Mix Tape
Counting Crows - Shallow Days (Acoustic Demo)
Is it right to start a compilation of your favourite songs of the year with a song that's thirteen years old? Probably not. But Adam Duritz promised me a new album this year, and only delivered a reissue of his debut instead. But with demos as good as this, I can't actually complain too much.
Mumm-Ra - Out of the Question
This song is too good to be hidden down the back of my mixtape. It's also too good to have been recognized by just NME Magazine, and little else. Yeah, I'll go out on a limb and say it: Mumm-Ra are better than the Arctic Monkeys. There, I'll defend it to the death. And you know what else? This song...well....it's the best song of 2007.
Yesterday's New Quintet - She's Gonna Stay
Madlib is one of the most prolific artists in the business these days. He's also a wildly eccentric character, who has more alter-egos than Jason Bourne. Yesterday's New Quintet is his jazz alter-ego, although this is about as far from Miles Davis as it's possible to get. Explosive, yet captivating.
Common ft. Lily Allen - Drivin' Me Wild
It was hard for me to decide which hip-hop album was my favourite this year. Was it Primo or Protége? What wasn't so hard was deciding which album had the best song. It was this one, a more unexpected collaboration than Kanye West and Chris Martin; but somehow it worked. It flowed, and it showcased both artists outside their own fanbase. And isn't that what collaborations aren't meant to do?
Cafe Tacuba - 53100
I cannot speak Spanish. Well, I lie. I can say "hello, how are you?" and ask "do you speak English?" The former is quite useful, the latter not at all. Thus, I have no clue what this song is about, It sure does sound good though.
Bruce Springsteen - Livin' in the Future
With this and Common, there seems to be a particular grammatical trait. The letter "G" is disappearing from the music world. If that's the case though, wouldn't he be Bruce Sprinsteen? Although I must admit, I have heard it pronounced that way. This song - it's like a classic; only new.
Alcest - Tir Nan Og
A french band singing in French with an Irish song title. I was guaranteed to like this one. The most underappreciated album of the year. Possibly because it was just six songs, none of which were under four minutes. Glorious. Like a Gallic Sigur Ros.
Hem - Home Again
I was tempted to make up my mixtape using only songs from EPs. However, Mumm-Ra ruined that idea on me. It would've been possible though. And it all would have centred around this little gem.
Olafur Arnalds - 3055
How do artists come up with names for instrumental songs? The answer to this, I'll never know. However, it was easy to see where Arnalds was coming from. They're all numbers. They all probably mean something to him. They mean nothing to me. But that really doesn't matter. Poignantly beautiful.
Ryan Adams - Oh My God, Whatever Etc.
Similarily, how does Ryan Adams write so many songs? And then actually have a large percentage of good ones. Contained some wonderful lines, including "I'm open all night / and the customers come to stay / and everybody tips / but not enough to knock me over."
Daft Punk - One More Time / Aerodynamic
It begins with the bells of the Angelus, but nothing can quite match the religious experience of a Daft Punk concert. The only live album that could've bettered Live at Massey Hall this year. I never would've considered going to see them live before this, but now wild horses couldn't keep me away.
Kanye West - The Glory
Kanye's best songs all have Alvin and the Chipmunks on backing vocals, and this one is no different. I preferred "Good Life", but we've all heard that so much now even T-Pain is fed up of it at this stage I'd say. It's a pity those two awful songs appeared on the album. It would've been brilliant otherwise.
Hello Saferide - My Best Friend
Hello Saferide are fun. I was torn between this and "Highschool Stalker" which has the same melody. Both are bouncingly energetic, both are clever and witty. But rules mean only one of the appears here -- this is it.
Iron and Wine - The Devil Never Sleeps
Stompingly brilliant, but also short enough to give me room for three five-minute-plus songs. While not my favourite song on the album (that'd be "Wolves" with its outstanding outro), it's one everyone can enjoy.
Jesse Malin - Tomorrow Tonight
At the start of the year, this album was nearly guaranteed to make my top 10. Things change. I hear a lot of albums. Then more albums. And then even more albums. I'm not sure how I have time for anything else. Up there with Malin's best (i.e. a good chunk of his first album).
Tori Amos - Digital Ghost
A lengthy trip into Tori's wonderland. This year the eccentric madam donned three separate personas and made her return-to-form album. This was a standout track. Which is saying something when the rest are so good.
Bright Eyes - Classic Cars
She was a real royal lady, true patron of the arts
She said the best country singers die in the back of classic cars
So if I ever got too hungry for a suitcase or guitar
To think of them all alone in the dark
The Good, The Bad and The Queen - History Song
Supergroups aren't usually as great as the sum of their parts. Damon Albarn's latest side project tried to change that. The opener is the highlight of his non-Blur, non-Gorillaz record this year. The album didn't quite well live up to its potential, but some of the songs certainly did. Like this one.
- by Ronan Hunt-Murphy