The end of another year is in sight, and I thought I would wrap up with my take on the year in the music world. In the past year, there were a lot of really great success stories — and more disappointments than I was prepared for. Keep your ears open, though — the summer of 2002 looks promising with releases from a slew of rock heavyweights like Korn and the Foo Fighters that promise to be engaging to mainstream audiences and irritating to Clinic worshippers.
July will see the release of the best album that I’ve heard in my college years. I’m saving the story/interview for the fall, but I’ll give you a hint: It comes from three college-aged guys from Australia who have made the album Billy Corgan only wishes he could have made with the Smashing Pumpkins.
I leave you with my five favorite and five most disappointing music events of the year. I wish everyone an enjoyable summer, and I’ll be back in the trenches come fall.
The five biggest success stories of 2001-2002
1. The Osbournes: The funniest reality program ever. What else can be said about a program that will most likely only last one season? It changed the course of television history forever and will be sorely missed. Long live Ozzy.
2. Heavier Than Heaven by Charles Cross: The best book ever written about Kurt Cobain and his personal hell. The beautifully written book illuminated inconsistencies in the perceptions of the rock legend while painting a portrait of a sweet, troubled man who was at the mercy of a beast bigger than himself. Courtney Love sold out her husband by selling his personal journals to a publisher, and although they will be fascinating, she should have never done it. Eight years later, Cobain is still sorely missed in a music world devoid of integrity.
3. Linkin Park: Six guys from an upscale suburb in California became the poster boys of the fledgling introspective rap-rock scene. Desperately in need of a break and some fresh material, the guys from Linkin Park turned it up a notch in 2001-2002 and turned out the best-selling record of the year. The record execs that slammed the door on the once-unsigned band are kicking themselves now.
4. Incubus: Hippies no more, the upbeat mainstream rockers got in touch with the ocean on Morning View and released one of the best rock records of the year that doesn’t require knowledge of algorithms to enjoy.
5. Garbage: Our hometown heroes released a great album that seemed to fly under the radar after its release. Beautifulgarbage is arguably the best Garbage album yet but hasn’t received the attention it deserves.
The five disappointments of 2001-2002
1. No Nirvana boxed set: All we can do is sit and wait, sit and wait. Hopefully Grohl and Novoselic will win their battle against Courtney Love, who has played the unreleased Nirvana material for just about everybody except the fans.
2. Layne Staley’s Death: Another drug tragedy, Alice In Chains’ patient fans will never get the chance to hear a new album or see the band play live again.
3. Fieldy’s Dreams: Why Korn supported its bassist Fieldy in releasing this album is beyond most reasonable people.
4. C. Michael Greene: Listening to his Grammy speech about fighting music piracy was excruciating, poorly timed and made me dislike the watered-down award show even more.
5. Kid Rock: He’s got Pam, but it looks the party is winding down for music’s bad boy. We’ll see if he keeps his word about avoiding a reunion tour 10 years down the road.
