Began the year listening obsessively to
The Knife; if not for what transpired a couple of months later, "Silent Shout" very well could've been my nomination for song of the year. However, my psychological state at the time, coupled with an increasing distaste for the stale, hackneyed, and increasingly-pretentious state of the local electro/electroclash/industrial scenes caused me to swear off the whole mess altogether. I stopped going out, and instead listened wistfully to old New Wave faves on radioio’s 80s channel.
Via an online pal, I discovered the gorgeous and transcendent
Isihia, which led me to rediscover the
Bulgarian Voices and to become suddenly aware of (and to be subsequently blown away by)
Huun-Huur-Tu. Thanks to a tip from a Chicago buddy around that time, I was turned on to
The Editors and
I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness, both of which were in heavy rotation on my iPod (wait, that’s actually impossible, innit?
) for a couple of months in early ’07.
And then, rather out of the blue, another Chi pal suggested that I take a listen to a new favorite band of his, which had been born from the ashes of the mighty Godflesh. So, rather overnight,
Jesu became my band of the year (went to see ‘em every time they passed through ChiTown, and proceeded to snag everything they’d ever recorded). With that, I was completely sucked into the doom/drone/sludge metal vortex, and utterly new-to-me folks like
Sunn O))),
Boris,
Pelican,
Porcupine Tree,
Devin Townsend,
Isis, and others (and some “softer� similar stuff like
Red Sparowes,
Eluvium, and
Explosions In The Sky) became
de rigueur listening on a daily basis (and for several of ‘em, I have my fellow Heartlanders to thank profusely!
).
(Honorable mentions for mini-obsessions in 2007 go to
Woven Hand, the
Easy Star All-Stars’ “Radiodread� album,
SPC ECO,
A Place To Bury Strangers,
The Sissies’ “Never Land – Full Length,� and
Burial.)
Blip Festival 2007 in NYC kicked me square in the arse and right between the eyes, and wrenched my listening habits right out of the metal realm and jammed ‘em firmly back into electronic/industrial (again!), as I rediscovered old chiptune/8-bit faves (
Bit Shifter and
Nullsleep) and was gobsmacked by many new ones (including
8GB and
Huoratron).
WOOOOOT! Here’s hoping ’08 will be similarly enlightening!
\m/
.
)
