Favorite Albums of 2007

Panda Bear
Person Pitch
Astonishingly beautiful. Never mind 2007, Person Pitch will go in the history books as one of the best albums of the 00's. My absolute favorite part of this record is in "Bros" from 7:59 to 8:58. This album for me defines the incredible year that I had (a rebound from a fairly awful 2006).




Sally Shapiro
Disco Romance
I didn't even know italo disco was a genre until hearing this album. Beautiful synth washes, simple pop compositions and a mysterious, soft-spoken singer. I love every minute of this Disco Romance. Also, producer/songwriter Johan Agebjorn has introduced me to a handful of artists through his musical inspirations.



M.I.A.
Kala
Even I was surprised how much I ended up listening to this album, especially after disliking the prep singles, "Bird Flu" and "Boyz." M.I.A. is one of the few artists with views on globalization, imperialism and poverty that people are listening to. She's a complete treasure. "Hustle," "Paper Planes" and "Roadrunner" are my favorite tracks.


Jens Lekman
Night Falls of Kortedala
I have a deep appreciation for storytellers, especially when they have touches of humor and sadness in their stories. This is one of the very Iranian things about me. Jens has this quality, and also a really great ear for sampling and arranging. Musically, the album veers from tropical disco to traditional folk. He's sensitive and funny and never too precious.

Simian Mobile Disco
Attack Decay Sustain Release
An amazing dance album with its gloopy, sci-fi hip-hop electronics. While Daft Punk and bands like Justice weigh heavy on many minds, the music from this British duo is what I will remember from 2007. Although A-Trak's "Hustlin' Hustler" is my definitive version of "Hustler," the rest of the tracks are mighty fine without any remix treatment.


Of Montreal
Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
My jaw just about dropped when I first heard this album. I can't believe this is the same band that used to sing about P.P. Icycles and Lamar. It's almost a psychedelic experience to hear Kevin Barnes becoming so painfully honest. "She's A Rejector" is my favorite.




Britney Spears
Blackout
I'm not even shitting you. I really liked this album. "Break The Ice" is one of my favorite songs of the year. Great production, completely upbeat all the way through and still pretty sexy. Most people hock shit albums, but for once a mega star has a hot album that's not being shoved down our throats. What is wrong with the world today?


Patrick Wolf
The Magic Position
The latest in a long line of great British eccentrics. This album has a whole lot of a drama and even more fun. I think it's Patrick's voice and his strange, uncomplicated productions that keep me coming back. He's very talented and there are some beautiful songs here.




Kanye West
Graduation
Although I really liked this album, I was surprised by the amount of laid back, mellow jams. I thought the whole album would innovations like "Stronger." Still, songs like "Good Life" and "Flashing Lights" didn't let me down. I also count "Can't Tell Me Nothing," Kanye's mix tape, as part of this favorites deal.



LCD Soundsystem
Sound of Silver
This album took a very long time to warm up to me. I thought it was too masculine -- I just didn't get excited about it like the last album. Soon enough, "Get Innocuous!", "Someone Great," became increasingly infectious. I still really dislike "North American Scum." Must be big with the foreign contingent.




Overall, kinda of a weird list for a weird year. The first 6 or 7 albums were easy for me to decide. The last few were a challenge, only because I wondered if I bought enough new music this year. Then I looked at my collection, and saw albums from Animal Collective, Caribou, Arcade Fire, The Shins, Modest Mouse, Devendra Banhart, The White Stripes, Interpol, Bloc Party, Dizzee Rascal, Bjork, Chromeo, Maximo Park .. all bands I cherish. I could easily name 2-3 songs off each one that I really enjoyed, but not a favorite as a whole.

Also, this is my list of my favorite collection/mix tape/remix albums.

1. Ce Soir, On Danse, Chromeo
Incredible mix. Introduced me to "Put The Freeze On", early 80's space disco/R&B and some sweet soul jams.

2. We Go All Night Long + Crying on the Dancefloor, Johan Agebjorn
Amazing italo disco mixes. Introduced me to Mr. Flagio's "Take a Chance" and Nicolas Makelberge's "Dying in Africa." You can download them here and here.

3. Dirty South Dance, A-Trak
Kanye's DJ and Kid Sister's partner in crime came up with the hottest dance mix. The word "mash up" makes me vomit, but when A-Trak mixes Kavinsky and M.I.A., or Gwen Stefani and LCD Soundsystem, it's a whole different ballgame.

4. I Like Turtles, Diplo
Also known as the free mix he did for Pitchfork (although no longer available). This is the mix I would play walking to the gym on Saturday mornings. A great way to start the day .. lots of hot beats on this. I think Diplo is a great producer.

5. Fabric Live 33, Spank Rock
An sensitive mix of old school jams and new dance from a band obsessed with sex. This mix was fresh to my ears when it first came out, and introduced me to Simian Mobile Disco, Uffie, Bonde Do Role and Para One.

Revenge of the Nerd Zombie

Kavinsky died in 1986 when his Ferrari mysteriously went over a cliff. Twenty years later, he's back as a zombie ready to get revenge. That's the story as so far.

If you played arcade games in the 80's, this French artist mimics a lot of the noir-ish theme songs of those favorites. There's a nightmarish, L.A. apocalypse quality to his sound. These days, Kavinsky takes advantage of better technology; the bass is thicker, the beats are bigger.

The reviews have not been very generous to Kavinsky, I think mostly because his music might appear to be so overtly referential. But I like it. It reminds me of being 10, a time when wearing big sunglasses and getting to the next video game round at the Round Table Pizza arcade made me feel instantly cool.

The NY Times ran an article two weekends ago about how the new school of French electronic music has more in common with fist-pumping rock than ambient music for "genteel soundtracks" and "design-conscious restaurants." They cite Daft Punk as the forefathers of this revival, which I agree with. Although I haven't seen him perform live (he's actually on tour with Daft Punk right now), Kavinsky uses the Daft Punk image/sound/performance template to produce an interesting backstory.

Other bands in this French revival include Justice, who I haven't really gotten into. "D.A.N.C.E." got old really fast for me, and I haven't liked any of their remixes. I'm hoping their album will have some good surprises. There's also Simian Mobile Disco, who I've enjoyed a lot of their remixes, but haven't heard much of their own music.

My favorite Kavinsky track is this incredible bootleg remix by A-Trak. It's got police sirens, Scarface samples and M.I.A.'s vocals from "XR2." It's perfect. Talking about being 10 years old, Scarface totally reminds me of my uncle, who's "hey mang" I can still hear. Pacino might have been Cuban in the film, but he was definitely Iranian to all the mafioso-wannabee Iranians. I guess that's why "The World Is Yours" is still inspiring to so many minorities.

Kavinsky's EPs appear to be out of print, but you can buy them on iTunes here. Also, I just purchased the "Kavinsky vs. M.I.A." remix from A-Trak "Dirty South Dance" bootleg. You can buy it here.