End * on * End

Well, 2008 is officially here, so that means it is time to look back at my favorite records from 2007. (All available here, in one convenient place!) Lots of great music released last year, so let’s get right to it:

30. Idlewild – Make Another World
29. Liars – Liars
28. Minus the Bear – Planet of Ice
27. Bloc Party – A Weekend In The City

Was kind of disappointed about this release. Silent Alarm is one of my favorite records, however their latest is lacking the urgency that made their first so good.

26. Ted Leo – Living with the Living
25. Blonde Redhead – 23
24. Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
23. Field Music – Tones of Town

A criminally under-rated band!

22. The National – Boxer
21. Beirut – The Flying Club Cup
20. Besnard Lakes – Are the Dark Horse…
19. Caribou – Andorra
18. Dinosaur Jr. – Beyond

Great comeback album!

17. Pinback – Autumn of the Seraphs
16. Ryan Adams – Easy Tiger
15. Sunset Rubdown – Random Spirit Lover
14. The Shins – Wincing The Night Away
13. Les Savy Fav – Let’s Stay Friends
12. Future of the Left – Curses
11. of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer

10. The New Pornographers – Challengers

Not as outwardly good as their last three albums, but after a couple listens you really appreciate Challengers.

09. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible

08. Iron & Wine – The Shepherd’s Dog

07. Wilco – Sky Blue Sky

No Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but a top notch release from one of my favorite bands.

06. Kevin Drew – Spirit If…

Essentially a new Broken Social Scene album. And a good one at that…

05. Bright Eyes – Cassadaga

Surprising. Haven’t really paid attention to Bright Eyes in a couple years, but this album is really good.

04. Andrew Bird – Armchair Apocrypha

Another record I stumbled on this year (thanks eMusic!) and it blew me away. I think I listened to it like 5 times in a row after downloading it – very good.

03. The Most Serene Republic – Population

This year’s infatuation with Broken Social Scene led me to find this band. All their records are good, but this one is extra special. Would really like to see them live.

02. Rogue Wave – Asleep at Heaven’s Gate

I’m really not sure why this band/record is not on other top 2007 lists. Listen to ‘Chicago X 12’ or ‘Lake Michigan’ and tell me this isn’t a great record. Top notch song writing. They do the Shins thing better than the Shins themselves, but get no love. That ends here!

01. Radiohead – In Rainbows

Probably the most hyped record/band over the last two months. However, all they hype is correct. One of the best records from one of the best bands going. Closer to OK Computer than their last few releases, which is a good thing. In some respects it’s better than OK Computer, which is scary.

Work. Blah!

Me at work with no hope of getting out early. Happy New Year!

The Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 will be coming to vote in the Senate shortly, after overwhelmingly passing in the House. Sounds good, right? Who wants terrorism, especially homegrown terrorism and violence?

The only problem is, the bill is so vaguely written that according to Philip Giraldi at The Huffington Post :

the act could easily be abused to define any group that is pressuring the political system as “terrorist,” ranging from polygamists, to second amendment rights supporters, anti-abortion protesters, anti-tax agitators, immigration activists, and peace demonstrators.

A 10-person, appointed congressional commission will define who and what is a terrorist or extremist and be able to individually wield these powers, included holding hearings, obtaining testimony and administering oaths – rather than the traditional collective actions of most congressional commissions.

I’m sure Congress has good intentions, but unfortunately, passing hastily and vaguely written bills (like this one, the Patriot Act and probably dozens of other post-9/11 “homeland protection”-related bills) only sets us up for failure in the future. And by failure, I mean the loss of democracy as we progress toward a fascist state.

Giraldi ends his article with this:

The view that 9/11 has “changed everything” is unfortunately all too true. It has unleashed American paranoia, institutionalized mistrust of foreigners, and created a fantasy universe in which a US beset by enemies must do anything and everything to counter the alien threat.

Very true. Destroying our democracy and everything the country was founded on is not going to make us safer. In reality, law enforcement and intelligence operations will do more to stop terrorism than these horrible bills and laws passed by our government.

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House Bill
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