2007 Favorite Albums

Music for me isn't just sound waves. As a musician and music lover, music truly is an experience. So, my favorite albums of 2007 aren't just works of great creativity, genius and musical talent. Each one speaks to me also because of it's innovation, message, fun factor or the story behind it's creation.

This list really gets to the essence of what music is about for me (and I'm really going to go fully "Almost Famous" with this)...

it's about the dream.

It's about the dream of playing some music that other people digg. It's about inspiring, educating, or just moving someone's finger or foot. It's about the smile that occurs on a person's face, in some town you've never been to, at the precise moment of the chord change you played or note you sang. It's about the small but perceptible difference the smile makes in that person's day, week, life. It's about communication on a level attainable only through music. It's about beauty... so sorely needed in our world.

#1
Album: In Rainbows
Artist: Radiohead



#2
Album: Belle et Fou
Artist: Jazzanova

#3
Album: Food In The Belly
Artist: Xavier Rudd

#4
Album: The Reminder
Artist: Feist

#5
Album: The Mix-Up
Artist: Beastie Boys

#6
Album: Cassadaga
Artist: Bright Eyes

#7
Album: What Happened To Television
Artist: The Greyboy Allstars

Love or Coffee?

It doesn't happen very often, so I feel it's my duty to document it when it does... a perfect conversational moment. Yesterday morning, upon waking up.

Me: Love or coffee, which should we make?
My wife: why not both?

"Thags' Dance," Oscar Peterson

Song: "Thags' Dance"
Album: The Sound of the Trio
Artist: Ed Thigpen, Oscar Peterson & Ray Brown

I learned of Oscar Peterson's passing (December 23rd) from this post on motel de moka. It's hard to calculate the influence of a figure so huge as Oscar Peterson. His wiki page states that Duke Ellington called him the "Maharaja of the keyboard." That, my friends, is cred.

This associated press article contained more praise from more awesome musicians than a Grammy tribute to Stevie Wonder.

Dave Brubeck: "I was in awe..."
Duke Ellington: "beyond category..."
Herbie Hancock: "redefined swing..."
Dianna Krall: "the reason I became a jazz pianist."
Marian McPartland: "the finest technician that I have seen."
Eldar Djangirov: "...my main artistic influence."

Here he is with Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen live in Italy in 1961:

"Feels Like Rain," Buddy Guy

Song: "Feels Like Rain"
Album: Feels Like Rain
Artist: Buddy Guy

My favorite radio DJ Bubba Jackson always says, "I only listen to the blues when I'm happy." Maybe he says this to correct the thought that all blues music is sad. Of course, the Blues is often up-beat and inspiring. But, maybe he says this because some blues music can take you from sad, to the depths of despair. This song lies somewhere between, striking the balance between the inspiration of love in the lyrics (love is like a hurricane), and the reflective feeling spurred by any profound life change.

This song was made all the more poignant by the events surrounding hurricane Katrina. It's a love song that captures the very specific, somber feeling surrounding life changes. Here's John Mayer performing the song with Buddy Guy.

"Over the Rainbow," Eva Cassidy

Song: "Over the Rainbow"
Album: Songbird
Artist: Eva Cassidy

There are many notable versions of this song, including: the original from The Wizard of Oz soundtrack by Judy Garland, a live version by Eric Clapton and a famous ukulele version by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. But, this is my favorite.

Eva Cassidy's wiki page explains her sad and remarkable story. She died in 1996 of cancer and was not "discovered" until after she was gone. Her album Songbird reached #1 on the UK charts in 2001. Listen to this and you will understand why.



Here's what the wiki page says about this video.

In 2001, her album reached number 1 in the UK charts after the BBC television show Top Of The Pops 2 aired a video of Eva performing Over The Rainbow at Blues Alley. It became the most requested video ever shown of Top Of The Pops 2 despite the fact it was just a homemade video made by somebody watching Eva perform.

"Gavin's Song," Marc Broussard

Song: "Gavin's Song"
Album: Carencro
Artist: Marc Broussard

This song is simply essential for any parent missing a child... or for anyone missing anybody. It was written by the artist for his son. Really, it's one of those that simply must be listened to and appreciated. It's beautifully written and beautifully sung. Enjoy.

"Electric Worm," Beastie Boys

Song: "Electric Worm"
Album: The Mix-Up
Artist: Beastie Boys

This is an instrumental, blusey, wah funk song from the kings of suburban Hip Hop. With that many genres involved, it has to be good. I've always had a love/hate relationship with the Beastie Boys; loving them for the quality of their raps, hating them for... well I'm not really sure (being white?). They're all grown up now, proving with this track that suburban rappers don't die, they just start listening to Booker T. and the MG's.

If you like this track, as I do, you might like these too: "Tom Cat," by Muddy Waters, "Red Beans and Rice," by Booker T. & the MG's and "Look-Ka Py Py," by The Meters.

The sound quality of this youtube video is terrible. Listen to the iTunes sample above to hear it. But, it's fun to see the band playing the music.

"Music Is My Hot, Hot Sex," Cansei de Ser Sexy (CSS)

Song: "Music Is My Hot, Hot Sex"
Album: Cansei de Ser Sexy
Artist: CSS



For a music lover/blogger, it's hard to argue with this track title! I was turned onto Cansei de Ser Sexy by their awesome live concert from Fabchannel. I love the energy, lack of inhibition, and artistic fierceness of the concert. I came to find out that CSS is a Brazillian band and that their name; "Cansei de Ser Sexy" means "Tired of Being Sexy" in Portuguese. Their in-your-face style is ironic and they are both pushing the sexual buttons of the audience and making fun of how easily those buttons are pushed-- but in a playful, attractive, artistic way. Take a look.

"The Ocean," Led Zeppelin

Song: "The Ocean"
Album: Houses of the Holy (Remastered)
Artist: Led Zeppelin



Led Zeppelin probably created more recognizable guitar riffs than any band of the 70's-- and to me, this is the most recognizable. This brings back such powerful memories from adolescence. This was, in fact, one of the songs I would play to get ready for a date. It was like a one song pep rally. My advice: buy the song, turn it up.

It's been hard to select just three Led Zeppelin songs. There are so many and you can expect more in this blog. Honorable mentions: "Fool In The Rain," "Dancing Days," "Going To California," "D'yer Maker," "The Battle of Evermore," "The Rain Song," "Stairway To Heaven."

"What Is and What Should Never Be," Led Zeppelin

Song: "What Is and What Should Never Be"
Album: Led Zeppelin II (Remastered)
Artist: Led Zeppelin

Play Sample

One big thing missing from a lot of today's music is dynamics. One reason for this is the loudness wars discussed here and here. Just as Zepplin's albums had dynamics as complete works of art, so did many of their individual songs. In my opinion, this is THE best example of how to maximize the power of a song with dynamics.

I love this studio version and I love the live version too.

There are so many influences in this song. It begins as a folk ballad with jazz style high hat and drums. Suddenly, it morphs into a hard rock head banger. In fact, this song, along with "Whole Lotta Love," (songs 1 & 2 on the album) probably helped create and define the genre of hard rock.

The guitar work by Jimmy Page is sick. At 3:31 into the song, each successive riff is panned 100% right then 100% left, all but shouting the back and forth agony contained in the lyrics with his guitar. In the midst of this-- a gong sounds, creating an unforgettable, signature moment in rock history.

Apparently, the song was inspired and informed by a romance Robert Plant had with his wife's younger sister. At least that's what the wiki article claims. And this makes sense as the song in every way supports the painful misery of a forbidden love and the confusion, duality and indecision that goes with it.

"Bron-Yr-Aur," Led Zeppelin

Song: "Bron-Yr-Aur"
Album: Physical Graffiti (Remastered)
Artist: Led Zeppelin

In celebration of iTunes releasing The Complete Led Zeppelin, I'll offer my three favorite Led Zeppelin songs in the next three posts.

"Bron-Yr-Aur" is my wife's favorite Led Zeppelin song, and it's growing on me. It is a calm acoustic guitar masterpiece appearing on Physical Graffiti amidst their hard rock classics "Kashmir," and "Houses of the Holy." Led Zeppelin made albums-- complete works of art intended to be enjoyed from start to finish-- and this song's place is to give the harder songs on the album a counterpoint. It's a short song; a breath, which offers a reflective, beautiful sound scape. Led Zeppelin's slow stuff makes their hard stuff more powerful and visa-versa. If you like this, other Zeppelin songs you'll love include: The Rain Song, That's The Way and Going To California.

The song is named for a cottage in Wales where the band stayed. In Welsh it means "Golden Breast." Here's the wiki article.

Here's a collage of photos of Led Zeppelin someone made, backed by the song.

"Hello Bonjour," Michael Franti & Spearhead

Song: "Hello Bonjour"
Album: Yell Fire!
Artist: Michael Franti & Spearhead

Michael Franti packs a lot of lyrics and ideas into this song. My favorite stanza goes:

You say you’re a Christian ’cause God made you,
You say you’re a Muslim ’cause God made you,
You say you’re a Hindu and the next man a Jew
And we all kill each other 'cause god told us to? NAH!

I just think the world could use a lot more of Michael Franti. He's a funky, peace seeking, musical, spirit, sent down to spread some truth. It's hard to stay seated when this song plays; because the music is jumpy, but also because the lyrics offer something to believe in.

Here's the Song Video:


Here's a live version. This shows Franti & Spearhead taking a flat Belgium crowd up to 100% participation.

"Wagon Wheel," Old Crow Medicine Show

Song: "Wagon Wheel"
Album: O.C.M.S.
Artist: Old Crow Medicine Show

Thanks to Dave for recommending this song. I'm a huge Bluegrass fan. I even played rhythm guitar in a bluegrass group last summer. I love the vocal performance on this. Like the song, it's unapologetically back woods. And, the harmonies are right on-- not trying to do too much but right where they should be.

In music, but in Bluegrass especially, there's a tendency for players to try to out play everyone on the planet. This is an example of how good a song can be if the band listens to each other, plays the song tight together and just lays down what's necessary and nothing more.

The O.C.M.S. web site is here. An interesting, short Wiki article about the history of the song is here.

Here's a you tube video:

Holiday (Mostly Christmas) Music

These are some of my favorite songs for the holidays:

Song: The Christians and the Pagans
Album: Mortal City
Artist: Dar Williams

Since my family is a mix of agnostics, atheists and other non-christians, and my sister's family is of the Christian persuasion, we laughed out loud at this song over the holidays last year. If you have a similar mix among your loved ones, this is a great song to break any related tension.

Song: Skating
Album: A Charlie Brown Christmas
Artist: Vince Guaraldi Trio

To me, this song (and the album) represents the holiday season better than any other. It instantly conjures images of Snoopy skating deftly across the ice and giant snow flakes falling slowly.

Song: White Christmas
Album: All Time Christmas Favorites Vol. 1
Artist: Bing Crosby

Song: Santa Baby
Album: Platinum & Gold Collection: Eartha Kitt
Artist: Eartha Kitt & Henri René

Many have tried to imitate Eartha Kitt; Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Miss Piggy.

Song: Oh Hanukkah Groove
Album: Festival of Light 2
Artist: The Frank London Big Band

Song: Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
Album: Christmas With Dino
Artist: Dean Martin

Song: The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
Album: The Christmas Song
Artist: Nat King Cole

Song: Cool Yule
Album: 20th Century Masters - The Christmas Collection: The Best of Louis Armstrong
Artist: Louis Armstrong & The Commanders

Song: Sleigh Ride
Album: Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas
Artist: Ella Fitzgerald

Song: Feliz Navidad
Album: Feliz Navidad
Artist: José Feliciano

Song: Unto Us A Child Is Born
Album: Handel's Messiah
Artist: The London Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir & Walter Susskind

Song: I Have A Little Dreidel/Hanukkah
Album: Hanukkah... And All That Jazz
Artist: Jon Simon

Song: Ma O'Tzur
Album: Y2Klezmer
Artist: The Alexandria Kleztet

Song: You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch
Album: Celebrate The Season
Artist: Boris Karloff

Song: Jingle Bells
Album: James Taylor At Christmas
Artist: James Taylor

This is my favorite version of Jingle Bells-- very funky. Unfortunately, iTunes sells it with the album only.

If you have suggestions for this post, please leave a comment. I would love to have some more songs from other traditions. Peace.

"What It Means To Be Human," i am jen

Song: What It Means To Be Human
Album: The Broken EP
Artist: i am jen

When I saw and heard this for the first time, I was captivated. Still am. It's high quality, hand made for you! i am jen's web site is cool too.

"Amen," Otis Redding

Song: "Amen"
Album: The Immortal Otis Redding
Artist: Otis Redding

Thanks to Muzzle of Bees for reminding me that today is the 40th anniversary of Otis Redding's death. The PBS special on Stax Records had a great segment on Otis Redding. Apparently, Otis was working as a roadie for Johnny Jenkins when he was 'discovered' by Stax. Hearing the other musicians describe the day when Otis sang "These Arms of Mine" in the studio for the first time was priceless. They knew it was a seminal moment in musical history by the time the song was over. RIP Otis, you will never be forgotten.

Here's Otis spreading some love and singing "I've Been Loving You Too Long To Stop Now."

"Let Me Touch You For A While," Alison Krauss & Union Station

Song: "Let Me Touch You for Awhile"
Album: Live
Artist: Alison Krauss & Union Station

I love this song mainly for what it is not saying. It's not saying; "I'll Love You Forever and For Always."

Yes, love is infinite like a fresh water ocean. But the water that touches us most profoundly is the small handful we reach down and take a sip from.

Today I need the kind of love you can drink.

Not enough could ever be said about Alison Krauss' voice, or Jerry Douglass' slide.

"Destiny," Zero 7

Song: "Destiny"
Album: Simple Things
Artist: Zero 7

This video download is the best live video I can find and came originally from their web site. Here's an excerpt from a letter I wrote to a friend after seeing this video in 2004.

Part of it for me is just the honesty of the song. Alone and lonely, fine with it and yet in love. I guess I've been thinking a lot about loneliness lately... It's partly the human condition: we're all alone in some ways, making our way through the world. But, it's also partly not loving ourselves enough, not being our own best friends due to childhood trauma or whatever. The cure, I know, is intimacy... with ourselves, with each other. Real connections, our relationships. It's also hopeful. Many of their songs are hopeful. I love that. As bad as things may be, there's hope. I share that disposition to the world.

Part of it is watching this band put out something good and pure and honest. It just happens right there on the video. It's people understanding something together and doing what they can. It's two people with a vision, making it happen and shepherding it to creation. They're sending out this real thing and people (I, you, lot's of others) are responding to it. I just really feel that music has been kind of dead--- or rather that I've been dead to music (maybe both). For me, that is just like being really dead. Music is such an important part of my life. It always has been. It's in me, it's in my family and I lament having lost my way. Watching that video made me want to come home to music again-- and that's a journey that I've only recently started. Pop music in recent years, in my view, has been largely about manipulation, commercialism, ego etc. I get nothing from "Destiny" than pure artistic expression of human emotion and human experience. To me, that is what art is. It's about expressing our unique experience in the world, and expressing emotion in a way that moves, changes, heals, evokes.

Their song "This World" is just awesome. To me, it's like a single human voice doing three things at once-- protesting the state of the world, explaining that we've lost our way and expressing hope that we might find it again. I just have to believe that that's possible. They just nailed it so well.

Of course the technology that they've used to produce all this intrigues and interests me too.

Can music change people? This music changed me.

"Fern," Zoe Keating

Song: "Fern"
Album: One Cello x 16: Natoma
Artist: Zoe Keating

She plays the cello. She has a web site and a blog. She was on Good Day Sacramento. She is another new artist using looping. I'm a fan...

"There Is Nobody," Yoav

Song: "There Is Nobody"
Album: Adore - Single
Artist: Yoav

This new artist is currently touring with Tori Amos. This song reminds me of "Seven Nation Army" by the White Stripes. Probably because the percussion drives and has air. But if the Stripes impress for the sound they achieve with just two players, Yoav does the same... and he's solo.

Check out this youtube video of Yoav doing a cover of "Where Is My Mind" by the Pixies (a different song altogether). He uses looping in innovative ways to create a sound scape and then plays and sings over it. The loop he creates here by singing into the sound hole of his guitar, continues until the end of the song and provides a creepy mystery to what he is doing.



It's new, innovative, minimalist. Yoav makes the most out of the sounds he creates, and has an attractive confidence that those sounds are enough. And, they are.

"Rowing Song," Patty Griffin

Song: "Rowing Song"
Album: Impossible Dream
Artist: Patty Griffin

I used to row on the ocean off the coast of Maine. This song takes me instantly back to the peace, and meditative quality of rowing.

The ocean is a powerful force and putting yourself on the ocean in a small boat is an exercise in humility and surprise. While the ocean might be calm now, there's always the understanding that at any time it can rise up and swallow you like a grape. It's the song's recognition of that underlying, mysterious power that takes this to another level for me.

When I listen to this I see a fog drifting and swirling, revealing and obscuring the unknowns in my own life.

Patty Griffin's voice is very beautiful and clear and the music meanders in an ebbing and flowing waltz that supports the images in the lyrics.

"Koko," Charlie Parker

Song: "Koko"
Album: The Complete Savoy & Dial Master Takes
Artist: Charlie "Bird" Parker

In music, you have to be either cool or good. Bird was both the coolest and the goodest.

When I listen to most music, I follow in my mind, imagine and groove along. When I listen to this, I can't do any of that. I only hear it. It's moving too fast and too good. When I'm listening to my library on random and this song plays, I stop what I'm doing. Like a glimpse of a humming bird at the feeder, it's over before I can comprehend the intricate beauty. Then I'm left with only an impression.

I highly recommend the Bird Lives web site. Check out the film page. If you can get past the miming, you won't be disappointed. Let the clips load before you try to watch them.

"Beautiful," G. Love featuring Tristan Prettyman

Song: "Beautiful"
Album: Lemonade
Artist: G. Love featuring Tristan Prettyman

This song captures the feeling of a new relationship (a long time in the making), with all it's ambiguity, posturing, excitement, possibility and indecision. It's light, fun, sexy and playful.

In the tradition of "Baby It's Cold Outside," this is a duet between daters, each with an agenda. Fifty eight years ago, Ella Fitzgerald wouldn't have sung about Louis Jordan taking off her shirt. It was a time that required much more subtlety and a pretext. But the playful, free bluntness of this song is one of the qualities that makes it a winner. Play count = 101.

Official Video

"Alive With The Glory Of Love," Say Anything

Song: "Alive With The Glory Of Love"
Album: Say Anything Is A Real Boy
Artist: Say Anything

The Man learned long ago how to ruin a good rock & roll song... put it on TV. But, Scrubs makes me laugh and there's no denying the power of a good forbidden love story.

I love this song on so many levels...

First the lyrics. It tells a story from the perspective of a rebel on the loosing side of a war. Max Bemis the song writer and singer had grandparents who were in fact Holocaust survivors, which I learned about by reading the Wiki article. On closer read, the lyrics reference Treblinka, a German concentration camp in Poland where his grandparents survived.

"Now Treblinkah is alive with the glory of love"

And that is the the ultimate triumph of his grandparents and of the song-- love wins.

For me, the song transcends the cultural and generational differences between the 1940's WWII era and today. After all, love is universal no matter the circumstance, no matter the time. If his grandparents' love can survive Treblinka, any love can survive anything.

The music is also special; loud, fast and angry with punk and hardcore while the singer is describing the axis powers, tender, slower and airier (good jumpy rock) while describing his lover.

This song is very well made; war on one side, love on the other. What higher purpose could there be for a song than to express an unstoppable passion overcoming the violence and inanity of war? It goes so far (in the last stanza) to reveal that the love is so strong, it would survive the singer's death.

"Should they kill me, your love will fill me as warm as the bullets, yeah.
I'll know my purpose: this war was worth this. I won't let you down…"

Hopeful and fiercely defiant under the worst of circumstances, can you imagine a love so strong that fighting World War II, being imprisoned and dying were all worth it? It puts true love in perspective and in it's proper place, diminishing war and it's physical world trappings to an obstacle. No matter how daunting the obstacle it's still just that, an obstacle. Love, on the other hand, is the very purpose for living.

"Baroque and Blue," Claude Bolling

Song: "Baroque and Blue"
Album: Suite for Flute & Jazz Piano Trio
Artist: Claude Bolling

This is one of those albums my parents had when I was a kid. As soon as I figured out how to put a record on the turn table, I played this over and over. I loved the cover art and chuckled to see a flute and a piano literally in bed together having a smoke. This is sort of the theme music for the best of my childhood-- lively, creative, uninhibited and hopeful.

The original album is not on iTunes, but does appear on Amazon. The two songs from the album iTunes does have are on his greatest hits: "Baroque and Blue," and "Sentimentale." I can't imagine having only one or two songs from this album-- because the entire album is a complete work of art. I highly recommend buying the whole CD and listening to the songs in the order they appear.

Here's an audio sample from Amazon.

"Let It Be Sung," Jack Johnson & Matt Costa

Song: "Let It Be Sung"
Album: A Brokedown Melody
Artist: Jack Johnson & Matt Costa

I'm a huge Jack Johnson fan. I even did a cover of his song Rodeo Clowns on youtube. But, when I heard this song on the radio one day while driving home, it resonated strongly with me.

It's a collaboration with Matt Costa, and Zach Gill of ALO (Animal Liberation Orchestra), both of whom I also enjoy and appreciate. There's something special about hearing a collaboration between artists in this age of isolation. It suggests a humility in the artists-- that they would rather create something beautiful together than insisting on owning every possible right to everything they produce. There are good collaborations and questionable ones, this is a good one.

The production is cool. The beginning of the song sounds far away-- like maybe you're walking down the beach to your friend's house where music is already being played, and you can hear it through the open door. Then, you enter the room and the music is clear and loud.