Hello, it's DECEMBER 15, 2002, and you know what that means.
TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE YEAR.
10. CLOSER MUSIK -- AFTER LOVE. This is not your older brother's synth-pop. It may be made with the same vintage instruments, but it's not synth-pop at all, it's equal parts playful house, lounge pop, and minimal grooves. Lo-fi and lovely.
9. SIX BY SEVEN -- THE WAY I FEEL TODAY. This year's Verve release. When the punk thrashing gets tiresome, "American Beer" forgives any transgression. But the screaming never stops. May they always be bitter and angry.
8. DELGADOS -- HATE. Certainly the best overproduced album of the year, it's also filled with gorgeous melodies that swoon, smash, blare, and wail across ten emotionally wrought tracks that deal with maudlin, anti-pop topics. Gargantuan stuff.
7. SCION -- ARRANGE AND PROCESS BASIC CHANNEL TRACKS. Is this really a *new* album? I've stopped caring -- whether it's a breathtaking DJ mix, a radical re-work/re-structuring of classic techno, a demonstration of how software continually redefines the music creation and recording process -- it just doesn't matter anymore.
6. TIM HECKER -- MY LOVE IS ROTTEN TO THE CORE. This mini-album tears a hole in hair metal, kicks and stomps it into quivering submission, but somehow retains it's wild-eyed spirit. Maybe because it's ten times louder than any 80's metal album. Or maybe it's the Van Halen samples. Electronic high-density mayhem done right.
5. LUKE SLATER -- ALRIGHT ON TOP. It's the album I'm not sure I'm supposed to like. If you have no burning desire to relive the 80's, when Luke Slater slaps that decade into working order by imposing his techno-funk sheen, even the toughest resolve will weaken.
4. AIDAN BAKER -- LETTERS. Two sublime, endlessly drifting tracks of chilled calm and ghostly looped anti-melody. The drones fill any sized room and it's thick tones prove difficult to peel from the walls.
3. SPEEDY J -- LOUDBOXER. Speedy's slamming return to pounding techno, it's the full album that last year's "Electric Deluxe" single hinted at. It builds you up, it spits you out, it runs from peak to mountaintop in ways that 99.9% of trance music can only hope.
2. HOLLOWPHONIC -- MAJESTIC. Remember when all Toronto bands used to suck? Remember the times when Montreal, Vancouver, Winnipeg or Halifax were the Canadian cities du jour for great bands? Remember when Slowdive used to be this really awesome band, but self-destructed, leaving the next generations of downtrodden shoegazers like Hollowphonic to pick up the mantle? Every time I hear "Majestic", I continue forgetting.
1. GODSPEED YOU ! BLACK EMPEROR -- YANQUI U.X.O. It's bordering on prog. You're probably bound to dislike some of it's overt politics. It wishes it were a live album. It's not as good as "Levez Vos Skinny Fists ...". But it's still essential.
Sunday, December 08, 2002
TOP 10 GIGS OF THE YEAR. Through June, I kept up with last year's breakneck gig-going pace, but saw only four gigs during the second half of the year. In my present state of mind, this could be the last time I make such a list, for I may never again see enough gigs to warrant such a list. On that somewhat down note, here's the list:
10. Neil Halstead @ Soundscapes, February 16. As the rain drizzled down during his solo acoustic set, Neil Halstead provided an entrancing reading of his weary, weathered debut solo album. Lovely tunes, although I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't have traded the entire fourty-five minutes for one three-minute take on "Alison".
9. Merzbow, Promonium Jesters, DJ Skeeter, noCore/Schizoid, Unitus @ Kathedral, September 20. A mixed bag with some tumultuous peaks and valleys. Local noise bands, local crap metal bands, and Masami Akita. I'd be lying if I said the volume was cranked high enough.
8. Do Make Say Think, Creeping Nobodies @ Lee's Palace, April 4. My hippie self let his hair down and just couldn't stop the boogie. DMST really wig out live, they jam, now where are the crusties? I'd be lying if I said I wasn't honestly thinking that stuff throughout their whole set.
7. head/phone/over/tone, Cabana, The Electric Shoes, Hollowphonic @ B-Side, November 14. What might have been just another night out with a few nondescript local indie bands became a memorable night thanks to blowaway performances by Hollowphonic and head/phone/over/tone, not to mention some damned fine fuzz-pop by the Electric Shoes. I'd be lying if I lumped Cabana in with those accolades. I'd also be lying if stated I wasn't a bit embarrassed that so few people were in attendance.
6. Low, Mark Eitzel @ Lee's Palace, October 15. Low were their usual quiet but stunning selves, but Mark Eitzel arguably stole the show with his usual outspirts of verbal bile posing as lyrics for songs. I'd be lying if I denied that I honestly believed the gig's early start time (7:30 PM on a Saturday) was due to Alan and Mimi wanting to be up early for church the next morning.
5. Hood, I Am Robot and Proud @ Horseshoe Tavern, March 11. Hood's newest material hits this lo-fi hip-hop krautrock groove, and it's infectious to watch live. You can dance, but it feels kinda wierd to do so, because the music is funkadelic almost by accident, much like Joy Division's "Unknown Pleasures". I'd be lying if I told you that I Am Robot and Proud looked cool sitting crosslegged on the floor smiling a goofy smile and ripping off Boards of Canada.
4. Jon Langford and the Sadies @ Horseshoe Tavern, February 2. Beer-fueled, rocking out, no nonsense, red blooded pub rock. I went to the show based on Jon Langford's semi-legendary reputation, and I'd be lying if I said he wasn't a billion times better than I thought he'd be.
3. Mens/Koolwyk @ SAT (part of MUTEK 2002), May 30. Pumping, minimal, nearly industrial, with the flickering seizure-inducing visuals to match. This year's MUTEK wasn't as much about the music as it was about the merging of visual arts with the supposedly boring live demeanour of laptop electronica. At least that's how I'll remember it. I'd be lying if I said I didn't rack my brain to figure out how I could better represent MUTEK on this list, for there were a good two or three other performances that might have merited their own inclusion on this list, but I didn't want to unbalance the Top 10 in the direction of any one single festival or event, so I considered just putting MUTEK itself as #3, but finally settled on representing the festival by my own personal highlight.
2. Bardo Pond, Mean Red Spiders @ Lee's Palace, July 3. Ahhh, I could listen to bands open their sets with "Two Planes" from now until the end of time. By the time they cranked out "Tommy Gun Angel", even the most stoic in attendance were swaying in a trance. Isobel Sollenberger remains the sexiest woman in rock. I'd be lying if I claimed I knew what the big deal is with Mean Red Spiders.
1. Scion + Tikiman, Tomas Jirku, naw @ Mockingbird, May 11. Scion and Tikiman were simply godlike, that's all there is to it, and I'd be lying if I said that any gig this year came even remotely close to touching their magnificent work.
10. Neil Halstead @ Soundscapes, February 16. As the rain drizzled down during his solo acoustic set, Neil Halstead provided an entrancing reading of his weary, weathered debut solo album. Lovely tunes, although I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't have traded the entire fourty-five minutes for one three-minute take on "Alison".
9. Merzbow, Promonium Jesters, DJ Skeeter, noCore/Schizoid, Unitus @ Kathedral, September 20. A mixed bag with some tumultuous peaks and valleys. Local noise bands, local crap metal bands, and Masami Akita. I'd be lying if I said the volume was cranked high enough.
8. Do Make Say Think, Creeping Nobodies @ Lee's Palace, April 4. My hippie self let his hair down and just couldn't stop the boogie. DMST really wig out live, they jam, now where are the crusties? I'd be lying if I said I wasn't honestly thinking that stuff throughout their whole set.
7. head/phone/over/tone, Cabana, The Electric Shoes, Hollowphonic @ B-Side, November 14. What might have been just another night out with a few nondescript local indie bands became a memorable night thanks to blowaway performances by Hollowphonic and head/phone/over/tone, not to mention some damned fine fuzz-pop by the Electric Shoes. I'd be lying if I lumped Cabana in with those accolades. I'd also be lying if stated I wasn't a bit embarrassed that so few people were in attendance.
6. Low, Mark Eitzel @ Lee's Palace, October 15. Low were their usual quiet but stunning selves, but Mark Eitzel arguably stole the show with his usual outspirts of verbal bile posing as lyrics for songs. I'd be lying if I denied that I honestly believed the gig's early start time (7:30 PM on a Saturday) was due to Alan and Mimi wanting to be up early for church the next morning.
5. Hood, I Am Robot and Proud @ Horseshoe Tavern, March 11. Hood's newest material hits this lo-fi hip-hop krautrock groove, and it's infectious to watch live. You can dance, but it feels kinda wierd to do so, because the music is funkadelic almost by accident, much like Joy Division's "Unknown Pleasures". I'd be lying if I told you that I Am Robot and Proud looked cool sitting crosslegged on the floor smiling a goofy smile and ripping off Boards of Canada.
4. Jon Langford and the Sadies @ Horseshoe Tavern, February 2. Beer-fueled, rocking out, no nonsense, red blooded pub rock. I went to the show based on Jon Langford's semi-legendary reputation, and I'd be lying if I said he wasn't a billion times better than I thought he'd be.
3. Mens/Koolwyk @ SAT (part of MUTEK 2002), May 30. Pumping, minimal, nearly industrial, with the flickering seizure-inducing visuals to match. This year's MUTEK wasn't as much about the music as it was about the merging of visual arts with the supposedly boring live demeanour of laptop electronica. At least that's how I'll remember it. I'd be lying if I said I didn't rack my brain to figure out how I could better represent MUTEK on this list, for there were a good two or three other performances that might have merited their own inclusion on this list, but I didn't want to unbalance the Top 10 in the direction of any one single festival or event, so I considered just putting MUTEK itself as #3, but finally settled on representing the festival by my own personal highlight.
2. Bardo Pond, Mean Red Spiders @ Lee's Palace, July 3. Ahhh, I could listen to bands open their sets with "Two Planes" from now until the end of time. By the time they cranked out "Tommy Gun Angel", even the most stoic in attendance were swaying in a trance. Isobel Sollenberger remains the sexiest woman in rock. I'd be lying if I claimed I knew what the big deal is with Mean Red Spiders.
1. Scion + Tikiman, Tomas Jirku, naw @ Mockingbird, May 11. Scion and Tikiman were simply godlike, that's all there is to it, and I'd be lying if I said that any gig this year came even remotely close to touching their magnificent work.
Wednesday, December 04, 2002
More random "year in review"-esque thoughts.
Oasis' 593rd comeback single, "The Hindu Times" is their best single ever. I figured that they'd come back with an over-the-top anthemic singalong, and I figured right! But it rocked!! Definitely their best single ever. Maybe except for "Some Might Say". Ever.
Akufen sold a bucketload of "My Way" CD's, stayed huge all year, and had the #1 album of the year according to Exclaim! magazine. I still don't get the *really* big deal about him, he's good, but Mitchell Akiyama and Deadbeat (Montreal contemporaries) are still better for my money. Whatever, Montreal rules.
Primal Scream's "Evil Heat" is a lot better than the (in)-attention it's been given, but it's no classic. I'm obviously biased, since I would gladly mate with "XTRMNTR" and bear its children. Similarly, Speedy J's "Loudboxer" is WAY better than the reviews I've seen. People complain that it's just one hour of banging techno. But it's a storming, emotionally draining hour of banging techno. Granted, it doesn't open up new frontiers for techno and it's not as inventive as "A Shocking Hobby". It's structured like a DJ mix album (everything seamlessly mixed, slow start, big build, slow comedown) which means he's "confined" himself to more or less one style. But that one style is storming, emotionally draining, MINIMAL techno, so if you love that (as I do), you'll love this. (Disclaimer minimal = minimal, not "quiet")
Oasis' 593rd comeback single, "The Hindu Times" is their best single ever. I figured that they'd come back with an over-the-top anthemic singalong, and I figured right! But it rocked!! Definitely their best single ever. Maybe except for "Some Might Say". Ever.
Akufen sold a bucketload of "My Way" CD's, stayed huge all year, and had the #1 album of the year according to Exclaim! magazine. I still don't get the *really* big deal about him, he's good, but Mitchell Akiyama and Deadbeat (Montreal contemporaries) are still better for my money. Whatever, Montreal rules.
Primal Scream's "Evil Heat" is a lot better than the (in)-attention it's been given, but it's no classic. I'm obviously biased, since I would gladly mate with "XTRMNTR" and bear its children. Similarly, Speedy J's "Loudboxer" is WAY better than the reviews I've seen. People complain that it's just one hour of banging techno. But it's a storming, emotionally draining hour of banging techno. Granted, it doesn't open up new frontiers for techno and it's not as inventive as "A Shocking Hobby". It's structured like a DJ mix album (everything seamlessly mixed, slow start, big build, slow comedown) which means he's "confined" himself to more or less one style. But that one style is storming, emotionally draining, MINIMAL techno, so if you love that (as I do), you'll love this. (Disclaimer minimal = minimal, not "quiet")
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