Well this is a horny album.
Category: 2001
The Swimming Hour by Andrew Bird’s Bowl of Fire (2001)
I know very little about Andrew Bird. I actually thought he was a jazz musician, confusing him with, um, another Andrew. (Andrew Hill, apparently, which seems ridiculous.) Anyway, eventually I did figure out he was an “indie rock” musician but knew nothing else. Nothing about his principal instrument, nothing about the Squirrel Nut Zippers, nothing.
Musicforthemorningafter (2001) by Pete Yorn
It sure is a good thing I didn’t know anything about Pete Yorn and didn’t read any of the reviews about this album before I started listening to it. Because reading some of the breathless critical acclaim this received would have just about guaranteed that I wouldn’t have liked it. Fortunately, I listened first.
Drops of Jupiter (2001) by Train
I know very little about the mainstream rock music of the aughts. For the first four years, I was sequestered in rural Quebec, with very little exposure to radio and access to music video channels only sporadically (and English-language for only one year). After returning to the world for two years, I then spent the …
Acoustic Soul (2001) by india arie
I knew only one thing about india.arie before I listened to this record, her idiosyncratic stylization of her name. I thought she was older for some reason, and I didn’t know anything else. So this came as a pleasant surprise.
Gorillaz (2001)
I just read a brief review I wrote of Demon Days that I don’t even recognize, not just because I have no memory of that album but because the person who wrote it has changed so much in the interim. I wrote it 10 years ago almost to the day and it’s safe to say …
Blackwater Pater (2001) by Opeth
I’ve been struggling with Opeth for years now, trying to reconcile their reputation with what I hear on record. My biggest issue on earlier records has been the categorization of them as “progressive metal” when I’ve felt like I’ve been hearing “melodic death metal.” Now, that might seem like I’m picking nits but, as a …
Discovery (2001) by Daft Punk
I wasn’t going to review this album because the critical reviews really aren’t as good as you would think and, even more surprising, it did far less well than you think it did, commercially speaking. But I realized, what 2001 album is more relevant in 2021? Sure, they may be a couple, but this album …
When It’s All Over We Still Have to Clear Up (2001) by Snow Patrol
I know so little of Snow Patrol who are now a bit of an institution. So what I’m going to say is probably going to piss some people off. So I’m sorry.
Any Other City (2001) by Life Without Buildings
This is a fairly straight-ahead indie rock/post-punk revival album that succeeds primarily on the energy of the band and the charisma of Sue Tompkins.
Standards (2001) by Tortoise
I like the title, it’s funny.
Girls Can Tell (2001) by Spoon
There are a lot bands that I’m vaguely aware of, and feel like I should probably listen to but don’t get around to. And one reason I never get around to them is because the little exposure I get does nothing for me. Spoon is definitely one of those bands. I know people love Spoon. …
Stephen Malkmus (2001)
Stephen Malkmus’ first solo album – and, actually his first album with the Jicks but he wasn’t allowed to say so – is very much what you would expect: less weird latter Pavement. And if you like the sound of that you’ll like it.
604 (2001) by Ladytron
I’m sort of mystified by the critical acclaim of this record. It’s two women singing laconically above some electronic beats that don’t vary very much (sorry). It’s pretty long, and it’s very one-note.
Things We Lost in the Fire (2001) by Low
Low are, to the best of my knowledge, one of those bands that just go out and do their thing over and over and over again. There’s nothing wrong with that necessarily, but it makes dipping in and out of their catalogue a little difficult, because you don’t know which of their albums are really …
J. Lo (2001) by Jennifer Lopez
This is a relatively diverse dance pop/latin pop/R&B record that is sequenced oddly and is just way too damn long.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997)
When I was younger and had recently fallen in love with serialized TV dramas, I had this idea that I was going to write a book about the antecedents of the Golden Age of Television. (At first this was going to be about the Golden Age of Television, but that book already exists.) This book …
When Bad Things Happen to Good People (1981, 2001) by Harold S. Kushner
I have been incredibly lucky in my life. I was born into privilege (middle class/upper middle class in one of the safest large cities in the world) and I have been very lucky in terms of personal tragedy: I have suffered few major injuries/illnesses, and my family has been pretty much free of them as …
Life of Pi (2001) by Yann Martel
This review contains major SPOILERS. Hype is a dangerous thing. I heard a lot about this book, all positive, and I heard it for what felt like years. In addition to the hype, I had some aspects of the plot spoiled for me by the existence of the movie. So, basically, I waited way too …
Fooled by Randomness (2001) by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
This is an important, valuable book. It’s basically a must-read. It would go on my list of essential non-fiction only I have a few reservations (all of them stylistic). Still, very, very important stuff.
Higglety Pigglety Pop!; Where the Wild Things Are (2001) by the London Sinfonietta conducted by Oliver Knussen, starring Cynthia Buchan, Lisa Saffer et al
This disc features both of Oliver Knussen’s “children’s operas,” based on books by Maurice Sendak.
Behind Enemy Lines (2001, John Moore)
A while ago I read something (perhaps at AV Club) that said this movie was underrated. I decided to “give it another chance,” wrongly thinking I had seen it already.
Janacek: Piano Works: Diary of One Who Disappeared; 15 Moravian Folk Songs (2001) by Thomas Ades et al.
This disc collects two sets of songs by Janacek; one is a proper song cycle, the other is a collection of folk melodies for piano and voice.
A History of Rome – Second Edition (1991, 1994, 1996, 2001) by Marcel Le Glay, Jean-Louis Voisin, Yann Le Bohec, David Cherry
This is a general history of Rome meant, I believe, for use in schools as a textbook. It’s written that way anyway, so it’s rather dry. The strength of the book is in the early going when it provides a great deal of pre-history to the empire, pretty much all of which I was unfamiliar …
Is This It (2001) by the Strokes
So I avoided this like the plague when it came out: it was too trendy for me, but I also didn’t like Casablancas highly affected voice (it’s not that I dislike his voice, it’s more that I dislike the way he uses it most of the time), and, when picking between the “The” bands, I …
Jazz (2001, Ken Burns)
Jazz is a noble attempt to be the defining documentary about jazz, “America’s art music” and one of the greatest things to happen in human history, in my humble opinion.
Piano Concertos; Elegy for Anne Frank (2001) by Lukas Foss et al.
This is an odd compilation in that it combines performances of Foss’ work by others with two by himself. I don’t really know why they aren’t all by himself, but whatever. I was unfamiliar with Foss and I must say his music is interesting, if far less radical than the 20th century music I normally …
Young Miles (1945-50, 2001) by Miles Davis et al. (1945-50, 2001)
For die-hard fans of Miles Davis, or for people really interested in how cool came out of bop, this is probably pretty nearly essential.
Zettel (2001) by Deep Dark United
I have listened to music since before I can remember. My mom recently reminded me of a Big Bird record I had as a toddler which taught me about the different instruments in the orchestra. I have been listening to music seriously – as a snob – for at least half my life. So by …
The Best Movies of the Aughts (2000s)
Now that we’re through the Aughts, here are my picks for best movies of the decade. The ones that make the initial list are movies that I rated a 10/10. The runners up are 9/10s, and the honourable mentions are 8/10s. Many of these movies I have seen only once, and remember that in 2000 …