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| From | <nonstoppop@cox.net> |
| Subject | Top 20 of 2003 |
| Date | Tue, 6 Jan 2004 19:44:13 -0500 |
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Top 20 of 2003
1. Fountains Of Wayne, Welcome Interstate Managers
2. Joe Jackson Band, Volume 4
3. Warren Zevon, The Wind
4. Rooney, Rooney
5. The Thorns, The Thorns
6. Guster, Keep It Together
7. Mark Bacino, The Million Dollar Milkshake
8. Fleetwood Mac, Say You Will
9. The Pernice Brothers, Yours, Mine and Ours
10. I Monster, Neveroddoreven
11. AM Radio, Radioactive
12. The Blondes, Swedish Heat
13. Ryan Adams, Llor N Kcor
14. The Format, Interventions and Lullabies
15. Mandy Moore, Coverage
16. Jayhawks, Rainy Day Music
17. The Sounds, Living In America
18. The Singles, Better Than Before
19. The Bangles, Doll Revolution
20. The Pearlfishers, Sky Meadows
Biggest Disappointment of the Year:
Johnny Marr and the Healers, Boomslang: Smiths fans had been waiting 15 years (yes, it’s been that long since the release of Strangeways, Here We Come) for Johnny Marr to throw his hat into the ring and release a solo album. He dipped his toe into the water briefly last year, when he performed “Down On The Corner” (an original, not the CCR song) as part of the Neil Finn and Friends album, 7 Worlds Collide, and people got their hopes up for the reportedly-forthcoming full-length album. Bad idea. Boomslang certainly isn’t awful, but it sounds more like a faceless Britpop band than the work of the Yin to Morrissey’s Yang. Shame, really.
Most Pleasant Surprise of the Year:
Mandy Moore, Coverage: When Ms. Moore first made her debut in ’99, she seemed like little more than just another Britney clone, like Christina Aguilera or Jessica Simpson. First impressions are hard to shake…but if Mandy’s ever going to shake them, Coverage is the album that should do it. Talk about setting herself outside of the pack! Releasing an all-covers album is usually a stop-gap measure for artists when they can’t come up with enough new original material or need to fulfill a contractual obligation…but Coverage is clearly a labor of love. Who could’ve expected that a teenybopper peer of Britney would release an album full of covers of such artists as XTC, the Waterboys, Joe Jackson, Todd Rundgren, and John Hiatt, with assistance from members of Jellyfish, X, the Rembrandts, the Lemonheads, and Semisonic? No, every track isn’t a winner (in particular, the production on the cover of Jackson’s “Breaking Us In Two” is positively devoid of subtlety), but the successes outnumber the noble failures, and, God help me, it leaves me anticipating the release of her next album.
Unlikeliest Collaboration of the Year:
“Weird Al” Yankovic and Ben Folds, “Why Does This Always Happen To Me?”: Al’s 11th studio album, Poodle Hat, didn’t get the normal promotion most of his records do, thanks to Eminem refusing to allow him to make a video for “Couch Potato,” his parody of “Lose Yourself.” Sure, it got press because of Marshall Mathers’ boycott…but that didn’t really help it sell any additional copies. What they should’ve done instead was released this collaboration as a single to Adult Alternative radio stations, using the piano mix of the song (available on the CD as bonus material for your PC) as a B-side.
Far More Likely (But No Less Successful) Collaboration of the Year:
Hall and Oates and Todd Rundgren, “Someday We’ll Know”: Teaming up these blue-eyed soul brothers wasn’t the big deal; Rundgren had already produced War Babies for Hall & Oates way back in ’74. No, the masterstroke was for Hall and Oates to bring in Rundgren to sing on a cover of the New Radicals’ “Someday We’ll Know.” It maybe could’ve done with a little less Oates on lead vocals, but the end result is still one of the best covers of 2003.
Best Music DVDs of 2003:
1. Tenacious D, The Complete Masterworks
2. Duran Duran, Greatest
3. Pet Shop Boys, Pop Art
Top 40 Songs of 2003 (in nothing resembling any sort of order)
1. The Adventures of Jet, “Emily Mazurinsky”
2. AM Radio, “Hush”
3. American Hi-Fi, “The Breakup Song”
4. Jon Auer, “Beautiful”
5. Bleu, “Could Be Worse”
6. Michael Carpenter and King’s Rd., “Kings Rd.”
7. Fleetwood Mac, “Thrown Down”
8. The Format, “Wait Wait Wait”
9. Fountains of Wayne, “Stacy’s Mom”
10. Guster, “Amsterdam”
11. Hall and Oates, “Someday We’ll Know”
12. Hawks, “Only Love Is Real”
13. Joe Jackson Band, “Awkward Age”
14. The Jessica Fletchers, “Christopher Jensen”
15. Junior Senior, “Move Your Feet”
16. Mandy Moore, “Senses Working Overtime”
17. Mr. Encrypto, “Another Good Year”
18. Owsley, “Rainy Day People”
19. The Pearlfishers, “My Dad The Weatherfan”
20. Pernice Brothers, “Cut The Baby”
21. The Richies, “I Just Wanna Be With You”
22. Rooney, “Blueside”
23. Ringo Starr, “Never Without You”
24. Steadman, “No Big Deal”
25. The Thorns, “I Can’t Remember”
26. The Strokes, “12:51”
27. “Weird Al” Yankovic, “Why Does This Always Happen To Me?”
28. Warren Zevon, “Keep Me In Your Heart”
29. Outkast, “Hey Ya!”
30. Belle & Sebastian, “Step Into My Office, Baby”
31. Gene Loves Jezebel, “Exploding Girl”
32. The Elements, “Ordinary Day”
33. The Blondes, “California Sunshine”
34. I Monster, “Hey Misses”
35. Junior Senior, “Move Your Feet”
36. Ian McCulloch, “Sliding”
37. Ryan Adams, “This Is It”
38. The Bangles, “Something That You Said”
39. Mark Bacino, “Want You Around”
40. Don Dixon and Jamie Hoover, “Horizon”
Best Song From 2002 To Appear On A 2003-Released Compilation:
The Crayons, “Allyson Fell Off Her Bike,” from International Pop Overthrow, Volume 6: It’s become a delightful annual tradition for David Bash’s camp to release a multi-disc collection of the best independent pop artists working, and, invariably, even though all of songs tend to be at least pleasant and listenable, there’s usually at least one song that makes you go, “DAMN, that’s some kind of good!” This year, it was the Crayons’ “Allyson Fell Off Her Bike.” With guitar reminiscent of Echo and the Bunnymen’s “The Killing Moon” and a chorus to die for, it’s the kind of timeless melody and hook that every musician hopes to compose. Hunt it down post-haste, either via IPO, Vol. 6 or the group’s own album, What Color Are You?
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