This is an excellent and compelling history of the European colonization of what became the United States up until the mid 18th century (i.e. right before the War of Independence). It is refreshingly unlike any other history of the US I’ve ever read and so I can definitely say I learned a lot. (How much …
Category: 2001
The Corrections (2001) by Jonathan Franzen
Full disclosure: I suspect that, had I read this novel when it came out, I would have loved it. I would have found it funnier then than I found it now, I wouldn’t have noticed the misogyny I wouldn’t have cared an iota about the unlikable characters, and I probably wouldn’t have been aware of …
It’s a Wonderful Life (2001) by Sparklehorse
Mark Linkous was one of the more reliable lo fi singer-songwriters of the 1990s, both for quality of songs – and relative paucity of song fragments – and for relative stylistic diversity with those songs. I’ve only heard the first two records before this one but I appreciated his diversity paired with song quality and …
Come Clean (2001) by Puddle of Mudd
This album sold 3 million copies in the US. And though it didn’t do as well anywhere else, it still went platinum in a few other English-speaking countries. And it produced multiple hit singles. Why?
No More Drama (2001) by Mary J. Blige
So, I basically only know Mary J. Blige from her hits and maybe some guest appearances. I thought I had listened to an album of hers at some point in the past but there are no reviews so I must have decided not to. I’m not really sure why, I guess I decided the combination …
All Is Dream (2001) by Mercury Rev
This record continues the chamber pop direction Mercury Rev had found in the late ’90s but it’s arguably a little bit closer to their original sound on some tracks, certainly as compared to the pervious album, Deserter’s Songs.
The Spirit Room (2001) by Michelle Branch
I know this much about Michelle Branch: I thought she was Vanessa Carlton.
8701 (2001) by Usher
I know very little about Usher beyond the hits that were so successful I couldn’t avoid them. I do remember I heard one of his songs once (something about “Confessions”) which startled me in how it was mostly just vocals, with barely other instruments. Other than that, I know nothing about him. And I wasn’t …
Time (The Revelator) (2001) by Gillian Welch
I was aware of Gillian Welch, and I think I’ve heard her sing backing vocals on other artists’ work, but I didn’t really know much about her before this. I have some vague memory I might have listened to another one of her albums once and then dropped it, simply because the reviews weren’t quite …
1st Born Second (2001) by Bilal
Is it just me or does Bilal sound like Snoop on the opening? Maybe it’s just me, but it’s weird. Anyway…
Celebrity (2001) by *NSYNC
Like, what the hell happened? This album is a quantum leap in quality from No Strings Attached. It’s not even remotely close. Some of this is actually…good. And it really makes a case that, at least sometimes, it’s good that the talent take over from the handlers in the manufactured pop music space. Because, well, …
Rings Around the World (2001) by Super Furry Animals
One of these bands that I’ve heard the name of many times but never really heard. Or maybe it’s just that the name sticks in your head. Either way, I’ve heard of them without ever hearing them, until now.
Hot Shots II (2001) by The Beta Band
Their debut was a surprising delight. I’ve since read that they may have disowned it but I really enjoyed it so I find that a little weird. (It’s been long enough that I don’t remember well enough if it was just too long or if it was too ambitious or too silly. Regardless, despite its …
Aaliyah (2001)
This is like a British LP from the ’60s where it was released around the same time as a hit single but, in order to encourage you to buy the single instead of the LP (which you presumably buy anyway?) the single is left off. (Not the American version of selling you the single twice …
Rooty (2001) by Basement Jaxx
When Basement Jazz were at their heyday, I knew basically nothing about European dance music. I’m pretty sure I thought Basement Jaxx and Daft Punk and (I’m sorry to admit) Massive Attack were all the same thing. I did not care an iota about this stuff (and stuff that didn’t sound like it, apparently!), but …
Oh, Inverted World (2001) by The Shins
I listened to Chutes Too Narrow 12 or 13 years ago, when I possibly could still remember the Garden State thing, and it made no impression on me. I haven’t listened to this band since.
The Tyranny of Distance (2001) by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
I fell like I had some vague idea of this band’s existence. The name certainly rings some kind of bell. But I certainly didn’t know that they were born as a bedroom project and the bound was founded after they were named. (Which is really more common than you would think.) Anyway, I didn’t know …
Document #8 (2001) by pageninetynine
Screamo surprised the hell out of me when it happened. I wasn’t as into post hardcore then as I am now, and I didn’t realize how long this type of music had been bubbling under the surface. I found it incredible that music that, in some ways, was so off-putting, could be so commercially viable. …
Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (2001) by Blink-182
Science this band is terrible. It’s a testament to the fact that we love the music we do due to the music we’re exposed to in our teens and early twenties that there are so many positive reviews of this album. There are plenty of totally okay, mediocre albums that get panned on Rate Your …
Essence (2001) by Lucinda Williams
Mostly, I’m much more of a fan of Williams’ aesthetic than I am of her songs. Mostly.
Poses (2001) by Rufus Wainwright
Someone called Wainwtright’s voice a “rich kid voice” and I laughed when I read it. Even though I’m Canadian and have been exposed to Wainwright more than most Americans or Brits, I still have a hard time dealing with his affect. As I wrote in my review of his first album, it’s hard to imagine …
Room for Squares (2001) by John Mayer
When I first heard “No Such Thing” it made no impression on me. I forgot about it. In fact, I didn’t realize it was John Mayer until this month. When I first heard “Your Body is a Wonderland,” my 20-year-old male self dismissed it as female fan pandering, but I was at least aware of …
Songs in A Minor (2001) by Alicia Keys
This is a pretty impressive record given Keys’ age, especially when she first started writing it, and her inexperience in the industry. It’s flawed, for sure, but I think it’s important to keep in mind how damn young she was.
Bodily Functions (2001) by Herbert
The 21st century really is the post genre century. The more and more I listen to music from this century, the more I find it hard to categorize, often individual songs but far more often with entire albums, that throw together things which do not make sense. Case in point, this record, which manages to …
Miss E…So Addictive (2001) by Missy Elliot
I have some vague memory of beginning to listen to an earlier Missy Elliot album and then deciding to stop before my three listens because it didn’t seel enough, the reviews weren’t good enough or I felt I didn’t have enough to say (I do not remember why or even which album it was). But …
Moulin Rouge! Music from Baz Luhrmann’s Film (2001) by Various Artists
I have no idea what to do with this. I haven’t seen the movie. (“Then why are you reviewing the soundtrack?!?!”) And so all I have to go on is the music.
Break the Cycle (2001) by Staind
So this is what happens when post grunge meets nu metal? Good, I needed to know. Really, I did. Imagine if you were a fan of post grunge and you were like “This just isn’t heavy enough some of the time (really, a tiny bit) and the way we should make it heavier is to …
Survivor (2001) by Desinty’s Child
I can’t quite get over the congruity (and timelessness!) of writing a song about being an independent woman, while starting off the song referencing the Charlie’s Angels remake. Because, if the idea of Charlie’s Angels was ever feminist, well it’s a pretty dated and dumb version of feminism. (Smart, capable women whose lives are controlled …
Rock Action (2001) by Mogwai
I don’t know what I would have done if I had found this Mogwai record when it came out or, honestly, any of the early Mogwai album when I first discovered post rock. I probably would have lost my mind with excitement and would be insisting to this day that it is an absolute classic. …
Set This Circus Down (2001) by Tim McGraw
All I really know about Tim McGraw is that he likes to hold his cowboy hat on his head and he’s married to Faith Hill. I assumed he was a singer-songwriter, actually.