Just Another Day
Tully Rohrer
December 11th, 2007
Dead Horse Point State Park, adjacent to the northern entrance to Canyonlands National Park, claims to have the most beautiful view in Utah. And, well, yeah… it just might be. This is the sunrise following this sunset.
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Top Songs of the Year
20. Handsome Furs - Sing! Captain
19. Beirut - Elephant Gun
18. Spoon - Don’t Make Me a Target
17. Kevin Drew - Lucky Ones
16. Rogue Wave - Lake Michigan
15. Blitzen Trapper - Wild Mountain Nation
14. Band of Horses - The General Specific
13. St. Vincent - Now. Now.
12. The Shins - Sleeping Lessons
The Shins made a wise decision to start their Wincing the Night Away LP with this song. Minimal eerie arpeggios start the song off, and the band continuously adds layers of rhythm guitar and distant reverb until the catharsis at the 2:26 mark. It is a perfect example of utilizing build up for maximum effect. Hard to not be hooked on this one.
Decide for yourself: The Shins - Sleeping Lessons (From the Wincing the Night Away LP)
11. Caribou - Eli
In one of the best interplays of music and lyrics of the year, Dan Snaith lays dreamy instrumentation around the line, “When she opens her eyes, she says she feels better.” And that’s just the first 15 seconds. Once you’ve entered his dreamscape, he tops it off with one of the best bridges in recent memory at the 1:30 mark - descending bass notes and bubbling percussion surround some of the most uplifting and melodic vocals of the year. The only downside is that you will be begging for more when the song ends in an all-too-short three minutes.
Decide for yourself: Caribou - Eli (From the Andorra LP)
Top Albums of the Year
20. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Some Loud Thunder
19. Elliott Smith - New Moon
18. Blonde Redhead - 23
17. Blitzen Trapper - Wild Mountain Nation
16. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
15. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
14. Handsome Furs - Plague Park
13. St. Vincent - Marry Me
12. Feist - The Reminder
In a year in which many of my favorite songs would later be featured in TV commercials, no one benefited as much as Leslie Feist. Her song “1 2 3 4″ was became an iTunes buzz track from the iPod ad, but that song just scratches the surface. Feist is nominated for a Grammy for “Best New Artist”, but she’s far from new. She already had made one of the most memorable songs of the decade with “Mushaboom” from 2004’s Let it Die LP, and her work with Broken Social Scene is incredible. But with The Reminder, she’s cemented herself as the voice of female indie music for 2007, and there really are no lulls in this album. From the laid back “Brandy Alexander” to the BSS inspired “I Feel it All”, her fantastic voice is used to full effect throughout the album. And with a highlight like “Past in Present” tucked in the middle of the album, she deserves every bit of the press she’s getting.
Decide for yourself: Feist - My Man My Moon
11. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
Band of Horses is nothing if not consistent. Every track on Cease to Begin is great, from the soaring opening track “Is There a Ghost” to ballad “Detlef Schrempf” to the pounding “Islands on the Coast”. The band’s success hinges on the vocal performances of Ben Bridwell, and he delivers every step of the way, no matter what style of song he writes. Take, for example, the third track, “No One’s Gonna Love You”. While the title seems vindictive, it disguises a beautiful, shimmering love song that can’t help but remind you of every friend and love that may have slipped away. Cease to Begin is strong and cohesive enough to be considered one of the most consistent and moving performances of the year… and might be much higher on my list had I heard the whole album more than just a few weeks ago.
Decide for yourself: Band of Horses - No One’s Gonna Love You
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absolutely, positively, mind boggling.
you are incredibly lucky to be able to view the world to this point.
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This looks a lot like the Badlands. Of course I was only a kid when I was there and I may be remembering incorrectly. Such a barren land, and yet the colors are extraordinary.