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I’ve recently compiled a playlist comprised of songs from my favorite releases of 2007. I usually find myself feeling more and more jaded each year about the state of new music, but this year was a lot different for me. A lot of old favorites of mine like the Rentals and Lifetime put out new records. They may not be as strong of releases as their old stuff, but I thoroughly enjoyed them still. I also found myself excited about a lot of new bands. A big reason for that is Darcie turning me on to a lot of things I had never heard before. Thanks, Darcie. FYI - I plan to put together new mixes quarterly, so keep an eye out for more…

If you click continue below I’ve included options for downloading the mix as well as streaming it live on the site. I’ve also included some thoughts about each track. Happy holidays.

Download Mp3s and Cover Art

Ooh - Rivers Cuomo
Rivers, the frontman from Weezer, just released a collection of his home demos from 1992 to pretty much present day. The first two Weezer records are both in my top 10 favorites of all time, so it was interesting to hear some sketches from that time period… most notably some tracks from the lost Black Hole sessions.

A Little Bit of You in Everything - The Rentals
Unsurprisingly from what I said above, I am also a fan of Matt Sharp and his work with the Rentals and Weezer. He recently reformed the band and this song comes from the first release of the new lineup, a 4 song disc called The Last Little Life EP. The songs on here are a pretty good mix between the first two Rentals albums. I got to see these guys over the summer and it was probably my favorite show of the year. Their attitude and sincerity created an awesome atmosphere.

Nature of the Experiment - Tokyo Police Club
I’m not real sure if this song was released in 2007 or 2006, but I first heard it this year. This band has yet to release a full length, but has put out 3 eps so far. I was on the fence with these guys for a while, but finding out they’re from Toronto, cover the Rentals and so young pushed me over the edge. I wish I was making music this good when I was their age.

Sunndal Song - The Apples In Stereo
Growing up in Denver I actually always hated these guys. They didn’t fit in the picture with all the hardcore and punk rock that dominated my life at the time. I decided to give these guys a second chance after finding out their connection to Neutral Milk Hotel, whose album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea has become another one of my all time favorites. Anyway, this new Apples record called New Magnetic Wonder is full of super catchy pop songs. I think their positivity is a breath of fresh air and found this album in particular interesting as they invented a new scale which is used on certain songs. I don’t know about the scale, but I like the effort.

Nantes - Beirut
This is a band my girlfriend, Darcie, has turned me on to. Beirut is the brainchild of a 21 year old kid which is pretty unbelievable to me. This is their second album and is titled The Flying Club Cup. It’s more mellow than the first, but I still enjoy it quite a bit. Probably the coolest thing about this record are the accompanying videos over at Take Away Shows, a site which features live performances of bands in strange places. I believe Beirut has a video for every song on the new record.

Keep the Car Running - Arcade Fire
If you like this band I’m sure you’ve heard the song a thousand times. There is a lot of hype surrounding this band, but I think it’s actually pretty well deserved. Check out this video of them performing a song live in an elevator.

Make the Logo Bigger - Burn Black
This one made it’s way around the design world really fast and it might only be funny if you’ve had to design for some less than optimal clients in the past. Either way I think it’s genius and didn’t want to leave it out.

Spiders in the Garden - Lifetime
Lifetime is another one of my favorite bands from the past that reunited recently. Their new record seemed to get mixed reviews from a lot of people but I thought it was great. FAR better than 99.9% of any kind of punk music around today.

The Ghost of Old Bull Lee - Arthur & Yu
I don’t know much about this band or the record this song is from, In Camera. My friend Hoshi showed these guys to me recently though and this song in particular stuck out in a big way. I guess I like the “Wes Anderson” ish vibe it has.

Peter Oh - Eureka Gold
I believe Eureka Gold is a new band from the Nashville area. They don’t have an album out yet, but have a bunch of songs available to download on their website. These guys sound like they’ve teleported into the future about 40 years… er I mean the past… er if you like 60’s rock check these guys out.

Music - Ian Cooke
The Fall I Fell is my favorite record of the year. It has a unique sound, interesting arrangments and experimentations with time signatures, amazing packaging, cool lyrics, plus it’s really catchy. Even better (to me) is that Ian is from Denver. If you live here you are probably familiar with Ian or his long time band Uphollow. I’m surprised this record hasn’t blown up more on a national level. Check it out.

John Allyn Smith Sails - Okkervil River
I’ve known about this band for a while as my friend Stuart gave me a copy of one of their records a few years ago. I always thought it was decent but nothing spectacular. I decided to give their new record, The Stage Names, a chance when I was reading reviews comparing it to In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (catching a theme here?). While I’d say it’s a far cry from that album, it is pretty decent. I especially like this song as it weaves in melodies from Sloop John B, a song made famous by the Beach Boys.

All I Need - Radiohead
Like about everyone else in the world, I’m a fan of Radiohead. Their new record has been given a lot of attention for its distribution as well as its comparisons to OK Computer. Anyway, it’s pretty decent and this is my favorite track on it.

Race In - Battles
Battles has always been more of a great live band to me, but they’ve really stepped it up with their latest release. These songs are still better at the show, but Mirrored is a great album. I especially like the first 3 tracks.

Matagorda - Black Before Red
These guys were a cool find from the always awesome Yewknee.com. To say these guys like the Beatles would be quite an understatement. Not the most unique songwriting ever, but solid pop songs none the less.

West Coast - Coconut Records (Jason Schwartzman)
This guy isn’t having a bad run, eh? He’s a great actor in great movies and apparently a pretty good singer/songwriter. This album was a favorite around my office this year. Actually I think were all pretty sick of it at this point from over listening. West Coast is an especially good pop song though and even switches time signatures in a Rush-esque style during the verses.

Ex’s & Oh’s - The New Amsterdams
The New Amsterdams was orginally started by Matthew Pryor as a side project to the Get Up Kids. It eventually took over and the Get Up Kids broke up. I’ve been a fan of Mat Pryor’s entire catalog and this new record, At the Foot of My Rival, is definitely no exception. Choosing a song to pick from this album was probably the toughest of all these records as every song is great.

Almost Ready - Dinosaur Jr.
Yet another old favorite of mine, Dinosaur Jr. put out a new record this year called Beyond. It reminded me of how much I use to love these guys. This record sounds like it could have easily come out 15 years ago with its stripped-down/lo-fi sound. I love the lead guitars on this song.

Impossible Mission - Billy Harvey
I’ve got to be honest. I would have no idea who Billy Harvey was if it weren’t for the website created for him by the We Fail guys. It’s probably my favorite site of all time. Lo and behold his music is actually pretty decent too. This new record, Bearsick, is pretty hit or miss, but the hits are awesome.

Muscle’n Flo - Menomena
This is another record Darcie turned me on to. Part of it drags for me but overall I think it’s pretty great. The artwork is pretty awesome too. Actually it might be the best part. It’s impressive that this band is only a three piece. I’ve heard they put on a great show too. I’m bummed I missed them when they came through town.

The Con - Tegan & Sara
I obviously have a soft spot for catchy pop songs… The second half of The Con (referring to the album here) falls flat for me, but the first half I like. The Con, Back in Your Head and Hop a Plane are some of my favorite tracks from this group. I love the pre-chorus in the Con because it sounds like Geddy Lee (from Rush of course) is singing the part. That has to count for something.

Lupe’s Fault - On Guard / LaGrecia
This track was the first demo posted for the newest Jason Shevchuck, the singer from None More Black and Kid Dynamite, project. It started off as a solo project and has since evolved into a full band. My friend Virgil will be putting out their first record sometime in 2008 and I can’t wait. I’ve heard the demos and they’re super good. I was also lucky enough to see these guys’ first show when they played for the Suburban Home Records 12th anniversary show.