Best of 2007: Alt/Indie/Punk

Feist Phenomenon
Leslie Feist's resume is impressive: Broken Social Scene and Apostles of Hustle singer, Peaches' ex-roomate and touring partner, and Chilly Gonzales' collaborator. Her debut solo album, Let It Die, gleamed with indie-fied R&B, bossa nova and jazz-pop, showing her sultry-sweet voice could stand on its own. This spring, it all fell into place for the Canadian singer with The Reminder. The video for "1234," became  YouTube's most-forwarded-while-you're-bored-at-work clip, while Boys Noize's retread of "My Moon My Man" was one of the remixes of the year. She just might be the break-out artist of the year -- and without losing her cred.

The Radiohead Effect
Radiohead has a history of being tech-savvy. They first demonstrated their know-how by grafting guitars to sequencers and synthesizer to become one of the most innovative groups going. But when it came to digital downloading, they were fussy and late to the table. Then, the unthinkable happened: they self-released In Rainbows digitally via their website and told fans to name their own price. It was punk as hell, questioning the industry's business model and unadaptability to the digital age. To top it all off, they plan to release In Rainbows through regular digital channels (including Rhapsody) but only as high-quality (256-bit rate) DRM-free MP3s, accompanied by DIY videos.

Metal: More Punk Than Punk
Blame the Green Day-ification of punk and the legions of lame emo and post-hardcore bands for all the idealism and rebellion lacking in punk. The proverbial monkey on the back has crawled down and now wears black eyeliner. But not all is lost: metal might save us. It's the last vestige for lovers of aggressive guitars and bands that smack-talk the boss. Let us be thankful for fine new offerings of ambient metal from  Pelican, drone from Boris, retro-death metal from 3 Inches of Blood, near-metalcore from Gallows and others.

Punk Saviors: Against Me!
Punk's not entirely dead! Gainsville-based anarcho-poets Against Me! still wave the flag for bringing down the man, despite being signed to a major. New Wave may be their most polished album (thanks to producer Butch Vig), but its pit-rallying battle cry leads the charge for disgruntled old and new punks everywhere.

Silver Medalists: LCD Soundsystem
James Murphy's crew avoided the sophomore slump like a dance-rock gazelle -- no easy feat given the band's core fanbase of critics and hipsters. While their debut was a disco infiltrator from L.A. to Berlin, Sound of Silver found the band more comfortable in its own skin (rather than in someone else's, namely The Fall's or Talking Heads'). Every single song on the album invokes the thought, "Oh, no, that's my favorite," until the next bassline kicks in. (Well, except for that closer.)

Best Tour: Daft Punk
Who would have thought that staring at two Parisians wearing robot helmets on top of a giant pyramid for nearly two hours could be so thrilling? The elaborate light and video show sent tens of thousands of people into a most blissful (drug- and/or euphoria-induced) ecstasy. Even the four people who chanted "robots, robots, robots" next to me for most of the show seemed to enjoy it. Alive 2007 was almost like being there, too.

Next World Superpower: M.I.A.
M.I.A. (aka Maya Arulpragasam) has gone from down-with-Diplo, streetwise immigrant Londoner to international pop star in just a few short years -- the title of Madonna of the developing world has even been tossed around. After the bubbling melting pot of baile funk, electro and dancehall that was Arular, the stakes were high for her second album, Kala. With producers Switch, Blaqstarr, Diplo and Timbaland by her side, she brought some serious heat with dirty masala-house and electro spiced with African drums, tablas and a didgeridoo for good measure.

Biggest Trend: Indie-Rock Yuppies
For indie rockers, '07 was like '91 (the year Nirvana broke, if you don't remember). Arcade Fire, The Shins and Spoon went top 10. Yuppies disguised in carefully messy coiffures and prayer scarves turned out in droves to buy indie rock this year. It may be to the chagrin of your average file-sharing college kid, but who else could afford $300 Arcade Fire tickets and get Band of Horses music on Ford and Wal-Mart ad campaigns? It's those yuppies.

Best Dynasty: Animal Collective
Freak folk is so three years ago. This year's neo-psychedelic success story comes from Animal Collective. This psychically gifted bunch is always ready to blast off to another plane of musical consciousness, whether on one of the band's side projects -- Panda Bear's surprisingly melodic tribute to a Brian Wilson dream sequence on Person Pitch, or Avey Tare's backwards tape ramblings on Pullhair Rubeye -- or when the Collective is in tact, grinning and bearing fractured reverberations and extraterrestrial loops on Strawberry Jam,

Best Show: Bad Brains on a Booze Cruise
Only the 300 or so folks who could fit onto "The Temptress" had the supreme pleasure of seeing Bad Brains play the record release party for Build a Nation while sailing down the Hudson River late last June.  The tightest, most ferocious hardcore band in history was still taught and agile, except for H.R. who sang with a muted scream and quizzical grin (as if muddled by a few too many spliffs). The crowd, New York hardcore's aging finest, was a little flabby (around the waist), but their passion for the Brains almost capsized the less-than luxury liner, as we all relived one of the greatest shows of our youth.

Further Listening:
Rhapsody's Year in Alternative Playlist