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Sean Carruthers's Chugchanga-L Poll 2000 Entry
Top Twenty albums of the year
1. Sigur Ros - Agoetis Byrjun (Fatcat)
2. Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker (Bloodshot)
3. Hawksley Workman - For Him and the Girls (Isadora)
4. Giant Sand - Chore of Enchantment (Drag City)
5. Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out (Matador)
6. Mojave 3 - Excuses for Travellers (4AD)
7. Primal Scream - Xtrmntr (Creation/Sony)
8. Godspeed You Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven (Kranky)
9. Peter Bruntnell - Normal for Bridgwater (Slow River)
10. John Wesley Harding - The Confessions of St. Ace (Mammoth)
11. PJ Harvey - Stories from the City Stories from the Sea (Island)
12. Dan Bryk - Lovers' Leap (Teenage USA/Scratchie)
13. The Weakerthans - Left or Leaving (G7 Welcoming Committee)
14. Steve Earle - Transcendental Blues (Artemis/Sony)
15. Bebel Gilberto - Tanto Tempo (Six Degrees)
16. Versus - Hurrah (Merge)
17. The Apples in Stereo - The Discovery of a World Inside the Moone (Elephant Six/SpinArt)
18. Lambchop - Nixon (Merge)
19. Stereolab - The Last of the Microbe Hunters (Elektra)
20. Mean Red Spiders - Starsandsons (Teenage USA)
bonus picks:
21. Johnny Cash - American III (American/Sony)
22. Teenage Fanclub - Howdy! (Creation)
23. Trans Am - Red Line (Touch&Go)
24. Mos Def - Black on Both Sides (Rawkus)
25. Man...or Astroman? - A Spectrum of Infinite Scale (Touch&Go)
26. Blonde Redhead - Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons (Touch&Go)
Disappointments of the year:
1. Jayhawks - Smile (American/Sony)
This was the most brutal ugliness imaginable. Take half-finished songs,
polish to Pink Floyd-like sonic perfection, and then try to pass it off
as "our masterwork". Urgh.
2. Ruben Gonzalez - Chanchullo (Nonesuch)
If I have to hear his piano waterfall sound effect one more time, I'll
probably strangle someone. Sure, he's a zillion years old and you can't
teach an old dog new tricks, but there were only three ideas on this whole
album.
3. Radiohead - Kid A (Parlophone/EMI)
Too much hype, and not enought follow-through. Sure, it's a good album,
but there were so many other albums that were better.
4. Godspeed Yo Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to
Heaven (Kranky)
It still deserves a place near the top of the Top 20, but it was really
too much of a good thing, stretched out too thin. Would have made a killer
single CD. At 2CDs, it doesn't fly quite so high.
5. The Cure - Bloodflowers (Elektra)
Say goodbye, kiddies, for real this time. Better than Wild Mood Swings, but
ultimately it left a pretty bitter taste in the mouth. The concert was a
highlight of the year. This was just bland and only semi-memorable.
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