These were my favorites from 2003


1.  THE 45S - "s/t"  Simply brilliant
2.  SECOND SATURDAY - "Here's The Deal "  The best new band I heard this
year
3.  SOUL ENGINES - "Closer Still"  Reminded me in turn of the Monkees, The
Merrymakers and the Beatles
4.  THE RICHIES - "Forever and Today"  Sweeet and crunchy - Michael
Carpenter continues his hot streak this year.
5.  FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE - "Welcome Interstate Managers"  Deserves the
acclaim.
6. . FARRAH - "Me Too"  This one has made a strong first impression.  From
McCartney-esque piano bounce ("The Last Word") to classic PP ("He Gives an
Inch") to an everything-including-the-kitchen-sink mini-opus ("The One That
Got Away") this one is a treat.
7.  WAKING HOURS - "The Good Way"  Consistently strong Power-Pop tunes.
8.  ROONEY - "s/t"   When it's good, it's very VERY good!
9.  MARK BACINO - "Million Dollar Milkshake"  Supported by the TV promo of
the year!
10.  ONE IN A MILLION - "s/t"   Power Pop in the vein of early Brainpool  I
was surprised not to see it in Patrick Beckers' top 20 as he was the one who
purchased my copy over in the Netherlands.
11.  MELODINE - "Out of Your Hands"   Alternately driving and atmospheric.
Often in the same song .  (Killer Cut - "Exit Wounds")
12.  JEREMY - "Yesterday, Today and Forever"  A limited-edition Beatles
covers CD, Jeremy nails Strawberry Fields Forever so cleanly it is sublime!
13.  COSMIC ROUGH RIDERS - "Too Close to See Far"   If they had kept up the
quality of the first four tracks, we'd be talking CD of the year.
14.  FEATHERGUN  - "Music To Wash To"  Catchy, with styles all over the
place.
15.  JTG IMPLOSION - "All of the People, Some of the Time"  Joe swings Brian
May's guitar through some mighty fun tunes
16.  HAWAII MUD BOMBERS - "The Best So Far"  Surf Ramones!
17.  THE ADVENTURES OF JET - "Muscle"  The 70's/80's synthesizer sound
(think "Don't You Know What Love Is" by Touch) was refreshing at first but
appeared on *every* cut.  This dropped it slightly on the list.  They're
still great tunes.
18.  MATTHEW SWEET - "Kimi Ga Suri"  Just good, but Matthew Sweet's good
beats most everyone else's great.
19. THE MILLIONS - "Million Dollar Rock"  They didn't call it "Million
Dollar Pop" for a reason.
20. MOOD ELEVATOR - "Married Alive"  An impressive follow-up to a great
debut.


Almost made the cut

THOMPSON - Thompson
THE PILLS - A Fistful of Pills
JAYHAWKS - Rainy Day Music
HOTSOCKY - s/t
ALICE COOPER - The Eyes of Alice Cooper
THE DENT - Farewell
MICHAEL CARPENTER - King's Rd. Works
IKE - Parallel Universe
THE FLAMING SIDEBURNS - "Sky Plots"


Did not live up to the hype:

The Darkness - Permission to Land
Outkast - Speakerboxx/The Love Below
The Thrills - So Much For the City

Biggest Disappointment:

Cheap Trick - Special One

Best 2002 CD heard for the first time in 2003:

Hellacopters - By The Grace Of God

Best 2004 release that I got a sneak listen to in 2003:
The new Lolas!!!!!!!

Looking forward to in 2004
Silver Sun
Redd Kross
Tsar

Mike Hodges