Good Weather For Airstrikes

It seems like only months ago that everyone was beginning to lose their shit about “Gravity’s Rainbow”, “Atlantis To Interzone” and Klaxons’ whole futurelove dance-rock sound, but the influence of the Great Klaxons Takeover of 2007 has already begun to manifest itself in a new wave of like-minded British rock acts. First there was the Author bursting onto the scene with “Taxi” late last year, and now here we have Magistrates, who sound like Klaxons squaring off with Prince, all frantic group vocals and glossy falsettos. The Essex-based quartet remain relatively unknown in the London indie scene, but with a slot supporting Black Kids’ sold-out ICA show later this week and their name skipping across the radar of more and more A&R folks around the industry, you better believe this is a band to keep a close eye on in 2008. I’ve even heard one industry head say he thinks they’re the best new band he’s heard since Vampire Weekend, but I’ll leave that for you to decide. Here’s “The Inbetweens”, the finest cut off the band’s phenomenal three-track demo, the rest of which you can and should check out on their MySpace.

MP3: “The Inbetweens” (Demo) - Magistrates [exclusive]

In other news, we DJ’d Apocalypso at the Old Queen’s Head last Saturday and I think it’s safe to say we made a pretty excellent debut. Things were helped significantly by the fact that we got 20 or so of our friends heavily boozed up and had them pad the audience and dance their balls off, but we held our own on the decks too despite some initial technical difficulties. We played a good 15 tracks or so including a few easy crowd favorites, but this one in particular went off unexpectedly well. Sadly we had to play it in 128 kbps because as far as I can tell it doesn’t exist in 320 anywhere, so if you’ve somehow got the hook up drop us a line, will you?

MP3: “What Am I Fighting For?” (LA Priest Remix) - Unklejam

Shortly after arriving in the UK in January I got an email from one Mr. Jeremy Warmsley tipping me off about an internet TV show he’d launched with his flatmate Fay Buzzard. Built around intimate live performances from London’s brightest young songwriters, Welcome To Our TV Show is a really special look into the extended family of musicians that many of London’s brilliant folk and indie talents belong to. Episode 1 features performances from the Mystery Jets, Laura Marling, Noah & The Whale and of course Warmsley himself, while Episode 2 has Lightspeed Champion, Laura Groves, Emmy The Great and a duet between Emmy and Jeremy in the clip’s final scene. I’m still too incompetent to figure out how to embed YouTube clips on Wordpress, but you’ll find links to both parts of each episode below and I highly recommend you check it out.

Episode 1 (December): [Part One] [Part Two]
Episode 2 (January): [Part One] [Part Two]

The best part of all this, though, is Jeremy’s been kind enough to provide me with MP3s of all of the tracks performed and recorded on the show, and given that many of the songs performed are rare or unreleased material and covers, I’m really happy to make them available for download. Downloads of all of the songs from episodes one and two are available below, but you should definitely view the videos as well.

Episode One
MP3: “Flakes” (Live) – Mystery Jets
MP3: “To Cyril At Crunkmas” (Live) – Noah & The Whale
MP3: “Shine” (Live) – Laura Marling
MP3: “Going Out of My Head” (Live) – Jeremy Warmsley

Episode Two
MP3: “Boat Song” (Live) - Emmy The Great & Jeremy Warmsley
MP3: “Hooker Song” (Live) - Lightspeed Champion
MP3: “I Wish I” (Live) - Laura Groves
MP3: “24″ (Live) - Emmy The Great

Good news and bad news… Bad news: Despite the absurd amount of work that both Rya and I have put into it, the Great Top 50 Singles Project of 2007 has been abandoned. That said, I wouldn’t be completely surprised if it popped up here at some completely arbitrary point far removed from 2007 like July or some shit, so keep hope alive if you can even be bothered to care at this point. Good news: I’ve amassed a ridiculously large backlog of content to post in the epic amount of time spent on that Top Singles bullshit and now that I’ve put it behind me I can get back to my regular posting habits and start disseminating the aforementioned hot jams to the masses. Furthermore, we’ve got a shit ton of exclusive content lined up for you in the coming weeks, so stick around, will you?

Said exclusive content will begin later today or tomorrow, but here’s this in the mean time. I never thought So-Me could top “D.A.N.C.E.”, and then he raised the bar again with his video for Kanye’s “Good Life”. Then he goes and drops this shit on us? Out of control. Fuck YouTube, hi-res download below.

Video: “DVNO”
Artist: Justice
Director: So-Me, Machine Molle and Yourgo Tloupas
Watch: [Daily Motion]
Download: [Quicktime • 32 MB] [direct link]

Word on the street is dude’s got a live action feature-length film in the works. Excited much?

ALSO EXTREMELY IMPORTANT:

Dekker is a friend of mine from Clinton’s and he’s been putting on his excellent Apocalypso night at The Old Queen’s Head in Islington for exactly a year now, and to celebrate they’ve got an extra special line-up all ready to go for Saturday, featuring none other than Paul Epworth A.K.A. Phones A.K.A. Epic Man A.K.A. the fucking man headlining and yours truly getting things started on the ones and twos from 9-10:15 PM. My roommate and I have been DJing under the name Fresh Prints since… alright well this is our first formal gig outside of a few afterparties here and there, but I assure you it’ll be awesome. Anyone coming down (which you should, even if only to see Mr. Epworth do the damn thing from 1:30-2:45) shouldn’t expect any world class transitions or superior mixing skills on display during our set, but you can fully expect to hear jams of the extremely hot variety dropped in spades. Rounding out the night are a live performance from Miss Odd Kid and sets from the Magic Circle and Adventures Close To Home DJs, both of whom know how to put it down with authority, and of course Dekker himself. Set times are below, as well as one of Phones’ finest and most obscure remixes to get you in the mood. See you there?

MP3: “Never Felt Like This Before” (Phones Volt Version) - Shaznay Lewis

• Fresh Prints (9:00-10:15)

• Adventures Close To Home (10:15-11:30)

• Magic Circle (11:30-12:15)

• Miss Odd Kid (12:15-12:45)

• Dekker (12:45-1:30)

• Paul Epworth (1:30-2:45)
• Naomi // (2:45-3:30)

• Everyone (3:30-4:00)

Hey, so I think we can all agree the whole ShareBee thing got real old real quick, so I bit the bullet and bought a new hosting package and so we’re back to direct links again. Everybody wins and shit. Now listen to Rya:

Valentine’s Day is a touchy subject for me. I’m single, you see, and have been going through my “men are slime” phase for like, 38 years. But the Big V is a very difficult thing to ignore, and I have had a few too many hung over February 15ths in my day to only reaffirm this fact. This year, I had big plans for the day-long love-fest: to see The Hours perform at Sotheby’s for the (Auction) Red after party. Such notable artists as Tracy Emin, Murakami, Damien Hirst, and (my fave) Andreas Gursky donated their works to be auctioned off, with all proceeds going to Bono’s (RED) foundation. Those proceeds totaled up to a whopping $42 million bones, so there was a lot of celebrating to do. I didn’t bring my camera, because I thought it’d be a dick move - but that didn’t keep like, every other person there from taking arms-length shots of themselves and their fellow patrons of the fine arts. So, if you want to see how the event went down, hop onto over to some leathery, bottle-blonde, divorced, and loaded Manhattan woman’s Flickr - she’ll be glad you came.

Okay, back to me. I went to the party with my friend Tiffany, she’s also Persian, single, and into alcohol, so she made for an ideal partner in crime. The party started off great; there were celebs everywhere, but none that I pulled an MCA over (I met MCA of the Beastie Boys in 10th grade and cried so hard I almost passed out - awesome). The bar was open, and I took abundant advantage of that (champagne), and there were adorable finger-foods that not one woman (myself included) laid a finger on. Dessert was another story, and I’d like to take this opportunity to holler at the amazing mini-donuts. Shits were the size of like, a quarter and a little extra, but were a million bucks of flavor. Oh, and EVERYTHING was branded with the (RED) logo. Now that I think of it, everything was red - the theme was really apropos, but I was just too hammered to realize it at the time. Okay, that’s not what I’m here to talk about.

Featured artist Damien Hirst, famous for his - okay, you know who Damien Hirst is… and he’s got a giant boner for this band called The Hours. I had some reservations at first, because I was all “can I trust the taste of a man who made artwork out of gluing dead flies onto a canvas?” But I’m glad to say I can. Maybe I’m just too affected by “Gossip Girl,” but I have a sneaking suspicion that lead singer, Antony Genn (who’s been a part of such acts as Pulp and Elastica), banged at least 99% of the ladies in the audience. And he really worked that sexual tension; I mean, I think I was impregnated when we made eye contact. OKAY - now, I’m really going to talk about the show.

This is a great live act - there’s a lot going on onstage, and you can tell that they’re doing something more meaningful than just playing catchy, piano-driven tunes. They also happen to be a great looking band, altogether (shout out to the guitarist with red suspenders), and there was adorable girl drummer. The Hours are a lyrics band, and Genn made sure to annotate the songs’ meanings before diving into them - perhaps so the crowd could learn a thing or two as they swung their hips. Did they come off as pompous for having such a visible compassion for their music? In a word: Yes. But Genn’s onstage banter was successful in keeping them from being branded as too serious, namely when he anointed the crowd as a bunch of “rich motherfuckers” who wouldn’t understand the meaning of the next song, as it was about being “in the the gutter” - but he said it with a laugh, so he didn’t come off like an asshole. This, along with such powerful tracks as “Back When You Were Good” kept the crowd compelled - quite a feat, considering I was standing next to a dude who looked and dressed exactly like John Edwards. I also stood near Dennis Hopper for a bit, but that’s irrelevant. Would I see The Hours again? Sure - it’s meaningful music that I can showcase my moves to, and that’s a beautiful thing.

Okay, so then get this - Genn starts singing “Danny Boy,” which if don’t know, is a fucking AMAZING AND SAD Irish folk song. I had the privilege of singing it for my high school’s select chorus (lead alto, thankyouverymuch), so that was really exciting. But NOTHING prepared me for what happened next. Here’s something I held from you - during the show, I physically knocked into Bono (sorry, bud), so I knew he was in the audience. But then, he went on STAGE. And started to sing The Beatles’ “Revolution #9.” Okay. This is when I went mental. THEN they sang “All You Need Is Love” and I went DOUBLE mental. So basically, I witnessed history. I laughed, I danced, I took a camera phone picture.

Here are some songs I enjoyed from the night.

MP3s:
“Ali In The Jungle” - The Hours
“Back When You Were Good” - The Hours

Also, I meant to put this up as one of my favorite music videos of 2007, but… I forgot. And yeah, we’re well into ‘08 but Derek still hasn’t gotten his shit together and done his 2007 recap annnd now that I saw Bono, it’s relevant! I’m not a U2 fan, but I like this video for “Window in the Skies” and the song is alright, I guess. It features Beck not once, but twice, and Method Man “sings” the chorus. Dreamy?

With every passing day I get closer and closer to completing my Top 50 Singles list, but I’m also constantly coming across exciting new shit that’s begging to be featured on these here pages. Like what, you ask? LIKE THIS: Little Boots, y’all. How every blog ever isn’t currently in a perpetual state of shitting themselves over this remains a mystery, but Little Boots is what you get when Joe Goddard decides to take a break from crafting beats in Hot Chip and teams up instead with Dead Disco frontwoman Victoria Hesketh and it’s fucking excellent. “Stuck On Repeat” is the first single and it sounds like the best track Kylie Minogue never released, while the Joe Goddard production is on par with anything on Made In The Dark. This is the first massive track of 2008 folks, I can’t fucking wait to here this played out in the clubs.

MP3: “Stuck On Repeat” - Little Boots

ALSO AWESOME: PARIS
Rivaling “Stuck On Repeat” in the Awesome Things That Have Recently Happened To Me department was my trip to Paris last weekend. Thursday was pretty low-key while I did my best to regain my health so I could sufficiently rage the rest of the weekend, but Friday and Saturday ruled unbelievably hard. Friday morning was spent drinking wine up on Montmartre and drunkenly exploring the city which was awesome and all, but we crashed hard around mid-afternoon and woke up fully charged and good to go for the Crystal Castles takeover of the Paris Social Club that night. CC didn’t take the stage until around 2:30, so we were all kinds of good to go by the time we rolled up to the club, where the line was around the block and then some. Due to some kind of mix up/the band’s agent living up to his notoriously unreliable reputation we were left off the guest list despite promises to the contrary, but we were able to talk our way in regardless and made it to the stage just as Alice Glass and that other guy in Crystal Castles were taking the stage. And as expected, shit got real crazy real fast. The next forty minutes was pretty much just a blur of sweat and debauchery and more sweat, but one thing is for sure: those French kids flip their fucking shit for that band. Seriously, it was absolute pandemonium. “Air War” was the only disappointment of the show because the sound seemed to be a bit off, but “Alice Practice” fucking KILLED IT when it dropped mid-way through their set. In other Crystal Castles news, it’s a little bit terrifying how well this works.

MP3: “Alice Practice” - Crystal Castles

The rest of the night may or may not have actually happened, but we left the Social Club sometime between the hours of 5-7 AM and my ladyfriend and I woke up around noon on the couch of some kid named Pierce. I don’t even want to hang out with someone named Pierce, let alone wake up on their couch in a foreign city, but yeah… c’est la vie. Saturday was pretty cool too with more hungover adventures around Paris and cigarettes and baguettes on the lawn in front of the Eiffel Tower, and we were able to find time to make it across town and over to Colette, which rules because I picked up a seriously awesome, seriously limited edish Justice shirt there and realized it’s pretty much the greatest store since Major opened up a block from my house in Georgetown.

MP3: “Streets of Paris” - The Teenagers

Later we met up with our international modelfriend Matt Foley, who aside from being the best looking person I know also scored mad points by taking us to Showcase, a sufficiently ill spot right on the Seine with some of the best DJs I’ve heard in a long time keeping shit really real on the decks all night long. Basically the perfect end to our weekend sojourn. At one point the DJ mixed flawlessly from SebastiAn’s “Fool For Love” remix into that mammoth Soulwax remix of “Phantom Pt. II” and I think I died a little. But yeah, long story short: Paris was a pretty good time.

MP3: “Phantom Pt. II” (Soulwax Nite Version) - Justice

And speaking of “Phantom Pt. II” this unofficial, impossibly fan-made video for the track is totally perfect.

NME SHOCKWAVES HIT LONDON
Despite a glaring lack of sleep and the return of the deathvirus that had plagued my throat the week prior to my Paris soujourn, there was no time to rest when we got back to London because Les Savy Fucking Fav rolled into town for the NME Shockwaves Awards tour and absolutely destroyed the Astoria on Sunday night. Syd sorted us with all access passes and we managed to have a pretty ill time despite our aforementioned sleep deprivation, which wasn’t terribly hard as it was easily one of the best sets I’ve ever seen them play and the crowd was absolutely mental from the minute “The Sweat Descends” and “Patty Lee” dropped all the way until the epic final notes of “Rome” rang out over the audience an hour and change later. So yeah, good times.

We basically lived at the Astoria last week, returning on Wednesday and Thursday night for more NME insanity with Simian Mobile Disco and Justice, respectively. It’s hard to say which was better, as both tend to obliterate any audience in their path, but despite a good showing from Late of the Pier (who seem to have improved dramatically since I saw them with Hadouken last summer) on Thursday night, the edge has to go to Wednesday thanks to a remarkable set from the Whip and a solid effort from Friendly Fires. I’d not expected the Whip to be all that amazing live despite my love for their early singles, but they proved me seriously wrong. “Trash” absolutely slayed as their closing number, but the real surprise was “Divebomb”, easily my least favorite single of theirs to date, which sounded PHENOMENAL blasting from the brilliant Astoria soundsystem and set the tone for what would be one of the best shows I’ve seen in months.

MP3: “Divebomb” - The Whip

Then SMD took the stage and guess what? Dudes still know how to rock the party. Shocker, right? Mssrs. Ford and Shaw pulled out all their usual tricks - awe-inspiring light show, unfuckwithable dance jams, endless knob-twiddling, etc. - but it was the longest set and biggest venue I’d ever seen them play and shit was special. They fleshed out their set with a few excellent instrumental interludes, but they made sure to bring the hits in spades as well. “Sleep Deprivation” and “I Believe” bookended their set in triumphant fashion and remain my favorite works by the duo to date, and all the other highlights off of Attack Decay Sustain Release, as well as bits and pieces of a few of their more well-known remixes (read: “Magick” and “Ladyflash”) kept the crowd in a frenzy the whole night long. Their really wasn’t a dull moment the entire night, which has kind of become SMD’s calling card at this point - you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into when you head out to a Simian Mobile Disco gig, and that’s a fan-fucking-tastic time.

MP3: “Sleep Deprivation” (12″ Edit) - Simian Mobile Disco

Friday I was unbelievably pumped to see DatA do his thing at Egg just down the road from me, but all my friends decided to go to Fabric instead with Adam Freeland and I wasn’t about to see DatA by myself… so yeah, I’m still really bitter about I’ve got to admit that Fabric was an amazing time. My friend Allison is somehow friends with Adam Freeland, who was the headlining DJ that night and also has his own Fabriclive comp (so you know he’s legit), so we were able to bypass the lines and kick it with him in the DJ booth all night which was considerably awesome. I’ve started doing some DJing with my roommate and fucking around with Logic and Ableton (you know, so we can make some TOTALLY BLOGGABLE HITS), so it was cool to get a behind the scenes look at Freeland’s set and see just how much better he is than we’ll ever be. But yeah, dude played a pretty flawless mix of the hits (that Soulwax mix of “Standing In The Way of Control” might never get old) and some more obscure shit, and even though I’d rather have been listening to DatA melting minds with his “Minuit Jacuzzi” mix at Egg, I guess Fabric was cool too.

MP3: “Minuit Jacuzzi” (DatA Remix) - Tepr

I’m literally on DatA’s Myspace trying to figure out which distant European city I’m going to travel to see him play (Electron Festival in Geneva doesn’t sound half bad though), fuck my friends for logically choosing fly V.I.P. no-cover free-drink hook-ups at Fabric over Egg. I may never get over this. I mean, just listen to this shit.

MP3: “I Say You Can’t Stop” (DatA Remix) - Nelson

Finally, the new Mystery Jets single is perfect and timeless and everything you could possibly wanted to be, and the video is all that and more. Who knew Laura Marling could look that good?

I’m unbelievably sick today - it legitimately feels like I’m in a perpetual state of swallowing fire - so forgive me if I’m not exactly on form, but I just wanted to take a quick break from our proper Best of 2007 lists to highlight a track that easily would have broken my top ten of last year had it seen a formal release, but alas I’ve had to wait until finally receiving clearance today from our dear friends at Frenchkiss to post it. The song is “Jody” and it narrowly bests “Fools” as the most impressive track on their remarkable upcoming album, Visiter, showcasing Meric Long’s incredible guitarmanship and songwriting ability. Opening with a languorous riff that recalls Iron & Wine’s more sedated moments, I love how the drums come in off-beat and faster-paced and the guitar has to catch up to it, setting the frantic pace for the track after an intro that suggests a more relaxed experience. Spanning six minutes, the song is consistently evolving into new forms and is the most rewarding track on their upcoming album, even if it lacks the immediacy and contagious accessibility of a track like “Fools”. ShareBee is down today so we’re going zShare for the time being, hope that’s cool with everyone.

MP3: “Jody” - The Dodos

Elsewhere, I’ve already taken in a healthy number of shows in the short time since I’ve been here, including Make Model at the Water Rats (conveniently located right across the street from my flat) last Thursday. They’re a bit of a guilty pleasure, but put on a great live show and all six members seem as if they were born to come together and write chart-topping singles, so yeah, they make me pretty happy. Thus, you can imagine how pumped I was to find this bad boy in my inbox this morning, despite my considerable physical discomfort. Phones, how I’ve missed you.

MP3: “The L.S.B.” (Phones Latino Remix) - Make Model

Next, here’s a new band to get all excited about in 2008. Drowned In Sound have been championing them to no end as of late, but the blogs don’t seem to have picked up on it yet. Their demo EP, available for purchase at 7Digital’s indiestore, is pretty hit or miss in my opinion, but I’ve taken a definite liking to this here track. The Celtic Arcade Fire? Your call I guess.

MP3: “A Good Reason” - Broken Records

Finally, there’s this monster of a track, and even though I’m a bit late to the party I’ve got to do my part to get the word out on this masterpiece. Neither Antony nor his Johnsons we’re ever really my bag, and I’ve always found dude’s eerie-ass vocals to be a bit off-putting, but his vocal contribution on this track is actually perfect. Musically, it sounds like LCD Soundsystem (a long lost remix of the “Tribulations” instrumental, perhaps?), only with more brass and it’s not hard to see how the Brooklyn-based producer ended up signed to Murphy’s DFA imprint. But yeah, if you’ve somehow missed out on this to this point, heed my words and get on this shit.

MP3: “Blind” - Hercules & Love Affair

I’m off to Paris this weekend to see some friends and catch Crystal Castles on Friday night, but hopefully I’ll be damn near finished with my Top Singles list by the time I return.

UPDATE: Barbs established her/him/itself as Reader of the Century today when she/he/it gave us a heads up about a new Guillemots track being kindly hosted by Polydor for your enjoyment. And yes, it absolutely rules every bit as much as its name would suggest.

MP3: “Kriss Kross” - Guillemots [direct link]

NOTICE: From this point on we will no longer be providing direct links for the downloads (except for, y’know, that one right above this sentence). I’d apologize for the inconvenience, but the direct links barely ever worked in the first place, so I don’t really think it’ll be that big a deal. My 6-month account with Leaseweb just expired, and I don’t really see any point in paying for something that doesn’t actually work. So yeah, I hope everyone can deal with this.

I know some people can’t always use zShare, so I’m uploading everything via ShareBee, which in turn uploads the file to RapidShare, MegaUpload, zShare and Badongo so no one should be left out. To reiterate: from now on clicking on the song title hyperlink will take you to the ShareBee page, and you will then be able to choose your downloading service from there. Oh and also, I’m doing away with all that ((highly recommended)) nonsense, since it kind of lost its meaning when it was tacked onto like every song I posted and besides, it’s a bit redundant - if it’s here, then I’m probably recommending that you listen to it, you know? So yeah, hopefully everyone’s cool with that. Cool? Cool. Moving on, then.

I didn’t really do the whole Best Albums thing last year because, to be honest, there wasn’t that much I got excited about in the LP format outside of that brilliant Guillemots debut and those TV On The Radio and Union of Knives records and besides, it’s been well-documented in these pages that singles are more my speed anyways. That said, 2007 was a better outing for the long-player, with a good lot of phenomenal records coming out, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a few of them the recognition they deserve. With that out of the way, here are my top five records of 2007, though I don’t really think I need to waste too much breath on them considering you’ve been listening to and reading about these records all year long.

1. Les Savy Fav, Let’s Stay Friends
2. LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver
3. M.I.A., Kala
4. Kate Nash, Made of Bricks
5. Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

Falling just short of this list was Bloc Party’s Weekend In The City and that phenomenal Okkervil River record, and we should make a point not to forget The Early Learnings of Eugene McGuinnes any time soon as well.

BEST ALBUM OF 2008(?)

The past two years saw incredible debut albums taking the top spot as my favorite albums of their respective year, with Bloc Party’s Silent Alarm blowing everyone away in 2005 and Guillemots’ Through The Windowpane taking the top honors last year, and 2007 would have been no different had XL gotten their shit together and managed to release Vampire Weekend’s monumental debut LP a month earlier in 2007, rather than waiting until the end of this month to drop the music listening world’s collective jaw. However, the band’s now-infamous Blue CD-R never did see a proper release in ‘07, and thus all eyes (read: mine) are on their upcoming eponymous debut to grab top billing in ‘08.

The Blue CD-R was pretty unfuckwithable in its own right, but their debut LP proper is all kinds of amazing, with two excellent new tracks (including “M79″, possibly their finest work to date) and an actual decent mix of “Walcott”, which easily would have been the best track on their demo had it been given the mix it deserved. All the tracks have been reproduced and properly mixed this time around as well, and though the differences are subtle, they really bring the songs to life and give them the full-bodied sound they deserve. “Campus” and “Walcott” benefit the most from their reincarnation on the album, but the whole thing is pretty remarkable from start to finish. The album was released on Monday, so at long last I can finally share the new recordings. Here’s “M79″ and “Campus”, two tracks that would easily stand out as singles in almost any other band’s repertoire, but will likely go without the spotlight thanks to the incredible standard of quality that’s maintained throughout the album. Oh and when I was listening to “M79″ with Zack over break I promised him I’d go all Pitchfork and be a douche and describe it as “afro-classical”, but I mean, it is. There, I said it.

MP3s:
“M79″ - Vampire Weekend
“Campus” - Vampire Weekend

Obviously, you can’t declare the album of the year when it’s not even February yet, especially since 2008 is already shaping up to be another excellent year for music. Between Vampire Weekend and the Dodos’ Visiter, we’ve already got two albums on par with (if not better than) nearly all of the records in my top five for 2007. And yes, the Dodos album really is that good. Furthermore, there are plenty more releases due out in the first half of 2008 alone that have me seriously, seriously excited. Here are four releases I’m anticipating more than anything else. They are:

21, Mystery Jets
There’s been much talk about this album already as a result of the hype generated by the tracks released by the band since Making Dens dropped in 2006, and while that album was truly a brilliant record in its own right, 21 is shaping up to be a potential instant classic. “Umbrellahead”, the only new track included on Zootime, the band’s US debut early last year, was an extremely promising step in the right direction, but shit started to get really real when the Jets released “Flakes” last December as a free download. Their self-proclaimed “sketchy attempt at Christmas number one”, “Flakes” demonstrated that the band reallly do have the potential to release a world-conquering Christmas number one and was arguably their best track yet. Thus, I was already beginning to froth at the mouth with excitement for their upcoming sophomore record proper (Zootime doesn’t really count, folks), 21, and that was before I got to listen to a few pre-mastered tracks in a brief listening session at an undisclosed location.

And ho-ly shit. Of the three tracks I heard, among which were lead single “Young Love” (due out around March I believe) and the incredible “Two Doors Down” (the likely second single), it was immediately apparent why 21 is already a legitimate contender for album of the year honors in 2008. “Young Love”, a duet with the always lovely Laura Marling, is nothing short of amazing, riding an opening bass riff that sounds downright Motown at times and like nothing else I’ve heard done in Britpop since Guillemots burst onto the scene with Through The Windowpane in 2006, while the unrestrained percussion of “Two Doors Down” (in which our protagonist falls in love with a girl banging away at her drum kit two doors down from him) brilliantly reflects the song’s storyline while at the same time providing the foundation around which Mystery Jets build one of their finest narrative masterpieces yet. Oh and let’s not forget that Captain Erol Fucking Alkan is manning the boards on this one, his first time producing a band for a full record, and from the sound of it it’s shaping up to be some of his best production work yet. Mark my words, this record is going to be amazing.

MP3s:
“Flakes” - Mystery Jets
“Umbrellahead” - Mystery Jets

Red, Guillemots
Speaking of Guillemots, the masterminds behind my favorite record of 2006 (and one of my favorite debuts ever) are back at it and will be releasing their hotly anticipated sophomore album late this March, preceded by lead single “Get Over It” on March 17th. Sadly I haven’t gotten to sit in on any super fly V.I.P. listening sessions for this one, but I was in attendance at Koko last June when the band reduced me to a blithering idiot with the brilliance of “Standing On The Last Star”, one of the new songs slated for inclusion on Red. You can find some extremely shitty footage on YouTube, but don’t even bother - nothing can do this track justice short of seeing it live or, hopefully, hearing it on record. We’re talking some next level, Britpop-goes-disco shit people. I can’t. Fucking. Wait.

Sadly I’ve got nothing to share from the upcoming record, so here’s a modern classic off their last one. Surely you’ve all heard it by now, but more and more I’m begginning to realize that “Trains To Brazil” is my favorite song of all time, so if even just one of you has yet to be touched by its graces then I’ve done my job. And when I say “favorite song of all time”, I don’t mean it’s up there near the top or it’s one of my favorites, but rather I believe it’s truly my single favorite song of the last 2,000 years. It has a lot to do with the memories it’s linked to - walking around UVA (and then Notting Hill a year later) in springtime listening to it, drunkenly yelling out the lyrics with my friends at parties in the summer, dancing in a sparse crowd of barely 40 people at the band’s Koko gig last June - but it’s the song’s unimpeachable message that makes it so enduring: whatever’s got you down, get over it because life is fucking beautiful. So yes, please do enjoy that below if it’s somehow evaded you to this point, along with the band’s crazy-awesome cover of the Streets’ “Never Went To Church” from a little while back.

UPDATE: A one-minute preview of “Get Over It” is now streaming from the Guillemots’ MySpace page and SWEET JESUS… I’m pretty sure this is what it sounds like when an angel gets its wings.
MP3s:
“Trains To Brazil” - Guillemots
“Never Went To Church” - Guillemots

Couples, The Long Blondes
So Someone To Drive You Home was an awesome record and all, but I definitely cried myself to sleep a few nights back in early 2006 when it was announced that Erol Alkan would not, in fact, be producing the record despite his awe-inspiring production work on the band’s B-sides. But things have a way of working themselves out it seems, and the Blondes seem to have gotten it right the second time around, even if it seemed like the only logical thing to do considering two of the Alkan-produced B-sides (that’s “Five Ways To End It” and the amazing “Fulwood Babylon”, for those of you who aren’t up on your Long Blondes’ B-side pedigree knowledge) rivaled damn near everything on their actual record. And again, I’ve got nothing to share from the LP at this point, but Couples lead single “Guilt” drops March 24th and the record follows on its heels shortly thereafter. Suffice it to say, March is shaping up to be the greatest month in history.

MP3s:
“Fulwood Babylon” (Erol Alkan’s 12″ Edit) - The Long Blondes
“Five Ways To End It” (Erol Alkan’s 12″ Edit) - The Long Blondes

In other news, WHY THE FUCK DO GUILLEMOTS AND THE LONG BLONDES HAVE TO BE PLAYING AT THE SAME TIME AT DIFFERENT VENUES ON THE OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE CITY ON THE SAME FUCKING NIGHT. March 11th confronts me with what could possibly be the most possible decision of my adult life.

Little Death, Pete & The Pirates
Okay, so this probably won’t be in the running for album of the year come December, but fuck if I’m not still counting down the days (nay, the hours) until it’s release February 11th. I mean, have you heard the singles off this record. “Come On Feet” had me pretty excited when Mssr. Pea-ness beat everyone to the punch and dropped it last summer, but then “Knots” came along in October and still hasn’t fallen out of heavy rotation on my iPod. I mean, I reviewed it as an 8 out of 10 in early October before realizing I was only listening to the fucking demo. Then I finally got my shit together and tracked down the finished version, and it was like I’d been wasting my time with Kirsten Dunst when I really could have been getting with Natalie Portman all along. Both are great, y’know, but everything about the single version is just a little bit better in every regard. Now, two weeks prior to the album’s release, new single “Mr. Understanding” is streaming on the band’s MySpace and is freshly available for download from both the US and UK iTunes stores and yeah, it totally rules as well. Factor in “Bright Lights” (also streaming on the Pirates’ MySpace) and “She Doesn’t Belong” (available as an exclusive download from Shattered Satellite), and this is shaping up to be one of the finest British guitar-rock debuts in a longgg minute.

Furthermore, I had the pleasure of seeing them last night at the Borderline with my ladyfriend Kelly and they put on easily the best and most fun show I’ve seen since I got here (and please keep in mind I saw Vampire Weekend twice two weeks ago). They opened with “Knots” and closed with now-classic debut single “Come On Feet”, both of which slayed in a live setting, but it was the two new songs from their MySpace, new single “Mr. Understanding” and album-closer “Bright Lights” that were the true highlights of the evening. They rounded out their setlist with a few of the new album tracks as well, and if they’re able to capture the live energy of the tracks on the record, then we’re in for a fucking treat when Little Death drops in a few weeks’ time.

MP3s:
“Come On Feet” - Pete & The Pirates
“Knots” - Pete & The Pirates

Welcome to 2008. Shit just got real.

What up world, sorry I’ve been gone for a minute. I neglected to mention it until now, but I’m spending the semester abroad in London and god damn it’s good to be here. I’m studying at NYU’s London program, living with my best friend from high school in King’s Cross down the street from the Scala and working at Lucky Number Music (Gotye, Sebastien Tellier, Seventeen Evergreen, et al) commissioning remixes and music videos (easily the best job ever), so yeah, shit rules pretty hard right now. That said, I’ve got so much to do these days that it’s been pretty hard to keep up with the site, and I don’t think I’ll be getting any less busy any time soon. I’m hoping my best of lists are still on the way (read: it’s either up here within the next seven days or it won’t ever see the light of day) and I do still intend to do whatever I can to keep this shit regularly updated, but don’t be surprised if things drop off a bit around here this semester. As long as I’m here I might as well drop a few hot jams for you though. I mean, yeah, I’m way busy, but I always make sure to find the time to keep my headphones tuned to the freshest sounds, so here’s some of what I’ve been spinning as of late. Oh and thanks to Rya Backer for being my only friend.

MP3: “Bullets” - Editors [Alternate Link]
So yeah, you’ve probably heard this track, but I may never have heard such a quintessentially British song in my life. I’m not sure what it is really, but this is always the first song I listen to getting off the plane at Heathrow and the last song I play before I leave. An underrated classic from 2005.

MP3: “Don’t Know What To Do With My Hands” - Fans of Kate [Alternate Link]
Go ahead and file this one under British As Shit as well. This one’s been sitting on my hard drive for nearly as long as “Bullets” only this track never got any love from anyone, and Fans of Kate disbanded within a year of its release, dooming it to the annals of obscurity for eternity. Whatever though, I still think it rules.

MP3: “Say Yeah” - Wiz Khalifa [Alternate Link]
Zack showed me a radio rip of this INCREDIBLE track over break and I came pretty close to soiling myself. Alright, it could be better, but endless props to any rapper with the balls to sample ’99’s Alice DJ trance-pop classic “Better Off Alone” on their debut single proper. Here it is in high quality.

MP3: “Divine” - Sebastien Tellier [Alternate Link]
This song is perfect. I wasn’t so sure what to expect after “Sexual Sportswear” failed to live up to its flawless title, but “Divine” restored my faith in the French maestro and the rest of the album, which I was able to pick up from Lucky Number last week, doesn’t disappoint. In other Seb Tellier news, the recently-revealed album artwork for Sexuality is either the best album cover of the last five years or the absolute worst. Thoughts?

MP3: “Happy Rabbit” - Breakbot [Alternate Link]
It remains to be seen just how much influence I’ll have in the remixes department over at Lucky Number, but if there’s one thing I’ll be pushing for from the start it gonna be getting Breakbot on a remix of “Divine”. Dude’s basically Justice if they wrote songs about the beach and summertime and pool parties and shit instead of the whole epic religious/heavy metal imagery they’ve chosen to embrace instead.

MP3: “On My Shoulders” - The Dø [Alternate Link]
Another Parisian act with a unique sound and burgeoning buzz are the half-Finnish, half-Parisian husband-wife duo The Dø. Their excellent debut album, A Mouthful, dropped in France last week, and though “Playground Hustle” is the track that made me fall in love with the band, it’s “On My Shoulders” that has carried the album into the Top 20 in France with its massive success as a single. It forfeits the playful bounce of many of the record’s standout tracks in favor of a darker, more dramatic vibe, but it’s a hell of a song and is just another reason to get very excited about the Dø in ‘08.

MP3: “Hangman” - Eugene McGuinness [Alternate Link]
Staying consistent with a B-side pedigree of remarkably high quality, “Hangman” - off the flipside of last year’s “Bold Street” single - is yet another brilliant track from Eugene McGuinness and another reason to start foaming at the mouth with excitement at the prospect of a proper Eugene McGuinness full-length arriving in late 2008.

MP3: “Rocks & Daggers” - Noah & The Whale [Alternate Link]
The PUSH club night - put on by my main man Imran Ahmed from Abeano Music and the lovely Young & Lost girls - at the Astoria is usually a good bet for a fun-ass Saturday night, but they outdid themselves last week with a Noah & The Whale/Vampire Weekend bill that’s easily the best lineup they’ve ever had. The sound quality eft a bit to be desired, but both bands persevered and failed to disappoint. “Rocks & Daggers” is the B-side to their brand new single “2 Bodies 1 Heart”, but for my money it’s good enough to be a single in its own right.

And speaking of Vampire Weekend, how fucking good is the new video for “A-Punk”? After that dreadful self-made video for “Mansard Roof” I was a bit worried about them, but this new one’s great. Sure, stop-motion is a bit sooo 2006, but that can be forgiven for a video that’s this much fun.

MP3: “Lightbulbs” (James Yuill Remix) - James Yuill [Alternate Link]
We had the pleasure of catching James Yuill at Chocolate Rain last Wednesday and despite us coming in with low expectations it actually kind of ruled. His songs are good and all but you can tell he’s got a serious knack for remixing, as was indicated by an impromptu mid-set interlude in which he dropped a certifiably bananas remix of “Harder Better Faster Stronger” and his mix of the Answering Machines “Lightbulbs” isn’t too shabby either. Further supporting this notion was the completely amazing rendition of Radiohead’s “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” that he closed his set with. Apparently he’s heading into the studio to cut a proper recording of the cover next week, and I’m definitely going to see if I can talk to the Chess Club kids about letting me throw it up here, so keep an eye on this space and definitely see James Yuill if you’re in London, which shouldn’t be too hard since dude’s playing like 40 shows around town over the next few months.

MP3: “Pumpkin Soup” (Bloc Party’s Team Tiger Edit) - Kate Nash [Alternate Link]
So yeah, this kind of came out of nowhere. Not bad though.

MP3: “Cryptic” - Pin Me Down [Alternate Link]
While we’re on the subject of Bloc Party, guitarist Russell Lissack - who is also the brains behind the Bloc Party remixes - has a new project with New York City vocalist Milena Mepris called Pin Me Down, and “Cryptic” is the duo’s first single. It’s due out on Kitsune Maison’s GOLD Compilation February 4th and a proper 12″ release for the single will follow in March on the vaunted French house label. I could do with some different vocals I guess, but the guitars are all about that classic Silent Alarm-era Bloc Party sound, and there really isn’t anything more I can ask for than that.

MP3: “Get Lucky” (Outlines Remix) - New Young Pony Club [Alternate Link]
Finally, I’m reposting this absolute gem of a remix because it’s one of the best and most obscure remixes (though it’s more of a cover, really) I heard all last year and it got absolutely no love when I dropped it just after Christmas.
Yo that is a lot of fucking songs. I hope we’re back on good terms now.

Editor’s Note: Rya finished this like two weeks ago, I’m just a huge piece of shit and took forever to get around to getting all the links sorted out and posting it. Also, I feel the need to point out that Naughty are some of the greatest musicians of our time. Oh and lastly, we don’t need to talk about that whole Redskins thing. At all. Thanks in advance.

*********************************************************************************************

It’s been for-EV-er, and despite my inactivity, don’t think I didn’t miss you.

A lot of fun and interesting things happened in these past 365 days. A lot more than (dare I say it…) music. Derek and I agreed that it would be most refreshing for me to recount more than sonic stuff for my Year In Review post (a post that’s super comprehensive, because I put it off until the last few days of the year). Because of the upcoming years’ rash of cancelled awards ceremonies, I will offer nominees and winners in each category. Enjoy it?

BEST CONCERT OF 2007
Sonic Youth @ McCarren Pool - July 28
Beastie Boys @ Central Park - August 8
Wilco @ Warsaw - June 26
Queens Of The Stone Age @ Madison Square Garden Theater - October 13
Clinic w/ Holy Fuck @ Gramercy Theater - March 9

And the winner is…
BEASTIE BOYS IN CENTRAL PARK!

MP3: “The Sprawl” - Sonic Youth [zShare Link]
This was my favorite song of the night. It has a really fun and catchy chorus, and I couldn’t physically deal with how cool Kim Gordon looked when she played it. Like, my jealousy morphed into sadness, because she’s so much better at everything than me.

MP3: “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” - Wilco [zShare Link]
Big fucking deal, I love Wilco. Nels Cline wielded his axe so hard during this song, that by the end of it, everyone was drenched in HIS sweat. This song is really easy to passively listen to, but not when it’s live and pretty much sprayed all over you (gross).

MP3: “Sky Is Fallin’” - Queens Of The Stone Age [zShare Link]
When my friends and I got drinks before the show I declared, “If they play ‘Sky Is Fallin’ I will buy the entire audience a round.” It’s long been a favorite, and even though I’d seen them a zillion (okay, four) times prior, I’ve never heard it live. It was so worth the wait, and I didn’t buy a round for all 2499 other concertgoers.

MP3: “2/4″ - Clinic [zShare Link]
This was a helluva show. They played with Holy Fuck! Do you realize how much I love these two bands? Do you realize what my brain did when I found out they were playing TOGETHER? Anyway, Clinic was actually religious. They played this during the encore; it was really loud and made me a little dizzy. Also: GREAT new venue.

MP3: “Time For Livin’” - Beastie Boys [zShare Link]
This is Mike D’s interpretation of a Sly and the Family Stone song. It was a really good opening number, because it got everyone really pumped (except the WASP couple in front of my friend and I who ATE DINNER FROM A PICNIC BASKET DURING THE SHOW). A lot of you probably find these guys old and irrelevant, but well, I don’t. They put on the perfect live show - rife with between-song banter, Money Mark’s acrobatics, Calder mobiles, and impeccable tailoring. I think it’s worth noting that for every other audience member, this show might as well have been “Rya Featuring the Beastie Boys” as I was… very vocal about knowing every word to every song.

WORST CONCERT OF THE YEAR
Patrick Watson @ Joe’s Pub - September 16

MP3: “Luscious Life” - Patrick Watson [zShare Link]
I’m sure there were shittier shows, but I had the privilege of seeing this guy. I read The Secret this year, so I know I’m not supposed to say negative stuff, but… well, everything about this man and his band gave me a case of the idiot shivers that lasted for DAYS. You’ll probably like “Luscious Life” if you’re one of those Garden State types.

BEST ALBUM OF THE YEAR
LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver
Les Savy Fav, Let’s Stay Friends
Chromeo, Fancy Footwork
Queens Of The Stone Age, Era Vulgaris
Holy Fuck, Holy Fuck
Clinic, Visitations

And the winner is…
ERA VULGARIS!

MP3: “New York, I Love You…” - LCD Soundsystem [zShare Link]
This song is a little insulting, but I like that it makes me angry. Having spent 19 of my 21 (and a half) years in Manhattan, I can understand James Murphy’s tired argument. I get it, NYC isn’t as fun as it used to be - but didn’t James Murphy choose to move here? It reminds me a little bit of my Persian relatives who love to hate America, but deep down know they would never want to live anywhere else.

MP3: “Slugs In The Shrubs” - Les Savy Fav [zShare Link]
I don’t think I ever told Derek how much I love this album; I thought it would tread on some weird, ass-kissing, fangirl territory. Let’s Stay Friends is really fun to listen to all the way through, which is among other things, convenient. This is my favorite song on the album. If I listen to it while I’m walking on the street, I feel like mowing over a tourist.

MP3: “Fancy Footwork” - Chromeo [zShare Link]
This will be the year Dave 1 and I will share a Shabbat dinner (yes, that’s what they call it these days). I love everything about this song, and I can safely admit that I have danced by myself to this song more than anything else this year. Most of you probably find Chromeo to be a bit gimmicky, but I don’t; they take their craft way too seriously. For a good time, fast forward to 1:59. Oh MY-fucking-LANTA, Dave 1’s “eyyyy” is… I can’t put it in words.

MP3: “Frenchy’s” - Holy Fuck [zShare Link]
Once “Lovely Allen” starts getting tired (and trust me, it’ll start getting a little too epic around the 9 squillionth listen), you’ll yearn to listen to discover what else these guys are capable of (hint: it sounds nothing like “Lovely Allen”). This track, like most of the Holy Fuck’s work, kind of sucks you in, and you’ll find it hard to do anything else but listen to it.

MP3: “The New Seeker” - Clinic [zShare Link]
This album came out on iTunes in 2006, but it came out in the FLESH in 2007 - for that sole reason it could be one of my favorite albums two years in a row. This is my favorite song on the album, for among other reasons, the fun ending.

MP3: “Run Pig Run” - Queens of the Stone Age [zShare Link]
When I learned that the new Queens’ album would be nearly void of all celebrity cameos, I had my doubts. Could I handle (with the exception of Julian Casablancas, their BFF Mark Lanegan, and Trent Reznor on a non-album track) nothing but Josh and Co? Why, yes, I can! QOTSA are one of my favorite bands ever, because they never fail to deliver a great product. They always make good on their promise of being loud, sexy, dark, and fun - whether or not they’re flanked with additional talents. They’ve also mastered the art of the mind-blowing final track; “Run Pig Run” is a great closer.

FAVORITE RE-ISSUE OF THE YEAR
The Traveling Wilburys, The Traveling Wilburys Collection
I was tempted to say Daydream Nation but… I’m more partial to Goo. Anyway, your dad probably has this record, and he probably played it in the car when you were little, and you probably bitched and whined and told him to shut it off. But now you’re a grown-up, and you’re over being rebellious, and you realize your dad’s pretty much always right. This is just a little more proof. I bought it on iTunes so I can’t post anything from it, so go do the prudent thing and buy it.

These are just some other songs I liked this year, in no particular order. Consider it a poorly-made mixtape for all of you, my internet lovers. I don’t think I have a favorite track, and I’m probably forgetting some songs - hope you don’t lose any sleep over that:

FAVORITE TRACKS OF THE YEAR
01. “Timebomb” - Beck [zShare Link]
02. “The Way I Are” - Timbaland [zShare Link]
03. “The Ghost Of You Lingers” - Spoon [zShare Link]
04. “Big Shit Poppin’ (Do It)” - TI [zShare Link]
05. “Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time” - Jarvis Cocker [zShare Link]
06. “Success” (ft. Nas) - Jay-Z [zShare Link]
07. “Tonto” - Battles [zShare Link]
08. “Re-Up Anthem” (Nick Catchdubs Remix) - Clipse [zShare Link]
09. “Hot Knives” - Bright Eyes [Alternate Link]
10. “My Life’s Alright With You” - No Age [Alternate Link]

Okay, I know this is kind of Derek’s territory… but these were my favorite music videos of the year:

VIDEO: “Burn My Shadow” - Unkle [YouTube]
I’m usually not that into videos that incorporate sound other than the song being promoted (with a few exceptions, like that Metallica video with a stripper). UNKLE videos are pretty much always good, because they’re like compelling short films set to music - those types don’t come around too often.

VIDEO: “Roy Rules” - Andy Samberg [YouTube]
As far as I’m concerned, this is a real song. “Roy Rules” is a real song that gets stuck in my head really often. I’m not about to go on an “SNL sucks” diatribe (I’m in no mood to reinstate the obvious - OH, SNAP). But seriously, I think this video is really funny. Way funnier than that Iran song bullshit. BONUS: Whoever can name what else “Roy” has been in may be my new boyfriend (some - okay, many - exceptions apply).

VIDEO: “Been There All The Time” - Dinosaur Jr. [YouTube]
Matt Dillon directed this music video - reason enough! Okay, seriously, the low-angle shots of Mascis are mildly unsettling, but I still like the video’s concept. If I understand correctly, Coco Gordon-Moore and her buddies are jamming, and then they turn into Dinosaur Jr. after they’re prompted by Coco’s father to play “that new” Dinosaur Jr. song. Oh, and Thurston sounds like such a dad when he goes “eyyyyy! Whoawhoawhoawhoahoa!” at 13 seconds.

VIDEO: “Sensual Seduction” - Snoop Dogg [YouTube]
I don’t think this requires an explanation.

VIDEO: “Mr. Right” - Mickey Avalon [YouTube]
His schtick is pretty boring already, and if I hear that Boost Mobile song one more time, I will actually foam at the mouth (in a bad way). I like this video though, because it reminds me of when I went to New York Film Academy in 11th grade and tried to make really serious “films” about suicide and shit… and they’re really laughable in retrospect. I’m still trying to figure out if the director possessed a similar sense of irony.

VIDEO: “Nessun Dorma” - Paul Potts [YouTube]
Okay, Paul Potts is SO WEIRD AND GIFTED. I so badly want to be like “GROSS! CHOMPERS!” but I can’t, because he’s so talented and he’s got such a good name. This is his entire underdog story, in under five minutes. Watch him charm Simon, and then wonder what you’ve done with YOUR life.

FAVORITE MUSIC MADE BY MY FRIENDS
MP3: “I Want You To Violate Me” - Naughty [zShare Link]
MP3: “I Got Your Panties” - Naughty [zShare Link]
This is my friend Sheff-Dawg’s 80’s hair metal band. They’re a lot like Chromeo in that they take their art SUPER seriously - this song is too good to just be passed off as a joke. It will be in your head for days, and you’ll seduce yourself to it.

MP3: “First Tent Reprise” (Vocal Edit) - Jacques Pleasurecruise [zShare Link]
This is a song by my best friend’s alias. He’s so good at everything that I kind of wonder why he humors me - he was even a Do! (recognize him now, ladies?). This song is really short, but it’s really fun to listen to on repeat, and I like the lyrics.

Okay, I’m kind of over music now here are some other favorite things…

FAVORITE YOUTUBE VIDEO: Black Cougar
This was probably my favorite video on Youtube from this year. Not racist, but when I hear the words “Black Cougar,” people like Halle Berry come to mind. But this video has nothing to do with her.

FAVORITE PHONE CONVERSATION: Pothead Cop
This isn’t a video, and it’s a little long-ish, but it’s a phone conversation between a 911 operator and a man who is in the middle of a marijuana “overdose” yielded from brownies. I found this really hilarious and quotable (”I think we’re dead,” “time is going by really, really, really slow”)
until I remembered that time I was in a similar predicament.

FAVORITE TV MOMENT IN 2007: Rosie and Elisabeth
Okay, I saw this happen LIVE, and I was so grateful for being on my couch at that very moment in time. The stars aligned, and it was SO FUCKING DEEP. Just watch Joy Behar’s face, watch the fake segue to a commercial break. I shed a tear for the Writers Strike every day, but this was further proof that the best television needs no script. Rosie and Elisabeth are vocal and passionate about their political ideologies, and I guess this is what happens when politics gets personal. I could use some lessons for the coming months.

I saw some movies this year too, like Stomp The Yard (on HBO). I don’t know if I can comment on that movie because it was really hard for me to suspend my reality about these grown men who take dancing very seriously and stick out their tongues for “flair.” Other than that, I think Sicko and Superbad were my favorite movies of the year. I’m losing my health insurance in May, and despite its biases, Michael Moore’s documentary made me realize how fucked up that is. I also liked how he explained how mediated our realities are (why we’re hardwired to hate France, Cuba)… ANYWAY. Superbad was SO good because I am Evan. Oh, and my mother made me see La Vie en Rose and I cried like a newborn the whole fucking time, so I guess I liked it for reminding me that I’m not heartless.

Special Thanks for also making my 2007 very good:
- Thank you, the two German men at Lorelei who changed me and Derek’s lives forever.
- Thank you, “Gossip Girl,” for being so entertaining.
- Thank you, “The Pick-Up Artist” for teaching me everything I need to know about men.
- Thank you, Dirty Salt and Vinegar chips for being a delicious snack product.
- Thank you, writers strike for making me miss “The Late Show With David Letterman” so much that thinking about it makes me cry (AND FOR COMING BACK IN 2008!).
- Thank you, college for kind of letting me finish college early.
- Thank you, Tiffany from “Rock Of Love” for declaring, “Don’t threaten me with a good time.”
- Thank you, fair readers for sometimes reading this.

Fuck 2007, 2008 is where it’s at. It’s such a great time to be in DC right now. First and foremost, the Redskins are 4-0 since burying Sean Taylor and look nigh-on unstoppable heading into the playoffs. A month ago I would have laughed in your face if you told me the Redskins would be in the playoffs, let alone looking like the most dangerous team in the NFC, but here we are cruising into the post-season on the strength of Todd Collins’ ridiculously hot hand and the sudden resurgence of Clinton Portis and Santana Moss as two of the most explosive offensive threats in the league. I mean, Todd Fucking Collins, people. Dude hadn’t played in ten years and now he’s orchestrated one of the greatest late-season turnarounds in NFL history. Amazing.

So yeah, obviously my DC pride is out of control right now, so I can’t help but get excited about the fact that the next great thing in mainstream hip-hop looks to be DC’s own Wale. My main man Zack got me way into him over the Thanksgiving break and his big single “Nike Boots” is everywhere on DC radio, and you really can’t listen to this guy and tell me he doesn’t sound like the next Kanye. Furthermore, he’s signed to Mark Ronson’s Allido label and seems to have impeccable taste in the tracks he remixes if his 100 Miles & Running mixtape is anything to go by. I know it’s a departure from the kind of shit we’re normally up on around these parts, but “Nike Boots” is as good a rap single as I’ve heard all year and his “D.A.N.C.E.” remix is just all kinds of amazing. Get at “Nike Boots” below, as well as that “D.A.N.C.E.” remix, which just might be my favorite Justice remix of the year (I know, call me crazy). I’d be lying if I said my heart doesn’t melt a little bit every time I hear that “I love you DC” right before the beat drops and that go-go beat he brings in at the end is just icing on the cake.

MP3s:
“Nike Boots” - Wale ((highly recommended)) [Alternate Link]
“W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E.” - Justice ft. Wale ((highly recommended)) [Alternate Link]

In other news, Rya’s back and better than ever and will have her Best of 2007s all up in your kool aid tomorrow, and my lists will be following shortly thereafter.