2007: Four years after The Year of Living Dangerously.I spent more time with fewer things this year -- lots of time listening to music but listening to the same albums over and over, revisiting old movies, re-reading books. Regrouping in a way. As one would guess, the two new releases from Porcupine Tree, Fear of a Blank Planet and Nil Recurring, took up a lot of my listening time and continue to do so. I saw them live three times this year and enjoyed all three shows. Another old fave, Nine Inch Nails, also released two albums this year Year Zero and Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D, which likewise occupied my ear-time to a great degree. The latter release contains all the multi-tracks for the album, which have been illuminating to say the least. My admiration for Mr. Reznor as a sound designer has grown exponentially as I analyze the individual tracks, enjoying the forensic listening experience access to the original tracks affords. A new project called Blotted Science was a revelation for me. I've been a fan of guitarist Ron Jarzombek for some time but couldn't put my finger on what it was about his particular style of virtuoso metal that was so appealing to me. This latest album, The Machinations of Dementia finally revealed the secret: Jarzombek is the technical metal equivalent of Raymond Scott. Intricate, interwoven musical lines that burst with sly humor. I should have figured it out from his previous "soundtracks" for oddball cartoons from the last two albums --one for the Thumper scene in Bambi called "The Wild Hare" and one for Templeton the Rat from Charlotte's Web called "The Cereal Mouse" (You'll find them here on Jarzombek's page; scroll down to about the middle of the page.) It's made me go back and re-listen to Spastic Ink, his earlier project, with new ears. His albums have not been off my playlist for many months. Other artist that were new to me which I enjoyed this year included 3 and Saul Williams. Pleasant surprise of the year goes to Silverchair, who I've made the butt of many jokes for years since their first album of teen-age troglodyte Nirvana-esque metal came out. They blind-sided me with Young Modern, a tuneful and frankly lovely pop rock album with scads of memorable hook-filled songs. The only movie that really wowed me this year was Inland Empire -- I'm still not sure I like it but it's totally engrossing. I read House of Leaves this year -- a little late on that bus but it continues to haunt me months later. I can't think of much else this year, entertainment-wise, that really grabbed me by the throat. A complete list of music I acquired this year: Aerosmith Toys In The Attic, The Beatles Love, Black Sabbath We Sold Our Souls For Rock 'N' Roll, Blotted Science The Machinations Of Dementia , Bill Bruford The Bruford Tapes, Buckethead Population Overdrive, Can Monster Movies Sheila Chandra Weaving My Ancestor's Voices, Sheila Chandra The Zen Kiss, Sheila Chandra Out On My Own, Cheap Trick At Budokan, Cheap Trick Budokan: The Complete Concert Cheap Trick Budokan II, Cheer-Accident Variations On A Goddamn Old Man, Crack The Sky Animal Notes / Safety In Numbers, Crack The Sky Safety In Numbers (21st Century Edition), Firesign Theater Dear Friends, The Flaming Lips The Day They Shot A Hole In The Jesus Egg, Foetus Flow, Funkadelic Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On, Genesis Wind And Wuthering, Paul Gilbert Burning Organ, Heaven 17 The Luxury Gap, Invisible Skratch Picklz Shiggar Fraggar Show Vol 5, Lynyrd Skynyrd One More From The Road, Mr. Big Greatest Hits, Modey Lemon Modey Lemon, Moody Blues Days Of Future Passed, Neal Morse Sola Scriptura, Neal Morse ? Live, Neal Morse Acoustic Sunrise, Nine Inch Nails Fixed, Nine Inch Nails Year Zero, Nine Inch Nails Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D Peeping Tom Peeping Tom, Parliament The Motor Booty Affair, Parliament Osmium, Parliament Funkentelechy Vs The Placebo Syndrome, Poe Haunted, Porcupine Tree Fear Of A Blank Planet, Porcupine Tree Nil Recurring, Prince Parade, Prince Crystal Ball, Prince Emancipation, Prince 3121, Radiohead Amnesiac, Radiohead In Rainbows, Jordan Rudess The Road Home, Gil Scott-Heron It's Your World, Gil Scott-Heron Winter In America, Supertramp Even In The Quietest Moments, Supertramp Breakfast In America, Three The End Has Begun, The Tubes The Tubes, TUNER Pole, Univers Zero Heatwave, Saul Williams The Inevitable Rise and Liberation Of Niggy Tardust, George Winston Linus & Lucy, George Winston December (silver edition), Gary Wright Dream Weaver, Yello Stella |