Anything On Your Mind?
2007 was a big year in my life. I switched jobs that year, going from a sleepy and stable job to a startup, which was a lot of fun and got me learning a lot again. It basically set me on a forward moving career path after five or so years of largely treading water. Our first child was also born that year, which of course was a huge event. That’s probably enough in the way of big life events for one year! I also had my first attempt at a blog that year, about which the less said, the better. I don’t even think any of that writing has survived, thankfully. Musically, if my theory is right, I should be more with it, since two-thirds of the year was child-free (and I had a bus commute which is good for listening time). The chart actually confirms that - I’ve got five of these in the library, which is at least more than the next couple years.
What Do You Listen To From 2007, Josh?
A sampling of albums from the collection from 2007.
No, I won’t write about In Rainbows here. Nobody needs that. I am also not going to write about Wilco or LCD Soundsystem, even though I really like their records from 2007 (Sky Blue Sky and Sound of Silver). Or Bon Iver, The National, or Arcade Fire, but in those cases, it’s because I think those records suck. And I thought that Arcade Fire record sucked even before we found out Win Butler is a creep! Anyway, you don’t need to read my thoughts on any of that stuff. You don’t need to read my thoughts on these records either, but tough shit!
Black Madonna, The Austerity Program
One of my favorite micro-genres of rock music is “two people making a godawful racket”, and so of course I enjoy The Austerity Program. Certainly, a lineup of “guitar, bass, and drum machine” is one that is going to always suggest Big Black, and that’s not far from the truth. I’d say that the drum machine programming is a little more sophisticated that Big Black’s approach, and the guitar stuff skronks less, but you’re in the vicinity. There’s a mechanistic quality to this, the sense that it’s a machine tearing itself apart. Expect a certain amount of repetition in their noise rock, although not to the point of droning. So, maybe more Shellac than Big Black. There’s even some Albini-esque shouting. Look, this sounds like a pastiche of Albini’s bands. That’s a good thing! Anyway, this album features several long pieces interspersed with some minute-long tracks - one of which is a song, two of which are just some interludes. It all finishes up with “Song 16” (none of the songs here have a proper name), a fourteen-minute burner that pays off the record.
Bayani, Blue Scholars
Seattle rap duo Blue Scholars (DJ Sabzi and MC Geologic) were surprise regional stars in the mid-2000s, with Seattle Weekly naming their self-released debut Album of the Year in 2004, which brought them quite a bit more attention. It is, in fact, how I heard about them. I don’t think they got much beyond the area, but there was a mini-scene centered around them for a bit, with Sabzi also being the DJ for Common Market. To me, Sabzi’s production is the biggest attraction here, his jazzy and light beats are really a big part of the pleasure for me, although I do think Geologic is good on the mic. They followed up that record with this one, released on Rawkus, but I don’t think it made too much of an impact outside of the region. They did self-release a third album before they came to an end, along with a very good EP (The Long March). And look, we know I’m a huge Seattle homer, I make no bones about that. Hearing a rapper shout out the 206 will always be fun for me, and I can’t pretend like it doesn’t color my opinion here.
(NB: the album linked below is the Redux version, which adds a few tracks to the original.)
Get Warmer, Bomb The Music Industry!
Across seven records, BtMI! were kind of a mess but a charming one. It was really Jeff Rosenstock and a bunch of random contributors, with the albums all being released online for free. They did partner with various labels for physical releases of the albums, with this one being on Asian Man Records, which is how I learned about them. Purely DIY, BtMI! would even invite fans up on-stage if they brought instruments with them to perform along. Despite the kind of shambolic approach, Rosenstock made sure that the records were always fun and the songs were entertaining. I talk a little about his solo work here, but he was firing on all cylinders with his hyperactive ska-punk on this album. Realliy more “punk with horns” most of the time, it’s just a rollicking good time and this is my favorite of the BtMI! material.
(NB: you can go directly to Quote Unquote Records and download this album for free, with a suggested donation. The Bandcamp link is also fine, either way works.)
Let’s Talk More 2007 Releases
We’re staying in the past today!
Two Hunters, Wolves in the Throne Room
It was only a matter of time before the arboreal black metal heroes of Olympia showed up around here. Olympia is very much not Seattle, but dammit, my homerdom spreads throughout the Pacific Northwest. It’s hard to write about Wolves in the Throne Room without getting all dorky about “pagan” this or “Cascadean” that. The band’s own mythology kind of encourages it, and the broad subject being inspired by the environment rather than, you know, satan sort of pushes you in that direction as well. But make no mistake: this is a black metal record. There are plenty of passages that aren’t blasting, such as the atmospheric first part of “Cleansing” and some parts of “I Will Lay Down My Bones Among the Rocks and Roots”, so there’s texture to the record, but it’s a black metal record. The style that Wolves in the Throne Room and Agalloch pioneered would get copied by lots of other bands, but they have always remained one of the best at it.
Cendre, Fennesz + Sakamoto
Christian Fennesz and Ryuichi Sakamoto, two ambient artists, put together this collaboration, recording pieces separately and trading them with each other, building things up slowly. I guess, grudgingly, I have to say “Postal Service-style”. The resulting record is about as peaceful an album as exists. Ambient can be kind of sleepy, but here Sakamoto’s piano provides a lot of interest for me. If you’re looking for a relaxing, low-key, lovely record, here you go. See, we don’t just listen to abrasive nonsense around here!
The Horror Of Life, J Church
I’ve written about J Church so much, so I dunno, I probably don’t need to recap them too much. Hell, I’ve even used them to get maudlin before. So I’ll just say that this was the final J Church album, the capstone of an incredibly prolific career. The kidney disease that would claim his life this same year was hampering him a lot at this point, but Hahn still sounded great. Hahn’s passing really did get to me back when it happened, weighing on me for quite a while. But now, I just think about how happy his records have made me, and maybe somebody out there will also enjoy them. I do miss Hahn, it would have been great to see where he took things, but he gave the music world so much while he was with us that his work doesn’t feel incomplete the way some other artists who passed early left their work unfinished.
Five Random Songs
Yes, it’s the “classic” five random songs format. It’s been told before on this blog many times, but basically, on an old forum, people would post the last five songs their shuffle pulled up. I liked it, so I made it into a blog. And now, here we are.
“Alone Together”, The Smarthearts
For a split second, that riff sounds like the Romantics, enough that it’s briefly disorienting. Anyway, The Smarthearts are from Philly, this EP came out in 2025, and apparently they put out an album in 2018 that I haven’t heard. That’s what I know! This is pretty pure power pop, it’s plenty fun, and I like it. Not everything has to be deep!
“Head”, Janitor Joe
Janitor Joe is a noise rock band that put out two records on Amphetamine Reptile Records in the early 90s and then packed it in. To the extent that anybody knows about them, it’s because Kristen Pfaff played bass on this record before Hole poached her (she would soon thereafter die from a heroin overdose, because that was what Hole did to people). However, I have a special place in my heart for all things Amphetamine Reptile, so I enjoy these records, but they’re not the place to start with that label.
“Ali-Ska-Ba”, The Scofflaws
I think that, generally, if ska bands weren’t so enamored of puns, that the public backlash to the third wave wouldn’t have been anywhere near as complete and sustained as it turned out to be. But whatever, the Scofflaws put out two very good records and one so-so record in the 90s and were extremely fun live, so I like them.
“White House Twist”, The Twistin’ Kings
This is a very early Motown single, from 1961, and is very much just a straight-ahead rock ’n’ roll song. The singles collections from Motown are ideal for shuffle, as it’s fun to have this kind of thing pop up every now and again.
“Niño diamante”, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs
Good list today! Love the tribute to “Take 5” in here.
Some Better Places To Learn About Music
Check these folks out, you’ll learn more for sure. In no particular order: To The Teeth, Wolf’s Week/Plague Rages, The Devil’s Mouth, Burning Ambulance, Lamniformes Cuneiform, Hex Records, See/Saw, Starkweather.