Top 10 of 2003

Aubin's Picks (2003)

So here we are; another year has passed, and the muse of
music has proven itself capable of both giving and taking.
While we were given many unique, and unexpected recordings
over the past year, it bears repeating how much has been
lost. Personally important artists took their leave of us
this year, and while I could write paragraphs about the
number of people that will be missed, I don't want to dwell
too heavily on such sad things.

Of course, the so-called "punk" scene both grew and
contracted this year, with the NOFX-clones of old being
replaced by metalcore whose most notable quality was a clean,
whiny singer. While the majority of people embraced this and
accepted their bullet-belt wearing brethrin, a glance at the
comment boards on this very site shows that not
everyone was quite so inviting.

Like many of you, I did grow weary of this preponderance of
one note wonders. I can be honest and say that if I hear one
more half decent hardcore track ruined by a whiny, Chris
Connely-esque "soft part" I am going to lose my fucking
mind.

That aside, I could describe this year as the one where I
stopped caring about the "punk" rules. Some of the most bland
and commercial recordings of the year arrived on independent
labels, while some truly exciting music was delivered on the
majors.

The majors, however, have shown themselves to be both friends
to the independent scene, but also as enemies to people who
love music with their very public, and poorly executed
attacks on children and the elderly. I'm hoping that 2004
will see an end to these cowardly tactics and more of an
emphasis on opening an honest dialogue and communicating with
consumers, be they obsessive CD junkies like myself, or
devoted file sharers.

My Ten Favourite Records of 2003:
The Bled
"reviews.php?op=albumreview&id=2218">Pass The Flask
Fiddler Records

An emotional and intense burst of rage and melancholy;
lyrically driving and heavy as a Converge
record.

Every Time I Die
"reviews.php?op=albumreview&id=2071">
Hot Damn!
Ferret

Yes, Hot Damn does in fact rock. It reunites every element
that makes Every Time I Die work, and pushes it further. It's
heavy, fast, and chaotic. It's lyrically sarcastic, and vocally
caustic. It's the most accessible and catchy record Every Time
I Die has made, but it hasn't compromised anything that older
fans care about.

The Lawrence Arms
"reviews.php?op=albumreview&id=2293">
The Greatest Story Ever Told
Fat Wreck Chords

A cleverly written concept record that combines Russian
literature, pop culture references and gritty melodic punk. Not
everyone "gets" the Lawrence Arms, but those who do understand
why they're so special.

Darkest Hour
"reviews.php?op=albumreview&id=1936"
target="_blank">Hidden Hands of the Sadist Nation
Victory

Punk or hardcore only in ethic, but a stellar example of
great strongwriting, and impressive musicianship.

Murder by Death
Who Will Survive And What Will Be Left Of Them
Eyeball

Probably the most unusual selection on my list. Combining
vast instrumentation with thematic concepts from movie
soundtracks, hardcore, and classical music, Murder By Death
excels are providing unexpectedly compelling
music.

Brand New
Deja Entendu
June 17 on Razor & Tie (Triple Crown)

Sure, they've gained a following of Taking Back Sunday and
Good Charlotte fans, but Brand New offers far more depth and
maturity then their defacto contemporaries. Taking classic
moody indie rock the likes of which has rarely been seen since
Johnny Marr and Morissey were still friends, and injecting it
with a modern edge has pushed Brand New far above their
promising but thin debut.

The Blood Brothers
…Burn, Piano Island, Burn
ARTIST Direct Records (BMG)

It's hard to put a down what makes the spazzy fusion of
sounds of …Burn, Piano Island, Burn so good, but suffice
to say the combination of raging intensity, experimentation and
balls out energy is as morbidly fascinating as it is darkly
catchy.

Against Me!
as The Eternal Cowboy
November 4 on Fat Wreck Chords

Unequivocal proof that it will be almost impossible to pin
down what makes a great punk record, except the proviso that
you will know it when you hear it. And I knew it when I heard
this.

Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros
Streetcore
Hellcat Records (Epitaph)

As much as I loved and respect Joe Strummer, his solo work
up to this point never seemed to work for me; of course, this
was why this final work was so poignant. It was not the tragedy
of his death that made this record, but the memory of his life
that was so perfectly reflected.

Criteria
En
Garde
Initial

In spite of his background in Saddle Creek emo pioneers,
Cursive, Stephen Pedersen turns in a raw and rocking record
that ignores his pedigree and goes straight for the throat.
Simple in concept, and wonderful in execution, En Garde
was one of the most unexpected treats of this past excellent
year.

Honorable Mentions "reviews.php?op=albumreview&id=2453">
Blink-182
Blink-182
Geffen

The new Blink 182 was pretty terrific. I confess that I
expected very little from them, but was pleasently surprised by
the rebirth of the band. Inspired by Bad Astronaut and Bright
Eyes, the band turned in a dark, catchy and clever record from
the least likely source.

Alkaline
Trio
Good Mourning
Vagrant

I was a little hard on the band in my "/reviews.php?op=albumreview&id=1920">review back when
the album was released, and I stand by my original criticisms,
but in spite of flawed nature of this recording, it's flaws
were only glaring because of how damn good these guys are. It
might be my least favourite Trio recording, but considered
independently of their previous output, it's still a great
piece of plastic.

Thursday
War All The Time
Island

Thursday's much anticipated follow up to their breakthrough
Full
Collapse was both a success and a failure. The band took
too long to record the record and many of the tracks don't seem
as focused as they should be, but simultaneously, Thursday has
forged ahead of the genre they helped popularize and seems to
be moving into a style all their own. Like the Trio release,
flawed, but when considered independently, a success
nonetheless.

The 2003 Mixtape

Albums that Made a Whooshing Sound as they Flew Over My
Head
I don't want to be a jerk about this, but what the hell is
with the love for the Mars Volta. I heard this kind of
self-indulgent, consciously artistic stuff from bands like
Jethro Tull and Dream Theater. The involvement of members of a
critically acclaimed punk/indie act doesn't impress me.

"De-Loused in the Comatorium" definitely earns my "Those who
forget history are doomed to hear it over and over again for
seven minutes at a time" award.

The FutureAs I write this, 2004 beckons us forward.
Music from some of my all time favourites like the
Descendents, Social Distortion, Green Day
and Bad Religion are promised in the new year. I'm
hoping for a new "reviews.php?op=albumreview&id=896">Desaparecidos
record if Conor and Denver can find the time. Of course, the
new Statistics and Circle Takes the Square records (though I've
heard and enjoyed both)

I'm definitely anticipating the new Spider-Man movie
written by one of my favourite modern writers, "http://www.michaelchabon.com/">Michael Chabon, and the
film version of Hellboy.

I'm also hoping that we'll be able to launch an updated version
of the website engine. I worked on maintaining as much of the
flow of the site as possible, while cleaning up the code and
the design. We're aiming for proper CSS and full support for
accessibility features for our seeing and mobility impaired
users. You should expect a much faster and cleaner site, while
hopefully delivering the content that you expect from us.

Thanks for another wonderful year working on this site, I love
music, especially the music we talk about here, and the
community of visitors who work on the site with us. I've said
it before, but the best thing about working on this site is the
contributers from all around the world who have opened my eyes
to so much great music, and I hope we have done the same for a
few of you.