Favourite Albums of 2000

1. Lifter Puller: Fiestas + Fiascos (Frenchkiss) 21
2. OutKast: Stankonia (LaFace/Arista) 17
3. Luomo: Vocalcity (Forcetracks) 15
4. Quasimoto: The Unseen (Stone's Throw) 8
5. Rancid (Hellcat) 8
6. Lucy Pearl (Pookie) 7
7. Green Velvet (F-111) 6
8. James Carter: Chasin' the Gypsy (Atlantic) 6
9. Spring Heel Jack: Treader (Thirsty Ear) 6
10. Mouse on Mars: Niun Niggung (Thrill Jockey) 6

I stand by the top three, but I'd order them differently now: if anything, Vocalcity has only gained in stature for me, while I don't play Lifter Puller that much and OutKast stays about the same. For some reason I chickened out on voting for the Matthew Herbert mix- CD, dunno why; a friend who votes had it third on an early draft and eventually dropped it from his top ten as well, possibly because I gave him a hard time for it; turns out he was righter than I was. (Not the first time, either. Grrr.) The Rancid was very much a heated- moment kind of record: I played it all the time for a few weeks and haven't touched it since. Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea was like that, too, and I voted P&J for it. If I were to redo the '98 ballot, I'd still vote for it, but I wouldn't vote for Rancid, not right now, anyway. At the time I was sorry I ended up putting SHJ and MoM on my list, partly because they weren't "real" 2000 albums (imports from '99), and in the latter case partly because it was a shade too flimsy for a "real" top ten album. Also, the point distribution seems weird: no fives (the minimum for P&J voting)--and a lot of records that I wasn't all that comfortable voting for to begin with. Weird. The most surprising dropoff, and it's a close call, was Green Velvet, which I love but ultimately don't play that much--and frequency of plays is a lot of how I'm deciding this one.

Then there's records that you don't pick up on till after the year's over. In my case, D'Angelo and Queens of the Stone Age were two that, respectively, grew on me a lot and I didn't hear till February. There is a great deal to be said about the whole first-on-your-block mentality that pervades rock criticism: it tends to deafen us to records sometimes because we didn't hear them before the rest of the pack, or along with them. That's not always true, but I think it happens a lot more often than anyone likes to admit, including myself. For me, Voodoo was good but not great--deeply flawed, boring, overly repetitive, choose your own excuse--and for whatever reason I just never got a copy of R till '01. Turns out I was wrong on both. (And PJ Harvey I still don't get--sorry. I like it, I love her, seeing her at Hammerstein this fall was one of the transcendent concertgoing experiences of my life, but it still hasn't quite turned me into a raving fan of the album--still feel overly cautious about it, and I don't think I'm wrong here.) Eminem is pretty amazing, all right, but it never grabbed me emotionally or intellectually the way I wanted it to.

That said, here's how I'd vote now for 2000 if given the chance:

1. Luomo: Vocalcity (Forcetracks) 22
2. Lifter Puller: Fiestas + Fiascos (Frenchkiss) 18
3. OutKast: Stankonia (LaFace/Arista) 13
4. Lucy Pearl (Pookie) 10
5. Matthew Herbert: Globus Mix no. 5: Let's All Make Mistakes (Tresor) 10
6. Quasimoto: The Unseen (Stone's Throw) 7
7. James Carter: Chasin' the Gypsy (Atlantic) 5
8. Spring Heel Jack: Treader (Thirsty Ear) 5
9. D'Angelo: Voodoo (Virgin) 5
10. Queens of the Stone Age: R (Interscope) 5

1) The Avalanches - Since I Left You
2) Jay-Z - The Life & Times Of Sean Carter
3) Outkast - Stankonia
4) V/A: Shanks & Bigfoot - Ayia Napa, The Album
5) Kelis - Kaleidoscope
6) Pink - Can't Take Me Home
7) Piano Magic - Artists' Rifles
8) Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele
9) Radiohead - Kid A
10) Lil' Kim - The Notorious K.I.M.

Now:

Records I overrated - Go-Betweens, Kirsty MacColl, Kelis, Le Tigre

Records I underrated - Broadcast, Daphne And Celeste, Jay-Z, Outkast, Ghost Face Killah

Records I rated about right - Eminem, Radiohead, Queens Of The Cockfarming Age

Records I STILL haven't heard - Pram, Boredoms

Best of 2000 =

Lloyd Cole, The Negatives: assez magnifique

U2, All That You Can't Leave Behind, for something's sake; even some of the chartpopkidz liked it.

6ths, Hyacinths & Thistles, despite the bad bits

Belle and Sebastian, FYHCYLLAP; feeble, but still beats other comers

oh, well, Cure, Bloodflowers, for farewell's sake.

No, nothing has changed, naturally. And scanning this thread has given me no new ideas.

Currently: records of 2000 would probably include Primal Scream, Jimi Tenor, "The Genius of Bertrand Burgalat", Kelis ("Caught Out There" single), Common, Ghostface Killah, Low & Spring Heel Jack ("Bombscare" EP), Rui da Silva (single), Eminem ("Stan" single) and maybe Kid606.

1. The Marshall Mathers LP: always liked it but didn't really understand it until Kogan's piece for Pazz & Jop; then the album tracks started sounding (almost) as good as the singles => masterpiece.

2. Stories from the City...: #4 in my 2000 list, saw Polly live in Jan '01, was incredible & I realised the album was even better than I had thought.

3. Sonic Youth - nyc ghosts & flowers: again always liked it, later started playing "Free City Rhymes" over & over again so that now it's my fave SY track; and on the back of it this album shot up my list.

4. Stankonia: #2 in my 2000 list but it now seems simply too long; always stop it after "B.O.B."

5. Wu-Tang - The W: only heard this in '01, no weak tracks and Isaac Hayes.

6. Aimee Mann - Bachelor No. 2: #1 in 2000; flaws in pacing seem obvious now but "Ghost World" beats the comic if not the movie.

7. Blackalicious - NIA: #3 in 2002, hasn't so much slipped as others have overtaken it.

8. XTRMNTR: Was in my top 10; still like it no matter what any of you say.

9. King Kapisi - Savage Thoughts: Only local in my top 10 then and now; liked him at first simply for being a Samoan atheist and daring to try to convert listeners; still holds up well for me now.

10. Sleater-Kinney - All Hands: Still don't like it as much as their others; still no reason to stop calling them the world's greatest.

Albums:
1-The Cure:Bloodflowers
2-Rage Against The Machine:Renegades
3-Ryan Adams:Heartbreaker
4-Gurus’ Jazzmaztaz:Streetsoul
5-Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks:Beatin’ The Heart
6-The Magnetic Fields:69 Love Songs
7-Silence 4:Only Pain Is Real
8-Pearl Jam:Binaural
9-Queens Of The Stone Age:Rated R
10-Day One:Ordinary Man

Singles:
1-Eminem:The Real Slim Shady
2-U2:Beautiful Day
3-Rage Against The Machine:Sleep Now In The Fire
4-Bruce Springsteen:American Skin
5-Silence 4:To Give
6-Eminem & Dido:Stan
7-Day One:In Your Life
8-All Saints:Black Coffee
9-Oasis:Go Let It Out
10-AC/DC:Stiff Upper Lip

NOW:

Albums:
1-Ryan Adams:Heartbreaker
2-The Cure:Bloodflowers
3-Guru's Jazzmatazz:Streetsoul
4-The Magnetic Fields:69 Love Songs
5-Smog:Dongs Of Sevotion
6-Pearl Jam:Binaural
7-Outkast:Stankonia
8-Silence 4:Only Pain Is Real
9-Lou Reed:Ecstasy
10-Johnny Cash:Solitary Man

Singles:
1-Eminem:The Real Slim Shady
2-U2:Beautiful Day
3-Rage Against The Machine:Sleep Now In The Fire
4-Outkast:Ms.Jackson
5-De La Soul & Redman:Ooh
6-Beck:Mixed Biznezz
7-Kelis:Caught Out There
8-Oasis:Go Let It Out
9-The Gourds:Gin & Juice
10-All Saints:Black Coffee

Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker
Blonde Redhead - Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons
Broadcast - The Noise Made by People
Cat Power - The Covers Record
Modest Mouse - The Moon and Antarctica
PJ Harvey - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
Primal Scream - XTRMNTR
Radiohead - Kid A
The Smashing Pumpkins - Machina/The Machines of God (SHUT UP)
Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out

Honorable mentions:

Arab Strap - Elephant Shoe
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - BRMC
The Clientele - Suburban Light
The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic
Queens of the Stone Age - R

Shiina Ringo - Shouso Strip

My top ten of 2000 at a glance, in no particular order:
Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker
Blonde Redhead - Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons
Broadcast - The Noise Made by People
Cat Power - The Covers Record
Modest Mouse - The Moon and Antarctica
PJ Harvey - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
Primal Scream - XTRMNTR
Radiohead - Kid A
The Smashing Pumpkins - Machina/The Machines of God (SHUT UP)
Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out

Honorable mentions:

Arab Strap - Elephant Shoe
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - BRMC
The Clientele - Suburban Light
The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic
Queens of the Stone Age - R

― (Stephen B.), Saturday, September 30, 2006 10:23 AM (4 years ago)

new top ten - not a lot of time for the records above these days, but the bolded ones i'll stick by:

erykah badu - mama's gun
boris - flood
broadcast - the noise made by people
damon & naomi with ghost - s/t
ghostface killah - supreme clientele
pj harvey - stories from the city, stories from the sea
outkast - stankonia
radiohead - kid a
queens of the stone age - rated r
smashing pumpkins - machina/the machines of god

kid a
mama's gun
high on fire - the art of self-defense
white stripes - de stijl
the fall - the unutterable
clinic - internal wrangler
supreme clientele
quasimoto - the unseen
acid mothers temple - la novia
boris - flood
OOIOO - green and gold
deftones - white pony

man flood is so good

Drugs A Money's list is like my honorable mentions list... clinic, HoF, acid mo's, quasimoto (this was my #11 had to cut it...), deftones, ooioo.....

two things i forgot: Godspeed's Lift Your Skinny Fists and Melt Banana's Teeny Shiny

not really a fan of rated r or stankonia, not interested in machina, but desperately need to listen to the damon & naomi/ghost and broadcast, also electric wizard's dopethrone, trans am's the red line, ween's white pepper, anco's spirit they're gone, joan of arc's the gap, circle's prospekt, orange goblin's big black, phoenix's united, sea & cake's oui, and on and on and on...

machina is total 9th grade nostalgia trip... still love it tho

dopethrone, the red line, spirit they're gone all great. don't care much for ween or phoenix. havent heard the others. i dig the circle records i've heard a lot, should track that one down ^^

Internal wrangler is pretty much perfect.

i'm prolly the only person alive who thinks Winchester Cathedral is their high mark

Wrangler's nice too i guess

I love machina. machina 2 is getting an official release soon, right?

Wrangler is just loose amd no filler and I don't know, perfect

^

of recent posts, seconding: Primal Scream, Broadcast, Modest Mouse, PJ Harvey, Radiohead, Arab Strap, Yo La Tengo, Clientele, New Porns, Clinic, Outkast, Godspeed, Ghostface, Boris

adding:
Delgados - The Great Eastern
The Kingbury Manx - s/t
Photek - Solaris
Teenage Fanclub - Howdy!
MF Doom - Operation Doomsday
Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump
Dr. Dre - Dr. Dre 2001
Laika - Good Looking Blues
Doves - Lost Souls
Crooked Fingers - Crooked Fingers

My listening was woefully indie-centric at the time, but 2000 was actually a great year for that imo!

Two Lone Swordsmen - Tiny Reminders

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61tMH%2Bv1HeL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

^^albums that changed your life

also

erykah badu - mama's gun
lil kim - the notorious k.i.m.
mya - fear of flying
jill scott - who is jill scott?: words & sounds vol 1

Aimee Mann - Bachelor No.2
Giant Sand - Chore of Enchantment
Yo La Tengo - And then Nothing Turned Itself inside-out
Montgolfier Brothers - Seventeen Stars
Johnny Cash - Solitary Man
Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker
Lambchop - Nixon
The Go-Betweens - The Friends of Rachel Worth
Godspeed You Black Emperor!- Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven!
Neil Young - Silver and Gold

forgot about Nixon - fantastic album!

In no particular order:

The Avalanches - Since I Left You
Departure Lounge - …Out of There
Electric Wizard - Dopethrone
Lambchop - Nixon
Slough Feg - Down Among The Deadmen
Outkast - Stankonia
Ufomammut - Godlike Snake
Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
D'Angelo - Voodoo
RZA & Various Artists - Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai soundtracks