Music Year 2002

As of Jan. 6, 2003, this list had grown to 62 new albums, which is pretty much record large: guess it wasn't such a bad year (for music, at least), and guess I managed to pay attention. See also my Pazz & Jop Comments and the expanded Top Ten Reviews. A new list has also been started for 2003, but this one will keep growing for a few months, while I keep on catching up.

New Records

1. DJ Shadow: The Private Press (MCA).
2. N.E.R.D.: In Search of . . . (Virgin).
3. Mekons: Oooh! (Out of Our Heads) (Quarterstick).
4. Spaceways Inc.: Version Soul (Atavistic).
5. Youssou N'Dour: Nothing's in Vain (Nonesuch).
6. Cornershop: Handcream for a Generation (Beggars Banquet).
7. Buck 65: Square (Warner Music Canada).
8. Van Morrison: Down the Road (Universal).
9. William Parker: Raining on the Moon (Thirsty Ear).
10. Cee-Lo: Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections (Arista).
11. Spoon: Kill the Moonlight (Merge).
12. Imperial Teen: On (Merge).
13. The Streets: Original Pirate Material (Vice/Atlantic).
14. Transplants: Transplants (Hellcat).
15. Orchestra Baobab: Specialist in All Styles (Nonesuch).
16. Arthur Blythe: Focus (Savant).
17. Roberto Rodriguez: El Danzon de Moises (Tzadik).
18. Matthew Shipp: Nu Bop (Thirsty Ear).
19. The Mountain Goats: Tallahassee (4AD).
20. Nils Petter Molvaer: NP3 (Emarcy).
21. Steinski: Nothing to Fear: A Rough Mix (Soul Ting).
22. David S. Ware: Freedom Suite (Aum Fidelity).
23. Nelly: Nellyville (Universal).
24. Northern State: Dying in Stereo (Northern State).
25. Jean-Paul Bourelly: Trance Atlantic (Boom Bop II) (Challenge).
26. The Roots: Phrenology (MCA).
27. Buck 65: Synesthesia (Warner Music Canada).
28. The Best Bootlegs in the World Ever (No Label).
29. Capital D & the Molemen: Writer's Block (The Movie) (All Natural).
30. James Talley: Touchstones (Cimarron).
31. Atmosphere: God Loves Ugly (Fat Beats).
32. Röyskopp: Melody A.M. (Astralwerks).
33. Rhett Miller: The Instigator (Elektra).
34. Me'shell Ndegéocello: Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape (Maverick)
35. Red Hot + Riot: The Music and Spirit of Fela Kuti (MCA).
36. Mali Music (Astralwerks).
37. Moby: 18 (V2).
38. Will Rigby: Paradoxaholic (Diesel Only).
39. Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali: A Better Destiny (RealWorld).
40. The Donnas: Spend the Night (Atlantic).
41. Yohimbe Brothers: Front End Lifter (Ropeadope).
42. Papa Noel & Papi Oviedo: Bana Congo (Tumi).
43. Kahil El'Zabar Trio: Love Outside of Dreams (Delmark).
44. Jean Grae: Attack of the Attacking Things (Third Earth).
45. Kasey Chambers: Barricades and Brick Walls (Warner Bros.).
46. David Murray & the Gwo-Ka Masters: Yonn-De (Justin Time).
47. Africa Raps (Trikont).
48. The Hives: Veni Vidi Vicious (Sire).
49. Steve Earle: Jerusalem (Artemis).
50. Issa Bagayogo: Timbuktu (Six Degrees).
51. Public Enemy: Revolverlution (Koch).
52. Sonic Youth: Murray Street (Geffen).
53. Jason Moran: Modernistic (Blue Note).
54. Bennie Wallace: Moodsville (Groove Note).
55. Djelimady Tounkara: Sigui (Indigo).
56. DJ Spooky: Optometry (Thirsty Ear).
57. Kimya Dawson: I'm Sorry That Sometimes I'm Mean (Rough Trade).
58. Luna: Close Cover Before Striking (Jetset).
59. Eminem: The Eminem Show (Aftermath).
60. Neil Young: Are You Passionate? (Reprise).
61. Ani DiFranco: So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter (Righteous Babe, 2CD).
62. The Vandermark 5: Free Jazz Classics Vols. 1 & 2 (Atavistic, 2CD)
63. MC Paul Barman: Paullelujah! (Coup d'Etat).
64. Pretenders: Loose Screw (Artemis).
65. The Capricorns: In the Zone (Paroxysm).
66. Mr. Lif: Emergency Rations (Definitive Jux).
67. Rachid Taha: Live (Mondo Melodia).
68. Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (Nonesuch).
69. The Meat Purveyors: All Relationships Are Doomed to Fail (Bloodshot).
70. Wayne Shorter: Footprints Live! (Verve).
71. Raphael Saadiq: Instant Vintage (Universal).
72. Waco Brothers: New Deal (Bloodshot).
73. The Bottle Rockets: Songs of Sahm (Bloodshot).
74. The Pine Valley Cosmonauts: The Executioner's Last Songs (Bloodshot).
75. Tom Zé: Jogos de Armar (Trama).
76. Blackalicious: Blazing Arrow (MCA).
77. Guy Davis: Give in Kind (Red House).

Pending:

Records in hand, but which haven't yet been graded.

• The Apples in Stereo: Velocity of Sound (SpinArt).
• Badly Drawn Boy: Have You Fed the Fish? (Artist Direct).
• Big Moe: Purple World (Priority).
• Dee Dee Bridgewater: This Is New (Verve).
• Bright Eyes: Lifted or the Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground (Saddle Creek).
• Guillermo E. Brown: Soul at the Hands of the Machine (Thirsty Ear).
• Burnt Sugar: That Depends on What You Know: Fubractive: Since Antiquity Suite (Trugroid).
• Bill Charlap: Stardust (Blue Note).
• El-P: Fantastic Damage (Definitive Jux).
• Extra Yard (Big Dada).
• Marianne Faithfull: Kissin' Time (Hut/Virgin).
• J-Live: All of the Above (Coup d'Etat).
• Guillermo Klein: Los Guachos III (Sunnyside, 2CD).
• Talib Kweli: Quality (MCA).
• Mat Maneri: Sustain (Thirsty Ear).
• Mr. Lif: I Phantom (Definitive Jux).
• Yannick Rieu: Non Acoustic Project (Effendi).
• Nate Ruth: Whatever It Meant (Soundless).
• Stew: The Naked Dutch Painter . . . and Other Songs (Smile)
• Otis Taylor: Respect the Dead (Northern Blues).
• Tin Hat Trio: The Rodeo Eroded (Ropeadope).
• Joe Zawinul: Faces and Places (ESC).

Missed:

Records in hand, graded B+ or below, in roughly declining order:

• Joe Lovano: Viva Caruso (Blue Note). B+
• Clipse: Lord Willin' (Arista). B+
• Dixie Chicks: Home (Open Wide/Monument). B+
• Alvin Youngblood Hart: Down in the Alley (Memphis International) B+
• Silkworm: Italian Platinum (Touch and Go). B+
• Daniel Bedingfield: Gotta Get Thru This (Universal). B+
• The Reputation (Initial). B+
• Justin Timberlake: Justified (Jive). B+
• Nada Surf: Let Go (Barsuk).
• Manu Chao: Radio Bemba Sound System (Virgin). B+
• Warren Zevon: My Ride's Here (Artemis). B+
• Matthew Shipp: Songs (Thirsty Ear). B+
• Cody Chesnutt: The Headphone Masterpiece (Ready Set Go, 2CD). B+
• Coldplay: A Rush of Blood to the Head (Capitol). B+
• Spring Heel Jack: Amassed (Thirsty Ear).
• Sleater-Kinney: One Beat (Kill Rock Stars). B+
• Sue Foley: Where the Action Is . . . (Shanachie). B+
• John Forté: I, John (Transparent). B+
• Alan Jackson: Drive (Arista). B+
• Linda Thompson: Fashionably Late (Rounder). B+
• Pet Shop Boys: Release (EMI). B+
• Missy Elliott: Under Construction (Elektra). B+
• Dave Douglas: The Infinite (RCA). B+
• Big Lazy: New Everything (Tasankee). B+
• Alannis Morissette: Under Rug Swept (Maverick). B+
• Arto Lindsay: Invoke (Righteous Babe). B+
• Hank Williams III: Lovesick Broke & Driftin' (Curb). B+
• Liquid Todd: Solid State (The Right Stuff). B+
• John Hicks: Music in the Key of Clark (High Note). B+
• Bruce Springsteen: The Rising (Columbia). B+
• Laura Cantrell: When the Roses Bloom Again (Diesel Only). B+
• DJ Screw: Sentimental Value (Wreckless Entertainment). B+
• Jimmy Scott: But Beautiful (Milestone). B+
• The Flatlanders: Now Again (New West). B+
• Kenny Garrett: Happy People (Warner Brothers). B
• DJ/Rupture: Minesweeper Suite (Tigerbeat). B
• Andrew Hill: A Beautiful Day (Palmetto). B
• Tift Merritt: Bramble Rose (Universal). B
• Common: Electric Circus (MCA). B
• Pretty Girls Make Graves: Good Heatlh (Lookout). B
• Anti-Pop Consortium: Arrhythmia (Warp). B
• The Breeders: Title TK (4AD/Elektra). B
• Bonnie Raitt: Silver Lining (Capitol). B
• Kelly Willis: Easy (Rykodisc). B
• Spacemonkeyz Vs. Gorillaz: Laika Come Home (EMI). B
• Corey Harris: Downhome Sophisticate (Rounder). B-
• Beck: Sea Change (Interscope). B-
• Dirty Vegas (Capitol). B-
• Shania Twain: Up! (Universal, 2CD). B-
• World Saxophone Quartet: Steppenwolf (Justin Time). B-

Hyped:

These are records that I have some reason to think might be worth hearing. Usually, other folks' recommendation. ***, **, * indicates some serious interest on my part; # indicates something that I have serious doubts about.

• Akufen: My Way (Force).
• Tori Amos: Scarlet's Walk (Epic).
• Antifolk, Vol. 1 (Rough Trade).
• Joseph Arthur: Redemption's Son (Enjoy).
• Ashanti (Murder Inc.)
• Badenya: Manden Jaliya in New York City (Smithsonian/Folkways).
• Patricia Barber: Verse (Blue Note).
• Tim Berne: Science Friction (Screwgun).
• Boards of Canada: Geogaddi (Warp).
• Boom Bip: Seed to Sun (Lex).
• Bill Bruford's Earthworks: Footloose and Fancy Free (Discipline, 2CD).
• Solomon Burke: Don't Give Up on Me (Anti-/Fat Possum).
• Burnt Sugar: That Depends on What You Know: The Sirens Return: Keep It Real 'Til It Flatlines (Trugroid).
• Neko Case: Blacklisted (Bloodshot).
• Cassius: Au Rève (Astralwerks).
• Chemical Brothers: Come With Us (Astralwerks).
• Clinic: Walk With Thee (Domino).
• Elvis Costello: When I Was Cruel (Island).
• Sheryl Crow: C'mon C'mon (Interscope).
• Dan the Automator: Wanna Buy a Monkey? A Mixtape Session (Sequence).
• Desaparecidos: Read Music/Speak Spanish (Saddle Creek).
• Dexter's Laboratory: The Hip-Hop Experiment (Cartoon Network/Rhino).
• The D4: 6Twenty (Infectious/Flying Nun).
• James Luther Dickinson: Free Beer Tomorrow (Artemis).
• The Doves: The Last Broadcast (Heavenly/Capitol).
• Alejandro Escovedo: By the Hand of the Father (Texas Music).
• The Flaming Lips: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (Warner Brothers).
• Foo Fighters: One by One (RCA).
• Geldof: Sex, Age & Death (Koch).
• Gorillaz: G-Sides (Virgin).
• GZA: Legend of the Liquid Swords (MCA).
• Hakim: Talakik (Ark 21).
• George Harrison: Brainwashed (Dark Horse/Capitol).
• Dave Holland Big Band: What Goes Around (ECM).
• Interpol: Turn on the Bright Lights (Matador).
• Keith Jarrett: Inside Out (ECM, 2CD).
• Jay-Z: The Blueprint²: The Gift and the Curse (Def Jam).
• Wyclef Jean: Masquerade (Columbia).
• Norah Jones: Come Away With Me (Blue Note).
• Dap-Dippin' With Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings (Daptone).
• Salif Keita: Moffou (Universal).
• Korn: Untouchables (Immortal/Epic).
• Wayne Kramer: Adult World (MuscleTone).
• Ben Kweller: Sha Sha (Big Hassle).
• Ladytron: Light and Magic (Emperor Norton).
• Sondre Lerche: Faces Down (Astralwerks).
• Liars: They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top (Blast First/Mute).
• Los Lobos: Good Morning Aztlán (Mammoth).
• Luna: Romantica (Jetset).
• Aimee Mann: Lost in Space (Superego).
• Meat Beat Manifesto: RUOK (Run Recordings).
• Brad Mehldau: Largo (Warner Bros.).
• Metro Area (Environ).
• Kylie Minogue: Fever (Capitol).
• Meredith Monk: Mercy (ECM).
• Ms. Jade: Girl Interrupted (Beatclub/Interscope).
• Múm: Finally We Are No One (Fat Cat).
• Musiq: Juslisen (Def Soul).
• My House in Montmartre (Astralwerks).
• Nettle: Build a Fort, Set That on Fire (Agriculture).
• New Order: Back to Mine (DMC).
• No Doubt: Rock Steady (Interscope).
• N.O.R.E.: God's Favorite (Def Jam).
• Beth Orton: Daybreaker (Astralwerks).
• Pantytec: Pony Slaystation (Perlon).
• Playgroup: Party Mix, Vol. 1 (Playgroup).
• Playgroup: DJ Kicks (K7).
• Queens of the Stone Age: Songs for the Deaf (Interscope).
• Joey Ramone (Sanctuary).
• Red Hot Chili Peppers: By the Way (Warner Bros.).
• RJD2: Dead Ringer (Definitive Jux).
• Roots Manuva: Dub Come Save Me (Big Dada).
• Paulina Rubio: Border Girl (Universal).
• Scarface: The Fix (Def Jam South).
• Ron Sexsmith: Cobblestone Runway (Nettwerk).
• Sigur Rós: ( ) (Fat Cat/MCA).
• Soundtrack of Our Lives: Behind the Music (Republic/Universal).
• South African Freedom Songs (Making Music).
• Rod Stewart: It Had to Be You . . . The Great American Songbook (J).
• Super Furry Animals: Rings Around the World (XL).
• Super Rap: Original Rap & Hip-Hop From Harlem's P & P Records (Landspeed)
• Supersuckers: Must've Been Live (Mid Fi).
• Tegan & Sara: If It Was You (Vapor).
• Thirdimension: Protect Us From What We Want (Hidden Agenda).
• Tinariwen: The Radio Tisdas Sessions (World Village).
• TLC: 3D (Arista).
• TTC: Ceci N'est Pas un Disque (Big Dada).
• 24 Hour Party People (FFRR).
• 2 Many DJ's: As Heard on Radio Soulwax, Pt. 2 (PIAS).
• The Vines: Highly Evolved (Capitol).
• Tom Waits: Alice (Anti-).
• Tom Waits: Blood Money (Anti-).
• Weezer: Maladroit (Geffen).
• Wire: Read & Burn 01 (Pinkflag).
• Andrew W.K.: I Get Wet (Island).
• Peter Wolf: Sleepless (Artemis).
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Touch and Go).
• Zuco 103: Tales of High Fever (Six Degrees).

Reissues:

1. Billie Holiday/Lester Young: A Musical Romance (1937-57, Columbia/Legacy).
2. Jimmie Rodgers: RCA Country Legends (1927-33, RCA/BMG Heritage).
3. Finger Poppin' and Stompin' Feet: 20 Classic Allen Toussaint Productions for Minit Records (1960-62, Capitol).
4. The Rough Guide to the Music of Nigeria & Ghana (World Music Network).
5. Jimmy Rushing: Cat Meets Chick / The Jazz Odyssey of James Rushing Esq. (1955-56, Collectables).
6. Trail of Memories: The Randy Travis Anthology (1985-99, Rhino, 2CD).
7. Bhundu Boys: The Shed Sessions (Sadza).
8. Howlin Wolf: The Real Folk Blues/More Real Folk Blues (1966-67, MCA).
9. The Best of James Brown Volume 2: The '70s (20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection) (Polydor)
10. Electric Highlife: Sessions From the Bokoor Studios (Naxos World).
11. John Coltrane: A Love Supreme: Deluxe Edition (1964-64, Impulse, 2CD).
12. Sonny Boy Williamson: The Real Folk Blues/More Real Folk Blues (1955-64, MCA).
13. The Rough Guide to Youssou N'Dour & Etoile de Dakar (World Music Network).
14. Wayne Shorter: The Classic Blue Note Recordings (1960-89, Blue Note, 2CD).
15. Elvis Presley: 30 #1 Hits (RCA).
16. Buck 65: Weirdo Magnet (Warner Music Canada).
17. The Music in My Head 2 (Stern's Africa).
18. Orchestra Super Mazembe: Giants of East Africa (Earthworks).
19. The History of Township Music (Wrasse).
20. The Rough Guide to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (1979-82, World Music Network).
21. Howlin' Wolf: Moanin' at Midnight (1951-52, Fuel 2000).
22. Ska All Mighty: Top Ska Classics From the Treasure Isle Label (Heartbeat).
23. Stan Getz: The Very Best of Stan Getz (1952-91, Verve).
24. Illinois Jacquet: Jumpin' at Apollo (1945-47, Delmark).
25. Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson with the Cannonball Adderley Quintet: Cleanhead & Cannonball (1961-62, Milestone).
26. Pachuco Boogie (Arhoolie).

Pending:

• Cash Money Records: Platinum Hits (Cash Money/Universal).
• Jan Garbarek: Rarum, Vol. 2: Selected Recordings (1974-95, ECM, 2CD).
• The Jesus and Mary Chain: 21 Singles (Rhino).
• The Rough Guide to Ali Hassan Kuban (World Music Network).
• Man of Constant Sorrow and Other Timeless Mountain Ballads (Yazoo).
• Thelonious Monk: At Newport 1963 & 1965 (Columbia/Legacy, 2CD).
• Let's Do Rocksteady: The Story of Rocksteady 1966-68 (Trojan, 2CD).
• London Is the Place for Me: Trinidadian Calypso in London (1950-56, Honest Jon's).
• Punky Reggae Party: New Wave Jamaica 1975-1980 (Trojan, 2CD).
• ?uestlove Presents Babies Makin' Babies (Urban Theory).
• Rough & Tough: The Story of Ska 1960-1966 (Sanctuary/Trojan, 2CD).
• Patti Smith: Land (1975-2002) (Arista, 2CD).
• Tanz! With Dave Tarras and the Musiker Brothers (1955, Epic/Legacy).
• Tighten Up: Trojan Reggae Classics 1968-74 (Sanctuary/Trojan, 2CD).
• Tricky: A Ruff Guide (1994-99, Island).
• Trojan Box Set: Bob Marley and Friends (Sanctuary/Trojan, 3CD).
• Trojan Box Set: Calypso (Sanctuary/Trojan, 3CD).
• Trojan Box Set: Upsetter (Sanctuary/Trojan, 3CD).
• Trojan Box Set: X-Rated (Sanctuary/Trojan, 3CD).
• X-Ray Spex: The Anthology (Sanctuary/Castle).