As we approach the end of the first decade of the 2000’s, I’ve decided to add my lists of personal favourites from the 70’s, 80’s  and 90’s in preparation for the end of this decade.

My list from the 70’s is a unique list, the only one written in retrospect.  The list would have been significantly different had I written it when I was 19 in 1979, but many, many favourites remain from my teen years.  What I enjoyed most about the 70’s were the random one-or-two hit artists, 70’s R&B, rock acts like the Electric Light Orchestra and Aerosmith, and that totally underrated phenomenon, disco.  By the time I was 16 I was looking for music of different shapes and colours.  I learned that my local hit radio station wasn’t playing all the hits.  I began actively following national trade magazines such as Billboard and, in Canada, RPM Weekly.  I started listening to radio shows that offered hit music from the UK, which is where I first encountered Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights” and Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love”.  I became a college radio DJ and fell in love with alternative rock of the day as disco began to wane.  But the 70’s were all about 45’s and 12″ dance singles for me, and so my list does not include any album-only tracks. The link to my Favourite 100 Singles of the 70’s is below or on the right sidebar.

Bill’s Favourite 100 Singles of the 70’s

Η δεκαετία φεύγει, οι λίστες έρχονται!

Αλήθεια, εσύ θυμάσαι πόσο σπουδαίο μας φαινόταν που θα ερχόταν το 2000; To MΙΛΕΝΙΟΥΜ δεν το λέγανε; Πόσο παλιά φαντάζουν τώρα αυτά… Τα χρόνια περνούν …τελικά και κάνουμε απολογισμό. Ο καθένας για λογαριασμό του, και όλοι για λογαριασμό …των άλλων. Δεν θα σου πω, πως βλέπω εγώ αυτά τα 10 χρόνια, και αν μου έφεραν αυτά που ονειρευόμουν τα χριστούγεννα του… 1999, (άστο, καμία σχέση σου λέω! …F…! ήμουν…. μόλις 24 τότε!!!) Θα σου θυμίσω όμως, άλλες αγαπημένες στιγμές της δεκαετίας, λιγότερο προσωπικές, ή ίσως … και πολύ προσωπικές, επιλέγοντας ανάμεσα σε ορισμένες, από τις άπειρες, που δημοσιεύονται αυτές τις μέρες, λίστες!!! ΛΑΤΡΕΥΩ!

Ξεκινάμε με σινεμά. Και Times.

100 The Devil Wears Prada (David Frankel, 2006)
99 Battle Royale (Kinji Fukasaku, 2000) 
98 Crash (Paul Haggis, 2004)
97 Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (Park Chan-Wook, 2005)
96 Morvern Callar (Lynne Ramsay, 2002) 
95 Amores Perros (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2000)
94 An Inconvenient Truth (Davis Guggenheim, 2006) 
93 House of Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou, 2004)
92 Dirty Pretty Things (Stephen Frears, 2002)
91 Lantana (Ray Lawrence, 2001)
90 Wedding Crashers (David Dobkin, 2005)
89 School of Rock (Richard Linklater, 2003) 
88 The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, 2001)
87 Time and Winds (Reha Erdem, 2006)
86 The Orphanage (Juan Antonio Bayona, 2007)
85 The Piano Teacher (Michael Haneke, 2001)
84 Hotel Rwanda (Terry George, 2004)
83 The Wind that Shakes the Barley (Ken Loach, 2006)
82 Yi Yi: A One and a Two (Edward Yang, 2000) 
81 In The Loop (Armando Iannucci, 2009)
80 Me, You and Everyone We Know (Miranda July, 2005)
79 Le Grand Voyage (Ismael Ferroukhi, 2004)
78 About Schmidt (Alexander Payne, 2002)
77 Bowling for Columbine (Michael Moore, 2002)
76 Control (Anton Corbijn, 2007)
75 Talk to Her (Pedro Almodóvar, 2002)
74 Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro, 2006) 
73 The Beat That My Heart Skipped (Jacques Audiard, 2005)
72 The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, 2008) 
71 Monsters, Inc. (Pete Docter/David Silverman/lee Unkrich, 2001)
70 The Class (Laurent Cantet, 2008)
69 Persepolis (Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi, 2007)
68 Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000)
67 Gomorrah (Matteo Garrone, 2008) 
66 City of God (Fernando Meirelles, Katia Lund, 2002)
65 Waltz with Bashir (Ari Folman, 2008)
64 L’enfant (Jean-Pierre Dardenne/Luc Dardenne, 2005)
63 There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)
62 Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (Adam McKay, 2004)
61 Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)
60 The Squid and the Whale (Noah Baumbach, 2005)
59 Être et Avoir (Nicolas Philibert, 2002)
58 Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright, 2004)
57 The Consequences of Love (Paolo Sorrentino, 2004)
56 Volver (Pedro Almodovar, 2006)
55 Chopper (Andrew Dominik, 2000)
54 Bad Santa (Terry Zwigoff, 2003) 
53 Milk (Gus Van Sant, 2008)
52 The Constant Gardener (Fernando Meirelles, 2005)
51 The Son’s Room (Nanni Moretti, 2001)
50 The Lord of The Rings: The Return of the King (Peter Jackson, 2003)
49 Knocked Up (Judd Apatow, 2007)
48 Little Miss Sunshine (Jonathan Dayton/Valerie Faris, 2006)
47 My Summer of Love (Pawel Pawlikowski, 2004)
46 Traffic (Steven Soderbergh, 2000)
45 Touching the Void (Kevin Macdonald, 2003)
44 Under the Sand (François Ozon, 2000)
43 The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
42 The Incredibles (Brad Bird, 2004)
41 Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón, 2006)
40 Syriana (Stephen Gaghan, 2005)
39 Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003)
38 Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)
37 In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar Wai, 2000)
36 Capturing the Friedmans (Andrew Jarecki, 2004)
35 Y Tu Mamá También (Alfonso Cuarón, 2002)
34 Finding Nemo (Andrew Stanton/Lee Unkrich, 2003)
33 Monsoon Wedding (Mira Nair, 2002)
32 Gladiator (Ridley Scott, 2000)
31 Iraq in Fragments (James Longley, 2006)
30 Irreversible (Gaspar Noé, 2002)
29 Being John Malkovich (Spike Jonze, 2000)
28 The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Julian Schnabel, 2007)
27 Sideways (Alexander Payne, 2004)
26 Minority Report (Steven Spielberg, 2002)
25 Dancer in the Dark (Lars Von Trier, 2000)
24 28 Days Later… (Danny Boyle, 2002)
23 Man On Wire (James Marsh, 2008)
22 Far from Heaven (Todd Haynes, 2002) 
21 Good Night, and Good Luck (George Clooney, 2005)
20 Donnie Darko (Richard Kelly, 2001) 
19 United 93 (Paul Greengrass, 2006)
18 Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008)
17 Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2005)
16 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)
15 Downfall (Oliver Hirschbiegel, 2004)
14 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days (Cristian Mungiu, 2007)
13 This Is England (Shane Meadows, 2007)
12 The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2006)
11 Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (Larry Charles, 2006)
10 Hunger (Steve McQueen, 2008)
9 The Queen (Stephen Frears, 2006)
8 Casino Royale (Martin Campbell, 2006)
7 The Last King of Scotland (Kevin Macdonald, 2006)
6 Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle, 2008)

5 Team America: World Police (Trey Parker, 2004)
4 Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog, 2005) 
3 No Country for Old Men (Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, 2007) 
2 The Bourne Supremacy / The Bourne Ultimatum (Paul Greengrass, 2004, 2007)
1 Hidden (Cache) (Michael Haneke, 2005)

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article6902642.ece

Συνεχίζω με μουσικάρες! Και πολύ σωστό ελληνικό μουσικό-μπλόγκ!

100) Field- From Here We Go Sublime

99) Long Blondes- Someone To Drive You Home

98) Phoenix- Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

97) Los Campesinos!- Hold On Now, Youngster…

96) St. Vincent- Actor

95) Outkast- Stankonia

94) Justice- Cross

93) Beach House- Devotion

92) Cut Copy- In Ghost Worlds

91) Mercury Rev- All Is Dream

90) Bat For Lashes- Two Suns

89) The National- Alligator

88) Arctic Monkeys- Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not

87) Caribou- Andorra

86) M.I.A.- Kala

85) Godspeed You! Black Emperor- Yanqui U.X.O.

84) Wilco- The Yankee Hotel

83) Notwist- Neon Golden

82) The Avalanches- Since I Left You

81) Bjork- Medulla

80) New Pornographers- Twin Cinema

79) Marnie Stern- This Is It & I Am It…

78) Boards of Canada- Geogaddi

77) The Flaming Lips- Embryonic

76) The Besnard Lakes- The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse

75) Dan Deacon- Spiderman Of The Rings

74) Times New Viking- Rip It Off

73) Mew- And The Glasses Handed Kites

72) Battles- Mirrored

71) Dodos- Visitor

70) Sufjan Stevens- Michigan

69) Mastodon- Leviathan

68) Hot Chip- The Warning

67) The Unicorns- Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone

66) Liars- Drum’s not Dead

65) Explosions in the sky- The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place

64) Interpol- Antics

63) Grandaddy- The Shophtware Slump

62) Portishead- Third

61) Queens of the Stone Age- Songs for the Deaf

60) The Go! Team- Thunder, Lightning, Strike

59) Modest Mouse- The Moon and the Antarctica

58) Andrew Bird- Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs

57) M83- Saturdays =Youth

56) Panda Bear- Person Pitch

55) Isis-Panopticon

54) Art Brut- Bang Bang Rock And Roll

53) Animal Collective- Merriweather Post Pavilion

52) Cat Power- You Are Free

51) Burial- Untrue

50) The National- Boxer

49) Bon Iver- For Emma, Forever Ago

48) Sunset Rubdown- Shut Up I Am Dreaming

47) The Microphones- The Glow pt.2

46) No Age- Nouns

45) Band of Horses- Everything All The Time

44) Spoon- Kill the Moonlight

43) Knife- The Silent Shout

42) Arcade Fire- Neon Bible

41) Franz Ferdinand- Franz Ferdinand

40) The Decemberists- Picaresque

39) The Pains of Being Pure at Heart- The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

38) Sufjan Stevens- Seven Swans

37) The Flaming Lips- Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

36) Deerhunter- Cryptograms

35) The Fiery Furnaces- Blueberry Boat

34) M83- Before the Dawn Heals Us

33) Animal Collective- Feels

32) …And You Will Know Us By The Drail of the Dead- Source Tags and Codes

31) Bloc Party- Silent Alarm

30) Joanna Newsom- The Milk Eyed Mender

29) Fuck Buttons- Street Horrrsing

28) Broken Social Scene- You Forgot it in People

27) The Strokes- Is this It?

26) Tv on the Radio- Return to the Cookie Mountain

25) The Shins- Chutes too Narrow

24) Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Fever to Tell

23) No Age-Weirdo Rippers

22) A Place to Bury Stranger- A Place to Bury Strangers

21) Grizzly Bear- The Yellow House

20) The White Stripes- White Blood Cells

19) The Shins- Oh, Invented World

18) Deerhoof- Runners Four

17) Rapture- Echoes

16) ISIS-Oceanic

15) LCD Soundsystem- Sound of Silver

14) Antony and the Johnsons- I’m a Bird Now

13) Godspeed You! Black Emperor- Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven

12) Joanna Newsom- Ys

11) Deerhunter- Microcastle

10) Of Montreal- Hissing Fauna Are You the Destroyer

9) Grizzly Bear- Veckatimest

Fleet Foxes- Fleet Foxes

7) Wolf Parade- Apologies to the Queen Mary

6) Sufjan Stevens- Illinois

5) Radiohead- Amnesiac

4) Radiohead- Kid A

3) Interpol-Turn on the Bright Lights

2) Arcade Fire- Funeral

1) Sigur Ros- ( )

http://wearethemusicmakerrs.blogspot.com/

Και το καλύτερο για το τέλος…. Πάλι από τους ΤIMES, Τα καλύτερα POP ALBUMS!!!

100. 12 Songs – Neil Diamond (SonyBMG, 2005)

99. Surprise - Paul Simon (Warner, 2006)

98. By the Way – Red Hot Chili Peppers (Warner, 2002)

97. Youth Novels – Lykke Li (Warner, 2008)

96. The Transfiguration of Vincent – M. Ward (Matador, 2003)

95. American III: Solitary Man – Johnny Cash (American, 2002)

94. Tarot Sport – F*** Buttons (ATP, 2009)

93. React or Die - Butcher Boy (How Does It Feel to be Loved, 2009)

92. Youth and Young Manhood – Kings of Leon (Hand Me Down 2003) 91. Fever to Tell - Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Polydor, 2003)

90. Walking on a Dream – Empire of the Sun (Virgin, 2008)

89. 22 Dreams - Paul Weller (Universal, 2008)

88. Finisterre – Saint Etienne (Mantra, 2002)

87. Candylion - Gruff Rhys (Rough Trade, 2007)

86. Geogaddi – Boards of Canada (Warp, 2002)

85. Just Beyond the River – James Yorkston & the Athletes (Domino, 2004)

84. Flight of the Conchords – Flight of the Conchords (Warner, 2008)

83. Friendly Fires – Friendly Fires (XL, 2008)

82. Holy F*** – Holy F*** (Dependent, 2008)

81. Primary Colours – The Horrors (XL, 2009)

80. Cross – Justice (Warner, 2007)

79. The Radio Tisdas Sessions – Tinariwen (Wayward, 2001)

78. Chaos & Creation in the Backyard – Paul McCartney (Parlophone/EMI, 2005)

77. The XX – The XX (Young Turks/XL, 2009)

76. Speech Therapy - Speech Debelle (Big Dada, 2009)

75. Lay it Down – Al Green (EMI, 2008)

74. Broken Boy Soldiers – The Raconteurs (XL, 2006)

73. A Lick on the Tip of an Envelope yet to be Sent – Circulus (Rise Above, 2005)

72. Fever Ray – Fever Ray (Rabid/V2, 2009)

71. Rush of Blood to the Head – Coldplay (Parlophone, 2002)

70. Looking for a Day in the Night – The Lilac Time (Cooking Vinyl, 2000)

69. Invaders Must Die – The Prodigy (Cooking Vinyl, 2009)

68. Vespertine – Björk (One Little Indian, 2001)

67. The Blueprint – Jay-Z (Roc-A-Fella, 2001)

66. For Emma, Forever Ago - Bon Iver (4AD, 2008)

65. Scissor Sisters – Scissor Sisters (Polydor, 2004)

64. Black Holes & Revelations – Muse (Helium 3, 2006)

63. 10,000Hz – Legend Air (Virgin, 2001)

62. Tangle Up – Girls Aloud (Universal, 2007)

61. Who is Jill Scott? – Jill Scott (Epic, 2000)

60. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand (Domino, 2004)

59. Beautiful World – Take That (Polydor, 2006)

58. Miss E … So Addictive – Missy Elliott (Elektra, 2001)

57. Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus – Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds (Mute, 2004)

56. Employment – Kaiser Chiefs (B-Unique, 2005)

55. The Futureheads – The Futureheads (679 Recordings, 2005)

54. 29 – Ryan Adams (Mercury, 2005)

53. Elegia – Paolo Conte (WEA, 2005)

52. We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions – Bruce Springsteen (Columbia, 2006)

51. Dimanche à Bamako – Amadou & Mariam (Because, 2005)

50. Out of Season – Beth Gibbons & Rustin’ Man (Universal/Island, 2002)

49. Up the Bracket – The Libertines (Rough Trade, 2002)

48. The Information – Beck (Polydor, 2006)

47. Demon Days – Gorillaz (Parlophone, 2005)

46. Reality – David Bowie (Columbia, 2003)

45. Panic Prevention – Jamie T (Virgin, 2007)

44. The Marshall Mathers LP – Eminem (Polydor, 2000)

43. Tender Buttons – Broadcast (Warp, 2005)

42. Smile – Brian Wilson (Nonesuch, 2004)

41. Thunder, Lightning, Strike – The Go! Team (Memphis Industries, 2005)

40. Run Come Save Me – Roots Manuva (Big Dada, 2001)

39. Field Music – Field Music (Memphis Industries, 2005)

38. Love and Theft – Bob Dylan (Columbia, 2001)

37. Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not – Arctic Monkeys (Domino, 2006)

36. Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots – The Flaming Lips (Warner, 2002)

35. Funeral - Arcade Fire (Rough Trade, 2005)

34. Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea – P. J. Harvey (Universal, 2000)

33. Nixon – Lambchop (City Slang, 2000)

32. Justified – Justin Timberlake (Zomba, 2001)

31. White Blood Cells – The White Stripes (XL, 2001)

30 The Ecstatic - Mos Def (Downtown, 2009)

29. Confessions on a Dancefloor – Madonna (Maverick, 2005)

28. The Greatest – Cat Power (Matador, 2006)

27. Maths + English - Dizzee Rascal (XL, 2007)

26. Ys – Joanna Newsom (Drag City, 2006) 25. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – Wilco (WEA, 2002)

24. Untrue – Burial (Hyperdub, 2007) 23. Alright, Still - Lily Allen (Capitol, 2006)

22. Magic – Bruce Springsteen (Columbia, 2007)

21. LCD Soundsystem – LCD Soundsystem (DFA, 2005)

20. The Good the Bad & the Queen – The Good the Bad & the Queen (Parlophone, 2007)

19. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes (Bella Union, 2008)

18. Kala – M.I.A. (XL, 2007)

17. Viva la Vida or Death & All His Friends – Coldplay (Parlophone, 2008)

16. Felt Mountain – Goldfrapp (Mute, 2000)

15. The Letting Go - Bonnie Prince Billy (Domino, 2006)

14. Made in the Dark - Hot Chip (EMI, 2008)

13. The College Dropout – Kanye West (Mercury, 2004)

12. Original Pirate Material – The Streets (Locked On, 2002)

11. Favourite Worst Nightmare - Arctic Monkeys (Domino, 2007)

10. The Seldom Seen Kid – Elbow (Polydor, 2008)

9. Raising Sand – Robert Plant & Alison Krauss (Decca, 2007)

8. Elephant – The White Stripes (2003, XL)

7. Coles Corner – Richard Hawley (Mute, 2005)

6. Is This It – The Strokes (Rough Trade, 2001)

5. Blackout - Britney Spears (SonyBMG, 2007)

4. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below – Outkast (Arista, 2003)

3. In Rainbows – Radiohead (XL, 2007)

2. Back to Black – Amy Winehouse (Island, 2006)

1. Kid A – Radiohead (Parlophone, 2000)

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article6922991.ece

The noughties has been a decade of many things, but for Fingertips’ Ian Shine it has predominantly been a decade of lists, lists and more lists…

As the noughties draw to a close, people inevitably try to wrap up the decade in a convenient package, slap a label on it and sell it off as a profitable Christmas book that no one will read.

Summarising 3653 days of news, culture and everything else in processed chunks of bland generalisations is a prospect that many people, mostly journalists, find irresistible.

They make such generalisations at the end of every year, but with the closing of a decade they think have a licence to freak out.

There are endless Top Tens and Top 100s all over the internet and in newspapers that no one in their right mind would either read or pay any serious attention to.

Just do a Google search for “noughties” and any other word, and you will be met with a list of some kind about the decade that almost was.

Even “noughties crap” brings up the highly enlightening Sexiest Women of the Noughties (So Far) on Hecklerspray, with its title which implies a woman may still be born this decade who could oust Jessica Alba from her top spot, despite being only one month old.

Hecklerspray’s list does have some hint of originality about it however, as it contains only 24 entries, rather than a round number.

The Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph and the rest would never dare produce a list that wasn’t made up of ten, 50, or 100 entries, a fact which shows not only how eager they are to fill column inches with this easy-to-produce nonsense, but how generic they are.

It’s not as if there aren’t already more than enough awards ceremonies every year that are desperate to tell us what is the best and what we should be spending our money on.

Take books for example. There are, to name but a few, The Man Booker Prize, The Costa Book Awards, The Guardian First Book Award, The Orwell Prize, and what must be the most eminent of the lot, The Galaxy British Book Awards.

The Times’ recent list, The 100 Best Books of the Decade, is little but an amalgam of the winners and shortlisted books from the last ten years of the aforementioned prizes, from 2008’s Booker winner, Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger at number 80, to 2003’s Whitbread (now known as Costa) winner, Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, at 25.

What exactly constitutes being “the best” in the eyes of The Times is left open to conjecture. Is it breaking down narrative walls in fiction? Providing insights into unknown areas? Selling the most copies?

No one at The Times seems to know or care, but just to be safe they’ve thrown in some populist numbers – Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code at ten – some political stuff – Naomi Klein’s No Logo at 50 and even some historical stuff  – Peter Ackroyd’s London: the Biography at 45.

There really is something for everyone here, and that is why it is so dire. It’s nothing but bookcase facism that tells you what should be on your shelves for everyone to see next time you have a dinner party.

To make a generalisation of my own, if anything the noughties was the decade that spawned the culture of what could be called “Bestism”.

Reality TV gave us Big Brother, The X-Factor, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and Strictly Come Dancing, all of which are based on the premise of finding out who is “the best” and dimissing everyone else.

The newspapers’ noughties lists are lodged deeply in this vein. What they are saying is that if you don’t own or aren’t familiar with the contents, you’re not suitable to mix it with the rest of us and should be voted off the social, intellectual and hipness circuits.

Or to turn out a phrase that somewhat epitomises noughties exclusionism, “you are the weakest link, goodbye.”

For all the latest news and views on television, music, books and more tune in to Fingertips.net

I’m putting together a proposal at the moment (trying to, anyway) for the Top 100 at work. It’s exceptionally more complicated due to the fact that this next Top 100 that we implement (due to vote in March 2010) will be the sixth Top 100, and there is no documentation regarding why it was implemented, what the strategies behind it are/were, what we want to achieve from it (other than sales) or any research in any respect.

This makes the Top 100, as far as I’m concerned at present, to be a rather useless promotion. There are a number of variants, issues and constraints which simply make this a “we’ve done it before, it increases sales, we spent the money to make it a front of store bay, so let’s keep doing it” kind of project. It’s also frustrating for these same reasons, as the more work I do on it, the more I realise that whoever put the idea forth, really didn’t think about any of the implications (or constraints) that this project would put on teams in the future.

But, I digress… I’ve been whinging about not being challenged in this position, and now I’ve effectively been handed one of the best challenges I could ask for on a silver platter, and I’m still complaining!

Again, I digress… (easily distracted, I know!) however, this post is about the brain wave (yes, it hurt) I had this afternoon about promoting this project once it’s launched for next to nothing, just a little effort.

Blogs are, apparently, the new big thing. Everyone seems to be reading them, everyone seems to have one, and they are a good way of satisfying everyone’s morbid curiousity as to how other people live, as well as being able to, on occasion, impart imformation and news.

I was reading through the Top 100 list of books the other day, and was rather shocked to discover that I hadn’t actually read that many of them. Less than a quarter, to be honest, although there are about another 10 or so that I have on the bookcase waiting to be read, and then in conjunction with today’s thought processes, I thought – what if I put together a blog about the Top 100?

Anyone searching for the Top 100 is sure to come across it (I might even get lucky and be linked to it by someone!!), plus I can set myself the challenge of trying to not only finish the current Top 100 before the next one is launched, but then also continue to attempt to get through the next Top 100 in a time period to be set (which is something I’d like to do anyway).

Admittedly, this is probably something I should be clearing with our PR agency and marketing department before I go ahead with it, but at the same time, it’s my idea, I want to run it (and our office has this insane thing where anything internet related must be outsourced to someone outside of the marketing department, thereby removing a lot of my job description and frustrating me further) and at some point down the line, I want to take credit for it if it takes off. If it doesn’t go anywhere, then it doesn’t matter, but at least I’ve tried.

So, here is my attempt –> if you’re interested, check out my new blog, The A&R Top 100 Challenge…

So, I’ve just typed up the entire list of the Top 100… (shaking head) I’ve only actually read 15 of the books on the list.

I’ve started reading (and not yet finished) another 4, and I’ve seen the movies of a further 13…

I also just realised why I haven’t actually read even close to the entire list:

• Jane Austen, Matthew Reilly, Bryce Courtney, Paullina Simons and Cathy Kelly are all authors I tend to stay away from.
• Their books make up 16 on the list.
• I also don’t tend to read Biographies, and there’s a few on the list.

So, this should be a fairly interesting challenge, as I’m going to have to read a high number of titles that I wouldn’t normally even look at, and then discuss them, trying to stay as impartial as I possibly can. (Not likely to happen, but I guess that’s why it’s a challenge!)

I will attempt to put down some thoughts on the books I have already read before I start on the rest of the list, and all comments are welcome.

Last week we began an ambitious expedition through the best music of the past decade and I posted the albums ranked 91-100. Today we will tackle the next ten, numbers 81-90. Let me know what you think.

90. U2 – No Line on the Horizon (2009)
I’ve long been a fan of U2, but have rarely found their complete albums to be great. Even their magnum opus, The Joshua Tree, is terribly front-loaded. No Line continues their tradition of good recordings, proving to be one of their better collections overall and definitely their best since 1991’s The Joshua Tree. Some of the songs, like “Magnificent” and “Moment of Surrender,” can stand up to anything in their legendary catalog.

89. Matisyahu – Youth (2006)
An orthodox Hasidic Jew doing reggae music? Why not, this is the 2000’s. Matisyahu mixes socially conscious lyrics with danceable rhythms to produce one of the more unusual and surprising releases of the decade. The title track, “Youth,” and “King Without a Crown” are two tunes that particularly show that he could be in for a long and fruitful career.

88. Pearl Jam – Riot Act (2002)
As I’ve mentioned on many occasions in the past, I’ve long been a rabid fan of Pearl Jam and this is probably my favorite of theirs from the intervening years between No Code and Backspacer. It has a varied sound that is more akin to Vitalogy than to any of their other works, while showing the maturity of a group of men closing in on 40. The album contains jabs at corporate America and President Bush, but I think my favorite tunes are probably “I am Mine,” “Thumbing my Way,” and “Love Boat Captain.” It’s definitely a must-have for PJ fans.

87. The New Pornographers – Challengers (2007)
TNG is an indie rock supergroup of sorts made up of AC Newman, Dan Bejar (aka Destoryer), and one of my personal favorites, Neko Case. The band makes interesting music together, but I personally wish they would utilize Case more often than they do. Regardless, this album has some great songs, including “Myriad Harbor” and the title track, “Challengers.”

86. Belle & Sebastian – The Life Pursuit (2006)
Scottish band Belle & Sebastian have been carrying the indie pop banner for several years now and The Life Pursuit continues their streak of interesting and catchy music. Their sound is similar to the alternative bands of the 1980’s, such as The Smiths, just with a bit more sunshine from earlier mainstream pop. Check out songs like “The Blues Are Still Blue” and “Funny Little Frog” to get a better idea of what they are about.

85. Gnarls Barkley – St. Elsewhere (2006)
The combination of producer extraordinaire Danger Mouse and rapper Cee-Lo Green quickly proved itself to be a formidable one with their debut release, St. Elsewhere. Funky and soulful, with inescapably catchy songs like “Crazy,” the duo blew up in 2006 with this multi-platinum released and have continued to prove themselves with an innovative style that appeals to both critics and regular listeners.

84. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest (2009)
Interesting and intelligent, the band Grizzly Bear is a critical darling of the decade for a reason. The have a real knack for bending genres, mixing electronic sounds with vocal harmonies a la Fleet Foxes and some very nice alterna-pop melodies. Catchy songs like “Two Weeks” and “While You Wait for the Others” will be stuck in your head for days. Though I had heard some of their last release, Yellow House, this was the first album of the band’s that I’ve listened to very often, so I’m looking forward to seeing what Grizzly Bear has in store for us in the future.

83. Radiohead – Hail to the Thief (2003)
Would it be considered a heresy for me to call Radiohead the Beatles of generation X? There is probably no other group who have changed music, who have camped out at the cutting edge and set themselves up as the standard-bearers of a generation, to the same extent as Thom Yorke’s band. While this politically charged album may not be among their best, it is still quite good and proves that even when not on top of their game, Radiohead is on another level than everyone else. Songs like “2+2=5” and “There There” are nearly on par with anything in their career.

82. Modest Mouse – Good News for People Who Love Bad News (2004)
I had listened to some Modest Mouse prior to the release of this album, but for whatever reason, they never truly grabbed hold of me. It was not until the catchy and anthemic song “Float On” hit the airwaves that I went back, listened, and became a fan. This breakout album for the longtime indie stalwarts is definitely a must-own for someone interested in the music of the early 2000’s.

81. Okkervil River – The Stand Ins (2008)
This hyper-literate Austin band hit paydirt with this 2008 release and its ultra-catchy “Lost Coastlines.” Though this set of recordings is supposed to be a companion piece to their 2007 release, The Stage Names, I think I actually enjoy it more. Frontman Will Sheff likes to make strange and sometimes obscure references to everything from French playwright Antonin Artaud to a 1920’s German silent film to the Gospel of Thomas, and that’s only in one song (“Singer Songwriter”). How cool is that? Seriously, check this album out if you haven’t already.

UK 126m, Colour
Director: Roland Joffé; Cast: Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Ray McAnally, Liam Neeson , Aidan Quinn.

The Mission is a beautifully-filmed and scored account of the mid-eighteenth century Guarani Indians and their ill-fated relations with colonial interests in which they were subject to capture and enslavement by the Portuguese, and sought as Christian converts by Spain through Jesuit missionary work in South America. While De Niro, Irons, Neeson and supporting cast provide superb performances, the real stars of the film are the hundreds of Waunana Indian extras who portray the Guarani. In addition to the engaging story, and Ennio Morricone’s masterful score, the Mission also serves as a social commentary on the continuing struggle of the aboriginal inhabitants in politically troubled regions (Klaus Ming November 2009).

It is that time of the year again. There are lists popping up everywhere. I started reading this last week and it coincided with some discussions about digital tools in other forums at work.

The Jane Hart has compiled her annual list Top Tools for Learning. It is always interesting to note the changes, what is up and what has gone down The Top 100 Tools For Learning 2009  can be found on this page as a list and also as a slide show. This final list (Nov 15th) has been compiled from the Top 10 Tool Contributions of 278 learning professionals worldwide.

There have been debates about what should be and what is allowed to be used in schools. Recently one principal was asking about what should teachers be allowed to access whilst they are at work. She was basing her question around reports that many workplaces were banning social networking tools. I am disappointed some of the comments made by some educators, teachers and admin people. Many of those who can’t/don’t see the point are those that are not using these tools. They often have not tried to see what others may be doing and also seem to simply think Facebook or Twitter are all there is. They base their ideas around some of the more sensational news media reports without any or very little actual experience of the tools. I cannot believe that any learning (curriculum) decisions based on such limited and weighted information are going to create 21st century learning experiences in schools.

I find that I use many social networking tools to help me with my everyday work. Many times I have been able to obtain answers to my questions, help with problems and notice about interesting articles, events, etc. via twitter or other online devices. My personal learning network has increased amazingly over the past 18 months and I rely on it as one of the key ways to  keep my professional learning/skills up-to-date.

So it was not surprising to me to see Twitter has risen up the ranking. many people I know are now using it but think I was surprised that it is now considered the Top Tool for 2009. Coming third was YouTube, which has risen fifteen places from last year. I know that this tool is used widely by staff and students in my school. Tools new to the list that have become favourites with me and/or others I work with include Wordle (30), Animoto (31), Tweetdeck (43), Glogster (55), Dropbox (71), Flip(simple digital camcorder) (71), and Picnik (71) and Prezi (quite a new tool) is already in 28th place. Social annotating tool Diigo, which has become my main bookmarking and annotating tool, is up to 22 from 35.

The “losers” this year were Delicious (from 1st to 2nd) and Google Reader both moved down one place and Powerpoint (13) moved down 5 places, Firefox (the winner in 2007), Skype and Facebook all went down 7 places, Word is down 14 places and Bloglines down 56 places (12th in 2007, 3oth in 2008 to 86 in 2009) . Interesting also to see  Wikipedia at 17th, .

Most interesting to me is how many of the sites and tools (often included at high places on the list) are on the “blocked list” for many Australian education institutions. Some it, could be argued, were not set up as educational tools and can be easily misused  therefore could be seen as valid exclusions based in but for others it seems that we should/need to come up with other options than just blocking. At my school we cannot use either Skype or Elluminate, both of which have been used with great success in other schools and allowed students and staff valuable real-time learning experiences.

Boekemakranka se Top 100 Afrikaanse Leeslys vir 2009

Qualcuno si è divertito a prendere i 100 video più visti di Youtube e farne un unico video di circa 3 minuti e mezzo:

Devo ammettere che molti me li ricordo e mi hanno fatto morir dal ridere

Wen nog ‘n boek! Daar is nog ‘n Chanette Paul Spanningsverhaal om te wen, geskenk deur Lapa Uitgewers.

Die eerste persoon wat kan raai watter skrywer se boek onder die top 10 gaan beland wat ‘n heerlike verrassing gaan wees vir baie mense, wen ook ‘n boek! So ‘n uitskieter tussen die ‘groot’ name. (As dieselfde tendens voortduur met die stemmery – alle aanduidings is reeds daar van die begin af.)

‘n Wenk – Dis ‘n jong skrywer.

As jy nou nog nie gestem het nie, daar is nog kans! http://leeslys.wordpress.com

Dan is ‘n ook ‘n boekprys vir die persoon wat die eerste tien boeke reg raai vir Boekemakranka se Top 100 Afrikaanse Leeslys vir 2009!

Jy kan hier raai, of dit stuur na leeslys@icon.co.za

(Slegs lede van Boekemakranka, of die Boekemakranka Facebook groep kom in aanmerking vir die prys, so sluit sommer vandag aan as jy nog nie lid is nie. Boeke kan ongelukkig net na adresse in SA gepos word.)

THE WIRE – 100 Greatest Quotes.

USA 153m, Colour
Director: Francis Ford Coppola; Cast: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne, Albert Hall, Harrison Ford

Apocalypse Now is a cinematographic masterpiece, and is arguably the best Vietnam war movie ever made. It’s story is relatively simple, but one which provides numerous emotional twists and turns for the main character, played by Martin Sheen, who is sent on a secret mission to assassinate a celebrated soldier who has apparently gone insane and is continuing the Vietnam war effort on his own terms. Loosely based on Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Apocalypse Now is film which exposes the fear, loneliness, brutality and general sense of insanity which is war. Unlike many other war movies which often take an overtly political stance for or against war, Coppola seems more interested in letting the viewer make up their own mind (Klaus Ming November 2009).

The birds and the bees 006, originally uploaded by sparklerama.

One of my favorite perks of gaining a super hip new roommate is gaining a whole new collection of music. It’s interesting to see what people consider their “top 100″ favorite songs of all time, and what about that particular music sets them off.

The music we love speaks to us, not just with the lyrics, but with the sound and the way it moves our physical body. Vibrations are healing, and really all music is, is a series of vibrations and sounds.

Music is starting to reveal itself heavily in the medical world as well, finally being recognized as a significant form of therapy. Just yesterday I read an article in the newspaper about the incredible discoveries of music therapy for those that suffer from alzheimers, allowing them to identify moments in their life through song recognition.

Recently my life has felt a drastic change, and in turn, I am collecting new music to carry me through it. Today, I am grateful for “The Bird and the Bee”. The lead singer Inara George is like smooth butter over mellow electro beats creating perfect “walk around the city” music.

Click on the link below to check out one of my favorite tunes off their self titled album:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCAqoMT_mts

Segue o Top 10!

10: In Rainbows - Radiohead

9: Original Pirate Material - The Streets

8: Turn On The Bright Lights - Interpol

7: Funeral - Arcade Fire

6: Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea - PJ Harvey

5: Fever To Tell - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

4: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - Arctic Monkeys

3: XTRMNTR - Primal Scream

2: Up The Bracket - The Libertines

1: Is This It - The Strokes

The Strokes

Strokes em primeiro. Justo?

A lista completa ta aqui, foi feita pela revista britânica NME.

Os descabelados do Strokes levaram o primeiro lugar no “THE TOP 100 GREATEST ALBUMS OF THE DECADE” com seu álbum de estréia, Is This It.

O disco, de fato, é muito bom mas nem de longe é o melhor deles.

Eu, particularmente, acho o pior dos três.

The Libertines ficou em segundo lugar com Up The Bracket, seguido por Primal Scream – XTRMNTR e em quarto ficou o Arctic Monkeys com o sensacional Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not.

Você pode conferir o Top 100 completo no site da NME.

E abaixo você vê os 50 primeiros da lista.

1. The Strokes – Is This It
2. The Libertines – Up the Bracket
3. Primal Scream – xtrmntr
4. Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
5. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever to Tell
6. PJ Harvey – Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
7. Arcade Fire – Funeral
8. Interpol – Turn On the Bright Lights
9. The Streets – Original Pirate Material
10. Radiohead – In Rainbows
11. At The Drive In – Relationship of Command
12. LCD Soundsystem – The Sound of Silver
13. The Shins – Wincing the Night Away
14. Radiohead – Kid A
15. Queens Of The Stone Age – Songs for the Deaf
16. The Streets – A Grand Don’t Come for Free
17. Sufjan Stevens – Illinoise
18. The White Stripes – Elephant
19. The White Stripes – White Blood Cells
20. Blur – Think Tank
21. The Coral – The Coral
22. Jay-Z – The Blueprint
23. Klaxons – Myths of the Near Future
24. The Libertines – The Libertines
25. Rapture – Echoes
26. Dizzee Rascal – Boy in Da Corner
27. Amy Winehouse – Back to Black
28. Johnny Cash – Man Comes Around
29. Super Furry Animals – Rings Around the World
30. Elbow – Asleep In the Back
31. Bright Eyes – I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning
32. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Show Your Bones
33. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
34. Grandaddy – The Sophtware Slump
35. Babyshambles – Down in Albion
36. Spirtualized – Let It Come Down
37. The Knife – Silent Shout
38. Bloc Party – Silent Alarm
39. Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles
40. Ryan Adams – Gold
41. Wild Beasts – Two Dancers
42. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
43. Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
44. Outkast – Loveboxxx/The Love Below
45. Avalanches – Since I Left You
46. Delgados – The Great Eastern
47. Brendan Benson – Lapalco
48. Walkmen – Bows and Arrows
49. Muse – Absolution
50. MIA – Arular

Neilbowers has a consolidated list of the top 100 lists from several different countries and has made these top 100 lists into one single top 100.

Those in bold are the ones I have read.

1. Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell

2. The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald

3. The Grapes Of Wrath John Steinbeck

4. The Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger

5. Catch-22 Joseph Heller

6. One Hundred Years Of Solitude Gabriel García Márquez

7. Gone with the Wind Margaret Mitchell

8. Ulysses James Joyce

9. On The Road Jack Kerouac

10. The Lord of the Rings J.R.R. Tolkien

11. To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee

12. Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen

13. Wuthering Heights Emily Brontë

14. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe C.S. Lewis

15. Great Expectations Charles Dickens

16. War and Peace Leo Tolstoy

17. Lolita Vladimir Nabokov

18. Animal Farm George Orwell

19. Crime And Punishment Fyodor Dostoyevsky

20. Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy

21. Lord Of The Flies William Golding

22. Brideshead Revisited Evelyn Waugh

23. Midnight’s Children Salman Rushdie

24. Love In The Time Of Cholera Gabriel García Márquez

25. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams

26. Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë

27. The Hobbit J.R.R. Tolkien

28. To the Lighthouse Virginia Woolf

29. Middlemarch George Eliot

30. Rebecca Daphne du Maurier

31. Dune Frank Herbert

32. Brave New World Aldous Huxley

33. A Prayer For Owen Meany John Irving

34. Watership Down Richard Adams

35. The Sound and the Fury William Faulkner

36. Little Women Louisa May Alcott

37. Invisible Man Ralph Ellison

38. Anne Of Green Gables LM Montgomery

39. Emma Jane Austen

40. Memoirs Of A Geisha Arthur Golden

41. Beloved Toni Morrison

42. Of Mice And Men John Steinbeck

43. The Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad

44. Les Miserables Victor Hugo

45. The Wind in the Willows Kenneth Grahame

46. The Da Vinci Code Dan Brown

47. Tess Of The D’Urbervilles Thomas Hardy

48. Winnie the Pooh A.A. Milne

49. Birdsong Sebastian Faulks

50. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin Louis de Bernieres

51. Slaughterhouse Five Kurt Vonnegut

52. Life of Pi Yann Martel

53. A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess

54. The Count Of Monte Cristo Alexandre Dumas

55. A Passage to India E.M. Forster

56. Moby Dick Herman Melville

57. A Suitable Boy Vikram Seth

58. The Stand Stephen King

59. Possession A.S. Byatt

60. Madame Bovary Gustave Flaubert

61. A Tale Of Two Cities Charles Dickens

62. The Trial Franz Kafka

63. I, Claudius Robert Graves

64. The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Atwood

65. The Secret History Donna Tartt

66. His Dark Materials Philip Pullman

67. The Harry Potter Series J.K. Rowling

68. The Brothers Karamazov Fyodor Dostoyevsky

69. Don Quixote Miguel de Cervantes

70. Sons and Lovers D.H. Lawrence

71. The Pillars Of The Earth Ken Follett

72. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man James Joyce

73. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain

74. The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini

75. An American Tragedy Theodore Dreiser

76. Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland Lewis Carroll

77. Bleak House Charles Dickens

78. The Time Traveller’s Wife Audrey Niffenegger

79. A Fine Balance Rohinton Mistry

80. The Sun Also Rises Ernest Hemmingway

81. Nostromo Joseph Conrad

82. Under the Volcano Malcolm Lowry

83. The Golden Notebook Doris Lessing

84. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter Carson McCullers

85. The Stranger Albert Camus

86. Native Son Richard Wright

87. Gravity’s Rainbow Thomas Pynchon

88. The Poisonwood Bible Barbara Kingsolver

89. Perfume Patrick Süskind

90. Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe

91. David Copperfield Charles Dickens

92. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl

93. Pale Fire Vladimir Nabokov

94. Persuasion Jane Austen

95. Atlas Shrugged Ayn Rand

96. The Tin Drum Gunter Grass

97. Vanity Fair William Makepeace Thackeray

98. Atonement Ian McEwan

99. Light in August William Faulkner

100. The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett

33/100 – not too bad I suppose.

Daar is ‘n lekker boekprys vir die persoon wat die eerste tien boeke reg raai vir Boekemakranka se Top 100 Afrikaanse Leeslys vir 2009!

Die persoon wat die naaste aan reg is wen ‘n heerlike spanningsverhaal deur Chanette Paul, geskenk deur LAPA uitgewers!

Jy kan sommer jou raaiskoot hier waag, of jy kan dit stuur na leeslys@icon.co.za

(Slegs lede van die Boekemakranka Forum, of die Boekemakranka Facebook groep kom in aanmerking vir die prys, so sluit sommer vandag aan as jy nog nie lid is nie)

As jy nog nie gestem het nie, daar is nog drie dae tyd.

Daar is nog net drie dae oor om te gaan stem vir Boekemakranka se Top 100 Afrikaanse Leeslys vir 2009!

Vind die stembus by http://leeslys.wordpress.com

A lot of people like lists, especially Top Ten lists. And especially those that lead to that elusive Number 1 ranking. You gotta be the best. There can be only one No. 1. Who is gonna come out on top?

Personally, I’m not a fan. In fact, I’m more than likely to go off that Top Ten list. I’m going to choose #11, maybe #12, or even further down the list. Yes, part of it is just me being difficult. But mostly it’s me trying to find what I really like, trying to get the complete story, not just going with the crowd.

When crowds of people line up to see a movie just because a crowd of people is lined up, I don’t understand that. One of my favorite movies is “The Station Agent.” I don’t think anyone waited in line to see it. But I’d take it over “Titanic.”

I don’t want to talk about movies. But I do want to talk about lists. I like lists, but they have to go beyond Top Ten, and you need to begin your reading at Number 11, and then keep going further.

I’m sitting here watching CNN and my pal Anderson Cooper (he’s not really my personal pal, but I do respect the guy’s work). He and CNN are running their 2nd annual CNN Heroes special. They’ve recently announced the Top Ten; you can read about these select list makers, and vote on your choice for Number 1. Don’t do it. I beg you, don’t do it.

I normally don’t pay attention to these “special” shows, these lists and seeming popularity contests. But I caught parts of this special in 2008, and it was moving. But not because of the list of Top Ten Heroes, and certainly not because of the No. 1 CNN Hero of 2008. Wait, this Winner of Heroes and the top nine others did amazing things. Their work is to be commended, and I thank CNN for producing the show. But most powerful was the EveryHero story. The story of Numbers 11, 12, and more.

Go to CNN.com now for the complete story of Heroes. You’ll read inspiring stories that may move you to act in your own neighborhood.

And start with #11. There is a lot more to it than just the “Titanic.” If you’re really lucky, you’ll find “The Station Agent” in here, too.

Inmiddels is bekend wat volgens de verzamelde Nederlandse muziekcritici de beste plaat van de jaren nul is: Is This It van The Strokes.

Nummer twee is Funeral van Arcade Fire, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not van Arctic Monkeys staat op drie en Kid A van Radiohead is te vinden op de vierde plaats.

Geen van die platen in mijn jaren nullijst die er als volgt uitzag:

1. Daft Punk – Discovery
2. LCD Soundsystem – LCD Soundsystem
3. Telefon Tel Aviv – Map Of What Is Effortless
4. Venetian Snares – Rossz csillag alatt született
5. Burial – Burial
6. Portishead – Third
7. The Streets – Original Pirate Material
8. Sufjan Stevens – Illinois
9. Matmos – The Civil War
10. N.E.R.D. – In Search Of…

Amy Winehouse en Carl Craig zijn domweg vergeten, kwam ik later achter. En dan zijn er nog de albums die te vers zijn om te bepalen of ze geschikt zijn voor een decenniumlijst. Los Angeles van Flying Lotus en Diary Of An Afro Warrior van Benga behoren tot die categorie.

A few weeks ago I wrote a short entry regarding my plans for compiling a monstrous list of the top 100 albums of the past decade, from 2000-2009. Since the end of the year rarely yields any real gems in the music industry, I felt that this would be as good a time as any to start our list, so below are the first ten, those ranked 91-100, and the rest will follow of the course of the next few weeks. As we move along let me know what you think.

100. Guns N’ Roses – Chinese Democracy (2008)
There are few albums that match the level of anticipation that followed this, G N’ R’s first album of original material in 17 years, but nobody really knew what to expect. The result was, well, interesting. Some tunes like the title song and “Shackler’s Revenge” rock like only Axl & co. can, some, like the excellent “Better” and “Catcher in the Rye” seem to hint that the band still has great things ahead of them, and then there are songs like “If the World,” which sounds like some cheesy James Bond theme reject. It’s no Appetite for Destruction, but it’s not bad.

99. Johnny Cash – American IV: The Man Comes Around (2002)
There are few figures in the annals of country music with the kind of well-deserved stature that Cash had and this album, one of five produced by Rick Rubin, was a fitting goodbye to the Man in Black. His baritone was well-worn with age, but that only added character to this set of songs reflecting on a life well lived. With the end in sight, Cash’s selections were particularly poignant, particularly “Give My Love to Rose,” “We’ll Meet Again,” and the heartbreakingly beautiful “Hurt,” a song originally performed by Nine Inch Nails. Some of the choices go a bit overboard in the sentimentality (do we really need versions of “Desperado” and “Bridge over Troubled Water?” but I guess when you’re a 70+ year old music icon, you’ve earned the right to play anything you want.

98. Iron and Wine – Our Endless Numbered Days (2004)
Sam Beam’s mostly one man band is oftentimes compared to past artists like Nick Drake, Simon and Garfunkel, and Elliott Smith. His fingerpicked acoustic guitar style is both beautiful and haunting, while still being quite listenable and rarely boring. On an album where the songs tend to blend together, “Naked as we Came” is one that stands out as truly great. After a hard day, this is a great one to just turn on and relax to.

97. Mos Def – The Ecstatic (2009)
Mos Def is an anomaly in the world of modern rap music. His lyrics are intelligent and socially conscious with a style that is as inventive as anybody working today. Songs like “Auditorium” and “Quiet Dog” incorporate interesting samples with good beats that complement Def’s flow nicely.

96. Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)
This one hasn’t held up as well for me as other albums (hip hop and otherwise), have over the past decade, but it still deserves a spot for its timely shock value and cultural significance in the early part of the decade. Though he soon became a parody of himself, this album really shook things up in 2000, providing a quite a subversive shock through the establishment with infamous songs about dangerously rabid fans and killing his girlfriend.

95. Warren Zevon – The Wind (2003)
In 2002, wry singer-songwriter Zevon was diagnosed with inoperable terminal cancer. Rather than engaging in treatments that might prolong his life but leave him incapacitated, he decided to record this, his final album. The Wind retains much of Zevon’s characteristically dry and somewhat morbid sense of humor, while offering up the poignant views of a man who has reached the end of life’s road. His cover of Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” takes on a lot more meaning when sung by someone in his state and the album’s finale, “Keep Me in Your Heart,” is a fitting goodbye for a singer-songwriter who tasted success, but never let it control his artistry.

94. The National – Boxer (2007)
Best characterized by vocalist Matt Berninger’s deep baritone and their downbeat style, The National had been playing together for several years before becoming critical darlings in the last half of the decade. Their style is expansive and lush, with songs like the politically motivated “Fake Empire” and the incredible “Mistaken for Strangers” (which is probably one of my favorite songs of the decade), this album is definitely one that needs to be heard.

93. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes (2008)
With vocal harmonies reminiscent to those of past acts like Crosby, Still, & Nash, Fleet Foxes burst on the scene in 2008 with one of the more unlikely success stories of 2008. “White Winter Hymnal” is an inescapably catchy song that will grasp hold of your brain and not let go.

92. K’naan – Troubadour (2009)
I imagine that Mogadishu-born Muslim rapper K’naan just shakes his head at American rappers and their tales of life on the street saying, “You think you have it hard?” His rhymes cover timely topics involving the problems in his homeland, from civil war to pirates. Troubadour, his sophomore release, is heavy on special guests, some of which work better than others, but the overall product is quite good, especially in songs like “Somalia” and “Wavin’ Flag.”

91. Bon Iver – For Emma, Long Ago (2008)
In early 2007, following two devastating breakups (one with his girlfriend, the other with his band) and a strong bout of mono, Justin Vernon retreated to a cabin in northern Wisconsin for three solid months of solitude. Armed with his guitar, some old recording equipment and a load of heartache, Vernon took on the name Bon Iver and created this album. Songs like “Flume” and “Skinny Love,” feature little besides an acoustic guitar and Vernon’s aching falsetto, but that’s really all you need. This is one beautiful piece of modern day Americana.