Last Day to Vote for the 4th Annual Cale Awards!!

It’s the home stretch. Today is the final day to vote for your favorite and least favorite music of 2007 in the 4th Annual Cale Awards. For this final day, I’ve decided to bring all the polls here to the main page. Voting will only takes a 1-2 minutes, and seriously, is there anything better for you to be doing right now? I didn’t think so.

Below are the categories in which you may vote. I’ve ordered the categories by vote count, so those that have less votes overall will come first. You know, just to get a larger sample of things. That means the larger categories like Album of the Year or Band of the Year, are towards the bottom. Please vote if you have not yet done so.

Winners will be announced Monday, December 24th.

The Polls are closed. Thanks for voting. Come back Monday, December 24th to see who wins!

The Top 31 of 2007 – #20

Cale’s Pick

Dillinger Escape Plan: Ire Works

Released: November 5, 2007

About a month ago, I was driving with my sister while listening to a little Dillinger. After a few minutes of listening to the thrashing guitars and screaming vocals she turned and said, “I didn’t know you were into this kind of music,” to which I responded, “I’m not.” No, as it turns out, I’m not much of a fan of any sort of metal music, or any “genre” that ends with “-core” (i.e. hardcore, grindcore….it’s all the same thing dammit!). But for some strange reason that I have yet to figure out, I really enjoy Dillinger Escape Plan. Perhaps it’s because most metal is repetitive and unoriginal while Dillinger is fresh and uber talented. Just when you think you have one of their songs nailed, they change directions completely and go off on a freeform jazz tangent or to a surprisingly accessible chorus. Their music is an absolute blast to listen to because you literally have no idea what to expect when you go into it for the first time. As for Ire Works, it is definitely their most diverse and solid album to date and I listen to it frequently. If I hadn’t solidified my list a few weeks ago, it might have moved up a few spots because I’ve grown to like it more than I anticipated. But then again, 20 ain’t so bad.

For making music that is both interesting and entertaining, Dillinger Escape Plan’s Ire Works makes it to #20.

The Top 31 Songs of 2007 – #20

“Werewolf” by Cocorosie, from the album, The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn.

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Jill’s Pick

Pharoahe Monch: Desire
Released: June 26, 2007

True story: I was standing in the middle of a Best Buy eavesdropping on this man and his wife, who was surprised that he knew anything at all about Rap music. He was clutching this cd in his hands and looked like he was never going to let it go and he kept telling her that he was so excited about it. “It’s been 9 years. 9 years.” He mumbled it a few times and held his new found treasure to his chest while his wife decided between a few different classical music selections. “9 years. 9.” All this time he was clutching and she was looking (and I was standing there trying to figure out what all the fuss was about) he gave her this brief history of Monch’s first album and how he’d never heard anything like it. “I’m not into Rap. You know that. But this is worth it.” She finally asked him if he was really going to get this “Rap album no one has ever heard of. I think you’re making it up.” He clutched it to his chest and turned away from her, this look in his eyes like he was guarding his about-to-be purchase from a really angry flying animal that was going to swoop out with claws and snatch it from him. With a roll of the eyes she turned and walked away in the general direction of the check out area and he followed.

I really hope that man was happy with his purchase because I know I was. Sure, it was a gamble spending money on an album from someone I’d never heard of before and based on the overheard recommendation of someone I’d never met before. I was prompted to purchase thinking that if someone who says they aren’t into Rap was so excited about it then there’s got to be something to it.

The man has got flow like it’s nobody’s business. Pharoahe Monch, not the guy at Best Buy. Listening to this album never makes me fail to say “How does he get those words out like that without tripping over them?” because if I tried to Rap, it would be a mess. (No. Really.) It’s a little ambitious there with the track “Trilogy” which is this sort of Hip-Hop Opera in several acts about cheating on your spouse. (Only, it’s not cheesy funny and easy to mock like R. Kelly’s “Trapped in the Closet” series.) It’s got down the R&B thing, starts with a Slave song, and “Welcome to the Terrordome” made me pause to make sure I wasn’t actually listening to Public Enemy. And there aren’t 900 million people on this album, so you can really get a sense of the skills Pharoahe Monch has, which is nice, because lets face it, not many people can do that.

My favorite: “Desire”

Tracks to give a listen to:

–“Desire”

–“Hold On”

–“Trilogy”

The Top 31 of 2007 – #29

Cale’s Pick
Cocorosie: The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn
Released: April 10, 2007

There are a lot of things that I enjoy. Ice cream sandwiches, video games, basketball, camping, you know…the usual assortment. One thing that I absolutely do not enjoy though, is Cocorosie’s album Noah’s Ark. So when a friend stops by in March of this year asking “Have you ever heard of Cocorosie?” My response was a reluctant sigh, followed by a “…yeah.” As he went on to rave about how cool they sounded, I began to wonder whether or not we wee talking about the same Cocorosie. Then he showed me “Werewolf” from The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn, and (surprise, surprise) this wasn’t the same Cocorosie. This was a Cocorosie with direction, with passion and creativity. It’s a far cry from Noah’s Ark (their only other album of which I am familiar of), and I am absolutely astounded by how amazingly complex it is. About a month later, my friend expressed his concern over the fact that the “coolness” of Ghosthorse and Stillborn had worn off. But as far as I’m concerned, it’s just as beautiful and quirky as ever and it still get regular plays in the ol’ iPod. That’s something I never would’ve expected.

For proving me wrong and letting me be okay with that, Cocorosie creeps into the #29 spot.

The Top 31 Songs of 2007 – #29
Iron and Wine – “Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car”

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Jill’s Pick
Chromeo: Fancy Footwork
Released: June 19, 2007

The first time I heard Fancy Footwork, all I could think was, “It’s the revival of disco!” But then I thought disco was a little too strong of a genre (maybe, maybe not) and decided it was just a really cool album that made me giggly happy. I reserve it for those times I need a pick me up. And usually, you’ll find me, um, you know, chair dancing.

I love that Chromeo, unlike most men (kidding!), are straight forward simple. There’s cleverness in their attempts to not be clever; what you see is what you get. (Example: My Girl Is Calling Me (A Liar) )

It’s just whimsical fun! (Exclamation point added because well, Chromeo seems like an exclamation added type group!)

The best Track: 100%

The tracks you should listen to at least once:
–Tenderoni
–100%
–My Girl Is Calling Me (A Liar)