top 2021 albums

maserati - the language of cities (kindercore)
masters of the hemisphere - protest a dark anniversary (kindercore)
seldom - romance (casa)
damien jurado and gathered in song - i break chairs [how the fuck did i leave this off?]
the prom - under the same stars (barsuk)
mirah - advisory committee (k)
darren hanlon - hello stranger (candle)
the reindeer section - son of evil reindeer (pias)
matt pond PA - the nature of maps (polyvinyl)
dressy bessy - sound go round (kindercore)
track star - lion destroyed the whole world (better looking)
aerospace - the bright idea called soul (summersound)
the notwist - neon golden (Virgin)
the guild league - private transport (candle)
club 8 - spring came, rain fell (Hidden Agenda)
764-HERO - nobody knows this is everywhere (tiger style)
the long winters - the worst you can do is harm (barsuk)
deathray davies - the day of the ray (idol)
bright eyes - lifted or the story is in the soil, keep your ear to the ground (saddle creek)
ladytron - light & magic (emperor norton)
superheroes - s/t (crunchy frog)

if i'd listened to them more, they'd probably have been up there

dianogah - millions of brazilians (southern)
godspeed! you black emperor - Yanqui U.X.O. (constellation)
múm - finally we are no one (fat cat)
sondre lerche - faces down (astralwerks)
salteens - let go of your bad days (lost and lonesome)
sigur ros - ( ) (mca)
yume bitsu - the Golden Vessyl of Sound (k)

best albums by dc's darlings

army of me - s/t (garden of sweden)
the cassettes - s/t (lovitt)
metropolitan - down for you is up (crank automotive)
the pocket rockets - love or perish (teenbeat)

best score for a motion picture

belle and sebastian - storytelling (matador)

best singles/eps

rainer maria - ears ring (polyvinyl)
dntel - (this is) the dream of evan and chan (EFA/Caroline)
röyksopp - remind me/so easy cd1+cd2 (wall of sound)
the lucksmiths - midweek midmorning (candle)
darren hanlon - hiccups (candle)
arcuragi, adam/audible - opening acts and great surprises (father)
dashboard confessional - summers kiss (eulogy)
the guild league - jet-set...go! (matinee)
the (sounds of) kaleidoscope - these are (foxyboy)
trembling blue stars - slow soft sighs (shinkansen)

best singles compilation

the lucksmiths - where were we? (candle)

best covers album

ivy - guestroom (minty fresh)

best re-issues

All-Time ¡Quarterback! - s/t (barsuk)
death cab for cutie - you can play these songs with chords (barsuk)
should - a folding sieve (words on music)

biggest letdown

tristeza - mixed signals (tiger style)

20 best live shows i saw in y2k2

julie doiron/rosie thomas (14 mar) @ Metro Cafe
dressy bessy/the deathray davies (25 march) @ Metro Cafe
dressy bessy/the deathray davies (26 march) @ the Khyber Pass (Philly)
hayden (06 apr) @ Fire Bar & Grille (Philly)
super furry animals/cex (26 apr) @ Otto Bar
belle and sebastian/the aislers set (03 may) @ Tower Theatre (Upper Darby, PA)
american analog set (27 may) @ Mission Space
dismemberment plan/cex & grand buffet/the out_circuit (31 may) @ Otto Bar
dressy bessy/the orange peels (20 jun) @ Khyber (Philly)
the prom/laguardia (23 jul) @ Black Cat (backstage)
the prom (25 jul) @ the Fire Bar & Grille (Philly)
darren hanlon (08 sep) @ Galaxy Hut
fly pan am/do make say think/la radio ment (06 oct) @ Otto Bar
rainer maria/matt pond pa/aloha (18 oct) @ Trocadero (Philly)
kindercore records showcase: i am the world trade center/the agenda/maserati/paper lions (27 oct) @ Talking Head
kindercore records showcase: i am the world trade center/maserati/the agenda/paper lions (30 oct) @ CBGB's (CMJ Kindercore Showcase)
superheroes (01 nov) @ the cutting room (nyc)
pedro the lion/seldom/scientific (04 nov) @ Black Cat
mahogany (08 nov) @ WMUC Third Rail Radio
mr. scruff (24 nov) @ Sonar (Baltimore)

[if you think the above is TOO MANY favourites, then you obviously have no idea how many shows i attended this year]

albums released in 2002 that i STILL have not purchased, but need to do so

casiotone for the painfully alone - answering machine music (tomlab)
hayden - live at convocation hall (badman)
tahiti 80 - wallpaper for the soul (minty fresh)

my definitive wantlist