“Uncut” Sings The Praises Of <em>Sound Of Silver</em>

jharv | November 30, 2007 2:25 am
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British music mag Uncut may advertise a mind-numbing recycled feature in the form of John Lennon’s “30 Greatest Songs” on the cover of of its year-end issue, but much like how the magazine’s reviews section stays doggedly up-to-date even as the rest of the book flogs seemingly exhausted rock icons, its year-end list names LCD Soundsystem’s Sound Of Silver the best album of the year and LCD’s “North American Scum” the best song. (Even more surprising for a mag that trades so heavily on “worthy” rock music for grown-up boys, Rihanna’s “Umbrella” sits just behind James Murphy at No. 2 on the songs list.) You know the full lists are after the jump, but an advance preview for now.

THE GOOD: PJ Harvey’s astounding White Chalk makes a surprisingly high appearance at No. 3, not that we’re complaining. Also Uncut‘s got to be the only relatively high-profile music mag in the world, other than The Wire, that would put Robert Wyatt’s art-drunk album about sobering up, Comicopera, in its Top 10. THE BAD: People really did love that Wilco album, didn’t they? Things get a bit flabby in the AAA-friendly mid-section of the albums list with the exception of Les Savy Fav’s very fine comeback. Also the Arctic Monkeys at No. 2 seems a bit of a stretch for an album where even fans grumbled and whispered about sophomore slumps. THE WHAAA?: As Maura wondered, how do EPs count as “songs”? With the format enjoying something of a minor resurgence, is it time to bring back the EP category across the board when it comes to best-of lists?

Albums: 1. LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver 2. Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare 3. PJ Harvey – White Chalk 4. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss – Raising Sand 5. Wilco – Sky Blue Sky 6. Robert Wyatt – Comicopera 7. The Hold Steady – Boys and Girls in America 8. The White Stripes – Icky Thump 9. Radiohead – In Rainbows 10. Klaxons – Myths of the Near Future 11. Björk – Volta 12. Battles – Mirrored 13. Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II 14. M.I.A. – Kala 15. Panda Bear – Person Pitch 16. Grinderman – Grinderman 17. Super Furry Animals – Hey Venus! 18. Voice of the Seven Woods – Voice of the Seven Woods 19. Feist – The Reminder 20. Bruce Springsteen – Magic 21. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible 22. Babyshambles – Shotters Nation 23. Rilo Kiley – Under the Brightlight 24. Lessavy Fav – Let’s Stay Friends 25. Kings of Leon – Because of the Times 26. Manu Chao – La Radiolina 27. Steve Earle – Washington Square Serenade 28. Rufus Wainwright – Release the Stars 29. The Besnard Lakes – The Besnard Lakes are the Dark Horse 30. The Good, The Bad & The Queen – The Good, The Bad & The Queen 31. Devendra Banhart – Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon 32. Queens of the Stone Age – Era Vulgaris 33. Tinariwen – Aman Iman: Water Is Life 34. The National – Boxer 35. Bill Callahan – Woke on a Whaleheart 36. Bright Eyes – Cassadaga 37. Beirut – The Flying Club Cup 38. The Cribs – Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever 39. Interpol – Our Love to Admire 40. Iron and Wine – The Shepherd’s Dog 41. Justice – † 42. Richard Thompson – Sweet Warrior 43. Manic Street Preachers – Send Away the Tigers 44. Maps – We Can Create 45. Richard Hawley – Lady’s Bridge 46. Von Sudenfed – Tromatic Reflexxions 47. Nick Lowe – At My Age 48. Thurston Moore – Trees Outside the Academy 49. Ry Cooder – My Name Is Buddy 50. Dinosaur Jr. – Beyond

Songs: 1. LCD Soundsystem – North American Scum 2. Rihanna – Umbrella 3. Feist – 1,2,3,4 4. Battles – Atlas 5. The White Stripes – You Don’t Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You’re Told) 6. M.I.A. – Jimmy 7. Klaxons – Golden Skans 8. Mutya & Groove Armada – Song 4 Mutya (Out of Control) 9. Roisin Murphy – Overpowered 10. Dizzee Rascal – Sirens 11. Effi Briest – Mirror Rim 12. Kanye West – Can’t Tell Me Nothing 13. Grinderman – No Pussy Blues 14. Lavender Diamond – The Cavalry of Light EP 15. Arctic Monkeys – Brianstorm 16. The Hold Steady – Stuck Between Stations 17. Justice – D.A.N.C.E. 18. Babyshambles – Delivery 19. Caribou – Meolody Day 20. Joanna Newsom – Joanna Newsom & The Ys Street Band EP

Uncut Best Of 2007 [Acclaimed Music Forums]