ALBUMS (10 each)
1. Youssou N'Dour - Rokku Mi Rokka
2. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
3. v/a - Motel Lovers: Southern Soul From the Chitlin' Circuit
4. Kanye West - Graduation
5. Denise Lasalle - Pay Before You Pump
6. Calle 13 - Residente o Visitante
7. Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba - Segu Blue
8. Deerhunter - Cryptograms
9. v/a - Roots of Chicha: Psychedelic Cumbias From Peru
10. Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca - Isabela

TRACKS
1. UGK ft. Outkast "Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)"
2. Rihanna ft. Jay-Z "Umbrella"
3. Soulja Boy Tell'em "Crank That (Soulja Boy)"
4. Wisin y Yandel "Yo Te Quiero"
5. Spoon "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb"
6. T-Pain ft. Yung Joc "Buy U a Drank (Shawt Snappin')
7. Kanye West ft. T-Pain "Good Life"
8. DJ Khaled ft. Akon, T.I.,R. Ross, Fat Joe, L. Wayne, Birdman "We Takin' Over"
9. Richie Spice "Youth Dem Cold"
10. Lloyd ft. Lil Wayne "You"

COMMENTS
One of my fave 2007 artists offered challenging but funky rhythms that sounded even better live than on disc. No, not Battles, Youssou N'Dour. Yea, yea, I know, with so much to keep up on you figured N'Dour is just a bland middlebrow choice for African immigrants and pushing age 60 anglo listeners who remember that he once sang with Sting and tried to crossover with where is she now Nenah Cherry. He's even got a mediocre tacked on song with her on his new cd. But ignore that and check out the rest—N'Dour's vocals that both soar upward and get guttural, and a big band that effortlessly delivers staccato beats, gorgeous keyboard accents, and uniquely pitched stringwork. He and his band may not have received an indie-friendly contemporary slant in the publicity department (ala Konono No. 1 or Sublime Frequency & Yaala Yaala label releases) but don't let that stop you from checking him out.

Speaking of which, I wish Sasha Frere-Jones had written an essay in the New Yorker bemoaning the privileged status of indie-rock in the media rather than the flawed piece he did write concerning the alleged lack of 'black' musical influences in all of indie-rock. The Slate follow-up article on the role of 'class,' the I Love Music chatboard discussion thread, and a bunch of blog pieces all made clear that there are a myriad of music-related topics more worthy of dissection and discussion than the state of the Arcade Fire's rhythm section.

In part because commercial rock radio and MTV have ignored indie rock despite recent Billboard success, too many alt-weeklies and other general interest news sources staffed by youngish university graduates have responded with a simplistic embrace of the genre while ignoring so much else. Then there's NPR which has wonderfully included reviews of albums from a myriad of musical styles on the radio, but whose All Songs Considered webcast concert series focusses nearly solely on the likes of young white guy rockers. Surely NPR website listeners could handle a neo-soul, Latin jazz, Chitlin Circuit r'n'b, or Senegalese pop show or two.

Suburbanite me sometimes listens to the radio rather than a cd or ipod in the car. While DC and Baltimore r'n'b/rap urban radio stations may have limited playlists, they are still more exciting, thanks in some part to dj special mixes, than listening to the mediocre local Clear-Channel monopoly owned commercial rock stations. These outlets, despite the fact that Spoon and others make the Billboard charts (and are prominent in web and print media), continue to ignore such groups in favor of mainstream, mostly old major label rock. The Foo Fighters ain't bad, but surely these frequencies can offer a little more of a selection. Clear Channel sometimes appears to be as clueless or at least just as stubborn as the record industry.