Music Gourmets Presents 60 Years Of Great Music - 2001

[Zeeba Neighba]

No reminder, MGers?! Man a busy weekend including Jazz Fest (where I am now), and I just realized I never did the next thread Sorry! But here we are


Welcome to the next year in our "Great Music" series - 2001

Here's the rules:

Each Friday (typically) we'll introduce a new year from 1957 through 2016. Each member selects an album released in that year with a few lines (or more) on why you picked it/enjoy it. Your selection does not have to be the most important release or the most admired release of that year (though it certainly can be), simply an album that grabs you and that you really love.

However, once an album is selected by a member, you must choose a different album.

Together we will compile quite the canon of "Great Music" and, who knows, maybe inspire each other to check out some new artists (or to revisit old forgotten classics).

This week - the albums of 2001

 

[axolotl]

What glib and ignorant thing could be said about 2001, except that they made a movie about it?

https://rateyourmusic.com/charts/top/album/2001

 

[patrikc325]

Buddy Guy - Sweet Tea

 

[Mattafett]

WarHorse - As Heaven Turns to Ash...

One of the defining records of Stoner Metal, this record is low, slow, and heavy.

 

[lpfreak1170]

Drive-By Truckers - Southern Rock Opera

 

[LeslieC]

Better Than Ezra - Closer

 

[Unsomnambulist]

The Strokes - Is This It

 

[Worm]

Man a busy weekend including Jazz Fest

 

[Old Uncle Toe]

Tough year. There is very little for me to highlight here. I might have picked the Buddy Guy, just because it's Buddy Guy, or Nacho Vegas, because I love the name. But no, I picked...

Bob Dylan - Love and Theft



In the 80's and 90's Bob and I kind of lost each other. After the wonderful Blood On The Tracks and Desire and maybe Street Legal he just kind of wandered in a direction that didn't do much for me. This album began the repair of our relationship. The band is good. The production is sharp and not overcrowded. Bob's voice is pretty rough, but to be honest I prefer it to his nasal tone back in the Nashville Skyline days. The album has a nice variety of styles. Not my favorite Bob Dylan album, but one worth owning and better than pretty much anything else released this year - IMHO, of course.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

The White Stripes - White Blood Cells

I do enjoy the Strokes, but really no contest for me - this album had immediate "Wow" factor for me despite hearing it after age 35 at a more skeptical, more practical and less impressed age for hearing new music. I go back and forth between this and Elephant as to which is their best.

Was delighted that Jack White mixed White Stripes and solo stuff when I saw him this weekend. My daughter was unfamiliar with White and when he started inserting high pitched whoops and comments about squirrels and him being a vampire at the concert, my daughter looked at me like "Who have you brought me to see"
I explained to him he's a flaky guy that makes great music.

 

[Ojai Sam]

I'm waiting for @axolotl this year. :nunja:

 

[axolotl]

I'm waiting for @axolotl this year. :nunja:

Why am I the fall guy? This is a tough year for me.

Spoiler

Edit: I won't pick what I chose the first two cycles. I am quite clear that the compilation came out in 2006, although the music was recorded and arrived in two parts in 2001.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Why am I the fall guy? This is a tough year for me.

Spoiler

Edit: I won't pick what I chose the first two cycles. I am quite clear that the compilation came out in 2006, although the music was recorded and arrived in two parts in 2001.

Being a style setter is a heavy burden.

Spoiler

But thanks for the tip.

 

[Ojai Sam]

The Be Good Tanyas - Blue Horse

Surprise! I'm on time with this week's pick and it's one of my faves.

AMG sez:

Whatever the medium, the Be Good Tanyas have a knack for recharging traditional pieces with a sonic twist. Who would even think to take on a warhorse like "The Coo Coo Bird" or add electric guitar and drums to "Rain and Snow?" Frazey Ford, Samantha Parton, and Trish Klein sing, play multiple instruments (acoustic and electric), and, now and then, write their own material. They fill out their sound with a number of guests who add bass, drums, and a few other embellishments.

 

[axolotl]

^ Love this album. Nice choice, Sam.

I'm still churning mine.

 

[axolotl]

Pinback ~ Blue Screen Life



Robertdale Rulon Crow Jr's and Armistead Burwell Smith IV's second album as Pinback is a jewel.

Pitchfork got it wrong; BBC got it right.

Excelling in layered vocal harmonies floating above complex acoustically driven soundtracks, this new Pinback release follows this trend closely. Unlike earlier material, the focus is kept clearly on the harmonies, no matter how many odd time signatures that get thrown in. Think Devo, The Cars, Modest Mouse, Can, Primus and then think of none of them.

But Pinback arent just another math/post/kraut rock band playing odd compositions for the sake of being terminally hip or to complement their black turtleneck jumpers. These guys simply write great catchy indie songs, and as complex as they may be, they do it with no visible pretence or agenda. Blue Screen Life has enough tricky time signatures to keep even the most anally retentive musician guessing what comes next, but at the same time, tracks like Prog, Concrete Seconds or the exquisite single Penelope are so pretty and eloquent that they'll be stuck in your head for weeks.

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/2gbd/

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Any picks still left out there? Time to get 'em in

 

[JazzyRandy]

Nas - Stillmatic

Tough choice between this, South, and Just Add Water, but today this gets the nod.