Rock’s bright new day

A new train pulled into the rock ‘n’ roll station this year, and anyone who didn’t climb aboard missed a lot. This new music -- served up by such bands as the White Stripes, the Strokes, the Hives and the Vines -- reflected the passion and craft that made rock ‘n’ roll worth caring about originally.

It’s easy for skeptics to say even the most modestly promising band would be intriguing against the drudgery of a rock scene dominated by such lifeless fare as Limp Bizkit and Creed.

But there were lots of reminders during 2002 of rock ‘n’ roll excellence -- thanks to acclaimed tours by such landmark figures as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney. None of these concerts, however, was more thrilling than the series of shows the White Stripes gave last summer in Los Angeles.

The Stripes’ music is smart, witty, sensual, tender and explosive -- rooted in the urgent blues of Robert Johnson and seasoned with the independence and daring of a host of other influences that range from Dylan to Johnny Cash. (The Stripes’ “White Blood Cells” album isn’t on the Top 10 list below because it was released in 2001 and was second only to Dylan’s “Love and Theft” on that year’s list).

The best of the others in this movement, which draws heavily from the urgency of punk and the tuneful raggedness of garage-rock, also asserted themselves in ways that frequently captivate.

What’s encouraging about all this is that record executives are so excited by these bands that they are searching the countryside for more in the style. Twelve months ago, labels routinely passed over these acts because they didn’t seem to fit in with what was selling.

Even now, some industry observers wonder if all this fresh energy will spread to the mainstream. The test will be with new releases -- the first due in April from the White Stripes. The momentum from “White Blood Cells” should be enough to give it a Top 10 entry onto the charts. Then, it’s up to the music. If it lives up to the promise of “Blood Cells,” the train will really pick up steam -- and the ride will really get wild.

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Robert Hilburn’s top 10 of 2002

Eminem and Beck have little in common as recording artists except for their sheer creative brilliance -- but that’s enough to place this odd couple at the top of my list of the year’s most compelling albums. Eminem is a public brawler, most commanding when he’s reacting with ridicule or wit to the hostility around him. Beck is more a private person, touching us most deeply when he is trying to make peace with himself and his surroundings. Ties aren’t always satisfying in rating favorites, but a tie in this case is the most honest and fitting impulse -- a reminder of the ability of pop music to touch us in such varied ways.

1. Eminem’s “The Eminem Show” (Interscope/Aftermath/Shady). When this album was released in May, there was grumbling that Eminem was repeating himself because many of the characters from his earlier recordings are back. But the Detroit rapper brings a new understanding and maturity to his subjects. In key moments, he says goodbye to some demons, reaching forward with hard-earned optimism and even gratitude. He can still rap with the fury of an angry pit bull, yet touch us by sharing the soul-destroying ache of a youngster abandoned by his parents. For all the controversy around Eminem’s unsettling images, he has always said the music is meant to inspire, and that intent has never been more apparent than it is here.

1. Beck’s “Sea Change” (Geffen). For most of his first decade as a pop figure, Beck kept a shield around his feelings. He wrote about the disorientation of youth, but his primary weapons were irony and wit, not confession. And he delighted in framing the songs in a hip-hop energy that deflected even further the sense of personal testimony in the music. In “Sea Change,” the folk-flavored singer-songwriter strips everything bare in an album so poignant and naked that it may eventually rank with such haunting emotional exorcisms as Joni Mitchell’s “Blue” and Neil Young’s “Tonight’s the Night.” The songs, written after the breakup of a longtime relationship, are so personal that Beck waited almost two years before he felt comfortable sharing them on an album.

3. Bright Eyes’ “Lifted or the Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground” (Saddle Creek). There’s always something exciting about a young singer-songwriter who sees the world with fresh eyes and is willing to swing for the fences. Conor Oberst, 22, sings with a spirit that reminds you of Bob Dylan’s early assault on the pop consciousness.

4. Norah Jones’ “Come Away With Me” (Blue Note). There are lots of great voices in pop, but few great singers. Jones has enough feel for country that she can hook you with a Hank Williams song, then enough sophistication that she can lure you with Hoagy Carmichael and Ned Washington’s “The Nearness of You.”

5. The Roots’ “Phrenology” (MCA). This Philadelphia outfit has been a smart, inventive, positive force in rap for years, but this is its finest work -- a 77-minute celebration of hip-hop culture that is philosophical without being preachy, fun without being frivolous, warm without being soft.

6. Ryan Adams’ “Demolition” (Lost Highway). This North Carolina native can be bratty and narcissistic, but his tales of desolation and desire hit deep and hard, framed in styles ranging from bittersweet pop to fearless blues.

7. Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising” (Columbia). There is too much generic material here to make it one of Springsteen’s best albums, but the eloquence and sincerity in the key post-9/11 reflections give the album an undeniable power and comfort.

8. Wilco’s “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” (Nonesuch). Jeff Tweedy and mates combine folk, pop and ambient elements in a bold, original way that captures marvelously the oppressive moments of melancholy and self-doubt.

9. The Hives’ “Your New Favourite Band” (Poptones import). This inspired update of ‘60s garage-rock exuberance is the 2002 album most likely to put a smile on your face.

10. The Streets’ “Original Pirate Material” (Vice). In his high-speed raps, Mike Skinner (a.k.a. the Streets) captures the energy and anxiety of British youth with a wryness approaching Johnny Rotten and an insight that recalls Pete Townshend.

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Robert Hilburn can be reached at robert.hilburn@latimes.com