BEST/WORST MUSIC 2007, Cos the NME knows nuffin Options

[Sostie]

So what are the Best (and worst) albums, singles and gigs of the year? What have you been listeniing to constantly? What new "old" band have you fallen in love with?

Tell us now!

[Hobbes]

I can understand people not liking her delivery or singing voice, but her lyrics are really not that bad.  She's telling stories much in the same way Mike Skinner does in The Streets, and to an extent Lily Allen.  Her song writing could possibly be called naive.  What it does lack is unecessary pretention, which is far more welcome.

i disagree. i like the streets and (to an extent) lily allen, and nash doesn't come close to telling stories with the panache of allen or gravitas of skinner. they are naive songs, but my problem is really with the lyrics and song construction.

mariella has a great middle section in terms of melody, but the beginning and end are shit and the lyrics as bad as any on the album. she doesn't say anything, genuinely.

but mariella just crossed her arms and walked up the stairs and she went into her bedroom, and she sat on her bed.
and she looked in the mirror and she thought to herself: if i wanna play, i can play with me, if i wanna think, i'll think in my head.

that is probably the worst pairing on the album, and epitomises it for me, just very amateur and stirs nothing in me except horror. compare that with the insightful foundations, which feels complete, and showcases songwriting skill:

my fingertips are holding onto the
cracks in our foundations,
and i know that i should let go,
but i can't.
and everytime we fight,
i know its not right,
every time that you're upset and i smile,
i know i should forget,
but i can't.

i don't blame her entirely - the record company clearly rushed the album out and unlike the arctics who had a huge repertoire of songs beforehand, it's obvious nash didn't and had to hurriedly cobble songs together. she has got a future i think, but the company needs to give her time and maybe we'll see an album of quality.