2007: Best 10 albums

Since compromise is sooo 2007 (we're already way into 2008) we'll just post the different posters top 10's seperately:

Choquolage:

1. Feist - The Reminder
2. BSS Presents Kevin Drew - Spirit If…
3. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
4. The Besnard Lakes - Are the Dark Horse
5. The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
6. Stars - In Our Bedroom After The War
7. Low - Drums & Guns
8. Apparat - Walls
9. St. Vincent - Marry me
10. Radiohead - In Rainbows

Konditorei:

1. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
2. Low - Drums and Guns
3. Iron & Wine - The Shepherd’s Dog
4. Radiohead - In Rainbows
5. Tunng - Good Arrows
6. Laura Veirs - Saltbreakers
7. Beirut - The Flying Club Cup
8. Mice Parade - Mice Parade
9. Neonbelle - In A Cabin With...Neonbelle
10. The Kissaway Trail - The Kissaway Trail

Melvinbloodyhand:

1. The National - Boxer
2. Bruce Springsteen - Magic
3. The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
4. Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover
5. Phosphorescent - Pride
6. Radiohead - In Rainbows
7. Sleeping States - There The Open Spaces
8. Akron/Family - Love Is Simple
9. Kemialiiset Ystävät - Untitled
10. Neil Young - Live at Massey Hall, 1971

Ruben:

1. Radiohead - In Rainbows
2. The Mary Onettes - The Mary Onettes
3. Film School - Hideout
4. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
5. The National - Boxer
6. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
7. A Place To Bury Strangers - A Place To Bury Strangers
8. Maps - We Can Create
9. Band of Horses - Cease To Begin
10. Low - Drums & Guns

WorthyNonsense:

1. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
2. Maxïmo Park - Our Earthly Pleasures
3. Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position
4. Säkert! - Säkert!
5. Pop Levi - The Return To Form Black Magick Party
6. The Shins - Wincing The Night Away
7. Babyshambles - Shotter's Nation
8. Feist - The Reminder
9. The Enemy - We'll Live And Die In These Towns
10. The Rumble Strips - Girls And Weather

Jetzt hat Abfahrt im Gleis 3...

As the year is nearly over, I thought it would be nice to pay attention to a country which is not Canada or Sweden. As the nicest Kulturell-thematierten Abenden I've had (the Canadian was a bit of a let down) was a German one, and for various personal reasons :-), the country of choice is Germany. I'll keep it slightly on topic and will not talk about the second world war.

Let's start with an artist who kind of needs the attention: Bodo Boson - I think he's also in a grindcore band and a "normal" band but I like this style best so far. I've got it straight from the horse's mouth that there will be an album this spring!

After the World Cup in 2006 there was not a single person in the Netherlands who could not, at the least, hum along to 'Wenn es Passiert' (video). But I like Denkmal a lot better, as it involves smashing things with hammers.

One of my favourite concerts letztens Jahres gab's in Paradiso - Mediengruppe Telekommander! It was at the end of a German-themed evening (see above); I'd seen them before but this knocked my socks off! After a change-over-Pausen the German Beastie Boys (they don't like the title, but they are) came back in komplette Daft-Punk outfitts to play Bis Zum Erbrechen Schreien (video/audio).

Daft Punk brings me nicely to the last German band I want to mention - the Knark Relloem Trinity. Here's hoping 2008 brings a lot of good stuff to you all, and a cover of Knarf Rellom Trinity ist playing at my house by Daft Punk!

One last: Element of Crime - you don't know this band but it's as good as Jacques Brel; nur auf Deutsch...

11 best shows of 2007

Yes puny humans, cheer for us!
I would like to use this 100th post (!) to congratulate ourselves. And to continue the listing. If it wasn't for the surprise act of the year the number one of this list would be the act I posted about first.

I've seen quite a lot of shows in 2007. My goal was to see all the artists that ended up in my top 15. But a good record does not necesarily mean a good show of course, and there were some surprises this year.
The best supporting act of 2007 was Patrick Watson...thrice! First he opened for Loney, Dear which kinda made me lose interest in the main act. Right after that we were treated to him supporting Interpol (again more interesting than the main act) and he had a double-headline gig with The Besnard Lakes.
The Biggest let-down was The Field. As much as I love his album the 'live act' was anything but live. He just stood there behind his laptop and flicked some switches. Boring! Lo-Fi Fnk at Pukkelpop also were a bit...sad and someone needs to tell Justice that a glowing cross is not an act, it's just a glowing cross.

But what were the 10 shows that made me dance, scream, cry or pee (not really!)?

10: Bjork at Cultuurpark Westergasfabriek (july 8)
I was and still am a bit disappointed by her last album. It features some good songs but it's just not that special somehow. The concert was however. She played the crowd like a Japanese flute. She danced like a little elf-troll on speed accompanied by brass-girls, lasers and flags. She ju-jitsu'd to the beat of Hunter and finally destroyed everything with the anthemic 'Declare Independance' (I still hear her shrill voice scream "raise your flag!" sometimes).

9: Pukkelpop in Hasselt (august 16, 17 and 18)
Although Arcade Fire didn't convince at all (because the sound was crap) Spoon (made me want to dance), Architecture in Helsinki (made me want to dance even more!), Sonic Youth (but not the entire set) and Fujiya & Miyagi (funky!) did. Seeing Low and Besnard Lakes again was also very nice but the true winner of Pukkelpop had to be Patrick Wolf. What a show, what a crowd, what a showman! The first beats of Accident and Emergencies were spectacular.

8: Stars in Paradiso (september 29)
Stars revolve around Amy Millan and Toquil Campbell who proved to be even more charming live than on record. The instant-hit 'Take Me To The Riot' got everyone going, the funky 'Genosha Heights' kept everyone moving and the cathartic duet 'Your Ex-lover is Dead' moved eryone even more. And as if that wasn't enough 'In Our Bedroom After The War' topped it all of (best last song on an album ever?).

7: Soulwax in Club 11 (october 21)
Simian Mobile Disco?...pfff! Justice?...bleh. Soulwax really proved they are the coolest of the cool. They invented cool, threw it away, invented a new cool and reinvented that. They played the remixes they did for other acts...live. To have enough good remixes to be able to do that is one thing, to come up with the bloody genius idea is another, but to make it work so incredibly well is....well....Cool.

6: Spinvis in Theater Kikker (september 23)
Spinvis is really Eric de Jong and played by himself in the small and charming theatre Kikker. I didn't really think it was going to be that special without his band but just him, a guitar, piano and lots of electronic tricks proved to be enough. Escpecially since he posseses a unique talent for uncovering big emotions from 'small' urban situations. I'm not ashamed to say that my eyes filled up a bit.

5: St. Vincent in Theater Kikker (december 8)
Annie Clark was so fragile it looked like whe was made of porcelain. But despite her appearance she really knows what she is doing. And what she's doing is nothing less than brilliant. She plays the piano and the guitar like she was born to it, has such a clear and beautiful voice AND writes incredible songs. An entire album full of them in fact. During the concert I was so close that I had to restrian myself from stepping on stage and hugging her. A savant with looks and charms.
St. Vincent - Marry Me (mp3)

4: Of Montreal in Paradiso (december 11)
Ridiculous costumes, psychedelic (and sometimes downright psychotic) visuals and opening your show with a 15-minute song? A recipy for disaster. But Of Montreal got away with it, and how! Their music features lots of rhytmn changes and breaks but my attention never wandered for a second. I dind't really consider myself a fan before, but now I'm converted. A paradoxically great show. You can watch all of it here.
Of Montreal - The Past is a Grotesque Animal (mp3)

3: The Besnard Lakes in Paradiso (may 28)
Nobody wanted to go with me to see The Besnard Lakes in Paradiso. Understandable if you try to describe their music; "well, it's kinda 70's rock, with male falsetto vocals and a shrill female voice, it's really loud and the songs last about 8 minutes...". They played their entire album and created that magical feeling that you sometimes get when everything just comes together... twice! It happened with 'And Tonight' and with 'And You Lied To Me'.
The Besnard Lakes - And You Lied To Me (live video)

Since I was foolish enough to finish this list before seeing my last show of the year:
2.5: Dan Deacon in Melkweg (20 december)
Just imagine a world where a fat bald-ish sweaty American loops Woody Woodpecker, uses raw techno-beats and sings and screams over it in a helium voice. Then imagine it being the coolest thing ever. COngratulations, you're living in that world! A dance-of, holding hands in a circle and a sing-a-long have never been this cool. The anthemic 'Wham City' was the highlight of the night.
Dan Deacon - Wham City (mp3)

2: Low in Paradiso (may 7)
I've had the pleasure of seeing Low twice this year. The first time was in Paradiso and I have to say that I was not at all prepared for that much subdued beauty. They've learned that less IS more. Highlight of the show was 'Take Your Time', a track that brims with tension and when the harmonic release comes it goes from the gut to the heart. The second time at the pukkelpop festival made me want to see them again a few days later in Utrecht. I really should've gone again.
Low - Take Your Time (live video)

1: The Ark in Waterfront (october 1)
A big fan of The Ark took me to see them. They're huge in Sweden but this was their first time in The Netherlands and they played in quite an unknown venue for some mysterious reason. Not that they seemed to notice because they played as if the crowd consisted of 150.000.000 people instead of 150. We had to endure two lame supporting acts but were treated to THE BEST CONCERT OF THE YEAR! A glam-rock show that spits on the Scissor Sisters from such great heights that it isn't even funny anymore. Cried from enjoyment and peed from exitement. I get all barfy even thinking about how great that show was.
The Ark - It Takes a Fool to Remain Sane (video)

Breaking news

New songs!

Kate Bush – Lyra (preview)

Destroyer – Foam Hands (mp3)

Magnetic Fields – California Girls (mp3)

M83 – Couleurs (stream from Stereogum)

Zoot Woman – We Won’t Break (mp3)

Fischerspooner – The Best Revenge (mp3)

Top 15 remixes of 2007

The season to be jolly? ‘Tis not! ‘Tis the season to be finishing the lists! So get to it!
I’ll start with a relatively easy one; the remixes. The 15 remixes that got me dancing, prancing and romancing (and in some cases even necromancing).

Feist shows that she does not only have a great taste in men (she’s dating Kevin Drew) but also in remixers since she’s in the list twice (and there’s the Chromeo remix that didn’t make the list). Caribou is also in the list twice. D.A.N.C.E. surely has to be the most remixed song this year but it wasn’t the MSTRKRFT, Diplo or Soulwax remix that got to me, it was the impressive epic (11.22 minutes!) remix Jackson and His Computer Band did that was my favorite. Muscles lends his trademarked screams of joy to the Bitch from Sweden and in turn gets the disco treatment from Van She. Xiu Xiu surprised me this year with a surprisingly listenable remix and cover album which features the lovely Eau Claire getting electro-fied. Another Remix album worth mentioning is Soulwax’s collection. I’ll say it one more time: go see them play those remixes live if you get the chance (because your worth it!). Remixers of the year for me are The Teenagers who turned everything they touched into gold (the kind with a really good bass).

Feist – 1 2 3 4 (Van She Technologic Remix)

Lo-Fi Fnk – City (Teenagers Remix)

Grizzly Bear – Knife (Girl Talk Remix)

Interpol - The Heinrich Maneuver (Paul Epworth Phones Remix)

Malle Pietje en de Bimbo’s – Tienerhoer (Seymour Bits Remix)

Xiu Xiu - Hello From Eau Claire (Gold Chains Remix)

Bloc Party - The Prayer (Does It Offend You, Yeah? Remix)

Justice - D.A.N.C.E. (Jackson & His Computer Band Remix)

Cold War Kids - Hang Me Out To Dry (Hostage Remix)

Feist - My Moon My Man (Boys Noize Remix)

Caribou - Melody Day (Four Tet Remix featuring Luke LaLonde, Adem & One Little Plane)

Robyn - Cobrastyle (Muscles Remix)

The Gossip - Standing In The Way Of Control (Soulwax Nite Version)

Caribou - She's The One (Hot Chip Remix)

Muscles - One Inch Badge Pin (Van She Tech City Gym Remix)

The shows just go on

I started to get worried a while back. Something happened to me that never happened before. I was starting to get kind of tired of concerts.

The National was...bleh (and don't get me started on the scroteless supporting act Hayden!). Then there was Caribou who gave a decent show I guess but the sound was horrible and ruined the show. I still had high expectations for Ed Harcourt but those weren't fully met. Í wouldn't even have felt like going to the show I was gonna see after Ed if it wasn't for the surprisingly good supporting act.

Ed brought along singer/songwriter Jonna Lee from Sweden. She apparently gets compared to Feist a lot, not a bad thing of course. Her voice was beautiful and even got to me despite of the largely uninterested crowd. The highlight was an incredible duet she did with Ed Harcourt who produced her debut. After seeing Ed and Jonna in Amsterdam I traveled back to Utrecht to see St. Vincent. And boy am I glad I did!

Annie Clark was as lovely as I imagined she'd be. And what an incredible talent! She knows how to play the piano and especially guitar and has a fantastic voice to boot. A truly captivating performance. for a crowd of about 50 people. Thanks to Annie I actually got exited about seeing Of Montreal. And they definitely put me back on the right track, because they were....profound.
Next up is Dan Deacon who is supposed to rock the hell out of his crowd. I'm up for it.


Jonna Lee - And Your love (with Ed Harcourt) (myspace)

St. Vincent - Marry Me (mp3)

Dan Deacon - Wham City (Lempel Remix) (mp3)

Let's pretend we don't exist

The past is a Grotesque Animal. Not at all grotesque is taking five whole minutes for a completely ridiculous costume change. I guess performing in blue fishnet stockings and tight boxers just takes away the extra tension one must have bringing songs like Gronlandic Edit in what used to be a church (“Oh, the church is filled with losers, psycho or abused”).

I would call this song the soundtrack to my life. To an extent, I would compare Of Montreal’s performance last Tuesday in Paradiso, Amsterdam to the moment you see your life flashing by, with the tunnel and the lights… All your life you’re afraid this moment will turn out to be a great disappointment, though people who have had the experience keep telling you they actually did not want to go back. Well, they were right. Paradiso wasn't all that bad.

Of Montreal has been my religion for about a year now. The performance they gave last Tuesday has strengthened my belief. Their songs sound even more convincing when performed live on stage, though I discovered it’s hard to lose oneself in the music with all its rhythm changes and unpredictable emphases. It takes more than a peppermint to stay focused on the profound greatness of Of Montreal’s three most recent albums, and sometimes it seemed like Minister Kevin Barnes had a hard time acknowledging this.

While praying for a new album to come out in 2008, here’s some bible study material:

Of Montreal – Gronlandic Edit (Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?)

Of Montreal – Rapture Rapes The Muses (Satanic Panic In The Attic)

Of Montreal – Forecast Fascist Future (The Sunlandic Twins)

No! Christmas is coming!

But - this year that does not only mean musical horror, according to Sounds Familyre:

"Beginning Monday, Dec. 10, at the Sounds Familyre blog, we will be posting Christmas mp3s from the Sounds Familyre Famile: new interpretations of traditional Christmas carols as well as original songs! A new song every day! The twelve days of Christmas, Sounds Familyre style."

Remember the Sufjan Stevens Christmas albums released last year? The Sound Familyre Famile include Danielson, Soul-Junk, Sufjan Stevens and Woven Hand, among others. Sounds Familyre style is folk, a bit weird, small, creative and personal, among others. This might just be the perfect antidose to the annual wham/dion/etc.-madness - the first song, by Danielson is a perfect start.

All heavy laden, get ye to the Sounds Familyre blog.

Let The Inlets In!

Sometimes you find an album that feels to be made personally for you. The Vestibule EP of Inlets is such a record for me. Inlets is Sebastian Krueger, who also plays guitars, clarinets and bells and sings falsetto in My Brightest Diamond. This time Sebastian is accompanied among others by Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond and Marla Hansen, who are both also playing with Sufjan Stevens. The names of his friends tell something about the music, but it is still rather unique. There is the banjo of Sufjan Stevens, the falsetto of My Brightest Diamond, the loops of Steve Reich, the folk of Marla Hansen, but also a lot of his own. The sphere of the Vestibule EP is intimate and special. I can still listen to it daily, a year after getting to know the music. There are close harmonies on this record, layered upon Fender Rhodes, banjo and guitars. Sparsely drums, bells, violins and clarinets are played. Everything was recorded in the bedroom, but it sounds extremely warm and close. Maybe you should download the EP for free and let yourself be overwhelmed in a positive way. Watch out: when you let it in, it won't go out!
You can also watch cool boat performances on blogotheque!