Re: 2002 : According To Me

[John Paul Davis <johnd at antioch-college_edu>]

JOHN's TOP 20 ALBUMS, in NPO:

Coldplay: A Rush of Blood to the Head - I did not like Coldplay before 
hearing this album. Brilliant Big Rock sound. Breathtaking.

Mike Doughty: Smofe and Smang (Live in Minneapolis) - One of the best 
aongwriters out there. Formerly singer of Soul Coughing, now doing Small 
Rock. Quirky acoustic stuff.

Abdullah Ibrahim: Ekapa Lodumo - Some of the best big band jazz I've 
heard in a long time.

Casket Lottery: Survival is for Cowards - Few have heard of them, but 
they restore my faith in loud alternative music. Think Sunny Day Real 
Estate meets "Boy" - era U2 meets Converge.

David Bowie: Heathen - Another pleasant surprise. I thought Bowie'd lost 
his touch, and he comes back with this outstanding gem.

Godspeed You Black Emperor!: Yanqui U.X.O. - This band is one of the 
most unique in memory. They play what is called "post-rock" - a big 
moody string section, droney Velvet Undergroundlike guitars, pounding 
drums. Haunting stuff.

Aesop Rock: Labor Days - Most hip hop is crap these days, but Aesop Rock 
is another story. Tight lyrics, unique beats and such flow the man has, 
such flow.

DJ Shadow: The Private Press - It took the man six years, but he finally 
returns, and it was worth the wait.

Steve Earle: Jerusalem - Gotta love the alt-country. Earle is an amazing 
songwriter, and I was blown away by the force of his response to the 
hawkish new Political Correctness that's dominated the media since 9-11-01

Bruce Springsteen: The Rising - Another response to 9-11-01, less about 
dissent and more about healing than Earle's, but equally beautiful.

Sigur Ros: () - another vote for the Icelandic weird art rock band. 
Spooky and delerious and just plain odd.

Sixpence None the Richer: Divine Discontent - Even though I find 
Christian music annoying and hackneyed and badly-crafted (when it's not 
disturbingly propogandistic), Sixpence always impress me. I could do 
without the Crowded House cover, and some of Matt Slocum's metaphors 
(heart beating like a metranome, for e.g.) are forced and unnecessary, 
but on the whole, the writing is strong. I have to love a band who 
swipes song structures from ABBA.

Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - Brilliant alt-country. Experimental and 
endearingly sad.

Zero 7: Simple Things - A nice replacement for Air, who got all 
artsy-farsty and pretetious after thier first album. Beautiful guitar 
picking - on an "electronica" record no less.

David Poe: The Late Album - Lovely, precious singer-songwriter stuff.

Denizen Kane: Tree City Legends - Top-notch undergound hip hop from an 
MC with a voice like Q-Tip and lyrics like Rumi.

The White Stripes: White Blood Cells - I tend to steer away from bands 
what get a lot of hype, but I heard this in a coffee shop and could not 
resist it. What's amazing about this is that in most songs it's just one 
electric guitar and a trap set.

Tom Waits: Alice - This is one of my favorite Tom Waits albums now. His 
session musicians include members of the outstanding San Francisco jazz 
group Transmission, who I'd heard many times in this little club called 
Storyville.

Various Artists: Red, Hot and Riot - the music of African legend Fela 
Kuti performed by American hip-hoppers and R&B folk.

The Cheiftains: Down the Old Plank Road - What could be better than the 
Cheiftains and Lyle Lovett? How about the Cheiftains and Allison Krauss? 
Or the Cheiftains and Buddy & Julie Miller? The Cheiftains doing 2 
Johnny Cash classics? Love it, love it.

Albums I Was Disappointed By:

Jurassic 5: Power in Numbers - they went from being a refreshing 
alternative to mainstream hip hop to sounding like all the rest.

Moby: 18 - Proof that making a sequel to a good record is a bad idea.

Ron Sexsmtih - Cobblestone Runway - Only about half the album is good - 
the other half is full of weird boopy electronic effects and it just 
doesn't have the warmth of his previous two albums.

Audioslave: Audioslave - it's *good*, but I expect better from a Tom 
Morello/Chris Cornell collaboration. Another testament to the down side 
of "super groups."

- John

np: Kalakuta Show - MixMaster Mike



-- 
John Paul Davis
Center for Community Learning
Antioch College

++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ned Flanders: Let's just agree to disagree
Principal Skinner: I don't agree to that
Mrs. Krabapple: Me neither
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