Hey all! Happy Holidays, no matter what you celebrate (or if you don't at all). I figured I would continue the tradition SonicRyan started on Halloween and offer some holiday-inspired tunes. (Also, check out the Robbbers on High Street song Ryan recently recommended, or one of the fine collections featured here.)
Here are some songs about holidays, cold weather, and, you know, thinking of others and stuff. You could call it a tasteful holiday mix -- if you consider handjobs tasteful, that is.
1. "It's a Wonderful Life" - Sparklehorse
2. "Fox in the Snow" - Belle & Sebastian
3. "Winter's Love" - Animal Collective
4. "Handjobs for the Holidays" - Broken Social Scene
5. "In the Cold I'm Standing" - M83
6. "Winter on Victoria Street" - The Clientele
7. "God Takes Care of the Little Things" - The Boy Least Likely To
8. "The Opposite of Hallelujah" - Jens Lekman
9. "New Years" - Asobi Seksu
10. "Winter Wonderland" - Animal Collective
11. "In This Home on Ice" - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
12. "The Spirit of Giving" - The New Pornographers
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
It's Christmas, But That Doesn't Mean You Have to Listen to Bad Music
Monday, December 24, 2007
Season's Greetings from Range Life and Robbers on High Street
Hello dear readers. On behalf of everyone at Range Life, I would like to thank you for your continued readership throughout this exciting and wonderful year.
Because of the holidays, there is a slight chance that this could very well be our last post of 2007. I doubt it, but it's possible. But if it is, I see no better way to go out than with this magical holiday themed cover brought to us by Robbers on High Street.
When we interviewed these guys back in November, they mentioned doing some holiday songs taken from the American Song-Poem Christmas album. They didn't divulge too much information beyond that, but one of the tracks surfaced on their MySpace profile as a free download. Go get it or stream it, and bask in the songs heartfelt glow while sipping hot cocoa by a fire.
If this is indeed our last 2007 post, I want to thank all of you again for reading, commenting, and listening. If this isn't our last 2007 post, well, thanks just the same. Here's hoping 2008 will be even better.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
RADIOHEAD IS NUMBER ONE
There were NO SURPRISES that Radiohead's In Rainbows was number one in 2007.
Enjoy 3 minutes and 46 seconds of Thom Yorkes beautifully messed up face.
ENJOY!
Friday, December 21, 2007
Our Top 25 Albums of 2007 (5-1)
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At last, it's here. These are the five albums that wowed us this year. They made us happy. Made us dance. Maybe even made us cry (don't look at me!) These are Range Life's Top Five Albums of 2007.
See 10-6 • See 15-11
See 20-16 • See 25-21
(Above: The Big Board of Judgment)
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This is the right album at the right time in my life. Matt Berninger might have a decade or more on me, but he flawlessly captures the early-life, suburban-life, any-life crisis.
Boxer is all about longing: for romantic love, for a sense of belonging, for a purpose. “We’re half awake in a fake empire,” Berninger sings in the opening track, his flat monotone a perfect complement to the apathy he describes. In “Mistaken for Strangers,” one of the album’s dark rockers, he neatly summarizes the album’s major theme, stating even the angels wouldn’t want to watch “another uninnocent, elegant fall into the unmagnificent lives of adults.” The theme is advanced throughout the album, particularly on “Racin Like a Pro,” where the protagonist seemingly has it all, yet can hardly make it out of bed, even to “make a cake or something.” This ennui of success is epitomized in the lackadaisical lines, “Sometimes you go ‘La di da di da di da da’ / Til your eyes roll back into your head.” Berninger knows that one day we will grow old, take on more responsibility, and lose our edge. One day we will “miss being deviants.”
Boxer is about fearing assimiliation, growing old, and in some ways, accepting it. It’s about that point in our lives when, as Berninger puts it, everything we believe is “diving diving diving diving off the balcony.” Whether we land in one piece is up to us.
-Nicole Pope
Iron and Wine - The Shepherd's Dog.................
Sam Beam has made an album that is as accessible as it is complex. The music draws on many forms. He has his folk rock songs, his signature acoustic throwback in "Resurrection Fern" and "Flightless Bird, American Mouth," his experimental, reverberating "Carousel," and his calypso "Lovesong of the Buzzard" and "Innocent Bones" - the latter two powered by an upright bass.
The Shepherd’s Dog is special in that the arrangements are given equal weight as the lyrics. This time around the production is crisp and there are many elements and instruments woven together – see "House by the Sea". What Beam still does best is tell a story that creates a feeling through his soft subtle voice. "Resurrection Fern" captures this best. Beam explains what will remain after growing old. The memories of how our ghosts live, “our bravey wasted and our shame.”
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Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?.....
To say that Kevin Barnes’ split with his wife and concurrent slide into a severe depression is what sets the tone for Hissing Fauna would be incredibly inaccurate. Granted, Barnes holds nothing back from the listener, and that is part of what makes this album great, but the uncensored glimpses into Kevin Barnes’ personal life hardly bog the album down. That’s because Barnes soundtracks his ugly personal life to songs that are an amalgamation of
Hissing Fauna also allowed Of M
-Ryan Bonacker
Bonefish! "Peacebone" is nuts. Unreal sounds leak the most interesting colors and happy monsters that don’t understand intentions. I have never heard anything like it before. I can’t even describe it, maybe a carnival on crack? Bonefish!
-
Radiohead - In Rainbows.........................
June 20, 2001
Decades from now some impressionable young music fan will ask what it was like to see Radiohead live. To await each new album. “Where were you,” they’ll ask, “when In Rainbows was released?” I’ll tell them the truth. 2007, in every way, was the year of Radiohead. With whispers from friends that the album may have trumped the decades-old, near flawless OK Computer, I could call it a second coming.
At that same 2001 show, I saw a friend of mine from the dorms. Five hundred miles from home, and we ran into each other without even knowing the other was attending. That’s one thing any Radiohead lover knows. The band brings people together. Just take myself, the style-less wonder, and Daisy, the hippie. She had long blonde hair that never seemed combed, let alone washed. She wore tie dyed shirts. She was smoking pot after the show when I saw her. “What was your favorite song?” I asked. “Idioteque,” she said. At the time I was miffed. Unquestionably, “Fake Plastic Trees” had been the epitome of my concert-going experience. It was 2001, the year Radiohead released their most experimental album to date, and I was indefatigably in love with The Bends.
This is another thing any Radiohead lover knows. The band has range. So much so that Daisy could have her electro-dance and I could have my acoustic heart-wrencher, and we could both be sated. This mix of styles is precisely what makes In Rainbows so impressive. On their seventh studio album, Radiohead dredged elements from their past incarnations. The jigsaw fell into place, making an album at once familiar, yet unexpected. On In Rainbows we encounter tinges of The Bends (“Bodysnatchers”), OK Computer (“Weird Fishes/Arpeggi”), Hail to the Thief (“Jigsaw”). We see a new spin on old sounds, but also the emergence of styles and timbres never before seen from the band, such as the tender accompaniment in “Faust Arp” or the chilling beauty of “Reckoner.”
With each new Radiohead album, I become increasingly afraid it will be the band’s last. It’s as if by being so much larger than life, they’ll break the tethers and float away. Yet with In Rainbows the band has proven they still have the passion and talent to make music that wows devout fans and newcomers alike. If future albums prove as astonishing as In Rainbows, then Radiohead has many stories left to tell, so many of us left to save.
-Nicole Pope
As an avid “head head” the anticipation for the new Radiohead album was almost crippling. Once the album was procured I listened to it on a daily basis for a month. Without the backdrop of Radiohead it seemed as if I were unable to complete normal daily activities. Radiohead was the soundtrack of my life for that splendid month. “I’d be crazy not to follow, follow where you lead,” sings Thom Yorke in “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi.” You and I both would be crazy not to follow Radiohead as they continue their extraordinary career.
-Jenna Marchant
Thanks for reading, everyone! We'll see you again next year.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Continued:
Our Top 25 Albums of 2007 (10-6)
I first fell for Animal Collective over a little song called “Grass,” a track that still puts me in a frenzy each time I hear it. Avey Tare is a force, a powerhouse, a nuclear reactor, as anyone who’s heard “For Reverend Green” can attest. Perhaps that’s partly why I became so enamored by Panda Bear’s sophomore release Person Pitch. Here was a fully fledged album released the same year as Animal Collective’s impeccable Strawberry Jams. A lesser musician might have released a solo album that sounded like a watered-down version of their full-time band. Not Panda Bear. Imagine a sun filled, crisp spring day with a bottle of whiskey/coke and Spoon center stage. Are you jealous yet? It was the Spring 2006 Day on the Hill in 
Today Range Life unleashes another five of its favorite albums of the year. Tomorrow we put all our cards on the table.
See 15-11 •
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Panda Bear - Person Pitch........................
-Nicole Pope
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible.......................
Neon Bible may not have lived up to the (unreasonable?) expectations brought upon by their excellent debut and frantic live shows, but it’s certainly not the disappointing follow-up album many “fans” and critics wrote if off as either. Consider for a moment just how boring a Funeral Part 2 would have sounded after repeated listens. Just ask the Strokes what happens when you follow up a fantastic debut with an album that’s more of the same. Sure, some bands like AC/DC and Nickelback can earn a fine living making the same album each and every time they hit the studio, but real artists prefer to challenge themselves, and perhaps their audience a bit in the process. So instead of focusing on what makes Neon Bible “worse” than Funeral (if you can even say that truthfully), lets instead focus on what makes Neon Bible great.
Neon Bible is an album in the truest sense of the word. There is no standout song – a hit single if you will – and no real immediate moment of satisfaction. The biggest rewards come with complete listens with full attention. Songs seamlessly flow in and out of each other, but this is no ordinary ocean. It’s an ocean of noise, filled with crushing waves that are the color of night. Win Butler, who has more or less become the voice of the Arcade Fire, spends most of the album creating a dark landscape, telling tales of people that suffer and sin, stand alone in holy wars, and of average Joe’s and Jane’s who worship the television rather than their God. He’s singing about
-Ryan Bonacker
Feist tiptoed onto the music scene with Let It Die, an album that is half originals and half covers. Now with the release of The Reminder she dances and frolicks her way to the center of the stage as she accomplishes the feat of completing an album all her own (minus “Sea Lion Woman”). The album displays the evolution of Feist’s love, career, and music. Throughout the album there are hints to to the past, most notably in the explicitly titled “Past in Present.” Although some may believe she’s a goddess, she reminds us that she is only human. The Reminder gives a glimpse into her secret world of loneliness and doubt. “The Water” emphasizes that “some don’t get much company,” while “The Park” beautifully captures her pain “with sadness so real that it populates the city and leaves you homeless again.” The Reminder may have its somber moments, but this is only a memorial of what has been and change may be just around the corner. We often learn from our mistakes and move on with our lives. During “Intuition” when Feist asks the question, “Did I miss out on you?” your answer should be no. Don’t miss Feist’s best album to date. For more on The Reminder check out our album review.
-Jenna Marchant
Sound of Silver is an upbeat, get drunk, and lose all inhibitions and dance type of album. That is, until midway into the album where the tone shifts into a sobering, self reflecting examination of life. The first three tracks are your prototypical dance songs – heavy beats with lighthearted lyrics.
-Chad Pope
The news of another album made me extremely happy. I had only the highest expectations for Spoon, and they surpassed them with ease. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is no child’s play. This album holds true to their signature style and expands to include some unexpected delights like “The Ghost of You Lingers” and “My Little Japanese Cigarette Case.” This album also exhibits Brit Daniel's advanced ability to write eloquent lyrics. There is no better example of Spoon’s lyrical progression than the “Rhythm & Soul” line, “tract houses, square couches, short legs and square shoulders, pot holders.” Only a genius would think to use “pot holders” in his music. Spoon’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is just that, genius.
-Jenna Marchant
See our Top Five Albums of 2007.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Continued:
Our Top 25 Albums of 2007 (15-11)
I have to admit, I was completely averse to this album earlier in the year, but if you’re a devoted reader, you’ll recall I was averse to lots of good songs/albums back in January -- three of which, including this one, I’m now praising for the Year End List. Oh, the irony! But I digress; I was reluctant to spend too much time with Friend and Foe because the two songs I heard on Hype Machine, “The Pelican” and “Wet and Rusting,” had no immediate impact on me. I wound up dismissing the songs and the band as generic Sub Pop slop reminiscent of Wolf Parade and Rogue Wave, two bands I like but not enough to warrant a copycat act. It wasn’t until I listened to the entire album, thanks to Nicole’s constant urging and “You’re really missing out on something special” tone, that I started to come around. Synths, electric keyboard, My Bloody Valentine and pristine pop combined with an earlier Blonde Redhead sound made for two happy ears. 2. Calling – Blonde Redhead’s 23 is calling us to look past the glossy exterior and into the depths of the lyrics. 3. Strikes – This album was striking to me during the initial listen. 4. Running – Is Blonde Redhead using this album to run away from stock style and toward something fresh? 5. Clashing – New sounds that at times clash but for the most part succeed in their captivation. 6. Anchor – Blonde Redhead has now anchored their career and their place in my heart. 7. “Walk in the afternoon” – okay so not exactly one word but this album is an essential for afternoon ambulation. 8. Without – The reviews are testament that no change is without its praise and criticism. 9. Persuasion – My initial impression of the album as a whole was good. Good is a boring word but with the persuasion of time good transformed into grand. 10. Decadence – The rich lyrics mixed with tiers of textured sound make for a decadent treat.
Day Three heats up with some ambient rockers, some straightforward rockers, and some rockers who sound a little like Gish-era Pumpkins.
Need a recap first?
See Albums 20-16
See Albums 25-21
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Menomena - Friend and Foe.......................
-Ryan Bonacker
The Twilight Sad - Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters....
-Chad Pope
Blonde Redhead - 23..............................
Not unlike The Shins, Blonde Redhead opted for the upgrade. Their modification veered away from their earlier rustic, vinyl sound and ran straight into the pop production era.
-Jenna Marchant
The
-Ryan Bonacker
Years ago I simply wouldn’t have been able to wrap my mind around an album like this. Even now it took a series of intense listens to 1.) tolerate the ambient-noise tracks, 2.) appreciate their role in terms of the overall album, and finally 3.) adore every moment of them. I’m reminded of another album that required this level of patience, perhaps even more so – Olivia Tremor Control’s Black Foliage. It took time to recognize that the instrumental tracks offered the mainstays vital breathing room, and often helped establish the album’s themes (consider the playful melody echoed throughout). In much the same way, Cryptograms’ instrumental tracks serve to both define and blur the divisions between their surrounding tracks. The titles of two such tracks, “White Ink” and “Red Ink,” suggest ink spilt on a blank canvas, coursing and meandering like the music itself until wham, you’re blindsided with a thriller like “
Perhaps even more astonishing than the ambient/rock blend is the album’s split structure. After “Red Ink” we encounter not the ferocity of “Cryptograms” or “
The tougher the challenge, the bigger the reward when I finally break through the fog of noise and hear music. In some ways I’ve solved a cryptogram or two myself over the past few months, and I've come away with a stellar album because of it.
-Nicole Pope
Continue with Albums 10-5.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Continued:
Our Top 25 Albums of 2007 (21-16)
Fun: Talk about shit luck. Poor Dan Snaith has been on the verge of a breakthrough for what seems like ages. Way back in 2003, before a lawsuit forced Dan to switch from 
Today we continue our Top 25 Albums of 2007 with 21-16. Stay tuned throughout the week as we reveal five albums each day. Friday, the big guns come out.
Need a recap? Check out 25-20.
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Battles aren’t fucking human; it’s the only way to explain just how incredible Mirrored is. I’m convinced that the dudes in Battles are actually futuristic time traveling aliens that, during a routine abduction here on Earth, picked up someone with musical taste that leaned heavy on post-rock and jazz fusion. In exchange for keeping certain body parts off limits during probing, the abductee gave the aliens LSD and a few of his or her favorite record. The aliens would take the drugs and the records back to their home planet in the future, ingest the drugs, listen to the records, and study them meticulously for centuries. They would then learn how to play multiple instruments, record a few EPs and, eventually, Mirrored. But because they were so underappreciated on their home planet, they decided to not only to jump back to our current century, but found a home in
Yes, time traveling aliens. Or was it robots…?
-Ryan Bonacker
Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala................
If, when listening to this record, you feel as if you’ve heard some of the songs before, then you just might have. Jens Lekman is notorious for sampling fellow artists and reinterpreting their work. Keen to what is hip in this day and age, Lekman samples soul and baroque pop from those whom, in their days, were just as sharp. Night Falls Over Kortedala is a storybook of common life and extraordinary experiences. Lekman’s lyrics speak about the war in
-Jenna Marchant
The Shins - Wincing the Night Away................
In the past The Shins have often been predictable, but they challenged listeners with the release of Wincing the Night Away. My first time hearing the album had me pausing as I tried to convince myself that I was listening to The Shins. They had strayed away from their previous gritty, semi-polished sound and dabbled with experimental additives. After the release of Wincing The Shins suffered major blows from their critics, often related to the production quality of the album. Such critics are missing the point.
James Mercer, an admirable songwriter, used his fanciful lyrics to grab his listeners and hold them tightly. I once heard his lyrics described as "grotesque." I asked myself, is this referring to the corpse on the floor and the dog getting hit by a train, or due to the band trying something different? The Shins sought thrills and took risks with this album, which is more than can be said for many other successful mainstream bands. The band deserves respect for expanding and experimenting with their sound. Trial and error is life and, with results this promising, I only hope they will try and try again.
-Jenna Marchant
-Ryan Bonacker
The New Pornographers - Challengers................
Power pop is definitely not my bag, but The New Pornographers have me reconsidering this notion. Challengers opens with AC Newman, though it could have been any number of the band’s talented vocalists. “My Rights Versus Yours” chugs away with its hooks within verses as it builds toward the climax, a return to verse and Newman’s crisp clear vocals. The unique call and answer “
As the band members’ solo careers bloom, questions of the band remaining together should be quieted. Challengers, the newest addition to the Porno’s consistent catalogue, is a testament to the power they have when they are together.
-Chad Pope
Continue with Albums 15-11.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Staff List:
Our Top 25 Albums of 2007
With catchy melodies and intricate lyrics, The Stage Names opens up with a one-two punch. “Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe” starts simplistic and gains momentum to make way for “Unless It’s Kicks,” which keeps the energy high. Will Sheff is a force and it’s hard not to sing along. “A Girl in Port,” the album’s epic centerpiece, is backed by delicate piano and ends triumphantly, trumpets blaring. This album hasn’t left my brain since I let it in and I’m sure it will withstand the test of time. A great album in a grand year of music.
On Dec. 7 the Range Life staff huddled in a make-shift fort in my living room, drawing strips of paper from a Halloween candy basket. “Arcade Fire, 17 points,” someone would announce, and we’d write it on the board. We tallied the points, and after a few nips and tucks, this is what we had. 
We’ll reveal five albums a day each day this week (It's like unwrapping five early Christmas presents!) Without further ado, we present Range Life's Top 25 Albums of 2007.
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Okkervil River - The Stage Names................
-Chad Pope
The Sea and Cake - Everybody...................
Take our trip to the Pitchfork Music Fest this summer. After three days of fervent concert going including elbowing my way to the fronts of crowds, wrestling with my camera, and shying from less-than-showered concertgoers, I'll never forget sitting on a blanket under a tree during The Sea and Cake, passing a whiskey flask. The Sea and Cake are incredible because, while their music never jumps out and grabs you by the throat, it provides the perfect soundscape for lounging, for life.
-Nicole Pope
Deerhoof constantly reinvents themselves. Over the years their music has become increasingly listener friendly, yet they never "talk down" to their listeners. On Friend Opportunity you'll see more challenging tracks like "Kidz Are So Small" or "Whither the Invisible" mixed with more immediate favorites like "Believe ESP," "Cast Off Crown," or "Matchbook Seeks Maniac." Top it off with a 12-minute excercise in mind expansion, and you've got classic Deerhoof. Listeners who fell in love with The Runners Four might be disappointed by the less rockin' fare, yet the band proves they can command multiple genres. Deerhoof takes risks, but so far they have been all reward.
-Nicole Pope
The Clientele - God Save the Clientele................
This album was one of my biggest surprises of the year: not because I didn't expect it to be good, but because I didn't expect it to be so upbeat. Ordinarily I reserve The Violet Hour or Strange Geometry for dreary afternoons and somber moods. Suddenly, with God Save the Clientele, a new Clientele has emerged.
The first time I heard "Bookshop Cassanova" I was blown away. And "Winter on Victoria Street." And "The Dance of the Hours." And "The Garden at Night." Sure, your old Clientele staples are all here: Alasdair MacLeans's reverbed vocals, ringing guitars, a wistful violin. The band's just discovered what a little pep could do for their already remarkable sound.
-Nicole Pope
Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha................
Most people know that birds can whistle and sing. This bird is a notch above the rest with the added ability to play instruments. The March 20th release date made Armchair Apocrypha the perfect addition to the springtime weather.
This album may possibly be the defining release of Bird’s career, as he uses each song to further the definition of his sound. What his earlier albums hinted at Bird brings forward with Armchair Apocrypha. No longer holding back, his diverse style becomes solidified as the “Bird sound,” a distinct flair recognizable even to the amateur Bird connoisseur. Armchair Apocrypha is up-tempo (for the most part) and cleaner than his previous albums, displaying his wide vocal range and versatile instrumentation. His sound is a layered concoction of vocals and string instruments with a dash of drums and a twist of the occasional back-up singer. Andrew Bird is Mmmm Mmmmm finger-picking good!
-Jenna Marchant
Continue with Albums 20-16.
