My faves for 2001

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It took me this long to figure out just what exactly was released in 2001, and which were my favorites. I'm one of the people who thought 2001 was a good year, most of this stuff is twee as hell, but it was a good year for twee as hell stuff. I'm sure I forgotten some noteworthy releases becuase of the shear volume, hopefully not too much. A few of my favorites were actually released in 2000 so I had to leave them off. Also, I left off compilations (there were a lot of good ones), singles (more interested in albums), and reissues (a lot of good ones in 2001 as well).
So, in alphabetical order, since i would probably change the numeric order somewhat depending on the time of day I made the list, here they are:

Daft Punk - Discovery (Virgin) - I can't argue with the world
Drugstore - Songs fot eh Jet Set (Global Warming) - did anyone else actually hear this album?
Figurine - The Heartfelt (March Records) - the 80s revival continues
Girlfrendo - So You Are Here Again, Shadow? (Bambini) Sure is a rediculous album title
Le Coupe - S/T (Shelflife) - sort of twee disco--twisco?
Majestic - Wake Up, Come Out and Play! (Shelflife)
Margo Guryan - 25 Demos (Franklin Castle)
P.F. Sloan - Child of Our Times: The Trousdale Demo Sessions 1966-1967 (Varese Sarabande) - these last two are not really reissues but rescued archival material
Pernice Brothers - The World Won't End (Ashmont Records) - love that voice
Screen Prints - Perfect City (Tenty Songs 1998-2000) (Earworm) - a collection I guess, but a substantial amount of unreleased tracks, very very good, similar to the Clientele, amazing 4-track work
Souvenir - Points De Suspension (Jabalina Musica) - Spanish band that sings in French? US release this year I believe
The Flashing Lights - Sweet Release (Self-released/Outside Music) - canadian power pop
The Lilac Time - Lilac 6 (Cooking Vinyl/Spinart) - beautiful as usual
The Lucksmiths - Why That Doesn't Surprise Me (Drive-In Records/Clover Records/Candle Records) - did you know they are great live?
The Siddeleys - Slum Clearance (Matinee/Clarendon) - technically a reissue maybe but it's not as if many people actually heard this stuff the first time. They should have been big...

And some honorable mentions:

Barcelona - Transhuman Revolution (Pulcec)
Basement Jaxx - Rooty (XL/Astralwerks)
Brittle Stars - Garage Sale EP + Remixes (Shelflife)
Call And Response - S/T (Kindercore/Empreor Norton)
Chitlin' Fooks - S/T (Hidden Agenda/Palomine)
Club 8 - S/T (Hidden Agenda/Labrador)
Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions - Bavarian Fruit Bread (Rough trade)
Kings of Convenience - Quiet is the New Loud (Source UK/Astralwerks)
Kissing Book - (s) (Magic Marker Records)
Poundsign - Underneath The Marquee (Fantastic)
Spain - I Believe (Restless)
Spearmint - A Different Lifetime (hitBACK)
The Chameleons - Why Call It Anything (Artful)
The Windmills - Sunlight (Matinee)

I guess this list sound like I have narrow tastes, but i don't really, I listened to a lot of other stuff too, it just didn't come out in 2001, honest.

― g, Wednesday, 9 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

I loved the Screen Prints' singles but I found the compilation a bit hard to get through - it was rather all over the place and not necessarily always in a good way. That said, there are at least a half dozen truly great songs there.

Has the #Poundsign# album actually come out yet? I thought that was due shortly...

― electric sound of jim, Wednesday, 9 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

I don't know if your presence here saves me from being the twee-est one around or threatens to out my tweeness by launching discussions on it. But even as a twee-friendly sort, I'm not sure I could find very good things to say about Kissing Book, and while I agree that the Lucksmiths are spectacular live, I doubt I'll ever again pull Why that Doesn't Surprise Me off of the bottom rack and listen to it all the way through.

That said, my twee upkeep has been bad this year, so I may well end up using your list to do some mp3 catch-up -- I suspect I could enjoy some of the synthy-disco-twee up there.

― Nitsuh, Wednesday, 9 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

Nitsuh, FOR SHAME, dissing the Lucksmiths like that. My excuse is that the CD's buried under a ton of crap I should listen to first, and I've heard that CD plenty, anyway. Pull that shit out and LISTEN, you twee fucker.

Ah, indiepop.

― David Raposa, Wednesday, 9 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

Pull that shit out and LISTEN, you twee fucker.

Are you calling Nitsuh a hippie, David R.?

― Andy K., Wednesday, 9 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

This baby talk thing has gone too far

― electric sound of jim, Wednesday, 9 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

I'll leave those types of egregious patchouli-stained insults to Tree Huggin' Cantankerous Jess, thank ye.

― David Raposa, Wednesday, 9 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

generally indifferent to twee, I like kissing boox quite a bit, if they are indeed the folks who did "The city is making everybody sad" which is tremendous live. Twee-drone!

― Sterling Clover, Wednesday, 9 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

Anyone else apart from g like that Pernice Brothers record? It's been getting praise in some quarters, but I don't recall it being mentioned much if at all on ILM. Is it as 'pop' as some claim?

― Jeff W, Thursday, 10 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

It's good yeah. And it is pop yeah. It's a bit like Teenage Fanclub.

― Ronan, Thursday, 10 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

hey! dont bring me into this! i havent even -heard- any of these bands.

― jess, Thursday, 10 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

The Pernice Brothers is quite good. Somehow, though, in the midst of all its poppiness, it spins its wheels (just a bit, mind you) - there are many high points to be had on this record, though.

Outside of the 2 albums I've mentioned, I'm clueless.

― David Raposa, Thursday, 10 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

Ooh talk more about Figurine. I was a big fan of what I heard on a random March compilation (Moshi Moshi?) by them but have never got anything else by them...

― Sarah, Thursday, 10 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

es of jim: well, I guess I agree with your point about the screen prints. it is pretty long, and as a singles collection it's not a real album. but there are a whole bunch of brilliant songs on there. As for poundsign, I think the CD is out now, but I got it at a live show in november so I put it on this year's list.

― g, Thursday, 10 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

nitsuh, i don't know, the kissing book cd is a lot different than the first album, but I've found it to be a bit of a grower. Sterling may be thinking of the song "sad City" from their first record, i'm not sure. Maybe with the Lucksmiths the problem you are having is that the newest album is maybe not quite as amazing as A Good Kind of Nervous? Have you got that one?
― g, Thursday, 10 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

the new kissing book record is dreadful, even with the presence of the once-mighty dustin reske as producer. once upon a time it might have been said kissing book were a lot like the american version of the lucksmiths but now they are just drab and "sophisticated". figurine's album is wonderful though, like OMD 'dazzle ships' or 'Organization', although according to pitchfork the lyrics are crap because they only talk about the surface meanings of relationships and don't examine deeper chasms of intuition, i think maybe he is thinking about novels rather than pop songs. the siddelys reissue is fantastic too, why johnny johnson was not a star is a mystery after hearing these brilliant songs.
― keith, Thursday, 10 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

The new Figurine is great. Comparisons to early OMD and Human League are not unwarranted. It's not all retro synth stuff though, there is a d'n'b influence, and some clicky/glitchy stuff. It's very pop though, with twee boy/girl lyrics mostly.
― g, Thursday, 10 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

italics
― g, Thursday, 10 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

― g, Thursday, 10 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

I'm with Nitsuh: That new Lucksmiths is a bit disappointing, the edges are off, I'd say.

― scott p., Thursday, 10 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

The Siddeleys fit in perfectly with Bluebells, Bradford, Railway Children, even the Smiths. It's a shame they weren't signed like those other bands because on the strength of the singles collected on Slum Clearance they would probably have recorded some wonderful albums.

― g, Thursday, 10 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

i didn't find the lucksmiths album disappointing, though i wish they would let marty donald write all of the songs. i may enjoy it more because i like the slowies better than when they go up-tempo. 'a good kind of nervous' was patchy, had three classic songs, a few nice ones and the others. the best release is 'happy secret'.

― keith, Thursday, 10 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

keith you know what, I think I agree with you about Happy Secret. MArty DOnald is the best writer, but "Don't Come With Me" by the bass player (on HS) pretty much was a perfect description of my life at the time it was released. But HS it wasn't a proper album, sort of a singles collection. I like the slower ones too, the faster ones are a bit hoedown-ish or something sometimes, but they are fun live. As for a Good kind of nervous, all these are great tracks IMO: Caravanna, Under The Rotunda, The Invention Of Ordinary Everyday Things, Guess How Much I Love You, Wyoming, Little Athletics. Most of the others are good too. anyway

― g, Thursday, 10 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

I got into the Lucksmiths at first because I lived in Grand Rapids (home to their US label - Drive-In). It was just when A good kind of nervous came out, so that album has remained my favorite.

I dig My Favorite but haven't given the new EPs and time.

I also dug Poundsign and will wait til February to get their new one.

Of G's original list I have heard all but a few, but haven't really give any of them (save the Screen Prints) any stereo-time.

I'm going to avoid buying the Figurine album only because it is on March records and I will not support its efforts to rip off the indiepop world. Maybe someone will bootleg it for me and I'll send Figurine a tenner?

G - would you be willing to make me a mixtape of last year's best indiepop songs?

― marianna, Thursday, 10 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

what's the whole thing about March Records? Everyone hates him because he wants to make a living on his label? I dunno, he does find good stuff to put out. But yeah, I will make you a mix, email me off ILM...

― g, Thursday, 10 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

indiepop kids have so many grudges. who has time to figure them all out?

the new new club 8 is better than the one on your list but then i guess it is a 2002 thing. march mostly releases nonsense examples being ocean blue, ooberman, harvest ministers, bennett, the godawful kleenex girl wonder but he sometimes pulls his head out of his arse and releases good stuff like godzuki and figurine.

― keith, Friday, 11 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

i don't wanna be an apologist for March Records or anything, but i think all of the following have had good releases on the label: 800 Cherries, Ciao Bella, Cinnamon, The Delgados, Figurine, Girlfrendo, Godzuki, Takako Minekawa, Spring, I Live The Life of A..., Holiday, maybe some others. Sure there have been some duds and hit and miss stuff, but generally decent I think.

― g, Monday, 14 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

March have apparently been a little remiss in payment of royalties to, among others, The Clientele. This has allegedly happened to Darla (as their distributor) as well.

― electric sound of jim, Monday, 14 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

Darla not getting some royalties for something would be rough but right justice according to some...

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 15 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

I dunno, Ned: as much as Darla seems like an easily-mockable label, they manage to consistently redeem their overall image with releases like My Morning Jacket's and Piano Magic's. It's like we think they're a certain type of label, but they're actually much brighter than that.

Plus: Sweet Trip are quite nice.

― Nitsuh, Tuesday, 15 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

I wasn't referring to their image, m'friend, more their rather questionable business dealings and general 'tude. They did process my order quickly and correctly, though, when said order was placed recently.

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 15 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

I know March and Darla were having a fight over money. Darla owed March money (Darla was March's distributor), but they weren't paying until they had accounted for all returns etc. I'm sure the blame lies with both parties. Darla used to be the worst place to mail-order from, but I believe they have improved that aspect of their business quite a bit the last year or so. Still, you can't go wrong with Twee Kitten.

As far as March paying royalties, I have knowledge. If they pay anything that is better than a lot players in the indie world.

― g, Tuesday, 15 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

i do have knowledge, but in this case I meant "I have no knowledge."

― g, Tuesday, 15 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

I still believe that for small indie pressings, copies of the actual CD or record are the best royalties.

― electric sound of jim, Tuesday, 15 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

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