Top Ten Live Bands of 2007?

Man Man
Ballistic and primal to the core. This is how we imagine people act behind closed doors.

The National
Their show at Bimbo’s in SF was incredible. Seeing them live, one really gets a sense for their musicality, highly impressive; especially that drummer who rips while also hitting the high notes.

Roky Erickson
For having little to no capacity to carry on normal conversation offstage, Roky’s highly anticipated 2007 comeback was nothing short of onstage perfection. His voice still reigns supreme.

J Church
This show in their adopted home of Austin, TX during SXSW was made all the more poignant with hindsight. It was the last time we’d get to see lead singer Lance Hahn perform. RIP Lance.

Soulsavers
Mark Lanegan’s tremendous baritone. Two gospel singers. Excellent backing band. Songs that give the chills. Amazing.

A Place to Bury Strangers
Three guys that make a ridiculous amount of noise, amid trippy projected images and lights gives way to an all-over hypnotic, hard rocking experience.

Deerhunter
The guys worked hard this year, and played a ton of shows. Live, they are something different entirely from the experimental composure of their album. They. Freak. Out.

Black Lips
Lots of beer flinging, onstage dramatics, crowd surfing, moshing, southern punk blues songs, and manic wild energy translates into an allover rollicking experience.

Ra Ra Riot
At SXSW this year, Ra Ra Riot impressed more than any other band we saw. Lead singer Wesley Miles literally chipped his tooth on the microphone from really going for it.

Extra Action Marching Band
An erotic, ecstatic marching band with lots of tripped out, cabaret-like effects. Something fantastical, like nothing else out there today.

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Of All the Places, What Are the Five Best Music Sites?

Npr.org/music
Yes, we are fans of NPR, surprise surprise. The “All Songs Considered” podcast should be part of your New Year resolutions.

Last.fm
Last.fm automatically builds a detailed profile of each user’s music taste, called “scrobbling,” and it also boasts a vast online cavern of community groups, events, artist pages, etc.

h=”70″ align=”left” border=”0″ />Hype Machine
Hype Machine users are seemingly hooked for life, and why not? It’s a one-stop mp3 blog aggregator, which pulls from thousands of music blogs.

Rhapsody
Pay a reasonable monthly fee, have access to almost any album you want, listen to considerably more music than you pay for, and the artist gets paid with every play.

MySpace
The place to easily access a few tracks of a band or musician you’ve never heard for free, all the while silently judging the band by perusing their photo album and bio. Kudos.

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Best Reunions of 2007?
Fairport Convention
The Jesus and Mary Chain
Led Zeppelin
Dinosaur Jr.
The Police
The Stooges
Sex Pistols
Rage Against the Machine
Not: Smashing Pumpkins

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Best One Sheet Lines We’ve Seen All Year?
Disclaimer: Labels and publicists no doubt get mad at us journos sometimes for what we write, and that’s cool. We sometimes get a big rise out of what they write as well. This is all in good fun, though, so please don’t hold any grudges!

“Parades is cut from a different cloth: this is all new material spun from raw ingredients, carefully stitched together and lovingly embroidered with fine detail. If you let yourself be enveloped, this living tapestry could take years to unpick.”
Efterklang, Parades

“At first taste, the Dimes may remind you of a piece of peppermint candy you found in the pocket of an old sweater that’s been hiding in the back of your closet for sometime. Initially you hesitate, but then you take a bite and suddenly your mouth is exploding with a cool, fresh, minty flavor that makes you feel like you just brushed your teeth.”
The Dimes, The Silent Generation

“Seriously, fire up your popguns and join the choir. Robe not necessary, but Maritime won’t turn you away if you wanna wear one. They’re just that swell.”
Maritime, Heresy and the Hotel Choir

“The Octopus Project has developed an immense and loyal grassroots following, as evidenced by the band’s 30,000+ Myspace friends.”
Octopus Project, Hello, Avalanche

“It’ll leave you with sweat dripping down your face onto your swelled lip; fresh, liquid sale, the quintessential flavor of late night post-disco parties and booty slinging good times. After dancing to this album, you’re heavy with it, like too much cough syrup on a stomach full of hi-quality sushi.”
Rafter, Sex Death Cassette

“In this debut, the Yarrows are trying to make a record that isn’t cool or stupid.”
The Yarrows, Plum

“However, if you do not find this to your liking, well let’s see… they were in the crowd at the 1966 Beatles concert at Shea Stadium. Just checking to see if you actually read these things.”
Cult With No Name, Paper Wraps Rock

“Imagine the hot-spark pulse of any High School hitting three o’clock the day before summer vacation. By the time the last bell finishes French-ing your eardrums, roughed denim pockets will slide over car hoods; stereos will queue, and five young turks will breathe free from the northern jewel of Port Angeles, WA. This June, it’s graduation gowns, big new sounds, and faraway towns for the Lonely H.”
The Lonely H, Hair

“Think Can or Faust all mashed up with the personal disco of Arthur Russell. Think of the electric organ of Terry Riley’s Shri Camel, slowly morphing and perpetually in motion, but remaining in step with a guitar-less and Moroder-charged Sparks. And think of a more composed Dead C, where Michael Morley sings about “Big Thunder Mountain” while holding a beach ball in one hand and fending off the digital shards of musique humming around his ears with the other.”
Alex Delivery, Star Destroyer