Paul Weller – Illumination : nice, easy, Paul
Groove Armada – Love Box : very bad ‘rap’, other stuff great
Massive Attack – 100th Window : eh.
Asian Dub Foundation – Enemy of the Enemy : passion and politics, hard-dub style
Ben Harper – Diamonds on the Inside : me still no like Ben Harper
Cat Power – You Are Free : well crafted CP, haunting and subtle, if a bit dry
Daredevil OST : Mall-rock from hell
Everclear – Slow Motion Daydream : reg’lar r-n-r, nothin’ special, nothin’ bad
Microphones – Mt. Eerie : eerie is right, but i still don’t get it
Stephen Malkmus & Jicks – Pig Lib : oh fuck yeah!
White Stripes – Elephant : gimme gimme gimme more
Calexico – Feast of Wire : just keeps getting better and better
We’re A Happy Family : Ramones Tribute : BORING, except the great Tom Waits
Lightning Bolt – Wonderful Rainbow : I think this racket broke my brain
American Hi-Fi – The Art of Losing : fresh rock-n-roll with a hook
Oleander – Joyride : metalhead nonsense
Tosca – Delhi 9 : WOW – CD1 classic Tosca, CD2 ambient piano heaven
Zwan – Mary Star of the Sea : Smashing Pumpkins are SO 1991
Kid Loco – Another Late Night : on further review, this is the shit!
K-Otix – The Black Album : non-gangsta hip-hop, killa beats
Lucinda Williams – World Without Tears : genius, pure genius
New Pornographers – Electric Version : extremely infectious pop
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever to Tell : NYC art-rock, expect the screaming and it’s damn good
Alison Krauss & Union Station – Most Wanted Live : cookin’ music
Barnyard Playboys – Corn Dog Love : cow-punk, this will kill brain cells
Radiohead – Hail to the Thief : amazingly astoundingly good
Orb, the – Back to Mine : goes everywhere, but makes no sense
Grandaddy – Sumday : better than the last one…
Marilyn Manson – The Golden Age of Grotesque : Bah
FortDax – Folly : I like this more with every listen
Pete Yorn – Day I Forgot : excellent!!
Cinder – Break Your Silence : not at all bad, but terribly uncreative
Cold – Year of the Spider : perhaps better than most, but still crappy nu-metal
Placebo – Sleeping With Ghosts : very up-and-down glam-pop
Electric Six – Fire : if this is satire, it’s quite good. sadly …
Endo – Songs For the Restless : fair to middlin’ RageRock – too much random screeching
Styrofoam – I’m What’s There To Show That Something’s Missing : bleep-click-blip-elecropop-ish, but dull
Forty Foot Echo – Forty Foot Echo : no tricks, just good fun rock
Mu-Ziq – Bilious Paths : I think I take the wrong kind of drugs to really make sense of this
Son Doobie – Funk Superhero : droppin’ many fresh beats & f-bombs, fo shizzle
Tricky – Vulnerable : it’s still just Tricky-ish, nothing new to see here
Liz Phair – Liz Phair : classic Liz lyrics, fairly thin music, very thick production
Live – Birds of Prey : nice solid Live album
Minus 5 – Down With Wilco : the Wilco part adds some boredom, but mostly catchy pop
Matrix Reloaded OST : cd1 crap-rock, cd2 good, moody ST-fare
X-Men 2 OST : eh, what a bore
Jack Johnson – On and On : grindingly monotonous at times
John Hyatt & the Goners – Beneath This Gruff Exterior : in a rock-n-roll mood
Prefuse 73 – One Word Extinguisher : great electro hip-hop with a melancholy vibe
Sam Roberts – We Were Born in A Flame : fantastic(!!) Beta Band meets TSOOL
Stereophonics – You Gotta Go There To Come Back : mostly ok, but most of it’s just boring
The Thorns – The Thorns : fabulous 3-part harmonies
A Mighty Wind OST : high-larious fun
Spiritualized – Amazing Grace : the return of Spacemen 3??
Verbena – La Musica Negra : straight ahead rock. not sure I get the buzz
The Black Lips – The Black Lips : dirty low-fi garage adventures
Pernice Brothers – Yours Mine And Ours : happy happy suicide music
The Kills – Keep On Your Mean Side : kick ass modern punk blues yeah!
Thicke – A Beautiful World : now that, my friends, is crap
The Thrills – So Much For The City : sticky-sweet Cali-pop from Ireland
Mars Volta – De-loused in the Comatorium : controlled chaos + melody, concept album of the year
Friends of Dean Martinez – On the Shore : ‘noisy,crunchy,weird and grungy’, with a tuscon feel
Britta Philips & Dean Wareham – L’Avventura : fantastic moody duets, Dean is the man
American Analog Set – Promise of Love : catchy electro-drone-pop, sorta tedious
Annie Lennox – Bare : deep, personal, adult pop
Baby Mammoth – Octo Muck : funky blunted hip-hop
Cheap Trick – Special One : eh.
Fountains of Wayne – Welcome Interstate Managers : GREAT infectious pop
Serart – Serart : ‘world metal’? interesting, certainly different
Static – Flavour Has No Name : lovely music-to-be-dead-to
Train – My Private Nation : yuck
U.N.K.L.E. – Never Never Land : clear your mind, and let the music take you away…
Detroit Cobras – Seven Easy Pieces : 19 minutes of motown-garage
Saloon – If We Meet In the Future : pleasant rockers, Stereolab-lite
Led Zeppelin – How the West Was Won : great, great snapshot of 70’s rock
Gemma Hayes – Night On My Side : reflective singer/songwriter with passion
Jane’s Addiction – Strays : going for the old Jane’s sound. what is Perry Farrell 60?
Jay Farrar – Terroir Blues : adventurously creative, ever so mellow
Lisa Carbon – Standards : experimental latin moog-based electronica, zzzzzzzzzz
Adam Green – Friends of Mine : quirky and funny. this could grow thin fast
Black Keys – Thickfreakness : two part blues bustin’ with power and passion
King Geedorah – Take Me To Your Leader : MF Doom goes into space.  innerestin
Rancid – Indestructible : enjoyable, but limp
Twinemen – Chicago, IL 02.02.03 : (2cd) excellent, but alas not Morphine
Akasha – Love Philtre Magick : excellently adventurous jazzy IDM
Cinematic Orchestra – Man With A Movie Camera : interesting at times, needs the film to be fully appreciated??
Starsailor – Silence is Easy : moments of greatness
Turin Brakes – Ether Song : brit-pop-folk, fun and fulfilling
Twinemen – Madison, WI 01-02-03 : (2cd) found this show much better than Chicago
Postal Service – Give Up : it’s new wave, baby!! (kinda sucks tho)
Roxy Music – Live! : (2cd) back in action and sounding good
Nicolai Dunger – Tranquil Isolation : fantastically relaxing all-over yumminess
Stars – Heart : mellow, pleasant soul-twee-pop
Lillix – Falling Uphill : mostly content-free radio rock
Prefuse 73 – Extinguished – Outtakes, Alternate Takes and Beats from One Word Extinguisher
Raveonettes, the – Chain Gang of Love : channeling JMC, in the best of ways
Robyn Hitchcock – Luxor : interesting, dark, sparse, and acoustic solo trot
Shins, the – Chutes Too Narrow : sounds great, they’re no fluke
Smog – Supper : strangely engaging. extremely low-key
Kings of Leon – Youth and Young Manhood : the southern Strokes? Real, heartfelt southern rock 2003-style
Belle & Sebastian – Dear Catastrophe Waitress : nice new B&S, poppy, witty, intelligent
Constantines, the – Shine A Light : equal parts inventive and derivative – great!
Dashboard Confessional – A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar : tries SO hard to be deep
Dizzee Rascal – Boy In Da Corner : i’m sure someone thinks this is cool
Enigma – Voyageur : <extra>-boring dance pop
Hiss, the – Panic Movement : promising, not quite ready for prime-time
Ibrahim Ferrer – Buenos Hermanos : i don’t rate midget matches
June Carter Cash – Wildwood Flower : RIP Johnny…
Black Eyed Peas – Elephunk : awesomely fresh hip-hop
Andrew W.K. – The Wolf (JA release) : the first album was dumb fun. this one’s not fun
Iron Maiden – Dance of Death : grunt grunt grunt
Travis – 12 Memories : pop delight, moodier than prev. releases
Von Bondies, the – Raw and Rare : aptly named, a great collection
Ween – Quebec : awesomely weird
ZZ Top – Mescalero : ZZ Top were a great band. 20 years ago
Dr. Lonnie Smith – Boogaloo to Beck : fun, if a touch boring
Fred Wesley – Wuda Cuda Shuda : fun, funky, horny
John Mayer – Heavier Things : unoffensive. perhaps even pleasant
VAST – Turquoise : interesting ‘work-in-progress’
Dido – Life For Rent : perfect album, if you need a nap
Fire Theft, the – The Fire Theft : up and down, but the up is really UP
James Taylor Quartet – The Oscilator : now that’s a lot of organ. Track1 is the worst album track of all time?
Peaches – Fatherfucker : I don’t give a fuck about this record
Static-X – Shadow Zone : some of this is not too bad
Strokes, the – Room on Fire : some newish, some sameish, all good
Folk Implosion – The New Folk Implosion : a bit on the boring end
Ali Shaheed Muhammad – Shaheedullah and Stereotypes : mellow not-too-glossy R&B
Damien Rice – O : wowie! extremely compelling, again and again and again
Iggy Pop – Skull Ring : very hit-and-miss, Green Day rawk
Guided by Voices – Earthquake Glue : another in a long line of winners
Starlight Mints – Built on Squares : pop-groovie-ness
Erykah Badu – Worldwide Underground : not-too-commercial funky R&B
Muse – Absolution : umm, Radiohead much?
Plastikman – Closer : darkly, epically; wow
Steve Burns – Songs for Dustmites : nobody’s gonna believe me, but this is awesome!
Year of the Rabbit – Year of the Rabbit : a new take on 1988 grunge?
Johnny Cash – Duets/American Outtakes : some real gems here
Lyle Lovett – My Baby Don’t Tolerate : i never knew i loved country music so much
Paul Westerberg – Come Feel Me Tremble : a bit uneven, but great in spots
Decemberists, the – Her Majesty : deliciously eclectic pop musik
KRS One – The Kristyle reissue : ummmm, OK
Ryan Adams – Rock N Roll : interesting attempt, AMG review funny-as-hell
UB40 – Homegrown : basic dubby-dub yummy
Matt Nathanson – Beneath These Fireworks : perfectly lovely foaf pop-rock
Twilight Singers – Blackberry Belle : sounds like a long night in NOLA
And Also The Trees – Further From the Truth : sorta makes me afraid of my shadow
Athlete – Vehicles & Animals : very easy to listen to brit-pop
Calla – Televise : slo-mo rock. in the right mood, it’s fabulous
High Llamas – Beet, Maize and Corn : NOT by-the-numbers, not quite catching me, i’m afraid
Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros – Streetcore : fantastic send-off album
Lamb – Between Darkness and Wonder : sexy-smooth, with some d-n-b underneath
Living Color – Collideoscope : didn’t move me in ’88, ditto ’03. fun covers tho
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds – Nocturama : what happened to nick cave?
David Bowie – Reality : oh, please
Ryan Adams – Love is Hell, Vol. 1 : RA is a great mimic
Black Eyes – Black Eyes : dischord-style hardcore oddness
Britney Spears – In the Zone : FAR from the worst thing on this list
Clem Snide – Soft Spot
Darkness, the – Permission to Land : arena rock! with spandex!!
Missy Elliott – This Is Not A Test : better than most in this category, Timbaland rules it
Dirtbombs – Dangerous Magical Noise : fuckin’ righteous
Kelis – Tasty : fun contemporary hip-hop/funk
Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Master and Everyone : where ‘Prince’=awful, sissy-rock whining
Damnwells, the – Bastards of the Beat : super-infectous rock, great album
John Lee Hooker – Face To Face
Wrens – The Meadowlands : enjoyable, if fairly standard, indie rock
Bon Jovi – This Left Feels Right : someone put this sod out of his misery
Fleetwood Mac – Say You Will : not-crappy. that is all
Gloria Estefan – Unwrapped : egad!
Josh Groban – Closer : oh, how cute <<puke>>
Offspring, the – Splinter : same-as-it-ever-was
Rosie Thomas – Only With Laughter Can You Win : very pleasant Sunday-drive type album
+/- – You Are Here : awesome new sound, with great songs
Ashanti – Chapter II : excellent modern R-n-B
Basement Jaxx – Kish Kash : some of this is sublimely fantastic
JS – Ice Cream : c-r-a-p
Sponge – For All The Drugs In The World : nice solid rawk, if a touch generic
Tamia – Still : some fair, some really bad
Bart Davenport – Game Preserve : let’s be nice and say ‘It’s OK’
– live –
Zwan – (info unknown)
Cat Power – Peel Sessions Feb. 03
Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks – Bimbo’s SF, CA 02-25-03 (Noise Pop)
The Crimea – Peel Sessions 2-3-03
Camper Van Beethoven – Austin, TX in-store (SXSW) 03-15-03
Coldplay – The Palace, Louisville, KY 03-10-03
Norah Jones/Marian McPartland – McPartland’s Piano Jazz
Rolling Stones – San Jose, CA
The Bens – The Basement radio, Australia 03-17-03
The Bens – The Palais, Melbourne 03-24-03
Audioslave – Milan 01-21-03
White Stripes – Brixton Academy 04-11-03 (BBC Radio)
Yo La Tengo – live on WFMU 03-15-03 (cover call-in show)
Coldplay – Manchester 04-14-03
Detroit Cobras – Peel Session 03-11-03
Neil Young – Stockholm 04-22-03
White Stripes – Boston 04-20-03
The Dawn Parade – Maida Vale 05-05-03
Cinerama – Peel Session 04-06-03
Laura Cantrell – Peel Acres 05-08-03
Metallica – Fillmore 05-22-03
Radiohead – Shepherd’s Bush Empire 05-25-03
Saloon – Peel Session 04-16-03
Solomon Burke – Pinkpop 06-09-03
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Jools Holland 06-13-03
Cranebuilders – Peel 06-24-03
Flaming Lips – Glastonbury 06-28-03
Radiohead – Montreal 06-02-03
Turin Brakes – Portsmouth, VA 07-23-03
Seedling – Peel Session 06-24-03
French, the – Peel Session 08-20-03
White Stripes – Warfield, SF 04-28-03
Interpol – Ogden Theatre, Denver 09-23-03
Stephen Malkmus & Jicks – Red Rocks 08-26-03
Sonic Youth – Bonnaroo Festival 06-13-03
Lyle Lovett, Joe Ely, Guy Clarke & John Hiatt – Santa Cruz 02-17-03
Rolling Stones – SARS concert, Toronto 07-30-03
Turbo Negro – Mason Jar, Phoenix AZ 10-01-03
Cinerama – Live on Gideon Coe 10-08-03
Young People – Peel Session 07-22-03
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Live on Zane Lowe 06-08-03
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Reading Festival 08-24-03
Fire Theft, the – KDXP radio, Seattle WA 09-23-03
Ween – Twist and Shout Records, Denver CO 10-10-03
Elliott Smith – Los Angeles, CA 01-12-03
Elliott Smith – Detroit Bar, Costa Mesa CA 04-01-03
Elliott Smith – Steamboat, Austin TX 05-03-03
Elliott Smith – Northsix, Brooklyn NY 06-06-03
Spiritualized – CafÈ de la Danse, Paris 09-21-03
Black Keys, the – Peel Acres 07-31-03
Camera Obscura – Peel Session 10-07-03
White Stripes – Berlin, Ger 05-19-03
Spoon – Fillmore, SF 07-15-03
Black Keys, the – Brighton Old Market 10-28-03
Calexico – Bluebird Theatre, Denver CO 10-19-03
Spiritualized – Gothic Theatre, Englewood CO 11-04-03
Kings of Leon – The Roadhouse, Manchester 05-04-03
Shins, the – Austin City Limits Festival 09-21-03
Simon and Garfunkel – Wilkes-Barre, PA 10-16-03
Ryan Adams – Manchester 11-24-03
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal 08-28-03
Ben Lee – Waterloo Records in-store, Austin TX 11-21-03
– re-release/comps –
Mouse on Mars – Rost Pocks: The EP Collection : German ‘warm’-techo – do not listen if prone to schizophrenia
Very Best of MTV Unplugged 2 : the high points are nice, but the low points … oh my
Chillout 2003 – The Ultimate Chillout v.3
Grand Central : interesting ‘electronica-hip-hop’ comp.
Sonic Youth Dirty (deluxe version)
Ninja Tune Bluffers Guide, vol.5 : nothing here really grabs me…
Led Zeppelin – How the West Was Won promo
Born to Run, Vol. 1 (Uncut Mag.) : uninspiring Springsteen covers
Born to Run, Vol. 2 (Uncut Mag.) : ditto vol. 1
High Llamas – Retrospective, Rarities and Instrumentals : holy wowza! whatta collection!!
Supper Club Lounge vol. 5
Amon Tobin – Verbal Remixes : all very ‘same-y’
CMJ New Music Monthly – May 2003
Silicon Summer 2003
Thievery Corporation – Den of Thieves (the sounds of ESL)
CMJ New Music Monthly – June 2003
Jayawks – Rainy Day Music (remastered + bonus disc)
Putumayo Presents – African Groove : Fantastic collection!
Urban Radio promo 07-03
Indica Brazilica : extremely eclectic cross-cultural collection
Tall Dwarfs – The Sky Above, The Mud Below : all the TD you’ll need
Friends We Met Along the Way (Cactus Island Recordings) : lush 2003 idm collection
Chemical Brothers – Singles ’93 – ’03 : nice place to visit, better place to rob
Putumayo Kids – African Playground : ingenious marketing, fine album
Putomayo – Euro Lounge : cool party disc
Spezial Material 3 : old skool WARP-electro-mixes
Beth Orton – Pass the Time (The Definitive Collection)
David Bowie – Aladdin Sane (2 cd remaster)
Jimmy Buffett – Living and Dying in 3/4 Time
CafÈ del Mar, vol. 10 : verrrry mellow, very chill, very good
Spacemen 3 – Forged Prescriptions : can the best be improved on? yup
Love and Rockets – Sorted! The Best of…
No Thanks! The 70’s Punk Rebellion (4cd)
Tigerbeat6 : Paws Across America
Vestibule & Sperarate : Cottage Industries 3
Secret Shine – After Years comp
Stone Temple Pilots – Thank You
The Beatles – Let it Be Ö Naked
Michael Jackson – Number Ones
Stoned Soul Picnic – Ilicit Grooves from the Atlantic & Warner Vaults : awesome jazzy collection
600% Dynamite : killer rare reggae/soul
Counting Crows – Films About Ghosts (the best of Ö)
Eric Clapton – Ballads (JA-only release)
Red Hot Chili Peppers – The Greatest Hits
– singles –
Limp Bizkit – Just Drop Dead (promo)
Rammenstein – Feuer Frei
Jack Johnson – On and On sampler
White Stripes – 7 Nation Army
Eric Clapton – Higher Ground
Radiohead – There There single
Sigur Ros – Vaka single
Thrills, the – Big Sur single
Thrills, the – One Horse Town single
Senor Coconut – Smoke on the Water remixes
Brendan Benson – Metarie
Postal Service – The District Sleeps Alone EP : everyone loves a FLips cover
Dakona – Perfect Change promo
Calexico – Alone Again Or
The Kills – Fried My Little Brain
Libertines – Don’t Look Back Into the Sun EP
Young People – The Single
Matchbox Twenty – EP
Wilco – More Like the Moon EP : good size to keep my interest…
Stephen Malkmus – Dark Wave EP(UK)
Stereolab – Instant O in the Universe EP
Loose Fur – Loose Fur EP : zzzzzzzzzzz
The Bens – EP : Kweller, Folds & Lee rockin’ the co-op
Flaming Lips – Flight Test EP : with extra-weird ‘Christmas on Mars’ movie trailer
Styrofoam – A Heart Without A Mind EP : very cool Codeine cover
Calla – Miscellaneous 2 EP (tour-only) : moderately interesting collectible
Liz Phair – Come and Get It EP : less polished, more old-skool Liz
Ozomatli – Coming Up EP : interesting funky world/latin hip-hop
…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – The Secret Of Elanas Tomb EP : not bad, think Sonic Youth -vs- U2
Saturday People – The Saturday People EP : toe-tappin’ pop-jangly
The Strokes – Observer special give-away
Ben Folds – Speed Graphic EP
CAN – 2003 DVD Audio CD
Flaming Lips – Ego Tripping At the Gates of Hell EP
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Maps single