Ohmpark Mixtape #3: My Favourite Songs Of 2007

The best ofs continue. Here are the songs I really dug this year, arranged in what i think is a great flowing hour and a half experience. I did cheat a little bit and included a few tracks from my best 2006 Albums of 2007 list, but these songs will always make me think of this year, so it’ll work. Enjoy:

The Shins : Wincing The Night Away : Sleeping Lessons

Midlake : The Trials Of Van Occupanther : Roscoe

The Cinematic Orchestra : Ma Fleur : To Build A Home

Blonde Redhead : 23 : Spring And by Summer Fall

Earlimart : Mentor Tormentor : Happy Alone

Wilco : Sky Blue Sky : Impossible Germany

Beach House : Beach House : Master of None

Low : Drums And Guns : Breaker

Parade : Answer Me : Booths

Of Montreal : Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? : The Past Is A Grotesque Animal

Deerhunter : Fluorescent Grey : Wash Off

Akron/Family : Love Is Simple : Don’t Be Afraid, You’re Already Dead

Snowden : Anti Anti : Anti Anti


Moorish idols : Moorish Idols : Why Are We Whispering

Phosphorescent : Pride : Wolves

Smashing Pumpkins : Zeigeist : Neverlost

Radiohead : In Rainbows : Reckoner

Marnie Stern : In Advance Of The Broken Arm : Patterns Of A Diamond Ceiling

Best 2006 Albums Of 2007

Before I inundate you with all of my best of 2007 stuff, I want to do a little addendum to my 2006 top 50 Albums list. Over the course of this year I discovered some albums that came out last year but wasn’t aware of because I wasn’t blogging and researching obsessively then. These albums here should all have deserved to be on my top 50 list because they are all amazing. Despite being released in ’06, though, these albums will always make me think of this year because of all the great times I had with them as the soundtrack. Pick up these essentials:

Beach House : Beach House

Final Fantasy : He Poos Clouds

Midlake : The Trials Of Van Occupanther

Portugal The Man : Waiter: “You Vultures!”

Silversun Pickups : Carnavas

Snowden : Anti-Anti

Untied States : Retail Detail

Humpday Randomnimity

Last Tuesday night I caught Midlake at The Earl and they were really awesome. Here’s a couple bad pics ( I swear I’m getting my own real camera soon):

If you are unfamiliar with these guys, think Thom Yorke meets Fleetwood Mac. They just released a digital EP called Oak And Julian. Here’s a cut and a bonus:

Midlake : Oak & Julian : Roscoe (acoustic)
The Chemical Brothers : We Are The Night : The Pills Won’t Help You Know (Featuring Midlake)
So, the Echo Project‘s 3rd round of artist auditions didn’t all come out at once and I missed a few additions when I reported it last week. Here is the full Echo Project Line-Up:

The Killers
Phil Lesh & Friends
The Flaming Lips

Thievery Corporation
moe.
 The Roots
Spoon
Cypress Hill
Les Claypool
Michael Franti & Spearhead
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Rodrigo Y Gabriela
Umphrey’s McGee
The Disco Biscuits

 Stephen Marley
Rabbit in the Moon
Gza (Genius) and Slick Rick featuring the Fyre Department
The Bravery
Medeski Martin & Wood
MSTRKRFT
Cat Power & Dirty Delta Blues
Polyphonic Spree
Butch Walker
JJ Grey & Mofro
Secret Machines
Son Volt
Avett Brothers
Perpetual Groove
Brazilian Girls
Man Man
RJD2
Lyrics Born
The Album Leaf
The Benevento Russo Duo
Tea Leaf Green
ALO
God Is An Astronaut
Bassnectar
Ryan Shaw
Dirty Dozen Brass Band
The Egg
Toubab Krewe
Wood Brothers
Snowden
Futureman and His Black Mozart Ensemble
RAQ
Dubconcious
Spam Allstars
Afromotive
Greenskeepers
Lazaro Casanova
Marc Ford
Col. Bruce Hampton & The Quark Alliance
Telepath		 Little Birdy
Collective Efforts
Boom Box
Marchforth Marching Band
Scissors For Lefty
Dead Confederate
Benzos
Barrel House Mamas
Strut
Something Japanese
Grimace Federation
Spencer Durham Band
Jamie McLean
3S Hostage
Sam Thacker
Lord Is My Shotgun
Entropy
Ployd
Mike Zarin
Sorted
Munir
Random Rabbit
Sonar
Soundwave
Mayhem
Habersham/Numinous
Secret Live
Brandon B
Treasure Fingers
Truform
Chris Grass
Eric ZBD
and more…

The two big additions i missed were Spoon and Rabbit In The Moon. Back in my short-lived raver days, Rabbit In The Moon was my favourite electronic artist. They are like taking Flaming Lips and GWAR to a rave; their live show is an incredible spectacle. DJ Monk is no longer part of the team, but with Confucius still producing the music and weird-ass frontman Bunny doing really trip stuff on stage, I can guarantee the spun out wooks are gonna love this show. If you are going to this fest, don’t miss this show(and don’t be sober for it):

Bunny was riding in a ball across the audience way before Wayne:

Mastodon‘s Brent Hinds is in the hopsital from a head injury that occurred at the MTV Video Music Awards. Some Mastodon related vids:

Featuring Queens Of The Stone Age‘s Josh Homme:

News report on Mastodon:

And here’s an Eddie Vedder track featuring Sleater-Kinney‘s Corin Tucker:

Eddie Vedder : Into The Wild (movie soundtrack) : Hard Sun

Word On The Street

Colin Mee, guitarist for Deerhunter, has parted ways with the band. Hear what he has to say about it here. The drama continues for these guys, but hopefully everyone involved continues making great music and the hype is justified.

Speaking of hype, Creative Loafing did a story on The Coathangers and the blowing up of said band. I’m reserving any real judgement about this band until I listen to the album and see them today at Criminal Records, but listening to their songs makes me laugh, and that’s cool.

ISP Space is closing down. I have to say that this is a bummer to me because I really enjoyed the shows I saw there.

Here’s some Black Lips news from their myspacing:

The Black Lips’ newest opus, Good Bad Not Evil which you can stream in its entirety onMySpace this week, comes out September 11. For the momentous occasion, Black Lips are doing a special show at MJQ in Atlanta. How do you get into the show? Well, it’s easy. Starting Tuesday, September 4, Good Bad Not Evil will be available for pre-order at ye olde Criminal Records. If you truck down early to pre-order the record, you not only get a spiff-tastic DVD of Black Lips Live in Israel which you can’t get your paws on anywhere else, but you get the secret handshake invite to the show on September 11. Assuming the show doesn’t sell out before release date, there will be CDs available as your ticket in at MJQ on the day of the show, but why would you risk it? Oh, and you only get the DVD if you pre-order or buy at Criminal on release date. So if you’ve got nothing to do on Tuesday during your lunch break besides sneak a couple of pints, head down to Criminal and pre-order that gem and get ready for the show.

Here’s a video @ Radio Har-Hatzofim, JERUSALEM ISRAEL:

Okkervil River will be at The 40 watt in Athens, Ga October 3rd.

Wondering what the chicks from Sleater-Kinney have been up to? Check this out

Burn To Shine, a cool film series where they have a bunch of bands from a city play a song in a house about to get demolished, is about to do one in Atlanta featuring Mastodon, Deerunter, Black Lips, Snowden, The Selmanaires, The Coathangers, and Shannon Wright.

The internets are exploding with rumours that My Bloody Valentine will be reuniting and playing Coachella next year. Let the 2008 festival line-up speculation madness begin!

You can stream the great new Minus The Bear album here.

Remember that Midlake is at The Earl tonight. Don’t miss it:

Check out this video: Midlake – “Roscoe”

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Humpday Random Tracks

Listen to the track, click the pic for 411:

I finally listened to The Trials Of Van Occupanther thanks to Lern. You can file it in the large stack of great 2006 albums I missed. Luckily they will be at The Earl September 4th.

Midlake : The Trials Of Van Occupanther : Roscoe

This is the hottness all over the internets rights now:

Okkervil River : The Stage Names : Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe

Just listened to this EP for the first time this week:

Yeah Yeah Yeahs : Is Is (EP) : Isis

A little local flavor I hadn’t put up yet:

Black Lips : Good Bad Not Evil : Cold Hands

Finally, an early leak:

Maritime : Heresy And The Hotel Choir : Guns Of Navaroe