Can you say overextended?

Crazy busy household changes = neglected blogs.

I have been listening though and there is so much I wish to share.

Since we are already into spring, I will be giving a very brief wrap up of my favorite albums last year.
It was a so-so year overall, but there were some albums that I really enjoyed.

The theme, for me, seems to be getting old. Two of my favorite albums last year were from artists that I associate with being before my time. Yes, they started before my time, but they have been active ever since, yet for some reason I have held them captive in a pre to mid 80's quagmire that is not a pretty place to be. I am speaking of the Alison Krauss and Robert Plant album as well as Springsteen's Magic. Prior to these two records, my feelings on the gentlemen mentioned had been pretty indifferent. In my world, Plant had been the soundtrack to middle school dances and Springsteen had meant little more than American kitsch. I realize that I have alienated most music fans with that statement. No apologies. I have never been able to get into either Zeppelin or the boss. The huge followings and stereotyped fans put me off as a youth. As an adult, I haven't found anything to interest me from either. So I was very pleasantly surprised with both of these records and for very different reasons. The Krauss and Plant album is hauntingly beautiful, soulful, and unZeppeliny. It is the last thing that I would have expected to hear from Robert Plant. However, Alison Krauss is a pretty good stamp of quality. She spurred my interest in the album in the first place. As for Bruce... What blew me away about Magic is how hugely this album was what I had known him to be, but never discovered first hand. All the Americana, none of the kitsch. He is a powerful songwriter and even more powerful of a performer surrounded by a very talented army of musicians.

I am quite fond of the latest Ryan Adams and the Cardinals record. It is one Ryan's few records since his Whiskeytown days that works well as a whole. He is my favorite song writer and has made good albums with great songs. They tend to be disjointed most of the time. Cardinology works well together and ranks up there with Cold Roses and Heartbreaker.

My favorite album of last year had to be AA Bondy's American Hearts. I don't think I took it out of my car stereo at all last spring.

Portishead and Tricky dropped some wonderful albums that brought Trip Hop back from the dead.

Saul Williams dropped a fantastic album in 2007. The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust is a sonic freakfest and the best thing produced by Trent Reznor since his Year Zero album.