Tunage

Despite the relentless negativity and uncertainty that surrounds the current state of the music business the artists and the art that emerged in 2007 were nothing less exceptional. More and better records seemed to ooze from every pore of the digital underbelly. The long tail is officially alive and well, and thanks to the success of iTunes, and the even better, eMusic service, it is now possible to deliver instant gratification to music lovers and readers of this list. In addition to that there is a wonderful real time environment for discovery and taste matching through sites like imeem, Mog, and metacritic.com. All of this makes finding and distilling a list down to even twenty must-haves near impossible. Alas, here are the records that made 2007 that much better for me. I hope you take in this list and then trust your own ears. 

1.            Midlake - “The Trials of Van Occupanther” (Bella Union)

Technically this is a 2006 record, but I didn’t find it until this year, and it was far and away the one record that meant the most to me this year. I didn’t like the name. I was suspicious about all the references to 70’s Americana. But 30 seconds into the “The Trials”, I was swept away. This is one of those rare albums that require no work whatsoever to fall hard and fast for. The breezy summer day sound is both bright and thoughtful, and does, I suppose, seem somewhat reminiscent of a genuinely American sound from some ambiguous time and place. Not so much rock like The Band, but more like only the best parts of Fleetwood Mac “Rumors”; cool and silky without any of the distinctive quirks that sometimes get tired after a while. But to suggest that the record is merely  A straight forward guitar, bass, and drums idea, is to overlook the robust instrumentation (flute, strings, brass) along the way. Somehow this record went overlooked last year, so thank goodness it is so timeless.

2.            Okkervil River “The Stage Names” (Jagjaguwar)

Far too few people will ever hear this record, I know it. This is rock balladry in its most modern finery, sung with the earnestness of a Springsteen or Tweedy, but thinner and slightly more warbling like Bright Eyes, with music as authentic and warm as “The Last Waltz.” On “The Stage Names,” the Texas band’s third album, the band has peppered their onetime sparse flavor of alt-country with billowing strings and piano such as on the epic “A Girl In Port,” or more upbeat and danceable tracks like “A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene”, and precious orchestral ditties like “Savannah Smiles.” Don’t get me wrong, this record isn’t so much a derivative of something else as it is conscious of all of the great under-appreciated music that has informed it. This is a major minor masterpiece, accessible yet specific enough to charm indie zealots and Coldplay posers alike. If not for the tragically overlooked Midlake at #1, “The Stage Names” made the first and most potent impact on me in 2007 featuring some of the finest songwriting of the year. Don’t live without it.

(more…)

Filmmage

Despite the greedy, bickering, and seemingly unsolvable problems that have managed to suck much of the air out of the this year’s awards season, 2007 is beginning to feel like one of the strongest movie years of the decade: A happy split between genuinely mass audience popcorn epics, and smallish indie movies that focus on perfectly drawn characters moving through everyday life. As usual, ten films seem like an arbitrary number, so this list will include quite a few more … why not? In any event, most of these movies are already rentable, and the ones still in the theatres should be seen on a big screen without interruption or a pause button, if at all possible.

1.             Once - Dir. John Carney (Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová)

“Once” is an instant classic, transforming the simple story of a scruffy Irish street singer and beautiful Czech immigrant into a kind of kindred musical and spiritual collaboration whose narrative is told largely through lyrics and whose tone is set by the natural chemistry between Hansard’s guitar and Irglova’s piano. It is that rare jewel of a film that not only dares to reinvent the genre but does so using novice actors (although Hansard did play one of the Commitments in the 80’s film and has been leading his own band, The Frames, for over a decade)  and music that has disappointingly eluded the mainstream for years. Watching this film made me somewhat envious of the kind of language and relationship that only music can bring out between a man and woman who learn to love through an unspoken musical language- a kind of romantic groove. If there is any justice in this world, Hansard and Irglova, will win the Academy award for best song, vaulting The Frames into a much deserved wider audience, much like Elliott Smith did with “Good Will Hunting,” and “Once” will become 2007’s little indie that could, accumulating awards and a more visible place in the history of independent film. This film will choke you up repeatedly.

(more…)

 Bookishness: or more accurately two great books

Absurdistan: A Novel - Gary Shteyngart

The second book by master satirist gary Schtenygart is, almost inexplicably, even funnier than his astounding debut novel, “The Russian Debutants Handbook.” In it, a spoiled but oddly lovable Russian trust fund twenty-something, is exiled from the states after a joyous existence through college at an Oberlin-like liberal arts college, and a moveable feast in New York city upon graduation, and has to go back to Russia after his quasi mobster father is accused of murdering a small time crook in New Jersey. Trapped in bland post war Russia, despite a lush existence partying with a sea of American expats and living off the fruits of his father’s slightly crooked business exploits, he dreams of leaving the dreary Soviets skies and embarks on one of the funniest journey’s you are likely to read. Schentgart is a comic genius and his characters are ripped from the diaries of early Woody Allen.

The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More - Chris Anderson

For those who haven’t read the indisputable economic theory deemed the Long Tail, but do conduct the commerce of your life on the web, or who are now able to more easily maintain a particularly niche passion leveraging the internet, this is a must read. Although Wired editor Chris Anderson tends to beat you over the head with the logic and applicability of his theory, the simple and elegant articulation of how niche tastes when applied to a global market make the simple business economics work is nothing short of exceptional. My life spent combing the globe for small hard to find cultural gems, is validated in some ways in knowing that all of these artists who had formerly toiled in poverty creating for a few arrogant souls like me, now have a global audience that can access their work. The Long Tail is easily the most readable economic book you will ever find.

control freak. This is muckraking fun for indie film zealots.

Bookishness

Night - by Ellie Wiesel
Like “The Painted Bird” before it, this thin, horrifying memoir of the concentration camps at the end of WWII, the realities of this author’s survival and existence read like a surreal fiction. Sixty years later, the cloud of Nazi Germany still feels like a blanket trying to shake free.

Prep - by Curtis Sittenfeld
Reluctantly I found myself revisiting prep school through the eyes of a girl also from the Midwest. Although often it bordered on the aggravating, “Prep” is a good a look at the modern prep school experience as there has been in quite a while. (more…)

Tunage
Many of the names on this list are becoming almost annual inclusions. It might be that I am growing older, out of touch and relying on old standbys to make up for pathetically missing their rightful successors. I hope not. Or perhaps it is that these bands, some of whom I have been writing about for over a decade, are in fact getting better as they age along with me. But there is one point that seems quite relevant this year, and that is that many of the songs from these artists are longish, artfully arranged and constructed, and strategically sequenced within full albums. People say the “album” as concept is dead, but I couldn’t disagree more. Read the words, research the band and make a leap of faith. These are full length pieces of art and deserve to be treated as such. There is quite a bit of new folk, some slightly psychedelic rock, and a little electronic music, but everything here is a modern classic.

1. Cat Power - “The Greatest” (Matador)

After years of deep admiration for Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power, more for her aesthetics and potential than any one album in particular, I have finally fallen fast and hard for her music with “The Greatest.” Even with all the potential in the world, it would have been hard to predict a record quite this good. It is a piece of music that far exceeds expectation. A contemporary reinterpretation of Dusty Springfield’s Memphis classic, this is a flawless, timeless collaboration with a group of Memphis session musicians that oozes with something so simultaneously old and new that you can’t help but be transported to another time and place. Her voice is as silky and sultry as any in this day and age, and as the band digs into one satisfying groove after another time opens up and invites in a new classic. (more…)

The Bestest 2006

Filmmage
Writing a list like this and producing it while still relevant becomes more and more difficult every year. Something like 75% of the films on this list are released either in the last quarter of the year or spend less than a few weeks on a small screen before the long haul until a DVD release. Sure strategically it makes sense to release them so that there is still a fresh Academy Awards buzz about them, but that means that there is a theatrical wasteland for much of the rest of the year. Nevertheless, there were some wonderful films this year the best of which should be included below.

1. Lady Vengeance/Oldboy/Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance - Dir. Chan-Wook Park

“Lady Vengeance” is the final installment of one of the finest, most tragically overlooked film trilogies of all time. As can be deduced by the titles, these films focus quite specifically on revenge. But unlike most films that attempt to analyze the morality of revenge, these films expose layer after layer of complicated but accessible plot to allow the viewer to better understand and empathize. With this year “Lady Vengeance,” director Park focuses on a beautiful woman, just released from a 13 year prison sentence for a crime she didn’t commit. Although unoriginal sounding, this film is drenched in beautiful colors which seem to mimic perfectly the pace and texture of a film which drives deep into the recesses of the human soul. Sure there is blood, and violence, but it never looked so good or seemed so thoughtful. (more…)