Ed Said: Ed's Top-10 of 1999

Ed Said:
Occasional Ramblings About Anything Musical

by Ed Yashinsky

I love Top-10 Music Lists for two reasons — I like to see what other people pick just so I can remember what music was actually released during the year, but mostly, I can’t get enough of reader lists. Every year, readers scream that critics don’t know anything about music, but when the reader poll comes out, you have to really wonder who knows nothing. (Did you know that the soundtrack to Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was in a Top 20 Reader’s Poll this year? I rest my case.) But enough noise about the polls; let’s get to my choices
(#1 to #10):

Latin Playboys
Dose
Yep, this is truly a dark horse for the best CD of the year, but I love anything that challenges the listener but still leaves hummable melodies in your head. Dose succeeds like nothing else this year. Comprised of studio dweebs Tchad Black and Mitchell Froom along with David Hidalgo and Louie Perez of Los Lobos, The Latin Playboys have created a truly twisted take on roots music that skitters across blues, border music, studio mayhem and cinematic textures that come to life and never fade. (WEA/Atlantic)

Moby
Play
While Moby might be wearing thin among techno club hounds constantly searching out something new, he delivered his most mature, challenging and impressive record in 1999. Distancing himself from tried and true dance tracks, Moby built Play around folk samples ranging from Negro field songs to dusty Delta Blues guitar. The result is an awe-inspiring organic mix that delivers a human face to an electronic world. (BMG)

Tom Waits
Mule Variations
Although 50 years old, the reclusive Tom Waits is hardly a retread act. In fact, Mule Variations and his first tour in twelve years may be Waits’ crowning achievement and the best music story of the year. Like Bob Dylan’s Time out of Mind, Mule Variations presents a sobering look at the world through a guy kicking back against middle age while staring at his own mortality. Mule Variations belches and wretches against conventional music, but at the same time presents some of most touching ballads of Waits’ illustrious career. (Epitaph)

Beck
Midnite Vultures
Beck waited until mid-December to release Midnite Vultures, but it deserves to be near the top of every year-end list. The white soul brother serves up a lot of goofy lyrics on Midnite Vultures, concentrating instead on a rock-steady groove. Midnite Vultures bumps and grinds even better than Odelay, and the shaggy hippie boy from Southern California seems to be turning into a white version of a well-known Minnesotan with an unpronounceable symbol for a name. (DGC)

Wilco
Summer Teeth
When Uncle Tupelo broke up and Son Volt and Wilco were born, many alt-country fans were ecstatic because two bands instead of one would now carry the alt-country banner. Boy, those folks must really be pissed at Wilco. Summer Teeth is Jeff Tweedy and company’s masterpiece even though there’s not a country twang to be found. Floating on analog synthesizers, ripping guitars, a bagful of studio tricks and Tweedy’s angelic voice, Summer Teeth is a near-perfect record. (WEA/Warner Brothers)

Kelly Willis
What I Deserve
In 1990, Kelly Willis was tapped to become the next big thing coming out of Nashville. After a series of critically acclaimed commercial failures, Willis was tossed to the trash heap as washed up and just not marketable. What I Deserve is a whisper-quiet middle finger salute to the powers that be in Nashville. Willis made What I Deserve on her own terms without the intrusion of Nashville market analysts, and the result is one of the most touching CDs of the year. (Rykodisc)

XTC
Apple Venus Volume 1
Perhaps the most misunderstood band in popular music, XTC keeps marching to the beat of their own drummer releasing record after record of lush pop masterpieces that recall The Beatles and The Beach Boys. With Apple Venus Volume 1, XTC has been reduced to its two core members—Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding—but the result is another page in the history of one of the most impressive pop bands in rock music. (TVT Records)

Built To Spill
Keep it Like a Secret
Whoever said guitar rock is dead has not heard of Built to Spill. Hailing from Boise, Idaho, Built to Spill thrives of the strong voice and imaginative licks of Dough Martsch. Keep it Like a Secret, the band’s second major label release, is chock full of rock anthems just waiting for be embraced by modern rock radio. Unfortunately, modern rock radio wasn’t listening during 1999. (Warner Brothers)

Sleater-Kinney
The Hot Rock
Although Sleater-Kinney formed from the ashes of two riot grrrl bands — Heavens to Betsy and Excuse 17 — The Hot Rock leaves the marketing hype behind and just rips with an intensity that burns white-hot. Front-women Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein have created a two-headed lyrical monster and double guitar attack that’s leaves you breathless and screaming for more. (Kill Rock Stars)

Old 97s
Fight Songs
Another band fighting to break loose from the alt-country death grip, Dallas, Texas’ Old 97s delivered the best record of their career by focusing on great songwriting, killer harmonies and great hooks. Fight Songs still delivers a certain down home country feel, but rip-snorting guitars and sweet harmonies make Fight Songs tick. (WEA/Elektra Entertainment)