Hi there,  I'm an avid listener of the Brainwashed podcast.  I am currently
recording my own podcast here in LA. As a longtime brainwashed reader
and fan of the brainwashed artist roster, I would like to ask about the
feasibility of using select music in my own podcast. What might I have to
do to get this accomplished ?

There has been big news recently about the RIAA coming down on Adam Curry for
using music that isn't 'podsafe' and this has forced many podcasters like
myself to research different options. I come to you guys first because I want
to expose listeners to artists that I personally love. We aren't a radio show
so I won't be playing songs in their entirety; rather I would like to showcase
song segments or as something in the background. I would give on air credit at
all times, and follow that up with links on our webpage showing listners where
they might purchase material from the aritst.

Anyway, tell me what the rules are on this game. I'm new to all of this so
excuse my ignorance on the issue. As I said, I come first and foremost as a fan
that wishes to share his favorite music and hopefully generate sales for the
artist. Thank you for your time.

The Brainwashed Podcast only features music from the artists and labels whose websites are hosted on brainwashed.com.  I can't speak for other music we don't have permission to play nor other Podcasts in this world. You should either contact bands and labels directly who you want to use or just Podcast at your own risk.

I would very much like to get in touch with Mick Gaffney.  Please ask him to
email me if possible. Thanks!

Sorry, don't have the info.

I'm offended by those who consider art to be just (or even mostly) content.
What I always knew about Rimbaud and which I grow to appreciate more and more
as I research him for my "opera" [working title: 'Les deserts de
l'amour'], is that his genius as a poet is primarily in his FORM. This cut-up
crap destroys the very essence of his poetry. Anyone can think up a sequence of
provocative images on their own, without having to pillage them from complete,
form/content-integrated works of art written by others.

Sure, whatever.

i heard a track on webjay which was linked to brainwashed - it was so amazing,
but i cannot locate the track's maker. It was a remix of INXS "never tear us
apart" with the lyrics spoken over so effectively and ghost like. I must find a
link to it - any ideas??

No idea at this point.

hi
i just wanted to say that i'm interested by a lot of artists on your site(monte
cazzaza,diamanda galas..)
but your site is very confused.
1st when we write the name of the artists in search we go on news not on their
main page and sometime we go nowhere.2nd it's not clear to understand WHAT you
do? a platform? a rewiev site...
and there is too much informations all mixed.
except that i like your site.
cheers

We host music websites and reviews and a whole lot of other things.

hi.... robert king stierle here.

i humbly submit my latest original palindrome to your most esteemed collection.

"In words, alas, drown I."

can be shortened to "In words, drown I."
or lengthened to "In word salad, alas, drown I."
but i prefer the first one.

thanx for publishing my other original palindromes.
Dogma in my hymn: I am God!
No, Sir. Panic is a basic in a prison.

i would be cool if you could include a link to my homepage somewhere on your
site

Why?

Our kindergarten teachers always told us how we should be sharing, but the RIAA would have you believe otherwise.  Looking at any recent major label release, the packaging is pretty much destroyed now with big blocks of text, an FBI symbol and a warning.  Unfortunately, monster megalith Sony BMG isn't out to warn the consumer or provide any information that they're illegally loading "malware" (malicious software) onto unsuspecting machines. 

Mr. Dean, you are a very talented writer.  Your piece about "Domino" was
thoroughly engrossing.  I, too, am a good writer, but I could never, ever,
write such a piece, or any piece for that matter, with such content, diction
and flair.  You are to be commended for such a talent.  This comes from a
gun-toting conservative who would likely disagree with most (if not all) of
your political views, but would nonetheless read such views were they written
with such amazing prose.  

Thank you.  I feel enlightened.

Thanks for reading.

in summer 2003 i was visiting the tate modern in london and had the chance to
see a film by derek jarman called "studio bankside" that was being displayed
there. the film had a soundtrack by coil that the tate had commissioned.  would
you hapen to know whether that music is available? is it on any of your discs?
any information you might have would be greatly appreciated! thanks so much for
your help.

Sorry, no idea, but now that this feedback is online and if anybody has an answer, we'll post it here.

A recent piece from The Nation offers some compelling questions that the so-called "Katrina Commission" should aim to answer. Unfortunately, the unsurprisingly Republican-helmed congressional investigation will almost certainly leave many of the concerns expressed unanswered as politics-as-usual trumps justice.

After being alerted by a Brainwashed reader to this fascinating article from the Washington Post about ultra-trendy "Kill Whitey" parties in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (where else?), I was not only perturbed by what I learned about the racist underside of indie trendoids, but I also discovered a little tidbit that might potentially be very embarassing to indie freak-folk darlings CocoRosie.

FUN FACT #86: Did you know? ... If your name is on the "No Fly" list, you're fucked!

We all know by now how the major labels fuck all their artists over and fuck all their customers over but now they're trying to fuck over their promotional outlets!

Dear Sir or Madame

We are looking for a new interested music stuff for our distro.

Where i can buying yours records?? Directly from your or from
your eastern european distributions section?
just let me know!

The entire brainwashed catalogue is available at brainwashed.com/recordings - contact us personally with specific items you're interested in and quantites and we can work something out.  Due to the limited stock and nature of our releases, overseas distributors and stores must pay up front.  There are no exceptions.  Thanks for your interest.

Did you know that there was a Golden Girls spin-off in the early nineties called The Golden Palace? Broadcast on CBS, it starred three of the original elderly gals (Betty White, Rue McClanahan, Estelle Getty), with vital supporting roles filled by Cheech Marin and Don Cheadle, the latter best known for his Academy Award nominated role in Hotel Rwanda.

Nekesa Mumbi Moody has just published an article on how "Best Of" albums are not so great these days.  But have they -ever- been?  She identifies who's doing it all wrong but bands and labels are often confronted with the task of "how to do it right." Here's a helpful guideline to anybody faced with making a compilation.

This past week, Sony BMG agreed to pay $10 million in fines over their illegal Payola practice.  Payola is as old as the recording industry itself and is basically another way big business labels fuck everything up for the rest of us.

Terror attacks in Western nations are about to become as common as those in Israel. "Could it happen here?" was nearly all you heard on television in the days following the July 7 bombings in London. Not only could it happen here, but it will.

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

1. Fennesz, "Venice"
2. Devendra Banhart, "Rejoicing in the Hands"
3. Sonic Youth, "Sonic Nurse"
4. Coil, "Black Antlers"
5. Animal Collective, "Sung Tongs"
6. Devendra Banhart, "Nino Rojo"
7. Einst?zende Neubauten, "Perpetuum Mobile"
8. Tom Waits, "Real Gone"
9. Pan Sonic, "Kesto"
10. Bj?k, "Medulla"
11. Pan•American, "Quiet City"
12. The Dead Texan, "The Dead Texan"
13. Coil, "ANS"
14. Joanna Newsom, "The Milk-Eyed Mender"
15. Nurse With Wound, "Angry Eelectric Finger (Spitch'cock One)"
16. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, "Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus"
17. Brian Wilson, "Smile"
18. MíQ, "Summer Make Good"
19. Wolf Eyes, "Burned Mind"
20. The Legendary Pink Dots, "The Whispering Wall"
21. Black Dice, "Creature Comforts"
22. Nurse With Wound, "Shipwreck Radio Volume One: Seven Sonic Structures from Utvaer"
23. The Arcade Fire, "Funeral"
24. Stereolab, "Margerine Eclipse"
25. Ghost, "Hypnotic Underworld"
26. Comets On Fire, "Blue Cathedral"
27. Michael Gira, "I Am Singing to You from My Room"
28. Xiu Xiu, "Fabulous Muscles"
29. The Legendary Pink Dots, "Poppy Variations"
30. Sunn O))), "White2"
31. Sufjan Stevens, "Seven Swans"
32. Squarepusher, "Ultravisitor"
33. Deerhoof, "Milk Man"
34. Le Fly Pan Am, "N'ecoutez Pas"
35. Clouddead, "Ten"
36. Skinny Puppy, "The Greater Wrong of the Right"
37. Iron & Wine, "Our Endless Numbered Days"
38. Tim Hecker, "Mirages"
39. Liars, "They Were Wrong, So We Drowned"
40. !!!, "Louden Up Now"
41. Madvillain, "Madvillainy"
42. Acid Mothers Temple, "Mantra of Love"
43. Mouse On Mars, "Radical Connector"
44. The Soft Pink Truth, "Do You Want New Wave Or Do You Want the Soft Pink Truth?"
45. Tortoise, "It's All Around You"
46. Loscil, "First Narrows"
47. Boredoms, "Seadrum/House of Sun"
48. Faust Vs. Dälek, "Derbe Respect, Alder"
49. Mono, "Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined"
50. 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

1. Animal Collective, "Who Could Win a Rabbit?"
2. Devendra Banhart, "Little Yellow Spider"
3. Four Tet, "My Angel Rocks Back and Forth"
4. Wolf Eyes, "Stabbed In the Face"
5. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, "There She Goes My Beautiful World / Breathless"
6. Antony and the Johnsons, "The Lake"
7. Black Dice, "Miles of Smiles"
8. Joanna Newsom, "Sprout and the Bean"
9. Clouddead, "Dead Dogs Two"
10. Thee Silver Mountain Reveries, "Pretty Little Lightning Paw"
11. Keith Fullerton Whitman, "Antithesis"
12. Bj?k, "Who Is It?"
13. Throbbing Gristle, "TG Now"
14. Squarepusher, "Square Window"
15. MíQ, "Nightly Cares"
16. Squarepusher, "Venus No. 17"
17. Sigur Ros, "Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do"
18. Thighpaulsandra, "Rape Scene"
19. !!!, "Pardon My Freedom"
20. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, "Nature Boy"
21. Interpol, "Slow Hands"
22. Mouse On Mars, "Wipe That Sound"
23. Liars, "There's Always Room on the Broom"
24. LCD Soundsystem, "Yeah"
25. 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

1. "Kompilation" (Kranky)"
2. "Kompakt 100" (Kompakt)"
3. "Golden Apples of the Sun" (Bastet)"
4. "Broken-Hearted Dragonflies: Insect Electronica From Southeast Asia" (Sublime Frequencies)"
5. "Cambodian Cassette Archives Khmer Folk and Pop Music, Vol. 1" (Sublime Frequencies)"
6. "Radio India: The Eternal Dream of Sound" (Sublime Frequencies)"
7. "Split Series 9-16" (Fat Cat)"
8. "Compilation 2" (DFA)"
9. "Thank You" (Temporary Residence)"
10. "Left of the Dial: Dispatches From the '80s Underground" (Rhino)"
11. "Matador At Fifteen" (Matador)"
12. "Haunted Weather" (Staubgold)"
13. "Old Enough To Know Better: 15 Years of Merge" (Merge)"
14. "Song of the Silent Land" (Constellation)"
15. "Shockout Vol. 1" (Shockout)"
16. "Moog Movie Soundtrack" (Hollywood)"
17. "Death's Last Life's Breath" (Beta-Lactam Ring)"
18. "Shotgun Wedding Vol 3: Kid606 Vs. Cex" (Violent Turd)"
19. "Children of Mu" (Planet µ)"
20. "Manhunt Soundtrack" (Rephlex)"
21. "Speicher Cd 2" (Kompakt Extra)"
22. "Amunition" (Planet µ)"
23. "Neurot Recordings I" (Neurot)"
24. "Rock Action Presents Vol. 1" (Rock Action)"
25. "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

1. Can, "Tago Mago"
2. Can, "Ege Bamyasi"
3. Nurse With Wound, "Soliloquoy for Lilith"
4. Brian Eno, "Ambient 1: Music for Airports"
5. Brian Eno, "Here Come the Warm Jets"
6. Current 93, "Thunder Perfect Mind"
7. Einst?zende Neubauten, "Tabula Rasa"
8. Can, "Monster Movie"
9. Brian Eno, "Ambient 4: On Land"
10. Brian Eno, "Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)"
11. Brian Eno, "Discreet Music"
12. William Basinski, "Disintegration Loops 1-4"
13. Nurse With Wound, "She and Me Fall Together In Free Death"
14. Pavement, "Crooked Rain Crooked Rain - La's Desert Origins"
15. The Legendary Pink Dots, "9 Lives to Wonder"
16. Low, "A Lifetime of Temporary Relief"
17. Antony and the Johnsons, "Antony and the Johnsons"
18. Can, "Soundtracks"
19. Einst?zende Neubauten, "Kalte Sterne: Early Recordings"
20. Slowdive, "Catch the Breeze"
21. Current 93, "Sixsixsix: Sicksicksick"
22. The Clash, "London Calling 25th Anniversary"
23. Glenn Branca, "The Ascension"
24. Six Organs of Admittance, "The Manifestation"
25. 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

1. Mute
2. Kranky
3. Young God
4. Fat Cat
5. Sub Pop
6. Touch
7. Warp
8. Drag City
9. Touch and Go
10. DFA
11. Important
12. Threshold House
13. Matador
14. Alien8
15. Nonesuch
16. Thrill Jockey
17. Constellation
18. Domino
19. One Little Indian
20. Anti
21. Beta-Lactam Ring
22. Durtro/Jnana
23. Ipecac
24. Sonig
25. 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

1. Devendra Banhart
2. Coil
3. Nurse With Wound
4. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
5. Animal Collective
6. MíQ
7. Squarepusher
8. Wolf Eyes
9. !!!
10. Bj?k
11. Acid Mothers Temple
12. Liars
13. The Hafler Trio
14. The Legendary Pink Dots
15. Joanna Newsom
16. Fennesz
17. Black Dice
18. Sonic Youth
19. Clouddead
20. Einst?zende Neubauten
21. Mouse On Mars
22. Tom Waits
23. Keith Fullerton Whitman
24. Pan Sonic
25. 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

1. Mogwai, 'Happy Songs For Happy People'
2. Matmos, 'The Civil War'
3. Angels Of Light, 'Everything Is Good Here/Please Come Home'
4. Cat Power, 'You Are Free'
5. Do Make Say Think, 'Winter Hymn, Country Hymn, Secret Hymn'
6. Manitoba, 'Up In Flames'
7. The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band With Choir, 'This Is Our Punk-Rock, Thee Rusted Satellites Gather + Sing'
8. Broadcast, 'Haha Sound'
9. Autechre, 'Draft 7.30'
10. Radiohead, 'Hail To The Thief'
11. Prefuse 73, 'One Word Extinguisher'
12. Explosions In The Sky, 'The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place'
13. Four Tet, 'Rounds'
14. Lightning Bolt, 'Wonderful Rainbow'
15. Outkast, 'Speakerbox/Love Below'
16. M83, 'Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts'
17. Devandra Banhart, 'Oh Me Oh My'
18. Supersilent, 'Supersilent 6'
19. Soft Pink Truth, 'Do You Party?'
20. Bardo Pond, 'On The Ellipse'
21. Fennesz, 'Live In Japan'
22. Thighpaulsandra, 'Double Vulgar'
23. The Postal Service, 'Give Up'
24. Nurse With Wound, 'She And Me Fall Together In Free Death'
25. Massive Attack, '100th Window'
26. Killing Joke, 'Killing Joke'
27. The Books, 'The Lemon Of Pink'
28. The Rapture, 'Echoes'
29. David Sylvian, 'Blemish'
30. 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

1. !!!, 'Me and Guiliani Down by the Schoolyard'
2. Outkast, 'Hey Ya'
3. Coil, 'The Restitution of Decayed Intelligence'
4. Sigur Ros, 'Untitled #1'
5. Low, 'Murderer'
6. Broadcast, 'Pendulum'
7. TV On the Radio, 'Young Liars'
8. Yo La Tengo, 'Today is the Day'
9. Current 93, 'Hypnagogue'
10. Venetian Snares, 'Find Candace'
11. Stereolab, 'Instant O in the Universe'
12. The Postal Service, 'Such Great Heights'
13. Flaming Lips, 'Fight Test'
14. Iron and Wine, 'The Sea & the Rhythm'
15. LFO, 'Freak'
16. Prefuse 73, 'Extinguished: Outtakes'
17. Black Dice, 'Cone Toaster'
18. The White Stripes, 'Seven Nation Army'
19. Arab Strap, 'Shy Retirer'
20. Kid 606, 'The Illness'
21. Current 93/Antony, 'Live at St Olave's Church, London 2002'
22. The Hafler Trio, 'A Small Child Dreams of Voiding the Plague'
23. Xiu Xiu / Jim Yoshii Pile-Up, 'Insound Tour Support EP'
24. Lali Puna, 'Left Handed'
25. Chris Clark, 'Ceramics Is the Bomb'
26. DJ Shadow, 'gdmfsob'
27. Boom Bip, 'From Left to Right'
28. Manual, 'Isares'
29. The Sea and Cake, 'Glass'
30. 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)

1. Wire, 'Send'
2. Stereolab, 'ABC Music'
3. Spiritualized, 'Complete Works vol. 1'
4. Mouse On Mars, 'Rost Pocks'
5. Acid Mothers Temple, 'Magical Power from Mars'
6. Cabaret Voltaire, 'The Original Sound of Sheffield '77 '82'
7. Plaid, 'Parts in the Post'
8. Guided by Voices, 'Human Amusements at Hourly Rates'
9. Hood, 'Singles Compiled'
10. Ride, 'Waves'
11. The Clash, 'essential clash'
12. Skinny Puppy, 'Back & Forth vol. 6'
13. Hood, 'Compilations'
14. Laika, 'Lost In Space'
15. William Basinski, 'Melancholia'
16. The Clean, 'Anthology'
17. Dresden Dolls, 'A is for Accident'
18. Rhythm & Sound, 'w/ the artists'
19. The Fall, 'The War Against Intelligence - The Fontana Years '
20. 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)

1. 26 Mixes for Cash
2. An Anthology of Noise & Electronic Music Vol.2 (1936-2003)
3. Rough Trade Post Punk
4. 20 years of Dischord
5. Lost in Translation soundtrack
6. DFA Volume 1
7. New York No Wave
8. Total 5
9. The Wire Tapper Volume 10
10. New York Noise
11. Wanna Buy A Craprak?
12. Branches and Routes - a FatCat Records compilation
13. It's Fan-Dabi-Dozi
14. Mutant Disco
15. Ladytron's Softcore Jukebox
16. 555 records compilation of 55 artists
17. Open Up And Say !&@*$
18. Sonig.ilation
19. The Neptunes present Clones
20. 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

1. Coil live
2. Miles Davis: Complete Jack Johnson Sessions
3. Wire 20th Anniversary Boxed Set
4. Nurse With Wound, 'Soliloquy for Lilith'
5. Johnny Cash 'Unearthed'
6. Talking Heads, 'Once in a Lifetime'
7. New Order - Retro
8. Cabaret Voltaire, 'Methodology'
9. Guided By Voices - Hardcore UFOs
10. Merzbow: Timehunter (4 x 3CD)'
11. Rhys Chatham - An Angel Moves Too Fast To See
12. Duran Duran singles 1981-1985
13. Buzzcocks, 'Inventory'
14. Ennio Morricone, 'Io'
15. Tangerine Dream, 'The Bootleg Box Set 1'
16. James Chance - Irresistable Impulse
17. Bright Eyes, 'Vinyl Box'
18. Trojan 35th Anniversary Box Set 68-03
19. Motörhead, 'Stone Deaf Forever'
20. 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

1. Venetian Snares - Find Candace
2. Angels Of Light - Everything Is Good Here
3. Cex, 'Being Ridden'
4. Lightning Bolt, 'Wonderful Rainbow'
5. Autechre: Draft 7.30
6. Set Fire To Flames, Telegraphs In Negative / Mouths Trapped In Static
7. Microphones: Mt. Eerie
8. Sigur Ros - Song #1
9. M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas, And Lost Ghosts
10. Matmos - Civil War
11. Xiu Xiu - A Promise
12. Nurse With Wound - She And Me Fall Together In Free Death
13. Peaches - Fatherfucker
14. Do Make Say Think - Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn
15. Mogwai, 'Happy Songs For Happy People'
16. Current 93 - Hypnagogue
17. Dresden Dolls - Dresden Dolls
18. Four Tet, 'Rounds'
19. Acid Mothers Temple: Magical Power From Mars
20. Plaid - Spokes
21. Soft Pink Truth - Do You Party?
22. Thighpaulsandra - Double Vulgar
23. Explosions In The Sky - The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place
24. Mirror Eye Of The Storm
25. Nurse With Wound - Solliloquy For Lilith
26. Pulseprogramming 'Tulsa For One Second'
27. Songs:Ohia 'Electric Magnolia Co.'
28. Sun City Girls - God Is My Solar System / Superpower
29. Aereogramme - Sleep And Release
30. 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

1. Mouse on Mars, 'Glam'
2. Pavement - Slanted + Enchanted
3. Television - Marquee Moon
4. Swans - Children Of God / World Of Skin
5. Current 93, 'Thunder Perfect Mind'
6. Nurse with Wound, 'Salt Marie Celeste'
7. Animal Collective 'Spirit They're Gone Spirit They've Vanished/Danse Manatee'
8. Swans - Forever Burned (Burning World)
9. 23 Skidoo - The Culling is Coming
10. Can, 'Out of Reach'
11. Neil Young - On the Beach
12. Meat Beat Manifesto, 'STSRMX'
13. Charalambides - Unknown Spin
14. The Stooges 'The Stooges' & 'Funhouse' (vinyl)
15. 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

1. Autechre: Draft 7.30
2. Kraftwerk, 'Tour de France Soundtracks'
3. Radiohead 'Hail To The Thief'
4. Zwan, 'Mary Star of the Sea'
5. Do Make Say Think - Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn
6. Explosions In The Sky - The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place
7. Coil, 'The Restitution of Decayed Intelligence'
8. Chicks on Speed '99¢'
9. Erlend √òye, 'Unrest'
10. 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

1. The Dresden Dolls
2. Colder
3. TV on the Radio
4. The Soft Pink Truth
5. The Postal Service
6. Monopot
7. Exploding Hearts
8. Growing
9. Devandra Banhart
10. 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

1. Coil
2. Acid Mothers Temple
3. Out Hud/!!!
4. Mogwai
5. The Ex
6. Black Dice
7. Explosions in the Sky
8. Do Make Say Think
9. Wire
10. 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

1. Dresden Dolls
2. 50 Cent
3. Coil
4. Outkast
5. Peaches
6. Radiohead
7. Goldfrapp
8. Animal Collective
9. Coldplay
10. Sigur Ros
11. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
12. Four Tet
13. The Postal Service
14. The Rapture
15. Belle and Sebastian
16. Fennesz
17. Eminem
18. The White Stripes
19. autechre
20. 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

1. Steve Albini (Nina Nastasia, Songs: Ohia, Sonna, Scout Niblett, Frames, Disrhythmia)
2. DFA (The Juan MacLean, Black Dice, LCD Soundsystem, The Rapture, Radio 4)
3. Jim O'Rourke (Loose Fur, Mirror, Alan Licht)
4. Colin Potter (Nurse With Wound, Ora)
5. El-P (Aesop Rock, Majesticons, Murs)
6. Timbaland (Bubba Sparxxx, Missy Elliott, Magoo)
7. The Neptunes (Busta Rhymes, Juntin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Pharrell, Sean Paul)
8. John McEntire (The Sea and Cake, Brokeback, Neil Haggerty, The Pastels)
9. Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Delgados, Longwave)
10. Dave Newfeld (Broken Social Scene)
11. Micheal Gira (Larsen)
12. RJD2 (Aceyalone, Cage, Massive Attack)
13. alan sparhawk (rivulets, pale horse and rider)
14. Bill Laswell (Lori Carson, Fred Frith, Pharaoh Sanders, Sly & Robbie)
15. Scott Heren (Erlend √òye, Via Tania, Prefuse 73)
16. Adam Kasper (Cat Power, Pearl Jam)
17. MF Doom (king geedorah, mf doom instrumentals vol 3/4)
18. Andrew Weatherall (Beth Orton, Radioactive Man, Primal Scream)
19. Dan The Automator (Cheap Trick, Kid Koala, Blue Man Group)
20. 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

1. Kranky
2. Warp
3. Constellation
4. Fat Cat
5. Morr Music
6. Alien8
7. DFA
8. Anticon
9. Beta-lactam Ring Records
10. Ipecac
11. K
12. United Dairies
13. Tigerbeat6
14. Young God
15. Domino
16. Matador
17. Mego
18. Sup Pop
19. Secretly Canadian
20. 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)

1. Johnny Cash, 'Hurt'
2. Outkast, 'Hey Ya!'
3. Radiohead, 'There There'
4. Sigur Ros, 'Untitled #1'
5. Mogwai, 'Hunted By a Freak'
6. Missy Elliott, 'Pass That Dutch'
7. Matmos, 'Stars and Stripes Forever'
8. queens of the stone age, 'go with the flow'
9. White Stripes, 'Seven Nation Army '
10. Four Tet, 'She Moves She'
11. LFO, 'Freak'
12. the white stripes, 'the hardest button to button'
13. cat power 'he war'
14. Keith Fullerton Whitman, 'Modena'
15. The Soft Pink Truth, 'Promofunk'
16. broken social scene, 'stars and sons'
17. Kid 606, 'The Illness'
18. Junior Senior, 'Move Your Feet'
19. Laibach, 'Tanz mit Laibach'
20. 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

1. The Simpsons
2. The Daily Show
3. South Park
4. Six Feet Under
5. The Sopranos
6. Aqua Teen Hunger Force
7. Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
8. Curb Your Enthusiasm
9. Late Night with Conan O' Brian
10. CSI
11. The Office
12. 24
13. That 70s Show
14. Sealab 2021
15. 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

1. 24 Hour Party People
2. The Work of Director Chris Cunningham
3. Bowling for Columbine
4. Sigur Ros, 'Untitled #1'
5. Simpsons (Season 3)
6. Incredible String Band, 'Be Glad for the Song Has No Ending'
7. Sun Ra, 'Space is the Place'
8. Family Guy
9. Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers (Special Edition)
10. The Work of Director Spike Jonze
11. Can DVD
12. Bjork, 'Live @ Royal Festival Hall DVD'
13. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, 'God is in the House'
14. Roger & Me
15. 24
16. Futurama (Season 2)
17. Strangers With Candy Season 2
18. Indiana Jones Trilogy
19. Punch Drunk Love
20. 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....)

1. pitchforkmedia.com
2. allmusic.com
3. theonion.com
4. google.com
5. fakejazz.com
6. IMDB.com
7. homestarrunner.com
8. epitonic.com
9. guardian.co.uk
10. dustedmagazine.com
11. bbc.co.uk
12. stylusmagazine.com
13. friendster.com
14. craigslist.com
15. absorb.org
16. fark.com
17. disinfo.org
18. deoxy.org
19. weeklyworldnews.com
20. 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

1. Bush administration antics/coverups
2. 80s revivalism/nostalgia/cocaine/girls cutting the collars off their shirts
3. American Idol
4. 60's garage rock revival
5. Cell Phones in Rude Places (movie theaters, cars, concerts, anuses) w/ annoying ringtones +/or digital cameras
6. Bad white rappers and dull, overrated producers being labelled 'underground hip hop'
7. Atkins Diet
8. Boboism (Volkswagens/ipods/starbucks, that whole 'crap for white people to spend money on' thing)
9. Electroclash
10. Metrosexuality/Trendy Homosexuality (Queer Eye, Supreme Court ruling on sodomy, Trent Lott, Marriage Protection Week, Episcopalian gay priest)
11. New York City - this isn't 1977
12. SUVs
13. ""Support the Troops"" translated as ""Shut Up and Obey""
14. Reality TV game shows
15. Emo music/fashions (dark frame glasses)
16. Michael Moore's Guilty White Liberal politics
17. Conervative Media Control/Liars
18. French bashing & Freedom Fries
19. illegal invasions of virtually defenseless third world countries
20. Right Wing Politics

STAFF PICK: SUVs

[comment: It's refreshing to see the readers' hearts are in the right places. - Jessica Tibbits]

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