Bradley’s Almanac

2007: My Favorite Music

Posted on December 31, 2007 at 12:01 am | No Comments

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.

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  • BOSTON-AREA LIVE SHOW ACTION
    Tuesday, December 5th
    Pussy Riot
    Thick
    @ the Paradise

    Tuesday, December 5th
    Eric Andre
    @ the House of Blues

    Tuesday, December 5th
    Bar Italia
    Gobby
    DJ Carbo
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Thursday, December 7th
    Wesley Stace
    @ the Charles River Museum

    Saturday, December 9th
    Hilken & Winston (of Fuzzy)
    Chris Colbourn (of Buffalo Tom)
    Kayde Hazel
    @ Streetcar in JP

    Saturday, December 9th
    Will Dailey & his band
    Hayley Reardon
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Saturday, December 9th
    Scream
    Soulside
    Urian Hackney
    @ Deep Cuts

    Tuesday, December 12th
    Dogstar
    (Keanu Reeves' band)
    @ the Paradise

    Wednesday, December 13th
    A 40th Anniversary Tribute
    to the music from "Valley Girl"
    with Josie Cotton,
    the Plimsouls &
    Kurt Baker of the Leftovers
    @ the Middle East Downstairs

    Thursday, December 14th
    Piebald
    Weakened Friends
    Radio Compass
    @ the Middle East Downstairs

    Friday, December 15th
    Hallelujah the Hills
    Eldridge Rodriguez
    Aaron & the Lord
    @ the Sinclair

    Saturday, December 16th
    Bird Streets
    @ the Village Social Club

    Saturday, December 16th
    Fiddlehead
    Downtalker
    @ Gallery X, New Bedford

    Saturday, December 16th
    Rosecomb
    Evelyn Pope
    @ the Haven in JP

    Saturday, December 16th
    A John Waters Christmas
    @ Berklee Performance Center

    Thursday, December 21st
    NOISE FOR TOYS, presented by
    The Ash Gray Proclamation
    bring a toy, hear some noise
    with Dyr Faser, Andy Cohen,
    and Strange Pains
    @ O'Brien's

    Thursday, December 28th
    The Felice Brothers
    @ the Sinclair

    Saturday, December 30th
    Spirit Ghost
    Black Beach
    Regal Seagull
    @ O'Brien's

    Thursday, January 11th
    Rick Maguire (from Pile)
    @ the Rockwell

    Saturday, January 13th
    Dark Spring Boston presents...
    The Veldt
    Dead Leaf Echo
    Iceblynk
    The Spearmint Sea
    @ O'Brien's

    Sunday, January 14th
    Lupo Citta
    Hidden Fountain
    Killer Motorcycle
    Pledge Pins
    @ O'Brien's

    Friday, January 19th
    O Positive (O+)
    "With A Little Help
    From My Friends" Benefit show
    @ the Paradise

    Monday, January 22nd
    The Salt Collective
    featuring Stéphane Schück &
    Fred Quentin (of Salt), with
    Matthew Caws (Nada Surf), Mitch
    Easter (Let's Active), Chris
    Stamey & Gene Holder (the dB's)
    Lynn Blakey (Tres Chicas), and
    Rob Ladd (The Connells)
    with openers Sneakers (!)
    featuring Chris & Mitch
    @ City Winery Boston

    Saturday, January 27th
    Torres
    @ the Sinclair

    Monday, January 29th
    Juliana Hatfield
    @ City Winery

    Tuesday, February 13th
    Michael Shannon, Jason Narducy,
    Jon Wurster & friends perform
    R.E.M.'s "Murmur" and more
    @ the Sinclair

    Thursday & Friday
    February 15th & 16th
    Mitski
    Tamino
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Friday, February 16th
    Militarie Gun
    Pool Kids
    Spiritual Cramp
    Spaced
    @ the Sinclair

    Saturday, February 17th
    Cat Power sings Dylan
    @ the Chevalier Theatre

    Wednesday, February 21st
    Thursday
    Rival Schools
    Many Eyes
    @ the Paradise

    Thursday, February 22nd
    Portugal. The Man.
    @ Roadrunner

    Friday, February 23rd
    Matt Pond PA
    Alexa Rose
    @ Club Passim

    Friday, February 23rd
    The Kills
    @ the Royale

    Tuesday, February 27th
    Two Door Cinema Club
    Joywave
    @ Roadrunner

    Wednesday, February 28th
    Mike Viola
    @ Club Passim

    Saturday, March 2nd
    Mary Timony
    Birthday Girl DC
    @ Crystal Ballroom

    Tuesday, March 5th
    Porno For Pyros
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Friday, March 8th
    Mclusky
    @ the Sinclair

    Friday, March 8th
    The Beaches
    @ Roadrunner

    Tuesday, March 12th
    KMFDM
    Morlocks
    @ the Royale

    Wednesday, March 13th
    Cherry Glazerr
    @ the Sinclair

    Friday, March 15th
    Chelsea Wolfe
    Divide and Dissolve
    @ Roadrunner

    Sunday, March 17th
    Sleater-Kinney
    @ the Paradise

    Sunday, March 17th
    Sleepytime Gorilla Museum
    Singer Mali
    Rong
    @ the Sinclair

    Monday, March 18th
    Ministry
    Gary Numan
    Front Line Assembly
    @ Roadrunner

    Thursday, March 21st
    Laetitia Sadier
    (of Stereolab)
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Friday, March 22nd
    Fog Lake
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Monday, March 25th
    Unwound (!)
    Cherubs
    @ the Paradise

    Monday, March 25th
    Andy Shauf (solo)
    @ First Church Cambridge

    Thursday, March 28th
    Arlo Parks
    Chloe George
    @ the Royale

    Friday, March 29th
    Grouplove
    Bully
    @ Roadrunner

    Friday, March 29th
    The Rolling Stones
    @ Gillette

    Saturday, April 6th
    Destroyer (solo)
    Lightning Dust
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Saturday, April 6th
    Colin Hay (Men at Work)
    @ the Wilbur

    Saturday, April 13th
    DARK SPRING BOSTON FEST
    with Korine, House of Harm,
    Widow Rings, Allie Frost,
    Hemlock for Socrates,
    Midnight Psychic, the
    Spearmint Sea, and more
    @ the Middle East

    Wednesday, April 17th
    Real Estate
    Marina Allen
    @ the Royale

    Friday, April 19th
    Drop Nineteens
    Greg Mendez
    @ the Paradise

    Friday & Saturday
    April 26th & 27th
    The Town & the City Festival
    @ various venues in Lowell, MA

    Saturday, April 27th
    Belle and Sebastian
    The Weather Station
    @ the Orpheum

    Wednesday, May 1st
    Ty Segall
    @ the Royale

    Wednesday, May 8th
    Chastity Belt
    @ the Sinclair

    Friday, May 10th
    Quicksand
    @ the Royale

    Monday & Tuesday
    May 13th & May 14th
    Mannequin Pussy
    Soul Glo
    @ the Sinclair

    Thursday, Friday, & Saturday
    May 16th, 17th, & 18th
    Jukebox the Ghost
    @ the Sinclair

    Friday, May 17th
    Buck Meek (of Big Thief)
    @ Crystal Ballroom

    Monday, May 20th
    Echo & the Bunnymen
    @ the House of Blues

    Tuesday, June 4th
    Joe Jackson
    @ the Wilbur

    Monday, June 10th
    Bleachers
    Samia
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Sunday, July 16th
    Los Campesinos!
    @ the Paradise

    Tuesday, July 9th
    Alanis Morissette
    Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
    Morgan Wade
    @ the Xfinity Center

    Sunday, July 21st
    Foo Fighters
    The Hives
    Amyl and the Sniffers
    @ Fenway Park

    Friday, August 2nd
    Foreigner
    Styx
    John Waite
    @ Xfinity Center

    Wednesday, August 7th
    Green Day
    Smashing Pumpkins
    Rancid
    The Linda Lindas
    @ Fenway Park

    Monday, August 19th
    King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
    @ the Stage at Suffolk Downs

    Tuesday, September 3rd
    Peter Hook & the Light
    doing both the Joy Division
    & New Order "Substance" LPs
    @ the Paradise

    Friday, September 13th
    Hoodoo Gurus
    @ the Royale

    Tuesday, September 24th
    Idles
    @ Roadrunner

    Wednesday, October 23rd
    OSEES
    @ the Royale