2001 in Review: 2001 Rang with Good Rock
By: By Chris Macias -- Bee Pop Music Writer - Sacramento Bee
December 30th 2001 9:25am
Call 2001 the year of the big comedown. While 2000 was filled with super-selling CDs from 'N Sync, Backstreet Boys, Eminem and Limp Bizkit -- each of which sold more than 1 million copies in their debut weeks -- pop music came back to earth in 2001. This year, 'N Sync's "Pop" was the only album to move more than a million units in seven days, and the recording industry overall fell into a slump. Music sales were down about 5 percent, and concert attendance was soft even before the cancellation of many tours following Sept. 11. Still, the year was filled with its share of bright spots. Upstart female artists had a strong year, with solid sales and acclaim for Nelly Furtado and Alicia Keys, while Weezer and System of a Down kept the rock scene churning with fresh sounds. Here's a look at 10 albums from 2001 that kept pop music inspired, adventurous and, in the end, just plain funky: 1. "Weezer," Weezer (Geffen): Though known as "the green album," this is the effort that brought Weezer back in the black. Loaded with high-powered melodies and airtight songwriting, "Weezer" is the euphoric flip side to the band's ill-tempered -- and commercially sluggish -- 1996 album, "Pinkerton." There simply isn't a weak song in this bunch. From the sunny guitar buzz of "Don't Let Go," the album's opener, to the uber-punchy "O Girlfriend," "Weezer" is a mighty power-chord of a record. The sumptuous multipart harmonies in "Photograph" do Brian Wilson proud, while "Glorious Day" yearns and burns with its singalong stylings. Whether Rivers Cuomo is musing oh-so cryptically about lost loves or daydreaming about earthly delights ("Island in the Sun"), "Weezer" is smart enough to tickle your inner nerd, yet heavy enough for headbanging. At 28 minutes in track time, "Weezer" whips by in about the same length as a "Happy Days" episode. In terms of its size, "Weezer" might pale in comparison to other releases, but pound-for-pound it's the most consistently flavorful release of 2001. 2. "Love and Theft," Bob Dylan (Columbia): Rock music's poet laureate hits a new peak at the age of 60. "Love and Theft" houses Bob Dylan at his best, filled with wry ruminations on relationships ("Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum") and rugged singing that both croaks and croons. Even if you don't dig Dylan's sinusy, heavy vocals, the album brims with mighty fine musicianship. It's an effort that thumbs its nose at most modern music styles, opting for rustic adventures in folk and country, and old-time rock and blues. The old hip-hop phrase "I'm just chillin' like Bob Dylan" could refer to the relaxed confidence of such breezy tunes as "Moonlight" and "Floater (Too Much To Ask)." Still, Dylan and his backing band chug with horsepower to spare as they plow through the jump-blues of "Summer Days" and the slow, dirty boogie of "Lonesome Day Blues." "Love And Theft" stands near the top of Dylan's illustrious catalog for its focus and inspired playing. 3. "Essence," Lucinda Williams (Lost Highway): Welcome to the year's most intimate affair. With an earthy vibrato that seems coated in molasses, singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams presents a knockout collection of sadly beautiful songs. The emotional starkness of "Lonely Girls" and wistful reflections in "Bus to Baton Rouge" hit right in the gut, while Williams' lyrics are masterfully uncluttered in the exquisite "I Envy the Wind" ("I envy the wind/ that whispers in your hair/ that howls through the winter/ that freezes your fingers"). The album's slow-moving vibe is balanced by a few up-tempo moments ("Get Right With God"), but overall, "Essence" burns with a quiet, lump-in-your-throat intensity. 4. "Toxicity," System of a Down (Columbia): Here is an especially brainy and bombastic effort in a land of lunkhead heavy-metal outfits. While System of a Down's chunky, scooped-midrange guitar riffs are straight from the school of 1980s-era Metallica, the band seamlessly balances its testosterone tugs with sinewy Eastern melodies and dulcet passages with piano. Combined with thoughtful, issue-oriented lyrics ("Science," "Prison Song") and stentorian, Freddie Mercury-esque singing, SOAD sonically smacks metal fans upside the head with gargantuan grooves and then plants some provoking thoughts. Is this 2001's answer to "Master of Puppets"? 5. "Miss E ... So Addictive," Missy Elliot (Elektra): Sure, Missy Elliot's "Get Ur Freak On" might be one of the year's most played-out singles, but man, does that tune have a tasty beat. The combo of tabla drums with a sumptuous, stuttering drum loop is a funky trip to Kashmir for the hip-hop set. Chalk up this inventiveness to the dynamic duo of Elliot and her producer extraordinaire, Timbaland,who have a Midas touch when it comes to pushing hip-hop's musical envelope. Overall, "Miss E ... So Addictive" brims with rhythmic change-ups, such as the mix of a four-on-the-floor house stomp with jiggy R&B on "My People." With a dash of sass and funky beats by the pound, the album satisfies rap fans who are jonesing for something fresh. 6. "Comfort Eagle," Cake (Columbia): Sometime-Sacramento band Cake squeezes tasty pop music styles through a proverbial frosting funnel on "Comfort Eagle." Tijuana Brass-styled trumpet, sinewy synthesizers and honkin' guitars are all fair game for John McCrea and company. And for its multilayered approach, "Comfort Eagle" is perhaps the band's most cohesive album. From the loopy fun of "Meanwhile, Rick James ..." to the take on skewed relationships between professional musicians and their parent companies (the melodically crafty "Commissioning a Symphony in C"), Cake's musical vision and lyrical barbs remain tangy as ever. Flavors-of-the-week come and go, but there's always room for Cake. 7. "David Axelrod," David Axelrod (Mo' Wax/Beggar's Group): The name David Axelrod might not mean much to average music fans, but for hip-hop producers looking for tasty samples, Axelrod's tunes are the sound of gold (see Lauryn Hill's "Every Ghetto, Every City" and Eminem's "Any Man"). The music on "David Axelrod" spans nearly four decades. With rhythm tracks first created in 1968, the multi-instrumentalist and former Capitol Records producer builds upon this previously unreleased music, filling out the wide-reaching project with musicians including rapper Ras Kaas, singer Lou Rawls and saxophonist Ernie Watts. In the end, it's a vibrant, cinematic effort with a wonderful mesh of string sections, woodwinds and groovy guitars. "David Axelrod" is an urban opus that could captivate both fans of orchestral music and the hip-hop nation. 8. "Argument," Fugazi (Dischord): Fugazi's integrity stretches beyond its propensity for $5 shows and low list prices for CDs (the 11-track "Argument" retails for about $12). Over the course of its 13-year career, the post-punk band has blasted away at any musical complacency by changing its sound. "Argument" strikes an authoritative balance between the band's bombastic and experimental sides. On "Full Disclosure," pop-styled vocal harmonies merge with angular guitars and a raging delivery from guitarist-singer Guy Picciotto. Guitar lines snake throughout the album, cellos make their way in the mix, and the band explores myriad moods -- from introspection to flat-out anger -- with a captivating end result. "Argument" makes a solid case that Fugazi is still on top of its game. 9. "Rock Action," Mogwai (Matador): Kick back, relax and take an ethereal musical journey with Mogwai. The Glasgow-based band fuses a Sonic Youth-like appreciation for white noise and dissonance with tender guitar and string swells, resulting in the dreamy and haunting "Rock Action." The slow-burning dynamics and cerebral vibe on "Sine Wave" alone are almost worth the price of admission. But the band's flair for ebb-and-flow and lush melodies percolates throughout the album, especially on such impressionistic tunes as "2 Rights Make 1 Wrong.""Rock Action" is a 38-minute trek through a sonic netherworld, and it's a trip well worth taking. 10. "Uneasy Listening (Against the Grain Vol. 1)," Z-Trip and DJ P (self-released): Want to hear the missing link between Pink Floyd and "Planet Rock"? Armed with a few turntables and a whole lot of vinyl albums, Z-Trip and DJ P forge the unlikeliest of sources into seamless combos, including a layering of Bruce Hornsby and the Range's "The Way It Is" with Run-D.M.C.'s "It's Like That." On paper, these combinations might sound, well, wack. But this cut-and-paste potpourri of pop music -- with dashes of scratching and turntable trickery -- gives new life to songs that you've already heard umpteen times. Don't be fooled by the title. "Uneasy Listening" houses some of the most ingenious mixing you'll ever hear. (Note that this CD is a bit harder to find than the average release. However, it can be ordered online through www.djpmix.com and www.turntablelab.com , while San Francisco's Amoeba Records sometimes has the disc in stock.) Honorable mention: * "Beautifulgarbage," Garbage (Interscope) * "Tonight and Forever," Sense Field (Nettwerk) * "Requiem for Adam: The Philosopher's Hand," Kronos Quartet and Terry Riley (Nonesuch) * "Blue Screen Life," Pinback (Ace Fu) * "Everybody Got Their Something," Nikka Costa (Virgin) * "How I Do," Res (MCA) * "Get Ready," New Order (Warner Bros.) * "Not for Nothin'," Dave Holland Quintet (ECM). To see more of the Sacramento Bee, or to subscribe, go to http://www.sacbee.com
 Copyright 2001 Sacramento Bee. All Rights Reserved.
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