Don't Look Back: Year In Review 2004

Don't Look Back: Year In Review 2004

Aidin Vaziri | The last days of the year are the traditional time for looking back, taking stock -- and making lists. We invited The Chronicle's cadre of critics to reflect on what they saw and heard in 2004 in art, theater, dance, film and video games. Here is Aidin Vaziri's list of top pop music events.



Don't Look Back: Year In Review 2004
Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction: Putting the "super" back in the Super Bowl. Or is it the "bowl"?
Lollapalooza canceled: How hard could it have been to figure out that people will not pay money to see Sonic Youth on the same bill as the String Cheese Incident?
The iPod becomes affordable: RIP CD.
Britney Spears marries Jason Alexander. And Kevin Federline: As much as we hate to say it, oops, she did it again.
Jay-Z's "99 Problems" video: Naked prisoners, dogfights, Jay-Z getting shot up -- when was the last time Clay Aiken did that for you?
The Killers' release "Hot Fuss": Britpop lives! In the Las Vegas desert.
America (hearts) William Hung: America gets what it deserves.
Norah Jones' second album: In unrelated news, scientists find a cure for insomnia.
Scissor Sisters cover Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb": Proof that dusty old classic rock songs sound much better when made over to sound like the Bee Gees by a group of men in high heels.
Eminem's "Mosh": The little video that could. Or maybe not so much.
Creed breaks up: Yes, there is a God ...
Phish disbands: ... And he hates hippies.
Devendra Banhart and Joanna Newsom go global: The San Francisco weirdo psychedelic anti-folk scene is on fire!
Courtney Love on "The Howard Stern Show": "What do you want from me? An apron and an apple pie?"
Duran Duran, Pixies, Morrissey, the Cure and Tears for Fears return: It's as if Blind Melon never happened!
Modest Mouse's "Float On": Former indie underachievers make it big.
Ashlee Simpson busted lip-synching on "Saturday Night Live": Memo to Ashlee: Just because you say you're a real singer doesn't make you a real singer. Please forward to Lindsay Lohan.
The "Garden State" soundtrack: Like the best secret-admirer mix tape ever.
U2's "Vertigo": Officially replacing the number 4 with "Catorce!"
Vote for Change Tour: With Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M. and more big-name acts: It's the thought that counts.
Grey Tuesday: Jay-Z, the Beatles, DJ Danger Mouse and millions of music fans take on the record industry. The music wins.
Anna Nicole Smith at the American Music Awards: The only rock 'n' roll moment of the whole night.

Pop Quiz: Vanessa Williams

Pop Quiz: Vanessa Williams

Aidin Vaziri | In 1984, Vanessa Williams became the first black Miss America, a title she subsequently swapped for something far more meaningful -- a shot at an actual career. Now she's a Tony Award nominee for her role in "Into the Woods" and has also appeared on Broadway in "Kiss of the Spider Woman." Her screen credits, meanwhile, include blockbusters such as "Soul Food" and "Shaft." So who better to spend the holidays with? Williams' seventh studio recording, "Silver & Gold," is a saucy collection of new and classic holiday material that puts the "X" in Xmas.



Vanessa Williams
Q: I don't know if I have the math right on this, but here goes: This is your second Christmas album, but the first in a series of holiday-themed CDs?
A: No, there's no plan to do another one yet. I think what you're talking about is that I have another CD coming out in February called "Everlasting Love" that they're targeting for Valentine's Day, so that's probably why they're calling it a series.
Q: I don't know what I'm talking about. Have you made records for Easter and the Fourth of July as well?
A: Nope, no. That's all the holidays for the coming year.
Q: That's not much of a series.
A: No.

Live Review: Tom Jones

Live Review: Tom Jones

Tom Jones is still the cat who makes the ladies purr and throw underwear: Aidin Vaziri | Tom Jones -- dressed in perilously tight trousers with a goatee and puff of black hair on top of his head that made him look less like Larry from "Three's Company" than Michael Jackson circa "The Wiz" -- spent the night gyrating through an increasingly curious set list, moving from a cod reggae take on Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight" to a triumphantly lean remake of Howlin' Wolf's "300 Pounds of Joy" (remade to weigh in at no more than "200 Pounds of Joy"), and closing the encore with his bump-and-grind version of Prince's "Kiss." All the while, one of his tanned paws swung near the crotch. The guy is smooth.

Pop Quiz: Andy Williams

Pop Quiz: Andy Williams

Aidin Vaziri | It wouldn't be Christmas without Andy Williams. Why? Because it says so right here. It's also because Williams, 77, apart from famously giving the Osmonds their big break and turning songs like "Can't Get Used to Losing You" into lounge standards, has been hosting his classic Christmas shows since the mid-'60s. Currently based at the Andy Williams Moon River Theatre in Branson, Mo., his show arrives Wednesday at the Nob Hill Masonic Center in San Francisco.



Andy Williams
Q: Are you bringing the guys dressed in penguin suits?
A: We were just talking about it today. We're bringing these singers and dancers who don't do that number.
Q: You promised there would be guys in penguin suits.
A: No, I can't.
Q: What a rip-off. How am I supposed to recommend this show to anyone?
A: OK, they'll try to learn the routine. When did you see that anyway?
Q: I saw a picture of it.
A: Ha. You like penguins?
Q: Penguins are like the second-best type of bird.

The Art of Modern Rock

The Art of Modern Rock

Splashy graphic artwork put a new face on rock 'n' roll: Aidin Vaziri | San Francisco artist Frank Kozik, the man who helped launch the modern poster movement with his early work on the Austin, Texas, club scene, is as surprised as anyone that his work has gone legitimate via the new coffee-table book The Art of Modern Rock. "We were just making flyers for our friends' bands," he says. "There was never a thought that it would make money or get exposure." His vivid, carnal silkscreen works set the tone early on. A poster for the punk band Treepeople shows a clown with a sword gashing the top of its head. Another print for the Beastie Boys shows a puppy firing off a semiautomatic rifle. His work is the very definition of rock 'n' roll. "I'm not technically very good, but I could at least give a visual sample of what you were going to hear," Kozik says. "That's what I always tried to do."

Pop Quiz: Interpol

Pop Quiz: Interpol

Aidin Vaziri | While other New York bands like the Strokes and Yeah Yeah Yeahs were busy posing for photographs, Interpol quietly conquered the world. Releasing its second album, "Antics," earlier this year, the stylish quartet toured stadiums with the Cure, had R.E.M. cover one of its songs at Madison Square Garden and scored a genuine hit with its latest single, "Slow Hands." We spoke with guitarist Daniel Kessler.



Daniel Kessler of Interpol
Q: From what I understand, booze is the lifeblood of Interpol.
A: I think that's a misconception. We're not, like, alcoholics or anything like that.
Q: Please, you don't need to play it down for me.
A: No, but it's not like the cliche sloppy alcoholics going around playing music. We enjoy our drink, and that's that.
Q: You need something. The band has been on tour forever. How have you guys not killed each other yet?
A: We've had a pretty serious run this year. We haven't even had five days in a row off to recharge the batteries. But, at the same time, we can all relate to each other better than anyone else because we all miss the same things: our own beds, New York, our friends.