Decades Best 2: Music

Apologies for last weeks post in which I declared Avatar a great movie. I will be moving it to the colossal disappointment column. I have a lot to say on that movie, but I'll save it for a post. Maybe this week if I'm lucky. Here are the decades best tunes. I put up some clips to go along. I tried to get live performances for each of the songs as I prefer live versions of most songs. Enjoy the list and don't forget to post in the comments section with anyone you feel I missed (Celine Dion suggestions will get you banned).

Arcade fire-Intervention; Rebellion

The 2000's was the decade where control of music was finally wrestled away from the evil men in suits who had poisoned it for so long. Indie Rock rose to new prominence as file sharing on the internet meant that you could download any song you wanted at any moment for free, and the masses were no longer forced to opnly listen to the music that the suits put out there. This paved the way for bands like Death Cab For Cutie, and the current indie golden boys du jour, Arcade Fire, to have an audience they never would have found 10 years ago. Arcade Fire is a great band who put out a stellar record about death, and then followed it up with a stellar record about life. No best of the decade list is complete if it doesn't contain at least one of these two songs.



Beck- Lost Cause; Clap Hands; E-Pro

No way can we talk about music this decade without Beck, who never met a genre he didn't like. Nausea is probably a better song, but Lost Cause is dark, personal, and depressing. Me like. Second video is for a throwaway b-side from the Guerro recordings that found new life in the live shows. Completely awesome. Last clip I threw in because honestly, how cool is it that Beck hires a dude to run around the stage and dance. Plus, the song is really good.







Amen Omen, Ben Harper

2000's saw a new rise in Acoustic songs. I've always felt that the best and purest music comes from a lone guitarist whose song consists of 3 chords and the truth. For one man to hold a room captive with an acoustic guitar is impressive. Harper is one of the most consistent in that area and this is my favorite Ben Harper song.


Skinny Love, Bon Iver
Another good acoustic track. Maybe because its so recent, but this song just felt fresher than anything I had heard in a long time.



Bright Eyes-At the bottom of everything

Connor Oberst could have probably been the next Dylan if he hadn't killed his brain cells with cocaine and self-righteousness. He's still a great songwriter but his own demons and political nutbaggery insure that he'll probably never make the leap to the next level. Still, when he is on his game, like he was in this track (and much of the Wide Awake It's Morning Album) he puts out some right nice tunes.



Explosions in the sky-Your hand in Mine

One of the best songs of the Decade has no words. Just as well, no words could be as moving as the music by itself is here.



Flaming Lips-Do You Realize; Wand
Why do I get such a kick out of far left nut-jobs with a penchant for the surreal? I have no idea, but the Flaming Lips put out three albums this decade and 1 of them was transcendent and the other 2 weren't bad. If someone out there can find me the giant hands, please contact me.





Fleet Foxes- White Winter Hymnal

An incredible surprise and proof that music is only getting better. This band is the modern day Crosby, Stills and Nash, except they have more that 3 good songs. Take that Steven Stills! If you don't own their whole album, GO BUY IT RIGHT NOW!



The Format-Tie the Rope; The First single

The Format died before its time. There tunes were like anything else, poppy and upbeat, but not in an annoying way. It's a tragedy that these guys weren't the biggest band this decade.





The Rising, Bruce Springsteen-

This song perfectly captures the mood after 9-11. I remember seeing it just about every day in the months following the attack. It had that great, "We're down, but we will get back up and fight" sense to it. This song and U2's Beautiful Day kind of became the post 9-11 anthem about finding optimism in a bleak and dark reality.

You have to click the link on this one because Bruce will not allow embedding because if you don't visit youtube to see the video then the terrorists have won.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNnB4dkVRJI&feature=related


Damien Rice-Cannonball

Why is this list overrun with Irish Folk singers? I don't know, but this was yet another stellar tune from the acoustic madness no prevalent in the 2000's.

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Glen Hansaard and Marketa Irglova-Falling Slowly

If you don't like this song you have no soul. Ogre.



Green Day, Holiday

There was no shortage of Anti-President Bush songs this decade, but this was the best. If you'd told me in 1994 that Green Day would not only be relevant 10 years later, but politically charged and innovative, I probably would have laughed at you.


Iron and Wine-Naked as We Came
More Gleeful acoustic hippyness.



Jimmy Eat World, Sweetness

It wasn't all acoustic hippys running around with beards and birkenstocks this decade. There was also EMO. Jimmy Eat World pretty much started the Emo thing, then EMO came to refer not to pop-punk music with an emotional theme, but instead to dark haired freakish teenagers who cut themselves and avoided sunlight. Thankfully, Jimmy Eat World always kept their music grounded in Rock. This song was literally EVERYWHERE in 2002, and probably is responsible for a slough of terrible bands who run around playing songs very fast in Drop D tuning.


Johnny Cash, Hurt
Best Video of the Decade. The song perfectly embodied Cash, even without the video it's moving. The video depicting Cash everybit as worn out, frail, and depressing as he was as he looked back on better days of his life, many of which he squandered. Trent Reznor, who wrote the song, reportedly cried when he saw the video. It got me the first time I saw it, and now years later it's still about the saddest thing you will ever see.



Joshua Radin, Closer
I will not rest until I convince every person who likes acoustic guitar music that this man is awesome. AWESOME I SAY!


Kanye West-Goldigger

Yet another song that was everywhere. For good reason. It's probably the catchiest hip-hop song of the decade.



Keane, Everybody's Changing
Keane is simply the Best Britpop we got this decade. Even if everything after their first album was dreadful, the first album was good enough that you have to at least listen to their new stuff, hoping that they come up with something this good at least once more.



The Shins, New Slang

Before you start sending angry messages about how The Shins have gotten too mainstream, stop and remember that there was a time that they were the greatest indie band on the planet and if you knew of them, you tried to get all of your friends to listen to them, because hearing their songs was so amazing. Too bad Zach Braff overexposed them and now your idiot friend has a Shins track wedged on the playlist between Miley Cyrus and Brittany Spears.



Spoon, Underdog

Spoon has got to be one of the most exciting bands out there. Their music is almost always good, and you never quite know what they're going to come up with next. The horns and saxes on this album were a bit of a surprise but I loved. them.



Phantom Planet, California
Okay, before this song became used as the theme to the O.C. (overrated during its run, underrated now that it's gone), this was an amazing indie hit. The song still holds up all these years later. Plus, it kind of makes me want to go visit Cali.



Sufjan Stevens, John Wayne Gacy; Chicago

Sufjan Stevens is a freaking genius and everyone should own his stuff. Chicago is a great little tune which captures a feeling about being young and care free, John Wayne Gacy is less about an evil man and more about the evil that is in all of us. What secrets are hidden under the floorboards of your life?





U2, Beautiful Day; Walk On

U2 resurrected its career and reclaimed its status this decade with a Masterpiece album, and two fantastic followups. These two songs were at the right place, at the right time, and perfectly captured the feeling of the time people listened to them. Ironic that they were recorded and released before 9-11, but their message caught on in the wake of the terrible disaster. Life is a beautiful thing and we will continue on even in sadness or sorrow with a hope in better things to come.





The Soggy Bottom Boys, Man of Constant Sorrow
There's a reason this song was everywhere in the early years of the decade. It's really really good. A bluegrassified version of a forgotten Bob Dylan song, if this song didn't get your toes tappin' it was probably because you were dead.



We Are Scientists, After Hours

Why is this song on here? Because it's upbeat and catchy. not everything has to have a deep meaning or significance, you know.



Vampire Weekend, A-Punk

Totally unlike anything else out there, and in a completely good way. I can't wait for their follow up album.



Weezer, Island in the Sun

Weezer, like U2, managed to resurrect itself this decade. Weezer has released a wealth of good songs this decade, but this simple one is my favorite because of its relentless catchiness. You can't help but find yourself humming it a few hours after hearing it.



Wilco-I'm the Man Who Loves You

Yankee, Hotel, Foxtrot was one of the best albums of the decade, not just because of the music, but because of what it symbolized. The record company killed the album, the group put it on their website for free where it gained notoriety, and then the band released it with a new record company to meet the demand from the website downloads and the album became a huge hit. Basically, the fact that this album became a hit soon after the suits at the record company killed it signaled the dawn of the digital music age, and the end of corporate control of your music choices. It's not hard to see why people liked the album, it is nothing short of a masterpiece. Arty enough to reward repeat listenings, but accessible enough that you really dig the songs.



The White Stripes: Seven Nation Army, Death Letter

Probably my favorite band of the decade. Jack White brought back feedback driven, gritty rock. The minimalist setup of the band creates a lean, mean, rocking machine where the music has no fat, no over production, just straight up rocking.

Decades Best Part 1

The 10 best films I saw this Decade.

The Royal Tenenbaums- Anyone who knows me knows that I have a dark and off kilter sense of humor. People either really love this movie or really hate this movie. I secretly suspect that the people who hate this movie lack the ability to appreciate the finely nuanced humor that rewards repeat viewings. Or maybe they just hate it because it doesn't have explosions, flatulence, or Larry the Cable Guy. This is without a doubt Owen Wilson's best film. Sadly he died shortly after this film was made. Do you understand me? He died. Tragically. He never made Drillbit Taylor. It never happened. You hallucinated it. Next time, just say no to drugs.

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy- Probably the funniest movie of the decade that I'm not embarrassed to admit that I liked. It's also one of the most quotable movies of the decade, if not all time. This was back when Will Ferrell was funny. Hard to believe Will Ferrell went from the next big thing to the next Chevy Chase so quickly. Gosh his films have been terrible lately. Brick rules!

About a Boy- I never would have imagined liking a movie that starred Hugh Grant. However, the film about a self-absorbed narcissist is hilarious. And if a guy like him can find love, it brings hope to my family that one day I will fake some poor girl into a marriage.

Memento- Turns standard story telling on its head in a way that has been often imitated but never with the same affect. This movie has some of my favorite story telling conventions. Non-linear narrative, unreliable narrator, and most importantly, Joe Pantoliano.

The Dark Knight-Great story, top notch acting, IMAX scenes, and also the best magic trick in a movie ever (Where did that pencil go?). Batman Begins wasn't exactly slouch filmaking, but this film was masterful in every way. There's nothing in this film that could have been better with the possible exception of *spoiler alert* killing Maggie Gyllenhal earlier. I'm begging the entire Gyllenhal family to refrain from acting. They're just not good. At least her death established a truely terrifying story where characters were legitimately in danger and life for them was a dark and random place where bad things could happen without warning, and who hasn't felt that way about their life from time to time?

Avatar- Smurfs on steroids that blow things up in 3-D? How can this not be the best movie of the decade. I haven't seen it yet and I'm still putting it on the list. I have that much faith in James Cameron. He directed Terminator 2, and the last Aliens movie that wasn't a total disaster. I'm willing to chalk Titanic up to a 200 million dollar practical joke to prove that girls will watch any ridiculous love story a million times as long as the hero is a femmy looking dude who sports boy bangs with whom the heroine couldn't possibly sustain a long term relationship.

Almost Famous- If this movie comes on TNT on a saturday afternoon, you know you will sit there and finish it. It's probably the best movie of the decade. It certainly has the best soundtrack. I defy you not to smile during the Tiny Dancer bus scene. It's not humanly possible. If you don't smile then your soul may be missing. May it was vaporized by global warming. The only complaint I have about this movie is that Cameron Crowe basically had nothing left after he put his heart and soul into this film and his movies since then have been terrible (Elizabethtown, anyone? How high do you have to be to think that either Kristen Dunst or Orlando Bloom can act?)

Gosford Park- Ha! You didn't see that one coming, did you! A commentary on social class disguised as a murder mystery, and the film works on both levels. Good film, even if Robert Altman was a self-important jerk. And yes, I said he was a jerk. I don't care if it is rude to speak ill of the dead. He was and I'm saying it.

The Fog of War- Probably the best documentary of the decade. Robert McNamara is such a compelling figure. Made about the time the Iraq war was starting up, McNamara, the architect of Vietnam raises questions that everyone should ask themselves, and leaves the viewer free to come up with their own answer. A movie about a man who is probably responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, and the movie does a good job of showing McNamara's reaction to his sins. He never really owns them, but you can see that what he's done weighs on him, and you wonder how certain he is of some of the things he says.

Brick- A classic film noir set in a modern high school. If you are a fan of dialogue, then you will love this movie. Teenagers delivering lines that could have been written by Raymond Chandler himself, what's not to love?

8 Films That Are Not Nearly as Good as Everyone Says or Thinks They Are.

1) Anything that involves vampires that sparkle. This is not up for debate. It is pure fact.

2) Lord of the Rings- Before you flood my email box with hate mail, or you put me on an Al-Queda mailing list, let me say that the films are good films. They are great films. Probably some of the best and most entertaining films of the decade. They are also the longest films ever made. Three and a half hours is too long for a movie. Please, for the love of the seat cushions, cut something out of the film. How many Orcs do we need to see get impaled? We get the point. Liv Tyler? Not that important, she could be cut. While watching the last movie in this series, my buttocks went numb from being seated for so long.

3) Gladiator- I cannot stress this enough: this is an average movie, at best. Why exactly did this get nominated for an Oscar? Does Ridley Scott have incriminating photos of someone? I'm not saying its a bad movie, but it is massively overhyped. Dude's family is killed, dude becomes a fighter and gets revenge. What's so great about that? Rocky beat Ivan Drago, who was way tougher than creepy Joaquin Phoenix, and he had a better soundtrack, and a better training montage. In fact, I'm going to go so far as to say that Rocky Four was 10 times better of a movie than Gladiator, and yet, no Oscar. Don't front, if Rocky 4 comes on TV, you are probably going to watch. You are at least staying for the training montage at the end. Then, at some point during the week you are going to confront a challenge and throw your hands up in the air and shout "DRAGO!!!", to the complete bewilderment and confusion of your co-workers or friends who happen to be around you. If Gladiator comes on, are you even sticking around to watch it?

4) Brokeback Mountain- Okay, I haven't seen it, but I feel the need to point this out: This movie is really gay.

5) A Beautiful Mind- I don't hate Russell Crowe. I really don't. Although I would fight him if I had the chance and I was convinced I could win. This would probably involve him being drugged and semi-conscious. However, this is not a good movie. It milked sympathy by claiming to be the authentic story of a man who battled his way back to sanity. The only problem was that this movie was about as faithful to reality as the real Nash was to his wife--which is to say, not very. In fact, by this film's standards, Harry Potter could bill itself as based on a true story. Once you learn that the film is total fiction it loses its impact and is just another hokey film. Also, the screenwriter on this film wrote Batman and Robin which may be the worst movie of all time. I feel like that should matter.

6) The Matrix sequels- Okay, no one thinks these are great films, but lets face it, they are much worse than people give them credit for. I mean, these films are REALLY bad. I mean now that a couple years have passed can't we agree that they are downright unwatchable? You would have to strap me to a chair and wire my eyes open Clockwork Orange-style to convince me to watch these films again. Throw the original Matrix in there too. That film may have been revolutionary in its day, but its been 10 years and it doesn't hold up. That film just straight up sucks if you watch it now.

7) The Aviator- Another example of a movie that is probably okay, maybe even good, but there are people out there who gave this thing awards and it is nowhere good enough to deserve it. In fact, Marty Scorsese's work this whole decade has been that way. I know people refer to him as a genius, but is Gangs of New York even a watchable film? I've only seen it when it aired on TV and I think I made it about 15 minutes. Everyone else I know had the same reaction. Also, when are we going to accept that Leonard DiCaprio is annoying and unwatchable? Am I the only one who feels this way? I feel like you could replace him in pretty much any film with almost any actor and it wouldn't hurt the film at all.

8) Any film by Michael Moore- There's a pretty good chance that Moore's playing loose with the facts helped give republican's enough ammo to get Bush a second term in office. The man is entertaining but his films cannot fairly be called documentaries. They are propaganda films, pure and simple, and they are steadily decreasing in quality (not to mention factual content).

Did I miss any? Sound off in the comments section below.