Prepare yourselves, friends. It�s that time of year when you�re inundated with yearend lists from that music-related list serv you�re on, from random strangers, and maybe even from your favorite newspapers.

Now that I�ve reached the wise old age of nearly twenty-seven (oof, there it is again), I can say I rather resent the pompous superiority of most year-end list makers. So I shall be appropriately self-deprecating.

Top 10 New Releases of 2002 That Have Spent the Most Time in Flashingreds� Stereo, Which is Not to Say I Think Less of You if You Don�t Own or Like Them, So Please Don�t Judge Me, Either

10. Daybreaker, Beth Orton

9. Time Bomb High School, Reigning Sound

8. Handsome Family Live at Schuba�s Tavern, Handsome Family

7. Turn on the Bright Lights, Interpol

6. The Palace at 4am, Part I, Jay Bennett & Edward Burch

5. The Private Press, DJ Shadow

4. Sea Change, Beck

3. Demolition, Ryan Adams

2. Blacklisted, Neko Case

1. (with a bullet) Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco

I guess it�s also the rage to list one�s favorite concerts of the year. Now I haven�t seen nearly as many shows this year as I did last year, so this is a bit of a stretch. Nonetheless, I�ll give it a shot.

Top Events Flashingreds Attended in 2002

--Andrew Bird�s Bowl of Fire at FitzGerald�s Pub in Berwyn (2/15/02)--perhaps the best and worst show of the year

--Robbie Fulks at FitzGerald�s Pub (3/23/02--my birthday)

--Jay Bennett & Ed Burch at the Highdive (sometime in April?)

--Roger Ebert�s Overlooked Film Festival at the Virginia Theater, especially the viewing of The Wonder Boys (4/25/02), which was followed by a telephone conversation with the incomparable Michael Chabon

--The Shins with Trackstar and Arlo at the Highdive (7/31/02)

--Neko Case at the Highdive (sometime in Oct.?)

--Kelly Willis at Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago (10/25/02)

--The Bottle Rockets at the Highdive (10/26/02)

--Wilco at Foellinger Auditorium (10/27/02), in spite of the opening band fiasco

--Rhett Miller at the Abbey Pub in Chicago (11/21/02)

Now, in order to help you start your New Year with a bang, I�ll bring you my sad little list of holiday-appropriate music. I know there�s more out there. Please drop me a note if you can think of other additions. Some of these are more Christmas than New Year songs, but they all seem to work. So if you�re spending the holiday in pensive, solitary reflection, I present your soundtrack:

--�December,� from Maladroit, Weezer

-- �This Will Be My Year,� Feeling Strangely Fine, Semisonic

-- �New Year�s Day,� War, U2

-- �A Long December,� Recovering the Satellites, Counting Crows

-- �Merry Christmas Emily,� Forever, Cracker

-- �The Good Toothpicks,� Handsome Family Live at Schuba�s Tavern, Handsome Family

And for the coup de gras:

-- �One Good Year,� Broke Down, Slaid Cleaves