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notable albums of 2002-in no particular order
(a couple of these may have actually come out in 2001, but if i didn’t discover them until 2002, then it was as if they didn’t exist until then, in my world, and frankly, im not as neurotic as i used to be and am too damn lazy to go back and double check the dates on them.)
so there.
wilco, yankee hotel foxtrot, nonesuch
forget the whole ‘band gets total creative control to make album, band
delivers album, label drops band because label hates album, band signs
to new label that happens to be a branch of parent company that drops
band in fist place, band releases brilliant album despite the record
company’s attempts to fuck them stuff’. all you really need to know
about it the brilliant album stuff.
interpol, turn on the bright lights, matador
what can i say, im a sucker for the brit pop showgazing wall of
guitar stuff. this si done very well…and translates effortlessly into
a great (even a little rockin) live show)
elbow, asleep at the wheel, v2
more brit pop…anyone? anyone?
south, from here on in, kinetic
continuing with the brit pop thing
coldplay, a rush of blood to the head, capitol
anyone sensing a theme here?
a note on this album, it starts off strong, and even a little
different, very exciting, not even coldplayish in a way, but as the
album continues it becomes more and more coldplayish, i mean, i guess
they are coldplay, and don’t get me wrong, im a fan, but take note of
what you did on track 1 and try that some more.
flaming lips, yoshimi battles the pink robots, warner bros.
they take on heavy, even life altering topics in this album, like,
say battling pink robots. its no soft bulletin, but you cant help but
love it for what it is.
sigur ros, (), mca-pias america
though id still pick their first album over this one, really, a
music lover can’t be without this listening experience as a part of
their collection
luna, romantcia, jetset
im not ever sure what it is about these guys, they just do it for me.
pedro the lion, control, jade tree
im not yer average christian music fan, but this aint yer average
chirstian music offering. its really beautiful. really well done.
gomez, in our gun, virgin
i like gomez. and you can probably find this album somewhere for
like 7 bucks. i didn’t take it out of my cd player for like a month.
now i cant even remember exactly what it is i like so much about the
album, which may be a sign that it’s a wee bit generic, but i like it
just the same.
joseph arthur, redemptions son, realworld
a good album, but it doesn’t quite go in the direction i would have
hoped. save your money on the album and buy yourself a ticket to see
him the next time hes in town. absolutely worth seeing live.
guided by voices, universal truths and cycles, matador
one of my catherine wheel obsessive fans said to me about this album
‘the best thing since adam and eve.’ take it from me. that’s quite a
compliment.
death cab for cutie, the photo album, barsuk
they sing nice songs nicely. cute little pop songs. whats not to like.
johnny cash, american iv: the man comes around, lost highway-american
he has one of the most interesting voices, hypnotizing really, and i
think his cover if nin’s hurt is brilliant. the album could have done
without the depeche mode cover, but everyone makes mistakes. ill
forgive ya this time johnny.
shows of 2002
here there is a clear ‘winner’ in my mind
the best show of 2002
joseph arthur, martyr’s, chicago, november 9
the man is spectacular. it was a nice intimate setting, with little
to no sound problems…i love his songs…its just the right bit of romance
and angst and rock and depth and goodness and evil…and his live
performance with all the programmed loops he beats out on his guitar,
the mans his own backup singer for cryin out loud. if there was a show
tailor made for amber, this was it. he played detroit the night
earlier, but it was the same night as the sigur ros show. had i known
how amazing this show was going to be, i would have skipped sigur ros
in a heartbeat to see him in detroit too. and sigur ros was an amazing
show. joseph arthur was just that good.
#2 sigur ros, state theare, nov 8
and i hope sigur ros will forgive me, but they do get the #2 show of
the year award from the amberkmiller foundation for good music. if the
show didn’t affect you, then you must be dead. as cheesy as it sounds,
it’s a beautiful almost spiritual experience. something very different
than ive heard before. and that’s a very good thing.
#3 the tragically hip, dte, august 31
a perfect summer night on the lawn. i mean perfect. these guys
could purposefully try to suck and theyd still be good. a perfect
summer night on the lawn.
and in no particular order…other notable shows of 2002flaming lips/beck, opera house, fall/winter 2002
the flaming lips are a riot and a half. the theatrics are so much
fun…what other band do you go and see that consistently combines
confetti, fake blood, people dressed up as animals dancing on stage,
singing through a megaphone, and telletubbies? tell me? and they broke
up the seriousness of the beck set as his backing band. a really fun
show.
garbage, state theatre, april 21
this was a surprisingly solid show…i wasn’t expecting much, and it ended up being really good. tons of energy, great sound….
luna, majestic theater, may 30
these guys always put on a good show
2 biggest disappointments of the year.
the hideousness of the gorillaz in toronto…i cant even begin to
explain how crappy the show was. it was way too short, the venue was
bad to begin with, and horribly overcrowded on top of it, you never got
to see any of the band members…in theory it could have been amazing, in
reality, p.u. and we almost froze to death trying to get a cab back to
downtown. we almost died. near death experiences tend to put a damper
on things.
ours (opening for the wallflowers) st. andrews, november 27
say what you might about the band, love em or hate em, but when you
go to a show you expect a certain level of quality. if you go to see a
movie and the theater has technical difficulties, you expect the
problems to be promptly remedied and/or to be compensated for the
problem. the band probably put on a great show, but no one would have
ever known because the volume level was literally at least 3 times
louder than it should have been. horribly distorted, and just plain
painful (physically, to your ears). and it stayed that way through
their whole set. awful. ive never been so angry at a show in my
life.not even at a show with out of control unnecessary moshing and the
like. and it was a problem that was so easy to correct. awful. i
felt like i got screwed. everyone there got screwed.
so as not to end on a sour note, 2003 is off to a good start with a notable performance by interpol at st. andrews on january 11th and looking forward to coldplay and the music at the fox march 3rd.
and zwans debut came out today, billy corgan sounds almost
optimistic. it’s a good sound. a good sound. a good first purchase
of the year. upon 1st listen id recommend. its nice to hear him again. id forgotten how much i liked his voice.
am
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