Everyone makes their standard "best of's," top 10s" and "year in review" lists, but each December we like to take that model a couple of steps further. We go straight to the artists to see where they found inspiration over the past twelve months, and we don't stop with just album choices. We dig a bit deeper and go for a broader picture of the past year in art. From classic moments on the road to their guilty pleasure confessions, this is a panoramic snapshot of "the best of 2007," and a peek into what to expect in '08.
The Hedrons: Soup - drummer,
Tippi - lead singer/guitar,
Rosie - lead guitar
Best Album(s) of 2007
SOUP: One of my choices has to be The Enemy – We'll Live and Die in These Towns. For anyone who is a fan of The Jam, this is a must have album. It's full of energy and the drums rampage great groove through every track. Probably the best modern drumming I've heard this year. Great stuff. Another favorite of mine this year is Robert Plant and Alison Krauss' collaboration. It has a real earthy early ‘60s sound to it with lots of tremelo guitar sounds. It's a good one to listen to on the tour bus.
Favorite Live Performance of 2007
SOUP: If we're talking about our own band, The Hedrons, then I would say playing in our native Scotland at the biggest music festival there, T in the Park. There was much crowd surfing from Tippi which is always entertaining. To hear the audience sing back the songs that day was a feeling that'll we'll never forget.
From a gig that I've been to see this year, I would say The Rolling Stones at the Isle of Wight Festival when we supported them! A lot of people are quick to slag the Stones off just because they're old rockers but from the show they put on that day, they proved they still have the energy and real desire to perform that puts a lot of modern bands to shame.
Personal Favorite On-stage Moment/Show of 2007
TIPPI: My personal favorite on-stage moment of 2007 has to be our performance at the Isle of Wight Festival, UK, in June. We were playing the festival the same day as The Rolling Stones, and were very excited. We arrived at the festival in the morning, before the site opened, and met the Stones roadies, who were sound checking their equipment. They were all very nice and even gave Soup a pair of Charlie Watts’ drum sticks! I took a wander about the edge of the stage, to work out how I would get back on to it if I decided to go into the audience during our performance, and I noticed that there was a very long walkway from the middle stage, that reached right into the audience. I was told that the Stones had installed the walkway themselves, for use only by them? Well........during the last song of our set, I got so carried away with excitement that I pranced all the way down the walkway and sang my heart out!!! It was amazing! I always do go into the audience during a performance, but this was something else! When we came off stage I just shyly smiled at the Stones roadies, as way of apology for using the walkway, and they just laughed and shook their heads!
Classic Album or Artist You Discovered This Year
TIPPI: The classic album I discovered this year was Berlin by Lou Reed. I could not believe that I had never heard this masterpiece before!!! It's such a dramatic and theatrical album, it grabs you from the onset. From the beautiful “Berlin,” the humorous “Men of Good Fortune” and the tragic “The Kids,” this is songwriting at its best. I have never really been a huge Lou Reed fan, but I will certainly research more of his work now.
Best Film You Saw This Year
TIPPI: The best film I saw this year has to be Anton Corbijn's Control, the story of Joy Division's Ian Curtis. I was totally blown away by this movie and quite upset by it too. Sam Riley's performance as Curtis was stunningly breathtaking and very moving! I think I was so taken with this movie because it is an accurate account of what it's like to be in a band. Curtis took his own life days before Joy Division were set to go on their first US tour. We've toured the US three times this year, and had such a wonderful time, but on the eve of every outward journey, I also think about Ian Curtis and feel very grateful to be a part of the very special group of people that are The Hedrons.
Song From The Past Year You Wish You Wrote
SOUP: I wish I had written the Foo Fighters' “Pretender.” I love the way it starts off so gentle and quiet and then rages into massive choruses of powerful guitars and pounding drums. If we ever meet them, we'll be fighting over Dave and Taylor. Well, Tippi can have Dave and Taylor is all mine. We could talk bass drum sizes and cymbals ALL night. Now there's not many chicks who could get away with that!
Artist You Are Most Excited About In 2008
ROSIE: Ourselves of course! And just looking forward to hearing lots of new bands and styles other than indie. It gets boring after a while y'see.
Your Latest Guilty Pleasure
ROSIE: I don't really have many guilty pleasures. Mainly because I don't feel guilty about them! But if I had to pick one, it would be having some Britney on my iPod. Can't beat a bit of good old cheesy pop to cheer you up. And I eat so much chocolate, I wouldn't class it as a guilty pleasure anymore, it's just a way of life.
A Memorable/Humorous/Classic Moment on the tour bus/road in 2007
ROSIE: We've had plenty of these, most of which I can't talk about! But one of the best ones involves Soup, alcohol, a pub, a statue and lots of running. Another one would be when we were onstage at the House of Blues in Anaheim supporting Social Distortion, during the intro, when Tippi was doing her usual spinning around onstage. I turned around only to see her falling on her arse because she'd made herself too dizzy with the spinning. We could barely play the rest of the song because we were all dying of laughter!
