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Steve Getchell |
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| Hi Gang...I was compiling my annual list of discs that I would love to get (a Christmas tradition) and realized that I'd yet to see this thread run through my mailbox. What a great year for music! To begin, I must submit my eternal apologies to the following discs that failed to make my list. EC & von Otter's For The Stars, Nick Lowe's The Convincer, Luka Bloom's Keeper Of The Flame, Bob Dylan's Love And Theft, Neil Finn's One Nil, the My Aim Is True bonus disc, and The Strokes' Is This It. All of it fine stuff... 10. Driving Rain - Paul McCartney...classic Macca. 9. All This Useless Beauty bonus disc - Elvis Costello. 8. Blue Boy - Ron Sexsmith...This cat just keeps getting better. 7. Satellite Rides - Old 97's. 6. Spklanng! - The Supers...one of the best upbeat discs I've ever heard. 5. The Incomplete Glenn Tilbrook - Glenn Tilbrook. 4. Spike bonus disc - Elvis Costello...the demo version of Satellite is my favourite song of 2001. 3. Grand Opry Lane - Ron Sexsmith...his first collection of music finally made available at concerts, simply fantastic. 2. The World Won't End - Pernice Brothers...I love these guys, I'd like to find some bootlegs...this disc is a masterpiece. ...and... 1. Essence - Lucinda Williams...by far, one of the best discs I own. After 1 listen, it made my desert island list. I play it at least once a day, often more. Lovely melodies, relaxing, great lyrics, this is the music I was meant to hear. It's orgasmic. This disc is my soul mate... |
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Alan Ramsey |
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| 1-Bob Dylan-Love And Theft 2-Nick Lowe-The Convincer 3-John Hiatt-The Tiki Bar Is Open 4-Lucinda Williams-Essence 5-Leonard Cohen-10 New Songs 6-Elvis Costello And The Attractions - All This Useless Beauty Bonus Disc/ Elvis Costello - Spike Bonus Disc(Tie) 7-X-Los Angeles/Wild Gift-Reissues(Tie) 8-The Rat Pack-Live At The Sands 9-George Harrision-All Things Must Pass-Reissue 10-Smashing Pumpkins-Greatest Hits(With Bonus Disc) More List Stuff Best Concerts Bob Dylan-WVU Coliseum, Morgantown,WV U2/P.J. Harvey-Civic Arena Pittsburgh,PA Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers-Post Gazette Pavillion-Burgettstown,PA The Clarks-Athletic Center-West Liberty,WV |
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David Hyland |
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| OK, so I made this top ten list, which I was pretty happy with. 15 minutes later I think of 4 that really should be there, and I'm also think I got the order all the wrong way around. Here's Take Two of my Top Ten 1. Bob Dylan - Love & Theft 2. George Harrison - All Things Must Pass (remastered) 3. Ryan Adams - Gold 4. Ron Sexsmith - Grand Opera Lane 5. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - No More Shall We Part 6. Bjork - Vespertine 7. Ron Sexsmith - Blue Boy 8. Dirty 3 & Low - In the Fishtank 9. Elvis Costello - All This Useless Beauty Bonus Disc 10. Elvis Costello - Spike Bonus Disc Apologies to the following: Radiohead - Amnesiac Elvis Costello - My Aim is True Bonus Disc Elvis Costello & A.S. van Otter - For The Stars Mercury Rev - All Is Dream Nick Lowe - The Convincer |
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Craig Pinhey |
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| Assuming no great Dec releases: 1. Ben Folds, Rocking The Suburbs -- simply the best record I have heard this year. Uplifting, fun, sad, rocking, gentle, beautiful, perfect. 2. Hawkesley Workman, Last Night we were the Delicious Wolves -- if Bowie was still in top form, he might have been able to make this record. Also had the best video of the year (Jealous Of Your Cigarette). If you do not have this record, YOU MUST BUY IT! 3. Robbie Fulks, Couples in Trouble -- a shockingly mature and brilliant songwriting effort, from a guy who previously has made making fun of crappy country music a career. In truth, he is a supporter of REAL country music, and in this case, real folk music. Nice production too. What a record! 4. Glenn Tilbrook, The Incomplete Glenn Tilbrook -- a return to form with great pure pop vocals and a few old style Squeeze type songs. "Interviewing Randy Newman" could have come from their first record. 5. Elvis Costello and Anne Sophie Von Otter, For the Stars -- I played this record more than any other, which speaks for itself. I love it. Highlights were: Green Song, Take It With Me, and For The Stars. Still, I want him to rock again. 6. Sloan, Pretty Together -- Canada's best rock and pop band. The World's Best Rock and Pop Band? Maybe. They get my vote. If It Feels Good Do It, is what you would get if you mated Kiss with the Beatles. Pop hooks abound! 7. Nick Lowe, The Convincer -- I wish he'd play a lounge near me. 8. Yazbek, Damascus -- now famous for his Tony nominated "The Full Monty" soundtrack, Yazbek lays down another album full of perfect pop hooks. 9. Rufus Wainwright, Poses -- a moving and varied, complete record that could turn many a straight man gay. 10. Ron Hawkins, Crackstatic - Ex-Lowest of the Low frontman Ron Hawkins continues to write and perform great songs. No-one outside Toronto seems to care though. This is sad, as I hear he is retiring to take up poetry full time. A big loss for (good) Canadian music. Honourable Mentions: 1. Eels, Souljacker -- a funny record with some great songs, and a hilarious CD jacket, but not good enough to make the top 10. 2. Graham Parker, Deep Cut to Nowhere -- a good selection of heartfelt songs done in his own, comfortable roots rock/pop/folk style. A very good effort. Socks and Sandals makes me laugh every time. 3. Cake, Comfort Eagle -- yes it sounds like their last record, and yes, it is fun and toe tappingly delicious! 4. Weezer, Weezer -- a return to form, but too short and too short of the great pop hooks that filled their first record. Discoveries (For me, anyway): 1. Mike Plume Band -- Western Canada's answer to Fred Eaglesmith and Steve Earle. Big future expected. 2. Drop Kick Murphys -- A good diversion until Shane McGowan drops his latest habit. 3. The Heavy Blinkers -- this Halifax band beings back Beach Boys harmonies and simple songs in a fun and intelligent way, like Welsh popsters the Poohsticks, only it is not a joke. If you liked the Beach Boys and you like the soft-poppier songs of the Beatles and Sloan, you will love the Heavy Blinkers. Disappointments of 2001 1. Sexsmith, Blue Boy -- I expected so much more. It is a good record, a solid effort, but far short of expectations. I think he needs an Elvis production! 2. Lucinda Williams, Essence -- a big letdown. Slow, boring in places, and I did not like the production. I found the songs uninspiring and unoriginal. Get Wrong With God, girl! Refreshing Rediscoveries 1. Any Trouble & Clive Gregson -- picking up their 1984 2-cd Wrong End of the Race has renewed my interest in this great singer/songwriter/guitarist's work. Can't wait til his new CD is available. Where Are They Now? 1. Martin Stephenson -- one of my favourite pop/folk singer/songwriters has not had a North American release in years. I think he lives in a cabin in the woods in northern England! A shame. |
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Loki |
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| 1. Bob Dylan - Love and Theft 2. Travis - The Invisible Band 3. Gorillaz - Gorillaz 4. Cake - Comfort Eagle 5. Strokes, The - Is This It 6. Suzanne Vega - Songs In Red And Gray 7. Rufus Wainwright - Poses 8. Janet Jackson - All For You 9. Stephen Malkmus - Stephen Malkmus 10. New Order - Get Ready Honorable Mentions: R.E.M. - Reveal Pulp - We Love Life Stereo MCs - Deep Down & Dirty Tim Buckley - Morning Glory: The Tim Buckley Anthology The Rat Pack - Live at the Sands John Coltraine - Spiritual RANDOM NOTES: IMHO, Love and Theft is an even better record than Time Out of Mind...Travis crafted a beautiful pop record from start to finish...Gorillaz is a mini-festival in a CD...Cake comes through like the old reliable that they are...The Strokes led the pack of NYC artists that flourished this year...Suzanne Vega is (creatively) well rid of Mitch Froom...You either love or hate Rufus Wainwright, guess which 'camp' I'm in...Stephen Malkmus should pay Lou Reed a nickel for every CD he sells...New Order is New Order, and that's enough for me...R.E.M...well, this is to make up for leaving "Up" off my 1998 list, when I came to love it so much later on...I reserve the right to use Pulp on next year's list too, since technically it hasn't been released in the US yet...and as for Janet Jackson, I have 4 words for y'all: nanny nanny boo boo. |
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Jessica Liese |
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| 10. Macy Gray - The ID : I liked the first one much better, but this is not a bad effort. It's a good cheering-up record. 9. Guided By Voices - Isolation Drills : They just plain fuckin' rock. And it doesn't hurt them any that they had an amazing set at the Siren Festival in July. 8. Natalie Merchant - Motherland : This may be her best lyrical work since she quit the Maniacs. I haven't given it enough listens yet to be authoritative on this, but I like it so far. 7. Death Cab for Cutie - Photo Album : My work-listen of choice these days. Keeps me sane. 6. They Might be Giants - Mink Car : It's cute and thoughtful, and that's all I really ever ask of TMBG. 5. Ryan Adams - Gold : As a new New Yorker, the first track makes me glad to be here. As a Whiskeytown fan, new music from Ryan Adams makes me glad in general. 4. Jude - King of Yesterday : Allegedly, this album was made for $10,000 over two weeks. I learned this by reading the liner notes; on the first listen, I had no idea it wasn't a studio release. 3. Ben Folds - Rockin' the Suburbs : I wasn't going to buy this, but a chance listen to "Gone" sold me on it. Maybe it's just becuase I'm young and cynical, but it seems to fit so well on so many levels. 2. Rufus Wainwright - Poses : Seconding the previous votes for this one. If I were a gay man I'd marry Rufus in a heartbeat. 1. David Byrne - Look into the Eyeball : Damn. Lyrics rule, tunes are beautiful, and the cheesy 70s groove of "Neighborhood" proves that the man has a sense of humor. Honorable mentions: The Beta Band's "Hot Shots II" (demerits for sampling "One" by Bread/Nilsson), Paul McCartney "Driving Rain" (I wanted to include it, but it's just no "Flaming Pie". Sorry, Macca.), EC/ASvO (if I thought EC could harmonize with anybody, I'd give this a spot in the top ten, but I don't think he can so it doesn't make the cut), Ani DiFranco "Reveling/Reckoning" (except I didn't buy it since it was two discs and therefore expensive) Old artists/bands I started to love this year: Zap Mama, Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons, Antigone Rising, Jill Sobule, GBV Best live shows of the year: David Byrne, John Wesley Harding, EC/ASvO (which I attended with John O, Rozy, and Brenda), Evelyn Glennie (which I attended with Mike Carter), the Beta Band, the Siren Festival (featuring Guided By Voices, Superchunk, and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, which so far as I can tell consisted of three guys with loud instruments + one theremin + repeated screamings of "Blues ExPLOSION!"). (NOTE: Jessica later posted:) > 2.) Stephen Malkmus - Does for me what Pavement was never able to do. |
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Mike Carter |
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| "Everybody get ready to lift up your glasses And sing! Well, everybody get ready to lift up your glasses And sing! I'm standing on the table, I'm proposing a toast to the king!" Album of the year: Bob Dylan - Love and Theft ("She said, "You can't repeat the past.' I said, 'You can't? Whaddya mean you can't? Of course you can!'") Everything Else: Leonard Cohen - Ten New Songs Radiohead - Amnesiac David Byrne - Look Into the Eyeball REM - Reveal The White Stripes - White Blood Cells The Afro Celt Sound System - Volume 3: Further in Time Chocolate Genius - Godmusic Laurie Anderson - Life on a String Suzanne Vega - Songs in Red and Grey Bjork - Vespertine |
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Christina Rockwell |
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| Most of what I like has already been mentioned, infact all but one album Muckafurgason- Muckafurgason. It's so catchy and muckatastic. It's their best album yet. A lot of songs that they have been playing live but up to this point have been unavailble. Produced by John Flansburgh of TMBG (My secret santa can look forward to getting this album). My top ten list is lacking, so sue me. |
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Craig Montoya |
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| I start my list with a disclaimer: the best album of 2001 didn't end up getting released this year, but I must mention it first because it would easily sit unchallenged at the very top of my list. The album is "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" by Wilco. The story behind this album's unreleased status has been much publicized (Reprise rejected the album, claiming it was not commercial; the band refused to make changes, negotiated an end to their contract, bought back the tapes and fielded offers from 30 or so labels, finally signing to Nonesuch for the release of the album). In the midst of all of the legal wrangling, leaked copies of the songs started appearing on the Internet and were quickly collected and traded among fans. I got a copy of the album late this summer and I have been obsessed with it ever since. It's hard to describe the disc and do it justice. It's wildly ambitious and experimental, at times dissonant, at others melodic and downright catchy. Its lyrical landscape, where "tall buildings shake" and "skyscrapers are scraping together", where there's a "war on war" amidst "ashes of American flags", is bleak (and eerily prophetic), but ultimately hopeful. Over the past few months, I've found great comfort in listening to Jeff Tweedy's vivid lyrics and the ragged beauty of his voice. And the music is always a perfect complement. Creative and endlessly fascinating, this is the best album of the year. It should be in the stores in April 2002. The band has been streaming the entire album for free on their website www.wilcoweb.com . (They've supposedly removed the stream since announcing the album's upcoming release, but it still plays if you click on the picture of the moon buggy on the main page) So, if the Internet stream counts as a release, the Wilco album is my #1 pick and everything else on my list below gets bumped down a spot. Following that, here is my list of 10 favorite albums released commercially in 2001: 1. "Love and Theft" - Bob Dylan A joyride. Full of wisdom, warmth and humor. Bob sounds wonderful. There are some incredible songs here -- major works that stand strong along side of anything he's written -- especially "High Water" and "Mississippi". 2. "Mountain Soul" - Patty Loveless A beautiful, beautiful album. To classify it as bluegrass doesn't seem quite right; the album's title seems to describe the music perfectly. Loveless has a remarkable voice, strong and clear, and her choice of songs and arrangements is faultless. Any fans of close harmony singing or the type of music on the "O Brother, Where Art Thou" soundtrack owe it to themselves to check out this disc. 3. "All This Useless Beauty" reissue bonus disc - EC Essential. I loved comparing Elvis's demo of "Optimist" to Aimee Mann's version and seeing which lyrics she changed -- I figured for sure that "on the balustrade" had to be Elvis's line, but it turns out to be Aimee's. We were talking about 'who is the female Elvis' recently -- my vote is for Aimee. 4. "Spirit Of The Century" - The Blind Boys of Alabama Imagine the Fairfield Four backed by Tom Waits's band and you kind of get an idea of what this disc is like. The original group formed in 1939; this disc features the current lineup, with a backing band that includes John Hammond, Charlie Musselwhite, Danny Thompson and others. Highlights are a cover of Ben Harper's "Give A Man A Home", Tom Waits's "Jesus Gonna Be Here" and "Way Down In The Hole", and a version of "Amazing Grace" sung to the tune of "House of the Rising Sun" (it works!). 5. "Wicked Grin" - John Hammond An album of Tom Waits covers, produced by Tom Waits. The one song that's not a Tom Waits composition is a duet with....Tom Waits. This album is a lot of fun. Great musicianship and fantastic vocals throughout. 6. "Essence" - Lucinda Williams Emmylou Harris said this: "she comes up with extraordinary words for that voice to sing; deceptively simple words like 'back steps' or 'hairdo'. How do you use the word hairdo in a song and make it so poignant that it almost breaks your heart?" That's just what Lucinda does throughout this album. The anxious, barely contained lust in her voice as she sings 'I am waiting on your back steps' in the title cut is the sexiest thing I've heard all year. 7. "The Rainbow Children" - Prince An ambitious album that doesn't always work. It's supposed to be some kind of religious concept album, but the lyrics get too convoluted and bogged down in Prince weirdness. But if you can put that aside and just go with it, what you'll find is some of the finest music Prince has put out in years. The music is exuberant, passionate and joyful. And very very funky. It's wonderful to listen to, but I just can't get past some of the lyrics. 8. "Gold" - Ryan Adams Ryan Adams needs an editor. He's incredibly prolific (he also released a final album with his old band Whiskeytown this year, as well as a limited edition bonus disc with "Gold" containing extra songs that didn't fit on the album proper) -- and that seems to be a blessing and a curse. "Gold" is too long and contains a few songs that really should have been cut, but, for the most part, this album is full of gems -- "New York, New York", "Firecracker" and "Touch, Feel & Lose" are standouts. 9. "The Convincer" - Nick Lowe I always enjoyed all of Nick's classic songs from his late-'70s heyday, but it's been his albums since "The Incredible Bird" that have really made me a fan. This one may be the best yet. 10. "Isolation Drills" - Guided By Voices A great return to form following a couple of disappointing (to me) albums. Hook-filled, alcohol-fueled power pop songs with a lot of depth. "Glad Girls" was this year's best summer single. Honorable Mentions: "For The Stars" - Anne Sofie von Otter w/ Elvis Costello "Buddy and Julie Miller" - Buddy and Julie Miller "The Storm Still Rages" - Rhonda Vincent and the Rage "The World Won't End" - Pernice Brothers (thanks, Tom!) "Live at Tonic 2001" - Masada "Sebastopol" - Jay Farrar "Driving Rain" - Paul McCartney "Never Make It Home" - Split Lip Rayfield "Vespertine" - Bjork |
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Tom Samerivertwice Anonymous Anonymous ;) |
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| 1. Wilco -- "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" 2. Elvis Costello -- "All This Useless Beauty" bonus disc 3. Masada -- "Live at Tonic 2001" 4. Bob Dylan -- "Love and Theft" 5. Richard Thompson -- "Action Packed -- The Best of the Capitol Years" 6. Ryan Adams -- "Gold" 7. Whiskeytown -- "Pneumonia" 8. Roy Campbell -- "Ethnic Stew and Brew" 9. Lucinda Williams -- "Essence" 10. Pernice Brothers -- "World Won't End" Can you tell that Craig Montoya and I shop together? |
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Stephen Newbold |
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| Here's mine: Radiohead: Amenesiac Bob Dylan: Love & Theft Nick Lowe: The Convincer Ryan Adams: Gold Shawn Colvin: Brand New You Suzanne Vega: Songs in Red & Gray Elbow: Asleep at the Back Lucinda Williams: Essence REM: Reveal Paul Weller: Days of Speed |
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Mary Averill |
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| I think I have almost recovered from my weekend in San Francisco with Dan Hicks. It was a pleasure to see Jill again. My cousin kept me pretty busy and it's really not fun to fly home with a hangover. I had some time to think about my top ten list so here goes: 1. Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire - The Swimming Hour 2. Bob Dylan - Love & Theft 3. Dan Hicks - Alive and Lickin' 4. Keb Mo - Big Wide Grin 5. Lucinda Williams - Essence 6. John Hammond - Wicked Grin 7. Alejandro Escovedo - Man Under the Influence 8. Buddy Guy - Sweet Tea 9. EC - ATUB Bonus Disk 10. Leonard Cohen - Ten New Songs I just can't rave enough about Andrew Bird. I got this record last spring and I think I still play it at least once or twice a week. |
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John Connors |
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| I don't actually buy that much music so this list comes with a pretty big caveat - this is basically ALL I bought in 2001, of new stuff anyway. So, to whomever's compiling, you may want to leave me out. But I wanted to be included anyway, so here goes. 1 - The Frogs/Evening Primrose: The 2001 Cast Recording - Stephen Sondheim - I'm a huge Sondheim fan and this, the first time "The Frogs" has been recorded was a must have. It's an eclectic, goofy score, and great fun, and with Nathan Lane and Brian Mitchell Stokes, it's got two of musical theater's best. 2 - For the Stars - Anne Sofie Van Oter & EC - I know some here were disapointed by this disc, but I adore it. I discovered some great songs I'd never of heard and I am amazed at Van Oter - she's wonderful. 3 - Amnesiac - Better than Kid A, I think. 4 - A.I. - John Williams - John Williams doing Philip Glass is a strange experience, but I think it works. 5 - Bright Eyed Joy - Ricky Ian Gordon - A collection of RIG's theater songs, some wonderful stuff. 6 - Urintown - Original Broadway Cast - The comedy is best on first hearing, but it's a fun score nonetheless. 7 - Tick - Tick - BOOM! - Off-Broadway Cast - The precursor to Rent, it's an odd little show, especially now that we've seen what it eventually grew to be. 8 - Radiohead Live - Why so short I have no idea; otherwise very worthwhile. 9 - A Class Act - Original Broadway Cast - A good score, with a few wonderful songs amid the just good ones. 10 - A Tribute to Heroes - Various - Highlights for me are Neil Young doing "Imagine," U2's "Walk On" and Dave Matthew's solo "Everyday" I think these are the only 2001 albums I bought this year. Good all, but can hardly qualify as a "best of" - oh well. |
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Jay Nagy |
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| one of these years i'm gonna have regular ol' all-new albums let's just call 'em my top *releases* :) i suppose they're actually in order this time too. 1. radiohead-amnesiac 2. echo & the bunnymen-crystal days 1979-1999 3. brassy-got it made 4. belle & sebastian-jonathan david 5. tindersticks-can our love... 6. boycrazy-boycrazy 7. radiohead-i might be wrong (though there are some other "unofficial" versions out there i like more) 8. rhino et. al-can you dig it? (i haven't even heard the whole thing yet, but, come on!) i've got the pernice brothers album, but i got it free and thus it's joined the pile of the rest of un-urgent and mostly unlistened music...the curse of promos, along with lloyd cole. i still haven't picked up "reveal" either. "nuggets II" might join the cavalcade, if it does show up on christmas. it's in my mom's hands now. honorable mention to new-old album: liz phair-exile in guyville never really heard this album back then. it was just recently given to me and i thoroughly enjoyed it until the person gave me a good reason to identify with it a few days later and now i don't want to play it. does that suck or what? ;) |
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Jason Brown |
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| Top 50 Albums of 2001 according to my sorry ass: 1. Let the War against Music Begin - The Minus 5 2. Days of Speed - Paul Weller 3. Love and Theft - Bob Dylan 4. The Convincer - Nick Lowe 5. One Nil - Neil Finn 6. Vespertine - Bjork 7. The World Won't End - Pernice Brothers 8. Mink Car - They Might Be Giants 9. Blue Boy - Ron Sexsmith 10. New American Language - Dan Bern 11. We Love Life - Pulp 12. Rockin' the Suburbs - Ben Folds 13. Because We Hate You - Young Fresh Fellows 14. Worlds Collide: Live at the St. James - Neil Finn and Friends 15. Why That Doesn't Surprise Me - The Lucksmiths 16. The Incomplete Glenn Tilbrook - Glenn Tilbrook 17. Look Into the Eyeball - David Byrne 18. Meaningless - Jon Brion 19. Her Majesty of High Heels and Eye Shadow - Jonathan Richman 20. Amnesiac- Radiohead 21. I'm Waking Up To Us - Belle & Sebastian 22. Dog in the Sand - Frank Black and the Catholics 23. Ten New Songs - Leonard Cohen 24. Reveal - R.E.M 25. Stephen Malkmus - Stephen Malkmus 26. The Invisible Band - Travis 27. Tenacious D - Tenacious D 28. Ryan Adams - Gold 29. Oh, Inverted World - The Shins 30. Is This It - The Strokes 31. Necessity: the 4-Track years - Jason Falkner 32. Damascus - Yazbek 33. Daft Punk - Discovery 34. Poses - Rufus Wainwright 35. Jonathan David - Belle & Sebastian 36. Gorrillaz - Gorrillaz 37. The Gunman and Other Stories - Prefab Sprout 38. Air - 10,000 Hz Legend 39. Satellite Rides - Old 97s 40. White Blood Cells - The White Stripes 41. I Might Be Wrong (Live Recordings) - Radiohead 42. Feeding the Gods - Tim Finn 43. Driving Rain - Paul McCartney 44. Ancient Melodies of the Future - Built To Spill 45. Pneumonia - Whiskeytown 46. Hot Shots II - The Beta Band 47. Essence - Lucinda Williams 48. Isolation Drills - Guided By Voices 49. God Bless the Go-Go's - Go-Go's 50. For the Stars - Anne Sophie von Otter and Elvis Costello Most Disappointing Releases of 2001: 1. Paul McCartney - Driving Rain 2. Ancient Melodies of the Future - Built to Spill 3. The Gunman and Other Stories - Prefab Sprout 4. Damascus - Yazbek 5. Feeding the Gods - Tim Finn 6. God Bless the Go-Go's - Go-Go's Best Reissues of 2001: 1. Underwater Moonlight- The Soft Boys 2. Los Angeles - X 3. Homegrown- XTC 4. Spike- Elvis Costello |
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Eric |
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| 1. The Tiki Bar Is Open - John Hiatt 2. Reveal - R.E.M 3. All That You Can't Leave Behind - U2 4. O Brother Where Art Thou? - Soundtrack 5. Rock Steady - No Doubt 6. Love and Theft - Bob Dylan 7. The Convincer - Nick Lowe 8. Big Wide Grin - Keb Mo' 9. Live At Montreux - 1982 & 1985 Stevie Ray Vaughan 10. Cuttin' Heads - John Cougar Mellencamp |
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Kenny Jenkins |
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| #1 Luomo - Vocalcity [actually came out at the end of 2000, but I didn't hear it until 2001 - and this is the only tiered favorite... the rest's order is interchangable #2 Felix the Housecatt - Kitten and thee Glitz [featuring Ms, Kitten and a bunch of others #3 Richie Hawtin - DE9 Closer to the Edit #4 Floppy Sounds Short Term Memories [although I've been listening to this thing in transit for years, it was finally released this year] #5 2 Lone Swordsmen - Tiny Reminders #6 Audio Soul Project - Community #7 Green Velvet - Whatever [but I truely despise "La La Land"] #8 Surgeon - Body Request [also late 2000, but hey, I just got it] there may be more but it was definitely a better singles year as usual...otherwise, not much rock going on in my house either...if I had to rank anything by Mr. C, I'd have to say the trees of the Great Unknown from last fall and the gift of Holy Shit [KOA] got more play than most rock records in this household, so for that, kudos to this list.... |
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Andy Finkelstein |
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| Hey -- Just weighing in with my Top 10 for 2001. If a title is omitted, it more likely means I didn't hear it; it doesn't necessarily mean I didn't like it. 1 - "Satellite Rides" by the Old 97's 2 - "Lateralus" by Tool 3 - "No More Shall We Part" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds 4 - "The Argument" by Fugazi 5 - "Amnesiac" by Radiohead 6 - "Deepcut To Nowhere" by Graham Parker 7 - "Shameless" by Therapy? 8 - "The Cure's Greatest Hits Disc 2 Acoustic Hits" by the Cure 9 - "Look Into The Eyeball" by David Byrne 10 - "Beyond Good And Evil" by the Cult Honorable mention (in no particular order): "Love And Theft" by Bob Dylan; "Is This It" by the Strokes; "Reveal" by R.E.M.; "The Tiki Bar Is Open" by John Hiatt; "Rockin' The Suburbs" by Ben Folds; "Gold" by Ryan Adams; "Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards" by Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards; "musicforthemorningafter" by Pete Yorn; "Global A Go-Go" by Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros; "Ten New Songs" by Leonard Cohen; "Beautiful Garbage" by Garbage..... Discuss and/or flame... |
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Matthew Berlyant |
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| Since this is my 1st post to this mailing list in over 5 years, I feel the need to re-introduce myself. My name is Matt Berlyant, I'm 26, live in Jersey City, NJ and have been an EC fan for about 7 1/2 years now (since about the time I turned 19). I've seen him 6 times in concert (4 times with Steve Nieve, including an incredible show in Long Island in '99 that remains the best concert I've ever seen in my life, and twice with the Attractions) and own just about everything he's ever done, tons of boots, live shows, etc. I was also on this list during the summer of '96. I unsubscribed after that since the list volume was getting a bit too much for me and since I procrastinate like nobody's business, it's taken me this long to sign back up. It's not that my interest in EC had waned or anything, but the recent Rhino re-issues and the new album (and hopefully tour) next year have me really psyched. Also, recent personal circumstances have made me re-discover certain EC songs and albums and look at them in a whole new light. Now for the fun part of this post. Here's my Top 10 for 2001 as well. If I omitted something that's worthy, it's also probably because I didn't hear it, not because I wouldn't like it or don't like it. 1) Ben Folds "Rockin' the Suburbs" 2) Weezer "Weezer" (though it's nowhere near as good as "Pinkerton") 3) Graham Parker "Deepcut to Nowhere" 4) Jimmy Eat World "Bleed American" 5) System of a Town "Toxicity" 6) Marshall Crenshaw "I've Suffered For My Art... Now It's Your Turn" 7) Thursday "Full Collapse" 8) Spiritualized "Let it Come Down" 9) John Hiatt "The Tiki Bar is Open" 10) Radiohead "Amnesiac" Honorable mentions: Linkin Park "Hybrid Theory", Bjork "Vespertine" Discuss and/or flame. And yes, I know, I omitted "For the Stars", so you all can stone me now. And of course I'd include the re-issues, but I just included albums of new material except for the Marshall Crenshaw album, which is live. |
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The Harlequin |
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| wow....someone besides me likes thursday. they're still the only good band on victory. i don't really get the appeal of jimmy eat world; they're kinda like a mallrock version of boys life, or the promise ring. ok, i'm reeaaaallly bored, so here's my top ten. 1. bob dylan - love and theft 2. saetia - retrospective (all previously released, but their 7" is out of print and impossible to find, so this is the first time i've heard most of it) 3. frodus - and we washed our weapons in the sea 4. us vs. them - s/t 5. converge - jane doe 6. radiohead - amnesiac 7. fugazi - the argument 8. the owls - s/t 9. thursday - full collapse 10. heart felt self - seasons and reasons why |
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Steve Bachman |
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| Looks like I only bought seven CDs that were released this year and it's not a very eclectic group of artists to say the least. Pretty heavy on the aging white male singer-songwriter corner of the marketplace. Four aging WM S-S's, one prematurely aging WM S-S and a WM S-S by proxy. And Radiohead. So I'll have to go with a top six: 1. Nick Lowe - THE CONVINCER 2. Bob Dylan - LOVE AND THEFT 3. Graham Parker - DEEPCUT TO NOWHERE 4. Ron Sexsmith - BLUE BOY 5. Paul McCartney - WINGSPAN 6. Radiohead - AMNESIAC I really couldn't put the other one: -. ASvO/EC - FOR THE STARS In a top anything. Depressing waste of two talents IMO. I'm thrilled to read (here) that EC has cut a "loud" disc. It's hard to pick anything over Dylan's LAT. It's just a fantastic, quirky disc. But I'm going to go with the underdog, the ex-Basher, the Velvet Fog for my generation (and one hell of a songwriter), Nick Lowe. I love this disc. Sexsmith's BB is probably a better disc that GP's DEEPCUT. DEEPCUT is uneven, I think, but it does have some great moments. I think BLUE BOY suffers because I had so much trouble playing the disc in my CD ROM drive at work. For some reason it (and a handful of others, mostly CDRs) just wouldn't play in the drive that I had in my workstation. I played it the other day for the first time in awhile and realized that it's a lot better than I was remembering. WINGSPAN is a nice collection. I'm still disappointed in AMNESIAC, but it's grown on me to the point that I no longer feel that it's just inferior outtakes from the KID A sessions. I'm looking forward to hearing the live takes of these on I COULD BE WRONG (it's under my Xmas tree). ... Other stuff: I bought a fair amount of older (pre-2001) releases and other things that don't fit here (Tanahill Weavers, Miles Davis and Prokofiev, for example). Of those that fit, I guess the only brand-new-to-me artist was Jill Sobule. I saw her live (might've been late 2000) and got her autograph and bloody thumbprint on a CD I bought at the show (she was bleeding from strumming that little guitar that she played). She's a good songwriter with a bit of a thin voice. Let's see, I bought good stuff from Semisonic and Tori Amos and (older) P.J. Harvey. |
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Mark Perry |
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| As I've sworn not to touch another computer until the new year, I'll sign off now by wishing everyone on the list all the best for the holidays. See you all in 2002. While I'm here, I may as well post the following (he said nonchalently, like he could easily resist making sad, obsessive Nick Hornby-style Top 10 lists if he wanted to...): Top 10 Albums of 2001 01. Amnesiac - Radiohead 02. Janacek: Diary Of One Who Disappeared - Ian Bostridge & Thomas Ades 03. Let It Come Down - Spiritualized 04. The Convincer - Nick Lowe 05. Twilight - The Handsome Family 06. Low Kick And Hard Bop - Solex 07. Ten New Songs - Leonard Cohen 08. Rooty - Basement Jaxx 09. No Such Place - Jim White 10. Vespertine - Bjork Best reissue: Electric Warrior - T Rex Fave Christmas song: I'll Make Every Day Christmas (For My Woman) - Joe Tex For The Stars poll: 3 for the music, 1 for the idea! |
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John Martz |
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| If it ain't too late, here's my Top 10 of 2001... 1. Ben Folds - Rockin' the Suburbs 2. Rheostatics - Night of the Shooting Stars 3. R.E.M. - Reveal 4. Grant Lee Phillips - Mobilize 5. Martin Tielli - We Didn't Even Suspect That He Was the Poppy Salesman 6. Dan Bern - New American Language 7. Clem Snide - Your Favourite Music 8. Weezer - Weezer 9. Neko Case - Canadian Amp 10. Spookey Ruben - Bed/Breakfast Honourable mentions: For the Stars Kevin Hearn & Thin Buckle - H-Wing The Posies - Nice Cheekbones and PHD Ken Stringfellow - Touched 2 Minute Miracles - Volume II Ron Sexsmith - Blue Boy |
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Gary Vollano™ |
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| Whew, what a year. I haven't posted much, and I haven't bought much music, but through IndepenDisc I've had a year filled with great musical discoveries, so without further ado... My Top 10 of 2001 10. The Manchurians - One For All Ever wonder what Hilton Valentine (guitarist for the original Animals) is up to nowadays? Well he's sitting in with this Chicago barroom style R&B group. http://www.independisc.com/manchurians.htm 9. Hi Fi Automatic - Venus & Mars Grandiose Rock from a multi-talented studio hermit with some help from friends. Picture Bono and The Edge joining the Waterboys. http://www.independisc.com/hifiautomatic.htm 8. WOW - That Was Then, This Is WOW Pure Power Pop with all the hooks. Derived from the 60's British Invasion, but with a modern sound/edge. http://www.independisc.com/WOW.htm 7. Black & White - 45 r.p.m. Tex Mex flavored New Orleans style swing R&B that jumps, jives, and wails. http://www.independisc.com/black&white.htm 6. Adios Pantalones - Adios Pantalones Groov - A - Licious! A modern day Funkfest. Put this Disc on and watch the party happen. http://www.independisc.com/adiospantalones.htm 5. James Velvet - Bones 'n Clones A Roots Rock-n-Roll CD that owes as much to Buddy Holly, Ray Davies, and Nick Lowe, as it does to Bob Dylan, Alejandro Escovedo, John Lennon, and Elvis Costello, not to mention Sly & The Family Stone, War, Led Zeppelin and the 60's psychedelic garage movement chronicled in the Nuggets Box set. Simply a great funlovin' goodtime Rock-n-Roll CD. http://www.independisc.com/jamesvelvet.htm 4. Mollycoddle - Lucky Tough girl (not to be confused with Riot grrrl) Hard Rock that'll smack you in the face, knock you down, fuck the shit out of you, and leave you begging for more as the sensitive side leaves you in awe. Thank you sir, may I have another. http://www.independisc.com/mollycoddle.htm 3. Ian Hunter - Rant One of the most significant releases of the year. Gets my vote as comeback Artist/Disc of the year. Contains probably the best song Ian has ever written "Dead Man Walkin' (EastEnders)". Returns to the glory of Mott The Hoople, his 1st solo LP, All-American Alien Boy, and You're Never Alone With A Schizophrenic, makes you miss Mick Ronson because his influence and touches are all over this Disc. Released in the Spring, it was my #1 Disc of the Year until Sept, and the release of... 2. Ben Folds - Rockin' The Suburbs Minus the Five, Ben soars with a CD packed full of amazing songs. Pulling from early 11-17-70 style Elton John, his piano playing is as frantic as it is controlled, crafting one stand out jam after another, at times delicate enough to bring Night & Day Joe Jackson to mind. Lyrically it's as thought provoking as it is hysterical and matter-of-factly to the point. A must own for any music fan and would have been my #1 CD of the year if it wasn't for... 1. The Trollops - The Trollops I called this CD "the best pure Rock-n-Roll album since „London Calling‰ by The Clash." Period. The Trollops is this era&Mac226;s London Calling. It blows me away. Such an accomplished testament of Rock-n-Roll, it drips attitude in a way I&Mac226;ve not heard since The Stones of the late 60s and Mott The Hoople of the 70s. Smacking of the urgency of The Clash and the desperation of Nirvana - these 10 songs put the Rock-n-Roll perspective as savior to the culture of youth back into place. http://www.independisc.com/thetrollops.htm With all the buzz about The Strokes and "Is This It" I must use my top 10 to weigh in on the subject, while admittedly I haven't heard the whole CD, the songs I've heard leave me with the same impression that has been stated here by several others, that of a band that wears it's influences well, has something going there, but are maybe a CD or 2 off before they reach the "greatness" accredited to them now. Maybe it's all the hype working in a negative effect here, and there's just no way that this CD can live up to it (I mean were my heightened expectations the reason for my under whelming?), we'll see, I'll call the jury still out until release number 2. But, I will say that side by side, "The Trollops" delivers all that I was told "Is This It" would and more. In fact, I am so high on "The Trollops" that I'm sure there are many people on this list that would enjoy it just as much as I do/am, that I'm going to offer an incentive for you to pick it up.... Lately I've been goofing around with ripping vinyl LP's into .wav files and then burning them onto CD. I don't have any fancy-schmancy "cleaning" program that allows me to erase the pops, and hiss (and even if I did I wouldn't have the time to play around with it), But, I've found great joy in transferring many of my old "out-of-print & hard-to-find-on-CD" Lps onto Disc - pops, hisses and all. Recently I found my very clean (read: hardly played) Attractions LP "Mad About The Wrong Boy" after transferring it to CD, I thought about costello-l, so here's the deal; Want to check out "The Trollops"? If you go to my IndepenDisc web site and order The Trollops CD, I'll send you as a Special Christmas present from me - a CD-R copy of "Mad About The Wrong Boy" for FREE. In fact, let's make that; order any CD from IndepenDisc and I'll send you the "Mad About The Wrong Boy" CD-R as a Special Gift from me personally. Now, couple that with the fact that until Dec. 30th 2001, anybody ordering any CD from IndepenDisc receives a FREE IndepenDisc Sampler CD-R (Featuring 1 track off every Monthly Feature CD of 2001), and that means you get 3 (count 'em THREE) CDs for the price of 1!!! (can't beat that). This offer (the Special Gift of the "Mad About The Wrong Boy" CD-R, and the FREE IndepenDisc Sampler CD-R with any order) is good for costello-l people only. If you wish to take me up on this offer, just type "costello-l" in the "Special Instructions" part of the secure credit card shopping cart order form. Any questions, comments, flames feel free to contact me directly at: garyvol@juno.com A Happy New Year to you all! |
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Mike Hernandez |
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| After sitting on this list for a couple of weeks, I think I'm fairly comfortable with the placings. My favorites of 2001: 1. The Convincer - Nick Lowe 2. Love And Theft - Bob Dylan 3. Time (The Revelator) - Gillian Welch 4. Because We Hate You - Young Fresh Fellows 5. Let The War Against Music Begin - The Minus 5 6. Pneumonia - Whiskeytown 7. Global A Go-Go - Joe Strummer 8. Gold - Ryan Adams 9. Gorillaz - Gorillaz 10. Is This It - The Strokes The next 10: Essence - Lucinda Williams Timeless (Hank Williams Tribute) - V/A Down From The Mountain - Original Soundtrack White Blood Cells - The White Stripes How Was Tomorrow - The Cash Brothers Del And The Boys - The Del McCoury Band The World Won't End - The Pernice Brothers Because It Feel Good - Kelly Hogan The Donnas Turn 21 - The Donnas Amnesiac - Radiohead Honorable mentions: Satellite Rides - Old 97's A Man Under The Influence - Alejandro Escovedo 10,000 Hz Legend - Air The Invisible Band - Travis Poses - Rufus Wainwright What's Next To The Moon - Mark Kozelek (In which we find that Bon Scott was really Leonard Cohen) God Bless The Go-Go's - The Go-Go's Vespertine - Bjork Weezer - Weezer (damn them for making Hash Pipe so catchy) Nice Cheekbones And A Ph.D. - The Posies For The Stars - Anne & Elvis Reissues: All Things Must Pass - George Harrison The Ramones, Leave Home, Rocket To Russia, Road To Ruin - The Ramones (greatest song ever -- Rockaway Beach) Los Angeles, Wild Gift, Under The Big Black Sun - X MAIT, Spike, ATUB - EC (didn't get MAIT, but I'm assuming it would have made it here) Forever Changes - Love Underwater Moonlight - The Soft Boys all the Blondie albums Neu!, Neu! 2, Neu! '75 - Neu! What's Going On, Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye Smell Of Female, A Date With Elvis, Stay Sick - The Cramps (I love that goddamn rock 'n roll) Great compilations: Morning Glory: The Tim Buckley Anthology Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts From The British Empire And Beyond 1964-1969 Can You Dig It? The 70s Soul Experience That's All, Folks! Cartoon Music From Merry Melodies & Looney Tunes (What's Opera, Doc? and Three Little Bops in their entirety!) Bootleg Series Volume 1: The Quine Tapes - Velvet Underground BBC Sessions 1964-1977 - The Kinks Complete B Sides - The Pixies Everyone Says It's On, Necessity: The 4 Track Years - Jason Falkner (nice rockin' version of Both Sides Now) Crystal Days 1979-1999 - Echo & The Bunnymen (wonderful compilation of a band I criminally underrated during the 80s) Somewhat disappointed: Live In New York City - Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band (Columbia could take a few lessons from Crystal Cat on releasing live Bruce) Pretty Together - Sloan (If It Feels Good Do It - yes; the rest - no) Reveal - R.E.M. |
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