Revisionism: Year End List (2002)

I've decided to take up the rather embarassing task of looking back on and revising some of my year-end lists of the past. I say 'embarassing' because... well, just look.

Top 10 of 2002 (Original List)
Original Post

10. John Reuben - Hindsight (okay, so I'm wondering just how many CDs I listened to in 2002. I remember being pretty disappointed with this CD. I'm not sure how it got on my list - I'm thinking the bottom few spots were pretty random.)

9. Souljahz - The Fault is History (I mean, seriously... how else do you acount for this?? I remember thinking maybe 2 songs off of this CD were 'okay'. The fact that this is at number 9 has always baffled me. I can't imagine CDs that would've have been bumped from the list in order to make room for these.)

8. 12 Stones - 12 Stones (There's a couple of decent songs on this CD, but there's a LOT of skippable post-grunge and mediocre alt-rock.)

7. 38th Parallel - Turn the Tides (I used to be sort of into rap-rock. Good Lord, this was only 6 years ago???)

6. Linkin Park - Reanimation (This one's not SO bad. I mean, it wouldn't make the top 20 now, but there were a few perfectly serviceable tracks on here. There's a lot of filler, though.)

5. Pax217 - Engage (I used to like this one quite a bit. I listened to it a while back, and it hasn't aged well at all.)

4. 30 Seconds to Mars - 30 Seconds to Mars (I still like this one better than 'A Beautiful Lie'.)

3. Chevelle - Wonder What's Next (It's still their best one.)

2. Grits - The Art of Translation (They have their good moments, and I still like this CD, but too often they sound like a less-adventurous Outkast; particularly on 'Seriously'.)

1. Blindside - Silence (Wow. Number 1? I remember enjoying this, but I can't imagine ever liking it enough to put it at number 1)


It was actually a pretty good year for music - some of my all-time favorite CDs come from that year - but you wouldn't know it from looking at that list. Here's the new-and-improved version.

2002 Revised list

10. Lacuna Coil - Comalies

9. Eminem - The Eminem Show (Even if he was running out of ways to be provocative, he still had moments of brilliance here.)

8. Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head ('Viva la Vida' has made me take a look back at all of Coldplay's previous output with renewed interest. 'Parachutes' and 'X+Y' still sound pretty generic, but this one is actually pretty fresh).

7. Chevelle - Wonder What's Next

6. Mewithoutyou - [A-->B] Life (They may have smoother some of the edges down a bit and tightened up the lyrics on subsequent releases - all of which are fantastic - but they never sounded more firey than here.)

5. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot it in People (It's rightly labelled a classic. Every song works, which is quite a feat, all things considered.)

4. Project 86 - Truthless Heroes (Cynicism and sarcasm abound. Truthless Heroes paints a portrait of American pop culture that's almost impossibly bleak. I strongly disliked this CD when I first heard it. Truth be told, I wasn't ready for it.)

3. Quarashi - Jinx (There is absolutely no reason to put this CD this high up, except it's one of the most enjoyable albums I've ever heard.)

2. Sigur Rós - ( ) (It's all sung in a made up language, no liner notes or song names, tracks that run upwards of 13 minutes - how is this music that popular? Because it's the most haunting music I think I've ever heard. People called this one "funereal", and I'd have to agree, but Track 8 is still one of the most cathartic musical experiences ever.)

1. ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead - Source Tags and Codes (ToD took their earlier 'rough around the edges' material and refined it. The result is possibly my favorite CD ever. The album has near perfect pacing - blasting when it can, softening when it needs to. All albums should have this mix of intensity, passion, and abandon.)


Tomorrow I'll take a look at 2003.