|
Top 10 of 2003 by Michael David Toth
1. Sparks, Lil' Beethoven (Palm). In the non-distinctive, post-grunge past decade, techno didn't turn out to be as lucrative as music industry moguls hoped. But '90s sample-scavengers and hip-hoppers did in fact impact the process and structure of pop songwriting, even if we haven't yet felt big aftershocks.
2. Manitoba, Up In Flames (Domino/Leaf). A lush, epic hybrid of late-'60s Beatles, Loveless -era My Bloody Valentine and recent Flaming Lips, but with an added Tipsy neo-electronica/glitch component. As preposterous as it sounds, the combined result is a project that's in some ways more musically adventurous than any of those legendary bands' albums to date.
3. Teenage Fanclub, Four Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty-Six Seconds (Jetset).This retrospective compilation may or may not be definitive, but the band sounds even better today than remembered. Punchy post-Big Star power-pop that goes down like warm honey.
4. The Free Design, Kites Are Fun (Lights In The Attic). Previously only a pricey Japanese import, the first domestic reissue of this child-like, surreal, soft-psychedelic 1967 LP by these revered ancestors of elaborate sunshiny pop like 2002's glorious Polyphonic Spree.
5. Ken Nordine, Wink (Asphodel). The mindwarpingly surreal '60s beatnik spoken-word rarity reissued. Second only to Colors as Nordine's wildest and most engaging, with Nordine in stereo-separated, split-personality conversations with himself.
6. Travelogue, Winter EP (self-released). Classy songwriting intriguingly executed with uncommonly inventive analogue synthesizers and distinctive vocals. Northeast Ohio's most underrated local music asset.
7. Various Artists, S.H.A.D.O. Electro (S.H.A.D.O.). Speaking of nouveau electro-pop, here's a boffo collection of the stuff compiled by the pioneering Italian new wave synth band Krisma. Six 1977-1980 Krisma classics fill out a killer disc of new bleep-filled treats by Electronicat, Valvola, Kitbuilders and others.
8. Fountains of Wayne, Welcome Intertstate Managers (S-Curve). Weezer may be nifty, but Fountains of Wayne's own catchy smarty-pants rock has always been catchier and way smarter. For years, commercial success eluded these guys until "Stacy's Mom" spread like the flu this year, providing some symbolic justice for all the incredible talent that criminally goes unrecognized.
9. Richard Thompson, The Old Kit Bag (SpinART). Mock Tudor may have been better, but Thompson again proves he's indisputably one of the most consistently brilliant singer/songwriter/guitarists of our time. Incisive and infectious.
10. Kid Koala, Some of My Best Friends Are DJs (Ninja Tune). The Kid's got a playful creative passion and wit that sets him apart from a glut of turntablists. Fun tunes plus a 52-page comic and a travel-size chess game too!.
|