2001 offered a wild ride in the music world. However the one prevailing feeling that hangs over music is that of loss. This year alone we lost Joey Ramone, George Harrison, Aaliyah, and John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas. Then there were the events of Sept. 11, which changed how all of entertainment will have to create content. Videos were scrapped and CDs were pulled because of their covers. Needless to say things will never be the same. The feeling of loss was felt across the board, no matter what the genre.
Moving on to somewhat happier topics (depending on what your tastes are), rock made a strong comeback, breaking the pop stranglehold on the charts. Staind, Nickelback, Weezer, Tool, Creed and Blink-182 among others had huge albums and singles this year.
That’s not to say that pop music is dying anytime soon (while some of us wish it would). N*Sync had a huge release with Celebrity and Britney shocked everyone with her video for “I’m a Slave 4 U.” Other pop acts, like O-Town, had a decent year while other acts, like 98 Degrees and Eden’s Crush, faded into bubblegum history.
2001 will also go down as the year of greatest hits CDs. Looking at the continuing success of The Beatles’s 1 compilation, the floodgates for “best of” packages was blasted wide open. Pink Floyd delivered yet another “best of” collection as did Madonna. Newer acts such as Outkast and Barenaked Ladies also put together their best efforts. For some acts this made sense but for artists like Backstreet Boys, record buyers were proclaiming “It’s not time for you yet!”
If you can’t handle greatest hits from one artist then you could always go to the NOW That’s What I Call Music collection. In the U.S. the series is at number eight, with a Christmas collection as well. If you think that is bad, go over to the U.K. where they are on some insane number like 55, or something like that.
Comebacks also highlighted, or should we say lowlighted, the year. Yes, Michael Jackson’s Invincible debuted at number one on the album chart, but it did not have half the staying power as his previous efforts. Mick Jagger’s big solo album was greeted by a less than enthusiastic crowd. The same was said for sales for Paul McCartney’s Driving Rain. However not every comeback was sour. After years of being missing in action, Weezer came back with a vengeance.
2001 belonged to the new kids. The Strokes became critical darlings. Gorillaz became the most successful fictitious cartoon band since The Archies. Nelly Furtado’s flew off of record shelves while Alicia Keys became an overnight superstar. Lil’ Bow Wow showed that age did not matter in hip-hop.
In any event 2001 was definitely a more eventful year, Sept. 11 aside, in the music industry. It more than made up for the bland, sugary pop filled year that was 2000. So while looking back at 2001, the staff at The BG News did what every other publication loves to do this time of year, compile best and worst lists.
We may not be the people at “Rolling Stone” but we like to think that we have better taste.
