Underrated's Top Twenty Songs Of 2007

I have had this list decided upon for some time now, but the thought of rehashing every detail about why these songs are great didn't seem worth anyone's time. In the end, they are good songs and deserve a listen, so I attempted at one-liner summations. Instead of featuring an MP3 for each song, I gave them all the merit they deserve, by providing a zip file at the end. Enjoy!

01. Jukebox The Ghost – Good Day
Yes, its true—every time I listen to this song, I seem to automatically have a good day.

02. Ingrid Michaelson – The Way I Am
Old Navy sweaters or not, Michaelson's sweet romantic song is cozy enough for repeat listens.

03. Mika – Grace Kelly
I had a bit of an obsession with this song when it first came out, and for good reason—the Freddy Mercury-esque stylings of Mika are both nostalgic and impressive

04. Rhianna – Umbrella
Any time you can get "ella ella ella" stuck in your head for all of eternity is a success in my book.

05. Wakey!Wakey! – Clinton Street Girl
I was one block away from pretending this song was about me, but nonetheless its a heart-on-your sleeves tune and ode to the greatest neighborhood of New York.

06. Feist – 1, 2, 3, 4
I don't think there is anyone in the whole world—thanks in part to Apple—that didn't fall in love with this playful ditty.

07. Justice – D.A.N.C.E.
Bringing in the best of old and new dance techniques, Justice's song complemented the mainstream fans and hipsters alike.

08. Kaiser Chiefs – Ruby
This chorus became part of my regular vocabulary for a long time.

09. Ra Ra Riot – Suspended In Gaffa
For some reason, this Kate Bush cover became an immediate favorite—highlighting singer Wesley Miles' impressive falsetto and the stomping orchestral talents of this young band.

10. Vampire Weekend – Oxford Comma
For a band who has jumped into the limelight so quickly, this song shows exactly that reason why.

11. Fujia & Miyagi – Collarbone
I heard this song having no idea who it was, and yet sung it in my head for months afterwards...try sitting still, I dare you.

12. M.I.A. – Paper Planes
I'm not totally sold on Kala, but this powerful and innovative dance number makes the whole disc worthwhile...gun shots and all.

13. Sia – The Girl You Lost To Cocaine
Sia's back with a vengeance with one of the tracks off her impressive new disc, a favorite to belt out when no one else is around.

14. Rilo Kiley – The Moneymaker
I wasn't keen on this side of Miss Jenny Lewis until I saw her perform it live—she owns up to every purr and rasp on the risky tune.

15. Architecture In Helsinki – Heart It Races
Thanks to Pat, I was introduced to this highly intoxicating number, where a simple "bum" will get you moving.

16. Tim Fite – It’s All Right Here
As someone who isn't a fan of hip hop, I have to say I'm quite taken by Mr. Tim Fite and his sarcastic rhymes.

17. The Diggs – Careen
Local boys the Diggs never cease to amaze me, especially in this emotional track off their upcoming sophomore album.

18. Datarock – Fa Fa Fa Fa
There are certain songs I want to turn up really loud and dance like a maniac....this is one of them.

19. White Stripes – Icky Thump
The album wasn't the best, but this track still shows that the White Stripes have something worth holding on for.

20. The Fratellis – Flat Head
There's a certain charm about Scottish boys and this song is quintessentially charming.

DOWNLOAD: Underrated Top Twenty Songs Of 2007 [zip]

What I've Been Listening To

In the last four months I've spent more money on medication than on music. This is not okay. I'm sick, again, for the 80th time in the past four months and frankly am getting for lack of a better word, sick of it. So I'm working from home today, and it's been a good opportunity to re-listen to a lot of the music I've been digging as of late.

It's been a while since I've posted any MP3s, mostly because I don't have my library at work. When I'm at work, I'm usually trying to focus on a story and music has become more of a distraction than a solace. Strange, right? But I have a CD player that I use, or listen to what everyone else is listening to for suggestions. In fact, one of my coworkers listened to this on repeat yesterday. While everyone else found it extremely annoying, I loved every minute of it. Go figure.

But the truth is, I have been listening to a ton of music lately, mostly on my subway trips to and from work, or the wind-down hours before sleeping. Most of it will not be new to you crazy folks, but I have been a little slow to discover these days. Regardless, the mix below is a lot of what I've been digging, so hopefully you will too. A lot of it is due to SXSW or sent to me by people with their fingers much closer to the pulse.

I blame the sickness.

Enjoy.

What Rachael Has Been Listening To Vol 1:

Illinois - Alone Again

Ra Ra Riot - Each Year

The Lisps - Pepper Spray

Modest Mouse - Dashboard

LCD Soundsystem - Time To Get Away

Kristoffer Ragnstam - Lonely Lane

Mika - Love Today

Matt and Kim - Ready? OK

Voxtrot - Stephen

Pela - The Trouble With River Cities

Amy Winehouse - Back To Black

Bright Eyes - Cartoon Blues

Peter Bjorn & John - Start To Melt

The Antlers - The Universe Is Going To Catch You

White Rabbits - While We Go Dancing

The Pipettes - Judy

Love Is All - Felt Tip

Datarock - Fa-Fa-Fa

SXSW '07 : A Hazy Recap

Last year I ventured down to Austin for the very first time. I had no idea what to expect. There I was schedule in hand, and determination in my eyes. I saw 90% of the bands I came down to see, and yet found the experience chaotic, yet fun. This year I hadn't the time or the energy to figure out a schedule beforehand. I rsvp'd to every email I received and went down with one intention: have fun. Any band I want to see will come to New York. I just wanted to relax, see some cool shows, check out some new bands, and catch up with some friends. And luckily, I did it all.

It was exhausting alright, but I wouldn't have changed a thing. I always get flak for seeing bands I've seen a million times already, but that's just how I roll. But most of who I saw was new, and I was glad to get an opportunity to check them out in one place. And thanks to Wes, I got up early and checked out some panels. Had it not been for him, I probably would have slept right through them or started drinking much earlier, but I was happy I didn't.

So as follows, my recap/awards/notes about this year's SXSW.

Best Show By Someone I've Never Seen: I think I have to go with Mika for this one. I know, you all probably hate him or thing he's a flash in the pan or whatever, but seeing this charming little guy up on stage singing with that incredible falsetto brought a smile to my face. He's a born star, in every sense of the word and although he claimed everything to have gone with the show I saw, I thought it was spectacular. I was ready to go home right there and then after that and be completely satisfied. Ah, Mika. What a guy.

Best Show By Someone I've Seen: The Rapture. Hands down the best band and the best performers out there today. It's always remarkable to me that they haven't received more attention, but perhaps its better this way. The longevity this band will have is so apparent; they just keep getting better and better. The crowd loved every minute of this show and I bounced and sang my little heart out. A great start to a fantastic week.

Best Panel: Tie between the A&R one and the Music Supervision for TV & Film. First, I have loved Perry Watts-Russell ever since DIG! and hearing his thoughts on bands out today was incredibly interesting. In fact, although the panel consisted of 6 white dudes, they were all very smart (minus one, I wont name names) and pretty funny too. A lot of talk centered around Arcade Fire and their next moves, which makes sense. The Music Supervision one made me so giddy because Gary Calamar was the moderator. You may remember if you read this blog regularly, I interviewed him two years ago when he was music supervisor for Six Feet Under. Such a cool guy, and since my secret profession of choice is to become a music supervisor for a cool show, I loved every minute of it.

Best Party: Fader Fort. Contrary to what Nora will think it wasn't just for the free So-Co juice mix, although that was so delicious, I could drink it all day. It hosted a great lineup throughout the festival, and I will forgive them for not letting me into The Good Bad And The Queen. Every time I texted anyone I had to use capitals: THE FORT. It was huge, and had great sound and an incredible step up from last year. Kudos Fader. You had me at free So-Co.

Best Venue: Maggie Mae's. It was my favorite last year, so good to know they are keeping things up. Its beautiful inside, they make a slamming margarita and although each band takes forever to set up, it always sounds top-notch.

Worst Venue: Eternal. Was there for the Mika/Amy Winehouse show and felt like I was going to pass out the entire time. Too many people, not enough air, and gross drinks. Plus, for Amy Winehouse I couldn't see a gosh darn thing. Time to make the stage a little higher or slant the floor for goodness sake.

Best Celebrity Sighting: Toss up. Seeing Peter from I'm From Rolling Stone made me totally giddy because I'm one of the 5 people who are in love with the show. He was very nice in person and although he told me he couldn't tell me if he won, I have it on high authority that he did indeed. Other than that? Seeing Michael Pitt on the sidewalk was kinda cool too. Nora and I screeched. It was awesome.

Most Nostalgic Moment: Seeing Birdmonster perform on the same stage that I saw them for the very first time, this time last year. And hearing their new songs and how amazing they are almost brought tears to my eyes. Almost.

Best Food: Iron Cactus. No competition. We ate there with Tally Hall on Saturday night and the fajitas were top-notch. Okay, so I was there every other day as well, but that night stuck out in my head as a favorite. I love those Tally boys. They stayed in their colored (newly skinny!) ties all weekend. What troopers.

Best Cab Driver: I forget his name, but the one we took from the Diesel U Party back to the Pure Volume Loft. Nora decided she wanted to marry him, but he needed to know a few more things. Sampling of questions: Do you like people who major in economics? How do you feel about dishonesty? Don't you think Justin Timberlake's Dick In A Box made a pretty dweeby guy cool? Amazing.

Most Heard Complaint: "My feet are killing." I don't know how those girls in heels lasted more than a minute. Even in sneakers, I was hurting. All that standing around all day really does a number. We all need foot massages, I imagine.

Band I Wanted To See And Didn't:  Peter Bjorn And John. It wasn't gonna happen. Sigh.

Best Afterhours: PureVolume loft. Vodka and Redbull at 1 AM is necessary. So is Nintendo Wii.

Best Band I Didn't Expect To Like: Matt & Kim. All the blog buzz in NYC really turned me off, but they turned out to be a totally fun and awesome band. Matt cracked me up with his in between banter, and the crowd there was having a pretty good time. So sometimes hipsters are right. Who knew?

Best In-Between Banter: Although Matt was funny, nothing will top Malajube. This band put on one of the best shows of the week, and I had never laughed so hard at a show before in my life. First they called everyone "Irish Vegans" (it was St. Patrick’s Day and we were at the Brooklyn Vegan Showcase) and then they called out two kids for smoking pot. "This one is for you slackers." Maybe it was their French accents, but I loved them that much more.

Scariest Moment: Checking out Amy Winehouse's cool tattoos and then realizing she had intense scratches all up and down her arms. It looked like a cat attacked her, but I'm sure that's not the case. For such a talent, she really needs to get some things sorted out. It'd be a shame if she doesn't.

Band I Saw But Shouldn't Have: Badly Drawn Boy. Zzzzzzz.

Best Dressed: Datarock. I want a red jumpsuit. Like now. (Oh and "I Had The Time Of My Life" to close out their set? Genius)

Weirdest Moment: Seeing Golum wish everyone a Mazel-Tov and watching a hora ensue. I felt as though I walked into some hipster bar miztvah. Crazy.

Best Cover: White Rabbits covering The Pogues' "The Old Main Drag" on St. Paddy's day. The frat boys loved it, and I was too. Success!

Band I Didn't Expect To See But Did Twice: The Fratellis. Although both were acoustic sets, they were great. Shows just how good these boys are at songwriting. Wish I could have seen them perform with Pete Townsend, but oh well.

Cutest Girl Band: The Pipettes. Seriously, every boy I was with swooned. I wanted their outfits. A win-win.

Cutest Boy Band: Kristoffer. Mmmm. Swedish Boy with sunglasses and a guitar. Really can't get any better than that.

Thoughts for Next Year: Get a hotel closer. Save more money.

The end.

last day

Wow. No beter way to start off then seeing Kristoffer Raegnstam perform while sipping on a mimosa. He's battling Mika for my favorite first time seeing performer. Although I have to say Matt & Kim is a surprising second. I finally get what all you hipsters are talking about. But back to Kristoffer. He's so dreamy. More later.

an update

Yeah, I suck. Internet access has been iffy and my sidekick reset back to december 31 last night and was giving me very questionable notices. Perhaps I've dropped it one too many times, perhaps. Austin has been crazy and yet not too ridiculous this time around. Its been nice to catch up with bands and friends, eat free food, and drink too much SoCo. Ill give a proper update hopefully soon, but for now know this: Birdmonster's new songs are awesome, The Rapture still is the best band out today, and Mika is fabulous. Seriously, all about Mika. Oh and Amy Winehouse and The Pipettes are so fun.

Don't worry Mom, I'm still standing.

Mason Proper - There Is A Moth On Your Chest | Tour w/ Birdmonster

People tend to ask me what I'm listening to. I don't know why but apparently I'm somewhat of a music addict, who feeds on new music and usually can't keep quiet about it. And while I keep thinking I'm about to go into some sort of musical rut, something keeps coming along that reminds me that there are far too many bands out there, and only one of me. The odds, my friends, are in my favor.

2007 has started off strong for me. When I am not listening to local favorites White Rabbits, or a few guilty pleasures (Mika, anyone?), I have been habitually picking apart Mason Proper's debut album There Is A Moth On My Chest. I first wrote about this band in December, and seeing them play for the first time really sealed the deal. And now that I've got a copy of their album, thanks to Dovecote Records, it's really all I can listen to anymore.

What I need to tell you is that it is good. No, this is not just the type of good that you'll listen to for a week, really like, and then move on. This is not the type of good that you are just waiting for the band to really find their sound for their next album, and that will be better. And this is not the type of good that is easily accessible, or too far-fetched to be considered ordinary.

No, my friends. This is a different type of good.

This is the type of good that reminds you of every band you loved. Equally early 90's rock, influenced by some of the greatest indie rock gods of our time, it's straightforward and the perfect amount of quirky. I'd hate to make comparisons because you'd easily laugh at me, so instead I'll tell you that this is likeable rock, with a little bit of fuzz, a little bit melody, and a whole lot of fun. You will dance. You will pick apart the lyrics. You'll wonder what pedals or what production tricks they'd use. But in the end, you'll say...this is frickin good.

And because I can never keep my mouth shut, I happened to mention to the Birdmonsters about my new obsession (they've experienced this first hand, after all) and now the two have decided to do a little tour together. And how happy is this girl? Well, I'm sure you get this by now.

Go pre-order Mason Proper's debut There Is A Moth On Your Chest over at Dovecote Records right now and get a free 7" Picture Disc of "My My (Bad Fruit)" with exclusive B-side "Traveling Man" AND a free poster signed by the band!

So download these below, order the album, and I'll see you at the shows.

Mason Proper - My My (Bad Fruit)

Mason Proper - Miss Marylou Carreau

Mason Proper - 100 Years

Mason Proper - Carousel! Carousel!

and in case you forgot...

Birdmonster - Cause You Can

Birdmonster & Mason Proper Tour:
Mar 24 - The Subterranean - Chicago, Illinois
Mar 25 - Mad Hatter Club - Covington, Kentucky
Mar 27 - Lager House - Detroit, Michigan
Mar 28 - The Horseshoe - Toronto, Ontario
Mar 30 - The Middle East Upstairs - Cambridge, Massachusetts
Mar 31 - The Gramercy Theatre - New York, New York (buy tickets here)

Song Of The Week: Grace Kelly | Mika

Okay. I had an internal debate on whether or not to call this the song of the week, let along post it in the first place. There are some people I know that vehemently dislike this song. And there are others (okay me) that have listened to this song at least 100 times in the past 24 hours. I've come to the conclusion that most lie in the middle, and so therefore I'm allowed to post, without getting eggs thrown at me.

Right?

I missed out on seeing Mika when he came to NYC a couple weeks ago, and for probably good measure. Yes, this is another flash in a pan with maybe a one-hit wonder. And so no, I don't love every song I've heard by him. But I do love "Grace Kelly."

Yes, it's ridiculous. Yes, it's totally fun. Yes, it sounds like Freddy Mercury. Yes, it could have been a forgotten song from Hedwig & The Angry Inch. And for all those reasons, I seriously am addicted to this song.

Mika - Grace Kelly