Go News Go! – The Weekly News Recap

Da dadadada da. Da dadadada da. DaDAAAA! It’s the return of Go News Go! YAY!

General

• You had me at Zooey Deschanel
• Radiohead announce cities for US tour!!! No dates?!!?! F***!
• Asthmatic Kitty DVD? Yes, please.
• Bruised Shins.

Tour Dates

• Clinic (England and US)
• The National (Worldwide)
• HEALTH and Crystal Castles (N. America)
• The Breeders…really? (N. America/UK)
• British Sea Power (Europe/US)
• Islands (Europe/US)
• Xiu Xiu (US)
• Broken Social Scene (Worldwide)
• Spoon (Worldwide)
• Jens Lekman (Worldwide)
• Blitzen Trapper (N. America)
• Justice (Worldwide)

Ugh….

Winners of the 4th Annual Cale Awards.

Well folks, after a month of polling, campaigning, and annoying you with updates you don’t care about, the 4th Annual Cale Awards have finally finished. Below you’ll find the winners according to the general readership of Audio Overflow, as well as my own personal pick for each category. Thanks to all of you who participated! Have a Merry Christmas!

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Readers’ Pick:
1st – Britney Spears: Blackout
2nd – Boddicker: Big Lionhearted and the Gallant Man
3rd – Interpol: Our Love to Admire

Cale’s Pick:
Boddicker: Big Lionhearted and the Gallant Man – Because I’ve been trying to think of worse albums for the last 10 months and I’m still coming up empty. It’s the single worst thing I’ve ever heard!

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Readers’ Pick:
1st – Britney Spears – “Toy Soldier”
2nd – Boddicker – “Bon Vivant”
3rd – Maroon 5 – “Kiwi”

Cale’s Pick:
Boddicker – “Bon Vivant” – Because I’ve been trying to think of worse songs for the last 10 months and I’m still coming up empty. It’s the single worst thing I’ve ever heard!

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Readers’ Pick
1st – Rilo Kiley: Under the Blacklight
2nd – Feist: The Reminder
3rd – Air: Pocket Symphony

Cale’s Pick:
Rilo Kiley: Under the Blacklight – I waited 3 years for a new Rilo Kiley album and what I got was a mediocre attempt at trying to sound like Fleetwood Mac. Personally, I’d aim a little higher.

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Readers’ Pick:
1st – Caribou: Andorra
2nd – LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver
3rd – ContraNova: Infinity in all Directions

Cale’s Pick:

ContraNova: Infinity in all Directions – I went in expecting the worst, and came out with one of the most memorable and lasting musical experiences of the year.

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Readers’ Pick:
1st – The Decemberists: The Crane Wife
2nd – The Flaming Lips: At War With the Mystics
3rd – The Pipettes: We Are the Pipettes

Cale’s Pick:
The Decemberists: The Crane Wife – It wasn’t my album of the year in 2006, but I’ve been surprised to find that it is just as good today as it was way back then. Perhaps better.

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Readers’ Pick:
1st – The Flaming Lips
2nd – Of Montreal
3rd – The New Pornographers

Cale’s Pick:
The Flaming Lips – What can I said that I haven’t already ranted about? The Lips are the best live act I’ve ever seen in my life, and when I saw them a few months back I was spinning for days. Pure 100% awesomeness.

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Readers’ Pick:
1st – Spoon – “The Underdog”
2nd – Bjork – “The Dull Flame of Desire”
3rd – Okkervil River – “A Girl in Port”

Cale’s Pick:
Architecture in Helsinki – “Hold Music” – The brass in this song is strong and biting. Playing at triple forte to enhance an already out of control song has never sounded so good!

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Readers’ Pick:
1st – Explosions in the Sky: All of a Sudden I miss Everyone
2nd – Animal Collective: Strawberry Jam
3rd – Radiohead: In Rainbows

Cale’s Pick:
Animal Collective: Strawberry Jam– It’s such a strangely satisfying album. One that makes absolutely no sense, and yet it makes even less sense to deny the genius of it. It is, quite simply, amazing.

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Readers’ Pick:
1st – Band of Horses: Cease to Begin
2nd – Dillinger Escape Plan: Ire Works
3rd – Smashing Pumpkins: Zeitgeist

Cale’s Pick:
Dillinger Escape Plan: Ire Works– Band of Horses? Seriously? It’s a great album, but Dillinger Escape Plan would eat them alive, regurgitate them, and then sacrifice the regurgitation to Vulcanus! That’s what this category was really all about.

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Readers’ Pick:
1st – Kanye West: Graduation
2nd – El-P: I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead
3rd – K-Os: Atlantis: Hymns for Disco

Cale’s Pick:
Absaining – I didn’t really hear any hip hop this year that I enjoyed. K-Os was good at times, but not his best, so I can’t credit him for that.

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Readers’ Pick:
1st – Caribou: Andorra
2nd – Justice: †
3rd – LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver

Cale’s Pick:
Justice: † – While all of the top three are great albums, I have to say that I enjoyed Justice’s log-awaited debut the most. Big ups to Caribou too though, that album is stunning.

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Readers’ Pick:
1st – Okkervil River: The Stage Names
2nd – Iron & Wine: The Shepherd’s Dog
3rd – Loney, Dear: Loney, Noir

Cale’s Pick:
Loney, Dear: Loney, Noir – It’s folk from Sweden, poppy folk, singer-songwriter folk. Hell, it’s just good.

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Readers’ Pick:
1st – Stars: In Our Bedroom After the War
2nd – Apples in Stereo: New Magnetic Wonder
3rd – Beirut: The Flying Club Cup

Cale’s Pick:
Field Music: Tones of Town – It’s brilliantly composed and executed, and one of the most relentlessly enjoyable albums of 2007! Not bad for a pop album.

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Readers’ Pick:
1st – Spoon: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
2nd – Tegan and Sara: The Con
3rd – The New Pornographers: Challengers

Cale’s Pick:
Band of Horses: Cease to Begin – I missed out on their debut, but I was fortunate enough to hear this one. It is without a doubt one of the best albums of 2007, and sure to please most everybody.

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Readers’ Pick:
1st – Radiohead: In Rainbows
2nd – Apples in Stereo: New Magnetic Wonder
3rd – Smashing Pumpkins: Zeitgeist

Cale’s Pick:
Radiohead: In Rainbows – Probably the only award that Radiohead actually deserves this year. The hipsters are out in full force, proclaiming In Rainbows to be the second coming of Christ, but it’s not. It is an awesome album though, and a long time coming for Radiohead.

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Readers’ Pick:
1st – Of Montreal: Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
2nd – Bright Eyes: Cassadaga
3rd – Stars: In Our Bedroom, After the War

Cale’s Pick:
Of Montreal: Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? – It may not have been Of Montreal’s most artistic cover to date, but everything from how the album is opened, to the insert, to the clear, glossy sleeve it comes packaged in is beautiful.

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Readers’ Pick:
1st – St. Vincent
2nd – Feist
3rd – M.I.A.

Cale’s Pick:
St. Vincent – This really isn’t even a contest. Annie Clark not only put out the best female album of the year, but one of the best…period. She is 2007’s Shara Worden.

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Readers’ Pick:
1st – Iron & Wine
2nd – LCD Soundsystem
3rd – Loney, Dear

Cale’s Pick:
Loney, Dear – His debut album here in the states was absolutely breathtaking from start to finish and he’s got one of the most unique styles in music today. That’s why I love it!

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Readers’ Pick:
1st – St. Vincent
2nd – The Twilight Sad
3rd – Dan Deacon

Cale’s Pick:
St. Vincent – She put out an album that most established artists only dream about; a perfect album with clever lyrics and beautiful performances on both vocals and intruments. Annie Clark blew away the competition, and ended up winning this category with over 70% of the votes tallied: the most lopsided category of the year! That’s how good she is.

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Readers’ Pick:
1st – Feist – “1,2,3,4”

2nd – Band of Horses – “Is There A Ghost”
3rd – Architecture in Helsinki – “Heart it Races”

Cale’s Pick:
Feist – “1,2,3,4” – Feist should be writing a letter right now to whoever directed this video. It should read, “Dear director, thank you for making my career. I love you.”

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Readers’ Pick:
1st – Radiohead

2nd – The Besnard Lakes
3rd – Of Montreal

Cale’s Pick:
Band of Horses – 2007 is the year that first heard and fell in love with Band of Horses. They may not have had the best album of the 2007, but their music will stick with me for years and years to come.

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Readers’ Pick:
1st – The New Pornographers – “Challengers”
2nd – Of Montreal – “Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse”
3rd – Feist – “1,2,3,4”

Cale’s Pick:
Find out on December 31, 2007 in the Top 31 of 2007 Countdown

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Readers’ Pick:
1st – Radiohead: In Rainbows
2nd – Of Montreal: Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
3rd – Band of Horses: Cease to Begin

Cale’s Pick:
Find out on December 31, 2007 in the Top 31 of 2007 Countdown

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Again, thanks to all of you who voted! And thank you for reading Audio Overflow.

The Top 31 of 2007 – #8

Cale’s Pick

Justice: †
Released: July 11, 2007

Some friends and I went and saw The New Pornographers and Spoon a while back (link). Afterwards, I was tired as all hell and I needed something to keep me awake on the 40 minute drive to the Whataburger at which we would reconvene. I chose Justice set to “really loud.” It worked. Anyways, they beat me there by a few seconds, to where they were already walking up to the entrance while I was pulling in. Looking at the bewildered look on their faces, I could tell immediately that my one-man Justice dance party had now spread to the parking lot of my local Whataburger. And they couldn’t figure it out. Here I was, coming back from seeing two indie rock powerhouses…and I’m listening to dance music? What? It’s true. You see, I have no rational explanation to what I like and what I don’t like, especially when it comes to electronic music, but I’ll try here to explain why Justice is the dance album everyone should own.

Where most dance music is just idiotically repetitive, Justice is revolutionary in it’s evolutionary practices. I’ll explain. My sisters are not bright. They listen to bad (BAD) techno music because, “Like, you can, like, dance to it!!!1!one” So they show me a song by Fedde Le Grand called “Put Your Hands Up For Detroit,” and like most terrible techno songs, the title is repeated throughout the track (“Put your hands up. Put your hands up. Put your hands up. Put your hand up for Detroit!”….all the while I’m thinking, “But Detroit sucks ass!”). But you can dance to it so it’s good right? Wrong! Any idiot can stumble upon danceable track after a few hours in the studio, and it doesn’t exactly take a genius to find a random audio sample and loop it over and over again. It’s dumb. It’s dumb music. Music for dumb people.

But Justice is smart, and as I said, revolutionary in their evolutionary practices. Where your run of the mill techno track will repeat itself until it reaches a decent playtime, a Justice song is constantly evolving, constantly surprising. Where techno tracks all sound the same, Justice is jarring in their use of distinct, harsh samples. It literally sounds like nothing else you’ve ever heard before, which is extremely revolutionary in the genre of electronic music. And for that, I can’t help but be amazed over and over again that I actully listen to dance music. Or that I actually like it. And it’s French…go figure!

For giving me more one-man dance parties than any one man should have, Justice climbs to the #8 spot.

The Top 31 Songs of 2007 – #8

“A House is Not a Home” by Field Music, from the album, Tones of Town.

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Jill’s Pick

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss: Raising Sand

Released: October 23, 2007

On one hand: to borrow a popular Internet phrase in regards to Led Zeppelin: do not want. Led Zeppelin and Rush and Radiohead are such inflated, overrated bands that I turn a deaf ear to them if subjected to them. I know that’s wrong, at least, that’s what I’ve been told, because well they’re supposedly “classics” and “trend setters” and “genius.” (insert eye rolling here)

On the other hand: there’s Alison Krauss. She’s already been on my list. She’s awesome. (See my review of her if you need a refresher on my opinion.) I enjoy her to no end.

What happens when you put Robert Plant and Alison Krauss together on the same album? You get the oddest, most bizarre pairing ever. You also get one of the most surprising albums ever made. A lot of people don’t like it and I realized that those people are Zeppelin fans, who were expecting something more vintage Zeppelin sounding apparently. Oddly enough, Alison Krauss fans LOVE this album and I can see why: it’s a combination of Roots and Bluegrass music crafted by two people who truly love what they are doing.

This album, when I listen to it, makes me feel like I’m listening to something “adult” which isn’t a bad thing. For once, I can finally say Robert Plant has done something I actually really enjoy. This album’s ethereal qualities are one I am so very glad I did not miss. It’s perfect for those late, lonely nights in my life.

My favorite track: “Rich Woman” tied with “Let Your Lesson Be Your Loss”

Songs you should give a listen to:

–“Rich Woman”

–“Gone Gone Gone”

–“Fortune Teller”

–“Stick With Me Baby”

–“Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson”

The Top 31 of 2007 – #23

Cale’s Pick Stars: In Our Bedroom After the War
Released: September 25, 2007

In Our Bedroom After the War is a disappointment, but not an unexpected one. Stars’ first album was mediocre, their second amazing, and their third was brilliance in music form! They had nowhere to go but down. That being said, In Our Bedroom After the War lies somewhere in between Nightsongs and Heart on my scale, which pairs it with the not-so-terrible adjective, “good.” It is a good album. Like any good album, it has it’s songs that really hit home with you (“Take Me to the Riot,” “Midnight Coward,” or the title track), and others that get skipped over so many times that you forget what they even sound like (“Window Bird” and “Bitches in Tokyo”). Perhaps the single most disappointing thing, however, is the fact that Stars doesn’t seem like they’re trying too hard this time out. They are a great pop act for their ability to make their songs seem so effortless (when in reality, writing a good pop song is difficult), but on In Our Bedroom…, a lot of the songs seem forced. “Barricade” is absolutely absurd in it’s “I swear I’m going to make you cry by listening to this song” approach, and it succeeds, but they’re tears of laughter. And “In Our Bedroom After the War” is a beautiful song, and one of my favorites of 2007, but any Stars fan can point out that it follows the exact same formula as “Your Ex-Lover is Dead” right up to the goosebump-inducing string instrumentation in the coda. Yeah, it’s a good album alright, but next time around I’d like to see some innovation. Surprise me Stars! Because as much as I love your music, everyone knows that pop acts won’t be around for long if they don’t evolve. And I want you to stick around…

For giving it one last ditch effort and still not disappointing entirely, Stars shoots to #23.

The Top 31 Songs of 2007 – #23
“D.A.N.C.E.” by Justice, from the album, †

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Jill’s Pick

Common: Finding Forever
Released: July 31, 2007

I was hoping that this would be as good, if not better, than “Be” but it’s not. It’s close enough, though. It’s mellow, it’s a nice testament to the skills (skillz?) I think Common has: he can put his poetry to music in lovely ways and can tell a hell of a story. I like Common because he’s one of those smart lyricists. Not clever, intelligent.

He’s also a really snappy dresser, which helps.

Here’s the portion of my review that I can’t exactly flesh-out, but want to share: (and I say it with this note: I have been trying for two hours to figure out how to put this tactfully and not open a can of worms. If you would like to discuss this with me, please do drop me a line. It’s a conversation I’d like to have with someone.)

I have a good word for Common: contradictory. For as much as I appreciate that he raps about his experiences, I respect the fact he brings up topics he finds worthwhile: teen pregnancy, gang violence, racism. I have to question Common while I listen to him, though, because when he preaches about the ill effects racism on his community, I wonder if he realizes he sounds like those he claims to oppress them.

Really, that’s the only thing bad you’ll ever find me saying about Common.

Oh. Bonus points for using Lily Allen for the hook on “Drivin’ Me Wild”!

My favorite: “So Far To Go”

Songs to give a listen to:
–“Drivin’ Me Wild”
–“So Far To Go”
–“U, Black Maybe”

Vote Now for the 4th Annual Cale Awards!

In case the giant, obtrusive banner above wasn’t enough of a hint; the nominees for the 4th Annual Cale Awards have been announced and you can vote for you favorites RIGHT NOW!

There are a total of 22 Categories in which to vote, and voting will last through December 20th. Among the wide array of nominees are: St. Vincent, Of Montreal, Menomena, The Besnard Lakes, Justice, LCD Soundsystem, El-P, and even our good friends Kanye West and Britney Spears! As always though, you are able to write-in your own candidate simply by leaving a comment below each category.

Voting will only take a few minutes of your time, so head on over to the polls and vote today! Make sure your favorite artists get what they deserve (which is money from you…but you know… also a vote on some random music blog. It’s pretty important).