Flash's Big 5 of 2007

The fact I'm posting my favorites now, with a scant few hours left in 2007, has defined this blog in a nutshell the past few months, but alas, good things are coming. Don't be frightened the next time you see me if I look a little different. I'm still that same boy you used to know. Have a fantastic holiday all. And now without further ado, the five beauties that occupied so much of my listening space this year.

1. Amy Winehouse Back to Black Not only does Amy get the Number One nod here, but for me to pretend I listened to anything else on this countdown even 50% as much as I listened to Back To Black would be a hideous lie. Unlike other tabloid divas, at the end of the day Winehouse has the pipes and the songwriting that far transcend the antics. All these months later, I'm still not tired of this album. Nay, I love this album..

2. M.I.A. Kala Politics and ass-shaking have never merged like this. As I raved in the post below, this was really the only essential party music released this year. And more importantly, it will still sound like essential party music when you put it on next year, the year after that, and beyond.

3. The White Stripes Icky Thump This countdown may only be three years old, but its amazing that Jack White has managed to represent in all three of them. This record rocks in typically bitchin' White Stripes fashion, and was only two or three tracks short of the masterpiece we all know they have brewing in them.

4. Panda Bear Person Pitch Noah Lennox's third acid-folk sideline from Animal Collective is probably not for everyone, but it was certainly for me this year. I embrace anything this deliberately weird if its backed up with some great music, and Person Pitch is; in spades.

5. Radiohead In Rainbows I wonder seriously how the members of Radiohead feel about the In Rainbows experiment. As a consumer model, I think it was a step in the right direction, and probably a prototype of music collecting in the the coming Free Culture era. As usual, Radiohead operates ahead of its time. And oh yeah, its a great album, too.

And here's a delicious of sampler of Flash's Top 5, In a Handy Zip File.

Tracklist:
Amy Winehouse "Tears Dry On Their Own"
M.I.A. "Come Around"
White Stripes "Conquest (Mariachi Version)"
Panda Bear "Good Girl/Carrots"
Radiohead "15 Steps"

And if you want a glimpse of last year's craziness: Flash's Big 5 of 2006