Ok kids, I'm behind on the new music for several different reasons so I need to get caught up on what I missed and what I should be glad I've missed.

Best Of....

Son Volt- The Search---Maybe their best effort, not as solid as Trace but the highs here are just as good

Kings of Leon- Beacause of the Times---I liked their first two albums but they were to inconsistent, but holy shit this is good. It reminded me of listening to MMJ's Z for the first time, you just realise that a band has taken a massive step in the right direction. KOL ante up on the cock rock and arena sound. It still has the Band and Allmans influence but with some Thin Lizzy and AC/DC for good measure. Will probably be in my Top 3 at years end.

Average..

Bright Eyes- Cassadaga
Modest Mouse- We Were Dead…

Overrated…
Arcade Fire- Neon Bible

Anticipating..

Pelican-They have a new song on their myspace page and the boys have been listening to some Built to Spill it would seem

Glad to see I'm not the only fan. I actually downloaded this last night on ITunes. Looking forward to getting through the whole thing. What are your favorites so far?

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"Tubby? Oh yes, Tubby."

LCD Soundsystem's Sound of Silver will be in the team photo when all is said and done.

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It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a goddamn shame.

http://www.TheCommittedIndian.com/

Yeah, man, Neon Bible kinda sucked. Maybe four good songs amidst dull crap.

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Bright Eyes- Cassadaga

I'd call it better than average.
The songwriting is much better than the last 3 albums.

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“Mmmm. Move over, eggs. Bacon just got a new best friend - fudge.”

White Stripes-Icky Thump-The Stripes are probably the best singles band of the past 10 years, though Incubus gives them a run. But the new album is inconsistent and drags into standard bar band bullshit, it's ok but nothing stellar, which sums up the Stripes-B-

QOTSA-Ear Vulgaris-Some killer solos and some really catchy stuff, better then their last album but nowhere near the level of their first 3. B-

Jarvis Cocker-Jarvis- I dont know much about Pulp, but this is really good. Nothing all that original but covering the spectrum of british rock from the Kinks to Oasis. A-

Panda Bear-Person Pitch- Not for everyone but really beautiful. It's an obvious refrence but if you like Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys this is for you, or if you just smoke large amounts of pot. B+[/b]

Sea & Cake and Dinosaur Jr. are definitely on my best-of list so far.

Rocks & Blows, I've been meaning to check out that Jarvis Cocker for a long time, never see it anywhere. Next time I order online I'm going to get it. You should check out Pulp- they're great. Different Class would be the logical entrance point I believe

Blitzen Trapper-Wild MountainNation-For fans of early Beck and the James Gang recommended songs “Wild Mountain Nation” and “Summer Town” at, http://www.myspace.com/blitzentrapper

King Khan and the Shrines-What Is?-For fans of mid 60’s R&B and rock and roll, like the Animals infused with some Jack White. Recommended songs “Outta Harms Way” “69 Faces of Love” at, http://www.myspace.com/kingkhantheshrines

I just bought The Search the other day in anticipation of the Son Volt and Old 97's show Saturday night at Summerfest. Really looking forward to that.

My early impressions of the CD is that it's very solid, though obviously not as good as Trace, and perhaps a notch below Wide Swing Tremolo, which I also consider excellent and aesthetically comparable to The Search. I really like the surprising use of horns on "The Picture", and think "Methamphetamine" and "Highways and Cigarettes" are very nice slower numbers. While I like the guitar work on "Automatic Society", the lyrics are remarkably banal for a writer of Farrar's stature.

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That's a great sounding double bill Midge.
I'm waiting for the Old 97's to swing throught Chicago on August 11 at the Taylor Street Italian fest

http://www.jamfests.com/taylorstreet/entertainment.htm

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“Mmmm. Move over, eggs. Bacon just got a new best friend - fudge.”

Nice! Thanks for the tip. I hadn't heard that they were going to be in town this summer. I will definitely check that out--the Old 97's always put on a Hell of a show.

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Odawas "Raven and the White Night" - I reviewed it, at length, on my blog, but I'm not linking from here to my blog. Google is your friend.

Justice "[cross]" - Totally trendy, retarded, lifestyle-electro, but they're good at it.

Simian Mobile Disco "Attack Decay Sustain Release" - Totally trendy, retarded, lifestyle-electro, but a little less self-aware than Justice and rooted in some great sounds.

The Besnard Lakes "The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse" - Psych jams with a decent enough pop sensibility.

Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas "Reinterpretations" - Technically not 'new,' this is a collection of b-sides and relative rarities by these Swedish purveyors of kosmische-disco. Old Man Potter would hate this.

SP's blog features frequent updates.

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haha, that's another "thin books" entry

I guess I'm a little late catching onto this thread, but I thought I'd offer my 2 cents for the best of 2007...Two Shoes by The Cat Empire. They are an Aussie band that mixes Ska, Reggae, Jazz, Latin and a little Soul for a fun and interesting listen.