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thursday, july 2nd

the church

adam franklin (swervedriver)

@ showcase live, foxborough

sunday, july 5th

city breathing

deep sea diver

adam rich

steve pardo & lindley cameron

@ the middle east upstairs

saturday, july 11th

the luxury

the click five

midatlantic

aloud

@ the paradise

sunday, july 12th

the dead weather

screaming females

@ the house of blues

saturday, july 18th

butterflies

travels

@ pa's lounge

sunday, july 19th

grand duchy (w/frank black)

the bunnies

van elk (w/valerie mistle thrush)

@ the middle east downstairs

sunday, july 19th

lymbyc systym

coralcola

the cush

the pandas

@ the middle east upstairs

monday, july 20th

you can be a wesley (cd release!)

casper & the cookies

everything, now!

magic magic

@ the middle east upstairs

monday, july 20th

green day

the bravery

@ the garden

tuesday, july 21st

mark eitzel & marc capelle

performing american music club songs

@ the lizard lounge

friday, july 24th

varsity drag (cd release!)

the grownup noise

winterpills

brendan boogie & the best intentions

@ the middle east upstairs

sunday, july 26th

pete yorn

@ the house of blues

tuesday, july 28th

cass mccombs

jennifer o'connor & band

mike bones

@ tt the bears

wednesday, july 29th

foreign born

the veils

faces on film

@ tt the bears

thursday, july 30th

justin ripley & his band

@ pa's lounge

friday, july 31st

destroyer (dan bejar)

iran

wooden wand

@ the paradise

friday, july 31st

depeche mode

peter bjorn & john

@ great woods

saturday, august 1st

alasdair roberts

@ lorem ipsum books, inman square

saturday, august 1st

wheat (cd release show!)

the xyz affair

@ great scott

sunday, august 2nd

soft power (featuring mary timony)

gramercy arms (featuring dave derby)

@ tt the bears

monday, august 3rd

billy bragg

@ the berklee performance center

monday, august 3rd

tinted windows

(james iha, adam schlesinger,

taylor hanson, & bun e. carlos)

@ the paradise

monday, august 3rd

coldplay

elbow

kitty daisy & lewis

@ the comcast center

wednesday, august 5th

the rural alberta advantage

joshua english (ex-six going on seven)

with lisa molinaro

baby teeth

@ the middle east upstairs

wednesday, august 5th

arctic monkeys

modey lemon

@ the paradise

wednesday, august 5th

joe pernice (solo show & book tour)

@ the brattle theatre (2 shows)

wednesday and thursday

august 5th and 6th

paul mccartney

@ fenway park

friday, august 7th

the electric prunes

love

sky saxon (of the seeds)

@ the middle east downstairs

saturday, august 8th

blondie

pat benatar

@ the b.o.a. pavilion

wednesday, august 12th

the warlocks

@ great scott

wednesday, august 12th

the pretenders

cat power

juliette lewis

@ the bank of american pavilion

thursday, august 13th

bat for lashes

@ the paradise

friday, august 14th

six finger satellite

@ tt the bears

sunday, august 16th

the decemberists

heartless bastards

@ mountain park, holyoke

sunday, august 16th

trashcan sinatras

@ tt the bears

monday, august 17th

the breeders

@ the paradise

friday, august 21st

choo choo la rouge (cd release!)

the big disappointments

impossible hair

the operators

@ pa's lounge

saturday & sunday

august 22nd & 23rd

bruce springsteen & the e street band

@ the comcast center / great woods

saturday, august 29th

caspain

actors & actresses

irepress

arms & sleepers

@ tt the bears

sunday, august 30th

the flaming lips

explosions in the sky

stardeath and white dwarfs

@ the boa pavilion

thursday, september 3rd

kay hanley (letters to cleo)

antisocialites

ingenue

@ tt the bears

saturday, september 5th

the pains of being pure at heart

cymbals eat guitars

depreciation guild

@ the middle east downstairs

saturday, september 5th

pet shop boys

@ the house of blues

thursday, september 10th

autolux

sleepy sun

@ the paradise

thursday, september 10th

dirty three

@ the i.c.a. boston

friday, september 11th

kings of leon

glasvegas

@ the comcast center / great woods

saturday, september 12th

the cult

performing 'love' in its entirety

@ the house of blues

sunday, september 13th

down

melvins

@ the house of blues

tuesday, september 15th

the horrors

@ the paradise

saturday & sunday

september 19th & 20th

boston lebowski fest

with movie screening & bowling

@ the house of blues & kings

sunday, september 20th

snow patrol

@ gillette stadium

tuesday, september 22nd

son volt

@ the paradise

friday, september 25th

township

the lights out (cd release!)

reverse

gravehaven

@ tt the bears

friday, september 25th

charlatans uk

hatcham social

@ the paradise

saturday, september 26th

kmfdm

@ the house of blues

sunday, september 20th

maximo park

@ the paradise

monday, september 28th

sunny day real estate

@ the house of blues

wednesday, september 30th

mono

maserati

@ the middle east downstairs

sunday, october 4th

the "loud & rich" tour

richard thompson &

loudon wainwright iii

performing solo & together

@ the sanders theatre, harvard

wednesday, october 7th

bob mould

@ the paradise

saturday, october 10th

the psychedelic furs

happy monday

@ the house of blues

wednesday, october 14th

loney dear

asobi seksu

@ great scott

wednesday, october 21st

mum

@ the somerville theatre

saturday, october 31st

pinback

@ the paradise

friday, november 13th

janeane garofalo

rob riggle

two shows @ the wilbur theatre

visit tourfilter for more shows

Year-end lists used to be an annual tradition here on the 'Nac, up until 2005, when the overabundance (and gun-jumping) of online list-makers prompted me to keep quiet. For the first time, I just didn't feel like adding my signal to the overwhelming amount of noise, and the same held true at the end of '06, as the listers grew exponentially, and the earlier-than-thou mentality got out of hand.

But a two-year break is just long enough (and a bunch of this year's releases were just great enough) to get me to chime in again. One thing, though: I've decided I hate ranking my faves. Assigning a numerical order to the things I love is such an arbitrary exercise - things mean more to me depending on the day, week, or season - so what follows are my favorite albums and live shows of 2007, but with no numbers attached. Yeah, there are some of the usual suspects that you've seen on every other indie-slanted music blog, but hopefully a few surprises as well (though not too surprising if you visit here regularly). I've left off a few local Boston-area faves that filled my ears this year, as I'll be spotlighting them in another post soon.

First, I'll name the 20 albums released during the year that I listened to the most, with my favorite songs from each, and if there was one, an accompanying artist-approved or label-sanctioned Mp3 that was made available online. The label each album was released on also links to where you can purchase a copy of your own...

Arcade Fire - "Neon Bible"
(on Merge Records)
faves: "No Cars Go", "Keep The Car Running"
Mp3: "Keep The Car Running"

Band of Horses - "Cease To Begin"
(on Sub Pop Records)
faves: "Ode to LRC", "No One's Gonna Love You"
Mp3: "Is There A Ghost"

Blonde Redhead - "23"
(on 4AD Records)
faves: "Dr. Strangeluv", "23"
Mp3: "23"

Bottomless Pit - "Hammer of the Gods"
(on Comedy Minus One Records)
faves: "Human Out Of Me", "Dead Man's Blues"
Mp3: "The Cardinal Movements"

Buffalo Tom - "Three Easy Pieces"
(on New West Records)
faves: - "You'll Never Catch Him", "Hearts of Palm"
Mp3: "Three Easy Pieces"

Dinosaur Jr. - "Beyond"
(on Fat Possum Records)
faves: "Back To Your Heart", "Pick Me Up"
Mp3: "Almost Ready"

Fields - "Everything Last Winter"
(on Atlantic Records)
faves: "Song for The Fields", "You Don't Need This Song"
Mp3: "Song For The Fields"

Film School - "Hideout"
(on Beggars Banquet)
faves: "Two Kinds", "Compare"
Mp3: "Lectric"

Interpol - "Our Love To Admire"
(on Capitol Records)
faves: "Who Do You Think", "Rest My Chemistry"
Mp3: "The Heinrich Maneuver"

Kevin Drew - "Spirit If..."
(on Arts & Crafts Records)
faves: - "Safety Bricks", "Bodhi Sappy Weekend"
Mp3: "Tbtf"

Kristin Hersh - "Learn To Sing Like A Star"
(on Yep Roc Records)
faves: "Winter", "Under The Gun"
Mp3: "In Shock"

The National - "Boxer"
(on Beggars Banquet)
faves: "Mistaken For Strangers", "Brainy"
Mp3: "Fake Empire"

New Pornographers - "Challengers"
(on Matador Records)
faves: "Unguided", "Myriad Harbour"
Mp3: "Myriad Harbour"

Ola Podrida - "Ola Podrida"
(on Plug Research)
faves: "Cindy", "Pour Me Another"
Mp3: "Cindy"

Pinback - "Autumn of the Seraphs"
(on Touch & Go Records)
faves: "Good To Sea", "From Nothing To Nowhere"
Mp3: "From Nothing To Nowhere"

PJ Harvey - "White Chalk"
(on Island Records)
faves: "Grow Grow Grow", "The Piano"
Stream songs @ MySpace

Radiohead - "In Rainbows"
(self-released)
faves: "Videotape", "All I Need"
Stream songs @ MySpace

Shellac - "Excellent Italian Greyhound"
(on Touch & Go Records)
faves: "The End of Radio", "Kittypants"
no online audio available

Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - "Living With The Living"
(on Touch & Go Records)
faves: "La Costa Brava", "The Lost Brigade"
Mp3: "Sons Of Cain"

Wheat - "Everyday I Said A Prayer For Kathy
And Made A One Inch Square"
(on Empyrean Records)
faves: "Little White Dove", "I Had Angels Watching Over Me"
Mp3: "Move=Move"

I could've easily added another 10 or more on there, but that would've been a bit too self-indulgent. I should also mention that I shared some thoughts on a couple of the albums above on the year-end edition of Blog Fresh Radio, so if you feel like hearing me ramble, along with aural contributions from a bunch of ace fellow music bloggers, go here.

And here are the 20 Boston-area live shows I enjoyed the most this past year, in chronological order, with a link to my own write-up of each (many of which still have the live recordings available for download). There are a few that I'll hopefully be sharing up in the coming weeks...

Caspian
@ Great Scott in Allston, MA
On Tuesday, January 9th, 2007
write-up

Sparklehorse
@ the Paradise in Boston, MA
On Thursday, February 27th, 2007
write-up

Asobi Seksu
@ the Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge, MA
On Wednesday, February 28th, 2007
live set forthcoming

Rob Crow (of Pinback)
@ TT the Bears in Cambridge, MA
On Wednesday, February 28th, 2007
write-up

Sebadoh
@ the Paradise in Boston, MA
On Friday, March 30th, 2007
live set

Low
@ the Somerville Theater in Somerville, MA
On Saturday, April 7th, 2007
live set

John Vanderslice & friends
@ the Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge, MA
On Friday, April 20th, 2007
live set

Dinosaur Jr.
@ Urban Outfitters in Cambridge, MA
On Thursday, May 10th, 2007
live set

The Arcade Fire
@ the Orpheum in Boston, MA
On Thursday, May 10th, 2007
live set

Kristin Hersh & the McCarricks
@ Hi-N-Dry in Cambridge, MA
On Sunday, May 27th, 2007

The Cal Robbins Benefit Shows
@ PA's Lounge in Somerville, MA
with Ida, Secret Stars, Mark Robinson, Drew O'Doherty,
Geoff Farina, Chris Brokaw, Neptune, Helms, @ the Thalia Zedek Band
On Friday & Saturday, July 13th & 14th, 2007
live songs forthcoming

Darren Hanlon
@ the Lily Pad in Cambridge, MA
On Friday, August 17th, 2007
live set

Kevin Drew & Broken Social Scene
with Ryan Walsh (of Hallelujah the Hills)
@ TT the Bears in Cambridge, MA
On Tuesday, August 28th, 2007
Kevin's live set / Ryan's live set

The Lucksmiths
@ TT the Bears in Cambridge, MA
On Thursday, September 27th, 2007
live set

Kristin Hersh & Tanya Donelly
@ the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, MA
On Saturday, October 6th, 2007
live sets shared soon

Film School
@ TT the Bears in Cambridge, MA
On Wednesday, October 24th, 2007
live set

The National
@ Paddy O's in Boston, MA
on Friday, October 26th, 2007
live set

Drew O'Doherty, The Soft Drugs,
All Smiles, & David Bazan
@ TT the Bears in Cambridge, MA
On Saturday, October 27th, 2007
David's live set / The Soft Drugs' live set

Yo La Tengo
@ the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA
on Thursday, November 15th, 2007
live set

Spiritualized
@ the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA
On Monday, November 19th, 2007
live set

and not exactly musical (unless you count a song from "Annie"), but definitely rating a mention...

Zach Galifianakis
@ the Berklee Performance Ctr. in Boston, MA
on Saturday, July 7th, 2007

As usual, a ton of great live music filled my year, which is no minor feat considering my new dadness, and the diminished amount of show-going free time (that's hardly a complaint, of course). It's been a real challenge balancing the fatherhood, the day job, and the blog, and more than a few times I've considered putting the Almanac on the back burner for awhile. But the compulsion remains, and I find myself heading into 2008 with a full head of steam.

So until that momentum fades, I'll keep on sharing live recordings, scattershot music-related info, and the occasional bit of tv/movie/books/comics randomness. I've got some cool posts planned, including a look at what a few Boston-area faves have in store for 2008, some amazing live stuff, and a pretty special giveaway. The comments and grateful emails you guys send really do keep me going, so thanks for those, and best wishes to all of you in the new year.

posted by brad at 12:01 AM | direct link | rss (1 :2) | |