| Rank | Record | Votes (Mentions) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 191. | !!! (Gold Standard Laboratories) | 1: | Soren Petersen |
| 87. | 2 Many DJ's, As Heard On Radio Soulwax Pt. 2 (PIAS) | 2: | windy chien, Jason Gross |
| 87. | 25 Suaves, 1938 (Bulb) | 2: | Sam Frank, Mark Matienzo |
| 191. | 400 Blows, Black Rainbow (Tone Capsule) | 1: | peter buff |
| peter buff: http://www.400blows.net LA Hardcore | |||
| 191. | 764-Hero, Nobody Knows This Is Everywhere (Tiger Style) | 1: | Brian Eck |
| 87. | A Certain Ratio, Early (Soul Jazz) | 2: | andy beta, Craig Hutler |
| 191. | A-Frames, A-Frames (S-S/Dragnet) | 1: | D Mosurock |
| 191. | Aberdeen, Homesick and Happy to Be Here (Better Looking) | 1: | Ernest Paik |
| 191. | Acid Mothers Temple, 41st Century Splendid Man (Tumult) | 1: | Erik Johnson |
| 191. | Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O., Univers Zen Ou de Zero a Zero (Fractal) | 1: | Jim Steed |
| 87. | The Action, Rolled Gold (Reaction) | 2: | Jeff Breeze, keith sawyer |
| Jeff Breeze: George Martin recorded these sessions lost for decades. In truth, this belongs next to SF Sorrow on your shelf. keith sawyer: Usually I save the re-issues for a special category near the end, but this one's too good to relegate to the end of this e-mail. Plus, this album was never officially released in the US until this year. At least that's my rationale. The Action were an EMI band back in the 60's which caught the fancy of the mods and nobody else (at least nobody who bought 45's). In a desperate attempt to stay on the label they recorded demos of this album, for which they received a pink slip. It vacillates between sharp pop, amusing prog and breathtaking psych with simplistic repetitive lyrics. But somehow it all holds together. | |||
| 191. | Add N To (X), Loud Like Nature (Mute) | 1: | Jason Gross |
| 191. | Afel Bocoum, Damon Albarn, Toumani Diabate, & Friends, Mali Music (Astralwerks) | 1: | Kathy Fennessy |
| 191. | Against Me!, Reinventing Axl Rose (No Idea!) | 1: | Michael Howes |
| 191. | Akio Suzuki, Odds And Ends (Horen) | 1: | andy beta |
| andy beta: Neither tethered to time or earth. | |||
| 87. | Akufen, My Way (Force Inc) | 2: | David Bennison, Johnathan Rickman |
| 191. | Albert Ayler, Fondation Maeght Nights 1970 (Water) | 1: | Tom Humphrey |
| Tom Humphrey: Reissue | |||
| 191. | Alberto Iglesias & Various Artists, Talk to Her [Original Soundtrack] (Milan) | 1: | Kathy Fennessy |
| 191. | Alice Coltrane, Universal Consciousness (Verve) | 1: | windy chien |
| windy chien: from 1971. | |||
| 87. | All Girl Summer Fun Band, All Girl Summer Fun Band (K) | 2: | Brian Eck, Kathy Fennessy |
| Brian Eck: Perfect summertime listening - playful and sunny with a healthy appreciation for the 60's girl group sound. | |||
| 665. | Alternative TV, Vibing Up The Senile Man (Get Back) | (1): | (Daniel DiMaggio) |
| 162. | American Death Ray, Smash Radio Hits (Sympathy For The Record Industry) | 1(1): | Jeff Breeze (Brian Eck) |
| Jeff Breeze: Glam. Rock. Piano. Debauchery. Oh yeah, these guys are from Memphis (Nick Diablo is in 68 Comeback) and they have the swagger so you can tell | |||
| 191. | Amon Duul II, Wolf City (Repertoire) | 1: | windy chien |
| windy chien: originally issued 1972. | |||
| 665. | Ampbuzz, This Is My Ampbuzz (Strange Attractors Audio House) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: Minimalist Kinski side project. | |||
| 191. | Anaal Nakrath, The Codex Necro (Mordgrimm) | 1: | barney grubbs |
| 191. | Analogue II, Oh Perfect Masters (Rubric) | 1: | Jim Steed |
| 191. | Ancient Greeks, The Song Is You (Flameshovel) | 1: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #1 |
| 13. | ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Source Tags and Codes (Interscope) | 8: | David Bennison, andy beta, ian connelly, Geoff Cox, Russell Gragg, Bret McCabe, Doug Orleans, Bradley W. Zimmerman |
| andy beta: This makes four of my top ten records that have shortwave radio in them. Doug Orleans: Neither as vicious nor as dreamy as Unwound, but they mine similar territory. I was unimpressed at first, but these songs really got under my skin. | |||
| 665. | +/-, +/- Long Playing Debut Album (Teenbeat) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 191. | Andreas Tilliander, Elit (Mille Plateaux) | 1: | Bret McCabe |
| 36. | Andrew WK, I Get Wet (Island) | 4(1): | Daniel DiMaggio, John Eastridge, Sam Frank, Bob McCarthy (Kelly Corcoran) |
| Bob McCarthy: This is the stupidest album I will ever vote for (it leaves Moldy Peaches in the dust in that department). But, hey - "Party Hard", uh-huh, yeah. YEAH. It all sounds like that, variations on a theme. The theme is partying. | |||
| 191. | ANGUS MACLISE, Astral Collapse (LP on Quakebasket) | 1: | Karl Ikola |
| Karl Ikola: Drone like a Devil Sing like an Angel Your face disintegrates Immediately upon impact Coarse caucuses Inverse hypothesis Hypnotic invisible light Bewildered soul incomplete KI 2/14/03 | |||
| 191. | Anna Waronker, Anna (Five Foot Two) | 1: | keith sawyer |
| keith sawyer: If only for "I Wish You Well," though there are plenty of other deserving tracks. | |||
| 87. | The Anniversary, Your Majesty (Vagrant) | 2: | windy chien, keith sawyer |
| keith sawyer: Asserting that the latest Anniversary record is as good as ELO's New World
Record might not find it many fans. But the elements are there, from the
sharp bouncy numbers to the pristine backing vocals to the bombast.
However, all of this is done with a more modern sensibility, trading
obscured vocals for an off-key delivery and monstrous keyboards for striking
guitars. Strange that one kid described it as 'emo' to me. | |||
| 191. | Anthony Braxton, Actuel 6 reissue (Fuel 2000) | 1: | Steve Farneman |
| 87. | Anti-Pop Consortium, Arrhythmia (Warp) | 2: | Brian Eck, barney grubbs |
| 191. | Antibalas, Talkatif (Ninja Tune) | 1: | Fred M. Mills |
| Fred M. Mills: The Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra of renegade funkateers hijack George Clinton’s Parliament mothership for an ethnodelic, polyrhythmic adventure of epic proportions. The journey commences in the sweaty lofts of Brooklyn’s funk/soul Daptone Records crew only to wind up in the steamy jungles of Mama Africa. You want soul? Raw but silky-sweet delights herein. Funk? Horny horns never hornier, stanky grooves never stankier. Jazz? Right on. Roll over Dark Magus, and tell Fela Kuti th | |||
| 43. | Apples in Stereo, Velocity of Sound (SpinArt) | 4: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #1, Sean Carruthers, Max Daniels, Bob McCarthy |
| Sean Carruthers: This was the best blast of fuzzed-out pop all year, full stop. Really, who cares if it sounds like they gulped an assload of helium before stepping up to the mics? Who cares that the whole thing clocks in at under 29 minutes? Who cares if the pedal was to the metal for ALL eleven tracks? There’s barely a second here that’s not fantastic. (Okay, I’ll admit it: the Dairy Queen reference is the greatest fast-food namedrop I’ve ever heard in song, and it alone probably adds several points here.) Max Daniels: Bittersweet bubblegum; works like a charm for the whole family. Bob McCarthy: Absolutely groovy fuzzed-out guitars lead the way as they pick up the pace, lose a little of the psychedelia, but keep all of the hooks. | |||
| 665. | Aranos/Charalambides/Miroslaw Rajkowski, Various amazing 10"s (Beta-Lactam Ring) | (1): | (Brian Turner) |
| 665. | Arch Enemy, Wages Of Sin (Century Media) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 162. | Arco Flute Foundation, Everything After the Bomb Is Sci-Fi (Cenotaph Audio) | 1(1): | Jim Steed (D Mosurock) |
| 191. | Arlo, Stab The Unstoppable Hero (Sub Pop) | 1: | keith sawyer |
| keith sawyer: Mid-70's power pop with a bite. | |||
| 191. | Arne Nordheim, The Art of Arne Nordheim (Aurora) | 1: | Forrest L Norvell |
| Forrest L Norvell: A 7CD retrospective of Norway's most famous living composer. If any of you have heard him, it's probably on either the disc of his electroacoustic works or the disc of remixes of same made by Biosphere and Deathprod, both on Rune Grammofon. The breadth and depth of Nordheim's talents are impressive, and I generally have one or more discs from this collection in my changer at all times. It runs the gamut from medieval-influenced atonal choral work through sound collage that still sounds fresh (if a little derivative of Xenakis) now. Most of all, even at its most out there it's accessible and fun. Endlessly listenable, at least if you like 20th century classical. Only 200 copies of this were made, so get it quick if you want a copy (available via Qualiton). | |||
| 191. | Arnold Dreyblatt and the Orchestra of Excited Strings, Adding Machine (Cantaloupe) | 1: | Jeff Breeze |
| Jeff Breeze: Dreyblatt comes to MIT and makes a new set of people do his bidding in an effort to bring an odd melodicism to his minimalism | |||
| 191. | Asa-Chang And Junray, Jun Ray Song Chang (Leaf) | 1: | nancy novotny |
| nancy novotny: like nothing else, really | |||
| 191. | Astronaut Wife, Flying Saucer (Susstones) | 1: | Stephen Burt |
| Stephen Burt: if St Etienne ever made a consistent pop album it would sound just like this | |||
| 191. | Atomic 7, ...Gowns by Edith Head (Mint) | 1: | Sean Carruthers |
| Sean Carruthers: And then it's just like the Shadowy Men never left; the new project by ex SMOASP guitarist Brian Connelly has every bit of instrumental surf rock goodness as his former band, and this album sports THE BEST titles of any release this year. Yes, even better than the Liars. | |||
| 191. | Audio Learning Center, Friendships Often Fade Away (Vagrant Records) | 1: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #4 |
| 665. | Augustus Pablo, Gold (Jet Star) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 87. | Bad Times, Bad Times (Goner) | 2: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #3, Dan Mackta |
| 87. | Badly Drawn Boy, About A Boy OST (XL) | 2: | Brian Eck, Sean Howe |
| Brian Eck: Unlike most soundtracks, this album can stand on its own. The instrumental interludes form a coherent shell around the pop gems inside. | |||
| 665. | Badly Drawn Boy, Have You Fed The Fish? (Twisted Nerve) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 191. | Bandulu, Redemption (Music Man) | 1: | Johnathan Rickman |
| 191. | Baptist Generals, Void Touching Faster Victuals (Sub Pop) | 1: | Sean Howe |
| 665. | Bardo Pond, Purposeful Availment (3 Lobed) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| 665. | Bardo Pond, Vol. 3 (self-released) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| 162. | Bardo Pond, Vol. IV (self-released) | 1(1): | Jim Flannery (Doug Orleans) |
| 191. | Baseball Furies, Greater Than Ever (Big Neck) | 1: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #3 |
| 191. | Baxter Dury, Len Parrot's Memorial Lift (Rough Trade) | 1: | Nick Stone |
| 43. | Beck, Sea Change (Geffen/Interscope) | 4: | Mark Bunster, Chris Jacobs, Soren Petersen, keith sawyer |
| Mark Bunster: Nearly Album of the Year keith sawyer: Really grown on me over the past few months. | |||
| 191. | Bee And Flower, Bee And Flower (self released) | 1: | peter buff |
| peter buff: http://www.beeandflower.com to be re-released in 2003 on neurot recordings | |||
| 191. | Bellini, Snowing Sun (Monitor) | 1: | Jim Steed |
| 191. | Ben Folds, Ben Folds Live (Epic) | 1: | Daniel DiMaggio |
| Daniel DiMaggio: What's everyone's problem with Ben Folds? Everyone gives him shit. One of the greatest songwriters of our time, I say. | |||
| 191. | Ben Kweller, Sha Sha (Big Hassle/ATO) | 1: | Bob McCarthy |
| Bob McCarthy: Not the greatest lyricist of all time, but he's young, give him time. Despite it's goofy lyrics, "Wasted and Ready" is one helluva song. The rest of it? It's pretty good! | |||
| 665. | Beresford/Honsinger/Toop/Kondo, Imitation Of Life/Double Indemnity (Atavistic/UMS) | (1): | (Daniel DiMaggio) |
| 191. | Bernard Parmegiani, La Memoire des Sons (INA GRM) | 1: | R. Lim |
| 43. | Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man, Out of Season (Go Beat) | 4: | David Bennison, mike hibarger, Sean Howe, Nick Stone |
| mike hibarger: Sorta like Sandy Denny crossed with Portishead...dark, folky and fascinating. | |||
| 191. | Bevan/Bishop/Edwards/Zerang, 'nham (Foghorn) | 1: | Seth Tisue |
| 191. | Big Boys, Wreck Collection (Gern Blandsten) | 1: | Dan Mackta |
| Dan Mackta: ok, another reissue. I guess I'm taking the easy way out. | |||
| 665. | Biosphere, Shenzhou (Touch) | (1): | (R. Lim) |
| 57. | Black Dice, Beaches And Canyons (DFA) | 3: | ian connelly, Jim Flannery, Mark Matienzo |
| 78. | Black Heart Procession, Amore del Tropico (Touch & Go) | 2(1): | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #1, Chris Jacobs (Brian Eck) |
| 87. | Black Keys, The Big Come Up (Alive) | 2: | Kelly Corcoran, mike hibarger |
| mike hibarger: These guys tear it up good, makes me long for the days when the Blues Explosion were explosive... | |||
| 191. | Black Sabbath, Past Lives 2CD (Spitfire) | 1: | Michael Howes |
| 191. | Black Sabbath, Sabotaged Live 4LP (Boot) | 1: | Brian Turner |
| 36. | Blackalicious, Blazing Arrow (MCA) | 4(1): | Jeff Breeze, John Eastridge, Michael Howes, Bret McCabe (Brian Eck) |
| Jeff Breeze: Hip hop is fun again. All that and this record hinges on a Nilsson sample. | |||
| 191. | Blank Spaces, My Days With The Astronauts (Open Season Records) | 1: | Matthew T. Kaplan |
| Matthew T. Kaplan: UK indie release so far unreleased in the US | |||
| 191. | Blast Furnace, Blast Furnace (Long Hair) | 1: | windy chien |
| windy chien: Copenhagen's rock scene in the early 1970s was so small and fertile that bands formed and reformed in various combinations of the same people. Case in point -- Blast Furnace came together in 1970, released a single great LP in 1971, and by 1972 3/4 of Blast Furnace had joined the band Culpepper's Orchard. It's kind of amazing that this record has been lost to all but the most die hard fans of Danish progressive rock, because it's so clearly great. The angst-filled (almost Faust-ish) vocals of Brit singer Tom McEwan take turns with super-expressive organ lines. And there are flutes eveywhere (which fills our flute obsessive Andee with joy).
And the arrangements are really good, making the most of minor key melodies so that nothing need be overstated. There aren't extended wanky instrumental passages here, for a prog band Blast Furnace edited themselves so well, leaving us wanting more. And, in fact, there is more -- a non-album track intended as a single has also been included on this cd. The disc starts off as classic and firece seventies prog, with complex melodic passages and some instrumental spacy jamming, but as the record progresses, the record veers dramatically from mostly instrumental prog, to super dramatic, almost goofy (in a good way) balladeering. The vocalist's deep baritone waxes poetic on ridiculous and far out subject matters, like the plight of Toytown, or poor sad Bobo the Clown. Sounds silly, and it sort of is, but it's really really good. Reminds us a little of AQ faves Paternoster (although not nearly as insane) or some super melodramatic seventies singer songwriter. But the combination of heartfelt ballads and searing prog action make this a weird and great find. | |||
| 87. | Blood Brothers, March on Electric Children (Three One G) | 2: | Kelly Corcoran, Daniel DiMaggio |
| 191. | The Blow, Bonus Album (K) | 1: | nancy novotny |
| nancy novotny: ditto the above | |||
| 191. | Blue Oyster Cult, E.T.I. Revisited (Munster Records) | 1: | Craig Hutler |
| 43. | Boards of Canada, Geogaddi (Warp) | 4: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #2, andy beta, Sean Carruthers, Nick Stone |
| andy beta: An excellent soundtrack of paranoid head-voices, and beats like nervous hearts. Sean Carruthers: When an album intentionally sounds defective, it’s either doing something very wrong or something very right; in this case I’m putting my money on the latter. | |||
| 191. | BOB DYLAN, BLONDE ON BLONDE (2LP mono remaster on Sundazed) | 1: | Karl Ikola |
| Karl Ikola: Sundazed has performed one of its greatest customer services by doing the mono mixes of this and Surrealistic Pillow in the same month let alone year. The tough, garage edge of Dylan and Band as recorded here are taut, tense and BLARING on the electrified cuts, making this THE way to own this 'un. Can you believe the currently available US CD version of this album still fades "Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands" prematurely? Shameful, at least there's some respect on tap here. | |||
| 57. | Bob Dylan, The Bootleg Series, Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975 (Sony) | 3: | andy beta, mike hibarger, Erik Johnson |
| mike hibarger: Essential reissue of a Rolling Thunder Revue concert featuring T-Bone Burnett, Mick Ronson, Roger McGuinn, how can this not be great. | |||
| 191. | Bobbie Gentry, American Quilt 1967-1974 (Raven) | 1: | mike hibarger |
| mike hibarger: This Australian reissue is a great introduction to a great artist...forget the one hit "Ode to Billy Joe" which you probably have heard a million times...there are some great nuggets in here like "Okolona River Bottom Band" and "Apartment 21". | |||
| 78. | Boggs, We Are The Boggs We Are (Arena Rock) | 2(1): | Jeff Breeze, Greg Lyon (John Eastridge) |
| Jeff Breeze: Shitty sounding recordings make these New Yorkers sound like they're from West Virgina 70 years ago. Or maybe it's just that they sound like that | |||
| 191. | Bola, Fyuti (Skam) | 1: | Johnathan Rickman |
| 191. | Bongzilla, Gateway (Relapse) | 1: | Michael Howes |
| 78. | The Books, Thought For Food (Tomlab) | 2(1): | Bret McCabe, nancy novotny (D Mosurock) |
| nancy novotny: deftly defies description | |||
| 87. | Boom Bip, Seed to Sun (Lex) | 2: | windy chien, nancy novotny |
| nancy novotny: nice one | |||
| 191. | Boris, Heavy Rocks (Inoxia) | 1: | windy chien |
| 191. | Boris + Merzbow, Megaton (Inoxia) | 1: | Jim Flannery |
| 55. | Botch, An Anthology of Dead Ends (Hydra Head) | 3(1): | Justin Foley, barney grubbs, Forrest L Norvell (Brian Eck) |
| Forrest L Norvell: I wish they were going to be releasing more stuff. | |||
| 191. | Brainwashed, George Harrison (Columbia) | 1: | Lise LePage |
| Lise LePage: A parting shot from beyond the grave and a fitting swan song. | |||
| 87. | Breeders, Title TK (4AD) | 2: | Kelly Corcoran, Ernest Paik |
| 191. | Brendan Benson, Lapalco (Star Time) | 1: | keith sawyer |
| keith sawyer: It took him six years to put out another record, let's hope it's not another 6 until he follows up this gem. | |||
| 191. | Brett Rosenberg Problem, Destroyer (Hi-Fi) | 1: | keith sawyer |
| keith sawyer: If the late 70's sounds of Joe Jackson, Cheap Trick or Nick Lowe don't
entrance you then you should probably let this one pass you by. But if you
still reach out for that old copy of "I'm The Man" here's one of the best
knock-offs of that sound. Filled with stinging guitar solos, howling
choruses and a short running time, this effort never failed to satisfy when
I had that rock-n-roll jones. | |||
| 191. | Bridget Storm, Here's What's Left (Analogue Catalogue) | 1: | Matthew T. Kaplan |
| Matthew T. Kaplan: UK indie release so far unreleased in the US | |||
| 28. | Bright Eyes, Lifted, or, the story is in the soil, keep your ear to the ground (Saddle Creek) | 5: | David Bennison, Stephen Burt, Daniel DiMaggio, Matthew T. Kaplan, steven nilsen |
| Stephen Burt: this guy hasn't peaked yet Daniel DiMaggio: Two different albs for number 1, but they're both basically by the same guy. steven nilsen: Maybe not the new Dylan, but you should decide for yourself. This is my first listren to Bright Eyes, I've also heard The Good Life, but this is much better. | |||
| 665. | Broken Spindles, Broken Spindles (Tiger Style) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 191. | Brother Ah, Sound Awareness (IKEF) | 1: | John Eastridge |
| 665. | Burmese, Treaties of Greed and Filth 7" (Scenester Cred) | (1): | (Brian Turner) |
| 162. | Burning Star Core, Brighter Summer Day (Thin Wrist) | 1(1): | Seth Tisue (Brian Turner) |
| 57. | Burnt By The Sun, Soundtrack To The Personal Revolution (Relapse) | 3: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #2, Justin Foley, Michael Howes |
| 191. | Burnt Sugar, That Depends On What You Know Vols. 1-3 (Trugroid) | 1: | Fred M. Mills |
| Fred M. Mills: An improvisational collective assembled by Black Rock Coalition founders Greg Tate (Village Voice) and Vernon Reid (Living Colour, Yohimbe Brothers), Burnt Sugar quietly issued this sprawling 3-CDR set to the delight of in-the-know heads. Expect dubby-jazz soundscapes, shifting-sands percussion, swampy grooves, psychedelic soul vocal and chants, a cover here and there (Hendrix, Miles, Monk, Curtis Mayfield, Rufus) and more head-wringing effects than a barrelful of Bill Laswells. If you’re into Sun Ra’s intergalactic populism, Jimi Hendrix’s merman guitar and Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew-era recording and performance aesthetics, you’ll be happy as a clam orbiting Saturn. | |||
| 191. | Caligari, Caligari (Init Records) | 1: | Forrest L Norvell |
| Forrest L Norvell: Kick-ass metalcore EP from a bunch of North Dakotan fools who put on a great live show for about 10 people in SF last summer. | |||
| 162. | Camera Obscura, Biggest, Bluest Hi-Fi (Andmoresound) | 1(1): | ian connelly (Brian Eck) |
| 191. | Camper Van Beethoven, Cigarettes and Carrot Juice - the Santa Cruz Years (Cooking Vinyl) | 1: | Nick Stone |
| 191. | Camper Van Beethoven, Tusk (Pitch-a-Tent) | 1: | Soren Petersen |
| 191. | The Cancer Conspiracy, The Audio Medium (Big Wheel) | 1: | Doug Orleans |
| Doug Orleans: Shoegazer prog? | |||
| 191. | Canyon, Empty Rooms (Gern Blandsten) | 1: | Dan Mackta |
| 87. | Carissa's Wierd, Songs About Leaving (Sad Robot) | 2: | Stephen Burt, Chris Jacobs |
| Stephen Burt: beautiful Secret Stars-ish Seattle duo: not sure the CD's 2002, but if it came out in 2001 no one noticed | |||
| 191. | Carly Ptak, Prepare Your Self (Heresee) | 1: | Mark Matienzo |
| 665. | Cassetteboy, The Parker Tapes (Barry's Bootlegs) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 191. | Cath Carroll, England Made Me (LTM) | 1: | Ernest Paik |
| 665. | Cave In, "Lost in the Air"/"Lift Off" (Hydra Head) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: I still haven't heard the new major-label full-length, except for the first single, which I disliked. I like these songs a lot, though. | |||
| 661. | Cephalic Carnage, Lucid Interval (Relapse) | (2): | (Brian Eck, Michael Howes) |
| 191. | Chameleons, Why Call It Anything / Live At The Academy / This Never Ending Now (Artful / Paradiso / Paradiso) | 1: | Geoff Cox |
| Geoff Cox: one new album (very good), yet two more odd albums to add to the shelf. Live at the academy is even more energetic than the (classic) toronto album, but it sounds way better. Never ending now is much like their previous "strip" acoustic record, but this one works. | |||
| 191. | The Chap, I Got Flattened By A Pig Farmer / Remember Elvis Rex 7" (Lo.) | 1: | nancy novotny |
| nancy novotny: blinding! | |||
| 665. | Charalambides, Being As Is CD-R (Crucial Blast) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| 191. | Charalambides, Spring Leaves Fall 7" (Time-Lag) | 1: | R. Lim |
| R. Lim: Part of a commemorative Terrastock V box set of 5 7" singles | |||
| 665. | Charalambides/Scorces, Tour CD-R 5.03.02 (Wholly Other) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| 87. | Charlie Patton, Screamin And Hollerin The Blues (Revenant) | 2: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #2, Dan Mackta |
| 87. | Cheater Slicks, Yer Last Record (In The Red) | 2: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #3, Iikka Korhonen |
| Iikka Korhonen: They should be huge. | |||
| 191. | Chemical Brothers, Come With Us (Astralwerks) | 1: | Doug Orleans |
| Doug Orleans: I'm a sucker for wall-of-sound techno—well, wall-of-sound anything, really—especially when it's got lots of old-school touches like this one. And I don't mean Exit Planet Dust old-school, I mean ex:el old-school. | |||
| 191. | China Chop, Daijushichiban (Velour's Voice) | 1: | Forrest L Norvell |
| Forrest L Norvell: Japanese indie pop reminiscent of Sonic Youth and Sleater-Kinney without sounding like a clone of either one. A short, focused album that has no filler and only gets moderately silly. | |||
| 87. | Chris Brokaw, Red Cities (Atavistic) | 2: | Matthew J Barnhart, Carl Zimring |
| 191. | CHRIS LUCEY, Songs Of Protest and Anti-Protest (UK Revola CD) | 1: | Karl Ikola |
| Karl Ikola: Reissue of this amazing lost moody psych/folk gem, originally released on the Mira Records (of Leaves "Hey Joe" fame) subsidiary, Surrey, in 1966. Lucey also recorded an LP under the Jameson moniker called Color Him In, released on Verve in 1967, and worked with Curt Boettcher of Ballroom/Sagitarrius/Millenium fame...should appeal to fans of Arthur Lee and Love....this is his most angst-ridden and passionate statement from the delusory core of the Sunset Strip in '66... | |||
| 191. | Christian Kiefer, Exodust (Extreme) | 1: | Jim Flannery |
| 191. | Chuck Prophet, No Other Love (New West) | 1: | Carl Zimring |
| 57. | Cinerama, Torino (Manifesto) | 3: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #4, Stephen Burt, Kathy Fennessy |
| Stephen Burt: best from Gedge in 12 years at least | |||
| 191. | Circle, Sunrise (Ektro) | 1: | David Bennison |
| 191. | City of Caterpillar, City of Caterpillar (Level Plane) | 1: | Kelly Corcoran |
| 191. | The Clientele, Haunted Melody 7" (Merge) | 1: | keith sawyer |
| 665. | The Clientele, Lost Weekend EP (Acuerela) | (1): | (nancy novotny) |
| nancy novotny: bittersweet | |||
| 15. | Clinic, Walking With Thee (Domino) | 7(1): | scott colburn, Brian Eck, Kathy Fennessy, Jason Gross, Lise LePage, nancy novotny, Nick Stone (Kelly Corcoran) |
| Brian Eck: Weird, fractured indie rock that channels more than a little Pink Floyd. Lise LePage: Great vocals, great songs. nancy novotny: initially sounds like "internal wrangler, pt. 2," but then it grows on you... | |||
| 191. | Clipse, Lord Willin (BMG) | 1: | David Bennison |
| 191. | cLOUDEAD, cLOUDEAD (mush) | 1: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #2 |
| 78. | Coachwhips, Get Yer Body Next Ta Mine (Show and Tell/Narnack) | 2(1): | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #3, Sam Frank (D Mosurock) |
| 191. | Coachwhips, Hand On The Controls (Black Apple) | 1: | ian connelly |
| 191. | Cober, Crashpilot (self-released) | 1: | tim midgett |
| 191. | C.O.C.O., The C.O.C.O. Sound (K) | 1: | Kathy Fennessy |
| 191. | Cody, Distance Learning (Shinkansen) | 1: | Stephen Burt |
| Stephen Burt: be quiet. be very, very quiet. | |||
| 162. | Cody ChesnuTT, The Headphone Masterpiece (Ready Set Go!) | 1(1): | Sean Howe (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: Marvin Gaye meets Robert Pollard? | |||
| 191. | Coldcut, Journeys by DJ Special Release (Journeys by DJ) | 1: | Lise LePage |
| Lise LePage: Highly entertaining, even if you don't know where all the samples come from. | |||
| 87. | Coldplay, A Rush of Blood to the Head (Capitol) | 2: | Kathy Fennessy, Forrest L Norvell |
| Forrest L Norvell: See above entry re: Interpol, with even more violently skewed good / bad songs. However, I love both of the last two songs, and I've mostly gotten over the fact that I liked a Coldplay record. | |||
| 665. | Comet Gain, Realistes! (KRS) | (1): | (D Mosurock) |
| 11. | Comets On Fire, Field Recordings From The Sun (Ba Da Bing) | 8(1): | David Bennison, Daniel DiMaggio, Brian Eck, Jim Flannery, Sam Frank, Brian Good, Erik Johnson, Jim Steed (D Mosurock) |
| 162. | Common, Electric Circus (MCA) | 1(1): | Sean Carruthers (Doug Orleans) |
| Sean Carruthers: There were a few other hip-hop records that may have made the list instead but which I got far too late in the year to say for sure (The Roots, 113, even the N.E.R.D., which may actually be from 2001 anyhow), but this one sneaks in because it was the one that I kept coming back to over and over again. So be it. Doug Orleans: Shoegazer rap? Guest vocals from Laetitia Sadier... Makes a good double-feature with The Roots Phrenology (see below). | |||
| 665. | Concentrick, Lucid Dreaming (Emperor Jones) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: Synth-based Champs side project. | |||
| 6. | Consonant, Consonant (Fenway Recordings) | 10(1): | Matthew J Barnhart, Jeff Breeze, Stephen Burt, Steve Farneman, Brian Good, Greg Lyon, tim midgett, D Mosurock, Soren Petersen, Jim Steed (Brian Eck) |
| Jeff Breeze: Clint Conley emerges from nowhere to make a whole album of songs as visceral as his work in Burma. From the live shows I've seen, I think the new one will be even better Stephen Burt: accept no Versus records as substitutes | |||
| 191. | The Constantines, The Modern Sinner Nervous Man EP (Suicide Squeeze) | 1: | Chris Jacobs |
| 191. | Consumers, All My Friends Are Dead (In the Red) | 1: | Greg Lyon |
| 191. | Cool Jerks, Cleaned A Lot Of Plates In Memphis (Sympathy For The Record Industry) | 1: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #3 |
| 191. | Corn On Macabre, Chapters I & II (Magic Bullet) | 1: | Forrest L Norvell |
| Forrest L Norvell: Oh, shut up. It's great even if the band name sucks. Short, concentrated bursts of metalcore, featuring Billups (from Darkest Hour, who'd be on this list if they'd released something this year, because they slay live and So Sedated, So Secure is metal made by indie rockers the correct way). Silliness reigns, from the haunting melancholia of "You're OK, I'm Undead" to "Shut Up and Play Something Evil". Almost as lengthy as Discordance Axis's "The Inalienable Dreamless". | |||
| 191. | Cornelius, Point (Matador) | 1: | Soren Petersen |
| 191. | Cotton Museum, Damp Creatures Keep Wet Robots (I Hate To Rock) | 1: | Mark Matienzo |
| 191. | Cotton Museum, This Old Man Doesn't Have Any Hands (I Hate to Rock) | 1: | Mark Matienzo |
| 87. | Country Teasers, Science Hat, Artistic Cube, Moral Nosebleed Empire (In the Red) | 2: | Greg Lyon, D Mosurock |
| D Mosurock: vinyl version only | |||
| 191. | Cream Abdul Babar, The Catalyst To Ruins (At A Loss) | 1: | Forrest L Norvell |
| Forrest L Norvell: Easily the best metalcore band with a trombonist. | |||
| 665. | The Cripples, Dirty Head (Dirt Nap) | (1): | (D Mosurock) |
| 191. | Crooked Fingers, Reservoir Songs (Merge) | 1: | Dan Mackta |
| 665. | Crush Kill Destroy, Much Action Walking Distance EP (Makoto) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 191. | CunninLynguists, Will Rap for Food? (Boiling Point) | 1: | Michael Howes |
| 665. | Curve, The New Adventures of Curve (Curve) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: Yep, they're still around! | |||
| 191. | Cut Chemist & DJ Shadow, Product Placement (Sixty 7 Recordings) | 1: | Matthew T. Kaplan |
| 191. | Cyclub, Cyclub Cyclub (Prescription Rails) | 1: | Jeff Breeze |
| Jeff Breeze: A Japanese girl and three guys who play their instruments all wrong might finally be W Mass' first real response to the Pixies www.presciptionrails.com | |||
| 191. | Cynics, Living is the Best Revenge (Get Hip) | 1: | Dan Mackta |
| 191. | Czars, The Ugly People vs. The Beautiful People (Bella Union) | 1: | Sean Howe |
| 87. | Dan Melchior's Broke Revue, Bitterness, Spite, Rage & Scorn (In the Red) | 2: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #3, D Mosurock |
| 191. | Dan the Automator, Wanna Buy A Monkey (Sequence) | 1: | Sean Howe |
| 191. | DANNY BEN-ISRAEL, Bullshit 3 1/4 (LP on World In Sound (Germany)) | 1: | Karl Ikola |
| Karl Ikola: Wow! From 1970, the greatest psych LP from Israel along with Churchill's ('68), this is a freak-fest akin to Erkin Koray wrestling Sonny Sharrock to the floor over trad Hebrew folk interludes...a psych LP that will satisfy the non-practicing "psychedelic fatso" of yore... | |||
| 191. | D'arcangelo, Broken Toys' Corner (Rephlex) | 1: | Johnathan Rickman |
| 665. | Darin Gray, St. Louis Shuffle (Family Vineyard) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: Ahh, the good old Chicago post-rock mafia. Solo bass musique concrete. It's either genius or annoying, depending on my mood. Usually I'd rather listen to Brise-Glace. | |||
| 191. | Dark Tranquillity, Damage Done (Century Media) | 1: | Brian Eck |
| Brian Eck: Melodic Swedish death metal that's brutal and technical, yet accessible. | |||
| 57. | David Bowie, Heathen (Sony) | 3: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #5, Geoff Cox, Nick Stone |
| Anonymous Chugchanga Member #5: His best since Young Americans Geoff Cox: Nice. Except for the pixies' cover, which is not even worth releasing as a bonus track to "never let me down." | |||
| 87. | David Grubbs, Rickets and Scurvy (Drag City) | 2: | Jeff Breeze, Carl Zimring |
| Jeff Breeze: Collaborations with Matmos weren't as publicized as theirs with Bjork, but the effect they have on Grubbs songs is stellar. _Act 5, Scene 1_ also released this year | |||
| 162. | David Holmes, Come Get It I Got It (13 Amp) | 1(1): | Sean Carruthers (D Mosurock) |
| Sean Carruthers: I suppose it’s proof of Homes’ abilities that those who aren’t already intimately familiar with these great soul obscurities probably would never guess that eight of the tracks here were created specifically for this album. Stunning. | |||
| 191. | David S. Ware, Freedom Suite (AUM Fidelity) | 1: | John Eastridge |
| John Eastridge: Their take on Sonny Rollins' classic | |||
| 162. | Davis Redford Triad, The Mystical Path Of The Number Eighty Six (Holy Mountain) | 1(1): | Tom Humphrey (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: Rerelease of their first album. More abstract than Ewige Blumenkraft, but still nice and fried. | |||
| 57. | The Dead C., New Electric Music (Language Recordings) | 3: | D Mosurock, Christopher Severson, Seth Tisue |
| Christopher Severson: It's a year end list, and it's a Dead C record. The two have gone hand in hand, at least in this household, since what, 1993? I didn't see a lot of hype following this one, but I am positive it was "released" in 2002, and what a hummer it was. Killer, the opener, was far from that, and would have been a more appropriate title for what follows with track 2, Hush. An extended remix of Sky? Well, I think this about as close as one could get. And let me tell you, it fucking rocks. The mid-section of NEM is sometimes just there, but mention here is almost required for the for the final 30 minute track where about 26 minutes in literally blows my mind. Nice. | |||
| 191. | Dead Comet Alive, Plays from Inverted Sewers (American Tapes) | 1: | Mark Matienzo |
| 191. | Dead Machines, Grave Blankets (American Tapes) | 1: | Mark Matienzo |
| 191. | DEAN CARTER, Call Of The Wild (CD on Ace/Big Beat, UK) | 1: | Karl Ikola |
| Karl Ikola: This is late '60s psychobilly from the rural Midwest! Dean Carter is known mainly for his all-time blast-off version of "Jailhouse Rock" (Ear Piercing Punk comp LP) that lays waste to the Residents AND the Monks in one breath. He uses DOBRO like a mean slide steel guitar, hence the freaky sounds on "Jailhouse" and many others -- 29 more tracks are here (most unissued tapes) including "Rebel Woman" (the flip to "Jailhouse Rock"), "Call Of The Wild", "Black Boots", "Dobro Picking Man", the twisted, haunting balladry of "Midnight Sun"....Yow! The story behind getting this released at last is chronicled in the detailed booklet. Look out, Hasil Adkins -- Dean Carter has done come to dinner!!! | |||
| 191. | DEBRIS', Static Disposal (LP on Anopheles Records) | 1: | Karl Ikola |
| Karl Ikola: My first archival offering in 2002, an exact reissue (1000 copies only) of this classic '75 recorded/'76 released private press monster from Oklahoma. Way better than Rocket From The Tombs. Includes previously unreleased version of the Stooges' "Real Cool Time" from a '75 rehearsal recording. | |||
| 191. | Deerhoof, C 7" (Cool Beans) | 1: | Brian Turner |
| 191. | Deerhoof, Halfbird (Menlo Park) | 1: | Sam Frank |
| 7. | Deerhoof, Reveille (5rc) | 10: | David Bennison, windy chien, Sam Frank, Brian Good, barney grubbs, Greg Lyon, Bret McCabe, D Mosurock, nancy novotny, Brian Turner |
| nancy novotny: more yummy quirkiness | |||
| 191. | Delgados, Hate (Mantra/Beggar's Banquet) | 1: | Sean Carruthers |
| Sean Carruthers: It’s amazing what just one generation can do to the hopes and dreams of its youth; where the Beatles sang “All You Need is Love”, the Delgados sing “All You Need is Hate” and seem to mean it, too. The band somehow even managed to avoid having Dave Fridmann’s immediately-recognizable production style turn into a liability by using it even more effectively than the Flaming Lips did with Yoshimi (nicely circumventing any potential accusations of trying to knock off The Soft Bulletin, too). Desperation has never ever sounded so beautiful. | |||
| 43. | Derek Bailey, Ballads (Tzadik) | 4: | Daniel DiMaggio, John Eastridge, Steve Farneman, Seth Tisue |
| 191. | Derek Bailey, Pieces for Guitar (Tzadik) | 1: | Tom Humphrey |
| 55. | Desaparecidos, Read Music / Speak Spanish (Saddle Creek) | 3(1): | Stephen Burt, Daniel DiMaggio, Matthew T. Kaplan (Brian Eck) |
| Stephen Burt: year's best ROCK record Daniel DiMaggio: Two different albs for number 1, but they're both basically by the same guy. | |||
| 24. | Destroyer, This Night (Merge) | 5(1): | Geoff Cox, Steve Farneman, Chris Jacobs, tim midgett, Ernest Paik (Brian Eck) |
| Geoff Cox: almost as good as you want it to be. | |||
| 43. | Devendra Banhart, Oh Me Oh My... The Way The Day Goes By The Sun Is Setting Dogs Are Dreaming Lovesongs Of The Christmas Spirit (Young God) | 4: | windy chien, Brian Eck, Bret McCabe, nancy novotny |
| nancy novotny: um, ditto the above | |||
| 191. | Dillinger Escape Plan w/ Mike Patton, Irony is a Dead Scene (Epitaph) | 1: | Justin Foley |
| 665. | The Dipsomaniacs, The Tremolo of Her Mind - The Strings of Her Soul (Free City Media) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: The dark and drony side of these Norwegian pysch-popsters. | |||
| 191. | Dismemberment Plan, Change (DeSoto) | 1: | Russell Gragg |
| 191. | Dixie Witch, Into The Sun (Brainticket) | 1: | Doug Orleans |
| Doug Orleans: Southern-style heavy rock. Ends with a James Gang cover, how can you argue with that? | |||
| 191. | DJ Krush, The Message at the Depths (Sony Japan) | 1: | Forrest L Norvell |
| Forrest L Norvell: Who knows when this will hit the States, but it's as good as anything Krush has ever done, with guest appearances from Anti-Pop Consortium, Anticon, and even Sly and Robbie on one track. | |||
| 191. | DJ Q Bert, Complete Do-It Yourself Volume 1: Skratching (DVD) (Thud Rumble) | 1: | windy chien |
| windy chien: DVD | |||
| 43. | DJ Shadow, The Private Press (MCA) | 4: | windy chien, Kelly Corcoran, R. Lim, Bob McCarthy |
| Bob McCarthy: His bag o' tricks is getting pretty heavy now, and I can resist no longer. Plus, I saw "Scratch" this past year, and that scene where he's in the basement of the record store surrounded by albums made me wish I was him. | |||
| 87. | DJ Spooky, Optometry (Thirsty Ear) | 2: | Matthew T. Kaplan, Greg Lyon |
| Matthew T. Kaplan: Thirsty Ear should be getting more respect as an edge label. | |||
| 191. | DJ/Rupture, Minesweeper Suite (Tigerbeat6) | 1: | barney grubbs |
| 162. | Do Make Say Think, & Yet & Yet (Constellation) | 1(1): | Jim Steed (Brian Eck) |
| 191. | D.O.A., Hardcore '81 (Sudden Death) | 1: | Dan Mackta |
| Dan Mackta: A reissue of one of the all-time greats. I might put some more reissues on this list, I haven't decided yet. | |||
| 191. | Doctor Ragtime, Doctor Ragtime (Tequila Sunrise) | 1: | Christopher Severson |
| Christopher Severson: Ok, so this is getting a little ridiculous to mention, but Jack Rose apparantly played some dates in 2002 that explored the sort of thing we learned with last year's unbelieveable Charley Patton set, and here's a small document of just that. It says here that only 60 copies of this CD-R were made, and again, like his long-player on Eclipse, that's surely a shame. There has to be more than 60 people in the world that would agree that this is some of the finest playing either side of the Mississippi. I'm glad I stumbled upon this one. | |||
| 665. | Don Cherry, Orient (Get Back) | (1): | (D Mosurock) |
| 191. | Don Howland, The Land Beyond the Mountain (Birdman) | 1: | Greg Lyon |
| 87. | Don Lennon, Downtown (Secretly Canadian) | 2: | Bob McCarthy, keith sawyer |
| Bob McCarthy: Sure, a lot of people don't like Dave Matthews, but Don Lennon has a serious obsession with Dave Matthews, and not in a good way. A funny indie-insider sort of album, which is very tuneful and amusing. Nobody will care. keith sawyer: An album that contains two songs about Dave Matthews mixed in with tunes about Lenny Kravitz and gay nightlife doesn't necessarily sound like sure-fire winner to me either. But Don captures more humor and insight into humanity with a few quick lines than most songwriters muster up in their career. It's irony-free irony, both fun and thought-provoking. While not as good as his previous disc "Maniac" it's more than good enough. | |||
| 162. | Doug Martsch, Now You Know (Warner Bros.) | 1(1): | Steve Farneman (Brian Eck) |
| 191. | Doves, Last Broadcast (Capitol) | 1: | David Bennison |
| 191. | Dressy Bessy, Sound Go Round (Kindercore) | 1: | Brian Eck |
| Brian Eck: Catchy twee vocals over top of fuzzy guitars might not be the newest sound around, but the formula works really well here. | |||
| 191. | Drive-By Truckers, Souther Rock Opera (SDR/Universal) | 1: | Bob McCarthy |
| Bob McCarthy: Can I vote for this? If not, move everybody up. It was only voted for by one person in 2001, and it got re-released in 2002 by Universal! Come onnnn... Oh, the record is mainly about Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the South, and George Wallace, and "The Southern Thing". It's awesome. | |||
| 191. | DRIVING STUPID, Horror Asparagus Stories (CD on Sundazed) | 1: | Karl Ikola |
| Karl Ikola: Brilliant New Jersey-by-way-of-Sunset Strip band, with both sides of their legendary 45 for Koppelman-Rubin's KR imprint (immortalized on the Pebbles 3 Acid Gallery LP), as well as a complete unreleased LP! Like frat rock pranksters who dosed on Freak Out...apparently this music freaked out Steve Stills when it was being recorded across the hall from the first Buffalo Springfield LP in '66 in Hollywood!! | |||
| 191. | The Dying Californian, The Dying Californian EP (Turn) | 1: | ian connelly |
| 19. | Dälek, From Filthy Tongue of Gods and Griots (Ipecac) | 6: | Matthew J Barnhart, John Eastridge, Justin Foley, barney grubbs, Greg Lyon, Doug Orleans |
| John Eastridge: NJ!! Doug Orleans: Shoegazer hip-hop? I saw Oktopus wearing a My Bloody Valentine shirt... | |||
| 191. | Early Day Miners, Let Us Garlands ZBring (Secretly Canadian) | 1: | Jim Steed |
| 191. | Ectogram, Tall Things Falling (Ankst) | 1: | Soren Petersen |
| 191. | Ed Harcourt, Here Be Monsters (Capitol) | 1: | Fred M. Mills |
| Fred M. Mills: With arrangements as trippingly dark and orchestral as the Flaming Lips’, cerebrally provocative lyrics on par with some of Tom Waits’ or Randy Newman’s and a general production ethos descended from Brian Wilson, Todd Rundgren and Sir George Martin, Harcourt’s debut is the bravest, most compelling UK export since OK Computer. And sure, Harcourt is the latest in a long line of singing-songwriting bruised romantics, but blessed with a throat and a vocal delivery that brings to mind Jeff Buckley channeling Van Morrison, he comes across as absolutely genuine. And ladies, he’s a charming, good looking sonofabitch, too. | |||
| 191. | Edan, Primitive Plus (Solid) | 1: | Jason Gross |
| 191. | Edan, Sprain Your Tape Deck EP (Lewis) | 1: | Daniel DiMaggio |
| 665. | EE, For 100 We Try Harder (Asian Man) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 191. | Ekkehard Ehlers, Plays (Staubgold) | 1: | andy beta |
| 24. | El-P, Fantastic Damage (Def Jux) | 5(1): | David Bennison, windy chien, John Eastridge, barney grubbs, Greg Lyon (Brian Eck) |
| 162. | Electric Wizard, Let Us Prey (Music Cartel) | 1(1): | Justin Foley (Brian Eck) |
| 191. | Elf Power, Creatures (Spin Art) | 1: | Jason Gross |
| 191. | ELF POWER, Nothing's Going To Happen (CD on Orange Twin) | 1: | Karl Ikola |
| Karl Ikola: Good choice of cover material, and they sample DEBRIS' "One Way Spit" on their rendition of the Bad Brains' "Pay To Cum"...how can you lose? | |||
| 191. | Elmer Bernstein, Far From Heaven [Original Soundtrack] (Varese Saraband) | 1: | Kathy Fennessy |
| 28. | Elvis Costello, When I Was Cruel (Island) | 5: | Sean Carruthers, Russell Gragg, Jason Gross, Lise LePage, Soren Petersen |
| Sean Carruthers: Elvis Costello albums have been a really dicey proposition for the last decade and a half, with the occasional flash of inspiration and the more routine glop of indulgence; here he actually seems to strip back to the basics and start writing memorable material again and even if it isn't quite as vital as the early stuff, it's close enough. Lise LePage: First Elvis record I've liked in years. | |||
| 191. | Eminem, The Eminem Show (Interscope) | 1: | tim midgett |
| 661. | Enon, High Society (Touch & Go) | (2): | (Brian Eck, Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: I forgot I had this until just now... I should listen to it more! It's great, sort of next-generation Girls Against Boys. Sort of. Anyway, Touch & Go can do no wrong by me. | |||
| 191. | Enos Slaughter, On Sunday (Sound@1) | 1: | Daniel DiMaggio |
| 191. | Erase Errata, Other Animals (Troubleman) | 1: | Seth Tisue |
| 665. | Erica Pomerance, You Used To Think (ESP/Abraxas) | (1): | (Daniel DiMaggio) |
| 162. | ESG, Step Off (Soul Jazz) | 1(1): | Brian Turner (nancy novotny) |
| nancy novotny: gotta give em credit, blah blah blah | |||
| 191. | Experimental Dental School, Hideous Dance Attack!!! (self-released) | 1: | Brian Good |
| 665. | The Fall, Remasters (Cog Sinister) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 191. | The Fall, Totally Wired - the Rough Trade Anthology (Sanctuary) | 1: | Ernest Paik |
| 665. | The Fantomas/Melvins Big Band, Millennium Monsterwork (Ipecac) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| 191. | Fat Day, IV (Dark Beloved Cloud) | 1: | Ernest Paik |
| 665. | Fats Domino, The Fats Domino Jukebox: 20 Greatest Hits the Way You Originally Heard Them (Capitol/EMI) | (1): | (Kathy Fennessy) |
| 191. | Feederz, Vandalism: Beautiful As A Rock In A Cop's Face (Broken Rekids) | 1: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #3 |
| 191. | Fennoberg, The Return of Fennoberg (Mego) | 1: | Seth Tisue |
| 191. | Flamin' Groovies, Slow Death (Norton) | 1: | Fred M. Mills |
| Fred M. Mills: Most of you know that my wife has strict instructions to play “Shake Some Action” at my funeral, but the hard-partying teenage rebel that still lurks somewhere in my skin wouldn’t necessarily be averse to the title song here either. Not that I’ll have any say in the matter… At any rate, here you get a some previously booted material from the early ‘70s, including nascent, demo-session versions of those two classics (plus a killer “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and the rare but timeless jangler “When I Heard Your Name”) all in glorious scratchy lo-fi. The energy rips through such mundane matters as sonic quality, however. And you get an exhaustive, utterly fascinating stream-of-consciousness monologue on the band’s history (from Day 1 up to the Sire years) penned by none other than Cyril Jordan himself. Many have tried to tell the Groovies’ story in the past – and only my fellow Groovies nut Jud Cost has ever come close to succeeding – but here, with the first-person yarn unfolding courtesy Jordan, it genuinely comes alive. | |||
| 87. | Flaming Lips, The Day They Shot A Hole In The Jesus Egg (Rykodisc/Restless) | 2: | Fred M. Mills, steven nilsen |
| Fred M. Mills: The Lips’ quest to paint their fans’ minds in Technicolor didn’t simply materialize out of thin air with The Soft Bulletin or this year’s Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. Recorded evidence stretching as far back to 1984 – recaptured on the three-CD Finally…and its two-CD retarded kid brother The Day…-- suggests the Lips had already mastered the rudiments of unscrewing noggins and ladling in the day-glo goop. The then-now contrast is like the difference between the Beatles playing amped-up R&b at Hamburg’s Star Club and crafting Sgt. Pepper’s in a London studio, but the thrill of discovery is sublimely visceral. steven nilsen: My favorite reissue of the year. I don't know what has happened to indie-rock, but maybe the Lips and the Rev did not have enough influence, maybe this reissue will help. In a Priest Driven Ambulence would be the album, the other disc is a tosser. | |||
| 191. | Flaming Lips, Finally The Punk Rockers Are Taking Acid (Rykodisc/Restless) | 1: | Fred M. Mills |
| Fred M. Mills: The Lips’ quest to paint their fans’ minds in Technicolor didn’t simply materialize out of thin air with The Soft Bulletin or this year’s Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. Recorded evidence stretching as far back to 1984 – recaptured on the three-CD Finally…and its two-CD retarded kid brother The Day…-- suggests the Lips had already mastered the rudiments of unscrewing noggins and ladling in the day-glo goop. The then-now contrast is like the difference between the Beatles playing amped-up R&b at Hamburg’s Star Club and crafting Sgt. Pepper’s in a London studio, but the thrill of discovery is sublimely visceral. | |||
| 8. | Flaming Lips, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (Warner) | 9: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #1, Anonymous Chugchanga Member #4, Mark Bunster, Geoff Cox, Jim Flannery, Brian Good, Dan Mackta, Bob McCarthy, Nick Stone |
| Mark Bunster: Album of the Year Bob McCarthy: They were on my TV for 10 seconds almost every day. 10 seconds of "Do You Realize?" every day is better than none at all. Life-affirming, yes it is. | |||
| 191. | The Flaming Stars, Sunset and Void (Alternative Tentacles) | 1: | Chris Jacobs |
| 191. | Flin Flon, Chicoutimi (TeenBeat) | 1: | Ernest Paik |
| 191. | Flotation Toy Warning, The Special Tape (Pointy) | 1: | Nick Stone |
| 162. | FM Knives, Useless And Modern (Moo La La) | 1(1): | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #3 (D Mosurock) |
| 191. | Food, Veggie (Rune Grammofon) | 1: | Steve Farneman |
| 191. | For Against, Coalesce (Words on Music) | 1: | Dan Mackta |
| 665. | Fosca, Diary of an Antibody (Shinkansen) | (1): | (Stephen Burt) |
| Stephen Burt: clever words, catchy tunes-- if only they could afford the glossy production | |||
| 191. | FRANK SINATRA, DEAN MARTIN & SAMMY DAVIS JR., Christmas With The Rat Pack (Capitol) | 1: | Fred M. Mills |
| Fred M. Mills: This year I had a ring-a-ding-ding Christmas with Frankie, Dean and Sammy. And much of this material is super-rare: included are a number of tunes originally found on promotional-only releases and out-of-print holiday LPs, not to mention a pair of cuts featuring Ol’ Blue Eyes and Dino dueting during two of Dean’s annual (1967 and ’70) Christmas TV specials. Davis, while generally getting the Scrooge treatment on the collection (always the second-class citizen of the Pack – the nim-nam Negro to Frank’s bim-bam baby -- he has a miserly three out of 21 cuts) really delivers the goods on “Jingle Bells,” jiving and jazzing his way through the number. Baby, these chestnuts are definitely well-roasted. | |||
| 665. | Frank Wright, One For John (BYG/Get Back) | (1): | (Daniel DiMaggio) |
| 191. | Fred Frith, Accidental (ReR) | 1: | Greg Lyon |
| 191. | The French Kicks, One Time Bells (Startime) | 1: | Daniel DiMaggio |
| 665. | Fridge, EPH (Temporary Residence) | (1): | (D Mosurock) |
| 665. | Frog Eyes, The Bloody Hand (Global Symphonic) | (1): | (D Mosurock) |
| 78. | The Fucking Champs, V (Drag City) | 2(1): | Michael Howes, Doug Orleans (Brian Eck) |
| Doug Orleans: Air on a G-string... huh huh, get it? I like these quotes from the All Music Guide: "...they can't decide if they want to be Megadeth or Moroder....The swirl and bombast of guitars bring to mind images of muscle cars and drag races, Transformers rolling out, and cheesy 1980s heavy metal posters." Hats off to music!! | |||
| 191. | Funeral Diner, Difference of Potential (Ape Must Not Kill Ape) | 1: | Michael Howes |
| 665. | Fury, Resurrection (Jade Tree) | (1): | (D Mosurock) |
| 87. | Future Bible Heroes, Eternal Youth (Instinct) | 2: | Stephen Burt, Ernest Paik |
| Stephen Burt: 'cause I'm a vampire! | |||
| 191. | Gate, The Lavender Head, v. 3 (Precious Metal) | 1: | R. Lim |
| 191. | The General Store, Local Honey (Not Lame Recordings) | 1: | Matthew T. Kaplan |
| 191. | Glass Cage, Glass Cage (Paratactile) | 1: | R. Lim |
| 191. | Goblin, Il Fantastico Viaggio Del Bagarozzo Mark (Cinevox) | 1: | windy chien |
| windy chien: If you don't have any Goblin records then you want to forgo this temporarily
(it's just not typical of their material) and get Suspiria first. But
if you already have at least one Goblin album, then get this one now.
Of course, at first you had to be a little trepidacious about Il
Fantastico Viaggio Del Bagarozzo Mark, released in 1978, for the
following reasons: [1] it's one of only two Goblin albums that
weren't commissioned as soundtracks (the other being Roller), and [2]
it's also supposedly their only album with *vocals*. Coulda crashed
and burned if you ask me, but it turns out this album is awesome and
the vocals just send it over the top! Massimo Morante's voice is
dramatic and urgent yet at the very same time super melodic. And it
sort of makes sense that without filmic visuals to provide visible
stimulation, the vocals provide just the right amount of narrative
"human" element. The songs here are so melodic and hook-filled, with
tremendously beautiful minor-key climaxes that really satisfy. So
great!
Comes with mpeg footage of the band (in 2001) playing music in
the same Cinevox studio where they'd always recorded, and also
there's a rare interview where they reveal that much of Il Fantastico
Viaggio Del Bagarozzo Mark is about saying no to drugs. | |||
| 191. | Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Yanqui U.X.O. (Constellation) | 1: | Sean Carruthers |
| Sean Carruthers: Not their best effort, but perhaps the restraint they showed on this album will actually suit them better once they figure out what to do with it. | |||
| 665. | Gold Chains, Straight From Your Radio EP (Tigerbeat6) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 191. | Golden, Apollo Stars (National) | 1: | Doug Orleans |
| Doug Orleans: Further explorations of post-boogie rock. | |||
| 191. | Greenhornes, Dual Mono (Telstar) | 1: | Iikka Korhonen |
| Iikka Korhonen: Rock'n'roll album of the year? Well, maybe the Cheater Slicks one is.. | |||
| 191. | Greg Davis, Arbor (Carpark) | 1: | Jim Steed |
| 191. | Greg MacPherson Band, Good Times Coming Back Again (G7 Welcoming Committee) | 1: | Russell Gragg |
| 191. | Grndntl Brnds, The Great Dumbening (Vaccination) | 1: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #2 |
| 191. | Guided By Voices, Universal Truths and Cycles (Matador) | 1: | Lise LePage |
| Lise LePage: Pollard doesn't quit. | |||
| 87. | Hair Police, Blow Out Your Blood (Freedom From) | 2: | Sam Frank, Mark Matienzo |
| 191. | HAL BLAINE, Psychedelic Percussion (CD, Japan, MCA) | 1: | Karl Ikola |
| Karl Ikola: Legit Japanese major label (MCA) CD reissue of this obscure and exotic L.A. studio artifact, originally released on LP by Dunhill in 1969. Much wilder than Blaine's first solo LP (the '63 Hot Rod styled LP he recorded for RCA), this lovely reissue is from tapes and will fill your room with the kind of shimmering uncertainty you've been craving... | |||
| 191. | Hamid Drake and Sabir Mateen, Brothers Together (Eremite) | 1: | Bret McCabe |
| 191. | Heiko Laux, Ornaments (Kanzleramt) | 1: | Johnathan Rickman |
| 162. | Hella, Hold Your Horse Is (5RC) | 1(1): | Justin Foley (Brian Eck) |
| 87. | Hellacopters, High Visibility (Gearhead) | 2: | Craig Hutler, Dan Mackta |
| Dan Mackta: I know, its old. But it came out in the US in 2002. | |||
| 87. | Helms, McCarthy (Kimchee) | 2: | Jeff Breeze, Doug Orleans |
| Jeff Breeze: Boston trio gets maligned for Slintisms, but this is simultaneously gorgeous, sprawling, bilious, and intensely focused. Just call it grand Doug Orleans: Formerly known as The Swimmer. I used to think the band name and album name referred to Senators, but it's just the last names of the band members. Anyway, this is great Slint-heritage rock from Boston. | |||
| 191. | Henry Fiat's Open Sore, Directed By Alan Smithee (Ken Rock) | 1: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #3 |
| 191. | Henry Flynt, C Tune (Locust) | 1: | Christopher Severson |
| Christopher Severson: Ok, how did I forget this one? Definately worthy of something higher than a lowly number 9, this is easly my favorite of Flynt's amazing (and amazingly varied) catalog that has surfaced the past 24 months. I'm still missing the more recent "Back Porch Hillbilly Blues" (I believe that's what they are called), and I promise you I will get around to those soon, but for the time being, 9 or 10 months later, this one easily still has my attention. Tony Conrad made for easy listening. | |||
| 191. | The Herbaliser, Something Wicked This Way Comes (Ninja Tune) | 1: | Lise LePage |
| Lise LePage: Groovy tunes and hip hop. | |||
| 87. | High on Fire, Surrounded By Thieves (Relapse) | 2: | Brian Eck, Doug Orleans |
| Doug Orleans: RAAAAAAAAAAAR | |||
| 191. | His Name Is Alive, Last Night (4AD) | 1: | Ernest Paik |
| 78. | The Hives, Veni Vidi Vicious (Reprise) | 2(1): | Max Daniels, Kathy Fennessy (Doug Orleans) |
| Max Daniels: It's been said. Doug Orleans: This came out on Epitaph in 2000, but no one noticed (or at least I didn't). Then Warner rereleased it and they were on the MTV VMAs (with shirts spelling H-I-V-E-S) battling the Vines. It's just ear-candy garage-punk, but it's still pretty hot stuff. | |||
| 191. | Holy Modal Rounders, The Moray Eels Eat... (Sundazed) | 1: | Tom Humphrey |
| Tom Humphrey: Reissue | |||
| 665. | Holy River Family Band, Earthquake Country (The Wild Places) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: Spacious Mind side project. | |||
| 191. | Honky Tonk Confidential, Your Trailer Or Mine? (Too Many Dogs) | 1: | Carl Zimring |
| 162. | Hood, Cold House (Domino) | 1(1): | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #2 (nancy novotny) |
| nancy novotny: released nov. 2001, i'm cheating, i know...so otherworldly and great, though | |||
| 36. | Hot Hot Heat, Make Up For The Breakdown (Sub Pop) | 4(1): | Kelly Corcoran, Geoff Cox, Russell Gragg, Jason Gross (Brian Eck) |
| Geoff Cox: the worst hair in rock. | |||
| 8. | Hot Snakes, Suicide Invoice (Swami) | 9: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #1, Anonymous Chugchanga Member #4, Matthew J Barnhart, Daniel DiMaggio, John Eastridge, Chris Jacobs, D Mosurock, Soren Petersen, Brian Turner |
| 191. | Hrvatski, Swarm & Dither (Planet Mu) | 1: | R. Lim |
| R. Lim: Finally! See also Playthroughs on Kranky. | |||
| 191. | The Hunches, Yes. No. Shut It. (In The Red) | 1: | Daniel DiMaggio |
| 191. | Ida, Shhh... (Time Stereo) | 1: | Ernest Paik |
| 57. | Ikara Colt, Chat And Business (Epitaph) | 3: | ian connelly, John Eastridge, Greg Lyon |
| 191. | Ill Lit, WAC Music (Badman) | 1: | Jeff Breeze |
| Jeff Breeze: "This is country music" or so says the tray back. Clever use of big beats makes it something far more | |||
| 191. | Immortal, Sons of Northern Darkenss (Nuclear Blast) | 1: | Bret McCabe |
| 78. | Imperial Teen, On (Merge) | 2(1): | Jason Gross, Bob McCarthy (Brian Eck) |
| Bob McCarthy: One of the catchiest bands in the world ever, and they just keep on going. | |||
| 191. | In Gowan Ring, Exists & Entrances I (self-released) | 1: | Jim Flannery |
| 191. | In Gowan Ring, Hazel Steps Through a Weathered Home (Lune) | 1: | Jim Flannery |
| 191. | Incantation, Blasphemy (Necropolis) | 1: | Johnathan Rickman |
| 191. | India.Arie, Acoustic Soul (Motown) | 1: | Lise LePage |
| Lise LePage: Best new mainstream pop singer in a long time. Teenagers with weird ideas about femininity and personhood should listen to this record. Hell, we all should. | |||
| 191. | The Infinite X's, The Infinite X's (Chainsaw) | 1: | Brian Eck |
| 2. | Interpol, Turn On The Bright Lights (Matador) | 14: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #1, Anonymous Chugchanga Member #4, Anonymous Chugchanga Member #5, Stephen Burt, ian connelly, Kelly Corcoran, Geoff Cox, Max Daniels, John Eastridge, Brian Eck, mike hibarger, Craig Hutler, Forrest L Norvell, Doug Orleans |
| Stephen Burt: so they like Joy Division a lot. So? Max Daniels: Yeah okay already; we know what you all hate about this record. Just shut up and let the few of us who love it lean in close and weep in peace. Brian Eck: Evokes the sound of yesterday's faves without being an apish clone. mike hibarger: A new twist on the Smiths and other classic sounds...if only Johnny Marr could do as well (avoid his Healers project at all cost). Forrest L Norvell: Yeah, these guys got overhyped, and yeah, only half the album is any good, but the songs that are good are great and I actually like the guy's voice. Doug Orleans: The first half of the record is fabulous, but then it starts to drag and overstays its welcome. There aren't any bad tracks, but some of them might have worked better as B-sides. | |||
| 43. | Iron & Wine, The Creek Drank The Cradle (Sub Pop) | 4: | ian connelly, Geoff Cox, Daniel DiMaggio, Bret McCabe |
| 36. | Isis, Oceanic (Ipecac/Escape Artist) | 4(1): | Kelly Corcoran, Justin Foley, Michael Howes, Soren Petersen (Brian Eck) |
| 191. | Ivor Cutler, Ludo (Rev-Ola) | 1: | nancy novotny |
| nancy novotny: reissue of 60s recording, featuring "cockadoodledon't," possiby the greatest song of all time | |||
| 665. | Jack Nitzsche, Three Piece Suite (Rhino Handmade) | (1): | (D Mosurock) |
| 87. | Jack Rose, Red Horse, White Mule (Eclipse) | 2: | R. Lim, Christopher Severson |
| Christopher Severson: I think that this record will top, or at least be included in, roughly 300 year end list entries, as for some god foresaken reason, there were only 300 copies pressed. Why this was released in such small numbers and with so little push is beyond me. This could have been released on a number of labels and been one of "the bigger" records of the year, but maybe that's just me since this record is *SO* up my alley it's kind of funny. Given my age, I think it's appropriate that I have only been listening to John Fahey since the release of his Return of the Repressed introduction (an introduction that gave me a belly ache if I listened to in full, but a few years later led the introduction into his cataloque of greater, even more memorable moments), but I have been waiting a LONG time for someone to make another record like this. O'rouke came close with two awful nice attempts in his own warped sense of way, but this one is really what I was looking for. Fare Forward Voyagers Part II. This is as sweet as it gets. And I think I'm the last one to ever have guessed it would have ever come from one of the players of Pelt (or at least prior to 2000). I hope this sees the light of day in a larger release in 2003, or that Jack makes another that only puts this one to shame. Record on.... | |||
| 191. | Jackie-O Motherfucker, Liberation (Road Cone) | 1: | Steve Farneman |
| 191. | Jacques Berrocal, Musiq Musik (Fractal) | 1: | andy beta |
| 191. | Jam, At The BBC (Polydor UK) | 1: | Fred M. Mills |
| Fred M. Mills: For a Jam fan not previously serviced by the bootleg industry, indispensable: three discs featuring a trio of Peel sessions and a trio of BBC “In Concert” broadcasts. Plus the obligatory collectors’ booklet. It’s a fascinating evolution-by-performance of the band, covering the 1977-81 period (which, considering the band’s output in those days, covers a lot of artistic ground). The Jam was one of my first deep loves of the punk/new wave era in terms of a group I sought out and collected every piece of vinyl and memorabilia I could get my hands on. This brings a lot of that lovely obsession back home again. | |||
| 191. | James Luther Dickinson, Free Beer Tomorrow (Artemis) | 1: | Dan Mackta |
| Dan Mackta: The Sepia-Tone reissue of 'Dixie Fried' ought to be on here too. Let's consider them one entry | |||
| 57. | James Luther Dickinson, Dixie Fried (Sepia Tone) | 3: | andy beta, Brian Good, Iikka Korhonen |
| Brian Good: reissue | |||
| 87. | James Yorkston & the Athletes, Moving up Country (Domino) | 2: | Kelly Corcoran, nancy novotny |
| nancy novotny: warms me like a hot cup of rooibos tea | |||
| 191. | Jandek, Blue Corpse (Corwood) | 1: | Seth Tisue |
| Seth Tisue: reissue | |||
| 191. | Jandek, I Threw You Away (Corwood) | 1: | Seth Tisue |
| 158. | Jason Loewenstein, At Sixes and Sevens (Sub Pop) | 1(2): | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #4 (Brian Eck, Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: These songs went over my head in concert, but they're much more accessible here. What you'd expect from his latter-day Sebadoh songs, i.e. great stuff. | |||
| 191. | Jay Munly, Jimmy Carter Syndrome (Smooch) | 1: | Brian Turner |
| 191. | Jean Grae, Attack of the Attacking Things (Third Earth) | 1: | Bret McCabe |
| 191. | Jeff Danna & Various Artists, The Kid Stays in the Picture [Original Soundtrack] (Milan) | 1: | Kathy Fennessy |
| 665. | Jennifer Gentle, Funny Creatures Lane (Sillyboy) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: Wacky Italian psych-pop. | |||
| 57. | Jenny Toomey and Franklin Bruno, Tempting: Jenny Toomey Sings the Songs of Franklin Bruno (Misra) | 3: | Stephen Burt, Ernest Paik, Carl Zimring |
| Stephen Burt: worth the wait | |||
| 665. | Jens, Standing In The Trees I Get Lifted By The Leaves (Goddamn I'm A Countryman) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: Solo project from the Spacious Mind keyboard player. Real nice rural hippie pop. | |||
| 191. | Jets To Brazil, Perfecting Loneliness (Jade Tree Records) | 1: | Matthew T. Kaplan |
| Matthew T. Kaplan: This should have been Jets’ career defining record if they had made it out of Brooklyn. | |||
| 191. | Jim Haynes, Magnetic North | 1: | Jim Flannery |
| 162. | The Jim Yoshii Pile-Up, Homemade Drugs (Absolutely Kosher) | 1(1): | Geoff Cox (Brian Eck) |
| 191. | Joan of Ass, 10" (555) | 1: | Brian Turner |
| 162. | Joey Ramone, Don't Worry About Me (Sanctuary) | 1(1): | Soren Petersen (Bob McCarthy) |
| Bob McCarthy: The album is ok, a couple of good songs, but this is Joey Ramone, and he deserves to be mentioned on every ballot. | |||
| 191. | Johann Johannsson, Englaborn (Touch) | 1: | andy beta |
| andy beta: A real dark horse from the end of December. Distilled beauty and sadness. | |||
| 87. | John Coltrane, A Love Supreme [2002 Deluxe Edition] (Universal) | 2: | Erik Johnson, Matthew T. Kaplan |
| Matthew T. Kaplan: Perfection made one disc better. | |||
| 191. | John Coltrane, Ballads-Deluxe Edition (Impulse Records) | 1: | Matthew T. Kaplan |
| 191. | John Duncan, Phantom Broadcast (All Questions) | 1: | andy beta |
| andy beta: Shimmering plasma madness. Epic. | |||
| 191. | John Surman/Jack Dejohnette, Invisible Nature (ECM) | 1: | Tom Humphrey |
| 162. | John Vanderslice, Life and Death of an American Four Tracker (Barsuk) | 1(1): | Matthew J Barnhart (Brian Eck) |
| 87. | Johnny Cash, American IV: The Man Comes Around (Universal) | 2: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #5, mike hibarger |
| Anonymous Chugchanga Member #5: Although most of the songs are covers, they are still done by the Man in Black. mike hibarger: The first song makes this thing worth it, but the rest is good too...especially Johnny's turn at Sting's "Hung My Head". | |||
| 191. | Johnny Cash, Live Madison Square Garden (Legacy) | 1: | Brian Turner |
| 191. | Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Plastic Fang (Matador) | 1: | Sean Carruthers |
| Sean Carruthers: Damn, why didn't anyone tell me that this one was so good? I'd given up on them, and only the fact that I found this one used and dirt cheap made me reconsider. I'm glad I did. | |||
| 191. | Jonathan Coleclough, Period CD Reissue (Anomalous) | 1: | andy beta |
| 191. | Josh Abrams, Busride Interview (Lucky Kitchen) | 1: | Seth Tisue |
| 191. | Josh Ritter, The Golden Age Of Radio (Signature Sounds) | 1: | keith sawyer |
| keith sawyer: The majority of this album focuses on Josh ... his voice, his lyrics, his
guitar. There's very little embellishment of these pretty country-folk
tunes, just a simple yet beguiling delivery and a couple of instruments.
The handful of full band tracks shine just as brightly, and in the end I'm
left wondering if their presence on the whole record would be an
improvement. But I'm not one to quibble when an album is as good as this
one is. | |||
| 665. | Jucifer, I Name You Destroyer (Velocette) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: Shoegazer sleaze-metal? | |||
| 191. | Jumpin' Beans and Willie, The Milwaukee Sessions (Ball) | 1: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #3 |
| 191. | Kalibas, Product of Hard Living (Willowtip) | 1: | Michael Howes |
| 191. | Kasey Chambers, Barricades and Brickwalls (Warner Brothers) | 1: | Jason Gross |
| 87. | Keith Fullerton Whitman, Playthroughs (Kranky) | 2: | andy beta, steven nilsen |
| andy beta: Woozy and restrained. Each sound grain is buffed and layered like a pearl. steven nilsen: I'm not so sure this really deserves to be here, but I've not heard any drone this powerfully mood altering since Magnog. | |||
| 191. | Kelly Kessler, The Salt of Your Skin (Melungeon) | 1: | Carl Zimring |
| 665. | Kemialliset Ystavat, Kellari Juniversumi (Fonal) | (1): | (D Mosurock) |
| 191. | Kemialliset Ystävät, Suurempi Pieni Palatsi (Alice in Wonderland) | 1: | Iikka Korhonen |
| Iikka Korhonen: Finnish psychedelia? Finnish weirdness. | |||
| 191. | Kentucky Snake Handlers, Songs from the (Record-label records) | 1: | Tom Humphrey |
| 87. | Kevin Drumm, Sheer Hellish Miasma (Mego) | 2: | andy beta, Seth Tisue |
| andy beta: Freezing like the Inferno, and freebasing black metal, this was great fun. | |||
| 191. | Kevin Drumm/Aaron Dilloway, I Drink Your Skin (American Tapes) | 1: | Mark Matienzo |
| 665. | Khanate, Khanate (Southern Lord) | (1): | (D Mosurock) |
| 191. | Kid 606, The Action Pakced Mentalist Brings You the Fucking Jams (Violent Turd) | 1: | Bret McCabe |
| 665. | Kid 606 vs. Dälek, Ruin It EP (Tigerbeat6) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| 191. | The Kills, Black Rooster EP (Dim Mak) | 1: | Chris Jacobs |
| 191. | King Creosote, 12 O'Clock on the Dot (Fence) | 1: | Stephen Burt |
| Stephen Burt: if Lou Barlow and Spare Snare's Jan Burnett were the same person and really loved the melodica | |||
| 191. | King Crimson, Ladies of the Road (Discipline Global Mobile) | 1: | Ernest Paik |
| 665. | King Missile III, The Psychopathology of Everyday Life (self-released) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
Doug Orleans: Yes, they're still going, but considerably less rock (and more R-rated) than the '90s incarnation (aka King Missle II). The highlights are the Pain Series:
| |||
| 665. | King Tubby, Majestic Dub (Culture Press) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 191. | Knut, Challenger (Hydra Head) | 1: | Justin Foley |
| 191. | Konks, Three Mile Baby (Babydoll) | 1: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #3 |
| 191. | Kreidler, Eve Future (Wonder) | 1: | windy chien |
| 191. | Kristian Hoffman, & (Eggbert) | 1: | Sean Carruthers |
| Sean Carruthers: Albums containing nothing but duets generally end up sounding more like Bob Hope specials than anything you’d actually want to listen to: the artist either hauls out all of their boring old friends, or picks a bunch of hip new stars to try to revitalize a sagging career. & doesn’t fit into either category particularly well; the friends here are anything but boring--who else can pull in both Lydia Lunch and Pee Wee Herman?--and claims of career-boosting would be silly considering his longstanding “cult status” (in other words, his albums never particularly flew off the shelves). | |||
| 191. | Kylie Minogue, Fever (RCA) | 1: | Brian Good |
| 87. | Ladytron, Light & Magic (Emperor Norton) | 2: | Kelly Corcoran, Brian Eck |
| 191. | Lambchop, Is A Woman (Merge) | 1: | Russell Gragg |
| 665. | Landing, Fade In/Fade Out EP (Strange Attractors Audio House) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| 191. | Landing, Seasons (BaDaBing!) | 1: | Jim Steed |
| 87. | Larsen, Rever (Young God) | 2: | Tom Humphrey, Forrest L Norvell |
| Forrest L Norvell: Hard record to beat; more quality post-rock lunacy from M. Gira's capable hands. | |||
| 191. | Laura Cantrell, When the Roses Bloom Again (Diesel Only) | 1: | Brian Turner |
| 191. | Laurie Anderson, Live in New York September 19-20, 2001 (Nonesuch) | 1: | Ernest Paik |
| 191. | LCD Soundsystem, Give It Up 7" (DFA) | 1: | R. Lim |
| 191. | LCD Soundsystem, Losin My Edge (DFA) | 1: | Sam Frank |
| 665. | Lee Dorsey, Working in a Coalmine: The Very Best of Lee Dorsey (Music Club) | (1): | (Kathy Fennessy) |
| 87. | Lemon Jelly, Lost Horizons (Fury/XL) | 2: | Kelly Corcoran, Lise LePage |
| Lise LePage: I bought this because of the packaging alone, and I think it's probably the best record musically I bought all year. Varied, melodic, interesting, and coolly brilliant. | |||
| 191. | Leviathan, Verrater (Tumult) | 1: | barney grubbs |
| 665. | Liars, Fins to Make Us More Fish Like EP (Mute) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 57. | The Liars, They Threw Us All In A Trench And Stuck A Monument On Top (Mute) | 3: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #5, David Bennison, Russell Gragg |
| 665. | Liars, We No Longer Knew Who We Were EP (Sound Virus) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 191. | Libertines, Up the Bracket (Rough Trade) | 1: | Kelly Corcoran |
| 162. | Lifter Puller, Soft Rock (Self-starter Foundation) | 1(1): | Matthew J Barnhart (D Mosurock) |
| 191. | The Lightbox Orchestra, First Contact! (Locust) | 1: | Daniel DiMaggio |
| 665. | Lightning Bolt, Lightning Bolt (Load) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: Rerelease of their first album. | |||
| 57. | Lightning Bolt, Power of Salad DVD (Load) | 3: | David Bennison, Sam Frank, Mark Matienzo |
| David Bennison: I borrowed a DVD a friend of mine ordered from the States and I just sat there open mouthed, giggling to myself every now and then. Don't know if they've done anything this year...the stuff I've heard isn't half as enjoyable when you're not watching them. | |||
| 191. | Lili Z, Lili Z (Polly Magoo) | 1: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #3 |
| 57. | Linda Thompson, Fashionably Late (Rounder) | 3: | Kelly Corcoran, Kathy Fennessy, Carl Zimring |
| 191. | Lo Borges, Lo Borges (1972) (EMI Odeon) | 1: | Dave Reid |
| Dave Reid: 3. solo album from nasicimento's guitarist and collaborator in the "clube da esquina", again gorgeous, this time from a more pop-rock perspective. | |||
| 665. | Lo-Hi, Say it More (Tiger Style) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 191. | Lonesome Bob, Things Change (Leap Recordings) | 1: | Carl Zimring |
| 191. | Loren Chasse, Hedge of Nerves (Anomalous) | 1: | Jim Flannery |
| 191. | Lost Sounds, Rat's Brains and Microchips (Empty) | 1: | Dan Mackta |
| 665. | Lou Reed, Live, Take No Prisoners (BMG) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 191. | Love Joys, Lovers Rock (Wackie's) | 1: | andy beta |
| 665. | Lovesliescrushing, Voirshn (Projekt) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: Shoegazer! | |||
| 57. | Low, Trust (Kranky) | 3: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #4, Sean Carruthers, Forrest L Norvell |
| Sean Carruthers: Damn, even if “(That’s How You Sing) Amazing Grace” were the only song on this album, it would still qualify for my top ten. Easily the best thing they’ve done since Curtain Hits the Cast. Forrest L Norvell: Another year, another Low album, another classic. | |||
| 191. | LSD March, Untitled box set (White Elephant) | 1: | R. Lim |
| R. Lim: See also their 2002 LP LSD March Second Album | |||
| 191. | Ludicra, Ludicra's Hollow Psalms (Life Is Abuse) | 1: | barney grubbs |
| 191. | Luna, Romantica (Jetset) | 1: | Nick Stone |
| 665. | Mad Professor Meets Scientist, At The Dub Table (Ariwa) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 191. | Mainpal Inv., Inverted Brand 7" series (Mainpal Inv.) | 1: | R. Lim |
| R. Lim: The Goodiepal rides high with these six riffs on commercial brands, each one a rather appealing (and shockingly decent-sounding) picture disc. | |||
| 191. | Major Stars, Distant Effects (Squealer) | 1: | Doug Orleans |
| Doug Orleans: I can't put it any better (or worse) than Forced Exposure: "Major Stars aim to take higher-key improvisational wizardry and clobber you on the head with it while simultaneously caressing your mind." | |||
| 191. | Mammal, Fog Walkers (SNSE) | 1: | Mark Matienzo |
| 191. | Manitoba, Start Breaking My Heart (Domino) | 1: | Sean Howe |
| 191. | Manual, Ascend (Morr) | 1: | Jim Steed |
| 191. | Maquiladora, Ritual Of Hearts (Better Looking) | 1: | Fred M. Mills |
| Fred M. Mills: San Diego trio Maquiladora shares with Neil Young a knack for infusing minimalist sketches with a richly cinematic, wide-open-spaces vibe. Unfolding like a druggy fever dream, third album has the same stark austerity that marked Young’s Sleeps With Angels; it also contains Giant Sand’s Chore Of Enchantment brand of losing-control wooziness. Maybe even some of Spiritualized’s gospel drone, too. This intersection of drunken psychedelia and manic folk thrill, with piano, synth, melodica, mandolin, accordion and more darting like honeybees, proposes a craftsman’s worldview that is deeply passionate. | |||
| 191. | Markus Guenter, In Moll (Kompakt) | 1: | Justin Foley |
| 191. | Mary Margaret O'Hara, Apartment Hunting (soundtrack) (maplemusic.com) | 1: | Sean Carruthers |
| Sean Carruthers: Some great material, but the uneven nature of this which is the direct result of it actually being a soundtrack manages to drag things downwards in my ranking for the year, quite substantially. Let's hope she actually follows this up with a full album, and soon. | |||
| 87. | Mary Timony, The Golden Dove (Matador) | 2: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #4, Brian Eck |
| 665. | Maserati, The Language Of Cities (Kindercore) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: Shoegazer post-rock? | |||
| 191. | Mastodon, Lifesblood (Relapse) | 1: | Forrest L Norvell |
| Forrest L Norvell: Almost as good as the album, only shorter | |||
| 78. | Mastodon, Remission (Relapse) | 2(1): | Forrest L Norvell, Johnathan Rickman (Brian Eck) |
| Forrest L Norvell: I have no idea if this is good or not, all I know is that it lived in my CD player for several months. | |||
| 191. | Mates of State, Our Constant Concern (Polyvinyl) | 1: | Jeff Breeze |
| Jeff Breeze: Married duo makes emo-pop confections by pushing the limits of vocal counterpoint. Need to be seen live to accept 'em though | |||
| 191. | Matmos, High Live and Dirty (Vague Terrain) | 1: | R. Lim |
| R. Lim: w/ J Lesser | |||
| 191. | Matmos/People Like Us/Wobbly, Wide Open Spaces Live at San Francisco Art Institute 10/5 (mp3 release) | 1: | Michael Howes |
| 191. | Matt Pond PA, The Green Fury (Polyvinyl) | 1: | keith sawyer |
| keith sawyer: For some reason Matt Pond discs take a few months to sink in. Perhaps
that's why I'm tabbing this January release instead of his newest one.
There's always one enchanting hit beckoning for those initial repeat
listens, filled with warm cellos and yearning vocals. Then one by one the
other tracks start to bubble through and from what was a song comes an album
that works beautifully from beginning to end. I even love the crickets. | |||
| 191. | Matt Valentine, Tonight! One Night Only! MV & EE in Heaven (Time-Lag Records) | 1: | Christopher Severson |
| Christopher Severson: Shit. Another record that will likely be featured in yet another 300 year end lists. What the hell's up with all the editions of 300 of late? And this one is even pressed in MONO? Regardless, one of the best releases of 2002 that now I am recalling was also released on CD (or the ever obvious CD-R), but I suspsect that release may have only been an even smaller private pressing. Again, expecting a record like this to come from a band member who in 1994 released a indie rock record like he did with the Tower Recordings debut, I would have never guessed an lp worth of tunes like this would turn up. And did I mention this record looks about as swell as one of Fahey's own fine gatefold's, America? Very, very nice. I hope to hear more from this fellow. | |||
| 191. | Matthew Shipp, Songs (Splasc(h)) | 1: | John Eastridge |
| 191. | Max Tundra, Mastered By the Guy at the Exchange (Tigerbeat6) | 1: | Bret McCabe |
| 191. | MC Trachiotomy, With Love from Tahiti (Bulb) | 1: | Greg Lyon |
| 78. | McLusky, McLusky Do Dallas (Too Pure) | 2(1): | Sean Carruthers, Max Daniels (D Mosurock) |
| Sean Carruthers: Screw this "second coming of the Pixies" stuff you keep hearing, these guys head far beyond that into Jesus Lizard or Big Black levels of abrasiveness...and that's a good thing. Max Daniels: More funny lyrics, in fact the best of the year: 'My love is bigger than your love, we do more drugs than a touring funk band, sing it!' This record is a bucket of blood. | |||
| 191. | Meat Purveyors, All Relationships Are Doomed to Fail (Bloodshot) | 1: | Jason Gross |
| 28. | Mekons, Out Of Our Heads (Quarterstick) | 5: | Stephen Burt, Brian Good, Russell Gragg, Tom Humphrey, Carl Zimring |
| Stephen Burt: return to form: party like it's 1649 | |||
| 158. | Melvins, Hostile Ambient Takeover (Ipecac) | 1(2): | Soren Petersen (D Mosurock, Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: Even a mediocre Melvins album kicks ass. | |||
| 191. | Mendoza Line, Lost in Revelry (Misra) | 1: | Jason Gross |
| 191. | Merzbow, Amlux (Important) | 1: | Seth Tisue |
| 191. | Meshuggah, Nothing (Nuclear Blast) | 1: | Justin Foley |
| 191. | Metamatics, From Death To Passwords (Hydrogen Dukebox) | 1: | Johnathan Rickman |
| 665. | Metro Area, Metro Area LP (Environ) | (1): | (D Mosurock) |
| 191. | Michael Hurley, Sweetkorn (Trinkont) | 1: | Tom Humphrey |
| 158. | Michael Yonkers Band, Microminiature Love (De Stijl) | 1(2): | Karl Ikola (Daniel DiMaggio, D Mosurock) |
| Karl Ikola: Unissued '68 experimental garage/psych recorded for the Candy Floss label (C.A. Quintet) at Dove studios (Calico Wall) in Minneapolis. Yonkers later mined a more folk direction but these tracks are infused with an anger and braininess that is the dream hybrid of the Red Crayola and the Litter. | |||
| 191. | Michelle Shocked, Dub Natural | 1: | Mark Bunster |
| 191. | Mickey & The Soul Generation, Iron Leg (Cali-Tex/Quannum) | 1: | Fred M. Mills |
| Fred M. Mills: From the early ‘70s comes San Antonio instrumental legends MATSG, whose handful of singles have long been coveted (and bootlegged) by funk-soul collectors and deejays. DJ Shadow made a pilgrimage to Texas to find the faces behind the funk, ultimately rounding up all existing tapes, including a slew of never-released material, for this two-CD masterpiece (which includes his detailed liner notes). If nothing else, the throbbing, whomp ‘n’ grind psychedelic sprawl of the title cut is a must-listen. Plenty of raw JB’s-styled grooves and Booker T & the MG’s southern-fried hoodoo to go around as well. | |||
| 191. | Mikabomb, The Fake Fake Sound of Mikabomb (Damaged Goods) | 1: | keith sawyer |
| keith sawyer: I think it might have come out last year, though "Contact Tokyo" was a single this year. Incomprehensible Japanese punk-pop. | |||
| 162. | Milemarker, Frigid Forms Sell (Lovitt Records) | 1(1): | Soren Petersen (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: Rerelease of their first album from 1999. Sort of an emo Faith No More: lots of overdramatic keyboards and histrionic vocals, but still pretty crushing. | |||
| 191. | Milky Wimpshake, Lovers Not Fighters (Troubleman) | 1: | keith sawyer |
| keith sawyer: Reminds me of when punk could still be pop, humourous and political all at the same time. | |||
| 191. | Millsart, Every Dog Has Its Day Vol.3 (Axis) | 1: | Johnathan Rickman |
| 191. | Milton Nascimento, Travessia (Dubas Brazil) | 1: | Dave Reid |
| Dave Reid: 2. milton nascimento's first album, incredibly gorgeous (and incredibly layered) post-bossa. | |||
| 191. | MIMEO and John Tilbury, The Hands of Caravaggio (Erstwhile) | 1: | Jim Steed |
| 191. | Miminokoto, Miminokoto (Gyuune Cassette) | 1: | R. Lim |
| 665. | Minneapolis Summit October 2001, Minneapolis Summit October 2001: Escape Mechanism, Steev Hise, The Tape-Beatles, and Wobbly CD3 (Staalplaat) | (1): | (Michael Howes) |
| 191. | Minus, Jesus Christ Bobby (Victory) | 1: | Justin Foley |
| 87. | The Miss, No Radio (Morphius) | 2: | Daniel DiMaggio, Greg Lyon |
| 28. | Missy Elliott, Under Construction (Elektra) | 5: | David Bennison, Jeff Breeze, Brian Good, Bret McCabe, D Mosurock |
| Jeff Breeze: I wish this were as fun as it wants to be. Gossip Folks has some serious (& unneccesary) coke bingeing, but this has the best single in eons on it | |||
| 191. | The Mobius Band, Three (Prescription Rails) | 1: | Jeff Breeze |
| Jeff Breeze: Western Mass rock trio with crazy electronic bent. Showing great sonic evolution, this is a mighty fine stride. www.themobiusband.com | |||
| 191. | Moistboyz, III (Ipecac) | 1: | keith sawyer |
| keith sawyer: If only for "I'm Gonna Kick Your Ass." Though the whole thing smokes in a very similar way. | |||
| 191. | Montgolfier Brothers, The World Is Flat (Poptones) | 1: | keith sawyer |
| keith sawyer: Brilliant debut albums are always hard to follow up, especially when they're
standard bearers of a certain style like the first Montgolfier Brothers
record. Patient, repetitive, serene, crushing ... all adjectives that fit
perfectly with their retro 60's orch-pop style. They never seem to expend
much energy yet somehow generate a potent charge. On first listen this
sophomore release isn't as captivating as their previous effort, but over
time it settles into its own version of the formula and finds its own
slightly different path. | |||
| 162. | The Mooney Suzuki, Electric Sweat (Gammon) | 1(1): | Matthew T. Kaplan (Brian Eck) |
| Matthew T. Kaplan: Let's see what happens when this record gets rereleased by Columbia Records. | |||
| 665. | Most Precious Blood, Nothing in Vain (Trustkill) | (1): | (Michael Howes) |
| 191. | Motorpyscho, It's A Love Cult (Stickman) | 1: | Doug Orleans |
| Doug Orleans: Norwegian psych boogie with a sweet pop side. They're fantastic showmen live, and they made a great album too. | |||
| 87. | The Mountain Goats, All Hail West Texas (Absolutely Kosher) | 2: | Brian Eck, Christopher Severson |
| Christopher Severson: Surely not a joint release, but two fine, fine records released by John in 2002. And not to mention the Extra Glenns released their first last year as well, or even the third and final installment in the Ajax/3bos compilations. Big year for l'il John. Tallahassee was the "major label debut", nicely polished and even produced, while West Texas was total picture perfect form that we have all come to expect since the days of his crayon-ed cassettes. His best stories yet. The "god damn" line early on should reach classic status here soon. | |||
| 19. | Mountain Goats, Tallahassee (4AD) | 6: | Stephen Burt, Sean Carruthers, Brian Eck, Lise LePage, Bob McCarthy, Christopher Severson |
| Stephen Burt: wouldn't want to live there Sean Carruthers: Add another album to the list of fantastic albums of marital strife. John Darnielle’s reedy delivery may initially throw off anyone picking up this album simply because it’s on the 4AD label, and the sparseness of instrumentation (mostly just voice and acoustic guitar) will throw off many of the rest…good riddance. If you stick around, you’ll find someone who has a wonderful grip on the language and isn’t afraid to throw around similes; and, when it comes right down to it the sparseness of most of the material is perfectly fitting for an album that details the implosion of a marriage…surely a time when you’ll feel more alone than you ever have before. Brian Eck: Irrefutable proof that sometimes more is more - as in more instrumentation and more production resulting in a lush, enveloping record that still packs plenty of emotional and lyrical punches. Lise LePage: A bleak southern novel in song. Bob McCarthy: This is actually my first experience with John Darnielle. Some hipster I turned out to be. He's definitely a great lyricist. Shit, every one of these songs could be a genius short story. His voice annoyed me at first, but then I decided he sounded kind of like Roky Erickson, and I love Roky Erickson. Christopher Severson: Surely not a joint release, but two fine, fine records released by John in 2002. And not to mention the Extra Glenns released their first last year as well, or even the third and final installment in the Ajax/3bos compilations. Big year for l'il John. Tallahassee was the "major label debut", nicely polished and even produced, while West Texas was total picture perfect form that we have all come to expect since the days of his crayon-ed cassettes. His best stories yet. The "god damn" line early on should reach classic status here soon. | |||
| 57. | Mr. Airplane Man, Moanin' (Sympathy For The Record Industry) | 3: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #3, Kathy Fennessy, mike hibarger |
| mike hibarger: Girl group meets Fat Possum (if Fat Possum had any chicks on their roster that is) | |||
| 191. | Mr. California and The State Police, (I'm Gonna Kick You In The Head) (Proud to be Idiot) | 1: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #3 |
| 191. | Mr. Lif, Emergency Rations CD EP | 1: | Michael Howes |
| 191. | Mr. Lif, I Phantom (Definitive Jux) | 1: | Forrest L Norvell |
| Forrest L Norvell: Probably would have been higher if I hadn't gotten it so late in the year. The El-P record didn't quite do it for me, but Mr. Lif has it going on. | |||
| 191. | Ms. John Soda, No P. Or D. (Morr Music) | 1: | nancy novotny |
| nancy novotny: intelligent electronic pop | |||
| 36. | Mudhoney, Since We've Become Translucent (Sub Pop) | 4(1): | David Bennison, Kathy Fennessy, mike hibarger, Fred M. Mills (Brian Eck) |
| mike hibarger: Slaying neo-Stooges/MC-5 revivalists everywhere. Fred M. Mills: Four-star review or not, when, in a ’98 Rolling Stone review of the band’s Reprise swan-song Tomorrow Hit Today, some tastemaker quipped, “We’ve come not to expect too much from Mudhoney, grunge’s most gleefully willful underachievers,” some of us stood up, went to the window and hollered, “I’m mud as honey and I’m not gonna take it any more!” Mudhoney stood for something – call it back-to-punk-roots, whatever – and, duly inspired, we expected a friggin’ lot from ‘em. the band not only pre-dated grunge but outlasted it, too. They delivered the goods then – and they still do. | |||
| 191. | Mum, Finally We are No One (Fat Cat) | 1: | Kelly Corcoran |
| 665. | My Dad Is Dead, The Engine Of Commerce (Vital Cog) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: Lots of his older stuff is available in full from http://mydadisdead.com/. But this is good too. | |||
| 191. | My Favorite, The Kids Are All Wrong (Double Agent) | 1: | keith sawyer |
| keith sawyer: I really didn't think My Favorite could top their debut album Love At
Absolute Zero, but if I combined their three follow-up ep's onto one disc it
just might do it. New wave without being retro, My Favorite create gripping
situations in suburban bedrooms and bored classrooms, with a side-trip to
Hiroshima. While the Smiths made you wonder how the heck you could continue
on, My Favorite plow through the mediocrity of life with their head down and
still somehow survive. Joe Pernice once gave us the choice between graduate
school and suicide, My Favorite picked the former but still remember why
anyone would opt for the latter. | |||
| 191. | Mínus, Jesus Christ, Bobby (Victory) | 1: | Forrest L Norvell |
| Forrest L Norvell: Not as glitchy as Atomsmasher, but plenty digitally tweaked post-hardcore by a couple of crazed Icelandic guys. The Einar Orn cameo's not even as annoying as it could have been, either. | |||
| 191. | Múm, Finally We Are No One (Fatcat) | 1: | nancy novotny |
| nancy novotny: nice that a whole new crowd of folks got to discover them in '02 | |||
| 191. | Napalm Death, Order of the Leech (Spitfire) | 1: | Michael Howes |
| 191. | Nappy Roots, Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz (Atlantic) | 1: | Jason Gross |
| 191. | Nate Denver, Prepare To Die (King Crab) | 1: | ian connelly |
| 191. | The Nationale Blue, A Different Kind of Listening (Iodine) | 1: | Doug Orleans |
| Doug Orleans: Boston-based progcore. | |||
| 665. | The Nationale Blue, Jaune-Bleu EP (Iodine) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| 665. | Nebula, Peel Session (self-released) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| 191. | The Necks, Athenaeum, Homebush, Quay & Raab (Shock) | 1: | windy chien |
| 191. | Negativland, Deathsentences of the Polished and Structurally Weak (Seeland) | 1: | Sean Carruthers |
| Sean Carruthers: Just for the sheer audacity of it, and the fact that they're actually trying to work on the soundscapes more than the cultural engineering aspect of it. | |||
| 87. | Neil Halstead, Sleeping On Roads (4AD) | 2: | ian connelly, Christopher Severson |
| Christopher Severson: So a little change of pace here with this one, but considering how many times this got played, I have to list it sooner or later. I believe this was released in the UK in 2001, but definitely a 2002 stateside release, and I am definitely stateside, so how appropriate. With two Fahey tribute records above, this one now goes to Nick Drake. And very well done at that. | |||
| 162. | Neil Michael Hagerty, Plays That Good Old Rock & Roll (Drag City) | 1(1): | Nick Stone (D Mosurock) |
| 4. | Neko Case, Blacklisted (Bloodshot) | 11(1): | Kelly Corcoran, Steve Farneman, Brian Good, Russell Gragg, barney grubbs, mike hibarger, Tom Humphrey, Chris Jacobs, Forrest L Norvell, Ernest Paik, Carl Zimring (Doug Orleans) |
| mike hibarger: This noir alt-country release caught me by surprise, it starts out unassuming
but its reverb drenchedness slowly seeps into your subconscious causing you to
crave it more and more. (but still, i could've used a little less 'verb) Forrest L Norvell: A huge improvement over her last album. Her voice is truly amazing, and she's finally written some songs to match it. Doug Orleans: Sexiest indie-rock babe, according to a Playboy poll. Her music's not half bad either! | |||
| 191. | Neko Case, Canadian Amp (Lady Pilot) | 1: | Steve Farneman |
| 87. | Nels Cline Singers, Instrumentals (Cryptogramophone) | 2: | barney grubbs, Tom Humphrey |
| 665. | N.E.R.D, In Search Of (Virgin) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: The Neptunes are all over the place these days, but here on their own time they're at their most evil-sounding. | |||
| 191. | Nicolai Dunger, Soul Rush (Lakeshore) | 1: | Sean Howe |
| 191. | Nilsson, Greatest Hits (RCA/BMG Heritage) | 1: | Brian Good |
| Brian Good: new compilation | |||
| 191. | Nilsson, The Point! (RCA/BMG Heritage) | 1: | Brian Good |
| Brian Good: reissue | |||
| 43. | Nina Nastasia, The Blackened Air (Touch and Go) | 4: | Sean Howe, Craig Hutler, Bob McCarthy, tim midgett |
| Bob McCarthy: Beautiful gothic folk music. She sings it right, I go with her. | |||
| 87. | No Doctors, No Doctors (Force Feed) | 2: | Bret McCabe, Seth Tisue |
| 191. | No Neck Blues Band, Re: "Mr. A Fan..." (Trade Mark of Quality) | 1: | Christopher Severson |
| Christopher Severson: I'm still not sure what to think of this record, but I am guessing the TMoQ thing is somewhat out of joke, or maybe not. What the hell does a band like No Neck need with a bootleg release? Regardless, this is a fine one with moments that equal and expand in a rougher sense all the great moments of last year's best record by noneother than themselves. | |||
| 665. | NOFX, 45 Or 46 Songs That Werent Good Enough To Go On Our Other Records (Fat Wreck Chords) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 19. | Notwist, Neon Golden (Virgin) | 6: | Jeff Breeze, windy chien, Geoff Cox, Chris Jacobs, D Mosurock, Jim Steed |
| Jeff Breeze: I don't even know if this ever came out in the US, but gone is the Grant Green-isms of Shrink and left is electro-pop from heaven | |||
| 191. | Noxagt, Live 7" and CD (Norway Rat) | 1: | Brian Turner |
| 191. | NRBQ, Live From Mountain Stage (Blue Plate) | 1: | Bob McCarthy |
| Bob McCarthy: I saw them live this past year. They had a "pizza box" for sale, which included a t-shirt plus the pizza box. Yes, and they all wore chef hats as they strolled off the stage after another great show. This may have influenced it's placement here. | |||
| 158. | Numbers, Numbers Life (Tigerbeat6) | 1(2): | Mark Matienzo (Brian Eck, D Mosurock) |
| 191. | Oasis, Heathen Chemistry (Sony) | 1: | R. Lim |
| 191. | Oddfellows Casino, Yellowbellied Wonderland (Pickled Egg) | 1: | nancy novotny |
| nancy novotny: worth it for "put the bird to sleep" | |||
| 191. | Of Montreal, Aldhils Arboretum (Kindercore) | 1: | Bob McCarthy |
| Bob McCarthy: The kind of cloying, oh so witty, elephant 6 shit that I really should be over by now, but I am not. | |||
| 191. | Okkervil River, Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See (Jajaguwar) | 1: | Jeff Breeze |
| Jeff Breeze: The greatest songwriting feat of the year... it doesn't hurt that the band is on their toes from start to finish | |||
| 191. | Okmoniks, Rock and Roll With The Okmoniks (In-fi) | 1: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #3 |
| 665. | Olneyville Sound System, Freedumb (Hospital Productions) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: More crazy lo-fi Providence noise, although this is particularly groovy, reminding me of Bablicon. | |||
| 665. | One Line Drawing, Visitor (Jade Tree Records) | (1): | (Matthew T. Kaplan) |
| 191. | One Ring Zero, Interludes And Out-Takes From The Pumpkin Show (Urban Geek Records) | 1: | Matthew T. Kaplan |
| Matthew T. Kaplan: The best unknown band out of NYC! They match circus music with klezmer, some Morricone/Rota. They are part of the McSweeney's book publishing scene and play as the house band at many of their events | |||
| 28. | Oneida, Each One Teach One (Jagjaguwar) | 5: | David Bennison, Sam Frank, Russell Gragg, Dan Mackta, D Mosurock |
| 191. | Open City, L.A. We Revise Your Neglect (Thin Wrist) | 1: | Seth Tisue |
| 665. | Opeth, Deliverance (Koch) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 87. | Orchid, Gatefold (Ebullition) | 2: | Kelly Corcoran, Michael Howes |
| 191. | Oren Ambarchi, Der Kleine Konig 7" (Tonschacht) | 1: | R. Lim |
| 87. | Orthrelm, Asristir Vieldriox (Troubleman Unlimited) | 2: | John Eastridge, Greg Lyon |
| 665. | Ousia, Face The Robot (Mutant Music) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: Hey, remember Seefeel? This is pretty much like that, but even more ambient. Great sleepytime music, but not as epic as Why Is That A Four? | |||
| 24. | Out Hud, S.T.R.E.E.T. D.A.D. (Kranky) | 5(1): | Sean Howe, Fred M. Mills, steven nilsen, Soren Petersen, Jim Steed (Brian Eck) |
| Fred M. Mills: Post-rock? Post-punk? Post-puh! We don’t need no steenkin’ post-whatever. Formerly of Sacramento and now residing in the steaming jungles of Brooklyn, O.H. channels everything from A Certain Ratio’s punk-funk to New Order’s electro throb to the classic On-U Sound dub-hop stylee to Can’s vintage Prog-jazz fusion. The 38-minute album unfolds effortlessly and seamlessly, layering synth- and cello-strewn soundscapes against insistent percussion manifestos, simultaneously freeing the proverbial ass and mind. steven nilsen: Finally, a instrumental beauty for the year 2002. | |||
| 87. | Oxbow, An Evil Heat (Neurot) | 2: | David Bennison, mike hibarger |
| mike hibarger: Beneath all the obvious trapppings of noise and insecurity there is great beauty. | |||
| 665. | Oxes, Oxxxes (Monitor) | (1): | (Michael Howes) |
| 665. | The Pacific Ocean, So Beautiful and Cheap and Warm (Teenbeat) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 661. | Patto, Hold Your Fire (Akarma) | (2): | (Daniel DiMaggio, D Mosurock) |
| 665. | Patto, Patto (Vertigo) | (1): | (D Mosurock) |
| 191. | Paul Flaherty/Chris Corsano/Greg Kelley, Sannyasi (Wet Paint) | 1: | Daniel DiMaggio |
| 191. | Paul Westerberg, Stereo/Mono (Vagrant) | 1: | Sean Howe |
| 35. | Pavement, Slanted & Enchanted: Luxe & Reduxe (Matador) | 4(2): | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #5, Geoff Cox, Lise LePage, Ernest Paik (Brian Eck, D Mosurock) |
| Anonymous Chugchanga Member #5: There is so much more new material that this almost counts as a new release. Lise LePage: Thank you, thank you, thank you. | |||
| 87. | Pedro the Lion, Control (Jade Tree) | 2: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #4, ian connelly |
| 665. | Peggy Lee, The Best of Miss Peggy Lee (Capitol) | (1): | (Kathy Fennessy) |
| 191. | Pentagram, First Daze Here (The Vintage Collection) (Relapse) | 1: | Steve Farneman |
| 191. | Pepito, Migrante (This Record Label) | 1: | peter buff |
| peter buff: http://www.pepito.net latina alternativa electronica | |||
| 87. | Pere Ubu, St. Arkansas (spinART) | 2: | Russell Gragg, Carl Zimring |
| 87. | Pet Shop Boys, Release (Sanctuary) | 2: | Stephen Burt, Soren Petersen |
| Stephen Burt: worth it for "London" alone: a good pop album, maybe their second best ever | |||
| 162. | Peter Brotzmann, Balls (Atavistic/UMS) | 1(1): | John Eastridge (Daniel DiMaggio) |
| John Eastridge: Having heard about Balls my whole life but never actually having heard it, I was ecstatic to find that someone was finally doing a reissue. My deepest graditude to whomever organized this | |||
| 191. | Peter Jefferies, Closed Circuit (Emperor Jones) | 1: | Carl Zimring |
| 191. | Phantom Planet, The Guest (Epic) | 1: | Doug Orleans |
| Doug Orleans: Power pop with some nicely subtle quirky touches. The whole world needs an anthem... | |||
| 191. | Phantomsmasher, Phantomsmasher (Ipecac) | 1: | Justin Foley |
| 191. | Piebald, We Are the Only Friends We Have (Big Wheel Recreation) | 1: | Max Daniels |
| Max Daniels: This record reminds me of my favorite couplet from the Australian picture _The Bank_: Boy meets girl. They race home and tear each other's clothes off. Boy: Shouldn't we get to know each other first? Girl: What if we don't like each other? This record is like that line: Practical, witty, direct, healthy, yearning, a bit frenzied, generous. It opens a door I want to step through. | |||
| 665. | Pink Fairies, Pink Fairies, Neverneverland, Kings of Oblivion (Polydor UK) | (1): | (D Mosurock) |
| 162. | Polyphonic Spree, Beginning Stages of... (Good) | 1(1): | Dan Mackta (Kelly Corcoran) |
| 191. | Pop-Off Tuesday, Pop Ahoy (Pickled Egg) | 1: | nancy novotny |
| nancy novotny: "quirky" is not a dirty word | |||
| 191. | Pretty Girls Make Graves, Good Health (Lookout!) | 1: | Brian Eck |
| Brian Eck: Cathartic, energetic punk rock. The last track is a swirling maelstrom that will have you hitting repeat. | |||
| 191. | Princess Superstar, Princess Superstar Is (Rapster) | 1: | Max Daniels |
| Max Daniels: There's a reason why 'Bad Babysitter' sticks with me, and it's not just the line 'making six bucks an hour'. Though that is approximately what I make. It's milk-spraying clever, like most of this album. The music's more catchy than anything, but it most certainly doesn't suck. No indeedy. | |||
| 191. | PUBLIC NUISANCE, Gotta Survive (2CD on Frantic (US), 2LP + EP on Shadoks (Germany)) | 1: | Karl Ikola |
| Karl Ikola: The greatest unearthed '60s LP (plus demos, all recorded '68-69) of all time. Public Nuisance was Sacramento's Mod-est and Pop-est freak band, more melodic than Oxford Circle and harder hitting than New Breed. But they had the same great mystique and material as world class bands such as the Creation and the Misunderstood. Leader Dave Houston (a prolific solo artist in his own right up through today) contributed mightily to late '70s Sacto garage/psych greats, the Twinkeyz. | |||
| 191. | Pulp, We Love Life (Island) | 1: | Nick Stone |
| 87. | The Pupils, The Pupils (Dischord) | 2: | Michael Howes, Greg Lyon |
| 191. | Pure, Noonbugs (Mego) | 1: | R. Lim |
| 191. | Q and Not U, Different Damage (Dischord) | 1: | Kelly Corcoran |
| 191. | Queen Cobra, Queen Cobra (Boner) | 1: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #3 |
| 24. | Queens of the Stone Age, Songs for the Deaf (Interscope) | 5(1): | Max Daniels, Craig Hutler, Iikka Korhonen, Bret McCabe, Doug Orleans (D Mosurock) |
| Max Daniels: Can't write anymore! Iikka Korhonen: ROCK album of the year. Doug Orleans: Not as amazing as Rated R but it similarly infests itself in your brain. | |||
| 162. | Quix*o*tic, Mortal Mirror (Kill Rock Stars) | 1(1): | D Mosurock (Brian Eck) |
| 87. | Radar Brothers, And the Surrounding Mountains (Merge) | 2: | windy chien, Jim Steed |
| 191. | Radian, Rec.Extern (Thrill Jockey) | 1: | Jim Steed |
| 43. | Radio 4, Gotham (Gern Blandstein) | 4: | Daniel DiMaggio, Brian Eck, Jason Gross, Soren Petersen |
| Brian Eck: Every generation needs to (re)discover the Clash, and apparently this one likes to dance as well. | |||
| 665. | Radio Vago, Black and White Photo Enterprise (Buddyhead) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| 191. | Radiogram, All The Way Home (Endearing) | 1: | Russell Gragg |
| 191. | Rah Bras, Ruy Blas! (Lovitt) | 1: | D Mosurock |
| 191. | Rainer, The Farm (Glitterhouse) | 1: | Fred M. Mills |
| Fred M. Mills: What a difference five years makes – in my mind. When Tucson wunderkind guitarist/Giant Sand collaborator Rainer Ptacek died in ’97 shortly after I’d returned to the Old Pueblo, I found it hard for awhile to listen to his records. I got over that, of course, and nowadays he’s in constant rotation in the Mills playbox. (His Nocturnes CD of atmospheric instrumentals was what Allison and I were listening to in the delivery room in ’01 shortly before Eli was born). The Farm is the third of a posthumous trilogy that Rainer’s widow, friend Howe Gelb and German label Glitterhouse assembled, and it’s as moving as any disc I’ve heard all year. Small wonder; these dreamy folk extrapolations and cranky blues workouts were recorded just mere weeks before the cancer got the best of him. It’s the sound of a man staring over the edge and into the abyss and having absolutely no fear – just embracing the preciousness of life as best he can, for as long as he can. | |||
| 191. | Les Rallizes Denudes, Double Live 1977 (Boot) | 1: | Brian Turner |
| 191. | Ralph Stanley, Ralph Stanley (DMZ/Columbia) | 1: | Brian Good |
| 191. | Raphael Saadiq, Instant Vintage (Universal) | 1: | Bret McCabe |
| 191. | The Rapture, Olio (DFA Remix) 12" (Output) | 1: | R. Lim |
| R. Lim: See also "The House of Jealous Lovers" 12" on DFA | |||
| 191. | Raveonettes, Whip It On (Orchard) | 1: | Geoff Cox |
| Geoff Cox: one darn good song, remixed eight times, with different titles and lyrics. | |||
| 191. | Reaching Quiet, In The Shadow Of The Living Room (Mush) | 1: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #2 |
| 191. | (The Real) Tuesday Weld, I, Lucifer (Dreamy Records) | 1: | Matthew T. Kaplan |
| Matthew T. Kaplan: UK indie release so far unreleased in the US | |||
| 191. | Really Red, Really Red (Angry Neighbor) | 1: | Matthew J Barnhart |
| 191. | Red Bennies, Announcing (Vaccination) | 1: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #2 |
| 16. | Reigning Sound, Time Bomb High School (In the Red) | 7: | Jeff Breeze, Daniel DiMaggio, mike hibarger, Greg Lyon, Dan Mackta, Bob McCarthy, D Mosurock |
| Jeff Breeze: A let down from last year's _Break Up, Break Down_ but when Greg cartwright is this far ahead of the pack it still registers as great mike hibarger: ex-Oblivian Greg makes a roots rock record that would do Springsteen proud. Bob McCarthy: If you ever thought that you might like Springsteen a little better if he would stop with the mythic America stuff and just ROCK. Well, here ya go. Oh, it has ballads, too. Plenty of 'em. | |||
| 191. | Rene Lacaille & Bob Brozman, Digdig (Riverboat) | 1: | Brian Turner |
| 191. | The Reputation, The Reputation (Initial) | 1: | Stephen Burt |
| Stephen Burt: year's other best ROCK record-- thanks, Elizabeth! | |||
| 191. | The Residents, Demons Dance Alone (ESD) | 1: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #2 |
| 191. | Rex Hobart, Your Favorite Fool (Bloodshot) | 1: | Tom Humphrey |
| 87. | Rhett Miller, The Instigator (Elektra) | 2: | Bob McCarthy, keith sawyer |
| Bob McCarthy: This guy is getting really close to being TOO cleaned-up and respectable for my taste. He has hooks, many, many hooks, and funny, funny, lyrics, but I may have to leave him home next time. keith sawyer: There's still plenty of great power pop being produced out there, strange that my favorite album in the genre this year is by the lead singer of the Old 97's. Though when you seen Jon Brion's name next to the producer credit I suppose I should know what I'm in for ... after all that's why I purchased the record. And a fun romp it is, there are a couple of stunners, no real letdowns and plenty of tunes about girls and other things he can't keep away from. | |||
| 191. | Rhys Chatham, Compendium (Table of Elements) | 1: | Brian Turner |
| 191. | Richard Buckner, Impasse (Overcoat) | 1: | Carl Zimring |
| 191. | Richard Devine, Aleamapper (Schematic) | 1: | Brian Turner |
| 191. | Richard Hell, Time (Matador) | 1: | Greg Lyon |
| 191. | Rilo Kiley, Execution of All Things (Saddle Creek) | 1: | Kelly Corcoran |
| 28. | RJD2, Deadringer (Definitive Jux) | 5: | Kelly Corcoran, Russell Gragg, barney grubbs, Sean Howe, Fred M. Mills |
| Fred M. Mills: The sleekest Caucasoid brutha since DJ Shadow, RJD2 has put Def Jux on the map for good. From stanky spurts of old-school funk and sensual, between-the-sheets soul (check the hidden track) to hypnotic, crystalline slabs of psychedelia and downright joyful bursts of jazz-hop, his debut is an instant classic. And as good as Shadow’s The Private Press is, this platter’s from-out-of-the-blue freshness and cranium/rump-twisting potency m | |||
| 191. | Robbie Fulks, Couples in Trouble (Boondoggle) | 1: | tim midgett |
| 14. | Rocket From The Tombs, The Day The Earth Met The Rocket From The Tombs (Smog Veil Recordings) | 7(2): | Jeff Breeze, Jim Flannery, Sam Frank, Karl Ikola, Matthew T. Kaplan, Iikka Korhonen, Fred M. Mills (Daniel DiMaggio, D Mosurock) |
| Jeff Breeze: An amazing document of recordings that no one ever knew existed in this fine condition. Essential Karl Ikola: Best sound available of these "loft" sessions recorded in Cleveland in '75, though some material from the old Jack Slack boot is absent, and the fact that they cut off "Satisfaction" after a minute is reason for serious frustration in the listener. Still a must. Matthew T. Kaplan: When they were young and punk Fred M. Mills: Malcontent pre-or proto-punk (take yer pick) hippie-nihils amped on a lurid Velvets/Stooges/MC5 squall and psychedelicized by Beefheartian intellectuosity, RFTT could only have appeared at one time (early ‘70s) and place (Cleveland). The band’s diseased DNA dump spawned, of course, both Pere Ubu and the Dead Boys. Meanwhile, these ’75 rehearsal and live sessions gang-rape such virginal pop delights as Ubu’s totemic “30 Seconds Over Tokyo” and the Boys’ ur-Stooges “Sonic Reducer,” not to mention a mandatory Velvets cover. This, kids, is where the mainline is tapped. No tying off required. | |||
| 191. | Rogers Sisters, Purely Evil (Troubleman Unlimited) | 1: | Dan Mackta |
| 191. | Roky Erickson and the Aliens, Evil One (Sympathy for the Record Industry) | 1: | Iikka Korhonen |
| 191. | Rolling Stones, Aftermath (UK) (ABKCO) | 1: | andy beta |
| 191. | Ron House, Obsessed (Moses Carryout) | 1: | Dan Mackta |
| 162. | Roots, Phrenology (MCA) | 1(1): | Brian Good (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: A psychedelic funk & soul smorgasbord. "The Seed" might be my pick for single of the year. | |||
| 191. | Royksopp, Melody Am (Astralwerks) | 1: | Geoff Cox |
| 665. | Rumah Sakit, Obscured By Clowns (Temporary Residence) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 665. | Run DMC, Greatest Hits (BMG) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 191. | Rush, Vapor Trails (Anthem/Atlantic) | 1: | Doug Orleans |
| Doug Orleans: This doesn't sound much like any other Rush album, which is good because they hadn't really made a solid album in the 20 years before this. This thing is monstrous, with driving guitars and catchy but dissonant riffs—it could almost be an Arcwelder album. I do still miss the side-long epics of their 70s albums, but I'm pretty happy with what they're doing now. Now if only they'd hire Steve Albini to fix up their drum sound... | |||
| 191. | RUST, Come With Me (LP on Akarma, Italy) | 1: | Karl Ikola |
| Karl Ikola: Amazing German '69 psych that sounds like it belongs on the Nuggets II box set (hint: UK style)..fuzzy textures/vocals, lotsa organ fills and hooks-meets-chaos Small Faces meets Deviants magic that blew my mind... | |||
| 36. | Rye Coalition, On Top (Tiger Style) | 4(1): | John Eastridge, Chris Jacobs, tim midgett, Doug Orleans (Kelly Corcoran) |
| John Eastridge: NJ!! Doug Orleans: Honky, please! | |||
| 191. | The Sadies, Stories Often Told (Yep Roc) | 1: | Max Daniels |
| Max Daniels: Toronto country-and-western, emphasis on the Western, as sung by an undertaker-manqué and filtered through a cannabis fug. Goes great with Deadbolt, Johnny Cash, smoky tea and melancholy. If I lived in Bacon Strip, Manitoba, this would never leave my turntable. | |||
| 191. | Safety Scissors Vs. Kit Clayton, Ping Pong 3 CD (Carpark) | 1: | nancy novotny |
| nancy novotny: exceedingly clever | |||
| 57. | Sahara Hotnights, Jennie Bomb (Jetset) | 3: | Max Daniels, John Eastridge, keith sawyer |
| Max Daniels: After I bought this and played it a million times, trying to remember precisely what memories it was evoking, I read a review comparing these Swedes to Pat Benatar. Queasily, I felt the jolt of recognition. Moments later I decided: Pat Benatar is underrated. keith sawyer: Strong, uncomplicated 70's rock not unlike the Runaways with more oomph. The songs lyrically don't seem to be about much beyond a certain feeling of rebelliousness and lust, which in my mind is exactly the way it should be. It clocks in at just past 30 minutes. And I just can't stop playing it. I could try and explain why this is my favorite album of the year and the Donnas don't even make my radar, but you'd probably just call me a hypocrite. | |||
| 191. | Saint Etienne, Finisterre (Mantra) | 1: | Ernest Paik |
| 191. | Sakada, Undistilled (Matchless) | 1: | Jim Flannery |
| 191. | Saturday Looks Good to Me, Saturday Looks Good to Me (Ypsilanti) | 1: | Ernest Paik |
| 191. | Savage Republic, Box Set (Mobilization) | 1: | Fred M. Mills |
| Fred M. Mills: …and then God created the Savage Republic, a postpunk/industrial clatter of guitar, two basses, drums and scrap-heap percussion -- Joy Division, The Fall and Einsturzende Neubauten colluding on the Can songbook in a crowded, noisy Ethiopian bazaar. Later adding keyboards, tapes and assorted stringed things, SavRep wound up lasting for four albums eight years and numerous lineup changes. It left behind a rather handsome corpse – here, anthologized via four new remasters of the group’s studio legacy --whose twitching influence is still felt in the rock underground. | |||
| 191. | Scalene, Grafting From Instantaneous and Fragmental Fulfillment (H:G Fact) | 1: | Forrest L Norvell |
| Forrest L Norvell: Really, really good Japanese metalcore on grindcore gods 324's label (the same label that released the Discordance Axis / 324 / Corrupted split last year, in fact). | |||
| 191. | Scharpling and Wurster, Chain Fights, Beer Busts, and Service with a Grin (Stereolaffs) | 1: | Sam Frank |
| 665. | Scientist, Wins The World Cup (Greensleeves) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 87. | Scientists, The Human Jukebox 1984-1986 (Sympathy for the Record Industry) | 2: | Iikka Korhonen, Fred M. Mills |
| Fred M. Mills: The companion/followup to last year’s Blood Red River 1982-1984, this anthology offers a rare window into Australia’s secret rock ‘n’ roll history. Fronted by leather-lunged guitarist Kim Salmon, the band would spear, char-broil and serve on a bloody platter everything from gnarled skronkabilly (“Atom Bomb Baby”)and low-fi psychedelia (“Distortion”) to monumental covers of Nancy Sinatra’s 007 theme “You Only Live Twice” and Creedence’s “It Came Out Of The Sky.” And damn – Salmon has reformed the Scientists over the past year, and as of this writing a handful of US gigs (including L.A. Shakedown) are slated if some money details can be worked out. | |||
| 191. | Scienz Of Life, Project Overground (Subverse Music) | 1: | barney grubbs |
| barney grubbs: (not sure of release date) | |||
| 57. | Scion, Arrange and Process Basic Channel Tracks (Tresor) | 3: | Justin Foley, Jason Gross, Forrest L Norvell |
| Forrest L Norvell: Ten-year-old techno that still sounds fresh and new. | |||
| 191. | Shadow Ring, Lindus (Swill Radio) | 1: | Greg Lyon |
| 665. | The Sheila Divine, Secret Society (Arena Rock) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| 191. | The Shins, Oh, Inverted World (Sub Pop) | 1: | Stephen Burt |
| Stephen Burt: if only I had any idea what the words are | |||
| 162. | Sightings, Michigan Haters (Psycho-Path) | 1(1): | Sam Frank (D Mosurock) |
| 191. | Sightings, Sightings (Load) | 1: | Jim Flannery |
| 191. | Signer, Low Light Dreams (Car Park/Involve) | 1: | Justin Foley |
| 43. | Sigur Ros, () (Fatcat) | 4: | Sean Carruthers, ian connelly, Geoff Cox, Jim Steed |
| Sean Carruthers: Admit it, if the band had given us another album that sounded like Agaetis Byrjun, people would have shit all over them, and rightly so. (Even though it was my favourite album a couple of years back, it still would have been disappointing.) In reality, this is more a follow-up to The Cure’s Faith album. Do you hear me complaining? Geoff Cox: all titles in homelandic | |||
| 11. | Silkworm, Italian Platinum (Touch & Go) | 8(1): | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #4, Matthew J Barnhart, Steve Farneman, Craig Hutler, Bob McCarthy, tim midgett, D Mosurock, Carl Zimring (Brian Eck) |
| Bob McCarthy: Another terrific long player by aging indie rockers, SILKWORM.** | |||
| 191. | Simian, We are Your Friends (Astralwerks) | 1: | Nick Stone |
| 191. | Sing Sing, The Joy of Sing Sing (Manifesto) | 1: | Soren Petersen |
| 191. | Sinister Luck Ensemble, Anniversary (Perishable) | 1: | Carl Zimring |
| 665. | The Sinking Ships, Out Of Key Harmony (Darla) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 191. | Sir Douglas Quintet, +2 = [Honkey Blues] (Acadia) | 1: | Tom Humphrey |
| Tom Humphrey: Reissue | |||
| 87. | Six Organs Of Admittance, Dark Noontide (Holy Mountain) | 2: | Daniel DiMaggio, Jim Flannery |
| 191. | Skye Klad, II (Mutant Music) | 1: | Doug Orleans |
| Doug Orleans: Not as great as their debut, but still smokin' space-rock. | |||
| 19. | Sleater-Kinney, One Beat (Kill Rock Stars) | 6: | Mark Bunster, John Eastridge, Brian Eck, Brian Good, Bob McCarthy, Seth Tisue |
| John Eastridge: "Oh!" is perhaps the best single of the year and is my favorite Sleater-Kinney song ever. Bob McCarthy: Another terrific long player... Ok, ok. This one is political, but not annoyingly so, it has an alterna-hit, and one of the bonus songs, is like about Corin's kid and stuff, I think. Also, I love the fake brit pouting. A step forward, again. | |||
| 191. | Smith N Hack, Tribute (no label) | 1: | D Mosurock |
| 665. | Smith/Williams/Christmann/Muller, White Earth Streak (Atavistic/UMS) | (1): | (Daniel DiMaggio) |
| 191. | Smog, Accumulation: None (Drag City) | 1: | ian connelly |
| 191. | Snowglobe, Our Land Brains (Bardot Records) | 1: | Matthew T. Kaplan |
| 57. | Soft Boys, Nextdoorland (Matador) | 3: | Sean Carruthers, Russell Gragg, Carl Zimring |
| Sean Carruthers: Okay, so it wasn't exactly Underwater Moonlight, but so what? This is a band with another 20 years on em and a bit of maturity is probably allowed; still, one listen to the great guitarplay on "Mr. Kennedy" proves that they've still got it, even if "it" is a bit more subdued these days. | |||
| 665. | The Solarflares, Look What I Made Out Of My Head (Big Beat UK) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: Modern freakbeat. Not as convincing as The Embrooks, but still pretty great. | |||
| 87. | Solomon Burke, Don't Give Up on Me (Anti) | 2: | Sean Carruthers, Russell Gragg |
| Sean Carruthers: Just when you thought he might actually be dead, he comes back and delivers one of the best albums of the year. | |||
| 87. | Sondre Lerche, Faces Down (Astralwerks) | 2: | Kathy Fennessy, Matthew T. Kaplan |
| Matthew T. Kaplan: I did not hear this record until the end of the year and it just jumped to the top of the list, musically it is equal parts Robyn Hitchcock and Belle & Sebastian with a smidge of Al Stewart | |||
| 191. | Songs For Emma, Red Lies, Black Rhymes (Broken Rekids) | 1: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #3 |
| 87. | Songs: Ohia, Didn't It Rain (Secretly Canadian) | 2: | tim midgett, Jim Steed |
| 5. | Sonic Youth, Murray Street (Geffen) | 11: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #5, Sean Carruthers, John Eastridge, Jason Gross, Craig Hutler, Iikka Korhonen, Greg Lyon, Bob McCarthy, Fred M. Mills, steven nilsen, Jim Steed |
| Sean Carruthers: Sonic Youth has been putzing around in really grim territory for so long that this album came as a double shock: not only didn’t it suck, but it may actually be their second-best album ever (Daydream still wins, fank you very much). Too many people have lobbed the term “boring” at this one, and it’s certainly an easy mistake to make with only a cursory listen or two; give it the proper amount of ear time, and you start to notice the little things, like how the guitar interplay is the best the band has had in YEARS, and how the lyrics evoke all of the post-WTC emotional fallout without giving it away altogether. (After all, you gotta maintain some mystery, aintcha?) John Eastridge: They get props for putting Borbetomagus on "Radical Adults Lick Godhead Style" Iikka Korhonen: My favorite SY album in ages. Bob McCarthy: Another terrific long player by aging indie rockers, SONIC YOUTH.* Fred M. Mills: After September 11 blew lives, minds and entire blocks into oblivion, a shell-shocked Sonic Youth reconvened in its Murray Street studio near the WTC radius and somehow managed to assemble Part Two of the band’s so-called Lower Manhattan trilogy. (The first part was 2000’s NYC Ghosts & Flowers.) On par with SY classic Daydream Nation, the album artfully balances avantish improv with humanistic pop, marrying Neil Young-style blues lopes to elongated, dissonant drones. Real chicken-skin, rising-to-awareness stuff. steven nilsen: This was moving. It's impressive how well tuned my brain must be to these textures, their ability to control and harness distortion within the context of anthemic pop songs is still something to behold. | |||
| 191. | Sonny Sharrock, Paradise (Water) | 1: | andy beta |
| 36. | Soundtrack of our Lives, Behind the Music (Universal/Telegram) | 4(1): | Kelly Corcoran, mike hibarger, Dan Mackta, Nick Stone (Doug Orleans) |
| mike hibarger: In the distant wake of ABBA, SoOL prove once again that to make it in rock n' roll, ya gotta sing in English. Dan Mackta: same as Hellacopters...live w/it Doug Orleans: I don't see what the hubbub is; most of this is pleasant but forgettable. Their live performance on The Late Show was convincing, though. | |||
| 87. | Spaceways, Inc, Version Soul (Atavistic) | 2: | Jeff Breeze, Seth Tisue |
| Jeff Breeze: Ken Vandermark did a lot again this year, but beaking the Spaceways project away from the P-Funk/Sun Ra cover formula, makes for the best of the lot | |||
| 665. | The Spacious Mind, Live Volume One - Do Your Thing But Don't Touch Ours, Skogsnäs 26-10-99 (Goddamn I'm A Countryman) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: Very drony instrumental jam stuff, similar to their Terrastock 5 performance. Much different from their studio albums (and their T3 performance). | |||
| 191. | Spearhead, Stay Human | 1: | Mark Bunster |
| 191. | Speedking, The Fist and the Laurels (Tiger Style) | 1: | Greg Lyon |
| 191. | SPIKE-DRIVERS, Folk-Rocking Psychedelic Innovation From The Motor City in the Mid-60s (CD/LP on RD records of Switzerland) | 1: | Karl Ikola |
| Karl Ikola: This is an archival release of Detroit's answer to San Francisco's pre-Jefferson Airplane raga-folk-rock originators, Great Society. Eastern scales and harmonies, dark thoughts and beautiful melodies. Collects their rare 45 on Om and a bunch of unreleased material. Essential for archival freaks and just plain music fans (US Kaleidoscope fans, take heed!!). A bit of the Farina's vibe is here as well. | |||
| 16. | Spoon, Kill the Moonlight (Merge) | 7: | Kathy Fennessy, Russell Gragg, Jason Gross, Sean Howe, Bret McCabe, Soren Petersen, Christopher Severson |
| Christopher Severson: Another surprising record for me in 2002. The band has been around since what, 1995? Maybe so, and I don't know how those prior records compare, but this was easly one of my more listened to records for the year. Short. Strange. And to the point. | |||
| 87. | Spring Heel Jack, Amassed (Thirsty Ear) | 2: | Brian Good, Matthew T. Kaplan |
| Matthew T. Kaplan: Thirsty Ear should be getting more respect as an edge label. | |||
| 191. | Static, Eject Your Mind (City Centre Offices) | 1: | Johnathan Rickman |
| 191. | Statuesque, Live from Lake Vostok (www.statuesque.org.uk) | 1: | Stephen Burt |
| Stephen Burt: see them soon in San Francisco if you like any English pop at all | |||
| 191. | Steel Pole Bathtub, Unlistenable (Zero to One) | 1: | Sam Frank |
| 191. | Stereolab, ABC Music (Strange Fruit/BBC) | 1: | Ernest Paik |
| 57. | Steve Earle, Jerusalem (Artemis) | 3: | mike hibarger, Lise LePage, Fred M. Mills |
| mike hibarger: I could do without John Walker's Blues, but everything else is great here. Lise LePage: I lost track of Steve after he got busted sometime in the 90s, but this record brought me back. Politically courageous, but also a really good country rock record too. Fred M. Mills: What makes a man start fires? He clearly knew what sticks he was rubbing together when he recorded “John Walker’s Blues.” But patriots’ call for Earle’s head aside, it – and the entire album – is suffused in the sort of deep sadness that only those artists who feel life so much that it hurts are able to convey. By balancing an empathetic lyrical outlook with musical arrangements that rank among his edgiest since Copperhead Road (Stones, Byrds and Creedence come down from the mountain), Earle’s crafted a post-9/11 album that, over time, will soar high, untethered to our collective national sadness. | |||
| 87. | Stick Men With Ray Guns, Some People Deserve To Suffer (Emporer Jones) | 2: | Matthew J Barnhart, Karl Ikola |
| Karl Ikola: Kind of like the Driving Stupid if they were 15 years older and had evolved into insufferable alcholics/junkies, but still hadn't "given up the ghost" when it came to making discordant music updated to the (read: post-Watergate) times. Essential archival CD recorded '82-'87 of all the extant recordings by this great Dallas, TX group, featuring Bobby Soxx on vox (Learn To Hate in the '80s solo shot from '81 was on Bloodstains comp)...includes the well known "Christian Rat Attack" (covered by Dim Stars), "Scavenger of Death" (dating all the way back to the Teenage Queers precursor) and a bunch more essential crud... | |||
| 665. | Stockholm Monsters, Alma Mater Plus (LTM) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 191. | Stratford 4, Revolt Against Tired Noises (Jetset) | 1: | ian connelly |
| 19. | The Streets, Original Pirate Material (Atlantic) | 6: | David Bennison, Max Daniels, Kathy Fennessy, Brian Good, Dan Mackta, D Mosurock |
| Max Daniels: The Beastie Boys. Princess Superstar. Foreskin 500. Jon Spencer. Eminem. Joan Osborne and Toni Childs for godssake. And now the Streets. It's probably time I examined my taste for black forms chiefly when they're interpreted by white people. I won't do that here though. | |||
| 191. | Stud Cole, Burn Baby Burn (Norton) | 1: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #3 |
| 665. | SubArachnoid Space, Play Nice (self-released) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: Tour CD-R. Some tracks show up in finished form on Also Rising. | |||
| 191. | Sue Garner, Shadyside (Thrill Jockey) | 1: | Carl Zimring |
| 665. | Sugababes, Round Round (US single) (Universal) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: Manufactured pop group, but it's a real catchy tune, and the remixes on this are great—one samples "I Feel Love", "Blue Monday", AND Animotion's "Obsession"; another sounds a lot like Add N To (X). | |||
| 191. | Sugarman Three & Co., Pure Cane Sugar (Daptone) | 1: | Kathy Fennessy |
| 162. | Sun City Girls, High Asia/Lo-Pacific: Carnival Folklore Resurrection Volumes 9 and 10 (Abduction) | 1(1): | Christopher Severson (nancy novotny) |
| nancy novotny: not quite as good an entry in the c.f.s. as "sumatran electric chair," but close Christopher Severson: Number 9 and 10 of their seemingly never ending (but possibly this was the last one?) Carnival Folklore Resurrection series, this one definitely has to be my favorite. Platter one is a rather varied afair, and so good at that, while platter two is a 30-some minute sprawl into one of their stranger efforts if that is all possible. It took me about six months to actually get around to playing the second disc, but it was definitely worth the wait. Can't compare this to their more recent efforts released on tour this past fall, but if they surpass this, I would be awful surprised. | |||
| 191. | Sun Ra, Music From Tomorrow's World (Unheard Music Series/Atavistic) | 1: | Steve Farneman |
| 191. | Sunday's Best, The Californian (Polyvinyl) | 1: | keith sawyer |
| keith sawyer: If only for "Don't Let It Fade." | |||
| 661. | Sunn O))), Flight of the Behemoth (Southern Lord) | (2): | (Brian Eck, Brian Turner) |
| 191. | Suntanama (Drag City) | 1: | Soren Petersen |
| 191. | Super Furry Animals, Rings Around the World (Beggars) | 1: | Nick Stone |
| 665. | Supergrass, Life On Other Planets (Island) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| 191. | Sweatmaster, Sharp Cut (Bad Afro) | 1: | Iikka Korhonen |
| Iikka Korhonen: Somewhere between AC/DC and James Brown. | |||
| 191. | Swollen Members, Monsters in the Closet (Battle Axe) | 1: | Jason Gross |
| 191. | Talib Kweli, Quality (Rawkus/Universal) | 1: | Russell Gragg |
| 191. | Tall Dwarfs, Sky Above Mud Below (Flying Nun) | 1: | Bret McCabe |
| 191. | Tangerine Dream Syndicate, III Violins for III Stooges (Alchemy) | 1: | R. Lim |
| 191. | Television Personalities, The Painted Word (Fire) | 1: | nancy novotny |
| nancy novotny: another mindbending '02 reissue | |||
| 191. | Tender Trap, Film Molecules (K) | 1: | Stephen Burt |
| Stephen Burt: Amelia's subpar songs beat most people's best moments | |||
| 191. | TheGalvinwilhelmmillerquartet, TheGalvinwilhelmmillerquartet (Impatience or Indifference) | 1: | Michael Howes |
| 191. | Themselves, The No Music (Anticon) | 1: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #2 |
| 191. | Theoretical Girls, 1978-1981 (Acute) | 1: | Jim Flannery |
| 665. | They Came From The Stars (I Saw Them), You Can't Fool Us EP (Lo.) | (1): | (nancy novotny) |
| nancy novotny: an intriguing band, this | |||
| 191. | Thievery Corporation, The Richest Man In Babylon (ESL Music) | 1: | Lise LePage |
| Lise LePage: This is another record I bought on no advance info. Another winner! Maybe I should just buy records using random methods instead of tedious research... | |||
| 665. | This Now, Plessure EP (mp3 release) | (1): | (Michael Howes) |
| 191. | Thomas Bangalter, Irreversible sdtrk. (Roule) | 1: | D Mosurock |
| 191. | Thomas Brinkmann, Row (Maxernst) | 1: | Seth Tisue |
| 191. | Thomas Brinkmann, Soul Center 3 (Mute) | 1: | Seth Tisue |
| 191. | Throbbing Gristle, TG24 (Mute) | 1: | Jim Flannery |
| 191. | Tin Hat Trio, Rodeo Eroded (Rope a Dope) | 1: | Tom Humphrey |
| 87. | To Live and Shave in LA, The Wigmaker in Eighteenth Century Williamsburg (Menlo Park) | 2: | Sam Frank, Mark Matienzo |
| 191. | Tocotronic, Tocotronic (Motor) | 1: | Geoff Cox |
| Geoff Cox: new wave-ish haircuts. track suits. they have defined a syle in Germany... for better or worse. | |||
| 28. | Tom Waits, Alice (Anti-Epitaph) | 5: | John Eastridge, Steve Farneman, Russell Gragg, mike hibarger, Carl Zimring |
| John Eastridge: Blood Money is the better album but I can't let them take up two spaces. mike hibarger: Tom Waits is king of the late night... | |||
| 57. | Tom Waits, Blood Money (Anti) | 3: | John Eastridge, Jason Gross, Iikka Korhonen |
| John Eastridge: Blood Money is the better album but I can't let them take up two spaces. | |||
| 191. | Tomasz Stanko Quartet, Soul of Things (ECM) | 1: | Steve Farneman |
| 191. | Tommy Womack, Circus Town (Sideburn) | 1: | Jason Gross |
| 665. | Tony Caro & Jean, All On the First Day (Shadoks) | (1): | (D Mosurock) |
| 87. | Tony Conrad With Faust, Outside The Dream Syndicate (Table Of The Elements) | 2: | andy beta, windy chien |
| windy chien: from 1972. | |||
| 191. | Tool, Lateralus (major fuckin label) | 1: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #2 |
| Anonymous Chugchanga Member #2: was that this year? still love it | |||
| 191. | Torrez, The Evening Drag (Kimchee) | 1: | Jeff Breeze |
| Jeff Breeze: Despondent, languid rock coated with desperate, reverbed-out female vocals, and from New Hampshire. www.torrezmusic.com | |||
| 191. | Toshi Reagon, Toshi! | 1: | Mark Bunster |
| 191. | Toshiya Tsunoda, Extract From Field Recording Archive #3: Solid Vibration (Intransitive / Fringes) | 1: | R. Lim |
| 87. | Total Shutdown, Reflections (Thin the Herd) | 2: | ian connelly, Sam Frank |
| 191. | Trackstar, Lion Destroyed The Whole World (Better Looking) | 1: | ian connelly |
| 191. | Tracy + the Plastics, Forever Sucks EP (Chainsaw) | 1: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #5 |
| 191. | TRAD GRAS OCH STENAR, Djunglen's Lag (CD reissue on 1/2 Special Records) | 1: | Karl Ikola |
| Karl Ikola: Perfect CD reissue of the second LP by these Swedish early '70s underground legends (ex-Parson Sound, International Harvester, etc). Extended Velvetsy crunchfests and droney bliss outs for the melancholy, as if "Oh! Sweet Nothin'" was recorded at half-speed through a plexi-glass window for your enjoyment... | |||
| 191. | Tramps, Tramps (Broken Rekids) | 1: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #3 |
| 191. | Treasure State, Retain The Risk (Moneyshot) | 1: | Steve Farneman |
| 87. | Troum & Yen Pox, Mnemonic Induction (Malignant) | 2: | Steve Farneman, Justin Foley |
| 665. | Tullycraft, Beat, Surf, Fun (Magic Marker) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 191. | Tuomari Nurmio & Korkein Oikeus, Tuomari Nurmio & Korkein Oikeus (Johanna) | 1: | Iikka Korhonen |
| 191. | Twig Harper, Brainwave (Heresee) | 1: | Mark Matienzo |
| 191. | TWINKEYZ, Cartoon Land (LP on Anopheles Records) | 1: | Karl Ikola |
| Karl Ikola: My second archival offering of 2002 (see below for the other). This is an LP version of the out of print Aliens In Our Midst CD with new mastering and unbelievable original artwork by group founder Donnie Jupiter of this late '70s DIY garage/psych Sacramento group's (think Simply Saucer or Pere Ubu) best studio recordings. 1000 LPs only on clear vinyl, 13 tracks, two (their unreleased fourth 45) never having seen the light of day on vinyl before. Includes Donnie Jupiter, Tom Darling, and ex-Public Nuisance Dave Houston. | |||
| 191. | Tyrades, I Got A Lot (Broken Rekids) | 1: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #3 |
| 665. | Ugly Casanova, Sharpen Your Teeth (Sub Pop) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 191. | V for Vendetta, Beneath This Mask Another Mask (Mr. Lady) | 1: | Stephen Burt |
| Stephen Burt: "math rock isn't a four-letter word"? not when they play it | |||
| 191. | VAINICA DOBLE, VAINICA DOBLE LP + 45 (Wah-Wah label of Spain, late 2001 reissue) | 1: | Karl Ikola |
| Karl Ikola: OK trendies!! Wake up and listen to something as vital (though even a bit more esoteric if you can believe it) as those Os Mutantes reissues everyone went gaga about a few years ago...these Spanish ladies cut this fine fine debut LP in 1971. This reissue on the Wah-Wah label is lovingly done, with a bonus p/s 45 of their Christmas offering... Lovely bubbling percussion and acoustic instrumentation make this a nice balance 'tween "Acid Folk", "Psych" and "World Music". Label it however you'd like, this is as good as anything reissued in 2002... | |||
| 191. | Vajra, Madala Cat Last (PSF) | 1: | Bret McCabe |
| 191. | Van Morrison, Contract-Breaking Sessions (Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God) | 1: | Jim Flannery |
| 191. | Vandermark 5, Acoustic Machine (Atavistic) | 1: | Seth Tisue |
| 665. | Various Artists, 2 Many DJ's - As Heard on Radio Soulwax, Pt. 1-3 (Waxed Soul) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 18. | Various Artists, 20 Years of Dischord 1980-2000 (Dischord) | 6(1): | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #1, Anonymous Chugchanga Member #4, peter buff, Stephen Burt, Steve Farneman, Michael Howes (Brian Eck) |
| Stephen Burt: so many DC bands had two great songs | |||
| 665. | Various Artists, 5 Sleepers... Baku (360 Degrees) | (1): | (R. Lim) |
| 665. | Various Artists, BBC Radiophonic Music (BBC) | (1): | (nancy novotny) |
| nancy novotny: especially the delia derbyshire tracks | |||
| 191. | Various Artists, The Best Bootlegs in the World Ever... (no label) | 1: | Bob McCarthy |
| Bob McCarthy: "no label" - well that's what it says! Nirvana dueting with Destiny's Child? This is the album of my dreams. | |||
| 665. | Various Artists, The Big Beat of Dave Bartholomew: 20 of His Milestone Productions 1949-1960 (Capitol/EMI) | (1): | (Kathy Fennessy) |
| 665. | Various Artists, Black Rio (Strut) | (1): | (D Mosurock) |
| 665. | Various Artists, Cherrystone's Rocks (Lo) | (1): | (D Mosurock) |
| 665. | Various Artists, Colour and Sound (Apestaartje) | (1): | (R. Lim) |
| 191. | Various Artists, CQ [Original Soundtrack] (Emperor Norton) | 1: | Kathy Fennessy |
| 191. | Various Artists, Death Mix (Landspeed) | 1: | Brian Turner |
| 87. | Various Artists, Do the Pop! (Shock) | 2: | Karl Ikola, Iikka Korhonen |
| Karl Ikola: Shock Records out of Melbourne issued this exhaustive 2CD set, compiled and annotated by David Laing of Grown Up Wrong! and Dog Meat records fame. The perfect taste (and a full course meal taken in totem!) of classic Australian garage rock and punk from '76-87; from the Saints and Radio Birdman and Victims and Lipstick Killers to Lime Spiders, le Hoodoo Gurus, Scientists, Celibate Rifles, etc. Iikka Korhonen: Capital of Australia was Detroit. | |||
| 191. | Various Artists, Eyes of the Mind (Heresee) | 1: | Mark Matienzo |
| 665. | Various Artists, Finger Poppin' & Stompin' Feet: 20 Classic Allen Toussaint Productions for Minit Records 1960-1962 (Capitol/EMI) | (1): | (Kathy Fennessy) |
| 665. | Various Artists, Get Yer Pots Out - POT 31 (Ptolemaic Terrascope) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: This one got shuffled under some pile of papers before I got to listen more than once. Can't go wrong, though, with the usual suspects like Bardo Pond, Kinski, Damon & Naomi & Kurihara, Acid Mothers Temple. | |||
| 191. | Various Artists, House Of Jealous Lovers Losing My Edge (DFA) | 1: | andy beta |
| andy beta: It was like I hadn't missed the New York eighties at all. | |||
| 191. | Various Artists, Improvised Music From Japan box set (Improvised Music From Japan) | 1: | R. Lim |
| R. Lim: Beyond highlighting some of the finest improvisors around, this is one of those rare examples of a compilation that becomes more than a sum of its tracks. | |||
| 191. | Various Artists, In the Beginning There Was Rhythm (Soul Jazz) | 1: | windy chien |
| windy chien: Gang of Four, Cabaret Voltaire, 23 Skidoo, The Pop Group, A Certain Ratio, The Slits, This Heat, Human League and Throbbing Gristle | |||
| 665. | Various Artists, The International League of Telepathic Explorers (Free City Media) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: Fantastic power pop tune from Bitter Little Cider Apples, and a bunch of other cool stuff too. | |||
| 665. | Various Artists, Let the Good Times Roll: 20 of New Orleans Finest R&B Classics 1949-1966 (Capitol/EMI) | (1): | (Kathy Fennessy) |
| 665. | Various Artists, Lo And Behond (Lo.) | (1): | (nancy novotny) |
| nancy novotny: an almost universally great label sampler | |||
| 191. | Various Artists, London Is The Place For Me (Honest Jons) | 1: | nancy novotny |
| nancy novotny: calypso is like so | |||
| 191. | Various Artists, Memphix (Memphix) | 1: | Brian Turner |
| 191. | Various Artists, Nothing Left To Lose: A Tribute To Kris Kristofferson (Incidental) | 1: | windy chien |
| windy chien: Participants include Souled American, Calexico, Radar Brothers, Zmrzlina, Virgil Shaw (Dieselhed), Richard Buckner, Howe Gelb (Giant Sand), Grandaddy, Deanna Varagone (Lambchop), Court and Spark, Califone, Handsome Family, etc | |||
| 665. | Various Artists, POT 32 (Ptolemaic Terrascope) | (1): | (Doug Orleans) |
| Doug Orleans: An extra-dreamy edition, with Charalambides, Surface of Eceon, Landing. | |||
| 191. | Various Artists, Red Hot + Riot (MCA) | 1: | Carl Zimring |
| 191. | Various Artists, Revue Ou Sound Poetry Anthology (Henri Chopin) (Alga Marghen) | 1: | nancy novotny |
| nancy novotny: monumental | |||
| 191. | Various Artists, Rhythm & Blues Goes Rock'n'Roll-The Birth Of Rock & Roll Volume One (Past Perfect Records) | 1: | Matthew T. Kaplan |
| Matthew T. Kaplan: Each box set is 15 compact discs with 300 songs in each box. Rare and obscure r&b, blues and soul singles, sound is great and the only thing missing was the discography info but they are priced to sell | |||
| 191. | Various Artists, Rhythm & Blues Goes Rock’n’Roll-The Birth Of Rock & Roll Volume Two (Past Perfect Records) | 1: | Matthew T. Kaplan |
| Matthew T. Kaplan: Each box set is 15 compact discs with 300 songs in each box. Rare and obscure r&b, blues and soul singles, sound is great and the only thing missing was the discography info but they are priced to sell | |||
| 191. | Various Artists, Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs To Benefit The West Memphis Three (Sanctuary) | 1: | Brian Eck |
| Brian Eck: Ordinarily there's no room for compilations in my top ten because they invariably are hit-and-miss. This one is no exception, but the hits are strong enough to carry the rest, not to mention the sheer power of the source material and the eminently worthy cause. The Iggy, Slayer, and Motorhead tracks are priceless. | |||
| 191. | Various Artists, Rough Trade Shops Electronic 01 (Mute) | 1: | Ernest Paik |
| 191. | Various Artists, Stay Free's Illegal Art Compilation (Stay Free) | 1: | Jason Gross |
| 191. | Various Artists, Studio One Story (Soul Jazz) | 1: | Dave Reid |
| Dave Reid: 1. retrospective telling the story of jamaica's studio one, amazing. | |||
| 665. | Various Artists, Variable Access (Active Suspension) | (1): | (nancy novotny) |
| nancy novotny: especially the dorine_muraille track | |||
| 191. | Various Artists, Will the Circle Be Unbroken Vol III | 1: | Mark Bunster |
| 191. | Various Artists, Y Tu Mamá También [Original Soundtrack] (Volcano) | 1: | Kathy Fennessy |
| 191. | Various Artists (AUSTRALIAN BEAT/GARAGE/R&B/POP-SIKE), HOT GENERATION + OF HOPES AND DREAMS AND TOMBSTONES + PECULIAR HOLE IN THE SKY (Series of 3 CDs on Ace/Big Beat, UK) | 1: | Karl Ikola |
| Karl Ikola: A series of three killer compilation CDs on Ace/Big Beat taken straight from the Festival (Australia) master tape vaults, mined for primo beat, R&b, psych and garage rock 'n' roll! Hot Generation (high energy garage/rock 'n' roll), Of Hopes and Dreams and Tombstones (R&b, punk) and Peculiar Hole In The Sky (Pop/Psych) are all essential for the non punk-specific Oz garage fan. | |||
| 191. | Various Artists Erase Errata/Numbers, V/A Erase Errata/Numbers CD3 EP (Tigerbeat6) | 1: | Michael Howes |
| 191. | Venetian Snares, Higgins Ultra Low Track Glue Funk Hits 1972-2006 (Planet Mu) | 1: | D Mosurock |
| 191. | Vincent Gallo, Recordings of Music for Film (Warp) | 1: | Tom Humphrey |
| 665. | The Violent Femmes, The Violent Femmes (Slash/Rhino) | (1): | (Daniel DiMaggio) |
| 191. | Violent Ramp, Violent Ramp 7" (Freedom From) | 1: | Mark Matienzo |
| 191. | Voyager One, Monster Zero (Loveless) | 1: | Jim Steed |
| 191. | The Wage of Sin, The Product of Deceit and Loneliness (Immigrant Sun) | 1: | Michael Howes |
| 191. | Walkmen, Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone (StarTime) | 1: | Craig Hutler |
| 57. | Warlocks, Phoenix Album (Birdman) | 3: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #1, Iikka Korhonen, Doug Orleans |
| Doug Orleans: Ex-Charles Brown Superstar, but it sounds more like Brian Jonestown Massacre. But more satisfying. | |||
| 191. | Waxwings, Shadows Of The Waxwings (Bobsled Records) | 1: | Matthew T. Kaplan |
| 665. | We Ragazzi, The Ache (Self Starter) | (1): | (Brian Eck) |
| 87. | Weezer, Maladroit (DGC) | 2: | Daniel DiMaggio, John Eastridge |
| Daniel DiMaggio: This, the fourth album from the ex-greatest band on earth, is more or less a tasteless monstrosity, but with several excellent moments, mostly during the guitar solos. | |||
| 191. | White Stripes, White Blood Cells (V2) | 1: | ian connelly |
| 191. | Whitehouse, Wriggle Like a Fucking Eel 12" (Susan Lawly) | 1: | Mark Matienzo |
| 191. | The Who, Pop Goes Art (Hi-Watt) | 1: | Fred M. Mills |
| Fred M. Mills: Underground label HiWatt has consistently logged some delicious Who rarities sets, and this is no exception. It comes outfitted in a thick-stock cardboard mini-LP jacket and containing a 20-page booklet with a long Who essay by Nik Cohn. On Disc 1 you get the rare stereo version of A Quick One While He’s Away plus the rare mono version of Who Sell Out. (The CD sleeve is a take-off on the Sell Out album sleeve, featuring alternate photos of the band members.) Then on Disc 2 is a trove of demos, studio rehearsals, Townshend home demos, BBC tracks, etc., most of it previously booted before but generally cleaned up here and collected under one roof for the first time | |||
| 3. | Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (Nonesuch) | 13: | andy beta, Mark Bunster, ian connelly, Kathy Fennessy, mike hibarger, Sean Howe, Craig Hutler, Iikka Korhonen, Bret McCabe, Bob McCarthy, Soren Petersen, Christopher Severson, Nick Stone |
| andy beta: Funny, I don't think I even listened to it this year. mike hibarger: Probably on everybody's list, but great nonetheless. Bob McCarthy: Blah blah blah, "record label refuses to release it", blah blah blah, "masterwork", blah blah blah "gets released by label owned by same parent company as the other bastards" blah blah "how ironic" bla blah bilppity blah "it's overrated" blah blah "yeh, it iz" blah "blah". Hint: Play it again. Christopher Severson: Well, you either liked this record, or you downloaded it 2001 and tried to ignore the hype since you did. I am definitely of the former catagory, and can't say that I have heard anything else from Wilco, but when this came out I was surely impressed. | |||
| 191. | William Basinski, The Disentegration Loops (2062) | 1: | andy beta |
| andy beta: Disregarding its 9-11 story, this is still elegant and elegiac. | |||
| 191. | William Parker, O'neal's Porch (Centering) | 1: | Tom Humphrey |
| 191. | William Parker, Raining On The Moon (Thirsty Ear) | 1: | Russell Gragg |
| 191. | Windsor For The Derby, The Emotional Rescue LP (Aesthetics) | 1: | keith sawyer |
| keith sawyer: Considering their penchant for instrumentals on previous releases I was
quite surprised to find an album full of ... well ... songs with lyrics.
While still occupying the space between math and slow-core, WftD added
vocals and found that they work better with instead of without. The music
seems to carry more feeling (hence the title?), and one track in particular
sounds like dead-on early New Order. I was surprised to find myself
branching out from that familiar starting point, eventually drawing
enjoyment from every track on the disc. | |||
| 1. | Wire, Read & Burn 01 (Pink Flag) | 18: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #1, Matthew J Barnhart, David Bennison, Sean Carruthers, Geoff Cox, Steve Farneman, Jim Flannery, Sam Frank, Brian Good, Russell Gragg, Craig Hutler, Dan Mackta, tim midgett, Fred M. Mills, D Mosurock, nancy novotny, Christopher Severson, Carl Zimring |
| Sean Carruthers: They’re baaaaaaaaaaack! Fred M. Mills: Holy postpunk, Batman. In a single swipe of a six-song mini-album the reconstituted Wire mops the boards with practically any rockisback! outfit you’d care to name, from Strokes to Hives to Vines; the searing, coruscating guitars, precision-thrash drums and edgy, sardonic vocals are, not to put too fine a point on it, punk as fuck. And all those joyless, uh, Joy Division clones and gangs of, ahem, Gang Of Four wannabes currently making the rounds? Fuhgeddaboutit – Wire makes mincemeat out of those yo-yos, proving once again that age trumps fashion any day of the week. nancy novotny: yow Christopher Severson: Definitelty the mostly highly anticipated record of 2002 for me, and I was surely far from let down. In fact, I think I was pretty much thrown across the room that late June afternoon when I first heard this. Not a bum cut on here, and I think the worst on here still sounds as great as your least favorite track on Pink Flag. | |||
| 8. | Wire, Read and Burn 02 (Pink Flag) | 9: | Matthew J Barnhart, Geoff Cox, Steve Farneman, Brian Good, Russell Gragg, Fred M. Mills, D Mosurock, nancy novotny, Seth Tisue |
| Fred M. Mills: Holy postpunk, Batman. In a single swipe of a six-song mini-album the reconstituted Wire mops the boards with practically any rockisback! outfit you’d care to name, from Strokes to Hives to Vines; the searing, coruscating guitars, precision-thrash drums and edgy, sardonic vocals are, not to put too fine a point on it, punk as fuck. And all those joyless, uh, Joy Division clones and gangs of, ahem, Gang Of Four wannabes currently making the rounds? Fuhgeddaboutit – Wire makes mincemeat out of those yo-yos, proving once again that age trumps fashion any day of the week. nancy novotny: double yow | |||
| 191. | Wobbly, Wild Why v3.44 (TigerBeat6) | 1: | Michael Howes |
| 191. | Wolf Colonel/ Jason Anderson, Something/ Everything! (K) | 1: | Jeff Breeze |
| Jeff Breeze: I don't know how many things Bob Pollard released this year, but this NH kid released the best pop rock album without any Ohio Influence | |||
| 191. | Wolf Eyes, Dead Hills (Troubleman) | 1: | Mark Matienzo |
| 87. | Wolf Eyes, Dread (Bulb) | 2: | Daniel DiMaggio, Seth Tisue |
| 87. | Wolf Eyes, Fuck Pete Larsen (Bulb) | 2: | John Eastridge, Sam Frank |
| John Eastridge: The other albums they put out this year are also excellent. | |||
| 191. | Wolf Eyes, Slicer (Hanson) | 1: | Mark Matienzo |
| 191. | Woven Hand, Woven Hand (Glitterhouse) | 1: | Jim Flannery |
| 57. | Xiu Xiu, Knife Play (5RC) | 3: | Jim Flannery, D Mosurock, Soren Petersen |
| 191. | XTC, Coat of Many Cupboards (Virgin) | 1: | Ernest Paik |
| 43. | Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Shifty/Touch & Go) | 4: | Anonymous Chugchanga Member #5, David Bennison, ian connelly, Bob McCarthy |
| Bob McCarthy: All these records on Touch & Go. Remember that Cars song? "Oh Oh Oh, it's touch and go". Heh heh. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs do not remember that song, because it's their time. | |||
| 665. | Yngwie Malmsteen, Unleashes the Fucking Fury on a Tokyo Flight (MP3) | (1): | (Brian Turner) |
| 87. | Young People, Young People (5RC) | 2: | ian connelly, Sam Frank |
| 191. | Yume Bitsu, The Golden Vessyl Of Sound (K) | 1: | Doug Orleans |
| Doug Orleans: Epic tales from an echoey floaty dreamworld. | |||
| 191. | Yura Yura Teikoku, [new single] 2x3" (Midi) | 1: | R. Lim |
| 191. | Zeigenbock Kopf, Architecture of Dark Dance (Toyo) | 1: | Sam Frank |
