White Stripes
White Blood Cells

Stephen Malkmus
Stephen Malkmus
I'm a Malkmaholic, but I don't knee jerk to the guy. I was a weak defender of Terror Twilight, but this album outsings Pavement's swansong and reminds me of why I fell in love with Pavement to begin with, without sounding like early Pavement. The fun is back and Malkmus is on top of the world. I met him at a bar once. He was anxious to get away.

Clinic
Internal Wrangler
Pulsing with possibilities, the album suggests the band might do anything, including stopping all the gizmology to sing a beautiful song.

Frank Black
Dog in the Sand
All he listens to, it's all freedom rock. When Black is looked back on through the lens of quality rather than importance, people will say this was a good batch of rocking songs.

Missy Elliot
Miss E …So Addictive
I had a miserable time writing a review for this thing but I really liked it.

The Avalanches
It's a little campy and Bacharch disco, but the cascade of sounds is like, yes, an avalanche.

Radiohead
Amnesiac
I keep losing all my discs. I think I bring my CD's to other people's houses, and they don't get back home. I've got a stack of empty jewel cases, and Amnesiac's in it. I liked it when I could listen to it, though they've got to get off the whole mournful mumbling bit.

The Shins (Bonus!)
Oh Inverted World
They achieve that Pet Sounds feel not by acting all quirky and twee, but by creating a large sound in a simple context. They really sound more like the Kinks, again, without getting all Q & T.

Gorillaz
It's this year's Beck album. Totally fun. Not much depth, but who cares. Dan The Automator ought to cut ties with the irritating Del the Funky Homosapien, but the dub + everything stew is thick and delicious.

Various Artists
Colonel Jeffrey Pumpernickel
One of my favorite albums as a kid was Spiderman vs. the Wolfman. There was supposed to be a complimentary comic book, but things got lost in my household, so all I got was the record. Theremin squaks suggested action shots I couldn't see leaving me somewhat confused. At least there was narration and dialogue. Now, with Colonel Jeffrey Pumpernickel there's no comic book, narration and very little dialogue, but there is an unfathomable story about some guy who may be a robot or fight robots and there are killer caterpillars. It also has fine songs from GBV, Quasi, Grandaddy, Ann Magnuson & Dave Rick with a couple clunkers from Stephen Malkmus (See! I don't knee jerk!) and Poster Children. Ian Svenonius (Microsoft Word spellchecker suggestion: venomous), formerly of much mourned mAKE UP, sings a spellbinding and essential number for some dead guy. I think it's Pumpernickel, but I'd need the comic book.

   
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mail@freewilliamsburg.com | January 2002 | Issue 22
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