2002
I'll be honest here. The only reason I wanted to do 2002 is because I want to spread some Johnny Cash love (in this year he released his last record while he was still alive). I actually discovered that a lot of albums I still listen to today were released in 2002. And 2002 was a pretty damn good year for music.
In 2002 I didn't listen to much music, though. I think I was just getting into Within Temptation (a Dutch gothic something band) which would lead to me getting into Nightwish, Sonata Arctica, Lacuna Coil.. you get the drift.
I listen to better music now. :nice:
Okay, let's get on with some good music. For this overview, I have chosen 10 albums which have either been important for music in general or personal favourites. Or both. There is no real order here because I love them all. Here we go.
Albums
Queens of the Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf
I've known this album for forever, because the title kind of stands out. When I first listened to it, I figured that I'd downloaded a wrong version or something because the songs constantly get interrupted by radio. Later, I discovered that the interruptions were supposed to be there, contributing to the conceptness of the album. Songs for the Deaf is widely regarded as QOTSA's best work, gathering near unanimous critical acclaim and commercial success. It's a killer.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9WOBsPVjFE]QOTSA - No One Knows[/ame]
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
This album was actually set for a 2001 release, but Wilco's record company refused to release it. They left the company and bought the rights to the album to stream it online for free in September 2001. After signing with another record company, the album finally was released in April 2002. It is still Wilco's best selling album to date. It's one of the few albums that got a rare 10.0 rating from Pitchfork, which it totally deserved if you ask me. If you haven't heard this one yet, GO LISTEN! :whip:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqWRZXdaG-Y]Wilco - Ashes of American Flags[/ame]
The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
Yoshimi is widely regarded as The Lips' first critical and commercial success after nearly twenty years of existing as a band. The album's lead single, Do You Realize??, has been used in numerous commercials and is one of the band's most successful songs to date. The final track of the album, Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon (Utopia Planitia), earned a Grammy Award for best rock instrumental performance. In 2007, it was announced that the album is to be made into a broadway musical. Frontman Wayne Coyne said the following about the plot:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jTuKHKIT4w]The Flaming Lips - In the Morning of the Magicians[/ame]
The Libertines - Up The Bracket
Ah, Pete... I guess The Libertines' début could be regarded as the beginning of the UK indie/rock scene. With a style similarish to 2001's The Strokes and The White Stripes releases, The Libertines shook the UK music scene awake with Up The Bracket. The album generally gathered favourable reviews, although it wasn't as successful as the follow up self titled album from a commercial point of view.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwhHdeHJ1Yk]The Libertines - Time For Heroes[/ame]
Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights
Critically acclaimed début album by New York post-punk revivalists (or indie rockers, what you will) Interpol. Many comparisons have been made with Joy Division, Obstacle 1 being the of the most notable Joy Divisionish songs.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhApjF7IqoY]Interpol - Leif Erikson (live)[/ame]
Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It in People
Second effort by the ever expanding Canadian collective. Following up 2001's Feel Good Lost, You Forgot It in People is regarded as the band's commercial and artistic breakthrough, featuring fan favourites Lover's Spit and Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl. The album won the Juno Award for best alternative album of the year in 2003 and has been featured in numerous best of... list since then. Some songs that didn't make it to the album were featured in a b-sides compilation Bee Hives, including a different version of Lover's Spit with Feist on vocals.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl3PyTqsc5c]Broken Social Scene - Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl[/ame]
Sigur Rós - ( )
Possibly one of the most stunning records ever, but definitely one of Sigur Rós' best (I'd say the best). It's not an easy record to get into though, especially when you're used to more conventional pop music. And Sigur Rós don't make things any easier by not (really) naming the album and publishing the alternative names to the untitled tracks after release on their website. But it's going to be hard for them to ever top this, because I don't think anything released post ( ) ever reached the same level. I had a hard time choosing a song off this record because all of them are so stunning (though admittedly Untitled 5 is a bit dull), so I settled for a (shorter) live performance of Untitled 7.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5SHiXSRa28]Sigur Rós - Untitled 7 (live)[/ame]
Bright Eyes - Lifted Or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground
Even though Bright Eyes had been around for years when they released Lifted, this is the album that introduced them to a bigger audience. The album has an amazing sound, it's almost as if the tracks have been recorded live. It sounds very pure. Plus, it still has a lot of angst and I like the angsty Bright Eyes albums better than the "happy" ones. Biggest hit was Lover I Don't Have To Love, which still is one of their most successful songs.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8DBoIgsYF0]Bright Eyes - You Will. You? Will. You? Will. You? Will.[/ame]
Spoon - Kill The Moonlight
Fourth album by the Texas indie rock band. It achieved great critical claim and the song The Way We Get By was released as a single. It was subsequently featured in TV shows as well as some movies.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-S4nM5m_Kg]Spoon - The Way We Get By[/ame]
Johnny Cash - American IV: The Man Comes Around
Bear with me here. Although American IV isn't nearly as good as III, it's still one of my favourite Johnny Cash albums. It's also the album that has gotten me into his music. The song selection could've been better and some cover songs aren't as good as I'd like them to be, but this album has some extremely good tracks. I'll give you Hurt here, because it's probably one of his best known songs (from the American Recording series anyway) and the video is just.. intense.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clq01TXQR0s]Johnny Cash - Hurt[/ame]
This is what Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) said about Cash covering his song:
A couple more songs from the album here:
Other cool stuff
The Decemberists - Castaways and Cutouts
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II3zZOaaX_M]The Decemberists - July, July![/ame]
LCD Soundsystem - Losing My Edge
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNA-4tnM_xY]LCD Soundsystem - Losing My Edge[/ame]
Flight of the Conchords - Folk The World Tour
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USbxZ6MfE70]Flight of the Conchords - Bus Driver's Song[/ame]
Elvis Presley - A Little Less Conversation (remix by Junkie XL)
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSkDQYe2FYw]Elvis Presly vs. JXL - A Little Less Conversation[/ame]
The Streets - Original Pirate Material
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flt1I1U74h4]The Streets - Turn The Page[/ame]
Notable events
April 25 - Lisa Lopes (TLC) is killed in a car crash
June - Graham Coxon leaves Blur during Think Tank's recording sessions, after tensions with the others members mainly due to its alleged alcohol problems and its disagreement about the choice of Fatboy Slim as producer. Coxon only contributed in one song, Battery in your legs. He was later "replaced" on tour by Simon Tong, former guitarist of The Verve.
June 30 - The Glastonbury Festival features headline acts Coldplay, Garbage, Stereophonics, Orbital, Roger Waters, Rod Stewart, and Air.
September 4 - Kelly Clarkson was crowned the first winner of the television talent contest, American Idol.
New bands established (according to Wikipedia): Arctic Monkeys, Editors, Dirty Projectors, Franz Ferdinand, Frou Frou
Bands disbanded: Alice in Chains, Backstreet Boys, Megadeth (all reformed later), 'N Sync. Such a.. loss for music, especially the boybands.
Oh, and this little band called Coldplay released their sophomore album. I can never decide whether I like Amsterdam or A Rush more. Today it's A Rush, so that's the video you're getting. :nice:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb_7C1vMpRQ]Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head (live 2003)[/ame]