top 50 of 2007

this is my top 50 for 07. top 50 what you might ask? records? people? events? i say all of the above. they didn't have to come out/ happen this year. this is just a list of things that i got hyped on in the great year that is/was 2007.

In no particular order

Tegan and Sara- these ladies put out the best record of the year. ya i said it. i saw them at the end of November too. fantastic. i did my best not to geek out, but i think i failed.

Feist- that voice, damn. and anyone who can get away with a line like "1 2 3 4 5 6 9 or 10" is on top in my book

broken social scene- so they didn't technically put out an album this year, but a founding member did (Kevin Drew) and I'll be damned if it doesn't sound like a bss record. i also really got into the whole bss catalog this year. holy shit. pop music at its finest.

"life on mars" by David Bowie- now i know this song came out a few decades ago, but it wasn't until this year that i was singing it at the top of my lungs with Kevin in the white castle drive through.

st. vincent (more specifically, the song "now now")- she kills it with her guitar skills throughout the whole disc, but this song really hit me the first time i heard it. and she's adorable. now, if she would only come back to town, since i blew it the first time(s). that was a running theme. that should be on the "things I'm not hyped on in 2007" list. right at the top: me blowing it

no country for old men- best movie in the last few years? you be the judge

M.I.A at first ave- damn! mia comin back with powerpower. no lie. the show was O.C.

the return of shoreline- feels good to be back where we belong. big plans for next year.

neko case - i won tickets to see her at first ave, got way too drunk before the show, swayed through her set, and still realized she has one of the best voices around.

neutral milk hotel- here's another one that didn't happen this year, but i discovered it this year, deal with it.

the return of craig vore to shoreline- feels right

the darjeeling limited - Wes Anderson, holding it down since bottle rocket

the squid and the whale - again, not this year, deal with it. i connected with this flick in a
really strange way. not the jerking-off-and-wiping-jizz-in-public-places part, but the strange-family-system part.

pineapple fried rice - make it a 2 or 3 on the spicy scale.

premium grainbelt- keeping it local. too bad this isn't everywhere. the rest of the world is missing out. plus, we have the sign.

girl talk show+after party- this night gets the award for party of the year. sans tay zonday. "This dude is a bigger buzzkill than the cops showing up!"

whiskey sours- drink of choice in 07

Hawaiian pizza - can't go wrong here

harry potter- miss rowling ends the series with style. well done. i gotta give the award to volume 6 though.

cloud cult- just a really great band from our home state. check it out if you haven't. we are hoping to record with the bass player/ producer of this band in '08. he obviously is responsible for some good shit.

photography- doing it and viewing it. look out for more photos here in the future.

bar food - always sounds like a good idea at night, never is in the morning. still, making an appearance here

grumpys trivia - team eatin babies. we rule. we have so many gift certificates to this damn spot. still haven't used any. we got robbed. those wild tickets were ours. we always get robbed when it comes to trivia. once we were in pizza luce and we got into a trivia duel with a couple dudes. one of said dudes had a sick hat on that would have looked great on Kevin. so we made a wager: one round of Minnesota music trivia, best of five questions, winner takes the hat. keep in mind it was about three in the morning and everyone was messed up, so there were little to no rules. we had it it the bag, but then these kids just made up an answer to a question. bullshit. morris day and the knights? bullshit. if you guys are out there, that hat is ours.

learning to dance again - there is nothing to it

shoes - reebok pumps, air stabs, carrol selects, wallabees, air max 1's.

Mazatlan - surprise new friends, crazy Mexican girls, bribing police officers, dominoes-wait not really- guacamole. deserves a post of its own.

road trips to Winnipeg- saw two extremely different shows (meatloaf-ya that's right, and brand new) on two separate road trips.
number one's highlights include: front row seats, "MEEEEEEEEEEAAAT!", and "sit on it". number two's highlights include: best seats in the house, "roop roop!", and "my boyfriend just cheated on me, do you want to make out?"

whistler, b.c.- holy shit. this was probably one of the best times of my life. deserves a whole post for itself. i should do that. but really, snow, new friends from the coast, the village, the nightlife. shit.

kids from Berkley - ties into whistler. i made some really great friends on that trip from a little college called cal state Berkley. i hope to see some of them in the new year.

silversun pickups- i heard the lead singer during an in studio session on the current this spring. he was promoting his band's show at the entry that night and playing some acoustic jams. needless to say it was awesome. i was set to go to the show, but it was 21+. and i was not. that is why

turning 21- is on the list. well not really turning 21, cause i don't remember that, but being 21. it feels good not having to worry about whether or not I'll be able to get into a place.

89.3 the current-the only thing worth listening to when it comes to the radio

your exchange- got a new job this year. its chill. need to cash your payroll check? pay your phone bill? wire some money to Bulgaria? come talk to me.

jazzmasters- easily the coolest guitar around. and i picked one up for myself this year. most expensive thing i own.

radiohead- they said "take that, record companies!" and released an excellent and highly successful album this year on their own. do you think the labels will get with the program?

factory girl- i can't figure out if i like this flick because its a good movie, or because its about edie sedgwick. either way, it shows up on my list, along with

edie sedgwick- just a fascinating mess of a girl.

once- i guess you could call this a musical. but don't think of it like that. more like a really awesome feature length music video with some dialogue and really great tunes.

modest mouse- they picked up johnny marr and put out one of the years best albums and toured their asses off. and i saw them in the front row. craze

knocked up- this may be the perfect movie for me. well maybe not, but it had an almost perfect mix of humor and grace. that may not make sense. rock and roll

juno- a late comer, but a great flick. anything micheal cera is in is pretty much gold, although there's a lot of goodness to this movie without the mention of mr. cera

bret easton ellis- more specifically the book The Rules Of Attraction. his books are sometimes depressing, sometimes funny, always good. they all have some strange effect on me. I've been reading them in the order in which they were published, and his first one, Less Than Zero, makes you want to do coke, this one makes you want to sleep around. So does that mean American Psycho will make me want murder people? I'll tell you next year.

my friends-are better than yours. actually, if you are reading this, they are probably similar.

arcade fire- damn i blew it by missing these guys in September. this could be our generation's U2. but weirder. and less arrogant. so maybe our generation's talking heads. but still, less arrogant. shit, our generation's fucking rock band.

kanye west- haters will hate, but this guy has been consistently making retarded good music this whole century. keep it up kanye. i know you will. maybe he's our generation's U2. only more arrogant...

amy winehouse - forget about the tabloid bullshit and take a listen to "back to black". its fucking good right? i knooooooow.

1st ave.- probably the best club in town. and they host

too much love- i may not be in the majority here anymore, but this can be a crazy dance party with a sometimes eclectic group of people who are all down for the cause. not always, but sometimes, the only place to be on a Saturday night.

brand new- i just really admire this band and pretty much everything they do.

12/31/07- ya i know, it hasn't happened yet, but its one of the best days of the year. i think its safe to say it would end up here anyway.

so that's it kids. lazy typing and all. I'm sure there are some things i left off. maybe there will be an addendum. we'll see. i tried to keep it all over the place and time. let me know if you agree or disagree. have a great holiday and here's to making next year at least as good as this one!

s