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Critics Poll 2002

Tris McCall's Picks

Best Albums:

  1. Tori Amos -- Scarlet's Walk
  2. The Streets -- Original Pirate Material
  3. Spoon -- Kill The Moonlight
  4. Gomez -- In Our Gun
  5. McLusky -- McLusky Do Dallas
  6. Nas -- God's Son
  7. Orange Peels -- So Far
  8. Oasis -- Heathen Chemistry
  9. Missy Elliott -- Under Construction
  10. Ed Harcourt -- Here Be Monsters
  11. Sarah Shannon -- Sarah Shannon
  12. Laura Cantrell -- When The Roses Bloom Again
  13. Cornershop -- Handcream For A Generation
  14. The Vitamen -- Fun
  15. Belle & Sebastian -- Storytelling
  16. Interpol -- Turn On The Bright Lights
  17. Jack Hayter -- Practical Wireless
  18. Princess Superstar -- Is
  19. Moka Only -- Flood
  20. Of Montreal -- Aldhils Arboreum

I counted Palomar II in 2001 (#4). Counted as a 2002 album it would be at #3.

Best Singles:

  1. Nas -- "Made You Look"
  2. Erykah Badu & Common -- "Love Of My Life"
  3. Alanis Morissette -- "Hands Clean"
  4. No Doubt -- "Hella Good"
  5. Missy Elliott -- "Work It"
  6. Common & Mary J. Blige -- "Come Close"
  7. The Shins -- "Know Your Onion!"
  8. 50 Cent -- "Wanksta"
  9. Enrique Iglesias -- "Escape"
  10. Ms. Jade, Timbaland & Nelly Furtado -- "Ching Ching"
  11. Thicke -- "When I Get You Alone"
  12. N.O.R.E -- "Nothin'"
  13. Michelle Branch -- "All You Wanted"
  14. No Doubt -- "Underneath It All"
  15. Ben Kweller -- "Wasted And Ready"
  16. Las Ketchup -- "Asereje"
  17. The White Stripes -- "Fell In Love With A Girl"
  18. Missy Elliott -- "Gossip Folks"
  19. Puddle Of Mudd -- "She Hates Me"
  20. Freeway, Jay-Z & Beanie Sigel -- "What We Do"

Best Album Title:

  1. Kneivel -- Your Name Rings A Bell That Drowns Out Your Voice
  2. The Walkmen -- Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone
  3. Spoon -- Kill The Moonlight

Best Album Cover:

  1. The Streets -- Original Pirate Material
  2. Spoon -- Kill The Moonlight

Best Liner Notes and Packaging:

  1. Scarlet's Walk, in a slam dunk

Most Welcome Surprise:

  1. Sarah Shannon
  2. After being disappointed with Interpol in concert, I was surprised how good Bright Lights was
  3. Giles putting out an album with James Marsters and Amber Benson on it was a surprise

Biggest Disappointment:

  1. Death By Chocolate -- Zap The World
  2. All ex-members of the Olivia Tremor Control (Sunshine Fix, Circulatory System)
  3. Considering the concept, and Echo, Tom Petty's Last DJ
  4. Eminem, who really got stupid in 2002

Album That Opens The Strongest:

  1. Ed Harcourt -- Here Be Monsters
  2. Spoon -- Kill The Moonlight

Album That Ends The Strongest:

  1. Orange Peels -- So Far
  2. Sarah Shannon
  3. McLusky Do Dallas, with "Whoyouknow" and their insane extra track

Worst Song Of The Year:

  1. LL Cool J & Amerie -- "Paradise"
  2. Dashboard Confessional -- "Screaming Infidelities"

Song of the year:

  1. Tori Amos -- "I Can't See New York"

Best Singing:

  1. Laura Cantrell
  2. Erykah Badu on "Love Of My Life"
  3. Britt Daniel from Spoon, especially "The Way We Get By"
  4. Elvis Costello on "15 Petals"
  5. McLusky had the finest inflections: "Collagen Rock!"

Best Vocal Harmonies:

  1. Orange Peels
  2. Gomez -- "Sound Of Sounds"
  3. Honestly, the Vitamen had the most harmonically sophisticated vox this year

Best Rapping:

  1. Nas
  2. Ludacris's guest shot on "Gossip Folks"
  3. Freeway, Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel -- "What We Do"

Best Bass Playing:

  1. It's not credited to anybody, but the bass playing for Cornershop was tops this year
  2. Gomez

Best Drumming:

  1. Alan White from Oasis (no kidding)
  2. Interpol
  3. Spoon
  4. The Orange Peels get a special credit for their great drum sound

Best Drum And Instrument Programming:

  1. Timbaland always wins in this category and this year is no different

Best Synth Playing/Programming:

  1. Tom Brislin from Spiraling -- especially "Transmitter"
  2. No Doubt -- "Hella Good"
  3. Timbaland for much of the synth stuff on side two of Under Construction

Best Piano/Organ/Electric Piano:

  1. Kori Gardner of Mates Of State
  2. Tori Amos performs solidly but not as spectacularly as usual on Scarlet's Walk, which isn't really about her playing

Best Rhythm Guitar Playing:

  1. Britt Daniel from Spoon -- nobody currently recording knows better how to use guitars

Best Lead Guitar Playing:

  1. John Graboff -- pedal steel and electric guitar for Laura Cantrell
  2. Larry Winther from the Orange Peels

Best Use Of A Non-Traditional Rock Instrument

  1. Clinic -- nice melodica work!

Best Instrumental Solo:

  1. Matt Fronke's flugelhorn solo on "I'll Run Away", from Sarah Shannon. I thought this was an absurd, idiosyncratic choice, until I saw that Steven Matrick had also voted for it. Sure, we're both ridiculous, but a coincidence like that can't be completely written off.
  2. Tommy Strazza -- the best instrumental solo I saw live, at the Stone Pony

Best Instrumentalist:

  1. Kori Gardner from Mates Of State

Best Arrangement:

  1. Badly Drawn Boy -- "Something To Talk About"
  2. Ed Harcourt -- "She Fell Into My Arms"
  3. Sarah Shannon -- everything On Sarah Shannon
  4. Mates Of State -- amazing two-person arrangements

Best Production:

  1. Timbaland -- everything he did this year, especially "Ching Ching", "Work It", and "Oops!"
  2. Spoon -- Kill The Moonlight
  3. The Neptunes win the ubiquity award, but "Grindin'" is great

Most Thoroughly Botched Production Job:

  1. Linda Thompson needed less NPR in her mix
  2. Cinerama's Torino -- too much midrange guitar!
  3. It's testament to the greatness of Scarlet's Walk that it's undeniable, even though the production is so crummy

Best Lyrics On Individual Songs:

  1. Belle & Sebastian -- "Storytelling"
  2. The Streets -- "Weak Become Heroes"
  3. Tori Amos -- "Amber Waves"
  4. The Vitamen -- "The Richer My Dad Gets"
  5. Milton -- "This Is The Town"
  6. Tori Amos -- "Scarlet's Walk" (though the portrayal of Native Americans is a little hokey)
  7. Nas -- "Get Down"
  8. The Streets -- "Geezers Need Excitement"
  9. Mishka Shubaly -- "Hellbound"
  10. Cornershop -- "Wogs Will Walk"

Best Lyrics Over The Course Of A Full Album:

  1. Tori Amos -- Scarlet's Walk
  2. The Streets -- Original Pirate Material
  3. Nas -- God's Son
  4. McLusky Do Dallas
  5. Allen Clapp from the Orange Peels had the most deceptively good lyrics

Best Songwriting:

  1. Hmm... I can't believe I'm putting this, but Sarah Shannon
  2. Allen Clapp from the Orange Peels

Best Sounding Record/Album:

  1. Belle & Sebastian -- Storytelling

Best Live Shows You Saw in 2002:

  1. Belle & Sebastian @ The Hammerstein Ballroom
  2. Milton @ CBGB Gallery
  3. The Clientele @ Maxwell's
  4. Mates Of State @ Maxwell's
  5. Baby Dayliner July 31 @ Luxx (Well, that was the crunkest, anyway)
  6. The Negatones @ The Wilmington Exchange
  7. The Candy Darlings Say Farewell @ Luxx
  8. Metric @ Luxx
  9. The Giraffes performance @ the Damien Paris tribute night
  10. Double-Breasted @ The Cutting Room
  11. The Realistics ("We are here to entertain you!") @ Maxwell's
  12. All amazing Cropduster living room performances! Yow!
  13. The Anderson Council at the Crophouse
  14. Miracle of '86 @ The Mercury Lounge

I've barely even scratched the surface here. Thanks, everybody, for 2002.

Best Bill:

  1. Dave Spalding/Oranges Band/Miracle of '86/Palomar/Lilys @ Mercury Lounge
  2. The final Crophouse parties... wah.

Best Music Video:

  1. Missy Elliott -- "Gossip Folks"
  2. The Chemical Brothers -- "The Test"
  3. Missy Elliott -- "Work It"
  4. Common & Mary J. Blige -- "Come Close"
  5. Puddle Of Mudd -- "She Hates Me"

Best Guest Appearance:

  1. Ludacris gets a lifetime achievement award, already

Sexiest People In Pop Music 2002:

  1. Sarah Shannon (somebody shoot me)
  2. Gwen Stefani
  3. Jennifer Lopez
  4. Alicia Keys
  5. Tori Amos, just for being so smart

Worst Video:

  1. Eminem -- "Lose Yourself". Worst accompanying ideology, anyway.

Worst Singing:

  1. That awful falsetto on OK Go's "Get Over It" is like nails on a blackboard
  2. New Found Glory

Worst Rapping:

  1. Linkin Park has cornered this

Worst Lyrics:

  1. Christina Aguilera -- "Dirrty"
  2. Papa Roach -- "She Loves Me Not"

Rookie Of The Year:

The Streets

Worst Song On A Good Album:

The obvious choice is Sarah Shannon's very bobo "When You Live Life Alone", but I can't really say it's worse than "What's Mine" from the same ridiculously uneven album. The truth is all the Sarah Shannon songs have their charms, and besides, I'm a little nuts when it comes to Sarah Shannon, in case you haven't noticed. My vote is for Ed Harcourt's "Beneath The Heart Of Darkness".

Best Song On A Weak Album:

The Selby Tigers -- "Dolph Indicator"

2002 Album You Listened To The Most:

Orange Peels -- So Far

2002 Album That Wore Out The Quickest:

Lone Pigeon -- Concubine Rice

Song That Got Stuck In Your Head The Most This Year:

"Every Single Thing" by the Orange Peels, and "Either/Or" by Palomar. "Wanksta" is a contender, but it was only really a few lines from it that got stuck (though it was for the better part of december).

Artist You Don't Know But You Know You Should:

Fischerspooner. I should have gotten the Clipse album, since all the singles were great.

Album That Felt Most Like An Obligation To Get Through:

Linda Thompson -- Fashionably Late

Most Romantic Song:

C'mon, I know it's cheesy, but "Come Close" by Common really is romantic! Also "It's Too Late" by The Streets

Funniest Song:

Of Montreal -- "Isn't It Nice?" McLusky had the funniest album.

Most Frightening Song:

"I Can't See New York"

Saddest Song:

"Tart" or "15 Petals". All of Elvis Costello When I Was Cruel was really sad.

Best Cover Version:

Giles (seriously!) doing "We Can Work It Out". Actually, anybody who's watched BTVS knows he's a good singer. Best live cover was Miracle of '86 doing "Range Life".

Most Unwelcome Cover:

Kelly Osborne -- "Papa Don't Preach"

Best Backing Vocals:

Blake Wescott, all over Sarah Shannon. He really does sound like James Taylor.

Song That Would Drive You Craziest On Infinite Repeat:

"Ching Ching"

Most Consistent Album:

Missy Elliott -- Under Construction

Most Vertiginously Inconsistent Album:

Sarah Shannon

The Best Recorded Musical Moments of 2002:

The entrance of the deep muffled saxes on Gomez's "Even Song". The slide guitar at the end of verse two of "I Can't See New York". The horn riot at the conclusion of Sarah Shannon, "Can't You See". Verse two of McLusky's "Gareth Brown Says" and the end of verse two of "Made You Look" -- great, fleeting, fragmentary lyrical moments.

Most Overrated Artist:

The Roots

Song/Album That Should Have Been Shorter:

The Circulatory System

Song/Album You Wish Could Have Been Longer:

Storytelling

Album That Turned Out To Be A Whole Hell Of A Lot Better Than You Initially Thought It Was:

Jack Hayter's Practical Wireless

Album That Was The Most Fun To Listen To:

Orange Peels -- So Far

Song/Album You Feel Cheapest About Liking:

"Polyamorous" by Breaking Benjamin. Also, I feel cheap for liking La La, the VJ who does the Rap Countdown on MTV2, as much as I do...

Hoary Old Bastard Who Should Spare Us All And Retire:

This will sound heartless because of the death of Lisa Lopez, but TLC had run out of gas long before that happened. But the real answer here has got to be Ozzy Osbourne.

Young Upstart Who Should Be Sent Down To The Minors For More Seasoning:

Norah Jones. Why does my answer to this question always go on to sweep all the Grammys?

2001 Album You Re-Evaluated In 2002:

Trembling Blue Stars -- Alive To Every Smile. I now would give that album five (trembling blue) stars.

2002 Album You'll Probably Re-Evaluate in 2003:

Turn On The Bright Lights, though I couldn't say if it will be up or down.

Most Inappropriately-Named Album Or Artist:

Stratford 4 -- The Revolt Against Tired Noises

Most Overplayed Song:

"Hot In Herre". Not that it didn't deserve all the play.

Sexiest Song:

"Crazy" from Scarlet's Walk

Most Unsexy Person In Pop Music:

The frontman of Papa Roach

Most Unwelcome Trends of 2002:

The cultural embargo

Place The Next Pop Music Boom Will Come From:

Geezers' bedrooms

Will Still Be Making Good Records In 2012:

Laura Cantrell

Will Be A One-Hit Wonder Band (Las Ketchup doesn't count):

The Hives

Biggest Musical Trend Of 2003:

Emo-pop and whiny pop-punk 'til midsummer. after that, it's all about The Streets, and comparable artists. 2003, year of the geezer.

Best Album Of 2003?:

Whatever Hefner does next

 

Is it worth it? You can work it. Put your thang down, flip it, and reverse it.