Pitchfork's Year End List Out

[Yancey]

Check the site today. As usual, looks really good. I see three or four records I need to pick up now. Finally someone else recognizes the genius of Unwound.

[stevevt]

I have and agree with the comments on:

* Stokes
* Dismemberment Plan
* New Pornographers (but I wouldn't put them in my top 20 -- the production on this album sucks, IMO, which seems to be a Neko Case trademark)
* White Stripes
* Circulatory System (wouldn't place it as high as number 5, though)
* Avalanches



I have and disagree on/was disappointed with:

* Beta Band
* Radiohead


I need to check out:
* Microphones (I have their other 2 albums, and just starting
getting into "It was Hot...")
* Les Savy Fav

[mike1978]

I recognize the genius of Unwound - "Leaves Turn Inside You" was one of my favorite albums of 2001. I thought Fugazi would rank much higher, but at least "The Argument" made the top 20.

Steve - I have this strong feeling that you won't enjoy Les Savy Fav, but I'm sure you'll decide for yourself by listening to a few songs.

[Yancey]

Originally posted by mike1978
I recognize the genius of Unwound - "Leaves Turn Inside You" was one of my favorite albums of 2001. I thought Fugazi would rank much higher, but at least "The Argument" made the top 20.

Steve - I have this strong feeling that you won't enjoy Les Savy Fav, but I'm sure you'll decide for yourself by listening to a few songs.

I think Steve might like the new Les Savy Fav. Phil Ek produced it and it's a little more toned down than the old stuff. I like the noisy rock, as do you mike, but I know Steve likes it a little more poppy, which Go Forth is.

Unwound is #1 on my year end list, which should go up at neumu next week. My (unedited) list is:

Year End List

Unwound - Leaves Turn Inside You (Kill Rock Stars)
Unwound took a huge risk by making this behemoth. Their first album since 1998, Leaves incorporates the band's penchant for the atonal with a My Bloody Valentine-worthy layering of guitars.
Cannibal Ox - In Cold Vein (Def Jux)
If Brian Eno decided to produce a hip-hop disc it would sound like this. Free-flowing in the truest sense of the word - no choruses, no hooks, just intricate wordplay and atmosphere.
White Stripes - White Blood Cells (Sympathy for the Record Industry)
The infamous aside overheard in modern-art galleries ("My kid could do that") applies to the White Stripes' third long-player, which is part of its charm.
Low - Things We Lost in the Fire (Kranky)
Melancholy and restrained, there is still a feeling of optimism in each song, even if it's just that the depressing can be so beautiful.
Beachwood Sparks - Once We Were Trees (Sub Pop)
California boys pretend they're Gram Parsons. Oscar worthy.
Calla - Scavengers (Young God Records)
A great mix of pastoral guitar work (a la Ennio Morricone) and Terry Riley-inspired found sounds signals a collapse of rural and urban America while Aurelio Valle's voice effortlessly glides over the top.
Spoon - Girls Can Tell (Merge)
Britt Daniel wants to be Elvis Costello badly, but with Girls Can Tell he has moved past the My Aim Is True-esque anger that fueled 1998's overlooked masterpiece Series of Sneaks. Still, Daniel's pure pop songs can be extraordinary, especially "Me and the Bean" and "Chicago At Night."
Lift to Experience - Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads (Bella Union)
Could there be a more timely release than a concept album about the apocalypse? Melodies are reminiscent of Jeff Buckley, but the accompanying music is guitar-based noise.
The Rapture - Out of the Races and Onto the Tracks EP (Sub Pop)
The best Gang of Four imitation in a long time. The high-hat snaps open at the right moments, the guitars chink and chime and Luke Jenner's screams accent each discordant note perfectly.
Various Artists - Troubleman Mix-Tape (Troubleman Unlimited)
The selection on this double-disc contains a fantastic hodgepodge of noise rock, punk, avant-garde and two truly bizarre vocal clips from Barry White and Miles Davis.

And if these lists were longer than ten. . .

Brian Jonestown Massacre - Bravery, Repetition & Noise (Bomp)
Death Cab for Cutie - The Photo Album (Barsuk)
Dismemberment Plan - Change (De Soto)
Bob Dylan - Love and Theft (Columbia)
Fugazi - The Argument (Dischord)
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - The Tyranny of Distance (Lookout)
Love as Laughter - Sea to Shining Sea (Sub Pop)
Shins - Oh Inverted World (Sub Pop)
Tortoise - Standards (Thrill Jockey)

And if Reprise hadn't been so stubborn. . .

Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot would have topped this entire list. Mark it down as the best album not released in 2001.