2008 Woodie Awards
Kanye West, Wu-Tang Clan big winners in 2007
By: Mike Fuksman
Issue date: 1/7/08 Section: Lifeline
Queens Of The Stone Age, "Era Vulgaris" - The Californian stoner rock legends returned with more heavy riffs, driving beats and, strangely enough, the lead singer of The Strokes doing a guest spot.
Kanye West, "Graduation" - The record that fueled West's beef with 50 Cent was one of the biggest hip-hop releases of the year. Lead single "Stronger," with its catchy riff borrowed from electronic group Daft Punk, invaded radios across the nation.
Rilo Kiley, "Under The Blacklight" - More cutesy indie-pop, albeit with a Fleetwood Mac twist. If you've followed the band in the past, it's something you need to hear to believe.
Radiohead, "In Rainbows" - The recording industry's most-feared record of 2007 was distributed online for however much fans wanted to pay. Musically, it wasn't much of a stretch beyond their past releases, but that's hardly an insult.
Britney Spears, "Blackout" - Britney's dirtiest record yet was remarkably different from her past releases (thank goodness). Lo-fi fuzzy electro-pop, complimented by Spears' robotic delivery.
Minus The Bear, "Planet Of Ice" - The math-rock masters came back with more songs about booze, girls and drinking booze with girls. Guitarist Dave Knudson's fretboard wizardry was even more pronounced than before, and that's really saying something if you've followed them in the past.
Shellac, "Excellent Italian Greyhound" - The aging pioneers of confrontational noise rock dusted off their walkers and recorded another album full of clanging guitars and producer Steve Albini's trademark drum sound.
Wu-Tang Clan, "8 Diagrams" - New York's hardest hip-hop outfit returned with the gritty beats and gruff delivery they rose to prominence on. ODB is sorely missed, but the rest of the group almost makes up for his absence.
Bjork, "Volta" - Iceland's Queen of Weird came back with the usual experimental/electronic ballads she's been known for, featuring collaborators as Timbaland and Mark Bell. And, of course, more bizarre dresses.
The Smashing Pumpkins, "Zeitgeist" - The reunion many said would never happen did, and with it a loud, fast album full of the fuzz-heavy rock that the Pumpkins were known for in their heyday. Frontman Billy Corgan makes it sound like it's 1993 again.
Kanye West, "Graduation" - The record that fueled West's beef with 50 Cent was one of the biggest hip-hop releases of the year. Lead single "Stronger," with its catchy riff borrowed from electronic group Daft Punk, invaded radios across the nation.
Rilo Kiley, "Under The Blacklight" - More cutesy indie-pop, albeit with a Fleetwood Mac twist. If you've followed the band in the past, it's something you need to hear to believe.
Radiohead, "In Rainbows" - The recording industry's most-feared record of 2007 was distributed online for however much fans wanted to pay. Musically, it wasn't much of a stretch beyond their past releases, but that's hardly an insult.
Britney Spears, "Blackout" - Britney's dirtiest record yet was remarkably different from her past releases (thank goodness). Lo-fi fuzzy electro-pop, complimented by Spears' robotic delivery.
Minus The Bear, "Planet Of Ice" - The math-rock masters came back with more songs about booze, girls and drinking booze with girls. Guitarist Dave Knudson's fretboard wizardry was even more pronounced than before, and that's really saying something if you've followed them in the past.
Shellac, "Excellent Italian Greyhound" - The aging pioneers of confrontational noise rock dusted off their walkers and recorded another album full of clanging guitars and producer Steve Albini's trademark drum sound.
Wu-Tang Clan, "8 Diagrams" - New York's hardest hip-hop outfit returned with the gritty beats and gruff delivery they rose to prominence on. ODB is sorely missed, but the rest of the group almost makes up for his absence.
Bjork, "Volta" - Iceland's Queen of Weird came back with the usual experimental/electronic ballads she's been known for, featuring collaborators as Timbaland and Mark Bell. And, of course, more bizarre dresses.
The Smashing Pumpkins, "Zeitgeist" - The reunion many said would never happen did, and with it a loud, fast album full of the fuzz-heavy rock that the Pumpkins were known for in their heyday. Frontman Billy Corgan makes it sound like it's 1993 again.
