James - getting away with It live, 2001

"Getting Away With It (All Messed Up) is the twelfth track on the 2001 James album Pleased To Meet You and was the first and only single to be released from that album. It was previewed on the 2000 Autumn tour under the title Daniel’s Saving Grace and in press pre-release promos as just Saving Grace. It started life as an upbeat romp and is apparently one of Tim’s favourites on the Pleased To Meet You album and very similar in style to 80s classic unreleased track Gregory’s Town. It was slowed down and was released as the first single reaching number 22. It has been a stalwart of James’ live shows over the years and according to Tim their ‘unofficial theme’ song."

Belle And Sebastian - i love my car, 2001

"I Love My Car is a hilariously sweet ditty with insanely twee lyrics and that darn Uptown Shufflers om-pom-pom band that supported them on the last tour. You’ll either find it horrifying or endearing, as with the sleeve photos showing the band members holding various cute dogs."

Belle And Sebastian - the loneliness of a middle distance runner, 2001

"The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner" is a short story by Alan Sillitoe, published in 1959 as part of a short story collection of the same title. The work focuses on Smith, a poor Nottingham teenager from a dismal home in a working class area, who has bleak prospects in life and few interests beyond petty crime. The boy experiences social alienation and turns to long-distance running as a method of both emotional and physical escape from his situation."

REM - imitation of life, 2001

"In the booklet for R.E.M.'s 2003 "best of" album, In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003, the band states that the song's title comes from Douglas Sirk's 1959 film of the same name, which none of the band members had ever watched, and that the title is a metaphor for adolescence and adulthood."

My Morning Jacket - x-mas curtain, 2001

"That song was about a time when we were very poor and our old drummer and myself would go into various departments stores and steal things [laughs] and give 'em to people, kind of in a Robin Hood way. Give 'em to people including ourselves, 'cause we didn't have any money and we thought it was okay to steal [laughs] like VCRs and stuff from [more laughs] departments stores. We thought we were being like vigilantes for justice. Uhm, we'd take like a VCR and a couple of Walkmens and some batteries and stuff and put them on the bottom of the cart and then put a big bag on dog food on top of 'em all and then have the cashier woman scan the dog food and usually they wouldn't see all the [laughs] hundreds of dollars of electronics underneath. That's why the song kind of references being a criminal that doesn't break the law at Christmas time."

REM - the lifting, 2001

"Matt LeMay of Pitchfork gave the album a rating of 5.0 out of 10, stating he found the album's electronic elements to be "superficial" and felt they created an overly busy sound. He also found many of its songs to be repetitive, without stronger melodies or more variation to improve the tracks. LeMay does state that despite some "terrible lyrics", "Imitation of Life" possesses "a catchy hook, and a sufficient degree of sonic variety", while "The Lifting" contains "an undeniably great melody."

REM - summer turns to high, 2001

"It’s one of those songs where the verse are more lo-key musically, and then the chorus hits and the room is filled with these lush soundscapes of textures. It’s like the band is trying make another Beach Boys song without sounding too much like one (aka At My Most Beautiful). Michael continues to sing (in a mostly soft tone) about childhood things like sandals, candy, dragonflies, candles and caramel. These images definitely give you summer vibes, so I’m curious on what he means by “summer turns to high”

My Morning Jacket - death is my sleezy pay, 2001

"The rawness of the song emphasising Jim's voice along with some fantastic drumming. Lovely harmonica to bookend the song too."

My Morning Jacket - bermuda highway, 2001

"This song gives me chills. Just came here wondering if it hit other MMJ listeners the way it hit me (...). This special song brings me to tears every time."

REM - beat a drum, 2001

"Beat A Drum” seems to hover in the air like a slight breeze on a summer day, and…well, not a lot much more than that. It’s pretty, comfortable, and almost freakishly contented. It was originally titled “All I Want,” which is far more straightforward in terms of conveying the general gist of the song and going with the standard mnemonic device of naming a song after the key line of its chorus, but I get the feeling that the band needed to do something to make the song more interesting. In this case, it means pointing the listener in the direction of a line from the final verse; the bit that seems to invoke the “butterfly effect,” and subtly implies that this moment of calmness will eventually trigger a more troubling event further down the line."

REM - she just wants to be, 2001

"The song begins with a lonely acoustic guitar riff from Peter. It’s simple but bittersweet and makes you think you are in for a slower type of song like a ballad. But after playing the riff twice through, Peter stops and Michael’s stark vocals enter the mix. And when that happens, Peter starts this faster acoustic progression that is a mix of strumming and picking out the root notes."

Stars ‎– this charming man cover, 2001

"Last year, we said Stars’ version of “This Charming Man” was the best cover of the song ever. You know who agreed with us? Smiths drummer Mike Joyce (he called it the best Smiths cover period). You know who else? Prince."

Fischerspooner - the fifteenth cover, 2001

"Their cover of Wire's "The 15th" might not be as suited to the dancefloor, but it's a perfect, energetic electro-pop creation and quite possibly the album's high point."

Club 8 - love in december, 2001

"Opening track “Love in December” doubles as the album’s high point, showcasing Karolina’s seductive, emotive singing and Johan’s knack for crafting memorable hooks."

New Order - vicious streak, 2001

"Vicious Streak is the fourth track off of New Order's Get Ready. In his book, Substance, Peter Hook says that the song has one of his favorite basslines of all of his work."

James - getting away with it all messed up, 2001

"Getting Away with It (All Messed Up)", a slow-building indie rock track with a psychedelic bridge section. Davies said every instrument on the track was unintentionally out of tune. It talks about a guy called Daniel who saves a woman called Grace from drowning, and unbeknownst to him, saving her helps him save himself. Its original title was "Saving Grace"; the label had it changed as they reasoned the public wouldn't buy it with that title. A year after its release, it occurred to Booth that the song was about his son, whose middle name was Daniel, and his goddaughter Grace."

The Cure - lovesong acoustic version, 2001

"Smith originally wrote the song for his long-time girlfriend and then fiancée, Mary, as a wedding present."

Stars - my radio am mix, 2001

"Stars reveal an obsession with stylish '80s rock on Nightsongs; the most obvious evidence is the band's cover of the Smiths' "This Charming Man." But that doesn't mean the Montréal group's debut sounds like it's from that decade. Drawing equally from new wave and the sophisticated electronic pop of acts such as Saint Etienne and Momus, Stars make every note painfully romantic."

The Cure - boys don't cry acoustic version, 2001

"Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album by English rock band the Cure. It was first released in Japan on 7 November 2001, before being released in the UK and Europe on 12 November and then in the US the day after. The band's relationship with longtime label Fiction Records came to a close, and the Cure were obliged to release one final album for the label. Lead singer Robert Smith agreed to release a greatest hits album under the condition that he could choose the tracks himself. The band also recorded a special studio album released as a bonus disc to some versions of the album. The disc, titled Acoustic Hits, consists of the eighteen songs from the North American release re-recorded using acoustic instruments."

My Morning Jacket - lowdown, 2001

"There's something so cathartic and catchy about this one. It's played in my head in various intervals for years."