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| From | "Franke, Dan" <DFranke@proficientdata.com> |
| Subject | Tops Of 2003 |
| Date | Mon, 12 Jan 2004 15:03:03 -0600 |
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1 Grandaddy - Sum Day
This year's "Yoshimi" - Filled with solid, spacey, melodic songs
such as "Now It's On", "I'm on Standby", "The Go in the Go-For-It" "The
Group Who Couldn't Say", "Lost on Yer Merry Way", "El Caminos in the West",
""Yeah" Is What We Had" and "Saddest Vacant Lot in All the World" plus 4
more. I love this album mostly because I can't peg why I love it.
2 Jet - Get Born
This one I love mostly because I can peg down the Stones-y riffs
(via AC/DC or Angel City?) mixed with the balladry of Oasis and a healthy
dose of Glam. I could see them getting into the wank rawk mode live, but
this album bursts with the special element that makes so much Austrailian
rock great.
3 Josh Rouse - 1972
Those of you who are touting the Pernice Bros would most likely
enjoy this on too. Brad Jones comes though again with impeccable production
and Roushe relaxes a bit, steering away from the alt-country/roots of
previous efforts and more into the soft-pop 70's of the album title.
4 Rancid - Indestructible
OK...I give up. At first I loved 'em because they sounded like The
Clash (see my Replacements/Goo Goo Dolls affiliation for similar proof).
Then they put out the 1-2 punch of "...And Out Come The Wolves" and "Life
Won't Wait", which I would *almost* put up against "London Calling" &
"Sandinista". After the slight mis-step of "Rancid 2000" they're back with
another solid effort...and although The Clash comparison may never leave,
they've been making this noise for long enough that I consider them they're
own entity. The beauty is that they sound a bit like Strummer singing
Jones' tunes - Plus the occasional burst of punk energy is still there.
Check out "Tropical London", "Django" or the single "Fall Back Down".
5 Constantines - Shine A Light
The first time listened to this I was kinda sleeping on the couch.
I kept waking up and playing it again. After about 5 listens, it was
imbedded. Probably not for the poppier people here - a heavy darker disc
that calls to mind Fugazi or "Entertainment" era Gang Of Four. As an added
bonus, the single of "Nighttime/Anytime" includes a cover of Talking Heads'
"Thank You for Sending Me an Angel".
6 White Stripes - Elephant
Love it or Hate it...nuff said.
7 Jayhawks - Rainy Day Music
A return to form? I had written them off once Marc Olson left and
they lost their incredible harmonies. Maybe enough time has past that I
gave this one a chance. Maybe it was the fact that the only song I liked on
The Thorns was "Blue". Maybe it's just stronger. "All the Right Reasons"
hooked me and "Save It for a Rainy Day" kept me there. Maybe it's time to
go back and listen to "Smile" and "Sound Of Lies".
8 Ataris - So Long Astoria
Commercial punk-pop that has acoustic guitar leanings. Not really
one of my favorites, but I listened to it too much for it NOT to place this
high.
9 Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
This understated album has sub-planted Grandaddy in recent weeks, I
just haven't had enough time with it to know if it'll wear thin or stand up.
10 Weakerthans - Reconstruction Site
This one is part two of a trilogy of albums (along with "Chutes Too
Narrow" & "Transatlanticism") that I dug out of my "to listen to" pile in
time for this list. Those 3 discs have been in constant rotation for a few
weeks now and really compliment each other. If you like one of them, I
highly recommend the other two. Also haven't had enough time to know if
it'll wear thin or stand up...but anyone who writes a song from the point of
view of his cat bitching at him ("Plea from a Cat Named Virtue") is okay
with me...and I don't even have a cat.
11 Dandy Warhols - Welcome To The Monkey House
These guys (and gal) write catchy dancey disposable alterna-pop that
always seems to catch its hooks in me even though I feel like I should know
better. They may be well liked here or elsewhere...I honestly don't know a
lot about them, other than I consider them a guilty pleasure & they combine
a lot of stuff into something that I find pleasing.
12 Okkervil River - Down The River Of Golden Dreams
I was hypnotized my the circularity of "It Ends With A Fall" and
they are great live. This album made me search out their back catalog - The
first, less realized album is now downloadable from they're website...last
year's "Don't Fall in Love With Everyone You See" is equally as strong.
13 Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism
See #'s 9 & 10. I think I need to hear The Postal Service too.
14 Paul Westerberg - Come Feel Me Tremble
He's lost the surprise factor of "Stereo/Mono", but he's still
coming back strong. If you throw this together with the Grandpaboy disc,
you have another double album - both of which would be a little stronger
with some crossover between the two. A beautiful cover of Jackson Browne's
"These Days" has me looking for the original.
15 Fountains Of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers
Every one of their albums is instantly loveable and ultimately
forgettable. I rarely dig out any of their back catalog, although I love the
albums and singles/b-sides/rarities and this one quickly suffered a similar
fate. My fav concert of the year was them opening for Wilco at Summerfest.
16 Warren Zanes - Memory Girl
This one grew on me in a way I didn't expect. I piled a bunch of
2003 releases into random jukebox mode to make sure I didn't miss
anything...and every time this came on, I had to check who it was. Finally,
I abandoned the random-mode experiment and just listened to this on repeat a
bunch - a great early morning/late night album.
17 Centro-Matic - Love You Just The Same
One of those bands/guys that I've always been a little leery
of...way too prolific for my wallet - where do you start? How much is
filler? What's the difference between Centro-Matic, South San Gabriel &
Will Johnson? Then I made the mistake of seeing him at SXSW this year and
not only is he solid-prolific, he's a super nice guy. I asked him about a
song one night and he played it for me three nights later. "Flashes &
Cables" from this one is as good a place as any to start, but "Glacial
Slurs" from "South San Gabriel Songs/Music" is my favorite.
18 Heathrow - Listening Class
These guys just keep getting better & better. They are one of my
favorite Milwaukee/hometown bands of the past few years. They use elements
of Brit-Pop (covering Pulp's "We Are The Boys") and 80's rock (a similarity
to The Psychedelic Furs can be heard at times) as touchstones to a Midwest
work/rock ethic that they can't deny.
19 Damone - From The Attic
...makes me wish I had worked at a carwash at some point in my life.
"And I can run as fast as anyone I know". This one went straight to the
cutout bins here and was well worth the $1.99. Fun in a Ramones kinda way
(lots of "Summer" songs) - Rockin' in a Muffs kinda way (girl singer with
pop-rock sense).
20 Grand Champeen - The One That Brought You
The best review I can give of these guys is one I once read. To
paraphrase: "Grand Champeen is what Soul Asylum would sound like if they
hadn't made so many bad choices". I think 2002's "Battle Cry For Help" is
probably stronger - mixing that Minneapolis sound with an Uncle Tupelo-esqe
respect. But they may have found their voice here and it's still growing on
me.
21 Alkaline Trio - Good Mourning
22 Strokes - Room On Fire
23 Pernice Bros - Yours, Mine & Ours
24 Joe Strummer - Streetcore
25 Lucinda Williams - World Without Tears
26 Undertones - Get What You Need
27 Exploding Hearts - Guitar Romantic
28 Effection - Soundtrack To A Moment
29 Wrens - The Meadowlands
30 Joe Jackson - Volume 4
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