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| From | "Dale_ThisIsPop" <thisispop@comcast.net> |
| Subject | Dale's 2003 Top 30 |
| Date | Wed, 17 Dec 2003 15:23:44 -0600 |
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Now that the polls are officially open here's my Top 20 plus 10 complete
with comments and links. I only do one all purpose year end list (rather
than doing a special Audities list with the intention of stacking the deck),
so there are a few things here that obviously don't fit the Audities mold,
but I loved them.
Dale
1. FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE / Welcome Interstate Managers (S-Curve)
www.fountainsofwayne.com
To my ears FOW have now made three consecutive perfect pop albums (the only
other band I can say that about is the dBs back in the 80's). Like the other
two, this album is loaded with memorable hooks, seemingly effortless
harmonies, and lyrics that play out like short stories. Pop fun of the
highest degree.
2. BUZZCOCKS / Buzzcocks (Merge)
www.buzzcocks.com
25 years into their career the Buzzcocks return with their most aggressive
record ever and their strongest songs since 1993's comeback album, Trade
Test Transmissions.
3. THE 88 / Kind of Light (EMK Records)
www.the88.net
LA band that owes a huge debt in sound and style to The Kinks (Village Green
thru Muswell Hillbillies to be exact). They have a rootsy vibe without ever
dipping their toes into the country pool. Retro without sounding dated.
4. PERNICE BROTHERS / Yours, Mine & Ours (Ashmont Records)
www.pernicebrothers.com
For the third album the band's sound is a bit fuller and the songs are a
little poppier without losing any of the subtle charm that made their
earlier records so special.
5. MULL HISTORICAL SOCIETY / Us (Blanco Y Negro)
www.mullhistoricalsociety.com
Giant lush production and summery melodies that sounds like a Brit-pop Pet
Sounds.
6. THE KINGSBURY MANX / Aztec Discipline (Overcoat Records)
www.thekingsburymanx.com
Dreamy pop with a slightly psychedelic folk slant that falls somewhere
between early Pink Floyd and a less morose Elliott Smith.
7. SLOAN / Action Pact (VIK/BMG Canada)
www.sloanmusic.com
Sloan records are always a sampler platter of rock/pop references, but for
me they are at their best when the guitars are louder and the rhythms have
some ooomph. This record rocks the way One Chord To Another did oh so many
years ago.
8. NEW PORNOGRAPHERS / Electric Version (Matador)
www.thenewpornographers.com
Jangley guitars and bouncy choruses that expand and improve on where the
debut left off. I thought that their first album didn't quite live up to the
hype (partly driven by the music press' deserved devotion to Neko Case)
while this exceeded it.
9. WIRE / Send (Pink Flag)
www.pinkflag.com/
Compiling cuts from two EPs with some new songs, Wire's first new album in a
decade is a cohesive collection of edgy buzz punk that seamlessly combines
the art angst of the early records with the dance grooves of the band's
second phase in the late 80's.
10. KENNA / New Sacred Cow (Columbia)
www.kennaonline.com
Synthpop revivalism with herky-jerky keyboards and new wave riffs that sound
at home along side Soft Cell and the first Depeche Mode records. At times
the vocals shift between Dave Gahan and Simon LeBon and thanks to production
from Chad Hugo (Neptunes) the grooves are always tight and upfront.
11. JOE STRUMMER & THE MESCALEROS / Streetcore (Hellcat Records)
www.strummersite.com
I can't think of anybody better than Joe Strummer at merging diverse
cultural influences into the punk rock aesthetic and still make the songs so
damn catchy.
12. PLACEBO / Sleeping With Ghosts (Astralwerks)
www.placeboworld.co.uk
Glam punk pop with an edgy tension on the fast songs and a slightly creepy
vibe on the slow songs (like a rock version of Massive Attack). The
production is great and highlights the innovative rhythm section (I love the
drumming throughout) and the whiney vocals that should bug me, but don't.
13. BELLE & SEBASTIAN / Dear Catastrophe Waitress (Rough Trade)
www.belleandsebastian.com/home.php
This is the first B&S album I've loved since Sinister. The band has
abandoned the blander twee leanings of their last few records in favor of
stronger songs with interesting melodies and lyrics with a subtle sense of
humor that recalls the early Smiths.
14. EXPLODING HEARTS / Guitar Romantic (Dirtnap)
www.explodinghearts.com
This record is totally out of place with today - it successfully emulates
the pop punk sound and energy of The Boys, Rich Kids, Radiators From Space,
and Vibrators. Unapologetically retro from the artwork to the snotty vocals
that sound like Pete Shelley (Buzzcocks) mixed with Jake Burns (Stiff Little
Fingers). Sadly three members of the band were killed in a van accident
shortly after the record came out.
15. LAPTOP / Don't Try This At Home (Gammon)
www.laptopic.com
More 80's new wave revivalism - this time from New York and the reference
points are Heaven 17, OMD, and most of all, the Human League. Along with the
loads of synths are crunching guitar chords and droll Bowie-esque vocals
that half sing, half speak the always interesting lyrics.
16. BEULAH / Yoko (Velocette Records)
www.beulahmania.com
Combine Wilco's Summerteeth with Spoon's Girls Can Tell and you're in the
ballpark of Beulah. Every song's great individually, but the it plays out
better as an album. They jump genres a bit, but the record has a slightly
melancholy flow that is captivating.
17. THE FLESHTONES / Do You Swing? (Yep Roc Records)
www.fleshtones.org/
This album breaks no new ground and doesn't even rank in the better half of
the Fleshtones repertoire, but a by-the-numbers Fleshtones album is still
something to celebrate. Party garage music made to be danced to and sung
along with.
18. THE TYDE / Twice (Rough Trade)
www.thetyde.com
California pop that mines the same reference points as the Thrills, but with
a better ratio of catchy summery songs. Think later Byrds mixed in with the
Church and Felt. Three of the guys are from Beechwood Sparks, but this is
much better than anything that band did.
19. BOSS MARTIANS / The Set-up (MuSick Records)
http://home.earthlink.net/~bossmartians
Garagey punk/pop from Washington state that sounds like an adrenalin charged
Graham Parker.
20. REDWALLS / Universal Blues (Undertow)
www.theredwalls.com
Less than two years ago they were in their teens and called the Pages and
sounded exactly like Hamburg-era Beatles. Now they comfortably shift between
the early fabs and the more relaxed feel of early 70's John Lennon, the
Faces, and a looser Traffic. Depending on your perspective, they either
steal riffs like crazy or reference their heroes frequently. The music is so
damn sincere I vote for the latter.
21. EL GUAPO / Fake French (Dischord)
www.dischord.com
Electro art punks making angular grooves that are at times mesmerizing and
always intriguing. They sound like a catchier Suicide or a less angry Gang
of Four.
22. THE HEAVENLY STATES / The Heavenly States (Future Farmer Recordings)
www.theheavenlystates.com/
Textbook American indie rock somewhere between Archers of Loaf and Pavement.
23. THE SPACE TWINS / The End of Imagining (Raga Drop)
www.spacetwins.com
Side project from Weezer guitarist Brian Bell that is mostly laid back but
catchy.
24. SLEEPY JACKSON / Lovers (Astralwerks)
www.thesleepyjackson.com
The first song sounds like George Harrison leading the Flaming Lips. The
next song is like a rootsier indie rock Stones. The next song is different
from those. The band genre jumps and dabbles in everything - usually to
great effect.
25. THE ORANGES BAND / All Around (Lookout! Records)
www.theorangesband.com
Edgy, jangley guitars and some delightfully off-kilter rhythms with an ear
for a memorable pop hook.
26. ROONEY / Rooney (Geffen)
www.rooney-band.com
Generic college radio power pop that still managed to spend a lot of time in
my CD player.
27. BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB / Take Them On, On Your Own (Virgin)
http://brmc.webphilia.com
They tone down the Jesus and Mary Chain influence (let the Ravonettes carry
that torch) and turn up the love and Rockets influence this go around.
28. FORTY FOOT RINGO / Funny Thing (Atenzia)
www.40ftringo.com/
Big guitar radio friendly pop that delves into the same terrain as Enuff
Znuff. I'm a little leary of even admitting this, but I recently found out
that the twomain guys in the band were from 80's hair metal goons Trixter.
29. MYRACLE BRAH / Treblemaker (Rainbow Quartz)
www.rainbowquartz.com
Every other MB record has ended up in my top 10, but this go around the
songs are a little flatter and the record lacks charm. But there are still
some songs so great I kept returning it.
30. IGGY POP / Skull Ring (Virgin)
After two misfires Iggy returns with a records that rocks and has a lot of
memorable hooks. With the exception of Peeches all of the collaborations
work well - and the Stooges reunion manage to live up to expectations (well,
two of the Stooges cuts do).
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