The Big Tally
*the essential essential, on more than one list or chosen as most essential
Radiohead - Kid A (11 votes)
PJ Harvey - Songs from the City, Songs from the Sea (5)
Sarah Harmer - You Were Here (5)
Aimee Mann - Bachelor No.2 (5)
Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out (5)
Sinead O'Connor - Faith and Courage (4)
Dandy Warhols - 13 tales from urban bohemia (4)
Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker (3)
Travis - The Man Who (3)
David Gray – White Ladder (3)
Badly Drawn Boy - Hour of the Bewilderbeast (3)
Absinthe Blind - music for security**
Richard Ashcroft - Alone with Everybody**
At The Drive-In - relationship of command**
music tapes : first imaginary symphony for nomad**
Bright Eyes - fevers & mirrors**
The Unutterable - The Fall**
Cat Power - The Covers Record**
Belle & Sebastian - Fold Your Hands Child You Walk Like a Peasant**
Shelby Lynne- I Am Shelby Lynne**
Outkast—Stankonia**
Thievery Corporation- The Mirror Conspiracy**
John Williams -- SW: Episode I- The Phantom Menace Ultimate Edition and Superman**
Bjork – Selmasongs**
Fela Kuti -- catalogue (a reissue)**
Josh Rouse – Home**
Elliot Smith – Figure 8**
Here Are My Picks, For What They’re Worth
MOST ESSENTIAL ALBUM OF 2000:
Radiohead, Kid A (most anticipated album ends up being the best – what are the odds?)
ESSENTIAL ALBUMS OF 2000:
PJ Harvey, Songs from the City, Songs from the Sea
Ryan Adams, Heartbreaker (that’s Ryan, not Bryan)
Sarah Harmer, You Were Here (sleeper of the year – keeps moving up the list)
Travis, The Man Who
Aimee Mann, Bachelor No.2
Richard Ashcroft, Alone with Everybody
ARE NOT CURRENTLY ESSENTIAL, BUT MAY BECOME SO:
Coldplay, Parachutes
Sinead O’Connor, Faith and Courage
Ida, Will You Find Me
Kings of Convenience, Kings of Convenience
Shelby Lynne, I am Shelby Lynne
STARTED OFF ESSENTIAL, BUT ENDED UP ALMOST ESSENTIAL
Bjork, Selmasongs
Dar Williams, The Green World
DEBUT OR BREAKTHROUGH ALBUMS WORTH NOTING:
Leona Naess, Comatized
Erin McKeown, Distillation
Richard Shindell, Somewhere Near Patterson
Joseph Arthur, Come Where You Are
Nickel Creek, Nickel Creek
BEST DEBUT WITH THE WORST ALBUM TITLE:
Tegan and Sarah, This Business of Art
ESSENTIAL ALBUMS FROM 1999 THAT ARE STILL ESSENTIAL IN 2000:
Beth Orton, Central Reservation
Fiona Apple, When the Pawn…
Ben Lee, Breathing Tornadoes
Aimee Mann, Magnolia Soundtrack
ALBUMS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS THAT I DISCOVERED THIS YEAR:
Strangely, I can’t think of any. Although I have a newfound appreciation for The Get-up Kids, Sam Cooke, and Bill Withers.
SONG OF THE YEAR:
Coldplay, “Yellow”
(runners up include Sarah Harmer, “The Basement Apartment”; Radiohead, “Idioteque”; Amanda Ghost, “Idol”)
CONCERT OF THE YEAR:
PJ Harvey, Bowery Ballroom
SOUNDTRACK OF THE YEAR (besides Selmasongs):
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
GUILTY PLEASURE OF THE YEAR:
Vertical Horizon’s “Everything You Want” and “You’re a God” are damn good songs.
MUSICAL THING OF THE YEAR:
Napster, easily
Jason Black, Who Shows Many Jeff Buckley and Nick Drake Influences
2 MOST ESSENTIAL ALBUMS OF THE YEAR:
Absinthe Blind - "music for security"
sarah harmer - "you were here"
7 OTHER ESSENTIAL ALBUMS OF THE YEAR:
cursive - "Cursive's Domestica"
sleater-kinney - "all hands on the bad one"
teddy thompson - "teddy thompson"
chris lee - "chris lee"
PJ Harvey - "Songs from the city..."
eminem - "the marshall mathers LP"
shelby lynne - "i am shelby lynne"
THE ALBUM FROM PREVIOUS YEARS THAT I DISCOVERED THIS YEAR AND PROVED TO BE ESSENTIAL: Get up Kids - "Something to Write Home About"
9 OTHER ALBUMS WORTH NOTING FROM THIS YEAR:
the glands - "the glands"
Amy Correia - "Carnival Love"
Paddy Casey - "Amen (so be it)"
At The Drive-In - "relationship of command"
madonna - "music"
tahiti 80 - "puzzle"
marah - "kids in philly"
sinead o'connor - "Faith and Courage"
and (begrudgingly) travis - "the man who," david gray - "White ladder"
12 great songs of the year, and most of them are indeed on noteworthy
albums...
Ryan Adams - "Come pick me up" (off "Heartbreaker")
Crooked Fingers - "A New Drink for the Old Drunk" (off "Crooked Fingers")
Waxwings - "Keeping the Sparks" (off "low to the ground")
Coldplay - "yellow" (off "parachutes)
Bright eyes - "Something Vague" (off "fevers and mirrors")
clem snide - "I Love the Unknown" (off "Your Favorite Music")
Kina - "girl from the gutter" (off "kina)
Josh Rouse - "directions" (off "home")
A perfect circle - "judith"
Death Cab for Cutie - "company calls" (off "We Have the Facts and We're
Voting Yes")
Eleni Mandell - "Pauline" (off "Thrill")
John Vanderslice - "Bill Gates Must Die" (also song TITLE of the year,
obviously; off "Mass Suicide Occult Figurines")
1 SHOW OF THE YEAR: Modest Mouse @ Irving Plaza (worst: Badly Drawn Boy @
Knitting Factory)
2 ACTS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN Y2K+1:
Ours (like Radiohead? like Jeff Buckley?
Vanessa Carlton (like Tori? Like Fiona?)
2 ALBUMS I KNOW I SHOULD HAVE LOVED MORE BUT I JUsT DIDN'T LISTEN TO THEM AS
MUCH AS RECORDS AND THUS THEY DON'T MAKE MY LIST AND I WON'T APOLOGIZE FOR
IT:
Radiohead - "kid A"
Outkast - "stankonia"
MY CRUSH OF THE YEAR: Beyonce Knowles, Destiny's Child.
Stieg Retlin, Man…or Astroman?
MOST ESSENTIAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR
music tapes : first imaginary symphony for nomad
OTHER ESSENTIAL ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
[ in order , most to least most ]
jamie lidell : muddlin gear
mouse on mars : Niun Niggung
kid koala : carpal tunnel syndrome
kid 606 : down with the scene
mira calix : one on one
funkstorung : post art
spring heel jack : oddities
boards of canada : in a beautiful place out in the country
fight club : dust brothers original score
3rd message : a compilation
dilated peoples : platform
marumari : wolves hollow
matmos : matmos
OTHER ESSENTIAL ARTISTS OF THE YEAR [ bypassing retail // *.mp3 wise ]
[ in order , most to least most ]
godspeed you black emperor [ i dont even own mp3s of theirs because they get
all chopped up , their tracks are too long for mp3s . saw them play , oh
man ]
olivia tremor control
neutral milk hotel
takako minekawa
the evolution control comittee
east flatbush project
aphex twin : melodies from mars [rejected video game sound track ! ]
all my sifl and olli downloads , heh heh
[ through micromusic ]
[ in order , most to least most ]
lektrogirl
drx
comma
klunko
mikrosopht
bodenstandig
ALBUMS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS THAT I DISCOVERED THIS YEAR AND PROVED TO BE
ESSENTIAL
[damn i'm late]
[ in order , most to least most ]
boards of canada : music has the right to children
beach boys : best of beach boys [ helllllllllllllllll yeah ]
plaid : restproof clockwork
man or astro man : Experiment Zero
man or astro man : Is It Man Or Astro Man?
funkstorung : additional productions
kool keith : black elvis / lost in space
OTHER ALBUMS WORTH NOTING FROM THIS YEAR
8-bit rockers : [put out their first vinyl this year . and micromusic put
out a cd compilation at the end of the year ]
SOLID MP3 WEBSITES [ high bandwidth rules ]
www.micromusic.net
[where DRX , lektrogirl and mikrosopht spend a lot of time]
www.metempsychosis.net
[ mikrosopht , comma and klunko are part of this krew . comma and klunko is
the same person ]
www.enooze.com
[ mikrosopht's web magazine which i am helpping with ]
http://www.metempsychosis.com/mikro/audio/hi/plastic flesh - arkabear.mp3
[ out of enooze issue six ... i wrote this track !!!! ! ! ! ! !@ @ @ !! ! ]
Brian Masino, Who, At Press Time, Is Still Waiting For Chinese Democracy
Alright, I was going to go home and check to make sure memory serves me right, BUT that's too much. I have a list and I'm going with. If I can't think of them, then they ain't that essential.
MOST ESSENTIAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
radiohead Kid A (the only real choice, isn't it)
OTHER ESSENTIAL ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
Richard Ashcroft- alone with everybody
Cure- bloodflowers
At the Drive In- relationship command
Bright Eyes- fevers & mirrors
Stone Temple Pilots- No4
Amiee Mann- Bacholor number 2
Bowie at the Beeb
HIM- razor blade romance
Ryan Adams- heartbreaker
Queen Adreena- taxidermy
Placebo- blackmarket music
Dandy Warhols- 13 tales from urban bohemia
ALBUMS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS THAT I DISCOVERED THIS YEAR AND PROVED TO BE ESSENTIAL
Essex Green- the essex green
Saint Etienne- good humor
Sunfighter- Sunfighter (old Grace Slick & Paul Kanter lp from 1970)
Shudder to Think- 50,000 B.C. AND pony express record
Fugazi- end hits (proved to be a few years ahead of everyone else as usual)
Stone Roses- garage flower (import, may look like a bootleg, but not. pre-1st album gems)
Bikini Kill- reject all american
Make-up- i want some AND save yourself
AND TOO MANY MILLIONS OF OTHERS TO THINK OF
OTHER ALBUMS WORTH NOTING FROM THIS YEAR
(this could mean a promising debut, an album that might prove essential over time, or particularly glaring disappointments)
The Makers- rock star god (sub pop new superstars)
Nation of Ulysses- 13 point plan to destroy america (Discord reissue)
L.A. Guns- shrinking violet (2000 fare from the pivital punkmetal band proves that they have evolved into a Led Zepplin groove- tremondous album).
Guns 'N Roses- New Year's Eve Concert set list which include 5 songs off next years most essential album "Chinese Democracy"
the Melvins- the crybabys (part 3 of 3 part experiment in insanity- features guest vocals from David Yow of Jesus Lizard on two completely demented songs, two tracks by Hank Williams III which is country like country ain't never been done, AND the opening song......(drum roll here)....Smells Like Teen Spirit sung by Felonious 70's teen idol superstar Leif Garret. a blockbuster in absurdity.
Iain Stansfield, Quick and Dirty
Here's a quick and dirty response.
MOST ESSENTIAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR: The Unutterable - The Fall
OTHER ESSENTIAL ALBUMS OF THE YEAR: Solitary Man - Johnny Cash, Sigur Ros
album (forgot name, something Icelandic), Songs from the City etc - PJ
Harvey, Ghost Dog - OST, Dongs of Sevotion - Smog
ALBUMS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS THAT I DISCOVERED THIS YEAR AND PROVED TO BE
ESSENTIAL: Blur - Blur, Metal Box/Second Edition - PiL, Woman's Gotta Have
It - Cornershop
OTHER ALBUMS WORTH NOTING FROM THIS YEAR: Marshall Mathers Album - Eminem
(liked "Stan" very much)
Jennifer MacBain, With Whom I Shared the Concert of the Year
MOST ESSENTIAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR Radiohead- Kid A
OTHER ESSENTIAL ALBUMS OF THE YEAR P.J. Harvey- Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea; Elastica, The Menace; Badly Drawn Boy, Hour of the Bewilderbeast; The Dandy Warhols, 13 Tales From Urban Bohemia; Bratmobile, Ladies, Women, and Girls...; Sinead O'Conner, Faith and Courage.
ALBUMS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS THAT I DISCOVERED THIS YEAR AND PROVED TO BE ESSENTIAL Eliot Smith x/o; P.J. Harvey, Dry; Erykah Kidjou, Onimus; Tragic Kingdom, Return to Saturn. (it's that cool pink hair.)
OTHER ALBUMS WORTH NOTING FROM THIS YEAR
Sleater Kinney, All Hands on the Bad One; Kittie, Spit; Dido, No Angel. Travis, The Man Who (--pretty catchy songs even though several people I talked to said they sound like the Eagles,) Madonna, Music. (some of those electronic beats sound neat.)
(The only really lame song I can think of (from an artist I usually like,) is from Sting: I'm sorry, but I thought that Desert Rose song was boring and the video of him driving in a limo stalking some poor gypsy woman is so cliche!)
THe end.
Scott Thomas, Who May Not Be Warhol, But Is Certainly Dandy
ESSENTIAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Dandy Warhols - 13 Tales of Urban Bohemia
OTHER ESSENTIALS
Paul Van Dyk - Out There and Back
Dave Seaman - Global Underground: Buenos Aires (trance compilation)
ESSENTIALS FROM OTHER YEARS I DISCOVERED IN 2000
Kid Silver - Dead City Sunbeams
Low - Secret Name
Mogwai - Ten Rapid
Everything But The Girl - Temperamental
ALBUMS WORTH NOTING
Bjork - Selmasongs (I haven't seen the movie and may appreciate this more
when I do)
Brant Rumble, Who Loves To Be Complicated
Here is how my ballot should read finally and forever:
MOST ESSENTIAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Badly Drawn Boy's The Hour of Bewilderbeast
OTHER ESSENTIAL ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
Yo La Tengo's And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out
Cat Power's The Covers Record
Aimee Mann's Bachelor No. 2
Radiohead's Kid A
Belle & Sebastian's Fold Your Hands Child You Walk Like a Peasant
ALBUM FROM PREVIOUS YEARS THAT I DISCOVERED THIS YEAR AND PROVED TO BE ESSENTIAL
The Star Room Boys' Why Do Lonely Men and Women Want to Break Each Other's Hearts?
OTHER ALBUM WORTH NOTING FROM THIS YEAR
Oasis' Familiar to Millions -- for a live album
Blur's Best of -- for a compilation
Billy Bragg & Wilco's Mermaid Avenue, Vol II -- for a vol II of something
Primal Scream's Exterminator -- for a hard album to listen to
Mojave 3's Excuses for Travelers -- only heard it once; wish I'd heard it more
One final note: Yo La Tengo's album could be among the best albums ever recorded ever, in my humble opinion. However, for a given year, I am inclined to concentrate on the new, or at least newer, in terms of artist, I mean. Hence, I chose the Badly Drawn Boy even though, in the long run, I think I'll prefer the Yo La Tengo. That, and I love to be complicated.
Andrew Farmer, Whose List Will Probably Look Like My Brother Adam’s Next Year
MOST ESSENTIAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR: Shelby Lynne- I Am Shelby Lynne
OTHER ESSENTIAL ALBUMS OF THE YEAR:
Allison Moorer- The Hardest Part
Aimee Mann- Bachelor #2, or the last remains of the dodo
David Levithan- 90 Minutes of the 90's (Well it was to me.)
ALBUMS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS THAT I DISCOVERED AND PROVED TO BE ESSENTIAL
Sting- Brand New Day
Xena the Warrior Princess Soundtrack- Bitter Suite(No, really.)
OTHER ALBUMS WORTH NOTING THIS YEAR
Everclear- Songs from an American Movie, Volumes 1&2
Sarah Harmer- You Were Here
U2- All That You Can't Leave Behind
Dawn Cerasi, Who Now Determines All That She Can’t Leave Behind
> MOST ESSENTIAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Outkast-- Stankonia
>
> OTHER ESSENTIAL ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
Moby-- Play (is that 2000?) (ed.: No)
Erykah Badu – Mama’s Gun
U2-- All that you can't leave behind
Radiohead-- Kid A
David Gray-- White Ladder
Pearl Jam-- binaural
>
> ALBUMS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS THAT I DISCOVERED THIS YEAR AND PROVED TO BE
> ESSENTIAL
Mos Def-- Black on Both Sides
Outkast-- Aquemini
Outkast-- Atliens
The Roots-- Things Fall Apart
The Roots-- Illadelph Halflife
The Roots-- Do you want more?
>
> OTHER ALBUMS WORTH NOTING FROM THIS YEAR
> (this could mean a promising debut, an album that might prove essential over
> time, or particularly glaring disappointments)
> Dar Williams-- The Green World (is that what it's called?)
Veronica Ambrose, With Some Disturbing Soundtrack News from This Year
Because it is impossible to come up with any kind of essential soundtrack list for this tragic year in movies (yeah, yeah, my opinion, bla bla bla), I am going to list ten movie scores that are as memorable as the films they come from; music so evocative that when the movie title is mentioned one of the first things that comes to mind is the music . . . except I can only think of seven . . . and a half. And the movie can't be a musical. Here we go in no particular order:
Jaws--John Williams
The Third Man--Anton Karas
Star Wars--John Williams
Psycho--Bernard Herrmann
Lawrence of Arabia--Maurice Jarre
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly--Ennio Morricone
Exorcist--Michael Oldfield
and
The Twilight Zone--Marius Constant (yeah, yeah, okay, it's not a movie score, but I defy anyone to hear the words "Twilight Zone" and not start going "dee dee dee dee dee dee dee dee")
Alas, I can think of no more. Anyone have any suggestions?
Patrick Flanery, Who Prefers Brits over Superstars Who Marry Brits
>MOST ESSENTIAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Radiohead: Kid A
>OTHER ESSENTIAL ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
Bjork: Selmasongs
Coldplay: Parachutes
Travis: The Man Who
>ALBUMS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS THAT I DISCOVERED THIS YEAR AND PROVED TO BE
ESSENTIAL
Going way back...Pink Floyd's Animals, Wish You Were Here and Dark Side of the Moon. Also - Ian Brown's Golden Greats.
>OTHER ALBUMS WORTH NOTING FROM THIS YEAR
Madonna's Music. Make it stop.
Julia Sarno, Who Knows How to Belly Dance
MOST ESSENTIAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Thievery Corporation- The Mirror Conspiracy
(just can’t stop listen’ to it…..)
OTHER ESSENTIAL ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
• Bebel Gilberto -Tanto Tempo
(yes the daughter of the famed Joao Gilberto…a damn fine silky, sultry voice…..i put this cd on when its too hot to move in my apartment … the album is sooo chill…its like air conditioning…but better…)
• Superdrag- In the Valley of Dying Stars
(yes…sounds trite..but another cd I can’t stop listening to……some rockin’ tunes….)
ALBUMS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS THAT I DISCOVERED THIS YEAR AND PROVED TO BE ESSENTIAL
• Elliot Smith- XO ( yeah, yeah…..a day late and a dollar short…but I like it ;) )
• Belly Dancing- A Compilation ( a french label put this out….and after much searching found my very own copy….a great collection of very danceable and listenable middle eastern dancing music.)
• Curtis mayfield- SuperFly Soundtrack
• The Velvet Underground -Loaded
OTHER ALBUMS WORTH NOTING FROM THIS YEAR
Joao Gilberto- Voz e Violao ( smooth brazilian sounds….)
Suzanne Fisher, Who Listens To Plenty of NPR
MOST ESSENTIAL ALBUM OF 2000:
Sinead O’Connor, Faith and Courage
Chris Cerasi, Who is Much More Than Dawn’s Cousin and Lucasfilm God
Most Essential Album:
a tie:
"SW: Episode I- The Phantom Menace Ultimate Edition",
John Williams (absolute perfection start to finish.
Williams is still the master of film scores)
and
"Simply Dusty", Dusty Springfield (Box set authorized
by Dusty before she died. Sheer bliss.)
and
Rhino remastered and re-released the complete score for "Superman" by
John Williams last year in an absolutely GORGEOUS 2 cd set. It also
contains unreleased and extra material. It truly is an exceptional
score for a period in film music that John Williams was undoubtedly
leader of. The romance between Clark and Lois (Flying Sequence and Can
You Read My Mind) is perhaps some of the greatest music ever for a
film, and I defy anyone not to get goosebumps during the Main Title.
Other Essential Albums of the Year:
Madonna, "Music"
Aimee Mann, "Bachelor No. 2"
Albums from Previous Years...:
This is an odd one to fit, as the cd was out-of-print
until 2000, when it was reissued with bonus material.
I never got to hear the original, but the reissue is
sublime.
"Betty Buckley: 15th Anniversary", Betty Buckley
(live concert from 1984 recorded at St. Barth's
Cathedral, NY. She sounds incredible AND it's 90%
original music she wrote herself. Impressive and
beautiful)
Other albums worth noting:
"The Bedroom Tapes", Carly Simon. (Eagerly
anticipated but ultimately disappointing and
surprisingly flaccid. I can see this being listened
to rarely except for one or two songs.)
Matthew Loren Cohen, And His Non-Essential Albums
Disclaimer: I take essential to mean vital to own, and I haven't heard a
disc like that in awhile, so
For Most Essential Album of the Year, I don't really know what to say. If
there is one, I haven't heard it yet. The closest I can come is Aimee Mann's
'Bachelor No. 2.' It's a very good album (though I don't think essential)
and it's even better because of Mann's self-production of it after she was
dropped by her label. It's also a perfect follow-up her career-resurrecting
soundtrack to 'Magnolia.' This may prove essential over time. It has
remained in my cd book since I bought it. Though that's probably because the
cover fell behind my bed and I haven't located it. You'd think because of
its bright green color that I could have already.
Now, other essential albums obviously can't exist if one doesn't. The best
recordings I've heard this year are, besides the above:
-'Furnace Room Lullaby' by Neko Case and Her Boyfriends. Whether or not this
is a joke, it's rockin', movin' and infectious.
-'we have the facts and we're voting yes' by death cab for cutie. Melodic,
lyrical indie rock highlighted by '405' and a beautifully designed liner.
-'heartbreaker' by Ryan Adams. Even though people now think I'm a Bryan
Adams fan, I still think 'Come Pick Me Up' is sublime.
-'Rock 'N' Roll Singer' by Mark Kozelek. No Red House Painters, but more
heartbreakingly lovely music. It's non-essential because some songs sound a
bit alike and it's only seven songs long.
-'White Ladder' by David Gray. Despite a few duds and an inexplicable
whistle solo at the end of 'Sail Away,' this record manages to merge
acoustic folk with quiet electronics.
-'Will You Find Me' by Ida.
-The soundtrack to 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' This IS a definitive
collection of roots music from one of the best films of the year.
Most Glaring Disappointment is 'The Hour of Bewilderbeast' by Badly Drawn
Boy. 'The Shining,' to be sure, is a beautiful song with so-so lyrics. The
rest of the cd is bewilderbeasting in its seemingly-self indulgent
third-rate Brit-pop that is for some reason garnering wide praise. I hear
Mr. Boy has an ego not unlike those of the Gallagher Brothers. Many people
say he deserves to. I say, I hate Gallagher!
Other disappointments:
-'Fold Your Hands Child You Walk Like A Peasant' by Belle & Sebastian.
Barring one phenomenal song, 'Don't Leave The Light On Baby,' this all
suddenly sounded unexciting, irrelevant and played.
-'The Green World' by Dar Williams. This isn't a bad cd, necessarily, just
an over-produced one with under-developed lyrics by someone we expect the
opposite from in both departments.
-'Painting It Red' by The Beautiful South. This double disc set of new music
is largely disposable. This stuff sounds phoned-in. It's gone south. Har har
har.
Essential cds I got this year that were not from this year. I'd have to say
'World Clique' by Deee-lite. It's eleven-years-old and sounds as good as
new. Like that little country singer boy who's all the rage nowadays.
Those are my picks. This is really long. This is what happens when I have
the flu and my phone's dead and I have no other means of distraction.
Matthew Eckstein, Who Doesn’t Want to Play Favorites
MOST ESSENTIAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR
i can't pick one favorite from the list below.
OTHER ESSENTIAL ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
Yo La Tengo - And then nothing turned itself inside-out
Plastilina Mosh - Juan Manuel ***
Ivy - Long Distance
Medeski, Martin, & Wood - Tonic
The Go-Betweens - The Friends of Rachel Worth
Godspeed You Black Emperor! - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to
Heaven
Elliott Smith - Figure 8
*** - the 2nd song on this album has a sample from "AstroSmash", my
favorite video game for the Intelevision (An Atari 2600 rival of the
early '80s).
ALBUMS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS THAT I DISCOVERED THIS YEAR AND PROVED TO BE
ESSENTIAL
Beulah - When your heartstrings break.
OTHER ALBUMS WORTH NOTING FROM THIS YEAR
most essential soundtracks:
Bjork - selmasongs
Air - The Virgin Suicides
albums I like, but they can't compete with their own hype:
Radiohead - Kid A
Richard Ashcroft - Alone with Everybody
Badly Drawn Boy - The hour of bewilderbeast
Kevin Waltman, For the Indiana Point of View
I live in Indiana, consequently trapping me at least 18 months behind the
music curve (which, incidentally, is still 12 months ahead of most of
Indiana). I don't know whether something's "essential" or not until Rumble
finally convinces me to buy it. Therefore, I submit 5 albums that, if we were
in a record store and your thumb stopped at the cd, I'd urge you to buy it.
They are listed in order of how upset I'd be if you called me a week later
and said you didn't like it.
1) "Excuses for Travellers" -- Mojave3
2) "Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea" -- PJ Harvey
3) "Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant" -- Belle & Sebastian
4) "The Covers Record" -- Cat Power
5) "Trillium" -- Marc Cary
ALBUM FROM 1999 THAT I DISCOVERED THIS YEAR AND PROVED TO BE ESSENTIAL
"Why do Lonely Men and Women Want to Break Each Others' Hearts?" -- The Star
Room Boys
OTHER ALBUMS OF NOTE FROM 2000
"Ecstasy" -- Lou Reed (the old boy's still got some salt left)
"If I Could Only Fly" -- Merle Haggard (see above)
"Like Water For Chocolate" -- Common (this might be a step back for him, but
he's still ahead of the game)
"The Geometrid" -- Looper
"I Am Shelby Lynne" -- Shelby Lynne (i have a suspicion that if i had more
discriminating taste, i wouldn't be caught up in this album. but i don't, and
i am.)
‘Stankonia’ – Outkast
Tricia Boczkowski, Who Shares My Addiction
My napster addiction has curtailed my album purchases, but here are some of my faves...
>MOST ESSENTIAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR
> the Fela Kuti catalogue (a reissue)
>OTHER ESSENTIAL ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
> Sade, St. Germain (tourist), Bjork (gling-glo)
>ALBUMS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS THAT I DISCOVERED THIS YEAR AND PROVED TO BE
>ESSENTIAL
>Roy Ayers, Manu Chao, Jackie Mittoo, Rufus & Chaka, Mos Def, Shanks & Bigfoot, Denroy Morgan, Andrea Parker & DJ Kicks, Kid Loco, Lee Scratch Perry, King Tubby, and Augustus Pablo
Tricia’s man John’s List
Here is my man Jim's response:
>MOST ESSENTIAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR
>I suppose you mean an album that came out in 2000.
>The W is pretty dope. I haven't heard the whole thing but it is pretty
>slammin, what I've heard. A sonic palate usually reserved for demo tapes.
>"caution" is my favorite track.
>I also like Mos Def.
>Outkast, but again, I might just be talking shit because I really don't
>listen to it that much.
>
>OTHER ESSENTIAL ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
>I'm having a lot of trouble remembering what came out. also, it usually
>takes me a while to get in to stuff. The Hot Boys shit is good. I'd like
>to hear the new PJ Harvey. I had never listened to Amee Mann except 'Til
>Tuesday.
>
>
>ALBUMS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS THAT I DISCOVERED THIS YEAR AND PROVED TO BE
>ESSENTIAL
>Pixies - I was punk, but I never listened to them.
>Radiohead - I always thought they were stupid, but they're OK.
>Porgy and Bess with Ella and Louis
>
>OTHER ALBUMS WORTH NOTING FROM THIS YEAR
>(this could mean a promising debut, an album that might prove essential over
>time, or particularly glaring disappointments)
>
>You know who I really like?
>Juan Atkins
>Underground Resistance
>Aphex Twin
>Squarepusher
>Evelyn King
>Fela
>The teachings of the honorable Elijah Muhammad. You better recognize.
>Stereolab
>Sun Ra
>Whodini - Five Minutes of Funk
>War - Spill the Wine (Dig that girl)
>U2 - Angel of Harlem
>The Future Sound of London - Cascade-1
>The Boomtown Rats - I Don't Like Mondays
>The Modern Lovers - I'm Straight
>Prince
>New Order
>Masive Attack
>Madonna - Borderline
>Rolling Stones - Miss You
>soho - Hot Music
>
>That is not all.
>
Kristin Earhart, Who Got Married This Year
MOST ESSENTIAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Yo La Tengo
And then nothing turned itself inside-out
OTHER ESSENTIAL ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
Aimee Mann
Bachelor No. 2 (or, the last remains of the dodo)
ALBUMS THAT I'M SURE I WOULD LIKE AND POSSIBLY INCLUDE ON THIS LIST IF ONLY I'D HEARD THEM
Mojave 3
Excuses for Travellers
Tom McRae
Tom McRae
ALBUMS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS THAT I DISCOVERED THIS YEAR AND PROVED TO BE ESSENTIAL
Duke Ellington And Coleman Hawkins
Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins
OTHER ALBUMS WORTH NOTING FROM THIS YEAR
(I took "essential" somewhat seriously, so the following are efforts I truly admire but might not rescue from a flaming room.)
Radiohead
Kid A
Badly Drawn Boy
The Hour of Bewilderbeast
Björk
Selmasongs
Belle and Sebastian
Legal Man (EP)
Amy Leibrock, Who Got the Grail
My CD buying and listening habits were strongly curtailed in 2000 due to
unemployment and residency in three states (that's what you get for
quitting your job). Nevertheless, I was able to procure a few goodies.
Most Essential
Josh Rouse--Home
It compels me to listen again and again, and I can't explain why. If I
used Chuck Klosterman's criteria, this is the disc you'd have to pay me
the most money to part with.
Other Essentials
Luna--The Days of Our Nights
PJ Harvey--Stories from the City...
Elliot Smith--Figure 8
David Gray--White Ladder
Supreme Beings of Leisure (If I had been able to buy more, this probably
would be off the list, but I needed to fill it out a bit.)
New Discovery of Old Album
10,000 Maniacs--The Wishing Chair
This came out in like 1945 or something, but it's excellent!
Holy Grail Acquisition of 2000
Beth Orton--superpinkymandy
I acquired this invaluable gem by trading a snapshot of Beth with a guy
in Germany.
Nancy Mercado, Who Says “It May Be Lame, But it’s Mine”
MOST ESSENTIAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR
sarah harmer: you were here
OTHER ESSENTIAL ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
radiohead: kid A
erin mckeown: distillation
ALBUMS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS THAT I DISCOVERED THIS YEAR AND PROVED TO BE ESSENTIAL
sinead oconnor: universal mother
My Brother Adam, Whose Life Changed a Bit in 2000
MOST ESSENTIAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR - Classical Kids
OTHER ESSENTIAL ALBUMS OF THE YEAR - The Best of Barney
ALBUMS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS THAT I DISCOVERED THIS YEAR AND PROVED TO BE
ESSENTIAL - Frank Sinatra's Greatest Hits (makes drives to NJ shorter)
OTHER ALBUMS WORTH NOTING FROM THIS YEAR - Elmo's Greatest Hits
This has been a humorous summary of the fact that I can't even name one
album that came out this year. Go figure...by the way. What year was it
again?
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