Monday, December 31, 2007

Triangle Music's 2007 Readers' Poll Results

So here they are, the readers' poll results for the Best Albums of 2007. North Carolina's own Avett Brothers took the top spot. They had a big year with their album Emotionalism which included a sold out show at the NC Museum of Art in Raleigh and an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

Here's the readers' top 10.

1. The Avett Brothers - Emotionalism
2. Radiohead - In Rainbows
3. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
4. Jay Clifford - Driving Blind
5. Rilo Kiley - Under the Blacklight
6. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
7. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
8. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
9. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
10. The Everybodyfields - Nothing Is Okay

Friday, December 28, 2007

Circuit City goofs on "In Rainbows"

Radiohead's In Rainbows was undoubtedly one of the most talked about releases in music this year. But, as of yet, it's not available in stores. Unless you live in Cary.

The Circuit City at Crossroads had six copies of the album on the shelf this evening.

However, Circuit City's computers were smarter than the staff who put the album out in the first place and wouldn't let the clerk at customer service ring it up.

Better luck next time, I suppose. The CD will be officially released Tuesday, Jan. 1.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

The Independent's "The Triangle's best 35 songs of 2007"

This past Wednesday, The Independent released their picks for "The Triangle's best 35 songs of 2007." It's an interesting list as diverse as the music coming out of the Triangle. Here's the list in alphabetical order.

Alina Simone "Country of Two"
Birds of Avalon "A Horse Called Dust"
Bowerbirds "Dark Horse"
Bull City "Game"
Carolina Chocolate Drops "Dona Got a Ramblin' Mind"
The Cartridge Family "American West"
Dan Bryk "Discount Store"
DATAHATA "Cartesian Voices"
David Karsten Daniels "The Dream Before the Ring That Woke Me"
Day Action Band "Back of Your Car"
Des Ark "Lord of the Ring"
Double Negative "Retro Abortion"
Feltbattery "A House Finch"
Filthybird "The Gospel of Truth (As Judas Told It To Me)"
The Future Kings of Nowhere "I'm Still Waiting"
Hammer No More The Fingers "O.R.G.Y."
Hazerai "This Night"
Horseback "Blood Fountain"
I Was Totally Destroying It "Summer State"
Jeff Crawford "Never Set in Stone"
Little Brother "Good Clothes"
Megafaun "Lazy Suicide"
Midtown Dickens "A.M. Dial"
The Moaners "When You're Dead and Gone"
Nathan Oliver "State Lines Pt. 2"
The Nein " Attitude and Mirrors"
Patty Hurst Shifter "Mr. Soul"
Red Collar "Used Guitars"
The Rosebuds "Silja Line"
Schooner "Carrboro"
Snatches of Pink "Opposite of Horse"
Spider Bags "Waking Up Drunk"
Sweater Weather "The Pains of Relocation"
Tooth "Dogs of the Fight"
Two Dollar Pistols "Nothing Left of Me"

You can download mp3s of all 35 songs at The Independent's website (click here).

Don't forget to submit your votes for the Triangle Music Readers' Poll. Submissions will be accepted through December 26.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Best of 2007 Readers' Poll [UPDATED]

The end of the year is quickly approaching and I'm sure many of you have noticed the barrage of best albums of 2007 lists out there. Well, we're going to join in on the fun. We want to know what our readers were digging over the last year, so send us your top 5 albums that were released in 2007. We'll add up submissions and let you know which albums came out on top and also let you know what our favorite albums of the year were.

You can send your submissions via email to triangle_music@hotmail.com or drop up a message or comment here or on our MySpace page (myspace.com/triangle_music).

[We'll accept submissions through December 26. If you haven't sent your picks in yet, get them in fast.]

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Merge snags Grammy nom

There was some celebrating in Chapel Hill this morning as the Arcade Fire snagged a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album. The group is on the Chapel Hill-based Merge Records.

The group is up against Lily Allen, Bjork, The Shins and The White Stripes in the category.

Another group with local ties also received several nominations, though I sort of cringe to even mention it.

Daughtry received five nominations, including Best Rock Album, Best Pop Performance for "Home," Best Rock Performance for "It's Not Over" and Best Rock Song for "It's Not Over" (which, notably, is a songwriters' award). The group's producer was also nominated as Producer of the Year for his work on the group's debut.

The list of nominees, which is available at Grammy.com, is essentially what you'd expect, with Kanye West and Amy Winehouse leading the pack. Here are a few nominations that got my attention...

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
  • Paul McCartney, "Dance Tonight"
  • John Mayer, "Belief" (shut up I love that song)
Best Pop Vocal Album
  • Paul McCartney, Memory Almost Full
Best Dance Recording
  • Mika, "Love Today"
Best Rock Performance, Group
  • Green Day, "Working Class Hero" (off the album Instant Karma)

Monday, December 03, 2007

Tom Petty to play Super Bowl halftime

I didn't know it until I saw him absolutely rock at Walnut Creek last year, but it turns out that I'm a big Tom Petty fan.

Which is why I was psyched to read today that Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will play the halftime show at Super Bowl XLII (that's 42 for those of you who have forgotten your 3rd grade lesson on Roman numerals).

The 2008 Superbowl will be held Feb. 3 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

But here's something to think about. Why has the Super Bowl been shunning female performers for the past few years? Could it be because of Janet Jackson's Nipplegate in 2004? Since then, only middle aged men have graced the stage — Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones and Prince.

So what gives? Is the Super Bowl committee being too uptight? And when they finally do invite a female performer back to the halftime show, who do you think would be worthy of the honor?