The Top 10 Albums of 2003
The iPod got a lot of use this year. After hundreds of albums and thousands of hours of listening to music, Andrew Womack narrows it all down to his top 10 albums of 2003. Here are his findings.
Andrew Womack
Snowmen
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we welcome the beginning of winter with helpful advice for those who want their snowmen to survive into spring.
The Charlatans, Tellin’ Stories
Rob Collins, 1963–1996. That’s what this album meant to a lot of people. That organ sound, it’s what made The Charlatans at the beginning. It’s the sounds that defined them. That organ. And the death of organist Rob Collins signaled what for the band? They’d
So, I Understand You Have a New Book?
Friday evening, November 14, 2003, kitchen ‘Hey there, welcome! Glad you could make it.’ ‘Glad to be here, thanks!’ ‘Well, the pleasure’s all ours, really.’ ‘Think nothing of it. No problem at all.’ ‘Good, just great. So, this little contraption here–’ ‘Yes, that’s my corkscrew.’ ‘Right, so you
Rollercoaster
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we teach you everything you’ll need to know when you finally build that rollercoaster in your backyard.
Explosions in the Sky, The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place
Austin’s Explosions in the Sky continue their foray into intricate, driving instrumental mayhem and glory with The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place, their third full-length, and with a title that seems abbreviated in comparison to 2001’s extraordinary Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those
Winfred E. Eye, The Dirt Tier
This is the kind of music the punk-rock farmhands make when they head back to their quarters for late-night jams, tall tales, and corn whiskey. It’s slow, grinding, Depression-era rock. Tin Pan Alley with a Hammond organ. Things that shouldn’t match up, but really do.
The Commuter’s Apology
To the woman on the train wearing flip-flops: I’m sorry I almost stepped on your toes. I understand that the danger may have warranted the mock look of pain, a mouthed ‘ouch!’ and a little hop-skip on your part. But flip-flops when it’s 48 degrees
The Shins, Chutes Too Narrow
Oh, oh, oh, Oh, Inverted World was nothing short of mind-blowing, which means the follow-up from The Shins, Chutes Too Narrow, is going to be under some pretty serious scrutiny. Does it deliver? Oh, oh, oh, yes. Track by track, note for note, each song is magnificent: ‘Kissing
Carson Ellis
Illustrator, artist, and all-around winner Carson Ellis tells us about her work with the Decemberists, collapsed mining towns in Montana, and what’s stuck in her head.