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xtrmntr's 2001: A Music Odyssey (Write-Off)Dec 17 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line My review of this year in music...er, that's about it. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME?
Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s that time again! As much a part of the festive season as that fat bloke with the beard and red suit, it’s…The Musical Round-Up Of The Year! Whoo-hoo! So without further of ado I give thee my… 2001: Winners and Losers Well, I don’t know about you, but this year has been pretty damn exciting for me on the musical front. There’s been lots of new discoveries, some great comebacks and some truly exceptional records to boot, especially in the album world. We’ve seen some great LPs released this year from the likes of The Strokes, The White Stripes, Jimmy Eat World, Rival Schools, Spiritualized, The Charlatans and Elbow to name but a few, but the record I’ve chosen to focus on (because it’s the one I’ve been most impressed with…I actually know the people who made it! And they’re, like, MY AGE, dude!) is ‘Worship Yourself’, the debut mini-LP by probably the best new band in Britain – Kinesis. Forming little over a year ago in October 2000, Kinesis soon isolated themselves from the vast majority of the bands in my hometown of Bolton by not sounding like a sloppy Blink 182 playing through a sh*t PA and showing a quite simply astonishing ability to use more dynamics than just “loud” and “very loud”. They also sang instead of shouting which, in local terms at least, was considered to be boardering on the revolutionary. Yes, so as you may have deduced, Kinesis were the diamond laying on top of the steaming pile of sh*t (well, for the most part anyway) which passes for the Bolton music scene. Not particularly a difficult feat, all things considered, but they soon proved themselves to be real contenders for the mantle of “most promising new band in Britain” when, at the grand-old average age of 17, they formed their own record label (White Noise Recordings) and released their magnificent debut mini-LP, ‘Worship Yourself’, in June. When I finally got round to listening to it a few months ago, I was blown away by just how brilliant it was. The quality of the songs left me reeling in a state of both jealousy and excitement – jealous of the fact that with this record they had undoubtedly bought themselves a one-way ticket to success, and excited that a bunch of guys who I knew (their guitarist Conor was a couple of years below me in Secondary School), who I go to the same rehearsal studio as, have come up with a record this good. As far as I know, you can still get copies of ‘Worship Yourself’ from your local HMV, Andy’s Records and independent record store if you live in the UK, or you can order a copy straight from their site (www.kinesis-official.co.uk). Whatever method you choose, I strongly recommend you check these guys out. It’s hard to describe their sound but I’ll give it a go: imagine Muse minus the occasional overblown pompousness, imagine JJ72 with an edge, imagine Sonic Youth when they’re not indulging in tuneless sonic experimentation, imagine the Manics before they lost their bite, imagine Jeff Buckley, er, being alive. Mix all that together and add a touch of the Pixies and a teeny bit of At The Drive-In and hey presto! You should end up with something that sounds a lot like Kinesis. They just recently (i.e. yesterday) finished touring with King Adora, playing the Manchester Hop & Grape and Glasgow King Tuts, and last week you may have heard them playing “live” on Steve Lamacq’s Evening Session on Radio 1. They are my tip for the top for 2002, so get ready to hear an awful lot more from these young scamps! Phew! After that massive plug, (they owe me), let’s take a look at the ‘best singles’ catergory: Again, this year has seen the release of some truly class singles, and I really can’t tie myself down to just the one, so here’s a selection of my favourite A Sides of 2001 – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Love Burns Don’t know if this has actually been released yet (if it’s even going to get a release before 2002), but this song is simply brilliant. Very, very simple but incredibly effective, ‘Love Burns’ swaggers with sensuality and has a chorus that has taken root in my brain and refuses to get the hell out…not that I’m complaining, like, the BRMC are currently very welcome head-tenants! The Jesus & Mary Chain comparisons come thick and fast whenever people talk about BRMC, but I find this track to be much more enjoyable than anything the Mary Chain have ever done (although I have to admit, I’ve been getting into the JAMC quite a bit recently). Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood The original version, that is, not the utter crap garage mix. Damon Albarn proved that he could still write decent tunes after Blur’s pretty dire last album, ‘13’, and what a blinding tune this is. Riding on a big bouncy bass-line, ‘Clint Eastwood’ pulses and grooves like a modern day version of the Specials’ ‘Ghost Town’, fuelled by, er, ‘Del tha Funkee Homosapien’’s chilled rapping and Albarn’s irresistible “I ain’t happy…” chorus. Destiny’s Child – Bootilicious/Survivor/Independent Woman A guilty pleasure of mine, I must confess a love for (what I’ve heard at least, from) this group. I don’t own the album, but these 3 singles are bloody fantastic. The primal sex appeal of ‘Bootilicious’ (Am I spelling that right?), the blasting, super-positive anthemics of ‘Survivor’ and the ultra-sassiness of ‘Independent Woman’ tore up the charts this year, making them a little more bearable than usual, and giving a much needed shot of adrenaline to the flaccid R&B scene. Destiny’s Child rock more than Limp Bizkit ever could – it’s official. The Strokes – Hard To Explain/New York City Cops (Double A Side) (See the ‘Band Of The Year’ – sorry Strokes haters! – section) Hear Say* – Pure And Simple Put together by Nasty Nigel and friends on the groundbreaking ‘Popstars’ television show, Hear Say proved their critics wrong by releasing this seminal pop-classic in…hehe, just kidding. *Note to American readers – Hear Say are the British equivalent of O-Town, a completely manufactured group who we Brits witnessed being put together on TV over the course of several excruciating months earlier this year. Band Of The Year (OK, I know the previous sections haven’t been given headings and this one has, but hey! There ain’t any rules about this kinda thing, y’know.) Thank the Lord for the Strokes. For sure, they are quite probably the most over-hyped band of all time, but as far as I’m concerned, the vast majority of the attention they received was well deserved. The fact is they single-handedly rescued indie from the dull clutches of Travis et al by giving us an album jam-packed with visceral, unpretentious rock and roll thrills. I didn’t quite get ‘The Modern Age’ first time round when it was released as a single, and the same went for ‘Hard To Explain’, but after listening to the latter for a while, it finally grabbed me by the balls and screamed “HELLO! I DON’T KNOW IF YOU’VE NOTICED BUT I AM ONE CATCHY MOTHER F**KER!”…BANG! It got me. The Strokes won me over to their cause. So what if they wear their influences on their sleeve? People have said they sound like Television, the Stooges, the Ramones etc, and yeah, they do, but what makes them more than mere rip-offs is that they sound like a blend of all those different bands, e.g, you can listen to ‘New York City Cops’ and say it sounds a bit like Iggy Pop, but the same can’t be said for ‘Hard To Explain’, or ‘Trying Your Luck’, or ‘Is This It?’ etc. Plus they’ve opened the door for some truly exciting rock ‘n’ roll bands to strut their stuff in the limelight and get some recognition, e.g., the White Stripes, the Von Bondies, BRMC, the Hives and Ikara Cult. These are exciting times for the indie scene - we finally seem to be getting over that post-Brit Pop hang over, and we can pretty much thank the Strokes for that. Guitar Solo Of The Year This section purely exists so I can sing the praises of the insanely catchy guitar solo in the Strokes’ ‘The Modern Age’. Just listen to it – catchy as hell. That’s all I wanted to say. Most Shaggable Pop Star Of The Year Beyonce from Destiny’s Child – mmm, yummy! Nuff said. Best Comeback The fabulous return of New Order! They came back with an ace album (‘Get Ready’) and got Billy Corgan to dress up like Reni from the Stone Roses when helping them out live…how could they possibly not win this category? Worst ‘Band’ (and I use that term very loosely) of the Year This prize must be awarded to the ever detestable Westlife. God, I really do hate this group. What is the point in their existence? They’re not even remotely exciting! At least with most other manufactured acts you get some thrills – like Britney Spears’, er, ‘electric’ live shows for instance. The most exciting thing Westlife have ever done is stand up off their chairs every now and then. They look and sound like something from an Andrew Lloyd Webber wet dream, no redeeming features whatsoever. I never thought I’d ever say this, but they just don’t make boy bands like they used to! Remember Take That? Pop geniuses, mate. And what about East 17? Those guys REALLY knew how to rock da house! And what about Bad Boys Inc.? Now THEY were….…. Worst Album I can’t really declare a winner for this category as I have such impeccable taste that I’ve been pleased with all my new purchases this year ;-). Erm…I hear Robbie Williams’ latest effort is pretty appalling. Will that do? Worst Single Afroman – Because I Got High It was funny the first time I heard it, but after the two hundred and fifty thousandth airing it kinda starts to grate, if you know what I mean. Most Sadly Missed RIP George Harrison, a criminally under-rated songwriter and guitarist. The quiet Beatle had to compete for the spotlight with John and Paul, a difficult task by anyone’s standards, but I think he stood his own. How can you argue with songs as great as the intense ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ or the melodic brilliance of ‘If I Needed Someone’? My Favourite Epinions Music Writers Over the past few months that I’ve been hanging around the darkest recesses (i.e., the music reviews section) of this very website, I’ve come across some pretty amazing reviewers and some seriously god-awful ones too, but the writers who have really stuck out as my favourites have got to be the Divine_Cheese and Daniel RF. The former not only has a great taste in music, but his writing just keeps getting better and better, always catching your attention with wit and style. Plus, I can’t help but admire the Cheese’s stamina: he keeps knocking out reviews like there’s no tommorow, but crucially, the quality of these reviews is never compromised. As for the latter, mister RF grabbed my attention with his quite simply stunning American Hi Fi review (my review of the year, hands down - http://www.eopinions.com/content_38965251716. He doesn’t so much criticise the band as crucify them) earlier this year and has held it in every single one of his reviews I’ve read since then. The guy articulates his thoughts and feelings on whatever he chooses to write about brilliantly, and with such a passion too. Both these writers are well worth checking out, if you haven’t done so already (shame on you if you haven’t!). Well, that’s about it from me. Until next time, adios! A big thanks must go out to thevoid99 for organising this write-off. Also, check out the entries by the other participants – thevoid99 (obviously), MattA75, Daniel_RF, xiphoid, kcfoxy, kristinafh, lambchops, LessThanNick1, brothermansoul, Divine_Cheese, Jeff_Wilder78, winick, MiDoyle, Tallgent and Given2FlyMike  |
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