And the winner is….
“Take the poison of your age
Don’t lick your fingers when you turn the page
What I know is what you know is right
In the city it’s the only light
It’s the Neon Bible, the Neon Bible
Not much chance for survival
If the Neon Bible is right…”
-Arcade Fire - “Neon Bible”
To remind you how we got here:
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”
3. Okkervil River - “The Stage Names”
2. The Shins - “Wincing the Night Away”
I’ve already written a fair bit about Arcade Fire and their sophomore effort “Neon Bible”
More end-of-year lists:
- Last Nite
- NPR’s Top 25
- crazymonk.org
- Harrison Exists! 50 Best Songs of 2007
- Phat Majik’s Top Ten Albums of 2007
- Houston Ramblings’ Top 10
OK, enough faffing about. My choice for the best album of 2007 is Arcade Fire’s “Neon Bible”. With a title inspired by a John Kennedy Toole’s posthumous novel, “Neon Bible” is majestic and delicate, sumptuous and spare. I’ve already written a fair bit about Arcade Fire and their sophomore effort and thus will spare you more glowing words. This record gets better with every listen and there is not a weak track on it. “Neon Bible” has cemented Arcade Fire’s spot as one of the best among their naughties peers. They are, quite simply, magnificent musicians.
As for my reader gratitude contest - five people correctly guessed “Neon Bible” as my number 1. I put all five names in a hat and had Z pull one at random. And the winner is…
ALEX at esmon.net! Congratulations, Alex! And thanks to everyone else for playing.
I’ve attached two tracks to this post “Ocean of Noise”, which is one of the quieter tracks on Neon Bible, and the rich “Intervention”. If you enjoy these, I would strongly encourage you to buy “Neon Bible”, which is available from Amazon
.
“I can taste your fear
It’s gonna lift you up and take you out of here
And the bone shall never heal
I care not if you kneel…”
-Arcade Fire - “Intervention”
Popularity: 14% [?]
Yeah! What a neat way to get the Holiday started. Good choice for a year end number one, Chris. My favorite track from Neon Bible is “Windowsill”. Anyhoo, I choose the Spoon album as the spoils of war. Everyone have a wonderful and safe Holiday and a Happy New Year!
21 Dec 2007 at 2:15 pm
50 Cent will be paying you a visit shortly…
21 Dec 2007 at 3:45 pm
Nathan, that is some scary shit…
In case I don’t live to see the day, Merry Christmas to you and your fellow Brewers.
21 Dec 2007 at 3:52 pm
Merry Christmas, Chris! I hope you guys have a great time with your family. If your family is anything like ours, you’ll probably need a chartered jet to bring all Zach’s first Christmas loot home. Anyway, y’all be safe, and I’ll see you back here after the New Year!
21 Dec 2007 at 4:31 pm
Way to go Alex! Great choice for your new music, too.
Merry Christmas Chris, Sinaed and Zach! I hope you have a safe and uneventful trip. Have fun celebrating with your family and introducing everyone to Zach. Stay warm while in Timmins and take lots of pictures to show us when you return.
Bon Voyage!
21 Dec 2007 at 5:37 pm
Woo-hoo! Way to go, Alex!
21 Dec 2007 at 6:30 pm
Congratulations Alex and Merry Christmas!!
I actually heard this band on Triple J the other day. I feel almost ‘with it’.
Safe travels Dvd clan!
22 Dec 2007 at 1:17 am
Chris, I could pull out my copy of a Confederacy of Dunces, but that seems like too much work, so how is “Neon Bible” related to Toole’s novel?
Have fun in Timmons!
23 Dec 2007 at 6:32 am
Just dropping by to wish you Merry Christmas and a happy, prosperous New Year!
24 Dec 2007 at 4:48 pm
Nice list. I’ll have to look more closely at Turner and Okkervil. All the best in 2008! And congrats on the Hawaii trouncing. Crazy.
03 Jan 2008 at 5:45 pm
[…] starting a blog, and this is true, one of the things that motivated me to get it together was that I would finally be able to put together a list of my 10 favorite albums of the year. Just like the magazines. Except nobody cares about […]
04 Dec 2008 at 9:01 pm
I love MIA!
I know you wanted your entire blog punctuated with smiley faces…
05 Dec 2008 at 10:17 am