The Zone

The Garbage Man wrote:I'm not quite hip enough to be in this thread, but it seems the following deserve a mention:

I don't think half the nomination actually exist...they're fictional bands that've appeared in The Mighty Boosh.

Best Album:
Jens Lekman - Night Over Kortedala. Perfect pop gems. 'Nuff said.

Runners up:
Rap:
Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass
Dizzee Rascal - Maths + English
El-P - I'll Sleep When Your Dead
CunninLynguists - Dirty Acres
Busdriver - Roadkillovercoat

Rock/Pop:
Radiohead- In Rainbows
Battles - Mirrored
Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
Shocking Pinks - Shocking Pinks
Moonbabies - At the Ballroom
Real Tuesday Weld - London Book Of the Dead
Pinback - Autumn Of The Seraphs
Softlightes - Say No To Being Cool Say Yes To Being Happy
Twilight Sad - Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters
Black Moth Super Rainbow - Dandelion Gum
Liars - Liars
Okkervil River - The Stage Names
Los Campesinos - Sticking Fingers Into Sockets
Marnie Stern - In Advance of the Broken Arm
Menomena - Friend and Foe
Mixtapes and Cellmates - Self Titled
Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna Are You The Destroyer
The Brunettes - Structure and Cosmetics
Dirty Projectors - Rise Above
Burial - Untrue

Folk:
David Thomas Broughton - It's In There Somewhere
Deer Tick - War Elephant
Jose Gonzalez - In Our Nature
Feist - The Reminder
Josh Small - Tall
Ola Podrida - Self Titled
Radical Face - Ghost

Electronic:
Muscles - Guns Babes Lemonade
Apparat - Walls
Octopus Project - Hello, Avalance
Caribou - Andorra

Best Track:
Justice - DANCE

Best Band/Group Act:
Battles

Best Solo Act:
Jose Gonzales

Best New Act:
Marnie Stern

Best Live Act:
I saw lots of great shows this year so it's hard to pick just one.

Sunset Rubdown, Jens Lekman, Pipettes, LCD Soundsystem, Okkervil River, O'Death, Polyphonic Spree, Peter Bjorn and John, Hot Chip, Menomena, Mew, all of them put on spectacular shows.

The Best one however would have to be Battles.

Best Music Video:
Justice - DANCE

DaleTremont wrote:

stereosforgeeks wrote:

St. Alphonzo wrote:

DaleTremont wrote:Anyone heard of Vietnam? I first heard them playing live on my local radio station and fell a little in love with the trippy guitar sound and lead singer's Bob Dylan-esque vocals. I'm also pretty sure it's one of those love it or hate it things, but I'd nominate "Apocalypse" as Best New Song.


Oh wait...that's not a category. well, i'd nominate it for something.

That'd be "Best Track". I've not heard of Vietnam, but based on the description, I'd probably dig it. I'll have to search! Thanks Dale.

Dale check out Brighton, MA as well it sounds like what you are describing.

Great recommendation, stereos. I downloaded it today and have been listening to it all the while zoning. Track 2 is especially delectable. Pretty, upbeat guitar picking is always utterly listen-able. And it does sound a little like Vietnam, the singer eerily so actually. VietNam might just take it a little further on the instrumental.

Glad you liked.

No offense to you Grinderman fans out there, but I just listened to their album and I am just not feeling it.

Beyond the amusing (IMO, poorly sung) lyrics, what's the draw? Because, IMO, the music is meh at best.

Vegeta wrote:No offense to you Grinderman fans out there, but I just listened to their album and I am just not feeling it.

Beyond the amusing (IMO, poorly sung) lyrics, what's the draw? Because, IMO, the music is meh at best.

The music itself isnt supposed to be special. It's just a good old fashioned rock and roll record. The draw is the incredibly literate lyrics with Nick Caves's passionate vocals. He isnt the best singer out there but again he isnt really supposed to be either.

Sorry, I didn't feel it. The music wasn't rock n' roll to me, but more like bad garage band rock.

Oh well, I don't mean to trample on anyone's taste, just was wondering what folks saw in Grinderman.

Vegeta wrote:Sorry, I didn't feel it. The music wasn't rock n' roll to me, but more like bad garage band rock.

Oh well, I don't mean to trample on anyone's taste, just was wondering what folks saw in Grinderman.

Garage band rock isnt rock and roll?

It's ok you don't like it. Music is personal and everyone has different tastes.

I saw Grinderman perform on Letterman a while back, and they burned the fucker down. I previewed the same song I heard them play on the show on iTunes, and I didn't like it nearly as much. It was easily half the tempo, and not nearly as rockin'. I love Nick Cave, too, so I was kinda disappointed.

Best record of '07 for me is easily 'Sound of Silver', although MIA comes close. Best track comes between these two, as well, with MIA's 'Bamboo Banga' and LCD's 'Us V Them'. Good year for the Murph.

Zarles wrote:I saw Grinderman perform on Letterman a while back, and they burned the fucker down. I previewed the same song I heard them play on the show on iTunes, and I didn't like it nearly as much. It was easily half the tempo, and not nearly as rockin'. I love Nick Cave, too, so I was kinda disappointed.

Best record of '07 for me is easily 'Sound of Silver', although MIA comes close. Best track comes between these two, as well, with MIA's 'Bamboo Banga' and LCD's 'Us V Them'. Good year for the Murph.

Seeing LCD was second best concert of the year for me. If you think the record is good just hear it live. Murphy can FN sing!

Battles won out due to it being such a small intimate crowd before their album came out and they blew up. They brought the rock too. Much better live than on CD, which I thought was impossible due to the complexity of the album, but damn did they pull it off. To watch these incredible musicians playing multiple instruments at the same time time with such precision was just wow inducing.

stereosforgeeks wrote:

Zarles wrote:I saw Grinderman perform on Letterman a while back, and they burned the fucker down. I previewed the same song I heard them play on the show on iTunes, and I didn't like it nearly as much. It was easily half the tempo, and not nearly as rockin'. I love Nick Cave, too, so I was kinda disappointed.

Best record of '07 for me is easily 'Sound of Silver', although MIA comes close. Best track comes between these two, as well, with MIA's 'Bamboo Banga' and LCD's 'Us V Them'. Good year for the Murph.

Seeing LCD was second best concert of the year for me. If you think the record is good just hear it live. Murphy can FN sing!

Battles won out due to it being such a small intimate crowd before their album came out and they blew up. They brought the rock too. Much better live than on CD, which I thought was impossible due to the complexity of the album, but damn did they pull it off. To watch these incredible musicians playing multiple instruments at the same time time with such precision was just wow inducing.

I've seen LCD in Philly, and they were incredible. 'Yeah' was probably one of the best live perfomances I've ever seen, and I was amazed to hear it sounding almost exactly like it does on record. With how complex Murphy's production is, that's no easy feat. The crowd was going batshit for every second of it, too. I've never seen so many glowsticks in one place in my life!

What's Battles? I need some new music.

It's hard to describe. It stradles a line of being math rock and electronic diddling while still managing to sound immediate and vital not over produced.

stereosforgeeks wrote:

Vegeta wrote:Sorry , I didn't feel it. The music wasn't rock n' roll to me, but more like bad garage band rock.

Oh well, I don't mean to trample on anyone's taste, just was wondering what folks saw in Grinderman.

Garage band rock isnt rock and roll?

It's ok you don't like it. Music is personal and everyone has different tastes.

I meant similar to the crappy garage bands I was actually in as a kid, not the genre.

Vegeta wrote:

stereosforgeeks wrote:

Vegeta wrote:Sorry , I didn't feel it. The music wasn't rock n' roll to me, but more like bad garage band rock.

Oh well, I don't mean to trample on anyone's taste, just was wondering what folks saw in Grinderman.

Garage band rock isnt rock and roll?

It's ok you don't like it. Music is personal and everyone has different tastes.

I meant similar to the crappy garage bands I was actually in as a kid, not the genre.

Now that's harsh.

stereosforgeeks wrote:

Vegeta wrote:

stereosforgeeks wrote:

Vegeta wrote:Sorry , I didn't feel it. The music wasn't rock n' roll to me, but more like bad garage band rock.

Oh well, I don't mean to trample on anyone's taste, just was wondering what folks saw in Grinderman.

Garage band rock isnt rock and roll?

It's ok you don't like it. Music is personal and everyone has different tastes.

I meant similar to the crappy garage bands I was actually in as a kid, not the genre.

Now that's harsh.

HAHAHAHAHA, I guess it was somewhat meant to be (on both counts)

Vegeta wrote:No offense to you Grinderman fans out there, but I just listened to their album and I am just not feeling it.

Beyond the amusing (IMO, poorly sung) lyrics, what's the draw? Because, IMO, the music is meh at best.

I reviewed their album in the 'best new music' thread. I'm not promising this will help you 'feel it', but it might give you an idea of why I like them. What have you actually listened to?

Wait what happened to that knee-jerk post tape?

It got bumped to the b-side 'cause The Man thought it would be too controversl for us kids to listen to?




Damn The Man and his cowardly weak-lemon beats...

Flumm wrote:Damn The Man

Save the empire?

christ, I still don't know who 70% of these bands are...

I guess I gotta do some listenin' when I get home...

EDIT:

The Garbage Man wrote:
Best Album:

Hot Hot Heat, "Happiness Ltd."

yay! I love this album.

stereosforgeeks wrote:Wait what happened to that knee-jerk post tape?

I'm working on improving my reflexes.

stereosforgeeks wrote:It's hard to describe. It stradles a line of being math rock and electronic diddling while still managing to sound immediate and vital not over produced.

Not a bad summation -
We got to talk Battles some more too S4G, I can't recall you having mentioned them before. I love that album. They're actually a bit of a metal-related group for me, as some friends of mine who are massive fans of helmet (John Stanier's old group) first played them for me - one of their earlier e.p's. Actually the first time I heard them I thought perhaps the song was an extra cut from Shadow's 'The Private Press' I hadn't heard before, as it reminded me more than a little of 'You can't go home again' - not the most astute observation in retrospect, but the the synthesis of live music production and sampling, as well as music that sets an almost cinematic mood, and seemingly simple but complex rhythms and polyrhythms are some things the group has in common with the dj.

tapehead wrote:

stereosforgeeks wrote:Wait what happened to that knee-jerk post tape?

I'm working on improving my reflexes.

stereosforgeeks wrote:It's hard to describe. It stradles a line of being math rock and electronic diddling while still managing to sound immediate and vital not over produced.

Not a bad summation -
We got to talk Battles some more too S4G, I can't recall you having mentioned them before. I love that album. They're actually a bit of a metal-related group for me, as some friends of mine who are massive fans of helmet (John Stanier's old group) first played them for me - one of their earlier e.p's. Actually the first time I heard them I thought perhaps the song was an extra cut from Shadow's 'The Private Press' I hadn't heard before, as it reminded me more than a little of 'You can't go home again' - not the most astute observation in retrospect, but the the synthesis of live music production and sampling, as well as music that sets an almost cinematic mood, and seemingly simple but complex rhythms and polyrhythms are some things the group has in common with the dj.

I swear I must have mentioned them around february when I saw them. Yeah they are sorta metal, a little post-rock too on the early EPs. I was really taken back when they added the "vocals" and it took awhile for me to get used to it. I was really into Lynx in HS which was another band they came from. And obviously there is Ian Williams from Don Cab as well. Lots of talent in the band.

Lord Voldemoo wrote:christ, I still don't know who 70% of these bands are...

Ditto this.

Lord Voldemoo wrote:

The Garbage Man wrote:
Best Album:

Hot Hot Heat, "Happiness Ltd."

yay! I love this album.

Excellent, another fan! Did you get a chance to see them when they were touring the NW a couple of months ago?
I caught them in September and they put on a fantastic show.

Ok, my nomintions for best album are...


Caribou - Andorra
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Burial - Untrue
Pole - Steingaten
Menomena - Friend and Foe
Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover
Liars - Liars

I keep on forgetting how good Andorra is.

stereosforgeeks wrote:I keep on forgetting how good Andorra is.

Brilliant record! Polyrhythmic, beach boys style psychdelia is a good description.


You know I keep seeing Battles pop up and I'm going to have to give them another listen. I really hated the whole album after a couple of listen but I saw them live on Jools Holland a couple of weeks ago and they were one of the best acts I've ever seen on that show, it really was something special.

The band interplay in Battles is amazing. Each musician brings something different to the table and the all combine to create music thats more than the sum of it parts. It doesnt sound like all the parts should go together like they do but that's it brilliance.

stereosforgeeks wrote:The band interplay in Battles is amazing. Each musician brings something different to the table and the all combine to create music thats more than the sum of it parts. It doesnt sound like all the parts should go together like they do but that's it brilliance.

I used to think this might make them something of a 'musician's band' - you know, one admired more by guitarists and bass-players for their technical proficiency and skills rather than appreciated for their music itself - but I was wrong; quite a few hip indie chicks love them, especially the warped and sampled vocals - which you don't hear any of on their earlier eps.
The fork's May review of 'Mirrored' gives a pretty good idea of what they have got going on.


On a completely different tangent, I also think Pitchfork got it exactly right in their comparison of Bonde De Role's new ep Marina Gasolina
with MIA's excellent first album.

There was a women's underwear company using the title track in a commercial on Australian tv recently, but they had to pull it when Portugese speaking viewers complained about the lyrics concerning snorting speed and cunnilingus.

tapehead wrote:On a completely different tangent, I also think Pitchfork got it exactly right in their comparison of Bonde De Role's new ep Marina Gasolina
with MIA's excellent first album.

There was a women's underwear company using the title track in a commercial on Australian tv recently, but they had to pull it when Spanish speaking viewers complained about the lyrics concerning snorting speed and cunnilingus.

First off that's hilarious. Second off yeah they were on the ball with that review.

It's a shame, it was a pretty good ad.

tapehead wrote:It's a shame, it was a pretty good ad.

Id have to agree with you on that one.

The Garbage Man wrote:

Lord Voldemoo wrote:christ, I still don't know who 70% of these bands are...

Ditto this.

Lord Voldemoo wrote:

The Garbage Man wrote:
Best Album:

Hot Hot Heat, "Happiness Ltd."

yay! I love this album.

Excellent, another fan! Did you get a chance to see them when they were touring the NW a couple of months ago?
I caught them in September and they put on a fantastic show.

completely missed them and i'm completely pissed about it.

You've now got the rest of Thursday and Friday to get nominations in.

Album

-1- The Flying Club Cup: Beirut
This LP really knocked me out. Full of invention, bravado and all kinds of loose yet totally sophisticated musicality, it's a LP full of ambition and abandon by a guy called Zach Condon, aged about 21 and on the strength of this, a major talent indeed.

-2- White Chalk: P J Harvey
-3- Voice Of The Seven Woods: Voice Of The Seven Woods
-4- Kala: Mia
-5- Sound Of Silver: LCD Soundsystem.

HollywoodBabylon wrote:Album

-1- The Flying Club Cup: Beirut
This LP really knocked me out. Full of invention, bravado and all kinds of loose yet totally sophisticated musicality, it's a LP full of ambition and abandon by a guy called Zach Condon, aged about 21 and on the strength of this, a major talent indeed.

-2- White Chalk: P J Harvey
-3- Voice Of The Seven Woods: Voice Of The Seven Woods
-4- Kala: Mia
-5- Sound Of Silver: LCD Soundsystem.

Yeah that Beirut is quite awesome leaps and bounds beyond his first one.

Got a couple of hours left to get nominations in if you're taking part.

Fried Gold wrote:Got a couple of hours left to get nominations in if you're taking part.

Then what happens?

we can vote on the nominations, I believe.

tapehead wrote:we can vote on the nominations, I believe.

Can alts join in

Oh, won't that be fun.

I just hope enough people take part.

Hope so - it's a good thread for new tips anyway, I just picked up that Jens Lekman album you nominated for a listen.

tapehead wrote:Hope so - it's a good thread for new tips anyway, I just picked up that Jens Lekman album you nominated for a listen.

What do you think of it?

Yeah I have been using this thread for tips as well. Some things I had missed during the yr.

stereosforgeeks wrote:

tapehead wrote:Hope so - it's a good thread for new tips anyway, I just picked up that Jens Lekman album you nominated for a listen.

What do you think of it?

Just started listening, but I'll be back to chat on it at some point soon - it's really good.

tapehead wrote:

stereosforgeeks wrote:

tapehead wrote:Hope so - it's a good thread for new tips anyway, I just picked up that Jens Lekman album you nominated for a listen.

What do you think of it?

Just started listening, but I'll be back to chat on it at some point soon - it's really good.

Seriously the dude makes perfect pop songs. I love all his albums but this one stepped up production wise and really helped his craft not hindered it.

Glad to hear you are liking it though.

We could set up some yousendit with our noms?

file transfers? I think that's a no-no.

I just meant samples.

I would never promote unrelegated sharing of copyrighted material. I work for the the US gov't remember.

Of course - you're like an FBI dude or some shit, right?

because, if you are, you have to tell me.

tapehead wrote:Of course - you're like an FBI dude or some shit, right?

because, if you are, you have to tell me.

your a foreigner i dont have to tell you crap