as well if it weren't for the crack band behind him and the moody tension they create. The triptych of "Slow Show", "Apartment Story", and "Start a War"--with their yearning, joy, and resignation, respectively--nail squarely the "unmagnificent lives of adults."
4. The Field
From Here We Go Sublime -- I don't possess the lexicon to discuss this album intelligently. I do know that Sublime outed me as a techno fan because I couldn't shut up about it.
3. Spoon
Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga -- In which Britt Daniel proves definitively that
Gimme Fiction (itself a good album) was a speed bump between masterpieces. I've heard Daniel called aloof or distant, but I don't get that impression at all: I would call him unflappable, totally cool, all business. He doesn't show his dick onstage or dress up like a lobster because he doesn't need to; his songs speak for themselves. And as long as Daniel & Co. keep churning out tunes as impeccable as "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb", "Rhthm and Soul", and "The Underdog", I'll keep listening and being pleasantly amazed.
2. LCD Soundsystem
Sound of Silver -- Sick. The only thing better than listening to
Sound of Silver is hearing it live.
1. Menomena
Friend and Foe -- It's odd how difficult it was to sum up what I like about my favorite album of the year--probably because Menomena go in every direction on
Friend and Foe. The album's multifaceted influences, sharp musical turns, and peaks and valleys evoke the
time in which we live--overwhelming, full of duality, ominous, more than a little bleak (where people long to be machines, because machines are useful). Ironically, the song that sticks out most, "Ghostship", is the album's simplest and most straightforward. Riding a bass line fit for its titular vessel, the song is a closed lyrical loop that speaks volumes: Awash in a sea of (mis)information it's hard to judge what has value, to mete out the bullshit, or decide where to place your loyalty. It just takes a little faith to muscle on.
Hon. mention: St. Vincent
Marry Me; White Stripes
Icky Thump; The Shins
Wincing the Night Away; A Sunny Day in Glasgow
Scribble Mural Comic Journal; Band of Horses
Cease to BeginMost overrated/over-lauded: Of Montreal
Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?; Jens Lekman
Night Falls Over Kortedala
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