Best Of 08: The Bloggers

Finals week is a terrible time to have a computer go on the fritz, but lo, my 2003 Dell, the one that got my brother through college and has lasted me the 2 and a half years of my college career thus far, has fallen ill. This means blogging is gonna be a bit harder to do consistently for the next week or two (harder than it already would have been whatwith it being finals week). But I'm taking a break from studies to hammer out one entry, the first this month, and the first in the Best Of 08 series.

No, I'm not making grandiose statements about the best record to come out this year. Not yet, anyway. Starting things small with the best music blogs on the internet this year. Every music blogger reads other people's sites. It's how we know what's making waves and what's worth posting about on our own sites. Agreeing on a fellow blogger's music tastes aren't a necessity, just the fact that you're reading and seeing what other people are putting out there is enough.

2008 was a huge year for ¡Viva La Mainstream!. It was the year that VLM suddenly got added to the list of blogs others read, and the year that this little project that started out when my girlfriend told me I needed a hobby grew to something much larger than that. A great deal of that is the result of you, reading this now, and over the next month I will thank you profusely for your contribution, but part of it also comes from the other bloggers who have stopped in and had a thought provoked by the words on this site. So without further guilding the lily and with no more ado, I present the 2008 VLM Blogroll Awards (I promise to have a cooler name for those by 2009).

First one goes to my colleague Matt at Addicted to Vinyl. Matt was probably one of the first bloggers to take VLM seriously, and in so doing his blog and VLM have found each other making dialogue with each other many a time. Matt was even cool enough to bring me along to Virgin Music Festival in Baltimore this year. Kudos, Matt, and keep up the awesome bloggage.

In tandem with Matt I should point out Broken Headphones, as written by Brian, a comrade of Matt's and fellow VMF festival-goer.

One of the first blogs I ever encountered was Idolator, a site that I recently learned is only about 6 months older than this one. They also certainly win the award for most thorough blog in the bunch. No group, genre, or artist is sacred on Idolator; if they did something, they'll talk about it. Idolator goes down as one of the blogs where I don't generally agree with the sentiments posted, but their sense of wit and fun when it comes to the music business, as well as their consistent updates over the course of a day is amusing enough to keep coming back for more. That said, if I see one more post taking snarky jabs at Dave Grohl or Hayley Williams, Maura Johnston's gonna get a knock at her door.

Kidding...kidding...

Then there's Luis & Co. over at Pretty Much Amazing. First I want to point out two fantastic guest pieces that showed up on the site; one here that talks about life as a low-level music blogger who has to try to sort through all the emails of promotion companies BEGGING you to check out the next huge thing, and one here that breaks down just how blog darling The Hype Machine has affected what we do. PMA covers mostly pop music, with the occasional Hype Machine pandering foray into remixes, indie bands and the like, but for the most part PMA is the place to go to get your Top 40 fix...with a twist every once in awhile.

It is my personal belief that everyone who calls themselves a music blogger should read I Am Fuel, You Are Friends. Regardless of your attitudes toward the music posted there (I'm lukewarm to it, but this Matt Nathanson post was great), Heather Browne is a stellar writer. Fuel/Friends is probably the high-water mark for music bloggers who want to do more than just report the news and post mp3s, if you ask me.

The good folks over at The Good, The Bad, and The Unknown post some great stuff too. They first won me over with a small army of Foo Fighters' B-Sides, and haven't really let up since.

And one final award goes to Mixtape Maestro, a guy who's been reading my blog far longer than I realized, and does some excellent work on his own page.

I think that's everybody. Of course there are bands who do some cool stuff on their sites (NIN, anyone?), but I wanted to get the average joes out of the way first. I'll be back sometime soon with another post, but much depends on a lot of variables right now.

==TJ==

Best Of 2008: Midyear Edition

We're just over the halfway mark for the year, so I figure now is a good time to break out a preliminary Best Of post. Since we're only halfway through 2008 and there are still (hopefully) some very good albums to come, instead of doing the ten best so far, we're only gonna take this to five in the hopes that maybe some stuff still to come will fill out the list come December.

Best Albums of 2008 (So Far)

5. Death Cab for Cutie, Narrow Stairs
Death Cab for Cutie - I Will Posess Your Heart [iTunes]

4. REM, Accelerate
REM - Supernatural Superserious [iTunes]

3. Nine Inch Nails, The Slip
Nine Inch Nails - Echoplex

2. Duffy, Rockferry
Duffy - Mercy [iTunes]

1. Coldplay, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
Coldplay - Lost! [iTunes]


Coldplay was in some sense a foregone conclusion at #1 as I went through this list. In my mind no one has put out an album quite as impressive as Coldplay yet this year. All the albums here are excellent and demand at least a second listen, but Viva La Vida and Rockferry have both been playing on a pretty constant run since I first heard them. Nine Inch Nails may well end up with two albums (The Slip and Ghosts) on the Best Of if things turn out badly in the second half of the year. Also note that this is the list I generated having not heard a number of albums that have gained some praise this year (Tha Carter III, Santogold, etc.). I'm gonna try to have a complete view in time for the REAL Best Of, but for now that should suit fine.

Oh yeah, and right now the frontrunner for worst album of the year goes to Weezer's "Red Album". Ugh.

Back later.

==TJ==

Best Of 2007: Stick A Fork In It

One of the best things about being a blogger is the fact that I am under no obligation to be objective. So with that in mind, my last list of Bests/Favorites of 2007. Explanation where I feel its necessary, but I think you'll get the idea on most of these:

10 Best Musical Discoveries of 2007
Awarded to 10 bands/artists whose music I was at best familiar with, but not necessarily a fan of until this year
1. Pearl Jam
2. Snow Patrol
3. Paramore
4. Justin Timberlake
5. Dresden Dolls
6. Rage Against The Machine
7. The Police
8. Sufjian Stevens
9. Blue October
10. Secondhand Serenade

10 Most Underappreciated Albums of 2007
Albums that did not make the Top 10 Best of '07 list, but are still damn good and didn't get the credit they deserve
1. Chris Cornell - Carry On
2. The Crash Motive - Consequence
3. Finger Eleven - Them Vs. You Vs. Me
4. August Rush Soundtrack
5. Eddie Vedder - Into The Wild Soundtrack
6. Bright Eyes - Cassadaga
7. Dashboard Confessional - The Shade Of Poison Trees
8. Secondhand Serenade - Awake
9. Boys Like Girls - Boys Like Girls
10. Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero


Most Overrated Albums of 2007
The albums that got WAY more praise than they deserved
1. Radiohead - In Rainbows
2. Feist - The Reminder
3. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
4. Smashing Pumpkins - Zeitgeist
5. M.I.A. - Kala
6. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
7. Britney Spears - Blackout
8. High School Musical 2 Soundtrack
9. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
10. The Good, The Bad, and the Queen - The Good, The Bad, and the Queen

And now, at long last...
Top 10 Albums of 2007 (From Worst to Best)
10. Fall Out Boy - Infinity On High
9. Bruce Springsteen - Magic
8. Paramore - Riot!
7. Linkin Park - Minutes to Midnight
6. Jay-Z - American Gangster
5. The White Stripes - Icky Thump
4. Kanye West - Graduation
3. Across The Universe Soundtrack
2. Jimmy Eat World, Chase This Light
1. Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace

Foo Fighters - Long Road To Ruin

I tried to come up with a good reason why the Foo Fighters weren't #1, and I couldn't come up with one. Truth is, the Foo Fighters are the best band in rock music, and this album was their best to date. End of story. I might have some more stuff for what I expect in '08, but that's for later. If I'm not back before Tuesday, Happy New Year, and see you next year.

==TJ==

Worst of 2007: Please...Make It Stop

I find it's always wildly entertaining to make fun of bad music, sometimes more than it is to enjoy the good stuff. So I present to you my picks for the worst albums of the year, the ones we could have done without quite nicely. Keep in mind I took a little bit of liberty with this, so please don't take it too seriously (except for that part where I mean that these albums sucked/will suck)

10. Britney Spears - Blackout
Yes, I admit; I listened to this CD earlier this week. I'll even go so far as to say that I tried to like it, and in fact in some places, I did (what the bloggers are saying about "Piece of Me" is right). Despite all reason, this album was not a complete disaster. I'm chalking that fact mostly up to the fact that Blackout was on the good end of the Snakes On A Plane Effect: expectations were so low on this CD that Spears' simply showing up was a success. But the fact remains there's more AutoTone on this than Britney, and this album did more to pay the bills than it did to mark Britney's "comeback".

9. Avril Lavigne - The Best Damn Thing
Another album that wasn't a complete and total dud, but lacked much to be desired. I will once again admit that I miss the Let Go-era Avril. That CD was nigh short of excellent when it came out, and sadly, Avril's done everything possible to stray from that work. As for this album, you may not believe, there are songs on this very CD, let alone other songs from this year, that are more annoying than "Girlfriend". Scary thought, but it's true. Keep reading and you'll learn about them.

8. Guns N Roses - Chinese Democracy
Yeah yeah, I know the album never came out. But we heard the first signs that it exists in some form or other, and it is crap. This would be far less disappointing if this were billed as an Axl Rose solo project; if that were the case I would expect garbage. But alas, I am still teased with the promise that before I die, Chinese Democracy could be part of my CD collection. Based on what I've heard thus far, it probably won't be, but the important thing is that it could.

7. Cartel - Cartel
I haven't actually heard this album yet, but:
Cartel being a by-the-numbers B-list punk band + the fact that they had to have a reality series on MTV to drum up excitement for the CD + the utter failure of said reality show = This HAD to suck.

6. Radiohead - In Rainbows
That's right. I said it. Now what?

Taking nothing away from what Radiohead did to promote and market In Rainbows, I did not like this album. Melodies were few and far-between, and it seemed like Thom Yorke spent more time coming up with new and pretentious ways to get the blogs talking than he did actually recording decent music. This is easily the most overrated album to come out this year, and with a January release date for the physical CD, we get to see it on all the Best Of '08 lists too. ...Joy...

5. Feist - The Reminder
Another one that's gonna earn me hatemail from Pitchfork, Idolator, and all the other Holy Music Blogs. "1234" made me want to punch things by the thousandth time I heard it; I hated it more than I hated "Rehab". The rest of this album just put me to sleep. If I want to fall asleep to music, I'll listen to Pink Floyd; at least that has the benefit of being memorable and socially cool. There's no feist in this music, it's just dreck.

4. Shop Boyz - Rockstar Mentality
This is here mostly on the strength of my hatred for "Party Like A Rockstar", and the fact that this album pretended to have meaning when it was just garbage. Same goes for the next one.

3. Mims - Music is my Savior
This and Shop Boyz are pretty much interchangeable; they both feature criminally stupid songs, and have no real soul in them at all. What makes Mims worse is a) a stupid name, rivaled only by the artist/album at #1, and b) an equally ridiculous hit song in "This is Why I'm Hot". To my knowledge only 3 good rap albums came out, and they belonged to Timbaland, Kanye, and Jay-Z. Most of the rest were marginal, and sad cases like Mims were just awful.

2. James Blunt - All The Lost Souls
As of September this was the worst thing I had heard all year. Bland, sleep-inducing, and generally unexciting, Blunt brought back all the things we had so pleasantly forgotten about 2005's Back to Bedlam. This album is the worst kind of bad; it's not exceptionally bad, its just boring. There's nothing actively noteworthy about it, except that I can't remember anything except how lame "1973" sounded. Memo to James Blunt; get a freakin' backbone.

For a long time I thought this was the worst CD of 2007, until I heard...

1. Soulja Boy Tell 'Em - souljaboytellem.com
Oh. My. God. I don't know where to begin. I guess we start with the God-awful name of both the artist and album (your website as an album title? C'mon. Even YOUR marketing people have to be better than that). Then there's the part where every song consists primarily of shouting Soulja Boy's name over some beat, while also writing tributes to either Sidekicks (the phone, not an actual counterpart) or some ridiculous dance. To be honest, I only got four songs in before I turned it off for the sake of my own sanity. Yep, I think that's a winner/loser.

It should now be noted that I compiled this list while being too apathetic to listen to a number of albums that could have been on this list, including Amy Cokewhore's Back to Black, Colbie Cailat's Coco, among others. If/when I get to these, I might make amendments. Till then, avoid these albums at all costs, and I'll have a Best Albums list by New Year's Eve. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some U2 and Pearl Jam to enjoy.

==TJ==

Biggest Letdowns of 2007 (Some of them Anyway)

2007 had some great moments, which I talked about here. Sadly, there were some low points too. In no particular order, some of the things that sucked about the year that's nearly gone past.

Amy Lee becomes the female Axl Rose
The Evanescence frontwoman probably won't be getting Christmas presents from any of her original bandmates. Earlier this year she kicked out Rocky Gray and John LeCompt, the remaining original members of the band (Founding guitarist Ben Moody quit in 2003, more on him later). By most accounts, Amy Lee seems to kick out any member of the band that dares suggest she's wrong about what the band should be. Based on the war of words that went on after the fact (Lee more or less accused Gray and LeCompt of trying to destroy "her baby", and LeCompt joked about how he hoped we would become lyrical fodder for Lee), not much love lost here, except from the fans that miss what was once a good band becoming the Amy Lee show. As much as I love Lee, she can't carry that band on her back. The Open Door was a disappointment mostly because she released the shittiest songs as singles after "Call Me When You're Sober". At this point all we can do is hope the band quits while they're ahead, or that the band gets a backbone again.

Evanescence - Call Me When You're Sober [iTunes]

(As for Ben Moody, he's spent his time writing and producing for the likes of Lindsay Lohan and Avril Lavigne. A recent report also notes he collaborated with Celine Dion on her most recent album. On the Bill Simmons Vengeance Scale, I'd say this is about a 0.7 out of 10. )

Jay-Z pulls a fast one on iTunes, revokes American Gangster
It was the most the third most anticipated rap album of the year, and had racked up millions of pre-orders on iTunes by the time American Gangster, the new Jay-Z album inspired by the movie was due to be released. But then at the last minute, Hova pulls it from iTunes, citing his desire for the album to be heard as one unit, not song-by-song. As a result all the people who preordered the album got screwed. Smooth...reaalll smooth.

Having said that, I heard a couple tracks off the album, and am duly impressed.

Jay-Z - Roc Boys (And The Winner Is...) [AmazonMP3]

Matchbox 20's "New Album"
A 6-song EP and a greatest hits collection that even the most casual fans have does not an album make, guys. Get back in the studio and give me more.

Matchbox 20 - How Far We've Come [iTunes]

Live Earth
Huge dud. But then again, pretty much what you'd expect from a concert organized by Al Gore, no? Even the Foo Fighters sounded boring in this one. And that Police/Kanye/John Mayer performance? You wanna tell me that wasn't the most scripted thing ever? Points for effort and trying to be socially conscious, but no-good on the execution.

Buy the album on iTunes if you must (can't even give you an mp3 of Linkin Park's performance)

Legally Blonde on Broadway
OK, I'll admit, the movie didn't suck nearly as much as I thought it would. This is more a rant about Broadway's apparent decision to join Hollywood in not coming up with original ideas. Between this, Young Frankenstein, and the slew of Disney musicals, the theatre is almost as bad as TV and film at this point.

...and this is the industry I'm gonna go into...*sigh*

High School Musical 2
A sin against God, man, and everything I did for four years between September 2002 and May 2006.

50 Cent hasn't retired yet...
Despite his album Curtis getting soundly beaten by Kanye West. I guess a rapper's promise doesn't mean as much as it once did. Does anyone else miss the days when a rapper would promise to pop some caps, and then shortly thereafter the news would get out about another shooting?

50 Cent - Ayo Technology [iTunes]

Radiohead release In Rainbows, get verbal blowjob from the blogosphere
I'll admit, I was among those who praised Radiohead's ingenuity when they self-released their new album. I also think I was one of the first to dismiss the music itself as trippy, directionless and overrated. Meanwhile nearly every other blog has added In Rainbows to their Best of 07 list. Just 'cause you do something ballsy doesn't mean you're automatically the best.

I think that's all I've got. The Best Songs of 2007 list will be arriving shortly.

On a random note, I had the strangest urge to listen to the Red Hot Chili Peppers earlier today. There was no reason for it whatsoever, but I'm blasting the Greatest Hits CD now, and thought I'd share that fact.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Fortune Faded [iTunes]

==TJ==

Random bits of what I'm Seeing/Hearing

I've been knee-deep in finals for the last week or so, so music has taken a bit of a sidestep. But I'm back with some quick reviews and other things I've been going through:

-So I'm giving LCD Soundsystem a second listen, but from the looks of it, definitely not an album of the year contender in my book. It's decent enough for dancerock, if that's the kinda thing you're into, but 6 minute tracks with at best average lyrics gets old before the hour-long album is up.
Ruling on the Field: 5.5/10
Highlight Reel: Someone Great

Also playing OneRepublic's debut Dreaming Out Loud. Believe it or not, they have more than just "Apologize". They've got some good borderline folky stuff, and even at their most generic, there's no reason to skip a song. Unfortunately with Timbaland's offering of "Apologize" boning the radio right now, OneRepublic will probably have a hard time being taken seriously for their next single. I'm predicting these guys will become the Nickelback of 2008.

OneRepublic - Stop and Stare

-My friend Alex gave me Cobra Starship's new CD so I could check it out for my Best of 07 list. Personally I didn't think they were coming back from the overtly gimmicky novelty track "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It!)". But last month out came a ¡Viva La Cobra!, yet another entry into the growing whiteboy dancerock genre. There's nothing inherently bad about the album, its just a bit jumblefucky. Gabe Saporta likes to experiment with a lot of different sounds (punk, latin, rock, etc.), and that's great, until they all appear in one song. It's a fast-paced, fun listen, but don't expect anything memorable (unless you're Alex and make one of the songs your ringtone).

Cobra Starship - Guilty Pleasure

-Last weekend I went to see August Rush, one of the few music-based movies where all the music was completely original (not that the rest were bad because of it). It's no Across the Universe, and you can see the ending coming a mile away, but dammit if the music isn't absolutely amazing. Johnathan Rhys-Myers' songs are on par with anything that's on the radio right now, and the instrumental songs by Kaki King are equally fun to listen to. Even if you don't see the movie, pick up the soundtrack and enjoy it.
Ruling on the Field:Movie: 6.5/10; Soundtrack: 8/10
Highlight Reel: This Time

As a result of my love for August Rush, I've been making a playlist of instrumental stuff. I've got a good mix of stuff ranging from Foo Fighters to the Final Fantasy VII soundtrack. If anyone has any stuff they recommend, feel free to post it. I'm especially interested in anything from the 300 Soundtrack as well as the themes from Stargate and Independence Day. Thanks.

Back later this week.

==TJ==

VLM's Yearly Rant About The Grammys (Or Is It?)

Earlier this week The Recording Academy released the nominations for the 2007 Grammys. Now would usually come the part where I rant and rave about how badly they screwed up and who got truly screwed...

...except this year they did a pretty good job. No, seriously, the nominees are pretty much right. Kanye has 8 including Album of the Year. In a showing of pure awesome, the Foo Fighters are up for Album, Song, and Record of the year. Didn't I tell you Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace was amazing? Amy Winehouse is up for six counts of drug posession and being a dumb bitch Grammys for the inexplicably lauded Back to Black and song "Rehab". Other deserving nominees include Paramore for Best New Artist (in a category completely female dominated...coincidence?), Rihanna for Record and Song of the Year (the Grammy voters are clearly still singing "ella, ella, ella"), as well as Daughtry and Bruce Springsteen, who each got for noms in the rock category. All in all, props to the Grammy Association for not fucking this one up. Commentary on who will and should win will come sometime in 08 closer to the actual ceremony.

Meanwhile, I've been keeping tabs on various groups' Best of '07 lists, and two things pop into my mind:

-Who do Dave Grohl, Jim Adkins, and Trent Reznor need to blow in order to get in anyone's Top 25??
-The overwhelming love for LCD Soundsystem's CD Sound of Silver led me to pick up a copy for myself. Is it good? yes. Is it likely to grow on me? Yes. Do I think it belongs as #1 on everyone's list? NO. Full review coming, but my first impression was "Four-and-a-half Inch Nails".

Back later.

==TJ==

10 Awesome Things That Happened in 2007

Maybe it's just because I was paying more attention this year, but it seemed like a lot of really awesome things happened to the music world this year. And contrary to what Rolling Stone and Idolator will want you to think, not ALL of them were tied to Radiohead. Below are my top 10 awesome stories from 2007:

10. New Guns N' Roses tracks leak; proof Chinese Democracy was at some point being recorded
Ah, how could anyone forget how we all (OK, maybe it was just me) waited with bated breath for March 6th to roll around when Axl Rose announced said date as the release for the eternally anticipated Chinese Democracy album. Of course once again we/I was left hanging, but we got a few unmastered tracks from the album as consolation. Granted, only one of these was worth hearing, but it was still proof that maybe, just maybe, it* could happen.

Guns N' Roses - Better

*By "it", I actually mean democracy in China, not Chinese Democracy. Come on now, what kind of fool do I look like?

9. Radio 104.5 brings the rock back to Philly
For anyone reading outside of the greater Philadelphia area, this means almost nothing. But just know that prior to this past February, Philly was without a decent alt. rock station for just over 2 years after the demise of Y100. 104.5 (WRFF-FM) filled that hole, and Philly radio is a better place for it.

Finger Eleven - Paralyzer (Live on Radio 104.5)

8. "The Battle of Sept. 11"
It's refreshing to hear rappers talk about duels and fighting that don't involve guns. 50 Cent and Kanye West had plenty of hype, hoopla, and excitement building up to the simultaneous release of their new albums, Curtis and Graduation, respectively. 50 promised to retire from the business if Kanye sold more albums in the first week, only to then cry foul when his CD got stomped on in the charts. But in the end, when two music greats go head-to-head in the name of getting music to the fans, doesn't everybody win?

Well, except for those fools who bought Curtis. Sucks to be them.

Kanye West - Stronger

7. Guitar Hero III/Rock Band
As a college student and music lover, I feel that my life is somehow more fulfilled as a result of these games. I have yet to play Rock Band, but cannot wait to get behind the electronic drum set and go Keith Moon-style on "Learn to Fly". The rest of the track listing is damned impressive, almost better than GHIII. Speaking of which, I have played, and am thoroughly awed. As much as the wireless controllers made me nuts (stupid lag...), the gameplay is as good as ever, and the songs are classic. Words don't describe how excited I was to blast through "Paint It, Black" and "Even Flow". This year I have 2 more reasons to upgrade to an Xbox 360.

Foo Fighters - Learn to Fly
Pearl Jam - Even Flow

6. Movies + Movies = Good times for all
2007 saw a blend between music and film that hadn't been particularly strong of late. Between the biopics for Bob Dylan (I'm Not There) and Joy Division (Control), the fictional projects August Rush and Into the Wild (not actually dealing with music, but scored by the amazing Eddie Vedder), and Across the Universe, the Beatles tribute in a class all its own, moviegoers saw and heard one hell of a good experience this year. And that's all excluding the tradtional musicals (Hairspray and next month's Sweeney Todd).

The Killers - Shadowplay
Across the Universe Soundtrack - Hey Jude

5. John, Paul, George and Ringo go digital; Beatles to follow in '08?
So all of the solo work from the Beatles became available for digital download across 2007, most notably when Paul McCartney tied his new album's release to the launch of the iTunes DRM-free store. Lennon's solo catalog followed, and a few weeks ago McCartney said that the Beatles catalog could go digital by early 2008. If this happens, it will leave only Kid Rock in the stone age of major label acts without a good reason to have their music available online. I see no problem with this.

4. Year of the Reunions
2007 seemed to be the year for bands to kiss and make up, with The Police, Rage Against the Machine, Genesis, and Led Zeppelin all reuniting in some form or other for tours and/or new albums. Now that second-rate bands like Extreme are feeling the need to join the party, I think it's time to kiss the reunion train up to God, but all things considered, that's a damn good set of bands making comebacks. Now give me some new albums!!

Rage Against the Machine - Bulls on Parade
The Police - Roxanne

3. AmazonMP3
Finally someone has the balls to (seriously) take aim at the iTunes juggernaut. While it still has a ways to go to match iTunes, Amazon gave music listeners a lot of things that iTunes wasn't; good quality DRM free music from popular bands at a cheap price. The store itself is still a bit clunky and lacks the ease of use that iTunes users enjoy, but they've got the one-up in that they have the rights to the likes of Radiohead and deal exclusively in MP3s. iTunes is far from dead, but at least now there's another fish in the pond

Snow Patrol - You're All I Have (the first song I downloaded in Amazon's MP3 store)

2. Radiohead releases In Rainbows themselves, allow fans to name price
This proved to be the ultimate "Fuck You" to the record industry this year. While bloggers and journalists were wondering what to expect from Radiohead, the band was quietly putting together this little bombshell. The move was inspired; people who wanted the music decided just how badly they wanted it and no major label could touch it. It was ingenious and a move that's already being copied by other bands. The only downside is that the music itself was decidedly sub-par, and the band later admitted the self-release acted as a promotional device so people would buy the CD. Given my lack of interest in the music, I would say it backfired. But either way, any band that sticks it that hard and that fast deserves some kudos.

1. Year Zero Viral Marketing/ARG
Leave it to Trent Reznor to create the ultimate musical reality experience. Nine Inch Nails had fans foaming at the mouth for 3 months while Reznor let slip USB sticks in bathrooms at concerts, created fake forums to establish the world of the album...hell, he even went as far as to set up fake hotlines where people could call in "suspicious figures" and the like. With a concept album like Year Zero, it's essential to get a sense of what they're getting across. The Marketing campaign did exactly that, and wound up inspiring the entire entertainment industry to find new ways to market material (see also: The Dark Knight, Cloverfield). Forget about making the music sound different; make the whole experience different, make me believe what I'm hearing.

Nine Inch Nails - Survivalism

Back again this week with more 2007 madness.

==TJ==

A RIOT! Breaks Out On The Best Of '07 List

OK, so I have no idea why the iTunes widget isn't registering anything, but it is mistaken to think I haven't had any activity lately. Whatever.

Over the weekend I picked up Riot!, the breakthrough album from Paramore. I've already mentioned my love for Paramore (and Hayley Williams) on this very blog, and ever since I've been eager to hear the full album.

Every review of Paramore and Riot! tends to center around frontwoman Hayley Williams. It's true the the 18-year-old is a phenomenal talent (and pretty damned attractive too). Her lyrics are a near-perfect balance between girlish boy-inspired musings and the ravings of a pissed-off beeyotch not to be messed with. Comparisons to Gwen Stefani and Avril Lavigne are totally justified, as are comparisons to Kelly Clarkson's recent work. But let's get one thing straight; Paramore is more than just Hayley Williams and her pipes. The instrumentals on Riot! are as tight as any band in the pop/punk genre. Drummer Zac Farro is no Travis Barker, but he helps keep things moving and headbobbingly fun. Likewise, brother Josh shreds one hell of a hook on tracks like first single "Misery Business" and "Hallelujah", but when matched with Fueled By Ramen labelmates Fall Out Boy and Panic! At the Disco, nothing terribly trailblazing is happening.

But at the same time, Paramore doesn't try to pretend that they are. Everyone in the band seems well aware of the fact that Williams is groundbreaking enough; in a year where female artists produced primarily bubblegum dreck ("Girlfriend" and "The Sweet Escape" come to mind), Paramore and their balls-to-the-wall brand of rock is proof of what both FBR and pop/punk in general are capable of. The live tracks on the reissue make it perfectly clear that despite the remarkable production work, Paramore knows how to play live, and aren't afraid to crank it up to 11 for a live audience. Look for Paramore to be around for awhile, and you can expect Riot! to show up on more than a couple of best-of lists this year.

Ruling on the Field: 9/10
Highlight Reel:
Paramore - Hallelujah
Paramore - Misery Business (acoustic)

Which brings me to Viva La Mainstream!'s Best of 2007 list. It was a really good year for the rock world, which makes the job of coming up with the Best Album and Best Song lists incredibly tough. The following list is just a small taste of what the Album list could look like, and there's still a month left to go (this is in no particular order):

Paramore, Riot!
Foo Fighters, Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace
Jimmy Eat World, Chase This Light
Linkin Park, Minutes to Midnight
Kanye West, Graduation
Bright Eyes, Cassadaga
Nine Inch Nails, Year Zero
Soundtrack, Across the Universe
Fall Out Boy, Infinity On High
Bruce Springsteen, Magic

And that leaves out potential dark horses like Boys Like Girls, OneRepublic, and less obvious picks like Dashboard, Finger Eleven, Timbaland...the list goes on. Look for more on my Best Of as we get closer to 2008. As always, your suggestions are welcome.