|
 LEE
has a very important job at Universal Records and says he only empties
the wastebaskets for exercise. The high points of his life as a pop
music fanatic include meeting XTC, seeing Mike Nesmith perform live at
the Cubby Bear and becoming a close personal friend of The Knackís Doug
Fieger. |
WILCO ñ Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (Nonesuch)No other record this year was so consistently engaging and rewarding. A band that gets better and better with each release. Canít wait to see (and hear) whatís nextÖ
THE FLAMING LIPS ñ Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (Warner Bros.)
During their (incredible) show at LAís Knitting Factory, Wayne Coyne thanked the crowd for letting him sing for them. No Wayne, thank you. And God bless The Lips.
SPOON ñ Kill The Moonlight (Merge)
Man, is this record cool ñ and BOY are they good. And itís the best sounding album of the year to boot.
STEW ñ The Naked Dutch PainterÖand other songs (Smile/Image)
Ladies and Gentlemen: The most intelligent songwriter working today. Hilarious, clever, insightful and fun.
BECK ñ Sea Change (Geffen)
Sure, itís sad ñ but itís also lush and incredibly beautiful. An incredible gift and redemption from the train wreck that was Midnite Vultures.
ABOUT A BOY ñ Badly Drawn Boy (XL/Artist Direct)
Didnít see the movie. Heard it was good. Iíll bet it isnít as good as the soundtrack, though.
COLDPLAY ñ A Rush Of Blood To The Head (Capitol)
Sophomore slump? Be prepared for this band to stick around for a long, long time.
SIGUR ROS ñ () (MCA)
I canít put my finger on why this record (or any of their records for that matter) works so well. But, man oh man, does it.
THE VINES ñ Highly Evolved (Capitol)
Sure, itís kinda like the Lenny Kravitz game of ìspot the song weíre ripping off this time,î but itís a whole lotta fun, too.
ANDY PARTRIDGE- Fuzzy Warbles Vols. 1 & 2 (Ape House Ltd.)
Okay, I donít know if these belong in the Top 10 ñ theyíre truly fan fare. But, come on ñ when youíre favorite songwriter/performer of all time releases a (proposed) 10 volume set of home demos, and the first two show up with tracks your vast collection of boots donít contain, youíve got to be happy as hell about it. Just be glad I didnít stick them at #1Ö
The Professor and Mary AnnÖ
HAYDEN ñ Skyscraper National Park (Badman)
GOMEZ ñ In Our Gun (Hut/Virgin)
PHANTOM PLANET ñ The Guest (Epic/Daylight)
SUPER FURRY ANIMALS ñ Rings Around The World (XL)
SKELETON KEY ñ Obtanium (Ipecac)
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN ñ The Rising (Columbia)
DOVES ñ The Last Broadcast (Capitol)
ÖAND YOU WILL KNOW US BT THE TRAIL OF DEAD ñ Source Codes & Tags (Interscope)
WEEZER ñ Maladroit (Geffen)
BRENDAN BENSON ñ Lapalco (Star Time)
Best Reissue: Tie: Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted: Luxe & Reduxe/Bob Dylan - Live 1975: Bootleg Series Vol. 5
Best Reissue Series: The Knack Catalog
Best Box Set: XTC - Coat Of Many Cupboards