What follows is my excessively long list of the best albums and otherwise from the decade that began with 2-0-0. I will spare you the links and the pictures. Let's start with not quite ringing in the millenium in the Year Two Kay. (I danced naked around a bonfire. What did you do?)
IMHO, the best albums of 2000 were as follows:
05/02/00 clem snide - your favorite music
09/05/00 ryan adams - heartbreaker
12/05/00 the "o brother, where art thou?" soundtrack
Not too long thereafter, I went through the most painful break-up of my adult life. I remember waking up every morning in my slummy studio apartment on Collins Avenue in South Beach, from which I could just barely see the ocean, and turning on the television, probably to VH1, (this was right before I discovered Buffy on FX), and listening to the hit singles of that summer, e.g., Nelly Furtado's "Like a Bird," but the song that stuck with me the longest was Coldplay's "Yellow." Their first album, along with the others listed below, helped me make it through that year. Dashboard deserves a special shout-out. Nothing allows you laugh at your own pain so much as a caricature of it, and "The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most" is easily the most amusing album of the decade, in that regard.
anatomy of a breakup:
11/07/00 coldplay - parachutes
03/20/01 dashboard confessional - the places you have come to fear the most
06/19/01 gorillaz - s/t
09/11/01 ben folds - rockin' the suburbs
In rolls 2001, and with it, another Clem Snide gem and a brilliant little piece from Mark Linkous' Sparklehorse. Not to mention the breaking out of a something-something red-and-white-and-black-all-over team called the White Stripes. I could post pictures of my Meg White Halloween costume from that year, but they're really far too embarassing.
2001
06/19/01 clem snide - the ghost of fashion
07/03/01 sparklehorse - it's a wonderful life
07/03/01 the white stripes - white blood cells
And then there were my single-and-loving-it days. I bought myself a used 1995 Saab 900S convertible for $10,000 - best car ever, RIP Saab - and commenced to painting the town red.
music for driving around south beach in a convertible:
08/01/00 the glands - s/t
06/19/01 the shins - oh inverted world
03/05/02 ben kweller – sha sha
05/06/03 the long winters - when i pretend to fall
06/03/03 dean & britta – l’avventura
06/10/03 fountains of wayne - welcome interstate managers - The first three tracks on this album, strung together, are classics.
In rolls 2002. These albums are the ones I judge to be the best from it, but I hadn't quite discovered them yet. Miami being what it is, although I had immersed myself in the alternative night dance scene thanks to Poplife, I didn't get back to music until I discovered Spinner in 2003.
2002
01/22/02 okkervil river - don't fall in love with everyone you see
05/21/02 the decemberists - castaways and cutouts
09/24/02 iron & wine – the creek drank the cradle
And with the discovery of Spinner, came the Mountain Goats. What a revelation songs like "No Children" and "Source Decay" were to one such as me, so broken, and in so much pain (yes, still). Although I had rocked out on a Somerville balcony in 1998-1999 to a dear friend's acoustic rendition of "Cubs in Five," I didn't really discover the Mountain Goats until I heard them/him on Spinner in 2003-2004. And the rest is history.
on this blog, the mountain goats get their own category, part 1:
02/19/02 - all hail west texas
11/05/02 - tallahassee
So here I was, back into music, just in time to pick up Sun Kil Moon's "Ghosts of the Great Highway" and Clem Snide's "Soft Spot" at the Coral Gables Barnes & Noble.
2003
07/01/03 sufjan stevens - greetings from michigan: the great lakes state
11/04/03 sun kil moon - ghosts of the great highway
And then, luck being a lady and all, I met my husband (where else?) on the internets, back in the glory days, when the personals were free, and the people on them still interesting.
falling in love again:
02/18/03 the postal service - give up
06/17/03 clem snide - soft spot
10/07/03 death cab for cutie - transatlantacism - Don't think we don't all remember seeing that poster on your wall, Seth Cohen! And don't forget the group sing-a-long to "Transatlantacism" on Six Feet Under. Claire needs you so much closer.
Although meeting The Resident Photographer heralded an era of new mergers and births, there were of course deaths to follow. The best albums of 2004 kicked off that sadness beautifully.
2004
03/23/04 iron & wine – our endless numbered days
09/14/04 arcade fire – funeral
Not to mention a few more amazing entries from John Darnielle & Co.
on this blog, the mountain goats get their own category, part 2:
02/03/04 - we shall all be healed
04/26/05 - the sunset tree
The world and I got more raucous in 2005. I remember hearing the dulcet tones of the Hold Steady's Craig Finn for the first time, streaming out of Newbury Comics on Newbury Street in Boston. I knew then that I liked it, but I wasn't quite sure if I was *allowed,* but of course I was. And who could ignore the band-room beauty of Sufjan Stevens?
2005
05/03/05 the hold steady - separation sunday
07/05/05 sufjan stevens – illinoise
And then there was my dive into "social networking" on the internets. One thing that comes with the pod life, i.e., being married with children, is a limited social scene. Lucky(?) for us, we have the internets. And the internets are willing to share.
things i learned to love on the internets:
05/03/05 mike doughty - haughty melodic
09/27/05 ludo - broken bride
It was in the latter half of this decade that things started getting really big, so big that I couldn't hardly keep up or keep track anymore. F'r'instance, everytime a TV on the Radio tune happens onto my iPod, I think, "Who *is* this? This is really good!" And, every time, it's TV on the Radio.
2006
07/03/06 tv on the radio - return to cookie mountain
10/03/06 the hold steady - boys & girls in america
In 2007, my best friend died. That same week, I was introduced to "Emotionalism."
Andrew Bird came later.
2007
03/15/07 the avett brothers - emotionalism
03/20/07 andrew bird - armchair apocrypha
2007 was also a fantastic year for soundtracks. I'm sure my love for musicals has not gone unnoticed here, but the soundtracks of 2007 are worthy contenders in their own regard.
notable soundtracks:
05/22/07 once
09/14/07 across the universe
12/25/07 juno
It was in 2008 that I was invited to join this venerable blog. Although my favorite albums from that year didn't really wear in until this year, I continue to believe that they are genius.
2008
03/03/08 nick cave - dig lazarus dig
05/20/08 islands - arm's way - This took on special meaning for me when I was diagnosed with a melanoma on my left forearm this year. The recision scar, it's HOT.
And these are my (non-musical) favorites from 2009. "Merriweather Post Pavilion" is Animal Collective's genius at its most distilled and palatable, and "My Maudlin Career" is just delicious.
2009
01/20/09 animal collective - merriweather post pavilion
04/21/09 camera obscura - my maudlin career
So what were your favorites of the Aughts, O readers?
