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Notes From The Flip Side: 02.17.2002

Figures. It's February of 2002, my back is killing me and I'm just now getting around to posting my list of 2001's best records. This means that everything is perfectly normal; thanks for asking.

The move was chaotic and hectic. Alex drove down from L.A. to help and we wound up drinking at the bar where Mitch works. Several shots of bourbon later, Alex and I were scuffling in the back of a cab while Jenn and her sister tried to calm us down.

Next thing I know, it's 1:30 a.m. and Alex is staggering down the street to Sparky's, the local pub in my old neighborhood, only to run into Gar Wood and one of Gar's friends. Alex being Alex, he promptly attacked them, fell down and started laughing. For the record, all of this was in good fun and all of the people involved were tremendous sports about it.

The next day, Alex and I shook it off and moved heavy furniture with the help of Jim and Porter. That was over two weeks ago. Jenn and I are still settling in here - there's still an immense amount of work that we need to do. However, I can actually start working on stuff again ... like the Clamor article I have coming due and the American Nightmare interview.

So anyway, these were my favorite albums of 2001. I don't claim that they're the best - these are just the albums that rocked my world the hardest and that I listened to most in 2001. I finally gave up on arbitrary numbering schemes - this isn't a Top 10 or Top 20. There are as many records on here as I felt were genuinely worth writing about. I'll freely admit that I kept revising this list after 2001 was over, adding some albums that I hadn't yet heard or overlooked and removing some that I thought were better than they proved to be after a separation of some months. Enjoy.

I can't even begin to write about my favorite shows of the year, but here's a list of the bands whose shows kicked my ass:

I couldn't have asked for a year that provided better music than 2001 did. Honestly, I don't think I would have known it was even possible.

Now Playing:

Gunmoll, "Anger Management In Four Chords Or Less"; Waterdown, "Never Kill The Boy On The First Date"; Kosher, "Self Control"; AM/FM, "Getting Into Sinking"; New End Original, "Thriller"; Screaming Fat Rat, "Idiomatic Breakdown"; Alkaline Trio, "From Here To Infirmary"; Saves The Day, "Stay what You Are"; Liars Academy, "No News Is Good News"

Just Finished:

Lewis Shiner, "Glimpses"; Daniel Sinker, ed., "We Owe You Nothing - Punk Planet: The Collected Interviews"; Marguerite Duras, "The Ravishing Of Lol Stein"; John Strausbaugh, "Rock Til You Drop"

Now Reading:

Italo Calvino, "t zero"; J.P. Donleavy, "A Fairy Tale Of New York"

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Last modified on Wednesday, March 26, 2008