Underrated's Top Twenty Albums Of 2007

It was an interesting year. I always am keen to the discovery of new music, which is why most of my top albums are debuts from unsigned or relatively new bands. There's nothing like that first try, and when succeeded, it will always be how they will be remembered. So without further adieu, my top 20 albums of the year, with a brief one-sentence recap, and a zip file of a selected track from each album below. See you in '08!

01. Port O’Brien – The Wind And The Swell
Never have I had such a visceral reaction to an album, where its lo-fi screams and yelps from start to finish prove this young band has so much more to give.

02. Radiohead – In Rainbows
A combination of its execution and actual sound, Radiohead's latest album marks revolution in the music and its most melodic effort to date.

03. White Rabbits – Fort Nightly
A late-night booze brawl, complete with a piano and dueling guitars, is what best defines White Rabbit’s debut Fort Nightly—the strong debut from this clean-cut six piece teeters between innocence and mystery with the slight tweak of a minor chord.

04. Ra Ra Riot – Ra Ra Riot EP
Ra Ra Riot's long awaited EP breathes new life into a sound that is attempted upon by so many bands, but never sounds as polished as each song this rowdy six-piece creates.

05. Tim Williams – When Work Is Done
Confidence shouldn't be a worry for this young troubadour, as his second effort is as thoughtful and honest as his previous one, but for the first time the songs are full of hopeful resolution.

06. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
An orchestra masterpiece from beginning to end, Arcade Fire prove once again why they have become one of the more important acts of our generation.

07. Kate Nash – Made Of Bricks
The quick witted Nash brings a dark side to pop music, seamlessly combining cocky lyrics with playful tunes.

08. Jens Lekman – Night Falls Over Kortedala
Thanks to Pat, this album demanded repeat listens, as Lekman delves deeper into story-telling arrangements with his classic vocals.

09. Tegan And Sara – The Con
Pure pop perfection from start to finish, the Canadian twins do it again with their more complex and rash fifth album

10. A Brief Smile – Now We All Have Horns
This band never ceases to amaze me, as they seem to have found their stride—and epic sound—on their self-produced and self-released LP

Best Of The Rest:
11. Amy Winehouse – Back To Black
12. Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga
13. Georgie James – Places
14. Kanye West – Graduation
15. Wakey!Wakey – Silent As A Movie
16. Ryan Adams – Easy, Tiger
17. Los Campesinos! – Sticking Fingers Into Sockets
18. Coconut Records – Nighttiming
19. Interpol – Our Love To Admire
20. The Shins – Wincing The Night Away

DOWNLOAD: Underrated Top Twenty Albums Of 2007 [zip]

In Rainbows

"Today has been the most perfect day I've ever seen..."

What an amazing feeling it was to wake up this morning in anticipation of new music. That hasn't been felt since I was a kid where release dates actually meant something and music was a shared, universal experience. I woke up this morning and downloaded In Rainbows, Radiohead's revolutionary new album, and listened to it once. Then on my walk to work I was listening to it for a second time and I began to wonder how many millions of people are listening to this same album on this very day? It's quite an extraordinary though, when you really think about it.

Anyways, love the album. Need to listen to it about 100 more times to actually have a solid opinion. But figured this would be a good time to say that this blog will probably be quiet over the week week or so. CMJ Music Marathon is next week and I'll be running around like a crazy person, updating over at CMJ.com, so bear with me until my life gets back into some sort of order the week following. Don't forget about the Indaba/Underrated/This Side Up showcases next week. We should have a flyer that I will put here once it's ready!

Valentines Day Mix 2007

Any holiday that gives me an excuse to make a mix is fine by me. Sure, I've been known to say I hate this day and damn all those happy lovey dovey people, but in actuality Valentines Day isn't half bad. Who doesn't like chocolate and cheesy romantic gestures? And let's be honest, who doesn't like love songs. Not this girl.

I woke up this morning to a good amount of snow and an even greater hangover -- the perfect mindset to make a Valentines Day mix. It's a bit of an eclectic bunch of songs: some old, some new, feel free to borrow, but some will make you blue. Regardless it works for both you happy go lucky people and the miserable alike. It's also available in a handy dandy zip file below as well.

Enjoy.

Neutral Milk Hotel - Ghost

Broken Social Scene - Lover's Spit

The Postal Service - Against All Odds

The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset

Sure Juror - Ex-Cuties

Let's Go Sailing - All I Want From You Is Love

The Cure - The Love Cats

The Brunettes - Your Heart Dies

Arcade Fire - Crown Of Love

Jeff Buckley - Lover, You Should Have Come Over

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Cheated Hearts

The Wrens - She Sends Kisses

Birdmonster - Janine

Elvis Perkins - Without Love

Radiohead - High And Dry

Levy - So Hard

Jose Gonzalez - Broken Arrows

Marcy Playground - Sex And Candy

Blind Melon - Change

Oh No! Oh My! - Skip The Foreplay

Ryan Adams - Love Is Hell

Download: Valentines Day Mix.zip

And make sure you come to this tonight.

An Underrated Update

Dear regular, semi-regular, once-in-a while, and newbie blog readers (Yes, all of you),

I wasn't sure how to start this post. Or whether I should even bother to write it in the first place. To be honest, most of you regular blog readers are friends or acquaintances of mine, and we've already gotten drunk to celebrate the news that I'm about to tell you. And the other 98% of you couldn't really care, and are here to get free MP3s (there's some at the bottom of this ramble, I promise). And then I think it may not be that big of a deal. And I should just continue yapping about hottie musicians and songs I play too many times.

You see, when I started this blog it was a lot more personal. I actually wrote what I did on a daily basis. It was incredibly boring and self-involved and frankly there’s only so many ways you can write about going to see shows, getting too drunk, and making a fool out of yourself. So I focused more on the music itself, which is why Underrated was created in the first place. And since then, I have been very hesitant to share any information of my personal or professional life. You never know who could send you a creepy email.

Here I go again, I'm babbling.

The point is that I've accepted a new job. I feel very silly making a big deal out of this, but just can't help it. For the past week I've been walking around with a very awkward grin on my face because frankly, this is exactly what I've been working towards. When I started Underrated, back in the day, stapling those pieces of paper together was step one. I had no idea what I was doing. To be quite honest, my taste in music was questionable. But for some reason I was determined to make this my life, and with each issue, show, blog post -- I'd like to think I got a little bit better at all this. And for that, I'm so terribly excited and yet utterly scared about this new adventure that is about to take place.

With that said, I will continue to update this blog as much as I possibly can, but please be patient with me in this whole transition interval that is about to take place in the next couple weeks. Underrated has been my biggest accomplishment to date, and I would feel a little bit lost without it. So while I'm trying to prove myself over at CMJ, I'll be back here swooning about which band I'm chasing after. Feel free to stick with me, if you dare.

Thank you to all for reading over the years and forgive me if this all came off as ridiculously sentimental. I'll learn…one of these days.

With that, here's my version of a cheesy inspirational mix.

Radiohead - Lucky

The Stills - Ready For It

Ryan Adams - Elizabeth, You Were Born To Play That Part

Office - Possibilities

Ennui - Change

Morrissey - Do Your Best And Don't Worry

Joni Mitchell - All I Want