dirty monkey bugspray fun

not to get all listy here, but since this is an easy way for people to glean music they might otherwise not know of, here are my considerations for the seven essential albums for the year 2002:

1. interpol: turn on the bright lights. haunting new wave explorations of a shellshocked city, this quartet channels excellent atmospherics with a sparse drive. eerie joy division comparison, but don't let that scare you.
2. dj shadow: the private press. the dj saviour is back, weaving dense textures and brilliant programming to produce some of the most driving yet melancholic sounds of the year.
3. blackalicious: blazing arrow. stunning rap that goes out of its way to show the sunniness that's often missing in the urban world. beatflow and rhyming that knocks every other mc on their collective ass.
4. tom waits: blood money. released at the same time as alice, i found the more jangly discordant rhythms here more captivating, like a junkyard mobile. this is the true americana.
5. rjd2: deadringer. similar to dj shadow, rjd2 sculpts sonic landscapes except with a showy feel. works well with rappers overtop or just the straight sound.
6. clinic: walking with thee. sinister minimal garage rock, with a gorgeous drone and lonely guitar sound. well off the beaten path, but in a territory that's been worn in.
7. múm: finally we are no one. delicate yet precise techno pop that goes like a music box, covering a normal childhood base that trips over every obstacle. it sounds like you're underwater but you can breathe normally, making the muddled sounds all sparkly.