Mike's 2002 Music Wrap-up
January 2003
by Mike Webb

I was hoping to avoid the end of the year music wrap up because who really cares what I think. But then I thought 'what's the point of contributing to a webzine if you're not going to pontificate on the year that was.' I mean these things need to be scrutinized and then held against us in years to come when we realize how completely wrong we were. So here we go.

But, before we start, I have to admit a bit of a problem in putting a list together for this year (or any year for that matter). See, I didn't hear nearly enough music to justify putting together a 'Top 10' list. I mean, all I heard by Sigur Ros was a 7 minute streaming emo-dirge that I thought was pretty cool, but could I say theirs was one of the best albums of 2002 based on that? Right. Ditto releases by Beck, the Streets, Jay-Z, the Pretenders, Steve Earle, Flaming Lips, Cody Chestnutt, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, N.E.R.D., Norah Jones, Interpol and countless others that I'd really like to hear. Of course, I didn't hear Tom Petty or Bruuuuuuuce's latest either, but been there, done that, and their best music is WAY behind them. And I didn't hear Eminem's contributions because I refuse to lay down any amount of my hard earned cash to hear him spiel his nonsense (not because I believe in censoring him, but because he raps about shit that's just too stupid for a grown adult to listen to). Of course, I'm a walking contradiction because Em's "Without Me" and "Lose Yourself" were easily 2 of the best singles to come out in 2002, so go figure. And there were some other discs that never made it to my CD player, but I somehow managed to either see them live, see a video, get a vibe on 'em, or hear it through a friend (ala The Roots – merely a good live show that didn't inspire me to go buy the rekkid).

So just what was 2002 about musically? Well I'm an old fart now, so that talk about the return of rock was bullshit to me. In a battle between the Strokes and the Stooges, the Strokes would be stuck lying in the broken shards of their mirrors that the Stooges woulda smashed on them to do lines of coke. And hip-hop didn't seem to take any strides forward, other than to let a kid who looked like the suburban kids who make up the biggest segment of the hip-hop record buying world rule the roost and outsell everyone else this year. Country? Considering that Nashville won't claim Steve Earle as one of their own, that the Dixie Chicks don't want anything to do with Nashville, and that Garth Brooks' fans failed to buy his latest, does country even matter any more?

No – there was no dominant force in music in 2002. Em, Nelly and Avril Lavigne were the top sellers, which just reinforces my point. So basically 2002 kinda sucked on the macro level. But on the micro (i.e. me) scale, 2002 was a boon year.

For me 2002 was all about the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. It will register as a musical turning point in my life because it marks the final shifting of my musical preference from music with melodies and lyrics, to music that just flows and moves you without words. I was already on my way there when I started getting into "electronica" a few years back, but the Jazz Fest just took me in and wrapped me up like a baby in a blanket. So comfortable am I now with free form, that I'm starting to block out most singers because I'm a jaded old fart who feels (but knows that he hasn't) heard it all before.

The music at the Jazz Fest was a mix of everything, but with very little rock and roll. I mean for a quick second I thought what the hell am I doing here, but then I started dancing and forgot what the problem was. Most of the Jazz Fest artists played for the sheer joy of playing, and that feeling permeated the whole event. The highlights included: a battle of the bands between trumpeteers Irwin Mayfield & Kermit Ruffins, John Boutte, Dash Rip Rock, Henry Butler, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Charlie Hunter, Morgan Heritage, Bobby Womack, a Neville Brothers reunion, the Funky Meters, Corey Harris, Bonerama, and the final mind blowing gig of Galactic's Stanton Moore and Johnny Bladogovich. Wow.

The fact that none of these artists made my best albums list isn't a reflection of the pure joy I got from their music. I didn't get them because I didn't want to diminish the magic I got from seeing them live vs. listening to it on my stereo. Like Neil Young once said, "live music is better, bumper stickers should be issued." Or maybe I'm just cheap and lazy.

Anyway, something good had to happen in 2002, and these are some of my personal highlights:

Best album of 2002: Brendan Benson, "Lapalco." It made me sing and skip along like I was a kindergartener.

Other favorites albums of 2002: DJ Shadow "The Private Press", The Vines "The Vines", The Hives "Veni Vidi Vicious", Wilco "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot", Queens of the Stone Age "Songs For The Deaf", and the White Stripes "White Blood Cells" (ok, so I'm a year late to the party, sue me).

Favorite singles of 2002: "Without Me" & "Lose Yourself" by Eminem, "Objection (Tango)" by Shakira (really – the song arrangement is incredible), Pink's "Get The Party Started", and the acoustic version of "Soak Up The Sun" by Sheryl Crow.

Best live show of 2002 (outside of New Orleans): Prince at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center. The little bad ass started out just jamming, then played short versions of his hits, and closed it out by showing off on the piano all by his self. Maceo blowing the sax didn't hurt either. The essence of cool.

Best musical TV moment: Chuck D and Kid Rock doing a Run-DMC-Jam Master Jay tribute for VH-1. Chuck's voice still has the authority, and Kid Rock is pretty good for a rap minority. Lots of energy, the Run-DMC look, songs from 'The ABCs of Rap' songbook, and Grand Master Flash on the decks. Can't get much better than this.

Best video: Eminem "Without Me." Dre is still the mack daddy of them all, and it's hard to go wrong when you're spoofing the Batman TV show.

Musician we wish would disappear: This is probably the 4th time Michael Jackson has won this distinguished award, but the guy is downright freakish now and just needs to go away.

Biggest rock & roll loses: Joe Strummer, Jam Master Jay (Jason Mizell), Dee Dee Ramone, Lonnie Donegan (skifle originator that inspired the Beatles), Lionel Hampton, Chuck Jones (who's more rock & roll than Bugs Bunny?), and George Harrison (even though he died in 2001). Ok, and Robbin Crosby from Ratt.

Biggest disappointments: The music industry's inability to deal with the internet to make music more readily available and the Foo Fighters.

All right – that's it. Now let's hope that we can start getting record service from Indie labels so that I can put together a real top 10 list for 2003.

Peace out.

(Mike Webb is a volunteer staff writer for 2 Walls Webzine)