Ok, we're almost at the end of the road. Dick Clark will apply the magic faerie dust...the ball will drop and we will finish off that bottle of champagne.
But before that happens...before you get sick of eggnog, the A Christmas Story marathon, It's A Wonderful Life, or visits from relatives....read my list of favorite pop, rock & whatever records for 2003.
- Cat Power - You Are Free
This one really grew on me. Articles here, there & everywhere about the mysterious Chan Marshall. I finally gave in after the New Yorker bio. You Are Free is full of interesting melodies, sparse instrumentation and Marshall's beautiful voice.
- Richard Thompson - The Old Kit Bag
If Thompson releases music in any given year, chances are it'll be on my best-of list. This year's model is no exception. To go along with his classic wit you get piles of Thompson's guitar...one of the most singular guitar voices in rock.
- Rickie Lee Jones - The Evening Of My Best Day
I've been listing to this lady for years and years and she never disappoints. For reasons I can't quite nail down, this record reminds me of Pirates-era Rickie Lee.
- Dar Williams - The Beauty Of The Rain
I keep wondering when Dar's gonna run out of steam. Not here. Guest appearances from John Popper, Bela Fleck, Cliff Eberhardt, John Medeski and Allison Kraus really spice things up. So does Williams' textured and expressive voice. Her cover of The Band's "Whispering Pines" is just about perfect.
(BlogCritics review here)
- Joe Jackson Band - Volume 4
A fun reunion of Jackson's original band. With so many years between now and the skinny tie era, I'm just amazed at the freshness of Volume 4. A big blast from a group of new wave geezers.
(BlogCritics review here)
- Trey Anastasio - Plasma Continued on the next page Page 1 — Page 2
Article comments
1 - Stacy's Mom
i WOULD SUGGEST sTACY'S mom, Fountains Of Wayne.
2 - SD
I like Metallica. even this album listed below. Can I buy it from here?
3 - BrownBoognish
All fans of metal, lets be honest. Metallica started sucking the minute the black album was released. Not to say that Unforgiven II was not a fantastic epic showcasing the endless possibilities of the genre.
4 - Tom Johnson
I think the black album is Metallica's lowest point - yes, lower than the Load era. I can listen to most of either of those albums, but the black album sounds cheesy and dated, and time has revealed how much of a sellout that album was. In comparision, the Load discs were a calculated step away from their sound, which, at the time, looked shocking. They've held up a lot better than the black album, I'm afraid. That is an album locked in a particular time period, dated because it was a watered down Metallica that utilized many of the genre's more insubstantial traits, where before that the band had concentrated on making music that consciously tried to be differnt - more intelligent, faster, heavier. The black album was a calculated attempt to score the big hit. And they did. Rip on them I may have when they were released, but Load and Reload garner a lot more time in my CD player than the black album does. Time will only tell how St. Anger fairs, but I think it's going to do okay. Fans will get over the "shock" someday and will be able to look at the album with fresh ears again. I have my problems with the production (too harsh, not unlike the new Ministry, which is quite good otherwise) but musically I find it quite enjoyable.