.The Best Records of 2002

Our critics pick the top crime rhymes, Galway fiddlers, plaintive indie rock, neo-soul, and good ol' rock 'n' roll.

CHRIS BATY

Desaparecidos

Read Music/Speak Spanish

Omaha’s Desaparecidos (Spanish for “the disappeared”) tore 2002 a new one with this unrelenting and magnificent rock polemic. Weezer’s bootprint is all over it, but the lyrics — an imaginative attack on American consumerism — sound more like Ralph Nader than Rivers Cuomo. Yes, the band features Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst. And yes, that boy can scream. (Saddle Creek)

Freestylers

Pressure Point

Jean-Paul Sartre had it right when he wrote that hell is interesting electronic music. England’s Freestylers make the kind of super-clean, super-bouncy dance music that’s become an endangered species in this age of smarty-pants techno. Pressure Point is basically Fatboy Slim with a dancehall twist — a heaping helping of big beat spiced with ragamuffin rapping and salty drum ‘n’ bass. A true slice of rump-shaking heaven. (Mammoth)

Hank Dogs

Half Smile

Ahoy, ye British folkies! Hank Dogs land a genre classic with this acoustic platter. Notes bounce and ring in fingerpicked rolls, and vocalists Joanna “Piano” Price and Lily Ramona sing introspective, earthy melodies haloed with an ethereal warmth. This is what the Cranberries would sound like if they added Suzanne Vega to the band and stopped with all the rock histrionics. You like folk music? Go buy this now. (Spin Art)

Mary Lou Lord

Live: City Sounds

Girly-voiced street busker-turned-Sony-almost-ran-turned-busker-again Mary Lou Lord drags a portable DAT down into a Boston subway station and records herself playing to commuters. Simple-as-a-whisper covers of Richard Thompson, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Bragg, the Pogues, and others. Brave and comforting music for days of missed connections. (Rubric)

Mendoza Line

Lost in Revelry

Ironic and alcoholic, Brooklyn’s Mendoza Line sounds a little like the Replacements covering Dave Eggers. With three songwriters in the group, the material achieves a truly impressive level of unevenness, but when the band lands its punches (“Red Metal Doors,” “Mistakes Were Made,” “Whatever Happened to You?”), you can’t help but be knocked out. Yee-ouch. (Misra)

Emily Sparks

What Could Not Be Buried

An absolute party-killer, the twee, autobio folk debut from Emily Sparks can turn a room of boisterous revelers into a contemplative, weeping mess by the end of the first track. Recommended for late-night drives and other cinematically lonely experiences. (Wishing Tree)

The Streets

Original Pirate Material

Birmingham Brit talk-raps over guilty-pleasure house synths and garage beats. It sounds square, I know, but after five listens you feel like Mike Skinner (aka the Streets) is your best mate. Original Pirate Material is the Buena Vista Social Club of lower- middle-class British stoner clubgoers — a colorful, impressively ethnographic tour of musicmaking and rabble-rousing, love, and disappointment. (Vice)

Ugly Casanova

Sharpen Your Teeth

Stuck in the realm between epileptic fit and epiphany, this hillbilly side project of Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock would be totally scary if it weren’t so fucking beautiful. Brock’s clipped poetics tumble at the listener in torrents of loose associations, and the junkyard music jigs like Tom Waits at a hoedown. Fly that freak flag, Isaac; you are doing God’s work. (Sub Pop)

Various

Amos House Collection, Volume 2

A top-notch package of unreleased sensitive indie rock, with offerings from big-name contributors such as Elliott Smith and Wheat alongside frighteningly good songs from unknowns like Drew ]O’Doherty (whose otherwise-unavailable “One Way” will leave Richard Buckner and Mark Eitzel fans crowning a new king). One-stop shopping for wuss-ophiles everywhere. (Wishing Tree)

Tom Waits

Alice

The hipster king finally sits down and records the fantastic score from the musical he wrote back in the early ’90s. His most consistent record since Rain Dogs, Alice captures Waits at the top of his game: dirty, nostalgic, sultry, drunk, and utterly, utterly blessed. (Epitaph)


ERIC K. ARNOLD

Donnie

The Colored Section

Neo-soul has been criticized for its blandness, but this cannot be said about Donnie. This debut is a Songs in the Key of Life for the post-hip-hop generation. Inspirational anthems like “Cloud 9” and “Do You Know?” provide much-needed positivity in a world that appears more negative by the day. (Giant Step)

DJ Jazzy Jeff

The Magnificent

Will Smith’s onetime sidekick steps out from the background and delivers a solid underground-oriented album with some superdupa dope production work. JJ mixes pregnant drums and deft scratches with jazzy flourishes, as well as soulful nuances and expressive vocal contributions from J-Live, Jill Scott, Freddie Foxx, and Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men. (Beat Generation/BBE)

E-40

Grit & Grind (The Ballatician)

Had E-40 run in the November election, he would have made a more flavorful gubernatorial candidate than the smarmy politrick-ians who waged multimillion- dollar mudslinging campaigns. Few are as qualified to address inner-city problems, even if he speaks from the standpoint of a Blackhawk homeowner. In addition to being a nifty linguist, the charismatic rapper clearly has a grip on economic issues — electable? Fa shizzle. (Sick Wid It/Jive)

Goapele

Even Closer

Even if Goapele weren’t an East Bay artist, this would be one of the better urban soul albums of the year. With transfixing vocals, original music, tight production, guest appearances by local MCs, and a stylistic range encompassing romantic ballads as well as club bangers, Even Closer is all that and a cup of free-trade coffee. (Skyblaze)

J-Live

All of the Above

“True school” hip-hop has become a microgenre unto itself. But of all the recent albums by ’90s-identified MCs in the category, J-Live is clearly the champion. Given his rep, All of the Above‘s emphasis on lyrical finesse was to be expected, but thankfully, the beats also don’t disappoint. (Coup D’Etat)

Jurassic 5

Power in Numbers

This could be the year’s best hip-hop album. The single, “What’s Golden?,” offered just a taste of what’s to be found on the full-length: old-school-influenced MC routines, updated with a contemporary twist. The lava-hot rhymes flow from a fount of seemingly endless creativity, crafted with love and executed with precision. (Interscope)

Roots Manuva

Dub Come Save Me

Drenched in reverb and resonating with echo, Dub Come Save Me is an album that stays true to dub’s artistic aesthetics while at the same time making its own quirky, compelling musical statement. The energetic smattering of vocal tracks amid electro-reggae instrumentals only enhances this slightly loony, postmodernist, fun, genre-meshing album. (Big Dada)

Nighthawks

Nighthawks

This hardcore hip-hop concept album explores the gritty world of urban streets (drugs, guns, prostitution, etc.) from a new angle. Taking on the persona of dirty cops, nasty-mouthed rappers Cage and Camu Tao hit the nail on the head, probably because they hammer on an extra-relevant topic — just ask the Riders. (Eastern Conference)

Various

Red Hot + Riot

This benefit album reminds listeners of a menace more insidious than the Beltway Sniper or al-Qaeda: AIDS. This tribute to Fela Kuti blazes with revolutionary fervor and inspired performances, including Blackalicious, D’Angelo, Baaba Maal, and Fela’s son Femi. Sort of like “We Are the World” — except it doesn’t suck. (Red Hot/MCA)

Soundtrack

Scratch

This may be the most impressive DJ-related album of 2002. What’s special about Scratch is that it not only features some awesome musical selections (including a remake of “Rockit”), but also neatly encapsulates the history of turntablism for new jacks, spotlighting old-school legends like DXT as well as emerging talents like Snayk Eyez and Cat Five. (Transparent Music/Palm Pictures)


STEFANIE KALEM

Antibalas

Talkatif

The message is socially conscious, but this is a revolution you can dance to. This seventeen-member-strong NYC orchestra is one of the best live bands around, but on record you can hear its Fela-inspired masterpieces developing around your ears and feet like a funky landscape photograph. (Ninja Tune)

Art of Flying

Garden of Earthly Delights

Acoustic guitar and minimal percussion serve as backdrop, framing Dave and Anne Costanza’s elegant, surrealist explorations of love. His voice is clear and bright, hers creaky and weird. Imagine the young, folky Tom Waits split in two, or if the front couple of Ida were actually the offspring of Bob Dylan and Kate Bush. If you can’t find this record (and you probably can’t), e-mail the band at [email protected]. Amazing handmade packaging, too. (Discobolus)

Black Dice

Beaches and Canyons

This disc will freeze your computer. This disc will scrunch your equilibrium and muss your sheets. It concentrates. It will clean out your soul-cellar, using a murder of high-tech, preposterously named tools. It falls somewhere between Easy and Difficult Listening. It should come with goggles and a foil-lined hat. (DFA)

Dan Melchior’s Broke Revue

Bitterness, Spite, Rage, and Scorn

Broke Revue takes Jack White’s demon white-boy blues-rock and dips it in an Englishman’s mercury-laced tea. The latest incarnation of the band is lean, tight, and greasy, allowing Melchior — a longtime Billy Childish and Holly Golightly crony — to fly off on absurd rants of snide, hip-hoppified fancy about J.G. Ballard, suburbia, and what-all. (In the Red)

Ms. John Soda

No P. or D.

Gotta love those Brothers Acher (see the notwist, below). This collaboration between Micha Acher and Couch’s Stefanie Böhm is a fizzy, layered, poptronica cocktail. It moves effortlessly from glitchy post-rock to swinging ’60s grooves to baroque, dirgey balladry in the blink of a hazy eye. Plus, the creative multilayered packaging is the year’s best. (Morr)

múm

Finally We Are No One

Subtle and childlike, Finally We … hypnotizes you with strings, crinkly beats, white wind noise, melodica, and girlish vocals. The Icelandic quintet is not afraid to let things happen slowly, and the result is a mellow, multifaceted fairy tale that sometimes waltzes, sometimes shivers, but always astounds. (FatCat)

the notwist

Neon Golden

Whereas this Bavarian quartet once coated indie-guitar-pop with electronic textures, it now spins a burbling, psyched-out digital web, studding it carefully with organic elements like banjo, barbed-wire guitar, and Markus Acher’s breathy, vaguely accented tales of alienation and loss. (City Slang)

Quix*o*tic

Mortal Mirror

Guitarist Christina Billotte honed her jerky art-punk knives in Slant 6; her sister, drummer Mira, has a voice like Chan Marshall’s, but occasionally uses it like Mama Cass. The latter has a penchant for doo-wop and folk; the former, for surf-rock. The last track on this record is a Black Sabbath cover; obviously, this second full-length must be heard to be believed. (Kill Rock Stars)

Wilco

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Jeff Tweedy has led his band from country-rock to lush pop and now, finally, into the strange grasslands of experimental. His songcraft and sincerity gleam through the static and backwards loops like a trusted friend’s dependable smile. (Nonesuch)

Yo La Tengo

The Sounds of the Sounds of Science

Yes, this is music created to accompany a series of underwater documentaries. And yes, much of it may very well be New Age for indie-rock hipsters. But the films of Jean Painlevé gave YLT a chance to stretch their instrumental chops and chew. Besides, who doesn’t want to feel like a seahorse from time to time? (Egon)


DUCK BAKER

Derek Bailey

Ballads

Bailey is one of the fountainheads of the free-improvised school whose adherents eschew any kind of preset framework in setting up their abstractions. Originally beginning as a straight jazz guitarist, here he goes back to his roots a bit and uses old standards as points of departure, with inspired results. (Tzadik)

Gevorg Dabaghyan

Miniatures

This spectacular release is subtitled “Masterworks for Armenian Duduk,” and listeners unfamiliar with the sweetly plaintive sounds of this double-reed are in for a treat. It has one of the prettiest tones of any wind instrument, breathier than most reeds and sounding like an other-worldly cross between a flute and a pipe. As deep as it is accessible. (Traditional Crossroads)

Andrew Hill

A Beautiful Day

Onetime East Bay resident Hill has followed up last year’s stunning Dusk with another triumph, marking the iconoclastic pianist/composer’s first excursion into big-band writing. He is obviously up to the challenge. Hill’s erratic recording career may have entered an Indian summer that will prove as rewarding as his classic mid-’60s spring. (Palmetto)

Liz and Yvonne Kane

The Well-Tempered Bow

Galway fiddlers are known for a straightforward style in which full tone is cultivated at the expense of flashy embellishments and dynamic variation, and everything is at the service of the melody. Though quite young, these two sisters display great musical maturity throughout their fine program. Visit www.thekanesisters.com if you can’t find this impressive debut locally. (Dawros Music)

The McCarthys

The Family Album

Another Irish family band, the McCarthys are anchored by Jacqueline, a wonderful concertina player, and her husband, flutist Tommy Keane. Here they are joined by three other McCarthys and various spouses for a program weighted toward standards of the traditional repertoire, and they show exactly why these tunes have been treasured over the years. You might hear flashier players, but never better. (Maree Music)

Sam Rivers

Fluid Motion

Rivers, with Bailey, Hill, and Rudd, is one of several former musical revolutionaries, now elder statesmen, who are still at their peaks. One of the great jazz saxmen of his generation, Rivers is joined here by impressive young players, featuring exceptional compositions by trombonist and producer David Manson. (Emit)

Roswell Rudd and Toumani Diabate

Malicool

Legendary free-jazz trombonist Rudd teams up with Diabate, a superstar kora player from Mali, for an excellent attempt at genre-blending. Rudd successfully enters the deep musical universe of Mali while the African musicians find ways to the New World, including an arrangement of Thelonious Monk’s “Jackie-ing” that has to be heard to be believed. (Universal)

Various

A Window on the World

Inedit presents international music on its own terms. It must be said, however, that many Inedit releases are highly specialized in their appeal. So what could be better than a cross-section that unites the best tracks from dozens of deep recordings from around the world in one very inexpensive 4-CD box? (Inedit)

Various

Music from Mozambique

The styles heard on this exemplary anthology range from acoustic guitar-driven groups to xylophone-based polyphony to electric bands with trap drum sets. A lavish thirty-page accompanying booklet is the icing on a cake that whets the appetite for more of these wonderful performers. (Caprice)

Various

Pachuco Boogie

Even listeners who don’t ordinarily go in for Mexican music will find it irresistible. The title track shows that LA-based Mexican Americans like Don Tosti were tuned in to Central Avenue goings-on, and a rambunctious blend of jump blues, swing, jive, and — to quote super-hipster Slim Gaillard — “plenty of hot sauce” is to the fore throughout. (Arhoolie)


TIM PRATT

Boards of Canada

Geogaddi

Those token Boards of Canada elements are still there: eerie children’s voices filtering through slightly off-kilter, warbling synthesizers; crackly, stutter-step beats; a slow, methodical approach; and a curious obsession with numbers. Yet Geogaddi manages to one-up ’98’s impressive Music Has the Right to Children, burrowing just a little bit deeper into frazzled human psyches with raw emotion. (Warp)

The Cinematic Orchestra

Every Day

Melding improvisational elements of live jazz with carefully orchestrated electronic production, London-based Cinematic Orchestra — led by composer and arranger J. Swinscoe — hits its stride with Every Day. The album takes its time; it’s rich in emotion, sometimes dark and very soulful, with each track upping the ante from the last. A stunning record. (Ninja Tune)

Felix Da Housecat

Kittenz and thee Glitz

While the music media spent most of this year fawning over electroclash, Chicago’s Felix da Housecat had already been wearing the glitzy tech-pop/electro crown for quite some time. Kittenz and thee Glitz is a joyous, tongue-in-cheek romp through pseudo-’80s new wave, all wrapped up in big fat synthesizers. Miss Kittin, who maintains her blasé, sneering vocals on Kittenz‘ signature tracks, provides one of several climaxes on this insta-party. (Emperor Norton)

Flaming Lips

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

Although the Lips have gone through a series of ups and downs throughout their long career, the Oklahoma trio seems more inspired than ever. A sort-of concept album (the first four tracks), Yoshimi is as peculiar as it is tender and inspiring. The infusion of electronic beats and textures on this album provides the perfect complement to Wayne Coyne’s high-pitched, nasal vocals and delicate instrumental arrangements. (Warner Bros.)

James Hardway

Straight from the Fridge

James Hardway is only one of several pseudonyms used by David Harrow, a veteran British musician and producer who’s played with Adrian Sherwood and Jah Wobble, among others. With Straight from the Fridge, Harrow seems to have finally perfected his sound by affixing deep-dub bass with bluesy soul and jazz, all amid breathy, stirring vocals and crisp breakbeats. Warm, anxious, and eloquent, Fridge just feels good. (Hydrogen Dukebox)

Jazzanova

In Between

Germans making jazzy hip-hop doesn’t exactly sound like a recipe for success. But In Between, the long-awaited full-length debut from the six-member collective, certainly delivers. The songs are craftily arranged with a blend of jazz, hip-hop, funk and soul samples, and organic instrumentation, then accented by several guest vocalists (Vikter Duplaix, Capital A, Ursula Rucker). (JCR)

Koop

Waltz for Koop

When this was released in January, it definitely slipped under the radar. Painstakingly produced over a year and a half by the Swedish duo Koop, Waltz has a way of seeping in to your head. At times shamelessly happy and then melancholy, Koop nimbly melds orchestral samples, strings, keyboards, horns, and jaunty jazz rhythms to create a sound both old and new. (JCR)

Recloose

Cardiology

The Detroit-area native’s first official full-length production album is a sinewy bundle of nerves pumping out funky, rhythmic techno, hip-hop, and slinky jazz. Cardiology, executive-produced and engineered by Detroit’s Carl Craig, benefits from its glossy keyboard sheen, chopped-up broken beats, and long list of guest jazz musicians. (Planet E)

Amon Tobin

Out from Out Where

Amon Tobin took a big leap forward with this album, creating a complicated maze of intersecting beats, cavernous textures, and fierce basslines. Largely abandoning his longtime usage of old jazz samples, Tobin has sculpted an album that’s sleek yet funky.(Ninja Tune)
Various

Touch Tones

It’s difficult to inject humor into music without sounding silly, but label owner/producer Tim “Love” Lee seems to have figured out just the right potion. Touch Tones contains a solid smattering of kitschy, uproarious tunes, but luckily, it never gets too smart for its own good. The giggly charm of “Susy May” (by Verious Artists) or the wriggling funk of “Tribal” (Patrick Dawes) showcase the multifarious ways of this fun label. (Tummy Touch)


JON PRUETT

AntiPop Consortium

Arrhythmia

A cosmic breakthrough of production and typically dense and obtuse lyrics, this album fulfilled the promise of APC’s underwhelming debut. That the group disbanded this year provided an unfortunate footnote to one of the best mixtures of fractured electronics, warped arrangements, and interstellar rhymes. (Warp)

Devendra Banhart

Oh Me Oh My

This 21-year-old’s debut is easily one of the most twisted, inspiring, and disturbing records this year. The closest reference point could be a young Marc Bolan — when he was still singing about unicorns. Unadorned, save for the occasional handclap and whistle, Banhart taps into a primal creative force that is as ugly as it is entrancing. These four-track recordings are the sound of psychosis and melody blending together like the union of Jandek and Neutral Milk Hotel. (Young God)

Beck

Sea Change

If you correctly identified Midnight Vultures as being a strange, post-modern minstrelry, then this record was welcomed with open arms. This is Beck with tunnel vision and an eye and ear tuned toward desolation. The kaleidoscopic, child-of-pop-culture outlook has its merits — but the simple, man-loses-girl-then-writes-songs approach suits him well. This entire album works as a reminder that heartache makes for the best songs. (Geffen)

Blackalicious

Blazing Arrow

This is an ambitious album that droops only slightly in the middle. Blackalicious is the group to beat when it comes to creating conscious hip-hop with artistic merit. The group has created a Technicolor wonder, part soul music celebration, part soul-searching funk that, while being its first major-label outing, held on dearly to its underground roots. (MCA)

The Microphones

Song Islands

Although a collection of B-sides, this works as a reminder of just how excellent Phil Elvrum’s songs can be. Tracks like “I Can’t Believe You Actually Died” and the revisited versions of “The Moon” are haunted fragments of melody and hazy delirium quite unlike anything else. (K)

Plush

Fed

Despite his history with Drag City and Flydaddy, Plush’s Liam Hayes is unable to get this record released here in the United States (sorry, it’s import-only). It’s a shame, because Fed is a mixture of Donovan, Nilsson, and Motown soul that would stand up right between your Archer Prewitt and Rufus Wainwright albums — and then knock them down. (After Hours)

The Polyphonic Spree

Beginning Stages of …

This band brought forth a joyful noise, making an album that lives and breathes purity and sunshine. The skewed, high-pitched harmonies — when paired with the makeshift choir — make for a strange, beautiful record that uses sweeping symphonic sounds and grandiose arrangements in order to approximate the sound of wide-eyed lysergic smiles. (679)

Six Organs of Admittance

Dark Noontide

This is the acoustic handiwork of Ben Chasny, a multitracking shaman whose songs grow darker and heavier with each listen — despite the fact that they are mainly forest folk tunes, best appreciated in the company of incense, gnomes, and turquoise jewelry. A chilling, wheezing, ramshackle percussion adds to the mystique. (Holy Mountain)

The Walkmen

Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone

Managing to sound confident, yet not arrogant, the Walkmen’s debut is a stripped-down, loud guitar album that has too many ideas to be part of any post-punk revival. Hard, crisp drum sounds and misshapen, desperate guitar clangs work together with Hamilton Leithauser’s ice-cold moan to create a raw slice of melodrama that sounds like the first few U2 records. (Star Time)

David S. Ware

The Freedom Suite

“The Freedom Suite” was originally recorded by Sonny Rollins back in the late ’50s. With this elongated four-part spin on it, Ware delves into corners and nuances that Rollins may not have originally envisioned. It’s the sort of spiritual, eye-opening recording in which even the most casual jazz fan will find elements of genius. (AUM)


DARREN KEAST

Andrew W.K.

I Get Wet

An unapologetic one-trick pony, Andrew W.K. gives the arena-sized overindulgence of cock rock one last spin so that we can finally (we hope) lay it to rest forever. (Mercury)

Atmosphere

God Loves Ugly

Indie hip-hop, often mired in its own reactionary attachment to bland boom-bap production, seems destined to progress only by exploring more and more intimate lyrical material. God Loves Ugly is the best example of this tension. Unimpeded by fairly boring beats, rapper Slug is able to push the art forward by dealing with the subjects that we expect mostly from rock songwriters: love, regret, boredom, and nostalgia. (Fat Beats)

Brooks

You, Me, and Us

This album blends the best qualities from the electronic music spectrum into one very slick aesthetic. There are sultry house-style vocals, complex sonic textures from IDM, stark techno, and the best disco breaks from 25 years of gay dance tracks, and yet the songwriting is really strong as well. You, Me, and Us is a rare, solid album in a genre of mostly disposable club tunes. (Mantis)

DJ/Rupture

Minesweeper Suite

Just when people are finally sick of DJs, a few emerge who are actually worth something. Based on the same ideas of recontextualization and kitsch that Kid606 and DJ Spooky dabble in (but executed far more entertainingly), this is a can’t-believe-no-one’s-done-it-before mix of smoothed-over-low-brow fare (Sade, Aaliyah) and Wire-approved noisetronica (Cex, DJ Scud), with many jarring left turns into world music, dancehall, and radio rap. (Tigerbeat6)

DJ Shadow

The Private Press

Who knew that after driving past 110th Street into Harlem and then through late-’60s acid-freaked London, one would arrive at Mill Valley, home of DJ Shadow? The Private Press is a secret history of hipster, collector-culture obscuria packaged as a heat ‘n’ serve box lunch. Save yourself two decades of going to record fairs — the Nuggets compilation and David Axelrod sound better when combined through Shadow’s mixer anyway. (MCA)

Manitoba

Start Breaking My Heart

This is the record Boards of Canada should have made this year — lots of pretty melodic washes and intricate drum machine jitters, almost totally free of pretension. (Domino)

High on Fire

Surrounded by Thieves

Black Sabbath as channeled through East Bay hair farmers whose neurons are so caked with THC that it oozes forth in molasses-slow dollops. And there’s a song about a yeti searching the polar caps for a crashed saucer — ’nuff said. (Relapse)

The Sea and Cake

One Bedroom

Xanax in aural form. All the least challenging bits of jazz, Krautrock, and post-rock synthesized into something with enough kick so you don’t feel like one of those neo-lounge weenies for liking it. (Thrill Jockey)

The Streets

Original Pirate Material

The tsunami of hype on which Birmingham/London’s Mike Skinner rode into America — billing him as Britain’s first great MC — overlooked his most glaring quality: This guy’s a wanker. Original Pirate Material has some juicy two-step beats and a few haunting images woven into the lyrics, but this is some silly shit, whether Skinner realizes it or not. Should bring a smile to even the hip-hop chin-strokers who thought AntiPop Consortium represented the next step. (Vice)

Various

This Is Tech-Pop

Most of the electroclash stuff isn’t even as good as Berlin, but a handful of gems (most of which are collected here) make for really great fuck tunes. Fischerspooner’s “Emerge” was the club track of the year. (Ministry of Sound)

LAWRENCE R. KAY

Guy Clark

The Dark

Soulful, perfectly sculpted tunes from one of Texas’ best and most profoundly human songwriters. Guy Clark helped define the Texas independent music scene in the 1970s, and remains one of its key fixtures — this is a nice return to form for this Americana elder. (Sugar Hill)

Clinic

Walking with Thee

Edgy, taut, tightly crafted punkish rock that recalls the claustrophobic glory of Wire and early Talking Heads. These enigmatic Brits may be gimmicky, but they’re great. (Domino)

Elvis Costello

When I Was Cruel

Hey, check it out — the old geezer’s still got it! Just when you thought he was long lost in the briar patch of his own pretensions, what with the endless soundtracks and posh, artsy-fartsy collaborations, Costello dives back into the more-scathing-than-punk, smart rock sound that made him famous. A clever, propulsive album that ensnares listeners from start to finish. (Island)

Mike Ireland

Try Again

Heavenly, flawless alt.country that sidesteps all the urban-hick posturing of the twangcore crowd in favor of soulful, passionate ballads. While his contemporaries all try to one-up each another by sounding raspier, louder, and stupider with every album, Ireland aims high, knowledgeably delving into the lush intricacies of ’70s-style countrypolitan craftsmanship. (Ashmont)

Jim and Jennie & The Pinetops

One More in the Cabin

An unbelievably imaginative, authentic reinterpretation of the oddball eccentricities of old-time mountain music. The songs are all originals, but they have the creaky, quirky, kooky sound of classic recordings from the Great Depression. (Overcoat)

Nara Leão

Nara

This Brazilian chanteuse was one of bossa nova’s earliest and greatest stars, although sadly most of her albums have languished out of print for decades. This 14-CD box set (!) rights that wrong, giving a new generation the chance to hear all her classic albums from 1964 to 1975. Leão avoided the musical conservatism of many of her peers, welcoming the new rock-flavored experimentation of Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, and the “tropicalia” scene. Here, you can trace her explorations into new musical styles even as she perfected her command of super-sweet bossa nova ballads. (Polygram Brazil)

Linda Thompson

Fashionably Late

Following the dissolution of her marriage and musical partnership with ex-Fairport Convention guitarist Richard Thompson, singer Linda Thompson plunged into seclusion, paralyzed by a psychological disorder that stole her voice after she released her lone solo album. Nearly two decades later, she’s back, with a collection of songs as rich and resonant as anything she’s ever recorded. Accompanying her throughout is her son Teddy; Richard Thompson and other Brit-folk luminaries also make strong contributions. (Rounder)

Wilco

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

I’ve never been a huge Wilco fan — in fact, bandleader Jeff Tweedy has always seemed irritating, and struck me as a ponderous, conceited boor. But if I had $20 for every time I’ve heard this disc playing in a record store and thought, “ooh, that sounds nice,” then the drinks would be on me the next time he came to town. A fascinating, richly nuanced, ambient Americana album that reveals new twists each time you hear it. (Nonesuch)

Various

Caught in the Webb: A Tribute to the Legendary Webb Pierce

Honky-tonk crooner Webb Pierce racked up more number one hits than any other country singer in the 1950s, and yet he never won a spot in the Country Music Hall of Fame until just this year. Dale Watson, Guy Clark, Rosie Flores, and Willie Nelson are among the like-minded, boisterous hick singers from both sides of the Nashville divide who join in on this hard-hitting, soulful tribute disc, celebrating Pierce’s legacy. (Audium)


BROLIN WINNING

50 Cent

Guess Who’s Back

A New York rapper known for his well-publicized beef with Ja Rule, coke-laced crime rhymes, and knack for surviving attempts on his life, 50 Cent has more buzz than a swarm of locusts. This self-released CD compiles unreleased tracks, freestyles, and mix-tape exclusives featuring 50 and his G-Unit crew. Now signed to Eminem’s Shady Records, with his debut LP about to drop, look for this guy to be very large, very soon. (Full Clip)

Big Moe

Purple World

Big Moe’s blend of butter-smooth crooning and mellow rhymes is nearly impossible not to dig. Comparable to a Southern Nate Dogg, Moe and assorted Texas MCs sound off about ladies, weed, and sizzurp-sipping, all set to some of the catchiest beats of the year. “Confidential Playa” is the joint. (Wreckshop)

Cormega

The True Meaning

This record picks up where The Realness left off, full of vivid lyricism addressing honor amongst criminals and life after dealing. While some of Nas’ recent work has shown a return to his Nasty form of old, Mega still has him beat when it comes to street tales and heart. (Legal Hustle/Landspeed)

Count Bass D

Dwight Spitz

Whimsical, original, and extremely funky, the Count’s third album is his best yet, overflowing with ear-tickling production and charismatic rhymes. Sporting cameos from Edan, MF Doom, and J. Rawls, among others, Dwight Spitz is amongst the year’s most unique and instantly likable records. Essential listening. (countbassd.comDay by Day)

Kelis

Wanderland

You may remember Kelis from ODB’s “Got Your Money,” or from her 1999 debut Kaleidoscope. Blessed with a breathy vocal style and choice beats from the Neptunes (they produce every track), her new album is a far cry from today’s cookie-cutter “modern R&B” scene. It’s hard to find in stores, but the import is available online (Amazon, Tower, Hiphotsite), and well worth seeking out. (Virgin)

MF Grimm

The Downfall of Ibliys: A Ghetto Opera

This was the long-awaited debut from one of New York’s most gifted wordsmiths. Known for his venomous verses alongside the likes of KMD and Kool G Rap, Grimm showcases his powerful, personal, and poignant rhymes over beats from Metal Fingers, Dr. Butcher, and others. A lyrical masterpiece, (Metal Face/Day by Day)

Monsta Island Czars

Escape from Monsta Island

The rawest crew in hip-hop today, MIC first strutted its stuff on MF Doom’s classic Operation: Doomsday. With blistering production, the ten-man strike force lays waste to corny rappers and shady cops alike, unleashing whirlwind rhymes that combine street savvy with intellect and fury. Consider yourselves warned. (Rhymesayers)

Motion Man

Clearing the Field

Hayward’s Motion Man is not only arguably the nicest MC in California, but he’s been ripping mics for nearly a decade, and is best known for his work with Kool Keith and Masters of Illusion. This record, his first solo album, is produced entirely by KutMasta Kurt and brims with banging beats and intricate, bugged-out, ultra-fresh rhymes. (Threshold)

People Under the Stairs

OST

LA’s Thes One and Double K deliver their best work to date. Fueled by top-notch samples and neck-bending breakbeats, this “true school” duo rocks its usual tales of B-boy philosophy, parties, and crate digging. (Om)

Various Artists

Peanut Butter Wolf’s Jukebox 45s

This compilation flexes a range of styles, including straight hip-hop, hyper-obscure funk jams, and blunted instrumentals from super-producer Madlib. It also features the quintessential Atari dedication, Captain Funkaho’s “My 2600.” (Stone’s Throw)


ERIC SHEA

Beck

Sea Change

Silver Lake’s heady young Scientologist has penned a bunch of vengeful breakup songs that bite Serge Gainsbourg’s orchestrated folk-pop sound. This amazing album is light-years ahead of his hormonally retarded dorm-room funk. (Geffen)

Dave Gleason’s Wasted Days

Dave Gleason’s Wasted Days

They won this year’s SF Weekly Americana thingy award for good reason, playing updated cosmic American music saturated in tones that are as rich as any of the band’s influences. Gleason’s B-bender Telecaster picking invokes the spirit of the late, great Clarence White, and the songs are perfect to drink along with. They also do a sweet cover of a lost Gram Parsons ditty. (Well Worn)

Bart Davenport

Bart Davenport

Dude’s lived here his whole life. He’s a Berkeley native. He’s been in a million bands, but it took a solo effort to get that Beach Boyish, bossa nouveau, Bart Davenport sound … the sound of all the colors and lights of the East Bay traveling out of his fingers and mouth. (Paris Caramel)

Neil Halstead

Sleeping On Roads

Ever since that VW commercial, everyone and their shit-ass dog wants to be Nick Drake. Neil Halstead’s solo debut may garner Drakesque comparisons (the fact that he sings lovelorn folk pop in a wispy accent may be the reason), but his tunes don’t sound like someone copying a hip dead man. Halstead’s own wistful sentiment makes this CD one of the best for makin’ babies. (4AD)

Hayden

Live at Convocation Hall

This exquisitely packaged double disc transcends Hayden’s lush acoustic experience with 22 songs, including an outstanding version of Neil Young’s “Tell Me Why.” Hayden delivers a stellar performance steeped in the naturally rich resonance of Toronto’s Convocation Hall. (Badman)

Loquat

Fall

This 10″ vinyl record exudes a romantic, autumnal feel. Kylee Swenson and her boys can take a sad song and make it better. Their strengths lie in sailing melancholic lyrics over floating waves of melodic guitars and sweeping synth lines while a dynamic rhythm section provides a warm and glowing groove. Did we mention that her voice brings dead flowers back to life? (Dreams by Degrees)

My Morning Jacket

Chocolate and Ice

A lot of people try and sing like Neil Young if they can’t sing for real. Jim James, singer for MMJ, sounds a lot like ol’ Neil, but you can tell he’s not trying to — it’s as natural as unprotected sex. These songs are space-twang epics that will take the breath away from so many pot smokers. (Badman)

Ride

OX4: The Best of Ride

Also file under “Best Mod Lang Records Purchase of 2002.” You need not be an Anglophile to realize that Ride was one of the most underrated bands of the ’90s, making grunge nonexistent to so many thankful people. Nostalgia aside, the sequence of these songs reveals an honest and healthy musical growth that unfolded like a daydream before needless egos tore the band apart. (The First Time)

Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter

Reckless Burning

Jesse Sykes was in the band Hominy, and Phil Wandscher played in Whiskeytown before they shacked up in Seattle (Ballard, actually) to start this band. With deep acoustic guitars, slow-burning electric twang, moody violin, and heartbreaking songs not unlike Mark Kozelek’s, Reckless Burning is a smoky album with some of the best singing since Sandy Denny accompanied Fairport Convention. (Burn Burn Burn)

Soundtrack

Dogtown and Z-Boys

Long before skateboarders became the new jocks, they were actually interesting people with good taste. This CD is proof. Sure, you can hear T. Rex, Hendrix, Thin Lizzy, and the James Gang on The Drive, but, unlike most “classic rock” radio, this compilation has no maddening jingles from Mattress Discounters. (Universal)


GARRETT KAMPS

Black Dice

Beaches and Canyons

Hardcore, punk, metal, thrash; the breaking of noses and the splitting of heads — what the hell’s the point of all this ruckus? What happens when you’ve run out of things to rebel against, when the noise just isn’t all that noisy anymore? You transcend. You turn your noise into some kind of aural peyote and just blast off, leaving all those losers with their fuzz boxes wondering what’s next. (DFA)

Cinematic Orchestra

Everyday

The formula’s so simple you wonder why no one’s done it this well before: Six amazing musicians playing, as DJ Cam once referred to it, mad blunted jazz. Atmospheric instrumentals swell and explode though ten-minute opuses that do for downtempo what St. Germain did for house music. Also this year’s best for makin’ whoopee. (Ninja Tune)

Dntel

Life Is Full of Possibilities

Released in late 2001, Life Is … was the first record after Radiohead’s Kid A to really synthesize rock and electronica. Jittery synths poke sticks into plaintive vocals as broken beats skitter this way and that. It’s nervous, messy, and cathartic all at once — and after a year’s worth of listens, it still sounds fresher than most everything out there. (Plug Research)

Destroyer

This Night

Indie rock should make us feel proud to be losers, but this year’s crop just made us feel embarrassed. Not Destroyer, though. This shit was explosive. David Bejar whoops and whinnies amidst songs that sound like Bob Dylan with a cherry bomb up his ass. At sixty-plus minutes, This Night hung a million good ideas on a long clothesline of solid songwriting. (Merge)

Interpol

Turn on the Bright Lights

Interpol gets lumped in with all the other NYC retro-rockers ’cause the members are style-obsessed. But if you look past that, you hear an amazing band juicing the fruits of melancholy to make a post-punk concoction so gooey and addictive you want to cook it in a spoon and mainline it. This was the only NYC band this year that earned the right to dress up. (Matador)

Liars

They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top

Boasting this year’s coolest record title, Liars wiped the floor with both the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Jon Spencer when they opened the triple bill earlier this year. These four guys give garage bands that not-so-fresh feeling — next to the caffeinated electro-punk of this band, retro rock just plain sucks. (Blast First/Mute)

Migala

Restos de un Incendio

Combining wispy folk, Abel Hernandez’ warm, gravelly voice, and churning, atmospheric rock, Spain’s Migala is giving America’s pasty indie rock legions a little international competition. Makes you wonder if Isaac Brock could improve his records if he sung in Spanish. (Acuarela)

Múm

Finally We Are No One

Like the gentle sigh of your very first love, múm’s Finally is utterly simple, yet it still squeezes your heart like a vice. Twin sisters singing like children, a genius drummer playing underwater pots and pans, tiny toy xylophones — it’s like speed metal reinterpreted by angels of light. Why oh why can’t it all sound like this? (FatCat)

RJD2

Deadringer

Underground hip-hoppers too hip to hop on the Fatboy Slim bandwagon can thank RJD2 for delivering block-rockin’ beats disguised as cut ‘n’ paste turntablism. Equal parts DJ Shadow and Norman Cook, this record made us want to throw our hands in the air like we just didn’t care, which is a lot to ask these days in the stuffy world of the underground. (Def Jux)

Sigur Rós

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With their made-up language and total lack of nomenclature, Sigur Rós wears its pretension like a medal of honor. But can you name another band that can pull off this atmospheric ice-castle shit? If pretension gets in your way of enjoying this record, then that sucks for you. (PIAS/MCA/FatCat)


JENNY TATONE

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

This band is hot as hell and bleeding charisma, power, and sex. But the record’s not raw ’cause the band produced it that way; it’s raw because its creators are that way, inside and out. It’s a sound that’s at the same time minimal and huge; panting, sweating, lusting, and grunting through five beat-up, emotionally dysfunctional tracks. (Touch and Go)

The Pattern

Real Feelness

Go ahead, shake that thing — you won’t be able to help it after you listen to this album. Mixing up the boogie-woogie flavor of R&B and the snotty attitude of punk rock, it’s a wild concoction of loud, fast fun. Don’t expect anything too abstract or difficult, just a great record to slap on for an instant kick of energy and glee. (Lookout!)

Liars

They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top

The Liars are mad and mean — I’m not sure if it was the trench, the monument, or their alleged dishonesty, but they’re very pissed off. This makes for some brilliantly moving post-post-punk (nu punk? This is getting out of hand … ). (Blast First/Mute)

Sonic Youth

Murray Street

Christ, there’s no way to explain why this is a phenomenal album. Ya already know they’re one of the best. (Geffen)

Kills

Black Rooster

Velvet Underground rip-off though they may be, like any thief worth their mettle, they manage to get away with it. Kills are trashy, raw, and sexy punks who leave behind their one-of-a-kind mark: thumping and thrusting, screeching and cooing that almost makes me lose my concept of time. (Dim Mak)

Young People

Young People

Probably the most offbeat of all these picks, this folk-inspired post-punk threesome took some time to grow on me. But fortunately I was able to multitask (always a time-saver!) and listen to the album while staring out my window. It’s the perfect music for such a task. At once drearily weepy and erratically piercing, the Young People’s sound is imaginatively real, immersed in both stirring heartbreak and out-there inventiveness. (5RC)

Sugar Shack

Spinning Wheels

Driven by truckloads of energy, vocals so sloppy they shower you with spit, and a little tongue-in-cheek mentality, this band is definitely jacked-up on a sugar high. Good ol’ slapdash garage rock is getting’ a bad rap these days, but so be it … still tastes mighty good to me. (Estrus)

Lo-Hi

Say It More

A little poppy, a little punky, and a little rock-y. The vocals are where it’s at, shifting gears oh-so-gently from rough and edgy to sweet and soulful. The record glides with grace through varying styles, held together by that gigantic voice. This is the kind of album you can headbang and shake your hips and sing into a brush in front of the mirror — all in one package! (Tiger Style)

Hot Snakes

Suicide Invoice

Hell and fire again? Hot damn! And is there anything more evil than snakes? This is heavy, thrashing, and dark (pitch-black, in fact, and I’m not talking growling death metal) punk rock. Somehow just listening to it can convince you that, like the tunes, you are very badass yourself. (Swami)

Quix*o*tic

Mortal Mirror

There’s this mythic bar downtown where the lights are dimmed real low, each table is round and cloaked in black cloth, the candles glow and radiate dancing reflections across the red walls, and the seething bonfire pit roars and crackles. A narrow, circular cast of light shines down on a velvet curtain. It is here that the goth-punk-inspired Quix*o*tic could appear, offering a melancholy, impassioned, heart-wrenching set of songs. (Kill Rock Stars)


KATY ST. CLAIR

Beck

Sea Change

Okay, so another rock critic is picking a Beck record for her year-end list. How original! But when someone takes over where After the Gold Rush left off the way this guy does, it’s worthy of praise. So which rock journalism cliché to choose? How about: It’s an instant classic. A tour de force. Redefines what it means to be a singer-songwriter. (Geffen)

Clinic

Walking with Thee

This record could easily have come out in the ’80s, though it ain’t no throwback. British sensibility; droning, psychedelic keyboards; vocals that range from earthy to yelped, and the best single of the year, “Walking with Thee.” It’s precious all right, but not pretentious. Clinic is all that and some fish ‘n’ chips. (Domino)

Dälek

From Filthy Tongues of Gods and Griots

Hip-hop for punks who miss My Bloody Valentine and Public Enemy, with a smidge of industrial clanged in for good measure. Screw all that backpacker shizznit — long live old-school beats! (Ipecac)

Elf Power

Creatures

Remember when whole albums had a feeling, an aura? Murmur comes to mind, though perhaps that’s because both REM and Elf Power are from Athens. But maybe it’s also because both albums dredge up feelings of high-humidity evenings steeped in motionless, kudzu-covered darkness. Not that Creatures is some gloomy, lo-fi beastie — this record’s got tons of punch and plenty to sing along to in the shower. (Spin Art)

Fucking Champs

V

Hmm, instrumental guitar work à la Steve Vai that nods to Iron Maiden and prog rock? Kill me now. Which is why this band is so great: You forget that its members probably collect comic books. There’s a lot of speculation as to whether or not they are trying to be ironic — but au contraire. This band’s sincerity is what makes it work. (Drag City)

Numbers

Numbers Life

It’s one thing to be lumped in with electroclash and no wave and all those other peeps, but to then produce an album that has a vaguely poppish sensibility underneath it all? Good going. Plus, keyboardist Eric Landmark invented his own instrument called a Buzzerk that sounds at different times like a demented doorbell or a chainsaw dissecting a cinderblock. It’s good dance that you can beat to. (Tigerbeat6)

The Oranges Band

On TV

This band sells out shows on the East Coast and is slowly spreading its zeitgeist westward with a wagon train of driving guitars, loose arrangements, and some seriously catchy melodies. If you miss the Wedding Present you will surely soil your cords. Kudos to Lookout’s Chris Appelgren — a big fan of singer Roman Kuebler’s old band, the Thumbs — for snagging this group. (Lookout!)

One Man Army

Rumors and Headlines

Stellar pop-punk songwriting with more hooks in it than a drunken fisherman’s eyeball. Singer Jack Dalrymple’s sexy, boyish, and rough-hewn vocals have a bratty side for the guys and a sensitive, frosting side for the girls. Kevin Army produced it (Green Day, Op Ivy, Mr. T Experience), which may explain the album’s spot-on arrangements. (BYO)

Linda Thompson

Fashionably Late

Americans love a redemption story, and Linda Thompson is it. After losing her voice (it’s a long story) she’s come back after seventeen years, crafting an amazing record in the vein of those classic albums she made with her (ex-) spouse. Though she always lived in the shadow of hobbit-rock pixie Sandy Denny, one still can’t help feeling that her return gives folk-rockers something to hold onto after the death of Fairport Convention’s melodious singer. (Rounder)

Gary Wilson

You Think You Really Know Me

Homeboy lived in his parents’ basement in the late ’70s. Homeboy wasn’t getting laid. Homeboy wrote a song called “Groovy Girls Make Love at the Beach.” Gosh, do you think maybe he had some heads in his freezer? He spent a lot of time down there recording, um, “experimental” music, as well as funk, rock, and the honkiest Barry White rip-off you’ve ever heard. This is some hilariously bad greatness, not unlike the song poems of the MSR Madness series. Gary Wilson, did you ever know that you’re my hero? (Motel)

PAM THE FUNKSTRESS
DJ, the Coup
Scarface The Fix (Universal)
Mobb Deep Infamy (Sony)
Nas The Lost Tapes (Sony)
Jurassic 5 Power in Numbers (Interscope)
Clipse Lord Willin’ (Arista)
Trick Daddy Thug Holiday (Atlantic)
E-40 Grit & Grind (Jive)
Eminem The Eminem Show (Interscope)
Nappy Roots Watermelon, Chicken & Grits (Atlantic)
Xzibit Man Vs. Machine (Sony)


TIM GREEN
Guitar, the Fucking Champs
Neil Hamburger Laugh Out Lord (Drag City)
Last of the Juanitas Time’s Up (Flapping Jet)
The Cherry Valence Riffin’ (Estrus)
David Cross Shut Up You Fucking Baby (Sub Pop)
The Double U White Night, Floating Anchor (Emperor Jones)
100% Storms Ensemble Plays the Music of Eric D. Morrison (Emperor Jones)
Drunk Horse Adult Situations Longmont Potion Castle Volume 4 (Adr)
Aspects of Physics Systems of Social Recalibration (Imputor)
Golden Apollo Stars (Thrill Jockey)


SPIKE SLAWSON
Singer, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes/ bassist, Swingin’ Utters
Soundtrack The Royal Tenenbaums (Hollywood)
One Man Army Rumors and Headlines (BYO)
Stereo Total Musique Automatique (Kill Rock Stars)
Desperation Squad self-released demo
The Dwarves/Mondo Generator show at Stinky’s Peep Show
Glenn Lewis World Outside My Window (Sony)
Queens of the Stone Age Songs for the Deaf (Interscope)
Stryper Holy Shit! Fifteen Years of Hits (Tooth & Nail)
PErtUrb’d A Bluegrass Salute to Joy Division (K&S)
Spinal Tap DVD


MOD LANG
Berkeley record store’s employee picks
Beck Sea Change (Geffen)
The Streets Original Pirate Material (Vice)
Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter Reckless Burning (Burn Burn Burn)
David Holmes Come Get It I Got It (13 Amp)
Primal Scream Evil Heat (Sony)
Interpol Turn on the Bright Lights (Matador)
Linda Thompson Fashionably Late (Rounder)
Nicolai Dunger Soul Rush (Lakeshore)
Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man Out of Season (Go! Beat)
The Pattern Real Feelness (Lookout!)


THE PEDESTRIAN
Anticon
Pinback Blue Screen Life (Ace Fu)
Tom Waits Blood Money (Epitaph)
Fugazi Instrument DVD (Dischord)
Reading Quiet In the Shadow of the Living Room (Mush)
Pavement Slanted + Enchanted Luxe + Redux (Matador)
Latryx Latryx (Quannum Projects)
Mikeh 9 Timetable (Meanstreet)
Edan Primitive Plus (Solid)
Silver Jews Bright Flight (Drag City)


JASON MORGAN
Harold Ray Live in Concert
Reigning Sound Time Bomb High School (In the Red)
Andrew WK I Get Wet (Universal)
Elvis Costello When I Was Cruel (Universal)
Beach Boys Classics Selected by Brian Wilson (Capitol)
Tom Petty The Last DJ (Warner Bros.)
The Turtles Anthology (Rhino)
Brendan Benson Lapalco (Star Time)
Clipse Lord Willin’ (Arista)
Rolling Stones Aftermath (UK version, Abkco)
Thomas & Richard Frost Visualize (Phantom)


JIM THIEBAUD
Co-owner of Adeline Records and Real Skateboards
Dillinger 4 at Gilman
AFI at the Phoenix Theatre
Green Day at the Coliseum
Shannon Yarbrough “Ridin’ These Tracks” (File 13)
“Should I Stay or Should I Go?” as performed word for word by my son in the back seat of my car
The Crush Here Is Where I Cross My Fingers (Adeline)
American Steel Jagged Thoughts (Lookout!)
The Beltones Cheap Trinkets (TKO)
Common Rider This Is Unity Music (Hopeless)
DMX The Great Depression (Universal)
Justin Timberlake Justified (Jive) (Just seeing if you’re still paying attention … Plus I like O-Town way better – Jacob’s such a rebel hottie!)


BENI B
President, ABB Records
Peven Everett Studio Confessions (ABB Soul)
Nas Stillmatic (Columbia)
Jazzy Jeff The Magnificent (BBE)
Scarface The Fix (Def Jam)
50 Cent Guess Who’s Back (Full Clip)
Jazzanova In Between (JCR/Compost)
N.E.R.D. In Search of (Virgin)
Jurassic 5 Power in Numbers (Interscope)
Cormega The True Meaning (Legal Hustle)
Goapele Closer (Sky Blaze)
J-Live All of the Above (Coup D’Etat)


ALEC PALAO
Ace Records compiler/reissue king
Jackie Greene Gone Wanderin’ (Dig Music)
The Hives Veni Vidi Vicious (Warner Bros)
The Who My Generation (Universal)
James Carr The Goldwax Singles (Kent)
Little George Sueref & the Blue Stars (Pussycat)
Elvis Costello This Year’s Model (Rhino)
Love Da Capo (Warner Bros.)
Eddie & Ernie Lost Friends (Kent)
Duffy Power Leapers & Sleepers (RPM)
Sandy Salisbury Falling to Pieces (Rev-Ola)


BEST EAST BAY RELEASES
Blackalicious Blazing Arrow (MCA)
Bart Davenport Bart Davenport (Paris Caramel)
Dave Gleason’s Wasted Days Dave Gleason’s Wasted Days (Well Worn)
High On Fire Surrounded by Thieves (Relapse)
Mr. Lif I Phantom (Def Jux)
Motion Man Clearing the Field (Threshold)
Jill Olsen My Best Yesterday (Inner State)
One Man Army Rumors and Headlines (BYO)
The Pattern Real Feelness (Lookout!)
Goapele Even Closer (Red Urban)


MARIO PEROTTI
Owner/Webmaster, Powerslave.com
Cannibal Corpse Gore Obsessed (Metal Blade)
Hatebreed Perseverance (Universal)
Hate Eternal King of All Kings (Earache)
Impaled Mondo Medicale (Death Vomit/Necropolis)
Lacuna Coil Comalies (Century Media)
Nile In Their Darkened Shrines (Relapse)
Psypheria Embrace the Mutation (Heretic Sound)
Shadows Fall Art of Imbalance (Century Media)
Soilwork Natural Born Chaos (Nuclear Blast)
Superjoint Ritual Use Once and Destroy (Sanctuary)


JASON SERINUS
Express critic
Brahms & Stravinsky Violin Concertos, Sir Neville Marriner, cond. (Sony)
Debussy Pelléas et Mélisande, Bernard Haitink, cond. (Naive)
Gluck Dreams & Fables, Cecilia Bartoli (Decca)
Ives An American Journey, Michael Tilson Thomas (RCA Victor)
Janacek The Diary of One Who Disappeared/Piano Works Ian Bostridge/Thomas Adès (EMI)
Kitka The Vine (Diaphonica)
Mahler Symphony No. 6, Michael Tilson Thomas (SF Media)
The Fabulous Victoria de los Angeles A Lifetime Achievement (Testament)
Beverly Sills The Singers (Decca)
Maggie Teyte The Singers (Decca)
Donald Currie Sex and Mayhem (cdbaby.com)


JESSE ” CHUY” VARELA
KPFA DJ
Eddie Palmieri La Perfecta II (Concord Picante)
John Santos & Machete SF Bay (Machete)
Michel Camilo Triangulo (Telarc)
Omar Sosa Sentir (Ota)
Cuarteto Sonando 7 Steps to 850 (Sonando)
Benny Velarde y su Supercombo Viva Velarde (Disher Music & Sound)
Quetzal Sing the Real (Vanguard)
Alejandro Escovedo By the Hand of the Father (Texas Music Group)
Kronos Quartet Nuevo (Nonesuch)
Various
Pachuco Boogie (Arhoolie)


MOST-HYPED
Beck Sea Change (Geffen)
El-P Fantastic Damage (Def Jux)
Fischerspooner #1 (Ministry of Sound)
The Hives Veni Vidi Vicious (Warner Bros.)
Norah Jones Come Away with Me (Blue Note)
Langley Schools Music Project Innocence and Despair (Bar None)
Joey Ramone Don’t Worry About Me (Sanctuary)
Andrew W.K. I Get Wet (Universal)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Touch and Go)
Wilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (Nonesuch)


ELI ECKERT
Singer and guitarist, Drunk Horse
Cinematic Orchestra Everyday (Ninja Tune)
Boards of Canada Geogaddi (Warp)
J Live The Best Part (Triple Threat)
The Cherry Valence Riffin’ (Estrus)
Mr. Show The first two seasons, DVD
Frank Black and the Catholics Devil’s Workshop (SpinART)
All Night live show & demo
Billy Cobham’s Spectrum live show at Yoshi’s
Hardplace live show
The Cuts live show


TINA LUCCHESI
Singer, Bobbyteens/Deadly Weapons
The Spits The Spits (Slovenly)
FM Knives Useless and Modern (Moo-La-La)
Triggers “Gasoline” 7″ (Vinyl Warning)
Greenhornes Dual Mono (Telstar)
Sahara Hotnights Jenny Bomb (Jet Set)
Joey Ramone Don’t Worry About Me (Sanctuary)
Paybacks Knock Loud (Get Hip)
Flakes “Music for Haters” 7″ (Hate)/ “Jerk Store” 7″ (Screaming Apple)
The Black Lips 3 Song EP 7″ (Bomp)
Coachwhips any live show


MOLLY NEUMAN
Bratmobile drummer and co-owner of Lookout! Records
Bratmobile Girls Get Busy (Lookout!)
The Donnas Spend the Night (Atlantic)
Justin Timberlake Justified (Jive)
The Pattern Real Feelness (Lookout!)
The Mars Volta Tremulant (GSL)
Nazti Skins Sic Semper Tyrannis (Youth Attack)
The Oranges Band on TV (Lookout!)
Oasis Heathen Chemistry (Sony)
Pretty Girls Make Graves Good Health (Lookout!)
The Washdown The Washdown (Lookout!)

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