Top Singles And Albums, First Half 2007

[koganbot]

Top 35 Singles (first half 2007)

By this time last year I already had what were to be my top three, while probably the only one on this list that would have made my last year's top ten is the Lloyd (which some of you might point out should have made my last year's top ten). But I'm happy anyway, given that when I get down to 31 ("Into Action") I've still got a song I like a lot. And I haven't really delved much into country and hip-hop, which always produce a few uncharted wonders. I may be underrating "Hey Hey Hey" and "Can You Werk Wit Dat," which I haven't listened to that much. And yes, I'm ranking "Hey Hey Hey" higher than "Umbuberella."

1. Lloyd f. Lil Wayne "You"
2. Ashley Tisdale "Not Like That"
3. JoJo "Anything"
4. Yung Berg "Sexy Lady"
5. Linda Sundblad "Lose You"
6. Keak Da Sneak "That Go"
7. Natasha "Hey Hey Hey"
8. Rihanna f. Jay-Z "Umbrella" [also the remix w/ Lil Mama]
9. Dragonette "I Get Around"
10. Kelly Clarkson "Never Again"
11. Aly & A.J. "Potential Breakup Song"
12. Rihanna "Shut Up And Drive"
13. Taylor Swift "Teardrops On My Guitar"
14. Sadie Ama "Fallin'"
15. Lil Mama "Lip Gloss"
16. Mia "Zirkus"
17. Beyoncé f. Shakira "Beautiful Liar (Freemasons Remix)" [but not the original]
18. Drop The Lime "Wake Up Call (Infants Remix)"
19. Julieta Venegas "Eres Para Mi"
20. Thierry Amiel "Coeur Sacre"
21. Kleerup f. Robyn "With Every Heartbeat"
22. Unklejam "What Am I Fighting For?"
23. Redman "Put It Down"
24. M.I.A. "Bird Flu"
25. The Fixxers "Can You Werk Wit Dat"
26. Groove Armada f. Lady Stush "Get Down"
27. The Go! Team "Grip Like A Vice"
28. Ashley Tisdale "Be Good To Me"
29. Shaggy "Church Heathen"
30. Silversun Pickups "Lazy Eye"
31. Tim Armstrong f. Skye Sweetnam "Into Action"
32. The Sounds "Song With A Mission"
33. Stephanie McIntosh "So Do I Say Sorry First?"
34. Daddy Yankee "Impacto" [either version]
35. Mims "This Is Why I'm Hot"

Top 10 Albums (first half 2007)

Barely have time to listen to albums anymore, and since I've dropped off most people's lists I wouldn't be hearing that many anyway, so this list doesn't really represent much. Ranking isn't something I worried too much about. Was surprised I could come up with a viable 10, to tell you the truth, and that I didn't have to resort to voting for compilations and retrospectives and best-ofs. (E.g., Hyphy Hitz or Crunk Hits Vol. 3 or Stanley Brothers or Paula Abdul; I've nothing against compilations and retrospectives but they're generally not addressing the state of the current year. I am counting Dirty South Dance which is all remixes and mashups and is a creative work in itself. Actually, a good compilation is creative work too, and sometimes comps do address their year, if only to refute it, but let's not quibble.) I did resort to a not-yet-released album and a couple I've barely listened to, so maybe my list's not so viable. The Sirens are special for doing some of the worst playing on any album I've ever liked.

1. Miranda Lambert Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
2. A-Trak Dirty South Dance
3. Jordan Pruitt No Ordinary Girl
4. Kelly Clarkson My December
5. Gretchen Wilson One Of The Boys
6. Ashley Monroe Satisfied [this hasn't been released yet and for all I know may never be]
7. Ashley Tisdale Headstrong [only heard several times and don't own it, so where it belongs I'm not sure]
8. John Anderson Easy Money [only've listened once so far]
9. The Sirens More Is More
10. Child Bite/Stationary Odyssey Physical Education EP

Comments

[maura.livejournal.com]

'you' and crazy ex-girlfriend are both terrific. how do you feel about the lil mama remix of 'girlfriend'?

[koganbot]

Well, I have issues with the original - it's certainly catchy, and I'm a Dr. Luke fan, but I feel as if a clown is grabbing me by the shoulders and ordering me to have fun, while his sidekick shoots bullets at my feet in order to make me dance. Lil Mama mitigates this somewhat, but she's not so subtle with the cutesiness herself, so the whole thing is still a bit much. I'd still give it at least a 7.0 on Jukebox, which is what I gave the original, but I've liked other Avril and other Luke (and other Lil Mama) a lot more.

By the way, I've never apologized for my Jackin' Pop ballot, in case you saw it. (If not, it's not necessary that you look at it.) I misread you, and I was wrong.

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

May do a singles list on my LJ in a day or two. Top 3 would be your #11, #8 and #7, probably in that order. "Girlfriend" (+remix) and "Teenagers" would most likely round out the Top 5.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

7, 8 and 11 are all bloody awesome and would def feature in my potential list. Which I'm not going to do now as I have potatoes to roast.

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

If you're interested, I could send you a bundle of albums, provided yr comp can handle them. Not sure what you'd like of what I like -- doubtful on Lucky Soul, slightly less doubtful on Fratellis, doubtful on R. Kelly (which I lost anyway)...actually, the only one you might dig (given you liked "Dashboard" OK) is the new Modest Mouse! And maybe (maybe) a bit of the White Stripes if ya liked "Icky Thump," but it's really annoyingly inconsistent. Might do some MySpace hunting this weekend to try to find a couple finds...wonder if that band Standing Waltz has an album yet?

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I can't get into 'You' particularly but 'Get It Shawty' is top 5 of my year so far, easily.

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

Is it sacrilege to say that "Umbrella" probably doesn't really even rank with me in a top twenty right now? And if they release "Lemme Get That" as a single it'll demolish any chances it had.

[koganbot]

Well, "1 Thing" didn't make my top twenty in 2005 - Amerie's vocals didn't have the feeling I wanted, even though it's a terrific track - and "Umbrella" seems to be this year's "1 Thing": the r&b song that rock critics agree on. But I do think Rihanna comes through with the vocals. I might still prefer "Pon De Replay," however.

[brak55.livejournal.com]

Finally! Someone on LJ that realizes that good music doesn't have to be genre driven.

I just friended you.

[koganbot]

Seems to me that most of the music on my list is genre driven - that is, draws strength from the excitement of what's going on in its genre. "Not Like That" is a case in point, since Tisdale has a fairly nondescript voice but everything about that kind of dancepop song carries her along.

But I think what you meant to say is that finally someone on LJ realizes that good music isn't limited to a single few genres - but really, there are a lot of us, which you'll see if you explore my friends list; and pretty much any interesting rock critic since 1965 would agree that good music can come from anywhere; but it usually helps if its particular genre is clicking. In 2004 every song in my top ten was hip-hop or dancehall, though if I were to go back now I'd surely add Hilary Duff's "Come Clean" and Ashlee Simpson's "Shadow" and who knows what I missed from Europop. A lot depends on where I'm looking at a particular time.

[brak55.livejournal.com]

Yes, you are right. I guess what I wanted to say was it's good to find someone whose musical taste is so well rounded. I am so used to talking to people who would never consider Country or teen-pop or hip-hop because they won't consider that there is good and bad in every genre.

I, personally, have found myself drawn lately to music coming out of England. I really enjoy Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse (musically, not personally) and have never understood why Robbie Williams couldn't break into the U.S. market.

On the synthpop scene, take a listen to Dragonette. They are a half-Canadian band that is now living in England as they knew they could never break their sound on this side of the Atlantic. They're getting a pretty good buzz. I've been following them because the lead singer, Martina Sobara, put out one of the most overlooked albums a few years ago with her "Cure for Bad Deeds."

[justfanoe.livejournal.com]

OK OK, just compiled this for other reasons, will post here. Top 20 singles of the year:

1) Aly & AJ - "Potential Break Up Song"
2) Avril Lavigne - "The Best Damn Thing"
3) Keith Urban - "Stupid Boy"
4) Natasha Bedingfield - "I Wanna Have Your Babies"
5) My Chemical Romance - "Famous Last Words"
6) Sophie Ellis-Bextor - "Catch You"
7) Vanessa Hudgens - "Say OK"
8) Natasha - "Hey Hey Hey"
9) Ne-Yo - "Because of You"
10) Sara Evans - "As If"
11) Amerie - "Gotta Work"
12) Toby Keith - "High Maintenance Woman"
13) Fall Out Boy - "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race"
14) Katharine McPhee - "Over It"
15) Rihanna ft. Jay Z - "Umbrella"
16) Cupid - "Cupid Shuffle"
17) Carrie Underwood - "Wasted"
18) Sophie Ellis-Bextor - "Me and My Imagination"
19) Kelly Clarkson - "Never Again"
20) Tim Armstrong ft. Skye Sweetnam - "Into Action"

Best guess is that the top 4 are still in the top ten by the end of the year. Any of the others are bumpable, though to be honest all the way down to "Hey Hey Hey" it wouldn't be a tragedy if they made my year end top 10. Speaking of which "Hey Hey Hey" has huge riser potential, I just heard the song a few days ago, and it's feeling as if I like it as much as the toppers, but I'll give it time to make sure it's not just a temp. feeling. "As If" placed very provisionally as well, haven't heard it too many times.

And top 10 albums:
1. Miranda Lambert - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
2. Jordan Pruitt - No Ordinary Girl
3. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
4. Kelly Clarkson - My December
5. Fall Out Boy - Infinity on High
6. Avril Lavigne - The Best Damn Thing
7. Hilary Duff - Dignity
8. Paramore - Riot!
9. Blake Shelton - Pure BS
10. Natasha Bedingfield - NB

A very strong list. Best guess is that the top 6 make my year end top 10, and that Miranda remains atop come year end. Paramore, Blake, and TashBed are all v. provisional, and I still and incredibly woefully behind on country.

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

For the record, I like "Open Toes" so much more than "Over It" it's ridiculous. Both are good songs, tho.

[mcatzilut.livejournal.com]

Best Damn Thing over Girlfriend? Oh, Greg. You iconoclast you.

Working on my list right now. I'll probably post it in the comments section, or teenpop.