Well, the end of 2005 came and went and we unfortunately couldn't coordinate a big hoopla this year for the Brainwashed Year-End Readers' Poll. However, with the new system, we've organized what has been the most popular articles from our site to arrange some kind of a list. Of course, it will differ from everybody else's, but then again, we gotta be us!
So we tried a new way of doing things for the 7th year in a row! Actually, we think this is probably closest to accurate so far. Every entry got scored according to how readers voted. The score went up higher the more positive the reaction was and went down the more negative. Winners in the Band of the Year, Label of the Year, and Best New Artist categories were awarded due to cumulative scores and not voted for directly. Additionally, the Lifetime Achievement recognition was chosen exclusively by the Brain Staff.
Unfortunately, as is with all readers polls, everything eventually turns into a popularity contest. Rather than scrap it all in frustration, we keep the polls going from year to year. It presents a snapshot to look back and reflect upon to see what people were listening to and paying attention to at this time. It is by no means a measure of talent or greatness, nor is it even an accurate account of taste or opinion, as people will have a tendency to vote favorably/against an artist they like/dislike regardless if they've heard the record or not. Comments are included from the staff in each category. Thanks to everybody who honestly participated.
album of the year
- Fennesz, "Venice"
- Devendra Banhart, "Rejoicing in the Hands"
- Sonic Youth, "Sonic Nurse"
- Coil, "Black Antlers"
- Animal Collective, "Sung Tongs"
- Devendra Banhart, "Nino Rojo"
- Einst?zende Neubauten, "Perpetuum Mobile"
- Tom Waits, "Real Gone"
- Pan Sonic, "Kesto"
- Bj?k, "Medulla"
- Pan•American, "Quiet City"
- The Dead Texan, "The Dead Texan"
- Coil, "ANS"
- Joanna Newsom, "The Milk-Eyed Mender"
- Nurse With Wound, "Angry Eelectric Finger (Spitch'cock One)"
- Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, "Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus"
- Brian Wilson, "Smile"
- MíQ, "Summer Make Good"
- Wolf Eyes, "Burned Mind"
- The Legendary Pink Dots, "The Whispering Wall"
- Black Dice, "Creature Comforts"
- Nurse With Wound, "Shipwreck Radio Volume One: Seven Sonic Structures from Utvaer"
- The Arcade Fire, "Funeral"
- Stereolab, "Margerine Eclipse"
- Ghost, "Hypnotic Underworld"
- Comets On Fire, "Blue Cathedral"
- Michael Gira, "I Am Singing to You from My Room"
- Xiu Xiu, "Fabulous Muscles"
- The Legendary Pink Dots, "Poppy Variations"
- Sunn O))), "White2"
- Sufjan Stevens, "Seven Swans"
- Squarepusher, "Ultravisitor"
- Deerhoof, "Milk Man"
- Le Fly Pan Am, "N'ecoutez Pas"
- Clouddead, "Ten"
- Skinny Puppy, "The Greater Wrong of the Right"
- Iron & Wine, "Our Endless Numbered Days"
- Tim Hecker, "Mirages"
- Liars, "They Were Wrong, So We Drowned"
- !!!, "Louden Up Now"
- Madvillain, "Madvillainy"
- Acid Mothers Temple, "Mantra of Love"
- Mouse On Mars, "Radical Connector"
- The Soft Pink Truth, "Do You Want New Wave Or Do You Want the Soft Pink Truth?"
- Tortoise, "It's All Around You"
- Loscil, "First Narrows"
- Boredoms, "Seadrum/House of Sun"
- Faust Vs. Dälek, "Derbe Respect, Alder"
- Mono, "Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined"
- TV on the Radio, "Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes"
Comments
Pan Sonic's Kesto is an ambitious piece of work that deconstructs everything about Pan Sonic into four distinct discs so that you don't have to! - Matthew Jeanes
Absolutely amazing rock albums like Ghost's Hypnotic Underworld and Comets on Fire's Blue Cathedral languish at number 25 and 26 while I can't shake the feeling that it's become a bit of knee-jerk reaction to list albums by veterans like Sonic Youth, Neubauten, Tom Waits, Nick Cave and Bjork in these year-end lists, whether or not people really think their recent albums were really up to par. - Jonathan Dean
ANS cost like $80. People didn't buy it. Hell, I'd venture to say that people who bought it didn't even listen to it! - Gary Suarez
Everybody thinks Sufjan Stevens' next album is going to be another state, but I wouldn't be surprised if Six Geese were to follow Seven Swans. - Jon Whitney
It's strange that the Boredoms masterpiece Seadrum/House of Sun is at #47, while Sonic Youth is at #3. I see Boredoms as a forward-thinking, constantly evolving, futuristic unit. I am baffled year after year as Sonic Youth consistently places in the top five (or better) of certain adventurous magazines year end lists. Without denying them credit for their past achievements, and while recognizing that their current work does have merit, it hardly seems to me that, with all of the exciting music being created, Sonic Youth post-1990 is making the best albums of the year, every year. - Jim Siegel
I knew it; names have a strange way of carrying so-so music to undeserved streams of acclaim. The Fennesz record is a prime example of this. !!!, Devendra Banhart, and Pan American all released amazing records this year, but I suppose the names aren't quite large enough at this time to appeal to people still aching for something "different" and "experimental." - Lucas Schleicher
Madvilliany is one of the best hip hop releases in recent history. MF Doom and Madlib had never collaborated before, and I don't even know if they had met prior to writing and recording the album. That's f'n amazing. MF Doom's bizarre lyrical couplets and slick obscure references almost steal the show had it not been for the (here it is) finest instrumentals ever done courtesy of Madlib. Hip hop finally becomes high art? Yes, I would contend I felt (as my art teacher used to say) "the evocation of the sublime." Record of the year. Danger Mouse deserves at least a nod or maybe a high five for the Grey Album. I can't stand Jay-Z, so to not only find his played raps tolerable but enjoyable speaks volumes for the music Danger Mouse was able to come up with. And he did it with the unlikeliest of source materials - a frickin BEATLES album??! He basically set himself up for utter failure and came through like the Red Sox. Hands down the coolest contraband of the year too (next to Canadian Viagra, of course). - Chris Roberts
single/ep of the year
- Animal Collective, "Who Could Win a Rabbit?"
- Devendra Banhart, "Little Yellow Spider"
- Four Tet, "My Angel Rocks Back and Forth"
- Wolf Eyes, "Stabbed In the Face"
- Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, "There She Goes My Beautiful World / Breathless"
- Antony and the Johnsons, "The Lake"
- Black Dice, "Miles of Smiles"
- Joanna Newsom, "Sprout and the Bean"
- Clouddead, "Dead Dogs Two"
- Thee Silver Mountain Reveries, "Pretty Little Lightning Paw"
- Keith Fullerton Whitman, "Antithesis"
- Bj?k, "Who Is It?"
- Throbbing Gristle, "TG Now"
- Squarepusher, "Square Window"
- MíQ, "Nightly Cares"
- Squarepusher, "Venus No. 17"
- Sigur Ros, "Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do"
- Thighpaulsandra, "Rape Scene"
- !!!, "Pardon My Freedom"
- Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, "Nature Boy"
- Interpol, "Slow Hands"
- Mouse On Mars, "Wipe That Sound"
- Liars, "There's Always Room on the Broom"
- LCD Soundsystem, "Yeah"
- Nurse With Wound, "Having Fun With the Prince of Darkness"
Comments
What a relief it was to see TG Now make it into the Top 25 in this category! Throbbing Gristle's reunion was truly impressive, as was their restraint with disseminating this new material. Though some people might have groaned over the exclusivity of this EP, these intimate recordings demanded an audience that would not simply listen passively. These dissonant four songs, much like their early work, were not meant for mass consumption by trend whores (*cough* Coil fans *cough*) and one-upping music geeks. Anyone who has spent some time with this release has been exposed to a rare experience, with four legends returning to the studio and coming together after spending years apart making very different music. TG Now is a return to form as well as a dramatic update, essentially raising the proverbial bar to a point where many musicians would do best to avoid this release rather than attempt to top it. - Gary Suarez
It's hard to believe everybody who voted for this winner actually own a 7" only release. It's also hard to believe it beat out the mindblowing TG Now, 27's jaw-dropping Let the Light In, and a Four Tet single that comes with his entire collection of music videos on an accompanying DVD! Additionally, none of Battles's three fantastic EPs cracked the top 25 but mind you, they will surely be on everybodys lists this time next year once you-know-who has released their album and made them even more buzzworthy. Then you'll be recalling me saying this just like I said about Sigur Ros, Dresden Dolls, and !!!, but did you listen then? No. - Jon Whitney
Can Dirty Water get an honorable mention? - Chris Roberts
best various artist compilation
- "Kompilation" (Kranky)"
- "Kompakt 100" (Kompakt)"
- "Golden Apples of the Sun" (Bastet)"
- "Broken-Hearted Dragonflies: Insect Electronica From Southeast Asia" (Sublime Frequencies)"
- "Cambodian Cassette Archives Khmer Folk and Pop Music, Vol. 1" (Sublime Frequencies)"
- "Radio India: The Eternal Dream of Sound" (Sublime Frequencies)"
- "Split Series 9-16" (Fat Cat)"
- "Compilation 2" (DFA)"
- "Thank You" (Temporary Residence)"
- "Left of the Dial: Dispatches From the '80s Underground" (Rhino)"
- "Matador At Fifteen" (Matador)"
- "Haunted Weather" (Staubgold)"
- "Old Enough To Know Better: 15 Years of Merge" (Merge)"
- "Song of the Silent Land" (Constellation)"
- "Shockout Vol. 1" (Shockout)"
- "Moog Movie Soundtrack" (Hollywood)"
- "Death's Last Life's Breath" (Beta-Lactam Ring)"
- "Shotgun Wedding Vol 3: Kid606 Vs. Cex" (Violent Turd)"
- "Children of Mu" (Planet µ)"
- "Manhunt Soundtrack" (Rephlex)"
- "Speicher Cd 2" (Kompakt Extra)"
- "Amunition" (Planet µ)"
- "Neurot Recordings I" (Neurot)"
- "Rock Action Presents Vol. 1" (Rock Action)"
- "Zen Rmx" (Ninja Tune)"
Comments
Kranky set a standard this year that all other record labels are going to have to try and measure up to. The compilation itself was gorgeous, cheap, and full of some of the best music to grace any recorded format. I won't argue against Mute or any other label on the lists, but this year belonged to Kranky in my mind. - Luke Schleicher
Maybe not the most impressive musically, but as for unexpected and historically important you couldn't go wrong with Stones Throw's The Third Unheard. Who knew that an urban musical genre that dominates popular music today had roots in suburban 1979 Connecticut? I didn't. - Chris Roberts
It's nice to see a kompilation of current music beating out some (stellar) compilations of archive material and newly re-discovered oddities. It brings hope for the new year that a label such as Kranky is still releasing challenging contemporary music. The Charalambides reissue program, the addition of Greg Davis to the roster, consistently rewarding releases by Keith Fullerton Whitman and the wonderfully difficult music of Brent Gutzeit all show that Kranky has moved bravely forward into the new millenium. It gives me a renewed sense of faith in listeners to see that these developments have been recognized and rewarded. - Jim Siegel
Kwite a koincidence that the number one and two spots on the kompilation kountdown were both taken by kute misspellings of kommon words. Daft kunts. - Jonathan Dean
reissue/vault/collection album of the year
- Can, "Tago Mago"
- Can, "Ege Bamyasi"
- Nurse With Wound, "Soliloquoy for Lilith"
- Brian Eno, "Ambient 1: Music for Airports"
- Brian Eno, "Here Come the Warm Jets"
- Current 93, "Thunder Perfect Mind"
- Einst?zende Neubauten, "Tabula Rasa"
- Can, "Monster Movie"
- Brian Eno, "Ambient 4: On Land"
- Brian Eno, "Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)"
- Brian Eno, "Discreet Music"
- William Basinski, "Disintegration Loops 1-4"
- Nurse With Wound, "She and Me Fall Together In Free Death"
- Pavement, "Crooked Rain Crooked Rain - La's Desert Origins"
- The Legendary Pink Dots, "9 Lives to Wonder"
- Low, "A Lifetime of Temporary Relief"
- Antony and the Johnsons, "Antony and the Johnsons"
- Can, "Soundtracks"
- Einst?zende Neubauten, "Kalte Sterne: Early Recordings"
- Slowdive, "Catch the Breeze"
- Current 93, "Sixsixsix: Sicksicksick"
- The Clash, "London Calling 25th Anniversary"
- Glenn Branca, "The Ascension"
- Six Organs of Admittance, "The Manifestation"
- Brian Eno, "Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror"
Comments
Tago Mago is a fantastic record. Perhaps in my top 20 favorite records of all time, but once again, I wonder if this many people have actually heard the reissue and can honestly compare the SA CD to the original version. Big time efforts like the Virgin Prunes reissue campaign didn't even crack the top 25 and Low put out an astounding 3xCD/1xDVD (double sided even) set and that doesn't crack the top 15. The Deathprod box and the Squirrel Bait box are criminally underrepresented. Maybe it's time to re-expand this category for boxed/multiple sets. - Jon Whitney
When are we going to get a remastered Tonight's the Night? Instead Neil Young gives us a half-baked, unnecessary Greatest Hits release? Please. The world is in dire need of a Tonight's the Night Sessions boxed set. A mere repackaged CD wouldn't do the album justice. Next summer, maybe? Maybe I'm getting swept up in all the media hype, but Nirvana's With the Lights Out has all the trappings of an essential compilation, if a wee bit sprawling. Especially for those who couldn't find/afford all the Outcesticide releases... even if it did help fund the constant trainwreck that is CL. - Chris Roberts
I'm happy to see that Slowdive still has a place in people's hearts. Unlike so much other "shoegazer" music from the early 1990s, Slowdive's three albums still sound wonderful to me today. Their final LP, Pygmalion, is a massively underappreciated avant-whatever classic. It presents the work of a group obviously unconcerned with remaining true to genre rules. It's too bad they didn't explore this direction further. Hopefully the interest that this compilation stirs up will encourage someone to reissue the long out-of-print Pygmalion. - Jim Siegel
It would have been nice to posthumously honor Arthur Russell—a guy who spent most of his short life toiling away in obscurity, quietly influencing a generation of artists. I find it disheartening he wasn't able to crack the top 25, in a year that three superlative reissues of his uniquely ingenious music were released. - Jonathan Dean
label of the year
- Mute
- Kranky
- Young God
- Fat Cat
- Sub Pop
- Touch
- Warp
- Drag City
- Touch and Go
- DFA
- Important
- Threshold House
- Matador
- Alien8
- Nonesuch
- Thrill Jockey
- Constellation
- Domino
- One Little Indian
- Anti
- Beta-Lactam Ring
- Durtro/Jnana
- Ipecac
- Sonig
- Merge
Comments
It was a very ambitious year for Mute with tons of amazing reissues and some good new albums too. Now where's that Nitzer Ebb collection you've been promising? - Jon Whitney
For the most part, Mute had an impressive year, especially on the reissue front with double disc sets from Richard Kirk / Sandoz and Suicide. With the label's continued commitment to quality acts like Diamanda Galas, Einsturzende Neubauten, and Pan Sonic, we can forgive its misguided attempts with the far-less talented Client, Miss Kittin, and M83. - Gary Suarez
Call me a one trick pony, but you can't deny Stones Throw's contributions this year. Best hip hop release in recent memory (Madvillian), Gary Wilson's first new record since the 1970s, a vitally important compilation (the Connecticut hip hop V/A) on top of their other releases AND the funk/soul rereleases on Now Again, the label's rereleasing machine aka subsidiary. Not to mention the DVD that they put out in the Fall. It made me say "holla." - Chris Roberts
Excuse me, Touch and Warp in the top 10 of the year? Touch records has become the ultimate namecheck label for boring beard strokers, and I seriously doubt anyone actually listens to 99% of their output before shelving it next to the other releases on their CD rack. And I shouldn't have to say anything about the embarassing Warp roster. This was truly their worst year in a run of bad years for the label. - Jonathan Dean
artist of the year
- Devendra Banhart
- Coil
- Nurse With Wound
- Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
- Animal Collective
- MíQ
- Squarepusher
- Wolf Eyes
- !!!
- Bj?k
- Acid Mothers Temple
- Liars
- The Hafler Trio
- The Legendary Pink Dots
- Joanna Newsom
- Fennesz
- Black Dice
- Sonic Youth
- Clouddead
- Einst?zende Neubauten
- Mouse On Mars
- Tom Waits
- Keith Fullerton Whitman
- Pan Sonic
- Madvillain
Comments
Two full-length releases, a couple singles, endless touring, and an army of completely freakish insane fans who could rival the creepiness of Bjork or Godspeed nutters. It's a well-earned recognition for Devendra, a talented individual and a great guy. - Jon Whitney
best new artist
Joanna Newsom
Comments
One of Newsom's main strengths may be that she polarizes opinion. She is either loved or hated. She produces a strong reaction in listeners, for better or for worse. From seeing her perform live I gathered that she is a genuine artist, translating the world as she sees it into sound. While many "outsider" artists seem to operate by a set of unwritten conduct laws for weirdos, Newsom seems to be simply blessed with a unique voice and talent to boot. - Jim Siegel
2004 wasn't a huge year for new bands/artists. Looking at the list of newbies, many of them have histories in other groups. Battles had three stellar EPs; Autistic Daughters and Trapist were birthed from the incestuous blood that spawned Dean Roberts and Radian; The Dead Texan's debut was pleasing for fans of Badalamenti and Stars of the Lid; and Arcade Fire are just a glorified recycling of Pulp's music with the tone deaf (but oh so hip) vocal style a'la Interpol. Rachel Goswell of Slowdive/Mojave 3 finally released her long anticipated debut and Fridge's Adem stepped up to the microphone, churned out an impressive debut album, few singles, assembled a tight group, and toured like a madman. - Jon Whitney
lifetime achievement
John Peel
The year of 2004 was full of a number of significant losses. From the passing of friends like John Balance, the passing of a distributor and financier of a number of our favorite groups, and ending with the most catastrophic loss in modern history. This year's Lifetime Achievement recognition was debated with the Brain Staff and in the end, it wasn't given to a musician at all, but to somebody who has truly had a full lifetime of achievement.
Comments
I used to go to record shops when I was young and naive and wonder why so many artists had CDs called "The Peel Sessions." Years later I grew to know the influence the man who was responsible for these recordings had on not just those artists, but music in general. He was a legend, and another reminder that there have been losses. - Rob Devlin
The first time I stumbled upon the name John Peel was during my adolescence in a random gift shop. There were two cassettes with greyish silver packaging, each featuring a different New Order session, 1981 and 1982 respectively. The eight memorable songs on these tapes opened me up to that formative period in the life of a band struggling with the suicide of their former singer and friend. Much like Pink Floyd's work post-Syd Barrett, this reverent music evoked the essence of their former collaborator while inching towards a unique new direction. Though not every Peel Session was as remarkable as these, it's hard to argue against John Peel's significance in modern music. - Gary Suarez
Since I live on the other side of the Atlantic, I can't say that I was a regular Peel listener. Aside from a couple of tapes sent to me by pen-pals back in the 80s and listening to the online feed a few times in recent years, I never heard much of his program. But ever since I bought my first Peel Sessions record (Gary Numan & Tubeway Army, I think it was), I've recognized his influence on the music that I loved. I can only hope that I have even a fraction of the passion he had for music when I reach 65. - Greg Clow
I can't even name one American radio DJ. Does Rick Dees count? These days, DJs are recruited from the stand up comedy circuit and from pools of failed actors, jugglers, magicians, and faceless entertainers. Music is programmed by corporations being bought by the labels or by enthusiastic but under-prepared college students who are the target of just as much payola. But from the time I was 14, I knew the name John Peel and knew that those silver and black cassettes meant new music, weird music, damaged music, and dangerous music. Nearly everything I got into in my formative years can be traced back to a Peel Session. Peel set an uncompromising standard for major market radio programming that will surely—sadly, never be duplicated. - Matthew Jeanes
Theres a serious problem with radio in the entire "free" world, and it's effecting the music industry globally. There are plenty of people all over the world including much of our readers, all of our staff, and most of the people at other publications who keep in touch with new music who would make fantastic DJs. However, DJs don't get to choose music any more - the job of choosing music is up to "programmers" who listen to what industry people say much more than they listen to music itself. John Peel could easily have been the last true DJ for a major radio station. Bringing in guests to perform special sets, always shopping the record stores, never easily satisfied with the drivel that most labels release in excess. Take this as a note to all the replacable so-and-sos in the big major markets who bow to the major machine: you will never be a fraction of a percent as important as John Peel was. - Jon Whitney
"
Album of the Year
- Mogwai, 'Happy Songs For Happy People'
- Matmos, 'The Civil War'
- Angels Of Light, 'Everything Is Good Here/Please Come Home'
- Cat Power, 'You Are Free'
- Do Make Say Think, 'Winter Hymn, Country Hymn, Secret Hymn'
- Manitoba, 'Up In Flames'
- The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band With Choir, 'This Is Our Punk-Rock, Thee Rusted Satellites Gather + Sing'
- Broadcast, 'Haha Sound'
- Autechre, 'Draft 7.30'
- Radiohead, 'Hail To The Thief'
- Prefuse 73, 'One Word Extinguisher'
- Explosions In The Sky, 'The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place'
- Four Tet, 'Rounds'
- Lightning Bolt, 'Wonderful Rainbow'
- Outkast, 'Speakerbox/Love Below'
- M83, 'Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts'
- Devandra Banhart, 'Oh Me Oh My'
- Supersilent, 'Supersilent 6'
- Soft Pink Truth, 'Do You Party?'
- Bardo Pond, 'On The Ellipse'
- Fennesz, 'Live In Japan'
- Thighpaulsandra, 'Double Vulgar'
- The Postal Service, 'Give Up'
- Nurse With Wound, 'She And Me Fall Together In Free Death'
- Massive Attack, '100th Window'
- Killing Joke, 'Killing Joke'
- The Books, 'The Lemon Of Pink'
- The Rapture, 'Echoes'
- David Sylvian, 'Blemish'
- Matt Elliott, 'The Mess We Made'
STAFF PICK: Manitoba, 'Up in Flames'
[comment: Jon, I'll give you one crisp dollar to make Whitehouse #1 - Gary Suarez
Cat Power: Fourth best album, and number one worst concert experience of my life. - Jonathan Dean]
single of the year
- !!!, 'Me and Guiliani Down by the Schoolyard'
- Outkast, 'Hey Ya'
- Coil, 'The Restitution of Decayed Intelligence'
- Sigur Ros, 'Untitled #1'
- Low, 'Murderer'
- Broadcast, 'Pendulum'
- TV On the Radio, 'Young Liars'
- Yo La Tengo, 'Today is the Day'
- Current 93, 'Hypnagogue'
- Venetian Snares, 'Find Candace'
- Stereolab, 'Instant O in the Universe'
- The Postal Service, 'Such Great Heights'
- Flaming Lips, 'Fight Test'
- Iron and Wine, 'The Sea & the Rhythm'
- LFO, 'Freak'
- Prefuse 73, 'Extinguished: Outtakes'
- Black Dice, 'Cone Toaster'
- The White Stripes, 'Seven Nation Army'
- Arab Strap, 'Shy Retirer'
- Kid 606, 'The Illness'
- Current 93/Antony, 'Live at St Olave's Church, London 2002'
- The Hafler Trio, 'A Small Child Dreams of Voiding the Plague'
- Xiu Xiu / Jim Yoshii Pile-Up, 'Insound Tour Support EP'
- Lali Puna, 'Left Handed'
- Chris Clark, 'Ceramics Is the Bomb'
- DJ Shadow, 'gdmfsob'
- Boom Bip, 'From Left to Right'
- Manual, 'Isares'
- The Sea and Cake, 'Glass'
- Asa Chang and Junray, 'Tse Gi Ne Pu'
STAFF PICK: Sigur Ros, 'Untitled #1'
[comment: I find it pretty damn funny that a limited edition Coil 10"" of which only 500 were made available to the public would make it into the top 3 in this category. How can this be? Either (A) everyone who bought this voted for it, (B) lots of people downloaded it off SoulSeek, or (C) we've got a lot of bullshitters here. - Gary Suarez]
compilation (single artist)
- Wire, 'Send'
- Stereolab, 'ABC Music'
- Spiritualized, 'Complete Works vol. 1'
- Mouse On Mars, 'Rost Pocks'
- Acid Mothers Temple, 'Magical Power from Mars'
- Cabaret Voltaire, 'The Original Sound of Sheffield '77 '82'
- Plaid, 'Parts in the Post'
- Guided by Voices, 'Human Amusements at Hourly Rates'
- Hood, 'Singles Compiled'
- Ride, 'Waves'
- The Clash, 'essential clash'
- Skinny Puppy, 'Back & Forth vol. 6'
- Hood, 'Compilations'
- Laika, 'Lost In Space'
- William Basinski, 'Melancholia'
- The Clean, 'Anthology'
- Dresden Dolls, 'A is for Accident'
- Rhythm & Sound, 'w/ the artists'
- The Fall, 'The War Against Intelligence - The Fontana Years '
- Kevin Blechdom, 'Bitches Without Britches'
STAFF PICK: Cabaret Voltaire, 'The Original Sound of Sheffield '77 '82'
[comment: Skinny Puppy need to quit releasing overpriced archival jam sessions and record a new album. Put up or shut up. - Matthew Jeanes]
compilation (various artists)
- 26 Mixes for Cash
- An Anthology of Noise & Electronic Music Vol.2 (1936-2003)
- Rough Trade Post Punk
- 20 years of Dischord
- Lost in Translation soundtrack
- DFA Volume 1
- New York No Wave
- Total 5
- The Wire Tapper Volume 10
- New York Noise
- Wanna Buy A Craprak?
- Branches and Routes - a FatCat Records compilation
- It's Fan-Dabi-Dozi
- Mutant Disco
- Ladytron's Softcore Jukebox
- 555 records compilation of 55 artists
- Open Up And Say !&@*$
- Sonig.ilation
- The Neptunes present Clones
- 2 CD's & MP3's
STAFF PICK: Lost in Translation soundtrack
[comment: Lost in Translation was only remarkable as the return of Kevin Shields, and that's more than enough. - Rob Devlin
Considering the film was little more than an opportunity to put Tokyo skycam shots in front of shoegaze, I guess this makes sense. - Andrew Culler]
boxed set
- Coil live
- Miles Davis: Complete Jack Johnson Sessions
- Wire 20th Anniversary Boxed Set
- Nurse With Wound, 'Soliloquy for Lilith'
- Johnny Cash 'Unearthed'
- Talking Heads, 'Once in a Lifetime'
- New Order - Retro
- Cabaret Voltaire, 'Methodology'
- Guided By Voices - Hardcore UFOs
- Merzbow: Timehunter (4 x 3CD)'
- Rhys Chatham - An Angel Moves Too Fast To See
- Duran Duran singles 1981-1985
- Buzzcocks, 'Inventory'
- Ennio Morricone, 'Io'
- Tangerine Dream, 'The Bootleg Box Set 1'
- James Chance - Irresistable Impulse
- Bright Eyes, 'Vinyl Box'
- Trojan 35th Anniversary Box Set 68-03
- Motörhead, 'Stone Deaf Forever'
- Hawkwind, 'Epoch'
STAFF PICK: Nurse With Wound, 'Soliloquy for Lilith'
[comment: At +$200 something tells me a ton of people voted for this who didn't actually have it. - Jon Whitney]
record cover
- Venetian Snares - Find Candace
- Angels Of Light - Everything Is Good Here
- Cex, 'Being Ridden'
- Lightning Bolt, 'Wonderful Rainbow'
- Autechre: Draft 7.30
- Set Fire To Flames, Telegraphs In Negative / Mouths Trapped In Static
- Microphones: Mt. Eerie
- Sigur Ros - Song #1
- M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas, And Lost Ghosts
- Matmos - Civil War
- Xiu Xiu - A Promise
- Nurse With Wound - She And Me Fall Together In Free Death
- Peaches - Fatherfucker
- Do Make Say Think - Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn
- Mogwai, 'Happy Songs For Happy People'
- Current 93 - Hypnagogue
- Dresden Dolls - Dresden Dolls
- Four Tet, 'Rounds'
- Acid Mothers Temple: Magical Power From Mars
- Plaid - Spokes
- Soft Pink Truth - Do You Party?
- Thighpaulsandra - Double Vulgar
- Explosions In The Sky - The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place
- Mirror Eye Of The Storm
- Nurse With Wound - Solliloquy For Lilith
- Pulseprogramming 'Tulsa For One Second'
- Songs:Ohia 'Electric Magnolia Co.'
- Sun City Girls - God Is My Solar System / Superpower
- Aereogramme - Sleep And Release
- Manitoba - Up In Flames
STAFF PICK: Venetian Snares - Find Candace
[comment: Trevor Brown's mysogynistic, quasi-kiddie porn cover art seems to be a perennial favorite, and Xiu Xiu's seedy, disturbing low-rent porno photo cover exhibiting a naked Thai youth is not far behind. Thighpaulsandra's ""Double Vulgar"", which contained images of male nudity and necrophilia fantasy, also made the list. It seems that the Brain readership includes its fair share of twisted perverts. - Jonathan Dean]
remix/reissue
- Mouse on Mars, 'Glam'
- Pavement - Slanted + Enchanted
- Television - Marquee Moon
- Swans - Children Of God / World Of Skin
- Current 93, 'Thunder Perfect Mind'
- Nurse with Wound, 'Salt Marie Celeste'
- Animal Collective 'Spirit They're Gone Spirit They've Vanished/Danse Manatee'
- Swans - Forever Burned (Burning World)
- 23 Skidoo - The Culling is Coming
- Can, 'Out of Reach'
- Neil Young - On the Beach
- Meat Beat Manifesto, 'STSRMX'
- Charalambides - Unknown Spin
- The Stooges 'The Stooges' & 'Funhouse' (vinyl)
- Mirror, 'Eye of the Storm'
STAFF PICK: 23 Skidoo - The Culling is Coming
[comment: Yes, but have you actually heard 'Out of Reach'? - Jon Whitney]
biggest disappointment
- Autechre: Draft 7.30
- Kraftwerk, 'Tour de France Soundtracks'
- Radiohead 'Hail To The Thief'
- Zwan, 'Mary Star of the Sea'
- Do Make Say Think - Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn
- Explosions In The Sky - The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place
- Coil, 'The Restitution of Decayed Intelligence'
- Chicks on Speed '99¢'
- Erlend √òye, 'Unrest'
- Tricky, 'Vulnerable'
STAFF PICK: Liz Phair, 'Liz Phair'
[comment: Hot Hey, Liz's kid's gotta eat. If you didn't catch yourself in the shower mumbling along with that corporate, focus-group manicured chorus then I call you a dirty liar. Take 'em for all their worth, Liz, and consider it back pay for Exile. - Michael Patrick Brady]
fave new act of the year
- The Dresden Dolls
- Colder
- TV on the Radio
- The Soft Pink Truth
- The Postal Service
- Monopot
- Exploding Hearts
- Growing
- Devandra Banhart
- Asa Chang and Junray
STAFF PICK: The Dresden Dolls
[comment: The Dresden Dolls' are an achievement in concept and vision, well crafted and designed to impress with their heavy presence both live and on stage. TV on the Radio's brilliant mash up of gritty art squalls and soaring, soul-spiked vocals were immediate and stunning. Of course, I have a soft spot for Exploding Hearts who were just having so much damn fun and left us with a crisp revival of powerful pop. Soft Pink Truth... I mean, I could go on and on but I'll end by saying that the bite sample in 'Promofunk' had me grinning for days. - Michael Patrick Brady]
fave live band/event
- Coil
- Acid Mothers Temple
- Out Hud/!!!
- Mogwai
- The Ex
- Black Dice
- Explosions in the Sky
- Do Make Say Think
- Wire
- Broadcast
STAFF PICK: Out Hud/!!!
[comment: Amazing that Coil won this category, even though the (debatably) complete lineup only performed ONCE the entire year. I can't imagine that the scaled-back Sleazy and Thighpaulsandra line-up was better than Wire, Black Dice or Out Hud/!!!. - Jonathan Dean]
most overrated
- Dresden Dolls
- 50 Cent
- Coil
- Outkast
- Peaches
- Radiohead
- Goldfrapp
- Animal Collective
- Coldplay
- Sigur Ros
- The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
- Four Tet
- The Postal Service
- The Rapture
- Belle and Sebastian
- Fennesz
- Eminem
- The White Stripes
- autechre
- Black rebel Motorcycle Club
STAFF PICK: 50 Cent
[comment: Best New Band -and- Most Overrated. Looks like 2004 will be a big year for Dresden Dolls. Check your TRL listings. - Jon Whitney]
producer/engineer
- Steve Albini (Nina Nastasia, Songs: Ohia, Sonna, Scout Niblett, Frames, Disrhythmia)
- DFA (The Juan MacLean, Black Dice, LCD Soundsystem, The Rapture, Radio 4)
- Jim O'Rourke (Loose Fur, Mirror, Alan Licht)
- Colin Potter (Nurse With Wound, Ora)
- El-P (Aesop Rock, Majesticons, Murs)
- Timbaland (Bubba Sparxxx, Missy Elliott, Magoo)
- The Neptunes (Busta Rhymes, Juntin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Pharrell, Sean Paul)
- John McEntire (The Sea and Cake, Brokeback, Neil Haggerty, The Pastels)
- Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Delgados, Longwave)
- Dave Newfeld (Broken Social Scene)
- Micheal Gira (Larsen)
- RJD2 (Aceyalone, Cage, Massive Attack)
- alan sparhawk (rivulets, pale horse and rider)
- Bill Laswell (Lori Carson, Fred Frith, Pharaoh Sanders, Sly & Robbie)
- Scott Heren (Erlend √òye, Via Tania, Prefuse 73)
- Adam Kasper (Cat Power, Pearl Jam)
- MF Doom (king geedorah, mf doom instrumentals vol 3/4)
- Andrew Weatherall (Beth Orton, Radioactive Man, Primal Scream)
- Dan The Automator (Cheap Trick, Kid Koala, Blue Man Group)
- John Zorn (Sachi Hayasaka)
STAFF PICK: DFA (The Juan MacLean, Black Dice, LCD Soundsystem, The Rapture, Radio 4)
[comment: If the Britney/DFA collab wasn't left off 'In the Zone,' they would have edged Albini. - Michael Patrick Brady]
record label
- Kranky
- Warp
- Constellation
- Fat Cat
- Morr Music
- Alien8
- DFA
- Anticon
- Beta-lactam Ring Records
- Ipecac
- K
- United Dairies
- Tigerbeat6
- Young God
- Domino
- Matador
- Mego
- Sup Pop
- Secretly Canadian
- Drag City
STAFF PICK: Tigerbeat6
[comment: Kranky? I love Kranky, and I'm not going to go as far as insulting the general readership's intelligence, but I don't think people are paying attention. Note that not one Kranky release placed in the top 30 this year! People who claim to like them would probably enjoy the couple releases put out recently. Do people actually read these reviews? - Jon Whitney
Warp at #2? OK, now I know that NONE of you are paying attention to my reviews. Sheesh. Go back to your record collections and pull out the oldest Warp release you own and tell me honestly that anything that came from that label in 2003 came close to that excellence. Go on. I double fucking dog dare you. - Gary Suarez
Other than the !!! 12"", Warp had one of their weakest years yet. Req? Chris Clark? Plaid remixes? Does that spell ""best"" to you? - Jonathan Dean
It's settled then, people won't be able to vote for this category next year and the winner will be awarded by scoring points in the poll with their actual releases. - Jon Whitney]
music video (short)
- Johnny Cash, 'Hurt'
- Outkast, 'Hey Ya!'
- Radiohead, 'There There'
- Sigur Ros, 'Untitled #1'
- Mogwai, 'Hunted By a Freak'
- Missy Elliott, 'Pass That Dutch'
- Matmos, 'Stars and Stripes Forever'
- queens of the stone age, 'go with the flow'
- White Stripes, 'Seven Nation Army '
- Four Tet, 'She Moves She'
- LFO, 'Freak'
- the white stripes, 'the hardest button to button'
- cat power 'he war'
- Keith Fullerton Whitman, 'Modena'
- The Soft Pink Truth, 'Promofunk'
- broken social scene, 'stars and sons'
- Kid 606, 'The Illness'
- Junior Senior, 'Move Your Feet'
- Laibach, 'Tanz mit Laibach'
- Manitoba, 'Jacknuggeted'
STAFF PICK: Sigur Ros, 'Untitled #1'
[comment: As much as I loved the Sigur Ros 'Untitled #1' video, nothing this year beat the poignant look back at Johnny Cash's life and infamy that was the 'Hurt' video. That was the sort of piece that could only exist and have the impact it did because of the length and depth of Cash's career. It seems impossible to think that there are any artists working now that will accomplish so much over such a long period of time again to warrant a similar tribute. - Matthew Jeanes]
lifetime achievement award
Wire
[comment: Bravery, integrity, absolute courage and energy, and more ideas and concepts than 15 rock bands have in their lucid wet dreams. - Rob Devlin
Seeing them in NYC this year, the vibrant boys and girls in the mosh pit right up front were probably not even wiping their own ass when Wire split up a SECOND time. This says a lot about Wire's power and the power of incredible music that's not made by pretty young people who are marketed to youth weaned from Barney and Power Rangers and mall rock. - Jon Whitney
Wire is still managing to be relevant and influentual, making strides in their sound and execution and proving that great bands never die. A wonderful precendent that has inspired other brilliant bands like Mission of Burma to give it another go. From then to now, a solid body of work. - Michael Patrick Brady
Who's Wire? - Gary Suarez]
tv show
- The Simpsons
- The Daily Show
- South Park
- Six Feet Under
- The Sopranos
- Aqua Teen Hunger Force
- Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
- Curb Your Enthusiasm
- Late Night with Conan O' Brian
- CSI
- The Office
- 24
- That 70s Show
- Sealab 2021
- Scrubs
STAFF PICK: The Daily Show
[comment: Wanda finds a turd in the back seat. It doesn't get much better than that. - Jon Whitney]
DVD release
- 24 Hour Party People
- The Work of Director Chris Cunningham
- Bowling for Columbine
- Sigur Ros, 'Untitled #1'
- Simpsons (Season 3)
- Incredible String Band, 'Be Glad for the Song Has No Ending'
- Sun Ra, 'Space is the Place'
- Family Guy
- Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers (Special Edition)
- The Work of Director Spike Jonze
- Can DVD
- Bjork, 'Live @ Royal Festival Hall DVD'
- Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, 'God is in the House'
- Roger & Me
- 24
- Futurama (Season 2)
- Strangers With Candy Season 2
- Indiana Jones Trilogy
- Punch Drunk Love
- Texas Chainsaw Massacre special edition
STAFF PICK: The Work of Director Chris Cunningham
[comment: Am I the only one who is sick of trying to be convinced by Factory that Happy Mondays are anything but complete and utter shite? - Jon Whitney]
fave website (non-brainwashed)
(brainwashed can't win -every- year now....)
- pitchforkmedia.com
- allmusic.com
- theonion.com
- google.com
- fakejazz.com
- IMDB.com
- homestarrunner.com
- epitonic.com
- guardian.co.uk
- dustedmagazine.com
- bbc.co.uk
- stylusmagazine.com
- friendster.com
- craigslist.com
- absorb.org
- fark.com
- disinfo.org
- deoxy.org
- weeklyworldnews.com
- SomethingAwful.com
STAFF PICK: homestarrunner.com
[comment: I'm suprised Friendster didn't rank in the most annoying trend - Michael Patrick Brady]
most annoying trend
- Bush administration antics/coverups
- 80s revivalism/nostalgia/cocaine/girls cutting the collars off their shirts
- American Idol
- 60's garage rock revival
- Cell Phones in Rude Places (movie theaters, cars, concerts, anuses) w/ annoying ringtones +/or digital cameras
- Bad white rappers and dull, overrated producers being labelled 'underground hip hop'
- Atkins Diet
- Boboism (Volkswagens/ipods/starbucks, that whole 'crap for white people to spend money on' thing)
- Electroclash
- Metrosexuality/Trendy Homosexuality (Queer Eye, Supreme Court ruling on sodomy, Trent Lott, Marriage Protection Week, Episcopalian gay priest)
- New York City - this isn't 1977
- SUVs
- ""Support the Troops"" translated as ""Shut Up and Obey""
- Reality TV game shows
- Emo music/fashions (dark frame glasses)
- Michael Moore's Guilty White Liberal politics
- Conervative Media Control/Liars
- French bashing & Freedom Fries
- illegal invasions of virtually defenseless third world countries
- Right Wing Politics
STAFF PICK: SUVs
[comment: It's refreshing to see the readers' hearts are in the right places. - Jessica Tibbits]
"
album of the year
- Godspeed You Black Emperor - Yanqui U.X.O.
- Sigur Ros - ( )
- Low - Trust
- Boards of Canada - Geogaddi
- Notwist - Neon Golden
- Sonic Youth - Murray Street
- M? - Finally We Are No One
- Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights
- El-P - Fantastic Damage
- Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
- Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
- Do Make Say Think - &yet &yet
- Keith Fullerton Whitman - Playthroughs
- Tom Waits - Alice
- Out Hud - Street Dad
- ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead - Source Tags & Codes
- Books - Thought for Food
- Cornelius - Point
- RJD2 - Deadringer
- Nurse with Wound - Man with the Woman Face
- Deerhoof - Revilie
- Beck - Sea Change
- Antipop Consortium - Arrhythmia
- Black Dice - Beaches & Canyons
- Fennesz / O'Rourke / Rehberg - Return of Fenn O'Berg
- Legendary Pink Dots - All the King's Horses
- Tom Waits - Blood Money
- Liars - They threw us all in a trench and stuck a monument on top
- Clinic - Walking With Thee
- DJ Shadow - The Private Press
- Hrvatski - Swarm & Dither
- Isis - Oceanic
- Max Tundra - Mastered By The Guy At Exchange
- Ms. John Soda - No P or D
- Shalabi Effect- The Trial of St-Orange
- Biosphere - Shenzhou
- D?ek - From Filthy Tongue of Gods and Griots
- DJ /Rupture - Minesweeper Suite
- Legendary Pink Dots - All the King's Men
- Pan?American- The River Made No Sound
single or ep
- Wire - Read & Burn 01
- Wire - Read & Burn 02
- Autechre - Gantz Graf
- Coil - The Remote Viewer
- Yo La Tengo - Nuclear War
- Limp - Orion
- M? - green grass of tunnel
- Missy Elliot - Work it
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
- Dntel - (This is the dream of) Evan and Chan
- Kid 606 - Why I Love Life
- Savath and Savalas - Rolls and Waves
- Gold Chains - Straight From Your Radio
- I Am Spoonbender - Shown Actual Size
- Coil - Winter Solstoce Bonus CDR
best song
- M? - Green Grass of Tunnel
- Low - That's how you sing amazing grace
- Messy Elliot - Work It
- Sigur Ros - Nj?nav?in aka The Nothing Song
- Squarepusher - Do You Know Squarepusher?
- Boards of Canada - 1969
- Interpol - NYC
- Legendary Pink Dots - The Unlikely Event
- Ms John Soda - Solid Ground
- Wire - 99.9
best various artist compilation
- Blue Skied an' Clear
- Brain in the Wire
- Urban Renewal Program
- Wire Tapper 09
- Seasonal Greetings
- 20 years of dischord
- Masonic
- 24 Hour Party People Soundtrack
- Disco Noveau
- In The Beginning There Was Rhythm
- Lost for Words
- Machinenfest 2002
- Rough Trade Shops: Electronic 01
- The Fire This Time
- 2 Many DJs - As Heard On Radio Soulwax Pt 2
- Acid Mothers Temple Family Compilation: Do Whatever You Want, Don't Do Whatever You Don't Want!!
- All Tomorrow's Parties v. 1.1
- Badorb.Com Bless You
- Bip Hop Generation volume 5
- Chamber A Cold Springs Records Sampler
best single artist compilation
- Fennesz - Field Recordings 1995 - 2002
- Windy & Carl - Introspection
- Microphones - Song Islands
- Bj?k - Greatest hits
- Farben - Texstar
- ISAN - Clockwark Menagerie
- Smog - Accumulation None
- Bj?k - Family Tree
- Cabaret Voltaire - The Original Sound of Sheffield '78/82. Best Of
- Coil - Moon's Milk (In Four Phases)
- The Fall - Totally Wired
- Hrvatski - Swarm and Dither
- Rocket From The Tombs - The Day The Earth Met...
- Lesser - lsrmp3cd
- Ekkehard Ehlers - Plays
best double or multi-lp/cd release
- Windy & Carl - Introspection
- Blue Skied An' Clear
- Brain In The Wire
- Legendary Pink Dots - Chemical Playschool 11,12,13
- Acid Mothers Temple Family Compilation 'Do Whatever You Want...'
- Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted - Luxe and Redux
- Squarepusher - Do You Know Squarepusher?
- Paul Westerberg - Stereo/Mono
- Throbbing Gristle - 24 Hours
- Bj?k - Family Tree
coolest unusual packaging
- Brain in the Wire
- Venetian Snares - a giant alien force more violent and sick...
- Bj?k - Family Tree box
- Sigur Ros - ( ) (what the hell's so unusual about this one?)
- Boards of Canada - Geodaddi (book style) (or this one?)
nicest cover design
- Godspeed You Black Emperor - Yanqui U.X.O.
- Boards of Canada - Geogaddi
- Low - Trust
- Sigur Ros - ( )
- Shalabi Effect - Trial of St Orange
- Boom Bip - Seed to the Sun
- Nurse With Wound - Man With The Woman Face
- Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
- M? - Finally We Are No One
- Return of Fenn O' Berg
best rerelease/repackage/reissue
- Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted - Luxe and Redux
- Boards of Canada - Twoism
- Stars of the Lid - Avec Laudenum
- Flaming Lips - Finally the Punk Rockers are Taking Acid and The Day They Shot a Hole in the Jesus Egg
- 23 Skidoo - The Gospel Comes to New Guinea
- Fridge - Eph
- HNAS - Melchior
- Don Cherry - Orient
- Gary Wilson - You Think You Really Know Me
- Nurse With Wound - Automating Volume 2
worst album you bought
- Boards Of Canada - Geogaddi
- Current 93 & Nurse with Wound - Music for the Horse Hospital
- Squarepusher - Do You Know Squarepusher
- Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
- DJ Shadow - The Private Press
- Future Sound of London - The Isness
- Beth Gibbons & Rustin' Man - Out of Season
- Cex - Tall, Dark, and Handcuffed
- David Bowie - Heathen
- Download - Inception
most anticipated disappointment
- Godspeed You Black Emperor - Yanqui U.X.O. (you only waited two years? that's not much anticipation, come on)
- Sigur Ros - ( | )
- Boards of Canada - Geogaddi
- Future Sound of London - The Isness
- Audioslave
- Autechre - Gantz Graf
- Cex - Tall, Dark, and Handcuffed
- Destroyer - This Night
- Trans Am - TA
- Low - Trust
guiltiest pleasure
- Eminem - The Eminem Show
- Kylie Minogue - Fever
- Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
- Justin Timberlake - Justified (you wouldn't admit this if the poll wasn't anonymous)
- Andrew WK - I Get Wet
- Doves - The Last Broadcast
- Queen of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf
- Belle and Sebestian - Storytelling
- Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man - Out of Season
- Missy Elliott - Under Construction
band of the year
- Sigur R?
- Low
- Interpol
- Acid Mothers Temple
- Coil
- Flaming Lips
- Legendary Pink Dots
- M?
- Wilco
- Wire
best solo musical artist
- Keith Fullerton Whitman
- Jim O' Rourke
- Tom Waits
- Jessica Bailiff
- Venetian Snares
- Beck
- DJ Shadow
- Fennesz
- El-P
- Cex
new act of the year (band or solo artist)
- Interpol
- Liars
- The Books
- Xiu Xiu
- DJ /Rupture
- Limp
- Christmas Decorations
- RJD2
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs
- Devandra Bahnhart
- Ms. John Soda
- Out Hud
- Parlour
- Polmo Polpo
- Radio 4
best live show/concert experience
- Sigur R?
- Coil
- Godspeed You Black Emperor!
- Stars of the Lid
- Legendary Pink Dots
- Sonic Youth
- Low
- M?
- Cex
- Do Make Say Think
- Wire
- Jackie-o Motherfucker
- Explosions in the Sky
- ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
- Acid Mothers Temple
most overrated band/artist
- Interpol
- Sigur Ros
- Strokes
- Wilco
- Kid 606
- Radiohead
- White Stripes
- Vines
- ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
- The Streets
- Boards of Canada
- Eminem
- Sonic Youth
- Cex
- Godspeed You Black Emperor!
most irritating band/artist
- Eminem
- The Strokes
- Interpol
- The Vines
- Radiohead
- Avril Lavigne
- Kid 606
- Nickelback
- Ryan Adams
- Sigur Ros
lifetime achievement
- Sonic Youth
(only one band can win it per year)
Band/artist with most detestable audience/fans
- Godspeed You Black Emperor!
- Eminem
- Radiohead
- Interpol
- Phish (who could smell worse than godspeed fans but are agreeably far less pestering)
Most obligatory
- Low
- David Bowie
- Skinny Puppy / Kevin Key
- Autechre
- Boards Of Canada
- Coil
- Godspeed You Black Emperor
- Sonic Youth
- Squarepusher
- Current 93
Most annoying reissue
- Peaches - The Teaches of Peaches (stay tuned for next year's three-CD edition)
- Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted
- Boards Of Canada - Twoism
- The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico
- Incredible String Band reissues on Collector's Choice
Worst comeback
- Suicide
- Soft Cell
- Guns 'n Roses
- Future Sound of London
- Sex Pistols
- The Rolling Stones
- Boards Of Canada
- Beck
- Julee Cruise
- Al Gore
most prolific artist who really shouldn't be so prolific
- Merzbow
- Acid Mothers Temple
- Venetian Snares
- Legendary Pink Dots & every single one of those side projects
- Jim o'Rourke
- John Zorn
- Kid 606
- Mick Jaggar
- Robert Pollard
- Ryan Adams
biggest scam act
- Interpol
- DJ Shadow
- The Vines
- Fischerspooner
- Kid 606
- Acid Mother's Temple
- Current 93's limited editions
- Merzbow
- The Strokes
- Andrew WK
miss congeniality
- M?
- Cex
- Peaches
- Antony of the Johnsons
- Beth Orton
- Kylie
- Landing
- Low
- Matmos (who else asks you for a picture when you mail order a CD?)
- Missy Elliott (when has she been nice to you? when has she stuck around after a show to sign CDs??)
most overpriced release
- Bj?k - Family Tree
- TG24 Box Set
- Nurse With Wound / Current 93 - Horse Hospital
- Sigur Ros - ( )
- Coil Live set
most fetishable
- Peaches
- Avril Lavigne
- Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)
- Bj?k
- Kylie Minogue
- Aphex Twin
- Cex
- Christina Aguilera
- Justin Timberlake
- Adam Forkner (Yume Bitsu)
most confessedly ignored by you
- 23 Skidoo (results may have been skewed by the description of this question, all apologies)
- Nurse With Wound
- Coil
- Acid Mothers Temple
- Flaming Lips
- Legendary Pink Dots
- Nirvana
- Pere Ubu
- Talk Talk
- The Fall
worst sellout
- Sigur Ros
- Ryan Adams
- Godspeed You Black Emperor
- Trans Am
- Moby
fave producer
- Steve ""I'm not a producer, I'm an engineer"" Albini
- El-P
- Jim O'Rourke
- Nigel Goodrich
- The Neptunes
- Timbaland
- Dr Dre
- John McEntire
- Phil Elvrum
- Colin Potter
who will break big next year?
- Cex
- Kinski
- Venetian Snares
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs
- Black Dice
record label
- Kranky
- Morr Music
- Constellation
- Mego
- Def Jux
- Fat Cat
- Tigerbeat 6
- Temporary Residence
- Matador
- Ipecac
music video
(as seen on various web sites and CD-Rs in addition to non-music video channels, for those who think they're only seen on MTV)
- Autechre - Gantz Graf
- White Stripes - Fell in Love with a Girl
- Missy Eliot - Work it
- M? - Green Grass of Tunnel
- Clinic - Walking with Thee
- Interpol - PDA
- Notwist - Pick up the Phone
- ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead - Another Morning Stoner
- El-P - Deep Space 9mm
- Lightning Bolt - Power of Salad and Milkshakes
OTHER STUFF
movie of the year
- Bowling for Colombine
- Lord Of The Rings - The Two Towers
- Spirited Away
- Punch Drunk Love
- 24 Hour Party People
- Adaptation
- Mulholland Drive
- Crossroads
- Donnie Darko
- Secretary
- Heaven
- Lost in la Mancha
- Star Wars Episode II - Attack Of The Clones
- Talk to Her
- The Ring
tv show
- Simpsons
- 24
- Sopranos
- Buffy The Vampire Slayer
- South Park
- Futurama
- The Daily Show
- Alias
- Oz
- That '70s Show
magazine/newspaper
- The Wire
- The Onion
- Magnet
- Grooves
- Careless Talk Costs Lives
- Entertainment Weekly
- Found
- Giant Robot
- Guardian
- New Yorker
book of the year
- Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk
- A New Kind of Science by Stephen Wolfram
- After the Quake: Stories by Haruki Murakami
- Choke by Chuck Palahniuk
- Love and Loud Colors by Edward Ka-Spel
fave actor
- Philip Seymour Hoffman
- Johnny Depp
- Adrien Brody
- Kevin Spacey
- Edward Norton
fave actress
- Julianne Moore
- Christina Ricci
- Nicole Kidman
- Winona Ryder
- Jodie Foster
fave director
- David ""I didn't direct anything this year, you clowns"" Lynch
- Hayao Miyazaki
- Micheal Moore
- Aki Kaourismaki
- Darren Aaronofsky
- David Fincher
- Martin Scorsese
- Peter Jackson
- Steven Soderbergh
- Todd Haynes
fave writer (book/tv/film/play,...)
- Chuck Palahniak
- Paul Auster
- Haruki Murakami
- Thomas Ligotti
- charlie kaufmann
best website
- Brainwashed / the Brain
- pitchforkmedia.com
- theonion.com
- homestarrunner.com
- allmusic.com
- Fakejazz.com
- Absorb.org
- aquariusrecords.org
- espn.com
- explodingdog.com
- four09.org
- kompaktkiste.de/
- news.bbc.co.uk
- projectbloodteam.com
- RecycleYourEars.com
most annoying trends
Gosh there's so many...
- Electroclash
- Republicanism / Right Wing Politics / Bush Support / New McCarthyism
- War Mongering
- Mall Rock masked as Commercial Alt. Rock
- 80s Retro / Revival (see: haircuts/nostalgia/cocaine)
- Garage Rock/Crock/House/Pop/Revival
- Emo
- Concert Crowd Conformity Code (see functionless thick-rimmed glasses, unshowered NYC indie film hair look, girls who look exactly alike)
- Reality TV (especially discount celebrities like Anna and Ozzy)
- Cell Phones (at least turn them off at the movies, assholes)
- Major Labels/RIAA bitching/DMCA Reaction/Copy-proof CDs
- Bands that start with ""The"" and end with a plural noun
- Designer Dirt (see: bleach stains on jeans)
- Economic Instability (the kind caused by rich, white corporate assholes bringing everything down)
- Glitch (isn't that 1999?)
- IDM
- Polls
- Recycled goth
- Blind Patriotism / Nationalism
- Blogs
- White Hip Hop (that sounds white)
- Leg Warmers
- MTV (note to future voters: this is a channel, not a trend)
- Really low jeans on chubby chicks / butt cleavage
- Talking loud at concerts
dumbest category on this poll
- Best band you lied to your friends about seeing live
- this one
- most fetishable (put a ball-gag in it)
- Miss Congeniality (obviously you don't care when a band writes you back)
- Band/artist with most detestable audience/fans(stop bitching you obnoxious twit)
"
Album of the year
- Low - Things we lost in the fire
- Fennesz - Endless Summer
- Autechre - Confield
- Stars of the Lid - The Tired Sounds of...
- Mogwai - Rock Action
- Cannibal Ox - A Cold Vein
- Fridge - Happiness
- Matmos - A chance to cut is a chance to cure
- Four Tet - Pause
- Aphex Twin - Drukqs
- Angels of Light - How I Loved You
- Tortiose - Standards
- Labradford - Fixed::Context
- Silver Mt. Zion - Born Into Trouble as the Sparks Fly Upward
- Squarepusher - Go plastic
- Current 93/Nurse With Wound - Bright Yellow Moon
- Jim O'Rourke - Insignificance
- M√∫m - Yesterday Was Dramatic, Today Is OK
- Nick Cave - No More Shall We Part
- Set Fire To Flames - Signs Reign Rebuilder
- Strokes - Is This It?
- Dntel - Life Is Full Of Possibilities
- Fugazi - The Argument
- Spiritualized - Let It Come Down
- Lali Puna - Scary World Theory
- Stereolab - Sound-Dust
- Hood - Cold House
- Microphones - The Glow Pt 2
- Mouse on Mars - Idiology
- Prefuse 73 - Vocal Studies + Uprock Narratives
- white stripes - white blood cells
- Telefon Tel Aviv - Farenheit Fair Enough
- Ulrich Schnauss - Far Away Trains Passing By
- Bonnie Prince Bilie - Ease down the road
- Cex - Oops, I Did It Again
- clouddead - clouddead
- Cyclobe - The Visitors
- Fantomas - The Director's Cut
- Red House Painters - Old Ramon
- Skinny Puppy - Doomsday Back and Forth Vol. 5
- Sparklehorse - It's A Wonderful Life
- Bardo Pond - Dilate
- Beta Band - Hot Shots II
- Calla - Scavengers
- Godflesh - Hymns
- Herbert - Bodily Functions
- Jan Jelinek - Loop Finding Jazz Records
- Plaid - Double Figure
- Thighpaulsandra - I, Thighpaulsandra
- Explosions In The Sky - Those Who Tell The Truth...
single or ep
- Mogwai - My Father My King
- Low & the Dirty Three - In the Fishtank
- Squarepusher - My Red Hot Car
- Thighpaulsandra - Michael Publicity Window
- Low - Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
- Belle & Sebastian - Jonathan David
- Matmos - California Rhinoplasty
- Antony & the Johnsons - I Fell in Love with a Dead Boy
- Squarepusher - Untitled
- Autechre - Peel Sessions 2
- Fugazi - Furniture
- Hood - Home Is Where It Hurts
- V/A - 2 Remixes by AFX
- COH - Love Uncut
- Anti Pop Consortium - The Ends Against The Middle
- To Rococo Rot & I-Sound - Pantone
- Mouse On Mars - Actionist Respoke
- Calexico - Even My Sure Things Fall Through
- Tortoise - Gently Cuping the Chin of the Ape
- Stereolab - Captain Easychord
fave remix
- 808 State - Flow Coma - Remix by AFX
- Slag Boom Van Loon - Poppy Seed - Remix by Boards of Canada
- Missy Elliot - Get Yr Freak On - remix by Kid 606
- Depeche Mode - Dream On - remix by Kid 606
- Foetus - Cirrhosis of the Heart - remix by Amon Tobin
- Kings of Convenience - Weight of My Words - remix by Four Tet remix
- Matmos - Disco Hospital
- M√∫m - Please Smile My Spring Reverb AMX - remix by Uwe Zahn
- Slag Boom Van Loon - Fallen Angels Entering Pandemonium - remix by Coil
- Yann Tiersen - Lost - remix by Third Eye Foundation
best various artist compilation
- Tigerbeat 6 Inc.
- Clicks & Cuts 2
- All Tommorrow's Panties
- [O]acis.Box
- Bip Hop generation 4
- Emre - Dark Matter
- Snow Robots Vol. 1 & 2
- Braindance Coincidence
- House Of Distraction
- The Wire Tapper 7
- Warp - Routine
- electric ladyland 7: glitch-hop compilation 2CD
- Immediate Action
- Putting the Morr Back in Morrissey
- RKK 13 remix comp
best single artist compilation
- Einsturzende Neubauten- ""Strategies Against Architecture III""
- Coil - A Guide for Beginners
- Coil - A Guide for Finishers
- Coil - Moons Milk In four Phases
- Dead Can Dance - 1981-1998
- Godflesh - In All Languages
- Piano Magic - Seasonally Affective (1996-2000)
- pigface 'best of - preaching to the perverted'
- Cabaret Voltaire - Conform To Deform
- Third Eye Foundation - I Poo Poo On you Juju
best double or multi-lp/cd release
- Stars of the Lid - The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid
- Aphex Twin - Drukqs
- Thighpaulsandra - I, Thighpaulsandra
- Unwound: Leaves Turn Inside You
- Einsturzende Neubauten: Strategies Against Architecture III
- Clicks & Cuts 2
- Current 93 / Nurse With Wound - Bright Yellow Moon/Purtle
- Xhol Caravan - Motherfuckers Live
- Coil: Moon's Milk (in Four Phases)
- Orbital - The Altogether
- Cabaret Voltaire - Corform to Deform
- Low - Things We Lost in the Fire (2LP version)
- Miles Davis - In A Silent Way complete sessions
- Nuggets II
- Rewriting The Book
- Ride - Box Set
- Velvet Underground - The Quine Tapes
- Nart Nibbles
- Dead Can Dance box set
- Faust - The Wumme Years
coolest unusual packaging
- Aranos - magnificent! magnificent! no one knows the final word
- Set Fire To Flames - Signs Reign Rebuilder
- Silver Mt. Zion - Born Into Trouble as the Sparks Fly Upward
- Aphex Twin - drukqs (vinyl version)
- Cyclo
- No-neck Blues Band - Sticks & Stones...
- Shipping News ""Carrier""
nicest cover design
- Fridge - Happiness
- Jim O'Rourke - Insignificance
- Tortoise - Standards
- Set Fire to Flames - Sings Reign Rebuilder
- Angels of Light - How I Loved You
- Björk - Vespertine
- Radiohead - Amnesiac
- thighpaulsandra - i, thighpaulsandra
- Silver Mt Zion - Born Into Trouble as Sparks Fly Upwards
- Current 93 / Nurse With Wound - Bright Yellow Moon
best rerelease/repackage/reissue
- Coil - Love's Secret Domain
- Neu! - Neu!
- Neu! 75
- Neu! 2
- Coil - Horse Rotorvator
- Coil - Scatology
- Nurse with Wound - Chance Meeting
- Miles Davis - In a Silent Way
- Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information
- Love - Forever Changes
- Nurse With Wound - Automating vol. 1
- 23 skidoo - 7 songs
- This Heat - Deceit
- Current 93 - Imperium
- Gescom - Keynell
most amusing song/album title
- Cex - Florida (Is Shaped Like A Big Droopy Dick For A Reason)
- Matmos - A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure
- Aphex Twin - Drukqs
- M√∫m - Please Smile My Noise Bleed
- Third Eye Foundation - I Poo Poo on your Ju Ju
- Cex - Oops! I did it again
- Current 93 - Cats Drunk on Copper
- Stars of the Lid - The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid
- Massimo - Hey babe, let me see your USB and I'll show you my FireWire
- Tenacious D - Fuck Her Gently
worst album you bought
- Aphex Twin - Suqks
- Radiohead - Amnesiacrap
- Autechre - Confield
- Depeche Mode - Exciter
- Death In June - All Pigs Must Diet
- Spiritualized - Let it Come Down
- Weezer - Weezer
- Stephen Malkmus - Stephen Malkmus
- Squarepusher - Go Plastic
- Mogwai - Rock Action
most anticipated disappointment
- Aphex Twin - Drukqs
- Autechre - Confield
- Spiritualized - Let it come down
- Death In June - All Pigs Must Die
- Squarepusher - Go Plastic
- Tortoise - Standards
- Weezer - Weezer
- Air - 10,000 hz Legend
- Mogwai - Rock Action
- Current 93 - The Great in the Small
guiltiest pleasure
- Strokes - Is This It?
- Britney Spears - I'm a Slave 4 u
- Kylie Minogue - Can't Get You Out of my Head
- Madonna - Greatest Hits Vol. 2
- Missy Elliot - Miss e... so addictive
- Daft Punk - Discovery
- Depeche Mode - Exciter
- Destiny's Child - Bootylicious
- N'Sync - Pop
- Radiohead - Amnesiac
band of the year
- Coil
- Low
- Mogwai
- Sigur Ros
- Matmos
- Stars of the Lid
- Autechre
- Cannibal Ox
- Mouse on Mars
- Tortoise
best solo musical artist
- Jim O'Rourke
- Christian Fennesz
- Thighpaulsandra
- Jimmy Lavelle (Album Leaf)
- Tom Jenkinson
- Will Oldham
- cEvin key
- Kid 606
- Michael Gira
- Richard D. James
new act of the year (band or solo artist)
- Explosions In The Sky
- Cannibal Ox
- Set Fire To Flames
- Strokes
- M√∫m
- Avalanches
- Baby Dee
- Dntel
- Clinic
- Amenti Suncrown
best live show/concert experience
- Coil
- Radiohead
- Low
- godspeed you black emperor!
- Sigur Ros
- Mogwai
- Mouse on Mars
- Tortoise
- Björk/Matmos
- Autechre
sexiest musical artist
- Björk
- Kyle Mnouge
- Britney Spears
- Cex
- Peaches
- Hope Sandoval
- PJ Harvey
- Shakira
- Jennifer Lopez
- Alison Goldfrapp
most overrated band/artist
- The Strokes
- Radiohead
- White Stripes
- kid 606
- Aphex Twin
- Sigur Ros
- Björk
- Godspeed you black emporer
- Matmos
- Mogwai
most irritating band/artist
- Fred Durst/Limp Bizzkit
- The Strokes
- Creed
- Radiohead
- Kid 606
- Britney Spears
- Aphex Twin
- Destiny's Child
- V/Vm
- Ryan Adams
- p. diddy
- Björk
- White Stripes
- Vincent Gallo
- U2
lifetime achievement
- Coil
- Michael Gira
- John Fahey
- George Harrison
- sonic youth
- Radiohead
- Autechre
- David Tibet
- Johnny Cash
- Richard H Kirk
fave producer/engineer
- Steve Albini
- JIM O' ROURKE
- John McEntire
- Steven Stapleton
- Dave Fridman
- el p
- Timbaland
- Nigel Godrich
- Brian Eno
- Michael Gira
who will break big next year?
- Cex
- Sigur Ros
- Explosions In The Sky
- Lali Puna
- The White Stripes
- M√∫m
- Clinic
- Fourtet
- Coil
- Calla
record label
- Kranky
- Warp
- Morr Music
- Constellation
- drag city
- Thrill Jockey
- Temporary Residence
- Matador
- Eskaton / Threshold House
- Young God
- World Serpent
- City Centre Offices
- Def Jux
- Domino
- Schematic
music video
- Sigur Ros - Vi√∞ar vel tl loft√°rasa
- Add N to (X) - Plug Me In
- Björk - Pagan Pottery
- Gorilaz - Clint Eastwood
- Björk - Hidden Place
- Coi Live in NY
- Mouse on Mars - Actionist Respoke
- Ohgr - Cracker
- Tortoise - Seneca
- Low - Dinosaur Act
OTHER STUFF
movie of the year
- Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain (Amelie)
- Memento
- Mullholland Drive
- Lord of the Rings – Fellowship of the Rings
- Ghost World
- The Man Who Wasn't There
- Waking Life
- Royal Tenebaums
- Amores Perros
- Hedwig & The Angry Inch
- Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone
- Moulin Rouge
- Monsters Inc
- Sherk
- The Others
- A.I.
- Apocalypse Now Redux
- Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
- Blow
- Brother
- From Hell
- In the Mood for Love
- Oceans 11
- Battle Royale
- Odishon (Audition)
- Otanesek (Little Otik)
- State and Main
- The Anniversary Party
- Vanilla Sky
- L.I.E.
tv show
- Simpsons
- Daily Show
- Sopranos
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Futurama
- Family Guy
- The West Wing
- Absolutely Fabulous
- Invader Zim
- Malcom in the Middle
- That '70s Show
- South Park
- Will & Grace
- Brass Eye special (UK)
- 24
magazine/newspaper
- The Wire
- The Onion
- Magnet
- alternative press
- Chunklet
- Q
- grooves
- Tape Op
- XLR8R
- Devil in the Woods
- guardian (uk)
- urb
- uncut
- The Nation
- Mojo
book of the year
- Neil Gaman: American Gods
- No Logo by Naomi Klein
- Choke - Chuck Palahniuk
- Eric Schlosser - Fast Food Nation
- Haruki Murakami - Underground
- How to be Good - Nick Hornby
- our band could be your life-azerrad
- Salman Rushdie ""Fury""
- Alain de Botton ""The Consolations Of Philosophy""
- David Foster Wallace - Infinite Jest
fave actor
- Johnnny Depp
- Philip Seymour Hoffman
- Brad Pitt
- Billy Bob Thornton
- Guy Pearce
- Anthony Hopkins
- Benecio del Toro
- Christopher Walken
- Jack Black
- Jason Lee
fave actress
- Thora Birch
- Audrey Tautou
- Nicole Kidman
- Reese Witherspoon
- Carrie Anne Moss
- Julianna Moore
- Asia Argento
- Cate Blanchett
- Jennifer Connelly
- Gwyneth Paltrow
fave director
- David Lynch
- Peter Jackson
- Jean Pierre Jeunet
- Coen Bros
- Darren Aranofsky
- Wes Anderson
- andrei tarkovsky
- Christopher Nolan
- Guy Ritchie
- John Waters
fave writer (book/tv/film/play,...)
- Kurt Vonnegut
- Neil Gaiman
- Chuck Palahniuk
- David Foster Wallace
- David Lynch
- David Mamet
- Haruki Murakami
- nick hornby
- Thomas Ligotti
- Bret Easton Ellis
best website
- Brainwashed
- Pitchfork
- The Onion
- Threshold House
- Allmusic Guide
- Audiogalaxy
- eBay
- Warp Records
- Buddyhead
- Fake Jazz
most annoying trends
- Nouveaux Patriotism/American Flags on cars/Cheap Patriotism/Flag Waving/Cashing in on 9/11
- rap metal / rap rock / dysfunction rock / nu metal / sports rock
- misdirected patriotism / violent nationalism / rampant fervor
- Cell Phones / Everything becoming wireless
- Clicky glitch music
- corporate garage rock / the strokes / the white boy blues rock revival (again) / pop punk
- IDM
- war & terrorism / bioterrorism / fear
- Emo
- SUVs
- Scooters
- boy bands
- 1980s retro music/clothing
- Approval of George W. Bush
- Harry Potter
- Rock bands going electronic and being considered innovators
- Icelandic music obsession (Sigur Ros/Björk)
- Indie rock fashion fascist kinder-punks
- big pants
- Increased Commercials (everywhere, in movie theatres)
- Reality TV
- Benefit concerts
- Manufactured Bubble Gum Pop
- Stale electronic music
- Mods
dumbest category on this poll
- This one
- Sexiest
- Guiltiest Pleasure
- Who Will Break Big Next Year
- TV show
- Most Annoying Trends
- all of the them
- Fave Remix
- Music Video
- None of them
"
They say history never repeats but almost unsurprisingly much of the 2000 Brainwashed Readers Poll looks closely identical to the first time we took the poll, 10 years ago. Thanks to everyone who participated in both rounds this year. Now it's time to go to your collections and dig out the music from 1999 for the nomination round (coming shortly)!
Album of the Year
1. godspeed you black emperor!, "Lift Yr Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven"
2. Coil, "Musick to Play in the Dark Vol. 2"
3. Radiohead, "Kid A"
4. Sigur Rós, "Ágætis Byrjun" [despite the release being in 1999, the international distribution through Fat-Cat will qualify this release for 2000]
5. Yo La Tengo, "And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out"
6. Current 93, "Sleep Has His House"
7. two way tie:
Broadcast, "The Noise Made By People"
Legendary Pink Dots, "A Perfect Mystery"
8. Antony & the Johnsons, "Antony & the Johnsons"
9. two way tie:
Amon Tobin, "Supermodified"
Trans Am, "Red Line
10. two way tie:
Kid 606, "Down with the Scene"
Primal Scam, "Xtrmntr"
BAND
OF THE
YEAR
1. godspeed you black emperor!
2. Coil
3. Radiohead
4. Sigur Rós
5. Legendary Pink Dots
6. Current 93
7. Kid 606
8. Low
9. Yo La Tengo
10. Antony & the Johnsons
SONG
OF THE
YEAR
1. Coil, "Batwings (A Limnal Hymn)"
2. Boards of Canada, "In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country"
3. Radiohead, "Idioteque"
4. Antony & the Johnsons, "Cripple and the Starfish"
5. Current 93, "I Have a Special Plan for This World"
MUSIC
VIDEO
OF THE
YEAR
1. Outkast, "B.O.B."
2. MDMFK, "Missing Time"
3. Add N to (X), "Plug Me In"
4. Eminem, "Will the Real Slim Shady Please Stand Up"
5. Radiohead - all those little short video clips
NEW
BAND
OF THE
YEAR
1. Antony & the Johnsons
2. Goldfrapp
3. A Silver Mt. Zion
4. The Damage Manual
5. Cex
[note: Sigur Rós actually got the most votes but since their first album was released in 1988, they were disqualified. Their current album is their third album.]
CONCERT
EVENT
1. Legendary Pink Dots/Dead Voices on Air
2. godspeed you black emperor!
3. Nine Inch Nails
4. Coil at the Royal Festival Hall (2nd time)
5. Wire
BEST
LABEL
1. Kranky
2. three-way tie:
Constellation
Thrill Jockey
Warp
3. World Serpent
4. Soleilmoon
5. two-way tie:
Mille-Plateaux
Ant-Zen
BEST
PRODUCER
1. John McEntire & Jim O'Rourke
2. Steve Albini
3. Steven Stapleton
4. Christoph Heemann
5. Frank Verschuuren
WORST
BAND
1. Limp Bizkit
2. Creed
3. Moby
4. Radiohead
5. U2
WORST
ALBUM
YOU
BOUGHT
1. Radiohead, "Kid A"
2. Download, "Effector"
3. Coil, "Constant Shallowness Leads to Evil"
4. Chicks on Speed, "Will Save Us All"
5. Badly Drawn Boy, "The Hour of Bewilderbeast"
BEST
COMP
1. Wild Planet
2. OHM - The Early Gurus of Electronic Music
3. Attitude
4. Xen Cuts
5. Chicago 2018
BEST
MOVIE
1. Requiem for a Dream
2. Dancer in the Dark
3. Gladiator [??? don't our readers have any taste?]
4. High Fidelity
5. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
BEST
TV SHOW
1. The Simpsons
2. South Park
3. Futurama
4. The Daily Show
5. The Sopranos
BEST
BOOK
1. Neal Stephenson, "Cryptonomicon"
2. "Apocalypse Culture 2"
3. Dave Eggers, "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius"
4. Naomi Klein, "No Logo"
5. Bill Drummond, "45"
BEST
ACTOR
1. Russel Crowe
2. John Cusak
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman
4. Ed Norton
5. Kevin Spacey
BEST
ACTRESS
1. Bjück
2. Ellen Burntsyn
3. Christina Ricci
4. Kate Hudson
5. Angelina Jolie
BIGGEST
DISAP-
POINTMENT
1. US Presidential Election
2. Y2K and no armageddon
3. lame year for films
4. miserable lives of the readers who think their lives suck
5. Dancer in the Dark
EVENT
1. Endless US Presidential Election
2. New Year's Day 2000
3. Coil live
WEBSITE
1. brainwashed
yuck!
2. theonion.com
3. nosepilot.com
4. amihotornot.com
5. heavy.com
HERO
1. Ralph Nader
2. assholes who voted for themselves
3. George W. Bush
4. Jon Whitney
5. Dan Rather
VILLAIN
1. George W. Bush
2. assholes who voted themselves
3. RIAA
4. Al Gore
5. Jon Whitney
MOST
ANNOYING
TREND
1. Scooters
2. Rap Rock
3. "Whassssup" greeting (shouting or text messaging)
4. cell phones
5. Who let the dogs out
Album of the Year
1. Coil, "Musick to Play in the Dark, Vol.1 "
2. Nurse with Wound, "An Awkward Pause"
3. Autechre, "EP7"
4. three way tie:
Tom Waits: "Mule Variations"
To Rococo Rot: "The Amateur View"
godspeed you black emperor: "Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada"
5. Stereolab, "Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night
6. Labradford, "E luxo so"
7. two way tie:
Low, "Secret Name"
Nine Inch Nails, "The Fragile"
8. two way tie:
Trans Am, "Futureworld"
Jim O'Rourke, "Eureka"
9. four way tie:
Mogwai, "Come on Die Young"
Add N to (X), "Avant Hard"
Sonic Youth, "Goodbye 20th Century"
Plaid, "Rest Proof Clockwork"
10. six-way tie:
Angels of Light, "New Mother
People Like Us, "Hate People Like Us"
Pan Sonic, "A"
Mouse on Mars, "Niun Niggung"
Plateau, "Spacecake"
Flaming Lips, "The Soft Bulletin"
BAND
OF THE
YEAR
1. Coil
2. godspeed you black emperor!
3. Legendary Pink Dots
4. two-way tie:
Stereolab
Squarepusher
5. Low
SONG
OF THE
YEAR
1. Aphex Twin, "Windowlicker"
2. Coil, "The Dreamer is Still Asleep"
3. godspeed you black emperor!, "Moya"
4. Mogwai, "Stanley Kubrick"
5. godspeed you black emperor!, "Blaise Bailey Finnegan, III"
MUSIC
VIDEO
OF THE
YEAR
1. Aphex Twin, "Windowlicker"
2. Bjork, "All is Full of Love"
3. three-way tie:
Add N to (X), "Metal Fingers in My Body"
Beck, "Sexx Laws"
Leftfield, "Afrika Shox"
4. three-way tie:
Lamb, "B-Side"
U.N.K.L.E., "Rabbit in Your Headlights"
Meat Beat Manifesto, "Prime Audio Soup"
NEW
BAND
OF THE
YEAR
1. Angels of Light
2. five-way tie:
The Beta Band
Cyclobe
Plone
Pole
The All Seeing I
CONCERT
EVENT
1. Labradford/godspeed you black emperor! (notably in various combinations including Low, Mogwai and Matmos)
2. Trans Am / Pan Sonic
3. Tom Ze with Tortoise
4. Current 93 NYC
5. four-way tie:
v/vm
Stereolab / Papa M
Legendary Pink Dots
Man... or Astro-Man??
BEST
LABEL
1. Warp
2. Kranky
3. three-way tie:
Thrill Jockey
Mute
Matador
4. World Serpent
5. Fat Cat
6. Soleilmoon / Staalplaat
BEST
PRODUCER
1. John McEntire & Jim O'Rourke
2. Timbaland
3. Jack Dangers
4. Steven Stapleton
5. Howie B
WORST
BAND
1. three-way tie:
Nine Inch Nails
Limp Bizkit
Backstreet Boys
2. Korn
3. six-way tie:
Coil
Britney Spears
Blink 182
Plone
Marilyn Manson
Kid Rock
WORST
ALBUM
YOU
BOUGHT
1. Nine Inch Nails, "The Fragile"
2. Tricky, "Juxtapose"
3. Mogwai, "Come on Die Young"
BEST
COMP
1. Warp's 10th Anniversary collections
2. Reach the Rock Soundtrack
3. v/vm, "AuralOffalWaffleTenPintsOfBitterAndABagOfPorkScratchings"
4. five-way tie:
Fight Club Soundtrack
Matrix Soundtrack
Eyes Wide Shut Soundtrack
Matador's 10th Anniversaty
Soundbombing II
BEST
MOVIE
1. two-way tie:
Blair Witch Project
Being John Malkovich
2. Eyes Wide Shut
3. Fight Club
4. two-way tie:
American Beauty
The Matrix
5. two-way tie:
Run, Lola, Run
Dogma
6. Sixth Sense
7. two-way tie:
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
Sleepy Hollow
8. three-way tie:
Princess Mononoke
Iron Giant
eXistenZ
9. The Straight Story
10. Man on the Moon
11. American Pie
BEST
TV SHOW
1. The Simpsons
2. Futurama
3. South Park
4. That 70s Show
5. X-Files
6. two-way tie:
Law and Order
Just Shoot Me
BEST
BOOK
1. The Onion Presents, "Our Dumb History"
2. "Wreckers of Civilization," by Simon Ford
BEST
ACTOR
1. Kevin Spacey
2. Ed Norton
3. three-way tie:
Johnny Depp
John Cusak
Tom Cruise
4. John Malovich
BEST
ACTRESS
1. Christina Ricci
2. three-way tie:
Nicole Kidman
Heather Donahue
Annette Benning
3. three-way tie:
that chick in Run Lola Run
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Cameron Diaz
BIGGEST
DISAP-
POINTMENT
1. Star Wars
2. Y2K and all the other hype
3. Blair Witch Project
4. The Haunting
EVENT
1. Columbine High
2. Seattle Riots
3. New Year's Eve
4. Coachella Music Festival
WEBSITE
1. brainwashed
geez, can't you get more original!
2. Superbad.com
3. Pitchforkmedia.com
4. Disinfo.com
5. hamsterdance.com
HERO
nobody got more than one vote
VILLAIN
1. Bill Gates
2. A four-way tie: Milosevic
the Media
Richard D. James
George W. Bush
MOST
ANNOYING
TREND
1. Pokemon
2. gay teen bands (N'Sync/Backstreet/98 Degrees) / teen popstars (Britney Spears)
3. three-way tie:
Y2K fever
Millennial surveys/polls
Piercings
4. two-way tie:
Emo
Cargo Pants
Album of the Year
1. Tortoise, "TNT"
2. Autechre, (self titled, LP5) tied with Meat Beat Manifesto, "Actual Sounds + Voices"
3. Legendary Pink Dots, "Nemesis Online"
4. Massive Attack, "Mezzanine"
5. Boards of Canada, "Music Has the Right to Children"
6. godspeed you black emperor!, "f# a# to infinity"
7. Coil, "Time Machines"
8. Coil, "Autumn Equinox" (it's really an ep) tied with Ritalin, "Bedside Toxicology"
9. Belle and Sebastian, "The Boy with the Arab Strap" tied with Current 93, "Soft Black Stars"
10. Sonic Youth, "A Thousand Leaves"
Band of the Year
1. Coil
2. Tortoise
3. Meat Beat Manifesto tied with Legendary Pink Dots
4. Autechre
5. Massive Attack
Song of the Year
1. Coil, "Amethyst Decievers"
2. Current 93, "A Gothic Love Song"
3. Meat Beat Manifesto "Acid Again" tied with Coil, "Moon's Milk"
Music Video of the Year
1. Aphex Twin, "Come To Daddy"
2. Squarepusher, "Come on My Selector
3. Beastie Boys, "Intergalactic
New Band of the Year
1. godspeed you black emperor!
2. Boards of Canada
3. Arab Strap tied with Ritalin
Concert Event
1. Legendary Pink Dots
2. Meat Beat Manifesto
3. Tortoise / Isotope 217
Favorite Label
1. Kranky
2. Thrill Jockey
3. Soleilmoon / Staalplaat
4. Warp
5. Nothing (for basically releasing Warp stuff most people said...)
Producer
1. John McEntire
2. Steve Albini
3. Jim O'Rourke
Worst Band
1. Marilyn Manson
2. Backstreet Boys
3. Matchbox 20
4. Rammstein
5. Barenaked Ladies
Worst Album You Bought
1. Marilyn Manson, "Mechanical Animals"
2. A four-way tie:
Meat Beat Manifesto, "Actual Sounds + Voices
Ritalin, "Bedside Toxicology"
Front 242, "Re Boot"
Tricky, "Angels with Dirty Faces
Best Compilation
1. Coil & Friends, "Foxtrot"
2. Pi Soundtrack
3. We Are Reasonable People
4. A Tribute to Spacemen 3
5. Remix Dystemper
Best Movie
1. Pi
2. Saving Private Ryan
3. The Trueman Show
4. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
5. The Big Lebowski
Best TV Show
1. The Simpsons
2. The X Files
3. South Park
4. Sifl & Olly
Best Book
1. "Smoke and Mirrors" by Neil Gaiman tied with "Lords of Chaos" by Michael Moynihan
2. "About a Boy" by Nick Hornby tied with "A Man in Full" by Tom Wolfe
well, they didn't get many votes, but there's hardly any book readers any more...
Best Actor
1. Bill Clinton tied with Johnny Depp
nobody could agree on the rest
Best Actress
1. Christina Ricci
2. Gilian Anderson
3. Parker Posey
Parker can do better next year, come on guys!
Biggest Disappointment
1. Titanic
2. Waking up
I'm losing faith in our readership
Event of the Year
1. Clinton Sex Scandal
2. LPD tour the USA
this category's answers aren't helping either
Web site of the year
1. brainwashed
2. The Onion
3. Warp Records tied with suck.com
flattery will get you nowhere
Hero
1. me (yes, everybody voted for themselves)
2. Edward Ka-Spel
Villan
1. Kenneth Star
2. A four-way tie:
me (yes, voting for themselves again)
Bill Gates
Marilyn Manson
my boss
Most Annoying Trend
1. Swing
2. Tommy Hilfiger
3. Body Piercing tied with "Any trend"