It is generally accepted that in its present form the music industry as a profitable business is failing. Sales of physical units are down some 10% since 2001 and although digital sales have helped buoy the ship to a certain degree, the industry as a whole is still facing a downturn. Recently, a slew of top name bands and artists have begun to chafe at the normal release schedules and structure of the major record labels opting either to release their music on their own or through a smaller label (Radiohead), dropping all connections to labels (Nine Inch Nails), or signing a new type of record deal known as a 360° contract (Madonna).

360° contracts are, in their simplest form, an agreement between the artist and the label in which the parties agree to share profits from physical album, tour ticket, merchandise, and other sales relating to the artist. Up until this time record labels have mainly been chained to receiving revenue only from the physical sales of CDs, DVDs, records, tapes, and digital downloads of their artists’ music. The revenue streams from touring, merchandising (for the most part), and any other income generating ventures which are brought in by the artist are kept by the artist. This has been the way the industry has worked for more than half of a century.

Unfortunately for the labels, this model is no longer viable. The downturn in the physical sales of albums and the inability of digital downloads to make up the ground lost to free downloads is simply too much for the labels to bear and it is showing. More often than ever, labels are putting all of their eggs in one basket, choosing to play it safe by releasing uninspired, paint-by-the-numbers, contrived music recorded and performed by interchangeable and utterly forgettable musicians. This is also not helping the cause of the music industry. A complete lack of real talent, creativity, and/or difference is causing most real music lovers to repel even further away from the mainstream and what the major labels have to offer. There was a time when major labels broke important, groundbreaking bands whose vision not only sold albums, but which helped morph music through its many waves. Now we are given Lindsay Lohan, Hillary Duff, Britney Spears, and The Backstreet Boys. Packaged goods which sell for a short time, but which ultimately have little to no staying power and which only further separate the major labels from the people they should be targeting: 14-35 year old music lovers.

The Merits of 360 Degrees

Of course, the industry’s music signing tastes are really better suited for another, less specific article. The question being pondered here is whether or not 360° contracts are good for the industry and if they are an actual option.

The reality is that 360° contracts do net the labels more profit. This can be easily seen when you consider a band selling 100,000 albums at $10 a piece and 100,000 tickets at $10 a piece. Using a traditional contract (and assuming the band pockets a generous 20% of every CD sale) the band will make $1.2 million. The record company would generate $800,000 of revenue (readers will forgive the obviously laughable revenue divisions; it is simply much easier to illustrate this way).

Now let’s see what happens under a 360° contract with which the company takes 20% of ticket sales and offers the band 30% of CD sales. The band will make revenues of $1.1 million and the record label will receive $900,000. This shows that the label has increased revenues by $100,000. So why aren’t all the labels out there signing bands to 360° contracts?

The answer is simple: musicians are not stupid. Why would an artist decide to sign a 360° contract which lowers their amount of income? They wouldn’t. The only way a band would sign a 360° contract is if the amount of revenue they give up in ticket sales is matched by an identical increase in CD sales. Obviously this would end with the label making no extra money and the 360° contract being completely pointless.

Profitability or Coordination Failure?

There is only one way in which the industry could use 360° contracts to create increased income: require all contracts to be 360° deals. If suddenly, all at once, every artist was only offered a 360° contract which allowed the label to increase revenue by way of the example above then artists would have no choice but to acquiesce and sign such contracts. This is not a completely efficient outcome for the musicians, but from an industry standpoint it would be absolutely wonderful.

Of course, there is a large hole in this logic: it would take all of the labels working together to happen. This creates a possibility for coordination failure, one of the most basic principles involved in Game Theory. Let us assume that the industry attempts to institute a voluntary 360° contract program because it would be best for everyone involved. Now let’s also assume that one of the major labels decides that instead of instituting the 360° deals they are going to offer traditional contracts. This sneaky label would end up with the power to pick which and how many bands they would like to sign, increasing their share of the market and increasing profitability by the simple fact that they have the best talent. This is best illustrated in a 2 player game table:



The table is read as follows: Rain Records’ payoffs are the first of the two numbers in each cell. Mercury Records’ payoffs are the second number.

The payoffs are shown as simple numbers to simply indicate higher payoffs and lower payoffs with 3 being the best and 0 being the worst. This sort of game is known as the Prisoner’s Dilemma game because it ends with a Nash Equilibrium which is not the most efficient outcome for both parties.

This type of payoff structure will always end with both players, Rain Records and Mercury Records (who could also be thought of as simply the rest of the industry) choosing their dominant strategies. What’s important is to find the best responses. When Rain Records chooses the 360 contract Mercury’s best response is to choose Traditional because the payoff of 3 is better than the payoff of 2 (if they both choose 360). Identically, if Mercury Records chooses the 360 play, then Rain’s best response is to choose traditional (again, 3 is better than 2). Finally, if either plays Traditional then the other’s best response is also Traditional (1 is better than 0).
Thus, both players (in this case labels) will choose traditional contracts, resulting in no improvement in the situation. The only possible way the industry could win with 360 contracts would be to somehow come up with a way in which they all complied with the 360 structure.

Alternative Thinking:

There are other thoughts to consider here. For one there is the possibility that if an act signed a 360 deal there could be a scenario in which both the record company and the band were made better off. This is possible if one believes that once the incentive structure is changed for the band and for the label they will act in mutually beneficial ways. For example, since bands will begin to receive a larger chunk of the profits of their physical album sales they would most likely act in ways which sought to increase sales. This could be increased personal appearances, publicity deals, less leaking of albums onto the internet, more support for protection from ripping and piracy, etc. Similarly, the label, now that it will be receiving revenue from merchandise and ticket sales for live shows, would attempt to create more income by tirelessly promoting their artist, creating more merchandising opportunities, and attempting to sign bands whose appeal will translate well to live audiences. These mutually beneficial actions could spur on sales of all areas of the band’s portfolio and result in increased revenue streams for both the artist and the label.

The Beginning of the Revolution?

Madonna recently signed a 10 year deal with Live Nation worth an estimated 120 million dollars: an absolutely jaw-droppingly huge deal. Some have speculated that Madge has seen the writing on the wall and believes that the 360° deal is central to improving sales of all of her considerable enterprises. It is thought that the above thinking about mutually beneficial actions is part of the reason that Madonna would agree to give up some of the income from her massively profitable tours.

Unfortunately, the real reasons are most likely much more about age and overpaying than anything else. Live Nation is paying Madonna such a large amount that it is unlikely that it will see any sort of boost to its profitability over signing her to a traditional contract. They paid for Madonna’s name because they are a fledgling label attempting to make a name for themselves as innovators and major players in the music industry. For Madonna the deal was too much to pass up. The overpayment, coupled with the fact that Madonna will be 60(!) when the contract ends makes it idiot-proof. Madonna probably does not mind giving up some of her tour revenue when she realizes that most 58-60 year olds, no matter how physically, mentally, and kabbalah-ly fit, are not monster draws on the live tour circuit and if they are, they are not able to play the amount of dates or physically demanding shows which bring in the major money Madonna’s tours usually do. Madonna is not stupid, she knows she is getting older and she has cashed in brilliantly.

Conclusion

So what does all of this analysis truly reveal about the future of the music industry? Unfortunately, a lot less than those who support 360° contracts would hope for. Of course, the industry could do quite well with these types of deals but they would simply have to demand market wide compliance with 360° contracts while avoiding the temptation to stray into traditional realms in order to get a leg up on the competition.

-Luke Barnard

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Everyone here knows the scene… the father/daughter and mother/son dances have justfinished, everyone is reveling in the joy of being in the presence of true, virginal marital bliss, the bride and groom are glowing, and the dance floor is benignly free from the spilled beer and wine which will soon tarnish its reflective glory. Suddenly, a voice booms out over the crowd, vividly proclaiming in tones eerily reminiscent of Orson Welles, “Are you ready to dance, Baxter/Bennet Wedding?!!!!!”

What happens next is usually an aural genocide of such proportions that it makes Curious George and the Banana Grabber (Arrested Development reference alert) look like Moby Dick. From Celine Dion to Tim McGraw, reception attendees are usually abused in ways which the CIA would find reprehensible.

Seeing as how I am currently in the stages of planning my own wedding, I have put together this ultimate hit-list of wedding songs which are sure to neither get the crowd going nor bring about actual romantic feelings, but which DJs still believe kick up the party, in the hopes of exercising the demons of awful music from ruining my own reception.



5) Marcia Griffiths – The Electric Boogie

How could anyone possibly not love a song which involves line-dancing and the word “woogie”? It’s quite easy, actually. Marcia Griffiths’ ode to all things electric is one of the most ridiculous songs ever written; filled to the brim with classic 80s synth drums and nonsensical lyrics such as the following:

I've got to move,I'm going on a party ride
I've got to groove, groove, groove,
And from this music I just can't hide.


Deep, Marcia. Deep.


4) Edwin McCain – I’ll Be

Although McCain’s song, which has now been used as the first dance for couples about 89 trillion times, was once actually not too terrible a soft-rock ballad it has been overplayed to the point where it cannot even be saved by the sight of the group of single women at table 8 who scream every word as tears build in their eyes. It’s always sad when songs get played to death, but at least McCain leaves those of us who can no longer stand to be within 100 feet of hearing range of “I’ll Be” with something to think about when he sings in the chorus, “I’ll be love’s suicide…”

Can anyone figure that one out?



3) The Commodores – Brickhouse

I must admit that I have actually gotten funky to “Brickhouse” once or twice at a wedding reception and it is a decently catchy song, but that does not excuse DJs from going to the well too often. “Brickhouse” has actually been the first song played as a party starter at two of the receptions I have attended and has been heard at every single reception I have ever been to, which makes one wonder: If disco is dead, why the hell is its reanimated corpse slaughtering uncoordinated white people at reception halls throughout the country?

Creepy Old Man Lyric Alert:
The clothes she wears, the sexy ways
Makes an old man wish for younger days




2) Kool and the Gang – Celebration

Does anyone actually need to be reminded to celebrate good times? When was the last time that you saw a team win the World Series, only to mope around collecting their gear before eventually making their way slowly down the tunnel into the locker room? The fact that anyone needs to be told to, “Celebrate good times, come on!” is ridiculous, not to mention annoying after the 59,549th time in the space of three and a half minutes of song.

I’d like to see a reworking of this song with Kool and the Gang reminding those with short-term memory loss to “Tie your shoes up tight, come on! Zip your coat up now, come on!” and so on. They could really do a lot of good in this world.


1) The Village People – YMCA

Come on, did anyone actually think this wouldn’t be the number one song on this list? Sure it can be cute to see grandparents swaying their hips and spelling letters with their arms, but at what cost to society?

There’s nothing to say here… it’s just awful.

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A few months ago I wrote an article entitled “Radiohead Economics” which, in essence, applauded Radiohead for their vision, not as rebellious rockers bringing down the system with their pay-what-you-want release of In Rainbows, but for their creation of a business model which could serve to make up for slow record sales. Most of the article dealt with theory and the fact that Radiohead were circumventing the usual system and allowing the increased demand for music to fall more into line with supply while continuing to make money, but little actual evidence was available to uphold my conclusions.

Now, however, enough numbers are in that we can truly match up the theory with the reality. According to Mashable.com, Radiohead saw 1.2 million ‘free’ downloads of In Rainbows during the time it was up on the band’s website and freely accessible in its first week. The ‘free’ download of the album, which many bemoaned as an end to the record industry and disastrous to profits, actually resulted in an average of $8 (other reports have the number at $6 through Nov. 6th) being spent on each downloaded album. That is only slightly less than the amount that the album would most likely have sold for in stores; and one must also consider that by circumventing packaging costs, shipping, and other fees, the amount of money made on each album is most likely nearly equal to the selling price. This led to a total of $9.6 of revenue (if the Mashable.com numbers are correct). With very little in the way of cost cropping up other than the recording of the album, it is almost assured that Radiohead made more off of the ‘free’ release of In Rainbows than most of their proper album releases.

Furthermore, In Rainbows is now also available for purchase in most retail stores as a proper CD release. It went straight to number one, selling 122,000 physical units in a traditionally very slow time period for CD sales (yahoo.com) in its first week. Hail to the Thief, by contrast, sold around 300,000 units in its first week on its way to selling around a million copies. Radiohead will most likely not sell a million physical units of In Rainbows, but the amount of CDs sold, although roughly half of what they sold on their last album, is not as large of a gap as it seems as the industry on the whole has declined rapidly since Thief and the physical release of In Rainbows was preceded by very little to no advertising or publicity on the band or their label’s part.

In the end, if these numbers can be trusted, Radiohead will generate more revenues from In Rainbows than any other album they have produced and more than most of their albums combined. Total profits will also be significantly higher due to the low cost revenue generated by the ‘free’ release, resulting in a win/win situation in which Radiohead and the general public both benefit from a market in which users have set their own price.

Again, though, this is not a model that will work for most artists, but bands with Radiohead’s stature can certainly benefit from copying what Thom Yorke and company have been up to.

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I was recently afforded the opportunity to play the new ‘it’ game: Rock Band, (which is currently burning through the eyeballs of more than a few of this country’s young men and women) by none other than Tuesday’s On the Phone contributor extraordinaire Jameson Czech. While I enjoyed my time on the plastic axe (though not my time on the extremely frustrating drum kit), I could not help but become a bit horrified at myself and at the game itself the longer I played. The game put out feelers, wrapped them around my throat, and refused to allow me to think about anything other than: “PLAY MORE ROCK BAND!”.

Usually when a game does this to me it is simply the sign that the game is well designed and, quite frankly, damn good, but the more I thought about Rock Band the more I became worried. I thought back to when I first picked up (real) guitar and started teaching myself how to play. It was not only among the more difficult things I’ve ever had to do in the pursuit of enjoyable leisure, it was also easily the most annoying. I’m still not Jimi Hendrix or Stevie Ray Vaughn, but I do alright (well enough to front a semi-real band: Brownfields). If a game such as Rock Band had existed when I was first learning guitar, however, I most certainly would have traded in my 15 pound Peavey T-150 for the 2 pound plastic Fender Strat that glimmers so beautifully in the blue light of digital television.

And this is the real danger of Rock Band. It allows kids to take the easy way out of actually learning an instrument by wrapping it up in a shiny package which allows wannabe rock heroes to live out their wildest dreams without really learning the skills or theory which is so necessary in reality. Where would we be if Johnny Greenwood or Paul McCartney had decided that playing their plastic X-BOX guitar was satisfying enough?

Of course there is also another possible endgame to all of this: it could actually stimulate people to go out and buy a real guitar or learn how to play the drums because they see themselves succeeding in the virtual world. Rock Band could be a gateway video game; one which leads to higher interest in studying and creating real music. My only hope is that anyone who starts actually tagging skins or shredding frets after playing the game doesn’t bail out and return to Rock Band before the high learning curve of playing an instrument is conquered.

I’d like to continue these random thoughts but I really need to go call Jameson so I can PLAY MORE ROCK BAND!

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Music is an extremely difficult beast to attempt to convey through descriptions and wherever I’m able to on this list I attempt to stray from any efforts which seek to convey the experience of listening to the music to any readers; instead I focus on the merits of the music and the emotional reaction which songs trigger. Be sure that even if I don’t go through an album song by song giving my own play-by-play that each album is not only good, but rather incredible and worth at least a listen to for you, particularly the top five albums.

-TRIVIA: Which two artists on this list have worked together in the past? 15 points if you know the answer.

10) Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

There is really only one term which can be used to describe an album with as much sonic power and emotional force as Neon Bible

Absolutely fucking massive

...and that's all that really needs to be said.

9) Paul McCartney – Memory Almost Full

It’s quite surreal to be writing about Paul McCartney at this point. Let’s be honest, Macca may be a legend, but he’s produced some really bad solo music. Even if he occasionally hit pay-dirt with a decent album (Band on the Run) even his best efforts were wildly inconsistent. While Memory Almost Full does have a song or two which doesn’t quite hit all the right notes, it more than makes up for its weaker moments with some of Macca’s most experimental and solid music since his (yes) days with The Beatles. “Only Mama Knows” enters with overly-dramatic strings, but quickly kicks into a rousing rocker which could easily be Helter Skelter Part 2 and shows that McCartney has seemingly found a way to continue to write his songs while incorporating modern music. Similarly strong tracks like the perfectly poppy “Ever Present Past” sparkle with vitality and originality despite feeling entirely McCartney-ish. On the whole the album is simply one of the most interesting things from 2007 to listen to; it is crisp, varied, and an utter delight.

8) Silverchair – Young Modern

Yup… Silverchair.

Allow me to let that percolate for a bit.

Silverchair: “You gonna wait fat boy, fat boy, wait til tomorrow”. Fifteen-year old Curt Cobain wannabes from Australia. Greasy, grunge hair. Anorexia.

Much like their mid-90s contemporaries Nada Surf, Silverchair have slowly been building actual musical credibility with their last few album releases, even if they went largely unnoticed in the United States. Their transformation is now complete, however, as they have fully morphed into a tight, energetic, and impressively creative band led by a front man as flamboyant and confident as Brandon Flowers. Although they can still hold their own on the alternative hard-rock front, they have blossomed into a band unafraid of taking chances (7.5 minute epic “Those Thieving Birds Part 1 and Strange Behavior and Those Thieving Birds Part 2” and “If You Keep Losing Sleep”) while showcasing an ability to write appealing pop-rock songs with massive hooks (“Reflections of a Sound”, “Young Modern”) and all the while constructing a damn good album.

7) Super Furry Animals – Hey Venus!

Another pleasant surprise on this list, Hey Venus finds SFA finally back on the top of their game. After releasing completely brilliant albums in the 90s and early 2000s such as Radiator and Rings Around the World (and a song called “Ice Hockey Hair”… inspired!), SFA began to fade along with many of their counterparts in the britrock movement (despite being unfairly lumped in with the rest). Phantom Power was decent but had too few strong songs and, although they are to be commended for mixing it up on 2005’s Love Kraft; it was a bad, bad album. So it was altogether insane for one to believe that they could in any way recapture their former glory.

Hey Venus!, however, showcases SFA at their best with their trademark weirdness mixing perfectly once again with 60s pop inspired melodies and the lavish production which made Rings Around the World one of the greatest albums of the 90s. “Show Your Hand” and “Run Away” are nuggets of pure joy and Gruff Rhys voice is as strong and unique as ever. Have a listen and enjoy…

6) Band of Horses – Cease to Begin

Cease to Begin was not even on my radar this year as Band of Horses’ first album not only failed to make my top ten list but failed to inspire more than two listens. The album was simply bad. I’m not quite sure how they have managed to go from such a poor album (in this humble blogger’s opinion) to such an inspired work of modern music. The album sails along smoothly throughout its course as Band of Horses’ styles, the up-tempo, layered rockers like “Is There a Ghost” and “Marry Song”, and the slower songs tinged with country such as “The General Specific”, meld perfectly together, creating a unique and full vision which sparkles with careful production and honesty.

5) Radiohead – In Rainbows

It’s good… read Jameson’s review.

I will only add that not only are the members of Radiohead musical geniuses, but they are also economic masters of the universe.

4) Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

I’ve never had more pop-rock albums on a top ten list than this year, and although this album is only really the third best of its genre this year, according to me, it is still an amazing piece of music, particularly when one considers how Spoon continue to reinvent themselves and their music without altering significantly what they play or how they play their music. They have added some new twists as horns are introducted into songs like the Motown inspired “You Got Yr Cherry Bomb”, but for the most part this is the same Spoon it has always been (though more closely linked with Gimme Fiction than any other album) and yet they somehow make themselves sound completely new and fresh.

The melodies are among the catchiest ever produced by someone who sounds like the sound your feet make when you walk on gravel, and lift “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga” into heights which easily lift Spoon immediately into the pantheon of ‘important’ modern bands.

3) Mr. Hudson and the Library – A Tale of Two Cities

This is quite possibly among the most original albums ever created. Refusing to be satisfied with the awful mashups which layer classic, jazzy songs over modern beats, Ben Hudson felt the need to properly mix jazz and hip hop, utilizing his love of Chet Baker (a favorite of this blogger) and his experience as a beat-maker. What he manages to produce is nothing short of astounding. A Tale of Two Cities, awful album name aside, is probably among the coolest albums anyone will ever produce. Cool in the Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Rat Pack, skinny tie, “I’m so cool I set my own trends” sense. The songs are sparsely played, with minimal beats and instrumentation, but Hudson strikes a perfect balance between his melodies, beats, heavy bass, and wry lyrical musings.

“Bread and Roses” is an epiphany of a song and “Brave the Cold” and “Ask the DJ” showcase Hudson’s unique view of life while propelling the songs forward with unique and lovely production. If it hadn’t been a particularly strong year for music, this would easily have been the number one album of the year. As it is, it is a near perfect piece of music.

2) The Electric Soft Parade – No Need to be Downhearted

The Brothers White return with their third album as ESP and it clearly shows their maturity from teenage wonders to full grown indie pop-sters. No Need to be Downhearted is one of those albums which, when it finally kicks into gear, is almost impossible not to listen to all the way through. From hair-metal guitar licks to Bonham-esque drums, through Weezer-ish pop and heartfelt string arrangements ESP have crafted an album without a dull moment and managed to squash in so many different musical ideas that it is a wonder they were able to keep a single identity throughout the entirety. Considering the fact that too few albums released today actually have flow and cohesion their ability to smash together a broad range of song types and have it come out as smooth and effortless as No Need to be Downhearted might be their most important and impressive achievement.

If you need a single song album primer go find “If That’s the Case, Then I Don’t Know” and experience one of the greatest riffs and chord progressions ever produced in modern rock.

1) Field Music – Tones of Town

Field Music managed to produce my #2 album of 2005 and the fact that they are the only holdover from that list appearing here should be a telling sign. Throughout this year I’ve been consistently complimenting originality and cohesive visions and no album sums up those concepts better than Field Music. Tones of Town is a singular achievement which transcends description, but if pushed only one word can possibly come close to describing it: woodblock.

The use of the woodblock on songs has not been in popular demand since… well, ever. Yet, Field Music not only manages to cram their two minute masterpieces with more instrumentation, harmony, and lyrical sharpness than you can shake a stick at, they also manage to make wondrous use of cowbells, handclaps, beat-boxing, and woodblocks. This is not a joke. After hearing “A House if Not a Home” I not only wanted to buy a woodblock, I felt myself smiling for no absolutely reason. The entire album, in fact, makes me smile, sing along, clap my hands, and dance (in a way only Elaine Benes could appreciate).

Tones of Town clocks in at a thin 31 minutes, but its 11 songs are anything but skeletal. The amount of variation in songs, sounds, and styles achieved by Field Music is nothing short of miraculous, making the album infinitely listenable and continuingly surprising and pleasing. After any listen, though, one is always left with the same general feeling: complete satisfaction and wonder.

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Well, here it is ladies and gentlemen. The moment we have all been waiting for. An entire year of (great) music smashed into one ten minute long blog post. I spend all year talking about whether new albums I listen to "have a shot at my top 10 this year", and I will spend all of the next few years mentioning that these albums "made my top 10 in 2007" anytime they come up in passing conversation, as if my list is the definitive reference for all that was great (musically) in 2007. This is no litmus test though. There are plenty of 2007 albums that will not be mentioned below that certainly deserve to be. Wilco's 2007 release, Sky Blue Sky, is arguably some of the most accessible (classic) rock music they have ever made, certainly a "back to basics" effort for Tweedy and company. Ryan Adams' new album, Easy Tiger, is one of his most focused efforts to date, a (dare I say) tight example of alt-country pop from start to finish (well sans rocker "Halloweenhead"...which I hailed as both the best and worst song on that album at different points throughout 2007). Some bands released albums in 2007 that were just a few songs off: Bright Eyes' Cassadaga is 11/13 brilliant, Stars' In Our Bedroom After The War is about 10/13 theatrical indie-rock triumph, and Fall Out Boy's Infinity On High is 9/14 pop-punk grandeur (too bad the wheels fall off on the album's last 1/3). None of these albums, along with many other greats, made the cut though. Only room for the best (where "best" = how Jameson feels about you at the end of the year). So without further delay, here they are: the top ten albums of 2007, as told by Jameson.

10. Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends
The last time Les Savy Fav released an album, I was a senior in high school (October 2001). In the six years since that album's release, Les Savy Fav frontman (showstopper), Tim Harrington, battled a demobilizing case of writer's block. Lucky for us, he fought through the endless hours of frustration spent in a room littered with index cards containing lyrical ideas on them, and managed to put together the band's best album yet. Let's Stay Friends is at times hardcore, and other times poppy, but it is always rock and roll. Album opener, "Pots&Pans" sounds huge and showcases the band stating that they are not to be counted out just yet ("This is where it stops, and this is where it ends, let's tear this whole place down and build it up again, this band's a beating heart and it's nowhere near its end"). From there, the album kicks right into overdrive as "The Equestrian" takes us back to that hardcore, angular rock that Les Savy Fav is most known for. This grainy brand of rock and roll reappears several times throughout ("Raging In The Plague Age", "Slugs In the Shrubs", "Kiss Kiss Is Getting Old"), and holds the album together as a cohesive unit. Mixed amongst these splintered rock numbers, Les Savy Fav weave in and out with a variety of approaches. Sonically, "The Year Before The Year 2000" sounds like Bloc Party, "What Would Wolves Do?" is reminiscent of the Strokes, and album standout "Patty Lee" finds Harrington's usually coarse vocals transformed into a falsetto over a memorable guitar riff. While the aforementioned bands may be more popular, Les Savy Fav sounds better than any of them. Maybe that's because they sounded like this when those bands (along with myself) were still in high school.

09. Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
Iron & Wine's first album, The Creek Drank the Cradle, sounds as though it was recorded in Sam Beam's bedroom on a tape recorder. Lo-fi defined, the album consists of Sam Beam's voice, an acoustic guitar, and some brief touches of slide guitar and banjo. In the five years since this debut release, it is safe to say that Iron & Wine have expanded. Beam ditched the lo-fi sound on his spectacular follow-up to Creek, Our Endless Numbered Days, and along the way picked up a band. While the band created some subtle accents on Our Endless Numbered Days, the album still maintained that singer-songwriter feel. On The Shepherd's Dog however, it sounds as though Beam has picked up a circus. While this progression was somewhat hinted at on the Woman King EP and the tag-team EP he recorded with Calexico (In the Reins), I don't think anyone was quite prepared for the exuberance that Iron & Wine displays on The Shepherd's Dog. The album opens (almost in a nod to The Creek Drank the Cradle) with a somewhat hollow sounding guitar for the first 15 seconds, and then the drums kick in over an array of scatterbrain piano, followed by a bevy of strings and horns. From here on out, the album flows seamlessly through a cornucopia of sounds. Derek Miller's Stylus review described The Shepherd's Dog's sound as "a kaleidoscopic work of roots music with a junkyard musical palette". This pretty much hits the nail on the head. There are so many different sounds coming out of the speakers during the album's 50 minutes, that I couldn't even begin to touch on them all (partly because I wouldn't know how to describe them). The Shepherd's Dog does not sacrifice quality songwriting for uniqueness though. Sam Beam's masterful imagery is still the album's strongest suit amidst this bounty of instrumentation. A consummate wordsmith, Beam takes yesterday's vernacular and applies it to contemporary affairs, once more building a remarkable album on the strength of his songwriting. Five years after the release of The Creek Drank the Cradle, Iron & Wine have proven that while you may not be able to teach an old dog new tricks, if you give him big enough yard, he might just amaze you with what he already knows.

08. Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew - Spirit If...
In case you were not aware (or unable to read the album's jacket), Kevin Drew is a member of Canadian supergroup, Broken Social Scene (he is often credited as a co-founder of the group). Broken Social Scene started as a group of friends making music, and about 20 members later, the band has made quite a name by taking relatively simple pop songs, and turning them into orchestral rock vignettes. As one may have guessed, Spirit If... sounds a lot like a Broken Social Scene album. Drew's BSS cohorts make appearances all over the place, and this collection of (mostly) acoustic songs show their presence with waves of fuzz, interimitten blips, and crashing glass throughout the mix. Recorded over the past couple years, Spirit If... is a collection of Kevin Drew solo songs though, so the album is certainly Drew's baby. As a whole, Spirit If... is a pretty even medley of mid tempo songs, with the occasional rockers ("Back Out on The...") and slow builders ("Gang Bang Suicide"). As a songwriter, Drew contributes moments of brilliance amidst mouthfuls of dense verse (see: "Lucky Ones"). The album is of no shortage of off-beat hooks though (exhibit A: "You are too beautiful to fuck" in "Tbtf", exhibit B: "They say size doesn't count, but my heart is a house" on "Gang Bang Suicide"). Drew's wide-eyed romanticism framed in these relatively sparse (by Broken Social Scene standards) arrangements creates a warm blanket over the entire album, and this intangible ability to cultivate such a glowing sense of familiarity is perhaps the album's strongest suit. Spirit If... closer, "When It Begins", embodies the album's theme of camaraderie with what sounds to be a one take group singalong, lamenting the end of the album. Drew and company imperfectly sing that "it's gonna be really hard when we get to the end", clearly mourning not just the album's literal end, but more significantly the completion of the recording process. I guess that's what happens when you get your friends together, you never want it to end.

07. The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Last time we heard from the Arcade Fire, thematically, their focus was very personal. 2004's Funeral was a collection of eccentric epics about individual struggles in the face of adversity. On Neon Bible though, Win Butler and company expanded their scope (dare I say, "went political"). Touching on everything from a religious regime in America, to the war in Iraq, and notably the American public's startling dependence on television (essentially all media) to tell them how and what to think (hence…Neon Bible). The band's sound has expanded as well to fit these grand motifs. Where Funeral teetered that line between unrestrained passion and over-the-top melodrama brilliantly, Neon Bible disregards that the line ever existed. Swelling with brass, strings, and (the always ominous) organ, Neon Bible sounds like it was recorded in an abandoned church (which is appropriate because it was) with about 30 people playing at once. The result is high-octane, controlled chaos that sounds like a dark rock and roll symphony. Both sonically and thematically, Neon Bible flows seamlessly. From start to finish the songs all just contextually make sense, and it would be difficult to imagine them standing alone (or anywhere else for that matter). The album really listens like a good book. All that and I didn't even have to mention Bruce Springsteen.

06. The White Stripes - Icky Thump
Many hardcore White Stripes fans were disenfranchised by Jack and Meg's 2005 foray in country and marimba, Get Behind Me Satan (sidenote: I actually enjoyed Satan quite a bit...although I can't remember the last time I listened to it). Additionally, in the time since Satan's release, the Whites both moved out of the gritty city that molded that classic Stripes sound (Detroit), and Jack has started a marginally popular rock band, The Raconteurs. Needless to say the Stripes' future hung in the balance leading up to their 2007 release, Icky Thump. Rest assured though, order has been restored. With perhaps their heaviest record to date, the candy cane siblings (cough*ex-husband and wife*cough) have managed to take all that is great about the Stripes' past efforts, and mold them into one cohesive record on Icky Thump. There is vintage Stripes garage rock - "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)" -, there is the oddly successful cover - "Conquest" -, there is a little bit of country - "Effect & Cause" -, and there is a whole lot of heavy rock - "Bone Broke", "Little Cream Soda", "I'm Slowly Turning Into You" - . The album is a jagged collection of some of the most focused White Stripes material since White Blood Cells, and I would argue that Icky Thump is the most solid (start to finish) album the Stripes have ever released as a result. With Meg White anxiety attacks leading to cancelled tour dates, and Jack White working on "multiple" side projects, the Stripes future is once again uncertain. While I would hate to see it happen, as a pretty hardcore Stripes fan, I think Icky Thump would be a fitting swan song.

05. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
Prior to 2007's Sound of Silver, LCD Soundsystem was seen as a great band that made electronic dance music with indie appeal. I would say that is still a pretty fair assessment of James Murphy's outfit, however, Sound of Silver feels bigger than that. It is one of those albums where you keep waiting for the lull, and it just never comes. One track after another starts out as a simple frame, and then builds into this thick, pulsating epic by song's end. All LCD Soundsystem reviews touch on the fact that band mastermind, James Murphy, leans heavily on his influences. While these influences are certainly prevelant (and vast), Sound of Silver is unmistakably the work of one (very talented) man. Silver bumps, beeps, and blips from high to low over the album's 56 minutes, but always sounds smooth, never forced. The greatest development here though is Mr. Murphy's songwriting skills. Whereas prior LCD Soundsystem efforts came off as scatterbrain with clever lyrical spikes, Sound of Silver finds Murphy showing he is deeper than anyone else in the genre. This is most notable within a three song stretch in the album's heart ("North American Scum" -> "Someone Great" -> "All My Friends"). In this 20 minute sequence, Murphy gets patriotic without getting ignorant (what a novel idea), laments the loss of a loved one, and bitches about the harsh realities of growing old. Pretty heavy subject matter for "dance music". That's just it. With Sound of Silver, Murphy has managed to transition from electronic dance phenom to indie music master. Perhaps he's lost his edge, and all for the better. It looks like 2007 will be known as the year LCD Soundsystem dropped all the descriptors, and started being recognized as simply a great band.

04. Okkervil River - The Stage Names
In 2005, Okkervil River released an indie-rock classic. Black Sheep Boy, was a dark, dejected opus roughly framed on the life of ill-fated folk musician, Tim Hardin. The album's ambitious descent into the world of self-depricating rock and roll was universally hailed, and Okkervil River made their place in indie-rock history for it. Fast forward to 2007's The Stage Names, and Will Sheff and company did the best possible thing any band can do following up a great album: They did not attempt to make Black Sheep Boy II. While thematically the album is still fairly depressing, musically, The Stage Names is considerably lighter than BSB. Album opener, "Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe", discusses how the real world is anticlimactic in comparison to the movies, and (ironically) bursts at the seams while doing so. "You Can't Hold The Hand Of A Rock And Roll Man" is a honky-tonk, rock and roll romp which details the less-glamorous side of life on the road. The album's crowing moment though is Stage Names closer, "John Allyn Smith Sails". A biographical track told from the mouth of a deceased John Berryman, "John Allyn Smith Sails" manages to effortlessly interpolate the Beach Boys, "Sloop John B", into the song's (and album's) climax, ending The Stage Names in perhaps the most uplifting/comedic moment to appear on any Okkervil River album. Like I said, Okkervil River chose not to re-create Black Sheep Boy in 2007. In the process, it appears as though they have created yet another indie-rock classic.

03. Menomena - Friend and Foe
In April of this year, I purchased a high quality stereo system. I (ironically enough) bought it from a place called Jamieson's Stereo. This is one of those places where the people working there are so intense about "the sound" that you find yourself blankly nodding along as they demo different speakers for you, asking "Isn't it amazing how much better these $1,000 speakers sound in comparison to these $800 ones?". They sit you in these specially made "listening rooms" that are supposed to mirror a room in your home (as long as you have a room in your house that resembles George Lucas' personal screening room at the Skywalker Ranch), and turn the speakers up to a level that no (sober) person would ever feel comfortable listening to. To "enhance the personal listening experience", they will ask you to "get a CD from your car". If you persist that his copy of Queen's Greatest Hits I should suffice, he will insist that, while he agrees Queen has released some rather "lush sonic arrangements over the years", you still need to listen to "your own stuff" on the speakers before making the purchase. The enthusiasm was appreciated, but all I kept thinking was that I couldn't bring in a burnt copy of the Hold Steady's Separation Sunday (my "own stuff") into the same place where people my dad's age were simultaneously demo-ing multi-thousand dollar "home theatre systems". What would suffice though? What album would impress this 40 year old audiophile, that has probably forgotten more about music than I will ever know? As I sat there, and heard every single sound from Friend and Foe's herky jerky, rock and roll symphony of a first track, "Muscle'n Flo", crisply laid out for me on those three foot tall Klipsch speakers I realized a few things: 1) The rear speakers (the front speakers are blown) on my 95' Honda Accord and the three inch tall computer (factory) speakers that came with my Dell have been doing my music no justice over the past few years, 2) I was about to drop over a grand on a stereo (and oddly enough, my dad would interpret this purchase as a writ of passage into manhood), 3) This Menomena album is fucking brilliant.

02. Radiohead - In Rainbows
The most common criticism I have heard of Radiohead's seventh album, In Rainbows, is that "any band could have made this album". Almost as if we have come to expect Radiohead to produce albums only capable of being made in outerspace. In Rainbows is definitely a more sparse sounding incarnation of Radiohead, but it is by no means any weaker as a result.

In fact, I felt the band's previous album, Hail To The Thief, was at times bogged down by the band trying too hard to make the album sound "complex". In a welcome gust of fresh air, In Rainbows finds Oxford's finest (for the most part) putting away their laptops and returning to their guitars and drums. What we are left with is a smoky collection of simmering, guitar-based tracks that are as bare as anything the band has put out since The Bends. Interestingly enough, on an album that finds Radiohead's (semi-insane) leader, Thom Yorke, using his voice as an instrument more than any other Radiohead release, Mr. Yorke has also managed to put together some of his most "straightforward", even soul-bearing, lyrics (Example 1: "How come i end up where i started, how come i end up where i belong?", Example 2:"This is my way of saying goodbye, because i can't do it face to face, so im talking to you before it's too late"). The emotions always felt like they were there, but prior efforts displayed it more in Yorke's inflection rather than his dictation. This less obtuse form of songwriting humanizes the album, perhaps making it more accesible to those alienated by the band's exploration into the dense "Man vs. Machine" theme seen on Radiohead's last few albums. Another improvement upon its predecessor is In Rainbows' length. Clocking in at just over 42 minutes (ideal album length), In Rainbows leaves listeners satiated, but wanting more, something that the rather dense (57 minute), Hail To The Thief, fails to do (in my opinion).

Prior releases aside, In Rainbows is a tight example of Radiohead proving that whatever angle they take, they will emerge with a consummate, cohesive album. In Rainbows is unmistakably a Radiohead album, but sounds nothing like anything the band has put out before. No matter what Radiohead does, they manage to sound both fresh, and like themselves. Critical darlings because they manage to maintain their identity, all while breaking the mold of what everyone expects them to do. In the meantime, bands everywhere are just trying to keep up, or even emmulate Yorke and Co. (Coldplay anyone?). The imitators just fall flat though, drowning vanilla, acoustic ballads in a pool of electronic drum loops and flat computer blips. Sure, any band could have made In Rainbows, but no one else did.

01. The National - Boxer
As 2006 came to an end, everything seemed to be falling right into place for you. In the aforementioned year you graduated from College (a stage of your life that you enjoyed thoroughly, but were admittedly "tiring of"), and seamlessly transitioned right into a shiny, desk job (a livelihood you believed in your heart of hearts was perfect for you). It was almost as if at the end of college, instead of thinking (honestly) about your future life, you decided to turn the light out, say goodnight, and not think about it for a little while. After all, there was a lot going on, and there was no reason to try to figure out everything at once.

Everyday, showered and blue blazered, you made your way to that white collar wonderland. Always out to impress your superiors you did everything that they asked you to do. Sure to underline everything, and double-check it twice, you were a professional in your beloved white shirt. Work required quite a time commitment from you too. Your office started to feel more like home than your apartment (you certainly spent more time there). You'd come home late from work and be mistaken for a stranger by your own friends. Even you couldn't keep track of everything falling through the sky. Half awake in a fake empire, it was just another uninnocent, elegant fall into the unmagnificent life of an adult.

One day, you wakeup, and it is spring. You are using two weeks of vacation time to study for exams (work-related of course). You're young though, they say it doesn't matter, and besides, you're shooting up the ladder. However, you start to think about things. You are falling out of touch with all your friends. You think about them somewhere (without you) getting wasted, and you hope they're staying glued together. It feels like you hardly know them anymore, but you still have arms for them. Your mind is racing like a pro now. Is this really what you want? It doesn't mean a lot to you. Not long ago you were young and had the world in front of you, now that feels like a million years ago. You tell yourself, "this isn't working." You're dumbstruck.

In the midst of this haze of false pretenses, you happen to remember you had a girlfriend. In the process of losing touch with all of your friends, you managed to grow more and more reliant on her for all things social. Rather than being reminded of your youthful past (and how unnurtured you have left it), it was just easier to forge ahead with your (soon-to-be friendless) future. Putting blinders up was so successful in your professional life, it would have to carry the same fate in your personal life.

She (gracefully) dragged you around from the end of her coat all winter, but on this fateful spring day (when all this thinking started) you also realize that you have made a mistake in your life. It seems as though everything you love is lost in drawers. You want to start over, you want to be winning, way out of sync from the beginning. You realize something you have always known, but is suddenly clearer. This girl is special, and now you want nothing more than to show her how much you appreciate her. All you want to do is hurry home to her, put on a slow, dumb show for her, and crack her up. Unfortunately, the damage is already done, and this message ends up getting lost in translation. Your newfound enthusiasm turns into suffocation, and you overdo it.

In what is already a dark time, you lean on the wall, and the wall leans away. The floor drops out on you, and you are going down among the saints. "Does she really think she can just put it in a safe behind a painting, lock it up, and leave?" "She might need me more than she thinks she will." Time passes, and it doesn't really get any easier. You can hear the sound of her laugh through the wall. She has moved out though, and you just keep hoping she knows her way back around.

You slowly accept your newfound fate, and try to proceed with life, but she keeps changing her fancy mind everytime you decide to let go. You think to yourself, "She was always weird, but I never had to hold her by the edges like I do now." The two of you start to talk again. You make up excuses to see her: "I've got two armfuls of magazines for you, I'll bring em over." She backs her way in as well: "Let me come over, I can waste your time, I'm bored." It wasn't particularly romantic, but life rarely is. You are honest with her. You tell her that you miss going wild and bright in the corners of front yards, getting in and out of cars. You miss being deviants. Basically, you miss your younger years when things were not so complicated. You both agree that you don't want to be apart, but that you can't stay here. You say, "We were starting to stay the same, and we can't stay that way."

In an uncharacteristic move, you two decide to leave it all up in the air. For the first time in a long time, you decide to just live your lives in the present. Do what feels right for the moment because that is the only certain feeling you know. It is refreshing. Everything you used to believe is diving off the balcony.

In one year, not a lot appears to have changed, but everything seems different. The passing of 2007 has altered your outlook on things. You're still working that office job, but you know now that it should not define you. You may not get to see your friends that often, but you recognize that you cannot survive without them. You are seeing that girl again, but enjoying it now instead of always planning for later. You understand that the minute you fall into a routine is when you start to take things for granted, and that is the minute you have lost control. You realize life isn't like the movies because the movies skip over all the small stuff, and it is that small stuff that ends up defining our lives. I guess everything counts a little more than we think.

- Jameson

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Read Users' Comments ( 2 )

I guess this is where I should do the obligatory "These lists are so subjective" talk. You guys know that though. These are the songs that I enjoyed this year (it says "According to Jameson" right in the title). Your list would probably be vastly different than mine (I'd love to see your list by the way). Additionally, this list (as well as almost lists) is probably slanted towards my mood when I was making it. I did my best to combat this (by compiling the list over a period of weeks), but in the end, these lists are going to reflect how you are feeling in the time period when you are making them. The fact of the matter is that we like certain songs because because they extract certain emotions/feelings from us. I mean, if albums are full meals, then songs are like pieces of candy. If I am getting ready to "go out on the town" (something I don't do all that often), I may want to listen to Daft Punk's "Digital Love" to get me moving. If I am getting ready for bed, I may want a quick Iron & Wine lullaby to serenade me to sleep. If I am planning a night of heavy drinking with my friends, then the Hold Steady's "Massive Nights" would be appropriate. You get the point. Songs are a quick and easy fix, and can take you from one emotion to another in the course of 4 minutes. Anyhow, here are the 15 songs of 2007 that extracted a little something more from me than all the others.

15. Kevin Drew - "Lucky Ones"
I sat here for a long time trying to write something about this song. I honestly can't think of anything to say about it, and I don't know if that means it is perfect, or it has no business being on this list. I love this song though, and have listened to it a ton this year, so I decided to leave it on. I particularly like this verse: "I know i know i know it's true / all the things you thought about I want you to do / and when the clouds separate in comes the sun / hurry through the song that a girl once sung / she's the reason why i'm trying to make it alright / trying to drive through to Croatia tonight / wanna lie beside her with the wind in my hand / try to be a stereotype with a plan / but my love of god and my god is love / that's why i do all the things of the above / don't you expect to make a phone call tonight / treat me like a motherfucker who is right" I still can't tell if Kevin Drew is a genius, or insane. Probably a little bit of both...

14. Voxtrot - "Blood Red Blood"
With EPs that garnered them the title of "2006 indie blog darlings", Voxtrot had a lot to live up to with their 2007 full-length debut. While their self-titled album did not quite match up to the hype of their quick hitting EPs, Voxtrot closer, "Blood Red Blood" recaptured that 2006 magic. The song's carpe diem theme is not exactly groundbreaking, and in the hands of some other singers, could come off as hokey. However, the passion in Voxtrot lead singer, Ramesh Srivastava's, voice is so believable that it creates a sense of urgency, leaving listeners ready to "get up and do something". Musically, "Blood Red Blood" matches the song's message of proactivity. Purposeful drums and guitar open, and then the song builds into a wall of sound, brimming with glossy strings and high-flying horns at the summit. As the song closes, the music correspondingly deflates, and Srivastava reminds us that time leaves us "like blood, red blood".

13. Stars - "Take Me to the Riot"
Stars specialize in theatrical indie rock music. They traditionally write over-the-top, offbeat anthems that focus on characters and situations that are imperfect. These imperfections create a sense of credibility in the stories though, giving the songs an underlying integrity not found in traditional pop music. Torquil Campbell, Stars' male lead (the band has both male and female lead vocals), was quoted as saying "Take Me to the Riot" is the story of "two drug dealers in love with each other, but one of them has their shit together a little bit more than the other." This unconventional love story is told atop some of the most instantaneously captivating pop music of the year. A pretty simple rock song, with an infectious chorus, "Take Me to the Riot" will have you hitting the repeat button and singing along after only a couple of listens. It's not much, but it's just enough to keep.

12. Kanye West - "Stronger"
Those who know me (well), know that I am a sucker for Kanye West. Even worse (probably), I love the popular Kanye West songs the most (I still adore "Gold Digger"). See...I never listen to the radio, and I rarely find myself in environments where dancing is the main event, so the songs never get played out for me (sidenote: given the proper circumstances, I will dance...and enjoy every minute of it). House party play counts aside, Kanye's songs are catching. Throw in the fact that West (a producing genius) was smart enough to sample Daft Punk's, "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" on "Stronger", and I am on board. Daft Punk's track was strong enough on its own (no pun intended), but West cleans it up into a concise, radio-friendly beat, and then tosses his usual blend of swagger and hubris into the rhyme, creating a 2007 dance-floor standard. Oh yeah, Kanye manages to rhyme "Klondike" with "blonde dyke" on the track as well...

11. Les Savy Fav - "Raging In The Plague Age"
The first time I heard "Raging In The Plague Age" was one of those rare moments when I knew (during the very first listen) that the song was fucking awesome. Clocking in at 2:43 (the list's shortest song) the whole thing is just raw, grainy rock and roll. It's one of those songs where you don't even get a moment to brace for it. It just kicks you right in the face with this heavily distorted bass-line and barbaric drums, and it doesn't letup until the song's completion. Les Savy Fav leadman, Tim Harrington's, coarse vocals match the hardrock perfectly here as well, singing for a king that has fallen ill and been ousted from his throne (and out of his castle) only to hear everyone inside having a "raging" party. At the :56 mark in the song, the gritty bass and guitars drop completely out of the mix, and atop only the advancing drums, there is a moment of clarity in which Harrington spits (perhaps) the most rawking 12 seconds of any song in 2007: "Drop the drawbridge, draw down the blinds, everyone inside is getting high tonight, waiting for the plague to move on, no one's getting sober til the liquor's all gone!" Like I said, it's fucking awesome.

10. Black Kids - "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You"
Black Kids are the band that I've been dreaming of ever since I was a little boy. Seriously, "I'm Not Gonna Teach..." sounds so much like a kid show sing along that when listening to it, I feel like I am on Nickelodeon circa 1990. This is not a bad thing though. It has triggered some of the most sparkling pop music to hit the indie circuit this year. Floating on a glistening concoction of synthy keyboards and guitars, Reggie Youngblood leads us down a rainbow paved path to the story of a no self-esteem young man who just so happens to have some moves. For fear of losing the only link to his crush, the unconfident fellow refuses to teach his dancefloor partner's boyfriend how to dance with her. Whether it was Black Kids intentions or not, mixed amongst all this merriment, "I'm Not Gonna Teach..." manages to take a stand for the uncool, letting the world know that they will no longer be taken advantage of. Pretty sweet message...for a kid song.

09. The Arcade Fire - "(Antichrist Television Blues)"
After the 2004 release of the Arcade Fire's eccentric indie rock classic, Funeral, music writers spent a lot of time analyzing the similarities between Win Butler and Talking Heads frontman, David Byrne. On Neon Bible though, the comparisons all shifted to Springsteen. Butler takes his best shot at Boss mimicry on several of Bible’s tracks, but most notably "(Antichrist Television Blues)". In fact, the aforementioned track, Neon Bible's climax, sounds more vintage Springsteen than even Springsteen can pull off anymore. Over a shuffling guitar, Butler strings together a startling image of a father trying to better his life via his talented daughter (sidenote: the song's inspiration was rumored to be Joe Simpson, father - turned pimp - of Jessica and Ashlee, and to my knowledge, the band never denied this). The song builds to a rage in which Butler's singing turns to maddened scolding. Then, right when the song feels like it is going to burst from its own pressure, it comes crashing to a screeching ha-

08. Josh Ritter - "The Temptation Of Adam"
"The Temptation Of Adam" is just another remarkable credential on Josh Ritter's resume. The song is a simple acoustic ballad with fragments of strings throughout. Lyrically though, Ritter weaves an intricate tale of a man and a woman that slowly fall in love while locked inside a missile silo. As the song progresses, the two fall more in love, but Ritter's protagonist begins to fear that their love would never last amongst the distractions of the outside world ("our love would live a half-life on the surface" - see what he did there?). In the end, Adam's rationale is so blurred by his love for Marie that he starts to wish the two would never leave their underground bunker. His temptation transfers from Marie, to whether or not he should start WWIII, so he will never lose her. Thematically, "The Temptation Of Adam" speaks on a few different levels, but ultimately addresses the selfishness of love. Given the choice, would you send the world into peril if it meant you would have love forever? I'd have to imagine that for most, it'd be tempting.

07. The White Stripes - "Rag & Bone"
"Rag & Bone" is one of those songs where if I were to describe the premise, it would sound silly. In fact, it kind of is...but perhaps that is why "Rag & Bone" is so successful. The White Stripes are notorious for taking themselves ultra seriously, and that has never hindered them. However, on "Rag & Bone" we get our first glance at the more comedic side of Jack and Meg (it only took six albums), and its a refreshing take on Detroit's most dysfunctional rock and roll siblings (insert: eyeroll). A half spoken/half sang number, "Rag & Bone" is the story of two scavengers digging through other people's trash. The spoken word parts (the verses) find Jack and Meg playfully sparring back and forth over a bluesy little guitar riff, and as each verse ends, the steady drums of Meg White (along with the song) pick up force. Jack then spouts off the the sang parts (the choruses) which lead right into signature Stripes guitar chords. Six albums in, and the White Stripes still manage to make their simple brand of bluesy garage rock sound fresh. Looks like they've still got plenty of places to go, lots of homes they ain't been to yet.

06. Iron & Wine - "Resurrection Fern"
Much has been made about Iron & Wine's steady transition from the "lo-fi acoustic" sound of debut album, The Creek Drank the Cradle, to the more eclectic, full-band sound found on 2007 release, The Shepherd's Dog. "Resurrection Fern" however, lands somewhere in between those two. A slowly (but steadily) picked acoustic, mixed beautifully over lucid steel guitar serves as yet another rich canvas for Sam Beam to softly stroke-out his Southern folk tale. Beam is often dubbed the most talented songwriter of my generation, and the "Resurrection Fern" is great support for such a thesis. A song ultimately about equality, "Resurrection Fern" (like most Iron & Wine songs) uses imagery from a time long past to sing about current issues. The results are delicate, but powerful: "And we'll undress beside the ashes of the fire, our tender bellies wound around in baling wire, all the more a pair of underwater pearls, than the oak tree and its resurrection fern." All that from a song named for a plant.

05. Okkervil River - "Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe"
I had written a mini-essay about "Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe", but once I read Amy Phillips' (of Pitchfork) take on the song, I decided that I should scrap it because she said it better than I ever could: "The lyrics are a bummer, all about how the real world can never live up to the drama of the silver screen. ("It's just a life story, so there's no climax.") But the music! It's a wild, barreling celebration of the pleasures of rocking the fuck out, shouting in the wind, and breaking down into random noise just for the hell of it. Will Sheff strongarms these two opposing forces into working together for the greater good of laughing in the face of disappointment. Because he knows that even if life can't deliver the satisfaction of the cinema, sometimes a song can." --Amy Phillips (http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/)

04. The National - "Slow Show"
Anymore, it seems that I can't pay attention to the sound of anyone. Every minute I feel more unprepared. To make matters worse, I made a mistake in my life today, and now I just want to start over. I keep looking for somewhere to stand and stay, and when I finally lean on the wall, the wall leans away. It seems that if I could just get a minute of not being nervous, and not thinking of my dick. Now I better get my shit together, because I want to hurry home to you. I want to put on a slow, dumb show for you, and crack you up. However, I am frightened because I know I'll overdo it. You see it's not my fault though, because I dreamt about you for twenty-nine years before I saw you. I missed you for twenty-nine years.

03. Ryan Adams - "The Sun Also Sets"
Ryan Adams recorded Easy Tiger sober. Ironically enough, the vocals on "The Sun Also Sets" sound as though they were recorded in one take after a some heavy soul searching and some heavy drinking. Over the stop-start piano and drums of the verses, Adams expresses his confusion ("When you get the time, sit down and write me a letter") and bitterly advises his former mate ("When you get these feelings next time, oh be sure you're gonna tear someone apart"). The wounds are still fresh, and Adams spends most of the song trying to make sense of it all (although he never really succeeds). What we are left with though is an honest recollection of the fragility of love ("we are only one shove from the nest, we are only one argument from death"). Like many heartbroken individuals, Adams just never saw it coming. I guess that is a pretty sobering experience.

02. Bright Eyes - "Classic Cars"
While Conor Oberst tentatively (albeit successfully) explored the alt-country waters on I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, on Cassadaga, Oberst set out to show the world that this country stuff wasn't just a phase. In fact, on "Classic Cars" we find Conor abandoning his angsty (yet eclectic) brand of acoustic rock for all of the country music mainstays: banjo, steel guitar, and saloon-style piano. While his sound may have changed, Oberst has (thankfully) maintained his chops as a top-notch songwriter. The story of a young man recalling an old flame (literally and figuratively), "Classic Cars" is laden with the little one-liners that have made the Bright Eyes franchise so acclaimed. Via Conor's older woman, we are instructed not to live in the past ("Life is how it is, not how it was") and to be patient ("Everything is a cycle, you've got to let it come to you, and when it does, you will know what to do"). In the end though, it is Mr. Oberst who offers the best advice. The most important thing he learned from his ex-lover? "Never trust a heart that is so bent it can't break."

01. LCD Soundsystem - "All My Friends"
A seven and a half minute song with a droning piano that never misses a step, LCD Soundsystem's "All My Friends" is one of those songs where the music mimics the story. James Murphy, speaking for aging young adults everywhere, articulates the feeling of waking up one day and realizing that the "best years" of your life are past you. Your life has turned into a daily routine (hence the repetitive piano), and all of the sudden you discover that you don't have as many friends as you used to. Murphy frames (my) young adulthood perfectly: "You spent the first five years trying to get with the plan, and the next five years trying to be with your friends again." Some artists might try to serve listeners a glimmer of hope by providing a solution to this great dilemma, but in the end, Murphy is no prophet, just a scenographer, capturing this unfortunate realization in a song. The track hurdles along as the time passes, with the music and sentiments growing more resonant. As "All My Friends" closes, Murphy repeatedly asks, "Where are your friends tonight?" and ultimately pleads, "If I could see all my friends tonight", vocalizing this idea that the transition to adulthood wouldn't be so hard if we could just be around all of our friends. I agree.


- Jameson

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