It's been a long time, yes I know...

I was recently asked to name my favorite bands, records and labels of 2007. Never mind that I really hate reading those types of lists, it got me thinking. In this era of information overload and unprecendented access to previously inaccessible music from around the world and from all years of recorded music, narrowing the field to current releases seems really difficult if not absurd. No music today is informed or influenced exclusively by it's own scene or lineage. Everyone, from the 13 year olds playing power pop to the hip hop superstars trying to stay on top of the game, can avoid the broadest spectrum of music information ever available. And they better be aware of it because someone will call them out if they act otherwise. Best leave the "best of" to the people who market music, they are the only ones who have anything to gain by creating these lists.

In order to avoid sounding like a complete curmudgeon though here are some things I'm listening to these days...
*Hair-the Japanese cast recording featuring soon to be members of the Flower Traveling Band, Brainfood, Far East Family Band, among others. Amazing versions of the ultra catchy original songs from the musical and the first explosion of the Japanese psych underground.
*King Khan & BBQ Show- nuff said!
*Trio- S/T the white album with Ja Ja Ja, Sunday You Need Love (later brilliantly covered by the Oblivians) and a bunch of other awesome Deutsche Neue Wave hits.
*Hank Ballard & The Midnighters- Singin and Swingin, pure rockin soul R&B.
*Illes- Illesek Es Pofonok, Human Rights (dedicated to Angela Davis!) A couple of amazing beatle-esque prog psych albums from '69 and '70 respectively by this Hungarian band who along with Omega (Omega's Red Star album is great as well) and the wonderful singer Zalatnay Sarolta were part of the brief flowering of artistic expression behind the iron curtain prior to the 70's cold war tensions and repressions brought the music back under state control.
*Traffic Sounds- Lux, great reissue of this classic Peruvian rock album. All Traffic Sounds records are great, but Lux is a good place to start. Hawkwind meets Santana with Randy California sitting in on guitar.
*Les Breastfeeders- Les Matins Grands Soirs, Ye Ye garage pop from Montreal, pretty fun, I might get tired of it after a while but it sounds pretty great right now.

As I said before though, it is not that interesting to read someone else's list, I listen to tons of music, but it's whatever sounds good at the moment. I couldn't limit myself even if I tried, and I wouldn't want to. There is too much out there and learning about it is too much fun. Take the hint, get out of your rut and listen to more music. Don't scan YouTube video's and consider the job done, give things repeated listens in different environments, home, car, work, etc. Most great music takes more than one listen to appreciate fully, give it a fair chance before making a judgement.

Alright, that's it! Happy Summer!
Martin