Main Poop Analysis 2001


Dear POOPster:

You’ve got POOP. The Fifteenth Annual POmpous and OPinionated List is now official and in your hands. As acknowledged in many of this year’s responses, this was not your average year and the pursuit of music has never seemed as trivial as it did during the second half of 2001. Perhaps our annual celebration of good music is a bit muted this year but it does get us one step closer to remembering what life was like on September 10th and that includes being cranky and clever. Enter POOP.

As usual, I’ve attempted to tabulate the entries and, as is customary, I’ve employed the usual What-The-Hell’s-He-Talking-About-Anyway System. One more time, I’ve given 2 points to each pompoid’s Top 10 choices and 1 point to each title beyond a Top 10 or in the variously described “honorable mention” categories (up to 25 total titles). I’ve pro-rated entries above 25 listed titles, hence the half-points. Basically the more titles you listed, the less each one counted. No animals were harmed in the compilation process.

So without further ado, the Fifteenth Annual POOP List answer key (margin of error: extensive):

1. BOB DYLAN – Love and Theft 26 points (appearing on 13 of 33 lists)
2. GILLIAN WELCH – Time (The Revelator) 21 (13)
3. LUCINDA WILLIAMS – Essence 21 (12)
4. RYAN ADAMS – Gold 20 (11)
5. BJORK – Vespertine 18 1/2 (11)
6. RUFUS WAINWRIGHT – Poses 16 (10)
7. THE STROKES – Is This It 12 (8)
8. JAY FARRAR – Sebastopol 11 (8)
9. RADIOHEAD – Amnesiac 11 (6)
10. WEEZER – The Green Album 10 (6)
11. THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS – Mass Romantic 9 1/2 (6)
THE PERNICE BROTHERS – The World Won’t End 9 1/2 (6)
VARNALINE – Songs In A Northern Key 9 1/2 (6)
THE WHITE STRIPES – White Blood Cells 9 1/2 (6)
15. SPARKLEHORSE – It’s A Wonderful Life 9 (7)

REISSUES

1. V.A. – Nuggets: Volume 2 (4 mentions)
2. BOB MARLEY – various reissues (4)
3. V.A. – Darker Than Blue: Soul From Jamdown 1973-1980 (4)
4. GEORGE HARRISON – All Things Must Pass (3)

Good bathroom reading, everyone. Let the pomposity begin.

Mark Rosen
POOPmaster General