Ryan's Top 100 Tracks of 2007

Every year I like to compile a list of my top 40 or so songs from the year. I have never had more difficulty doing this list than I did this year. There was no way a Top 40 could do justice to what I'd been listening to all year long. Maybe there was an abundance of good tunes in '07. Maybe my taste has become even more schizo. Who knows. All I know is I really, really love each and every one of the tracks ranked below. I started with a playlist of 316 tracks from Nov. 2006 - Dec. 2007 that I have listened to repeatedly. Then, based on a variety of factors in my head, narrowed it down to THE TOP 100.

1. Britney Spears - "Gimme More"
2. Calvin Harris - "The Girls"
3. Rihanna - "Don't Stop the Music"
4. Freemasons feat. Siedah Garrett - "Rain Down Love (Walken Edit)"
5. Kylie Minogue - "Wow"
6. Kylie Minogue - "Speakerphone"
7. Britney Spears - "Break the Ice"
8. Shiny Toy Guns - "Le Disko"
9. Ultrabeat vs. Darren Styles - "Sure Feels Good"
10. Sugababes - "Easy"
11. Eddie Thoneick - "Deeper Love (Big Room Radio Mix)"
12. Britney Spears - "Piece of Me"
13. Girls Aloud - "Something Kinda Ooooh"
14. Kylie Minogue - "In My Arms"
15. Kylie Minogue - "Fall For You (Version 2)"
16. Kylie Minogue - "Nu-Di-Ty"
17. Timbaland feat. Keri Hilson & D.O.E. - "The Way I Are"
18. Britney Spears - "Hot As Ice"
19. Kanye West - "Stronger"
20. Kylie Minogue - "Sensitized"
21. Kylie Minogue - "Like a Drug"
22. Laidback Luke feat. Stephen Granville - "Hypnotize"
23. Eddie Thoneick - "Love Sensation (Radio Mix)"
24. David Guetta with Steve Angelo & Sebastian Ingrosso - "Everytime We Touch"
25. Ultra Nate - "Automatic"
26. Rihanna - "Push Up On Me"
27. Marcel Woods - "Advanced"
28. David Guetta - "Love Is Gone"
29. Miley Cyrus - "See You Again"
30. Keyshia Cole feat. Too $hort -Didn't I Tell You
31. The Gossip - "Standing in the Way of Control (Soulwax Nite Mix)"
32. Kylie Minogue - "Lose Control"
33. Kathy Diamond - "All Woman"
34. Britney Spears - "Radar"
35. Robyn - "Cobrastyle"
36. Starkillers - "Scream"
37. Basement Jaxx - "Make Me Sweat"
38. Rihanna - "Shut Up and Drive"
39. Felix da Housecat - "Future Calls the Dawn"
40. Ben Macklin feat. Tiger Lily - "Feel Together"
41. DJ Antoine - "This Time (Klaas Mix)"
42. Kylie Minogue - "The One"
43. Rihanna - "Breakin' Dishes"
44. M.I.A. - "Bamboo Banga"
45. Britney Spears - "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)"
46. Kylie Minogue - "Boombox (LA Riots Remix)"
47. Britney Spears - "Toy Soldier"
48. Rilo Kiley - "Under the Blacklight"
49. P!nk - "U + Ur Hand"
50. Fergie - "Big Girls Don't Cry"
51. Fall Out Boy - Thnks Fr Th Mmrs"
52. Dannii Minogue - "Blame It on the Music"
53. Chris Brown feat. T-Pain - "Kiss Kiss"
54. Ciara - "Promise"
55. Kylie Minogue - "Stars"
56. Rihanna feat. Jay-Z - "Umbrella"
57. M.I.A. - "XR2"
58. Kylie Minogue - "White Diamond"
59. Jennifer Lopez - "Hold It, Don't Drop It"
60. Ohsha Kai - "Outta My Mind (Joey C's Original Radio Edit)"
61. Girls Aloud - "Sexy! No, No, No"
62. Wamdue Project - "King of My Castle (Sander Van Doorn Remix)"
63. Benny Benassi - "Who's Your Daddy?"
64. Dannii Minogue vs. Jason Nevins - "Touch Me Like That"
65. Britney Spears - "Get Back"
66. Kylie Minogue - "Rippin' Up the Disco"
67. Keyshia Cole feat. Amina - "Shoulda Let You Go"
68. The Chemical Brothers - "Do It Again"
69. 4 Strings - "Curious"
70. David Guetta feat. Steve Angelo & Cozi - "Baby When the Lights Go Out"
71. M.I.A. - "Boyz"
72. September - "Looking for Love"
73. Mason vs. Princess Superstar - "Perfect (Exceeder)"
74. Lost Daze vs. Todd Terry - "Get Down"
75. Ann Lee - "Catches Your Love"
76. Martijn Ten Velden - "I Wish U Would"
77. Groove Armada feat. Mutya Buena - "Song 4 Mutya (Out of Control)"
78. Ida Corr vs. Fedde Le Grand - "Let Me Think About It"
79. Róisín Murphy - "You Know Me Better"
80. Armand Van Helden - "I Want Your Soul"
81. Beyonce & Shakira - "Beautiful Liar (Freemasons Radio Edit)"
82. Above & Beyond presents Tranquility Base - "Oceanic"
83. Britney Spears - "Freakshow"
84. David Guetta vs. El Tocadisco - "Tomorrow Can Wait"
85. 50 Cent feat. Justin Timberlake - "Ayo Technology"
86. DJ Encore - "You Can Walk On Water"
87. Britney Spears - "Perfect Lover"
88. DJ Encore - "You Make Me Feel Alive"
89. M.I.A. - "Jimmy"
90. Jennifer Lopez - "Do It Well"
91. Rilo Kiley - "Silver Lining"
92. Diddy feat. Keyshia Cole - "Last Night"
93. Melinda Jackson - "Magic (Moustache Remix)"
94. Robyn - "With Every Heartbeat"
95. Nelly Furtado - "Do It"
96. Calvin Harris - "I Created Disco"
97. Keyshia Cole - "Heaven Sent"
98. Dannii Minogue - "Feel Like I Do"
99. September - "Cry For You"
100. Tiesto feat. Christian Burns - "In the Dark"

So, one look at this list and you can see that it was the year of Kylie & Britney for me. Kylie ranked 13 tracks in the list and Britney ranked 11. Confirmation that yes, after all this time, I still have the music taste of a 13 year old girl.

Nov. Music Round-up Pt. 1

Britney Spears - 'Blackout'
What can I say? Despite the fact that her life is a mess and her "Gimme More" video is a complete embarrassment for someone with a budget as large as hers, this is one of the best CDs of the year! Not a bad song in the bunch. In fact, there are only 3 (out of 12 tracks) that I'm not completely enamored with. The rest are straight from God - bliss!!

Plus the iTunes bonus tracks "Get Back" and "Everybody" are completely album-worthy. Britney has definitely hit a home-run.

The only thing that worries me is longevity... I heard "Oops I Did It Again" in a club recently and it sounded so good, even 7 years later. I attribute it to the songwriting... No one knows pure, true pop better than Max Martin. While the production and mixing on this album completely trumps anything Britney has released in the past, I'm a little worried how it will hold up once this "sound" is over... because the songwriting itself is a bit lacking. Oh well, it's fun for now!


Dannii Minogue - 'Unleashed'
Now that Dannii is a judge on the UK's highly-rated and Idol-spinoff X Factor, she is hotter than ever. A perfect time to release long-forgotten unreleased remixes and b-sides to cash-in!! In addition to 'Unleashed' there are no fewer than 3 other Dannii "rarities" or re-release albums out this month as well as a greatest hits DVD.

Unfortunately, most of this should have never seen the light of day, but there are a few gems on this release. "Blame It On the Music" is one of her best tracks ever, easy. "No Romeo" isn't bad either. But it's very easy to see why the other "new" songs were shelved.

This release also marks the first time we've heard the original version of "Come and Get It" in full CD-quality... a truly exciting moment for a Dannii fan like myself!


Dannii Minogue - 'Club Disco'
This is a digital-only release from Dannii's most recent record label, All Around the World. While this label has killed any potential $ucce$$ Dannii may have had post-Neon Nights, their Dannii cash-in is clearly superior than the one from London Records ('Unleashed', see above). The "new" songs on this release all sound album-ready. My biggest complaint with this release is that it's "new" songs weren't used on Dannii's last project... "Feel Like I Do," "I'm Sorry," "Do You Believe Me Now," "I've Been Waiting for You," and "I Will Come To You" are FAR superior to the tracks that made the final cut of her last release!



Dannii Minogue - 'Neon Nights (Remastered & Expanded)'
I am very, VERY excited about this one... The original 'Neon Nights' album (Dannii's finest moment) coupled with loads of mixes and all the b-sides from the era. It's gay 80's-influenced electro-pop sonic heaven. It's a perfect tribute to the best era of Dannii's career.

If you're new to Dannii, be sure not to miss "Nervous" (previously released as a b-side to "I Begin to Wonder"). It's Dannii's finest musical moment of her career. One of my favorite songs of all time! "I live to taste addiction like this."



Dannii Minogue vs. Jason Nevins - "Touch Me Like That" [single]
In addition to all the excitement of the cash-ins by her old record companies, Dannii herself is cashing in on her newfound X Factor fame with the new single "Touch Me Like That." Sampling Sylvester's "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" it's one the best singles of her career. Plus, you can't go wrong with Jason Nevins doing the mixing.

Dannii OWNS fall 2007!!

Here's the video... it's not as good as the song itself. Especially considering it's a totally piss-poor rip-off of multiple Kylie videos. But, who cares, it's new Dannii!



Kylie Minogue - '2 Hearts'

Amongst all this Dannii excitement, there is also Kylie's comeback. Her new single "2 Hearts" is out now (on US iTunes, even).

It totally sucks. It's an even bigger mistake than "Red Blooded Woman." I am so disappointed! I mean, it's not an embarrassment, it's just a terribly boring waste of the comeback of her career. I love the cover art, though!

I'm just hoping the album delivers... From what I've read, this song is not indicative of the rest of the CD... thank God!

Rilo Kiley - Under the Blacklight

So, my new friend Daniel and I have very similar music taste - we share affinities for a group of artists as diverse as Bjork, Ani DiFranco, Tori Amos, Kylie Minogue, Madonna and Peaches. I've heard his iPod on random and I don't think I've met anyone in Missouri whose music-taste equation so closely matches mine. So when he told me to check out Rilo Kiley I knew I should give it a shot. But I was skeptical.

Honestly, going into it I expected to hate it. Most of the time, over-hyped L.A. scenesters in D.I.Y-indie acts gone major label make me cringe. But this time, I couldn't have been more wrong! This is easily one of the year's best albums. Jenny Lewis has the voice of a rough-around-the-edges angel. But the best part of the album is the songwriting. The hooks and melodies stick in your head for days. Not to mention the production and mixing are nearly flawless, without sounding over-produced.

They are completely their own thing, but comparisons can definitely be drawn to a variety of influences. On first listen, they sound like a modern-day Fleetwood Mac (as Daniel put it). But subsequent listens have reminded me of Jewel (Jenny's vocals on "Breakin' Up" particularly), Modest Mouse, Deep Dish's George Is On album, 1995 chick-rock-alternative and dashes of alt-country and soul weaved in throughout.

The whole album is great from beginning to end, but I of course have some favorites: "Under the Blacklight," "Silver Lining," "Close Call," "15" and "Dreamworld." The title track, "Under the Blacklight" has me particularly captivated. Jenny's vocals shine the most on this track and I think it has the best melodies of the album. That track has completely won my heart -lately, I've been singing it quietly to myself all day long!

It takes a powerful album to pull my attention away from electronic dance music... but this one does it!

Pop Dreams

For the last two nights, I've had very bizarre dreams related to pop music. They were both quite enjoyable. Perhaps these nocturnal brushes with pop celebrities is my subconscious' way of telling me I was destined to be the next Justin T or George Michael? LOL... I'll let you be the judge.

Two nights ago I dreamed that I was back in college and Madonna was one of my professors. Not only was she my professor, she was also in semi-retirement. But, she was gearing up to make her big comeback with a top-secret performance at the VMAs - and she held the rehearsal on the stage in our classroom, exclusively as a treat for our class (apparently I had her for theater?). Anyway, we were all very excited and I grabbed my camera and started filming the whole thing. This didn't set well with Madge and she stormed off-stage half-way through the performance and vowed that that comeback was off (because I filmed her) and her dancers would have to just do the performance without her. I tried to talk her back into it, but my best friend Brandon got extremely pissed at me when I called her "Madge" to her face - he said that'd only piss her off worse because "Madge" is a derogatory nickname which is short for "vag." Who knew?!

Last night, I dreamed that U2's Bono was my half-brother. That before my mom and dad met, my mom had him. I remember in the dream, actually doing that math to realize that my mom would have had to have been around 2 years old when she had him, but I just thought "maybe Bono is younger than he looks?" Anyway, no one ever told me he was my half-brother, it just accidentally slipped out one night when we were all in the same lounge/bar together. Once I found out, I was extremely excited (of course) and tried to get Bono to get me a job in the music industry. He was not amused, though, wanted me to just leave him the hell alone. I think he was also pissed because the media found out. It was all very exciting!

Justice vs. Maui

Yesterday morning I went for a photo-taking adventure amongst the Marriott and Hyatt resorts on Kaanapali Beach. The music that provided my soundtrack? The critically-acclaimed album by Justice. I'd been avoiding this album because of all the allegations that they're nothing more than a Daft Punk rip-off. But, when I saw two twenty-something straight boys rocking this out of their iPod-fueled boombox (1992-style) while strolling down Kaanapali Beach, I knew I'd better find out what all the fuss is about. The Daft Punk comparisons are definitely right, but that doesn't mean the album isn't enjoyable. In addition to their penchant for filtered guitar riffs and french house beats (Daft Punk), they've also got a taste for mid-90's inspired industrial electronica (think NIN, Aphex Twin) and the occasional 80's beat (one track sounds like they took the beat straight from MJ's "Billie Jean"). All in all, it was a great soundtrack for my picture-taking jaunt. I've since listened to the album 2 other times - at the gym and at the pool. It's not interesting enough to make good pool music. But the beats and melodic sound effects are perfect for the gym.

Here are some of the shots I got yesterday... click the pics for larger versions.

The Album of the Year is Here!

While I was well aware of M.I.A.'s first album, 2005's Arular, I never really got into it. It just didn't speak to me. I think I just wasn't ready for it. I was far too distracted by all the synth/electro-house/electro-pop stuff going on at the time to get into it. Now, having heard just about all the "electro-house" I can handle, her new album Kala could not have come at a more perfect time. It seems lots of the big names in dance music have lost their inspiration... and their ear for good melodies. The scene has become watered down with repetitive beeps and tired bass lines. And not in the good Daft Punk way.

The beats on this album are ridiculous. Layers and layers of ballsy, heavy beats. No other album this year has given me such a strong urge to get up and dance. Favorite, favorite tracks: Bamboo Banga, XR2, Boyz, Hussel.

This is the kind of album that Bjork would be proud of.

DJ Encore - Unique

I was one of DJ Encore and Engelina's number one fans... I played their album to DEATH. So, imagine my delight/horror when I discovered that DJ Encore FINALLY released a new album, but replaced Engelina!! I purchased it (of course) off iTunes and gave it a shot anyways... and I must say, it is excellent. I really didn't think I would like it, because without Engelina's songwriting, I thought it would just be cheese... Let's face it, on the first couple listens, it seems like nothing more than typical trite dance lyrics over the exact same mixing DJ Encore was doing back in 2001.

While those criticisms still stand, it doesn't change the fact that I CAN'T STOP listening to it. I highly recommend these tracks in particular:

You Can Walk On Water (lead single)
Nobody Wants to Try (feels like a Cher song to me)
Catch Me
You Make Me Feel Alive (the best song on the CD!)




I am not surprised Engelina didn't participate. I remember reading an interview with her back in 2001 saying she wasn't much of a dance music fan, but she loves writing pop music so she enjoyed the opportunity to record her songs with DJ Encore. But her heart wasn't ever in it... Too bad, the new chick sounds great on the disc, but Engelina's lyrics were far better.

Speaking of Engelina, they (Encore and the new chic) re-recorded "Out There" on this CD (and mashed it up with Madonna's "Get Together" to boot!).... Doesn't hold a candle to Engelina's, though.

All this new kiddie music...

...makes me feel really old! The last time this happened on this scale with Britney, NSYNC, Backstreet, Mandy, Christina, etc... at least the music was slightly edgy (you know it was for kiddie pop - admit it). This new crop of kiddie music seems targeted at kids only. But the sales seem to be doing really well.

The question I pose is this - are these acts really that popular, or are they just successful because of the lack of sales generated by more late-teen and adult appeal acts, whose fans download instead of buy? Because most of this kiddie shite is being purchased for kids by adults who probably have no idea how to download.

The new #1 song on US iTunes is the fucking Jonas Brothers. Who the fuck are they??!?!?

Jes - Disconnect

OK... I didn't expect to like this album very much for some reason... I don't know why. I guess because the first single "Ghost" hasn't really hooked me yet. But, I've been incorporating random tracks from this disc into my iPod playlists and I am delighted everytime one of them comes on. It's an EXCELLENT album. The tracks are electronic/trance/chillout/trip-hop but don't grate on your nerves at all. I wouldn't necessarily say certain tracks are better than others, either (though, "In Ohm" is definitely my favorite). To my surprise, most of the songs aren't really "dance" but they are "electronic." A few of them sound like they are right out of the mid-90's trip-hop glory days, actually.

Anyway, lots of the songs border on trip-hop and are sure to delight fans of Poe (since we aren't getting any new music from her these days). Especially fans of Poe's work with Conjure One.

Jes has some excellent experience, also... She wrote and performed one of the biggest trance songs of the decade (Motorcycle's "As the Rush Comes") and is touring with Tiesto on his 'Elements of Life' Tour.

It's on iTunes... check it out!