End of year lists

They look a lot like my list.

Matthew

They look nothing like mine......
Steve D

Matthew,

quote:

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They look a lot like my list.

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Odd, I never pegged you as an Outkast fan. ;-)

Joe

I almost hate to ask, but did anyone here break down and try the (consistently well-reviewed) Dizzee Rascal album? If so, how is it?

Yes I have it. I really like it although I rarely play it as its a rather draining listen given its unrelenting bleakness (both lyrically and musically).

It has also found approval with a jazz fan, a famously leftfield Wire reading muso and my 12 year-old nephew.

Everybody else hates it. So make of that what you will.

Matthew

Dizzee Dr Matthew is a devoteeee. I note he mysteriously developed an unhealthy interest in skateboarding and sneekers or track shoes or whatever the yoof call em since then.

John
oops! ees in there before me

Is it just me or was 2003 an underwhelming year for music?

My interest in The Art of Skate goes back to 1978. I have been a trainer fetishist at least as long.

Sadly I blew out my knee trying to pull a 360 Backside Melon off the fun box at pre-qualifying for the '96 X Games otherwise I'd be happy to give you a demo.

Matthew

PS Mike -- Its been an excellent year for music.

An excellent year for music?
OK I'm game.

I've only heard ~20% of Mekon's first link; It all looks intriguing. What are the must haves? Please recommend and I'll check it out.

PS I'm not into the Strokes or Darkness, couldn't get into Elbow and British Sea Power ,thought the new Buck65 was a bit of a letdown and won't be pruchasing the new Outkast.

Of course if someone were to go to Vietnam for me and pick up the lot...

I'm not being a twat I really think 2003 wasn't that hot.

Kings of Leon had a few good tracks, the MAssive Attack and Underworld were bummers, the new Calexico wasn't as good as the first one, the new Lamb is a bit of a bore etc...

This Dizzie Rascal lad sounds interesting, but is he just an overhyped one hit wonder? I don't know...
I've never heard the top 5 of the cokemachine list I must be getting old
I imlpore your help.

Dizzee Rascal is like listening to an angry homeless person rant, while banging the shit out of trash can lids. I hate it, and I paid $25 for it.

Mike,

I'd agree with that the bands you mention have been disappointing. For better tips from a variety of forum members (ok 5) in a variety of styles see The Nick Lees Head Thread.

Alternatively try Pitchforkmedia's Best New Music List which has many excellent choices along with descriptions and reviews. Most of the choices in the two links at the top of this thread are also reviewed at Pitchfork.

Or if you just want quick recommendations:

For Hip-Hop try Sage Francis / Non-Prophets "Hope"

For garage rock try The Deadly Snakes "Ode to Joy"

For indie-rock try The Wrens "The Meadowlands" or Broken Social Scene "You Forget it in People"

For Alt.Country/Americana try My Morning Jacket "It Still Moves", M. Ward "Transfiguration of Vincent"

For something more dancey try Basement Jaxx "Kish Kash" or Soft Pink Truth "Do You Party?" or Out HUD "S.T.R.E.E.T. D.A.D."

For something more leftfield try Polysics "Neu!" (Japanese electro-punk),

For an all round indie-pop masterpiece in the spirit of Scott Walker try The Shins "Chutes Too Narrow"

BTW At least two of the above are from Toronto.

If you can't a few albums to enjoy in that lot I'd be amazed.

Matthew

Seattle-based radio station KEXP puts out an end-of-year chart of favs. I typically get my ideas from listening to KEXP.

Cal-Berkeley's station, KALX, also puts out a nice EOY list.

Funny old year, 2003.

Highlight for me was the release of a 31-year-old concert from a band which split up 23 years ago: Led Zep's How The West Was Won. For those who haven't heard it (come on Matthew), it's simply staggering. They really were the best band ever, capable of just about anything and willing to go just about anywhere musically. Add together a 1,000% commitment to music-making, their almost celestial passion, their swagger and their pomp and their arrogance, their charisma-in-spades, their vast sonic palette, their tenement-flattening power, and you have the Best Band in The World... Ever! (Don't even get me started on the DVD).

Hopefully the next few years will see Page delving into the archives - what about Earls Court 75, Cleveland 77, Knebworth 79, excerpts from the 1980 back-to-basics tour, etc etc

Great to hear Kraftwerk back on (reasonable) form (great to hear Kraftwerk, full stop) with Tour de France Soundtracks , too. Nice to see Bowie's mini-renaissance continuing also.

New stuff?

Goldfrapp's Black Cherry was the standout. Squelchy synths, Glitter Band stomp and Neu! style motorik rhythms. Ace! "Hairy Trees" was perhaps the loveliest track of the year, "Train" and "Twist" the sexiest.

Pole {b] Pole [/b]

Client Client

Cinematic Orchestra Man With the Movie Camera

White Stripes Elephant -if "Ball & Biscuit" were he only good track on it, it would still be one of the year's best...

New Order The Peter Saville Show Soundtrack - Absolutely fabulous! A 30-minute improv by Bernard, Hooky and Steve, and the best thing they've done in yonks!

Also: Kings of Leon, BRMC, My Morning Jacket, Eels, Mogwai, Strokes, Radiohead

Oh, and I'd like the Scott Walker box set for Xmas if anyone's buying...

Kevin

Mike

I wish you'd warned me about Talkin Honky Blues. I've only given it one spin, but from that, given how much great stuff there is about at the mo, I can't see it getting a look in for a bit.

A short list of outstanding music released in 2003 ...

The Evening Of My Best Day - Rickie Lee Jones

One Quiet Night - Pat Metheny

Changing Places - Tord Gustavsen

Let It Be ... Naked - The Beatles

Up For It - Keith Jarrett

Alegría - Wayne Shorter

The Intercontinentals - Bill Frisell

Rosslyn - John Taylor

... to be continued.

[This message was edited by fred simon on WEDNESDAY 03 December 2003 at 00:23.]

Excellent. Thanks for all the recs.

Judging from that pitchfork site it sounds like 2003 was better than 2002! There's some major experimentaion to be done and shopping to do.
Looks like that credit card I got just for the free travel clock will come in handy after all.

Thanks again.

Mekon I thought you would have bought THB as a matter of course ages ago. I had to buy cause it was ridiculously cheap ~4gbp new.

To be honest, I've given it a couple runs through and was only listening to the beats, which weren't that great, but it seems there's some clever lyrics in there.

Alex, I forgot all about Fluke. Must get it ASAP along with Laika's new one.

Looking at your list, I thought:

Radiohead
Blur
Cinematic Orchestra
Tosca
Eels

were all a bit disappointing. They've all done much better, no?
Christ I hope I haven't gone tone deaf.

Mike

My local hiphop shop's been claiming that they had had it in vinyl, so I'd been holding out for it, despite only seeing it on CD everywhere else. I paid 9 quid, so you did better than me.

Being bitchy, I'd say I find the direction fellow ex-sebutone 6.2 has gone more interesting.

Fred mentioned John Taylor I see he's recording with Charlie Haden for the Naim label. Should be interesting.

William Parker ... Scrapbook

Wayne Shorter... Alegria

Soweto Kinch... Conversations with the Unseen

Vijay Iyer... Blood Sutra

Kenny Wheeler... Dream Sequence

Denys Baptiste... Let Freedom Ring!

Wadada Leo Smith...Year of the Elephant

Ken Vandermark... Airports for Light

Vijay Iyer/Mike Ladd... In what language

Evan Parker Electro Acoustic Ensemble...Memory Vision

Matthew Shipp... Id take a few songs from each of Equilibrium/vs Anti-Pop Consortium/Spring Heel Jack stuff to make one great CD

John

John C

Is there anything else like Matthew Shipp/APC or Vijay Iyer/Mike Ladd floating about? Have you any clues on what bridges the gap between Gil Scott Heron/The Last Poets era stuff, and the Saul Williams/Nuyorican Poets Cafe stuff?

If you are interested in exploring more Mike Ladd/APC stuff, I have a few recommendations.

I'm not sure I can answer either of your questions! To be honest I don't like too much crossover (as an example I think Matlib should be hung, drawn and quartered for the rubbish he produced from the Bluenote catalogue) but think the stuff on Jazzland with DJ Strangefruit is pretty good. I love the accoustic Jazzland bands who are much more straight ahead. You can check them out here.

www.jazzlandrec.com

Not quite what you are looking for but worth trying are ...

William Parker Quartet ..Raining on the Moon (on Thirsty Ear).

Soweto Kinch does some Brummie rap on the record I noted above but mostly he's firmly in the jazz tradition.

Alex, keep spending:

Amazon's music editors have just compiled their list. As always, it's more than a bit off and very commercial. Not the best EOY list from Seattle (see my comments above).

Hi Hock, good to hear Shahreza still alive and kicking after his world tour. Hope he found his inner self

I've been listening to a lot of Joe Harriott, Jamaican born sixties British jazz musician lately. Two of his albums Freeform and Abstract are classics with his own take on free jazz. Composed the same time as Ornettes early work. I think you would like them.

John

I don't like the Movaer, Wessletoft so much as Kornstadt Trio and the wonderful Atomic.