Hey folks!

The tenth week of the Best Album of 2001 is over! Two upsets this week. First, #55 REVEAL suffered a pretty solid defeat at the hands of #74 RINGS AROUND THE WORLD. This sounds like a case of an album getting top-half seed on the band’s good name, but faltering when the rubber meets the road. Again, this is why we run matches. Then, we almost had a reverse-upset, as #62 STREETHAWK: A SEDUCTION trailed behind #67 ROCK ACTION for first 23 hours, then made a valiant last-hour leap to try and take it. It fell short by two, but considering I saw it down by 22 at one point, that’s impressive.

LAST WEEK’S RESULTS

On Monday, #74 Super Furry Animals, RINGS AROUND THE WORLD defeated #55 R.E.M., REVEAL, 120-89-2. (211 total votes, +31)

On Tuesday, #23 Drive-By Truckers, SOUTHERN ROCK OPERA defeated #106 Tricky, BLOWBACK, 110-57-3. (170 total votes, +53)

On Wednesday, #42 Ladytron, 604 defeated #87 My Morning Jacket, AT DAWN, 119-54-3. (176 total votes, +65)

On Thursday, #3 The White Stripes, WHITE BLOOD CELLS defeated #126 Squarepusher, GO PLASTIC, 160-55-3. (218 votes, +105)

On Friday, #67 Mogwai, ROCK ACTION defeated #62 Destroyer, STREETHAWK: A SEDUCTION, 107-105. (212 total votes, +2)

NEXT WEEK’S MATCHES

Monday, June 1st: #30 Yeah Yeah Yeahs, YEAH YEAH YEAHS ep vs #99 Lightning Bolt, RIDE THE SKIES.

Tuesday, June 2nd: #35 Life Without Buildings, ANY OTHER CITY vs. #94 Firewater, PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY.

Wednesday, June 3rd: #14 Jay-Z, THE BLUEPRINT vs. #115 Gotan Project, LA REVANCHA DEL TANGO.

Thursday, June 4th: #51 New Order, GET READY vs. #78 Alicia Keys, SONGS IN A MINOR.

Friday, June 5th: #19 Kylie Minogue, FEVER vs. #110 Zero 7, SIMPLE THINGS.

We currently have Designated Cheerleaders for PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY, THE BLUEPRINT, two(!) for GET READY, and that’s it. If you’d like to write one for one of the other albums — I would especially love ones for ANY OTHER CITY and LA REVANCHA DEL TANGO — send it to kentmbeeson@hey.com. Thanks!

In case you missed it last time, the constantly-updated Master-ish List of 1988 Albums is now online, if you would like to find some albums to hear in preparation for the upcoming Best Album of 1988 tournament. Go here to learn more!

Far as I understand, there’s still going to be a Best Album of 2001 Zoom Karaoke event happening on June 5. Look for a special newsletter later this week with more details.

Best,

Kent