For the record, the cost per ticket of this show is fifty cents less than I paid to see Rush in 1985. There’s a factoid for ya.

Most Disappointing Album Of The Year: Smashing Pumpkins – ZeitgeistI can’t understand it. I actually liked Corgan’s last couple of efforts, but this was supposed to be the thing where he returned to his element–a chance to flex hius muscle and recreate the magic that made Siamese Dream an instant classic and still keeps Gish in rotation. But no. While it’s always a treat to hear Jimmy Chamberlin’s chaingun drumming and Corgan’s technical prowess is still razor-edged, it’s a wash of samey-ness that, upon first (and even second) listens felt like a party you really were looking forward to but turned out to be just some dude and a couple friends playing X-Box. I saw myself out pretty quick.

Smashing Pumpkins: blog, Gish review (for nostalgia’s sake)

Best Band Whose Two Releases I Can’t Seem To Find In Any Music StoreLove Like Fire

I stumbled across these cats on the Net, as I so often do, and lucky I did. Theirs is a style that I find immensely satisfying. Ann Yu’s confident vocals are backed by a solid lineup of Dave Farrell on drums, Ted Parker on guitar and Robert Kissinger on bass. They hint of shoegaze, but rein in the indulgent impulses with a tight song composition and nifty playing. But then I love the shoegaze stuff. Visit their MySpace presence and check out the phenomenal “Delusion” for a taste of what this band is capable of. Can’t wait to see what shows up from them in 2008.

Love Like Fire: official site

Song Of The Year From An Album That Actually Came Out In 2003“We Used To Be Friends” by The Dandy Warhols.

By itself, the song kicks some meaty rock ass. But it dominated my airspace this year because it happens to be the theme song for Veronica Mars. You see, I waited until the series was canceled before actually picking up the first episode. Since then it’s been Ms. Mars on repeat. As my friend Ryan says, the show is “methadone for Buffy addicts.” Yeah, that’s about right. It’s a bout a precocious teenager who gets into situations way more complex and dangerous than the average high school girl and happens to learn something about human nature in each episode. Toss in a pair of Buffy alums and we’re deep into Joss Whedon territory.

Anyway, it’s tempting to imagine the show’s success was due entirely to its canny choice of theme music, but the show itself was well-written, well acted and featured Charisma Carpenter wearing far less than she ever did in Buffy or Angel, so yes, one must downplay the role of the theme song when weighing the show’s success.

Except… for some reason when the third season kicked off, someone thought it would be a good idea to take that kick ass rock song, siphon out its steely guts and replace it with marshmallow. What had once been an energizing sprint off the cliff of danger at the beginning of each episode became a soporific hello and a lackluster beckon. And then the show was canceled. Draw your own conclusions.

Veronica Mars: Bars For Mars (campaign to prevent show’s cancellation)
Dandy Warhols: “We Used To Be Friends” video

Best Album By A Band Whom I Love Because They Were My First Concert And I’ll Always Love Them No Matter How Irrelevant They Become To The Younger Generation:Rush – Snakes & Arrows Without a doubt. Those three dudes are still cranking out tunes. Wish I could have seen them on their last tour, because really, how many more of those have they got in them? The album itself was fine, but we’re talking about someone who knows all the basslines, the lyrics and album credits by heart for every album between 1973 and 2003, so how do you blame me? Best in class of 2007. Hands down.

Rush: official site, glowing review at Allmusic.com

Albums I Was Apparently Supposed To Like But Just Didn’t For Whatever Reason Five Way Tie:

Scott Walker – The Drift
Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam
Prinzhorn Dance School – Prinzhorn Dance School
Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
Amy Winehouse – Back To Black

Albums I Might Have Liked Had I Not Been Tricked By Pitchfork’s Implication That There Is Time In A Year To Listen To Everything And Actually Gotten Around To Trying:

Chromatics – Night Drive
Pylon – Gyrate
Bishop & Allen – The Broken String
Josh Ritter – The Historical Conquests Of
Little Dragon – Little Dragon
Daphne – Carmin
Uusitalo – Karhunainen
Minus The Bear – Planet Of Ice
Cassius – 15 Again
Richard Hawley – Lady’s Bridge
Arrested Development – Since The Last Time

And these, because I’m tired of typing: Ohmega Watts, Castanets, Avenged Sevenfold, Film School, The Fiery Furnaces, Oakley Hall, Percee P, Low, The Sadies, Nick Lowe, Shocking Pinks, Devendra Banhart, The Twilight Sad, Rogue Wave, Black Francis, Clipse, Kanye West, Stereo Total, Good Bad Not Evil, Shout Out Louds, A Hawk and a Hacksaw, The Horrors, Bjork, Sarah Shannon, Julie Doiron, The Loose Salute, Rihanna, Talib Kweli, A Place To Bury Strangers, The Perishers, Kathy Diamond, Interpol, Aesop Rock, Rilo Kiley and a couple others.

And that’s it for 2007. I’m done.

Unless I get around to typing up all the runners-up in the Ten Tracks That Mattered list, but that’s more typing than I want to do without copious booze.

Man, has it really been twenty years?

When I worked at Amoeba Music recently, I was one of about three people who had a thing for Rush. Three of us. Jim Evens was one. And there was someone else. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Charles. Three of us. Out of a staff of 220. In my estimate, that means at least a hundred of them weren’t fessing up.

Rush was my first concert (December 1985, dude, Power Windows Tour, Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, yeah!) And by first concert I mean the first one I went to by myself. I had already been to see The Grateful Dead and The Allman Bros. Band with my parents. They had nothing to do with this one. If they had, I probably wouldn’t have been dressed in a long overcoat bedecked with cool buttons that said things like, FRANKIE SAY RELAX, FRODO LIVES and WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT, DICKNOSE?. Yes, that’s right. I was a geek.

Anyway, it was two more years before they released Hold Your Fire. Back in those days we didn’t have computers that you could carry around with you and we all had free time and spent a great deal of time outdoors. Nothing to do but drop by Hastings Music once a week and see if Rush (or Yes or Marillion or The Fixx) has put anything new out lately. It was a busy two years for me. In September 1987 I was finally rewarded for my efforts.

Good times…

Rush – “Prime Mover”