Cheesespread

Everybody loves lists
I’m in a rush to get the hella outta Dodge and back to my snow-dappled bird sanctuary back east. So this week’s column will be more haphazard and shoddy than usual. To do that, I’ll have to rely on a couple of lists.

My picks for worthy albums of 2002 (not in order): Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot; The Streets, Original Pirate Material; Steve Earle, Jerusalem; Sleater-Kinney, One Beat; The Mekons, Ooooh; Devandra Banhart, Oh Me Oh My; Pan American, The River Made No Sound, Tom Waits, Alice; Beck, Sea Changes; Interpol, Mr.Lif; Devin the Dude, High On Fire; Tribute to Lee Hazelwood; Lambchop, Har Mar.

Best singles of the year: “It’s Getting Hot in Here” (Nelly), “Oh Boy” (Camron), “Work it” (Missy Elliott), “John Walker Lindh Blues” (Steve Earle), “Grindin'” (Clipse)

Best 2002 shows I saw in Chico: Omara Portuando at Laxson, Will Oldham at the Senator, De La Soul and the Coup at Rose Garden, Rush at the Sac Valley Amphitheater, The Melvins at the Brick, Rev Heat/Nashville Pussy at the Brick, Atomic Punks at LaSalles, Southern Culture at Sierra Nevada, Allergic to Bullshit at Josh Indar’s house, Bullriding at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds, Dan Cohen and Christine LaPado at Bustolini’s.

Open call for critics
I got this email recently from local music critic Barbara Flaska (CN&R, Pop Matters):

“If you have a moment, please take a quick visit to http://flaskaland.blogspot.com/.

A music critic named Adam G. just dropped a site that is devoted to writing about music. He shared a recent horror story about the levels of hate mail, death threats, abusive language, and terroristic threatening he was subjected to as the result of a review he wrote on Hank Williams III.

I know some have had similar experiences (as indeed I have). Not that we want to give anybody any more bad ideas than they already have, if you’d care to share any of these stories with other writers, I’m inviting you to post them at flaskaland in the hopes of putting a face on this phenomenon or getting some more understanding about it.”

Christmas riddle for ye
What organization has more than 500 employees with the following statistics?

29 have been accused of spousal abuse • 7 have been arrested for fraud

3 have done time • 14 are convicted drug offenders

8 are convicted shoplifters • 84 were arrested LAST YEAR for DUI

Answer: our United States Congress!!!!!!!!

Weekly props
1. Enjoy your loved ones

2. Bobby Jackson for the all-star team

3. Bowling for Columbine at Pageant

4. Bye-bye Trent