“You were caught kissing 8 chinese brothers
Well, there’s a reason why the last is smiling wider and sitting higher than the others
Stinking with charm
And he says, “Lets get lost, let them send out alarms
He says, “Let’s get crossed out and come to harm”
“Lets make the world’s stupidest stand and truly mean it
Lets hit the limit of loss over lover’s arms
No, lets exceed it”

-Okkervil River – “The Stage Names”

Just a reminder of where we are in the countdown:

10. M.I.A. – “Kala”
9. Modest Mouse – “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank”
8. Frank Turner – “Sleep Is For The Week”
7. Wilco – “Sky Blue Sky”
6. Bruce Springsteen – “Magic”
5. Spoon – “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga”
4. Jason Isbell – “Sirens of the Ditch”

Texas may be the home of some pretty poor politicians, but the state is earning its keep in the Union by producing some of the best bands around. Austin’s Spoon featured at number five in my list and fellow Austinites Okkervil River come crashing in at number three with their fifth full length album “The Stage Names”. I reviewed this record back in September and do not have a ton to add to that – these guys just keep getting better with every record and “The Stage Names” gets better with every listen. If you enjoy “The Plus Ones” then “The Stage Names” is available from eMusic, Amazon and Okkervil River - The Stage Names. In addition, Okkervil River has made a live record available for free on their website.

I’ve decided to run a little contest as a thanks for my readers. I will give away your choice of one of my top 10 albums or those that got an honorable mention in either mp3 or CD format. All that you have to do is guess what my number one will be for 2007 and attach that guess as a comment to this post. I will select one of the correct guesses at random after I name the number one on Friday. Only one entry per person, please and the deadline for entry is 11 p.m. (Greenwich Mean Time) on Thursday, December 20.

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