My Favorite 2002 music releases
Time for favorite music releases from 2002 I guess. The list is heavily in the comfort zone, it seems. I guess I feel more bruised than usual this year. I tried to link to impartial reviews. In alphabetical order:
Beck- Sea Change Heartache pure and simple.
Bjork- Greatest Hits The singles and a wonderful overview of a consistently intriguing talent.
Black Heart Procession - Amore del Tropico Here, the heartache gets a strange twist: a murder south of the border.
Boris - Heavy Rocks Japanese stoner rock godz.
Boy George - A Night In With Boy George. The chill room soundtrack.
Burning Brides - Fall Of The Plastic Empire Another retro-rocker outfit. The second half of songs is fantastic.
Pieta Brown - s/t. Nice voice, beautiful songs. Twangy.
Seana Carmody - Struts & Shocks. Indie singer/songwriter comes out back with a super strong set of songs.
Carquinez Straits - The Flat Earth Just Got Flatter. Local twangsters, with a edge.
Cornershop - Handcream For A Generation Mostly upbeat.
Cornelius - Point. Studio craftsmanship, par excellence.
Deerhoof - Reveille. Challenging in spots, but that's just another way of looking at originality.
Donnas - Spend The Night Straight ahead garage.
Genuine Electric Latin Love Machine - Introducing The Neat Beat. DJ samplists with a party going on.
Gold Chains - s/t. Hip hop for the new dawn.
Gomez - In Our Gun. I can't say why I like this band. But I do. Pitchfork hates it.
George Harrison - Brainwashed. Good night, sleep tight.
I Am The World Trade Center - The Tight Connection. What can I say? Lo fi, especially with a disco lean, sounds good to me.
Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights Joy Division inspired, but raw and tense. Very interesting.
Norah Jones - Come Away With Me. MOR jazz, but a comforting voice and tastefully subdued arrangements.
Kekuhi Kanahele - Honey Boy. Traditional Hawaiian. More roots than sweet side.
Kinky - s/t. Mexican band with the big beats. An amazing live show.
Lambchop - is a woman. Kind of in the Yo La Tengo vein.
Life Without Buildings - Any Other City Already disbanded, a churning band underpinning crazed skatalogical vocals.
Mates Of State - Our Constant Concern. Indie duo who sing their lungs off.
Mekons - Oooh! Still cookin'. Less punk, still incredibly inventive.
My Morning Jacket - Chocolate & Ice ep. Clever and intimate.
The Mooney Suzuki - People Get Ready.The Rock.
Sam Moore - Plenty Good Lovin' - the lost solo album. It took decades, but it finally came out.
Soniadada - barefootsoul. Woodshed funk.
Princess Superstar -Is. Party rap.
Radar Brothers - And The Surrounding Mountains. Slowcore, but with big ideas.
Smokey & Miho - EP. Samba sexy.
Emily Sparks - What Could Not Be Found. Not just your standard breathy indie gal, listen to I,Aquarius.
Spoon -Kill The Moonlight. Stark can also be upbeat.
Bruce Springsteen - The Rising.
Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter - Reckless Burning. Lovely voice. Bittersweet songs.
James Taylor - October Road. Guilty pleasure. His voice is as familiar and comfortable as an old dog.
Ugly Casanova - Sharpen Your Teeth. So unique and so heartfelt.
Tom Waits - Alice. I've been oscillating back and forth between Blood Money and this. This week, it's all about Alice.
Chuck E. Weiss - Old Souls & Wolf Tickets. Loose and real.
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Everyone has either decided to like this or pass on it. I like it.
Ronnie Wood - Not For Beginners. The real muscle left in the Stones.
Zmrzlina - Katastrophe, Vol 3. I hate the word quirky, but it fits.
v/a - More Oar - Skip Spence Tribute
v/a - Total Lee! Songs of Lee Hazlewood
v/a - Don't Let The Bastards Get You Down (K. Kristofferson tribute)
v/a - Nothing Left To Loose (another K. Kristofferson tribute)