Best of Music 2001

8. Helicopter Helicopter
By Starlight (Wicked)
Chris Zerby and Julie Chadwick, vocalists as well as guitarist and bassist, respectively, harmonize on edgy, sometimes goofy pop nuggets that veer toward outer space, roaring like a rocket on a mission to the big chorus, where duel guitars explode into whiz-bang fireworks.

9. Stereolab
Sound-dust (Elektra)
Filled with loungetastic grooves and exotic instrumentation, Sound-dust presents a cocktail jazz soundtrack for a utopian future that will never come to pass.

10. Various Artists
Moulin Rouge (Interscope)
Now this is where the kitsch is, and in abundance. It's a giddy thrill to hear the Police's "Roxanne" recast as "El Tango de Roxanne," or to spot the startlingly out-of-context line from U2's "Pride (In the Name of Love)" sneaking into "Elephant Love Medley." Listen closely, and you'll hear the faint but distinct sound of Sting's and Bono's self-importance being sucked away. Other sources of high camp include the overwrought "Come What May" (ably sung by actors Ewan MacGregor and Nicole Kidman) and, of course, the "Lady Marmalade" remake, with Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya and Pink. Willingly over-the-top and irredeemably trashy, Moulin Rouge is bad for you -- and that's good.

Top Five Songs

1. (tie) The Incredible Moses Leroy
"Anthem," from Electric Pocket Radio (Ultimatum)
The New Pornographers
"Letter from an Occupant," from Mass Romantic (Mint)
"Letter From an Occupant" goes crunch while Neko Case coos and the boys follow the chorus with falsetto ooohs. "Anthem" soars using only a few simple chords and Leroy's bizarre rhyme scheme, which he seemingly composed while half asleep. Both were blacklisted from the radio because too many people singing along equals too many wrecks.

2. Tenacious D
"Tribute," from Tenacious D (Epic)
From "the greatest band in the world" comes a tribute to the greatest song in the world, which Kage and Jables promptly forget after playing it to save their souls from a shiny demon. The mind boggles at what it must've sounded like. Be you angels? the duo is questioned. Nay, we are but men, they reply. Rock. Indeed.

3. Blu Cantrell
"Hit 'em Up Style," from So Blu (Arista)
Note to self: Don't cheat on Ms. Cantrell. Can't afford it. At least cancel all the credit cards first and take her name off all shared accounts, from Mastercard to Blockbuster. Yeah, now there's a plan. Resume getting biz-zay.

4. Daft Punk
"One More Time," from Discovery (Virgin)
One more time we're going to celebrate. Do as the strange vocodered man says, dear.

5. Crooked Fingers
"The Rotting Strip," from Bring on the Snakes (Warm)
Neil Diamond, or at least sole Finger Eric Bachman, who sounds uncannily like him, does cocaine and hopes for redemption while dragging a girl down with him. It's droning and cathartic, while maintaining a vague sense of optimism.

Michael Tedder

Top Ten Albums

1. System of a Down
Toxicity (American)
First of all, this album kicks more ass than anything else released this year, all while trying to make listeners laugh and learn. That alone would be enough to make this Record of the Year, but extraordinary circumstances make it even more essential. Released on the date of the worst attack in American history, Toxicity spells out the conflicted worldview of a group that comes from Los Angeles by way of Armenia, a band that decries Middle East genocides while accusing America of becoming a police state. What's creepy is how an album written months before September 11 would produce lyrics so in tune with the country's current struggles. Examples: My self-righteous suicide; We cannot afford to be neutral on a moving train; and Where were the eyes of the horizontal jet pilot/Laughing as he flew over the bay? System of a Down defined the year without even trying.

2. Bob Dylan
Love and Theft (Columbia)
Knock, knock/Who's there?/Freddy/Freddy Who?/Freddy or not, hear I come. No, it's not the Blink-182 album. Later, Dylan even makes a booty call. Not bad for an old man.

3. Gorillaz
Gorillaz (Virgin)
Side projects are usually forgettable at best, but very little is usual once producer Dan the Automator gets involved. It's not only the soundtrack to a cool cartoon but also a shrewd blend of every conceivable genre on one hip-hop platter.

4. Bjork
Vespertine (Elektra)
By using delicate beats that sound like kisses, a voice that barely rises above a whisper and harp sounds captured from some lost Disney fairy tale, Bjork makes the year's best soundtrack for drinking cocoa on a gloomy Sunday afternoon.

5. The Dismemberment
Plan Change (DeSoto)
The drummer plays as if he'd rather be in a techno band, the singer writes lyrics as if he'd prefer to be a novelist and the rest of the group makes every time change as jarring and abrupt as a sudden electric shock. But when the finished product sounds so magical, it doesn't matter that the pieces don't quite fit.

6. Tool
Lateralus (Volcano)
Yes, the songs challenge you to pay attention, and the band is arguably too intelligent and indulgent for its own good, but that's still exponentially preferable to most of Tool's followers, whose idea of stretching themselves artistically is adding a crappy DJ to the band. Plus, Maynard James Keenan still sings like no one else.