The Naughts

Here it is. The obligatory end of the decade list of the music this guy liked. It’s not a best of list. This is a personal compilation. It’s also not a list of the best albums. The rise of the internet and downloading has caused a big shift in my listening habits over the past ten years; I don’t really listen to new records anymore, but a bunch of songs.

Please, don’t be the guy who says the decade is from 2001-2010. My blog, my rules. Tried my best to pick out two songs from each year. If I failed to get two from each year, please be kind. Unfortunately time and technology limits my ability to provide a downloadable link to these songs. They’re out there, and you can find most of these on Youtube. If you’re intrigued and unable to find a song shoot me an email and I can send you an MP3.

What a decade, eh? For me it has been a whirlwind. Four jobs, two marriages, four cars, one house, one son – and after all the drama and shifting of rubble, as Elton John said, I’m still standing. Somehow, in all the madness, I got my ears going again. It helped keep me sane, and these little end of year liner notes have been fun to do, and complete. Thank you for reading and taking part in the journey.

Mambo De La Luna - Kirsty MacCall. I still mourn her tragic death after hopping on her bandwagon posthumously. Her Tropical Brainstorm release is a danceable, heartbreaking and independent display of her love of Cuban music. It’s very sad that there’s not going to be any more new music from her.

You Were Right - Badly Drawn Boy. When my son was small and did not sleep, unlike now when he still does not sleep, to calm myself down I'd put the Music Choice channel. The adult alternative channel played, and may still, a lot of music that was new to me. This song was one of them, and in a few songs an artist I really came to love would come along. I like this song and its breezy pop sensibilities. In a couple of years Damon would release One Last Dance, and that song really freaked me out during the time my marriage fell apart.



You Know So Well - Sondre Lerche. It was another of the many times my son would not fall asleep. I put Music Choice on to try and stay sane. Then this song came on and flipped me out with it's Strawberry Fields production and Donovan voice. I asked Laurie to write this down in case I forgot. I reserved it from the library. There was a short waiting list. Then it came through book drop while I was clearing it. The Faces Down CD was the only time I broke library rules and checked out to myself before the next person in line got their reserve. This is the first time I'm telling this part of the story. This is my confession. I really admire the music this kid from Norway has made.

Come Pick Me Up - Ryan Adams. Whiskeytown completely passed me by during its existence. It was not until after 9/11 that I started paying attention to Ryan Adams because of that video he made on 9/7, just a day before I was in New York City and had an incredible day there. I gave Gold a listen, found it alright but more than a bit self indulgent (imagine that!) then picked up Heartbreaker and was quite impressed. In March of '02, for our wedding anniversary we went to see him live. One of the worst shows I've ever seen. Back to the audience, no stage presence. After his next few records I almost wrote him off, even picked him in a death pool thinking he'd go the way of Gram Parsons. But a broken arm and some maturity showed me he's still relevant and I really liked Jacksonville City Nights.



Allt Som Ar Ditt - Sakert. I have the guy who was not interested in my wife to thank for this. He put it on his monthly downloadable mix and I was hooked on this song. It has a very Fleetwood Mac vibe. The lyrics are quite dark, there's revenge and an assault in there. The video is even darker. The artist is a Swedish woman named Annika Norlin. Her English alter ego is a group called Hello Saferide and the music is charming and quirky and you just want to hug her. So thanks Paul, and why are you blocking me on Facebook?

Sequestered in Memphis - The Hold Steady. For awhile I kept reading about this Minneapolis band on the blogosphere. There was a lot of universal love for them I could not ignore. So I checked out Boys and Girls In America, which did not grab me. At all. A few months later, I gave it another shot to the same results. So when Stay Positive came out and the same people were showing it the same love, I was skeptical. Then I heard this song and was instantly pulled in. Their best songs have a great riff, a story with a lot of dark corners and a sing along chorus. The whole record maintains the theme and it holds together well. I gave Boys and Girls in America an unprecedented third chance, nope.

 Doomsday - Elvis Perkins in Dearland. A now estranged friend sent me a copy of Ash Wednesday and I was impressed by his words and tone. I called him the Buster Keaton of rock music. That's a compliment. There's a lot of color in his world that has been darkened by the public deaths of his parents. His recent record is even better and this song with it's dance along funeral dirge and trombones is brilliant.

 I Want to Sing That Rock and Roll - Gillian Welch. She is one of the most important American artists of the past decade. She comes from Southern California but you'd swear she was raised in a Georgia holler. Her guitarist, David Rawlings, is no slouch either. Check out the guitar solo on this song.

 I Feel Better - Frightened Rabbit. The passionate rock and roll sounds out of Falkirk, Scotland. I like these guys and suspect 2010 will be a very big year for them.



 Intervention - Arcade Fire. The band that got me into new music again. The same person who got me onto Elvis Perkins suggested this group also. I got Funeral out of the library and thirty seconds into the first song I was devoted. It lived in my cd player, in my car and head for a long time. Then in late 2006, when this song was leaked as a preview of their Neon Bible record I was blown away. I cannot tell you how much I listened to this one song, and how much it kept me going during some very, very hard times in my personal life. Seeing them perform this song live capped it all off. It’s not so much a great song to me as it is an anthem. Three years later it still sounds fresh as it sends chills through me. This is the band of the decade. I await their next record.

 Dog Days Are Over - Florence and the Machine. My introduction to Florence Wright came from a Columbus blog called Donewaiting. It was a review of her performance at the SXSW festival. She was in a bar, jumping around on stage, then went into a small swimming pool and splashed around. I started looking around online and downloading as much of her material as I could. She has style, looks and energy. She could be a big star.

Sunset - Kate Bush. Ah Kate, where were you the past twelve years? It had been so long. I never forgot about you, I suspected you were busy having a kid and all. It takes a lot of your time. And when you released the double cd I was so pleased. Sure, you sang the first one hundred digits of pi on one song but that was ok, you can come over and sing the phone book to me. Disc two, a sky of honey, helped me sleep for months. This song is beautiful, just like you. Come back in less than twelve years, if you're going to be late you know where to find me.



 Muzzle of Bees – Wilco. Oh Mr. Tweedy you entered the decade with so much hope and promise, just like the rest of us. Then you lost your record deal, regained it, shook up the band publicly, went into rehab and came out of it mellower. What happens to artists who lose their creativity when they clean up? Since you and the late Jay Bennett broke up the band has not been the same. I’m not saying it’s worse, just different. Sure Nels is a hell of a guitarist, but you have not been giving him much to do. You’re only on this list because I could not leave you out. I’m not saying you have to rock in 2010, but to stop boring me. All the best.

 Funny Little Frog - Belle and Sebastian. Yeah. Scotland. Glasgow. At the beginning of the decade the country was not even close to being on my life’s radar. Now I’m surrounded by it. The Life Pursuit was the first record of theirs I took an interest in, back in that infamous year of 2006. Maybe I was reading Craig Ferguson’s book at the same time as hearing this song come out of the speakers, knowing then and there it would lead off the end of the year disc, and not knowing about the craziness the rest of the year would bring.

 In the Night - Joseph Arthur. Like Jeff Tweedy, the decade began with a lot of promise for young Joseph. Then, things got weird. Maybe his brief dalliance with Lindsey Lohan (I think I am the only one who did not but I had a dream about her) changed him. Anyway, he posts a lot of his poetic stylings on the web, seems to have sobered up and has stopped releasing records on the hour – which would be a good thing, if his recent releases were as profound as Redemption’s Son. I’m glad he’s well, and there’s still hope for him, and all of us.

 Love Changes Everything - Sam Phillips. Poor gal released an amazing record on 9/4/01. Then she and T-Bone Burnett split up. I get that. If you’re sad, Sam, come on over. I’ve got beer. We’ll just talk. Honest.

 Don't Ever Change - Amy Rigby. One of my favorite blogging musicians. She’s living in France with her husband Wreckless Eric. She writes about her new life in a foreign country, getting decent eye ware, the strains of touring. She’s an earnest voice in a sea of manufactured hype and it’s a damn shame she does not get the credit she deserves.

 2+2=5 (The Lukewarm) - Radiohead. One of the most lauded bands of the decade. I think their releases have been mixed in quality, and I still do not get Kid-A. I liked Hail to the Thief and especially this song.

 What a Wonderful Man - My Morning Jacket. These guys are from another planet and have made so many turns in their style that it’s become hard to categorize them, which is not a bad thing. This is one of their shorter, and straightforward songs. None of their reverb jam band songs here, and it’s hard to get mad at them because they soar. MMJ might be the best live band out there now.

 Knights of Cydonia – Muse. I’ve never really heard these guys, still not sure why I checked the record out from the library. Took it upstairs, was reading. It sounded ok, nothing earth shattering. Then this song, the last one on the record started. I stopped reading. This song has everything. Hints of Joe Meek, Ennio Morricone, the riff from Barracuda, Yes, Queen and so much more. I played it again, and again after that. What a great sound. I’m not impressed with their live act or stage presence, but this song plain out rocks.