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Top 10 Albums and Singles of 2002

It was a year of revelations and mixed blessings. The teen-pop bubble didn’t so much burst as deflate.

Top 10 Albums and Singles of 2002

It was a year of revelations and mixed blessings. The teen-pop bubble didn’t so much burst as deflate: the Britney Machine went on hiatus, Christina got down and dirrty, Justin abandoned JC and those other three. But the new revolution is still pint-sized. A spark of optimism for the future flickered with Michelle Branch, Vanessa Carlton, and, of course, Britney-dressed-up-as-a-punk Avril Lavigne. It was also a year for looking back. Nü-metal gave way to garage rock (Hype of the Year: any band whose name starts with “The”) and vintage rockers (Elvis Costello, the Boss). Mitsubishi spawned more hits than radio (Dirty Vegas, Telepopmusik) while American Idol made cookie-cutter insta-stars out of Texan Kelly Clarkson and Sideshow Bob look-alike Justin Guarini. Divine intervention has thus far prevented “The Ketchup Song” and Nick Carter from U.S. success, and the diva comeback trail has been surprisingly elegant (Celine Dion, Mariah Carey). Most Embarassing Diva Moment (tie): Jacko dangling his babe over his hotel balcony and anything out of Whitney’s mouth. Remember kids, crack is cheap. Now on to the good stuff…


ALBUMS


Top 10 Albums and Singles of 2002

1. N.E.R.D., In Search Of…

After pop excursions with ‘NSync and Britney Spears, the Neptunes (Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo) needed to do something drastic. Perhaps that’s why they yanked their 2001 album in the 11th hour and massively reconstructed it with a live rock band. Released under the acronym N.E.R.D. (No one Ever Really Dies), the album, which was once filled with signature synth beats and accompanied by a bling-bling stripper-filled video for the single “Lapdance,” evolved into a rocked-out rap-rock hybrid that puts the current horde of rap-metal posers to shame. The album, In Search Of… (in this case, the search is for love, happiness, smiling and “that bitch with the big ass”), is a culmination of the Neptunes’s broad influences—from soul to rock and everything in between. Kudos to a production team that, rather than predictably stick to their radio-ready formulas, has dared to push the envelope straight out of hip-hop’s comfort zone.


2. The Chemical Brothers, Come with Us

Whether it’s the irreverent, mad genius of the title track, the bristling, post-disco of “Star Guitar” or the off-kilter psychedelic folk of “The State We’re In,” the Chemical Brothers’s fourth studio release beckons seductively, “come with us….” The metrophonic “Hoops” is at once earthy and otherworldly, mixing electro beats with acoustic guitar scales and hypnotic vocal passages. It’s these kinds of juxtapositions (sequencers and brass together at last on the brilliant “Pioneer Skies”!) that make the Chemical Brothers more than just beat-technicians. It’s also what makes Come with Us the duo’s best album since 1997’s Dig Your Own Hole. Yes, that’s a computer-generated outer-space you’re floating through.


3. Tanya Donelly, Beautysleep

With her second solo effort, Beautysleep, Tanya Donelly found herself smack-dab in the middle of a musical uprising not unlike the kind she helped spearhead over a decade ago. With a hand (or two) in the creation and success of Throwing Muses, The Breeders and the Grammy-nominated Belly, Donelly has a resume and pedigree (the Muses’s Kristen Hersh is her step-sister) lengthy enough to make her a household name. And she is, but just barely. “Good music was popular by mistake,” she says of the alt-rock boom. “Then the crap took over again.” It may be a bit premature for a revolution the size of Nirvana, but the bewitching Beautysleep could mark the return of something, anything other than ordinary. But that’s not to say Beautysleep isn’t brimming with pop hooks. While the album might not “rock,” Donelly’s lyrics are more grounded than ever and she soars clouds above “the crap” that has taken over.


4. Eminem, The Eminem Show

With his latest effort, The Eminem Show, hip-hop’s notorious white hope peels back some of the bullshit façade and reveals a little bit of the real Marshall Mathers. To make matters even more puzzling, the album displays a—dare I say it?—more “mature” Eminem. Eminem Show finds its star hyper-aware of the state of hip-hop (and the world) and even more conscious of his place in it: “I am the worst thing since Elvis Presley/To do black music so selfishly/And use it to make myself wealthy,” he quips on “Without Me.” While there’s nothing as subversive as “Stan” or “Kim” this time around, the album finds Eminem at his button-pushing best—even if it does seem like he’s pushing the buttons just because he can.

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5. Beck, Sea Change

A decided departure for the sonically experimental and irreverent artist, Sea Change finds Beck embarking on a musical journey firmly rooted in a willingness to reveal the soul. He examines heartfelt issues of loss, sadness and recovery with such candor it’s like eavesdropping on a therapy session or overhearing a sacred confession. The album’s carefully considered orchestrations blatantly turn away from Beck’s previous incarnation as the mainstream “Two Turntables and a Microphone” funkmeister and return him solidly to his indie folk/country rock roots. Somber strings, moody self-reflection and arrestingly sweeping textures display a quiet, earnest musicianship plied not for fame or fortune (or for Top 40 radio airplay), but for its own sake.


6. Alanis Morissette, Under Rug Swept

Mastered and delivered to Maverick months prior to its release, Alanis Morissette’s Under Rug Swept landed Up On Shelf Hidden while label and artist worked out the fine print of Morissette’s uncertain musical future. For the most part, Morissette abandoned the spiritual insights of 1998’s Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie for more personal, lovelorn truths. The wisdom of the singer’s landmark sophomore album is not lost, however, as the semi-jagged little pills of new tracks like “That Particular Time” and “You Owe Me Nothing in Return” are delivered from an older, wiser perspective. The disc’s eleven songs, including the super-catchy “Precious Illusions” and the album’s sole hit, “Hands Clean,” are dressed up in toe-tapping rhythms, crunchy guitars and downright infectious melodies. Produced solely by Morissette, Under Rug Swept simply glows when the singer shelves the anger and focuses on the kind of unambitious melodies that follow you long after the disc comes sputtering to an end.


7. Beth Orton, Daybreaker

With each solo outing, Beth Orton chips away at her musical past, and her third album, Daybreaker, is no exception. Known for her work with William Orbit and The Chemical Brothers, Orton has gradually shed her electronic sheen, vying for—and achieving—a more organic singer-songwriter finish. Topping the stunning Central Reservation would be a daunting chore for even the most accomplished songwriter, yet Orton gives it an impressive go. It doesn’t hurt that Orton is one of the greatest female voices of our time; she radiates her sorrow with an unbridled clarity reminiscent of Billie Holiday. Orton’s Daybreaker proves she can play the folk songstress just as well as she does the techno diva, and her songwriting skills have improved dramatically since her debut.


8. Tweet, Southern Hummingbird

Tweet’s debut, the aptly-titled Southern Hummingbird, bears the unmistakable stamp of Timbaland’s futuristic production and Missy Elliott’s sultry R&B grammar. Yet Tweet brings to the album her candid, super-personal experience. Comparisons to Aaliyah are inevitable—Tweet’s warm, featherweight delivery on the jazzy “Beautiful” remarkably brings to mind the late singer’s signature vocal style. But Tweet holds her own throughout Hummingbird and, unlike many of her contemporaries, she is a musician and songwriter as well as a vocalist. Much of the album is acoustic-guitar driven, and as such Hummingbird is one of the best (and most unlikely) folk albums of the year.

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9. DJ Shadow, The Private Press

A few tracks hint at Endtroducing…’s vintage reconstruction (the multi-layered “Fixed Income” and the two-part “Mongrel Meets His Maker,” both filled with Morricone-style guitar passages), but the bulk of DJ Shadow’s The Private Press is packed with more brawn than beauty. In addition to his prized vinyl, it seems Shadow has dipped into his tape collection this time around. While it may be different from his insta-classic debut, Private Press still gets its groove on. Ripe for repeat listens, the album quickly takes on its own identity and hell, like the final track’s title insists, maybe it’s true that you can’t go home again.


10. Missy Elliott, Under Construction

From the braided gold necklaces and Adidas jumpsuits of the album’s first video to the vintage hip-hop samples of “Bring the Pain” and “Gossip Folks,” Missy Elliott’s Under Construction is a living, breathing homage to old-school rap’s simpler days. But in the here and now, Elliott might just be the most inventive lyricist in hip-hop today and partner-in-crime Timbaland might just be the most imaginative beatmaster around. Despite the deaths of close friends Aaliyah and Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, Elliott seems once again determined to party and have a good time. Leaner than but not as mean as last year’s experimental Miss E…So Addictive, tracks like “Go to the Floor” and the funky, freaky and fun “Work It” pick up exactly where “Get Ur Freak On” left off.


SINGLES


Top 10 Albums and Singles of 2002

1. Kylie Minogue, “Can’t Get You Out of My Head”

Kylie Minogue’s comeback single, the aptly-titled “Can’t Get You Out of My Head,” topped the charts in 22 countries and successfully invaded brains this side of the Atlantic, becoming the Australian pop goddess’s first U.S. hit in over a decade. Co-penned by former dance pop songstress Cathy Dennis, the song is cheeky, soul-sucking fun, its la la la’s waiting and willing to lodge themselves in your psyche until you, um, can’t get them out. The single’s accompanying video was cartoonish and futuristic, featuring the singer clad in a J. Lo-Versace-meets-the-Flying-Nun dress and backed by Devo-esque dancers. Judging by her latest video, the experimental “Come Into My World,” Minogue might also be the first pop icon since Madonna to dance back and forth between pop tart and pop art so effortlessly.


2. Christina Aguilera, “Dirrty”

“Dirrty,” the lead single from Aguilera’s Stripped, should have been a huge chart success. Though the video became a top request at MTV’s “TRL,” the song peaked at a filthy #48. What to make of the mixed messages? People were more interested in Aguilera’s ass than her vocal assets. But the single was one of the year’s strongest, with an over-the-top performance built on a durable high-energy hip-pop track. Meanwhile, the video was elbow-deep in sweat, chaps, naughty school girls, cockfights, female boxing, mud wrestling and shower scenes. At the end, a spent and extrra-dirrty Aguilera attempts to wipe what can safely be assumed is Syphilis from her mouth.


3. Eminem, “Lose Yourself”

An Eminem song? Inspirational? But that’s exactly what the guitar-infused “Lose Yourself” is. The unofficial theme from Eminem’s film debut, 8 Mile, “Lose Yourself” was inspired by 8 Mile’s Rabbit, whose story was inspired by Eminem’s own life. The song’s themes of hope, determination and the power of music are just another example of the Prince of Rap’s growing (cringe!) maturity.


4. Jimmy Eat World, “The Middle”

The song: pop-punk at its finest. The video: the best glorification of a teen house party since Rayanne OD’d on Ecstacy on My So-Called Life.


5. Vanessa Carlton, “A Thousand Miles”

A&M Records must have known they had a hit on their hands even before radio and MTV embraced it. Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles” debuted last fall to the buzz of “the teen pop bubble has burst!” Carlton could sing, play an instrument and write music—what a novelty! But the tune was more than a novelty, and it remained attached to our ears through the end of the year. The video for “A Thousand Miles,” which featured Carlton playing piano on the back of a moving truck, was a simple yet bold way to introduce a new talent.


6. Sheryl Crow, “Soak Up the Sun”

The first single from Sheryl Crow’s fourth studio album, C’mon, C’mon, achieves its intended classic rock ether and even revives the singer’s trademark quirk: “My friend the communist/Holds meetings in his RV,” she sings. Nelly and DJ Sammy be damned, Crow’s breezy, Beach Boys-esque “Soak Up the Sun” was the definitive feel-good anthem of the summer.

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7. Justin Timberlake, “Cry Me a River”

What to say about JT? He lived up to the hype. The album is good but the second single, “Cry Me a River,” is better. Timberlake met his match in Timbaland, creating a string-laden, stinging farewell (to Britney, perhaps? Check the video) featuring a beatbox and vocal arrangement courtesy of the former Mr. Spears himself. Comparisons to Michael Jackson may be unavoidable, but “Cry Me a River” is one of the best hits MJ never had.


8. Tweet, “Oops (Oh My)”

Tweet celebrates her post-club auto-pleasure with the unlikeliest of pop hooks (“Oops, there goes my shirt up over my head, oh my!”) while mentor Missy Elliott continues her ascent to sex symbol status (“Mmm, I was eyeing my thighs, butter pecan brown”). With an exotic vibe and minimalist beats courtesy of Timbaland, Tweet’s “Oops (Oh My)” might just be the hottest masturbation song since “She Bop” (sorry Divinyls!).

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9. Truth Hurts featuring Rakim, “Addictive”

And the award for “Best Use of an Illegal Sample” goes to…


10. Incubus, “Warning”

Day 1: Incubus rehearses in a random vacant office building; teenage girl sits rocking in institution-like bedroom, pieces of torn paper cover the walls, she says “10:24” over and over; she enters a random occupied office building, “Can I help you,” a woman asks, and the girl answers with a blood-curdling scream. Day 2: Boyd & Co. are still rehearsing in the random vacant office building; teenage girl enters a church, a classroom and a supermarket; she stands in the middle of a busy intersection; finally, her watch hits 10:24 and she lets out a blood-curdling scream; the office building, the church, the classroom, the supermarket and the streets are suddenly empty; an unoccupied bus crashes, a copy machine continues to make copies; Dirk’s bass guitar sits on the floor, its strings still vibrating.

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Sal Cinquemani

Sal Cinquemani is the co-founder and co-editor of Slant Magazine. His writing has appeared in Rolling Stone, Billboard, The Village Voice, and others. He is also an award-winning screenwriter/director and festival programmer.

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