Music 2K2

[Mike Cathcart]

My favorites, anyway:

6. Isis - Oceanic
5. Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
4. ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Source Tags & Codes
3. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
2. The Notwist - Neon Golden
1. Liars - They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top

The Liars album actually came out last year*, but it was on a really small label and impossible to get until this year when it was reissued, so if you're picky about that kind of thing you can treat the rest of the list as a top five.

Edit: * last year as in 2001, not last year as in the actual last year, that being 2002 (duh)

[sellthekids]

my list (in no particular order):
1. The Vines - Highly Evolved
2. Cornelius - Point
3. Local H - Here Comes The Zoo
4. Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf
5. Interpol - Turns on the Bright Lights
6. The Damnwells - PMR + 1
7. And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Source Tags & Codes
8. Amon Tobin - Out From Out Where
9. Foo Fighters - One By One
10. London Suede - Head Music * (1999)
11. explosions in the sky - those who tell the truth shall die, those who tell the truth shall live forever *(2001)

along with others' (http://www.swizzle-stick.com/bin/feature.php?id=F0002296) posted on my buddy's online 'zine (http://www.swizzle-stick.com/)

i see we share some common band interest!

[Brad Grenz]

Well, let's see. Off the top of my head:

Ben Kweller - Sha Sha
Beck - Sea Change
The Widgets - How Come The Kids Don't Dance?

I didn't buy much last year, though.

[hido]

Allow me to add my tops of the pops for 2002 (in no order; my list is based on discs I bought last year):

Blasters - Trouble Bound
BRMC
Solomon Burke - Don't Give Up On Me
The Byrds - Live At The Fillmore 1969
Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison remaster (great sound of perhaps the second greatest live recording ever)
T-Model Ford - Bad Man
Lightnin' Hopkins - Herald Sessions
Ramones - Leave Home remaster (mainly for the live tracks that are bonus material. Scorching)
The Rolling Stones remasters
Miles Davis - Quiet Nights
Link Wray - Swan Singles
The Who - My Generation remaster
Dexter Gordon - Go!
Johnny Hartman - I Just Dropped By To Say Hello
Jimmy McGriff - The Worm
Kelly Willis - Easy
McCoy Tyner - Nights Of Ballads And Blues
Muddy Waters - Real Folk Blues/ More Real Folk Blues remasters

Obvioulsy, I am a slut for remasters. But in all cases, the original CD releases were so freakin' bad that it is high time these titles were done justice.

[Anonymous]

1. The Vines - Highly Evolved
Horrible.

[voltaic]

Bjork's Greatest Hits was the only "2002" album I really bothered with last year. Otherwise I was so 2001...

[Anonymous]

* She Spies: The Original Soundtrack to the Television Series
* She Spies Beyond: Music Inspired by the Television Series
* Roadrunner: The Jonathan Richman Story -- Off-Broadway Cast Recording
* Dances in the Sky: Skies of Arcadia Remix EP
* Dave Navarro Hotel Practice Tapes

[Dave Long]

Halford - Crucible
Disturbed - Believe
Any of the Judas Priest remasters collection. They're all good.
I also listened to a lot of Stone Temple Pilots in 2002, even though their last disc was a 2001 release.

Still haven't gotten that Audioslave disc.

--Dave

[sellthekids]

Still haven't gotten that Audioslave disc.


i've had the press review copy for several months now...it's not bad. it really does sound like a cross between Soundgarden and RatM.

Chris' vocals are always going to shine through, which is going to give it that Soundgarden sound...pretty unavoidable. The bass and drums are what give it that RatM sound and the guitar evokes some of the same, just not all of the time.

IMHO - it's worth owning, although i would look for it at a Best Buy or something for a price of around $11.99.

[Mike Cathcart]

8. Amon Tobin - Out From Out Where

Awesome. This probably would have been up there if my list had been much longer. I just got the new Boards of Canada, and I'm not sure yet, but I think it would also place in my top ten.

[Tyjenks]

I also listened to a lot of Stone Temple Pilots in 2002, even though their last disc was a 2001 release.

Still haven't gotten that Audioslave disc.

--Dave

STP is good any time. I believe their CD's will hold up well for many years to come.

I don't know what your waiting for Long. Get the friggin' Audioslave disc. STAT!!!

[Jeff Green]

Hey, I like your list, Hido--we should get married! I was a huge fan of The Blasters back in Ye Olde Days. Used to go see them regularly at all them old LA clubs--the Starwood, the Whiskey, etc. That was before the wife and kid and old age and senility.

Here's my list. Sea Change was my favorite album of the year. After that, it's in no particular order, I don't think.

Beck -- Sea Change
Flaming Lips--Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Sahara Hotnights -- Jennie Bomb (best girl band EVAR!)
Bob Dylan -- Love and Theft AND the 1975 Rolling Thunder Live reissue
Wilco -- Yankee Foxtrot Hotel
Sigur Ros -- ()
Los Lobos -- Good Morning Aztlan
Johnny Cash-- American IV: THe Man Comes Around
Blackalicious-- Blazing Arrow
Bruce Springsteen -- The Rising ( BROOOCE!)

[Anders Hallin]

Sahara Hotnights -- Jennie Bomb (best girl band EVAR!)
No way man. Though I swell with patriotic pride over Sahara, the best girl band is Le Tigre.

[Mike Cathcart]

Flaming Lips--Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Doesn't it bother anyone else that this is their worst album in like ten years? I like it, but I rarely get all the way through it because it just makes me want to listen to older stuff.


Wilco -- Yankee Foxtrot Hotel
Sigur Ros -- ()
Blackalicious-- Blazing Arrow


Nice. () and Blazing Arrow would have made my top 20 easily.

[sellthekids]

Awesome. This probably would have been up there if my list had been much longer.


Nice. () and Blazing Arrow would have made my top 20 easily.

you need to post a large list then! :wink:

i am loving that Amon Tobin...so much more than his other stuff, except maybe his work as Cujo on Adventures in Foam. this new album just reminds me of Prefuse 73 and it is so damn catchy.

haven't checked the new Sigur out. guess i need to get off my tush and load the MP3s up. lazy me.

wasn't aware BoC had a new disc out. another definite purchase i need to make.

[Gordon Cameron]

I must be an old fogie. I hardly ever listen to new music anymore.

Unless you count a new recording of the Chopin Etudes by Murray Perahia which my parents sent me for Christmas... but the farging CD is "Super Audio" or somesuch and won't run on my CD player. :evil:

[Chris Floyd]

Flaming Lips--Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Doesn't it bother anyone else that this is their worst album in like ten years? I like it, but I rarely get all the way through it because it just makes me want to listen to older stuff.

I know what you mean. Yoshimi is just good enough to remind you why the Lips are great, but not stupendous enough, as a whole, to warrant the insane amount of time I've spent with Soft Bulletin or Clouds Taste Metallic. Still, compare it to most of the other music out there and it's pretty damn good.

I sometimes wonder if it'll be possible for the Lips to ever challenge the brilliance of Soft Bulletin. I guess it was inevitable that its follow-up would be a bit of a let down. Still, maybe there's hope. I get the impression that Steven -- drummer and musical brain behind the band -- is battling a heroin addiction. Yoshimi seems like it's much more driven by Wayne, musically. It's sweet and nice, but just not as powerful or as inspired as Soft Bulletin. Maybe when Steven's back in the saddle we'll see another album to rival their tour-de-force.

[Anonymous]

Well, yeah--what Chris said.
The Soft Bulletin is their masterpiece. But I think that Yoshimi totally holds up on its own and is full of incredibly beautiful moments that few bands these days are capable of equalling. No, it's not in the same league as The Soft Bulletin---but not much else is, by anyone.

[Jeff Green]

DOH! Above "guest" post is me, defending my Yoshimi pick. :)

[hido]

"Hey, I like your list, Hido--we should get married! I was a huge fan of The Blasters back in Ye Olde Days. Used to go see them regularly at all them old LA clubs--the Starwood, the Whiskey, etc. That was before the wife and kid and old age and senility."

I bow down to you and your good fortune of getting to see the Blasters in all their early glory. Along those lines, my only bragging right is seeing REM often in the club/theatre days (before they got shitty).

btw, I'm already married, sorry.

[Jeff Green]

Yeah, I'm married already too. That never stops me from asking.

I've only seen REM once, but that was way back at the time when they just had the first EP. They *opened* on a triple bill, with Translator and Gang of Four above them. Weird.

[hido]

How was Gang Of Four?

[Jeff Green]

They were incredible. All these years later, it stands out as one of the most amazing performances I saw in that era--rivaling some of the great X and Minutemen shows. Jeez, I'm gonna get all weepy here with nostalgia.

Someone get grandpa a hanky.

[Sparky]

Someone get grandpa a hanky.
Here you go...I embroidered it just for you. Thought it might come in handy one day:

http://www.phobe.com/oldmanhanky.jpg

[hido]

You saw X, too? Bastard.

[wumpus]

Beck -- Sea Change
Flaming Lips--Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Sahara Hotnights -- Jennie Bomb (best girl band EVAR!)
Bob Dylan -- Love and Theft AND the 1975 Rolling Thunder Live reissue
Wilco -- Yankee Foxtrot Hotel
Sigur Ros -- ()
Los Lobos -- Good Morning Aztlan
Johnny Cash-- American IV: THe Man Comes Around
Blackalicious-- Blazing Arrow
Bruce Springsteen -- The Rising ( BROOOCE!)
It really is amazing how similar Mr. Green's musical tastes are to mine. Er, except for that whole Bruce Springsteen thing.

Note of interest: I've heard Blackalicious, Sahara Hotnights, Flaming Lips, Beck, and Wilco tracks on the XMU channel of my satellite radio. I can't say enough about how fantastic XM radio is, and that's before I found out they have a terrestrial repeater in my area -- I can get signal virtually anywhere, without line of sight to the satellite.

[Jeff Green]

I figured someone here would give me shit for the Bruce pick, but I gotta stand by it. I know he's not "cool", but that is a pretty powerful CD.

And Sparky--I thanks for the hanky. I think I need to tattoo that phrase to my forehead.

[Bub, Andrew]

Wait a minute... Bruce isn't cool?
I'm with you Green, take hold, thunder road. Saw him in September btw, one of the best concerts I've ever seen.

[Tyjenks]

Hmmm, Springsteen. Is he the one that sings with Silvio from The Sopranos? That show rocks!! :wink:

Didn't he get popular when Courtney Cox danced with him in that video?

[Mike Cathcart]

Well, yeah--what Chris said.
The Soft Bulletin is their masterpiece. But I think that Yoshimi totally holds up on its own and is full of incredibly beautiful moments that few bands these days are capable of equalling. No, it's not in the same league as The Soft Bulletin---but not much else is, by anyone.

I disagree, 2002 was such a great year for music that a decent effort by the Lips isn't enough. The top five albums on my list could all pretty much tie for number one, they're all amazing. With Yoshimi I have to force myself to keep listening past 'Do You Realize?' and it never seems worth the effort. It's the only Lips CD my sister owns and she loves it, so it's not like I haven't heard it a bunch. Let's just say that I like it and that it's a nice album (especially the first half), but I wouldn't put it in my top ten.

Also, Bruce rules. But I'm from Philly, so I think I have to say that, otherwise I end up paying higher taxes.

[Dave Long]

Also, Bruce rules. But I'm from Philly, so I think I have to say that, otherwise I end up paying higher taxes.

I'm all the way up in Reading and I think the Bruce tax applies here too.

--Dave

[Michael Butt]

Tom Waits - Blood Money, Alice
Disturbed - Believe
Eminem - The Eminem Show
DMB - Busted Stuff, The new live one...
Nappy Roots - Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz
Dream Theater - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
Butch Walker - Left of Self Centered
System of a Down - Toxicity

[Thierry Nguyen]

Listed alphabetically by album:

( ) - Sigur Ros
Audioslave - Audioslave
Fever - Kylie Minogue
In Search Of - N.E.R.D.
Phrenology - The Roots
Power By Numbers - Jurassic 5
Private Press - DJ Shadow
Sea Change - Beck
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - Wilco
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots - Flaming Lips

[Mike Cathcart]

Private Press - DJ Shadow

Nice. Did you listen to Rjd2's Deadringer? Really good stuff, and if you like Shadow you might be into it.

[Tyjenks]

Power By Numbers - Jurassic 5


I really should have dug them with their "old skool" style. I bought their last CD and heard the first single off this new album and found it pretty uninspiring for some reason. I have listened to rap since its inception pretty much, but I may have lost my ear for it. I loved L.L. back then, Run DmC, Eric B & Rakim, Public Enemy, EPMD, Das EfX, The Beasties, House of Pain, 3rd Bass...the list goes on. I remember when there was so little rap I took a look at every single new release and bought many of them. It just doesn't have the edge, or feeling, or fun in it it used too. Obviously rap has evolved, but have I changed that much or is the music just not what it used to be.

OTOH, I Luv the new Stone Sour CD. I just got it this week as I was afraid all the songs were going to be like "bother". Not that that is a bad song, I just did not want a whole album of that. Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor throws a lot more melody into his songs as opposed to Slipknot's where melodies were few and far between, but still good. A lot of these bands have the anger and conviction in their lyrics and songs that are missing from today's rap music, IMO.

I even miss The Young Black Teenagers. (None of whom were black) :cry: