10. Judas 0 - Smashing Pumpkins: It's hard to pinpoint exactly what category this further release of B sides and rarities from the Smashing Pumpkins fits into, but the quality of the material demands it be included on my best of 2001 list, even though the songs were recorded in 2000. Culled from yet more unreleased material for the Machina trilogy, Judas 0 is a fitting addendum to one of the most prolific rock acts of the 90s. The album is conjoined with the greatest hits offering Rotten Apples (which also has 2 new tracks, "Untitled", and "Real Love", the latter of which was actually included on Machina II). The first two songs, "Lucky 13" and "Because You Are" are actually quite bland, but then things pick up exponentially with the accoustic marvels "Sparrow" and "Winterlong", a metallic cover of "Rock On", the dance beat-laden "Waiting", and "Saturnine", reminiscent of the Adore era. A great release.
9. Exciter - Depeche Mode: England's shining pop export Depeche Mode has been around for ages, and the band still manages to impress and entertain the masses with their latest, Exciter. It's more ambient than action this time out, which I suppose is to be expected for a group that has gone through monumental personal obstacles and lasted two decades and counting. Produced by Mark Bell, I've found it makes for appropriate background music. I particularly enjoyed "When the Body Speaks", a gently urgent song. It's placed amidst more fast tempo ones such as "Dream On", the lead-off track, and "The Dead of Night", which almost mocks their retro origins. Within the next few years, it may be time for Depeche Mode to put their synthesizers to sleep, but thankfully we're not at that point just yet.
8. Lions - the Black Crowes: I'm starting to see the Black Crowes as the Energizer Bunny these days, a band who keeps thumping away with consistency and a seemingly tireless motor. They dip a little too steep into the Commercial Pool on Lions, particularly on the lackluster opening track "Midnight From the Inside Out", but as the album proceeds it's apparent the Crowes have done it again. And if the band is already preaching to the converted, at least they're still using big gospel choirs to do it; a song like "Soul Singing" is a triumphant reminder that their roots run deep. Chris Robinson's voice remains one of the best in rock, and while the overall production seems a little artificial, this is still a fine tribute not necessarily to glam rock, but to the impressive roster the Crowes continue to work so hard at solidifying.
7. Lenny - Lenny Kravitz: Perhaps, on releasing his new self-titled album, Lenny Kravitz should have named the lead-off single "Dig It" instead of "Dig In" -- it might have been more à propos. For sheer rock-out factor and funk-out grooviness, I really dig Lenny. Who but Kravitz would litter the liner notes with vain photos of himself? Come to think of it, who but Kravitz could pull it off without appearing NSYNC-ish? Indeed, the time for comparing Lenny to basically every other rocker from the past 40 years has passed. The guy just wants to blitz out and who are we to argue? "If I Could Fall In Love" has echoed vocal feedbacks and is probably the album's best track; but don't discount the ironic "God Save Us All", the ballad "Yesterday Is Gone", or the semi-ingratiating "Bank Robber Man", which samples a police siren that will make you keep looking out your window every time the chorus comes along.
6. Vespertine - Bjõrk: This is an album to cuddle up with if you fear today's music has become too generic and bland. Vocally and musically, you don't get much braver than Bjõrk, who continues to flesh out her talents and expose them for all the world to hear. She is the only female artist to make my list this year. The elusive Vespertine flitters about on the sonic radar with a splash of electronica, a dash of sensuality, and a whole lot of mood. The only thing more rewarding than hearing the opening songs "Hidden Place" and "Cocoon" take flight and soar, is hearing her unique tapestry unfold from song to song until reaching its poignant climax, the unforgettably entrancing "Unison". Still, on this record, there is an unshakable feeling that, while in the studio, someone intimated that "less is more", and it is precisely this approach that provides Vespertine its biggest strength.
5. Amnesiac - Radiohead: Round and round Radiohead goes, defying the laws of commercial radio and loving every minute of it. Thom Yorke and company needed no longer prove themselves, which made the quick release of Amnesiac (affectionately referred to as "Kid B") all the more satisfying. The album is a tilt-a-whirl similar in style to its predecessor, but its fragments are far more accessible. It works best when bathing in atmospheric hues, such as the ethereal "Pyramid Song" and the fragile reprise of "Morning Bell/Amnesiac" but is at its most fascinating when exploring discotheque grinds, such as "Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box", or blues, faintly heard on "I Might Be Wrong". The off-kilter "Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors" reminds me of a time in the 80s when extremists decried that if you play pop music backwards, devastating results will ensue. Good thing the band is now comprised of amnesiacs.
4. Reveal - R.E.M.: They say where a door closes a window opens. Someone obviously whispered this little adage to R.E.M. soon after drummer Bill Berry left the group in 1997. With a more electronic sound, the band has decidedly shifted from alternative rock to ambient twang, but the transition has been a smooth one. With Reveal, the lyrical maniacism of songs like "Hope" or "It's the End of the World As We Know It" are gone, and have been ably replaced with generally more subdued lyrics across the board. The best tracks, as always, are the tenderly introspective ones, including "I've Been High", one of their most beautiful ballads in years; "Beat A Drum", a majestic track reminiscent in tone to "Nightswimming"; "I'll Take the Rain", a sombre journey through solitude; and "The Lifting", a song punctuated as a crescendo that carries one into the great beyond of R.E.M.'s vast talent.
3. Love and Theft - Bob Dylan: Aw yeah. It's kind of a mild coincidence that Bob Dylan's Love and Theft was released on September 11th this year. In an unexpected way, just as the U.S. was being reminded that smugness can indeed be challenged, Dylan was showing that truly great music isn't necessarily reflected when millions of copies are sold by smug dance acts. A unanimous topper on most critics' year-end lists, the album is the Raspy One's complete return to his roots, but obviously isn't as strong a record as the earlier material it hearkens back to. The blues simply oozes in most of the songs, including the back patio gems "Summer Days", "Lonesome Day Blues" and "Po' Boy". Dylan even made a music video for the opener, "Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum", something I don't believe he's done in a long time. I still marvel that this is his 43rd album; I know many people who don't even own 43 CD's.
2. Weezer (a.k.a. The Green Album) - Weezer: Weezer's 1996 release pinkerton was their best to date, but it felt like it could have benefitted from a more rigid approach in terms of its production aspects. It left me wondering if their next album could hold up. The Green Album answers the question with a resounding yes. Delving back to the chord-based material in their earlier days, the band produced a kicking blend of punk and pop that is catchy and fun. It takes all of three seconds for the album to explode on lift-off, beginning with the fiery "Don't Let Go". The groove-drenched "Island in the Sun" is "hip hip", "Hashpipe" is a hyper-cross between James Bond and Joey Ramone, and "Knockdown Dragout" is, well, a dragdown knockout. Extended absences in the music industry can be deadly, however it's been five years since Weezer's last release. So much for that theory.
1. Rockin' the Suburbs - Ben Folds: In a year when self-awareness became fashionable and mocking that self-awareness became even more fashionable, Ben Folds released a quasi-rap tune entitled "Rockin' the Suburbs". The song was a poke at snivelling artists like Eminem and Limp Bizkit, who habitually complain that people just "don't know what it's like / being male, midde-class and white". But within the satiric tone was also a tone of self-mocking that is equally witty -- and no one does it better than Folds. The album of the same name, Rockin' the Suburbs, featured a dozen tracks that each sounded different and completely unique, and all were written and performed by Ben Folds alone (with the exception of some guest musicians on one or two tracks as well as some background vocals). Hands down the best release of the year, with stand-outs including "Still Fighting It", "Annie Waits", "Gone", and "Not the Same". Song for song, how good was this album? Apparently the Japanese release has one extra bonus track, and I'm actually considering getting it.
Honourable mentions: pretty together - sloan; Dave Parker Trio - mela; Lloyd Crandal & the Organizers - Now; Prince - the Rainbow Children
Compilations: Shine Like It Does: The Anthology - INXS; Rotten Apples/Judas 0 - Smashing Pumpkins; Echoes - Pink Floyd
THE BEST MOVIES OF 2001
The following is an ongoing list that will evolve as I view more films that were released in 2001.
10. The Majestic: Jim Carrey plays a blacklisted Hollywood writer in this send-up to Frank Capra's more optimistic features. An infinitely likable project, this film profits from a high caliber cast.
9. Bully: A jarring but mesmerizingly dark tale of a gang of kids who decide to off the neighbourhood bully without thinking through the consequences of their actions. Controversial director Larry Clark is behind the lens.
8. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within: Animators set their imaginations free in this unique tale with its own mythos. We're almost at a point when animated humans look real, but it's the action that takes centre stage here.
7. The Pledge: Director Sean Penn's sad but riveting drama with powerful turns from Jack Nicholson and Aaron Eckhart. A lot of twists and turns keep the viewer guessing until the end.
6. Gosford Park: You can't go wrong with Robert Altman. Here, he assembles a cast for all casts in a British whodunnit, complete with class conflicts and a rap sheet of suspects. Kelly Macdonald is fantastic, as usual.
5. A.I. (Artificial Intelligence): Stanley Kubrick's unfinished project is, for the most part, ably completed by Steven Spielberg. A Technology meets Philosophy spectacle of the highest order.
4. A Beautiful Mind: Movies about people with afflictions often try to present just the facts, but this Ron Howard bio-pic about influential mathematician John Nash goes one step further and gets us into a genius's troubled mind.
3. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: Afterwards, I wanted to run outside of the movie theatre and re-enact this movie in my back yard like I was 7 years old again. Magical. Entrancing. Essential.
2. In the Bedroom: A wrenching portrayal of sorrow and grief, this intense film features daring performances by Tom Wilkinson and Sissy Spacek, and offers rare and welcome intelligence in its craftsmanship.
1. Vanilla Sky: This is what it's all about -- a movie where all of the parts, when wrapped together, make a rewarding, cohesive whole. In the spirit of directors such as Krzysztof Kieslowski, Cameron Crowe has unquestionably made the best picture of 2001.
THE BEST TV SHOWS OF 2001
10. Enterprise
9. Whose Line Is It Anyway?
8. the Practice
7. the Sopranos
6. Law & Order
5. the Simpsons
4. Ebert & Roeper at the Movies
3. Boston Public
2. 24
1. ER
Honourable mentions: Buzz, Conan O'Brien
THE BEST LIVE EVENTS I TOOK IN THIS YEAR
5. Second Stage produces A Thing of Beauty
4. Rheostatics perform in Moncton
3. Harbour View High stages Scenes
2. Jean Vanier speaks at Trade and Convention Centre
1. Just for Laughs comes to Imperial Theatre
Honourable mentions: Hampton High stages Anne of Green Gables; SJTC presents The Diary of Anne Frank; Second Stage produces Bobby Gould in Hell.
THE BEST VIDEOS OF 2001
5. Can't Get You Our of My Head - Kylie Minogue
4. I'm a Slave For You - Britney Spears
3. Irresistible - Jessica Simpson
2. Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know - Britney Spears
1. I Wanna Be Bad - Willa Ford
