Probably my utmost favorite album of the year is not something anybody I know that’s into punk, hardcore, or post-hardcore would truly like. Matter of fact, it would probably make people question my credibility and taste in music in general. Yet I see not guilt in something that I truly like, and see no real reason to have my tongue in my cheek as I write this. I can’t help but be rather defensive in describing my fandom of Journey’s 2008 album, Revelation.

What? Journey? You mean that band that’s so synonymous with corporate rock, aka, one of the big things punk rebelled against in the 70s? Yes, that one.

As much as I like Hot Water Music, face to face, and Wire, I consider myself a fan of music. Yes, there are styles I like more than others (and others I downright loathe), but at its core, music is notes and beats more than sociological implications.

Read more after the jump.

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(No specific order!!!)

1. Title Fight-Kingston
2. Blacklisted-Heavier than Heaven Lonelier than God
3. Alkaline Trio-Agony & Irony
4. Mother of Mercy-Passing through the Fire
5. Cat Power-Jukebox
6. Cold World-Dedicated to Babies that Came Feet First
7. Foo Fighters-Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace
8. The Jealous Sound-Got Friends EP
9. Trapped Under Ice-Split with Dirty Money
10. Fucked Up-The Chemistry of Common Life
11. Ryan Adams-Cardinology

Other cool things: Phillies takeover in 2008, record release shows, seeing Breakdown at the Black N Blue Bowl, and Ryan Adams covering the Foo Fighters’ “Time Like These” on the BBC.

I managed to dredge up my memories of news, shows, and records that happened this past year. It wasn’t easy. I’ve fried a lot of brain cells with black coffee and fumes from the subway, so remembering what I had for dinner the night before is sometimes a chore.  Not to mention that a lot of albums have come across my desk, I spent a lot of time listening to music, almost to an obsessive level sometimes.

So to highlight my favorite stuff of the year, never mind remembering what exactly came out this year, is sorta fucking hard.  I mean the last CD I really loved that I got is a CD version of two Scream records, and that band broke up in 1990.  Most of the bands I really like are off the beaten path even in punk rock, and a bunch of them aren’t even active any more.

Yes, I really am that hip.

But I figured that if I instead thought of what I remembered about the year in more general terms, then that’ll work.  So here we are. And while the names that you see here might not be ones you recognized this past year, what’s here was still pretty significant to me and in the end, in some way to everyone.

Read more after the jump.

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Here are some of our friends’ favorite albums from 2007.

Alfie Palao - Late Night Wallflower co-founder
Radiohead – In Rainbows (XL)
Battles – Mirrored (Warp)
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Baby 81 (RCA/Island)
Explosions In The Sky – All The Sudden I Miss Everyone (Temporary Residence)
LCD Soundsystem – Sound Of Silver (DFA)
Wilco – Sky Blue Sky (Nonesuch)
Pissed Jeans – Hope For Men (Sub Pop)
Queens of the Stone Age – Era Vulgaris (Interscope)
Soulsavers – It’s Not How Far You Fall, It’s The Way You Land (Columbia)
Antelope – Reflector (Dischord)

Lauren Denitzio – The Measure [SA]
The Ergs – Upstairs/Downstairs (Dirtnap)
The New Dress – Where Our Failures Are (Red Leader)
The Weakerthans – Reunion Tour (Anti/Epitaph)
American Steel – Destroy Their Future (Fat Wreck)
Tegan and Sara – The Con (Sire)

Keep reading after the jump for more picks.

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Photo by Tim Owen

2007 has been a huge year for all of us here at Late Night Wallflower. You are reading this so I won’t bore you with longwinded, high falootin’ paragraphs of how proud I am of this site. I just want to say thank you. So, thank you for reading and keep on coming back in ’08.

I tired of debating over it all, so here goes nothing, my favorite music, among other things about 2007.

BEST ALBUMS
1. Cloak/Dagger – We Are (Jade Tree)
I debated. I debated while eating chips or while on the PATH. Then, I debated some more. After a while, it became pretty clear to me. This was THE album of 2007 to me. We Are could safely be placed among Modern Life Is War’s Witness and Paint It Black’s Paradise as recent scene time bombs that grabbed hardcore by the balls. I have listened to it well over fifty times, and that ain’t gonna stop anytime soon. An insanely refreshing and undeniably crucial record.

2. Chuck Ragan – Feast or Famine (Side One Dummy)
Try something. Get a bunch of your friends together, get drunk on some PBR or your cheap beverage of choice (I prefer Yuengling), and talk about life. When the record is over, put the needle back down on track one and if you are not screaming along to every word by then, I’m afraid you may not have a soul. Sorry.

3. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible (Merge)
Yeah, the first time I listened to it I thought it was inferior to Funeral. With further evaluations, I was convinced I had shit for brains. The album is just everything that made that first full-length great, times five.

Read more of my picks after the jump.

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