My Rating - is - 5 stars AND Year - is - 2002

OK, as a few others are posting their end of year music lists, and as I'll have to fill in the annual DroneOn poll soon enough, here's mine. Looking back, plenty of good stuff. Here's the lot, in iTunes A-Z order:

Arto Lindsay: Invoke
Atomic: Feet Music
Archer Prewitt: Three
Arve Henriksen: Sakuteiki
Beck: Sea Change
Bill Frisell: rarum IV: Selected Recordings [my review]
Boom Bip & Doseone: Circle
Burnt Friedman & Jaki Liebezeit: Secret Rhythms
Cornelius: Point
David Grubbs: Rickets and Scurvy
Gary Lucas: The Edge of Heaven
Godspeed You Black Emperor: Yanqui U.X.O
Homelife: Flying Wonders [my review]
Jackie-O Motherfucker: Change
Jaga Jazzist: A Livingroom Hush
Keith Jarrett Trio: Always Let Me Go
King Crimson: USA
Missy Elliott: Under Construction
Naked City Live, Vol. 1: Knitting Factory 1989
The Necks: Aether
Radioinactive: Pyramidi
Reaching Quiet: In the Shadow of the Living Room
Rovo: Tonic 2001
Sigur Ros: ()
Sonic Youth: Murray Street
Tim Berne: The Sevens [my review]
Timet: L'Ultimo Animale, sullo Zarathustra, prima parte
Toah Dynamic: Cops Hate Our Love
Tom Waits: Alice [my review]
Trygve Seim: The Source and Different Cikadas

Two favourites there, the Japanese avant-trance-pysch-jazz(!) outfit Rovo, and the brilliant  Jackie-O Motherfucker, are often reminscent (to these ears at least) of the Grateful Dead at their 1969 peak. A related recent discovery then is the absolutely awesome Grateful Dead mp3 archives at gdlive.com (despite rising during the Age of Aquarius, The Dead were always ready for the Age of the iPod - this is the proof). I can particularly recommend a live at the Fillmore West, 28 February 1969 vintage.

The bootleg scene came and saw but didn't really conquer. Amazing how quickly it blew itself out, but I guess longevity wasn't the point.

Soundtrack-wise, Y Tu Mama Tambien had some great selections (e.g. inspired use of Eno's "By This River" and Zappa's "Watermelon In Easter Hay"). As did, surprisingly, the under-rated The Mothman Prophecies, feat. Low and Glenn Branca.

Listened to a lot of Neil Young this year too, for some reason, especially the bootleg version (extra tracks!) of On the Beach. Lots of tropicalia too. But 'single most beautiful piece of music I kept replaying' award goes to the 'Agnes Dei' passage of Lou Harrison's Berliner Messe from Pärt/Harrisson: Choral Works. Morton Feldman was another discovery this year - feels like his music will be there for the duration.

Singles-wise, Playgroup's Number One is a total floorfiller, should you need such a thing. The Sugarbabes' Freak Like Me and Stronger were just top. Oh, and Yo La Tengo's Nuclear War is genius.

Video-wise, I need to watch more videos. Michel Gondry's for the Chemical Brothers, and the New Infographic Movement I mentioned previously stands out, but I can't really remember any others (except the one directed by my friend Matt Fretwell but that was too good to be released).

Locale-wise, Norway should get the award for outstanding services to new music, for numerous great records this year - Norway's Rune Grammofon label would also win my inaugaral Best Design award.

Best live acts I saw would be Medeski, Martin & Wood at the London Astoria, Brad Mehldau at Brighton Pavilion, and the truly awesome Mush Records showcase at 93 Feet East, London.