My top 12 of 2007

Just in time for the new year, my top 12 albums of 2007 (at KWUR, we give you more than the standard 10!):

1: Japanther - Skuffed Up My Huffy











Being a local band from New York isn't exactly an excuse for not being a national sensation. But Skuffed Up My Huffy proves that the duo Japanther is worthy of the attention being paid to New York bands like Yeasayer and Vampire Weekend. The album is essentially a punk album, but it has plenty of samples and tape loops that would be more fitting for a hip hop group. Skuffed Up My Huffy is only 26 minutes long, but the songs are fast, lo-fi and irresistibly catchy, and with all the samples, doesn't really sound like anything else out there. Skuffed Up My Huffy got stuck in my head after the first listen, and it hasn't gotten out since.

2: The National - Boxer












There really isn't much about Boxer that hasn't already been said. I just remember at the beginning of the year, when I found out that Boxer and Voxtrot's self-titled debut were coming out on the same day, it seemed like May 22 would be a huge day for indie music. At the time, Voxtrot were already huge, just based on the EPs, and seemed to have eclipsed the popularity of the National, who had been slowly gaining steam based on the strength of their previous albums. I haven't really heard that much from Voxtrot recently, while it seems like the National is all over the place.

3: Menomena - Friend and Foe












When I first heard Friend and Foe, I didn't really like it. But slowly and surely, it grew on me. Then I saw them over the summer, and they were great. And here they are. They have the experimental aspect, apparently requisite for any indie street cred, but they fuse it together with radio friendly hooks, pretty good lyrics, and a hell of a lot of energy, and the result is just a damn good album. The first six songs from the album have appeared on various iterations of year-end mix (look out for the final version of it on facebook, if I ever get around to it), and I can't say that about anything else that was released this year.

This is the point where I've decided I'd rather listen to the albums than write about them, so enjoy this list.

4: Bishop Allen - The Broken String
5: Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends
6: 1990s - Cookies
7: Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare (where's the love for this album, seriously?)
8: Grinderman - Grinderman
9: Mannequin Men - Fresh Rot
10: Art Brut - It's A Bit Complicated
11: Kings of Leon - Because of the Times (I've been listening to them more and more in the past couple days since hearing a full concert of theirs on XM, which may have either clouded my judgment or just reminded me that this album needs to be on here, and maybe higher)
12: Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals

5 other cool pop culture things from 2007:
The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta
30 Rock
Flight of the Conchords
Superbad
Mad Men