That’s right, it’s what you’ve all been waiting for. Kent and Brent’s Best Albums of 2007 List! Don’t everyone get up at once. Look, we both know that we are the only ones who care. Indulge us.
We agree on the best album of the year, which I believe is a first. Kent fought the desire to move his number one down after reading Brent’s so that this horrible agreement wouldn’t happen.
was working out the other day, and listening to Tom Waits. I started thinking how great it would be if the devil’s voice sounded like Tom Waits when you went to hell. (I’m not a big believer in hell, but I really think you are selling yourself short by ruling that place out.) Anywho, then I got to thinking about what the music in hell would be. My first thought waas that it would be some horrible cacophony, but then I realized that it would probably be a more personal experience. Which means it would probably be some music that I really hate. So I took a quick survey of the music I hate the most, and decided it would probably be some sort of death metal. Something like Pantera (And I don’t know anything about that music, so if Pantera is technically not death metal, I apologize.) So I think this sucks. Because I bet Pantera hopes their music gets played in hell. And I’m making that happen. Here, I would like to wipe that music off the face of the earth, and instead I am assuring it will go on until the end of time. Unless a) I don’t wind up in hell b) I am wrong about hell’s music or c) they don’t actually play music in hell. Now that I think about it, they probably don’t. And also, I think there is a chance Christian Rock would beat out death metal for my hell music. How ironic would that be? Michael W. Smith adding to my damnation. Hell seems like a bad place. They do specials about it on The History Channel all the time. It really looks lousy down there. It’s making me re-evaluate my beliefs. I have given myself 3 months to sort out my belief in hell. Then I’m going to do something about it. I don’t really care about Heaven. I’m sure it will be dissappointing like everything else that’s supposed to be great. One time Chelsey and Chuck and I went to Chicago. We looked forward to it for months in advance. It turned out to be a nightmare. That’s what heaven will be like for someone like me. Everyone will be happy, and I’ll be looking around and wondering why it’s not as good as I thought it was going to be. Getting back to the point. I have 3 months to decide about hell. Please feel free to forward me any information on the subject. However I will mostly be searching me heart and mind. I hope to have an answer by some time after the holidays.
As part of my ongoing series on musicians gaining or losing weight, I would just like to point out that Damien Jarado has lost a ton of weight. He’s like the reverse Greg Dulli.
Before:
After:
My brother yelled “You look great!” at the concert. Damien ignored him.
Okkerville River also played. They appeared to be about the same size as last year.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the elbuzzard.com….in a spectacle worthy of a sports article by the Great David P…Mr. Kent, the Buzzard himself, pulls his nubile form into the pink glow of fame and golden destinies!
In a radical attempt to capture the magical, horrific, and often times perverse realm of Paul Soileau’s mind, our brave soldiers, Kent and Brent, took on the task of immortalizing a psychological brainwave for the year 2007! After being briefed one evening on the many influences in Mr. Soileau’s life….which, in a nutshell, could be described in the phrase…”Like a Broadway Sex Hammer”…(or something in that vein), our two boys took it upon themselves to delve into their uncanny world of music and hymns to create the ultimate mix CD’s.
After both contestants completed said CD’s, even choosing 3 of the same artists!, it was time to pick the winner. Kent’s CD was described as:
” An electro-molasses of perversion and ache as this mix
began with a digital tone of smut. Dangerously supplied with songs of
past and present, this mix warbled on the curvy mule path of the Grand
Canyon, with a french influence that made the trek quite imaginary. A
risk of never reaching a grand height or a sullen dump made this mix a
middle thumper to boot. “
While BK’s Album received this review:
“Upbeat start to a mix with beaucoup choral activity
throughout disc, tempered with melancholy mud pits boiling
with electro beats from gay archives. An colossal collection composed
of sounds that were often a bit to polished and clean, especially in
the vocal department. Energetic songs of happiness made for enormous
kudos.”
Alas…Mr. Buzzard pulled ahead and took the greasy cup. A big hand to our two jetsetters of the music world. We hope that next year will be a monumental event full of richness, color, bravery, and gay young lads!
Adieu
A recurring feature on elbuzzard that no one appreciates are Brent and Kent’s biannual music reviews. It’s time for the best of the first half of 2007! This year, we made a concerted effort in the month of June to listen to every album that we had released this year. There was a lot of crap. Tons, in fact. We suffered through it, all for you.
Stuff we agree on.
Amy Winehouse – Back to Black
Kent: It was hard for me to decide which album between Amy Winehouse and Menomena as my favorite so far of 2007. I listened to Menomena so much more, but Winehouse is way more accessible, and fits into more situations. The production values on this record are what makes it so worthwhile, it’s beautifully recorded for a modern pop R&B album. Winehouse can really belt it out, too, and isn’t exactly what you would call shy with her lyrics either.
Brent: I have my darling wife to thank for getting this CD. I would encourage anyone I know to buy it. I would not encourage everyone to get the Menomena CD.
Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
Brent: Arcade Fire is great. I think bombastic is their strength. They seem to feel they have to balance it out with slower stuff. I do not agree.
Kent: I wasn’t blown away at first by this one, it seemed somehow less than Funeral. Eventually, I came to terms that they weren’t going to do the “Big Finish” thing that I loved on their first album and started to enjoy it more. Plus, they put on one of the best live shows I’ve seen.
Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
Brent: 2007 has been a sorry year for music so far. Lots of CD’s that have like 6 good songs, and nothing that is quality through and through. That said, this one, Arcade Fire, and Amy Winehouse come pretty darn close. Here’s my issue with James Mercer being on the album: It’s not bad…but I’d much rather have Isaac Brock singing those lines. If I were him, I wouldn’t let anyone sing with me except maybe Joanna Newsome or Tom Waits. So you cut out the songs that the Shins guy ruins, and you have a very solid album.
Kent: BK likes this album up until the guy from the Shins makes an appearance. I think the album is ok until the guy from the Shins makes an appearance and then it gets really good.
These guys are some friends of mine, I’ve mentioned them before, but I think it was in that new music debate that got erased. They’re playing this friday in Atlanta, at some place called Center Stage. You guys should check them out. The singer, Gene(background, pouring beer into girls mouth), used to play drums for my band in highschool, called The Unappreciated Teenage Superheroes. The bass player, Brent (foreground, making a fist) was in another band we played around with, called This Side. The guy who will be selling merchandise, Jason a.k.a. Spark One Duh? (not pictured) is also a friend. He still lives in STL, and hosts a Hip Hop night every Thursday. He always calls me out, and makes me freestlye when I’m there.
If I’ve got the story straight, Bullets and Octane just walked out on their contract with RCA because they didn’t get some kind of recording bonus they were being enticed with by the label, for making their second RCA album. So they took the album, and they’re hoping to sell 40 copies a night at something like $5 a pop, to show RCA they could make more money on their own.
So go, and support! If you tell Jason or Gene that you’ve always been a fan of The Unappreciated Teenage Superheroes, they’ll probably let you bang groupies (see photo) with them. Jason says, when they’re on tour, even the merch-man has groupies. Also, they like to drink a lot, and travel with their own beer supply. I don’t know what their arrangements are, but they may even appreciate a place to crash.
They’re really big in the UK. Greg’s probably seen them before. He probably even has an autographed copy of the issue of Black Velvet they graced the cover of. 
See How their name is way bigger than Jon Bon Jovi’s? That’s how big they are.
Hear their music on Myspace
Last night, I checked out The National‘s show at the Earl in East Atlanta. It was a really good show. If they are touring in your area, and you like indie rock, check them out. The Earl was the most crowded that I have ever seen it.
It’s too bad that Dave won’t go to shows with me anymore after the Menomena show (aka Dave’s Last Straw, or That Time That elbuzzard Died). He would have really enjoyed it. Their energy was on par with The Hold Steady’s live act, but with less spitting and shaking.
In other music news, BK and I have been methodically reviewing the new music of 2007, and are working on a Best of the First Half of 2007 post. Look for it towards the end of the month. Be ready to ignore it and to continue to listen to the greatest hits of the nineties.
First Weekend: Rod Stewart, Van Morrison, Lucinda Williams, George Thorogood & the Destroyers.
Second Weekend: Steely Dan, ZZ Top, Allen Toussaint, Counting Crows, New Edition, Allman Brothers Band
Here you go Brenty.
#8 Cold War Kids- Robbers and Cowards. I don’t care if they are Christian. I love Jesus.
#7 Tapes N Tapes- The Loon. Of course my favorite song is Omaha, but I think I would love it even if I lived elsewhere.
#6 Christina Aquilera-Back to Basics. I will admit that I have been a fan for a while now. I am seeing her in concert in February and I can’t wait.
#5 Beyonce-B’Day, I really only like Irreplaceable and Ring the Alarm
#4 El Perro Del Mar, I like this entire album
#3 Yeah Yeah Yeah’s -Show your bones. Song I like to run to: Phenomena
#2 The Rapture- Pieces of the People we Love. Song of the album goes to “First Gear”
#1 Sing Sing-Aerial The best song on this album is Mr. Kadali. This is a great album. I think you are all missing out if you don’t go out and buy this right away.
Brent’s Top Twelve
12) Destroyer – Destroyer’s Rubies – This guy is something else. He’s prolific, and complicated. What more could you ask?
11) Bruce Springsteen – We Shall Overcome – This thing just sort of died on me at the end of the summer. I blame my brother, who never warmed up to it.
10) Camera Obscura – Let’s Get Out Of This Country- Music I wish Belle and Sebastian would make again.
9) Twilight Singers – Powder Burns – It pisses me off to no end that Kent doesn’t like this CD. I don’t care that Greg Dulli is fat. It’s still New Orleans’ version of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
I’m From Barcelona – Let Me Introduce You To My Friends – This music has no soul. I like music like that.
7) Oh No Oh My – Oh No Oh My – In a year without the Shins, this is as close to a Shins CD I could find.
6) Tom Waits – B,B, and B – It’s not fait that Tom Waits has this much good music lying around. This box set, has more redeemable music than any box set should have. It will take me a year to get through it all.
5) Girl Talk – Night Ripper – If you haven’t listened to this, make it your business to do so. Mash-ups that don’t make you blush. What more could you want? Also there is this part where Biggie is rapping over Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer†that almost makes me cry.
4) El Perro Del Mar – Perro Del Mar – More soulless music. Better than IFB. And sad and pretty, and nice.
3) The Pipettes – We Are The Pipettes – And we’ve got no regrets.
2) Neko Case – Fox Confessor Brings The Flood – Let’s start with the title. I defy you to find a better CD title in 2006.
1) Beirut – Gulag Orkestar – This wasn’t a great year for music by any means, but this CD made it through the whole year without me ever getting sick of it. I don’t love it, like I loved Black Sheep Boy and Apologies to Queen Mary last year, but it really stuck around.
My CD from days gone by would be Milk Eyed Mender by Joanna Newsom. That CD was awesome, and I completely dismissed it. I am dumb.
Now then, for the band that would be on this, if I had longer to listen – Man Man – Six Demon Bag. I hardly knew ye.
The Motel Candle Wasters Award for me goes to The Decemberists – The Crane Wife. That song Kent likes so much screws that whole CD up for me. I don’t know what to do about it. It should be at the beginning or the end, or the trash.
Quickly My Favorite Tracks
5) Pull Shapes – The Pipettes
4) Van Helsing Boombox – Man Man
3) Europeon Oils – Destroyer
2) Ballet and Art – Eagle*Seagull
1) Star Witness – Neko Case
0) We’re From Barcelona – I’m From Barcelona
-1) Us Ones In Between – Sunset Rubdown
-2) Omaha – Tapes n Tapes
My Favorite Shows
5) Edith Frost
4) Eagle*Seagull
3) Flaming Lips
2) Jens Lekman
1) The Brunettes
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