The
Best Music of 2000
- by Jennifer Hawker
Another year, another year-end wrap-up. Every year
it seems people complain that "it was a bad year for music" and
I always beg to differ. This year was no exception: in a world filled
with teenybopper boy bands, teen divas, and yet another groovy Madonna
album, there were many surprises from a range of young talented
bands and old favorites alike. You'll notice that I seemed to have
both feet (or, rather, both ears) planted firmly in the British
Isles, which is no surprise as it's no secret that I'm an Anglophile
of sorts. However, think of this as your guide to what you missed
if you have been caught in a world of Limp Bizkit and Blink 182
as your only "alternatives" to the teenyboppers.
From across the pond, three of my favorite albums
were the debuts by London-based quartet Coldplay, the Mancunian
group Doves, and Irish youngsters JJ72. Coldplay were
dubbed "this year's Travis" after their catchy sing-along "Yellow"
from Parachutes became one of
the mega-hits of the summer. An infectious tune indeed, the real
gems to be found on the album include the dreamy and magical lead
track "Don't Panic" and the beautiful but haunting "Spies". Though
singer Chris Martin's voice garners the band many comparisons to
Radiohead and Jeff Buckley, I tend to think of the mellow acoustic
vibe of Nick Drake as well as drawn-out space rock feel of early
Verve.
editor's
favorites
|
Donald
Melanson
Editor-in-Chief
top 10:
1) Radiohead, Kid
A
2) PJ Harvey, Stories
From The City, Stories From The Sea
3) Travis, The
Man Who
4) Coldplay, Parachutes
5) Thievery Corporation, The
Mirror Conspiracy
6) Dandy Warhols, Thirteen
Tales From Urban Bohemia
7) U2, All
That You Can't Leave Behind
8) Lou Reed, Ecstasy
9) The Tragically Hip, Music
@ Work
10) Air, Virgin
Suicides Soundtrack
other favoritess:
Black Box Recorder, The
Facts of Life
Placebo, Black
Market Music
Steely Dan, Two
Against Nature
Yo La Tengo, And
Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
best release:
David Bowie, Bowie
at the Beeb
|
Picking up the spaced-out vibe where Coldplay left
off is Doves, the latest great export from Manchester, England.
Formerly the dance outfit (little-)known as Sub Sub, the group has
since suffered enough problems to kill any band and yet still after
eight years of hell they've re-emerged, reborn as Doves with Lost
Souls. An album of one anthem after another, it's almost a little
too much to listen to at once. The album proves itself a real grower
with repeated listening, however, with "Here It Comes", "Break Me
Gently", "The Cedar Room" and especially "Rise" proving most remarkable.
Let this one fill a whole room. Allow yourself to be swept up in
its power. Lifting, sweeping, but neither cheery nor depressing.
The last of my trio of favorite debuts is the self-titled
album from Irish trio JJ72. Though not quite as polished as Coldplay,
JJ72 is still remarkably accomplished for such a young band
(like Coldplay, JJ72 are just barely out of their teens). Singer/guitarist
Mark Greaney's falsetto is in line with rivaling that of Thom Yorke,
filled with all the angst and passion that Radiohead and Manic Street
Preachers had in their early days. As much as I hate these sort
of comparisons, JJ72 are the new Muse, a similarly young, angsty,
passionate band who released their debut Showbiz in 1999 but didn't
take off until the following year. JJ72, I predict, will start making
greater waves as the buzz on them continues into 2001. With JJ72
still only available on import in the US, try sampling "October
Swimmer", "Oxygen" and "Snow" first if you're wary about import
prices.
Quite a few bands that have been around for awhile,
but still aren't that known outside of the UK, turned out excellent
albums in 2000. Black Box Recorder, whose mastermind Luke
Haines is better known for his "other" band, The Auteurs, released
their second album, The Facts Of Life. Sarah Nixey handles
the vocal duties delicately, yet knowingly, tackling intriguing
stories of life and death most engagingly. Like comparing a flower
to a sandstorm, Primal Scream's XTRMNTR couldn't be
more different than Black Box Recorder, but they are another UK
band that gets little attention Stateside. A heavy album of rock,
dance, and even a bit of soul, it's a frenetic, insane, eclectic
mess that gets better with each listen. Try "Kill All Hippies" and
"Swastika Eyes" on for size and tell me I'm not wrong! Lastly, Elastica
finally released their much-anticipated and highly-underrated sophomore
effort The Menace. Though it doesn't capture the live energy
of an Elastica gig, the attitude is there and the appearance of
The Fall's Mark E. Smith on "How He Wrote Elastica Man" is a gem.
Speaking of The Fall, a year wouldn't be complete
without a new Fall album, and sure enough, The Unutterable
did not disappoint. It was everything a Fall album should be, including
a tad of patchiness toward the end, and yet it was nothing like
I expected it would be. Wow!
editor's
favorites
|
Dan
Richards
Senior Editor
top 10:
1) Coldplay, Parachutes
2) Nelly Furtado, Whoa,
Nelly!
3) Emmylou Harris, Red
Dirt Girl
4) Outkast, Stankonia
5) Madonna, Music
6) Aimee Mann, Bachelor
No. 2
7) Eminem, The
Marshall Mathers LP
8) Steely Dan, Two
Against Nature
9) 2gether, Again
10) Jay-Z, The
Dynasty: Roc La Familia 2000
other favs:
David Gray, White
Ladder
D'Angelo, Voodoo
biggest
disappointment:
U2, All
That You Can't Leave Behind
|
And just as Primal Scream is nothing like Black Box
Recorder, so is Toploader not a thing like the Fall. Easily
written off as a "feel good" pop rock band, Toploader are more mature
than that; fresh, honest and genuine. "Let The People Know" gets
Onka's Big Moka (no, I don't know what it means either) off
to an energized start, their cover of "Dancing In The Moonlight"
is as catchy as they come, and "Achilles Heel" is the song that
tipped me off to this wonderful band as the Next Big Thing two years
ago. One listen and you will understand why.
Now what of 2000's biggest hypes? Richard Ashcroft
(formerly of The Verve) released his solo debut, Alone With Everybody
to mixed praise from fans and critics alike. Personally, though
some of the songs were overlong and overproduced, I still found
myself reaching to put the album on all year long. "A Song For The
Lovers" is the definitive track from the album. Oasis gave it a
shot with a new album and new band lineup this year, and while the
latter change was successful on the live circuit, Standing On
The Shoulder Of Giants was a big disappointment. Go download
album track "Gas Panic" and you've got the best thing from the album
- Noel's deeply personal lyrics are matched with Liam's distinctive
voice to great effect. Finally, U2 released their tenth studio
album in 20 years, another mixed bag like the Ashcroft album. Overproduction
isn't the problem on All That You Can't
Leave Behind, however, for the U2 boys have stripped things
down into a simpler affair, more like their 1980s output. The problem
is that the edge, the spark, just isn't there. The lyrics are inspired
(in fact, the album comes off sounding very Mainstream Christian
Rock - make of that what you will), the band are strong, but where's
the fire? "Beautiful Day", "Elevation", "Wild Honey", and the majority
of the album's first half are okay, but the second half reeks of
filler material. "Summer Rain", a B-side from the "Beautiful Day"
single, would have been a better choice on the album than, say,
the languid "When I Look At The World".
On the more successful end of the "hype" bag was definitely
Radiohead's Kid A, their much-anticipated
fourth album. Many didn't know what to make of it, and I must admit
that I owned the album for a couple of weeks before I gathered up
enough nerve to play it. I was afraid it wouldn't live up to my
expectations, which had been fueled by a lot of hype and speculation,
not to mention quite a few downloaded MP3s! In the end, though it
was nothing like I'd expected; it was actually far better than I
could have hoped for. It's uneasy listening, requiring several plays
to even get a hint of all that's going on. Another album that was
subjected to a heck of a lot of speculation was Madonna's
Music, as everyone wondered what the aging pop star would
come up with next. Music was certainly very hip and groovy - whoever
thought nearly 20 years ago that Madonna would still be the trend-setting
hot mama of pop music that she is at age 42? Only a couple of overdone
repetitive tracks on the album keep this one off of my overall Top
Ten list, but a recap of 2000 would not have been complete without
it.
Jen's
Top Ten of 2000:
1. Coldplay:
Parachutes
2. Doves: Lost
Souls
3. Radiohead: Kid
A
4. JJ72: JJ72
5. Black Box Recorder: The
Facts Of Life
6. The Fall: The Unutterable
7. Toploader: Onka's
Big Moka
8. Elastica: The
Menace
9. Richard Ashcroft: Alone
With Everybody
10. Primal Scream: XTRMNTR
Bubbling
Under:
Madonna: Music
U2: All
That You Can't Leave Behind
b i o :
Jennifer Hawker
is a recent Kalamazoo College graduate in Computer Science and
is pursuing career interests in California.
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