RIB's 2007 Album of the Year nominees (blogged from the Jersey Turnpike)
Happy Turkey Day! We are blogging via Blackberry as we travel up the turnpike, so this'll be short and sweet. No frills whatsoever.
Five honorable mentions, 10 nominees. Winner to be announced New Year's Eve.
HONORABLE MENTION
Lily Allen - Alright, Still
(Smartest, funniest pop album we've heard in a long time)
Tori Amos - American Doll Posse
(A nominee if it was only 14 tracks)
Okkervil River - The Stage Names
(A near miss; great stuff)
Shearwater - Palo Santo (Expanded Edition)
(Definitive version of the now-classic album that finished second last year)
Neil Young - Chrome Dreams 2
(Dirty Old Man alone is worth price of admission)
NOMINEES
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
(Not Funeral, but in no way a sophomore slump)
Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
(Never left our active playlist all year; his second nomination)
Feist - The Reminder
(Apple ad in no way influenced this pick; her second nomination)
The Innocence Mission - We Walked in Song
(Another overlooked treasure; they won in 1995 with Glow)
Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
(Full band brings them to new level)
The National - Boxer
(One of our favorite discoveries of '07)
Radiohead - In Rainbows
(We paid five pounds; they won in 2000 with Kid A)
Rogue Wave - Asleep at Heaven's Gate
(Joined ranks of our favorite bands with this one; their second nomination)
Bruce Springsteen - Magic
(Maybe we've lived in Jersey too long, but this one's simply great)
Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
(Not as ambitious as usual, just solid; they've won with their last two records - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot in 2002 and A Ghost is Born in 2004)
6 comments:
I feel it is my duty to point out that with the exception of "In Rainbows" all of the nominees are available for sale in the iTunes Store. Iron & Wine's "The Shepherd's Dog" and The Innocence Mission's "We Walked in Song" are available DRM free.
Yeah! This is the time of year when I do something like 75% of the music purchasing for my entire year. I love not having to go to the trouble of forming my own opinions! Thank you, RIB.
Either I'm officially old and uncool (highly likely) or 2007 was a bit of a slump music wise because none of these (or any othre albums I've picked up this year) really excite me.
Not nominating Okkervil River is SO WRONG, Matt Sir!
Who is the winner? We want to know. Or are you too busy being engaged to tell us.
Oh, and I should point out that "In Rainbows" is now in the iTunes store and is DRM free:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=270079778&s=143441
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