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2002: THE YEAR IN REVIEW
Ten Major Memories
(And a number of lists)
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
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7) SAYING GOODBYE TO SOUTH LONDON
My mother moved back to Yorkshire after 35 years south of the Thames, and I went home, ostensibly to help her pack. I unearthed half my childhood in the attic in the process, which helped turn the ten day trip into a particularly emotional farewell to my roots. I had a good time with my friends – especially because my close pal Denise timed a trip back from Australia to coincide – and enjoyed a typically superb 24 hours in Brighton. I DJ'd, danced, drank, dined and debated. Yet overall, and mainly because of the ongoing political climate, full of street riots, teenage murders, rising gun crime, failing transport and health systems, a frustration with Prime Minister Tony Blair that he had ignored his domestic promises to concentrate on respect as an international statesman, all compounded by a self-perpetuating sense that it was only going to get much worse before it would ever get better, I found the visit extremely depressing. I left South London behind me for good at the end of this trip. But still, acknowledging that my background is what helped make me, I took a part of it with me. One of my many firsts in 2002 was getting a tattoo: a superbly etched Crystal Palace eagle on the right shoulder. As with my other firsts from the year, I experienced not a tinge of regret.
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TOP FIVE RETROSPECTIVES
BANCO DE GAIA - TEN YEARS (Six Degrees)
VARIOUS ARTISTS - Afro-Rock (Evolver)
RIDE- OX4_THE BEST OF (The First Time)
ORBITAL - WORK (1989-2002) (London/Warner Strategic Marketing)
THE WHO – THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION (MCA/Universal)
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8) SAYING HELLO TO UPSTATE
 I've been quiet about this up to now: I want to protect what privacy I have as an online diarist. But late last year, the wife and I fulfilled what, for me at least, has been a long-term ambition, in fact something of a dream, and bought a getaway place in the Catskills. It's high up in the ski mountains, and surrounded by some very pleasant towns, all of which means there's no shortage of activities. But it's also sufficiently removed as to offer total peace and quiet. (And right now, in this snow-covered winter, at night that quiet can be absolutely total.) I plan to spend many weekends up there enjoying my time with the family. And I plan to spend many weekdays up there, writing in peace and solitude.
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TWENTY MORE GREAT ALBUMS FROM 2002
GREEN VELVET - WHATEVER (Relief)
BADLY DRAWN BOY – HAVE YOU FED THE FISH? (Artist Direct/XL)
BECK – SEA CHANGE (Geffen)
LUNA – ROMANTICA (Jetset)
AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD – SOURCE TAGS AND CODES (interscope)
ROYSKOPP – MELODY A.M. (Astralwerks)
OASIS – HEATHEN CHEMISTRY (Epic)
SING SING – THE JOY OF SING SING (Manifesto)
UNDERWORLD – A HUNDRED DAYS OFF (V2/Junion Boys Own)
BALLBOY – CLUB ANTHEMS (SL/Manifesto)
WILCO – YANKEE HOTEL FOXTROT (Nonesuch)
TALIB KWELI – QUALITY (Rawkus)
BETH ORTON – DAYBREAKER (Heavenly/Astralwerks)
MORCHEEBA – CHARANGO (Reprise)
GROOVE ARMADA – LOVEBOX (Jive)
EMINEM – THE EMINEM SHOW (Interscope/Aftermath)
CLINIC – WALKING WITH THEE (Domino)
VARIOUS – RED HOT AND RIOT (MCA)
FUZZ TOWNSHEND – FUZZ TOWNSHEND (Stinky)
VARIOUS ARTISTS - 24 Hour Party People Soundtrack (WMG)
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9) RUNNING THE NEW YORK MARATHON
While nothing beats a good game of football, and a work-out in the gym has its benefits, I run to stay fit and keep my mind clear. Like the other thousands of locals who choose this easy form of exercise, I've always wanted to run the New York City Marathon – and all the more so, once I moved to Brooklyn, and onto a street that buffers the route. In 2002 I made a conscious effort to enter the lottery in time, and to my delight I was accepted. I then took the opportunity seriously. I trained hard (too hard – acquiring such a nasty case of runner's knee that I nearly pulled out of the race), doing two half-marathons in preparation, and even giving up drinking for a month! Somehow I got through the CMJ Music Marathon that bumped up against the running one, and then, for four glorious(ly cold) hours on Sunday November 3, I had the time of my life. I really did. And I even finished the race a few seconds under my four-hour goal. Running a marathon is one of the most exhilarating and rewarding things you can aspire too. Of everything on this list, this is my proudest achievement.
Three moments from the run of my life: Coming up Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn to greet the family; pausing for a power gel and to show off my shirt; and exhilarated but exhausted at the end, with neighbor James Baigrie, who got me over the line under 4 hours. All photos by Posie
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ANOTHER TWENTY MORE GREAT ALBUMS FROM 2002
LUKE SLATER – ALRIGHT ON TOP (Mute)
THIRD DIMENSION – PROTECT US FROM WHAT WE WANT (Telegram/Parasol)
ASH – FREE ALL ANGELS (Kinetic)
DAVID BOWIE – HEATHEN (Columbia)
DOLEFUL LIONS – OUT LIKE A LION (Parasol)
DOVES – THE LAST BROADCAST (Heavenly/Capitol)
CASSIUS – AU REVE (Astralwerks)
HALF MAN HALF BISCUIT - CAMMELL BAIRD SOCIAL CLUB (Probe)
FROU FROU – DETAILS (MCA)
COUSTEAU - Sirena (Palm Pictures)
SPACE MONKEYZ Vs. GORILLAZ - Laika Come Home (Astralwerks)
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS – BY THE WAY
ALANIS MORISSETTE - under rug swept (Maverick)
R.E.M. - Remix (Online only)
GOMEZ – IN OUR GUN (Virgin)
WARREN ZEVON – MY RIDE'S HERE (Artemis)
PAUL WELLER – ILLUMINATION (Independiente/YepYoc)
THE ROOTS – PHRENOLOGY (MCA)
BEN NEILL – AUTOMOTIVE (Six Degrees)
JURASSIC 5 – POWERS IN NUMBERS (Interscope)
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10) THE DEATH OF ICONS
The older we get, the older our heroes get too, and inevitably, we're going to witness the passing of those we once looked up to and admired. All the same, 2002 was tough for me, with the unexpected deaths of two major figures in my life: John Entwistle and Joe Strummer. I didn't know either very well, but Entwistle was the only member of the Who to grant an interview for the Keith Moon book, for which I always be grateful. His death on the eve of the Who's American tour seemed somewhat sordid, involving as it did an exotic dancer and an overdose of cocaine. But the reaction of the other Who members suggested that they weren't entirely surprised – either by the timing or the circumstances. Our sorrow for John's passing was then complicated by the surviving members' decision to continue the tour without him, something that did much to divide Who fans and renew the critics' hostility towards an apparently ambivalent Pete Townshend – until we witnessed the shows and saw Pete, Roger (and Zak) play with what appeared to be newfound, even eager determination. All in all, a disturbing set of circumstances.
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We'll miss you both: Joe Strummer...
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...John Entwistle
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Strummer's passing on the eve of Christmas Eve was, for me at least, a greater shock and hit me harder. It may be that I always suspected that Entwistle was living on borrowed time whereas John Mellor, as Strummer was born, seemed to still be in his prime. It may also have been because Strummer's Clash affected me in such an enormous way as a young child. No doubt the fact I saw Joe play in Brooklyn in the spring entered into my personal sense of loss. Most pertinently, it may well be because Strummer seemed more 'my generation' than did Entwistle, and if the Clash front man could drop dead from a dodgy ticker after walking the dog, then so can I. Admittedly, he was 12 years older than me, but it was a nasty reminder of my own mortality. On top of it all, everyone who knew him seemed to love him. Damn.
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My thanks to all iJamming! readers for their support in 2002. Here's hoping we continue to have a good time together in 2003.
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iJamming! Site Copyright Tony Fletcher 2003
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