End of Decade Review

I know I'm a couple of months late with this. Don't blame me, blame Toshiba for selling me a faulty computer which took forever to repair. Anywhere, here is my end of decade review:

TOP TWENTY ALBUMS OF THE LAST DECADE

1. Is This It - THE STROKES
At a time when the likes of Limp Bizkit were considered the height of talent in indie circles, thank God The Strokes came along and changed everything.


2. Hearts and Unicorns - GIANT DRAG
Post-grunge guitar genius that still sounds as fresh now as when it was released in 2005. In Annie Hardy, Giant Drag have one of the most unique, witty and talented frontwomen around.

3. I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning - BRIGHT EYES
Conor Oberst's best album. The quality doesn't dip for the slightest second.

4. The New Fellas - THE CRIBS
Brilliant sideswipe at London's 'scene'. Raw indie pop tunes so catchy you'll be singing along the first time you hear them.

5. The Moldy Peaches - THE MOLDY PEACHES
A triumph for songwriting, imagination and charm over fancy production. A defining moment in anti-folk.

6. Rings Around The World - SUPER FURRY ANIMALS
Visionary to the point that it makes more sense now than when it was released in 2001. One of the Welsh band's greatest achievements.

7. Garfield - ADAM GREEN
The lo-fi, largely acoustic debut from one half of the Moldy Peaches proved what a diverse, weird and wonderful songwriter Adam Green is.

8. Funeral - ARCADE FIRE
Beautifully grand and epic.

9. Alas, I Cannot Swim - LAURA MARLING
This record is not only impressive because it belies her tender years or because it is her debut offering. Far from it; the genuinely exquisite Alas, I Cannot Swim would be a marvellous achievement for anyone, regardless of whether they were 18 or 80.

10. Up The Bracket - THE LIBERTINES
The album that - before it all went wrong - proved Doherty and Barat to be great poets, capturing the dirty London bohemia perfectly.

11. Myths Of The Near Future - KLAXONS
With Myths Of The Near Future, Klaxons defiantly transcended the hype and created a truly dazzling album. Rave? Hardly. Apocalyptic pop? Possibly. Bloody brilliant? Absolutely.

12. The Felice Brothers - THE FELICE BROTHERS
Old-fashioned yarns of jailhouses, alcohol, drugs, woozy romance and family ties.

13. Man Comes Around - JOHNNY CASH
Heartbreaking.

14. Regina Spektor - Begin To Hope
Her first step towards the mainstream consciousness, while still remaining joyfully left of centre.

15. Real Gone - TOM WAITS
Tom Waits beatboxes in a wardrobe (or at least that's what it sounds like), bangs blocks of wood together and comes up with a dazzlingly original album.

16. White Blood Cells - THE WHITE STRIPES
So many standout tunes, and the whole thing was probably recorded in about half an hour on a budget of four quid.

17. Panic Prevention - JAMIE T
Bouncing capriciously between indie, dancehall, punk and rap, Jamie T’s unrelenting tales of London life give a nod to Joe Strummer, and are told with an equal amount of wit and aggression.

18. Who Needs Actions When You Got Words - PLAN B
Acoustic rap? Surely not? Well, actually, it's really awesome, as Ben Drew washes his dirty laundry in public through lyrics delivered with venom. Whether his upcoming reincarnation as some kind of soul crooner is as good remains to be seen.

18. Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots - FLAMING LIPS
Like the soundtrack to a robot's hazy dream.

20. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - ARCTIC MONKEYS
Urban storytelling well beyond their years.

TOP TWENTY SONGS OF THE LAST DECADE

1. Do You Realize?? - THE FLAMING LIPS



2. Sampson - REGINA SPEKTOR



3. Hard To Explain - THE STROKES

4. Dreaming Of You - THE CORAL

5. Anyone Else But You - THE MOLDY PEACHES

6. Time For Heroes - THE LIBERTINES

7. Be Safe - THE CRIBS

8. Maps - YEAH YEAH YEAHS

9. No Cars Go - ARCADE FIRE

10. Hurt - JOHNNY CASH



11. Hey Ya! - OUTKAST

12. Toxic - BRITNEY SPEARS

13. Golden Skans - KLAXONS

14. Road to Joy - BRIGHT EYES

15. Presidential Suite - SUPER FURRY ANIMALS

16. Take Me Out - FRANZ FERDINAND

17. Ballad Of Lou The Welterweight - THE FELICE BROTHERS



18. Fake Tales Of San Francisco - ARCTIC MONKEYS

19. Commercial Breakdown - THE SUNSHINE UNDERGROUND

20. Time Is Running Out - MUSE

TOP TWENTY FILMS OF THE DECADE

1. Juno

2. Shaun Of The Dead

3. The Royal Tenenbaums
4. Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain
5. Little Miss Sunshine
6. Young at Heart
7. Anvil! The Story Of Anvil
8. Lost in Translation

9. Mar Adentro
10. Memento

11. Ghost World

12. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

13. Sideways
14. Garden State

15. Being John Malkovich

16. Borat
17. The Orphanage
18. Grizzly Man

19. Donnie Darko
20. City Of God

(slight glitch in the system in the above list: 3. is The Royal Tenenbaums, 8 is Lost In Translation)


QUOTE OF THE DECADE
Take a bow, former Queens Park Rangers manager Ian Hollway, for this gem following his team's rather lacklustre victory against Chesterfield:

"To put it in gentleman's terms, if you've been out for a night and you're looking for a young lady and you pull one, you've done what you set out to do. We didn't look our best today but we've pulled. Some weeks the lady is good looking and some weeks they're not. Our performance today would have been not the best looking bird but at least we got her in the taxi. She may not have been the best looking lady we ended up taking home but it was still very pleasant and very nice, so thanks very much and let's have coffee."