Randy Newman Closes MacWorld 08

For those of you who aren't tech geeks and didn't see Steve Job's Macworld keynote address, Randy Newman played a couple of songs to close out the event. As an accomplished singer-songwriter and film composer, Randy's unique voice and unconventional (and sometimes controversial) lyrics have remained pointed and relevant for over four decades. So, it's interesting to me that Apple actually thought Randy would be their kind of musical guest. Despite his scores for Pixar films, he's an outspoken political writer and satirist and not exactly the person you'd expect after a technology presentation. Even when you watch his performance, you can see he doesn't edit himself for Steve or the audience. You've got to respect that. And after the Toy Story gay joke, I don't think he'll be asked back next year.

Discover Music: Yael Naim

Although I don't put much stock in Apple's iTunes recommendations, occassionally they do feature something original. It's not that their recommendations are bad, it's just that they feel more like an accident when they actually feature a great artist rather than someone from their "team" discovering and sharing. Regardless, it's hard to deny the instant recognition behind the songs Apple uses in their advertising. Last year they helped introduce The Fratellis to an American audience and now they're doing the same for Israeli singer Yael Naim.

Her song, the utterly infectious New Soul, is the soundtrack to the new MacBook Air television advertisements. The song is a tidy pop dity with just enough production tricks to set it apart from the regular radio fare that fades into the digital hum of our cars and office. If this song doesn't at least make you nod along with the jaunty piano riff, then it's time to realize that you may not have a musical soul, or you work for Pitchfork Media (just kidding guys. But no, not really).

For those of you, much like myself, who are suspicious when their music is packaged and served to them on silver radio waves or voted on by an audience, you may be resistant to the music used in advertising. After all, when a corporation gets its hands on music, it just doesn't feel the same does it? Well, sometimes it doesn't, but here's one of our rules at The Black Tambourine. It doesn't matter how you discover music, just enjoy it when you do. Besides, a good song is a good song whether it's selling you a car, playing in your local coffee shop, or just taking you some place good while sitting on your bed (or maybe typing away at your music blog). Music is cool like that.

Discover Music: Vampire Weekend

Blog sensation, Vampire Weekend, are taking their long awaited shot at indie rock stardom. The NY foursome will release their self-titled debut this Tuesday. You can hear some full tracks on their MySpace page or preview and purchase the entire album on Amazon.com.

They're a great band that eludes any real genre labeling except the blanket genre of indie rock. Of course, that moniker has been thrown around quite a bit lately but if you liked Peter, Bjorn, and John's wonderful Writer's Block (and if you didn't what's wrong with you?) then check out the sunnier and slightly tropical sound of Vampire Weekend.

The Arcade Fire's Neon Bible

If you haven't already seen The Arcade Fire's incredibly inventive music video for Neon Bible then check it out here immediately. The creative force of this band is really quite astonishing. Not only do they create big and beautiful atmospheric music but they even present it in a totally unique and original way. Let's hope they don't burn out on album number three.

Staff Top 10 Lists

Though we already published our list of the best albums of 2007, a couple of us thought we'd let everyone take a look at our personal top 10 lists. Keep in mind that these lists were mostly formed before our year end list, but were written after it was published. Therefore, there are a couple of albums on our own lists that we didn't have time to review for consideration for our official list.

Mr. Cervante's Top 10

10. 45:33 - LCD Soundsystem
9. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Spoon
8. Icky Thump - The White Stripes
7. Sound of Silver - LCD Soundsystem
6. New Wave - Against Me
5. Untrue - Burial
4. Cross - Justice
3. Boxer - The National
2. Neon Bible - The Arcade Fire
1. In Rainbows - Radiohead

Mr. Jung's Top 10

10. We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank - Modest Mouse
9. The Flying Club Cup - Beirut
8. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Spoon
7. Neon Bible - The Arcade Fire
6. Cross - Justice
5. 45:33 - LCD Soundsystem
4. In Rainbows - Radiohead
3. Mirrored - Battles
2. Sound Of Silver - LCD Soundsystem
1. Boxer - The National

New songs from The White Stripes

Last month The White Stripes released a great EP for their new single Conquest that is really well padded and is a real treat for any Stripes fan. It contains three new songs and and two versions of Conquest. Apparently, the new songs were produced by Beck and feature him or his playing on two tracks. Each new song was released on 7" vinyl, good luck with finding those, but they've all been gathered and released digitally as well and are available from a number of different download services. Check out their video for Conquest at the bottom of the post.

Track Listing

1. Conquest
2. It's My Fault For Being Famous
3. Cash Grab Complications On The Matter
4. Honey, We Can't Afford To Look This Cheap
5. Conquest (Acoustic Mariachi Version)

Sia releases new album, full preview on MySpace

Electro-pop star Sia has released her new album Some People Have Real Problems. It's another pretty album that proves her first was no fluke. She's currently providing a full preview of a select number of tracks off the album on her Myspace page. You can have a listen here.

If you're unfamiliar with her, her style is crystal clear ambient pop not unlike Dido. She has performed regularly with the spacey electronic outfit Zero 7. Her debut album, Colour The Small One, features perhaps her most well know song, Breathe Me. The song was used in the series finale of HBO's Six Feet Under and is featured on the series second soundtrack compilation.

The North American leg of her tour to support the new album will begin in February. We highly recommend you get tickets early and see her live.

The Top 40 Albums of 2007

It's been a great year in music. The Boss made a triumphant return in a year that also saw an above expectations album from Britney, a catchy though seemingly pilfered smash from Avril, a famed producer on trial, and the usual slew of hip-hop artists run ins with the law. The business side of the music industry also had some shake ups. Social networks, coffee giants, and digital releases created a brand new way for artists to get their music out.

So here's our list for The Best Albums of 2007. It's taken awhile to create this list and there's a bunch of great music we missed because of time and money, but from what we heard, these are the albums that made an impact on us. Please leave your thoughts, comments, and critiques and let us know how your favorites fared. You can view the entire list here.

All and all, it's hard to complain about the soundtrack for our lives in 2007. Strong releases from big name mainstream artists and lesser known independent artists made for an incredibly varied and eclectic mix. We at the Black Tambourine can't wait to see how music in 2008 will shape our lives and impact our culture. Thanks for reading.

(awkward silence)
All you die hard Arcade Fire fans can now start sending your hate mail.


10. Kanye West's Graduation, the conclusion to his school themed trilogy, may be less innovative but is no less entertaining than his previous outings. The beats are as good as ever though the social conscience he showed with The College Dropout and Late Registration only makes a brief appearance on Graduation. And while songs like Champion and Can't Tell Me Nothing are chock full of clever lines, it's the instantly catchy Stronger with its Daft Punk sample that proves to be the albums finest moment and may be Kanye's single most strongest moment as a producer.


9. On New Wave, Against Me! cuts the bullshit and asks the question paramount to punk music, "Are you restless like me?" These guys certainly are and with songs like Up The Cuts, Stop, and Piss and Vinegar they aren't afraid to point the finger at record companies and ask the listener to expect more from their music. With pop music masquerading as "punk" music these days, Against Me! is busy making punk relevant again.


8. If Wilco's epic Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was a fork in the road and down one path lies A Ghost Is Born, then the other path would lead you to Sky Blue Sky. Less experimental and more straight forward in its approach, it feels like a natural release after two albums of build up. Great guitar work is front and center in the mix and Jeff Tweedy has finally found the best Wilco lineup to fit his songs. Wisely, Sky Blue Sky doesn't try to top Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but confidently delivers another solid rock and roll record from one of America's finest.


7. America's most popular underground(?) garage band is back with album number six and show no signs of slowing down. Icky Thump continues the expansion of sounds that Get Behind Me Satan started but keeps enough of the bluesy guitar and drum tracks that are at the core of their assault. The visceral attack of the title track and 300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues are enough to put other "Rock" bands to shame.


6. There's something decidedly off with Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer. It may be the dark personal revelations written and sung by Kevin Barnes in an almost falsetto or it could be the way they juxtapose with the danceable pop sound of the music. In the end it doesn't really matter because it all works extremely well as a pop record with real depth that must be listened to more than once to fully appreciate. Psychological breakdowns rarely sound this good.

5. Spoon has been making high quality rock and roll on their own terms for years but with Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga they've focused their sound and made their most accessible album yet. The lead single The Underdog is easily this years best pop song and along with the slinky My Little Japanese Cigarette Case and the head nodding Don't you Evah represent the brightest cuts on an album full of highs.

4. When we first heard Beirut's The Flying Club Cup we got extremely excited. You see, something happens when you listen to a lot of music. After a while it becomes impossible to hear a song without hearing only its influences. When that happens you begin searching for music that doesn't really sound like anything you've heard before. The Flying Club Cup does that. Incredibly enough, Zach Condon isn't even in his mid-twenties but his style of French gypsy music filtered through folk make for an intoxicating listen that transcends age and avoids comparison. This is beautiful life affiriming music.


3. James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem had two incredible releases this year with two totally different approaches. 45:33 was an opportunity to flex his electronic muscle and create a continuous piece of art thats sole purpose was to make you move. But with Sound of Silver, he's made a true follow up and a worthy successor to LCD Soundsystem's excellent self-titled debut. The vocals on Sound of Silver are by far the biggest improvement this time around. James Murphy's voice elevates each of these songs from a sterile collection of sounds to a gorgeous sonic landscape filled with a human touch that keeps you connected to the music. Though you may be tempted to stereotype Sound of Silver as electronic and leave it at that, it's really too simple an explanation for what's going on here. Listen for yourself and we think you'll find that James Murphy has undoubtedly made the coolest indie rock album of the year.

2. Radiohead has received more press for their "name your own price" marketing campaign for In Rainbows than for the album itself. It's really a shame because In Rainbows represents their best release since OK Computer and may be, song for song, their most cohesive album to date. Songs like Bodysnatchers and Jigsaw Falling Into Place show that this is a band who has come to terms with their legendary status and still has the confidence to evolve and create with out restrictions.

1. This year's top spot goes to Brooklyn's The National. Boxer is not only a great record, but it is without doubt the most poetic set of lyrics you'll hear this year. Matt Berninger's rich baritone is so effecting that even if he hummed these songs you'd instinctively know what frame of mind he's in. His style of repeating phrases makes it seem like he's convincing himself as much as he is the listener. In this case less is more, but The National have no problem delivering well crafted rock songs with a lyrical approach that is both familiar and fresh. When he sings "Walk away now, and you're gonna start a war" you can hear the emotional wearyness that has led to such a desperate threat. An album this satisfying and rewarding is also this year's best.

SITE UPDATE

Check back with us tomorrow as we'll finally have our Best Albums of 2007 feature up. We meant to get it out earlier but we got hungry and forgot. This happens more often than you would think. In the meantime enjoy this recent photo of me working away.

~Colin