Instead of a “Best Of” list, M|H is presenting you with a favorites list instead. There were too many major albums we didn’t get around to hearing and don’t feel it would make for a very accurate list if the classification was ‘best’.

Nothing is in any particular order, except for albums which are sorted by release date.

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[ALBUMS]

The Shins - Wincing the Night Away - 01.23.07
2. Australia
4. Phantom Limb
7. Turn On Me
9. Spilt Needles
10. Girl Sailor

Fall Out Boy - Infinity on High - 02.06.07
2. “The Take Over, The Break’s Over”
7. Thnks Fr the Mmrs
10. The Carpal Tunnel of Love

Hayward Williams - Another Sailor’s Dream - 03.06.07
2. Redwoods
5. Careful, Please
7. A Glance Back
10. A Song For Lou

Brighton, MA - Brighton, MA - 06.19.07
2. Good Kind of Crazy
4. Graceland ‘02

Fionn Regan - The End of History - 07.10.07
3. Hunters Map
6. Put A Penny In the Slot
8. Snowy Atlas Mountains
12. Bunker or Basement

June - Make It Blur - 08.07.07
1. No Time For Sense
6. I’d Lose Myself
9. Swallowed
11. Sight For Sore Eyes

John Ralston -Sorry Vampire - 10.02.07
1. Fragile
2. The Only Evidence
9. No One Loves You Like I Do

Coheed & Cambria - No World For Tomorrow - 10.23.07
2. No World For Tomorrow
6. Mother Superior
10. Radio Bye Bye

[SINGLES]

Chromeo - Fancy Footwork
Les Savy Fav - Patty Lee
Kanye West - Stronger
Cold War Kids - Hospital Beds
Junior Senior - I Like Music (W.O.S.B.)
Treaty of Paris - Waking Up the Dead
Against Me! - Thrash Unreal
Calvin Harris - The Girls
The Comas - Come My Sunshine
Rilo Kiley - Silver Lining
Rooney - When Did Your Heart Go Missing
Matt Pond PA - Magic Boyfriend

[BANDS WORTH PAYING TO SEE, REGARDLESS OF IF I PAID OR NOT]

Junior Senior
Kings of Leon
Saves the Day
Say Anything
Coheed & Cambria
Andy Jackson

A guest report by William McClain.

–

Pumpkins Christen ‘Smasheville’
Saturday, June 23, 2007

By William McClain

“Taking over/we’re taking over,” Smashing Pumpkins front man Billy Corgan sang during the final song of the evening. And the crowd believed him.

Harbingers of the inevitable 90s alternative rock resurgence, the Pumpkins brought fresh songs and a new lineup Saturday to a tiny club in the mountains of North Carolina.

The sleepy college town of Asheville (known henceforth as Smasheville) buzzed with the news that the newly reformed rock titans chose it in which to make their stateside debut after a seven-year hiatus. Better still, the band would play a nine-night residency, performing songs from the upcoming album ‘Zeitgeist,’ songs written the day of each show, and a hearty helping of old favorites.

Lead by drummer Jimmy Chamberlain, the band took the stage about 10 p.m. to rapturous applause and proceeded to sandblast its way through nearly three hours of material. Opener ‘United States’ set the tone for the evening: subtle whispers and bone-crushing riffs gracefully guided by anthemic vocal melodies.

Band leader Billy Corgan remained essentially mute throughout the first third of the set, seemingly concentrated on presenting his latest material with clockwork precision. Chamberlain frequently sent winks and knowing glances to the feverish crowd.

Corgan became surprisingly playful as the set progressed. He joked about a fan offering him “weed” in the street (the same space cadet curiously explained to Corgan that Asheville was “built on a crystal”) and gave his own face a punitive slap after suggesting he might spend the night with a screaming female fan. The banter continued throughout the set, which sported the vibe of an inside look at a private Pumpkins jam session.

“You haven’t heard the record yet. You might not like it,” Corgan warned after fans cheered the new album. “God knows, you haven’t liked the last four.”

The die-hard crowd ignited with playful boos.

“You can take it,” Corgan assured. “I can. I wouldn’t put you through anything I can’t handle myself.”

Mid-set, Chamberlain, along with guitarist Jeff Schroeder, bassist Ginger Reyes, and touring keyboardist Lisa Harriton, left Corgan alone onstage for an intimate acoustic set which included ‘Rocket,’ ‘1979,’ the rare Gish cut ‘Daydream’ and a brand new tune penned the night before (“I beg your indulgence, for a change,” Corgan joked. “I hope to draw from the crystal.”)

Two lengthy, psychedelic jams - the new ‘Gossamer’ and ‘Silverfuck’ – pushed the show to its ear-bleeding apex, the latter like the sonic amalgam of a playground nursery rhyme and a fighter jet dive bombing Guitar Center.

The band at once brought the soaring crowd back to earth and sent them floating on their way with the closing “With Every Light.”

“The sun is beaming, radiating,” Corgan sang as he pointed to the crowd. “All the love we are creating.”

Corgan almost got it right: the love already existed; this show simply reinforced it.

Set:
* United States
* Doomsday Clock
* Bleeding the Orchid
* Today
* Bullet with Butterfly Wings
* Glass and the Ghost Children
* Home
* Hummer
* Lucky 13
* Come On (Let’s Go)
* Blue Skies Bring Tears
* For God and Country
* Daydream
* Rocket
* 1979
* (unknown: “It’s a Song I Sing”)
* Translucent
* Starla
* Tonight, Tonight
* Tarantula
* Starz
* Zero
* Disarm
* Gossamer

Encore 1:
* Shame
* Silverfuck

Encore 2:
* With Every Light

If Mixtapes|Heartbreaks had been around for 2006, here are some things we would have told you to pay attention to.

*Note - if something was already reviewed here, it’s not on this list. Read the review to see if we liked it or not. Thanks!*

Nothing is in any order of rank; the only logically ordered thing is the albums section by release date.

[ALBUMS]

THE STROKES - FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF EARTH - 1.3.06
Standout Tracks:
1. You Only Live Once
3. Heart In A Cage

WE ARE SCIENTISTS - WITH LOVE AND SQUALOR - 1.10.06
Standout Tracks:
1. Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt
7. It’s A Hit
9. Textbook

THE SOUNDS - DYING TO SAY THIS TO YOU - 3.21.06
Standout Tracks:
3. Tony the Beat
8. Hurt You

TAKING BACK SUNDAY - LOUDER NOW - 4.25.06
Standout Tracks:
1. What It Feels Like To Be A Ghost
4. Up Against (The Blackout)
7. Spin
9. Miami
10. Error Operator

RATATAT - CLASSICS - 8.22.06
Standout Tracks:
2. Lex
3. Gettysburg

THE KILLERS - SAM’S TOWN - 10.3.06
1. Sam’s Town
4. Bling (Confessions of a King)
5. For Reasons Unknown

[SINGLES]

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE F/T.I. - MY LOVE
BECK - NAUSEA
NELLY FURTADO - PROMISCUOUS
THE SUBMARINES - PEACE AND HATE
COBRA STARSHIP - BRING IT (SNAKES ON A PLANE)
BRANDTSON - NOBODY DANCES ANYMORE
JAMIE LIDELL - MULTIPLY
SAY ANYTHING - WOW, I CAN GET SEXUAL TOO
T.I. - WHAT YOU KNOW
RIHANNA - S.O.S.
[BANDS THAT WERE WORTH PAYING TO SEE, REGARDLESS OF IF I PAID OR NOT]

Taking Back Sunday
Brighton, MA
Jonny Lang
Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s
Hayward Williams
My Morning Jacket
The Appleseed Cast
Ben Lee
Seu Jorge
Death Cab For Cutie

***LET US KNOW WHAT YOUR FAVORITES WERE…POST IN THE COMMENTS SECTION!***

Jamie Hanson, a 25-year-old University of Wisconsin - Madison graduate student and self-proclaimed “horrible speller” was kind enough to take a few minutes out of his day to stop writing a paper and tell me a little bit about Madison Pop Festival. Hanson, along with Danny Tenenbaum (a UW undergrad) co-founded the festival last year.

How did Madison Pop Festival come about? Mostly Danny. He was sitting in a class while studying abroad and just had the idea while some of his profs were yammering at him and he wasn’t paying attention. He knew every now and again I wrote grants for the Wisconsin Union Directorate Music Committee that we both volunteered on. The grants were to help fund really expensive shows that would be free [admission].

How does this year’s fest differ from last year? A bit shorter format, but across more venues. Last year we did two days at Madison’s Union South. They were marathon days filled with soooo many bands. By the time the headliners were coming on, I was tuckered out personally. So this year, there are less acts per day, but we are programming at Union South and Memorial Union. This year [has] a bit more diversity. Year one (last year) was mostly just “indie rock”. This year we have some indie rock, some world music, and some hip-hop.

Who or what are you most excited to see? To see how many people can cram into the Great Hall to see Joanna Newsom.

Did you encounter any major problems while planning MPF? The only minor problem was the response from some other local promoters. The fest is likely to draw a fair amount of folks, so some other promoters have expressed concerns about programming against a free, all-ages music festival. But hopefully we didn’t step on too many toes.

Will MPF be an annual event? Hopefully. I am hoping this year’s fest cements Madisonfest* as a major music event for the community. Once folks realize the potential of the festival, there is some hope that community sponsorship will increase. Most of the funding for this year came from things connected to the university. Danny and I wanted to try to create something bigger than just the university [and] its venues. We wanted to have a number of clubs in town working together on Madisonfest.

*[Editor's Note: Madisonfest was the name of last year's festival; this year it has been officially modified to Madison Pop Festival -- not to be confused with the University's annual hardcore festival that was this year renamed Madisonfest from the former title of Watch The World Explode.]

Who would you like to see play MPF in the future? Perhaps not who, but what is I would add, is the question I will answer. I personally love to dance, so this year and last, we never had any dance parties associated with Madisonfest. So perhaps next year I would like a big dance party, with Diplo or maybe some local DJs like The Glamour or Flosstradomas.

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Madison Pop Festival is a free, all-ages event that is open to the public. Check out their official website, www.madisonpopfest.com, for a schedule and directions to the venues.