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FRIDAY Focus

The Michigan Daily - Friday, January 17, 2003 - 12

2002 was a year of
fresh cliches
and tiny, fleeting victories in

.

popular musi
The record industry, With
plagued by an 1 iper- "dirrt
cent drop in album foray i
sales, continued to tight- proved
en its belt, dropping acts essaril
right and left and forc- transit
ing radio stations to Gara
homogenize ever-short- into th
ening playlists. scious
Every overexposed op by cri
star claimed to be 'all Roll w,
grown up," a mature, But
more serious version of facts,
his or her former self but ratherE
continued to dish out the four c
same disposable, trite (D-tov
pap that they've been miless
cramming down our eachw
throats for the last six ly su
years. fueled
1. THE FLAMING Lips,
YOSHIMI BATTLES THE
PINK ROBOTS
If anybody tells you it's not as
good as Soft Bulletin, punch 'em
in the face. Instead of just detonat-
ing your mind, Wayne Coyne
makes you cry, then puts his arm
around your shoulder and offers a
tissue.V
2. QOUEENS OF THE
STONE AGE
SONGS FOR THEa
DEAFW
This album needs no
explanation and will
kick your ass if you try to ask for
one.
3. BRENDAN BENSON
LAPALCO
Benson's second LP of sweet,
catchy songwriting establishes this
local rocker
Scott Serilla as the new
indie pop
bard of Belle Isle. Bet you didn't
even know the title was up for
grabs.

iC.
h Christina getting
y" and Britney's
into film, pop-tarts
d that it wasn t nec-
y easy to make the
ion to adulthood.
age rock was hyped
.e front of our con-
ness, accompanied
es that Rock and
vas back.
let's check the
shall we? Four
similar bands from
orners of the world,
wn is a million
away from NYC)
with one moderate-
ccessful record
d by one popular

single a piece, were built
into a movement suppos-
edly capable of bringing
salvation to the kids.
Still, rap-rockers, corpo-
rate-backed Pearl Jam
rip-offs and Shania
Twain outsold all of
them.
Even more annoying
than the garage rock
hype machine, flag-
wavers like Bruce
Springsteen, Paul
McCartney (who isn't
even American!) and
Toby Keith, whether
intended or not, profited
off the grief of America.
Meanwhile, rappers
profited off the impres-
sionability of suburban-
ites. In a weak year for
the rap game, Eminem
became its undisputed

emissary, outselling all
other musicians and
miraculously endearing
himself to the main-
stream. Pop music trend
setters also happily wel-
comed the assimilation
of mediocre hip-hoppers,
glorifying pedestrian
music.
Many of these pop rap-
pers seemed beholden to
corporate consultants
and marketers, carefully
cultivating images and
exploiting urban culture.
And Michael Jackson
continually astounded
critics by proving him-
self crazier than we ever
imagined possible.
Flanked by Johnnie
Cochran and the Rev. Al
Sharpton, Jackson ranted
against the "racist devil"

minded Texans At The Drive-In
better than Sparta, which is ironic
because Sparta has actual mem-
bers of the now defunct Drive-In.
6. BECK
SEA CHANGE
Don't let the lush,
teary-eyed orchestra-
tions fool you: Squint
and you'll see Beck for the effort-
less genius he's always been, still
slacking his way through cast-off
masterpieces.
7. THE SOUNDTRACK OF
OUR LIVES
BEHIND THE MUSIC
How did Sweden of all places
take the lead in rock's arms race?
Every time Nelly sells a record
they grow stronger. Side note: good
year for bands with long names.
8. THE ROOTS
PHRENOLOGY
Songs 87-101 from Philly's
groundbreaking hip-hop crew once
again raised the bar for everybody
else. Even though ?-Love lost all
that weight, his beats are still phat.
Mmm ... word.
9. THE MOONEY SUZUKI
ELECTRIC SWEAT
For better or worse, 2002 goes
down as the year of the garage rock
revival. Chalk up this NYC four-
some fusion of Jagger/Richards'
stagger and raw MC5 crunch under
better - much, much better.
10. SPOON
KILL THE MOONLIGHT
A late night drive through the
real "Austin City Limits" with
the new rising stars of smart
indie rock.

1. ANDREW W.K.
I G ET WET
Wet is a corrosive dis-
play of dance-metal. If
anyone is making better
music than A-Dub,
please stand up. Not so fast,
garage revival garbage.
2. BECK
SEA CHANGE
Broken-hearted Beck Hansen
channels Nick Drake through Nigel
Godrich's production. Too bad
Drake's records are better.
3. WILCO
YANKEE HOTEL FOXTROT
Good enough for last year (via
now-defunct shady downloading
program) and good enough for this
year after seeing a proper release.
4. THE FLAMING LIPS
YOSHIMI BATTLES THE
PINK ROBOTS
Even the crusty old Flaming
Lips managed to put out some-
thing listenable.
5. SUPER FURRY
ANIMALS
RINGS AROUND
THE WORLD
The Welsh outfit continues cast-
ing great records across the pond.
Rings is no exception.

6. SPOON
KILL THE MOONLIGHT
Kill the Moonlight lets listeners
watch a maturing band finally hit
puberty. Wait till their next.
7. SUPERGRASS
LIFE ON OTHER PLANETS
Currently, an import-only
record, Life
On Other Luke Smith
Planets hits
U.S. shelves in February. Look for
Supergrass' T-Rex impersonation
on "Seen the Light."
8. LUNA
ROMANTICA
If the Velvet Under-
ground were making
music now, Romantica
might be an inferior ver:
sion of the music they would com-
pose.
9. VHS OR BETA
LE FUNK
Great techno/funk amalgamate.
Too bad my girlfriend won't give
it back.
10. THE STREETS
ORIGINAL PIRATE
MATERIAL
It's the year's best comedic per-
formance. It is supposed to be
funny, right?

9

Tommy Mottola and the
rest of the Sony Empire,
who only spent tens of
millions of dollars pro-
moting his lackluster
Invincible.
If you were still con-
vinced after that baseless
ranting that MJ's nose
was his craziest part, he
proved you wrong by
dangling his second-born
from a hotel'balcony in
Germany.
Despite 2002's stun-
ning mediocrity, Daily
Arts music writers were
still able to find some
highlights and rays of
hope. What follows are
our choices for albums
of the year.
--Joel Hoard, Joseph
Litman and Scott Serilla

4. WILCO
YANKEE HOTEL,
FOXTROT
Ignore the label melo-
drama and save the
infighting for "Behind
the Music;" the best testament to
Jeff Tweedy and Co. is that this
album looms larger than its own
ready-made legend.
S. ...AND YOU WILL
KNOw US BY THE TRAIL
OF DEAD
SOURCE TAGS & CODES
These Austin post-punks realize
the unfulfilled promise of like-



1. INTERPOL
TURN ON THE BRIGHT
LIGHTS
These New York new-
bies channel eerie, echo-
ing melodies with a flair
for dramatic lyricism and come up
with 2002's best record. Ian Curtis,
eat your heart out.
2. QUEENS OF THE STONE
AGE
SONGS FOR THE DEAF
Forget that-these guys got Dave
freakin' Grohl to do the drums for
their
Jeremy Kressman C D .
Queens have made their third quali-
ty metal album, fnd it's about time
to pay some respect.

albums

3. BOARDS OF CANADA
G EOGADD1
These Scottish Svengalis of
ambient IDM create yet another
downtempo experimental mas-
terpiece.
4. ...AND YOU WILL
KNOw US BY THE TRAIL OF
DEAD
SOURCE TAGS & CODES
Slick and Lo-Fi at the same time,
these guys have music journalists
all over the country scratching their
heads over how to abbreviate the
band's unwieldy name.
AYWKUBTTOD? Ouch.
S. BECK
SEA CHANGE
Back in the day, Beck was
everyone's alt-rock poster boy,
composing some of the greatest
anthems of the '90s. Sea Change
is the maturation of Beck's sound.
12 songs of forlorn, yet oddly
beautiful music.

6. THE STREETS
ORIGINAL PIRATE
MATERIAL
Cockney slang rappers? Garage
samples? The funniest record you'll
ever hear about birds, geezers and
lager louts.
7. TALIB KWELI
QUALITY
Kweli's intelligent hip-
hop lyricism is once again
on display with Quality.
Not only does he incorpo-
rate some live instrumentation, but
Kweli also brings in an excellent
supporting cast including Black
Thought of the Roots and long-time
collaborator Mos Def.
8. SIGUR ROS
( )
This sounds exactly the same
as Agaetis Byrjun, and that's why
it's good. If you liked the non-
sensical ethereal singing the first
time, you're probably good to go
this time too.
9. RED HOT CHILI
PEPPERS
BY THE WAY
The Peppers' characteristic funk-
rock is the tootsie-roll center of this
sugar-sweet display of
Anthony Kiedis' pen-
chant for rehab symbol-
ism. Reminiscent of the
band's last effort, Califor-
nication.
10. AKUFEN
MY WAY
Recording small random snippets
from the radio, Marc LeClair
recombines them into original
house music creations. Look for his
Roger Sanchez sample in there
somewhere.

1. SPOON
KILL THE MOONLIGHT
With finely-crafted rock,
clever lyrics and hooks galore,
Spoon have finally reached their
full potential.
2. UE E NS OF T H E
STONE0AGE
SONGS FOR THE DEAF
The Queens deliver an alt-
metal explosion that doesn't let
up for a second.
3. THE STREETS
ORIGINAL PIRATE
MATERIAL
Who would've thought the
year's best rap album would
come from a little white dork
from England?
4. THE WALKMEN
EVERYONE WHO PRE-
TENDED TO LIKE ME IS
GONE
Delicate waves of -
guitar and piano and -
Hamilton Leithauser's
ethereal vocals make
Everyone a pleasantly eerier
experience.
5. BRIGHT EYES
LIFTED OR THE STORY
IS IN THE SOIL, KEEP
YOUR EAR TO THE
GROUND
Conor Oberst's intelligent
lyrics and nervously emotional

voice allow him to transcend the
depressed singer-songwriter
stereotype.
6. SONIC YOUTH
MURRAY STREET
Sonic Youth's trademark noise-
rock proves they're still vital
after all these years.
7. CORNERSHOP
HAN DC REAM FOR A
GENERATION
Cornershop's Joel Hoard
Handcream sets
the bar high for Punjabi pop-
rock.
8. COLDPLAY
A RUSH OF BLOOD TO
THE HEAD
Bittersweet from start to fin-
ish, Coldplay deliver a stunning
dream pop record highlighted by
Chris Martin's soaring vocals.
9. EMINEM
THE EMINEM
SHOW
The Eminem Show is
yet another solid release from
the most dependable MC of the
last five years.
10. IMPERIAL TEEN
ON
Imperial Teen serve up some
light-hearted pop-rock complete
with cute boy-girl harmonies and
catchy melodies.

a0


1. THE ROOTS
PHRENOLOGY
Phrenology confirmed the
Roots as preeminent , ,
musicians with its beau-
tiful instrumentation,.
boundless creativity and
refined sonic dynamics.
2. BLACKALICIOUS
BLAZING ARROW
Arrow is an eclectic, intoxicat-
ing album that trumpeted the
arrival of organic hip-hop's latest
champions.
3. NAS
THE LOST TAPES
Nasty again reminded all fans
who hip-hop's finest storyteller
was. Simple beats, on-point flow
and evocative rhymes made this
album.
4. ATHLETIC MIC
LEAGUE
SWEATS & KICK'S

6. JURASSIC S
POWER IN NUMBERS
Power was a healthy return for
the Cali kings, who allowed their
style to grow while staying firmly
planted in the old school.
7. SCARFACE
THE .FIX
Scarface imparted emotional,
honest accounts of life through his
music, a pleasant variety
of songs including the
solid collabo "Guess
Who's Back?"
8. TALIB KWELI
QUALITY
No rapper is ever going to
have more to say than Talib
Kweli
a n d Joseph Litman
Quality
once again proved this. Some
songs, like "Get By," were real
bangers.

10


TOP 10 SINGLES

1. "HATE TO SAY I TOLD
YOU SO," THE HIVES
2. "LOSE YOURSELF,'.
EMINEM

6. "WALK WITH THEE,"
CLINIC
7. "GUESS WHO'S BACK,"
SCARFACE FEAT. BEANIE

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