Posted on January 2, 2010 - by Mark Zonda

Top Album of The Decade 2000-2010

Top album of the decade: a DJ a know made this cleaver joke on the radio that “New Year’sCharts” is indeed the top result once googled the word “Panic”. It was really useful for my antisocial life to make one for SleepWalKing Mag, since I was ready to show it anyone asking me for that like year’s charts are the new Christmas Card to exchange with greetings and gift once you meet some web friend. I actually felt so good not being caught out of the blue… that I even decided to gather in one post the most significant albums of my new life as indie listeners.

Forget HMV, Virgin Megastores, BBC Radio, Top of The Pop and stuff. These are the albums that had most impact in my life in flat rooms, night drivings, summer happenings and clubs. Alright? Here we go!

1) “Franz Ferdinand” -  Franz Ferdinand | No matter how they albums are basically a boredom factory with cheap ideas, not only Karpanov band managed to surprise us with adrenaline and enhancing singles born to make us groove on the dance floors for ages, but with the debut of his band somehow managed to fill a void and shape what indie rock would have been like for the next 8 years. I don’t particularly fancy this band, band I can’t count how many times I danced “Take me out” or I was letteraly moved by litening to “Eleanor, put your boots on” on the next album. Like it or not “Franz Ferdinand” was king of a decade.

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2) “Funeral” -  Arcade Fire | Possibly one of the best debut ever, Arcade Fire managed to make psychology, commitment and personal drama serious subject for party people and dancefloor, making complext and valuable songs such a pleasure to listen to. Press and audience agrees: thanks to its lucky follow up “Neon Bible” and an energetic appeal on their multiselling live shows, Arcade Fire are meant to be one of the greatest bands in the World if not right now. Montreal has surely been an electric and eclectic constant on the second half of the decade.

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3) “Yoshimi Battles Against The Pink Robots” -  The Flaming Lips | When this album came out I remember I thought: “It was so so long since a REAL album like that has been published that THIS will clearly make the difference e remembered as one of the most important works of the decade”. And it was only 2002! “Yoshimi” was not only Flaming Lips “Sgt. Pepper”, but confirmed the great success the band has reached with the soft moods of the previously commercial work “The Soft Bullettin”. Their psychedelic live shows will grow bigger and bigger during the following eight years slowly turning their bedroom parties in colossal funfairs!

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4) “Someone to drive you home” -  The Long Blondes | I was honoured to listen to “Giddy Stratospheres” when it was only a demo put through an “How Does It Feels To Be Loved” night. I was hit by that song  just like “Pretty Ballerina” e “C’mon Eileen”, and not knowing the band I couldn’t have expected to listen to this brilliant album two years later… quite everywhere! I can clearly remember nights when I drove to a club listening to “Once And Never a Girl”, picking up someone who was listening to “Madame Ray”, meeting friends djs puttin on “Lust in the movies”, and jumping in someonelses car with “Swallow Tatoo” on the background. “Someone to drive you home” was real massive.

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5) “Figure 8″ – Elliott Smith | In early years of 2000 something was changing. Music slowly began something everyone could boadly approach touching any form and genre just with a computer and connection to the web. Elliott Smith “Figure 8″ was one of those album caught in between the decadence of people like Oasis and the naivity of Ariel Pink, with Elliott’s bleeding heart shown to the World packed oh so perfectly by that genius known as John Brion. Possibly one of the most genuine, delicate and appealing albums of this decadent decade.

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6) “Daisies from the Galaxy” – Eels | Back in time when Mr. E had still something to say, “Daisies from the Galaxy” (that is actually the name of a movie arena) was the tender caress that came after the dark shocking “Electro-Shock Blues” to crown one of the sweetest summers I ever had.  With the voice of  a sedated Cocker and the feelings of the most honest and distraught John Lennon. Though some episodes of the further albums will still show some sparkles, E will never compose anything as touching and poetic like “Grace Kelly Blues” or appealing like “Mr. E’s Beautiful Blues”. Another lucky hit by Dreaworks Records.

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7) “Oracular Specatular” – MGMT | With so many hit and run by so many indie bands aiming to pass their last song on the smallest venue (room?) of the further barely civilized village, I personally welcomed MGMT ( the supermarket newelty by The Flaming Lips Family) as the only considerable dealers of an album that deserved to be called so. Just like Raveonettes “Pretty in Black” some years before, wasn’t so strange hearing the whole “Oracular Spectacular” on pre-listening sets of live shows and clubs. “Time to Pretend” – The  “Baba O’Riley” of the new millennium- was the popular acclaimed indie anthem that along “Animal Collective” and “Neon Indian” opened the doors to psy-folk.

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8) “Cansei de Ser Sexy” – CSS | From Baby Shambles to We’re From Barcellona, just when we thought that everyone you needed from music was some guitars and a drum roll, “Cansei de Ser Sexy” came out of the blue with it’s alien, sexy and visionary electro-punk gathering toghether the melodic grace of projects like “Clor” to the irreverence of  Peaches. That is CSS where a most succesful version of Cibo Matto, and opened the door to a whole new breed of bands and popsters, not to mention the complete madness infecting most of the alternative blokes in the clubs. Back to (Studio)”84″.

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9) “Discovery“ – Daft Punk | A collection of the most refined ’80s jingles, a visionary concept album, a cartoon musical designed by Captain Harlock’s hands Leji Matsumoto, the massive Daft Punk “Discovery” was so much more than an album: it was indeed 2001 sountrack, shifting from disco to synthpop  just the japanese counterpart “Fantastic Plastic Machine”. Travelling to music and space Daft Punk stardrove directly across the heart of our childhood memories, kidnapping our dreams like the fictional band of “Interstella 5555″.

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10) “We Started Nothing“ – The Ting Tings | Oh, this album shits. It’s possibly the worst crap ever appeared on Earth since Prince “BatMan”. Why I’m so cruel? And why is in a 10 year’s chart anyway? That’s because ANYONE, even rocks and plants had a sweet stupid smile on their face trying to sing “Not My Name” or “Great DJ” at least once (million times) on 2008. And I felt terribly relieved when I listened to the album before going crazy and buying it with no ratio founding that the only other decent song of it was “Shut up and let me go”. Once again not an idea: the tile was a genuine warning. Yet those three tracks gave the right to this album to appear at least in the 10th position of this chart. What a big deal!

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The Long Blondes – “All Bar One Girls”
Arcade Fire – Haïti (live)

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