Well, it’s already the third week of 2004 (pronounced TWO-BOOBS-FOUR) and I still haven’t done my obligatory best of 2003 list. I was going to try to bust it out in December but I’m lazy and the only reason I’m getting to this now is because I’ve done nothing this weekend besides trying to recuperate from a mysterious illness I’m suffering from that’ll probably be gone by the time I have to go to work tomorrow.
2003 was an interesting year. Well, all years are interesting but 2003 was no exception. It was my first year not being in school and for the first time a period where my schedule was dictated by myself and not by some educational institution. Friends got married (Ryan and Candice, Joey and Angie), became expectant parents (Josh and Lisa), people I admired died (Johnny Cash, Wesley Willis) and some awesome things went down that I’m not at liberty to discuss via this website. Adventures were had (the Dogwood tour, the San Francisco trip, the week on Walche’s couch, moving into my own apartment) and I finally got a damn job. But enough about me, onto what I do best, criticizing other people.
The Best Albums of 2003
10. Deftones- S/T
I used to hate the Deftones. When I saw them play the Warped Tour in 96 I openly booed their decisively un-punk rapmetal and apparent jockness. Well, seven years later, both their music and my musical tastes have seemly gotten smarter and this record is pretty damn good. Some would say amazing but I don’t know if I’m there yet as a fan of theirs. They do really expand their musical boundaries and can definitely be called the Radiohead of metal
9. Strokes- Room on Fire
I should, for all logical reasons hate this band being that they dress cheesy for people who graduated high school the same year I did and date models and pudgy actresses, but their record is pretty good and not just a rerecording of their first record. Granted, they do pull out some of the same tricks (barely audible vocals, drums that sound like a machine, clean rockin’ guitars) but that’s part of what makes them them, and I definitely think this is a solid record that definitely surpasses their debut.
8. Coldplay- Live 2003
Being that Rush of Blood to the Head came out last year and this record contains nearly all those songs, I figure I might as well include it because I did listen to those songs quite often. Another band I should hate because of their mass popularity and celebrity connections, and the fact that this album was basically thrown out there by the label so they could have something “new” to sell the consumer for Christmas, but like the other albums I should hate, it’s good times all around.
7. Mars Volta- Deloused in the Comatorium
Things I hate about this band; Cedric and Omar come off like the most condescending assholes in the universe, who are constantly doing things to disassociate them selves from any peer under the age of 50 (ex. 30 minute songs, adding the Spanish hyphenation to their last names, talking about bands no one listens to because they’re boring, citing equally boring Italian films that no one but art snobs can sit through, quitting At The Drive-In because people liked their records).
Things I like about this band; this album kicks your ass so hard that after you’ve heard it you have no idea what the fuck just happened.
6. Blink-182- (untitled)
Blink 182’s idea of showing the world that they’ve matured meant paying some rich family in Rancho Sante Fe to let them use their house for 9 months in order to record a bunch of songs that try to sound like Far and Bad Astronaut and stating that this is a new leap forward for the band. My idea of showing the world that I’ve matured is not declaring a new blink album as my favorite album of the year, which is a first for me since 1997. It is a good album but like Box Car Racer, no matter how many times you name-drop Fugazi, Blink is still Blink. But at least them trying to sound like something smart is way better than All the Small Things any day.
5. Rancid- Indestructible
This weekend as I watched an obviously insane man dance on top of a car outside of the courthouse where he may be soon be sentenced to a 20 year prison sentence, I began to wonder why so many people continue to declare their love for Michael Jackson despite all the crazy things he does each and every week. Then it dawned on me that if you’re a huge fan of someone’s music, you see through the insanity and embrace the genius. Much the same can be said about Rancid this year. Eight years ago, much was made about how this band turned down a huge major label contract because they said they wanted to stick to their roots and stay at the label that broke them, Epitaph. This punk rock ethos wrung for years to come, as they became the most popular band since Fugazi to preach against the major label beast, which they claimed destroyed bands and crushed the ethics of independence. Then just a few months before this album came out it was revealed that it would be secretly released on Warner Brothers and that this band who had for years been preaching the call against the majors would be secretly joining them and were basically going against everything they’d been saying. Even the title to their 1995 album …And Out Come the Wolves was a reference to the suits who had been trying to sign them. But like crazy Michael Jackson fans who continue to freak out over their hero despite the fact that he buys white babies and names them Blanket and claims he’s never had plastic surgery, I can’t help stop loving Rancid and can’t help but ignore the fact that they’ve sold out harder than any other artist could ever do so. Musically, this album is definitely their best since 95 and features some great songs that shift from the different styles they’ve covered over the years. And the songs about Tim’s divorce just make you want to give the guy a hug and forget the fact that he wrote Pink’s new album, because with songs this great they can do no wrong.
4. Alkaline Trio-Good Mourning
Most bans seem to strive towards a more complex and mature progression as time moves on, but Alkaline Trio seem to be moving away from their more indie rock beginnings and toward a more punk rock feel that recalls the Ramones and the Misfits. However, as their music could be seen as regressing (at least as far as complexity), their lyrics are as poetic as ever. We’ve Had Enough takes the anti-radio stance that so many artists have done in the past but takes the stance that being subjected to commercial radio is like being locked in a Dante’s Inferno-esque dungeon. My personal favorite lyric of the album has to be Fatally Yours’ “You told me that you missed me/ but you meant with the grill and hood/…. You’d kill me if you could.” I like this album so much that a month and a half after I downloaded it, I went out of my way to make it to a Best Buy in Phoenix, Az to buy it on the day it came out, and they’re probably the only band who I’m not really close friends with who I saw play 5 times this year alone.
3. Kid Dynamite- Cheap Shots, Youth Anthems
Only the good die young. That’s why it pisses me off that a band this good had to call it quits two years before I got into them. Damn they’re good. In today’s climate of pop punk jackasses who are out to be rock stars and get laid instead of just wanting to play good music that means something, Kid Dynamite’s Minor Threat and Black Flag inspired music rings like an anthem for those of us who are enraged at this pretty boy shit the kids are being told is punk these days. And while this posthumous release of rarities comes long after they’re dead and gone, you can still feel the fire burning in Jason’s throat as he belts out songs that actually mean something.
2. The Network-Money Money, 2020
Devo by way of Berkley. Uh, I mean Dueseldorf. I bought this record before I’d even heard a song because of the people rumored to be behind it. And like their other project, this didn’t disappoint. This was definitely a record that I didn’t get into at first, but after repeated car listens the thing became addictive. Some rumors about this band are true and others aren’t, but despite all the hoopla, this really is a great album. More bands need to embrace the keytar.
1. AFI-Sing the Sorrow
Is this my favorite album of the year? No. However I can’t say with good conscious that any album surpasses the raw energy, production and creativity this album brings to the table. Song after song this album rocks your ass, from the We Will Rock You inspired intro to the secret song. Well, maybe not the long, drawn out, gothy kid-reading-poetry-over-a-creepy-piano bonus track, but track after track this thing delivers. I was listening to this thing not so long ago and I was thinking about how every song on the album could be released as a radio single because of not only how good they are, but how diverse they are as well. When I saw them play in November, Davey seemed to embody attributes of every great front man that ever there was, from Axl Rose and Freddie Mercury to Ian McKaye and Glenn Danzig. He brought the sheer bravado of the first two with the raw energy of the latter, but none of the ego of any of the grates. When was the last time you saw the lead singer of a band stage dive during the second song of their set headlining a sold out arena? Hopefully AFI have more and better in store for us in the years to come.
Albums that didn’t make the list because I’m too lazy to do 20 instead of 10
Lawrence Arms- The Greatest Story Ever Told
Ryan Adams- LLOR DNA KCOR
Thursday- War All the Time
Poison the Well- You Comes Before You
The Darkness- Permission to Land
Andrew W.K.- The Wolf
Album I purposely left off, not only because I wasn’t all that into it (despite the fact that I did like it) but because it’s played out from being on everyone else’s list as the token rap album
Outkast- Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below
Great albums I bought in 2003 that would have made the list had they not come out before it
Jawbreaker- Dear You
Wu-Tang Clan- Enter the 36 Chambers
The Smiths-Singles
Johnny Cash- The Man Comes Around
Far- Water and Solutions
Hands Down, Stupidest Band of the Year
The Polyphonic Spree-
I mainly decided to add this ramble because I just saw a commercial for them that declared them the most original idea ever. Whoever said that must have no idea how gay the 70’s were because they were full of stupid ideas like this one. In fact, this group is more of a revival that anything, making it the farthest thing from original. They steal from crap like Up With People, The Electric Company, Jesus Christ Super Star and even the Muppet Show. Their video is the type of thing you’d see on Sesame Street where kids, old folks and retarded people dance around and sing about how special we all are. It’s just that whole Free To Be, You and Me, Judie Bloom shit that’s cool when you’re in kindergarten but is a joke by the time you get to 2nd grade. The guy from Tripping Daisy is just trying too hard to be Slim Goodbody. Maybe their next album will be more about nutrition.
Things I’m looking forward to in 2004
-New albums from the Descendents, Green Day and Avail
-New episodes of the Sopranos
-Maybe seeing the Darkness play
-Warped Tour
-My car insurance going down
-Learning to keep it short and sweet
2003 was an interesting year. Well, all years are interesting but 2003 was no exception. It was my first year not being in school and for the first time a period where my schedule was dictated by myself and not by some educational institution. Friends got married (Ryan and Candice, Joey and Angie), became expectant parents (Josh and Lisa), people I admired died (Johnny Cash, Wesley Willis) and some awesome things went down that I’m not at liberty to discuss via this website. Adventures were had (the Dogwood tour, the San Francisco trip, the week on Walche’s couch, moving into my own apartment) and I finally got a damn job. But enough about me, onto what I do best, criticizing other people.
The Best Albums of 2003
10. Deftones- S/T
I used to hate the Deftones. When I saw them play the Warped Tour in 96 I openly booed their decisively un-punk rapmetal and apparent jockness. Well, seven years later, both their music and my musical tastes have seemly gotten smarter and this record is pretty damn good. Some would say amazing but I don’t know if I’m there yet as a fan of theirs. They do really expand their musical boundaries and can definitely be called the Radiohead of metal
9. Strokes- Room on Fire
I should, for all logical reasons hate this band being that they dress cheesy for people who graduated high school the same year I did and date models and pudgy actresses, but their record is pretty good and not just a rerecording of their first record. Granted, they do pull out some of the same tricks (barely audible vocals, drums that sound like a machine, clean rockin’ guitars) but that’s part of what makes them them, and I definitely think this is a solid record that definitely surpasses their debut.
8. Coldplay- Live 2003
Being that Rush of Blood to the Head came out last year and this record contains nearly all those songs, I figure I might as well include it because I did listen to those songs quite often. Another band I should hate because of their mass popularity and celebrity connections, and the fact that this album was basically thrown out there by the label so they could have something “new” to sell the consumer for Christmas, but like the other albums I should hate, it’s good times all around.
7. Mars Volta- Deloused in the Comatorium
Things I hate about this band; Cedric and Omar come off like the most condescending assholes in the universe, who are constantly doing things to disassociate them selves from any peer under the age of 50 (ex. 30 minute songs, adding the Spanish hyphenation to their last names, talking about bands no one listens to because they’re boring, citing equally boring Italian films that no one but art snobs can sit through, quitting At The Drive-In because people liked their records).
Things I like about this band; this album kicks your ass so hard that after you’ve heard it you have no idea what the fuck just happened.
6. Blink-182- (untitled)
Blink 182’s idea of showing the world that they’ve matured meant paying some rich family in Rancho Sante Fe to let them use their house for 9 months in order to record a bunch of songs that try to sound like Far and Bad Astronaut and stating that this is a new leap forward for the band. My idea of showing the world that I’ve matured is not declaring a new blink album as my favorite album of the year, which is a first for me since 1997. It is a good album but like Box Car Racer, no matter how many times you name-drop Fugazi, Blink is still Blink. But at least them trying to sound like something smart is way better than All the Small Things any day.
5. Rancid- Indestructible
This weekend as I watched an obviously insane man dance on top of a car outside of the courthouse where he may be soon be sentenced to a 20 year prison sentence, I began to wonder why so many people continue to declare their love for Michael Jackson despite all the crazy things he does each and every week. Then it dawned on me that if you’re a huge fan of someone’s music, you see through the insanity and embrace the genius. Much the same can be said about Rancid this year. Eight years ago, much was made about how this band turned down a huge major label contract because they said they wanted to stick to their roots and stay at the label that broke them, Epitaph. This punk rock ethos wrung for years to come, as they became the most popular band since Fugazi to preach against the major label beast, which they claimed destroyed bands and crushed the ethics of independence. Then just a few months before this album came out it was revealed that it would be secretly released on Warner Brothers and that this band who had for years been preaching the call against the majors would be secretly joining them and were basically going against everything they’d been saying. Even the title to their 1995 album …And Out Come the Wolves was a reference to the suits who had been trying to sign them. But like crazy Michael Jackson fans who continue to freak out over their hero despite the fact that he buys white babies and names them Blanket and claims he’s never had plastic surgery, I can’t help stop loving Rancid and can’t help but ignore the fact that they’ve sold out harder than any other artist could ever do so. Musically, this album is definitely their best since 95 and features some great songs that shift from the different styles they’ve covered over the years. And the songs about Tim’s divorce just make you want to give the guy a hug and forget the fact that he wrote Pink’s new album, because with songs this great they can do no wrong.
4. Alkaline Trio-Good Mourning
Most bans seem to strive towards a more complex and mature progression as time moves on, but Alkaline Trio seem to be moving away from their more indie rock beginnings and toward a more punk rock feel that recalls the Ramones and the Misfits. However, as their music could be seen as regressing (at least as far as complexity), their lyrics are as poetic as ever. We’ve Had Enough takes the anti-radio stance that so many artists have done in the past but takes the stance that being subjected to commercial radio is like being locked in a Dante’s Inferno-esque dungeon. My personal favorite lyric of the album has to be Fatally Yours’ “You told me that you missed me/ but you meant with the grill and hood/…. You’d kill me if you could.” I like this album so much that a month and a half after I downloaded it, I went out of my way to make it to a Best Buy in Phoenix, Az to buy it on the day it came out, and they’re probably the only band who I’m not really close friends with who I saw play 5 times this year alone.
3. Kid Dynamite- Cheap Shots, Youth Anthems
Only the good die young. That’s why it pisses me off that a band this good had to call it quits two years before I got into them. Damn they’re good. In today’s climate of pop punk jackasses who are out to be rock stars and get laid instead of just wanting to play good music that means something, Kid Dynamite’s Minor Threat and Black Flag inspired music rings like an anthem for those of us who are enraged at this pretty boy shit the kids are being told is punk these days. And while this posthumous release of rarities comes long after they’re dead and gone, you can still feel the fire burning in Jason’s throat as he belts out songs that actually mean something.
2. The Network-Money Money, 2020
Devo by way of Berkley. Uh, I mean Dueseldorf. I bought this record before I’d even heard a song because of the people rumored to be behind it. And like their other project, this didn’t disappoint. This was definitely a record that I didn’t get into at first, but after repeated car listens the thing became addictive. Some rumors about this band are true and others aren’t, but despite all the hoopla, this really is a great album. More bands need to embrace the keytar.
1. AFI-Sing the Sorrow
Is this my favorite album of the year? No. However I can’t say with good conscious that any album surpasses the raw energy, production and creativity this album brings to the table. Song after song this album rocks your ass, from the We Will Rock You inspired intro to the secret song. Well, maybe not the long, drawn out, gothy kid-reading-poetry-over-a-creepy-piano bonus track, but track after track this thing delivers. I was listening to this thing not so long ago and I was thinking about how every song on the album could be released as a radio single because of not only how good they are, but how diverse they are as well. When I saw them play in November, Davey seemed to embody attributes of every great front man that ever there was, from Axl Rose and Freddie Mercury to Ian McKaye and Glenn Danzig. He brought the sheer bravado of the first two with the raw energy of the latter, but none of the ego of any of the grates. When was the last time you saw the lead singer of a band stage dive during the second song of their set headlining a sold out arena? Hopefully AFI have more and better in store for us in the years to come.
Albums that didn’t make the list because I’m too lazy to do 20 instead of 10
Lawrence Arms- The Greatest Story Ever Told
Ryan Adams- LLOR DNA KCOR
Thursday- War All the Time
Poison the Well- You Comes Before You
The Darkness- Permission to Land
Andrew W.K.- The Wolf
Album I purposely left off, not only because I wasn’t all that into it (despite the fact that I did like it) but because it’s played out from being on everyone else’s list as the token rap album
Outkast- Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below
Great albums I bought in 2003 that would have made the list had they not come out before it
Jawbreaker- Dear You
Wu-Tang Clan- Enter the 36 Chambers
The Smiths-Singles
Johnny Cash- The Man Comes Around
Far- Water and Solutions
Hands Down, Stupidest Band of the Year
The Polyphonic Spree-
I mainly decided to add this ramble because I just saw a commercial for them that declared them the most original idea ever. Whoever said that must have no idea how gay the 70’s were because they were full of stupid ideas like this one. In fact, this group is more of a revival that anything, making it the farthest thing from original. They steal from crap like Up With People, The Electric Company, Jesus Christ Super Star and even the Muppet Show. Their video is the type of thing you’d see on Sesame Street where kids, old folks and retarded people dance around and sing about how special we all are. It’s just that whole Free To Be, You and Me, Judie Bloom shit that’s cool when you’re in kindergarten but is a joke by the time you get to 2nd grade. The guy from Tripping Daisy is just trying too hard to be Slim Goodbody. Maybe their next album will be more about nutrition.
Things I’m looking forward to in 2004
-New albums from the Descendents, Green Day and Avail
-New episodes of the Sopranos
-Maybe seeing the Darkness play
-Warped Tour
-My car insurance going down
-Learning to keep it short and sweet
