Brock's Favorite Albums of 2003

Motivated or contrived, you decide. Seriously though, this is my list of favorite albums for 2003. I realize that there are only six albums listed here, but I felt that six was all that I could list. Although at least ten of my musical purchases this year where 2003 releases, I came to ask myself, ‘which albums from this year did I truly like?’ These are the few albums that I felt could be more then ‘good releases from the year 2003’. But for now, they’re simply my favorite from 2003.

Small Brown Bike - The River Bed
This album seems even better now with Small Brown Bike’s breakup then it did when I purchased it months ago. Tearful references aside: perhaps this was a glimpse at the direction Small Brown Bike hoped to take with future releases. Certainly, the lyric’s repeated reference to siblings and family account for some of its meaning. Whatever that meaning might be, the powerful guitars, drumming and songwriting display a unique direction for the band. New avenues will never be explored, but truly, The River Bed brings one to ask, ‘do they have to be?”

The Casket Lottery - Possiblies and Maybes
What more can I say? It’s an essential collection of songs for every Casket Lottery fan. It’s a gem, plain and simple. Here’s to their upcoming EP.

Hey Mercedes - Looses Control
I really can’t say that anything else on this album strikes me as well as Nanna’s lyrical play. It’s only with word-proficiency comparable to Wes Anderson that Bob can spout off strings of dialogue like “Goodnight, bloodsuckers. Sleep tight in your traps. The cheapest trash gets bought so fast.” I’d love to be able to think of stuff like that off the top of my head every time I meet one of Indy Rock’s detractors. Lyrics aside, Looses Control proves that Hey Mercedes is just a bunch of rockers out to have a good time. That alone puts them above the rest of Vagrant’s ‘emo’ lineup.

The Fire Theft - The Fire Theft
2003 was a year of hyped up comebacks. Unfortunately the hype proved to be greater then the product in many cases. New bands touted by legendary musicians fell flat on their face, possibly suggesting that you simply cannot reclaim your former glory. And then The Fire Theft was released. Fantastic songs, great production, dreary but melodic soundscapes, The Fire Theft had it all. Even more astounding was the impact achieved when you listen to the album from start to finish. It truly is an epic ride, complete with tragic ballads and wistful rockers. The album’s dark closer, Sinatra, seals the deal.

Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
You won’t find popular songs like ‘Clocks’ or ‘Seven Nation Army’ on this album. You won’t hear of wild escapades between Thom Yorke and Gwyneth Paltrow. And you most certainly can’t expect to find an over-hyped, media driven status quo of a band performing on Hail to the Thief. Rather, you’ll find some of the best songs released this year. These songs provide an audio commentary on humanity deeper then most social commentary books ever could. Most notable of all, the band has managed to reconcile their electronic equipment with more traditional instruments. (Moreover, Thom Yorke’s ghostly howl has never sounded better)
Hail to the Thief has established itself as more then one of the best albums of 2003. Rather, it goes on to join Kid A and OK Computer in a place that only Radiohead can lay a claim to, a place where you won’t find Chris Martin or Gwyneth.

Rocky Votolato - Suicide Medicine
Is Rocky Votolato a one-man army fighting against the evils of the corporate empire, or is he heir to the thinking man’s rock? Suicide Medicine leads one to believe that he may be both. His lyrics and songwriting however leads me to believe that he may one day come to be the latter of the two, which would truly be fitting in light of songs like ‘Alabaster’, ‘Every Red Cent’ and ‘Prison is Private Property’.
With a vehemence missing from ‘similar’ artists, Rocky delves into material that goes well beyond the tortured relationship or boy likes girl dynamic. He builds a series of songs that darkly glide over the recesses of his life. They shed light into the mind of a person disgusted by the mass-produced attitude of big label music and the money driven lackeys that fuel it. They even manage to spark an inkling of thought in the listener. When I look back at everything music was this year, I realized that for most popular artists sensationalized by MTV and the media, sparking thought came last on their list of objectives, if it even came at all. That’s why Rocky (and Radiohead) are tops. Sparking thought seemed to be one of the top things on their agenda.