Pooplist 2001

Poop Glorious Poop,....2001 what can be said? too much, that's what.
Let's get to it shall we?

abandoned pools - humanistic (extasy) - great peeps, great songs & great production - fans of Ken Andrews & Tommy Walters should invest in this one. It's always great to find a new surprise and trust me this one came out of nowhere and it reared its' head up high & stayed there.
treble charger - wide awake bored (nettwerk america) - 2words - EAR - CANDY, ok you need more than that? How about 4 - P's, - perfectly polished power pop. There! Are you happy? I am. I'm surprised however that this did not turn into a "flavor of the month" band - but it's refreshing that it didn't because it would have lost all of its' appeal if it was pounded into the heads of teens throughout America via those god-awfill mainstream radio stations, whew! - They dodged a bullet luckily for them & for me too. .
tenacious d - tenacious d (epic) - where should I begin on this one? If I begin, I will never be able to end. Should we just leave it at that? NAAHHHH! - Hilarious - lyrically. It rocks ~ musically, excellent guests, and in the true sense of the word - Brilliant & NOT a novelty item. Appreciate this one. It's fucking art I tell you! Even though Jack Black is over hyped & over exposed these days, this CD cannot get enough exposure - seriously folks, this is the definition of humor, so stop being so uptight ife enjoy it. Classic.
new pomographers - mass romantic (mint) - I know.it came out in 2000, but if you really want to know, well it came out in late November— so screw it - I'm putting' it in here! - There! What are you gonna do about it now? It's already listed HA! Thanks Kenneth for clueing me in on this one - Neko Case also lends a hand on vocals. Feels very Sloan-ish interms of a pop element, I mean how could you not tap your foot to this one? If you can't - then there's no hope for ya.
incubus - morning view (immortal/epic) - circles, 11am, echo, mexico, nice to know you - each song is a masterpiece unto itself. The entire record is strong all the way through. OK, OK at first I really did not like this band. I'm talkin' years ago in the mid to late 90's - but they have changed- for the better - a shuffling of members only helped them especially vocally, plus a new musical direction & solid production doesn't hurt either & now the label backs em' cause they sell records, MTV likes em' yada yada yada -1 like them too- a lot- this record rocks.
pete yorn - musicforthemorningafter (Columbia) - I liked this record from the get go. Initially I had no idea what to expect. I mean I expected a "singer-songwriter" (would someone please copyright that term already) record. That's what I got... and then some. It rocks & is a great record to blast out your windows on a bright sunny day while you're a crusin' in the car, and to mellow out with at home all in the same CD. "Closet" in particular is a very good song. I know it's on a lot of people's lists this year but it's certainly warranted. DO believe the hype!
mystic - cuts for luck and scars for freedom (goodvibe) - solid sophisticated feminine hip-hop from the bay-area. Combines a decent amount of jazzy elements with strong beats too. She's representin' Yo! Delivering deep, meaningfill & mature lyrics - this sista is for real - "for real"? Straight up for real! .
che - sounds of liberation - (man's ruin / mordam) - ok ok, I know another release from late 2000 - October to be exact - but it's MY list and I got hip to the record in 01' so you know what - It's staying on this list! - It's your fault KB - you should have gotten it to me sooner than you did - but better late than never. It's an awesome CD. Think "stoner rock, fuzz, heavy, muddy droney mud mud with killer bad ass riffs" - since Kyuss, the gods of muddy mud drone frizz is no more - ladies & gents I present to you the one, the only CHE.
morcheeba - back to mine - (ultra) - yeah I know it's part of a series, but it's really good - so good it's being pooped out on this list. Basically a bunch of diverse tracks with an awesome MC named The Giant spinning "hidden crate" - samples from Fat Albert-yes the cartoon. David McCallum "The edge" & Small World "Dual tone" - featuring TAXI DRIVER sound bites - a very cool record.
jay farrar - sebastopol - (artemis) - with the help from many different styled artists such as Jon Wurster, Steve Drodze Gillian Welch among others - this turned out to be very fulfilling as I was highly anticipating this release. Jay is still his good ol' dreary, annoyed self, but he's starting to cheer up a bat- maybe he.'ll die with a smile on his face but by then it'll be too late - what more do you want Jay? Now you are in total control - no band Jay... it's YOUR project now. All in all he's n awesome songwriter & a great composer so who cares how his personality or attitude is -1 don't have to deal with him, all I gotta do is listen to his music - which suits me fine. It's a Damn Shame.
weezer - the green album - (geffen) - pop music at it's finest. Each and every song kills. I have only one gripe, the record is too short. Hence so will my pontificating on this one be. I hear they have a new one coming in early 02'. I had to get that in, sorry.

OK - so I had II this year - no one said it's a top ten - as the legendary rock icon guitarist Nigel Tufnel once said........... "this one goes to 11".

CLOSE. ..BUT NOT QUITE: Ryan Adams - gold (lost highway), Gorillaz - self titled (virgin), Tool - lateralus (volcano), Wilco - yankee hotel foxtrot (coming from nonesuch-from what I hear in 02'- available online for now), Sloan - pretty together (murderecords).

That's it! Have a great year

Jeff Schwartz - Scotch Plains, NJ.