2001 was a year of massive global disruption—notably rocked by the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. The singer Aaliyah died in a plane crash in the Bahamas on August 25, and the Enron corporation filed its landmark bankruptcy case in December. In culture. Ron Howard’s A Beautiful Mind won Best Picture (and Bjork's iconic swan dress became a pre-meme meme) while Hayao Miyazaki’s masterpiece Spirited Away triumphed at the Berlin Film Festival. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman called it off as Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake donned their iconic double-denim outfits at the American Music Awards.
Wikipedia, the first iPod and the iTunes Store were launched, transforming our digital lives forever. On the scientific front, the HGP announced the completion of their work mapping the entire human genome. Michael Phelps, at 15 years old, broke the 200 butterfly world record, becoming the youngest guy to set a world swimming mark.
In NYC, Vincent van Gogh's painting "The Fields (Les Champs)” sold for $53.9 million at Christie's, while David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr. shocked audiences in cinemas. All along, we were still California dreamin’ at The Standard. Here are some sounds from a transformational year…
