1. Radiohead, Kid A
No doubt! But seriously, this was pretty much it. Not just the idea of this album, but the goods themselves, the sad longing in “How to Disappear Completely” and the creeping paranoia (which I personally think topped the creeping paranoia of OK Computer) in “Idioteque” and “The National Anthem.” Eventually even the semi-instrumental “filler” songs seemed to serve the wallop of the “real” ones. A music geek treat, to be sure—but also kick-ass in a simpler way. But maybe that’s just me.
2. Sleater-Kinney, All Hands on the Bad One
I only had this for a couple weeks, then lost it. But I remember being very happy with it. It’s been good to hear this band get…uh…”mature,” I guess. It’s possible to get refined and tricky without losing intensity, and these guys deserve props for this. “Youth Decay” and “Was It a Lie” don’t just make me tense—they make me want to sing. Which is a far heavier thing.
3. The Put-Outs, Sing the Hits
This ruined Jets to Brazil for me. It’s basically pop-punk, I guess. Tommy Stinson produced it, and the guy sings in that rough way about drinking and not getting laid. Like Social Distortion or the Replacements or that one good Goo Goo Dolls album (yeah, there was one). Totally the kind of record I didn’t think anyone made any more. Very visceral and just awesomely rawking. Must be heard very loud.
4. Crooked Fingers, Crooked Fingers
Eric Bachman kicks it down a notch. That’s where the Archers were going, anyways—but who would have ever thought bitterness could get as poignant as “Broken Man” or “A New Drink for the Old Drunk”? Keyboards fatten and clean guitars strum, and it’s all sad as hell, consistently so. And the songs are oddly rootsy in their simplicity, giving this a sort of “instant classic” quality. Beautiful.
5. Catatonia, Equally Cursed and Blessed
This sounds pop to American ears, including mine. But only in the UK would something so shimmery also be so rock solid. These songs are unbelievably catchy with booming guitar, good beats and sneering, bored-but-tough-chick lyrics. In “Londoninium,” Cerys Matthews gets four syllables out of “endlessly” and sounds like she does not give a single fuck. Or how about: “Joan of Arc / come kiss my art / leave a charcoal mark”? American version comes with “Road Rage” and “Mulder and Scully,” without which this album wouldn’t have made it, probably. So very worth the four dollars I paid for it.
6. Jurassic 5, Quality Control
Some kid who’d just been fired left this behind at work. I picked it up and proceeded to get completely blown away by just how old school it is. Like the first Jungle Brothers album, this is all about funkiness and mind-blowingly good rhymes. The kind of thing that gives you shivers or makes you groan involuntarily. Hopefully not in front of anyone–though that can be difficult.
7. At the Drive-In, Relationship of Command
The most recently-appreciated album on the list, so I may live to regret this. But I’m so amazed that I even like this at all, I gotta throw it up here. There’s music in this, you know–not just very good shouting and guitars. Quite a workout, but I’d venture to say that in its alternately slow and quick burning, it has more in common with Jane’s Addiction than Rage Against the Machine. Which in my book is a good thing.
8. OutKast, Stankonia
“B.O.B.” is just about the best song this year, and the rest of this is pretty amazing, too. I’d put this higher if it wasn’t so damn schizo, though. Stankonia doesn’t quite hit all of its targets, but the very idea of throwing something like “Toilet Tisha” or “I’ll Call Before I Come” out there is, in the current hip-hop climate, just ballsy beyond belief.
9. Primal Scream, Xtrmntr
They have Mani from the Stone Roses and Kevin Shields from My Bloody Valentine now, you know. How could they go wrong? Well, they could, of course. Just that they haven’t; not with this. This is so full of sound. It makes Boston sound like Songs:Ohia or something. And it’s brutal and electronic and screeching. In that way, it’s sort of like this year’s other Kid A. A Kid A that makes you shake your ass a little. It’s nothing at all like Screamadelica, by the way. Very good for long rides on filthy trains.
10. Sunny Day Real Estate, The Rising Tide
Like with Fugazi, I always preferred the idea of SDRE over the reality. Respect over enjoyment, you might say–until this album. For whatever reason, The Rising Tide has won me over to the Sunny Day cause; the intricacies of the music compliment the flowery lyrics rather than slowing things down. “Killed by an Angel” is the first song, and it sounds exactly like its title. The rest of the songs are either delicate or roaring or both, but always…”rich” is the word I’d use. Oddly, it reminds me of Led Zeppelin. Good for listening to while looking through falling snow up at tall buildings.
Man, Were These Close
Badly Drawn Boy, The Hour of Bewilderbeast
The Roots, The Roots Come Alive
Deanna Varagona, Tangled Messages
Clem Snide, Your Favorite Music
Ryan Adams, Heartbreaker
T. Griffin, Tortuga
Elastica, The Menace
Yo La Tengo, And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
Steve Earle, Transcendental Blues
Open Mike: A Tribute to the Songs of Mike Merz
Top Three Guilty Pleasures
1. “Come on Over Baby” by Christina Aguilera
2. “Break Stuff” by Limp Bizkit
3. “Wait and Bleed” by Slipknot
Post Script
There’s always stuff you didn’t hear: Sigur Ros, Granddaddy, The Glands, LeTigre, just to name a few friends’ picks and press raves. Some would say if you didn’t hear everything in a given year, you shouldn’t make a top ten. But hey—it’s not like I’m getting paid for this. It’s all in the name of fun. Plus, it’s really quite inspiring to comb over the last year and realize how fruitful it’s been–how sweet it is to be a music fan. The older I get, the easier it is to blow off songs, albums, bands–even whole genres. To quote my number one underrated artist of all time, “I don’t wanna be like that.” And so, geeky shit like making top tens keeps that nasty temptation at bay. Hope you agree, hope you liked–let me know what you thought.
“A lot of opinions out there…”
–Ronald Thomas Clontle
