The Imaginary Zine is a 60-page old school printed zine recounting our first 10 years with some of our favorite blog posts and stories from our imaginary friends. It is extemely limited with only 333 handcrafted zines made.
It also includes a cd chock full of rare, live, or exclusive songs by some of our favorite local artists, including The Long Winters, BOAT, Tullycraft, Exohxo, Tennis Pro, Math & Physics Club and many more!
Hip-hop doesn't get much better than grime/ragga Brit Dizzee Rascal, former Company Flow vet El-P and gritty LA rapper Busdriver. And....
YOU CAN WIN TICKETS TO SEE THEM next Monday night at Neumos!
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."
OK, well, nobody likes to reflect and rank more than I do (I'm a scientist, I love to quantify), so here goes. I've got my favorite songs of 2007 - no, not best or most innovative, but rather the songs I liked ... lots and lots and lots. There is a little overlap from my forthcoming Best Albums, but also some curveballs. Enjoy!
Honorable Mention:
#10. "The Prayer" by Bloc Party from Weekend in the City - This song is one of the most interesting songs Bloc Party has recorded. Too bad the rest of the album (short of "Hunting for Witches") just wasn't as cool.
Latest comment by: bloodfist: "Wow, that LCD Soundsystem song is really great. Really, really great. I could tell from the first 20 or 30 seconds that I was going to love it. There's almost a certain air of 'confidence' about it, if that makes any sense."
I'll toss my ratty Red Sox cap into the ring and put my top 10 list up here. Admittedly, I don't think that my selections are going to jibe with a lot of readers here, simply because my tastes tend to be a little more disjointed than most.
Here goes nothing....
10. The Gena Rowlands Band - Flesh & Spirits
9. Avey Tare/Kria Brekkan - Pullhair Rubeye
8. Grinderman - Grinderman
7. Mother and the Addicts - Science Fiction Illustrated
6. Alasdair Roberts - The Amber Gatherers
5. Electrelane - No Shouts, No Calls
4. Dizzee Rascal - Maths and English
3. Von Sudenfed - Tromatic Reflexxxions
2. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
1. Dungen - Tio Bitar
Comment, agree, disagree, and/or excoriate at will.
Latest comment by: julia: "That made me think of something. You guys should come up with a Top 10 list of albums from 2007 that you can argue were not technically released this year."
The Klaxons' Myths of the Near Future walked away with the 2007 Mercury Prize. For those of you who don't remember, the likes of Amy Winehouse, Arctic Monkeys, Bats for Lashes and Dizzee Rascal were nominated, yet somehow the remarkably blah Myths of the Near Future. The Brits just keep on baffling me, I guess.
Latest comment by: greggoir: "Yeah, he did say he wasn't going to tour, but the I think the whole thing was debunked as lil' Patrick just seeking attention, which certainly agrees with his current diva image."
Latest comment by: the jam: "i like this review.. i'm really not a fan of the whole 'grime' hip hop movement but for some reason this album keeps kinda growing on me. there's an interesting interview with dizzee here: http://www.uncensoredinterview.com/artists/257-Dizzee-Rascal his take on ...
Yes, it is that time of year for the baffling and somewhat odd Mercury Prize. Nominees for this year's award were announced today, and here they are.
Latest comment by: imaginary dana: "I agree -- I thought the Basquiat Strings were interesting, and of course, love the Winehouse record.... but Jamie T. can totally suck it, and I'm not so fascinated by any of the others. Still, beats the Grammy nominations by miles."
For this week's NME update, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs take #1, but there are three new songs for us to enjoy...
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Photo Essay: SIFF Opening Night! Whedonverse meets SIFFverse
Recommended SIFF + Ticket Giveaway: Mistaken for Strangers
Recommended SIFF + Ticket Giveaway: Mistaken for Strangers
Recommended SIFF + Ticket Giveaway: Mistaken for Strangers
Recommended event {and sweet things!}: Bake It In A Cake Cookbook book release party on Thursday {10/4}
Imaginary. You could call it that.
Imaginary. You could call it that.
A chat about our favorite songs this week on KUOW's Weekday show
A chat about our favorite songs this week on KUOW's Weekday show
A chat about our favorite songs this week on KUOW's Weekday show