Play It As It Lays #046
December 15, 2001

*Frequent Flyer Edition.
The most spun artists in 2001 on Play It As It Lays.

Artist--song (label)

First Class
1. Barcelona--west coast radio (pulCec)
2. Grandaddy--miner at the dial-a-view (V2)
3. Rise Against--everchanging (fat)
4. Greyboy--hold it down (ubiquity)
5. The Poets of Rhythm--the jaunt (quannum)
6. Q-Burns Abstract Message--amusement park heart (astralwerks)
7. Beulah--silver lining (velocette)
8. Dynomite D--no excuses (slabco)

Business Class
9. Arling & Cameron--dirty robot (emperor norton)
10. Beatless--rock on (ubiquity)
11. Explosion Robinson--gold chain (slabco)
12. Foreign Legion--bike thief (matador)
13. Prefuse 73--smile in your face (warp)
14. Mark Robinson--dilated peoples (teenbeat)
15. Amon Tobin--bridge (ninja tune)
16. The White Stripes--i'm finding it harder to be a gentleman
(sympathy for the record industry)

Coach
17. Built to Spill--alarmed (warner bros.)
18. Calexico--sonic wind *instrumental mix (quarterstick)
19. Lloyd Cole--man on the verge (march)
20. Bebel Gilberto--tanto tempo *Peter Kruder remix (six degrees)
21. James Taylor Quartet--chalkpit (ubiquity)
22. Money Mark--information contraband (emperor norton)
23. Shuggie Otis--sparkle city (luaka bop)
24. The Shins--new slang (sub pop)
25. Solex--comely row (matador)
26. Sparklehorse--piano fire (capitol)
27. Stereolab--dust captain easychord (elektra)

*Program Notes: After tediously reviewing playlists from this last year I came up with the most frequently played artists on Play It As It Lays. Most artists released something during the year however, when it came time for the review, several songs were MIA. For example, in the case of Dynomite D, he collaborated on a track with Kid Koala on the Motel Records compilation "Bombay 2--Electric Vindaloo." I played that track quite a bit this year. However, being college radio, when you want a certain something you can't find that certain something. It was probably buried in the library under Pan Flutes of Ecuador.

This week's show was the first time I used a playlist. Usually I bring a few pieces with me as a starting point, pull new releases off the shelf I'm interested in using, then I give in to the moment. Play it as it lays. Get it? You'd think a playlist would make things easier. Not the case. For some reason I was breaking a sweat, so concerned with how the show was coming off (I was recording the show to mini-disc to share with my friends), I couldn't relax. Couldn't get into the groove. A playlist is a cumbersome tool, one that I haven't used for a couple years since my days in commercial radio. It's like Luke Skywalker racing through the Death Star's ruts--he's got all that clunky equimpent in the way, telling him how and when to do what. It's not until Obi-Wan tells him to use the force that he loses the junk and hits the target.

Compiling the most played artists from my show is much more fulfilling/useful/pragmatic than coming up with a Top 10 list of some sort at year's end. I couldn't care less what the critics think. It's much more interesting to know the music that people listen to the most. What's spinning on music-lovers decks, in their CD players? This is what I want to know. This is what I shared this week. Playlists are real, tangible, not some game of one-up-manship among critics. Let me know what you've been hooked on this year.