People
of the Year
By Disco Stu - Editor in
Chief : Issue 5, Vol. II
Thanks to the rapturous reception
accorded OK Computer three years ago,
Radiohead's fourth album (the first of two the
band plans to release within the next 12 months),
which debuted at number one on the Billboard
charts, is without question the buzz album of the
fall. But Kid A is hardly the son of OK
Computer or even the bride of The Bends;
instead it's an ardent and successful attempt by
the British quintet to divorce and distance
itself from its past and to reinvent both itself
and our notions of pop music, using soundscapes
rather than songs, and instrumental choices that
are a far cry from the group's previous forays
into its own brand of guitar rock.
The
guitars — at least in a recognizable sense
— don't even surface until the fourth song,
"How to Disappear Completely," and they're
used only sparingly throughout Kid A's
eleven tracks, including on the blustery "Optimistic"
(probably the album's most "traditional"-sounding
track), the blissful instrumental "Treefingers,"
and the rolling, avant-styled "In Limbo."
Mostly, Kid A is an album informed by
electronic music (the group has cited Aphex Twin
and Autechre among its touchstones), but it's not
an electronic album, bending synthesizers,
samples, and other exotic tools to create sonic
washes that range from the gentle — if
disquieting — title track, "Everything
in Its Right Place," and "Morning Bell"
to the cacophonies of "Idioteque" and
"The National Anthem," whose honking
horns marry Charles Mingus' jazz sensibilities to
Morphine's "low rock."
Somewhere
in there, front man Thom Yorke sings — though
not on every song — about alienation,
relationships, and loss, but mostly he strings
together images of dinosaurs, fish, and sitting
around "sucking a lemon." Radiohead's
next release is said to hew to more familiar rock
conventions, but for Kid A's purposes,
Yorke notes in "Optimistic" that "you
can try the best you can … the best you can
is good enough." And that is indeed the case
on this odd, perplexing, and fascinating
collection.
2.
The Beatles
Almost 40 years after they hit it big in the
States, The Beatles are still selling
records. They sold 18 million copies of their
releases this year alone, according to one count,
with more than 5 million of that thanks to 1,
a collection of 27 number one singles.
3. Creed
More than a year after the release of their
second album, Human Clay, the record is still
selling. This truly was a breakout year for the
group, as they earned four My VH1 Music Awards
and other accolades; their album has also made
them the country's number one rock group (rivaled
by Limp Bizkit, Korn, and Three Doors Down) with
7 million units sold and counting.
Artist
of the Year
| Band
of the Year
| Actor/Actress
of the Year
| Model
of the Year
| Breakthrough
of the Year
|
