Favorite Albums of the Year

1. Green Day “American Idiot” Genius. Listen to it over and over again. Making a REAL protest. Standing up for what you believe. Telling it like it is. Punk rock adults.

2. Damien Rice “B-Sides” Well, if an EP is all we can get, it’ll have to do. Beautiful. Understated. Trembling.

3. DJ DangerMouse “The Grey Album” Genius. Better than either of the albums it pulls together. (Yes, I love the Beatles. But that’s not my favorite of theirs.)

4. Garden State Soundtrack Great music from a great movie. Lots of fun.

5. The Shins “Chutes Too Narrow” Listened to this nonstop for about two months. Saw them in concert. Bunch of goofballs. This album is just plain fun.

6. The Killers “Hot Fuss” Rock’n’roll. Can’t get these songs out of my head.

7. Scissor Sisters (self-titled) Disco lives again. Self aware, unafraid, putting it all out there.

8. The Hold Steady “Almost Killed Me” Thanks to Cari for clueing me in to this band. You’ll see them listed in Rolling Stone as one of the best bands you didn’t know about this year.

9. Ray Lamontagne “Trouble” In the Damien Rice mode. But has his own things to say. Heart-wrenching. Calm, yet not quiet.

10. And tied for the final spot are: Eminem “Encore” and U2 “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. Sure, Encore is shockingly juvenile in some spots, and Atomic Bomb is all rock-anthem love songs. So what? What’s your point? Did you make a better album than these? Yeah, I didn’t think so!

Favorite Singles

“Winter” Joshua Radin Ouch.
“Wash Away” Joe Purdy Ah, the ocean.
“Love Like That” Stew Lie on the couch and tell me you love me. Seriously, is that too much to ask?
“Worn Me Down” Rachael Yamagata Can she really be as worn down as I am?
“Just Lose It” Eminem Fuck W and everything he stands for.
“Mosh” Eminem Who else can rap like this?
“Empty Apartment” Yellowcard Acoustic version is quite nice.
“Broken” Seether, featuring Amy Lee When is Evanescence going to make a real new album? Guess this’ll have to last me till then. (No, “live” does not count.)

Runners Up
Snow Patrol “Final Straw” “Run” is a great, great, great fucking song.
Jet “Get Born” Pure rock’n’roll.
Arcade Fire “Funeral” Along the lines of “The Hold Steady.” Still getting to know this one.
Metric “Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?” About as “electronic” as I get. Check it out.
The Finn Brothers “Everyone Is Here” Their best effort in years, including Neil’s solo stuff. Makes me miss Crowded House all over again.

Listened to Lots
Chronic Future “Lines in My Face” Rap-rock combo. Surprising.
Franz Ferdinand (self-titled) Dance, dance, dance.

Guilty Pleasures
John Mellencamp “Words & Music: Greatest Hits” What can I say? It’s an all-night sing-along.
Eminem “Encore” I can’t help it. I just can’t.

Don’t Really Understand the Hype
Modest Mouse “Good News for People Who Love Bad News” Got this album. Saw them live. Eh. They’re OK.
Iron & Wine “Our Endless Numbered Days” Surprised I don’t like this more. But it just doesn’t grab me.
Interpol “Antics” Better than their first. But I STILL spend more time thinking about who they sound LIKE when I listen to them than I do actually listening to them.
Wilco “A Ghost Is Born” I actually didn’t buy this album. I’ve never understood the Wilco hype. I always think I should be listening to them. But I never can.
Loretta Lynn “Van Lear Rose” Jack White’s weird. There are some neat things here, but never enough to keep me focused on it.

Oddly, at least to me, I really didn’t write that much about what I was listening to in 2003. Since I seem to sometimes spend entire weeks obsessing over new CDs, rearranging playlists in iTunes, and listening to certain songs over and over, I don’t know why I didn’t have more to say about it. Although when it comes to books, I definitely refer to my list as “Best” of the year, here I have to call these instead “Favorites” as I am much narrower in my listening than in my reading, and certainly not as up to date in this category either.

My Six Favorite Albums of 2003

Ryan Adams “Love Is Hell, Part 1”, “Rock ‘N Roll” and “Love Is Hell, Part 2”
When isn’t Ryan Adams one of my highlights for the year? (Although I will admit, the time I saw him live probably doesn’t make my Top 10 concert list, but at home on the stereo, he blows me away.) The boy came out with three albums: a 8-song EP, where I have to point out that 8 songs is a full album for some losers!!; the album his label was happier with; and a 7-song EP. Wow. It’s annoying to me that the label will make any money off the EPs since they rejected them as the official album and sent Adams back to the drawing board which is when Rock ‘N Roll came into being. “I See Monsters” (I play it over and over) and “English Girls Approximately” are my favorite songs off Part 2, and the “Wonderwall” cover on Part 1 is beautiful. I did enjoy Rock ‘N Roll as well, so I’m glad he put it out anyway. It’s a fun, guitar-playin’ drums-crashin’ rock record. But nothing on that album really drags me into it the way the EPs do.

Damien Rice “O”
Is there anyone left on earth who doesn’t already know how much I love this album? I’ve sent it to at least five people; I’ve quoted it on two web sites; I’ve emailed lyrics ’round the world… I don’t know what else I can do to convince you!! This won the 2003 Mercury Prize, if you need a recommendation other than mine. I just think the entire album is achingly beautiful; I listen to it over and over and over again. And thank God I’m not in the middle of a break-up or it’d probably be making me cry every time, and there’d come a day I wouldn’t be able to listen anymore for all the pain it was dredging back up. “Cannonball” has leaped into my all-time favorite songs list, amazing lyrics.

Jason Mraz “Waiting for My Rocket to Come” and “Live at Java Joe’s”
You’ve heard “The Remedy” or “Curbside Prophet” on the radio. Put this album on, and it’s virtually unstoppable, your finger will hit the ‘repeat’ key without you even noticing it! A little jazz, a little blues, a twang here and there, great guitar work, sassy lyrics, a boy and his band havin’ a good old time. Who could resist? I just start grinning whenever I’m listening to this. What’s up with M-R-A-Z? I saw him live in December and although he only had a six-song set, he was the highlight of the show pour moi. As I’ve seen others do in concert less successfully (C. Crows for one), he played new arrangements on almost all the songs; the boy has creativity just bursting out doesn’t he.

Albums I Like No Matter What Anyone Else Thinks

Evanescence “Fallen” For some reason, admitting to loving this album makes me feel like a teenage girl being found out by her folks. I know it’s “nu-metal”. I know the majority of their fans are at least, what, fifteen, if not twenty, years younger than me. I am so not into the black nail polish, goth image. But I can listen to this entire album without fast forwarding once. That’s not all that common.

Madonna “American Life” She’s not for everyone. That’s fine. But this album is better than anyone wants to give it credit for. I knew there’d be some backlash after all the critical acclaim of her last two releases, but I think she hurt herself most by yanking the awesome original video where she throws a grenade at Bush, but as his administration has done all along this past year he manages to turn it to his own sneaky advantage. “Intervention” and “Nothing Fails” both really grab me. A lot of the album sounds like a love letter to Guy Ritchie. Can you blame her?

Liz Phair “Liz Phair” She wrote a pop song. She wanted to be on the radio more. What? Are you kidding? The nerve!!! Yeah, I think the primary criticisms of this album (she sold out, she’s an Avril/Britney wanna-be, etc., etc.) are stupid bullshit and I could care less. I like the single, I LOVE “Why Can’t I” and I think all in all it’s a good album, certainly as good as some of her previous ones. On the other hand, she did annoy me at the Barenakeds/Jason Mraz concert I went to where she was supposed to be the middle headliner, but showed up with laryngitis. Why come, sing one unhearable song, and make us waste 1/2 hour of them setting up your set, when they could have just been setting up for BNL? Just cancel if you can’t sing, don’t show up and be the one boring downpoint of the entire evening. That aside, was it worth it to her to have a huge portion of her fan base turn on her new radio-friendly self? This album is worth listening to whether they like it or not!

Honorable Mentions

Laurel Canyon Soundtrack Great movie. Great tunes. Particularly the two sung by lead actor Alessandro Nivola. Somebody give him my phone number, please.

Flaming Lips (any album) I just got introduced to this group. Some songs, I think “is that Cat Stevens?”; others “Am I listening to CSNY?” Very melodic and fun. And very different than the punk-ass sound I was expecting due to their name!

Freaky Friday soundtrack An album of great covers: “What a Wonderful World” (Joey Ramone), “…Baby One More Time” (Bowling for Soup, this is sooo much better than the original!) “Happy Together” (Simple Plan), “What I Like About You” (Lilix). As a karaoke-loving fool, how could I not be down with this?

Lyrics Running Through My Head Tonight

Josh Rouse “Sunshine”: Come on lady, take this bum and make him right… Come on lady, give this bum a sense of pride…

Pete Yorn “Crystal Village”: Take my hand, come with me, into this crystal scenery, the way in to [???] the ticket. You will never have the time, I would love to change your mind, you were there and it was good in the beginning…

Pancho’s Lament “Promise Me This”: Lord, I’m tryin’, tryin’ to let you in… I’m learning how to begin again…

David Gray “Easy Way to Cry”: Faith, gone from your eyes, each word that flies, taking you further away, then come that day, there ain’t no easy way to cry…
Hopefully this year I’ll find the time to say more about what I’m listening to. Then again, maybe I’ll just be too busy listenin’!

Duff’s Top 5 Albums of 2002

The Rising, Bruce Springsteen. Hands down, best album of the year and the first-ever Springsteen purchase in the Duff music library. This is one man’s rockin’, personal redemption, I will go on, answer to September 11, although only some of the songs are overt responses to those events. The lyrics on this album are beautiful, quietly powerful; I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of listening to it. And the upbeat songs just fill up the room. One of the few solidly rock albums this year that didn’t give off an “already been done” feeling. Fave songs: “Let’s Be Friends (Skin to Skin)” and “My City of Ruins.”

The Eminem Show, Eminem. My boy Marshall Mathers. OK, the caveat here is that I do not actually just put the CD on and walk away. I do not listen to any of the “skits” between songs (there are five) and I do not listen to song no. 9 (“Drips” with Obie Trice) – it’s completely nasty. Yes, I know, to think there is a song worse than any of the others on here…but there is – take my word for it. So those items deleted, and this album kicks ass. “A tisk-it a task-it, I’ll go tit for tat with anybody who’s talking this shit that shit…” Hello, a rapper who incorporates nursery rhymes. He gets better with every album, more sassy, more irreverent, more in your face. Love it. He is to the new Millennium what Madonna was to the ’80s. Pushing boundaries, pissing people off, and doing it with flare and pizzazz. You go, boy. And now that he’s starting to show off his tender side (listen to “Hailie’s Song”), there’s no telling what he can do. My friend Marcus’ comment was ” he cleans up his act a little more and he’s the next Will Smith!” “Will Smith don’t gotta cuss in his raps to sell records, well I do, so fuck him and fuck you too…” Fave songs: “My Dad’s Gone Crazy” and “Say Goodbye to Hollywood.”

Come Away with Me, Norah Jones. This album was probably the biggest surprise of the year commercially, and five Grammy nominations just shot her up to No. 1. Go see this girl live. The songs sound just as good as on the album, but she’s got a lot more twang to her than Blue Note recorded here. (We had front row seats at Town Hall, a tiny little intimate auditorium; her voice just filled up the room.) She’s the next Sarah McLachlan/Beth Orton without all the synthesizers and production. Fave song: “Seven Years.”

No More Drama, Mary J. Blige. Another first-by-artist-in-Duff-collection. Don’t know what made me pick this one up. But I listened to almost nothing else in July. Until I saw her in concert and she was all about drama. Mid-concert 15 minute monologue on sexual abuse among families. All true, I’m sure, but way to bring the concert mood down. It was very odd. Apparently followed by a similar melt-down at the Apollo a few weeks later. Mary, put it in the songs! Or see a shrink! That said, there are five to six songs on this album I’m still not done listening to, and in the new one-single-makes-an-album world, that’s saying something. Fave songs: “Rainy Dayz” with hottie Ja Rule and “Flying Away.”

**Reissue** Let It Bleed, Rolling Stones. Hey, if they had re-released a bunch of Beatles’ albums this year, you can bet some of those would have been on the list too! Hello, every song on the album could have been a single, although only two or three are still on the Stones’ concert play list (they’ve got a mighty lot to choose from, don’t they). This makes all those modern-day wanna-be rock stars look like chumps in comparison! Fave Song: “You Got the Silver.”

Albums Noticeably Not on My List
The Strokes, the Hives, the Vines. I bought The Strokes’ album purely on hype. Played it once. “Huh?” Put it aside. Discussed it with my friend Dan, found ourselves in agreement that it sucked. Forgot all about it. Fast forward six months or so. Reading end of year lists. It’s all over the place. Huh? Give it another listen. No thanks. Have no desire whatsoever to even try the other two beyond what’s been on the radio.

Albums that Almost Made My List

The White Stripes, White Blood Cells. The only so-called garage rock out there that’s living up to the hype. And the only one that doesn’t totally scream “80s!” and “College!” while you’re listening to it… Two people, one guitar, one drum set = a surprising amount of noise. Noise you want to hear more of. “Who do you think you’re messin’ with, girl? What do you think you’re tryin’ to do?” This really belongs up “top” but that would make it a “top six” list and that’s retarded.

Ryan Adams, Demolition. Well, doesn’t every Ryan Adams album almost make my list? This one didn’t because it wasn’t really an album, as much as a bunch of singles that belong on other albums all just thrown in here. The gems get hidden between the so-sos, and taken overall it’s not that enthralling of a listen.

Badly Drawn Boy, Have You Fed the Fish? and the About a Boy soundtrack. I think this guy’s amazing. I loved both the albums he put out this year. But I haven’t listened to them quite as much as anything that made the top five.

Elvis Costello, When I Was Cruel. This is a great album, and he was totally rockin’ out in concert. Broke a guitar string one song in! But I really haven’t listened to it that much as I didn’t even get it until after going to see him. I kind of missed its window.

Beck, Sea Change. I like the thick, orchestralness of this album. Reminds me of David Gray’s White Ladder or REM Automatic for the People. That said, it gets a little drone-y, and the melancholy of it can really drag you down. Not in a willing-to-be-dragged-down mood these days (my one New Year’s resolution = “To be in a good mood.” It’s working out well so far except for last Friday when return of illness really kicked me in the butt).

Honorable Mentions from the Ladies

Sheryl Crow, Come on, Come on. I didn’t buy this album until many months after its release, on Nan’s recommendation. It surprised me, I never find myself fast forwarding when it comes up on the iPod, and it’s a much better album than it’s been given credit for. On the other hand, none of the songs really jump out on an individual basis.

Pink, Missundaztood. If they play “Just like a Pill” on the radio one more time, I might scream, but this is actually a decent album. I play “Lonely Girl” over and over at the gym, and even “18 Wheeler” has some moments. I’ll be interested to hear her next release, I think she’s getting stronger as she goes.

Dixie Chicks, Home. This is a solid third album, but I think they screwed themselves by doing a cover of “Landslide.” It just blows away everything else on the album and, frankly, makes me feel like throwing on some Stevie Nicks instead!