A Decade in Music: The best of 2000-2009

On the final day of the year and of the decade, I finally get around to sharing with you all what I consider the stand outs, the dare I say classics to be, of the decade that is about to be.
The albums speak for themselves. Each one, I can go back to again and again. Every one has a moment or moments that I associate it to, and whether the moment was great or not, they are locked to my memories. Each one is artistically impeccable.
The singles are those that get stuck in your head and are still rattling around years later. They are tracks that when I hear them when I’m at a party or at a bar, I’m giddy. They are the most played in my collection, some I will just listen to on repeat depending on the mood.
Ok, enough preamble. Here they are:

The Best Albums of the Decade
1. Arcade Fire, Funeral (2004)

2. Doves, The Last Broadcast (2002)

3. Radiohead, In Rainbows (2007)

4. Bloc Party, Silent Alarm (2005)

5. Interpol, Turn On The Bright Lights (2004)

6. Cut Copy, In Ghost Colours (2008)

7. M.I.A., Kala (2007)

8. Of Montreal, Hissing Fauna Are You The Destroyer?(2007)

9. LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver (2007)

10a. The Killers, Hot Fuss (2004)

10b. Scissor Sister, Scissor Sisters (2004)

Singles of The Decade
(other than my top three, not necessarily in order. Maybe. Not exactly)
1.Daft Punk, One More Time (2000)- Everytime I hear this I just want to dance. Sheer joy.

2.Arcade Fire, Neighborhood #1 (2004)

3. Bloc Party, This Modern Love (2005) – reminds me of the summer Alan and I trained for the North Shore Century, riding our bikes through the forest preserve.

M.I.A., Paper Planes (2007)

Doves, There Goes The Fear (2002) – January ’02 after the Super Bowl, sitting in Alan and Erin’s kitchen above the funeral home;Alan introduced me to this for the first time. Still amazing.

Interpol, NYC (2002)- The guitars get me everytime, just the ache of the song. Brilliant.

Ladytron, Destroy Everything You Touch (2005)- Venomous and electric. Janada and I bonded over this at Big Chicks one nights.

James, Hey Ma (2008)- I think this video that a YouTuber made completely embodies the meaning of the song.

Kelly Clarkson, Since U Been Gone (2004)- bubblegum and still delicious.

Fischerspooner, The 15th (2003)

Silversun Pickups, Lazy Eye (2006)- Billy Corgan wishes he was as good as this song…Thanks Frank for the intro.

MGMT, Kids (2008)

Ting Tings, Great DJ (2008)- Another Big Chicks Wednesday night memory.

Saint Etienne, Stars Above Us (2005)

Avalanches, Since I Left You (2000)

Lady Gaga, Bad Romance (2009)-No apologies about this. She is spectacle, she is artistic, and damn is this song the catchiest thing ever (even more than Poker Face)

The Killers, All These Things That I Have Done (2004)

Madonna, Hung Up (2005)- The best thing she has done in years.

Chemical Brothers, Star Guitar (2002)

Coldplay, Lovers In Japan (2008)- The original video is terrible, but someone made one using Lost In Translation, check it at You Tube…

Jurgen Paape, So Weit Wie Noch Nie (2004)

Missy Elliot, Work It and Gossip Folks (2002)- couldn’t make up my mind on these two, they are both genius. Wednesday nights before euchre, Chris C and I loved these two tracks. Good times. Love Ludacris’ rhyme!

Modest Mouse, Float On (2004)

Basement Jaxx, Romeo (2001)

The Rapture, Out Of The Races And Onto The Track (2001)

Mew, Comforting Sounds (2003)- Epic. To hear this track live literally brought me to tears.

Nine Inch Nails, Beside You in Time (2005)

Pink, So What (2008)

Underworld, Two Months Off (2002)- Euphoric.

Phoenix, 1901 (2009)- My favorite of ’09 deserves a spot in the best of the decade too…

And with that we say goodnight to a decade gone by. Here’s to the next one…

A Decade in music, part 4: 2005

Welcome to my latest edition of my favorite music from the past decade. As we approach the end of 2009, I’ve been busy checking out tunes and tracks, listening and re-listening to what rocked me this year, so I’ve been a little sidetracked. As a result, I’ve been remiss in getting my previous years’ flashbacks posted.
Then in searching through and making lists, I stumbled upon blog posts I had made on MySpace way back when, and I must admit, it’s too good to pass up and not share…again. In retrospect, I definitely see and know their were tracks and albums that didn’t make my top 10 that so should have, and of course I added those after the initial list. but for shits and giggles, and in true continuation of my posts on the decade, here from December of 2005 is my best of list:

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The drum roll please folk… it that time of year, time to document my favorite bits of music for the year. And the winners are…

1. Bloc Party, Silent Alarm(Vice/ Dim Mak) – Probably the most stunning new band to emerge from the UK, the disc is politically charged and the tunes violently dynamic. From the throbbing opening track Like Eating Glass to the aching This Modern Love, the tracks are tight. Love it. Thanks Frank for the heads up again.
2. The Go! Team, Thunder Lightning Strike (Columbia)- A definite surprise for me… it’s trippy, it’s almost kitchy, it’s definitely catchy. Like Sesame Street and the Jackson 5 on a breakbeat acid trip.
3. Doves, Some Cities (Heavenly/Capitol)- the third full length from the Manchester trio is another work of success… thematically titled, epic and sprawling in texture and sound. Stand out tracks include the title track, the Motown infused Black and White Town and the haunting One of These Days. And if you get a chance, see them live.
4. New Order, Waiting for the Sirens Call (Warner Music)- Sorry Alan, but I disagree with you… definitely the strongest work from the original Manchester club band in a long time. Krafty is bouncy and euphoric, the title track is hands down their best song since Your Silent Face, and it sounds like they been hanging out with Doves a whole lot when they came up with the so not electronic Working Overtime.
5. Franz Ferdinand, You Could Have It So Much Better (Domino)- Overcoming the sophomore slump that the Strokes never, Franz’s second disc is just a bit tighter than the debut. Towards the back half of the disc, Beatles by way of Great Escape-era Blur influence bleeds in a bit here and there.
6. Madonna, Confessions on a Dancefloor (Warner Music)- Like it wasn’t going to make my list!! What’s not to love… non stop electronica, ABBA sample, a ode to NYC, it’s all solid gold.
7.Nine Inch Nails, With Teeth (Interscope/ Nothing)- Anger is never more cathartic than with Trent Reznor, i’ve always said. The disc is all over the map: Only takes us back to Pretty Hate Machine, while Beside You In Time feels like the best parts of the Fragile … without the endless sprawl.
8.Fiona Apple, Extraordinary Machine (Epic)- We all know the back story (Shelved disc, angry fans unite to get it released, Fiona crys at all of the love and remixes it Snoop Dogg’s producer, disc released), but here’s the truth… Nora Jones hasn’t got jack on this piano enchantress. There’s sorrow, passion, whimsy and anger all over the place, and never has it been a more beautiful mess.
9. Gorillaz, Demon Days (Virgin)- Gotta love it when a cartoon band with a Clint Eastwood fetish and excellence pedigree (Damon Albarn, DJ Danger Mouse) can rock the house. You can hear a distinct segue to this disc from Blur’s last effort, Think Tank… the dank dark yearning with the hip hop club edge. And who doesn’t love the fact you can hear both Shaun Ryder mumble and Dennis Hopper ramble within moments of each other?
10. Six Feet Under Volume 2, Everything Ends TV Soundtrack (Astralwerks)- As one of the best shows in TV history became history this year, it was given a very appropriate send off with this compilation of tracks featured over the past three seasons. Not one track is a miss here: Nina Simone’s Feelin’ Good kicks things off, and sure it’s great to hear two very fine Coldplay and Radiohead classics. But Sia’s Breathe Me, Interpol’s Direction, Jem’s Amazing Life and the Arcade Fire’s Cold Wind are all new, and absolutely stunning. It’s so elegant to listen and remember the moments when these tracks graced the series.
and the honorable mentions go to…
Annie, Anniemal
Depeche Mode, Playing the Angel
Death from Above 1979, You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine
Ladytron, Witching Hour
Oasis, Don’t Believe the Truth
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It’s funny to see how I judged and compared music back then. I know, it was just four years ago, but still. I probably would restructure that list significantly if I were to do it today. As hindsight is always 20/20, I also missed a great disc or two, like Maximo Park’s A Certain Trigger, and Ladytron would now be in my top 5, especially since The Go! Team’s disc actually hit in 2004 (a bit of history repeating). But it’s interesting to look back and actually see how things may change over a matter of four years. It’s cool I stumbled across this, and glad I got to share.

oh, and for those keeping track, here’s my list of memorable tracks from ’05:

Twin Cinema, The New Pornographers
Dakota, Stereophonics
Na Na Na Na Naa, Kaiser Chiefs
This Home on Ice, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Your Heart is an Empty Room, Death Cab for Cutie
Oh Well, Fiona Apple
This Modern Love, Bloc Party
Dare, Gorillaz
Test Transmission, Kasabian
Destroy Everything You Touch, Ladytron
Gone Missing, Maximo Park
Only, NIN
Stars Above Us, Saint Etienne
Waiting for the Siren’s Call, New Order
Cold Wind, The Arcade Fire
Dream About Me, Moby
Number One, Goldfrapp
Breathe Me, Sia
Hollaback Girl, Gwen Stefani
I Believe In You, Kylie Minogue
Daft Punk is Playing At My House, LCD Sounsystem
Hung Up, Madonna
Jetstream (Richard X Remix), New Order with Ana Matronic
Rental Car, Beck
King Of The Rodeo, Kings of Leon
One of these Days, Doves
Thinking About You, Ivy
In the Crossfire, Starsailor
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Faultline and Keane
Wordless Chorus, My Morning Jacket
Precious, Depeche Mode
Lyla, Oasis
Wake Me Up Uhen September Ends, Green Day
Over and Over, Hot Chip
7/4 (shoreline),Broken Social Scene

Only three more years to go…