Paul Smith – The Corsair
It’s hard to digest the fact that this decade is rapidly coming to a close. It seems as if just yesterday we were still partying like it was 1999 (please forgive this unavoidable Prince reference). But, alas, the decade has passed gracefully into the annals of the history books as we continue to charge head-first into the 21st century.
I never really knew what to call this past decade: was it the ohs, the oohs, the oughts, the double naughts? Whatever it was, it’s friggin’ over.
And as such, it is a necessary annoyance that I compile the greatest albums and films from the past ten years into an obligatory retrospective list.
Of course, by “greatest,” I mean the music and movies that I personally feel are of worthy merit to be included on a list such as this. So, without further delay, I present my take on the best of the decade:
Top Ten Albums of the Decade
Honorable Mentions: Bloc Party – Silent Alarm (2005); Joanna Newsom – Ys (2006); Kanye West – Late Registration (2005); Sufjan Stevens – Illinoise! (2005); Tom Waits – Blood Money (2002); Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002); The White Stripes – White Blood Cells (2001)
10. OutKast – Stankonia (2000) – A list of the best albums of the decade would be utterly incomplete without OutKast. Stankonia came out in 2000 and started the decade off with a resoundingly funky bang. This Atlanta duo, famous for their unique blend of Southern funk-rock-hip-hop, was poised to take over the world back in the halcyon days at the beginning of the decade, and with Stankonia, they nearly did.
9. Modest Mouse – Good News for People Who Love Bad News (2004) – Modest Mouse had been around for eight years when this album came out, and many die-hard fans probably still celebrate the band’s garage rock salad days of The Moon & Antarctica over this album. However, just because they went for a more produced and accessible sound, and even got some airtime on MTV when this album came out, it didn’t mean the band was any less weird or edgy. For many this album was and still is their masterpiece statement.
8. Coldplay – Parachutes (2000) – Although they were immediately characterized by some as the poor man’s Radiohead, those who listened carefully were treated to a nearly flawless debut album with remarkable depth and rich melodious landscapes. While they have shown occasional greatness in the years since, they never quite recaptured the brilliance of this first album.
7. Radiohead – In Rainbows (2007) – Though this album may have been hyped within an inch of its life (due to the innovative marketing campaign and the ability to download it either for free or for a price of your choosing), it made up for the turgid promotion in spades. This was the best Radiohead album since 1997’s phenomenal OK Computer. It was definitely one of the most mature, beautiful and energetic sets of music the band had ever created – accessible and poppy enough for the neophytes, but edgy and dark enough for the aficionados.
6. Dr. Dog – We All Belong (2007) – It’s difficult enough for a band to have one amazing front-man, Dr. Dog is lucky enough to have two. Dr. Dog’s front-men, Toby Leaman and Scott McMicken, synthesized their songwriting abilities in perfect harmonies that incorporated the best of The Beatles, The Band, and The Beach Boys into this magnificent album of blissful psychedelic retro rock.
5. Kings of Leon – Aha Shake Heartbreak (2005) – Kings of Leon’s sophomore album was a boot-kick to the teeth of excellent Southern-fried indie-rock. Though the band has recently sunk to embarrassing depths on their past two albums, striving for a radio-friendly chick-rock sound, the Followill family (the band consists of three brothers and their cousin) used to churn out some of the best tunes this side of the Mason-Dixon Line.
4. Wolf Parade – Apologies to the Queen Mary (2005) – Another band with two incredibly talented front-men, Dan Boeckner and Spencer Krug display their talents on this debut album like a modern Lennon-McCartney of indie-rock. This album was filled with so many beautiful, heartfelt, and undeniably bizarre anthems, for many it achieved the status of instant classic.
3. Andrew Bird – Mysterious Production of Eggs (2005) – Andrew Bird has certainly come a long way from once being the fiddle player in Squirrel Nut Zippers. As he slowly built a solo career, this master of whistling and the violin finally released his grand statement of quirky avant-garde indie rock-pop with this seminal album. This is music for the smart-hip bunch, the auditory equivalent of reading Ginsberg in coffee shops.
2. The Strokes – Is This It? (2001) – It’s difficult to put your finger on exactly what made this debut album by the Strokes so remarkable. On the surface, it seems like a rather simplistic catchy rock album. But this five-some from New York City somehow managed to merge the best of the art-house rock of the Velvet Underground and the Stooges into a modern masterpiece of melodic garage rock.
1. Arcade Fire – Funeral (2004) – How could the album of the decade be anything other than Funeral? When it was released in 2004, it sounded like a record sent to Earth from the sirens of some Great Cosmic Mystery – an album that explored what it meant to be human and set it to the most perfectly poignant soundtrack conceivable. Five years later, and while a couple of the songs are forgettable, the bulk of the album still sends chills up the spine – a sonic masterwork of epic proportions that not only lived up to the hype, but exceeded it. Euphoric, ethereal, and full of both hope and despair– the only sour note is that there may never again be an album quite like Funeral.
Top Ten Films of the Decade
Honorable Mentions: American Psycho (2000); Capturing the Friedmans (2003); Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004); Fog of War (2003); Mulholland Drive (2001); Sideways (2004); Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001)
10. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) directed by Peter Jackson – It would be impossible not to include these films on this list (by the way, all three films were shot at one time and edited into separate films, but will be considered one giant movie here). There is no denying that these movies were a monumental achievement, and though they may have overstayed their welcome a bit, this trilogy was certainly a marvel of filmmaking on every level. And there was something special about seeing Peter Jackson – the man who started his career making dark-comedy gross-out horror films – garner such recognition.
9. The Squid and the Whale (2005) directed by Noah Baumbach – This deeply passionate, but achingly uncomfortable tale of an intellectual New York couple going through a bitter divorce in the 1980’s is both pleasurable and painful to watch. Filled with a spectacular cast, Baumbach created characters of such resounding depth that this dark comedy-drama cut agonizingly close to the bone.
8. The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) directed by Walter Salles – One of the most difficult challenges of a filmmaker is to make your audience feels as though it has learned something prescient about human nature by the time the ending credits roll. It is nearly impossible to leave this biopic about future-Cuban-revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara travelling through South America with his friend Alberto Granado and not feel as though you made the journey with them, experiencing what they experienced, and learning what they learned about the fragility, kindness, cruelty and ultimately importance of human beings.
7. Inglourious Basterds (2009) directed by Quentin Tarantino – Tarantino’s crazy and audacious war film, which presents an alternate history of World War II, was his best film since Pulp Fiction. Though it featured a rather cartoony performance from the usually great Brad Pitt, and perhaps had too little action for some, it was Tarantino’s deft crafting of characters, dialogue and plot that made this film a spellbinding tour de force.
6. Spirited Away (2001) directed by Hayao Miyazaki – This Oscar-winning Japanese-animated film was made by one of the greatest and most underappreciated filmmakers of all time: Hayao Miyazaki. His films have been inspiring people for generations, and with Spirited Away, an incredible film about a little girl who gets trapped in fantasy world, he finally got the respect he deserved in America.
5. The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001) directed by the Coen Brothers – The last real Coen Brothers’ film before they lost their beloved signature style of uniquely blending genre conventions into artsy and neurotic but deeply passionate and introspective dark-comedy. While their later film, No Country for Old Men, may have gotten more critical and commercial recognition, true Coen Brothers fans were lamenting the loss of the style exhibited in their earlier work seen here. This neo-noir dark-comedy with Billy Bob Thornton was the last truly amazing film made by the Brothers Coen, and many feel it may be their last.
4. Punch Drunk Love (2002) directed by Paul Thomas Anderson – Many people might have been expecting this film to be just another Adam Sandler screwball-comedy, but instead they found Sandler giving the performance of his life in what may perhaps be the greatest romantic dark-comedy ever made by the brilliant writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson (who also made Boogie Nights, Magnolia and There Will Be Blood).
3. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) directed by Guillermo Del Toro – A masterpiece of dark fantasy, Del Toro’s Spanish language magnum opus weaves the tale of a young girl who discovers a magical Lovecraftian underworld set against the backdrop of a post-Spanish Civil War Madrid in 1944. The film was a darkly exquisite piece of cinematic storytelling that explored the murky chasms of imagination and ruminated painfully upon the human condition. The images in this film stayed with you long after the credits.
2. There Will Be Blood (2007) directed by Paul Thomas Anderson – The second of two films by Anderson on the list, There Will Be Blood is crafted like Shakespearean tragedy, rich with both quiet subtlety and ferocious rage. Daniel Day-Lewis gives a mesmerizing performance as the monstrous “oil man” Daniel Plainview, chewing up the scenery like a glutton at an all-you-can-eat buffet.
1. City of God (2002) directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund – One of the greatest films of this or any decade, this true story of drug gangs in the slums of Rio de Janeiro was one of the most powerful and brilliant pieces of cinema ever put on celluloid. Every second of this film felt so meticulous, perfect, and believable that it almost seemed like a documentary. This was filmmaking at its absolute finest.