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2000-2009: Music in Review / Glenn’s 100 favorite songs of the decade For the past nine years, I have come up with year-end top 20 lists. To culminate the decade, I attempted, in vain, to complete a top 150 list of my favorite songs of the decade. I hit an impasse in the #40s onwards – how do I differentiate songs numbered 40 and 41, and 64 and 65 anyway? As it was virtually impossible to rank the songs beyond the 20s and 30s, I just decided to do most of this randomly, stream-of-consciousness-style. There is, however, a clear cut top ten. The top ten. Hands down, my favorite song of the decade is Svefn-G-Englar (Sigur Ros). This song almost defies description. For the unacquainted, Sigur Ros’s vocalist has an impossibly high falsetto and the guitarist bows his electric guitar. The song itself is a slow-burning ten minute journey through Icelandic fjords. The most played song on my iTunes is Ready for the Floor (Hot Chip). It is unbelievably catchy, and it showcases how Hot Chip has mastered the mid-tempo indie dance song. Watch out for that sublime key change after they sing “you’re my number one guy.” Maps (Yeah Yeah Yeahs): what else can I say about this song? Absolutely poignant, especially coming from the usually-truculent Karen O. Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl (Broken Social Scene): These guys are my favorite indie band of the decade; their versatility trumps other bands. “Anthems,” specifically, is the hypnotizing chant of a teenager dreaming of a lover. Meanwhile, A Movie Script Ending (Death Cab for Cutie) features my favorite music video of the decade, which takes “heartbreaking” to a different level. In contrast, You’re so Clever (Orange Peels) is the catchiest song of the past ten years. I don’t know anything else about the band, but this is an indie-pop masterpiece. Speaking of masterpieces, Arcade Fire crafted the best album of the decade, “Funeral.” My favorite track, Neighborhood #1 is an epic piano-driven song about two lovers meeting up in the middle of an empty, snow-covered town. Rounding out the top ten is Say Something (Haven), which is what Coldplay could sound like if they tried harder; Shining Light (Ash), which embodies “glorious rock anthem,” and Such Great Heights (Postal Service), that ubiquitous electro-pop love song. Incidentally, in several air travels these past few years, I have always listened to “Such Great Heights” while staring at the cloudy expanse. I don’t know why I do it, but it feels great and nostalgic. Shake that tail feather. I’m usually not a big fan of dance music, but the best dance songs of the 2000s have made me a believer. Pitchfork called Heartbeat (Annie) the perfect pop song. I don’t disagree at all. D.A.N.C.E. (Justice) is more dance-floor greatness, and especially now that Michael Jackson’s gone, this tribute is a fitting send-off to the great club in the sky. Digital Love (Daft Punk) has the best electric guitar solo in any dance song. Frontier Psychiatrist (The Avalanches) is a potpourri of beats, sound-bytes, and samples all thrown together hilariously. No Ordinary Morning (Chicane) is good enough to enamor even non-trance listeners. House of Jealous Lovers (The Rapture) is a pure mix of cowbell, dance beats, and electric guitar, while Making Love in the Sunshine (Maxi Geil and Playcolt) does the same, albeit through a charming duet. It’s For You (Outhud) perfectly combines Annie-like vocals, a quirky telephone, and a down-and-dirty bass outro. And Robyn – yes, “Show Me Love” Robyn, completely reinvented herself and gave us both With Every Heartbeat and Konichiwa Bitches from her no-fillers self-titled release. All My Friends (LCD Soundsystem) is the fitting soundtrack to the inevitable crash after a night of hard partying. Oh, Canada. A small group of creative Canadian bands further designed the decade. Stars are a revelation, making perfect musical theatre. From their several memorable songs, Elevator Love Letter, Your Ex-Lover is Dead, Calendar Girl, and Bitches in Tokyo are some of my favorites. The aforementioned versatile Broken Social Scene also scored other knock-outs apart from “Anthems”: Almost Crimes, Ibi Dreams of Pavement (Another Day), Lover’s Spit (a perfect aping of Jeff Buckley), and 7/4 (Shoreline) are just a few. Combat Baby (Metric) features Emily Haines, one of my favorite vocalists, who sounds half-vulnerable and half-snarling in this song. She gets me every time she sings “bye-bye, bye-bye baby.” And finally, Sing Me Spanish Techno (The New Pornographers) finds the indie super-group clicking on all cylinders. Keeping it simple. The decade also had a few stripped-down songs for those who want stuff relatively straightforward, unobtrusive, and simple. These make great vehicles for talented lyricists. Among these are Bright Eyes, whose I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning album has been on repeat in my player since 2005. A few favorites from Bright Eyes (actually, Conor Oberst) are Land Locked Blues, We Are Nowhere and It’s Now, Lover I Don’t Have to Love and No Lies, Just Love. Anyone who has watched Closer will have The Blower’s Daughter (Damien Rice) stuck in his head, along with Rice’s incessant “I can’t take my eyes off you.” Mad World (Gary Jules) from the Donnie Darko soundtrack turns the classic Tears for Fears song into a piano ballad. Somebody is Waiting for Me (Juliana Hatfield) was my personal anthem as a heartbroken high school boy in the early part of this decade. Ghost (Howie Day) is spare and haunting. No Children (Mountain Goats) is pure vitriol sung by couple married for too long, although it ends with sweet resignation to their commitment. Speaking of keeping it simple Hide and Seek (Imogen Heap) is just vocals, a vocoder, and a lot of heartbreak. Love Will Come Through (Travis) is Travis doing what Travis does best. Killer lyrics. A few lines better heard than read: “And the truth is, I miss you” (Warning Sign – Coldplay); “But you could distinguish Miles from Coltrane” (Comfortable – John Mayer); “At every occasion, I’ll be waiting for a funeral” (Funeral – Band of Horses). Meanwhile, Colin Meloy of The Decemberists has been the best lyricist of the past few years, writing epic folk songs with pirates, ghosts, and thieves. Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect is sweet, stripped down folk rock with wonderfully pretentious lyrics. The entire Crane Wife album, featuring The Crane Wife 3, The Crane Wife 1 and 2, and O, Valencia!, among others, is a lyrical journey through time and tide. (Close runner-up lyricists are Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes, as previously mentioned, and John Mayer, whose Clarity and Gravity are in my top 100.) And emo-ness be damned, but Existentialism on Prom Night (Straylight Run) is that song high-school boys write in post-soiree love notes. Welcome back, Garage Rock. One of the biggest stories of the early 2000s is the revival of garage rock and the invasion of the “the” bands. The Strokes were often called the band that saved rock and roll. They are simply topnotch in Last Nite, Barely Legal, and Under Control. The Libertines, their British counterparts, made two great LPs amidst the turmoil of drugs and thievery; Time for Heroes is garage rock with a tinge of nostalgic melancholia. Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes) features a plodding guitar-cum-bass line that remains lodged in our collective memories. And Sleeping Aides and Razorblades (The Exploding Hearts) is tuneful garage-punk that hints at even greater things, had most of the band not met tragic deaths. Hate to Say I Told You So (The Hives) sees the world’s best-dressed band strut its stuff. A Certain Romance (Arctic Monkeys) shows off the young band’s strengths: after a slew of guitars comes an observation piece in the Kinks/Blur tradition (“there’s only music so that there’s new ringtones”). The Rat (The Walkmen), meanwhile, is blazing-fast catharsis, in the same vein as Nothing Ever Happened (Deerhunter) – although I may be stretching it by classifying this song under the “garage” heading. Indie pop/twee. Lloyd, I’m Ready to be Heartbroken (Camera Obscura) is wonderfully dissonant: fast-paced, yet fragile – and a splendid response to the eponymous Lloyd Cole’s song. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, one of 2009’s best new bands, follows the Jesus and Mary Chain formula: white noise with a pop core, most especially in Everything With You. Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse (Of Montreal) is typical Of Montreal: carnivalesque music backs an ode to drug addiction and depression. What is Happening? (Alphabeat) is Last-Song-Syndrome fodder, and is catchy from the first note onwards. Summer Lovers (Beats for Beginners) shows breezy pop and how to properly name-drop Julie Christie with impunity. Pull Shapes (The Pipettes) is the best track of the 60s girl group revivalists; easy on the eyes, and even easier on the ears. I once whistled Young Folks (Peter Bjorn and John) and the other six people with me whistled the song for the entire day. Old favorites Weezer may not write songs and albums like they used to, but Perfect Situation and Smile can go toe-to-toe with the band’s 90s output. From the airwaves. The radio has also delivered a few staples to my playlist. Stolen and Hands Down (Dashboard Confessional) finds Chris Carrabba perfecting the post-summer love song. It’s impossible not to move along with American Boy (Estelle)’s fuzzy beat. Absolutely Zero (Jason Mraz) is stunningly mature. Mercy (Duffy) showcases our generation’s Dusty Springfield. And I have never tired of Bleeding Love (Leona Lewis), LDN (Lily Allen), and Big Girls Don’t Cry (Fergie). And of course, Cry Me A River (Justin Timberlake) is the best pop song of our era, and Mr. Brightside (The Killers), our generation’s sing along. Number ones: For the past nine years, I have come up with year-end lists, and the following were the number one songs: 2000 – Svefn-G-Englar; 2001 – Shining Light; 2002 – Pounding (Doves); 2003 – Sleeping Aides and Razorblades; 2004 – Dry Your Eyes (The Streets); 2005 – Felt Tip (Love is All); 2006 – Pull Shapes; 2007 – Love Love Love Love Love (As Tall as Lions); 2008 – I Will Possess Your Heart (Death Cab for Cutie). Invariably though, I end up regretting my number one song choice, except obviously, for the year 2000. Classic … Finally, a few instant classics to round-off the list. Float On (Modest Mouse); Hope There’s Someone (Antony and the Johnsons); as a decade-end bonus, my favorite band, Blur, returned in 2009 – although Battery in Your Leg would have been a good swansong; Kissing the Lipless and New Slang (The Shins) – the latter of which, Garden State claimed to change peoples’ lives; and Do You Realize (The Flaming Lips) from the sublime concept album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. Four acts also came up with excellent albums in the mp3 age: 1) Radiohead’s Kid A and In Rainbows (How to Disappear Completely and All I Need); 2) Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, Radio Cure); 3) Panda Bear’s Person Pitch (Bros); and 4) hands down, the best act, album and song of 2009 – Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavillion, and My Girls. I’m sure I’ve forgotten a few songs here and there – just right now, I realized I forgot to put anything by JJ72, Vampire Weekend, or Interpol – but as it is, this stands as my decade-end list.
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