The 2007 Ho Media Awards
Still Bringing You the Best Since 2002
If this ceremony was still only about music, I would say that this was the year of indie/alternative rock. Those who have said that I refuse to stray too far from those bands who idolize Oasis need only spin Feist's new album to realize that they are wrong. This was probably obvious to those of you who have followed the HMA's for any length of time, since this year I decided to broaden the number of awards to be given out when I first listed the nominations in November.
Website of the Year - www.kingdomofloathing.com
Let's face it: one month of playing this game and it will own your soul. I've been playing for two and a half years. You do the math. (Seriously, because I'm rather sick of doing math.)
Book of the Year - Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora
I'll admit it: I'm a hardcore fantasy/speculative fiction fan. Until this year, I'd never met a writer who could mix a good plot with characters that could actually make me laugh out loud. Lynch's characterizations aren't just funny - they're brilliant too. Reading tLoLL was something like reading something that was part Eddings, part Ocean's Eleven, and part Jack Sparrow.
Honorable Mentions have to go to Donaldson's latest Covenant book and Wolfe's wordy wonder, The Book of the New Sun (not new to 2007, but new to me).
Movie of the Year - Transformers
Robot-toys from the 80's attack earth: the other movies really never had a chance.
One Honorable Mention should be given to Pan's Labyrinth, as it seems to have fallen into that grey area between a year's end and a year's beginning. I'm not typically one for movies that require subtitles, but the realism and cinematic talent it took to bring this story to life made it worth the added effort.
Discovery Artist of the Year - South
$4: That's how much I spent to acquire the best non-2007 album that I bought last year. From Here On In is a lo-fi sonic masterpiece like none other. The lush, experimental sounds nail the emotion of every song perfectly. With The Tides brought their sound into hi-fi production without managing to sound like sell-outs. Adventures in the Underground Journey to the Stars was a little scattered, but still miles above 99% of the rubbish released in the world. Their sound is most often compared to Doves (each of each bands' three albums follow a similar progression).
Starsailor gets an Honorable Mention for their three albums as well, particularly for their first - Love is Here.
Album of the Year [Mainstream] - Radiohead's In Rainbows
$0: That's how much I paid to download the band's new album when it came out on October 10th. Some people might argue that that makes me a dick. I wouldn't be particularly inclined to argue with these people; battling for fanboy e-penis isn't my style. Ignore all of the hype surrounding the album's distribution and you might not find a word about the quality of the songs themselves. I'm here to tell you that the songs themselves should be getting more attention than anything RH has done to date. Beautifully dark and brooding, the album's main 10 tracks only hold a slight edge over the 8 tracks on the EP that accompanies the discbox.
Album of the Year [Indie] - BRMC's Baby 81
3+ hours: That's how long BRMC played here in Indianapolis when they did their gig at the Music Mill last summer. They played nearly the entire new album (even "Killing the Light," which wasn't played at many of the venues they hit for that tour). This sleazy wall of sound will have you playing an air guitar before it's halfway finished.
Song of the Year [Mainstream] - Maroon 5's "Kiwi"
40 seconds: This slice of "Kiwi" from 2:35-3:15 contain the face-melting solo that amounts to the longest aural orgasm of 2007.
Song of the Year [Indie] - Wilco's "The Thanks I Get"
What the hell?: This was my reaction to finding out that this track was a "leftover" from the Sky Blue Sky sessions that fans were allowed to download for free from Wilco's site (provided you purchased a physical copy of the album). One of the few truly upbeat songs from the album, it was inexplicably cut and left to VW commercials.
There you have it, folks. Some of you might remember a category of "Retro Songs" in the past, but I'm phasing that one out for now. I honestly flat-out forgot to do it last year and this year there were plenty of other awards to consider. Give all of the nominee's a chance; many of the top spots only placed where they did by the narrowest of margins.
If 2007 was narrow, 2008 will be decided on a razor's edge. New releases are expected from Counting Crows, South, Doves, Starsailor, Oasis, Coldplay, and Travis, while Elbow plans to release both a new album and a collection of b-sides. 2008 has all the earmarks of a terrifyingly awesome year of music.
Stay tuned, stay young, and happy new year to all!
Still Bringing You the Best Since 2002
If this ceremony was still only about music, I would say that this was the year of indie/alternative rock. Those who have said that I refuse to stray too far from those bands who idolize Oasis need only spin Feist's new album to realize that they are wrong. This was probably obvious to those of you who have followed the HMA's for any length of time, since this year I decided to broaden the number of awards to be given out when I first listed the nominations in November.
Website of the Year - www.kingdomofloathing.com
Let's face it: one month of playing this game and it will own your soul. I've been playing for two and a half years. You do the math. (Seriously, because I'm rather sick of doing math.)
Book of the Year - Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora
I'll admit it: I'm a hardcore fantasy/speculative fiction fan. Until this year, I'd never met a writer who could mix a good plot with characters that could actually make me laugh out loud. Lynch's characterizations aren't just funny - they're brilliant too. Reading tLoLL was something like reading something that was part Eddings, part Ocean's Eleven, and part Jack Sparrow.
Honorable Mentions have to go to Donaldson's latest Covenant book and Wolfe's wordy wonder, The Book of the New Sun (not new to 2007, but new to me).
Movie of the Year - Transformers
Robot-toys from the 80's attack earth: the other movies really never had a chance.
One Honorable Mention should be given to Pan's Labyrinth, as it seems to have fallen into that grey area between a year's end and a year's beginning. I'm not typically one for movies that require subtitles, but the realism and cinematic talent it took to bring this story to life made it worth the added effort.
Discovery Artist of the Year - South
$4: That's how much I spent to acquire the best non-2007 album that I bought last year. From Here On In is a lo-fi sonic masterpiece like none other. The lush, experimental sounds nail the emotion of every song perfectly. With The Tides brought their sound into hi-fi production without managing to sound like sell-outs. Adventures in the Underground Journey to the Stars was a little scattered, but still miles above 99% of the rubbish released in the world. Their sound is most often compared to Doves (each of each bands' three albums follow a similar progression).
Starsailor gets an Honorable Mention for their three albums as well, particularly for their first - Love is Here.
Album of the Year [Mainstream] - Radiohead's In Rainbows
$0: That's how much I paid to download the band's new album when it came out on October 10th. Some people might argue that that makes me a dick. I wouldn't be particularly inclined to argue with these people; battling for fanboy e-penis isn't my style. Ignore all of the hype surrounding the album's distribution and you might not find a word about the quality of the songs themselves. I'm here to tell you that the songs themselves should be getting more attention than anything RH has done to date. Beautifully dark and brooding, the album's main 10 tracks only hold a slight edge over the 8 tracks on the EP that accompanies the discbox.
Album of the Year [Indie] - BRMC's Baby 81
3+ hours: That's how long BRMC played here in Indianapolis when they did their gig at the Music Mill last summer. They played nearly the entire new album (even "Killing the Light," which wasn't played at many of the venues they hit for that tour). This sleazy wall of sound will have you playing an air guitar before it's halfway finished.
Song of the Year [Mainstream] - Maroon 5's "Kiwi"
40 seconds: This slice of "Kiwi" from 2:35-3:15 contain the face-melting solo that amounts to the longest aural orgasm of 2007.
Song of the Year [Indie] - Wilco's "The Thanks I Get"
What the hell?: This was my reaction to finding out that this track was a "leftover" from the Sky Blue Sky sessions that fans were allowed to download for free from Wilco's site (provided you purchased a physical copy of the album). One of the few truly upbeat songs from the album, it was inexplicably cut and left to VW commercials.
There you have it, folks. Some of you might remember a category of "Retro Songs" in the past, but I'm phasing that one out for now. I honestly flat-out forgot to do it last year and this year there were plenty of other awards to consider. Give all of the nominee's a chance; many of the top spots only placed where they did by the narrowest of margins.
If 2007 was narrow, 2008 will be decided on a razor's edge. New releases are expected from Counting Crows, South, Doves, Starsailor, Oasis, Coldplay, and Travis, while Elbow plans to release both a new album and a collection of b-sides. 2008 has all the earmarks of a terrifyingly awesome year of music.
Stay tuned, stay young, and happy new year to all!
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