This is by far the most daunting list of the year. I’ve decided to divide it between local and national shows/line-ups. If I hadn’t, you probably wouldn’t recognize a single band if you weren’t from Seattle… which says something tremendous about the state of live music in Seattle today. For the sake of every local band that is not Hopscotch Boys or Thee Emergency, I’ve tried my hardest to limit myself to a single show per band to represent on this list. (oh well, that didn’t work at all…) Though this list isn’t specifically enumerated, the order is meant to signify a hierarchy among my favorite shows. Alright, here goes nothing:

The Best Local Shows of 2007

The Lashes at Bumbershoot - 9/1/07

Thee Emergency, Iceage Cobra, The Hands, A Gun That Shoots Knives at The Sunset - 2/17/07 

Hopscotch Boys, Junkface, and The Resets at The Blue Moon - 5/12/07

The Whore Hands at Healthy Times Fun Club - 12/7/07

A Gun That Shoots Knives and We Wrote the Book on Connectors at The Blue Moon - 5/19/07

Saturday at Georgetown Music Festival - 6/2/07

A Benefit for The Blue Moon - Night One and Two - 9/28 & 9/29/07 

Iceage Cobra and The Lonely H at The Nectar - 6/21/07

The Resets, Vindaloo, Ms. Led at The Blue Moon - 9/7/07 

J. Tillman, Shane Tutmarc and The Traveling Mercies, Whalebones at The High Dive - 12/1/07

The Best National Shows of 2007:

The Shackeltons for John in The Morning’s Birthday - 3/10/07

Elvis Perkins at The Tractor - 3/30/07

The Figurines, Dappled Cities at The Crocodile - 10/12/07

Andrew Bird at Western Washington University - 5/6/07

The Antiques at The Nectar - 2/27/07

Seriously. Since I downloaded this from The Figurines myspace, I’ve been listening to nothing else. The song is part Beach Boys, part eerie hymn. And I love every second of it.

Go and download it on your own, or listen here:

The Figurines - The Air We Breathe

From the myspace bulletin this morning, I learned that our favorite Danes will be making it back to Seattle this October to wow us with their new album. The Figurines will be here on October 11th @ The Crocodile. Sound on the Sound will be there in the front row, geeking out in a big ass way.

Stream The Figurines full upcoming album, When The Deer Wore Blue.

It took me a while to fall in love with Skeleton, but I’ve been smitten for this album since listen one. Much to my pleasure, the album gets better with each and every listen. Contender for best album of 2007, right here folks.

Do it! Do it Now! Seriously, what are you waiting for?

A new tune is up from my favorite Danish band, The Figurine’s. The tune “Hey Girl,” is due to be released on the band’s third album.

Go to their myspace and take a listen.

And if you don’t already have the boys stellar release, Skeleton, go to your local record store NOW and buy yourself a copy.

For some great photos of the boys recording their new album, displaying all the wonder that is Danish fashion… go here.

A curious sample of what I’ve been listening most to in November. Randomly rounded off at selections from 20 Artists:

“Here’s Your Future” - The Thermals
“Sleep Sandwich” and “How’s Forever Been Baby” - Elvis Perkins
“Black Wave” - The Shins (from the forthcoming Wincing the Night Away)
“Trouble” and the “Raised by Wolves EP”- Voxtrot
“All Fires” - Swan Lake
“Rotation of Crops” - The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers
“I Found A Reason” - Cat Power (velvet underground cover)
“Cold Wind” - The Arcade Fire (from the Six Feet Under Soundtrack)
“Woman is Nigger of the World” - John Lennon (acoustic)
“Girl From The North Country” - Bob Dylan, featuring Johnny Cash
“The Trees Get Wheeled Away” - Bright Eyes (live at the Gypsy Tea Room, 10/05/02)
“Paint’s Peeling” - Rilo Kiley
“Connect For” - Common Market (complete w/KEXP shout-outs, from Live at KEXP, Vol II)
“Nature of the Experiment” - Tokyo Police Club
“90-Mile Water Wall” and “Mr. November” - The National (from Black Sessions # 230 04/29/05)
“Lucky” - Radiohead
“Worked Up So Sexual” and “Call, Call” - The Faint
“The Eraser” - Thom Yorke
“Race You” - The Figurines
Neutral Milk Hotel: the near perfect In The Aeroplane Over the Sea. Which, if I can be so bold–
is my favorite album of all time.