Final piece, wrapping up 2003. Best of 2003 5 Dec 2003 Five Best Albums Cat Power - You Are Free (Matador) For as young as Chan Marshall is, it’s surprising to see her already in flux. You Are Free feels like a transitional record, both a summation of her previous Cat Power catalog and seemingly the end of an era for her. This may not be a bad thing, given how much she has grown as an artist with this disc. As hauntingly melancholy as it is, there’s a feeling of hopefulness buried deep down. The maturity she has shown with this album is likely indicative of what’s to come, as she outgrows and surpasses her indie rock singer-songwriter peers. The Bug - Pressure (Tigerbeat6) Noise artist Kevin Martin has always been a hard act to peg down, hopping from genre to genre and with the attention span of an 11-year old, but as dedicated to his projects as Marine. The Bug is no different. Pressure is an absolutely sick fusion of dub, dancehall reggae and laptop power electronics, as reverent for its source material as it is willing to disembowel it, only to see mad Doctor Martin piece it back together to create his monster. Without the participation of dancehall toasters like Daddy Freddy and Roger Robinson, this could just as easily be interpreted as an attempt to destroy Jamaican music as it is a contribution. Electric Six - Fire (XL Recordings) This band puts the guilty in guilty pleasure. By all rights, I should hate this record, from the disco beats and new wave synths to how the youngsters dig this record, but I just can’t. Fire is the most savagely funny take on music since Mr. Show. Jack Valentine fronts the band with the pompous arrogance Mike Patton brought to Faith No More and lyrics so simultaneously clever and crude that most careful listeners are left scratching their heads, especially Valentine’s endless references to war and nuclear bombs. As a critic, I want to look down on the masses for not getting the joke, but I’m not quite sure I’m in on it. Brilliant. Kaada - Thank You for Giving Me Your Valuable Time (Ipecac) Despite indie stardom in his native Norway, John Erik Kaada hasn’t exactly become a household word stateside. Shame on the underground for not giving Kaada his due. With Thank You, he has concocted a cut and paste masterpiece that would knock Cornelius and Dan the Automator on their asses, exploring the past fifty or so years of popular music in a format that is as warm and catchy as it is coldly Scandinavian. In another universe somewhere, the single “No You Don’t,” a smoky, Kurt Weill-influenced lover’s plea, has long since become a wedding standard. Album of the year. Tomahawk - Mit Gas (Ipecac) Tomahawk came into their own in 2003, fusing into a band instead of four guys who have more artistically credible day jobs. Guitarist Duane Denison especially, who finally managed to write a batch of songs as intense and vital as his old Jesus Lizard tunes, but vastly more mature and intricate. Be it age or simply having as talented a band as Tomahawk, he showed how much he has in him, especially considering the band’s somewhat limp debut. Mit Gas is the big rock record Faith No More fans have been waiting for since current Tomahawk vocalist Mike Patton and company called it a day. Two Best Live Shows Living Colour, PromoWest Pavilion, 5-23-03 For those that are too young to remember, Living Colour were extremely popular in that awkward pre-grunge world of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. The rocked as hard as anyone on Headbangers Ball and were catchy enough to be appreciated outside of the metal ghetto. And they were black, which is even more an anomaly in rock now than it was then. Their show last May showed them in fine form and put to rest the notion that their old songs might not hold up. The new songs, later released on CollideØscope, cemented that they could balance contemporary tastes and the classic Living Colour sound without breaking a sweat. The Short Attention Span Theater, Wexner Center, 10-10-03 With this package, Kid Koala showed that he makes up his own rules on touring as much as does on the turntables. Instead of playing the dance clubs and scooping up money by the by the bucketful, Koala put together a cabaret show he likely lost money on because that’s simply what he wanted to do. Koala and DJs P-Love and Jester created miniature three-man symphonies on the wheels of steel in between animated segments, a game of bingo and the inimitable Lederhosen Lucil, who sang quirky pop songs with her Casio, dressed like Swiss Miss. It was the most unforgettable spectacle of the year. Overrated Phenomenon - Fake Happiness Acts like Junior-Senior, Troubled Hubble and the Polyphonic Spree (whom I will admit to liking) all embraced an over the top joyfulness that was a bit much to swallow. As much of a crab as I am, I’m not about to begrudge anyone their happiness, but to maintain that degree of whimsical, childlike wonder would take a frontal lobotomy or enough Vicodan to choke Brett Favre. I can appreciate the need for joy in this increasingly scary world, but faking the funk isn’t going to do anyone any good. You lie to your friends and I’ll lie to mine, but let’s not lie to each other. Underrated Phenomenon - Screwing Columbus Music Fans Over 2003 was a tough year to be a music fan in Columbus, despite the abundance of terrific bands and the overwhelming schedule of local shows. Within a matter of weeks, the Factory closed, canceling the More Than Music festival with the subtlety of your ex throwing your clothes out the window and eliminating a promising venue, and promoter Paul Bearer parted ways with the High Five, sealing off the pipeline of great punk and metal acts he brought to the table. For a brief shining moment, Columbus felt like it could’ve been a contender instead of the sleepy, one horse town it frequently feels like.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Jun 2013 01:16:45 +0000
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