ED
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1. Fantomas-The Director's Cut. For me, the best of the year was this
stunning release consisting solely of covers of film music themes.
Fantomas, one of the many projects of Mr. Bungle lead singer Mike Patton,
disappointed me with their first release, 1999's 'Amenaza al Mundo.' This
album makes up for it with a tasty blend of heavy metal, experimental
music, trip-hop (of sorts), ambient, and, of course, film music. This is
certainly not for those who are afraid of the heavy guitar riffs and
pounding rhythms of 'hard music,' but it also succeeds at being so much
more. My favorite track: their cover of "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me."
2. Awol One and Daddy Kev-Souldoubt. To quote butchersam, Awol One "stands up" for this one. It is strange at first to hear the blunted, lazy, sing-song flow of the Awolrus over Daddy Kev's upbeat and catchy rhythms, but it is highly infectious. Don't sleep! This is a classic.
4. Cannibal Ox-The Cold Vein. I slept on this until I heard "The F-Word" on
the radio. This is hip-hop with avant-garde, experimental, electronic
beats. While it is not for everyone and occasionally falls just short of
being ridiculously bugged out, this is very interesting stuff.
5. Secret Chiefs 3-Book M. This has less of the cool surf that the last one
had, but I still dig it. Don't let the hefty involvement of members of Mr.
Bungle fool you. This is unusual Middle-Eastern/Indian sounding music with
elements of surf, electronic, and experimental. 'Vajra' is my pick off of
this one-picture complex rhythms of guitar, sitar, and violin. Descriptions
do not do this justice.
6. ??-The Tick. The Tick is by no means a new phenomenon, but 2001 marked
the beginning of the TV series. I laugh my ass off whenever an episode of
this comes on. Unfortunately, it seems destined for cancellation, probably
because of its doomed time slot, but it has been fun.
7. Steel Brewing Company-Steel Reserve. I first encountered this in
Philadelphia back in January 2001. Since then, it has infiltrated my
homeland and left me with headaches, memory gaps, illness, and oh-so-many
fun times. I like Bull Ice better (see below) but this had a greater impact
on my life. It is nice and strong (8.1% alcohol).
 |
ED: The Prince Paul beat is the
weakest on the album. |
8. Mr. Dead-Metabolics Volume II: Dawn of the Dead. This album kicks ass.
The cover may even deserve a separate entry in this list. Mr. Dead is not
the dopest lyricist on the planet, but he has good, solid rhymes over
mostly cool beats. Ironically, the Prince Paul beat is the weakest on the
album. I like "Longevity" and "Chemically Imbalanced" (featuring Automator
and Paul Barman).
9. Faxed Head-Chiropractic. I cannot recommend this album to anyone, but I
am a big fan.
10. Brian and Amanda Cochran-Wedding. My friends getting married in St.
Louis was a highlight of the year and not just because I thought a hot
17-year old was hitting on me. My friend Justin's story about urinating in
the stairwell of the Chase Park Plaza Hotel was probably the funniest
anecdote related to this one. The gag gift that Ritik made out of a wallet,
fake poo, a photo of the lunchbox all-stars, and super glue was another
golden moment.
11. Informicron-A-Diction. 'Nuff said. Keep up the fine work, robots!
12. Mars Records. I don't know how long it has been there, but I found this
cool record store in Boston during March 2001. This is where I was
introduced to Mr. Dead's album (see above). They have kick-ass vinyl.
13. The Coup-Party Music. The first time I listened to this was the first
night that I was running my Tubehead (see above). I thought that I had it
poorly adjusted until a few weeks later, when I heard the first song on the
radio and realized that it had a bugged-out fuzzy production. I really dig
the low-fi funked-out socialism of this record. There are strange,
unsettling soul/R&B-style songs that sound really strange. It is a shame
that they had to lift their strangely prophetic cover involving demolition
of the World Trade Towers (shot during the summer).
14. Schlitz-Bull Ice. This is a full-blown 8.2% alcohol malt liquor and I
like it better than Steel Reserve. I can get cases of 24 16-oz cans of this
shit in New Hampshire for $12.99. Considering how strong this is, that is a
total deal.
15. Masta Ace-Disposable Arts. This sometimes self-deprecating comeback
album from one of hip-hop's classic soldiers fails to disappoint me. "Take
a Walk" is the hot pick from this one.
16. Peter Jackson-Fellowship of the Ring. This is very cheesy and obvious
for me to list, but I thought this movie was just that good. I can't wait
for the others or the Director's Cut. It should be obvious by now that I
don't go to see any movies to speak of.
17. Nintendo-Paper Mario. Don't be fooled. This game has dope and
pioneering 3-D graphics despite its "flat" look. It's a fun role-playing
game, too. Although not as special as "Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time"
was, I label this as a "required romp" for those with any interest.
18. Various-Dope album worth of material from Bombay 2, Pep Love, Desert
Sessions 7 and 8. These three albums deserve a mention as things that came
out in 2001 that I like to listen to, but don't quite earn a place of
their own in the top 18 list.
Bottom 4 list:
1. Haffenreffer Private Stock Malt Liquor-bottle redesign. This brew is my
current favorite and I was bummed in early 2001 to find that the pint
bottles it comes in changed design from a cool short bullet shape to a
lamer giant bottle with a neck shape. This still bothers me.
2. George Bush, et al.-the new patriotism. Yeah, the attacks on 9-11-01
sucked, that certainly goes without saying, but I find all of the constant
flag waving and conservative nationalistic sentiment somewhat sickening. I
hate Bush just as much as I did (if not more) than when he was running for
office and I, for one, refuse to be bamboozled into accepting war, bombing,
capitalism, and conservative ideals because we got picked on by some
disgruntled foreigners. Don't even get me started on Rudy Giuliani.
3. Man's Ruin Records-the death of Man's Ruin Records. That's right, just
as this was becoming one of my favorite record labels, this outfit folded
in 2001. Founded by Frank Kozik, a renowned comic and rock 'n roll artist,
this was a haven for stoner rock, doom metal, and strangeness. In addition
to these specialties, Man's Ruin was also a sometime haven for space rock,
punk, and other non-metal genres. I loved Kozik's cover artwork and
designs. Although many things on this label were not worth bothering with,
there was enough great stuff to make me miss it very much.
