Best of the 2000s: Day 1 (Albums; Chart Pop)

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 20 Albums of the Decade

01) Spoon – Kill the Moonlight (2002)
02) The White Stripes – Elephant (2003)
03) TV on the Radio – Dear Science (2008)
04) Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand (2004)
05) Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am That’s What I’m Not (2006)
06) Spoon – Gimme Fiction (2005)
07) Songs:Ohia – Didn’t It Rain (2002)
08) Art Brut – Bang Bang Rock and Roll (2005)
09) The White Stripes – White Blood Cells (2001)
10) Destroyer – Streethawk: A Seduction (2001)

11) TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain (2006)
12) The Shins – Oh Inverted World (2001)
13) Arcade Fire – Funeral (2004)
14) Jarvis Cocker – Jarvis (2006)
15) Sons and Daughters – The Repulsion Box (2005)
16) Spoon – Girls Can Tell (2001)
17) Magnolia Electric Co. (2003)
18) Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007)
19) The Decemberists – The Crane Wife (2006)
20) Cat Power – You Are Free (2003)

-That’s right, 20% of the list is Spoon records.  What ya gonna do about it?
–The Repulsion Box is pretty much just an arbitrary choice.  All of Sons and Daughters’ albums (well, both … and a half) are high quality – just not quite high enough to clog up the top 20, a la Spoon.
–You Are Free is really the only Cat Power album I’ve been able to get into, but it’s a good one (except “Names” – some say heartbreaking, I say maudlin).
-Remember how I said that I wasn’t trying to be objective? I’ve been listening to The Decemberists since Castaways and Cutouts (well, since it was reissued on Kill Rock Stars) and I can objectively state that The Crane Wife is their best album.  The first three have some great songs, but they also have a lot of filler.  I do like The Hazards of Love a lot, but the songs aren’t as individually strong as on The Crane Wife.
-Secretly Canadian promoted Magnolia Electric Co. as a Songs:Ohia album when it was released, but Jason Molina has since said that it considers it the first (self-titled) release by the band Magnolia Electric Co. I’ve decided to remain neutral.  Also, Magnolia would probably rank higher than Didn’t It Rain if Molina sang “Peoria Lunchbox Blues” and “The Old Black Hen” himself.  The demos he did for those tracks are far, far better than the versions with guest singers featured on the actual album.
–Jarvis is the best Jarvis Cocker-associated album since Different Class.  Arguments?

Top 100 Songs of the 2000s: Part 1 (Chart Pop)

(not in any particular order)

01) Amerie – “1 Thing” (2005)
02) Rihanna – “Pon de Replay” (2005)
03) Lily Allen – “Knock ‘Em Out” (2006)
04) Sugababes – “Freak Like Me” (2002)
05) Beyoncé ft Jay-Z – “Crazy in Love” (2003)
06) Kelis – “Trick Me” (2004)
07) Amy Winehouse – “You Know I’m No Good” (2007)
08) Estelle ft Kanye West – “American Boy” (2008)
09) Rachel Stevens – “Some Girls” (2004)
10) Gwen Stefani – “What You Waiting For?” (2004)
11) Gorillaz – “Clint Eastwood” (2001)
12) Outkast – “B.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad)” (2000)
13) Natasha ft Clipse – “So Sick” (2007)
14) Kanye West ft Jamie Foxx – “Gold Digger” (2005)
15) Jamelia – “Beware of the Dog” (2006)
16) Lady Gaga – “Poker Face” (2008)
17) Nelly Furtado – “Say It Right” (2006)
18) Leona Lewis – “Bleeding Love” (2008)
19) Jordin Sparks ft Chris Brown – “No Air” (2008)
20) Gnarls Barkley – “Crazy” (2006)
21) Destiny’s Child – “Say My Name” (2000)
22) Taylor Swift – “Should’ve Said No” (2008)
23) KT Tunstall – “Other Side of the World” (2005)
24) Jay-Z ft Alicia Keys – “Empire State of Mind” (2009)
25) Richard X ft Kelis – “Finest Dreams” (2003)

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Come On in My Kitchen

I have been a cooking fool. During the past 30 hours, I have made:

-Spanish rice (so-so; took forever to cook, even for brown rice)
-Chicken with chili sauce (started in a skillet, ended in a slow cooker; turned out pretty good but my slow cooker gets too hard and always ends up charring a bit of the sauce)
–Pad Thai-Style Rice Salad (Mark Bittman is my kitchen buddy, but I wasn’t too thrilled with his Japanese-Style Rice Salad or the Citrus Rice Salad with Parmesan.  This came out excellent, though I’ll probably add some sriracha for spice)
-Asparagus Salad (see below)
-Iced tea (never made this before [!], but I used some loose English Breakfast tea – quite tasty)
-Mint simple syrup (to go with the tea – just what it needed)
-Cherry clafoutis (used this recipe, but subbed cherries for the plums. I’ve been craving this for a while and am not disappointed)

So why the sudden surge of kitchen activity? Mainly because I’m about to move back to Baton Rouge (temporarily, I hope) and am trying to get rid of as much food as possible, especially out of my freezer.  I haven’t bought meat all summer, as I’ve been cooking mostly vegetarian lately. But now that I’m down to the wire, it’s time to cook up all the frozen chicken.

So while my cooking spree is partially based in practicality, part of it is also because I know this is my last chance to cook in my own kitchen.  Sure, I’ll probably cook a couple of times a week while at my mom’s, but kitchens are personal spaces and I’ll miss having my own.  Because I won’t just be cooking for me, I’ll also be less likely to take chances and be creative – like with the asparagus salad I made tonight that turned out AWESOME.  I mean, I like asparagus, but this was more delicious than I could ever dream asparagus could be.  And to think, I just needed a way to use up 1/2 bunch of asparagus and some feta from the 101 Cookbooks Orzo Super Salad that I made last week:

Asparagus Salad
1/2 bunch asparagus, chopped into 1/2-inch bits and blanched
1/2 cup(ish?) chopped red onion
1/4 cup crumbled feta
Juice of one lemon
~1 Tablespoon chopped basil
Kosher salt to taste

Mix it all together. So simple, so tasty.  I was hoping to get 4 servings out of this as a side for the rice salad, but I could honestly eat this whole recipe as a main.  Pretty sure I’ll make plenty more next week – I still have 1/2 cup of feta to go through.

Even more than my kitchen, though, I’ll be missing all the Austin fun.  Thursday night I went to my last Austin show – Spoon, appropriately enough.  Friday I went to brunch at the Alamo Lamar (Public Enemies) and Sunday to a Rolling Road Show (Breaking Away).  Being unemployed, I had been keeping track of every penny I spent this summer through an elaborate system of book-keeping.  Now, with less than two weeks left in Austin, it’s time to spend while I still can – even if my broken-down car means that I’ll have to take the bus to Hey Cupcake.

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