Year-end (and decade-end) lists that get published at the end of November/beginning of December irk me. I understand that most publications take off work during the last couple of weeks, but it just seems wrong. I used to post my lists (on ye olde Livejournal) in January of the following year to make sure that I wouldn’t miss out on some of the big records that I hadn’t lived with yet or on movies that were late to open in wide release. Problem is, no one cares once you post that late. So I’m compromising. This week, December 28-31, I’ll focus on the 2000s. Each day, I’ll post one-quarter of my Top 100 songs (in convenient download format, if I can pull it together) as well as one general decade-end list (probably albums, movies, TV and books). On January 1, I’ll follow up the decade lists with a post dedicated to 2009. As always, this is my opinion. I’m wouldn’t even want to compose some sort of objective list, even if such a thing were possible. This is simply the pop cultural detritus that I most enjoyed during the past decade/year.
Top 30 Movies of the Decade
01) High Fidelity (2000)
02) The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
03) Best in Show (2000)
04) A Serious Man (2009)
05) O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
06) Memento (2000)
07) Capturing the Friedmans (2003)
08) In the Mood for Love (2000)
09) Mulholland Drive (2001)
10) Hot Fuzz (2007)
11) I’m Not There (2007)
12) The Proposition (2006)
13) The Life Aquatic (2004)
14) Zodiac (2007)
15) Superbad (2007)
16) The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
17) My Kid Could Paint That (2007)
18) The Prestige (2006)
19) In America (2002)
20) Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
21) Amélie (2001)
22) Inglourious Basterds (2009)
23) Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
24) No Country for Old Men (2007)
25) About a Boy (2002)
26) Pride and Prejudice (2005)
27) Milk (2008)
28) Grindhouse (2007)
29) Head On (2004)
30) 24 Hour Party People (2001)
-I will not argue that High Fidelity is a masterwork that should be studied by film classes for decades to come. However, there has been no other movie that captured everything I liked and felt at the point of time that I saw it that that movie did. It’s easily the movie I’ve seen the most of this list. It’s compulsively rewatchable.
-Likewise, Best in Show seems a slight choice for #3. But never in my life have I laughed as hard as while I watched it for the first time. Actually, I may have seen this even more times than High Fidelity.
-So many of the decade-end lists I’ve seen are lacking in comedies. I took it upon myself to rectify this. Also, Hot Fuzz is pretty much perfect.
–High Fidelity may be my favorite Nick Hornby-related movie, but About a Boy is actually my favorite Hornby novel. The film adaptation takes some liberties (and cuts out a major plotline), but it’s actually very good – much better than any movie starring Hugh Grant has a right to be.
-Likewise, Pride and Prejudice was better than you’d expect from a Jane Austen adaptation starring Keira Knightley. I’d place it second behind the 1995 BBC miniseries.
-I had There Will Be Blood on this list for a while, but ended up dropping it at the last minute. I liked it a great deal, but I think I missed out by not seeing it in theaters. I promise to watch it again.
Top 100 Songs of the 2000s: Part 2 (Rock Singles)
(not in any particular order)
01) Art Brut – “Formed a Band” (2004)
02) Franz Ferdinand – “Take Me Out” (2004)
03) 1990s – “You’re Supposed to Be My Friend” (2006)
04) Maxïmo Park – “Apply Some Pressure” (2005)
05) The Rapture – “House of Jealous Lovers” (2002)
06) Queens of the Stone Age – “No One Knows” (2002)
07) TV on the Radio – “Wolf Like Me” (2006)
08) Test Icicles – “Circle. Square. Triangle” (2005)
09) At the Drive-In – “One Armed Scissor” (2000)
10) Mclusky – “Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues” (2001)
11) White Rabbits – “Percussion Gun” (2009)
12) Tom Vek – “C-C (You Set the Fire in Me)” (2005)
13) The Walkmen – “The Rat” (2004)
14) Arctic Monkeys – “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor” (2005)
15) The Raconteurs – “Steady, As She Goes” (2006)
16) Electric Six – “Danger! High Voltage” (2003)
17) The White Stripes – “Fell in Love With a Girl” (2002)
18) Noisettes – “Sister Rosetta (Capture the Spirit)” (2007)
19) Kaiser Chiefs – “I Predict a Riot” (2004)
20) Clinic – “Walking With Thee” (2002)
21) The Dandy Warhols – “We Used to Be Friends” (2003)
22) Beck – “Think I’m in Love” (2006)
23) Ted Leo/Pharmacists – “Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?” (2003)
24) Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Maps” (2004)
25) Death Cab for Cutie – “I Will Possess Your Heart” (2008)
Download
For some artists (Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, White Stripes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs), I didn’t go with my favorite song but with the one that was most iconic For some artists (Beck, Death Cab, Dandys, Clinic), I disregarded the obvious choices in favor of the songs I liked most. Some songs aren’t going to win me cool points. I don’t care. (I was totally into hardcore/emo for about a month in 11th grade!)
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