(This post is part of Frequency’s coverage of the best music of the past decade. You can see all of that coverage in one place by clicking here. And be sure to tune in Dec. 18, when I’ll post “Near/Far,” our annual, downloadable MP3 compilation of the best music of 2009, to go along with our year-in-review package in that day’s GO! Magazine.)
Music history is littered with under-appreciated power-pop bands and records that deserved better. For every act that broke out of this insular genre — Cheap Trick, the Raspberries, Fountains of Wayne — there are dozens that, for whatever reason, couldn’t make their guitar-crunchy, ultra-catchy tunes connect with the masses. (There’s an excellent overview here.) And so, power-pop auteurs are often viewed as oddball geniuses, crafting power-chord progressions and hook after hook in basement lairs under the watchful eyes of The Beatles and The Who posters in a quixotic quest for the perfect melody.
There are no fewer than four amazing (mostly) power-pop records on my list of 2002′s best albums; Brendan Benson, Ben Kweller, The Mayflies USA and Superdrag each released records packed wall to wall with solid, guitar-based rock. Which is good, because their energy was needed to counteract what was otherwise a year of downers: Beck released his ode to a crumbling relationship. So did John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats. Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes bleated his way through an epic of self-loathing. The Decemberists and Dixie Chicks each put out the most downcast records of their careers, and the world was introduced to the fragile whispers of Sam Beam, aka Iron & Wine.
The most important musical event of the year, however, was one that many people had already been listening to for months. Wilco’s “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” — delayed by label problems and leaked to the Internet by the band before it was officially released — is not only one of the best albums of 2002, but also a turning point in the way we consume music. More on that next week…
Bobby Bare Jr., “The Young Criminals Starvation League”
Beck, “Sea Change”
Brendan Benson, “Lapalco”
Bright Eyes, “Lifted or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground”
Broken Social Scene, “You Forgot It In People”
The Decemberists, “Castaways and Cutouts”
Dixie Chicks, “Home”
Hot Hot Heat, “Make Up the Breakdown”
Iron & Wine, “The Creek Drank the Cradle”
Ben Kweller, “Sha Sha”
The Mayflies USA, “Walking In A Straight Line”
The Mercury Program, “A Data Learn The Language”
The Mountain Goats, “Tallahassee”
The Postal Service, “Give Up” (Oops. Released in 2003.)
Sigur Ros, “( )”
Spoon, “Kill the Moonlight”
Superdrag, “Last Call for Vitriol”
Wilco, “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”
Tags: Best of the 2000s
2002 was a good year for albums ..
Ouch… was that Postal Service album really released SEVEN years ago?!? I still listen to that often (especially as night-time driving music).
After a brief trip to Google to confirm which of my favorites were actually from 2002, I’d say you need to make room for “Songs for the Deaf” and “Phrenology”.
Funny you should say that about the Postal Service, Nels. Turns out I messed up and it was from 2003. (Still a long time ago.)
Look for a correction in the 2003 post later today!
Broken Social Scene is my favorite band, so I’m glad to see You Forgot It In People. I’d call it my album of the decade based on sheer favoritism.
Yeah, for some reason, I’ve never quite connected with BSS as much as many people have. But “You Forgot It In People” is a heck of a record.
Ack – I’m really far behind. I’m going to keep this short though I could go on and on about Broken Social Scene. I love love love You Forgot it in People. I’m with Scott and am so happy to see this album made the Best of 2002 list. This really is a great list. I’m not sure that Bobby Bare Jr. would have made my list though Young Criminals is a good album.
Ben Kweller’s Sha Sha is classic. Great album.
Here’s some REAL 2002 omissions.
The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
(Reinvented themselves, and they’ll never need the money again.)
Folk Implosion – The New Folk Implosion
(Lou Barlow’s true masterpiece, in my opinion.)
Interpol – Turn On the Bright Lights
(Say what you will about who they borrowed from, but there are some unforgettable pop moments on this album.)
John Vanderslice – Life and Death of an American Fourtracker
(Deserves to be on anyone’s best-of list if for nothing more than containing “Me and my 424.”)
Sneaker Pimps – Bloodsport
(These songs make you feel a little cruel, but in a good way.)