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A Month by Month Breakdown of 2003's Music Scene by Kristi Kates Review Contributor Upper left: The Strokes released their much anticipated second album Upper right: Sheryl Crow gave Kid Rock a touch of class with his cross- over country hit 'Picture' Lower Left: Elvis Costello married jazz stylist Diana Krall & the union appears to be fruitful Lower Right: Billy Corgan conceived and aborted his dream band Zwan' in the course of 8 short months
Photos by Kay McEntee Another year has passed, and with it some memorable and some not-so-memorable moments in music. The return of Karaoke, the takeover of reality TV shows and music competitions (American Idol, American Juniors, or Fame, anyone?), the controversy over file-sharing and music-downloading, the return of Napster, the fading away of boy bands, the summer tours, the album releases; it's all here as we recap 2003. JANUARY: It's kind of quiet on the concert scene as the year begins, as it's just after the holidays and the weather over much of the U.S. isn't too travel-friendly - but there are still a few notable live shows to write about, most notably Zwan's 5 shows at Chicago's Metro club & Billy Corgan's bid to promote the band's upcoming album, "Mary Star of the Sea." Die-hard singer-songwriter Aimee Mann is also on the road, kicking off a tour on January 21st. And the 11th Annual Noise Pop Festival takes the stage in San Francisco, with sets from Folk Implosion, The Donnas, Cat Power, Tortoise, and more. At the American Music Awards, Sheryl Crow, Madonna, and Creed turn up with some of the night's top awards, and U2 wins the Golden Globe for "Best Original Song" for the contribution to the Gangs of New York soundtrack. JANUARY ALBUMS: The Sea and Cake's "The Bedroom" - Erasure's "Other People's Songs" - Kula Shaker's "Kollected: Best of Kula Shaker" - and "We're A Happy Family: A Tribute to The Ramones," complete with tracks from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Pretenders, Garbage, U2, and Eddie Vedder. FEBRUARY: A few more tours hit the road this month, as musicians likely get antsy and are looking for something to do as winter takes its final gasp. A reunited Toad the Wet Sprocket kick off a schedule of nearly two dozen live dates in Los Angeles, Tori Amos begins her U.S. tour on February 19th, Audioslave climbs on the tour bus on February 21st, and the Goo Goo Dolls and Sheryl Crow both play short sets at the National Hockey League's All-Star game. FEBRUARY ALBUMS: The "New Releases" section of most CD stores is kept busy
this month, too, with new releases from Dirty Vegas ("Night at the
Tables)," Massive Attack ("100th Window"), Fischerspooner ("#1"), Lou Reed
("The Raven"), The Monkees ("Live Summer Tour"), and Maria McKee ("High
Dive"), her first album since 1996.
MARCH: The Gin Blossoms are said to be working on a "comeback" album and the All-American Rejects are kicking off their first major tour - and Billy Corgan and Zwan aren't far behind, kicking off their own American tour in Minneapolis on March 20th. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, induct their latest honorees - namely Elvis Costello and the Attractions, AC/DC, The Police, and The Clash. Speaking of The Clash, they've chosen this month to offer up "Essential Clash," a 2-disc set of some of the punk band's best music. Ex-Clash guitarist Mick Jones, along with former Generation X member Tony James, records an anti-war tune titled "Why Do Men Fight." On the lighter side of things, the U.S. Dancestar Awards take place this month, awarding Moby, Paul Oakenfold, and Dirty Vegas with various "Best Of" honors; and Swedish band The Soundtrack of Our Lives hit the road, too, for a U.S./Canadian tour. MARCH ALBUMS: Turin Brakes' "Ether Song" - DJ Spooky's "Dubometry" - The Libertines' "Up the Bracket" - and the Buzzcocks' "Buzzcocks." APRIL: The Foo Fighters kick off the month and their U.S. tour, bringing along Weezer drummer Pat Wilson's side project, The Special Goodness, as their opening act. Matchbox Twenty, R.E.M., Alanis Morissette, Jewel, and Annie Lennox all book slots on NBC's The Today Show outdoor concert series. The Juno Awards are held in Canada, with Junos going to Sum 41, Our Lady Peace, Alanis Morissette, and Matthew Good. Singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega releases "Retrospective - The Best of
Suzanne Vega," an album that includes her hits "Left of Center" from the
movie Pretty in Pink plus her earlier hit, "Tom's Diner." Actor Guy Pierce
("The Time Machine," "Memento") agrees to take on the lead role in the
video for the Silverchair song "Across the Night."
APRIL ALBUMS: Madonna's "American Life" - The Cardigans' "Long Gone Since Daylight" - Blue Man Group's "The Complex" - and The White Stripes' highly-anticipated "Elephant." MAY: Madonna follows up her album release with not one, but two announcements - the first, that her next single from that album will be "Hollywood" - and the second, that her first children's book, "The English Roses," will also be out this month. Lollapalooza plans for this summer are announced, with musicians Queens of the Stone Age, Incubus, Jane's Addiction, Audioslave, and 30 Seconds to Mars all on the bill. Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake hit the road together for a joint tour, and the Rolling Stones make plans to play a free show in Toronto, Canada later this summer. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are on the road, too, having begun their spring tour in Minnesota. MAY ALBUMS: The Thorns' "The Thorns," Verbena's "La Musica Negra," The Bangles' "Doll Revolution," and Fleetwood Mac's "Say You Will." JUNE: Train's new album, "My Private Nation," starts the month off by appearing on record store shelves to the delight of Train fans who've been waiting for the band's next disc. Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland joins forces with members of Guns n'Roses and Suicidal Tendencies to form the new group Velvet Revolver, although it takes them a while to actually get anything productive underway. Norah Jones kicks off her first big tour on June 6th in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Jack Johnson hits the road with pal Ben Harper to share the stage for a series of tour dates. In Canada, the Much Music Awards Show give their awards to Avril Lavigne (Best International Video), Shania Twain (The MuchMoreMusic Award), and Our Lady Peace (Best Video). JUNE ALBUMS: Annie Lennox offers up "Bare" - Kenna releases "New Sacred Cow" - The Flaming Lips release "Fight Test" - Michelle Branch follows up her debut disc with her second, "Hotel Paper" - Radiohead drop "Hail to the Thief" - Duran Duran drop "The Singles '81-'84" - and Pearl Jam release two discs, "Live: February 23, 2003 Perth Australia" and "Live: March 3, 2003 Tokyo Japan." JULY: The Ataris start their summer right by re-recording the classic Don Henley song "Boys of Summer," while Garbage begin their summer vacation by heading into the recording studio in Wisconsin to work on the follow up to their last album, "beautifulgarbage." A reunited Duran Duran - yes, all five original members - kick off their world tour on July 16th. Rooney kick off a U.S. tour of their own. The new TV show "Pepsi Smash" hits the television airwaves - the WB, to be exact - with live performances from AFI, Michelle Branch, Beyonce, and others. Weezer nabs producer Rick Rubin to head up the recording of their next album. And Smashing Pumpkins guitarist - well, former guitarist - James Iha joins the band A Perfect Circle. JULY ALBUMS: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy's "Save My Soul" - Eve 6's "It's All In Your Head" - Anti-Flag's "Live at Fireside Bowl" - and Jane's Addiction's "Hypersonic." AUGUST: August is a hot month for temperatures, but not really for music, as there aren't really too many top-notch releases this month, and many of the summer's big tours are beginning to wind down. One interesting tour does start this month, though, as the Sex Pistols kick off a new tour on August 20th - and David Bowie does a one-off show in Poughkeepsie, New York, especially for his fan club members. Elsewhere, the MTV Video Music Awards hit TV, with performances from triple-threat Madonna, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera, plus additional live showings from Coldplay and Good Charlotte. And Counting Crows announce that they'll be releasing a Counting Crows Greatest Hits album later this year. AUGUST ALBUMS: Adema's "Unstable" - Queen's "We Will Rock You: The Remixes" - Pat Benetar's "Go" - and Dashboard Confessional's "A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar." SEPTEMBER: One of the few big tours going on this month - actually, one of the few tours to kick off this month - the Unlimited Sunshine Tour hits the road, headed up by Cake and featuring additional sets from Detroit Cobras, Hackensack, and Cheap Trick. The White Stripes play their biggest ever headlining show in San Francisco. Nelly Furtado is in the studio wrapping up work on her new album with producers Track and Field; tentatively titled "Fresh Off the Boat," it's due out later this year. The Flaming Lips release a collector's edition of their album "Yoshimi vs. the Pink Robots." Guster kicks off a tour on September 12th in Boston. Billy Corgan announces that he's disbanding Zwan. And we also lose music legend Johnny Cash this month. SEPTEMBER ALBUMS: Seal offers up "Seal" - David Bowie drops "Reality" - Elvis Costello presents "North" - Joe Henry releases "Tiny Voices" - Dave Matthews releases his solo effort, "Some Devil" - and buzz band The Raveonettes offer up "Chain Gang of Love." OCTOBER: MTV launch the first run of their new magazine, simply named "MTV Magazine," this month, while Incubus frontman Brandon Boyd also makes a showing on bookstore shelves with his new book of artwork and poetry. U2 wrap work on their next album, which is due out in 2004. The Strokes drop their highly-anticipated second album, "Room on Fire," and kick off an accompanying tour on October 9th in Philadelphia. Belle and Sebastian kick off a U.S. tour, too, in Chicago. And the Girlz Garage Tour hits the road, too, with Lillix, Start, Brassy, and Northern State all on board. OCTOBER ALBUMS: Death Cab for Cutie's "Transatlanticism" - R.E.M.'s "In Time" - Living Colour's "Collidoscope," their first album in 10 years - and Howie Day's "Stop All the World Now." NOVEMBER: Former Smashing Pumpkins/Hole bass player Melissa Auf Der Maur is hard at work on her solo album this month, complete with help from ex-Smashing Pumpkins bandmate James Iha, ex-Hole bandmate Eric Erlandson, Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri, and Zwan/A Perfect Circle bassist Paz Lenchantin; her album is due out in spring 2004. Alanis Morissette is working on her next disc, too, and has dubbed it "So-Called Chaos" - hers is due out next February. Next year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees are announced, and will include George Harrison, Traffic, and Jackson Browne. And No Doubt release a triplet of offerings - a singles album, a live DVD, and a box set. NOVEMBER ALBUMS: It's a girl's world this month as far as album releases
go, with the exception of Ryan Adams' "Rock N Roll" ("llor n kcor") - this
month sees the arrival of Sarah McLachlan's "Afterglow" - Pink's "Try This"
- Nelly Furtado's "Folklore" - Alicia Keys' "Diary of Alicia Keys" - and
Madonna's "Remixed and Revisited."
DECEMBER: As the year winds to a close, Rolling Stone names the top 500 albums of all time, with all the expected ones there, including discs from U2, Nirvana, R.E.M., Madonna, The Clash, and Weezer. The Vines are hard at work on their upcoming new album, as are Daft Punk and Norah Jones. Dec 16th sees release of formerly Canadian-only album Sarah McLachlan Remixed, which brings together songs from McLachlan's previous 3 albums. And next year's Grammy Awards nominees are announced, looking ahead to 2004 by naming The White Stripes, Coldplay, Evanescence, and Fountains of Wayne as award contenders. DECEMBER ALBUMS: Johnny Cash's posthumous "Unearthed" box set - The Offspring's "Splinter" - Cracker's "Countrysides" - Ben Folds' "Speed Graphic" - and No Doubt's "Boom Box." And that's the year that was.
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