Admittedly, there’s a bit of conflict of interest here (Maura’s engaged to the author, I consider him a friend), but we would be out of line if we didn’t at least mention J. More »
Admittedly, there’s a bit of conflict of interest here (Maura’s engaged to the author, I consider him a friend), but we would be out of line if we didn’t at least mention J. More »
Judging by the trailer for A Skin, A Night, an upcoming documentary about smoky NYC swoon rockers the National, the band sat around in either incredibly dark or blindingly bright rooms, scratching their eyes, clapping into microphones and drinking for over half a year while recording Boxer. “We’re very much in the middle of something…we don’t know where we’ll end up. Maybe the record will be the film.” Don’t you have to be British to be this dramatic? Especially if you sound like a more accessible Tindersticks?
Paste came out of the gate with its Top 100 Albums Of 2007 list, and it’s topped by The National’s Boxer, with the Arcade Fire (hey, remember them?) and Bruce Springsteen right behind it. (For those of you who were wondering, Radiohead’s In Rainbows came in at No. 11.) The full list is after the jump, but here are a few impressions:
THE GOOD: The top 20 is pretty much full of the usual triple-A suspects (White Stripes, Wilco, Modest Mouse, Band Of Horses, Iron & Wine), but it’s awful nice to see Miranda Lambert’s genuinely thrilling Crazy Ex-Girlfriend get some love at No. 18.
THE BAD: The clustering of Internet-loved darlings near the list’s bottom–particularly the Menomena-Liars-Deerhunter-Dan Deacon-Art Brut run that makes up Nos. 85-81–makes one wonder if this list really needed to be 100 albums long. 2007 wasn’t that good, folks!
THE WHAAA? Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings’ 100 Days, 100 Nights (No. 45) being bested by the safe-as-milk Norah Jones (No. 44) and the Grey’s Anatomy-approved caterwauler Brandi Carlile (No. 41)? C’mon, Paste–we know you have a target demo, but challenging people can sometimes be fun.
Every week, we round up the all-important, all-summarizing last sentences of the biggest new-music reviews. Today’s entry is the National’s Boxer, which is released today.
Welcome to On The Shelf, Idolator’s weekly look at the new releases hitting store shelves and digital-music services. This week, we look at fresh albums from Maroon 5, The Used, KRS-One and Marley Marl, and the National, as well as the latest offering in the Kidz Bop series.
The National’s Boxer doesn’t come out until May 22, but already there’s a ton of anticipation; “Fake Empire,” the first song to be unleashed to the MP3 blogs, has already shot to the upper echelons of the elbo.ws chart, and with good reason, as it’s a slow-burn track that goes from last-call lament… More »
