Journal

I did this for the Top 40 of the 1990s but I couldn't seem to narrow it down to 40 this time around! I tried to be even-handed in terms of spreading the songs around by year but it just seems that I listened to more (and better?) music in the last half of the decade. So without further ado, here is my list. Enjoy!

50. Jump — Madonna
49. Alarm Bell City — The Apple War
48. Escapar — Enrique Iglesias
47. Gentle Moon — Sun Kil Moon
46. The Urgency Of Nightlife And The Temptations That Come Of It — Bad Dream Good Breakfast
45. Slow Moves — José González
44. Earthquake Weather — Beck
43. Breathe — Télépopmusik
42. Bohemian Like You — The Dandy Warhols
41. Mexico — Morrissey
40. U want Me 2 — Sarah McLachlan
39. Sons & Daughters — The Decemberists
38. Black History Month — Death From Above 1979
37. Neon Bible — Arcade Fire
36. Hands Clean — Alanis Morissette
35. Rootless Tree — Damien Rice
34. And I Was A Boy From School — Hot Chip
33. There Is a Light That Never Goes Out — Joseph Arthur
32. Roosterspur Bridge — Tori Amos
31. Indiana — David Mead
30. Float On — Modest Mouse
29. To Me You Are A Work Of Art — Morrissey
28. Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then) — The Decemberists
27. I Don't Know What I Can Save You From — Kings of Convenience
26. The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned) — The Decemberists
25. Mykonos — Fleet Foxes
24. Absinthe — Beth Orton
23. Wonderful — Annie Lennox
22. Inside Of Love — Nada Surf
21. Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk — Rufus Wainwright
20. Suddenly I See — KT Tunstall
19. Crush — David Archuleta
18. If I Ever Feel Better — Phoenix
17. Electric Feel — MGMT
16. Lights and Music — Cut Copy
15. Young Folks — Peter Bjorn & John
14. Instant Pleasure — Rufus Wainwright
13. Hearsay — Jonatha Brooke
12. In the Waiting Line — Zero 7
11. Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect — The Decemberists
10. Maps — Yeah Yeah Yeahs
9. Hard Frequency — DB Boulevard
8. Destiny — Zero 7
7. For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti — Sufjan Stevens
6. Sleeps With Butterflies — Tori Amos
5. It's Not Up to You — Björk
4. Kids — MGMT
3. White Winter Hymnal — Fleet Foxes
2. Missing — Beck
1. Rebellion (Lies) — Arcade Fire

Monthly Top Artists

May-2007
Linkin Park (17 plays)
Jul-2007
Fall Out Boy (27 plays)
Aug-2007
Say Anything (123 plays)
Sep-2007
Yellowcard (147 plays)
Oct-2007
Say Anything (231 plays)
Nov-2007
Die Ärzte (194 plays)
Dec-2007
Rooney (114 plays)
Jan-2008
Nada Surf (74 plays)
Feb-2008
Paramore (65 plays)
Mar-2008
Panic at the Disco (96 plays)
Apr-2008
Panic at the Disco (83 plays)
May-2008
Death Cab for Cutie (147 plays)
Jun-2008
Clueso (184 plays)
Jul-2008
Weezer (256 plays)
Aug-2008
Bloc Party (243 plays)
Sep-2008
Anberlin (115 plays)
Oct-2008
Tomte (142 plays)
Nov-2008
The Killers (213 plays)
Dec-2008
Fall Out Boy (158 plays)
Jan-2009
Coldplay (55 plays)
Feb-2009
Two Tongues (151 plays)
Mar-2009
The Fray (111 plays)
Apr-2009
Muff Potter (374 plays)
May-2009
Green Day (162 plays)
Jun-2009
Enter Shikari (336 plays)
Jul-2009
Bayside (163 plays)
Aug-2009
Olli Schulz & der Hund Marie (169 plays)
Sep-2009
Say Anything (64 plays)
Oct-2009
Editors (166 plays)
Nov-2009
Say Anything (243 plays)
Dec-2009
OneRepublic (136 plays)


Monthly Top Tracks

May-2007
Linkin Park : What I've Done (2 plays)
Jul-2007
New Found Glory : Too Good To Be (7 plays)
Aug-2007
Editors : Blood (16 plays)
Sep-2007
Anberlin : Adelaide (18 plays)
Oct-2007
Angels &Amp; Airwaves : My Only Fear (27 plays)
Nov-2007
Die Ärzte : Himmelblau (19 plays)
Dec-2007
Linkin Park : What I've done (distorted rmx) (14 plays)
Jan-2008
The Wombats : Let's Dance To Joy Division (21 plays)
Feb-2008
Rise Against : Anywhere But Here (12 plays)
Mar-2008
Nine Black Alps : Southern Cross (10 plays)
Apr-2008
Disco Ensemble : Fresh New Blood (8 plays)
May-2008
illScarlett : Nothing Special (21 plays)
Jun-2008
Clueso : Gewinner (13 plays)
Jul-2008
Weezer : This Is Such a Pity (20 plays)
Aug-2008
The Notwist : Boneless (29 plays)
Sep-2008
Snow Patrol : Spitting Games (14 plays)
Oct-2008
Bosse : Matrosen (21 plays)
Nov-2008
The Killers : Spaceman (21 plays)
Dec-2008
Fall Out Boy : The (Shipped) Gold Standard (14 plays)
Jan-2009
Bosse : 3 Millionen (12 plays)
Feb-2009
Niccokick : The Poet (19 plays)
Mar-2009
Sounds Like Violence : Wrong (17 plays)
Apr-2009
Muff Potter : Wir werden uns kümmern (29 plays)
May-2009
Maxïmo Park : The Kids Are Sick Again (20 plays)
Jun-2009
Enter Shikari : Juggernauts (28 plays)
Jul-2009
Bayside : The Ghost Of Saint Valentine (16 plays)
Aug-2009
Fightstar : You &Amp; I (12 plays)
Sep-2009
Blue October : Say It (17 plays)
Oct-2009
The Used : Meant To Die (17 plays)
Nov-2009
Say Anything : Less Cute (20 plays)
Dec-2009
OneRepublic : All The Right Moves (23 plays)

Rolling Stone recently came out with their top 100 songs of the decade and it really disappointed me. Not only was their list mostly composed of major label artists, but it also lacked a lot of the hindsight of the past decade, focusing only on artists from the past few years.

I vowed then and there to make a better list -- I'm not saying that these are the best 100 songs of the past decade, but I think this list better represents artists large and small, singles and non-singles, and also reflects music of the past decade more than what Rolling Stone put out there. You're welcome to disagree with me as you like.

1. At the Drive-In - Arcarsenal
2. Radiohead - Knives Out
3. Shipwreck - Melusine
4. Deltron 3030 - 3030
5. Deftones - Change (In the House of Flies)
6. Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood
7. !!! - Feel Good Hit of the Fall
8. Interpol - Obstacle 1
9. ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Another Morning Stoner
10. The Dismemberment Plan - Following Through
11. Rainer Maria - Artificial Light
12. Queens of the Stone Age - Go With The Flow
13. The Black Keys - 10 A.M. Automatic
14. Daft Punk - Harder Better Faster Stronger
15. M83 - 0078h
16. Reverend and The Makers - Heavyweight Champion Of The World
17. ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Heart in the Hand of the Matter
18. Fugazi - The Kill
19. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Y Control
20. Muse - Stockholm Syndrome
21. The Mars Volta - Inertiatic ESP
22. Secret Machines - Faded Lines
23. William Shatner - Common People (feat. Joe Jackson)
24. System of a Down - Chop Suey!
25. Mew - Snow Brigade
26. Unwound - October All Over
27. Death From Above 1979 - Romantic Rights
28. Sonic Youth - Reena
29. I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness - At Last Is All
30. The Appleseed Cast - Fight Song
31. Blonde Redhead - Dr. Strangeluv
32. Soulwax - NY Excuse
33. Editors - All Sparks
34. Cave In - Anchor
35. Kasabian - L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)
36. Minus the Bear - Pachuca Sunrise
37. Les Savy Fav - The Sweat Descends
38. Mastodon - Blood and Thunder
39. The National - Apartment Story
40. Probot - Shake Your Blood
41. Deastro - Vermillion Plaza
42. The Walkmen - The Rat
43. Nada Surf - Hi Speed Soul
44. The Hives - Hate To Say I Told You So
45. dredg - Bug Eyes
46. British Sea Power - Carrion
47. Gorillaz - DARE
48. Test Icicles - Circle Square Triangle
49. Starflyer 59 - Things Like This Help Me
50. The Jim Yoshii Pile - Up - Silver Sparkler
51. Sonic Youth - Pink Steam
52. Faunts - M4 (part ii)
53. Beck - Gamma Ray
54. Justice - D.A.N.C.E.
55. The Kills - Love Is a Deserter
56. Headlights - It Isn't Easy To Live That Well
57. A Perfect Circle - The Outsider
58. 120 Days - Come Out (Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone)
59. Peter, bjorn and john - Young Folks
60. Radio 4 - All In Control
61. Silversun Pickups - Lazy Eye
62. Ikara Colt - Automatic
63. TV on the Radio - Halfway Home
64. Soulwax - Accidents and Compliments
65. A Place to Bury Strangers - My Weakness
66. Deltron 3030 - Positive Contact
67. Telefon Tel Aviv - The Birds
68. Andy Palacio & The Garifuna Collective - Miami
69. The Black Angels - The First Vietnamese War
70. Klaxons - Two Receivers
71. The Rapture - Sister Saviour
72. Beck - Think I'm In Love
73. LCD Soundsystem - North American Scum
74. The Raveonettes - Dead Sound
75. Wilderness - Marginal Over
76. DeVotchKa - Transliterator
77. Whitey - Stay On The Outside
78. Nine Inch Nails - Echoplex
79. Radiohead - Reckoner
80. Doves - Kingdom Of Rust
81. John Frusciante - Omission
82. HEALTH - We Are Water
83. The Phenomenal Handclap Band - Tears
84. Battle - Tendency
85. Death Cab for Cutie - Meet Me On the Equinox
86. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Love Burns
87. Guitar Wolf - Invader Ace
88. Interpol - Specialist
89. The Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist
90. The Faint - Agenda Suicide
91. Primal Scream - Accelerator
92. Calla - Simone
93. The Life and Times - My Last Hostage
94. The Gossip - Listen Up!
95. Cut Copy - Hearts On Fire
96. Tracer - Indigenous
97. Bloc Party - Luno
98. The Raconteurs - Steady, as She Goes
99. Les Savy Fav - Hold on to Your Genre
100. The Flaming Lips - Pompeii Am Götterdammerung

fadeway's top albums (overall) 1. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (192) 2. Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree (180) 3. The National - Alligator (152) 4. The Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead (151) 5. Beirut - The Flying Club Cup (145) 6. Bat for Lashes - Two Suns (131) 7. Band of Horses - Everything All the Time (123) 8. Bloc Party - A Weekend In The City (116) 9. DeVotchKa - How It Ends (112) 10. Placebo - Sleeping With Ghosts (112) 11. Hayden - Elk-Lake Serenade (111) 12. Placebo - Black Market Music (106) 13. M83 - Saturdays=Youth (105) 14. Radiohead - In Rainbows (100) 15. Guster - Keep It Together (99) 16. Joy Division - Substance (98) 17. The Killers - Sam's Town (97) 18. Modest Mouse - The Moon and Antarctica (96) 19. Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild (94) 20. Mew - And The Glass Handed Kites (91) 21. The Maccabees - Wall Of Arms (90) 22. Built to Spill - Keep It Like a Secret (90) 23. Interpol - Antics (89) 24. Editors - An End Has a Start (86) 25. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (85) 26. Death Cab for Cutie - Plans (82) 27. Fever Ray - Fever Ray (81) 28. Radiohead - Kid A (80) 29. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges (78) 30. Nada Surf - Lucky (77) 31. Indochine - Alice et June (77) 32. The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema (77) 33. The Knife - Deep Cuts (76) 34. Kings of Convenience - Declaration Of Dependence (76) 35. Bat for Lashes - Fur And Gold (76) 36. Calexico - Feast of Wire (75) 37. R.E.M. - Around the Sun (73) 38. Stars - Set Yourself on Fire (72) 39. Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights (71) 40. Coeur de Pirate - Coeur De Pirate (69) 41. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife (69) 42. Don't Mess with Texas - Los Dias De Junio (68) 43. The Killers - Sawdust (67) 44. The Kills - No Wow (67) 45. Regina Spektor - Begin to Hope (66) 46. !!! - Myth Takes (65) 47. White Lies - To Lose My Life (64) 48. Mandalay - Empathy (64) 49. The Smiths - Louder Than Bombs (63) 50. Hot Chip - Made In The Dark (63)

Was kann man schon zum entzückenden Kevin Devine sagen, Singer/Songwriter aus Brooklyn und durch und durch Vollblutmusiker. Und in Anlehnung an die „yes we can“-Rufe wurde dann „Yes Week-end! Motto des Abends und 2Std 15min voller Musik folgten...

Im Mai 2008 erstmalig live gesehen und schon damals von seiner herzlichen Art und musikalischem Können beeindruckt, daher war die Entscheidung logisch, Karten kaufen für Köln! Im Stereo Wonderland gab er am 11.12.2009 einen kleinen Solo-Gig, der fast wortwörtlich Wohnzimmer-Atmosphäre versprach, so winzig ist der Club.
Nachdem der Gute 9 Std. in London-Heathrow festhing, verzögerte sich der Einlass um einige Zeit, was aufgrund der aufsteigenden Kälte zunehmend unangenehm wurde. Aber die Winzigkeit des Clubs versprach schnelles Aufwärmen, wenn man erst mal drin ist. So war es dann auch. Zuvor konnte man Kevin dank der großen und nicht verbarrikadierten Fenster noch beim Soundcheck zugucken und dann war es endlich so weit. Rein und aufwärmen.

Das Konzert hielt was ich erwartete, ein riiiiesiges Sammelsurium aus alten und neuen Songs, gespickt mit lustigen Anekdoten, Coverversionen von Neil Young und Nada Surf (Publikum extrem textsicher) und jeder Menge Wunschsongs aus dem Publikum. Zwischen durch wurde dann kurz abgeklärt, ob man das Konzert bald beenden müsse oder einfach weiter spielen kann. (Zu dem Zeitpunkt hatte er schon 1,5 Std gespielt) Die Herrschaften an der Bar gaben daraufhin grünes Licht, dass es ruhig weiter gehen kann, da danach keine weitere Veranstaltung anstand und schon fanden die nächsten Song-Wünsche den Weg auf die Bühne. „Splitting Up Christmas“ wurde ebenfalls gewünscht und wurde im Hinblick auf die Vorweihnachtszeit dann auch zum letzten Song des Abends.
Ein herrlich entspanntes, gut gelauntes und textsicheres Publikum genoss einen wunderschönen Freitagabend in einem kleinen Club irgendwo in Köln. Wer sagt denn, dass es immer größer, lauter etc. sein muss.

Solche musikalischen Perlen wie das Konzert von Kevin sind rar gesät und weil´s so schön war... er kommt wieder, inkl. Band im Februar oder März 2010!


PS 1: Vielen lieben Dank an die junge Dame, die sich Nada Surf wünschte... „Inside of love“ ist aber auch soooo ein wunderschöner Song und zu dieser Jahreszeit irgendwie besonders.

PS 2: Danke auch an den jungen Mann irgendwo vorne in der Mitte, der bei jedem Song aus tiefstem Herzen mitgesungen hat und somit ganz wunderbare Backing-Vocals ablieferte. (Respekt, hast eine wirklich gute Stimme!)

PS 3: Falls irgendjemand eine Setlist hat, würde mich die wohl sehr interessieren... waren einfach zu viele Songs um sie sich auch nur annähernd zu merken. ;-)