It's been a crazy month (or so) of work and nothing will snap you in the ass like a strong latte and and an awesome metal album. My best, most productive days are when I can squeeze in a latte (or 2) from my über favorite coffee joint, Blue Bottle Coffee, and blast this album in the earbuds 3+ times a day. Yesss. This is indeed one of those albums that will scare Phil or any other innocent, faint-hearted passerby, but it rocks my pants off. Lots of incredible musicianship, screaming, growling, high-pitched singing—everything a boy could ask for in this one.

I heard about this band a while back with their release Kezia from my old buddy Ryan but I didn't get into them at the time. But, yet again, Colby comes through in keeping me hip with the kids and got me hooked on this one. Thanks again Colby, high 5. Rock on folks...

My good pal Colby, of Jolby fame (that's Josh + Colby = Jolby) and I are pretty good about sharing music and such (he's also much hipper with the kids than I am and teaches me the street lingo, such as the word 'taint') and he recently got me into Minus the Bear's newest release, Planet of Ice and it's rockin my world. It's one of those albums where you go to sleep and then the next morning you wake up and realize one of the songs played through your head the whole night and then you can't even be functional until you listen to that very song. 15 times. You know what I mean? Check my recent songs over there on the left, chances are they'll be in there.

It's a really great album, nice and rockin' yet relatively mellow in contrast with some of the crazy hardcore stuff I listen to. There's lots of nice, atmospheric guitar riffs and I think the drummer is fantastic—they complement each other well. And then there's the song, 'White Mystery' which is basically like indie rock Barry White. Wanna get romantic with your lady, emo kids? Put this song on repeat, turn the lights down low and go to town. That's much better than Colby's prescription of speed metal...

Yet again, my timing has come into question. I know, 2007 was like a year ago, but one of the reasons I wanted to make this blog is to make a top 10 album list for 2007! "That sounds a little crazy Chris", I hear you saying, but I love music and 2007 was probably the best year for new music I have yet to experience. So, without further ado, here is my list:

1. A Wilhelm Scream - Career Suicide
   This band rocks! Each and every one of their records gets even better and this one is harder hitting than ever. It's an awesome punk record and the musicianship of the band is incredible. Fun fact: My high school band, One More Day, played with these guys, long, long ago when they were called "Smackin' Isaiah". Well, I thought it was cool...
2. Poison the Well - Versions
   These guys are my favorite hardcore band of all time and their new record got a lot of listens. I will say, I think their previous release, You Come Before You, was their best to date, but they still manage to grow their sound and keep things original within the genre.
3. Every Time I Die - The Big Dirty
   Another awesome hardcore album, the production quality of this record was fantastic, hence the rocking is even harder than you might normally expect. Fun fact: This record scares Phil. I try to avoid playing this crazy stuff in the office, but when it does he asks me if I need a hug.
4. This is a Standoff - Be Excited
   These guys are a super fast, pretty technical punk band and this record won't let you sit still. They came from the ashes of the band Belvedere, and they stepped it way up with this one.
5. The Receiving End of Sirens - The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi
   At the first few listens I thought this album was lame and was kind of disappointed with the direction the band was headed in. But somehow, into 2008, I started listening to it every day (sometimes several times) and it turns out it rules. They have a really interesting "post hardcore" sound and I find a good deal of the lyrics appealing (which is quite rare, I'm usually just focused on the rockin).
6. José González - In Our Nature
   This is a lot more mellow than most of the other stuff on my list, which I think is why I like it so much. This is a really nice record with an almost spanish guitar feel to it—but not. His intricate guitar playing and overall song writing keep this record very interesting.
7. Thrice - The Alchemy Index Vols. I & II: Fire & Water
   I've always loved Thrice albums and they've always been great about pushing themselves and growing musically with every release. I think 2007 was the year of the concept album, but I remember hearing about the idea for this—a four-volume earth, wind, fire, and water album—quite a while before it actually came out. The music is varied, unique, awesome, and makes me itch for the release of the remaining 2 volumes.
8. Silverchair - Young Modern
   Remember these guys? I got into them when they first got together with Frogstomp. I followed them for a few years and forgot about them. I stumbled upon this release in which they completely reinvented their sound into a very unique rock style which I found to be quite rad.
9. Dustin Kensrue - Please Come Home
   This is a fantastic record and not quite what you would expect from the singer of Thrice, but it just goes to show you that his influences and interests are all over, which is probably why he makes such a great musician. This is a great acoustic, folky kind of record with a rockin edge to it. Fun fact: I performed the song 'Pistol' from this record for my wife at our wedding last year with my pals Josh, Kurt, Nico, and my awesome (new) father Jim.
10. Kanye West - Graduation
    I've never been a rap/hip hop guy at all—well except when I was 9, I used to buy all the Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre stuff I could get a hold of without the 'Parental Advisory' sticker on them—but since then, nothing of the sort. Kanye is a cocky bastard but this album caught me by surprise and it's pretty awesome. Fun fact: Just this last weekend, we were listening to 'Stronger' in the car. Upon hitting a stop light, I did the robot and my wife went into an in-car-seat booty-bounce dance. Thanks Kanye.

And there we have it. And, like I said, this was a great year for music, so here's a few honorable mentions:

• Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
• Bayside - The Walking Wounded
• Radiohead - In Rainbows
• Chasing Victory - Fiends
• Patton Oswalt - Werewolves & Lollipops (not music, but awesome nonetheless)
• Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
• Boys Night Out - S/T

Yea, it was tough to wear down. So officially this is now the top 17 albums of 2007. Thanks for joining me while I got this out of my system. If you can remember all the way back then, let me know what your top 10-17 were for last year. Maybe even predictions for next year, oooh...