Best Alternative, Indie and Rock Songs of 2007 - The List of Lists
Despite the fact that it is somewhat pretentious and plain nutty to say that any one song was the "best song of 2007", there are still dozens of music websites, news and entertainment organizations and blogs that are relentless in their self-righteous pursuit to announce to the world '2007's best song!'
Beyond that, to assemble a top songs list in order of No.1 to No. 20, for example, is literally impossible and disingenuous, especially when anyone connected to the music world needs to listen to hundreds, if not thousands, of songs in a given year. (photo, top left: Spoon)
After weeks, and many hours, searching and reviewing a few dozen list of lists for the 'best songs' of 2007, I whittled it all down to just the best, with a deliberate effort, of course, to weed out lists that focus purely on chart-topping songs. If you're looking for Britney Spears or Carrie Underwood, you're not going to find them here.
List of Lists: The Top Songs of 2007
NPR Music - Songs of the Year - 2007's Best Music - List includes Iron and Wine, Stars, New Pornographers, The National and Lonely, Dear, the 'new' Swed pop sensation.
Gorilla vs. Bear - Favorite Songs 2007 - A great list featuring many indie artists including White Williams, Deerhoof, Brazos and Yeasayer.
Music For Kids Who Can't Read Good - Top 50 of 2007 - Popular indie blogger features top songs of 2007 from artists like Panda Bear, Bright Eyes, Beirut, LCD Soundsystem, Shout Out Louds and Cloud Cult.
BrooklynVegan - Best Music of 2007 - While some fans of this popular music blog retreated after the blogger began blatantly posting links to Amazon and iTunes (abandoning its legal and free MP3 download links to various official sites and so forth), it still offers a good view of the underground music scene as it is happening.
The Muso Blog - Best Tracks of 2007 - South African indie blogger's list features Arcade Fire, Alaska in Winter, Feist, Stars, Kid 606, Kevin Drew (Broken Social Scene) and The Handsome Furs among others. Rolling Stone - Top 100 of 2007 - RS's list includes Spoon, The White Stripes, Radiohead, Feist, Arcade Fire, LCD Soundsystem, Of Montreal and others.
IRC's on-going 'Best' and Favorite Songs of 2007
IRC's on-going 'best', or favorite, songs playlist series allows music fans to sample, download and discover some of my favorite songs from 2007. The series, which you can easily subscribe to in any format you wish, features songs by well-known artists, popular in alternative and indie genre groups and many treasure songs by virtually unknown independent musicians - some of which may be new to you. Easily access my favorite songs collection of 2007 using the links listed below. By the way, I do not rank the songs in the playlists; that's up for all of you to decide which are the best. Looking at the site's traffic stats, you all are gobbling them up! - 2007 Playlist I - Includes MP3s from Arctic Monkeys, Stars, Apostle of Hustle, Broken Social Scene, Stereophonics, Tokyo Police Club, Ray Davies, The Octopus Project and many more including The Shins' magnetic "Sleeping Lessons" [mp3] remix.
- 2007 Playlist II - Listen and download notable songs from Arcade Fire, Andrew Bird, Panda Bear, Modest Mouse, Western States Motel, Starlet, All American Rejects and Rouge Wave's enchanting and memorable "Lake Michigan" [mp3].
- 2007 Playlist III - Features Of Montreal, Architecture in Helsinki, White Rabbits, Okkervil River, Beirut, Lucky Souls, The Raveonettes, St. Vincent, Oh No! Oh My!, The National, Interpol and Bright Eyes' 2007 indie classic "No One Would Riot For Less" [mp3].
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Rouge Wave's song "Lake Michigan" is easily one of my favorite songs of 2007.
So it's no surprise that the song is being highlighted in this is second installment of IRC's favorite songs of 2007.
The focus of this series remains fixed on talented, original and under-rated independent music, especially that which rises to a level that it is talked about on many other alternative and indie rock blogs.
However, there are some entries in this series that feature mainstream artists who are currently signed with non-indie records labels. Nevertheless, they are often not artists that are not household names, and I'm always good with that. I guess the best artists fail when they 'sign over', like Taking Back Sunday and to some extent Radiohead a few years back.
IRC's own 'Favorite Indie and Alternative Songs of 2007' series includes songs that are not found on many site's lists of lists for best music of 2007 (to be published later) low).
However, there is no ranking of songs. That's up to all of you, who are best critics. There are definitely songs from 2007 that I haven't heard that would otherwise be on published on IRC's 'best songs of 2007' playlists.
Radiohead's Mass Distribution of In Rainbows Continues to Fuel Its Historic Success
With the #1 album in the U.S. and other markets around the globe, Radiohead has probably received more attention from the mainstream music press and the music blogs worldwide than any other band in the past six months. And it was no accident.
Radiohead broke out and totally embraced rock fans in a revolutionary way, initially having released their classic album In Rainbows on the Internet last fall and allowing fans to decide how much they were willing to pay for and download it. (However, now you have to buy the album, but it is arguably worth it.)
Through such innovative marketing and distribution techniques, like free and name-your-price offerings of its music, specially packaged disc sets by the band members (and not a major label) and live webcasts (such as last evening's London webcast at radiohead.tv).
In addition, by setting up and regularly updating pages on various social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, Radiohead has made In Rainbows not just one of the most important albums of 2007 and 2008, but perhaps one of the decade's best albums of all. Not only is the band remaining relevant 15 or so years after rising to fame with releases like Creep, The Bends and OK Computer, band members Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar), Ed O'Brien (guitar, vocals), Jonny Greenwood (guitar), Colin Greenwood (bass), and Phil Selway (drums) are pursuing all kinds of multimedia projects using the Internet and pushing the envelope in ways to reach fans and attract new fans as well.
But at the end of the day, the evidence is in the music. If In Rainbows sucked, it wouldn't have mattered how much the band and their two new labels promoted it. The band decided to sign on with TBD and XL Records, ditching EMI after a failed reunion with their former label.
Thom was so enraged by "lies" about what went on 'behind the scenes' that led to the rift with Radiohead and EMI, and wrote this semi-rant on the band's blog right after Christmas (left all of Thom's own writing style):
we did not ask for a load of cash from our old record label EMI to re- sign. that is a L I E. The Times in the UK should check its facts before it prints such dirt.
whAT we WANTED WAS some control over OUR WOrK and how it was used in the future by them-that seemed REASONAblE to us, as we cared about it a great deal.
Mr Hands was not interested. So neither were we.
We made the sign of the cross and walked away. Sadly.
We are extremely upset that this crap is being spread about.
To bedigging up such bullshit, or more politely airing yer dirty laundry in public, seems a very strange way for the head of an international record label to be proceeding.
On a happier note we took no 'BRead-HEAd' advances at all from both independent labels XL and TBD for our new record. So judge for yourself.
AND we are really excited to be working with them. SHock! AT least they do not behave like confused bulls in a china shop.
much love - Thom
However, the release is historic - on the level that The Bends was - and not only put Radiohead back on the rock map, it also has made their music available to a new generation of fans around the world.
It seems like every other day the band is releasing some new material, reworked and remastered recordings, announcements of concerts, alerts of new videos and live webcasts, such as the one the band performed last evening.
There was some confusion from fans in London who showed up at the Liverpool area Rough Trade shop for live, first-come, first-serve performance only to find that the location had been moved next door to the venue 93 Feet East.
Here's what Thom wrote on the RH blog about the change:
On the advice of the police and the local council, it was decided to change the venue to the larger one in the interests of public safety and due to the size of the crowd that turned up for the event. Rough Trade and the band apologise for any inconvenience caused.
While there is no official word yet on whether the webcast from last evening will be replayed, or available in full anywhere on the web, here are some great links to RH music, videos, news and more. As soon as we find the webcast, you will too. If you're not subscribed via a feed reader, choose one now or pick the ATOM or RSS plain feed.
Also, news is coming up soon about Radiohead's 2008 concert and festival tours. While no specific dates have been set, some of the 20 or so U.S. cities include Chicago, Boston and New York and San Francisco. (really!?!) More Radiohead Links: Contest: Contribute to Radiohead's BuzzNet rainbow and enter to win a special edition of In Rainbows.
Visit: In Rainbows website put together by Radiohead and their new official TBD Records label
Coming Soon: Music Choice will be airing the Best of Radiohead on cable from January 21 to February 3, 2008 in a tribute to the band. For more information on how to tune in, check out the Music Choice website.
Best Indie and Alternative Songs of 2007, Playlist I
To kick-off the playlist series for 'best', or favorite, songs of 2007, I have posted the first list below.
While there are some mainstream artists included in this series, the focus is mainly on independent, or indie, and alternative songs by some of rock, pop and electronica music's most talent, and in some cases, vastly under-rated artists and music groups.
You can subscribe to get these songs and playlists through any medium you prefer whether it be via your iTunes, email or favorite feed reader.
Various installment of this series will include "lists of lists" for the best music of 2007, including songs, albums, music videos, concerts, artists, festivals, album artwork, MySpace pages and more gathered from dozens of mainstream music websites and established music bloggers.
Artist of the Week: Meet Snowdogs - A Fine Breed of Underground Hard Rock
They turned their back on classical piano and formed a hot indie hard rock band, the Snowdogs, a three-piece rock outfit from Finland that is just waiting to explode.
“Who?” you say?
OK, here’s the deal: The band’s name doesn't really convey the hard rock scene that they definitely have earned their place in.
Snowdogs punch out infectious hard rock with memorable hooks that are reminiscent of The Replacements, Green Day and Blues Traveler.
But that damn name. Snowdogs vocalist and guitarist Ville Leppanen conceded to Crazewire in a 2004 interview, that it didn’t help the band any when Disney Studios released the movie “Snow Dogs,” (2003) a cuddly-sweet G-rated movie about a novice leader of a dog sled team starring the "what-ever-happened-to-Cuba-Gooding-Jr."
After school they joined up with drummer Benjy Reid and worked diligently to release their cogent 2001 debut Animal Farm.
The band’s freshmen work quickly won acclaim among the British music press and soon forged a relationship that led to their signing on with the popular U.S. independent label Victory Records.
The influence of the 70’s arena-rock band Rush is no accident. Ville’s brother and bassist Mat Leppanen is a huge Rush fan. The two Finnish brothers are American educated classical pianists. Snowdogs caught on pretty fast in the European indie rock scene after releasing their second album, Deep Cuts, Best Remedies (2003) gained the band a healthy dose of attention from mainstream, but especially college rock, radio shows and indie blogs.
In the extremely competitive, and easily-disposable, world of the rock business, Snowdays ascended to rock notarity fairly fast, but found themselves craving to score as many high-profile gigs as soon as possible while they had the momentum - another savvy move. Rolling Stone magazine even compared them to REM.
With the confluence of all the right elements and of course the proven talent to make solid, memorable indie and alternative rock, Snowdogs was now a group fans wanted to see and before long the band was opening for lead acts like Blink 182, MXPX, Alkaline Trio and Less Than Jake.
Overall, the Victory release of Deep Cuts, Best Remedies did well in Europe, but not as well in the U.S. Nevertheless, tracks like “End of the World” and “Your Sorry Ass” are great examples of the band’s talent and why they’ve earned rock and roll credibility.
Another track “Hell Outta Dodge” is a catchy pop rocker reminiscent of D-Generation laced with hints of Aerosmith and Blues Traveler.
Despite the album’s solid catalog of fresh and catchy rock songs interlaced with thrilling moments of great rock jams, the most influential gaggles of rock music critics and publications in the U.S. either did not hear them or failed to realize just how good these guys are.
The popular indie rock quartet from Denver, The Fray, have been soaring to new heights thanks to a hit single and album that are feeding a frenzy of flocks of new fans.
To the delight of a fast-growing fan base across the pond, the band has announced two concert dates in Ireland and the UK for later this year.
The first show will be October 23rd at the Royal Theatre, Castlebar, England. The following night, the band flies over to Ireland to rock the National Stadium in Dublin. Tickets are now on sale for both performances. Special guest is none other than Peter Yorn.
The band has already sold a combined total of five million albums and singles in the U.S. just this year. Their hit single, "How To Save A Life" remained on the Billboard top ten charts for four weeks. Many songs are on the album are memorable; one my favorites is "Heaven Forbid".
During that time, The Fray sold an estimated 150,000 units in the UK alone - in one month.
Fans overseas cannot seem to get enough of these guys.
Recent trips to the UK have gained the group even larger exposure, including plenty of airplay on the UK's largest and most influential music radio channel - Radio One.
But now fans will be able to see the band play in a rock arena setting.
Despite the fact that it is somewhat pretentious and plain nutty to say that any one song was the "best song of 2007", there are still dozens of music websites, news and entertainment organizations and blogs that are relentless in their self-righteous pursuit to announce to the world '2007's best song!'
More top songs of 2007 lists:
