Hello Lovers of Lists!
If you are anything like me, you hate when things are not in list form. That’s why I am posting this list of my 10 favorite albums of 2007. You may disagree with this list, but take comfort in the fact that you are wrong. Everyone knows that putting things into lists make them so. Think about it: when you go to the grocery store and you bring a list of things you need, do you ever look at the list and say to yourself, “I disagree with this list.”? No. You buy what the list tells you to buy. Why? Because the list is the law.
So, with a very small amount of more ado, here it is: Matt’s 10 Favorite Albums of 2007 A.D.

1. HONEY AND THE MONEY – The Elephant in the Room.
Just kidding. Voting for your own band in the number one spot is pretty tasteless, I suppose. But seriously, buy it.

The Actual #1 spot:
1. KINGS OF LEON – Because of the Times.
Love this Album. Love it! I have listened to it nearly a million times and I still find ways to love it more. Sometimes I’m not in the mood for track 2, but everything else is awesome. As a whole, the album makes a really strong, cohesive statement, and at the same time, the songs themselves stand alone. When I hear the songs by themselves, they are great, but when you hear them all in order, they flourish and it becomes something bigger. I love it when that happens.

2. AGAINST ME! – New Wave.
Best Rock record I heard all year! It just freakin’ rocks! And the songwriting is superb! Great hooks, great melodies, and lyrics that jump right out of the speaker and slap you around! Most of the lyrics on this record should not be able to fit into a melody, or work in a song structure when you look at them on paper, but somehow they do! For example: “Derived influence in style of dress. Similar trends in camera technique and editing.” What? That’s two lines from a song? Seriously? But when he sings it, you almost believe it rhymes! It’s amazing! I’m amazed! And rocked!…!!!

3. ARCTIC MONKEYS – Favourite Worst Nightmare.
I love these guys. They are without a doubt one of my favourite bands. I know they are super over hyped and all that, but they write wicked songs. “Fluorescent Adolescent” is one of the best songs of the year. It’s just awesome. And I finally saw them live this year and they did not disappoint. They were uber tight, and they played everything (the fact that most of their songs are around 2 minutes long certainly helps). I will say I did enjoy their first record a bit more, but this one is still stellar and showed a definite growth in their sound and musicianship.

4. TEGAN AND SARA – The Con.
This record could have consisted of two songs, “The Con” and “Back in your Head,” and I would still have been happy to fork over $15 for it. When I heard “The Con” (the song) I thought, “I hope I can write something that freaking cool someday.” It’s so dramatic, and emotional, and just so freaking cool. And “Back in Your Head” contains the undisputed catchiest keyboard line of the 21st century. “Ba, ba ba, ba ba, ba ba.” It’s just so damn catchy! I dig most of the other songs a lot too, but there’s a few I skip.

5. AIR – Pocket Symphonyr.
These guys do beautiful things. Jarvis Cocker (from the band Pulp) sings as a guest on a couple tracks and his voice sounds so good. This is a record that is full of fresh, creative ideas. I found it a really refreshing disc to listen to. It stuck out like a sore thumb for me amidst the homogenized mass of other music this year.

6. BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB – Baby 81.
These guys are heavy. Heavy but not aggressive. To me that’s something. It’s impressive. It’s pure Rock n Roll. I went to their show when they were in Vancouver. Right before the show started they filled the place with smoke, and I mean filled. I couldn’t see more than three feet in any direction. Then they came out and red lights hit the stage. They were just silhouettes in this thick red smoke playing the riff from the opening track “Took out a Loan.” I don’t know how else to describe it, but the groove seemed to be just ever so slightly too slow, so it’s like your are walking through water. It’s heavy.

7. FEIST – The Reminder.
Solid record. Really cool vibe. I feel like I’m sitting in her living room, while she and her band are playing this album for me live and in person.

8. KLAXONS – Myths of the Near Future.
Weird in the best way. This one was certainly a critic’s darling. It won the Mercury prize in the UK which is really the ultimate hipster award. And I will admit it, I sometimes tend to get turned off by too much hype, but I got this one right out of the gate, before I heard anything about it it, and I really dug it. So I still have that feeling of discovery about this one. And it is very good. Worthy of the hype. Cool sounds AND melodies – what a concept!

9. JOEL PLASKETT EMERGENCY – Ashtray Rock
I’ve never really liked Joel’s records, but this one reminded me of those really cool Canadian rock bands from back in the day, like The Northern Pikes. This one is a concept record about two friends who start a band and then fall for the same chick, and the band, of course, falls apart. Not the most original concept, but he pulls it off with great songs and the whole thing is really fun. And even though I was never in a band who broke up because my band mate/best friend and I liked the same girl, I still really relate to the whole thing.

10. PELA – Anytown Graffiti
I don’t think this record really did much of anything sales or hits wise. Nothing I heard about anyways. But I like it. Track 2, “Lost to the Lonesome” was my track for the summer. Really cool. I didn’t love every song on this record but I did really enjoy the majority, and I listened the hell out of it.

11. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – Magic.
“This one goes up to 11.” That’s what makes this list better than the other top ten lists that only go up to ten. Come on, it’s the Boss! There’s always room for the Boss! This is classic E-Street, ten people in a room all playing the same chords at the same time. No one else can pull this off. And I love the hidden track about his friend Terry who passed away. I almost had to pull over when I first heard it while driving in the car.

Some honorable mentions: I loved that One Republic song with Timbaland “Apologize,” but sadly the rest of the record kinda licked. Also the Mika song “Grace Kelly.” Actually, the last track on the Mika record is better – “Happy Ending” – download it. I also quite liked the Paul McCartney record. Also, Ben lee’s new record, Ripe, has some pretty cool tunes on it. And the new Sigur Ros Record, “Hvarf/Heim,” which is sort of new and sort of greatest hits. In any event, it’s beautiful.

There’s about a billion records I didn’t hear this year that are probably awesome, so please feel free to post some of your favourites that I might have missed or must be an idiot not to have recognized. Then we can compare our lists and debate them and start a new TV show on FOX – “List Wars.” If it takes off, we could be thousandaires!

Hope everyone has a great holiday season and a safe, happy new year! We’ll see you soon!
Peace,
M@