High on emotion

A year of mixed emotions, and a year that will linger long in the memory for all the right, as well as wrong reasons.

Music seemed almost too trivial much of the time, but still proved able to stir or soothe the soul on an almost daily basis. The old guard battled through, with New Order, REM, Joe Strummer and The Charlatans all producing some of the best music of their careers. Of the young bucks, The Strokes, Ryan Adams and the sadly departed At The Drive-In really were as good as everybody said they were. Moldy Peaches and Starsailor weren’t.

The rockers kept on rocking, with Linkin Park poised to knock Limp Bizkit off their perch, particularly after the latter’s often troubled year. Hearts were continually warmed by the success of the Frames and David Kitt, as well as Therapy?’s impressive comeback and the arrival of The Revs. Oh, and if anybody knows anything about the West Seventies, please get in touch. Their ‘Underground’ single was a largely undiscovered gem in a year of great singles.

So Solid Crew and Oxide & Neutrino got up people’s noses, especially the ‘real’ music and dance fans, but their chart trampling releases were catchy as hell and snotty as fuck.

Live, The Avalanches blew everything else into touch – although Travis, Alanis Morisette, Tom McRae, Afro Celts and Spearhead were all memorable nights out. Slane was as emotionally raw as a gig can get, but it has to be said dragged a little during the day (well, hello JJ72!). Of the new venues, South and the Ambassador look promising while Smithfield was a disaster.

Outside of the mainstream, traditional, folk and world artists continued to do their own sweet thing, largely out of the limelight but equally worthy of praise. Kíla produced another year of superb live shows and a quietly stunning solo album from Ronan O Snodaigh, Cara Dillon started to make inroads, Clive Barnes brought the Mississippi Delta to Wexford, Nitin Sawney produced a staggering global vision, Kate Rusby’s star continued to ascend and Bill Jones released a hugely impressive second album.

Five left the pop world a lot poorer for their departure (and Westlife left it equally worse off for their continued existence) but gladly we still have S Club 7 and even Hear’Say – whose ‘Pure And Simple’ single was the most perfect pop tune of the year. Predictions for 2002? Aside from piles of nappies and sleepless nights the New Year is a blank canvas, but isn’t it a lot more fun that way?