Tag: 2001

Takeoffs, Landings, and the End of the Joke

by KevinLeave a Comment on Takeoffs, Landings, and the End of the Joke

Best Record of 2001: Day 21- Rilo Kiley vs. Blink 182

Good morning!

Today we’re taking a look at Rilo Kiley’s Takeoffs and Landings as it faces off against Blink-182’s Take Off Your Pants and Jacket.

Takeoffs and Landings vs. Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. There’s a joke in there somewhere…

Listening to Rilo Kiley’s 2004 track “Portions for Foxes,” it’s hard to believe how much difference just three years makes. It’s loud, full of bombast, and chock full of whatever it is that makes self-defined “music people” stroke their chins and nod approvingly. Whatever. It’s just a great song.

That sort of thing is nowhere to be found on Takeoffs & Landings. Following a well-received EP, this was their shot at showing the world who they were and what they could do. And at the time, what they could apparently do was the same sort of purpose-built-for-coffee-shops stuff a lot of other bands were doing.

I once made a glib remark that “indie folk” was the most overused term in PR circles, with seemingly everyone using it to describe the release they were shopping. What I have in mind when I think of indie folk is a track like opener “Go Ahead,” with its fingerpicked guitar and twee lyrics. It’s upbeat enough, I guess, with lines like but they’ve always struck me as too clever by half.

If you know me, you know I’m an avgeek, so I’ll take any aviation reference I can get. Title aside, the line “Sometimes, planes, they crash up in the sky/ Sometimes, lonely hearts, they just get lonelier” on “Wires and Waves” is a helluva couplet, if horribly timed. “Science vs. Romance” is the best track here. I know the band caught flak for playing it on Dawson’s Creek, but hey—might as well shoot your shot, right? And besides; it’s not like other bands weren’t doing it at the time. Maybe that was the idea being passed around PR circles back then.

The idea of escape feels like it’s hovering over the whole record, but it’s hard to buy Lewis & co. as truly going through it. What we get instead feels like their idea of what that might sound like. Unfair, maybe—but it’s hard to ignore, especially knowing what came after. Compared to later records, there’s a lack of firepower here, a more subdued approach. It’s not bad, and it’s not boring. It just feels…not quite there yet.

Maybe it’s first-record jitters. Maybe they hadn’t fully hit their stride. It is, after all, the start of a really solid three-year run. Either way, this feels like one that could’ve stayed in the hangar a little longer. That said: “Science vs. Romance” → “Wires and Waves” → “Pictures of Success” is a fantastic three-track run. If only the whole record kept that momentum…

If Takeoffs and Landings is the start of a run for Rilo Kiley, TOYPAJ (I will never not use this acronym) is the end of one for Blink-182—or at least the end of the beginning. Dude Ranch → Enema of the State → this—that’s basically the band’s whole early arc: novelty, hitting their stride, hearing the joke one too many times.

The good news is there’s no real drop-off from Enema. If anything, it holds steady. But the writing’s on the wall. For as insufferable as self-serious indie writers can be, frat-boy heroes have their own expiration date.

It’s probably better to think of this as a transition record. Can a band built on pop punk and porn star cover art pivot to something heavier? Maybe. Yeah, actually. But they’re not there yet. TOYPAJ sits right at that inflection point, balancing the juvenile stuff with some genuinely solid writing. And it helps that it’s all delivered in family-sized, hooky doses of pop punk.

There’s still room for the raunchy jokes (see also: “Happy Holidays, You Bastard”), and making that kind of thing work is harder than it looks. Even if the joke’s wearing thin, they’ve still got some runway left.

Earlier this week I quipped on Bluesky that I never thought I’d write “Blink-182 will be a refreshing change.” I was only half-joking—but after a couple more listens, I stand by it. TOYPAJ might not be regarded as a “timeless classic” in most circles, but outside those gates, it still hits.

Bottom Line:
The easy point to make here is that this comes down to taste. Do you like loud rowdy sounds, or do you prefer a more twee experience? I think one’s answer will depend a lot of their age. “What’s My Age Again,” amirite?

Put another way, I think anyone who had aged out of things like the Warped Tour by ‘01 will land solidly on the side of Jenny Lewis & co., where as a younger cohort— and I don’t think it takes all that great of divide; maybe just a few years?— will remember Blink-182 a lot more fondly. As for me, I’m not a fan of getting older (So this is growing up), but I am solidly in the former camp. Rilo Kiley it is…

Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!

Messy Over Monotone: The Microphones vs. Elbow (2001)

by KevinLeave a Comment on Messy Over Monotone: The Microphones vs. Elbow (2001)

Best Record of 2001: Day 20

Good morning!

Today we’re taking a look at Elbow’s Asleep in the Back as it faces off against The Glow Pt. 2 from The Microphones.

Note: As many of you saw, I recently wrote about a Best Record of 2001 challenge and noted that I’d be writing some of these up.

The plan is to do quick hits on each first-round matchup and post them directly to the page. Some will be longer, some won’t, and some might just be a handful of sentences. There’ll probably be a few typos. We’ll also have a few guest posts along the way, so make sure to stay tuned for those!

Check ’em out and let me know your thoughts! Chin wags & hot takes welcome! Sharing and restacks always appreciated.

KA—

Elbow-Asleep in the Back

My notes have all of two lines on them:

  1. Why this band name?
  2. Debut record.

I should’ve added a third: I was very surprised to see they have almost 1M monthly listeners. How have I never heard of them?! Part of it again has to do with where I was in May of ‘01. My (now) wife was winding down her time on the corporate hamster wheel and looking to try something—anything—new. I was getting ready to start what was supposed to be a 4-month temporary position back home in Portland. Lots of packing, paring down, and gearing up. A debut record from a band with an offbeat name just wasn’t in the cards…

“Any Day Now” kicks things off low-key. There’s a really solid bassline groove, but a lot of layered vocals, which I don’t seem to have much patience for these days. Okay, so not the best of starts, but it is strangely infectious.

“Little Beast” has that same creeping uncomfortableness that Portishead made famous with “Sour Times.” Is it a pop song? Is it soundtracking a spy movie? Why not both? 4+ minutes is about 90 seconds too long, and that leads to my biggest gripe about this record.

We’ve talked about “sameness” before in this series. Not the worst thing in the world, but it’s a hurdle that keeps a lot of okay records from being good ones. Asleep in the Back doubles down on that, and each song is about a minute too long, but they’re also roughly the same. Look, I’m not expecting a metal song in the middle or anything. No one in Elbow needs to rap (seriously, please don’t do that), but a little mixing it up would go a long way. There are a couple of exceptions, but really, the only variety here is the placement of frontman Guy Garvey’s vocals in the mix. Sometimes he’s right up front, and sometimes he’s further back. I’ll carve out worthy exceptions for “Bitten by the Tailfly,” featuring bursts of jagged guitar hooks, and “Newborn,” which bursts into something really atmospheric…except we have to wait almost 6 minutes to get there. Otherwise, this is 61 minutes of what is often diplomatically referred to as “brooding,” “melancholy,” or intense.”

Doing some reading ahead of this, I saw that they were a live band for some time before heading into the studio. I can absolutely see an Elbow concert as being an incredible experience. A lot of bands are good in the booth, only to see it translate poorly on stage. Elbow strikes me as betting the other way. If only we were reviewing concerts instead of records! These days, Radiohead has cornered this market, but Asleep in the Back certainly gives ‘em a run for their money.

Highlights: Any Day Now, Bitten by the Tailfly, Asleep in the Back

The Microphones- The Glow, Pt. 2

On paper, this is a record I should like. They’re on K records→ It’s Calvin Johnson’s label→ I like Beat happening!→ They’re from Olympia.→ Some of the best bands and the best shows I’ve ever seen have taken place right there in Washington’s capital city.

And to be fair, I do… in parts. There are fleeting moments in songs that very much pull you in. A couple of times, I found myself thinking, “This is peak Olympia” (not derogatory). But while Asleep in the Back was held back by its sameness, The Glow Pt 2 is held back by its variety. It’s all over the map. Also, for some reason, the sort of nasally vowels made famous by Isaac Brock were in vogue here for a while. At times, singer Phil Eleverum reminds me of Stephen Malkmus. Other times, it models the worst parts of Brock’s. Johnson’s voice was a million miles away from both. Why didn’t he say something?! Look, I get that cities like this foster creativity in all kinds of ways, but that doesn’t mean you have to try to squish them all into one song, or even onto one record. This project excels at lo-fi sounds. There’s no reason for MBV-esque walls of distortion to pop up like thunderclouds on this thing. The Glow Pt. 2 is magnificent in parts and grating in others.

Highlights: I Want Wind to Blow, The Moon, I Felt Your Shape.

Bottom Line:

This comes down to choosing a wide palette of colors over a more monochromatic one. Variety is the spice of life and all that, I guess. The record cover looks like the sort of sticker I’d put on my car. Plus, The Microphones are from the PacNw, and like we saw yesterday, I’m not above factoring that into the equation… The Glow Pt. 2 it is.

Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!

The Best Record of 2001: Day 19

by KevinLeave a Comment on The Best Record of 2001: Day 19

Built to Spill vs. Mercury Rev

Good morning!

Today we’re taking a look at Built to Spill’s Ancient Melodies of the Future as it takes on All is Dream by Mercury Rev.

Note: As many of you saw, I recently wrote about a Best Record of 2001 challenge and noted that I’d be writing some of these up.

The plan is to do quick hits on each first-round matchup and post them directly to the page. Some will be longer, some won’t, and some might just be a handful of sentences. There’ll probably be a few typos. We’ll also have a few guest posts along the way, so make sure to stay tuned for those!

Check ’em out and let me know your thoughts! Chin wags & hot takes welcome! Sharing and restacks always appreciated.

KA—

At one point during Riot Fest, I posted a screenshot of Sunday’s lineup to IG with the caption “please help.” The dinnertime choice was a 3-way tie between Dinosaur Jr, Best Coast, and TVOTR. The night would end with Jawbreaker’s reunion, an incredible moment I feel lucky to have been a part of. The day had kicked off with an early afternoon set from That Dog (killed it) and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (meh, but it was hot, and they still insisted on wearing suits. Who could blame ‘em?!). Anyway, in between all of that, Built to Spill was slated to play. The latest in many, many opportunities we’d had to see them over the years. We chose to…go get something to eat instead. I say this not as a dig against the band, but to set the stage (sorrynotsorry) for my relationship with them. They’ve always been sorta in my orbit, but never really grabbed me the way they did other friends in my circle. I thought having a specific reason to listen would pull me in where other circumstances have failed. Dear reader, this did not happen. I kept waiting for a lightning bolt of revelation to strike. I’m still waiting.

A record should grab you by the collar and make you gin up excuses to put off whatever it is you’re supposed to be doing. For this match (both records, really), I kept finding reasons to stall playing them.

Part of this, I think, is that 2001 itself was such a weird era for me, life-wise. Weird in a good way, but one almost utterly bereft of any new music discovery or going to shows. Along with that, both Built to Spill and Mercury Rev were “bigger” in an era when I was looking the other way. My diet was a lot of synthpop, some industrial (see also: the trifecta of Ministry, NIN, and New Order, back-to-back on Friday), and then 80s college radio staples like The Replacements and REM. Keep It Like a Secret and Carry the Zero were already in the rearview mirror, and I hadn’t even turned the radio on.

Mercury Rev was the sort of fever-dreamy music usually enjoyed by people with big thoughts and who wrote think-pieces. Which is to say I find it exhausting. There are some strings, and it’s symphonic, but it all strikes me as a try-hard version of The Flaming Lips. I hate punching down (there’s no glory in emulating early era pitchfork), but this sort of overwrought, overbuilt material has always struck me as unnecessary. And I’m someone who likes symphonic and melodic (see also: New Order above). Maybe I should have done more hallucinogens. My biggest takeaway from All Is Dream is that I’m happy I was on the clock while listening to it.

Ancient Melodies of the Future is…fine. I will say that “Strange” is a killer track, and while listening (okay, 3x in a row), I wondered if I’d been mistaken for overlooking them all these years. “Fly Around Little Miss” is pretty good, too! Had it come out a few months earlier, I could very easily see myself singing along to it as I drove cross-country back to Portland. I found “In Your Mind” relaxing (?). Maybe not the best adjective for a record beloved by hipsters the world over. So be it. The rest, though? Just sorta went by in a blur. And in the end, we’re right back to where we started. Enjoyable enough record. Solid even. A couple of highlights I’m glad I found. But nothing compelling enough to stall getting work done or even going to get something to eat—I decided to go to lunch before playing it. Long live Doug Martsch, and good on him for being one of Boise’s best exports. Maybe one day I’ll get it, but today’s not that day.

Bottom Line:
Went with Built to Spill on the strength of “Strange,” and they’re being (more or less) a PacNW band.

Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!

The Best Record of 2001: Day 17

by KevinLeave a Comment on The Best Record of 2001: Day 17

Aphex Twin vs. Muse

Good morning!

Today we’re taking a look at Drukqs by Aphex twin as it takes on Muse’s Origin of Symmetry.

Aphex Twin- Drukqs

As a teenager, I once read a Flipside review where the writer said they couldn’t get into the record because they couldn’t get past the stupid title. That’s a fair, if a bit harsh, point. It’s also one that I apparently agree with, since I’ve abided by that same rule most of my life. And when I say this, I don’t mean ones that are abstract, or that may point to a joke I’m not in on. I mean abjectly dumb titles- ones that go out of their way to be “incorrect.”

And here we come to Aphex Twin’s Drukqs. WTF am I supposed to infer here? Drug use? J’Accuse? I dunno, and frankly, I don’t have time to worry about it ‘cause almost all of the titles follow this same bizarre nomenclature.

Bbydhyonchord? Vordhosbn? Cock/ver10?!

C’mon.

Titles aside, the music is standard-issue Aphex Twin: some attempts at new-age or even ambient sounds over a hyperbeat, usually set to, like, 684 BPM. Fun for about one song. Two max. Anything after that feels like I’m listening to a strobe light while on a bad trip. Maybe that’s the point? Maybe it really is all a joke that people like me aren’t supposed to get?

I dunno. But bad titles, 30 songs that are repetitive to a fault, and an almost 2-hour run time are a bridge too far. Is there a record review equivalent to “this could’ve been an email”? ‘Cause this could’ve been an EP…Maybe.

Muse- Origin of Symmetry

If Drukqs is peak claustrophobia, Origin of Symmetry is peak “open.” It is garish, bombastic, and over-the-top in all the best ways. It’s what we keep saying we want from our rock stars! If a metal band ever decided to do a Broadway show, it might sound like this. Queen walked so Muse could run. Freddie Mercury was the consummate showman. Michael Bellamy clearly took notes in class, while his contemporaries like Chris Martin did not. And it shows.

There’s a dip in quality on the back side of the record, but even the biggest wave can only sustain itself for so long. You could also say that, like Drukqs, it suffers from a bit of sameness. Luckily, the pomp and glam that comes before it is enough to carry you to shore.

Bottom Line:
I’ve got a feeling that Aphex Twin will carry the day. Because of name recognition and because people are more likely to pretend to like abrasive electro-clash dialed to 11 than they are to admit they like something so pompous. I’m not claiming any kind of high ground here; I’d do the exact same thing. In fact, I did do the exact same thing; my bracket pick went to Aphex Twin. But my vote is another story, and once again I’ll be voting against my own interests and pulling the lever for Muse. Good thing I’m okay with mid-table mediocrity, I guess!

Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!

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The Best Record of 2001: Day 16

by KevinLeave a Comment on The Best Record of 2001: Day 16

The Best Record of 2001: Day 16

Good morning!

Today we’re taking a look at It’s a Wonderful Life by Sparklehorse as it takes on The World Won’t End by the Pernice Brothers.

Sparklehorse- It’s a Wonderful Life

Sparklehorse often feels like a car crash. Some of that (okay, a lot) had to do with Mark Linkous, whose life was very much a proverbial car crash for large stretches. That’s not to speak ill of the dead, but it’s true. Sometimes that makes for good records, and sometimes it makes for almost losing your legs after an OD. Linkous had the good/bad fortune to do both.

Like most of us, he contained multitudes, and for context, you should know that “Some Day I Will Treat You Good” is the litmus test for which I measure everything else in the catalog. It’s a high bar, but I think it’s a fair one.

It’s a Wonderful Life works best as a full listen. It stays in one emotional zone, which is to say sorta bummed out, but with flashes of light that keep it from collapsing under its own weight. That balance gives the album its shape, and it helps that Linkous brought some friends along for the ride.

The guest list is impressive, with Tom Waits, Dave Fridman, PJ Harvey, John Parish, and Nina Persson all making appearances, yet the album never feels crowded. A solid roster! All of them are adding something to the album in their own unique way.

The instrumentation is fantastic throughout the record, and while engaging, it doesn’t overtake the lyrics. Speaking of which, Linkous could pen some pretty surreal shit when he wanted to. It’s a fine line between offbeat and nonsense, and with any given verse, it’s always anyone’s guess which side of the line he’ll land on. I suppose that’s part of the appeal. Wouldn’t be a linklus record if it were as AB-AB-AB pitter-patter about puppies and ice cream, would it?

If there is a weakness, it’s that the album can wear thin after a while. Maybe it’s just me, but I can only do “wallowing” or tortured artist for so long. It’s a bit that doesn’t have staying power. A little more variation would’ve gone a long way. I mean, look at this guest list! Do some zigging! Maybe a little zagging! I also miss some of the rougher experimentation (and poppier elements) that show up elsewhere in Sparklehorse’s catalog. If pressed for time, ignore what I said about listening to this in its entirety and check out ‘Piano Fire” and “King of Nails.”

It’s not necessarily an album I’d play on repeat (or even revisit), but I get why others might dig it.

The Pernice Brothers- The World Won’t End

Last night, my wife and I went on something called a “date” and saw a movie. We’re in the throes of the Wisconsin Film Festival up here, and every year I’m reminded of how lucky we are to live in a place that punches above its weight. Ask me this again when it’s -22 and snowing. But I digress.

The film we saw was The Last Critic. Half documentary, half hagiography, it traces the rise of music critic Robert Christgau and frames him as sort of the last man standing. Lots of “they broke the mold with him,” type stuff. Love him or hate him, his reviews can be a work of art, telling an entire story in just a few lines. At the risk of cannonballing into the shallow end, allow me to try to channel my inner Christgau here:

With lovely, intricate melodies and an ear for gentle pop that would (should) make most bands pack up their gear, The World Won’t End is a template for some of your favorite bands and opens the door for some of the most annoying. Hipster outdoor goods stores rejoice! Your in-store playlist is here (not derogatory). B+

Bottom Line:
Both surprised me and busted my expectations. I enjoyed The World Won’t End far more than I thought I would, and can easily see myself playing it again. On paper, It’s a Wonderful Life is the one I’d gravitate towards, but I found myself clockwatching while playing it. That’s never a good sign. I guess it depends which sort of melancholy you prefer. I am once again going against my own bracket pick and will be voting for the Brothers Pernice.

What do you think? Did I get it right here, or am I way off the mark? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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The Best Record of 2001: Day 15

by KevinLeave a Comment on The Best Record of 2001: Day 15

Andrew Bird’s Bowl of Fire vs. The Coup

Good morning!

Today we’re taking a look at Swimming Hour by Andrew Bird’s Bowl of Fire as it takes on The Coup’s Party Music.

Note: As many of you saw, I recently wrote about a Best Record of 2001 challenge and noted that I’d be writing some of these up.

The plan is to do quick hits on each first-round matchup and post them directly to the page. Some will be longer, some won’t, and some might just be a handful of sentences. There’ll probably be a few typos. We’ll also have a few guest posts along the way, so make sure to stay tuned for those!

Check ’em out and let me know your thoughts! Chin wags & hot takes welcome! Sharing and restacks always appreciated.

KA—

The Coup- Party Music

Earlier this week, I was listening to the Will’s Band of the Week podcast, and in the “banter” part of this episode, one of the hosts was talking about listening to another podcast (meta meta, I know!). That episode covered the discography of one of his favorite bands (Apples in Stereo), and partway through it hit him that he’d never heard one of the records being discussed. This, of course, was much more normal back in the day than it is now. Maybe a new release came out when you were broke. Maybe you were still so into the previous one that you weren’t ready for the next record. Whatever the reason, it could usually betied back to bad timing.

Speaking of which…

We can’t get too far here without acknowledging the album’s cover. The original artwork was a photo of Boots and Pam standing in front of the WTC as it exploded. It was originally slated for a September 11th release. You can imagine how this went (spoiler: not well at all). Riley’s spent a lot of time and energy explaining that it was a metaphor for tearing down the systems that hold us down, and that music is a powerful weapon to tear down those walls. He also doubled down on it all, mentioning more than once that the censoring of the cover was in response to the political climate and not any sort of empathy or sympathy. Where do you see that as staying true to one’s beliefs or stepping on a rake? I’ll leave it to you. Either way, you can also imagine how often this has fallen on deaf ears.

The cover might’ve been altered—it’s now a close-up shot of a drink on fire (a Molotov cocktail. Get it? (nudge nudge)—the music inside is as white hot as ever.
Party Music consists of twelve funky slices of politically conscious body-moving music. Their tracks blend punk, funk, disco, and hip hop into a monster palette for their self-described revolutionary Communist frontman, Boots Riley. No one is safe.

“Those in the crosshairs police (Pork and Beef), the government, ‘Ride the Fence’, and anyone else that falls under the umbrella label of ‘the man’ (most everywhere else). That could be any number of hip hop records, really, but what Riley does well is steer away from just sort of blindly swinging at whoever is pissing him off today. There’s an upbeat vibe to it all, and in any revolution, the key ingredient is hope. Party Music might not be music for a party, but it’s perfect for a party takedown. Maybe even at a party while taking down the party in power. Imagine people singing (and dancing to) the chorus to “The Guillotine” (off 2012’s Sorry to Bother You) at the next No Kings rally!

Poor timing and that cover cursed this record to trivia status. Most “best of” discussions skip over it. They shouldn’t. The original cover art might not stand up, but the message sure does.

Andrew Bird’s Bowl of Fire- The Swimming Hour

If you’re pressed for time, here’s the TL; DR: A lot of bands go genre hopping in a way that feels like voyeur tourism or slather it in so much irony and cynicism as to overtake the whole thing. There are bands whose entire discography is built on this quicksand!

Andrew Bird doesn’t strike me that way at all. What makes the record stand out is the total absence of that nonsense. It feels curious, playful, and open-hearted in a way that one just didn’t see in 2001 (or today, for that matter). Whatever bands like Bowling for Soup and Alien Ant Farm are, this is the opposite.

Listening along, I keep seeing this vision of a guy who enjoys a bunch of different genres and just wants to try ‘em out in the studio to see what happens. It feels natural instead of gimmicky.

Not every song works for me—or works in general— but I think that should be expected. None of them is poorly done. This isn’t a bunch of demos strung together, or a “sessions” record dressed up and passed off as an album. But most of them do, and that’s enough to make the album strong overall.

For each of these, I tried to put myself in his shoes or at least in a scenario that would influence these tracks. “How Indiscreet” towards the end really captures what I like about it — there’s a lively, restless feel to it that reminds me of crate-digging for old soul records. Anytime I go to my favorite local shop, I spend some time in that corner, and while I was daydreaming at work, thinking about how best to put this review together, I imagined him there doing the same. In the end, I think that “realness” or authenticity is the album’s superpower. Doing a bunch of genres in a row isn’t easy to do, but Swimming Hour pulls it off.

Overall, The Swimming Hour isn’t perfect, but its animation, sincerity, and mix of influences left a great impression. I’ll be back to visit this one.

Bottom Line:
Tough call here. Bit are good, if wildly different records. My bracket pick defaulted to name recognition (The Coup), and my vote later this morning will be largely dependent on my mood. Will I be burnt out on corporatist bullshit? Will I be riding high off a night of good sleep and a morning playing with Gizmo? Could go either way!

Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!

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Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s Debut | Dive-Bar Anthems That Go For Days

by KevinLeave a Comment on Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s Debut | Dive-Bar Anthems That Go For Days

Best Record of 2001: Day 14

Cover art courtesy of Virgin Records

Good morning!

Today we’re taking a quick look at BRMC’s self-titled debut as it takes on Spiritualized’s Let it Come Down.

Note: As many of you saw, I recently wrote about a Best Record of 2001 challengeand noted that I’d be writing some of these up.

The plan is to do quick hits on each first-round matchup and post them directly to the page. Some will be longer, some won’t, and some might just be a handful of sentences. There’ll probably be a few typos. We’ll also have a few guest posts along the way, so make sure to stay tuned for those!

Check ’em out and let me know your thoughts! Chin wags & hot takes welcome! Sharing and restacks always appreciated.

KA—

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club- S/T

Put aside the name, kitschy band name, and the fact that you spend a good amount of time thinking you’re listening to Jesus and Mary Chain; Black Rebel Motorcycle Club rips. 2001 might;ve been an era of potemkin-vkillages-as band, but this wasn;t one of them. Robert Levon Been on bass and vocals, Peter Hayes on guitar and vocals, Nick Jago on drums—they came out swinging with actual songs. In short, they came to play 9, no pun intended. Been is also the son of The Call’s Michael Been, so that’s a nohter notch in the win column.

“Love Burns” is a slow burn that gets things off to a strong start. Red Eyes and Tears and “Whatever Happened to My Rock n’ Roll (Punk Song) are two more for your playlist. The latter will also have you thinking more about The Stooges than you have in a while. We’ll see where this bracket takes up, but that’s gotta be an early leader for “best opening run of tracks.”

The rest holds up as well. “As Sure as the Sun” has a steady churn that builds into something almost pretty (maybe that’s just me. I was listening at work before sunrise). “Spread Your Love” brings a fat bass line and a nice dose of distortion. As with lots of records, a couple of spots drop off—like the last seconds of “Whatever Happened…” — but these feel intentional, not because of any sloppiness.

I’m probably the wrong person to ask, but the lasting impression of this band is that People slept on them and this record. Maybe the JAMC comps were a distraction, but besides the fuzz and drone, there’s plenty of hooks too.

A lot of these records feel very much of their time. Or worse, like it’s a nostalgia exercise. This doesn’t strike me as one of ‘em. Besides mistakenly thinking it was JAMC, my other overarching takeaway is that this was a goddamn delight, and a record that could easily have been released last week.

Bottom Line:

Spiritualized vs BRMC seems like the most 2001 contest that ever 2001 contested, but here we are. Both are seeded roughly mid-pack (56 vs 73). On my bracket, I went with the higher seed. Seemed reasonable at the time! With the benefit of a couple of new listens for each, I’ll once again vote against myself and ride for BRMC.

Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!

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Daft Punk’s Discovery vs. Tipsy’s Uh-Oh!: Sun, Soccer, and Sonic Bliss

by KevinLeave a Comment on Daft Punk’s Discovery vs. Tipsy’s Uh-Oh!: Sun, Soccer, and Sonic Bliss

Best Record of 2001: Day 12

Daft Punk- Discovery

(Note: this first appeared here as part of out Top 100 records series)

The origin story of Daft Punk is now firmly cemented in pop music lore. Three guys, Thomas Bangalter, Guy-Manuel de Homen-Christo, and Laurent Brancowitz, get together to make some records under the name Darlin’. A reviewer dismisses the work “daft, punky trash.” The trio takes it in stride and amicably split a year later. Bangalter and de Homen-Christo reform as a duo and take their name from the same review; Daft Punk is born. Brancowitz goes on to form Phoenix with his brother, and the world is a better place to have both bands in it.

Before 9/11, the Great Financial Collapse, and a whole series of mergers (and ensuing culture wars), aviation was, well, kinda fun. There were things like interline soccer tournaments where employees at any given carrier would form a team and travel to places to meet up and play teams from other airlines, which is how I found myself playing soccer under the searing Costa Rican sun on a field cut out of the jungle. These tournaments were really just cloud cover for all of us to get together and have a good time, and on this trip, it seemed like Discovery— and more specifically, “One More Time” was coming out of every speaker in the country.

Hearing Euro disco in the heart of Latin America told me the world was a small place and that we’re all in this together. Twenty-plus years on, this record is forever tied to things like hot sun, fun nights, and joy. It’s sonic bliss and a surefire cure for whatever ails you. Daft, punk trash? Not this record.

Tipsy- Uh-Oh!

When I was 10 or 11, I got a Casio SK-1 for Christmas. My mom had a dream that I would take up the piano, and she probably thought this was as good of gateway as any to get me started. My dad was just a “tech guy,” liked the idea of having some new electronics around the house, and thought this might be a way to bring me around to his level of enthusiasm.

I never learned to play the piano.

There were preprogrammed beats you could play at the push of a button, and you could switch the keys to mimic drums, which is promptly what I did. I also found the battery of sound effects and learned how to record/loop things like a burp, and well, look I was tween.

How could I not use ‘em?

I mention all of this to tell you that Tipsy’s Uh-Oh! reminds me of what happens when that kid grows up. A larger pool of influences to now draw from, and (likely) better equipment, but it’s the same mindset.

Uh-Oh! might be the title of SF- based duo’s second record, but after hearing it, listeners are more likely to respond with something like WTF?!.

With it’s ping-ponging between genres and tempos, it feels like what you might hear the hipper, cooler version of Mos Eisley’s cantina, or at a luau where the punch was spiked with Sizzurp.

Over 18 tracks, the record takes you on a ride with stops in Hawaii, 60s pop, and down memory lane to revisit your favorite Saturday morning cartoons and the game shows you watched on sicks days in the 80s. And that’s just the first few tracks. There’s even a bit of reimagined country and western here with “Reverse Cowgirl.” And bits that sound like a Ren & Stimpy sizzle reel.

Uh-Oh! Is the sort of record that you come away from feeling better for having experienced it, but only needing to hear it once. No Whammies!

Bottom Line:
One of these records is a heavy favorite and takes me back to a memories of sun, sea, and soccer- a trifecta of my favorite things! The other was made by Tipsy. A fun record to be sure, but one I’m confident in saying we won’t see again in this tournament. Bracket pick and vote both are going to Discovery.

Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!

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Ted Leo’s ‘Tyranny of Distance’ | A Last Bit of Sunny Indie Pop Before the World Went Dark

by KevinLeave a Comment on Ted Leo’s ‘Tyranny of Distance’ | A Last Bit of Sunny Indie Pop Before the World Went Dark

Best of 2001 Day 11: Ted Leo vs. Converge

Cover art courtesy of Lookout! Records.

Good morning!

Today we’re taking a quick look at Ted Leo’s The Tyranny of Distance as it takes on Jane Doe by Converge.

Note: As many of you saw, I recently wrote about a Best Record of 2001 challenge and noted that I’d be writing some of these up.

The plan is to do quick hits on each first-round matchup and post them directly to the page. Some will be longer, some won’t, and some might just be a handful of sentences. There’ll probably definitely be a few typos. We’ll also have a few guest posts along the way, so make sure to stay tuned for those!

Check ’em out and let me know your thoughts! Chin wags & hot takes welcome! Sharing and restacks always appreciated.

KA—

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists- The Tyranny of Distance

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists’ The Tyranny of Distance was finally his time to shine. Released on Lookout!, the appeal kicks in quick—right around track two or three for me—when you can hear the melodies really lock in. This is a band that plays best when it plays tight. Lyrically, Leo’s lyrics are full of sharp, evocative turns of phrase. It’s music for English majors, made by one of their own (complimentary).

In an era lousy with formulaic pop and vapid vocals, Leo injected a much-needed dose of humanity (humanities?) into the landscape. Ironic, given lines like “So I gather around me all the pieces of a song / And fit them where they belong” on “Parallel or Together.”

“Dial Up” comes across as a direct antecedent of “Me & Mia” in all the best ways. The first run of tracks is up there with any batch of indie songs out there. To my ear, “Under the Hedge” is as good as anything he’s done, with “Timorous Me” not too far behind. The first half of the record is sui generis indie pop, and I’d say a must-listen for any fan of the genre.

If there’s a knock here, it’s that the first half far outweighs the second, in part due to some odd sequencing choices. “Stove by a Whale” isn’t bad, but it’s 8 minutes long and right in the middle of the record. If the goal was to put in a sort of intermission or breakwall, then mission accomplished. Mostly, though, it just seems out of place.

The mix is typical of the era, which is to say it overindexes on treble. Not the only record that this was done to, but a remaster would go a long way.

The faster speeds and more political records would come in time, starting with Shake the Streets. Released months before 9/11, The Tyranny of Distance stands out as a sort of last ray of sunshine before the world went dark.

Converge- Jane Doe

I made the mistake of listening to this at work (strike 1), at 4 AM (strike 2), and on Easter (strike 3). Somewhere in the universe is a timeline where this sort of music appeals to me, but this isn’t it. Even in my younger years, when my tolerance for louder! faster! stronger! music was much higher, I still needed some semblance of understandable vocals. A guy just screaming into the mike had no appeal then, and it doesn’t today. Maybe this is just a “me problem?” The record was heaped with lavish praise in multiple reviews I read, including terms like “skill,” “masterpiece,” and “intense.” I’ll give ‘em the last one; it’s intense af, but that =/= an enjoyable listening experience.

Is this something people are listening to at work? While working out? driving recklessly? I dunno. I tried imagining it in all of those scenarios and more, and just couldn’t get there. To those who see it as a masterpiece and a legacy record, I say, more power to you. It was all I could do to finish it.

Bottom Line:
Ted Leo all day. No question, no second guessing, no nothing.

Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!

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A Quick Look at Kristin Hersh’s ‘Sunny Border Blue’ at 25

by KevinLeave a Comment on A Quick Look at Kristin Hersh’s ‘Sunny Border Blue’ at 25

Best Record of 2001: Day 10

Cover art courtesy of 4AD Records

Good morning!

Today we’re taking a look at Kristin Hersh’s “Sunny Border Blue” as she takes on Jim O’Rourke’s Insignificance.

Note: As many of you saw, I recently wrote about a Best Record of 2001 challenge and noted that I’d be writing some of these up.

The plan is to do quick hits on each first-round matchup and post them directly to the page. Some will be longer, some won’t, and some might just be a handful of sentences. There’ll probably be a few typos. We’ll also have a few guest posts along the way, so make sure to stay tuned for those!

Check ’em out and let me know your thoughts! Chin wags & hot takes welcome! Sharing and restacks always appreciated.

KA—

Kristin Hersh- Sunny Border Blue

Kristin Hersh’s fifth solo album is an intense—and intensely—personal record, with the mercurial singer-songwriter writing, producing, and playing instruments on twelve of its thirteen tracks. Like 1999’s Sky Motel, Sunny Border Blue blends the spare acoustics of Hersh’s early solo work with the fuller arrangements of Throwing Muses’ later work. So what’s that mean, exactly?

Our pal Marshall Bowden nails it here, with his description of the record and where it falls in her discography.

Not broke? Don’t fix it! So Hersh released Sunny Border Blue in 2001, and it was more of what made Sky Motel so excellent. Once again Kristin takes over the studio, producing herself and playing pretty much everything herself. The songs are accessible, but not easy. Hersh’s famously inscrutable and deeply personal lyrics are at a peak here–she’s the master of the couplet. You can pull so many two-line quotations from her songs, almost at random, and there’s something there to consider. Hersh’s arrangements on these records do a lot to make unusual song structures sound like normal rock/folk music, rendering them catchy enough in parts to ensure you’ll listen to the track again, every time absorbing more about what makes the song tick.

The result is a stormy soundtrack of her inner life, moving from acoustic guitar to bursts of layered vocals, electric guitar, and the occasional piano. As always with Hersh, the lyrics are volatile and loaded for bear, full of loss, regret, and occasionally fury. “Spain” starts out calmly enough, only to swerve into a blitz of invective like “I wanted you to sleep with her and hate yourself instead of me.” “Silica” and “Ruby” (my fave on the record, fwiw) might pass for a version of dream pop if not for their edge and visions of sleeping with “idiots and prophets.”

This is business as usual for Hersh, and that’s the point. The acoustic guitar, the odd time changes, and the off-kilter lyrical turns all feel familiar, like a nexus between the Muses and her solo work. She’s not reaching for some grand reinvention here, but she doesn’t need to. The songs have her fingerprints all over them, and that alone gives the record its pull. Her style is as mesmerizing to me today as a 50-year-old listening at work as it was when I first encountered it at 13.

And hey! There’s a cover on this record. I’ll have to look, but that’s not a common thing on her albums, is it? Happy to be corrected! At any rate, it’s a cover of Cat Stevens’ “Trouble.” Hersh gives it a rough, aching spin, and the way she sings lines like “Oh trouble set me free, I have seen your face, and it’s too much, too much for me” sounds like she’s staring straight her demons in the eye and daring them to give her a reason.

In his discussion of her discography, Bowden places Sunny Border Blue near the top, and it’s hard to argue otherwise. The arrangements…the lyrics purpose-built for pull quotes…This is Hersh at her wonderful, maddening best.

Bottom Line:
One of the interesting subplots of this tourney so far is how (relatively) close the votes have been. Last time around, these early matches saw a lot of routs as consensus favorites went up against picks that barely squeaked in. This time around, that’s just not happening. On Bluesky, someone posited that with more voters overall, people feel safer voting against their own brackets, and I wonder if that’s true. I hope it is, ‘cause that’s what I’ll be doing today. Bracket pick? O’Rourke. Vote? Hersh.

Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!

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