Liz Berg's Best of 2007

1. Best ways to work off a caffeine buzz
DAT Politics - Are Oui Phony? (listen)
OCDJ - Hooray (listen)
Dan Deacon - Spiderman of the Rings (listen)
The Deathset - Rad Warehouses Bad Neighborhoods (listen)
Andrew WK - Close Calls with Brick Walls (listen)

 

2. Best sound collage wizardry
People Like Us & Ergo Phizmiz - Perpetuum Mobile (listen)
Blanketship & the Dollson Family Singers - Music with a Message (listen)
Listen with Sarah - The World of Listen with Sarah (listen)
The Dusty Show with Clay Pigeon on WFMU

 

3. Best of Brooklyn
Aa - gAame (listen)
Shooting Spires - Shooting Spires (listen)
Parts & Labor - Mapmaker (listen)
WFMU's Free Music Series concerts at Southpaw

 

 

4. Best onstage mayhem
Lexie Mountain Boys - pretty down-home ballads, schizo freakouts, out-of-body experiences, and the best crowd heckling of 2007. (listen | watch)
Flaming Fire - one word: togas. (listen | watch)
Monotonix - antics regularly involve fire, garbage, wall-climbing, and a moving drum kit. (listen | watch)
Dark Meat - a sweaty mess, southern hippie horn cult involving 10-14 band members. (listen | watch)

 

5. Best booty-shaking jams
Dr. Delay - Rajaz Meter (listen)
Budos Band - Budos Band II (listen)
Von Sudenfed - Tromatic Reflexxions (listen)
Bonde Do Role - With Lazers (listen)
Various - DJ Kicks / Hot Chip (listen)

 

6. Best overmodulated gunk
Psychedelic Horseshit - Magic Flowers Droned (listen)
Tyvek - Fast Metabolism (listen)
Dungen - Tio Bitar (listen)
Times New Viking - Present the Paisley Reich (listen)
Black Dice - Load Blown (listen)

 

 

7. Best mellow, pretty music
Eglantine Gouzy - Boamaster (listen)
Big Blood - various (listen)
Electrelane - No Shouts No Calls (listen)
Panda Bear - Person Pitch (listen)
Citay - Little Kingdom (listen)
Asi Mina - Wszystko Mam! Tylko Gdzie? (listen)

 

8. Best charmingly annoying releases
Brian Joseph Davis - The Definitive Host (listen)
Twink - Ice Cream Truckin' (listen)
The Bugs - The Bugs (listen)
M.I.A. - Kala (listen)

   

   

9. Best DIY labels
Kernkrach - German electronic, minimal synth, punk, new wave
Lolita Industri - Danish underground rock, lo-fi, homemade electronics
Le Vilain Chien - oddball spastic pop and experimental rock from France
S-S - unhinged punk, experimental, post-rock, and some obscuro reissues

 

 

 

10. Best and most gratuitous music lawsuits
The Romantics - After permitting the makers of Guitar Hero to use a cover version of "What I Like About You" in an 80s-themed version of the video game, the Romantics filed a lawsuit against the video game company because the cover version sounds too much like the original recording.
Richie Ramone - Ex-Ramones drummer sues the band and assorted music retailers for $1 million in digital royalties for writing bad, late 80s Ramones tunes including "Somebody Put Something in my Drink."
Jammie Thomas - The RIAA successfully won a court battle against this mother of two for allegedly uploading 24 songs to a filesharing network. Ms. Thomas was ordered to fork over $222,000 to the RIAA, who didn't even have to prove that other people actually downloaded the songs from her public folder.

Comments

[Adam Gott]

Looks like I need to get out a little more, I have heard of none of these bands - except for the Romantics and that really doesn't count now does it?

Oh, and Panda Bear - that is a good album.

http://cool-mo-dee.blogspot.com/

[Rufus]

Saw Monotonix a few months ago @ this place called Bottletree in Birmingham, AL. The dude stole many beers right out of people's hands and instead of the kick drum, the drummer was wheeled around on a handtruck and made to play. There was also some pretty schweet singing into a light hanging over the bar and garbage strewn everywhere. One of the best shows I've ever seen.

[Trent]

Wow Liz. This is a great list. When it's 2018 I'll Google "liz 2007" and be happy again that you did this

[jake]

After your creative avoidance of 2006, I'm happy to have the real deal this year!

thnx