Mama Mia

Today’s album is ‘Teen Spirit’ by A*Teens.

A*Teens began life as an Abba tribute group and their first album is an Abba covers album.

This is their second album and it is honestly some of the worst teen manufactured pop I’ve ever heard and I like manufactured pop – S Club 7 and Blue have made my greatest playlist.

This was super bad. Like so super bad, I tried to do to some gardening in a rainstorm halfway through the album.

Also, I listened to yesterdays album again yesterday and I’m fully decided that it is awful.

Land, Sea and Sky

Today’s album is ‘Road Movies’ by Land.

Apparently, this is a Jazz Rock album. I don’t know what that is and I don’t know what this album is.

Also, it’s another band with a stupid name.

The first track was amazing and I hoped I was in for something good but then I listened and grew bored pretty quickly. I couldn’t tell where one track ended and the next began. It was almost like that album with the washing machine in it.

Anyway, I kinda feel myself wanting to hear more of it so it’s not going on the playlist yet but I might give it another listen in the next few days and it might get onto the playlist.

Super special

Today’s album is ‘Conquering Ruler’ by The Specials.

This is a covers album but I have never heard any of the songs on this album before. I’ve never heard of the artists/groups who sang the originals either.

This album is not available on Amazon Music so I listened to on YouTube.

Again, isn’t it weird that The Specials were releasing music in 2001? They’re an 80s band right? More crazy is that they’re releasing an album this year in 2021!

I’m pretty certain that this is only ska album I have listened to this year and it sounded very ska and I’m not against that.

Once a few years ago, I went to Greenbelt and had a very enjoyable evening dancing to a ska group. I wouldn’t choose to listen to it really. I’ve never felt that today is a ska day and asked Alexa to play me some ska. However, I might not turn it off it were to turn up in my life.

I can’t put it on the playlist and to be honest, I wouldn’t if I could. But there’s nothing bad about it especially for those who like ska.

From another planet

Today’s album is ‘Alien Youth’ by Skillet.

Honestly, I have pretty much no feelings towards this album. It happened and then it stopped happening and nothing changed.

I’m not trying to be negative about it because it was fine. It was ok but it wasn’t anything amazing.

It’s really taken me so long to write those three sentences. It’s felt like a proper chore today! I’m going to have to have an early night to get over this.

Walk this way

Today’s album is ‘Crown Royal’ by Run DMC.

Honestly, I didn’t realise that Run DMC had still been making new music in 2001. I was even more surprised to learn that the guy died in 2002! Honestly, I wondered if this had been released after he died as the last music recorded. It’s like I know about music history but can’t work out the timing of it!

Pharrell Williams is not on this album. However, a lot of 2001 album makers are! Fred Durst from Limp Bizkit – he was the only one who I instantly recognised on this album. I love Fred Durst.

Also, Sugar Ray, NAS, Fat Joe, and Kid Rock. It’s full of 2001 people.

It also features the song ‘Walk this way’ with Areosmith which is the reason why I know Run DMC. It’s the Jason Nevins remix which is interesting because Jason Nevins is the reason why I know another Run DMC song.

This album was ok. It’s not going on the list.

Catholic Dog

Today’s album is ‘Dog in the Sand’ by Frank Black and the Catholics.

So, Frank Black was apparently in the Pixies. I’m not sure who the Pixies are but I feel like I know the name. I don’t any of their songs just by song title or video thumbnail that google brings up.

His name isn’t Frank Black..he chose that name….wait, that sounds wrong. The name that you choose is as valid as the name that your parents choose for you. As someone who doesn’t often go by my birth certificate name I know that which ever name I choose to go by is valid. Frank Black decided on this name for his solo music…he wasn’t Frank Black in the Pixies.

I don’t know who decided that ‘the Catholics’ was a good name for a backing band. There’s no information about it.

If I were to compile a list of stupidest band names from 2001, this would be up there.

The album was fine. If you are into sort of Indie rock things then this is ok. I wouldn’t put it on front page but it might get a mention in the middle pages.

We don’t do middle pages on the Greatest 2001 playlist.

To the moon and back

Today’s album is ‘Phantom Moon’ by Duncan Sheik.

This is a beautiful album, no doubt about it. It is calming and contemplative and just beautiful.

It features the London Session Orchestra on some of the tracks and that provides it with a classic, other worldly feel.

If I were doing a top 10 of greatest 2001 albums – which I’m not because I’m struggling enough to do a top 90 – but this album would no doubt be in that top 10.

Having heard this I’m now judging other albums on my list more harshly. This is such a beautiful album.

If I’d heard it in 2001, I might have even been into it. There are 3 tracks on the album over 5 minutes!

Black Country

Today’s album is ‘Living in a Magazine’ by Zoot Woman.

I have travelled back to the town of my birth today but in the car with my family so I wasn’t able to drive and listen to this album. I listened to part of it on headphones while trying to avoid the folk show from Wednesday night on Radio 2 which was the driver’s choice of music and I listened to the second part of the album just after checking into the hotel.

There is a song called Living in a Magazine on this album which makes sense but more awesome is that there is a cover of the song ‘The Model’ by Kraftwerk. This song features the line ‘she’s living in a magazine’. This makes me love Zoot Woman a lot because they named an album after a song and then covered the song in the middle of the album. That is the type of dedication to the cause I enjoy.

This is a sort of electronic album and it’s got some decent songs on it, however, it’s not excellent. So, no matter how much I love them, they are not going on the playlist.

It’s interesting to be back in the Black Country where I spent the first 16 years of my life. I was in the Black Country in 2001. It as weird so far, I feel no connection to this place where I have such history. I walked past the place where the virgin media/HMV shop was where I bought all my albums and singles – it’s a Card Factory now. I went to Teddy Greys and got an ice cream. It felt like history but not my roots.

I can tell

Today’s album is ‘Girls Can Tell’ by Spoon.

Spoon is an even stupider band name than yesterday’s Brand New.

This was Spoon’s third album and first on this label. They were dropped from their previous label and then came back with a new sound.

I’ve never heard any of their previous songs or any of these songs on this album before but I listened to this album twice in a row this morning. That tells you two things – 1, its a short album, about 36 minutes and 2, I liked it.

While I no longer think that a song has to be over 5 minutes to be worthwhile I do think that this album was too short. I definitely wanted more of it.

However, wanting more isn’t necessarily a bad thing so it makes it to the Greatest 2001 playlist!

It’s been reasonably easy to complete this blog over the last 7ish months because of lockdowns and such I haven’t actually been anywhere. However, tomorrow I have an overnight away from home for the first time since 2019. It may take a little extra effort for me to listen to an album and write about it…but I haven’t missed a day yet and I don’t aim to start now.

Same Old

Today’s album is ‘Your Favourite Weapon’ by Brand New.

If you’d asked me yesterday if I’d heard of the band Brand New I would have told you no and told you what a stupid name Brand New was.

I remain of the view Brand New is a stupid name especially since Alexa tried to play me new music this morning.

But I have heard of them before. The video for their song ‘Sic Transit Gloria…Glory Fades’ is excellent and as soon as I saw a still of it, I remembered how often I had been watching that video when it was released in 2003.

‘You Favourite Weapon’ was their debut album and I had not heard any of these songs before and thinking about it, the only song I know from them is ‘Sic Transit Gloria…Glory Fades’ and only because of the video. The song itself is not that awesome.

And the songs on this album are not that awesome. Apparently, they changed their style after this album and phased out songs from this album from their live shows.

So not going on the playlist but I’m glad I re-discovered ‘Sic Transit Gloria…Glory Fades’