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	Records of the Year		Best of the Rest

Records Of The Year for 2002

1

artist Woodbine title Woodbine label Domino US release 9/17/2002 Amazon sales rank 283,897 | buy from Amazon* | | artist Website | Although Domino released Woodbine's debut in 1999 for the UK, the US got it domestically only this year. Chilled out, minimal, trippy, and extraordinarily tasty, this album (produced by Adam and Eve of Royal Trux) is also bitingly sardonic and refreshingly droll. *A portion of your purchase price will go to nonprofit human rights organizations.

2

artist The Reindeer Section title Son Of Evil Reindeer label Bright Star/PIAS America US release 8/13/2002 Amazon sales rank 4,576 | buy from Amazon* | | artist Website | The second album by a large and growing collective of Scottish pop heroes, led by Snow Patrol front man Gary Lightbody. A warm sweater for cold times. *A portion of your purchase price will go to nonprofit human rights organizations.

3

artist Luna title Romantica + Close Cover Before Striking label Jetset US release 4/23/2002 Amazon sales rank 4,411 | buy from Amazon* | | artist Website | Luna, the band Dean Wareham invented after the demise of Galaxy 500, rebirthed themselves in 2002 with a lineup shuffle and two outstanding sets of masterful rock ballads. *A portion of your purchase price will go to nonprofit human rights organizations.

4

artist Lambchop title Is A Woman label Merge US release 2/19/2002 Amazon sales rank 6,226 | buy from Amazon* | | artist Website | Nashville singer/songwriter/composer Kurt Wagner outdid himself this year with a startlingly subtle mix of quiet & beautiful strangeness layered with lyrics so deep you can dive in headfirst with your eyes closed. *A portion of your purchase price will go to nonprofit human rights organizations.

5

artist Vincent Gallo title Recordings Of Music For Film label Warp US release 6/25/2002 Amazon sales rank 23,660 | buy from Amazon* | | artist Website | Actor/director/composer Vincent Gallo offered his second flim music collection this year. It includes 29 tracks of breathtaking, quiet beauty recorded from 1979 through 1988. Gallo plays guitar, piano, woodwinds, and percussion. *A portion of your purchase price will go to nonprofit human rights organizations.

6

artist Super Furry Animals title Rings Around The World label Epic/Sony US release 3/19/2002 Amazon sales rank 5,322 | buy from Amazon* | | artist Website | If an infinite number of monkeys poked their opposable thumbs at an infinite number of keyboards forever, eventually one of them would correctly spell out the word 'taste.' In a similar manner, major labels sometimes release product that's innovative, relevant, and beautiful, which is the case here. *A portion of your purchase price will go to nonprofit human rights organizations.

7

artist Ron House title Obsessed label Moses Carryout /Spirit Of Orr US release 9/3/2002 Amazon sales rank too low to register | buy from Amazon* | | artist Website | No drums, no bass, and no fiction. Obsessed tells the story of a friend’s life spiraling out of control as he clings to hope. The set is the solo debut from Ron House, who previously fronted Great Plains and Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments. *A portion of your purchase price will go to nonprofit human rights organizations.

8

artist Ciccone title All Stacked Up label Muff US release 5/27/2002 Amazon sales rank too low to register | buy from Amazon* | | artist Website | All Stacked Up is a single, not an album, but it is way too great to exclude from our top ten. It’s the second release by the unsigned London adrenaline-pop quartet. We cannot wait for Ciccone’s full length debut.... *A portion of your purchase price will go to nonprofit human rights organizations.

9

artist Missy Roback title Just Like Breathing label Hear Kitty US release 10/22/2002 Amazon sales rank 420,417 | buy from Amazon* | | artist Website | Steven Roback, the younger brother of Mazzy Star’s David Roback and bandmate with him in The Rain Parade, produced two transcendent albums this year, this one featuring his wife’s shy, artless, and stunningly emotive vocals. Simple on the surface, this is a record for fully engaged listening. *A portion of your purchase price will go to nonprofit human rights organizations.

10

artist The Long Winters title The Worst You Can Do Is Harm label Barsuk US release 2/19/2002 Amazon sales rank 100,304 | buy from Amazon* | | artist Website | The debut album from Alaska-born singer/songwriter John Roderick, made with the help of friends from Built To Spill, Harvey Danger, Sunny Day Real Estate, Death Cab For Cutie, and The Posies. *A portion of your purchase price will go to nonprofit human rights organizations.

11

artist Lone Pigeon title Concubine Rice label Domino US release 7/2/2002 Amazon sales rank 92,808 | buy from Amazon* | | artist Website | Scraps of low-fi tapes and shards of ideas form the basis of Gordon Anderson’s third solo full-length. After co-founding The Beta Band he left, suffering from a bout of mental illness. With the help of his brother he continues to make amazing music. *A portion of your purchase price will go to nonprofit human rights organizations.

12

artist Boards Of Canada title Geogaddi label Warp US release 2/19/2002 Amazon sales rank 1,874 | buy from Amazon* | | artist Website | Geogaddi is the second album by the Scotland-based electronica duo of Michael Sandison and Marcus Eoin. Each of the synthetic instrumental voices on this album has more personality than all them pop pinups strung together. *A portion of your purchase price will go to nonprofit human rights organizations.

13

artist Seaworthy title The Ride label Jetset US release 1/22/2002 Amazon sales rank 111,047 | buy from Amazon* | | artist Website | A solo project from Athens, Georgia’s Josh McKay of Macha and Emperor Moth. The Ride contains 45 minutes of vertigo-inducing beauty revealed in endless gauzy layers of psychedelic intensity. *A portion of your purchase price will go to nonprofit human rights organizations.

14

artist Wilco title Yankee Hotel Foxtrot label Nonesuch/Warner Brothers US release 4/23/2002 Amazon sales rank 99 | buy from Amazon* | | artist Website | A sublime album, lyrically and musically. See the description for our number 6 record (Rings Around The World by SFA). *A portion of your purchase price will go to nonprofit human rights organizations.

15

artist The Lookyloos title Perhaps The Most Satisfying Joy Left To Us In An Age So Limited And Vulgar As Our Own label Lather Records US release 10/8/2002 Amazon sales rank 364,304 | buy from Amazon* | | artist Website | A northern-Cali take on New Zealand rock, reminiscent of both the Jean Paul Sartre Experience and The Chills—but completely fresh. Emotionally exuberant without any pretension. *A portion of your purchase price will go to nonprofit human rights organizations.

16

artist Cry Baby Cry title Jesus Loves Stacey label Skoda US release 1/22/2002 Amazon sales rank 360,461 | buy from Amazon* | | artist Website | The full-length debut by this Washington, DC quartet (once known as The Blisters) balances the extreme visceral pump of acts like The Make-Up and The Hives with the sort of cerebral explorations you might expect from Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 or avant-garde jazz composer/vocalist Karen Mantler. *A portion of your purchase price will go to nonprofit human rights organizations.

17

artist Radar Brothers title And The Surrounding Mountains label Merge US release 5/7/2002 Amazon sales rank 13,163 | buy from Amazon* | | artist Website | The LA trio’s long-awaited third LP is a slow, creamy blend of Beach Boys melodies, King Crimson grandeur, and Pink Floyd mystery—nicely spiced with recordings of insect sounds from the fields around front man Jim Putnam’s home studio. *A portion of your purchase price will go to nonprofit human rights organizations.

18

artist Smart Brown Handbag title Fast Friends label Stonegarden Records US release 10/15/2002 Amazon sales rank not sold on Amazon | Buy CD | | artist Website | LA guitar-rock trio Smart Brown Handbag’s strengths are their intensely personal lyrics and their performance which tells you that yes, they mean it. Fast Friends’ low-fi, simple presentation is massively deceptive, concealing the piercing irony and pathos of these songs.

19

artist Dora Flood title Welcome label self-released US release 5/1/2002 Amazon sales rank not sold on Amazon | Buy CD | | artist Website | Welcome, the band’s third album, merges a fully-fleshed, major-label production aesthetic with a fully-DIY, brazen artistic independence. They got some help with the final mix from engineer Dave Schiffman (P.O.D., Rage Against The Machine, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Johnny Cash).

20

artist Blow Up Hollywood title Blow Up Hollywood label self-released US release 5/7/2002 Amazon sales rank not sold on Amazon | Buy CD | | artist Website | New York based nine-piece Blow Up Hollywood refuse to reveal their exact location or the identities of their members. Atmospheric, primordial, and immediate, this is more of a zen-state-inducing drug than a slow pop album. Headphones recommended.