It seems to have been proven via science that the best record of 2003 is Dizzee Rascal’s The Boy in the Corner. The key things that are exciting people are these items, in my estimation:

1) the dirty, the raw, the real- similar to the wu-tang when they first appeared on the scene, dizzee has a dirtiness to both his beats and his personality. he’s a young guy, 18 yrs. old at the time of the release of the album, and the desperation that the wu-tang exhibited in their early work is an easy analogy that i’m sure gavin will pick up on when he review this for the site. it doesn’t real add an air of authenticity as some would like to claim- the authenticity is just there, ready for the taking (ie the fact that “real” is the last word does in fact make little to no difference).

2) the other fetishizing the other- dizzee is already the other, as far as most listeners are concerned- the kid has a strong english accent and he is riding what many will consider hip-hop but are actually more commonly known as garage beats. what makes it all the more interesting, however, is dizzee’s experiments in orientalism on a few of the tracks. already alien to many in the garage scene by his rapid fire switches in flow and full formed narratives and he’s still pushing things forward production-wise.

3) the lyrical skills- many americans won’t get a large portion of the references, but for me that’s half the fun. many brits don’t even get some of the slang that he’s using, but once again it’s half the fun. when you can understand exactly what’s he saying, however, it’s usually interesting, desperate narratives of city life- mostly dealing with girls, which should appeal to the stodgy rockist and the anticon lover alike. the hardcore hip-hop head? “take yr girl make her my girl” is just the beginning- it’s a wild schizophrenic look into an 18 yr. old’s mind.

there are other reasons that this album kills, but i think that those sort of cover some general aspects. may dizzee hopefully benefit from the blogosphere heralding his every move.

additionally, phillip sherburne says ricardo villalobos’ alcachofa is the new best album of 2003. i can easily see this one getting on my top 10 as my recent fascination with micro-house is itching for something a little less glossed-out than luomo’s the present lover. i think joe’s girlfriend puts it best when she said that it sounds like she’s in a gap commercial. it’s not a bad thing obv. but it can be construed as such. i’m more more in favor of the gauze and the shuffle- and i have every hope that ricardo is going to put it down like he has on his ep’s and singles, thus far.

finally, michaelangelo matos has been named the new editor of the seattle weekly. while many may not even know who you are or any of yr writing, i know that i’ve been following it and enjoying yr contributions to ilm- so congrats: it’s well deserved. i’m sure, at the very least, that matthew weiner is going to enjoy yr take on prince’s sign of the times when it comes out.