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Maximum R&R, etc.

22 reasons why music doesn't suck

by Bob Gulla

Guy Clark

If I've heard it once, I've heard it every day for the last five years. "Today's music sucks. There's nothing good out. How come nobody makes good records?" There's a sense among many music enthusiasts that no one knows how to write and record good music anymore. But the reality is, at least for my thirtysomething friends, that music simply doesn't mean as much to them anymore. They've outgrown the fanaticism they once had, the impulses that urged them to buy a new 7" the day it came out. They've outgrown the idea of music as an excitable power, something that could help you through a day. They've discovered as their responsibilities increase there are more important things on which to spend money and time. Of course, they won't admit to the fact that they just can't be bothered taking time to search through the bins, scouring fanzines for hidden gems, and scanning the web for bands that might help them see music anew. That would mean they weren't "hip" anymore.

Instead they use excuses; they complain about the state of rock music and how bands today aren't nearly as good as bands they grew up loving. But what they really mean is they're disappointed that music doesn't play as important a role in their lives as it used to. The music that once lit a fire under every activity, the music that once seemed so indispensible to life, isn't even worth a trip down to the record store anymore. It's a sobering thought that has something to do with getting older. Admit it.

This is a long-winded way of saying that this year has, contrary to what many might think, been another pretty good year for music. The corporate climate certainly changed over the past year and most young bands' balls are getting squeezed pretty good when it comes to putting out and distributing records, but if you look around, make the effort, the music you'll find will still invigorate and encourage you. Then again, if all you listen to is FM rock radio and all you watch is MTV, I can see where you'd disagree, but widen the focus a little and see what comes into view.

The following is a list of independent and independent-minded releases that slipped into record stores under the radar and pretty much remained there. While you won't find inspired and highly-noticed efforts like Rage's Battle of Los Angeles and Stone Temple Pilots' No.4, you will find less publicized major label releases sprinkled throughout this list, too.

Boo Radleys: Kingsize (The Music Cartel)
The Flaming Lips: Soft Bulletin (Warner Bros.)
Now broken up, Martin Carr and the Boo Radleys made some incredibly inventive rock and roll over the years and Kingsize, their final attempt at commercial recognition, is a landmark work of rich, symphonic rock. Ditto for the Flaming Lips, who may not break up any time soon, but have their sites set on recording -- by mistake, most likely -- the great American rock album.

Olivia Tremor Control: Black Foliage: Animation Music by the Olivia Tremor Control (Flydaddy)
What began as a stoned lark among friends now represents some of independent music's most credible and talented conceptualists. Long live artistic freedom!

Tom Waits: Mule Variations (Epitaph)
Most everyone who listens to music for a living has voted this one in as a contender for Record of the Year, which likely doesn't mean much to anyone outside the journalistic community. But the record is a fine, if obvious, look at the best aspects of Waits's erudite-barfly songwriting persona.

Jason Falkner: Can You Still Feel? (Elektra)
Matthew Sweet: In Reverse (Volcano)
Joe Henry: Fuse (Mammoth)
This trio of perennially and tragically overlooked pop songwriters could singlehandedly keep the flame of perfect pop music alive; Falkner with his taste, Henry with his unique sense of style, and Sweet with his soulful instincts and visceral feel.

Gomez: Liquid Skin (Virgin)
Youthful and spontaneous, Gomez doesn't spend much time limiting themselves to the ambiguous parameters of pop music. Rather they allow themselves to be taken wherever a song demands. The musical freedom they espouse is palpable and the result is formidable.

Cafe Bleu Presents Who What Where How & When (Modern World Recordings)
Eighteenth Street Lounge Music Presents Easy Tempo (8th Street Lounge Music)
Two collections of pop, created on opposite sides of the world -- Cafe Bleu in Los Angeles, Easy Tempo in Italy -- that provide constant affirmation that all is not lost in the world of modern and alt.rock. Either of these -- the latter is a vibrant new lounge comp -- is guaranteed to put a smile on your face and a (new) song in your heart.

Mountain Heart (Doobie Shea)
Leftover Salmon: The Nashville Sessions (Hollywood)

Hands down, bluegrass is the fastest growing of America's indigenous music styles, and these two records -- heartstoppingly dexterous, soulfully rendered, and absolutely beautiful -- are excellent reasons why.

Peter Himmelman: Love Thinketh No Evil (Koch)
Like so many pure songwriters before him, Peter Himmelman is forever doomed to achieve less than he deserves, but that doesn't stop this gargantuan talent from making consistently brilliant records, even if he's certain he and a handful of friends will be the only ones to hear them.

Emperor: Equilibrium IX (Century Media)
Moonspell: The Butterfly Effect (Century Media)
Entombed: Same Difference (Earache)
The best metal is no longer being made on these shores. Emperor, a black metal juggernaut from Norway, Entombed, a post-grunge powerhouse from Sweden, and Moonspell, an art-metal bunch out of Lisbon, Portugal made three of the most stunning loud rock records of the year. For those searching for something more than the pitbull rock of our not-so-poor American cousins like Korn and Limp Bizkit, check out this stuff.

Billy Nicholls: Would You Believe (Castle/Sequel)
Ronnie Lane: April Fool (New Millennium Communications)
More proof as to why the Small Faces should be universally acknowledged as the best ever rock and roll band. On the first disc, they provide back up to Billy Nicholls, who performs England's answer to Pet Sounds. On the latter, a double disc out of Japan, they accompany member Ronnie Lane on a handful of rock's most enduring cuts, including "Itchycoo Park" and "Lazy Sunday." Expensive imports, but worth it.

Guy Clark: Cold Dog Soup (Sugar Hill)
Many say that Clark is well past his best material, but a listen to this one might stop the naysayers in their tracks. This stuff is pure folk poetry, intimate in scope and charming in performance.

Cobra Verde: Nightlife (Motel)
John Petkovic, formerly of the awesome Death of Samantha, is back with the gang to prove why they're the greatest band ever to set foot out of Cleveland. Glamorous, evocative, and full-throttle rock.

Sebadoh: The Sebadoh (Sub Pop/ Sire)
I really wanted to write this band off as a done deal, hoping that they'd just take a hike and come back as a different band. Not so, luckily. This is their finest album since "Smash Your Head on a Punk Rock" and testament to the band's newfound songwriting vigor.

Freakwater: End Time (Thrill Jockey)
Rather than prove they're some kind of freak, Appalachian-cum-Hollywood roots-rock experiment ala Gillian Welch, Janet Beveridge Bean and Catherine Ann Irwin of Freakwater continue to search the deep backwoods for their true country roots. They find them again and again on End Time.

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