Welcome to Pitchfork's best of 2007. Today we present our 100 favorite songs of 2007; the top albums come at you tomorrow. As we did in 2006, we've extended the candidate pool beyond the confines of singledom-- basically any song released or covered in 2007, whether a single or not, was eligible for this list. As a bonus, you can check out nearly every song on our Spotify playlist. Enjoy!
100: Ost & Kjex
"Milano Mugolian (A Thrilling Mungophony in Two Parts)"
[Dialect]
Ost & Kjex is a leftfield minimal house duo from Norway. Mungolian Jet Set are also Norwegian, but a totally non-minimal, Baeleric-kitchen sink collective. Mungolian specialize in remixes that remove most traces of the original song in favor of extended excursions into disco-fied neo-exotica, often using live instrumentation and newly recorded vocals. In this case, MJS turn a good house track (originally O&K's "Milano Model") into a multi-movement suite of polka, throat singing, and an update of "Thriller". The last three or four minutes contain enough "bow-bow" bass, huge drums, funky guitar scratch, and vocals to make Sparks jealous-- and to convince listeners that MJS are among the most original and accomplished dance outfits around. Plus, they're funny. --Dominique Leone
99: Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew
"Backed Out on the…"
[Arts & Crafts]
Though anyone can buy his signature Fender guitar and Nike sneakers, there's no substitute for the real J Mascis. Broken Social Scene have their fair share of Mascis-like guitar exercises, but none of them match the blazing squall performed by the man himself on BSS frontman Kevin Drew's "Backed Out on the...." A chugging mid-tempo rocker well within the Broken Social tradition, the signature slow-burn of "Backed Out" is masterfully stoked by Mascis' unerringly energetic playing. Drew's admiration for Mascis is well documented, but "Backed Out" is more lively jam session than reverent homage, and the song is that much better for it. --Matt LeMay
98: Old Time Relijun
"Indestructible Life!"
[K]
"Indestructible Life!" is 210 glorious seconds of unhinged, maniacal squawking: Vocalist/guitarist Arrington de Dionyso wails, his voice desperate and deranged, while his bandmates pound out spastic noise-rock, highlighted by Ben Hartman's inscrutable sax blows and upright-bassist Aaron Hartman's deep, dutiful plucks. Somehow, "Indestructible Life!" manages to be liberating and terrifying all at once: Imagine cruising downhill on a Huffy (top speed, streamers waving, basket full) and realizing that the brakes are dead. Stop thinking about dodging cars and dogs, quit squeezing the hand levers, and give into the futility and adrenaline-- it might be scary, but it's also a shitload of fun. --Amanda Petrusich
97: Sir Richard Bishop
"Ecstasies in the Open Air"
[Drag City]
Sir Richard Bishop's status as one of the acoustic guitar's most intriguing voices hinges on three principles: 1) His eclecticism and enthusiasm for a range of sounds, 2) A technical dexterity that allows him to explore those styles freely, and 3) An indefatigable interplay between curiosity and technicality. The epilogue to Polytheistic Fragments, which casually crosses from modal drone to Chet Atkins country, "Ecstasies in the Open Air" allows familiar elements to sublimate into a peaceful breeze. Notice the smooth Hawaiian steel guitar and glimpses of "Strawberry Fields Forever" that pump from a little organ and twinkle from an electric lead. --Grayson Currin
96: Times New Viking
"Teenage Lust!"
[SiltBreeze]
MP3: Times New Viking: "Teenage Lust!"
Rather than using lo-fi recording techniques to superficially enhance or obscure their sound, Columbus-based Times New Viking captalize on the urgency and slapdash charm of the medium. "Teenage Lust!" sounds like it was recorded straight to a cassette recorder in a dirty basement, heightening its impetuous cries of "I don't want to die in the city alone." The song's sometimes-overlapping boy/girl vocals create the impression of a band falling all over themselves to get through a take, getting lost in their own energy without stopping to fine-tune or set up more than one microphone. --Matt LeMay
95: Groove Armada [ft. Mutya Buena]
"Song 4 Mutya (Out of Control)"
[Columbia]
The girl who put the "grr" in Sugababe went solo with a snoozy album of measured soul-pop maturity. But this collaboration finds Mutya Buena playing with her grumpy fire, teetering toward an ex-created freak-out. Her counter-vocal plays nervous conscience-- "Don't panic panic Mutya!"-- but the wrath is building. Luckily for her, and for us, she gets even, not mad, swapping tense electropop for a skylarking synth climax and freewheeling New Order bass. And bonus! We discover that Mutya is one of the most scansion-friendly names in pop. --Tom Ewing
94: MGMT
"Time to Pretend"
[Columbia]
As a rock band, you're allowed one big, dumb anthem. So, in the tradition of "Cut Your Hair" and "Cannonball", MGMT shamelessly indulge in one simplistic, escapist hook for four guilt-free minutes. Drug binges, transplanting to Paris, supermodels: Other self-aware bands have romanticized delusions of grandeur before, almost always with a monstrous grain of salt marring their dream. But "Time to Pretend" puts a Matrix -like spin on it-- if the rock star lifestyle doesn't even exist, why not lose yourself in the fantasy? --Adam Moerder
93: Antibalas
"Beaten Metal"
[Anti-]
It's surprising that the lead instrumental from a political album (Security) by a political band (Antibalas) manages to make a plea for revolution. Composed by tenor saxophonist Stuart Bogie, "Beaten Metal" is marked by conflict, as when opposing horn sections sound off in stereo or when each new lead instrument (guitar, clavinet, organ, beaten-metal percussion) elbows the other out of the mix. With quick splashes of colorful sound and some slowly building drama, "Beaten Metal" sounds brazen, rhythmic, and powerful-- like Edgard Varese coming of age after hip-hop. --Grayson Currin
92: Air
"Mer du Japon (Kris Menace Remix)"
[Virgin]
Kris Menace (aka French house producer/DJ Christophe Hoeffel) worked some serious magic on remixes this year for Róisín Murphy and LCD Soundsystem-- and last year's mix of Stars on 33's "I Feel Music In Your Heart" with frequent partner Lifelike may be the single greatest "filter disco" track outside of their own "Discopolis" from 2005. KM's take on Air's "Mer du Japon" is a compact, almost perfectly orchestrated treatise on the climax: Beginning with the crash of waves on a beach, mystical piano chords, and the barest appearace of the original verse vocal, little time is wasted diving into a hard disco pound and the gushing release of hi-hat and synth chords-- which is actually an effect of compressing the track so much that every ounce of sound ends up oversaturated yet still gorgeous. --Dominique Leone
91: Menomena
"The Pelican"
[Barsuk]
MP3: Menomena: "The Pelican"
"The Pelican" works like a fireworks show, a series of explosions building to an overloaded finale. The piano and drums lurch forward to do battle with the ragged, stretched guitar while the whole band gives an all-out vocal performance full of harmonies and shouting. Forget walls of sound-- the song is a dump truck of sound driving through your living room. Here, Menomena move beyond their textural and atmospheric approach to recording and create a song with a vicious bite. --Joe Tangari
- « Previous Feature
The 20 Worst Album Covers of 2007
- Next Feature »
2007 Individual Tracks Lists
Most Read Features
-
-
Rising
Lee
April 1, 2014
-
Update
Girl Talk
March 25, 2014
-
Articles
Cloud Nothings: Silent Shout
March 20, 2014
-
Overtones
Beyond the Yellow Brick Road
March 28, 2014
-
Cover Story
Mac DeMarco: Mannish Boy
March 26, 2014
-
Update
tUnE-yArDs
March 19, 2014
-
Update
Future
April 2, 2014
-
Interviews
Jonathan Glazer and Mica Levi
March 31, 2014
-
Situation Critical
Kevin Drew
March 24, 2014
-
Update
Owen Pallett
March 18, 2014
-
-
-
Articles
Cloud Nothings: Silent Shout
March 20, 2014
-
Update
tUnE-yArDs
March 19, 2014
-
Photo Galleries
Arcade Fire's Reflektor Tour
March 10, 2014
-
Update
Owen Pallett
March 18, 2014
-
Rising
Frankie Cosmos
March 5, 2014
-
Situation Critical
Hannibal Buress
March 14, 2014
-
Update
Girl Talk
March 25, 2014
-
Ordinary Machines
The #Art of the Hashtag
March 12, 2014
-
Articles
When I'm Gone: Why Vivian Girls Mattered
March 3, 2014
-
Rising
Viet Cong
March 13, 2014
-
-
-
Articles
St. Vincent: Reckless Precision
February 17, 2014
-
Show No Mercy
The Top 40 Metal Albums of 2013
December 26, 2013
-
Update
Pharrell Williams
February 28, 2014
-
Articles
Cloud Nothings: Silent Shout
March 20, 2014
-
Articles
Real Estate: Suburban Dreams
February 27, 2014
-
Articles
Beyoncé's Muse
January 21, 2014
-
Paper Trail
Experiencing Nirvana
February 12, 2014
-
Articles
Massive Nights: Ten Years of the Hold Steady
February 10, 2014
-
Guest Lists
Deafheaven
January 6, 2014
-
Interviews
Mark Kozelek
February 3, 2014
-
-
-
News
Arcade Fire, Black Keys, Jack White, Robert Plant, More to Play Glastonbury
By Evan Minsker and Zoe Camp on April 4, 2014 at 05:20 a.m.
-
Reviews
Sage the Gemini
Remember Me
By Craig Jenkins
Sage the Gemini of the Bay Area’s Heartbreak Gang collective has refined a sound that draws influence ...
-
White Hinterland
Baby
By Paula Mejia
White Hinterland's latest finds Casey Dienel experimenting with more jagged percussion and orchestral flourishes, notably horns. But ...
-
Teebs
E S T A R A
By Nate Patrin
Teebs' 2010 debut Ardour had a way of flooding your ears with lush sonic environments. On his new ...
-
The Faint
Doom Abuse
By Ian Cohen
The Faint released their debut album Sine Sierra nearly twenty years ago, and if that makes you feel ...
-
De La Soul
Smell the D.A.I.S.Y.
By Nate Patrin
De La Soul's work with J Dilla helped define their transition from the Prince Paul-produced lightheartedness of ...
-
-
-
News
Arcade Fire, Black Keys, Jack White, Robert Plant, More to Play Glastonbury
By Evan Minsker and Zoe Camp on April 4, 2014 at 05:20 a.m.
-
Reviews
De La Soul
Smell the D.A.I.S.Y.
By Nate Patrin
De La Soul's work with J Dilla helped define their transition from the Prince Paul-produced lightheartedness of ...
-
Tracks
-
News
Sigur Rós Will Cover "The Rains of Castamere" for "Game of Thrones" Soundtrack
By Jeremy Gordon on April 3, 2014 at 03:44 p.m.
-
Reviews
The Faint
Doom Abuse
By Ian Cohen
The Faint released their debut album Sine Sierra nearly twenty years ago, and if that makes you feel ...
-
Features
Paper Trail
Paper Trail: Records Ruin the Landscape
Author David Grubbs talks about his new book, which explores the disdain many 1960s experimental musicians had for recorded music due to its inherent limiting qualities, and compares that mindset to today's era of infinite streaming.
-