So the 00's wasn't generally a great decade for music. Yes, the music industry complains about the lack of CD sales, but honestly, that is due to the fugacious nature of music the past several years. The most popular tracks have more often than not, been about the immediate sales of singles. With iTunes coming to fruition in this decade, it saw the rise of those with little pocket money (and sometimes little music taste either) deciding what the 'top tracks' are. However, with the internet becoming a big source for more independent new music, this saw the rise of several great bands. Call this the 2000's, or the Naught'ies, or whatever you will, but hidden amongst most of the rubbish out there were some brilliant music groups that came into existence, and established themselves well in the past 10 years. Some of the following bands had EP's out previously, but this list is from album releases beginning in 2000. You may agree, or disagree, though more often than not I tend to disagree with most countdowns. However, for better or worse, I have decided to provide my own. Enjoy!
10:
Doves:
The definitive sound of “Epic” in the 00's, was the Doves. Their debut album Lost Souls arrived in April 2000 and the three-piece from Southern Manchester has only grown and developed other albums since. From the very first song, on the very first album, they show that they mean business with
Firesuite.
Catch The Sun also stands out on that album for me as well. The following albums have some stand out tracks as well, such as
Caught By The River,
Words, and
The Last Broadcast from the album with the same name, Also
Black And White Town from Some Cities is another particularly good one. They have had tracks featured on anything from the O.C. to Zombieland. While keeping their epic sound, they head into the next decade with their album Kingdom of Rust, which has been very well received.
9:
The Killers:
Okay, I admit, it took me a while to really get into the music from the Killers. They grew from their Las Vegas homeland to concert stages, and festivals around the world. Starting with Hot Fuss in 2004, they took the charts by storm with hits such as
Mr. Brightside,
All These Things That I've Done, and numerous others. Continuing with Sam's Town's
Read My Mind, and
When You Were Young, they began to branch out, and mature with their music styles. This was proven with the most Recent album Day and Age. With songs such as
Spaceman,
I Can't Stay,
This Is Your Life and
A Dustland Fairytale, they showed they have the ability to change and adapt beyond just the party atmosphere of their earlier albums.
8:
Band of Horses:
With superb guitar work, and a certain happy, yet melancholic feel to their music, Band of Horses came out with their first album in the musically interesting year of 2006.
The First Song (in name, and in order) from their debut album Everything All the Time, always gets me from the very first chord. Other notable songs on the album include
Weed Party,
The Funeral, and
The Great Salt Lake. Their second album Cease to Begin had their incredibly popular
No One's Going to Love You (more than I do), which has been featured on many a film since. Other good songs alongside it are
Is There a Ghost, and
The General Specific. The quite upbeat
Islands on the Coast is also a particularly interesting track.
7:
John Mayer:
If there's anybody on this top 10 who has re-invented themselves most, it would be John Mayer. From 01's Room for Squares, it had a definite rock/pop sound but with insightful lyrics, setting him apart from others. Songs such as
No Such Thing, and
Why Georgia had lots of radio airtime, promoting him to a wider audience. Seizing on this opportunity, he developed a more jazz/blues sound on his next album Heavier Things. The songs that jump out as being particularly interesting are
Clarity, and
Home Life for their inventive sound. On his next album, Continuum, he went for a distinctly blues sound, as well as on his side projects. He had a specific socio-political message in
Waiting on the World to Change, and showed his growing guitar skills on
Vultures. His new album, Battle Studies, from late 2009, with the first single
Who Says, showed his continued mix of styles varying from Blues, to Country, as well as his continued appreciation of classic rock.
6.
The Mummers
The Most recent entry into this top 10 is the Mummers, from Brighton, England. Their multi instrumental, almost classical-pop styles have gained them recognition, and spots in some big name festivals in the UK in 2009. Their album, Tale to Tell, has some particularly great tracks such as
March of the Dawn,
Wonderland, and
Lorca & The Orange Tree. Their group has had a fluctuating number of musicians, on a variety of instruments, with their lead singer Raissa. They have said to possibly be adding even more instruments down the line, so it will be very interesting to see how they establish themselves in the next decade.
5:
Broken Social Scene:
Canada's Broken Social Scene could be described as a superband with the presence of artists such as Feist being a part of the lineup. Whatever their status, they became an indie rock favourite in the early to mid 00's. Starting with the generally instrumental Feel Good Lost, they established their contribution to the music scene with pieces such as
Alive in 85. Thier next album, You Forgot it In People, added several new members to the band. It also showcased their new styles with such gems as
Looks Just Like the Sun,
Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl and numerous others. Their 2005 most popular self titled album had many great songs such as the complex
7/4 (Shoreline), the downtempo
Our Faces Split The Coast In Half, the harder rocking
Fire Eye'd Boy, and the multi instrumental
Handjobs For The Holidays. They would most probably be best described as a mostly experimental band, as their albums are a strict departure to the majority of music of the past few years.
4:
Regina Spektor:
It is amazing how many stories, and moods that one woman with one piano can create. Regina Spektor has been a key individual in what has been dubbed the Anti Folk scene. Despite only finding massive acclaim in 2009, she has been creating music her entire life, with her first album 11:11, arriving in 2001 with high points on the album consisting of songs such as
Braille. She released other albums, such as Music, which had tracks later repeated on forthcoming albums. On Soviet Kitch, she has great songs such as
Carbon Monoxide, and
Us, which has been featured as recently as 2009. On her next album, Begin to Hope, she released songs such as
Samson, and
Fidelity which are still fan favourites, even after the release of her newest album in 2009. The most recent album of hers indeed, is Far, and has many splendid tracks such as
The Calculation,
Eet, and
Folding Chair to name but a few. She occasionally uses stringed instruments, drums, as well as a guitar in her songs, showing she still has tricks up her sleeves going forward.
3:
Coldplay:
Some people love them, others hate them, but most generally, Coldplay are one of, if not the most popular new band of the 00's, and show the lasting power of groups such as U2. From their early 2000 release Parachutes, they had huge hits such as
Yellow, and
Trouble, as well as other tracks used in films such as
Don't Panic, and
Sparks. Their next album, A Rush of Blood to the Head revealed more upbeat songs, which were massive hits such as
God Put A Smile Upon Your Face,
The Scientist,
In My Place, and
Clocks, which had an amazing amount of radio play in several countries. 2005's X&Y continued their status of worldwide acclaim with songs such as
Fix You, and
Speed Of Sound. Their most recent 00's album was 08's Viva La Vida, which had them add a distinctly different sound in many ways from their previous albums with songs such as
Viva La Vida,
Violet Hill,
42,
Lovers In Japan and many others. Their onstage charisma, and re-inventions have shown them to be worth their fame, and popularity, and seem to show many good releases yet to arrive from them.
2:
Fleet Foxes:
The band that is truly making harmony cool again. With a variety of instruments, and multiple harmonies in many of their songs, the Fleet Foxes have brought folk-alternative to a much wider audience. Some have described their sound as being centered in a forest, and others have described their music as having a distinctly nostalgic feeling. Their first full album, the self titled Fleet Foxes has many lovely tracks such as
White Winter Hymnal,
Ragged Wood,
Quiet Houses, and
He Doesn't Know Why to name but a few. Despite their most popular single
Mykonos being from their earlier Sun Giant EP, their full album got the attention of many in 2008. Their inventiveness with a variety of instruments, has promoted them to a world stage, with many concerts and festival bookings throughout the last year. They are currently working on their new album which has many, myself included, eagerly awaiting their next step musically.
1:
The Shins:
Possibly not the best known band of the last decade, but is probably the most influential Indie band of the 00's. 2001's Oh Inverted World, had such tracks such as
Caring Is Creepy, and
New Slang making it onto the Garden State soundtrack a few years later, but has several other standout tracks such as
Know Your Onion!,
The Celibate Life, and
Girl Inform Me. The style with the bass driven riffs, and higher chords is quite prevalent in their earlier work especially, though their poetic, and insightful lyrics continue well into their recent work. Their second album Chutes Too Narrow has a distinctly different sound, with a more urgent sound to it. It starts with the more rocky sounding
Kissing the Lipless, and ends with the quietly melodic
Those to Come, with other great tracks such as
So Says I, and
Saint Simon in between. 2007's Wincing the Night Away rewarded them gigantic popularity, with singles such as
Australia,
Phantom Limb, and
Sea Legs, but has several other gems such as
Turn On Me,
Black Wave,
Split Needles, and
Girl Sailor. In 2008, the band underwent some changes as they left Sub-Pop, going to the lead singer James Mercer's own record label, and two longtime members of the band left. However, the remnants still toured in 2009, and a new album is still being talked about, so we shall see what they surprise the music world with in the years to come.
Honourable Mentions:
Frou Frou:
Despite Imogen Heap's 90's release i Megaphone (an anagram of her name I might add) excluding herself from the top 10, her side project Frou Frou would definitely be a big album in the 00's. With the huge hit
Let Go making it onto many a movie, Frou Frou's album Details signaled a difference to some of Imogen's previous work. Combined with Frou Frou's other member Guy Sigsworth, they created an album full of other great songs such as
Breathe In,
Hear Me Out, and
It's Good To Be In Love. While the bands success was short lived, it still became an amazing highlight of the 00's.
The Swell Season:
The intricate, and full of feeling sound from Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová’s band The Swell Season, grew to Prominence from the film Once. Their self titled debut album has the track
Falling Slowly, which was an oscar winner from the film. Other particularly potent songs on the Once soundtrack include
Gold, and
Fallen from the Sky. The newest release from them is Strict Joy, with gems including
The Rain, and
Low Rising. The multi-instrumental, harmonic, even folk sound from them have earned them a special place in many people’s hearts and music collections.
Gorillaz:
Damon Alborn's many side projects during the 00's showed some successes during Blur's absense, none would be quite as popular, nor as genre bending as the Gorillaz. 2000's self titled album had a huge hit with
Clint Eastwood, but has many other great tracks such as
Re-Hash,
Tomorrow Comes Today,
Rock the House, and
19-2000, which also had a popular remix. However, that release paled in comparison with 2005's Demon Days, with the huge hit
Feel Good Inc. Their other great successes on the album included
Kids With Guns,
El Manana, and
Dirty Harry. Possibly their most different song of that time was from the Charity Album Help: A Day in the Life, with their song
Hong Kong, including a very sad sounding piano, with some interesting possibly chinese guitar work. Their distinct sound is still regarded highly in all of the genres they covered.
Most, or all of these mentioned bands may, or may not release more albums. But their effect, and influence in the decade that was the 00's will surely be remembered for years.
Thanks for Reading!
John Mayer
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