Music 2007 / bendbulletin.com/tradition

Love music? You're in luck: You've found Near/Far - The Bulletin's hub for coverage of 2007's best sounds, both recorded and live. Above, you can click "Lists and Reviews" to check out my favorite albums and concerts of the year, plus the faves of folks connected to Central Oregon's music scene. Below, the good stuff: Stream or download 30 songs by local and national acts, for free. (Each half of this double-length compilation will fit on one CD. Click the links below to download a .ZIP file of all the songs in MP3 format, plus CD artwork with tracklists.) So have fun poking around, and if you have any questions or comments, e-mail me at bsalmon@bendbulletin.com.

-- Ben Salmon

Album downloads:

NearC.O. Bands

69 mb zip download

FarNational Bands

62 mb zip download

• Central Oregon Bands
• National Bands

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1Bright Lights by DJ Lacuna

Please install flash.

album:
DJ Lacuna

hometown:
Bend

band website:
http://www.myspace.com/djlacuna

Lacuna’s beats are rock-oriented, often featuring guitar sounds and synths over an ominous beat – no surprise considering he used to co-curate The Grove’s monthly indie-rock night, Hi Top Se ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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2Oregonize by Person People

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album:
Seven Ways

hometown:
Bend

band website:
http://www.myspace.com/personpeople01

Blink and you’ll miss it: The evolution of a group of four, then seven, then 10 talented dudes can happen in a flash. So it is with Person People, Bend’s own home-grown troupe of hip-hop fan ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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3God Bless The Taco Stand by The Mostest

Please install flash.

album:
The Mostest

hometown:
Bend

band website:
http://www.markransom.com

The latest incarnation of longtime local musician Mark Ransom, The Mostest excels at mixing feel-good pop with hippy-dippy jams. If you want to see them live, just wait a few days; they’ll p ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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4Slip Into The Crowd by Reed Thomas Lawrence

Please install flash.

album:
Slip Into The Crowd

hometown:
formerly Bend, now Nashville

band website:
http://www.reedthomaslawrence.com

If Jack Johnson and John Mayer can make it big, why not Reed Thomas Lawrence? The Bend-based singer-songwriter has the same knack as those guys for easy melodies, relatable lyrics, and butte ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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5Last Goodbye by The Erins

Please install flash.

album:
The Year Of Hello And Goodbye

hometown:
formerly Bend, now Washington D.C. area

band website:
http://www.myspace.com/theerinsband

Kismet brought them together; guitarist and songwriter Erin Cole-Baker, a New Zealander new to Central Oregon, happened upon violinist Erin Zurflu, a native Bendite, at a bluegrass jam. They ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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6Chapter 6 by David Clemmer

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album:
Vermont Songs

hometown:
Bend

band website:
http://www.myspace.com/davidclemmer

Eighteen months distilled into 37 minutes and created over about 30 days. Welcome to “Vermont Songs,” the concept record that follows local singer-songwriter David Clemmer’s interactions wit ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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7People I Try To Forget by Jared Colinger

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album:
Light From A Dying Star

hometown:
formerly Redmond, now Arizona

band website:
http://www.jaredcolinger.com

Jared Colinger was but a blip on the Central Oregon music scene in 2007. He moved to the region from Tennessee to work with Redmond-based indie label Allalom Music, played only a couple show ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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8Midnight On Murder Street by The Roe

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album:
Midnight On Murder Street

hometown:
Redmond

band website:
http://www.wearetheroe.com

Central Oregon’s hardcore/metal scene buzzed this year, with the start-up of busy local promoter Bleeding Thoughts Productions, frequent brutal shows at Shanghai Joe’s, Players and the Domin ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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9Love Will Find You by Paul Eddy

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album:
Blue Box

hometown:
Prineville

band website:
http://www.myspace.com/pauleddypauleddy

A former high school chorus teacher, Eddy got a master’s in music composition at a college near Austin, Texas before moving to Bend a couple years ago. He worships at the feet of The Beatles ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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10That Was Then by Threes

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album:
Everywhere

hometown:
Bend/Sisters

band website:
http://www.myspace.com/threesband

Threes was around only a short time, but it left its mark with “Everywhere,” a solid collection of alt-country-rock. Some songs are written by Anastacia and some by her dad, bassist Joe Leon ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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11Naturally by The Bond Brothers

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album:
Naturally

hometown:
Bend

Long considered one of Bend’s most proficient bands, the Bonds released the tight-as-a-noose “Naturally” in 2007, and then promptly disappeared from view. They were busy playing private gigs ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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12Baila Conmigo by Shireen Amini

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album:
Turnaround

hometown:
Bend

band website:
http://www.shireenamini.com

She studied ethnomusicology in college, so it’s no wonder Shireen Amini’s tunes are the musical equivalent of the United Nations. The daughter of an Iranian dad and Puerto Rican mom, Amini’s ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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13Indigenous Blues by Coyo

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album:
The West

hometown:
Bend

band website:
http://www.coyoden.com

For three years, the three guys in Coyo have been using guitars, flutes and hand drums to make music that is part-jazz and part-blues, driven by the indigenous rhythm of the Indians. “The We ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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14Remember How by Kyoto and the Chord Organ

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album:
Crayon Art

hometown:
Bend

band website:
http://www.myspace.com/kyotoandthechordorgan

Two buddies in Bend go the full-on D.I.Y. route, not only recording gauzy, ambling folk-pop songs, but also creating custom artwork for each CD using crayons, hence the name of the EP: “Cray ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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15In A Midnight Sun by Wildbleedingheart

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album:
Wildbleedingheart

hometown:
formerly Bend, now Portland

band website:
http://www.wildbleedinghearts.com

In 2007, one-man band Dann Miller emerged from his self-imposed exile outside Sunriver and unleashed the fuzzy, lo-fi pop of Wildbleedingheart on the world. An experimenter by nature, Miller ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

• Central Oregon Bands
• National Bands

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1Is There A Ghost by Band of Horses

Please install flash.

album/label:
Cease to Begin
(Sub Pop)

hometown:
Mt. Pleasant, SC

band website:
http://www.bandofhorses.com

It's been only one year since Band of Horses released its stunning debut album, 'Everything All the Time' to widespread critical acclaim. Since then, one Horse has left, the band moved from ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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2In Transit by Albert Hammond Jr.

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album/label:
Yours To Keep
(New Line)

hometown:
New York, NY

band website:
http://www.myspace.com/alberthammondjr

Welcome, friends, to the surprise of the year, the one where that hip, what's-his-name guitar player from that good-but-not-great buzz band of yore steps out in front and makes a terrific so ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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3None Shall Pass by Aesop Rock

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album/label:
None Shall Pass
(Definitive Jux)

hometown:
New York, NY

band website:
http://www.myspace.com/aesoprockwins

A bunch of great underground rappers made fine albums in 2007. Brother Ali, Sage Francis, El-P, and so on. But none brought the thunder quite like Aesop Rock, who shows no ill effects after ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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4Hurricane Judy by Future Clouds and Radar

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album/label:
Future Clouds And Radar
(The Star Apple Kingdom)

hometown:
Austin, TX

band website:
http://www.futurecloudsandradar.com/indexmain.php

My favorite albums seem to favor brevity and efficiency over maximizing the capacity of an 80-minute CD. That's why I'll take Band of Horses over My Morning Jacket any day. But this album, b ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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5Keep The Car Running by Arcade Fire

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album/label:
Neon Bible
(Merge)

hometown:
Montreal, QC Canada

band website:
http://www.arcadefire.com

Paranoia runs rampant on the much-hyped sophomore effort from this large band of Canadians, with war and religion the primary targets. As a result, "Neon Bible" sounds positively apocalyptic ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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6Down In The Valley by The Broken West

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album/label:
I Can't Go On I'll Go On
(Merge)

hometown:
Los Angeles, CA

band website:
http://www.myspace.com/thebrokenwest

I've always thought that if the world were right, and great music was rewarded, power-pop would dominate Top 40 radio. The genre has long been a favorite of the fringe "dBs geeks", "Raspberr ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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7Phantom Limb by The Shins

Please install flash.

album/label:
Wincing The Night Away
(Sub Pop)

hometown:
Portland, OR

band website:
http://www.theshins.com

This kind of hype might've crushed a lesser band. But in the face of "Garden State"-sized expectations, James Mercer and his Portland-based band of merry pranksters made exactly the right mo ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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8About That Rock by Brother Reade

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album/label:
Rap Music
(Record Collection)

hometown:
Los Angeles, CA

band website:
http://brotherreade.com

The title of Brother Reade's first full-length album is plain as day, and with good reason; these North Carolinians now based in L.A. take hip-hop back to its roots, with one DJ (Bobby Evans ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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9Sun Lips by Black Moth Super Rainbow

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album/label:
Dandelion Gum
(Graveface)

hometown:
Pittsburgh, PA

band website:
http://www.blackmothsuperrainbow.com

Much has been made of Black Moth?s unusual story: A collective of analog-obsessed eccentrics based in rural Pennsylvania, notoriously press shy and happy to hide behind their vintage organs, ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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10Wild Mountain Nation by Blitzen Trapper

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album/label:
Wild Mountain Nation
(self-released)

hometown:
Portland, OR

band website:
http://www.blitzentrapper.net

Indie rock may be bankable now, but old codgers (aka people in their 30s) will tell you that the glory days are 15 years in the rearview mirror, back when Pavement, Superchunk and the Archer ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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11Big Drag by Limbeck

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album/label:
Limbeck
(Doghouse)

hometown:
Orange County, CA

band website:
http://www.limbeck.net/

Don't let the Doghouse Records insignia fool you, because Limbeck left emo behind long ago. These days, the band excels in making big, simple, fun pop-rock with a hint of twang. Bonus: They' ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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12No Dreams by Oakley Hall

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album/label:
I'll Follow You
(Merge)

hometown:
Brooklyn, NY

band website:
http://www.oakleyhall.net

Past, meet the future. Oakley Hall exists in some weird dimension where old-time music intersects with off-kilter, psychedelic rock, and the result is an album that sounds like the Branch Da ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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13Why & How Come by The Shaky Hands

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album/label:
The Shaky Hands
(Holocene)

hometown:
Portland, OR

band website:
http://www.myspace.com/shakyhands

One of the most promising bands in one of America's most fertile scenes (170 miles northwest of Bend), The Shaky Hands' light-hearted, from-the-hip indie-pop comes complete with enough angul ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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14North By Northwest (Jake One Remix) by Blue Scholars

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album/label:
Joe Metro EP
(Mass Line)

hometown:
Seattle, WA

band website:
http://www.bluescholars.com

Representing the Northwest in the hip-hop game, Geologic and Sabzi busted out this year with their positive brand of rap music. Their success is unsurprising; both men are prodigiously talen ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE

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15Losin' Time by Wooden Shjips

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album/label:
Wooden Shjips
(Holy Mountain)

hometown:
San Francisco, CA

band website:
http://www.woodenshjips.com

Shjips ahoy! With one inscrutable record, this San Francisco band with the funny name leaped to the forefront of a new wave of bands making dreamy, damaged, droning psych-guitar freakouts. B ... READ FULL BAND PROFILE