Best of 2007

Oh, 2007. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Mostly, at least for me, it was the busiest of times. I got to travel, I got to write all kinds of amazing stuff, and the year was filled with good friends, good times, and an abundance of good art. As per usual, I preface this list by saying that there are lots of things that—especially as an alleged music journalist—I probably should have on here and don’t, but these are the records that I listened to the most (for better or worse) and the things that brought me the most joy in ’07.

TOP 40 ALBUMS OF 2007

1. DEERHUNTER // Cryptograms / Flourescent Grey EP
2. AIR // Pocket Symphony
3. VAMPIRE WEEKEND // Vampire Weekend EP
4. ANIMAL COLLECTIVE // Strawberry Jam
5. DOG DAY // Night Group
6. NINA NASTASIA & JIM WHITE // You Follow Me
7. THE SHINS // Wincing the Night Away
8. RADIOHEAD // In Rainbows
9. PANDA BEAR // Person Pitch
10. CARIBOU // Andorra
11. JANA HUNTER // There’s No Home
12. FEIST // The Reminder
13. GRIZZLY BEAR // Friend EP
14. LAND OF TALK // Applause, Cheer, Boo, Hiss
15. WORKING FOR A NUCLEAR FREE CITY // Businessmen & Ghosts
16. BLONDE REDHEAD // 23
17. BONNIE ‘PRINCE’ BILLY // Ask Forgiveness EP
18. DRI // Smoke Rings
19. BURIAL // Untrue
20. ELVIS PERKINS // Ash Wednesday
21. BAND OF HORSES // Cease to Begin
22. THE CRIBS // Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever
23. KANYE WEST // Graduation
24. LOW // Drums and Guns
25. NO AGE // Weirdo Rippers
26. THE NATIONAL // Boxer
27. OLA PODRIDA // Ola Podrida
28. THE TWILIGHT SAD // Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters
29. ELLIOTT SMITH // New Moon
30. JOSE GONZALEZ // In Our Nature
31. FOURTH OF JULY // On The Plains
32. THE FIELD // From Here We Go Sublime
33. !!! // Myth Takes
34. ELECTRELANE // No Shouts, No Calls
35. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN // Magic
36. THE WHITE STRIPES // Icky Thump
37. SPOON // Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
38. WHITE WILLIAMS // Smoke
39. HAROLD BUDD & ROBIN GUTHRIE // After The Night Falls
40. MARISSA NADLER // Songs III: Bird on the Water

TOP 10 SONGS OF 2007

1. “Lipgloss” // Lil Mama
2. “They Made Frogs Smoke ‘Til They Exploded” // Mum
3. “Lydia” // Dog Day
4. “Paper Planes” // M.I.A.
5. “Someone Great” // LCD Soundsystem
6. “Good Life” // Kanye West
7. “Wash Off” // Deerhunter
8. ”Holy Chord” // Dappled Cities
9. “Song to Bobby” // Cat Power
10. “Crackerjack Docker” // Prinzhorn Dance School

TOP 10 BOOKS OF 2007

1. Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson
2. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
3. God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens
4. Elegy (poems) by Mary Jo Bang
5. Coltrane: The Story of a Sound by Ben Ratliff
6. The Kitchen Sink: New and Selected Poems 1972-2007 by Albert Goldbarth
7. White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960’s by Joe Boyd
8. The Braindead Megaphone (essays) by George Saunders
9. The Boy Who Cried Freebird by Mitch Myers
10. The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century by Alex Ross

TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2007 (that I actually watched)

1. No Country for Old Men
2. Control
3. My Kid Could Paint That
4. The Lives of Others
5. Sunshine
6. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
7. Black Book
8. You’re Gonna Miss Me: A Film About Roky Erickson
9. Persepolis
10. I’m Not There

TOP 11 LIVE SHOWS OF 2007 (aside from Daft Punk)

1. Feist // Town Hall, NYC // 6-12-07
2. Grizzly Bear // Society for Ethical Culture, NYC // 11-3-07
3. Stevie Nicks // Jones Beach, NYC // 6-13-07
4. Vampire Weekend // Glasslands Gallery, NYC // 6-16-07
5. Cat Power // McCarren Pool // 7-7-07
6. White Stripes // Madison Square Garden, NYC // 7-24-07
7. Emily Haines // Hiro Ballroom, NYC // 1-9-07
8. Animal Collective // South Street Seaport, NYC // 6-1-07
9. Land of Talk // Bowery Ballroom, NYC // 3-28-07
10. The Books // Webster Hall, NYC // 1-27-07
11. Jesus and Mary Chain // Webster Hall, NYC // 5-22-07

TOP 5 INTERVIEWS OF 2007

1. Robert Smith (The Cure) // V Magazine
2. Gwen Stefani // Cover Story - V Magazine
3. The B-52’s // OUT Magazine
4. Bradford Cox / Cole Alexander (Deerhunter / The Black Lips) // Cover Story -- The FADER
5. Bryan Ferry // VMan

BEST PSYCHIC OF 2007

"While most psychics were spent the year giving vague advice about love and money, Oscar—our favorite gray and white psychic housecat—was busy predicting the deaths of over 25 terminally ill patients in a Rhode Island nursing home. Known for his deadly accuracy and no nonsense attitude, Oscar was known for crawling in bed with the soon-to-be-departed and purring them sweetly into the afterlife. Ironically, just as Oscar’s prowess as a death dealer became headline news, the clairvoyant feline reportedly passed away under unknown circumstances.  One can only imagine that he saw it coming."

-T. Cole Rachel
(written for V Magazine’s “Best of 2007” list)

MY MOTTO FOR 2008

“Fall in love with T. Cole Rachel…all over again.”

HAPPY NEW YEAR
xo COLE