Rolling Stone's Top 100 Tracks

I have long since written off Rolling Stone. But their top 100 tracks of 2007 is worth a look. There are the requisite weak picks (it wouldn't be Rolling Stone without some red flags of that magazine's staff's atrocious collective taste), but I must confess I was surprised by the quality and depth of some of their picks. Here were some of the more quality picks:

4. Justice - "D.A.N.C.E."
11. Kanye West - "Stronger"
13. Of Montreal - "The Past Is a Grotesque Animal"
16. Spoon - "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb"
17. Radiohead - "Weird Fishes / Arpeggi"
18. The White Stripes - "Icky Thump"
19. Feist - "1234"
20. LCD Soundsystem - "All My Friends"
22. Arcade Fire - "Keep the Car Running"
33. Kevin Drew - "Backed Out On The..."
36. 1990s - "Situation"
40. Dr. Dog - "Old News"
58. The Go! Team - "Grip Like a Vice"
61. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Down Boy"
64. Patrick Wolf - "The Magic Position"
74. Panda Bear - "Comfy In Nautica"
77. The Fratellis - "Chelsea Dagger"
79. The New Pornographers - "Myriad Harbour"
81. Okkervil River - "Our Life Is Not a Movie Or Maybe"
84. Dan Deacon - "The Crystal Cat"
86. Iron and Wine - "Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car"
88. Datarock - "Computer Camp Love"
91. Liars - "Freak Out"
92. The National - "Mistaken for Strangers"
93. Band of Horses - "Is There a Ghost"
95. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - "Satan Said Dance" (CYHSY sandwiched between Kylie Minogue and Fergie. Beautiful.)
98. Blitzen Trapper - "Wild Mountain Nation"


If, for whatever reason, you feel compelled to see the rest of this list, go here:
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/17601363/the_100_best_songs_of_2007

Of course, we hear at Never Learned to Swim put out a far more concise list of 2007's top tracks:

RJR:
1. “Missed the Boat” by Modest Mouse
2. "A Postcard to Nina" by Jens Lekman
3. "House of Cards" by Radiohead
4. "Atlas" by Battles
5. “And I Remember Every Kiss” by Jens Lekman
6. "I'm Not Going to Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You" by Black Kids
7. "Slow Show" by The National
8. "Mistaken for Strangers" by The National
9. "15 Step" by Radiohead
10. "Your English Is Good" by Tokyo Police Club
11. “Dashboard” by Modest Mouse
12. "Plaster Casts of Everything" by Liars
13. "Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe" by Okkervil River
14. "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb" by Spoon
15. "All My Friends" by LCD Soundsystem
16. "Around the World/Harder Better Faster Stronger" by Daft Punk
17. "No Cars Go" by Arcade Fire
18. "I Tell a Story About a Birth Control and Deal With A Retarded Heckler" by Patton Oswalt
19. "North American Scum" by LCD Soundsystem
20. "Hunting for Witches" by Bloc Party
21. "To Fix the Gash In Your Head" by A Place to Bury Strangers
22. "Brother In Conflict" by Voxtrot
23. "Stronger" by Kanye West
24. "A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene" by Okkervil River
25. "Rockers to Swallow" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Honourable Mentions:
"Gravity's Rainbow" by Klaxons
"1234" by Feist
"Keep the Car Running" by Arcade Fire
"Wham City" by Dan Deacon
"Middle Distance Runner" by Sea Wolf
"Tiger Trap" by Beat Happening
"Scythian Empire" by Andrew Bird
"(Even If You Die On The) Ocean" by Saturday Looks Good to Me

PTC:
1. “Slow Show” by The National
2. “Reckoner” by Radiohead
3. “John Allyn Smith Sails” by Okkervil River
4. “The Temptation of Adam” by Josh Ritter
5. “The Underdog” by Spoon
6. “1234” by Feist
7. “You Don’t Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You’re Told)” by The White Stripes
8. “Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car” by Iron and Wine
9. “Start a War” by The National
10. “How Am I Not Myself?” by Shocking Pinks
11. “Missed the Boat” by Modest Mouse
12. “Black Like Me” by Spoon
13. “The Plot” by White Rabbits
14. “Angel in the Snow” by Elliott Smith
15. “Electric Feel” by MGMT
16. “Stereo (Mono Mono)” by The Brunettes
17. “A Postcard to Nina” by Jens Lekman
18. “Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe” by Okkervil River
19. “Fiery Crash” by Andrew Bird
20. “Libraries” by Seabear
21. “Faust Arp” by Radiohead
22. “Is There A Ghost” by Band of Horses
23. “Middle Distance Runner” by Sea Wolf
24. “Sinister In A State of Hope” by Loney, Dear
25. “Song For Clay (Disappear Here)” by Bloc Party

Honourable Mention
“Firecracker” by Voxtrot
“All My Friends” by LCD Soundsystem
“Intervention” by Arcade Fire
“Plus Ones” by Okkervil River
“Ada” by The National
“15 Step” by Radiohead
“Down in the Valley” by The Broken West
“Falling Slowly” by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova


-PTC

We endorse Barack Obama

You read correctly. Never Learned to Swim endorses Illinois Senator Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination. This isn't to imply that Obama is our favourite for the presidential race overall, just that we favour him among the current Democratic field, especially with Joe Biden out of the running. We're not prepared to collectively endorse a candidate amongst the Republicans just yet.

Suffice it to say, you should check out what Obama has to say about the issues. He is not all flash. While the pace with which he would like to withdraw from Iraq is reckless, he's for net neutrality and is likely the most pro-trade Democrat. Even after his narrow loss in New Hampshire yesterday, he is this blog's favourite Democrat. Appearences by Jeff Tweedy, Cool Kids, and Conor Oberst at his rallies cannot hurt his indie cred either.

Hold Steady Announces Follow-up to "Boys and Girls in America"

Whenever the Hold Steady speak, the indie rock world listens. As well we should, especially after the seminal 2006 release, "Boys and Girls in America". Well, it's time to listen again: Finn and company are murmuring about plans to release their fourth album and go on (yet another) tour. Plans as of yet are still very tentative, but we here at Never Learned to Swim firmly believe that any Hold Steady news is big news. Further bulletins, of course, as events warrant.

More Malkmus News

Cover art for the new album from Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, entitled "Real Emotional Trash" was revealed today, and looks like this:



Also, SM&J will be touring to promote this new record with the one and only John Vanderslice. Here are some dates for your perusal:
3.19 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
3.20 Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater
3.21 Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
3.22 Indianapolis, IN - Vogue Theater
3.23 Newport, KY - Southgate House
3.25 Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge
3.26 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
3.31 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
4.02 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
4.03 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
4.04 North Adams, MA - MASS MoCA

Unfortunately, Mr Malkmus has not voiced any plans to make his way out to the fairer coast, but such plans are bound to crystallise sooner rather than later. A Coachella appearance would not be unheard of. Keep it here on Never Learned to Swim for all of your Stephen Malkmus news.


-PTC

Spring concert schedule

These last few days, between printing my "Free Marty Crandall" (Shins keyboardist jailed just one county over from Davis) t-shirts, I've been helping crash the tickets.com and ticketweb.com servers filling my spring. Notable shows coming up:

1/17
Dan Deacon's Ultimate Reality mega-media extravagasm at GAMH. Deacon's compositions plus Ahhnold ftw.

1/22 and 1/23
Consecutive appearences by The Blow at Great American Music Hall in the city, the second night joined by labelmate Mirah and yours truly.

1/25
AOTY finalists Liars at Slim's.

2/5
Matt Costa at Slim's.

2/8
Black Lips at GAMH.

2/26-3/2
San Francisco's annual Noise Pop festival, which has been extensively covered by this blog. AOTY finalists A Place to Bury Strangers, NLtS faves British Sea Power and Tilly and the Wall, and stalwarts Cursive, The Mountain Goats, and The Magnetic Fields all appear. Coverage of the Bay Area's annual indie apex will, suffice it to say, be exhaustive. Check out noisepop.com.

3/20-3/22
By what could only be popular demand, Explosions in the Sky added a third night to their visit to GAMH.

3/27
Justice (pictured) plays the Concourse. It's not inconceivable that you, fair reader, will get coverage of the Seattle, Portland, and SF tour dates from this site.

4/25-4/27
Coachella in Indio, CA.

-RJR

Oh, to hell with it.

Here are some of the releases of note for this coming year:

THE GOOD
Stephen Malkmus - "Real Emotional Trash"
Malkmus is undeniably one of the greatest musical minds of our generation, besides being the indie messiah. Definitely listen to this one a few times.

Blur - Title TBA
The world needed this. Badly.

The Magnetic Fields - "Distortion"
Stephen Merritt habitually puts out great - if slightly quirky - records. "i" was a magnificent achievement, so this is probably one to pick up.

Hello, Blue Roses - "Hello, Blue Roses"
Dan Bejar is on fire. Can't be too sure about what to expect here, but that's nothing new from Mr Bejar. All that can be said is that it is worth your time to listen to anything he produces.

British Sea Power - "Do You Like Rock Music?"
It's always been a source of great surprise to me that nobody seems to have heard of BSP. Their previous two records were sensational, but largely unheralded by the general public. Album three would be a good time to jump on the bandwagon. There's plenty of room.

Ambulance LTD - Title TBA
Their self-titled debut showed immeasurable potential with tracks like "Primitive (The Way I Treat You)" and "Stay Tuned", and the New English EP continued on that trend. Barring the dreaded sophomore slump, this should be a hell of a record.

The Mountain Goats - "Heretic Pride"
One of the best lyricists in the world today is back to follow his much fuller, quite good "Get Lonely". In recent years, Darnielle has moved away from the four-track, lo-fi sound he championed to a more polished folk in the vein of Sufjan Stevens. This is one to look forward to.

Massive Attack - Weather Underground
God yes. If you don't pick this one up, or don't know why you should, you need to seriously re-evaluate your life.

Cat Power - "Covers II"
The first one was fun. No reason why the second one shouldn't be.

The Divine Comedy - Title TBA
One of the most underrated bands in rock today will put out yet another great album that not enough people will hear, and it will be a huge shame.

The Silver Jews - "Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea"
New albums from indie rock mainstays like TSJ always deserve everyone's attention.

The Raconteurs - Title TBA
You should get excited about the second record from the most badass collective in rock and roll today. Another batch of songs penned by Brendan Benson with the guitar chops of Jack White and the one of the best rhythm sections around is a recipe for something delicious.

Wolf Parade - Title TBA
Like him or hate him, Spencer Krug is a genius. So stand to attention and listen up.

Shearwater - Title TBA
Will Sheff is arguably the best songwriter working today. Granted, a new Shearwater album is basically like a bunch of stripped-down Okkervil River B-sides, but then again, that's better than a vast majority of music that will be released this year.


THE BAD
The Mars Volta - "The Bedlam in Goliath"
They're back to say more nothing!

Nada Surf - "Lucky"
Watch. These musical chameleons will probably put out a dance-rock record.

U2 - Title TBA
Because we desperately needed yet another album full of self-aware, pompous arena rock. Thanks Bono!

Plain White Ts - Title TBA
They should probably call this "Riding on the Coattails of Our Last Single".

Louis XIV - "Slick Dogs and Ponies"
Unnecessary.


THE NOT SO SURES
Chris Walla - "Field Manual"
This had better be good. We've all been kept waiting long enough for the Death Cab guitarist/producer to get his shit together. Somehow, it's hard to shake the suspicion that this is going to be a Field Manual on little more than disappointing your fans.

Death Cab For Cutie - Title TBA
I'm sorry, but eventually, Ben Gibbard's songwriting is going to get bland and trite. The only question is when. It could be on this album, it could be later. Come May, we will all know.

Franz Ferdinand - Title TBA
Their sophomore effort may have been better than their debut - it's debatable; I don't think so, most critics would disagree - but it was unarguably less instantly listenable and more forgettable than their first. If the trend continues on this record, it will rightly get panned.

Coldplay - "Prospekt" (Working Title)
Coldplay have risen to worldwide acclaim, but seem afraid to alienate a single fan. Their last effort, "X & Y" was a largely bland, undoubtedly overproduced collection of songs that showed no growth. The only chance this album stands of being anything worth the hype is if these boys finally step out of their comfort zone.


In addition to these, we're overdue on releases from Tapes 'n Tapes, The Postal Service, and Noel Gallagher. "Chinese Democracy" is overdue too, but that doesn't really count anymore.

New Black Mountain LP in about 2 weeks.

In case you hadn't heard - and for whatever unknown reason, most people probably hadn't - the new LP from Black Mountain comes out on January 22nd on Jagjaguwar (if that doesn't mean anything to you, maybe you know some of their labelmates: The Besnard Lakes, Swan Lake, Sunset Rubdown, Bon Iver, and Okkervil River, to name a few). It's called "In The Future", and it seems long overdue. Fans have had to wait too long since 2005's self-titled effort from the Vancouver post-rockers. Of course, you can expect a review of it here on Never Learned to Swim.

Destroyer LP Number 8 due in 2008

Dan Bejar has not lost steam at all. How dare you even think it! Never mind that he's released two albums with two different bands - "Challengers" with The New Pornographers and "Beast Moans" with Swan Lake - and that he's fresh off a tour. Bejar has (thankfully) set time aside to record with Destroyer. On March 18th of this year, the band will release the follow-up to 2006's "Destroyer's Rubies", which was (pardon the disgraceful pun) quite a gem indeed. The new record is going to be called "Trouble in Dreams", and the tracklist looks a little something like this:

1. Blue Flower/Blue Flame
2. Dark Leaves From A Thread
3. The State
4. Foam Hands
5. My Favorite Year
6. Shooting Rockets (From The Desk Of Night's Ape)
7. Introducing Angles
8. Rivers
9. Leopard Of Honor
10. Plaza Trinidad
11. Libby's First Sunrise

Good news for 2008.