2007年 12月 1日 土曜日 13:16

It is officially 2007, and if anyone releases a new album this month, I will probably not purchase it due to Christmas sucking all of my money out of my wallet.

So far, though, I'd say it's been a pretty good year. Almost all of my favorite bands puts out a new album that was fairly decent. The only thing that could have made me happier would've been for Sleater-Kinney to end their hiatus and make the next great album we know they are capable of.

In the second year of Sleater-Kinney's absense, these 2007 favorites helped me get through it:

theSTART - Blood on My Hands
If there's one thing that theSTART knows how to do, it's how to drag out the releases of new albums. For a while, Ciao, Baby seemed like it may never happen. The band switched labels, dumped band members AGAIN, and pushed the release date back like crazy.
This year the album finally made it's way to shelves, and I was far from disappointed. The band's sound has evolved yet again, but I can't think of a more natural direction for them to progress it. Blood on My Hands is the stand-out on this album. I can't help but miss the original lyrics from the lives versions of this song ("It's not just my body, it's my mind you're fucking"), but it's not like the whole song suffers for it. Other notable tracks are Runaway, Fix, and Ciao, Baby.

Rasputina - In Old Yellowcake.
This song is old news for most Rasputina fans. We've been hearing it played live since 2005. The recorded version, though, is just as powerful. It always tugs on my heart a little when Melora sings, "Oh, won't you be there with me for it… tonight?" Other cello-rocking songs on Oh Perilous World include A Retinue of Moons / The Infidel in Me and Draconian Crackdown

Against Me! - The Ocean.
I almost didn't include this song due to the fact that as a whole, Against Me!'s new album New Wave just isn't that great. I can't pretend this song isn't up to par, however. It isn't about anarchy and rebellion, but how much can you really say anymore? How many clapping hands can we turn into angry balled fists? There's a lot of passion in this song, and it is definitely worth a listen, even if you decide to skip the rest of the album.

Schoolyard Heroes - All the Pretty Corpses
I cannot get enough of Abominations. The third Schoolyard Heroes' album is just as good as the past two. My favorite thing about it is even though it is still ridiculously over the top, it is crazy dancey. I can't help but be reminded by theSTART in some songs. All the Pretty Corpses is hands down my favorite song on the album. The defining point is when Ryann screams, "I hope you hurt so badly, baby," at the end. It gives me chills every time. If you haven't heard this band yet, and you can manage to ignore all the silly cult propoganda, then you should pick up this album as well as their first two. Other highlights are Children of the Night and Sometimes They Come Back.

Streetlight Manifesto - The Receiving End of It All
I waited so patiently for this album (Somewhere in the Between). Fans have been trashing it since it came out, claiming that Everything Goes Numb is the holy grail of music and no album by any band will EVER be better, but I have decided to move on with my life. This song hits so close to home, and I cannot imagine it being any better. I belive that the Marigold in the song needs to be given a little bit more credit, however, since it seems to be a pretty disfunctional relationship on both ends. "She said it hurts too much, I said it'll never hurt enough." (I love this song so much that I hardly listen to the other tracks, but other awesome ones are Would You Be Impressed? and One Foot on the Gas, One Foot in the GraveOne Foot on the Gas, One Foot in the Grave.)

Other highlights from 2007 include:
Tori Amos - Bouncing off the Clouds
PJ Harvey - White Chalk and The Devil
Say Anything - Baby Girl, I'm a Blur
Garbage - Tell Me Where It Hurts
Nine Inch Nails - Capital G

And like I would forget about Radiohead. Come on, guys. They are just clearly not news to anyone on last.fm.