In the throes of a killer party at the Neptune last night, we were thrilled beyond belief to find out the details on another most excellent year for the Sasquatch! music festival, taking place out at the Gorge on Memorial Day weekend {May 25-28}. Sasquatch! is by far one of our favorite fests every year, and 2012 is going to be no exception.
We're particularly excited about partying down with the likes of Jack White, Beck, Tenacious D, Beirut, Girl Talk {hell yes!}, The Head and the Heart, Tune-Yards, Wild Flag, Blind Pilot, Mark Lanegan Band, The Cave Singers, Grouplove, Ted Leo, Deer Tick, Alabama Shakes, We Are Augustines, Shearwater {!!!!!}, Charles Bradley, Pickwick, Hey Marseilles, Sallie Ford, Dyme Def, Fresh Espresso, and Katie Kate -- but by no means does that even scratch the surface of the seemingly-zillion fantastic bands included on this year's lineup. As usual, there's a thoughtful mash of notable locals and squee-worthy headliners, so much so that slapping down the ticket price to spend the long weekend with twenty-plus thousand of your closest friends is an absolute no-brainer.
So, what will he be called? Normally, when one gets knighted, you go by your first name, but wouldn't that seem odd?
Sir Stephen?
It would only be proper for him to be dubbed as only he could be:
Sir Morrissey.
Yes, indeed, I am advocating that the patron saint of modern rock be knighted by the same woman that he and his bandmates once declared dead.
Is there any other citizen of Great Britain that has been more culturally influential and significant over the last quarter century than Morrissey? No*. No one has had the same lasting legacy while still staging comeback after comeback (does that, then, count as "coming back"?) than the king of mope.
Latest comment by: Bell-Tone Records & Music Review Blog: "Just imagine if he had posed for a picture like this 20 years ago..."
I have so many favorites for 2007 that narrowing the lists was tricky. Plus I'm preggo as a house and have NO memory at this point, so I'm sure I've inadvertently omitted some really great releases and songs. Forgive me and my wacked out hormones.
But that said, here are some Top of 2007 lists from me, to you. Feel free to leave comments both nasty and supportive. I likely deserve both for some of my erratic tastes.
The official results of the TIG Best NW Releases of 2007 Readers' Poll are coming VERY soon... stay tuned! In the meantime, some of my personal picks for a wonderful year in music past:
Favorite Releases of 2007:
Favorite Northwest Releases of 2007:
Latest comment by: randy: "Nice list, but I'm just so tired of seeing list after list this month. So why do I look then? I don't know! Maybe next year we can all just skip December and go straight from November to January's new releases? That would be nice."
Sometimes I think it takes me waaay too long to come up with my Top 20 albums of a given year. There are a lot of internal debates and arguments that really have no right answer. Really, you reach a point where all the albums are good but how to rank them gets to be quite the challenge. This year was chock full of good music (not matter what the naysayers might groan). I counted something like 175+ albums worth mentioning in 2007, and that is only a tip of the iceberg when it comes to everything that was released in the year. However, I did whittle it down to 20... well, 22 if you count my 2 EP exception (EP's don't count as real albums).
If you're interested in some sub-lists, like my albums "with apologizes" (albums I didn't hear but should have) or "best imports" or "most disappointing" (hint, the band who made it rhymes with Milo Biley), check it out here.
So, here we go:
#21 The EP's - Two EP's made me happy this year, and really, they would be in the top 20, but it seems unfair to me to include EP's versus albums. They're both UK pop, and they're both brilliant in their own cute way.
Los Campesinos! Sticking Fingers Into Sockets (Thanks to igLiz for this band!)
Latest comment by: Erik Gonzalez: "Hey all -- I have one copy of my Best of 2007 CD left and the first person to email me at erik (at) threeimaginarygirl (dot) com will get it mailed to them. It's nothing fancy, just a simple liner and a CD with 23 of my favorite songs from 2007."
Latest comment by: imaginary dana: "Aww, that is so nice to hear! You'll have to stop back by and let us know what you think, after you hear it."
Although I don't fully understand the "Shortlist" awards, they have announced their, ahem, shortlist for the 2006 award. The Shortlist award is "a peer-selected award that recognizes the most creative and adventurous albums of the year" (um okay) and made their 10 album nomination list. The winner will be announced "in May". I get the impression it is an attempt to be an American version of the "Mercury Prize" in the UK but maybe I'm just not a big fan of extraneous awards anyway.
The nominees are Band of Horses, Beirut, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Cat Power, Girl Talk, Hot Chip, Joanna Newsom, Regina Spektor, Spank Rock, & Tom Waits.
Indeed, a motley crew.
Latest comment by: Erik Gonzalez: "Yeah, I was just listening to the Beirut album on my lovely flight from Atlanta to Sacramento and thinking how much I like the disc ... Huh."
Imagine if Three Imaginary Girls met Pete and Ray and you'd have Breakfast at Sulimay's, featuring Joe, Moon, and Bill -- possibly the most entertaining music critics I've ever heard.
Latest comment by: imaginary dana: "Yea, I think they were just bemused by the Decemberists (versus the abject horror they expressed about most of the other bands). I was stoked they liked Beirut! And I think they would have liked Amy Winehouse if they had heard the non-Ghostface Killas ...
AstroPOP! for March 2007 features astrologically-inclined record reviews from Amon Tobin, B for Brontosaurus, Beirut, Black Fiction, Bon Savants, Campaign for Real-Time, Lyrics Born, Now It's Overhead, Squarepusher, The Album Leaf, The Born Ruffians, and Wolf Eyes. Read, listen, and be prepared for the month ahead!
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